Bus drivers in Moscow kept their WhatsApp group chat buzzing with questions this week about what to do if they spotted passengers who might be from China riding with them in the Russian capital. Some Asian-looking (people) have just got on. Probably Chinese. Should I call (the police)? one driver messaged his peers. How do I figure out if they're Chinese? Should I ask them? a colleague wondered. The befuddlement reflected in screenshots of the group exchanges seen by The Associated Press had a common source - instructions from Moscow's public transit operator Wednesday for drivers to call a dispatcher if Chinese nationals boarded their buses, Russian media reported. A leaked email that the media reports said was sent by the state-owned transportation company Mosgortrans told dispatchers who took such calls to notify the police. The email, which the company immediately described on Twitter as fake, carried a one-word subject line: coronavirus. Since the outbreak of the new virus that has infected more than 76,000 people and killed more than 2,300 in mainland China, Russia has reported two cases. Both patients, Chinese nationals hospitalised in Siberia, recovered quickly. Russian authorities nevertheless are going to significant some argue discriminatory lengths to keep the virus from resurfacing and spreading. Moscow officials ordered police raids of hotels, dormitories, apartment buildings and businesses to track down the shrinking number of Chinese people remaining in the city. They also authorised the use of facial recognition technology to find those suspected of evading a 14-day self-quarantine period upon their arrival in Russia. Conducting raids is an unpleasant task, but it is necessary, for the potential carriers of the virus as well, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said in a statement outlining various methods to find and track Chinese people the city approved as a virus prevention strategy. The effort to identify Chinese citizens on public transportation applies not only to buses, but underground trains and street trams in Moscow, Russian media reported Wednesday. Metro workers were instructed to stop riders from China and ask them to fill out questionnaires asking why they were in Russia and whether they observed the two-week quarantine, the reports said. The forms also ask respondents for their health condition and the address of where they are were staying. In Yekaterinburg, a city located 1,790 kilometers (1,112 miles) away from Moscow in the Urals Mountains, members of the local Chinese community also are under watch. Self-styled Cossack patrols in the city hand out medical masks along with strong recommendations to visit a health clinic to Chinese residents. Human rights advocates have condemned the targeting of Chinese nationals as racial profiling, not an effective epidemic control strategy. Prevention of any serious virus, be it a flu or the new coronavirus, should involve a proper information campaign and not discrimination of other people, said Alyona Popova, an activist engaged in a year-long court challenge of Moscow's use of facial recognition technology. The containment measures in the capital came as the Russian government instituted an indefinite ban on Chinese nationals entering the country that could block up to 90 per cent of travellers coming to Russia from China. Weeks before, Russia shut down the country's long land border with China, suspended all trains and most flights between the two countries. The Moscow Metro confirmed to The Associated Press that the underground system was actively monitoring the stations and has a protocol in place for dealing with people who have recently returned from the People's Republic of China. We ask to see their documents and to show us documents (proving) that if they have recently returned from the People's Republic of China, they have undergone a two-week quarantine period, Yulia Temnikova, Moscow Metro's deputy chief of client and passenger services, said. If an individual does not show proof of completing the quarantine, Metro workers ask the person to fill out the form and call an ambulance, Temnikova said. Bus and tram drivers contacted their labour union about the instructions to look for Chinese nationals and report them to the dispatch center. The drivers were outraged and didn't know what to do, Public Transport Workers Union chairman Yuri Dashkov said. So he saw a Chinese national, and then what?" Dashkov said. How can he ascertain that he saw a Chinese national, or a Vietnamese national, or a Japanese, or (someone from the Russian region of) Yakutia? Dashkov showed the AP a photo of the email that officials at Mosgortrans were said to have sent out. He also showed three photos of on-bus electronic displays reading, If Chinese nationals are discovered in the carriage, inform the dispatcher. The AP was unable to independently verify the authenticity of the email and the photos. Dashkov shared screenshots of what appeared to be a genuine bus drivers' group chat in WhatsApp. While Moscow public transit operator Mosgortrans dismissed the email as phony on its official Twitter account Wednesday, the company told the AP in a statement two days later that it does conduct monitoring and sends data to the medics when necessary. Mosgortrans referred additional questions to the detailed statement from Moscow's mayor, who on Friday acknowledged the sharp focus on Chinese people in the city's virus-control plan. Officials ordered everyone arriving from China to isolate themselves for two weeks, and those who skip the quarantine step will be identified through video surveillance and facial recognition technology, Sobyanin said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) By Jeff Mason and Tim Ahmann WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Sunday accused Representative Adam Schiff of leaking classified information on Russian interference in the 2020 U.S. election to hurt Democratic presidential front-runner Bernie Sanders. Speaking to reporters as he left the White House for a trip to India, Trump said he had not been briefed on intelligence that Russia was aiming to boost the campaign of Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont, and he called for a probe into Schiff for the leak. Schiff, a Democrat, denied the allegation. A congressional source told Reuters on Friday that intelligence officials had told lawmakers Russia appears to be engaging in disinformation and propaganda campaigns to help both Sanders and Trump, who is seeking re-election. "I read where Russia is helping Bernie Sanders. Nobody said it to me at all. Nobody briefed me about that at all," Trump said. "They leaked it, Adam Schiff and his group. They leaked it to the papers and - as usual - they ought to investigate Adam Schiff for leaking that information," Trump said, without providing any evidence to back up his claims. Schiff, who served as the lead prosecutor in Trump's impeachment trial in the Senate, said Trump was seeking to turn attention away from his own actions with the comments. "Nice deflection, Mr. President. But your false claims fool no one," he wrote in a tweet. "You welcomed Russian help in 2016, tried to coerce Ukraines help in 2019, and wont protect our elections in 2020. Now you fired your intel chief for briefing Congress about it. Youve betrayed America. Again." Trump changed out his acting director of national intelligence Joseph Maguire and replaced him with U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell last week, reportedly after being annoyed by the briefing to lawmakers about Russian interference. The president has repeatedly cast doubt on U.S. intelligence findings that Russia intervened to help him in the 2016 presidential election against Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state. Story continues By raising questions about the latest findings, Trump appears to be seeking to boost Sanders, who is now the front-runner for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. As a self-described democratic socialist, Sanders is a candidate Trump would like to take on in a general election to bolster his argument that Democrats are pushing a socialist agenda. Trump has long argued that the Democratic Party favored Clinton unfairly over Sanders in the 2016 primary race, an issue that still divides the Democratic base. "I think what it could be is, you know, the Democrats are treating Bernie Sanders very unfairly and it sounds to me like a leak from Adam Schiff because they don't want Bernie Sanders to represent them. It sounds like it's (2016) all over again for Bernie Sanders," Trump said. Other administration officials have cast doubt on reports that Russia was trying to help Trump again this year. "I haven't seen any intelligence that Russia is doing anything to attempt to get President Trump re-elected," White House National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien told ABC's "This Week." (Reporting by Jeff Mason and Tim Ahmann; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Bill Berkrot) Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-23 18:19:15|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close HANGZHOU, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- The school closure amid the epidemic outbreak has not stopped Chinese students from learning as they turn to the Internet to attend classes, bolstering the rise of e-learning. Shen Xiang, a six-grader in east China's Zhejiang Province, now uses Alibaba's communication app DingTalk proficiently to clock in and take classes. "School notices, homework, daily health checks and videos sent by teachers are all available on the platform," Shen said. DingTalk, originally a mobile office tool for white collars, has been adapted to offer online services for schools amid the virus outbreak, welcoming classes of nearly 600,000 teachers in hundreds of cities on Feb. 10, the first day of online schooling in many parts of China. Even in Wuhan, the epicenter of the epidemic, more than 700,000 stuck-at-home students ushered their new semester that day on DingTalk. With the help of booming virtual platforms, eye-catching and innovative live stream classes are launched across the country. A popular online video shows a teacher using green onions to help teach and his high school counterpart in the southwestern Chinese city of Nanchong even went into the field to teach geography remotely. Downloads of DingTalk rank high in the Apple App Store due to the wide application of online classes in China, coupled with the work-from-home policies of many firms. "We deployed more than 10,000 new cloud servers within just two hours, a new record for the rapid capacity expansion," said Zhu Hong, CTO of DingTalk. "The epidemic further prompted the demand for online education." Despite being a leader in the category, the heated app gets a surprisingly poor grade, registering a score of 2.6 out of 5 stars by nearly 1.21 million people in the Apple App Store, and was once at risk of being removed. Negative comments mainly come from house-bound students who had to start school in the virtual world instead of spending a protracted holiday as they hoped. "Thank you for letting me see my teacher every day during the holiday!" read a one-star review. In response to the negative feedback, the DingTalk team posted a music video with cartoons on China's social media platform Weibo and a Chinese online video sharing platform Bilibili, "begging" the students to stop giving bad ratings, which has garnered nearly 25 million views. So far, schools in more than 300 cities in provinces including Hubei, Zhejiang, Guangdong and Jiangsu have launched online teaching through DingTalk, covering tens of millions of students. "The epidemic is like a catalyst for many enterprises and schools to adopt digital technology platforms and products," Zhu said. Ballerina Dana Stephensen, has declared her love for purple Wiggle Lachlam Gillespie, four months after the pair went public with their relationship. Having never spoken to the media about her blossoming romance, the 34-year-old finaly told The Daily Telegraph this Saturday that all is well in paradise. 'He's just amazing and I just love him so much,' Dana said of Lachlan, 34. 'I just love him so much!' The Wiggles' ballerina Dana Stephensen, 34, has professed her love for boyfriend Lachlan Gillespie, 34 (pictured together) The mother-of-one, who is a senior dancer for The Australian Ballet, described the moment she met Lachlan on the set of The Wiggles in early December 2018. 'Lachy and I just had a really beautiful connection straight away. It was between us, but after the fact quite a few people noticed,' she said. Lachlan separated from Wiggles bandmate Emma Watkins (a.k.a. The Yellow Wiggle) in August 2018, after two years of marriage. Happily ever after! Having never spoken to the media about her blossoming romance, the 34-year-old finaly told The Daily Telegraph this Saturday that all is well in paradise He finally confirmed his romance with Dana in October 2019, when he shared a selfie of the pair to Instagram. On New Year's Day this year, Lachlan revealed that he'd met Dana's son Jasper, who she shares with her photographer ex-husband, Michael Kai. Posing alongside Dana and Jasper on a trampoline, Lachlan captioned the adorable snap: '2020,' alongside several purple love heart emojis. Happy couple: 'Lachy and I just had a really beautiful connection straight away. It was between us, but after the fact quite a few people noticed,' she said Dana also posted the family photo, which showed her and Lachlan smiling with Jasper sitting on their shoulders. She then uploaded another picture to her Instagram Story, which was captioned: '[I'm] the luckiest girl because of these two.' Meanwhile, Emma and Lachlan continue to be on good terms, despite their very public divorce. Speaking to Who in August last year Emma said: 'We are the best of friends and we were always meant to be. We were close before we started dating and now we've come full circle!' Milestone moment: Lachlan revealed he had met Dana's son Jasper, four, on New Year's Day (pictured) Family ties: Dana shares her son with her ex-husband, photographer Michael Kai (left) Protestors clashed with riot police in Santiago, Chile on Friday after four months of sustained protests against the government initially sparked by grievances over metro fare pricing and the national cost of living. The big picture: Chile has the greatest level of income inequality among all countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Wall Street Journal reports. Chileans have cited education and health care costs as especially cumbersome. Demonstrators protest in Santiago, Feb. 21. Photo: Martin Bernetti/AFP via Getty Images Demonstrators protest in Santiago, Feb. 21. Photo: Martin Bernetti/AFP via Getty Images Demonstrators protest in Santiago, Feb. 21. Photo: Martin Bernetti/AFP via Getty Images A Chilean riot policeman draws a weapon at protestors in Santiago, Feb. 21. Photo: Martin Bernetti/AFP via Getty Images Demonstrators burn a barricade in Santiago, Feb. 21. Photo: Martin Bernetti/AFP via Getty Images Rescue volunteers carry a demonstrator on a stretcher in Santiago, Feb. 21. Photo: Martin Bernetti/AFP via Getty Images A protestor throws a tear gas canister back at riot police in Santiago, Feb. 21. Photo: Martin Bernetti/AFP via Getty Images Demonstrators light a fire in Santiago, Feb. 21. Photo: Martin Bernetti/AFP via Getty Images Protestors use lasers to distract or obstruct riot police and their equipment in Santiago, Feb. 21. Photo: Marcelo Hernandez/Getty Images Go deeper: Chile's grim economic outlook Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-24 01:57:18|Editor: yan Video Player Close RAMALLAH, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian Health Minister Mai al-Kailah said on Sunday that Palestine is still free of coronavirus infection as the health authorities are being on high alert for the possibility of any outbreak. "I call on different sectors, not only the health sector, but others too, to think on how to raise awareness among the Palestinian people of the virus," said al-Kailah. "The top priority (for people) is how to fight coronavirus, how to take care of themselves, and how to adopt hygienic practices," she added. All preventive measures will be taken under the guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO), the minister noted. The Palestinian government has fully equipped laboratories for testing and a dedicated quarantine building for suspected cases, according to the minister. Meanwhile, Gerald Rockenschaub, head of the WHO office in the occupied Palestinian territories, said they "work very closely with the (Palestinian) Ministry of Health to put the right measures in place." "We are learning obviously a lot from the Chinese experience and we try to apply all the lessons learnt from China in the Palestinian context," he added. Sorry! This content is not available in your region Facebooks answer is basically yes, but. The site wants rules, but it prefers that those rules focus on monitoring and removal mechanisms that firms must put in place, rather than restrictions on companies carrying specific types of speech. Firms, in other words, ought to fully enforce the terms of service they already have. The proposal is useful in that it would at least theoretically hold Facebook and its cohort to public account for doing, or not doing, what they say. But its also quite similar to the status quo. To really encourage the more aggressive enforcement that legislators want to see not only from Facebook but also from the scrappier and often scarier sites on the Internet a bigger stick might be necessary. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-23 04:02:37|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Doctors from Kuwait's Ministry of Health wait for the arrival of the first flight from Iran with Kuwaiti nationals at Kuwait International Airport in Farwaniya Governorate, Kuwait, Feb. 22, 2020. Kuwait received the arrival of the first flight from Iran with Kuwaiti nationals on Saturday, as part of the country's evacuation plan after the COVID-19 outbreak in Iran. (Photo by Asad/Xinhua) KUWAIT CITY, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Kuwait received the arrival of the first flight from Iran with Kuwaiti nationals on Saturday, as part of the country's evacuation plan after the COVID-19 outbreak in Iran. The flight landed in the Kuwait International Airport with 130 passengers onboard, Abdulaziz Al-Fawzan, Director General of Kuwait's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), said In a press statement. This is one of five flights planned by the authorities to evacuate Kuwaitis who stranded in Iran following the suspension of flights, he noted. The Kuwait Airways said it has launched special flights to evacuate 700 nationals from the Iranian city of Mashhad. On Friday, the DGCA decided to suspend all flights to and from Iran upon recommendations from the Ministry of Health. Bassel Al-Sabah, Kuwaiti Minister of Health, said in a statement on Saturday that the 130 Kuwaiti citizens transported by the first plane all received medical examination upon their arrival to Kuwait. All of them are in good conditions, he said, adding that they will take further medical check. The spokesman of the Kuwaiti Ministry of Health Abdullah Al-Sanad confirmed on Saturday that there are no COVID-19 cases in Kuwait. Machine learning is helping Penn Medicine researchers identify the size and shape of brain networks in individual children, which may be useful for understanding psychiatric disorders. In a new study published today in the journal Neuron, a multidisciplinary team showed how brain networks unique to each child can predict cognition. The study -- which used machine learning techniques to analyze the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans of nearly 700 children, adolescents, and young adults -- is the first to show that functional neuroanatomy can vary greatly among kids, and is refined during development. The human brain has a pattern of folds and ridges on its surface that provide physical landmarks for finding brain areas. The functional networks that govern cognition have long been studied in humans by lining up activation patterns -- the software of the brain -- to the hardware of these physical landmarks. However, this process assumes that the functions of the brain are located on the same landmarks in each person. This works well for many simple brain systems, for example, the motor system controlling movement is usually right next to the same specific fold in each person. However, multiple recent studies in adults have shown this is not the case for more complex brain systems responsible for executive function -- a set of mental processes which includes self-control and attention. In these systems, the functional networks do not always line up with the brain's physical landmarks of folds and ridges. Instead, each adult has their own specific layout. Until now, it was unknown how such person-specific networks might change as kids grow up, or relate to executive function. "The exciting part of this work is that we are now able to identify the spatial layout of these functional networks in individual kids, rather than looking at everyone using the same 'one size fits all' approach," said senior author Theodore D. Satterthwaite, MD, an assistant professor of Psychiatry in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. "Like adults, we found that functional neuroanatomy varies quite a lot among different kids -- each child has a unique pattern. Also like adults, the networks that vary the most between kids are the same executive networks responsible for regulating the sorts of behaviors that can often land adolescents in hot water, like risk taking and impulsivity." To study how functional networks develop in children and supports executive function, the team analyzed a large sample of adolescents and young adults (693 participants, ages 8 to 23). These participants completed 27 minutes of fMRI scanning as part of the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort (PNC) a large study that was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health. Machine learning techniques developed by the laboratory of Yong Fan, PhD, an assistant professor of Radiology at Penn and co-author on the paper, allowed the team to map 17 functional networks in individual children, rather than relying on the average location of these networks. The researchers then examined how these functional networks evolved over adolescence, and were related to performance on a battery of cognitive tests. The team found that the functional neuroanatomy of these networks was refined with age, and allowed the researchers to predict how old a child with a high degree of accuracy. "The spatial layout of these networks predicted how good kids were at executive tasks," said Zaixu Cui, PhD, a post-doctoral fellow in Satterthwaite's lab and the paper's first author. "Kids who have more 'real estate' on their cortex devoted to networks responsible for executive function in fact performed better on these complex tasks." In contrast, youth with lower executive function had less of their cortex devoted to these executive networks. Taken together, these results offer a new account of developmental plasticity and diversity and highlight the potential for progress in personalized diagnostics and therapeutics, the authors said. "The findings lead us to interesting questions regarding the developmental biology of how these networks are formed, and also offer potential for personalizing neuromodulatory treatments, such as brain stimulation for depression or attention problems," said Satterthwaite. "How are these systems laid down in the first place? Can we get a better response for our patients if we use neuromodulation that is targeted using their own personal networks? Focusing on the unique features of each person's brain may provide an imporant way forward." WYOMING, MI -- A Grand Rapids-area soldier killed while serving in the Army during the Iraq War is being inducted in a military hall of fame Monday. Eric Burri, 21, was killed in 2005 in Iraq when a bomb exploded near his military vehicle. Fifteen years after his tragic death, Burri is being inducted into the Parachute Rigger Hall of Fame at Fort Lee, Virginia. Burris parents, who still live in West Michigan, are set to attend the induction ceremony for their son. Thats my adventuresome boy, his father, John Burri, said. Eric was John and Joanne Burris third child, after losing their first-born at birth and adopting a second child, Andrew, from India. From sports, to rollercoasters and camping, to being an exchange student in Uruguay in high school, Eric continued to seek adventure when he came home from school one day and told his dad he had sworn in to join the U.S. Army. He was so proud, John Burri said. As parents, you get a little nervous about some of these decisions, but youve got to let these kids grow up and be who they want to be. After graduating from Kelloggsville High School, Eric went to serve in Kuwait where he was a parachute rigger and then, deciding to continue his military service, he went on to Baghdad, Iraq where he was a lead gunner on a supply caravan. He was killed when a bomb went off near his vehicle on June 7, 2005. Nobody really wins in war, John Burri said. When theres a death, the enemies grieve the loss of their loved ones. We grieve the loss of our loved ones. I had to verbally speak out loud, Lord, I forgive those responsible for my sons death. Because, otherwise, I would have hung on to the anger and frustration of it all. In 2008, a building on the U.S. Military base in Baghdad was renamed in his honor the Eric Burri Rigging Facility. Burri has been honored at area businesses who memorialize fallen soldiers, at veterans memorials in West Michigan and around the country, and in a stretch of highway on U.S. 131 South beginning at 44th Street. John Burri said many parents who lose their children have a fear that their kids will be forgotten. This year is finally the thing that makes me feel I can rest comfortably now knowing they are not going to be forgotten, Burri said. Our men and women who gave their all are truly not going to be forgotten. Over the years, the Burri family has kept their sons memory alive by honoring him during Veterans Day celebrations, holding a shoe drive for children in Iraq and, recently, writing to President Donald Trump about him. John Burri said if he could talk to his son today, he would thank him. I would tell him, thank you for the love youve shown your mom and dad, your brother Andrew, Burri said. Thank you for those times I got frustrated with you, too. I would just tell him how proud we are and how grateful we are. He made our life complete. Eric Burri, along with six other veterans, will be inducted into the Parachute Rigger Hall of Fame on Monday, Feb. 24. According to the U.S. Army website, induction into the hall of fame is considered the highest recognition among the Parachute Riggers" and was established to honor parachute riggers "who have made significant contributions to the Parachute Rigger field and/or were recognized by acts of heroism in combat. READ MORE: Arctic fox found by South Lyon police responding to injured dog complaint We have to respond to Lake Michigan erosion, U.S. senator says 167 nominations for Michigans Best Burger in one day It was part of a JPY 4 million package that JICA planned to donate to the Pasteur Institute. The Pasteur Institute currently manages diseases control centres of 20 southern provinces and cities. It was assigned by the Ministry of Health to test suspected cases of COVID-19 infection in the south. On February 7, JICA also granted the first package of biologicals valued at JPY 14 million to the Hanoi-based National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (NIHE). The total amount of its assistance for Vietnam in the fight against COVID-19 is estimated at JPY 20 million (US$ 178,800). In order to help Vietnam cope with dangerous infectious diseases, the Japanese Government has provided the country with non-refundable aid packages to launch level-3 bio-safety rooms, offer technical assistance to improve the capacity of labs on bio safety and highly hazardous infectious pathogen. For the third stage of the project on improving the capacity of labs on bio safety and highly hazardous infectious pathogen, the Japanese side already sent two experts to work for a long term at the NIHE. A little girl, 2, died in a car fire while her four-year-old brother managed to escape the vehicle before it exploded in the Kimberley on Sunday morning. The siblings were playing in the car outside s home in Kununurra about 7am when it caught on fire, Nine News Perth reporter Lucy McLeod said. Firefighters rushed to the house on Ironwood Drive and found a car ablaze and the body of the toddler inside the wreckage. It is not yet clear how the car caught on fire but arson squad detectives from Perth drove to the scene to investigate the cause of the blaze, with early indications from police that it was not suspicious. C ommitting to a regular yoga practice can have a profound effect on your body and mind. Yoga improves flexibility, muscle strength, lung and heart health - and will almost certainly leave you feeling more zen. Combining breathwork with mindfulness and movement, it's the OG wellness trend, and if you've overdone the at-home HIIT sessions lately, it could be worth taking things back to basics. Matching your flow to your mood and needs on any given day is crucial to ensuring you get the most out of your practice. But with so many different styles out there, finding the right one can feel overwhelming. So in celebration of International Yoga Day 2021 today, here's your complete guide to each style of practice, courtesy of some of London's top yoga practitioners from MoreYoga, Triyoga, Blok and AcroYogaDance. If you want to feel zen... Yin yoga What is it: Yin yoga (pictured above) involves long held stretches that allow the body to go deeper into each pose, relaxing muscular tension and lengthening connective tissues. Using props (bolsters, blankets, blocks and straps), you form the shape and settle into a 'soft edge' (where you begin each pose at around 60 per cent of your physical capacity). You'll feel the pose intensify as time goes on, then you carefully exit the pose and come to a neutral position to connect back to the body and notice the flush of fresh blood and energy rush to the area that was being restricted. Point of difference: poses are held from anywhere between 2-10 minutes. Good for: reconnecting with your body and breath. This meditative style is great to slow thoughts and reduce anxiety. Try it when youre feeling: anxious, restless or work out often. This style of practice is a great way to counterbalance the busy lifestyles we lead you're guaranteed a good night's sleep if you attend an evening class. Seda Yildiz, head of yin yoga at Blok Yoga nidra Yoga Nidra / Karen Yeomans What is it: Yoga nidra is a practice where you access a state of conscious deep sleep those magic moments between waking and sleeping that helps to unwind the nervous system, promote relaxation and banish stress. Point of difference: a floor-based practice during which you're covered with blankets. Good for: clearing the mind to make space for new, creative thoughts. Some even claim 45 minutes of yoga nidra is the equivalent to three hours sleep! Try it when youre feeling: overwhelmed by racing thoughts Genny Wilkinson Priest, yoga director at triyoga If you're in need of some healing (and want to work your abs)... Forrest yoga Shutterstock What it is: Forrest is yoga modernised for the 21st century, designed to heal modern ailments on an emotional, physical and spiritual level. This yoga style teaches you how to feel through a slow yet strong practice aimed at treating our tendency to disconnect. Point of difference: Youll find a lot more core work in a Forrest class and an even stronger focus on the breath. Unlike other types of yoga, this style also encourages you to change your drishti (direction of your gaze) in a lot of poses to allow the neck to relax rather than gaze upwards. Good for: Strengthening the core and connecting with the ceremonial aspect of a yoga practice. Try it when youre feeling: Disconnected or unfocused and a need to ground your body and mind. Focusing on the breath can also help you calm your nervous system, relax and reconnect to yourself. Liz Joy Oakley, yoga teacher and head of vibes at MoreYoga If you want to get creative... Dharma yoga Expect to spend plenty of time upside down during a Dharma yoga class / Photo by rishikesh yogpeeth on Unsplash What is it: A challenging and dynamic yoga style named after classical Hatha-Raja Yoga Master, Sri Dharma Mittra. Most poses are held for a longer period of time than in a typical Vinyasa class, which adds a level of difficulty. Yogis are encouraged to move in and out of the postures gracefully, like a dancer. Point of difference: The headstand is considered the king of the poses in this style, so youll usually encounter many variations of the pose in a Dharma class. In a Dharma class, youll also always be guided to lead with the left side of the body - except in twists. Good for: Creating space to deepen your own practice, as teachers are encouraged to only give essential cues for each pose to allow students to explore the shapes on their own. Try it when you're feeling: imbalanced, want to challenge your control or like to dance and move freely. Liz Joy Oakley, MoreYoga Wheel yoga Shutterstock / Aleksandra Voinov What is it: the yoga wheel is a unique prop that can help you work more deeply and safely into postures, especially backbends and inversions its great for those who spend a lot of time hunched over a desk all day. Point of difference: youll use the wheel to open the front of the body and massage the spine, stretching fascial tissue. Good for: exploring postures from a different angle and in a fun way. Try it when youre feeling: like you want to mix it up. Genny Wilkinson Priest, triyoga Mandala flow What it is: Mandala is a dynamic yoga style that usually starts and ends with a couple of longer held yin poses to prepare the areas of the body youll be working on. Rooted in shamanism, each sequence is tied to one of the four elements air, fire, water and earth each of which relates to a set of muscles and chakra. Point of difference: Youll explore circular movements in the body and move around all four corners of the mat, while the sequence will focus on one group of muscles. Good for: Energising you in the morning and switching off from autopilot moving around all four corners of the mat really helps you to focus on coordinating your lefts and rights, which is both challenging and fun. Try it when youre feeling: Stuck or low energetically this practice helps you explore new types of movement in the body, learn about the elements and move with more freedom, which can be a great way to release stress or dormant energy. Liz Joy Oakley, MoreYoga If you want to buddy up... Acroyoga AcroYogaDance What is it: Acroyoga is a practice based on a combination of yoga and acrobatics and involves two roles: a flyer (the person on the top) and a base (the person underneath). Point of difference: you work with a partner, one supports the other. Good for: building trust, connection, communication, discovering you can do far more together than you thought possible. Try it when you're feeling: like you want to have fun and explore an activity that challenges you on many levels. Eugene and Pip, founders of AcroYogaDance Ashtanga yoga ashtanga What is it: this practice synchronises breath, postures and drishti (gaze point) to create a dynamic, flowing practice that builds internal heat. Point of difference: the sequence is the same every time no matter if you are practising Ashtanga in a class that is led by the teacher, or in a traditional self-practice setting where the teacher is there to silently guide you. Good for: building strength, purifying the nervous system and calming the mind. Try it when youre feeling: the need to move, sweat and focus. Genny Wilkinson Priest, triyoga Yogasana What it is: Yogasana is a strong physical practice, taking you through a set sequence with options to modify. Asana in sanskrit refers to the physical poses in yoga, so this style is more focused on the physical part of the practice. Point of difference: Youll move through a set sequence. Good for: Strengthening the body and mind. Try it when youre feeling: like you want to build strength. If you need an energy boost, this class is perfect. Liz Joy Oakley, MoreYoga If you're in need of focus... Iyengar yoga lyengar What is it: Iyengar yoga was created by B.K.S. Iyengar and is known for its precision and sophisticated understanding of postures. Point of difference: lots of attention to detail, precision, alignment, long holds and use of props like bricks, blocks, bolsters, blankets, straps and ropes. Good for: learning the subtleties of postures and building safe, healthy alignment that is individual to the student. Try it when youre feeling: up for a challenge, and in need of focus. Genny Wilkinson Priest, triyoga If you want to get spiritual... Kundalini yoga kundalini What is it: Kundalini yoga combines invigorating movement, with dynamic breathwork, meditation and the chanting of mantras to build vitality. Point of difference: youll practise "kriyas" or detoxifying techniques, such as strong repetitive arm movements, breathwork and hand gestures to help build mental endurance and fortify the nervous system. Good for: strengthening intuition and willpower, and developing a spiritual practice. Try it when youre feeling: low on physical and mental stamina. Genny Wilkinson Priest, triyoga A yoga class in action at MoreYoga Jivamukti yoga What it is: Jivamukti is a method of moving the spine in all directions to allow prana (the breath) to move freely. Beyond the physical, the practice also incorporates many of the eight limbs of yoga a core aspect of yoga philosophy into each class. Point of difference: Each class incorporates a strong focus on yoga philosophy, challenging your perception of the world. Good for: Challenging your perspective and deepening your knowledge of yoga and how to lead a more yogic lifestyle. Try it when youre feeling: Curious to see things differently and deepen your physical and philosophical understanding of yoga. Liz Joy Oakley, MoreYoga Prana Vinyasa What it is: Prana Vinyasa was developed by Shiva Rea, an American teacher with a background in world dance and movement. Along with a strong focus on the breath prana means breath in sanskrit youll find a ritualistic approach to movement in this style along with a commitment to honouring the lineage of yoga. Point of difference: Shiva Rea developed 40 different namaskars or salutations - opening you up to different ways of moving the body beyond the traditional sun and moon salutations of a typical Vinyasa class. Good for: Finding a deeper meaning in your yoga practise and honouring the history of yoga. Try it when youre feeling: Tired of traditional sun salutations and interested in exploring yogas ancient roots. If youre feeling low or uninspired this could be the perfect practise to help inspire you spiritually and open your body and mind Ulster Bank is set to invest 20m as it looks to improve its digital services, branches and introduce a new business lending platform. Jane Howard, chief executive of the bank, shared news of the investment with the Sunday Independent following its 2019 financial results last week. Ulster Bank reported that operating profit had increased to 55m last year, up from 15m, and that new lending had increased by 13pc. On the investment into the bank's services and new lending platform, Howard said it would be outside of Ulster Bank's mandatory spending. The investment will cover part of the bank's 'digital-first' journey, which will include the redesigning of some branches. This will include digital branches in Swords and Grafton Street, as well as other upgrade works. She said the new business lending platform, aimed at existing customers, is currently in testing with plans for full release later this year. Howard added Ulster Bank hopes to "start having conversations" about the introduction of the Natwest Group's stand-alone digital bank, Bo, which was released in the UK last year, in the second quarter of this year. "So we have a plan to normalise the bank and grow, and then we can look at what Bo can do in Ireland," she said. Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury will give a go-by to the official banquet hosted by President of India for US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, as a mark of protest for not inviting the leader of the principal opposition party. Chowdhury said the Modi government has done away with the tradition of allowing the principal opposition party to hold discussions with the visiting US president, unlike in the past when such meetings were arranged. "I will not attend the banquet hosted by the President on February 25. It is a protest on my behalf," he told PTI. He said the government has not extended an invite to Congress president Sonia Gandhi. "We do not feel good about the change in tradition by the Modi government, when the principal opposition party leaders are ignored during such key visits. In the past, we ensured the principal opposition party leaders meet the visiting dignitaries, including US President George Bush or Barack Obama," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism. New Delhi, Feb 23 : Questioning the interest of the government on the much-hyped Trump visit, the Congress has raised the issue of trade deal and H1B visas which have been reduced by the US administration. Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill said, "The entire nation has been hearing what potential issues US President Donald Trump might raise with Indian government on his upcoming visit. But nobody has exactly heard what issues, questions and concerns PM Modi might highlight to President Trump." "The Prime Minister, who claims to be a very close friend of the US President, needs to ask Trump that why is he so averse to India? Why is there no trade deal?" said Supriya Shrinate, another spokesperson of the party. Raising the demand of H1B visa, Sanjay Jha said, "The denial rate of H1B visas has risen from 6 per cent up to 24 per cent over the last couple of years. It's time we ask these tough questions and don't make Mr Trump's visit a promotional stunt." The Congress had earlier cautioned the government that 'Namaste Trump' event should not become Trump's election campaign for the Indian diaspora. "We would like to see some outcome of this visit, especially in the national interest, rather than becoming a link to the re-election campaign of the US President," said senior Congress leader Anand Sharma. The Congress said the three things that should be kept in mind are the sovereignty, self-respect and national interest of country. A Congress leader said such tours should be serious and not be limited to photo-ops. US President Donald Trump is visiting India on February 24 and 25. Latest updates on Howdy Modi Houston ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, Feb. 21 By Huseyn Hasanov Trend: Turkmenistan has set up an interdepartmental commission on the preparation for the Eurasian Group to Combat Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism (EAG) event, Trend reports with reference to the relevant decree of the country's President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. The matter is about the assessment of Turkmenistan's national system on aforementioned issues. The document was sent to the relevant structures of the country. Turkmenistan joined the EAG in 2010. This opened up opportunities for Turkmenistan to actively participate in the FATF (Financial Action Task Force) and to cooperate with other countries and international organizations in combating money laundering and financing of terrorism. Later, in accordance with the FATF recommendations, an article was introduced on criminal liability for the financing of terrorism. The country has a Financial Monitoring Service under the Finance and Economics Ministry. After actor Laurence Fox clashed with a BBC1 Question Time audience member and denied that the Duchess of Sussex had been a victim of racism, he received vile death threats. Now we can reveal that the rest of his famous showbusiness family have come under fire from woke warriors following his controversial appearance on the BBC show last month. His cousin Freddie was spat at in the street around the time of the incident, while Freddies sister, Silent Witness actress Emilia, has received hateful abuse by online trolls who believe that the pair share Laurences views. A source tells us: Emilia and Freddie are quite sensitive and rarely air their views in public. Now they have been dragged into this argument and they dont know how to deal with it. Laurence Fox, pictured with his cousin Emilia, centre and his brother, Jack, left, has brought misery to his family following his controversial appearance on BBC's Question Time Laurence's cousin Freddie, pictured, has also been targeted with abuse during the controversy The abuse has cast a shadow on Freddies success in the critically acclaimed ITV drama White House Farm, in which he played killer Jeremy Bamber. Freddie should be basking in the glory instead, hes wiping spit off his face, the source says. Emilia is taking things in her stride, but it is frightening how an opinion can cause so much misery to Laurences family. The disgusting attacks come after Laurences Question Time appearance, in which he was dubbed a white privileged male by university lecturer Rachel Boyle during a debate on Meghan. Reacting to claims that the Duchess had been driven out of the UK by racism, the Lewis star, 41, defended Britain as the most tolerant, lovely country in Europe and added: Its so easy to throw the card of racism at everybody and its really starting to get boring now. The Harrow-educated actor, the son of screen veteran James Fox, has long relished the chance to ruffle feathers, once declaring: I feel compelled to be mean to the wokies. investment analysis Selecting a profitable investment is a challenging for many investors. Fortunately, investors can use investment analysis to help them determine how an investment will perform. Here are a few of the most common methods of investment analysis that can help you make better investment decisions. What is Investment Analysis? Investment analysis is a comprehensive term. As a result, it includes a wide variety of calculations and assessments that analyze market trends, investments and financial industries. Meanwhile, analysts may use a variety of metrics including past returns, yield potential, price movement and more to help them make better investment decisions. Types of Investment Analysis With all the data and financial information available, there are a variety of methods analysts and investors use. However, investment analysis can be divided into a few different categories. Bottom-Up Bottom-up analysis assesses individual stocks by using their merits. For example, these merits include pricing power, management competence and valuation. However, this investment analysis method doesnt focus on market or economic cycles to determine asset allocations. Instead, this method looks at the best companies and stocks regardless of the state of the economy and market. In other words, bottom-up analysis has a more microeconomic or small-scale perspective and approach instead of looking at the economy at large. Top-Down Top-Down analysis examines the economic, market and industry trends before making a more specific investment decision. For instance, say an analyst evaluates different industries and found that technologies outperformed financials. Consequently, they may decide to allocate their portfolio with greater weight in financials than technologies. They will then seek out the best-performing companies within the financial sector. In comparison to a bottom-up analysis, an investor may find compelling reasons to purchase a single technology stock and invest a significant amount of capital in the stock. The investor may do this even if the overall outlook on the industry is poor. Story continues Technical Analysis Technical analysis focuses on finding patterns of stock price movements thats discovered through analysis of a securitys prices and volume of share trades. While fundamental analysis focuses on the intrinsic value of a stock, the technical analysis evaluates the strength or weakness of a security by reviewing a variety of analytical charting tools, trading signals, and price movements. For example, lets say the average price of a share over a short period (50 days) surpasses the moving average of a share price for a longer period (200 days) technical analysts might see a buying opportunity. Conversely, if a stocks 50-day moving average price falls below its 200-day moving average, technical analysts might see an opportunity to sell. Keep in mind technical analysis focuses on the actual price of the stock, not the financial strength of the company or industry or economy. Essentially, if you use technical analysis, youre assuming pricing history already reflects all important information. Fundamental Analysis investment analysis Fundamental analysis focuses around the idea that at any given time a companys shares have an intrinsic or enterprise value, which the market will acknowledge eventually. To identify this value, the investor must observe the corporations financial performance. However, fundamental analysts also assess the state of that firms industry and overall economic health. Fundamental analysts use metrics including earnings-per-share (EPS), dividend yield, price-earnings (P/E) ratio, and return on equity to determine the corporations value. This method also focuses on a companys assets, liabilities, and expenses. Analysts will closely examine the firms reports which are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These reports may include the 10-K and 10-Q, as well as sell-side analysts reports on the company. Fundamental Analysis Details Now that you understand the big picture of how fundamental analysts determine a companys value, lets take a deeper dive into some of the metrics that make up this examination. Keep in mind, some investors may solely rely on each individual metric to make an investment decision. Price-Earnings Ratio (P/E) A price-earnings ratio shows the correlation between the price of one share of a stock and the earnings-per-share that the company reports over a period. This period is generally one year. It illustrates the amount of money each investor is putting into the firm for every dollar of earnings the company posts. You can calculate the P/E ratio by dividing the stocks market value per share. Often, investors will compare one stocks P/E to other stocks P/E in the same industry to determine the value of the stocks. Usually, investors consider lower P/E ratios favorable. Earnings Per Share Earnings per share indicates how efficiently revenues filters down to investors. To calculate a companys earnings-per-share investors should take earnings remaining for shareholders divided by the number of outstanding shares. If a company has high earnings per share, investors may identify them as a profitable firm. Book Value Investors may use the price-to-book ratio to identify high-growth companies that are undervalued. While the book value of a company is the total number of assets minus total liabilities, you can calculate the P/B by taking the market price of a companys stock and dividing by the book value of equity. If a company has a low P/B ratio, its viewed as undervalued. Dividend Yield The dividend yield is the relationship between a companys dividend payments and stock price. To calculate the dividend yield you will divide the annual dividend by the current stock price. You can then compare one companys dividend yield to another. Investors may select companies with higher dividend yields if they are seeking to invest in companies with high dividend payments. Return on Equity (ROE) Essentially, the return on equity (ROE) reveals the companys efficiency at turning shareholder investments into profits. ROE takes the net income from a firms income statement and the shareholders equity from its balance sheet. Therefore, if a company liquidates its assets to pay off debt, ROE is the amount thats left over for shareholders. To calculate the ROE, divide a companys net income by its shareholder equity. The higher ROE a company has the better. The Bottom Line investment analysis Selecting the wrong investment opportunity can end up costing you your entire investment or more. While selecting the correct investment opportunity has the potential to help you achieve unlimited gains. Using an investment analysis method can help you make a better and more educated decision. There are plenty of methods of investment analysis to asses an investment opportunity. Including different valuations into your analysis may help you make a better investment decision. The more information and data you can use, the better the evaluation you may be able to achieve. Investment Tips Consider talking to a financial advisor about how investment analysis could improve your investment decisions. Finding the right financial advisor who fits your needs doesnt have to be hard. SmartAssets free tool matches you with financial advisors in your area in five minutes. If youre ready to be matched with local advisors who will help you achieve your financial goals, get started now. Dont assume that your investment strategy needs to depend exclusively on one kind of analysis. You may find that technical analysis works better in some situations while fundamental analysis works better in other situations. Photo credit: iStock.com/PeopleImages, iStock.com/Natali_Mis, iStock.com/A stockphoto The post The Methods of Investment Analysis appeared first on SmartAsset Blog. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-23 15:00:42|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Students attend a celebration activity at the Potala Palace square in Lhasa, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Oct. 1, 2019. (Xinhua/Zhang Rufeng) "I believe you will follow their example and strive to become good doctors trusted by the Party and the people," said Xi in the reply letter. BEIJING, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- President Xi Jinping has encouraged medical students of Tibet University to develop strong skills and serve the people at the primary level ahead of the Tibetan New Year. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks Friday when answering a letter from 17 students who are interning at Peking University Shougang Hospital in Beijing. He also extended festive greetings and best wishes to the students as well as the people of all ethnic groups living in Tibetan areas. Xi said that he was very gratified to learn that the 17 students have not only improved their basic clinical skills but also strengthened their belief in devoting themselves to Tibet's medical and health undertakings during their internship in Beijing. In the ongoing fight against the novel coronavirus, medical workers from military and local hospitals are fighting fearlessly on the frontline and have exemplified angels in white's lofty spirit of healing the wounded and rescuing the dying with their actions. "I believe you will follow their example and strive to become good doctors trusted by the Party and the people," said Xi in the reply letter, expressing the hope that the students will cherish their study time, sharpen their ability, go to places where they are most needed after graduation and work for the wellbeing of the people, particularly those at the primary level. The 17 students enrolled in clinical medicine at the School of Medicine of Tibet University in 2015 began their 11-month internship at the Peking University Shougang Hospital in June 2019 under a university aid project. In a recent letter to Xi, the students reported on their attainments during the internship and expressed their gratitude to the Party and the country, and their resolution to serve the motherland and contribute to their hometown. A group of officials including member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors Michele Park Steele, from third left, Rep. Harley Rouda, Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris and Costa Mesa Mayor Katrina Foley, hold a news conference in Costa Mesa, Calif., on Feb. 22, 2020. (Mindy Schauer/The Orange County Register via AP) Federal Judge Blocks Southern California Site for Coronavirus Quarantine A federal judge temporarily blocked the U.S. government from transferring as many as 50 people infected with the novel coronavirus to a local facility in Costa Mesa, California, after pushback by some local officials. The officials argued that the federal government had provided no details about how neighborhoods in the Orange County city would be protected from COVID-19, which has triggered lockdowns in dozens of Chinese cities since it emerged late last year. Costa Mesa filed a legal request Feb. 21 to halt the plan to hold 30 to 50 patients who tested positive at the Fairview Developmental Center, which is located near several neighborhoods, unless the facility is deemed suitable for quarantine, according to the Los Angeles Times. It is certainly not an isolated location, Costa Mesa Mayor Katrina Foley told the L.A. Times. It would certainly be important for us as the lead city to know what the plan is. That prompted U.S. District Judge Josephine L. Staton to issue a temporary restraining order to halt the move before setting a hearing for Feb. 24 at 2 p.m. According to The Associated Press, California Governors Office of Emergency Services informed the city that federal officials had been planning on transporting the infected patients as early as Feb. 23. City officials said they werent involved in the planning. The city has not been part of any of the process that led to the consideration of the site, and it would be unfair to not include us in this kind of significant decision that has great impact on our community, Foley told the Orange County Register. A Chinese guard wears a protective mask and suit as he waits to check temperatures and register people entering a building in a commercial area in Beijing, China, on Feb. 21, 2020. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images) Its not clear where the coronavirus patients are currently being held. On Feb. 22, the Orange County Health Care Agency said that it was told Feb. 20 about the state of Californias intent to transfer patients from Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield to Fairview. The transportation, monitoring, and care of these individuals would be entirely managed by state and federal representatives, the department said in a statement, the L.A. Times reported. But officials havent been given key details including the operational plans or the services involved, according to the local health agency. California Health and Human Services Agency said it is working with federal health officials to relocate people who were evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan to Travis Air Force Base. It noted that anyone who tested positive for COVID-19 cant stay at the base and must be sent to the hospital or quarantined elsewhere. If Fairview were chosen, the federal government would be responsible for providing health careeasing the burden on our hospitals during flu seasonand for providing robust security to ensure the public safety and public health of the surrounding community, the California Health and Human Services Agency said in a statement. During a Costa Mesa news conference about the proposal, protesters arrived with signs, including one that read, Dont turn our city into another Wuhan, referring to the Chinese city where the virus is believed to have originated. Locals deserve to know who made the decision to put Fairview on the list of sites for quarantine, said Rep. Harley Rouda (D-Calif.). For something as serious as the coronavirus, this is not the time to have a breakdown in communication, he said, according to the OC Register. So far, in the United States, there have been at least 35 confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Youth Akali Dal (YAD) on Sunday held district level protest rallies across the state against Punjab DGP Dinkar Gupta for making offensive remarks against the Sikhs by painting them as "terrorists". The YAD workers took out processions through the markets of Muktsar, Amritsar Sahib, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Faridkot, and other districts while raising slogans against DGP and Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi and also burnt their effigies. Speaking to media, youth leaders Gurpartap Singh Tikka and Talbir Singh Gill said that the DGP should be immediately dismissed from the top post for propagating falsehood against a peace-loving community which always stood for the protection of the underprivileged sections of the society. "By calling the Kartarpur Sahib visiting Sikh pilgrimages as people who can be easily lured to terrorism, Punjab DGP has proved that he was deliberately attempting to malign the image of the Sikhs, for which he seemed to have received direct orders from 10 Janpath in New Delhi," they said. The YAD demanded a public apology from Gupta for hurting religious sentiments of the Sikhs worldwide. The protestors said that the DGP had committed an act of sacrilege by labelling all Sikh devotees as potential terrorists who had visited the holy place of Shri Kartarpur Sahib. "Gupta must explain that how many out of 50,000 devotees visiting the sacred place had become terrorists?" they said. Earlier, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia had condemned the DGP's reported remark where he had said that 'Kartarpur has the potential...you send someone in the morning and by evening he is a trained terrorist.' "This is highly unacceptable. The DGP is furthering Indira Gandhi's ideology, which painted every Sikh as a terrorist. It is a deep-rooted conspiracy," said Majithia during a press conference here. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Kyren Gregory Perry-Jones (left) and Cailyn Marie Smith were charged for allegedly running the two teenage bicyclists off the road for expressing their support for President Trump (Hobard Police) Indiana Couple Drives Teenagers With Trump Flags Off the Road Two teenage twin brothers were allegedly driven off the road and assaulted by an adolescent couple who were not happy with the boys support for President Trump. The 14-year-old twins from Hobart, Indiana, were riding their bikes embellished with Trump 2020 campaign flags on July 22 last year when they were followed by a young Indiana couple in a blue Chevrolet Malibu, according to court records. The charges could only be filed recently because the police had to wait for months to obtain clearance of the video footage from Instagram, the Northwest-Indiana reported. According to an affidavit filed by Hobart Police and based on two Snapchat videos of the event, the Chevy was operated by 23-year old Kyren Gregory Perry-Jonesnext to him, his 18-year-old girlfriend Cailyn Marie Smith. The videos were apparently shot by the perpetrators themselves in order to immortalize the event by uploading footage of it to Instagram. Perry-Jones asked them whether they were Trump supporters. The lads contended they were. The video then shows how Perry-Jones forced the boys off the road with an abrupt lurch. HOBART, Ind. Police say a northwestern Indiana couple allegedly drove two teenage boys off a roadway they were riding along with flags supporting President Donald Trump attached to their bicycles. https://t.co/rBugppNJOb Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) February 22, 2020 Yall better get home, Perry-Jones can allegedly be heard yelling while following the boys through a couple of yards. He then tells Smith, to pull that flag down, upon Smith replies with, Get closer. Yall scared, just like your president, Smith can be heard yelling. America is not great, she added, followed by an expletive, according to the affidavit. When the boys came to a standstill, Perry-Jones tears one of the boys flags down. He can furthermore be heard threatening the youths by saying they should not show up downtown, otherwise, he might beat them up. Only after one of the boys threatens to call the police does the couple take off, but not before running over the seized flag with their car. Perry-Jones and Smith were charged with two felony counts of intimidation and criminal recklessness and one count each of theft and criminal mischief, both of which are misdemeanors. The incident caused quite a stir on social media. Conservative journalist Andy Ngo also shared his comment on Twitter. Indiana: Kyren Gregory Perry-Jones & Cailyn Marie Smith have been arrested & charged for allegedly forcing two teens riding bicycles adorned with Trump flags off the road. Police say they swerved at the boys & then got out to tear off one of the flags. https://t.co/AMESSxkKpI pic.twitter.com/Nqbvn1bDc9 Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) February 21, 2020 This is an unfortunate event that involved two brothers expressing their support for President Trump, Hobart Police Capt. James Gonzales said, the Northwest-Indiana reported. Our residents in Hobart should be able to express their support for any political affiliation without fear of any adverse recourse. The Hobart Police Department will continue to serve the Hobart residents to ensure they are free to express their support for whomever they choose and we will tirelessly work to preserve their 1st Amendment Rights under the United States Constitution. From NTD News Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-23 13:58:32|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- President Xi Jinping has encouraged medical students of Tibet University to develop strong skills and serve the people at the primary level ahead of the Tibetan New Year. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks Friday when answering a letter from 17 students who are interning at Peking University Shougang Hospital in Beijing. He also extended festive greetings and best wishes to the students as well as the people of all ethnic groups living in Tibetan areas. Xi said that he was very gratified to learn that the 17 students have not only improved their basic clinical skills but also strengthened their belief in devoting themselves to Tibet's medical and health undertakings during their internship in Beijing. In the ongoing fight against the novel coronavirus, medical workers from military and local hospitals are fighting fearlessly on the frontline and have exemplified angels in white's lofty spirit of healing the wounded and rescuing the dying with their actions. "I believe you will follow their example and strive to become good doctors trusted by the Party and the people," said Xi in the reply letter, expressing the hope that the students will cherish their study time, sharpen their ability, go to places where they are most needed after graduation and work for the wellbeing of the people, particularly those at the primary level. The 17 students enrolled in clinical medicine at the School of Medicine of Tibet University in 2015 began their 11-month internship at the Peking University Shougang Hospital in June 2019 under a university aid project. In a recent letter to Xi, the students reported on their attainments during the internship and expressed their gratitude to the Party and the country, and their resolution to serve the motherland and contribute to their hometown. By PTI NEW DELHI: The US Embassy on Sunday said it did not have any objection to the presence of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia during US First Lady Melania Trump's visit to a Delhi government school, but at the same time appreciated their "recognition that it is not a political event". Delhi government sources on Saturday said Kejriwal and Sisodia will not attend the event as their names were dropped from the guest list. "While US Embassy had no objection to the presence of CM and Deputy CM, we appreciate their recognition that this isn't a political event and that it's best to ensure focus is on education, school, and students," a spokesperson in the US embassy said following a media query on the issue. ALSO READ: Melania Trump's visit to Delhi school - Roads repaired, saplings planted to welcome US first lady Melania, wife of US President Donald Trump, is scheduled to visit the school on Monday to watch "happiness classes" and interact with the students. The sources in Delhi government said the US embassy communicated to the city administration on Saturday morning that names of Kejriwal and Sisodia do not figure in the list of invitees for the event. According to the original schedule, Kejriwal and Sisodia were to welcome Melania at the school and brief her about rationale behind introduction of happiness classes as well as Delhi government's overall reform initiatives in the education sector. Expressing anguish over exclusion of names of the two leaders from the event, Aam Aadmi Party spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj said it has been a "protocol" and "convention" that state leaders are present when any foreign leader attends events in their states. He also alleged that the names of Kejriwal and Sisodia have been dropped from the guest list at the behest of the BJP-led central government. When asked about the issue of Kejriwal not being part of the guestlist for Melania's visit to the Delhi school, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said that there shouldn't be any "low-level politics or petty politics" on issues which are of national interest. The Delhi government introduced the happiness curriculum in July 2018. As per the curriculum, students studying in classes I-VIII at Delhi government schools spend 45 minutes every day to attend "happiness classes" where they participate in activities like storytelling, meditation and question and answer sessions. Similarly, for nursery and kindergarten students, the classes are held twice a week. The Arvind Kejriwal-led government has been spending a large chunk of its budget on education in the city. Steve 'Commando' Willis is reportedly off the market, just a month after his split from Michelle Bridges made headlines. The former Biggest Loser star, 43, is rumoured to be dating Sydney-based F45 trainer Harika Vancuylenberg (also known as Harika Yazdre), with friends telling New Idea he is already 'smitten' with his new girlfriend. 'They have a lot in common training, healthy lifestyles, both single parents and [they] just really enjoy each other's company,' a source told the magazine. 'They're smitten!' Steve 'Commando' Willis (left) is reportedly dating F45 trainer Harika Vancuylenberg (right), and she looks just like his ex-girlfriend Michelle Bridges The couple reportedly met in November, when Harika attended Steve's fitness retreat in Tahiti. The mother-of-two - who is the spitting image of Michelle - gushed over Commando on social media after meeting him for the first time. A female friend who was also on the retreat wrote on Instagram: 'Highlight of the trip - Commando in swimming briefs.' Harika responded: 'Especially when there [sic] panda ones.' Paradise: The couple reportedly met in November, when Harika attended Steve's fitness retreat in Tahiti The perfect fit! Harika (pictured) is a mother-of-two and has a passion for health and fitness Gym junkies: Harika and Steve are pictured working out together in Tahiti in November Say cheese! Commando is pictured with Harika and two female friends at the Tahitian retreat She's a fan! Harika gushed over Commando on Instagram after meeting him for the first time Steve and Harika's friendship later evolved into a romance once he had broken up with Michelle, according to Woman's Day. Daily Mail Australia has contacted to Steve Willis and Harika Vancuylenberg for comment. Michelle confirmed her split from Steve last month, after she had been caught drink driving with her son, Axel, in the car on Australia Day. They could be sisters! Harika (left) is the spitting image of Steve's ex Michelle Bridges (right) Who is Harika Vancuylenberg? Harika Vancuylenberg (also known as Harika Yazdre) is a Sydney-based F45 trainer and mother-of-two According to her F45 gym's Facebook page, Harika is 'the pocket rocket powerhouse of motivation that never lets you slack off!' One client wrote of Harika on Facebook last year: 'She whipped me into shape in one week. You're a great motivation and thank you for that' Harika works for several gyms around Sydney teaching boxing and ZUU, a trendy workout inspired by animal movements She is also the spitting image of Steve's ex-girlfriend Michelle Bridges Advertisement While describing her actions as 'inexcusable', she revealed in the wake of her arrest that she had been dealing with 'emotional turmoil' following her break-up. Michelle and Steve met while filming The Biggest Loser in 2007, at a time when they were both in relationships with other people. They began dating in 2015, after splitting from their respective partners, and welcomed Axel in December that year. Throwback: Michelle and Steve met while filming The Biggest Loser in 2007, at a time when they were both in relationships with other people In May 2019, Woman's Day reported that the couple were heading for a split due to their 'frequent arguments'. 'The relationship has become increasingly toxic in the past 12 months,' a source claimed at the time. 'They are constantly bickering over everything, from work to parenting to what to have for dinner.' The US has surpassed China to become India's top trading partner, showing greater economic ties between the two countries. According to the data of the commerce ministry, in 2018-19, the bilateral trade between the US and India stood at $87.95 billion. During the period, India's two-way commerce with China aggregated at $87.07 billion. Similarly, during April-December 2019-20, the bilateral trade between the US and India stood at $68 billion. It stood at $64.96 billion with China in the same period. Trade experts believe that the trend will continue in the coming years also as New Delhi and Washington are engaged in further deepening the economic ties. An expert said that if the countries will finalise a (FTA), then the bilateral trade would reach at different levels. "FTA with US will be very beneficial for India as the US is the biggest market for domestic goods and services," Federation of Indian Export organisations Director General Ajay Sahai said. He said that India's exports as well as imports are increasing with the US, while with China both are declining. America is one of the few countries with which India has a trade surplus. On the other hand, India has a huge trade deficit with China. In 2018-19, India has a trade surplus of USD 16.85 billion with America, while it has a deficit of $53.56 billion with the neighbouring country. The data showed that China was India's top trading partner since 2013-14 till 2017-18. Before China, UAE was the country's largest trading nation. A top American business advocacy group has said that a between India and the US is a key to resolving their trade disputes as it will cover biggest irritants in ties, including tariffs and mobility of Indian professionals. Professor at Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) Rakesh Mohan Joshi said that India should be a bit cautious while negotiating a trade pact with the US in areas, including agriculture and food products, as America is the world's largest producer and exporter of certain commodities like maize and soybean. "A trade deal between the US and India would further increase the trade between the two countries easing tariff restriction and opening up of bigger market for products. India is a major exporter of steel, steel products and aluminium products with combined exports of $22.7 billion last year. "Steel exports to the US have continued to decline and it went down from $372 million in 2017-18 to USD 247 million last year. This is only 2.5 per cent of our overall USD 9.74 billion steel export to the world," Pawan Gupta, the Founder and CEO of online trade platform Connect2India observed. Commenting on trade with China, Gupta said despite the fall in volume exports to the Asian neighbour increased 25 per cent last year to $16.7 billion while imports decreased by around 8 per cent to $70.3 billion last year. The major reduction in imports from India has been on electrical machinery, equipment and apparatus category, the CEO said. India and the US were negotiating a limited trade pact, which now has a bleak chance to be signed during the two-day visit of US President Donald Trump, beginning February 24. India is demanding cut in visa fees, exemption from high duties imposed by the US on certain steel and aluminium products, and greater market access for its products from sectors such as agriculture, automobile, automobile components and engineering. On the other hand, the US wants greater market access for its farm and manufacturing products, dairy items, medical devices, and data localisation, apart from cut on import duties on some information and communication technology products. The US has also raised concerns over high trade deficit with India. Bansy Kalappa By Express News Service BENGALURU: Home Minister Basavraj Bommai is considered a close confidante of Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa and it reflects in the all-important Home portfolio he holds in the state cabinet. Till recently, he also had the additional charge of the powerful cooperation ministry. Son of former Chief Minister SR Bommai, he was the water resources minister in the BJP government in 2008. He spoke at length on issues ranging from Amulya Leona raising a pro-Pakistan slogan, anti-CAA protests across the state that are refusing to die down, police action against protesters in Bidar and Mangalore, an anonymous letter circulating against BS Yediyurappa and a meeting of alleged party dissidents at Jagadish Shettars house. Here are the excerpts. The law and order situation in the state has been challenging over the last few weeks with anti-CAA protests refusing to die down. Like Shaheen Bagh in Delhi, Bilal Bagh too has become the centre of anti-CAA protests in Bengaluru... It is a political conspiracy. While they (the opposition) are not ready to discuss the issue in Parliament, they are trying to mislead the people and make big noise. This violence is being supported by them. In the Lok Sabha, both Home Minister Amit Shahji and PM Narendra Modiji have answered the questions raised. Opposition parties and radical organisations have whipped up an atmosphere of fear among the minorities, and the apprehensions these groups have against CAA are false. The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is about giving citizenship, not taking it away from anyone. Could the police have been a little more sensitive in dealing with the challenges in Mangalore and Bidar? I have answered this issue extensively in the legislature and I dont want to repeat myself. But for the record, the Bidar issue is sub-judice as the case is before the court, while the Mangalore issue is under inquiry. What do you have to say about protester Amulya Leona shouting a pro-Pakistan slogan during an All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) rally? The police are investigating her antecedents. We are looking for answers to questions like who is backing her and who has trained her. We are investigating the case from all angles, and the police are checking all details. She comes from an area where Naxalism has strong roots and that too is being checked. What about the anonymous letter asking Chief Minister Yediyurappa to step down and some BJP legislators meeting at the residence of Industries Minister Jagadish Shettar? B S Yediyurappa is the tallest leader of BJP in the state. No one can challenge him or even come close to his stature or popularity. Let me assure the people of the state that he is not only going to complete the remaining three-and-a-half-years of his term, but also continue to lead the state beyond this term. Yediyurappas son B Y Vijayendra too has been named in the anonymous letter... As someone who has studied political developments in the state for long, I can tell you that during any period when a leader grows strong, his detractors aim at soft targets around him. Remember, during Yediyurappas first term as CM, they went after his secretary and very upright officer V P Baligar. Similarly, during the then chief minister Ramakrishna Hegdes time, they targeted his family members. During Deve Gowdas tenure as chief minister and then prime minister, they went after certain members of his family. This is one constant in Karnatakas politics, and it does not worry us at all. Since we have a strong and capable chief minister, who is leading the party wonderfully, such challenges from opponents are bound to arise. Are unfulfilled ministerial ambitions of Umesh Katti a cause for concern? Umesh Katti is our own party man and our leadership is fully equipped to and capable of taking a decision on accommodating him suitably. Agra city has turned into a fortress with the deployment of over 6,000 security personnel, including 250 National Security Guard (NSG) commandos and two teams of commandos from the Uttar Pradesh Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS), to provide foolproof security during US President Donald Trumps visit to the Taj city on Monday. Besides, around 500 cops will ensure smooth flow of traffic during the VVIPs movement in the city. Officiating UP Director General of Police (DGP) HC Awasthi said an elaborate security plan has been drawn up in consultation with the national security agencies for all the likely routes and destinations to be used and visited by the US President respectively. He said the national agencies are already camping in Agra and working in close coordination with the UP Police. All VVIP routes in the city have been divided into five zones and 15 sectors while separate security arrangements have been made for each zone/sector. Donald Trumps entourage including the first lady Melania Trump and his daughter Ivanka , will land at the Agra Airport on Monday afternoon and spent around three hours in the city mainly spent visiting the Taj Mahal. He said SP (superintendant of police) and ASP (assistant superintendant of police) rank officers were in charge of each zone and sector, respectively. They will be assisted by 65 DySPs (deputy superintendant of police) and 400 inspectors and sub-inspectors. As many as 2,500 civil police constables will remain deployed all through the routes during the US Presidents visit, added Awasthi. Apart from civil police, at least 30 companies of armed police (around 3,000 police personnel) will be deployed for route security. Armed cops will also be deployed for roof-top duties on all routes through which Trump is expected to pass. These areas have already been sanitised by anti-sabotage and anti-mine squads, he said, adding, There will also be aerial surveillance in the city during the VVIPs stay. He said dog squads and bomb disposal squads have been deployed at places that are likely to be visited by the US President. Proper structures must be instituted to ... Mumbai: A fresh controversy erupted over the statement made by former AIMIM MLA Waris Pathan that 15 crore Muslims are heavy on 100 crore. Hitting out at the MLA, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLC Girish Vyas on Saturday said Pathan should remember what happened in Gujarat. Meanwhile, AIMIM MLA said that his statement was not anti-Hindu. Vyas, who is also a BJP spokesperson, urged the Muslim community to boycott people like Pathan. We request the Muslim community to boycott such people. The community should teach a lesson to those who are trying to create disharmony in the society, he added. The MLC from Nagpur warned Pathan saying Indias youths and patriots and every BJP worker is ready to give a befitting reply to him in the same language he used. While addressing the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) rally at Kalaburagi in Karnataka on February 16, Pathan had allegedly said, We have to move together. We have to take Azadi (freedom). Things that we dont get by asking, we have to take it by force, remember it...15 crore is heavy on 100 crore, remember it. The MLC also urged Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to take action against Pathan for sedition and said that the Indian government should send him to Pakistan. We are tolerant and patient, but this not does mean that we cannot deal with them. Remember Gujarat and the incidents that happened in Kalupur. If they take that into account...I feel the Muslims there today do not dare to rise again, he said. Vyas was apparently referring to the 2002 post-Godhra riots in Gujarat, which killed over 1,000 people, mostly from the minority community. The BJP leader also dared Pathan to come to his city. We will make proper arrangements for you. Do you think we are wearing bangles? We are ready to deal with you. But we feel that there should not be any disharmony in the society, he said. Meanwhile, Pathan has said that his statement was not anti-Hindu. My statement has been distorted and is being used to malign me and my party. I had said that 15 crore Muslims are against 100 people, who belong to the RSS and BJP. Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris said on Sunday that he was holding talks to acquire a 51% stake in the state-owned Shalateen mining company. Sawiris chairs private gold mining group La Mancha and had said that he intended to invest in gold and copper mining in Egypt if investment conditions improved. Egypt in January issued new regulations that appeared to eliminate the need for mining companies to form joint ventures with the government and to limit state royalties to a maximum 20%. Search Keywords: Short link: Business conglomerate has won a bid to acquire Aditya Estates Pvt Ltd, which holds a posh 3.4 acre residential property near Mandi House in the heart of the national capital, through an insolvency process for a total deal value of Rs 400 crore. The Delhi-based Principal bench of the (NCLT) has approved the resolution plan of Adani Properties to acquire Aditya Estates for Rs 265 crore. Another Rs 135 crore would go towards meeting the statutory charges, taking the total deal value to Rs 400 crore. The Committee of Creditors (CoC) of Aditya Estates led by ICICI Bank PLC had already approved by 93.01 per cent vote share, Adani's Rs 400 crore offer, which includes an upfront payment of Rs 265 crore. According to the list of resolution applicants submitted on June 27, 2019 nine resolution applicants had shown their interests for the property, which include Narayana Murthy,Malvinder Singh, Anil Rai Gupta, Paras Pramod Agarwal besides others as Dalmia Cement (Bharat), Veena Investments, Welspun Logistics, Adani Properties and Panch Tatva Promoters. However, only two of them -- Adani Propertiesand Veena Investments -- had submitted their resolution plans. Later, the COC rejected Rs 225 crore offer from Veena Investments as it found it to be non-compliant and conditional. Besides, it did not take into account any liability that may arise from NDMC for house tax, sales tax and Income Tax in future. During the ?nal hearing while granting approval to the sale, Spirit Infrapower, a dissenting ?nancial creditor had raised objection before on the ground that the firm has reduced its offer from Rs 400 crore to Rs 265 crore, thereby the main object of the IBC Code to maximise the value of assets of the Corporate Debtor has been defeated. It has also contended that the liquidation value of the property was Rs 306 crore and the resolution plan was much lower sum of Rs 265 crore. However, the resolution professional and CoC submitted that the reduction/adjustment was done to meet the liabilities arising out of the transaction payable to NDMC for conversion of property tofree hold, property tax, stamp duty and other related charges. As per the request for resolution plan (RFRP) was to provide a resolution plan to acquire on an as is where is basis, resolution applicants were asked to de-link the risks and to remove contingency and uncertainty. The rational for reduction of the financial proposal is as per the estimates. The cost of conversion and other associated payments were estimated at Rs 177 crore and can exceed beyond it, they submitted. Accordingly, the financial proposal was reduced from conditional Rs 400 crore to ?xed upfront payment of Rs 265 crore, which was accepted by CoC with overwhelming majority of 93.01 per cent votes," it said. Over the valuation, RP and CoC said that Aditya Estates Private is a the leasehold immovable property and the property is held on a leasehold basis from the Land and Development Office, Ministry of Urban Housing Affairs (L&DO). It further said that the liquidator had said that buyer would have to pay the conversion charges to L&DO and after considering this, the liquidation value of the property is reduced to half by Rs 153 crore. Allowing the deal and rejecting dissenting financial creditor's submission, in its order passed on February 14 said: It is well settled proposition of law that commercial and business decisions of CoC are not open to judicial review. Adjudicating Authority (NCLT) cannot enquire into the commercial wisdom of CoC. has directed to appoint a monitoring committee' comprised of ?ve members constituting RP and two representatives of Adani Power and approving ?nancial creditors. Earlier, NCLT had on February 26, 2019 had admitted the plea filed by ICICI Bank UK PLC to initiate insolvency proceedings against Aditya Estates. ICICI Bank UK PLC claimed to be a financial creditor of Aditya Estates on account of debt of USD 63 million granted to Assam Oil Company, an overseas company. It had contended that as per terms of debt asset swap agreement Aditya Estates defaulted to pay the debt. Later, NCLT order to initiate insolvency was challenged by Aditya Kumar Jajodia, a shareholder of Aditya Estates, before National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), which also rejected in September 5, last year. Bellingcat says Mr. Krasikov, who traveled under a fake name, is the man charged by German federal prosecutors with the shooting in Berlin on Aug. 23 of Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, a former Chechen rebel field commander, who had fought Russia in the Second Chechen War. An ethnic Chechen and citizen of Georgia, Khangoshvili sought asylum in Germany after previous attempts on his life. He was shot in the head and shoulder from behind with a Glock-26 pistol. His alleged killer was apprehended after witnesses saw him ditch the weapon, a wig and a bicycle in the nearby River Spree. Australia could have a new mental health tax or a rise in the Medicare levy to pay for the massive costs of sweeping reform to the neglected sector under a new plan proposed by the Victorian government. Loading The idea of using a higher Medicare levy or a whole new federal tax has been raised at meetings between Victoria and the Commonwealth as the two governments discuss their response to the mental health crisis. The Andrews Labor government revealed on Sunday that mental health claims to WorkCover may have topped $700 million last year, with the cost to the economy expected to continue to soar and for claims to increase by 34 per cent in the coming decade. WorkSafe says one in five Victorian workers will suffer a mental injury in their job each year, a figure described as staggering by the state's Mental Health Minister Martin Foley on Sunday. A 77-year-old man has become the first Hongkonger to die in mainland China from the coronavirus, the Hong Kong government said on Sunday, as thousands of the citys residents remain stranded in the epicentre of the deadly epidemic. The Wuhan residents death came as Hong Kongs largest mainland-friendly political party and a trade union grouping said they had received hundreds of requests for help from pregnant women, families with infants, and chronically ill patients trapped in Hubei province, and in desperate need of assistance. The Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (FTU) and Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) said they had received 683 requests in total including from nine women at various stages of pregnancy and that there was growing frustration at the governments lack of help. While it is not clear how many of these are overlapping cases, as some may have contacted both the FTU and DAB, it underscores the scale of the problem facing a government criticised for its handling of the crisis. Four more people in Hong Kong were confirmed to have been infected on Sunday, bringing the citys total to 74. The administration has not announced any evacuation plans for some 2,700 Hongkongers who have been stuck in 10 cities across the province. On Saturday, it issued a vague statement saying the government was working on a practicable plan to bring them back in batches. On Sunday, the Hong Kong governments Wuhan Economic and Trade Office said it had contacted three pregnant women, whose due dates are in the next two months, to learn about their situations and health conditions, as well as offer them advice. A spokesman said the three were staying in the cities of Xiaogan, Yingcheng and Qianjiang, and the Wuhan office had contacted the foreign affairs offices of those cities and requested they take care of the pregnant women. The Wuhan office will continue to strengthen communication with those groups of Hong Kong people with special needs with a view to providing them with practicable assistance, a spokesman for the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau said. Story continues According to the Hong Kong government, 10 Hongkongers, from three families, have been infected. Nine were being treated in local hospitals, with one in critical condition and the others stable. One person had been discharged. A 77-year-old Hong Kong man, who lived in Wuhan, had died, the government said, and his family in Guangzhou had been contacted. China announced an unprecedented plan to lock down provincial capital Wuhan on January 23, and quickly extended the travel ban to the whole province. With the vast majority of the global 78,800 coronavirus infections reported in Hubei, there is no sign that the lockdown will be relaxed any time soon. On Sunday, President Xi Jinping described it as the greatest public health crisis in the countrys modern history and warned against any complacency. That means bringing quick relief for stranded Hongkongers will be difficult. Both the FTU and DAB said the most urgent cases were the pregnant women, who were scattered in less developed cities away from Wuhan. A 34-year-old woman surnamed Kam is 5 months into her pregnancy. She is in Huangshi city with her husband and two children, who are three and six years old, according to DAB legislator Elizabeth Quat. She told me that she dares not to go to local hospitals even when feeling unwell as shes scared of getting infected, Quat said. The family has been so anxious, as they are almost running out of cash for supplements and daily necessities while the local banks are closed. According to FTU lawmaker Michael Luk Chung-hung, three families with infants under six months also said they had difficulties getting baby milk formula as many shops were closed. While the Hong Kong government earlier said it would deliver medication to Hongkongers in Hubei, baby milk formula and other supplements for pregnant women were not on the list. Even those getting help from the government complained about the waiting time, Luk said. A Hong Kong mother who was stranded in Yichang told Luk that her eight-year-old daughter suffered several epileptic seizures before her medication arrived. They had requested the government to have the medicines delivered to them almost a month ago since the lockdown, but only received them in recent days, he said. There are also at least 45 Hong Kong students trapped in Hubei, according to education sector lawmaker Ip Kin-yuen, including three who have to sit the upcoming Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education exams, which are scheduled to start in late March. He said the students and their parents were worried that missing the exams could affect their future. The question is, why is the Hong Kong government unable to give a clear plan after a month? Ip said. Political commentator Johnny Lau Yui-siu said Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor may feel it was politically incorrect to request the evacuation of Hongkongers at a time when the local authorities were told to double down on their efforts. He said Lam should bring the case directly to Beijing and to evacuate at least those with special needs. Another potential headache for the government was to find space to quarantine those returning from Hubei, Lau said. Earlier efforts to bring home passengers on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan and quarantine them in empty public housing estates in Fo Tan had met stiff resistance from the local community. Meanwhile, the city continues to grapple with fresh infections, with the total number reaching 74 confirmed cases. That total could climb, after medical sources revealed late on Sunday that four Diamond Princess passengers had tested preliminary positive. Earlier, four more people were confirmed with the coronavirus on Sunday, including two who had recently visited a North Point Buddhist workshop. The Centre for Health Protection said one of the new cases was a 68-year-old man who recently flew back on a government-chartered flight from Japan. Another was a 62-year-old man who lives in the Choi Tin House, Hing Tin Estate in Lam Tin. He is a security guard of the building, and has not travelled outside Hong Kong recently. The man attended a company dinner with 17 other people on February 10 at the Silvercord shopping centre in Tsim Sha Tsui. The other two cases both involve the Fook Wai Ching She Buddhist worship hall at Maylun Apartments on Kings Road in North Point. An 80-year-old woman was confirmed to have been infected after visiting the worship hall on February 8. Another 76-year-old woman who lives in that building and also visited the Buddhist hall developed a fever on February 13 and is now confirmed to have been infected. This took the total number of confirmed infections among those who have visited the Buddhist hall to four. Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan from the Centre for Health Protection said about 30 people contacted the government because they had visited the worship hall recently and feared they could be infected. Elsewhere, the number of cases continued to surge. In South Korea, Singapore and Iran, clusters of infections raised concerns among medical experts, who could not trace the point of origin. World Health Organisation officials said Chinas stringent crackdown bought time for the rest of the world to prepare for the new virus. But as hotspots emerge around the globe, the difficulty in finding each source the first patient who sparks every new cluster might signal the disease has begun spreading too widely for tried-and-true public health steps to stamp it out. A number of spot fires, occurring around the world is a sign that things are ticking along, and what we are going to have here is probably a pandemic, said Ian Mackay, who studies viruses at Australias University of Queensland. That worst-case scenario was not here yet, the WHO insisted. It was not convinced countries outside China needed more draconian measures, but pointed to spikes in cases in Iran and South Korea to warn that time may be running out to contain the virus. What we see is a very different phase of this outbreak depending where you look, the WHOs Dr Sylvie Briand said. We see different patterns of transmission in different places. Additional reporting by Alvin Lum, Phila Siu and Ng Kang-chung More from South China Morning Post: This article Trapped and desperate: expectant mothers among Hongkongers stranded in epicentre of deadly coronavirus with no help in sight first appeared on South China Morning Post For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2020. Federal Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese has called for a cap on political donations following revelations Clive Palmer gave a record $80 million to his United Australia Party ahead of the 2019 election. Mr Albanese has now committed to a new Labor policy of putting caps on donations from individuals, businesses and organisations like unions, and for real-time disclosure at a federal level. Labor leader Anthony Albanese has called for a cap on political donations. Credit:AAP, Glenn Hunt "It's quite clear that Australians are losing faith with the political system. And when an individual can spend $80 million, our democracy shouldn't be for sale," Mr Albanese told the ABC on Sunday morning, adding that states like NSW already have caps. "You need to have a sensible discussion about people being able to participate in our democracy. They should be able to donate," he said. Phuket Opinion: Bangkok says so PHUKET: Phuket Provincial Public Health Office (PPHO) Chief Thanit Sermkaew deserves some credit for going public with an explanation of why the mandatory daily updates on the Wuhan coronavirus situation in Phuket suddenly went silent on actual information last week. opiniontourismhealthChinesetransportCoronavirusCOVID-19 By The Phuket News Sunday 23 February 2020, 09:00AM Secretary of the Minister of Public Health Watcharapong Koowijitsuwan presided over the Big Cleaning Day event staged at Phuket International Airport on Wednesday (Feb 19) to show the public that airport staff are keeping common-touch areas clean which airport staff have been doing since the virus broke out. Photo: PR Dept This is by order of the Ministry of Health in Bangkok to not give out any information, he said. No one is going to argue with that. Considering the mess of information that has came out of Bangkok in the past week, it is actually very believable. But to understand the position local officials are in you have to understand that kriengjai dominates nearly every facet of social interaction. Kriengjai translates as consideration, but is also used to describe deference to the point a Thai will not challenge a superiors authority just for the sake of avoiding any conflict. Kriengjai applies as a standard accepted behaviour more so in the realm of officialdom than on the streets. There are serious consequences for calling out your boss as the person responsible for what you are being blamed for, and Mr Thanit deserves support for at least letting us know. However, we still hope that if there were something of such importance that people in Phuket should know, like any actual confirmed virus cases in Phuket, that Dr Thanit would tell us that too. Yet it is the lack of information about the virus situation that is killing any hope that officials can be believed. Clear, accurate details of any persons being identified as even suspected of being infected must be known for public safety. The lack of this information only allows the rumour mill to gain momentum, and in the age of mobile phones and social media, rumours spread much faster than actual reports. Just as an example, one unsubstantiated report circulating the island last week claimed that of the 10 people last reported as just under observation on suspicion of being infected with the virus were infected and were being held in isolation in hospital. This is how dangerous rumours can be and worse, no one in the public sphere knows if it is true. To cite one diplomatic figure speaking frankly to The Phuket News this week about this issue, even one confirmed case would not be terminal for Phuket. We just need to know exactly what is being done about it and that the action taken is appropriate . That would build confidence among tourists that Phuket is likely to be a safe place to visit. But so far, if you want to know who is doing the most damage to Phukets tourism image, it has to be officials in Bangkok. Our weekly roundup of books that should be on your radar. We love stories, and even in the age of Netflix-and-chill, there's nothing like a good book that promises a couple of hours of absorption whether curled up in bed, in your favourite coffeehouse, or that long (and tiresome) commute to work. Every Sunday, we'll have a succinct pick of books, across diverse genres, that have been newly made available for your reading pleasure. Get them wherever you get your books the friendly neighbourhood bookseller, e-retail website, chain store and in whatever form you prefer. Happy reading! For more of our weekly book recommendations, click here. *** FICTION Undertow By Jahnavi Barua Penguin Random House India | Rs 499 | 256 pages Writer Jahnavi Baruas Undertow is the portrait of a family, and of the nature of love. It follows the solitary and restless 25-year-old Loya, who sets off on an unexpected journey to Assam, away from her mother Rukmini and Bengaluru home. She is looking for her Asian elephant Elephas maximus and her grandfather Torun Ram Goswami, whom she has never met before. On this quest, she unravels family history, and develops a deeper understanding of the bonds that hold people together. Read more about the book here. Analog/Virtual and Other Simulations of Your Future By Lavanya Lakshminarayan Hachette India | Rs 399 | 320 pages Writer and game designer Lavanya Lakshminarayans debut is set in the dystopian Apex City, in a future where the worlds nations have collapsed and a few states form civilisation. Bangalore is now rebranded, ruled by Bell Corporation. Here, technology is the key to survival, productivity is power, and the self must be engineered for the sole noble goal in life, success. While the correct values and opinions can make one ascent to the ranks of the Virtual elite, failure to do so means deportation, with no electricity, running water, and no access to ones humanity. Read more about the book here. Read a short story by the author here. The Mercies By Kiran Millwood Hargrave Pan Macmillan India | Rs 699 | 352 pages Award-winning poet and novelist Kiran Millwood Hargraves The Mercies is inspired by the real-life events of the Vard storm, 1620s witch trials, and how suspicion can wriggle its way through a community. As the men of Vard are lost to the waves of the storm, women must fend for themselves. Eighteen months later arrives Absalom Cornet with his wife Ursa. While she sees independent women, he sees only a place flooded by god, one that he must wipe out at all costs. Read more about the book here. MEMOIRS and BIOGRAPHIES Unbroken: The Brussels Terror Attack Survivor By Nidhi Chaphekar Amaryllis | Rs 599 | 354 pages On 22 March, 2016, Nidhi Chaphekar, a cabin crew manager, was assigned the flight from Brussels to Newark. That day at the Brussels airport, a shocking terror attack killed 32 people and injured hundreds, also gravely injuring Chaphekar. In Unbroken, written in the form of a daily journal, Nidhi lays out her life and career as a flight attendant, detailing the trauma and treatment she underwent, and the willpower that helped her through in the aftermath of the incident. Read more about the book here. NON-FICTION Its Not About the Burqa: Muslim Women on Faith, Feminism, Sexuality and Race Edited by Mariam Khan Pan Macmillan India | Rs 599 | 272 pages Edited by intersectional feminist and writer Mariam Khan, Its Not About the Burqa is an essay collection by Muslim women about the contemporary Muslim female experience. Among other things, they talk about the hijab, wavering faith, love, divorce, feminism, queer identity, sex, and the threat of a disapproving community. From activist Mona Eltahawys definition of a revolution to journalist Saima Mirs experience of an arranged marriage, and from author Sufiya Ahmeds Islamic feminist icon to playwright Afshan Dsouza-Lodhis relationship with her hijab, these essays call out the oppression, stereotyping, misogyny, and Islamophobia. Read more about the book here. Ambedkars Preamble: A Secret History of the Constitution of India By Aakash Singh Rathore Penguin Random House India | Rs 599 | 256 pages Philosopher, writer, and teacher Aakash Singh Rathore establishes how and why the Preamble of the Indian Constitution is essentially Ambedkarite, and how its central concepts have their provenance in Ambedkars writing. Although regarded as the chief architect of the Constitution, Ambedkars role in authoring the Preamble is often neglected. In establishing Dr Ambedkars authorship of the Preamble, the book presents a shift from mainstream constitutional history. Read more about the book here. YOUNG READERS Candid Tales: India on a Motorcycle By Adithi Rao HarperCollins India | Rs 299 | 164 pages Writer Adithi Rao and illustrator Ruchi Shahs Candid Tales is based on the five-month-long journey of biker Candida Louis. The book explores the people, cultures, and secret places along the journey. It also introduces younger readers to the spirited and fearless Candida, also inspiring readers to follow their dreams. Read more about the book here. I wrote a few days ago about the very subject that the USA would do some very bad things. I do not know what has happened, but I do know that we as a country (The US) would do some very very bad things to others around the world and we have So I as with many more who like to ask why and how come and what if and would we? Get our answer MOSCOW, February 22. /TASS/. The United States allegations about Russias indulging in misinformation campaign concerning the novel coronavirus origin are a deliberate fake, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told TASS on Saturday. It is a deliberate fake, she said, commenting on media reports that the US Department of State thinks that Russia is behind proliferation of misinformation about the coronavirus outbreak. France Presse said earlier on Saturday citing unnamed US Department Source: US allegations about Russias spreading misinformation about coronavirus seen as fake Russian Politics & Diplomacy TASS As par with the course when truth has to do with the USA. We find ourselves looking around and asking questions and the answer is blatantly obvious to those asking the questions You know when you see something important sidetracked to, Russia Did It! and now even China Did It! That we are worried about the truth and my gut feelings tell me that we will see an avalanche of western propaganda to counter the real truth in the case of the Coronavirus issue I know my thoughts and feelings have been answered when I see the new, Russia Did It! propaganda being spread WtR A report by a French-based charity that helps people who are developmentally disabled has concluded its late Canadian founder had "manipulative sexual relationships" with women over several decades, shocking members of the group that continue his work today. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 22/2/2020 (689 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. In this file photo dated Wednesday, March 11, 2015, showing Jean Vanier, the founder of L'ARCHE, an international network of communities where people with and without intellectual disabilities live and work together, in central London. An internal report revealed Saturday Feb. 22, 2020, that L'Arche founder Vanier, a respected Canadian religious figure, sexually abused at least six women. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Lefteris Pitarakis, FILE A report by a French-based charity that helps people who are developmentally disabled has concluded its late Canadian founder had "manipulative sexual relationships" with women over several decades, shocking members of the group that continue his work today. L'Arche International says in a report summary that Jean Vanier, who died last year at the age of 90, had relationships with at least six women between 1970 and 1995, some of whom said Vanier "used his power over them to take advantage of them through different kinds of sexual behaviours." The report notes that none of the women were disabled. However, it said all described their vulnerability, sometimes coming from difficult family backgrounds or looking for a father figure, or seeking spiritual guidance. "He said: 'This is not us, this is Mary and Jesus. You are chosen, you are special, this is secret,'" one of the unnamed victims said of Vanier's behaviour, according to the report. The document also notes the women described significant barriers to raising concerns about the relationships, given Vanier's "charismatic personality" and his dominant position within L'Arche. Vanier, son of former governor general Georges P. Vanier, worked as a Canadian navy officer and professor before turning to Catholic-inspired charity work. A visit to a psychiatric hospital prompted him to found L'Arche in 1964 as an alternative living environment where those with developmental disabilities could be full-fledged participants in the community instead of patients. A Facebook post Saturday morning from L'Arche Daybreak, in Richmond Hill, Ont., which was the first of 29 Canadian communities of the charity, said the news out of France was troubling. "We at L'Arche Daybreak are both shocked and saddened by the findings because this behaviour, as revealed in the report, betrays the fundamental values of our organization," the post said. Jocelyn Girard, a former official from two L'Arche communities who met Vanier several times in France and in Quebec, between 1998 and 2010, hoped the news would not deprive the communities of precious funding. He said people and assistants who have been transformed for the rest of their lives will now have to assume that it is not Vanier who transformed them, but the people with disabilities themselves who lived in the communities. Worldwide, there are 154 L'Arche residential communities in 38 countries on five continents. Vanier was born in Geneva, Switzerland, the fourth of five children. He was named to the Order of Canada and France's Legion of Honour. The report explained the investigation was launched following another probe that began in 2014 into allegations of sexual abuse by Father Thomas Philippe, a Catholic priest Vanier called his "spiritual father," who died in 1993. The report said that in 2016, L'Arche leaders received an allegation from a woman about Vanier dating back to the 1970s. It said Vanier acknowledged the relationship, but stated that he believed the relationship to have been "reciprocal." In March 2019 towards the end of Vanier's life, the report said L'Arche International received another similar allegation and decided to launch an independent inquiry, which was conducted by independent British firm GCPS Consulting. It also looked into Vanier's relationship with Philippe, as well as Vanier's response to situations of abuse that were brought to his attention. "The inquiry team found that the alleged victims, who were not linked to each other and had no knowledge of their respective stories, had each undergone a process of serious personal reflection," the report noted. 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. "Although deeply affected by the events of the past, they were both humble and without any hatred or desire for revenge." L'Arche Daybreak, in its Facebook post, praised the women. "We honour the courage of the victims who came forward and stand in solidarity with them and with all victims of abuse," the Ontario group said in the post. Cardinal Thomas Collins, Archbishop of Toronto, issued a statement Saturday describing the revelations as "tragic and heartwrenching." "In the midst of this darkness, we find a ray of light in those who so faithfully serve in L'Arche communities worldwide and have dedicated their lives to friendship, care and love," Collins said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 22, 2020. Do not fall prey to BJP's promise of citizenship, Matuas told Will make Assam govt party to case against CAA in SC if voted Congress to power: Gaurav Gogoi Clashes near anti-CAA protest in Northeast Delhi's Jaffrabad, police lob tear gas India oi-Deepika S New Delhi, Feb 23: Clashes broke out between two groups of people near Jaffrabad in northeast Delhi on Sunday evening where a large number of people had gathered to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Delhi Police fired tear gas shells as members of the two groups pelted stones at each other in Maujpur and also lathi-charged protesters. Television footage from the spot showed protesters throwing stones at each other across a road, standing close to police barricades. Tension prevailed in Jaffrabad area and a large number of security personnel deployed as hundreds of people, mostly women, who had been protesting gainst the CAA, blocked a road near the metro station since the Saturday evening, demanding a rollback of the contentious act. Chandra Shekhar Aazad-led Bhim Army had also given call for 'Bharat bandh' and demonstrations against the CAA. Similar protests, which mirrored the Shaheen Bagh sit-in where demonstrators have blocked a road since December, started in Khureji Khaas in Karawal Nagar and Chandbagh in northeast Delhi, and Hauz Rani in South Delhi on Sunday, prompting the police to step up security. For security reasons, the entry and exit gates of Jaffrabad and Maujpur-Babarpur were closed. The 400-metre-stretch between Maujpur traffic signal, where a Shani temple is located, to Babarpur station, was strewn with bricks and stones after the clashed. The two groups blamed each other for starting the violence . Delhi Police personnel later stopped the pro-CAA protestors when they tried to march towards Kardampuri where another anti-CAA protest was on. The security personnel formed a human-chain to separate the groups and defuse tension. "We are trying to identify the people behind the incident," Joint Commissioner of Police (Eastern Range) Alok Kumar told reporters. The situation is under control now, a senior police official said. "We are continuously speaking to local leaders so that peace prevails in the area and are also requesting protesters to clear the main road," he said. He said that police personnel have been deployed at Maujpur area to prevent any untoward incident. According to police, the gunman is described as black, between 19 and 20 years old, standing 5 feet, 8 inches tall, weighing about 140 pounds and had a tattoo on his right hand. He was wearing a black mask and a blue hooded jacket with red stripes on the sleeves. A "bomb attack" on a rally in support of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed injured nearly 30 people Sunday, a police official said, in the latest sign of instability ahead of elections in August. The incident occurred in the town of Ambo, located roughly 100 kilometres (60 miles) west of the capital, Addis Ababa. "The bomb attack on a rally for Dr Abiy has injured 29 people, of whom 28 have been treated and sent home," Arasa Merdasa, the top police official in Ethiopia's Oromia region, where Ambo is located, told the state-run Ethiopian Agency. "Police have arrested six people who are suspected in the attack," Arasa said. Ethiopia's electoral board has scheduled landmark national polls for August 29. Opposition parties and civil society organisations have questioned whether the elections will be peaceful and credible, citing persistent ethnic violence since Abiy was appointed in 2018 following several years of anti-government protests. The formal campaign period begins in May. Abiy did not attend Sunday's rally, which was organised by officials in Ambo. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:NUS) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 3 days. You will need to purchase shares before the 27th of February to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 11th of March. Nu Skin Enterprises's upcoming dividend is US$0.38 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of US$1.50 per share to shareholders. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that Nu Skin Enterprises has a trailing yield of 5.0% on the current share price of $29.84. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. That's why we should always check whether the dividend payments appear sustainable, and if the company is growing. View our latest analysis for Nu Skin Enterprises Dividends are typically paid out of company income, so if a company pays out more than it earned, its dividend is usually at a higher risk of being cut. That's why it's good to see Nu Skin Enterprises paying out a modest 47% of its earnings. Yet cash flow is typically more important than profit for assessing dividend sustainability, so we should always check if the company generated enough cash to afford its dividend. It paid out more than half (73%) of its free cash flow in the past year, which is within an average range for most companies. It's positive to see that Nu Skin Enterprises's dividend is covered by both profits and cash flow, since this is generally a sign that the dividend is sustainable, and a lower payout ratio usually suggests a greater margin of safety before the dividend gets cut. Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends. NYSE:NUS Historical Dividend Yield, February 22nd 2020 Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing? Stocks with flat earnings can still be attractive dividend payers, but it is important to be more conservative with your approach and demand a greater margin for safety when it comes to dividend sustainability. If business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. With that in mind, we're not enthused to see that Nu Skin Enterprises's earnings per share have remained effectively flat over the past five years. We'd take that over an earnings decline any day, but in the long run, the best dividend stocks all grow their earnings per share. Story continues The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. In the last ten years, Nu Skin Enterprises has lifted its dividend by approximately 13% a year on average. Final Takeaway Should investors buy Nu Skin Enterprises for the upcoming dividend? Earnings per share are down very slightly in recent times, and Nu Skin Enterprises paid out less half its profit and more than half its cash flow as dividends, which is not the worst combination but could be better. Overall, it's not a bad combination, but we feel that there are likely more attractive dividend prospects out there. Curious what other investors think of Nu Skin Enterprises? See what analysts are forecasting, with this visualisation of its historical and future estimated earnings and cash flow. If you're in the market for dividend stocks, we recommend checking our list of top dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading. MDI Gurgaon In-Company Management Development Programmes (MDPs), Check here for more detail: Titles- MDI Gurgaon In-Company Management Development Programmes (MDPs)/ Check details of MDI Gurgaon In-company Management Development Programmes (MDPs) What is the In-Company Management Development Programmes (MDP) of MDI Gurgaon? The In-Company Management Development Programmes are tailor-made courses prepared by the MDI Gurgaon for multiple organizations. The In-Company MDPs are Executive development Programs specifically designed for various level employees of several organizations to increase their potential through high-quality management knowledge. The participating organizations can be either Private, Public or Government Sectors. The In-company MDPs are part of the Continuing Education initiative of the MDI Gurgaon. Exclusive content (check now & plan better): Best Restaurant or Cafes to Hangout in your city for Couples, Friends & Family The institute conducted In-Company Programmes for 139 companies in 2017-18 where more than 3600 employees attended the programme. MDI Gurgaon Continuing Education As per the institute, the MDI is the largest school for continuing education in the country. In the growing complexity of the business world, the trends are now ever-changing. To be dynamic in this altering business environment, the need for continuous education was felt. The In-company MDPs and Open MDPs are part of the MDI Gurgaons Continuing Education initiative. MDI conducts nearly 200 weeks of short- term intensive training programs every year. MDI Gurgaon has also partnerships with several international business schools, industry and individual experts to offer joint programmes for the rising need for diverse education. Most searched: Oysters Water Park Gurgaon Entry Ticket Price Themes Covered in In-Company MDP Special emphasis is given on the emerging privatized and globalized markets through case studies, role play & theatre techniques, group exercises and video play. The major themes covered by MDI in the In-company programmes are as follows. Strategic Management General and Cost Management Business Process-Reengineering Transformational Leadership Project Appraisal and Monitoring Managerial Effectiveness Building Managerial Competence Holistic Business Perspective Executive Programme in Business Management for Armed Forces Officers (AFO) The 23rd Executive Programme in Business Management for Armed Forces Officers was conducted from 3rd June 15th November 2019, at MDI Gurgaon. This was a non-residential programme that was attended by 49 officers from the Indian Army, Indian Airforce and Indian Navy. The Programme objective was to enhance the professional competence of participants in different areas of Management for enabling them to transit into a second career in Corporate World. Programmes for the National Banking Institute (NBI), Nepal MDI Gurgaon conducted 18 programmes for the National Banking Institute (NBI) Executives, Nepal in 2017-18. The programme saw the participation of 415 executives. Additionally, 2 programmes on Board Level Leadership for Board Directors of Banks in Nepal were also conducted in 2017-18. The programmes were sponsored by the National Banking Institute in which 26 Board Directors of various Commercial Banks in Nepal took part. Participating Organizations in the Past ESCP BEL LIC of India DRDO Armed Forces DENSO International India Ltd Reserve Bank of India(Rajbhasha) Maruti Suzuki India Limited Coca-Cola National Banking Institute (NBI), Nepal Indian Information Services (IIS) Canon Xpress Money Services Limited Indian Economic Services(IES) National Academy of Defence Production(NADP) Canara Bank Gas Authority of India(GAIL) HSBC Assets Management(India) KVIB/KVIC NEXA Vodafone Airport Authority Of India Apollo Tyres Limited Asean Brown Boveri Ltd. (ABB) Asian Development Bank (ADB) Central Warehousing Corporation CRPF CPWD CK Birla Dabur India Limited National Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development (NABARD) National Housing Bank Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., Japan Mahindra & Mahindra National Hydroelectric Power Corpn. Ltd. National Regional Power Committee National Project Implementation Unit NSB Sri Lanka Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. Revenue Department, Ministry of Finance, Kabul, Afghanistan Senior Executive Development program for Nepalese Executives Schneider Electric India Limited Shyam Networks SIEMENS Power Engineering Pvt. Ltd. State Bank of India Steel Authority of India Limited Tele Atlas Ltd. Telstra India Pvt. Ltd. Teijin, Japan The Oberoi Group of Hotels Tourism Finance Corpn. of India and many more. Contact Information Interested organizations can contact the MDI Gurgaon on email for further details. Management Development Programme Email: caomdp@mdi.ac.in Admissions Coordinator of MDI- Dr Arun K. Tripathy Tel- 4560319 Postal Address Management Development Institute Mehrauli Road Sukhrali, Gurgaon 122 007 INDIA Tel + 91-124-4560000 Fax + 91-124-4560456 Hence, the synod's working paper stated: "Affirming that celibacy is a gift for the Church, it is requested that for the most remote areas of the region, the possibility of priestly ordination be studied for older people, preferably indigenous, respected and accepted by the community, even if they have an existing and stable family, in order to insure the availability of Sacraments that ... sustain Christian life." Last Oct. 26, by a vote of 128 to 41, the synod, in its final document, took a half-step, proposing that married permanent deacons be ordained as priests for the region in extreme situations. "Many of the Church communities in the Amazonian territory have enormous difficulties in attending the Eucharist. Sometimes it takes several years before a priest can return to a community to celebrate the Eucharist, [hear confessions] or anoint the sick . "We appreciate celibacy as a gift of God ... [It] enables the missionary, ordained to the priesthood, to dedicate himself fully to the service of the Holy People of God. .... "[But] we know that this discipline is not demanded by the very nature of the priesthood although there are many practical reasons for it. The Taliban in Afghanistan are "tired" of fighting and want to make a peace deal with America, President Donald Trump said on Sunday as he left for his maiden visit to India, days ahead of a possible agreement between the US and the militant group in the war-torn country. Just before his departure for India, Trump told reporters at the White House that the time had come for the US troops to "come home". "We've been over there 19 years. We think they want to make a deal. We want to make a deal. I think it's going to work out," Trump said in response to a question on the peace deal with the Taliban. "Time to come home. We want to make a deal and we think the Taliban want to make a deal too. They're tired of fighting," he said. The President said he would sign a peace deal with the Taliban if it worked out over the next week. "I want to see how this period of a week works out. If it works out over the next less-than-a-week, I would put my name on it," he said. Trump's remarks came a day after the US and the Afghan Taliban started a seven-day partial truce ahead of a possible peace deal to end more than 18-year-long war, raising hopes for a resolution to America's longest war. The agreement struck during talks between the US and the Taliban, if maintained, may secure a peace deal that would lead to a withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan. In November, Trump announced the resumption of peace talks with the Taliban, but refused to give a timeline for the drawdown of the US troops from Afghanistan, as he made an unannounced visit to American soldiers stationed in the war-torn country. After nine rounds of negotiations with the Taliban, Trump announced in September that he was calling the peace talks off after a US service member was killed in a suicide attack in Afghanistan's capital, Kabul. The US currently has less than 14,000 troops in Afghanistan, but military officials would not confirm the exact number. Trump is accompanied by First Lady Melania, daughter Ivanka, son-in-law Jared Kushner and the top brass of his administration on his maiden visit to India. During his visit, the two countries will significantly ramp up bilateral defence and strategic ties. The nearly 36-hour-long visit by Trump is also set to send across a clear message of growing congruence of interests on major geopolitical developments in the region and beyond, particularly when China has been expanding its military might and economic clout. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Sausan Atika (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sun, February 23, 2020 The developers of Jakartas first waste-to-energy (WTE) incinerator in Sunter, North Jakarta have claimed that the facility will apply environmentally sound technology amid concerns from activists over possible health hazards. Once completed, the incinerators would burn garbage and produce electricity amid efforts for the city administration to sort persistent waste issues and decrease reliance on Jakartas sole final disposal site in Bantar Gebang, in neighboring satellite city Bekasi, West Java. The plan has long been under scrutiny by environmentalists, who have warned of possible health hazards, including toxic fumes released by the facility. City-owned developer PT Jakarta Propertindo (Jakpro) and Finnish energy company Fortum formed joint venture PT Jakarta Solusi Lestari (JSL) to carry out the construction and operation of the WTE incinerator called the intermediate treatment facility (ITF) in Sunter. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,000/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login People in traditional Korean hanbok dresses wear face masks as they visit Gyeongbokgung palace in Seoul on Sunday. AFP Photo Seoul: South Korea is raising its alert level on the new coronavirus to the "highest", President Moon Jae-in said Sunday, in the face of a sudden spike in the number of infections. "The COVID-19 incident faces a grave turning point. The next few days will be crucial," Moon said following a government meeting on the virus. "The government will raise the alert level to the highest level according to experts' recommendations," he added. South Korea has seen a rapid surge in the number of coronavirus cases in recent days after a cluster of infections emerged from a religious sect in the southern city of Daegu last week. The national toll of 556 cases is now the highest outside China, apart from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan. Italy and Iran took drastic containment steps as worldwide fears over the epidemic spiralled. The contagion's spread prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to warn that Africa's unprepared health systems left the continent vulnerable to the COVID-19 disease, which spilled out of China and has infected more than 77,000 people in more than 25 countries. Already one of the worst-hit nations outside China, South Korea reported 123 new cases Sunday, taking its total to 556. Its death toll rose to four with two additional fatalities reported, a day after Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said South Korea faced a grave situation. The Shincheonji Church of Jesus in the southern city of Daegu -- considered by many a cult -- has emerged as a hotbed of contagion, with hundreds of members infected. Chung called on Koreans to avoid large gatherings, including religious services. The Army on Sunday reached out to students of a madrassa (religious school) in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir where they distributed stationery items, a defence spokesman said. "The distribution of stationery was conducted with an aim to engage students of the madrassa in educational activities to wean them away from separatist ideology and bring them in the national mainstream through education," the spokesman said. He said the Army distributed the stationery items at Fatima-Tuz-Zuhra Madrassa at Thathri, which was welcomed by students, teachers and locals. He said two teachers and 90 students attended the function. "The event also provided underprivileged students an opportunity to engage themselves in educational and constructive activities. Distribution of stationery to the madrassa will help win the goodwill of the locals and also to promote in the region," the spokesman said. This will go a long way in winning the hearts and minds of the locals, the spokesman further said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A national fundraiser for relatives of the Canada-bound victims of a flight shot down by the Iranian military last month has exceeded the $3 million target as the families continue to demand answers from Iran about what exactly happened that day. Its amazing to see the outburst of support and the fact that all different levels of government are working together in this, business owners, individuals. That is very heartwarming, said Masoud Niknam, whose brother, Thornhill dentist Farhad Niknam, was killed when the Ukraine International Airlines plane crashed near Tehran. It is a major emotional support, he said. The only silver lining in this incident is that we realized this is the place to raise our children and the fact that we moved here is one of the best decisions of our lives. He says the Canadian government must continue to push for answers and accountability from the Iranian government, which has said the flight was shot down by mistake. There are so many questions, he said. Everyone is focusing on the black box. My main question is why there is nothing released from the centre that did this. Fifty-seven Canadians and 29 permanent residents were among the 176 people killed in the crash of Flight 752. A total of 138 passengers were en route to Canada, including students and professors returning after the winter break. The fundraising total of $3,293,624.75 was announced by the Canada Strong campaign founder Mohamad Fakih, the Lebanese-Canadian head of Paramount Fine Foods and Fakih Foundation, in front of the mayors of Toronto, Mississauga and Brampton and relatives of some of the crash victims. Fakih, who was introduced as a man who works miracles, said Canadians stepped up and exceeded the call for $1.5 million in donations, which the federal government pledged to match. We have wrapped around those in grief and in need of our help and we have shown that together we are Canada Strong, he said. It is such a warm feeling when a community comes together. After handwriting the final amount onto a giant cheque, Fakih was hugged and thanked by Farhad Niknams wife Mozhgan Faghaza. Meeting her she lost her husband and they have two children it made me really not stop and maybe be a little unapologetic about the way Im doing it, Fakih said. We had to get it done for them. Omar Alghabra, the Liberal MP for Mississauga Centre, said the government remains committed to finding truth, justice and accountability. Mayor John Tory thanked Fakih for creating a way for people to contribute. He said the money will go to meet the short and long-term needs of the relatives of the crash victims, and will now be distributed through a volunteer committee in a similar way to the fund for the Yonge Street van attack victims. You have kept your promise, he said to Fakih. I think we should be proud of ourselves that we came together and raised this money ... it was the right thing to do. Read more about: Over 4,000 litres of liquor worth Rs 33 lakh allegedly being smuggled from Faridabad in Haryana to Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur district was seized in Niwari town here, the police said on Sunday. The truck carrying liquor of famous brands was impounded and the driver has been arrested, they said. The seizure was made under the ongoing 'Operation Nakail' of the Ghaziabad Police. The truck driver, identified as Faridabad resident Ravi, told the police that he was hired to deliver the consignment of 4,012 litres of smuggled liquor near Gorakhpur city. SP (Rural) Neeraj Kumar Jadaun said the the liquor was concealed in wooden boxes and the engine and chassis numbers of the truck were found defaced and illegible. The truck driver has been sent to jail, Jadaun added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) China's leader said Sunday the new coronavirus epidemic is the communist country's largest-ever public health emergency, but other nations were also increasingly under pressure from the deadly outbreak's relentless global march. Italy and Iran began introducing the sort of containment measures previously seen only in China, which has put tens of millions of people under lockdown in Hubei province, the outbreak's epicentre. Italy reported a third death while cases spiked and the country's Venice carnival closed early. Iran's confirmed death toll rose to eight, prompting travel bans from neighbouring countries. The virus has so far killed more than 2,400 people, with about 80,000 infected globally, though China remains by far the worst hit. President Xi Jinping said the epidemic was the "largest public health emergency" since the founding of the People's Republic in 1949. "This is a crisis for us and it is a big test," he said during remarks carried by state television. In a rare admission, at a meeting to coordinate the fight against the virus, Xi added that China must learn from "obvious shortcomings exposed" during its response. The World Health Organization (WHO) has praised Beijing for its handling of the epidemic, but China has been criticized at home for silencing early warnings from a whistleblower doctor who later died from the virus. South Korea said it was raising its alert to the highest level, after the number of infections nearly tripled over the weekend to 602. The country now has the most infections outside of China, apart from the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Japan. South Korea reported three deaths on Sunday, taking the countrywide fatality toll to five. The Yonhap news agency later reported a sixth death. Around half of South Korea's cases have been linked to the Shincheonji Church of Jesus sect in the southern city of Daegu, where thousands of members have been quarantined or asked to stay at home. - Police checkpoints - Italy's cases spiked to 152 on Sunday, including three deaths. Virus panic crept onto catwalks, leading to the cancellation of some runway shows at Milan Fashion Week. Others were held behind closed doors and livestreamed. Most cases are confined to the northern town of Codogno, about 70 kilometres (43 miles) southeast of Milan. More than 50,000 people in about a dozen northern Italian towns have been told to stay home, and police set up checkpoints to enforce a blockade. Austrian railways said traffic on a major route to Italy through the Brenner Pass would be suspended, after a train was stopped because of two suspected cases of the virus. Neighbouring Slovenia asked vacationers returning from ski resorts in northern Italy to be particularly vigilant for symptoms. Italy became the first European country to report one of its nationals died from the virus on Friday. Two more fatalities came over the weekend but Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte urged people "not to give in to panic", and asked them to follow the advice of health authorities. "The rapid increase in reported cases in Italy over the past two days is of concern," World Health Organization spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic said. Not all reported cases seem to have clear epidemiological links, such as travel history to China or contact with a confirmed case, Jasarevic added. "At this stage, we need to focus on limiting further human to human transmission." Iran ordered the closure of schools, universities and cultural centres across 14 provinces following eight deaths -- the most outside East Asia. The outbreak in the Islamic Republic surfaced Wednesday and quickly grew to 43 confirmed infections, a sudden rise that prompted regional travel restrictions. Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pachinian said his country will close its border with Iran and suspend flights. Like the Italian leader, he, too, said there is no reason to panic. But Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at Britain's University of East Anglia, said the situation in Iran has "major implications" for the Middle East. "It is unlikely that Iran will have the resources and facilities to adequately identify cases and adequately manage them if case numbers are large," Hunter said. Pakistan and Turkey announced the closure of land crossings with Iran while Afghanistan said it was suspending travel to the country. - Japan criticised - The outbreak in China remains concentrated in the city of Wuhan -- locked down one month ago -- where the virus is believed to have emanated from a live animal market in December. China's infection rate has slowed, but flip-flopping over counting methods has sown confusion over its data. There also was growing concern over the difficulty of detecting the virus. Japan on Sunday confirmed a woman who tested negative and disembarked from the virus-stricken Diamond Princess cruise ship later tested positive. Similarly in Israel, authorities confirmed that a second Israeli citizen who returned from the ship had tested positive. They were among 11 Israelis allowed off the ship and flown home after initially testing negative. Japan has been criticised over its handling of cases aboard the vessel quarantined off Yokohama. A third passenger died Sunday, Japan's health ministry said, without specifying if it was as a result of the virus. Four Britons who returned from the Diamond Princess on Saturday also tested positive for the COVID-19 illness, the NHS health service said. burs-dma/fox/rbu/it/dw Pete Buttigieg used his Saturday rally in Las Vegas to take several hits at Bernie Sanders, the Nevada caucus victor. He claimed that the 78-year-old Vermont senator is proposing an 'inflexible, ideological revolution' that would not include moderate Democrats and those who believe in capitalism Although he congratulated his competitor on the massive victory, Buttigieg also reminded a room full of his supporters of Sanders' more radical ideals, like a single-payer healthcare system. 'I congratulate Senator Sanders on a strong showing today, and we certainly celebrate many of the same ideals,' Buttigieig admitted, although he rarely likens himself to the Democratic socialist candidate. 'But before we rush to nominate Senator Sanders, in our one shot to take on this president, let us take a sober look at stake for our party, for our values, and for those with the most to lose. There is so much on the line,' Buttigieg said. Pete Buttigieg slammed Bernie Sanders Saturday in his post-caucus remarks, claiming he would create an 'inflexible' system that would exclude more moderate Democrats 'Senator Sanders believes in an inflexible, ideological revolution that leaves out most Democrats, not to mention most Americans,' Buttigieg told a crowd as Sanders emerged the victor of the Nevada caucuses Buttigieg hugs his husband Chasten as he drops to third place in Nevada with upwards of 10 per cent support Several networks called the caucus for Sanders after just 3 per cent reporting showed him with upwards of 50 per cent support He also suggested that Sanders would not be able to defeat Trump in November as the most progressive candidate in the race. Buttigieg continued to bring out his more moderate side as he slammed the Democratic socialist candidate for believing 'capitalism is the root of all evil.' 'Senator Sanders believes in an inflexible, ideological revolution that leaves out most Democrats, not to mention most Americans,' Buttigieg said Saturday night as caucus results were still trickling in. He also reminded supporters of his victory against Sanders in the first-in-the-nation caucus in Iowa at the beginning of this month. 'Ours is the only campaign that has beat Senator Sanders anywhere in the cycle,' he added, a reference to winning more nominating delegates than Sanders. In Iowa, Buttigieg earned a marginal victory when he received more support from precincts and emerged as the victor with one more delegate than Sanders. As the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana held an intimate rally in Nevada, he was showing up fourth in the caucuses with less than 10 per cent as results continued to pour in. But later in the evening, Buttigieg moved up to third after 11 per cent reporting showed him at 13.6 per cent. The former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, however, was still hopeful for his campaign and previewed he was expecting a big win on Super Tuesday, where 14 states will participate in their primary contests. Sanders' lead continued to drop as more caucus sites reported, but he still maintained a massive lead against No. 2 candidate Joe Biden, who hovered around 20 per cent The event at Springs Preserve an 180-acre nature preservation area, a little more than 5 miles north of the Las Vegas Strip, had to be moved inside after a rare downpour nixed plans for an outdoor rally. The room held around 200 chairs, which were all filled, and a few dozens attendees were reduced to standing-room-area, even impeding into the press area and the hallway outside the rally room. Buttigieg hit at Sanders ahead of Nevadians heading to caucus Saturday morning. He likened the senator to Trump, claiming he would bring about four more years of toxic politics' that were riddled in conspiracy theories. The claim came after reports indicated Russia was taking aim at Sanders' presidential campaign. Bella Hadid was pictured leaving Milan on Sunday following her Fashion Week stint alongside her sister Gigi and their mother Yolanda. And the model, 23, was clearly taking no chances when she got on to her flight and slipped on a face mask, sharing a picture of it on social media. Her choice of facial wear comes amid the coronavirus outbreak which led Giorgio Armani to cancel his 4pm show in Milan. It's not known if Bella or sister Gigi, 24, were due to walk for that show. Safety first: Bella Hadid was clearly taking no chances when she got on to her flight and slipped on a face mask, sharing a picture of it on social media Before heading onto her flight, Bella looked fashion forward in her get-up, wearing an orange T-shirt and baggy jeans. She wore a black bucket hat and carried her coat over her shoulder. The runway star had her hands fulls with two pairs of headphones, a leather coat, handbag and iPhone. Taking off: She was pictured leaving Milan on Sunday following her Fashion Week stint alongside her sister Gigi and their mother Yolanda Chic: Before heading onto her flight, Bella looked fashion forward in her get-up, wearing an orange T-shirt and baggy jeans Gigi also looked brilliantly chic, wearing a knitted orange and black cardigan which was belted at the waist with matching baggy trousers. Mum Yolanda, 56, looked lovely wearing a simple black top and jeans as she walked alongside the girls. Armani had released a statement on Sunday morning, announcing the cancellation of Sunday's 4pm show. Power pair: Gigi also looked brilliantly chic, wearing a knitted orange and black cardigan which was belted at the waist with matching baggy trousers Cool mum: Yolanda, 56, looked lovely wearing a simple black top and jeans as she walked alongside the girls It read: 'The show will be shown behind closed doors, due to the recent developments of coronavirus in Italy, live-streamed in front of an empty teatro on the Armani website, therefore please do not attend the show this afternoon.' Earlier in the day, Bella cut a stylish figure, opting for a 90s-inspired look for the day, donning a brown top with a matching miniskirt and trousers. The catwalk star also sported a pair of leopard print shoes along with a knee-length black leather jacket. Sensational: Gigi played a cool character as she donned squared aviator shades for her stroll through the airport Busy: The runway star had her hands fulls with two pairs of headphones, a leather coat, handbag and iPhone Called off: It's not known if Bella or sister Gigi were due to walk for Giorgio Armani's cancelled show Styling her brunette locks into an updo, Bella also wore a pair of thick-rimmed glasses with a yellow tint. Donning gold hoop earrings, the model completed her look for the day with a silver shimmering necklace. The American star - who is the younger sister of fellow model Gigi - spoke out about her early modelling career in the latest issue of LOVE called #CHAOSANDCONTROL. Current look: Gigi kept her hair held back tightly in a bun with a central parting Girl gang: The trio made the departures lounge their catwalk as they strolled towards their plane It's off: Armani had released a statement on Sunday morning, announcing the cancellation of Sunday's 4pm show She told the publication: 'In my opinion I started modelling way too young. I was still growing and my confidence wasnt fully matured. I didnt love myself, or didnt necessarily think I was worthy of all of the recognition I was getting. 'When I was younger, I would see photos of myself that I hated and would be mortified that people wanted to work with me, because I was so self-conscious.' Instead the model said that she had only been interested in fashion if it involved horses, such as when her supermodel mother Yolanda bought her new Hermes riding saddle for Christmas one year. Trendy: Bella opted for a 90s-inspired look earlier in the day, donning a brown top with a matching miniskirt and trousers However the star did develop a passion from photography from the age of nine to seventeen. Bella told LOVE how she enjoyed dressing up her friends, doing their 'dark and deadly' make up and building sets to photograph them in, creating 'characters'. Bella began to model at the age of 16 but said she has only in the last few years become comfortable with herself in front of the camera Outfit: The catwalk star also sported a pair of leopard print shoes along with a knee-length black leather jacket UK finance minister Rishi Sunak is preparing for his first Budget in just over two weeks' time with a major spending spree on infrastructure projects, including a historic new hub for his Treasury department in the north of England. The 39-year-old son-in-law of Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy, who was appointed the UK's first Indian-origin Chancellor of the Exchequer in British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Cabinet reshuffle earlier this month, will table the Budget in Parliament on March 11. According to The Sunday Times', this would involve a major giveaway for Johnson's election pledge to invest in the north of England, credited with handing the Conservative Party its strong majority in the December 2019 General Election. Sunak, himself an MP from the northern region of Richmond in North Yorkshire, plans to move a significant number of the UK Treasury department's 1,500 London-based posts to a so-called economic decision-making campus in the north. It will reportedly involve billions of pounds of public money directed towards infrastructure projects and other needs of businesses in the region. The Tees Valley, by the River Tees in north-east England, is among the favourites to host the new hub after Sunak took officials to Teesside last month for a Treasury board meeting. A team to lead the project is being set up, with an expected rollout of the hub to begin in 2021. The Chancellor wants to shift the gravity of economic decision away from the capital to our regions and nations and setting up a new economic decision-making campus in the north of England will do that, the newspaper quoted a Treasury source as saying. It will be key in helping spread opportunity and prosperity to all, the source said. Sunak had set up the South Tees Development Corporation committing 71 million pounds to redevelop a site near Redcar in region during his time as Chief Secretary to the Treasury under his predecessor as Chancellor Sajid Javid. Javid had stepped down in a shock move during the Cabinet reshuffle amid reports of his unwillingness for a tight alignment between the Treasury and the PM's office at No. 10 Downing Street. His successor is now expected to find nearly 70-billion pounds to be spent on infrastructure projects pledged by the Boris Johnson led government. Sunak is also said to be considering a change to the fiscal rule which says the UK's Budget must be balanced over three years, to a five-year cycle, enabling him to front load more spending this year and next. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Davenport Schools approved nearly $4.7 million in cuts Thursday night, to comply with requirements from the School Budget Review Committee. While the whole district will be affected by the necessary changes, students attending some of the districts less traditional schools will face some of the most drastic impacts. Closing Keystone Academy Keystone Academy serves between 70 and 90 students with behavior problems at any given time. It will close, and each of those students will need a transition plan for their next steps, whether thats moving to one of the general education schools or receiving services through a still-to-be-established virtual academy. Its expected to save $485,000 and eliminate six positions. Closing Keystone provoked community concern during open forums Tuesday and Thursday. Some were staff at Keystone saying they didnt think they could serve their students elsewhere. Others were parents of general education students who were concerned about the disruption it might cause. Normally, there are several steps to closing a school, per board policy. Those steps are on a timeline far longer than the district followed, or the School Budget Review Committee gave. Catholics across Nigeria will don black attires on Ash Wednesday as a sign of mourning and solidarity with the victims of kidnapping and other violent crimes in the country. A statement of the Catholics Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), to be read at masses across Catholic churches on Wednesday, said the church is aware of its moral responsibility. It called on the government to live up to its responsibility of protecting Nigerians. As a mark of mourning for all our brothers and sisters who have been victims of the most recent wave of violence against Christians, we are all dressed in black today and offer our prayers and penance for their repose, read the statement. It was signed by Augustine Akubeze and Camillus Umoh, president and secretary of CBCN respectively. We invite the universal church and all Christians to join us in prayers for our dead brothers and sisters and for peace and security in Nigeria, the statement continued. We equally appeal to the international community to come to the aid of the Nigerian government in the fight against these daredevil terrorists, who want to destabilise our country. The consequences, should they succeed, will be grave not only for the West African sub-region but also for Africa as a whole. The directive to Catholics is coming weeks after the Christian Association of Nigeria held prayer protests across Nigeria to call the governments attention to the rising spate of killings in the country. At least, 199 deaths were caused by insurgent groups, herdsmen, and others in January 2020, according to a research by Lagos-based Civic Media Laboratory. Twenty-four persons were kidnapped by bandits in the same period, including four Catholic seminarians in Kaduna. One of the seminarians was later killed by the abductors. The repeated barbaric executions of Christians by the Boko Haram insurgents and the incessant cases of kidnapping for ransom linked to the same group and other terrorists have traumatised many citizens, the Catholic Bishops statement continued. That the perpetrators of these heinous crimes make public shows off them on social media and Nigerians do not hear of any arrests or prosecution of the criminals raises very serious questions about the ability and willingness of the government to protect the lives of ordinary Nigerians. On Sunday, Alfred Martins, the Catholic archbishop of Lagos, in a message to Catholics noted that there is high insecurity in the land. We shall participate in the National prayer procession that will come up later, on a date to be announced, Mr Martins said. Flash Chinese President Xi Jinping has written back to a group of U.S. elementary school students, encouraging them to continue their efforts to learn Chinese language and culture and contribute to promoting friendship between the two peoples. On the eve of the Spring Festival, 50 fourth-grade students from Cascade Elementary School in the U.S. state of Utah wrote New Year cards to Xi in Chinese, telling him about their Chinese language learning and personal hobbies, expressing their love for China and Chinese culture as well as their hope for a chance to visit China, and wishing "Grandpa Xi" a happy New Year. In his reply letter dated Feb. 15, Xi told the children that like the United States, China is a big country, that the Chinese civilization has a history of more than 5,000 years, and that the Chinese people are as hospitable as the American people. He added that they can learn more about Chinese history and culture by learning the Chinese language, which is used by more than 1 billion people around the world. Xi said he is pleased to see those students write and learn Chinese so well, and hopes that they will continue to work hard, make greater progress and become young ambassadors for the friendship between the two peoples. Established in 1967, the public school is one of the first schools in Utah to offer a Chinese immersion program, which involves more than half of its students. Utah has one-fifth of all Chinese language learners in the United States. The state's Chinese immersion program began in 2009 and is now available in 76 elementary and secondary schools. Mubarak was operated on in January, though his son, Alaa Mubarak, added no further details on his medical condition Egypt's former president, Hosni Mubarak, is still hospitalised in an intensive care unit after undergoing surgery two weeks ago, his eldest son Alaa tweeted Sunday. Alaa Mubarak tweeted 24 January that his 91-year-old father was operated on and that his condition was stable. He provided no details on the surgery. Mubarak was ousted by a popular uprising that started in January 2011. Mubarak ruled Egypt autocratically from 1981 until 11 February 2011. Since his downfall, Mubarak stood trial in a number of criminal cases on various charges, but received a final conviction only on corruption charges in 2016, alongside his sons Alaa and Gamal. Mubarak had already served his sentence in detention awaiting trial in other cases. On Saturday, Cairo Criminal Court acquitted Alaa and Gamal Mubarak, and others, in the case known in the media as "manipulating the stock exchange". Search Keywords: Short link: You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close President Muhammadu Buhari has said that his administration will soon commence an aggressive campaign to rout Boko Haram. Mr Buhari said this while condemning a recent Boko Haram attack in Adamawa State. The Boko Haram insurgency in Northern Nigeria has caused over 30,000 deaths since 2009 and displaced millions of others. The presidents statement was contained in a press release by his spokesperson, Garba Shehu. Read Mr Shehus full statement below. President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned Boko Haram attack on Garkida in Adamawa State, extending his sympathy to families of victims. The President assured that no part of Nigeria would be abandoned to their fate. President Buhari said: These attacks on soft targets by the terrorists are obvious signs of frustration because my administration has significantly weakened Boko Harams military capability to invade and hold Nigerian territory unchallenged. Our gallant forces deserve our appreciation for repelling the attackers but they must go beyond this point. They have our full support to go after the terrorists and have them pay a huge price. I want to assure the country that terrorists will continue to face the combined power of our military until they give up their mistaken ways. These occasional and episodic attacks on poor civilians by the terrorists are mere propaganda efforts to portray them as strong in order to fool the public into believing that they havent been militarily weakened by our gallant troops. President Buhari said since the coming of his administration, Boko Harams ability to invade and occupy Nigerian territories, let alone be able to hoist their flags had been frustrated. The president said in the coming weeks Nigerians would witness an aggressive campaign to rout Boko Haram once and for all. Security will continue to be well funded despite the competing needs of social services. I appeal to Nigerians to continue to support our troops in their gallant efforts to protect the citizens and secure the country, President Buhari further added. For those who celebrate Mardi Gras in Mobile, the final week before Ash Wednesday can be a whirlwind of parades, balls, parties and much more. Sleep becomes a premium. Staying hydrated is of upmost importance. Welcome to Deep Gras. Dominique Lejeune, a 27-year-old musician, songwriter and radio personality in New Orleans, coined the phrase about the final week of the Mardi Gras season last year. But when she posted it on her Instagram feed this week, the phrase went viral and a social media sensation ensued. A lot of people are using it, said Lejeune, interviewed Friday by AL.com. Its bizarre to me. I dont think I ever thought Id coin a catch phrase. it is I the creator of #DEEPGRAS Dominique LeJeune (@dominomnom) February 19, 2020 That phrase, though, could soon pop up on t-shirts and knickknacks in New Orleans and beyond. Lejeune is already sensing the potential. Shes reached out to a lawyer friend this week about trademarking Deep Gras ahead of the inevitable blitz of kitschy merchandise sold in the French Quarter and beyond. The phrase has resonated in Mobile, where a continuous stream of parades and public events paused on Wednesday this week. The parading didnt resume until Thursday when the Mystic Stripers Society rolled through the streets of downtown, thus beginning the final sprint until the end of Mardi Gras on Fat Tuesday night. The only Mardi Gras event in Mobile that took place on Wednesday was an invite-only ball hosted by Fifty Funny Fellows. This is the time where you get into some deep stuff, said historian Wayne Dean, who has portrayed the fictious Indian character Chief Slacabamarinico for 35 years in Mobile. Chief Slac was the character Joe Cain dressed up as in 1868, and ushered in a revival of Mardi Gras in the United States following the Civil War. Its about parades and balls day after day, said Dean, referring to the final six days of Mardi Gras. I think its a good terminology to use, Deep Gras. Lejeune said she dreamed up of the Deep Gras during the Friday before Mardi Gras Day last year, while hosting her radio show on WTUL-91.5 FM in New Orleans. She said a couple of her close friends liked it and credited the phrase to her. The phrase didnt take off into the public domain until earlier this week when Lejeune wrote on her Instagram account the updated list of Mardi Gras terminology 2020. Deep Gras was the first of 13 terms on the list. Among others were Mardi Gras Vampires, Freak Floats and The Mardi Gradess. It was just something on my Instagram account, she said. I definitely have a pretty devoted small following in general with friends who like what I do with my music, or they like my radio show, she said. I was born and raised in this area. I think people thought it was funny and resonated with them because we are instantly overwhelmed when this week hits. We are inundated with a different kind of priority. Lejeune said another definition also emerged this week, one that she didnt write. That version is much more condensed and has circulated widely on Facebook and Twitter. She said that version of Deep Gras was written by media personality in New Orleans, whom she declined to name. She expressed plenty of displeasure, too. People who work in the media know not to change peoples writing without their consent, she said. She added, I am a musician and an artist. I write. I wrote about what Mardi Gras meant to me. Some of what I wrote was comical and making fun of things which is a big part of Mardi Gras itself. That was the base of it. Of course everyone is circulating the stolen version of the Deep Gras thing instead of the one that @dominomnom made. pic.twitter.com/P5CpQPzq7X Panda in the streets, trash panda in the sheets (@pandarevolt) February 19, 2020 I have never heard this phrase before, but it makes sense precisely. Deep Gras is upon us. https://t.co/Gwc8okSPwl David Simon (@AoDespair) February 21, 2020 Lejeune, who studied marketing while attending Loyola University in New Orleans, said she has mixed reactions over the viral nature of Deep Gras. The Internet works in mysterious ways, she said. You cant predict what will take off at any given moment. Its strange and very bizarre. I think it has manifested a definite alternative reality. Six people are dead after a head-on collision on I-95 early Sunday morning near Savannah. According to Liberty County Sheriff's Office Deputy Lt. Jason Colvin, around 2 a.m., deputies were alerted to a white Lexus SUV traveling south in the northbound lanes. A short time later, deputies received a call about a crash near Exit 76 in Midway. When deputies arrived, they say they found two vehicles that had collided head-on. According to Georgia State Patrol Trooper Markus White, six people were killed in the accident. The Lexus had Florida license plates, and only the driver was in the vehicle when it was traveling in the wrong direction at the time of the crash. Investigators say the other vehicle, an SUV with Virginia tags, had a man, a woman and three children inside. Interstate 95 was closed for several hours right at Exit 76 and has since been reopened. Despite being the anti-gun party, the Democratic donkey is locking and loading and eyeing up a close-range target: Its own foot. Yes, the party that cant get out of its own way is back at it again, turning the primary and caucuses (eye roll) into what will be a prolonged and destructive civil war. And, on one leg, it will be forced to hobble to the finish line in November of this year. The real losers? The American people. And the only winner will be the other side, the one with a vocal minority that will gladly give you four more years of their president (not ours), even though he has set the bar so low for civility and behaving presidential that any of the remaining Democratic hopefuls would have to join a satanic cult to match it. Last time around, the Democrats made the mistake of trying to have an uninspiring candidate, Hillary Clinton, run unopposed. Russian interference aside, she still should and could have won the general election and for reasons I have enumerated before (a better running mate, campaigning in swing counties of swing states, standing up for herself in debates, etc.). This time around, we have the opposite. There were so many candidates that the field looked like the ensemble of a Broadway musical. Even now, with a few (Andrew Yang, Julian Castro, Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, etc.) dropping off, the battle for the lead role is up for grabs. As it should be. Nothing better and more American, let alone Democratic than a little healthy competition. The problem is that the fighting has gotten dirty, with below-the-belt blows that were on full display during Wednesdays debate ahead of the Nevada Caucuses. The sand thrown around the sandbox, considering what is at stake, was laughable. Upstart Michael Bloomberg is spending is own money to get elected? OK, and? What did your president (not mine) do to get elected? At least Bloomberg is diametrically opposed to your president (not mine) on all the issues that matter. Bloomberg is not my candidate of choice, but I have to say he is growing on me. Its interesting that he is now fielding issues about stop-and-frisk (a policy initiated by Rudy Giuliani when he was mayor and supported by the current person who calls himself president). We all knew about it before. Its not a revelation. Its important to bring it up, sure, but let us not forget the intent despite its clumsy and insensitive execution which was to try and curtail black-on-black crime (the same kind that Louis Farrakhan decries to applause) in largely black neighborhoods. Also, Bloomberg was allegedly caught saying not nice things to and about women. But, uh, hello? Remember that low bar we talked about? Should we get into the Access Hollywood tapes? I didnt think so. Lets move on to my candidate Bernie Sanders, who is the frontrunner du jour. As such, he had to enter the debate with body armor to fend off his also-ran competitors. They talked about his backers the so-called Bernie Bros. being not so nice on Twitter. You mean the same Twitter format that your president (not mine) uses as his 3 a.m. bully pulpit? Take it from someone who has gone the full 15 rounds with too many of his supporters to count, often having to block them when responses turned into challenges to have a duel in the Town Square, that no one goes as low as they go (especially once beaten down on the facts). If your president (not mine) cant be blamed for his brigade, why should Sanders take the heat for what a few supporters did in his name? Heading into the debate, Sanders had close to a third of the vote in national polls, and had opened up a double-digit lead. Thats quite an accomplishment in a field made even more populated by Bloombergs surge. And yet, television pundits twist and turn it around to say Sanders hasnt grown his base from when it was just him and Clinton, who only built her delegate (and super delegate) lead by winning a lot of southern red states before he was a known entity to the black voters that make up a large part of the Democratic electorate in those states. Its a general theme, picking on Sanders electability (one guy with a book to sell on MSNBC said hed lose 44 states and another disagreed, although slightly, saying 40). Why is there never discussion about why Sanders is surging into Super Tuesday? They dont want to address his popularity, and the crowds he brings out as compared to the others, because it doesnt fit the script. It is clearly evident that will come down to Sanders and Bloomberg, arguing like two old Jewish men at a deli over whether to get the lox or the whitefish on their bagels (I can say that, since Im of the tribe). Its pretty clear that only Joe Biden, who still clings to some tepid black support in those same states that gave Clinton that cushion she clumsily dragged to the finish line ahead of Sanders. Biden will do well enough, I predict, that the pundits will declare the guy who needs a wake-up call and snooze alarm the comeback kid. That means a temporary three-horse race, but one wonders if the others Amy Klobuchar, Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg will read the writing on the wall and do the right thing and drop out. This will put all eyes back on the ultimate prize. If the Democrats want to take aim on the White House, they need to stop targeting each other. So far, with a foot wound in danger or getting infected, it does not look good. WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. Bankrupt OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma is set to start on Jan. 1 a new three-year lease for its downtown Stamford headquarters after the deal gained court approval on Friday. Unopposed by the companys creditors, the plan calls for the company to lease nearly 104,000 square feet on the ninth and 10th floors at 201 Tresser Blvd. The reduced offices would accommodate slightly fewer than 200 employees, a contingent that has shrunk by about 65 percent in the past three years. Ideally, one wouldnt make any significant changes in your rental or business footprint until a business plan is largely agreed and youre on your way to exiting Chapter 11 (bankruptcy), Judge Robert Drain said during a hearing at the federal bankruptcy court in downtown White Plains. (But) taking all the factors into account, this appears to be a proper exercise in business judgment. The new lease is supported by the Sackler family members who own Purdue and also represent the beneficial owners of the approximately 505,000-square-foot building at 201 Tresser, which is also known as One Stamford Forum. Purdue has been based there since 2000. In response to Drains ruling, a Purdue spokeswoman referred to an earlier statement in which the company said, in part, that the decision to enter the new lease was made after careful consideration, and to avoid the unnecessary expense and disruption that might have resulted from moving elsewhere. Connecticut Attorney General William Tong declined to comment on the ruling. He is one of 24 state attorneys general who have not agreed to settlement terms with Purdue to resolve the approximately 2,700 lawsuits that allege the company fueled the opioid crisis with deceptive OxyContin marketing. The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, which represents parties with claims against Purdue, had expressed concerns about the amount of time it had to review the new lease. In a filing Monday, the committee said it wanted Purdue to wait to file the leasing motion at least until the committee had been given the opportunity to assess the (lease) in connection with a thorough evaluation of the (post-bankruptcy) business plan and consider the soundness of the business plan more generally as a basis for the operations of the future reorganized debtors. Purdue said in its filings that it needed to get court approval now because it faced an April 13 deadline from its landlord to decide whether to move forward with another proposed lease in which it would have taken all of the approximately 425,000 square feet of rentable office space at 201 Tresser from next year until 2031. But the committee decided not to file an objection because it said having Purdue incurring more expenses to litigate the matter is not a prudent use of resources that like the entirety of the debtors estates will eventually belong to creditors. Today, Purdue leases all of the ninth, 10th, P-3 and plaza floors at 201 Tresser, as well as sections of the P-1 and P2 levels. Through a concurrent agreement with banking giant UBS, Purdue subleases floors three through eight. Purdue has various subtenants for floors three through six and part of floor nine, according to the company. Purdue has declined to comment on the total number of square feet it is leasing and subleasing at 201 Tresser. After cutting its workforce by more than 1,000 in 2017 and 2018, about 700 employees remain with Purdue. About 190 worked in Stamford at the end of 2019, compared with 540 at the end of 2016, according to court records. Several-hundred employees were laid off when the company disbanded its sales force, following its February 2018 decision to stop marketing OxyContin and other opioids to medical professionals. Hedge fund relocation In another change at 201 Tresser, hedge fund Sunriver Management disclosed in a filing last week to the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission that it had moved its main offices from that address to 2 Sound View Drive in downtown Greenwich. A desire to take more space factored into the decision, according to a source familiar with the matter who was not authorized to speak publicly. Sunriver declined to comment. Kokino LLC, the family office of Purdue co-owner Jonathan Sackler, is an investor with Sunriver. As a result of Sunrivers strong performance last year highlighted by a 44 percent return Kokino had more money invested with Sunriver than it wanted to have with any hedge fund, according to the source. The size of Kokinos investment in the fund will drop to a maximum of 20 percent of Sunrivers assets under management, but Sunriver still comprises Kokinos largest single investment, according to the source. In addition, Sunriver and Kokino have agreed to end a profit-sharing arrangement, the source said. A spokesperson for Kokino referred comment to Sunriver. In 2018, another Stamford-based hedge fund, Hildene Capital Management, reportedly told investment entities with Sackler members that it was no longer comfortable managing their money. pschott@stamfordadvocate.com; 203-964-2236; twitter: @paulschott BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 20 By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend: The number of tourists from Turkmenistan visiting Turkey amounted to 297,706 people in 2019, which is 17.71 percent more compared to 2018, Trend reports referring to Turkeys Ministry of Culture and Tourism on Feb. 13. The share of Turkmen citizens in the total number of foreigners visiting Turkey in 2019 amounted to 0.66 percent. In December 2019, 20,101 tourists from Turkmenistan visited Turkey, which is 0.42 percent more compared to December 2018. In this month, the share of Turkmen citizens in the total number of foreigners visiting Turkey amounted to 0.94 percent. Over 2.1 million tourists visited Turkey in December 2019, which is 10.11 percent more compared to December 2018. In 2019, more than 45 million tourists visited Turkey, which is 14.11 percent more compared to 2018. Over 14.9 million tourists visited Istanbul and 14.6 million tourists visited Antalya. The remaining 15.5 million tourists accounted for countrys other cities. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu An agent has been booked by Nerul police for cheating a 22-year-old Malad resident, who was looking to join the merchant navy, under the pretext of giving him a job at a shipping company but later asking him to work as a waiter. The accused also cheated the complainant, Shubham Sharma, of 2.24 lakh. According to the complaint, Sharma had completed a six-month course from a marine officer training academy in Puducherry and approached the accused, Kailash Chandra Sharma, who claimed to be an agent and promised to provide jobs in merchant navy, in February 2019. Kailash told Sharma there was a vacancy at a ship in Istanbul, Turkey and booked his flight ticket and charged him for the fare. A few days later, Kailash told Sharma the ship he was supposed to work at had broken down but another ship would arrive later, due to which they have to book another ticket, and charged Sharma again. Later, Sharma paid Kailash 1.6 lakh before flying to Turkey on February 5, 2019 where he was supposed to meet an agent named Behzad. However, upon reaching, Behzad asked Sharma if he would work as a waiter. When Sharma enquired about it, Kailash said the ship had already set sail and demanded 20,00 to look for another job. Sharma collectively paid Kailash 2.24 lakh. When he asked Behzad to look at his documents, he learnt there was no such shipping firm in Istanbul. When Sharma returned to India and visited Kailashs shop, it was shut and he learnt Kailash has cheated others too, said an officer from Nerul police station. The police have registered a case of cheating following a preliminary inquiry. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Jasmine Kellett never doubted that she would become the first person in her family to attend university, but her father did. "My dad was originally sceptical, he was kind of like: Why would you need to go to university? I didnt go to university and my life turned out great'." Beyond some friends starting this year, Jasmine Kellett knows almost nobody with university experience. Credit:Eddie Jim Her father, a truck driver, will now "boast to anybody he meets" but, like Jasmine's mother and two older sisters, can't draw on first-hand experience. "My mum is all for it because she didn't have the opportunity to go to uni herself ... [but] it can be a bit daunting because I don't have anyone really to go to and ask 'what did you do in this scenario?" Ms Kellett said. New Delhi: The abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution was the first step towards fulfilling the objective of 'Akhand Bharat' and its next step would be to take back the Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav said on Saturday. The abrogation of Article 370 was a step towards the goal of 'Akhand Bharat' (integral India), said Madhav, while addressing the participants of 'Chhatra Sansad' in Vigyan Bhawan here. Asked by a participant when will the dream of Akhand Bharat be realised, he said, "It will happen in phases. The first thing is that Jammu and Kashmir which was somewhat not in the mainstream, has been holistically connected to India." "Our next objective is to take back the Indian land which is under illegal occupation of Pakistan," said the senior BJP leader, pointing out that a resolution to take back PoK had been passed by the Parliament in 1994. The senior BJP leader said the 20th century India was a "romantic and reticent" nation, carrying the dreams of a newly Independent people, but the current generation is pragmatic and ambitious. "The 21st century Bharat is different from the 20th century Bharat that was romantic and reticent as it had dreams of newly independent people and was ruled by freedom fighters. But the 21st century Bharat is pragmatic, pro-active and ambitious as it belongs to the youth." Madhav said it is the destiny of India to emerge as a global leader on the basis of its large population of youth and economic might. Seventeen students of a government school were hospitalised in Ajmer after consuming milk served during the mid-day meal on Saturday. The students from Arjun Pura Khalsa School were hospitalised after they complained of nausea, diarrhea, vomiting and stomach cramps. The children's condition is stable now. Speaking to ANI, KK Seni, Chief Medical Health Officer (CMHO) said, "Seventeen children were rushed to the hospital and are stable now. The Food Safety Officer was sent to take the food samples of the meal. We are looking further into it. The medical team is present at the location. A total of 80 students are under screening."Arjun Pura village headman Shakti Rawat has demanded strict action against school authorities for negligence. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ever been hit by an unfair parking penalty or plagued with nuisance phone calls? Who hasn't? Then you'll know how hard it is to get someone to handle your complaint properly. You spend hours waiting on the end of a phone line stuck with on-hold music and 'your call is important to us' lies only for a computer to hang up on you. Writing a letter or email is often just as maddening. It's hard to know if your correspondence ever reaches someone, or just gets thrown in the bin. The DoNotPay website has been a runaway success. Claim compensation today And even if you do get a reply, it's inevitably the same standard rejection letter everyone seems to receive. Well, now you are finally able to turn the tables with some technology of your own the 21st Century 'robot lawyer'. This technological marvel uses computer software to battle stubborn or downright crooked companies on your behalf. By fighting the bureaucratic machinery with its own software, it never runs out of patience in its quest for justice. It also knows all the legal loopholes to ensure you are no longer ripped off. And unlike a real-life lawyer who might fleece you all over again, the humble robot charges just 3 a month. It is the brainchild of British-born Joshua Browder. Aged just 23 and now based in California, he has developed a DoNotPay app. One word of warning. The monthly 3 subscription must be cancelled without the help of the 'robot lawyer' when its service is no longer required. And, in any case, you can easily fight the system yourself for free inspired by what the software can do. Joshua Browder who invented the world's first 'robot lawyer' app The software not only knows all the tricks of the legal trade, but gives guidance on what you must do to seek financial redress if you want to go it alone. Browder explains: 'It is high time people took back the power. 'Modern technology is often used by greedy big companies to unfairly grab our money but I have been working on computer technology to enable the victim to fight back with software support of their own. 'No longer do people need to feel harangued. Thanks to the way the app is designed there is no need for you to hire expensive legal lawyers the software can do it automatically.' So how does it work and could his clever app step in to help you battle the parking and nuisance caller cowboys? HOW ROBOT LAWYER FIGHTS YOUR TICKET The number of parking tickets being dished out is soaring in Britain. Last year the figure was up 20 per cent to 6.8 million. according to the DVLA, which tracks requests for vehicle records by private parking companies. The DoNotPay robot lawyer tackles unfair tickets by asking the motorist for details via text message about why and how they were hit with a penalty then working out the best strategy to fight any fine depending on your replies. Tricks that will get your call answered Getting through to a real person on the phone to deal with a problem can often seem like a challenge too far but the robot lawyer has the brains to know the best way to find firms that fail to pick up a call. The DoNotPay software contains details of thousands of firms from utility companies to outfits selling subscriptions and if you tap in the name of the company using the app it will try and find the best number to call. It is rarely the hotline given out on a website but a less well-known phone code, perhaps one reserved for 'VIP' customers or company staff. This can bypass the hours of hanging on the end of a telephone endured by modern callers a torture firms adopt knowing most eventually give up. This service can also be particularly useful for cancelling subscriptions for services you no longer require, such as gym memberships and music streaming. And if someone eventually answers the call stonewalling you with demands your request must also be put in a letter form, the robot lawyer comes up with an answer to this problem too. It automatically generates the necessary paperwork for you to print out, sign and post to the company. This includes escalating the complaint through a local authority or private car park up to independent adjudicator level. This can be done on your behalf by the robot or it can email an official letter for you to print out and post to fight the fine. The top reasons the robot lawyer beats a parking rap are if there is missing or defective signage, there is a mistake on the ticket such as a slightly wrong description of your vehicle, payment was actually made or there were problems fitting in the bay. According to the Road Traffic Act, bays must be at least 180cm wide. The app starts by texting you questions such as: 'What do you think is wrong with the ticket?', and 'Explain what was wrong with the signs.' From this it gleans enough detail to tell you what to do next. A council 'penalty charge notice' must be appealed against within 14 days. If it does not budge on your initial appeal a 'notice to owner' demand is sent out and the robot lawyer has a further 28 days to help you argue the case. If the council still demands you pay, it sends a final rejection letter. With the help of the robot lawyer or doing it yourself you then appeal to an independent adjudicator within 28 days. This is the Traffic Penalty Tribunal in England and Wales, the Environment and Traffic Adjudicators in London and the Scottish Parking Appeals Service in Scotland. Those who get a 'parking charge notice' when parked on private land can no longer be clamped under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. The robot lawyer will clearly point out this legal fact and show how to argue your case. If your initial private car park appeal is rejected you usually have a further 28 days to put your case to the independent Parking on Private Land Appeals scheme, which is backed by the British Parking Association. Do not be daunted by the challenge as the robot lawyer holds your hand all the way as it stands up to the bullies. Some 40 per cent of parking tickets challenged are thrown out in Britain though only one in four drivers bothers to appeal. Bowder claims there has been a 60 per cent success rate since the app was developed in 2015, saving US motorists 20million. He hopes UK drivers will now embrace the service to save themselves similar sums. TAKE REVENGE ON NUISANCE CALLS This month the DoNotPay app is broadening its scope by also offering a 'robo revenge' facility where software fights unwanted callers. First, you should independently register with the Telephone Preference Service to demand none of the 950 companies that are members of the Direct Marketing Association will call. Non-members and foreign firms could still sneak through, but this should limit the cold-callers. Once you've signed up with the robot lawyer, you are automatically telling DMA members to leave you alone or else. If one of these companies flaunts its own membership guidelines and rings you trying to sell an unwanted service, for example then the robot also turns nasty. Tap in details of the caller to the robot lawyer while it is still harassing you on the phone and it instantly comes back with fake credit card details for you to give to this nuisance caller. You are not buying anything or giving away personal details. The robot lawyer has simply tricked the caller and once the phoney credit card details have been handed over the robot is able to harvest data, such as where the company is based, to exact revenge. The robot lawyer then provides a formal addressed legal letter for you to print out and post to the offender demanding recompense for flouting the direct marketing rules. Technically, the company has broken Privacy and Electronic Regulations 2003. These are largely untested, but even if you do not get any money back it should put a stop to the company haranguing you. With the help of the robot, you can also report the caller to industry watchdogs the Information Commissioner's Office and the Office of Communications. These have the power to fine any callers that have breached phone sales regulations. The robot lawyer also generates documents you can file to a small claims court as a warning to be left well alone. People protesting against CAA at Shaheen Bagh have continued their agitation despite threats and police barricading led to commuting woes near the site, Supreme Court-appointed interlocutor Wajahat Habibullah said in an affidavit People protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) at Shaheen Bagh are doing so peacefully despite facing threats, former Chief Information Commissioner and Supreme Court-appointed interlocutor Wajahat Habibullah said in an affidavit on Sunday. Habibullah, in his affidavit, further stated that it was the barricading of unconnected roads by the police, and not the protest itself, that led to commuting woes near the site. Habibullah and Supreme Court lawyers Sadhana Ramachandran and Sanjay Hegde were appointed last week by the apex court as interlocutors to reason with demonstrators to shift the venue from Shaheen Bagh. The interlocutors have held four rounds of meetings with protesters since 19 February. In his affidavit, Habibullah said that the protest was a form of peaceful dissent against the CAA-NRC-NPR, the legislations which they saw as a threat to their survival and that of their future generations, Live Law reported. "The ladies at the site include the old, middle-aged and young, along with little children. The assembly is peaceful," the report said. Debunking reports about the inconvenience being caused by the protest, Habibullah wrote that the people came out to protest out of desperation despite blanket threats to their lives. The report states, "They have emphasised that they sit in protest every day facing threats of attacks as well as actual attacks, including shots being fired and constant vilification." An incident of firing was reported last month at the Shaheen Bagh protest site. The affidavit read that none of the residents or shopkeepers objected to the protests and rather empathised with the citizens of India who were deeply hurt to have been labelled as traitors by political parties. According to Habibullahs findings, the protest site at Shaheen Bagh provides them with security as it is flanked from all sides and emergency vehicles are given immediate and safe passage. In his report, Habibullah also held the police responsible for commuters facing traffic woes near the protest site. The police placed barricades on parallel and adjoining roads, despite having no connection with the protest site, leading to inconvenience and chaos for commuters on the south east Delhi and Noida stretch, the affidavit read. Habibullah also suggested that the police should reveal the names of those behind the decision to block parallel and arterial roads instead of regulating the traffic. As per the report, the roads that have been blocked unnecessarily include the 40-foot-road as well as main road leading to Jamia, New Friends Colony etc. from the roundabout of Kalindi Kunj Metro station, blockades towards Okhla, access to Noida on the Expressway to Delhi and Faridabad and access from Akshardham Temple on the Yamuna Bridge, among many others. In his affidavit, Habibullah has stated that police have blocked five points around Shaheen Bagh, reported ANI. The blockade has led to massive traffic jams in and around Ashram and parts of south Delhi, with other Noida-Delhi connections, straining alternate routes between south east Delhi and Noida. #ShaheenBaghProtest : Ex CIC Wajahaj Habibullah, one of the interlocutors appointed by SC has filed an affidavit in the Court on the protest. Hearing is scheduled to be held tomorrow by a two-judge bench#CAA_NRC_Protests pic.twitter.com/um0AFojP7z Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) February 23, 2020 In the latest round of talks held on Saturday, protesters asked that the Supreme Court guarantee their safety before one bound on Road 13A is opened up and that the police cases against residents of Jamia Nagar in connection with anti-CAA protests be withdrawn. On Friday, protesters asked interlocutors why they were being asked to vacate the area when there were other roads too connecting Delhi and Noida, apart from blaming the police for blocking roads. When we checked the roads, we noticed that many roads are open, which were blocked by the police. I am very upset to say that the Noida-Faridabad road, which was opened on Friday, was again closed by the police. Whoever has done this is now answerable to the Supreme Court, Ramachandran had said on Friday. When the interlocutors spoke to the SHO about the security of the protesters, the demonstrators at Shaheen Bagh chanted, "Delhi Police par bharosa nahi (we don't trust the Delhi Police)." By Saturday night, Road Number 9 was opened by the protesters, allowing passage of vehicles on the stretch between Noida and south Delhi. Around the same time, around 500 people, mostly women, gathered near the Jaffrabad metro station to protest CAA, prompting Delhi Metro authorities to close the entry and exit gates of the station. Shaheen Bagh protests began in December after the passage of CAA. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court had issued notice on a plea seeking clearance of Shaheen Bagh protesters from Delhi, while upholding the peoples right to protest. The next hearing in the matter is scheduled to be held on Monday by a two-judge bench. With inputs from PTI A disabled war veteran who ploughed his Armed Forces compensation into Sirius Minerals shares stands to lose 250,000 from Anglo Americans bid. John (not his real name) was disabled in active service and, after struggling for decades, received 300,000. I never had any money before and I really wanted to take care of it, he said. Stakeholders are unhappy with their investment in Sirius Minerals After putting the cash into building societies, John switched to shares as saving rates were so low. Initially, he invested in FTSE 100 stocks. Then he came across Sirius. I looked at it from 2014. I thought it was a fascinating, long-term prospect, he said. John, 62, invested in 2016, after seeing a video of chief executive Chris Fraser explaining how the project would be financed, alluding to a Government guarantee the firm had qualified for. He kept on putting money into the company until November 2019. I always felt it was such a good project, John explains. Now I feel ashamed. He feels his only option is to sell his shares this week, in case the deal is rejected and he ends up with nothing. I am devastated, he says. The Vietnamese delegation to the event comprises representatives of the ministries of Industry and Trade, and Foreign Affairs, and the office of the intersectoral steering committee for international integration. Within the framework of SOM 1, there were many important workshops and policy dialogues, including high-level multi-party ones on APECs post-2020 vision. Host Malaysia has selected the theme of Optimising Human Potential towards a Future of Shared Prosperity, for APEC 2020, and outlined three priorities for its Chairmanship, namely improving the narrative of trade and investment, inclusive economic participation through digital economy and technology, and driving innovative sustainability. The agenda of SOM 1 was based on the three priorities, focusing on such issues as accelerating regional economic integration, reviewing the realisation of Bogor goals and building APECs post-2020 vision that will be submitted to the APEC Economic Leaders Meeting scheduled for November. The delegates looked into preparations for the Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting and the Tourism Ministers Meeting slated for April, and the Structural Reform Ministerial Meeting in August. They shared the views on APECs contributions to the multilateral trade system in the context of the 25th founding anniversary of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the upcoming 12th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC 12). The ministers paid special attention to initiatives regarding digital economy and technology. On the sidelines of SOM 2, Malaysia is scheduled to organise a digital week from April 12-19. Also in April, the Digital Economy Steering Group will convened their first meeting in the year to discuss in detail the implementation of the APEC Internet and Digital Economy Roadmap. A child murderer who brutally battered her two-year-old stepson to death has started a relationship with a transgender killer behind bars, prison sources claim. Nyomi Fee, 32, and her then civil partner Rachel Trelfa chained two-year old Liam Fee to a cage in a room filled with snakes and rats before murdering him in 2014. Liam - Trelfa's son - was beaten so severely that medics likened his injuries to those usually sustained by car crash victims. Fee - who was jailed for life in 2016 - met Alex Stewart, 31, in HMP Greenock, Scotland, where the latter is serving 19 years for stabbing father-of-two John Weir. Child murderer Nyomi Fee (left) who brutally battered her two-year-old stepson to death has started a relationship with transgender killer Alex Stewart (right) behind bars, prison sources claim Fee, 32, and her then civil partner Rachel Trelfa chained two-year old Liam Fee (pictured) to a cage in a room filled with snakes and rats before murdering him in 2014 Stewart, formerly known as Alan Baker, met Mr Weir on a dating site just hours before she stabbed him at least 16 times. She now lives as a woman in the prison's female wing. A prison source told The Sun that the pair became an item after other prisoners ignored the child killer due to the heinous nature of her crime. The source said: 'Theyre always disappearing into each others rooms, thinking theyre being discreet when theyre not. 'Theyre basically glued together at recreation, exercise, meal times and whenever they can be. Liam - Trelfa's son - was beaten so severely that medics likened his injuries to those usually sustained by car crash victims. Pictured: Fee (right) and Trelfa (left) in 2016 'The girl inmates are fed up with their blatant displays of public affection.' Little Liam had more than 30 external injuries and spent the last few days of his short life in agony from an untreated broken leg and fractured arm. His mother Trelfa was jailed for life with a minimum of 23-and-a-half years. MailOnline approached the Scottish Prison Service for comment. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-24 00:14:05|Editor: yan Video Player Close SKOPJE, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Three children were killed and seven other people seriously injured in a gas cylinder explosion on Sunday morning at the village of Romanovce, some 40 km northeast of North Macedonia's capital Skopje. According to the Ministry of Interior, the explosion happened at about 10:00 a.m. local time and caused fire in a family house, killing the three kids aged 8, 9 and 11. The health authorities said that the seven injured were transported to hospitals. "Four of the patients are in life-threatening condition with high degree of burns. One of the patients is a child with smaller area of burns," said Venko Filipce, minister for health. Police said that public prosecutor and investigation teams are on the spot investigating the causes of the incident. The Associated Press declared Sen. Bernie Sanders the winner of Nevadas Democratic caucuses, the third popular-vote victory in as many primary contests by the races current frontrunner. I am delighted to bring you some pretty good news, said Sanders, speaking at a rowdy campaign event in San Antonio, Texas. I think all of you know we won the popular vote in Iowa. We won the New Hampshire primary. And according to three networks and the AP, we have now won the Nevada caucus. Let me thank the people of Nevada for their support, he continued. In Nevada we have just put together a multigenerational, multiracial coalition that is not only going to win in Nevada, its going to sweep this country. The Sanders campaign has focused on Hispanic outreach, and according to entrance polls, it worked in Nevada. CNN reported that 54 percent of Hispanic voters said they chose Sanders, with former Vice President Joe Biden a distant second at 13 percent. Those numbers are in line with a national Morning Consult poll released last week that showed Sanders with the support of 48 percent of Hispanic Democrats. Polling in the state had been sparse, but multiple recent surveys showed Sanders with double-digit leads after trailing Biden by nine points as recently as Jan. 1, according to the Real Clear Politics polling average of Nevada. Four years ago, Sanders lost the state to Hillary Clinton by five percent, but this time around his campaign flooded the state with thousands of volunteers that the campaign said knocked on 500,000-plus doors. Previously, Sanders won the popular votes in Iowa and New Hampshire, although former Mayor Pete Buttigieg took a slight delegate lead into Saturday. As caucus results were coming in earlier Saturday, Sanders was holding an event in El Paso, Texas, sticking to his stump speech and turning his attention to the March 3 Super Tuesday states. The race for a distant second was tight between Biden and Buttigieg, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren in fourth. Billionaire Tom Steyer, who spent millions in Nevada, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar were struggling to crack double digits. Story continues Sen. Bernie Sanders greets supporters in the crowd outside a campaign rally in El Paso, Texas, on the day of the Nevada caucuses. (Mike Segar/Reuters) Last week, Sanders was drawn into a war of words with Nevadas powerful culinary union, which represents thousands of Las Vegas hospitality workers. Local 226 sent out a flier to members stating that Sanderss single-payer Medicare for All plan would end their union-provided health care. Sanders said his plan would assure coverage at least as good as what members have now. The union didnt endorse an alternative, instead throwing its support behind its goals. Sanders won almost all of the casino sites, which are set up for the union members to vote during their Saturday shifts. CNN reported that caucus entrance polls showed 62 percent of Nevadans support Medicare for All, and CBS News entrance poll showed Sanders winning more than a third of caucus-goers who identified themselves as living in a union household. Nearly 75,000 people voted early, before Wednesday nights debate. It was the first year the Silver State allowed early voting, and the early-vote total nearly matched 2016s total turnout of 84,000. On Saturday, the Nevada Democratic Party announced that more than 10,000 Nevadans had registered as Democrats during the early voting period. The amount of early voting that occurred before the debate might have hurt Warren, who turned in a strong performance and received a fundraising boost. The Iowa debacle earlier this month provided a warning to Nevada Democrats, who ditched an app developed by the same company that created the Hawkeye States faulty reporting system and replaced it with 2,000 iPads equipped with Cisco Systems security software. National and local leaders lowered expectations earlier this week, declining to guarantee results on Saturday and stating that the most important thing was accuracy. Nevada Democrats provided three results: The initial count of voters preferences at each individual precinct, the final count after candidates who had failed to reach a 15 percent viability threshold were eliminated from contention and their supporters had to realign, and then delegate equivalents from each individual caucus site. Sanders won all three tallies. _____ Read more from Yahoo News: The Upstart Crow Gielgud Theatre, London Until April 25, 2hrs 20mins Rating: This is a play that recycles the BBC Shakespeare sitcom and plonks in it a playhouse complete with ye olde crappe Tudor scenery. David Mitchell reprises his starring role as the exasperated, balding Bard whos run out of puff plot-wise. Its 1605 and he admits he has banged out a few clunkers of late. He needs a hit. Just as in Ben Eltons series, Shakespeares household think hes total rubbish at comedy hard to argue with if youve ever sat through The Two Gentlemen Of Verona. David Mitchell reprises his starring role as the exasperated, balding Bard whos run out of puff plot-wise and Rob Rouse is Wills outspoken servant Bottom (both above) Mitchell recreates his role perfectly but doesnt add to it. The real light in this cash-in spin-off is the wonderful Gemma Whelan as Kate, Wills landladys daughter, who gives him the idea for King Lear. Shes dying to be an actress but cant, as its illegal. Whelan alone radiates warmth in three dimensions. Danielle Phillips (Judith) and Helen Monks (Susanna) are the Bards sarky Brummie daughters. Theres no Mrs Shakespeare, so no Liza Tarbuck. Mark Heap formerly the Elizabethan writer Robert Greene now plays Dr John Hall, the self-abusing, Malvolio-like puritan with an enormous comedy codpiece. The real light in this cash-in spin-off is the wonderful Gemma Whelan (above) as Kate, Wills landladys daughter, who gives him the idea for King Lear Steve Speirs is rotundly hammy as leading actor Burbage, and Rob Rouse is Wills outspoken servant Bottom. Theres also a dancing bear that has escaped from The Globe, largely so that the celebrated stage direction Exit, pursued by a bear (from The Winters Tale) can be deployed. Elton is at his best when hes skewering the idiocies of today. I loved the public announcement encouraging the butchery of Catholic heretics: See it, slay it, slaughtered. IT'S A FACT The title of the TV series Upstart Crow came from an insult penned to describe Shakespeare by poet and playwright Robert Greene. Advertisement Indeed, laughter rolls around the theatre in panto fashion, with appropriately Dick Whittington-like backdrops. Director Sean Foley keeps the pace going and redeems himself after the disastrous hash of The Man In The White Suit. The show somehow shoehorns in a shipwrecked Egyptian princess, Desiree (Rachel Summers), and her twin, Arragon (Jason Callender). In this mash-up of the plots of Twelfth Night and Othello, theres lots of stuff about gender fluidity and todays theatrical pieties, to which Elton is alert and wokefully supportive. Hats off to any show that can generate this much laughter. But, unlike the telly version, I found it relentless. Shakespeare In Love, which shone with such wit and romance, seems a golden memory compared to this one-note farce. The Visit Olivier Stage, National Theatre, London Until May 13, 3hrs 30mins Rating: Tony Kushner, Americas darling playwright, is perhaps too sacred to cut. His over-extended version of this 1956 tragi-comic classic by Swiss writer Friedrich Durrenmatt is in dire need of hedge-trimmers. Its the story of the worlds richest woman, who returns to a hick town (relocated from Europe to the US) looking for revenge. This terrifying visitor she has metal legs and seven ex-husbands! is a whopping star part, played by Lauren Bacall at Chichester 25 years ago and now by Lesley Manville (Oscar nominee in 2018 and so good in the BBCs Mum). She triumphs in this, too, as a she-wolf in Paris fashions. Hugo Weaving plays the shopkeeper who impregnated and dumped her years before. The action is too dragged out to sustain the plays magic. Worth it, though, for Lesley Manville (above) on flying form as a rare bird of prey The visitor offers the locals a deal: one billion dollars to kill her old lover. Greed soon eats up the towns soul. The small-town-America sets are a big-budget spectacle, and the smoky, live jazz score (from Paul Englishby) a treat. But the action is too dragged out to sustain the plays magic. Worth it, though, for Manville on flying form as a rare bird of prey. A Number Bridge Theatre, London Until March 14, 1hr Rating: I first saw this gripping Caryl Churchill sci-fi play, inspired by creepy genetic technology, when it starred Michael Gambon as a bad dad encountering three sons, all played by Daniel Craig. It is now back and Roger Allam stars as the father, whom we meet talking to Bernard. He has always believed he is a much-loved only child but has discovered he is not his fathers original but one of a number of identical sons. The father knew he was a clone but not that the geneticist he hired for the job actually created a number about 20. A case, then, of send in the clones. A Number is now back and Roger Allam (above) stars as the father, whom we meet talking to Bernard. He has always believed he is a much-loved only child but has discovered he is not Further shocking revelations pour forth, written in overlapping dialogue (ie, the way people actually talk), which addresses the possibility that in some cold future we may not be individuals at all. The staging, however, never conjures up test tubes or white coats. It takes place in an utterly normal home: bay window, net curtains, yucca plant. You can imagine a family from Gogglebox lounging on the sofa discussing Gareth Malone. Colin Morgan is cast as the three young men. The star of the BBC series Merlin, he last year appeared at The Old Vic in All My Sons, which, if it wasnt already taken, would be a better title for this show. Morgan gives us, superbly, three distinct people: the first vulnerable and befuddled, the next feral and scary, the last chatty and cheerful, and speaking in the actors native Northern Irish voice. The detail in all of these performances is minute. Watch how one son furtively glances at the mirror, as if to check hes real. But this is not so much a play about Frankenstein science as about every parents lot. Allam is hunched, fretful and reeking of failure. As a father to three sons, I watched aghast at how unerringly Churchill exposes parental regrets: the misreading of a childs cries for help, the ache of self-reproach, the bungled making of amends. What a graveyard of good intentions parenthood is! Polly Findlays staging is a thrill. The room (designed by Lizzie Clachan) is magically rearranged in super-quick blackout scene changes to reveal different perspectives. Two top-flight actors work hand in glove in an emotionally true and raw play thats over in a trice. Far Away Donmar Warehouse, London Until April 4, 40mins Rating: This is an eerie, disturbing play about a country that has slipped into barbarism. First seen 20 years ago, Caryl Churchills creepy, dream-like prophecy involving atrocities and show trials stars the excellent Jessica Hynes. We first meet her lying to a little girl who has seen something nasty blood, a body bag, a child being beaten in the woodshed. Next there are two milliners (Aisling Loftus and Simon Manyonda) making outrageous Ascot hats the same hats are then, shockingly, modelled by fearful condemned prisoners. First seen 20 years ago, Caryl Churchills creepy, dream-like prophecy involving atrocities and show trials stars the excellent Jessica Hynes (above) By the mad ending, all creatures are partisans at war horses, wasps, dentists, the French. As for the mallards, theyre on the side of the elephants and the Koreans. Lyndsey Turner directs this surreal dispatch from a warring future and makes it feel chillingly present. But at a mere 40 minutes itll probably only appeal to Churchill fans. Alone In Berlin Royal & Derngate, Northampton Until Sat, touring until March 28, 2hrs 40mins Rating: This is about an ordinary working-class German couple who lose their soldier son in action and in a campaign of lonely resistance start to leave Down with Hitler postcards in the stairwells of Berlin. They are hunted down by a detective from the Gestapo. German writer Hans Falladas acclaimed 1947 novel is translated and adapted by Alistair Beaton (it was also made into a 2016 film with Emma Thompson and Brendan Gleeson). It is a black actor (the gentle Joseph Marcell) who plays the Gestapo detective and Julius DSilva and Clive Mendus (above with Marcell and Jessica Walker) play a pair of Berlin low-lifes Denis Conway and Charlotte Emmerson play Otto and Anna, who are emboldened by their grief and disgust, knowing its the guillotine if caught. Their marriage is sorely tested by this lethally dangerous campaign. Julius DSilva and Clive Mendus (both excellent) play a pair of Berlin low-lifes, Abiola Ogunbiyi is the dead sons lover, with Jay Taylor never underacting as the sadistic SS officer. It is a black actor (the gentle Joseph Marcell) who plays the Gestapo detective a case of colour-blind casting that might raise an eyebrow. But he does the job. James Dacres production echoes Berlins pioneering, pre-war theatre style, with added wry songs sung by Jessica Walker. But theres too much technique. I wanted to feel more of the books thriller-ish thrust and its all-enveloping fog of evil. Be More Chill The Other Palace, London Until May 3, 2hrs 30mins Rating: American musical Be More Chill feels like both a Nineties throwback (a high-school story about a dweeby kid wholl do anything to be cool) and very much a Generation Z phenomenon (the soundtrack is a streaming sensation, listened to online by more than 350 million people, and this London premiere prompts whoops of recognition). Joe Iconiss songs have a brassy, pop-punk sound and prove catchy and funny enough to explain the phenomenon. And Young Adult novelist Ned Vizzinis teenage-outsider story has an obvious, perennial appeal, here given a sci-fi twist: Jeremy (Scott Folan), our anxiety-riddled underdog, swallows a pill containing a supercomputer (embodied with devilish charisma by Stewart Clarke) that can make him popular. That said, the relentlessly full-tilt, neon-bright, selfie-snapping teenager world is cartoonish and wont appeal to everyone. The original New York director, Stephen Brackett, here mounts a small-scale production what it lacks in flashy tech it mostly makes up for with pep. Jeremy (Scott Folan, above with Bake Patrick Anderson), our anxiety-riddled underdog, swallows a pill containing a supercomputer that can make him popular Renee Lamb stands out from a versatile chorus, while Blake Patrick Anderson sensitively embodies the spurned-best-mate part of Michael (clearly a fan favourite). As Jeremy, Folan may not have the sweetest voice but he makes the part his own with a guileless, fully adorable performance. Be More Chill may be hot here too. Holly Williams KYODO NEWS - Feb 23, 2020 - 21:53 | All, Japan, Coronavirus Japan will keep close tabs on the health conditions of people who were allowed to leave a coronavirus-hit cruise ship after testing negative for the virus, the country's health minister said Sunday, following revelations that one such person was found infected soon after returning home. The country's health authorities will make daily phone calls to hundreds of people who have disembarked from the Diamond Princess docked in Yokohama, and have already asked them to avoid using public transportation and to wear masks when they come into contact with others, Katsunobu Kato said. On Saturday, authorities in Tochigi Prefecture said a woman in her 60s, who left the cruise ship and returned home in the prefecture using public transport, tested positive for the pneumonia-causing virus earlier that day. Her test results came back negative on Feb. 15, four days prior to her disembarkation. "I have to take it seriously," said Kato, in commenting on her infection, at a press conference. The health minister said during a parliamentary session last Wednesday that he sees no need to quarantine Diamond Princess passengers who tested negative, once they disembark from the ship. "The National Institute of Infectious Diseases suggested that people who had been under control for 14 days, tested negative and were given final approval about their health, can use public transport. And I made the final judgement (to go ahead with the policy)," the minister said at the time. On Sunday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe instructed his government to swiftly draw up a basic policy to curb the spread of the new coronavirus in Japan. Speaking at a meeting, Abe called for quickly building a system to provide necessary medical services in an effort to prevent people infected with the pneumonia-causing virus from falling seriously ill. Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Kato will lead work to craft the policy, which Abe said will involve providing information to the public and companies, as well as implementing measures to block the spread of infection and provide medical services to patients. The policy is expected to be announced Tuesday. "Curbing the speed of an increase in the number of patients is extremely important to contain an epidemic," the prime minister said, citing rising cases of infection from unknown routes in the country. So far, around 840 people have tested positive for the virus in Japan. Most of the cases, or 691, involved passengers and crew of the vessel. Meanwhile, the health ministry said Sunday a Japanese man in his 80s who was on the Diamond Princess has died from pneumonia, bringing the number of deaths among people who boarded the coronavirus-hit vessel to three. However, the ministry refrained from clarifying whether the man tested positive for the virus or whether he was a passenger or a crew member, citing a lack of consent from his family. The man had pre-existing conditions, the ministry said. In Japan, two Japanese passengers -- an 87-year-old man and an 84-year-old woman -- died from COVID-19, the official name of the pneumonia caused by the new virus, last Thursday. Their deaths followed the first COVID-19 death in the country, of a woman in her 80s, a week earlier. She was unrelated to the cruise ship. Related coverage: Virus deaths in China pass 2,400, 648 new cases South Korea reports 123 new-coronavirus cases, total reaches 556 U.S. raises travel alert to Japan due to "community spread" of virus Japan mulls using anti-flu drug Avigan to treat coronavirus Japan's yen may lose status as "safe-haven asset" amid virus spread And he takes "Dad naps on weekends when I can," he tweeted. Most nights Cuban gets "about 7 hrs [of sleep]. Less on others," as he said during a Q&A via media company The Boardroom's Twitter account on Tuesday Although he has a portfolio with hundreds of companies to tend to, billionaire investor and "Shark Tank" star Mark Cuban is at a point in his life where he can get a good night's sleep . In 2017, Cuban told Thrive Global podcast that he watches NBC's "Law & Order" to wind down before bed and sets the television to turn off automatically. "Maybe it's a bad habit," he said. "I think it's an old habit that I just haven't gotten rid of. Where, when my mind was racing so much and I needed to turn off and couldn't, it was a distraction. When I was thinking about work all the time. If there was something else on, just to distract." He also said he uses a fitness tracker to monitor how well he slept. Cuban isn't the only billionaire that prioritizes sleep. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates gets at least seven hours of sleep each night, although he pulled all-nighters at the beginning of his career. "I realize that my all-nighters, combined with almost never getting eight hours of sleep, took a big toll," Gates wrote in a December blog post. He also likes a "short midday nap" before 3 p.m. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, on the other hand, needs a little more rest each night. "Eight hours of sleep makes a big difference for me, and I try hard to make that a priority," Bezos told Thrive Global in 2016. "For me, that's the needed amount to feel energized and excited." The billionaires are on to something: Those who regularly get seven to eight hours of sleep are more productive than people who get six hours of sleep, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine found. The organization recommends that adults get seven hours of sleep or more each night. Check out: The best credit cards of 2020 could earn you over $1,000 in 5 years See also: Gov. Kay Ivey of Alabama raised questions on Sunday about a federal plan to transport American passengers of the Diamond Princess cruise ship who tested positive for the coronavirus to a federal center in the state. Governor Ivey said that the Department of Health and Human Services last week had inadvertently publicized the proposal to transport an unspecified number of American passengers to the Federal Emergency Management Agency facility in Anniston, Ala., as early as Wednesday. She said the Anniston center is actually being considered as a back up. There were some grave concerns about why the site in Anniston was chosen and how, logistically, this would play out in the event this backup site were to be eventually activated, Governor Ivey said. While locating these folks in Alabama is currently a backup plan, this is a serious issue and we need to be fully aware of the facts regarding the potential of housing them in Anniston. Senator Richard C. Shelby of Alabama said in a tweet on Sunday that President Trump had told him that his administration will not be sending any victims of the Coronavirus from the Diamond Princess cruise ship to Anniston, Alabama. The exchange came as officials scrambled to monitor thousands of people returning from China. It underscored the apprehension among some about where Americans who have tested positive for the coronavirus would be taken. The city of Costa Mesa, Calif., has gone to court to block state and federal officials, at least temporarily, from placing dozens of people evacuated from Asia in a state-owned residential facility in their community. Mr. Trump was upset that passengers with coronavirus were brought back to the United States, according to administration officials. Reporting was contributed by Choe Sang-Hun, Elisabetta Povoledo, Austin Ramzy, Motoko Rich, Makiko Inoue, Salman Masood, Mujib Mashal, Isabel Kershner, Tiffany May, Derrick Bryson Taylor, Tess Felder, Amy Harmon, Farah Stockman, Edward Wong, Vivian Wang, Mihir Zaveri, Katrin Bennhold and Constant Meheut. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-23 17:19:04|Editor: Wang Yamei Video Player Close ANKARA, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday evening said the Turkish military had "martyrs" in Libya, while Turkish-backed forces killed 100 "rival fighters" in the country. "Of course we have a few martyrs," Erdogan said speaking in western Izmir province. But in return, Turkey have "neutralized" close to 100 rival members there, he said, referring to the Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Khalifa Haftar against the internationally recognized government based in Tripoli. "Against Haftar, we are there with our hero soldiers and our teams from the Syrian National Army," he said, admitting for the first time the presence of Turkish-backed Syrian rebels fighting in Libya. In January, Turkey sent military support along with army officers to Libya in support the Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli, led by Fayez al-Sarraj. Last week, the LNA reportedly targeted a Turkish vessel in Libyan port. SKOPJE, Macedonia - Four people, including three children, were killed and six other members of the same family were seriously injured when a gas tank for cooking exploded in their home Sunday in northern Macedonia, authorities said. Police said that the three children, an 8-year-old boy and girls ages 9 and 11, died instantly when the gas tank exploded in the living room of a family house in the village of Romanovce. Firefighters later extinguished the blaze. A 58-year-old man died late Sunday at a Skopje clinic, the clinics head of the intensive care unit told local media. Local media later reported that the gas tank exploded while the Albanian-minority family was preparing breakfast. The six surviving injured include four women, one of whom is pregnant, and a 10-year-old boy. Two women, aged 30 and 50, a man and the 10-year-old boy, are still in critical condition, the intensive care unit head, Ilir Hasani, told local media. ___ A previous version of this story was corrected to show that the gas tank was used for cooking, not heating. NEW HAVEN The community forum Black Womens Firsts, featuring Connecticut black women who have broken through the glass ceiling in their respective eld will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. March 7 at the New Haven Museum. The event held in commemoration of International Womens Week,and presented by Urban Grants 4 Us, Inc. is free and will be followed by a Q&A session and reception, according to a release. The program is organized and moderated by Petisia M. Adger, the first black female assistant police chief in Connecticut, who also created and heads Urban Grants 4 Us, Inc., the release said. Black Womens Firsts, will celebrate the landmark achievements of black women in public and private institutions throughout Connecticut. Adger said empirical research has given credence to what many black professional women have always known throughout their careersthat they lag far behind their white counterparts, the release said. She maintains that black women earn 21 percent less than white women, are less likely to be promoted, and have fewer opportunities to showcase their work, the release said. Therefore, she says, It is imperative that we share our history and the trials and tribulations of our successes with the next generation of black women in order to secure their equitable access throughout institutions in the United States and Connecticut. The panelists for Black Womens Firsts are: Ina Anderson - 1st black female officer to serve on the Bridgeport Fire Department Esther Armmand - past alderwoman/president of Sojourner Network of Democratic Women, CT Alisa Bowens-Mercado - founder of Rhythm Brewing Co., the 1st African American female-owned beer company in CT and the 4th black-owned brewery in the U.S Diane Brown - 3rd black female branch manager in New Haven Public Librarys 100-year history. Honorable Toni N. Harp - 1st woman and 2nd African American to serve as mayor of New Haven Babz Rawls Ivy - editor-in-chief of The Inner-City News and WNHH radio personality Tamiko McArthur - pediatrician and owner of New Haven Pediatric & Adolescent Medical Services Janette J. Parker - former Connecticut 95th District state representative Urban Grants 4 Uss mission is to improve the sustainability rates of inner-city grassroots organizations by providing free program evaluations and grant writing workshops. Since November 2019, numerous area organizations have participated in classroom instruction centered on identifying, applying, winning and managing project grants. The New Haven Museum is at 114 Whitney Ave. For more information visit www.newhavenmuseum.org or Facebook.com/NewHavenMuseum or call 203-562-4183. Ludhiana: Shots were fired at the vehicle of Punjab Shiv Sena vice president Amit Arora and state chief of the youth wing Shiv Sena Hindustan Mani Shera in Ludhiana on Saturday. "We got the information that Amit Arora was in the office when his workers heard shots. We have called the forensics expert team from Mohali for investigation. We have provided them security on the basis of previous incidents. We are looking to CCTV footage," Ludhiana Police Commissioner Rakesh Agarwal told reporters here. However, no injuries were reported in the incident. Further investigation in the case is underway. Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment I hope this hasnt happened to you: You meet with a doctor only to later discover that the person you met with wasnt a doctor at all. You met with a counterfeit doctor, a person masquerading as someone else. We dont have to look very far in the news to see how often this actually happens: In August 2018, a 23-year-old man was sentenced to prison for impersonating a physician at two California hospitals. He roamed the halls of the hospitals wearing a white coat with a stethoscope around his neck, and even diagnosed a patient. In February 2016, an 18-year-old man in Palm Beach County, Florida, was arrested after opening his own medical clinic and impersonating a doctor. He was arrested after an undercover officer made an appointment and was examined by the teen. He was sentenced to more than three years in prison. In August 2012, a man pretended to be a doctor in South Carolina and treated as many as five hundred senior citizens through a collection of primary care facilities for seniors. He used stolen documentation belonging to a friend, an actual doctor, to gain approval to practice medicine at the South Carolina clinic. He faced two years in prison. All of these instances are reminiscent of one of the greatest counterfeiters of all time, one Frank Abagnale. Now 71, and working as an American security consultant for the FBI, Abagnale was the subject of the critically-acclaimed 2002 film "Catch Me If You Can." Before being caught and serving prison time in France, Sweden, and the United States, Abagnale successfully created eight different identities for himself including an airline pilot, a lawyer, a physician, and a Federal Bureau of Prisons agent. He supported himself by forging checks worth millions of dollars he was so good that the FBI eventually employed him to help them learn how to stop forgers. And then there was the most expensive counterfeit operation in modern times the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme on Wall Street. An actual respected financier and investment counselor on Wall Street before being caught, Madoffs fraud resulted in losses of $65 billion to investors by creating the illusion of sky-high returns. In typical Ponzi scheme fashion, new investments were used to pay previous investors fantastic payouts, payouts which attracted more new investors. No such cycle is sustainable, of course, and Madoff was sentenced to prison in 2009 for 150 years. These are all sad stories. Our hearts grieve for those who, for whatever reasons, feel the need to perpetrate such counterfeit illusions and for those hurt by their actions. These stories, and others like them, raise the question: How can we protect ourselves from counterfeiters as we go about our daily lives? In general, the phrase caveat emptor comes to mind: Let the buyer beware. Its up to us to carry out due diligence in this world to check the details, read the fine print, and kick the tires. As our parents told us, If something doesnt seem right, walk away. And, If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Counterfeits in the realm of medicine, finance, art, telephone scammers, and knock-off consumer goods are prevalent, and we must remain alert. But there is another realm in which counterfeit activity can be even more devastating: the world of spiritual activity and truth. Sadly, weve seen too many examples of spiritual counterfeiters in todays world. Dangers of Counterfeits Consider this question: Does a deceived person know he is deceived? Obviously not! Which illustrates just how careful we have to be in all of life, but especially in the spiritual realm. The entire human drama began with deception when Eve said to God, The serpent deceived me, and I ate [the forbidden fruit] (Genesis 3:13). And deception is mentioned some forty times in the New Testament. Jesus warned about false messiahs who would claim to be the Christ and deceive many (Matthew 24:4-5). He also warned about false prophets demonstrating convincing signs and wonders (verse 24) and wolves in sheeps clothing (Matthew 7:15). The apostle Paul warned the elders of the church in Ephesus that savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock, pretending to be servants of God (Acts 20:29). So be on your guard! he told them (verse 31, NIV). He warned the church in Rome about men who by smooth words and flattering speech [would] deceive the hearts of the simple (Romans 16:18). And he warned the Corinthians that just as Eve was deceived, your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ (2 Corinthians 11:3). Perhaps the clearest expose of spiritual counterfeits is Pauls description of the false apostles in Corinth: For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works (2 Corinthians 11:13-15). Do we think spiritual counterfeits disappeared at the end of the first century? Of course not! Counterfeit spiritual workers are ministers of Satan. As long as Satan exists, he will be using counterfeit spirituality and false doctrine to disrupt the growth and maturity of the Church. Whether a twenty-dollar bill, a designer handbag, or theological doctrine, all counterfeits are based on one thing: a lie. And Satan is the father of lies; lies are his native language there is no truth in him (John 8:44). So until he is confined in the bottomless pit for a thousand years, then thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone forever, he will seek to deceive the world about God and His Truth (Revelation 20:3, 10). Defending Against Counterfeits Think about this: We know from Scripture that, the closer we get to the end of this age and the Second Coming of Christ, the more chaotic this world will become. And wherever there is chaos, there is anxiety and worry. And wherever there are people who are desperate with questions, there will be an increase in people offering answers. Thats why Christians must know where to find His answers and where to put their trust in the days ahead. We must know how to separate true spirituality from counterfeit spirituality. 1. Know the Truth. For years, it was popular for preachers to say that U. S. Treasury agents study only actual currency in order to spot counterfeits. The fact is, agents study both. But the point is well-made: The more we know Gods Truth about everything, the more readily we can detect counterfeits. And yes, there is value in knowing about counterfeit doctrines. But in order to know what is false, we must first know what is true. So, our entire life must be based on what is true. In word and deed, we must walk in the paths of righteousness (Psalm 23:3), sticking to the narrow gate of truth in all things (Matthew 7:13). 2. Know God. God is the God of truth (Deuteronomy 32:4; Psalm 31:5). So, in order to know truth, we must know God. And just to be clear: No one comes to [God] except through [Christ Jesus] (John 14:6). But it is the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit of God, who leads us into knowing and understanding Gods Truth. As Jesus told the disciples, [The Spirit] will guide you into all truth (John 16:13). We know truth by knowing God through the Son, guided by the Spirit. 3. Know the Word. If he wasnt the first, the great theologian A. A. Hodge was among the first to call the Bible the only infallible rule of faith and practice (Outlines of Theology, 1860). Could anything be simpler? Christians must know the Word in order not to be deceived by counterfeit teaching. 4. Know courage. Do not be afraid to say No when someone offers you a teaching in person, on the Internet, or in a broadcast a teaching with which you are unfamiliar. Ask a trusted spiritual leader for guidance; read Scripture; pray; consider the source. As a Christian you are under no obligation to receive teachings from others of which you are uncertain. Just politely say No when necessary until you have time to be sure.By definition, there is only one real thing. Accept no substitutes for the truth of God and His Word! After two underwhelming years of solar job contraction in the United States, the solar industrys employment returned to growth in 2019, thanks to an expansion in U.S. solar installations. The U.S. solar industry added 5,600 jobs last year, with employment increasing by 2.3 percent compared to 2018, the annual National Solar Jobs Census from non-profit organization The Solar Foundation showed this week. The solar industry now employs almost 250,000 workers nationwide and has returned to workforce growth after two consecutive years of job contraction. Source: The Solar Foundation In 2018, the solar power sector had shed almost 8,000 jobs or 3.2 percent; yet, the industry workforce expanded by 150,000 jobs in the period 2010 to 2018. In the five years through 2019, employment in the solar industry jumped by 44 percent, growing five times faster than the overall job growth in the U.S. economy, The Solar Foundation said in its latest report this week. Solar jobs increased in 31 states in 2019, and growth well outpaced the national average in many emerging solar markets. The state with the most jobs added in 2019 was Florida, followed by Georgia, Utah, New York, Texas, Illinois, and Virginia. As of 2019, the state with the highest number of jobs in the solar industry was California, followed by Florida, New York, Massachusetts, and Texas. Related: The Worlds Top LNG Producer Is In Trouble The job growth last year reflected the expansion of the industry across the U.S., thanks to the declining costs of solar technologies and growing popularity of solar power generation among individuals, businesses, and utilities, The Solar Foundation said. Around two-thirds of Americas solar jobs are at installation and project development firms, while the rest of the workforce are employed in manufacturing, sales, O&M, and other areas. The job market in the solar industry is tight, as one-fourth of solar companies found it very difficult to hire qualified workforce, The Solar Foundation found in its Solar Jobs Census. The solar industry has been one of Americas leading job creators over the past decade, as evidenced by our annual National Solar Jobs Census, Andrea Luecke, President and Executive Director of The Solar Foundation, said in a statement. In just ten years, despite facing many challenges, solar has grown from a niche product to a mainstream energy source that provides a quarter of a million high-quality jobs. This is great news, but its only a fraction of what can be accomplished if we are truly committed to solving the climate crisis and expanding the use of solar and storage, Luecke added. Commenting on The Solar Foundation report, the U.S. Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) said that the U.S. tariffs on imports of solar modules continue to be a drag on job growth, which was only modest in 2019. Adding more than 5,000 new jobs is impressive given the policy environment, but we could be leaps and bounds ahead of where we are if it werent for trade restrictions, said Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of SEIA. The association aims to lead solar power development in the 2020s, which it has dubbed the Solar+ Decade, and has set a goal to have 20 percent of all U.S. electricity generation coming from solar power by 2030. Related: The New Must-Have For Energy Hedge Funds The solar industry has the potential to become a leading power generation source in the U.S. energy mix because of rapidly declining technology costs which already make solar photovoltaic (PV) one of the most economically competitive generating technologies, the Energy Information Administration said in its Annual Energy Outlook 2020 with projections to 2050. According to EIA estimates, solar photovoltaic would contribute the most to the growth in renewable power generation, increasing from 13 percent of total renewable generation in 2018 to 46 percent by 2050. Combined-cycle natural gas power generation and solar photovoltaic will be the most economically competitive generating technologies in terms of levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) by 2025, the EIA said. Electricity generation from natural gas and renewables increases as a result of lower natural gas prices and declining costs of solar and wind renewable capacity, making these fuels increasingly competitive, according to EIAs outlook. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: New York, Feb 23 : President Donald Trump left for India on Sunday with great expectations of a record reception. He told reporters before leaving leaving the White House, "I hear it's going to be a big event. Some people say the biggest event they've ever had in India. That's what the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) told me, this will be the biggest event they've ever had." At the Joint Base Andrews, he boarded the Air Force One at about 10 a.m. local time (8.30 p.m. Indian Standard Time) for take-off to Ramstein Air Base in Germany from where he will head to Ahmedabad after a scheduled 90-minute stopover. Trump is scheduled to arrive in India on Monday. He had earlier tweeted, "Look so forward to being with my great friends in INDIA!" Trump, who had last visited India in 2014 as a real estate businessman, returns as President this time. He and First Lady Melania Trump are accompanied by a 12-member official delegation that includes his daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who hold the title of senior adviser to the president. The visit, 19 days after his acquittal on impeachment charges by the Senate and the earlier controversy over a standoff with Teheran following the killing of Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani with is Trump's first foray abroad and is an attempt to position himself as a statesman admired by millions. Trump is probably more popular in India than in the US if the Pew Research opinion poll that showed 56 per cent of Indians having confidence in him is to be taken as a measure of his popularity. In the US, his approval ratings in recent polls range between 42 per cent and 49 per cent for an average of 46 per cent, according to the polls aggregator RealClear Politics. The highlight of his visit is the "Namaste Trump!" event at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad, where he is expected to address a crowd of about 120,000. For him, and First Lady Melania Trump the next stop is to be Agra and the Taj Mahal. They fly to Delhi Monday night for fully-packed Tuesday, when he is to hold bilateral talks with Modi, meet Indian investors in the US manufacturing sector and attend a State Dinner at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Trump, who is into superlatives and records, probably meant the crowds for a visiting leader when he claimed that Modi had told him he would have "the biggest event they've ever had". The much-awaited trade agreement between India and the US is not going to be concluded during the visit as the negotiations are continuing. But a senior White House official said that other deals in trade, energy and defence are likely to be announced during the visit. (Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in and followed on Twitter @arulouis) CEDAR FALLS In 1848, the first womens rights convention took place in Seneca Falls, N.Y., and a declaration of sentiments was passed, which supported womens suffrage and the need to address inequities in laws that subordinated women to the authority of their husbands. Cedar Falls was still a frontier town in 1848. Three years later, there were 135 residents and only 21 were adult females, said Julie Huffman-klinkowitz, collections manager at the Cedar Falls Historical Society. The museums latest exhibition, The Fight for the Right: Women and the Vote, open now through Dec. 18 at the Victorian Home & Carriage House Museum in Cedar Falls. The display juxtaposes the national suffrage movement to what was happening in Iowa and Cedar Falls, between 1848 and Iowas ratification of the 19th Amendment on July 2, 1919. The sparseness of Cedar Falls-related historical documentation was both disappointing and frustrating, said Huffman-klinkowitz. I originally wanted to focus on women in Cedar Falls and their perceptions about what was happening nationally. But no one said anything in print. Suffrage groups in Cedar Falls were only peripherally mentioned in newspapers. More women were involved in the temperance movement, thought to be more ladylike and proper, but opponents and liquor interests tied temperance and suffrage causes together, saying the vote could lead to no alcohol for men. When the Civil War began, Iowas men stepped up to fight for the Union. In Cedar Falls, Phoebe Overman took over running her husbands business, while Ellen Mullarky, whose husband who drowned in the mill race, took the reins of his business. Other women were nurses or filled jobs vacated by men. All of them were expected to return to home and hearth at the end of the conflict. Women in Cedar Falls formed a Ladies Aid Society to provide soldiers socks, bandages and other basic needs for the war effort. In 1862, Emily Calkins Stebbins was appointed deputy recorder and treasurer in Chickasaw County, the first women to work in an Iowa county courthouse, said Huffman-klinkowitz. After the war, she lost her job when men refused to do business with her. In 1866, Gov. William Milo Stone commissioned Stebbins as the first female notary public in the state and nation. The exhibit features Cedar Falls Gazettes editor S.B. Goodenow editorializing against suffrage, noting that if women could vote, children would be left to starve or worse, in the care of their fathers. No respectable woman could be persuaded to vote, he said. Most women kept their opinions about suffrage to themselves for fear of being ridiculed or ostracized, noted Huffman-klinkowitz. Anti-suffrage cartoons and other memorabilia fills one display, including a song from 1916, Shes Good Enough to Be Your Babys Mother & Shes Good Enough to Vote. The exhibit also explores peer pressure brought to bear in suffrage battles in the Iowa House, womens fashion changes from corsets and metal crinoline cages to bloomers, Carrie Chapman Catts Iowa campaign of conventions and speakers in 1897 in all 99 Iowa counties, and Iowas ratification of the 19th Amendment. A series of related programs will reach diverse ages and interests, said Diane Schupbach, education coordinator. One of those programs is The Hat Pin Peril, April 19, featuring the museums hat pin collection. In addition to its intended use securing hats on coiffed hair hat pins were used for self-protection. As more women entered the workforce in the 1900s and used public transportation, hat pins were used to thwart mens advances. There are reports that several men died when a long hat pin was thrust into their chest cavity in cities across the country, Schupbach noted. Unlacing the Corset on Aug. 8 with Huffman-klinkowitz will examine restrictions of womens clothing and the fashion revolt spurred by the suffrage movement in the 1880s. The popular childrens corner has been transformed into a polling place where children can vote for such issues as their favorite color. Womens Mobile Museum exhibition Love 4 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The Most Beautiful African Model (MBAM) is an International Beauty pageant aimed at promoting the African culture through online display of beauty and elegance at it's peak. The 2020 edition saw 17 delegates from different African countries who contested for the crown and a prize of $5000. The three weeks online voting procedure saw Miss Busiswe Mkhize who represented her country, South Africa, as the first runner up with a total of 1004 votes, while Miss Felicia Boco who represented her country Nigeria, had a total of 1,165 votes which made her emerge the winner of the just concluded MBAM contest. The coronation of Queen Felicia Boco took place at Casalinda hotel Abuja, Nigeria. The Queen is expected to carry out her pet project and other humanitarian services that will make her reign a success. While addressing the press shortly after the coronation, Felicia acknowledged every support she got from relatives and also talked about her upcoming projects: "Firstly, I would love to thank God for the new tittle and for a successful coronation, also thanking my family, friends and well wishers for voting and standing by me during the contest. Trust you will help even more as I carryout all my pet projects ". 1.4k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard As Sen. Bernie Sanders looks to be having a big day at the Nevada caucus, the White House is claiming that intel shows that Russia is helping Sanders, not Trump. OBrien said: National security adviser Robert O'Brien tells ABC in interview to air tomorrow that he hasn't seen any evidence of Russia seeking to help Trump. Asked whether Russia might be helping Sanders, he says reports could be credible. "That's no surprise. He honeymooned in Moscow." Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) February 22, 2020 If Bernie Sanders is the Democratic nominee, prepare for months of endless attacks that portray Sanders as a communist who Putin wants to see in the White House, when in reality, the opposite. Trump has been Putins dream president, and Trump is using Sanders to divide the Democratic Party and be the fall guy for election interference to benefit Trump. Sen. Sanders is well on his way to a big day in Nevada. Still, Trump is showing that he is prepared to use his power as president to weaponize the Executive Branch against any Democratic nominee. Trump isnt afraid of Sanders but thinks that he has found the perfect patsy to take the fall for Russian election interference. Naddas meeting with Mr Kumar is being seen as crucial ahead of the Assembly elections slated to be held in November this year. Patna: BJP chief J.P. Nadda Saturday met Bihar CM Nitish Kumar in Patna where he discussed issues related to the Assembly elections slated to be held later this year. Although the BJP state unit termed it as a courtesy meeting, the Opposition RJD created a flutter in the NDA by raising questions on the timing of Mr Naddas Bihar visit and his meeting with Bihar CM Nitish Kumar. While terming both parties as lame, RJD state president Jagdanand Singh told reporters, Bihar will not benefit even if they join their legs. Mr Naddas meeting with Mr Kumar is being seen as crucial ahead of the Assembly elections slated to be held in November this year. During his day-long visit to Patna, Mr Nadda inaugurated 11 district offices across the state in order to connect with voters. BJP insiders said that the partys state unit has also been asked to monitor the functioning of committees at the booth level and interact with voters. Sources said that the strategy will be to win over a maximum of rural voters who are presently under the hold of either the RJD or Congress. Speaking at the function, Mr Nadda urged party workers to spread the message that BJP is synonymous with development and also asked them to work towards ensuring the NDAs return to power in the Assembly elections. In order to put an end to all speculation over the conflict in the NDA over the leadership issue, he said, The scenario of Bihar has changed in the last 5 years. Development works worth thousands of crores have been carried out in the state. In the coming Assembly elections, we have to work hard in order to form the NDA government under the leadership of Mr Kumar. NDAs unity is rock solid - We will definitely win if we work together. He also used the occasion to hit out at the Opposition, especially the Congress, for raising questions on the Centres decision to remove Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir. He said Prime Ministers like Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi came to power twice with a majority. Even Rajeev Gandhi formed the government with majority but couldnt remove Article 370. It was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who came to power in May and removed Article 370 in August. Editors note: This is the second part of a two-part series. Sundays first installment of this months Old Kenosha focused on the commercial fishing trade here in 1931 as told by a young man who joined the crew of the Marold II for a day. A little less than six years later, the Marold II was in newspapers all over the Great Lakes region linked to a prominent Kenosha transportation family. Few commercial ships on the Great Lakes began their working life with the luxuries of the Marold II. She was built in New Jersey as a yacht in 1911 for Alexander Winton of the Winton Motor Carriage Co. of Cleveland. Winton named the vessel La Belle, after his wife, Labelle MacGlashan Winton. The cabin, with its eight staterooms, a large kitchen and upper works, were wood, possibly mahogany, built over a hull of half-inch steel plate braced with steel ribs. At 110 feet long (some sources say 120-122 feet) and about 20 feet wide with a clipper bow and a long, overhanging stern, she was fast. When German U-boats terrorized the North Atlantic in World War I, La Belle was pressed into service by the U.S. as a sub chaser. Name, luck changed In 1919, the La Belle was sold to another auto pioneer, Harold Willis, who changed her name to Marold II, a combination of Harold and Mary, his wifes name. The name change may have traded in her good luck for bad. In 1925, she caught fire on the St. Clair River, which links Lake Huron to Lake Erie. The blaze gutted the ship down to the hull. Enter Capt. Ludlow L. Hill, who purchased it for a rebuild. Hill enclosed the entire deck of the Marold II all around with a steel wall about 6 feet high and a steel roof. The Hill family is notable in Kenosha for establishing the Hill Steamboat Line, which operated four ships, hauling freight and passengers daily between Chicago and Port Washington from 1906 until it was absorbed by the Westport steamship line in 1925. Like any family business, it employed family members as crew, engineers, clerks and cashiers. Capt. Hill and his wife, Flora, raised the younger children of their family of nine here in Kenosha at 2105 35th St. Their son, Leon, established his own reputation as a marine engineer on the Great Lakes. Money trouble The Marold II was used to haul freight all over the lake in the summer and was used in winters in Kenosha as a commercial fishing boat. But the hard times of the Great Depression took a toll on the family enterprises. The Marold II was sold at a public auction at her Kenosha pier by a Milwaukee federal marshal. It was purchased by Hills son-in-law, radio personality Tony Wons, who put it back into the hands of Capt. Hill. The Marold IIs future lay in the far north end of Lake Michigan. By 1936, talks were underway with potential buyers, the Beaver Island Transit Co., but a turn of events would change everything. Fuel a dangerous cargo The steel fuel tanker J. Oswald Boyd ran aground on Simmons Reef, 18 miles northeast of Beaver Island, on Nov. 11, 1936, the crew of 20 safely rescued. The Boyd was carrying 900,000 gallons of aviation fuel valued at $180,000. It was soon acknowledged that the freighter was stuck, and the owners relinquished her for salvage. Fishing tugs and small boats from the island made numerous trips to the wreck to fill their gas tanks for free. Everette Cole, an official of the Beaver Island Transit Co., wanted that fuel. He sent the Rambler, a company freighter that could carry 9,000 gallons of fuel, out to the Boyd a couple of times. Some sources say the company had recently obtained controlling interest of the Marold II. In the negotiations to purchase the Marold II, the businessmen had talked of keeping on Capt. Hill, 81, and Leon, 54, to sail her. The Marold II had just taken on the assignment of mail boat to the island, but Cole proposed switching roles with the Rambler. Would the Marold II make a run to the Boyd and fill her 20,000 gallon bunkers with the precious fuel? The Hills agreed. On Jan. 1, 1937, they along with Cole, 33, and his brother Raymond, 33, and another Beaver Transit company official Bruce McDonough, 33, boarded the Marold II and left Charlevoix, Mich., at 8:30 a.m. that clear morning for the 40-mile run. They were to return by 5 p.m. It was the last time anyone saw the men alive. Smoke on the horizon Late in the afternoon, a woman in the village of Epoufette in the Michigan Upper Peninsula, 6 miles from the reef, saw flames shoot into the sky. Residents up and down the Upper Peninsula coastline heard the thunderous blast, saw the smoke and took up their field glasses. No one saw a lifeboat. On Beaver Island, smoke alerted the Coast Guard. Picking their way through the ice floes in the dark, they arrived on scene at 11:30 p.m., but the intense heat kept them at bay. Joined by other Coast Guard vessels from Charlevoix and Mackinac Island, and the Rambler, the search went on all night for survivors. The next day the burned bodies of Everett and Raymond Cole were found in the wreckage, the latter identified by his pocket watch. According to an Associated Press report, The top deck and pilot house of the Marold II were blown right up onto the deck of the Boyd, Beaver Island Coast Guard Capt. Ludwig said. The all-steel mail boat was completely wrecked and must have gone to the bottom shortly after the explosion. The lifeboats were missing, but they might have been blown to bits. It is doubtful whether any of the men aboard even had a chance to lower the lifeboats. Investigators soon learned that the Marold II wasnt equipped with a blower in the upper deck. A heavy accumulation of gas fumes was probably touched off by a spark. Most of the fuel in the Boyds tankers was still intact. It was reported in The Kenosha Evening News of Jan. 4, 1937, that the sale of the Marold II to the Beaver Transit group had not yet been completed and the title was still in Capt. Hills name. Ironically, the insurance on the Marold II had expired at midnight Dec 31, 1936, without renewal. Grim news; foolhardy soulsIt would be a long winter wait for closure for the Hill family. Capt. Hills body washed ashore at the southwest end of Beaver Island in the spring. Leons body drifted far west and was found in May on a beach near Fairport, Mich., just 15 miles from Washington Island in Door County, Wis. The body of Bruce McDonough was never found. In mid-February of that year when the ice solidified to a desired thickness, people from all over the long coastlines of Michigan came to the Boyd. They filled barrels, cans, jugs, jars and buckets of fuel and took it home. One trucker broke through the ice with his barrel-laden truck and drowned. There is a very remarkable six-minute YouTube video of gas scavengers descending on the Boyd shipwreck. Search for Marold and Boyd and it will appear in the feed. In the video you will see the mangled deck of the Marold II. Be forewarned: The video contains a few seconds of the men pulling a frozen body from the lake. Love 2 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A historic painting capturing the departure of the playboy monarch King George IV from Ireland will be auctioned in Dublin next month. The image of a vast throng of people who turned out to watch him board a ship in September 1821 to return to Britain was captured by artist William Sadler. The name of the newly built harbour of Dunleary was changed to 'Kingstown' to mark the royal event. The borough's name was changed to Dun Laoghaire in 1920. The king was heavily under the influence of Irish whiskey when he arrived at Howth shortly after his lavish coronation in London. The gossip around Dublin was that the real purpose of his 18-day visit to Ireland was to spend time with his mistress, Elizabeth, Lady Conyngham. The hard-drinking monarch spent four nights with her at Slane Castle in Co Meath where she lived with her husband Henry, whom she ensured was raised in rank from Viscount to Marquess. The painting will be auctioned by Whyte's auctioneers among 200 Irish and international artworks at the RDS in Dublin on March 9, with a price estimate ranging from 12,000 to 18,000. Auctioneer Ian Whyte told the Sunday Independent: "The king was famously drunk when he arrived in Ireland. It was well known he came to visit his mistress, Lady Conyngham. His visit was a big event in Ireland and the first visit of a monarch since the coming of King Billy." The auction catalogue stated Sadler's art evoked that era in Dublin "in all its splendour and corruption" and the royal departure showed "all classes, from gentry to beggars, are assembled" in a magnificent panoramic view of the new harbour. The spendthrift king, known to "prefer a girl and a bottle to politics and a sermon", had become an implacable opponent of restoring the rights of Catholics. Popular Irish leader Daniel O'Connell, who championed Catholic emancipation, went ahead and presented the monarch with a laurel crown as he departed. The painting shows ranks of soldiers at the port which prevented the surging crowds of Dubliners from getting too close. A number of police carrying truncheons are in the foreground. Sadler's paintings of Dublin were seen as humane and captured anecdotal details of street-life more than any other artist of his time. The most valuable lot to be auctioned is expected to be a Jack B Yeats painting, Rusty Gates' with an estimate of 100,000 to 150,000. Copyright 2020 Albuquerque Journal As the number of homicides investigated by Albuquerque police surged in recent years, city records show the clearance rate the percentage of those solved by arrest dropped significantly. Thats far from reassuring to the family of Jacque Vigil and others who dont want their loved ones murders to go unsolved. Vigils husband of 18 years, Sam B. Vigil, praised the Albuquerque Police Department detectives who have investigated his wifes fatal shooting last Nov. 19. But he lamented there havent been more homicide investigators to handle the record number of murders in the city. Last year saw a record number of 82 homicides, compared with 30 in 2014. Im very frustrated, not with the actual detectives working on the case, because I think their plates are so full that its ridiculous, said Vigil. Moreover, Vigil told the Journal, The (New Mexico) State Police offered help to the violent crimes division, and they refused to get the help. Again, they (APD) are doing as much as they possibly can with very little resources, but to refuse help? There are other victims. Its just not Jacque, Vigil said. Theres a bunch of other cases still open. Jacque was No. 72, but by the end of the year, it had gone to 82. Now its 19 more murders after my wifes, and thats ridiculous. APD spokesman Gilbert Gallegos told the Journal the homicide unit has 11 detectives and one sergeant compared to five detectives and one sergeant in 2017. He denied State Police assistance had been rejected. Jacque Vigils homicide is being vigorously investigated and detectives are following numerous leads, Gallegos told the Journal in an email. APD doesnt have collective data to show how many murders over the years have gone unsolved, Gallegos stated. As for caseloads, some APD homicide detectives have fewer than 10 cases each. Others with the most years in homicide may have more than 20, which includes cases that may be three, four or five years old and awaiting new leads, Gallegos stated. According to city budget documents, APDs homicide clearance rate (as reported in the FBIs Uniform Crime Report) hovered around 80% from fiscal year 2009 to fiscal year 2016. The fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30. But in each of the last two calendar years, the percentage of homicides solved in the city dropped to about 50%, according to APD data. That number reflects homicides that werent deemed justifiable. The overall clearance rate for 2018 and 2019 was somewhat higher because detectives solved nine homicides from prior years. APD maintains a website showing Active Homicide Investigations. But the website lists just 25 cases, which occurred from January 2018 to August 2018. No more recent cases are posted. Liberal MP Craig Kelly says he will work to get Advance Australia's educational resources for children - which will deride climate change as a "hoax" - used in classrooms in his electorate. Mr Kelly, who represents the south Sydney seat of Hughes, said he "absolutely" supported the right-wing activist group in its attempt to distribute the resources to primary schoolchildren. "I've actually been thinking about ways I could do it in the schools in my electorate give the kids the information, let them read the data and let them make up their own minds," he said. Liberal MP Craig Kelly says he wants to work with Advance Australia to target school children on climate change. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Last week The Sun-Herald revealed plans by Advance Australia - which bills itself as a right-wing version of progressive lobby group GetUp - to develop materials on climate change targeted at children. The resources would include a "Smart Scientist's Kit", an e-book of "10 climate facts to expose the climate change hoax", as well as an educational video and speaking tour by a "renowned climate scientist". Flash South Sudan formed a transitional unity government on Saturday after the youngest country in Africa had been ravaged by years of civil war. Riek Machar, South Sudan's former rebel leader, was sworn in on Saturday as the first vice president of the new transitional unity government. "I want to assure you that we will work collectively to end your suffering. I reiterate my commitment to work closely with President Kiir to implement the agreement in letter and spirit," Machar said. Machar was sworn in along with three other new vice presidents -- Taban Deng Gai, James Wani Igga and Rebecca Nyandeng De Mabior, at a ceremony attended by some regional leaders in Juba. The oath was administered by Chief Justice Chan Reech Madut after President Salva Kiir and Machar agreed to form the much-anticipated transitional unity government. Machar, who leads the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-In Opposition (SPLM-IO), was appointed as the first vice-president by Kiir on Friday ahead of the inaugural ceremony. Speaking after being sworn, Machar said he will work together with Kiir and other leaders to bring peace to the country and thanked those involved in the search for peace in the country. "I promise to work collectively to end your long-suffering," he said. Nyandeng, who is the widow of the late former rebel leader John Garang, called on the youth to make sacrifices by embracing peace and avoid "vitriolic speech". "You have desired peace and now you have it. Let the nation-building begin with you in your house and your neighborhood," said Nyandeng. "We must move forward as one people, and it will take full support of this government," she said. South Sudanese youth on Saturday appealed for a 20 percent representation to help enhance their contribution to the transitional unity government. Manasseh Mathiang, Anataban Arts Initiative coordinator, said the youth will bring new energy and change needed in South Sudan's political, economic and social systems. A coalition of youth organizations had earlier issued a joint petition, demanding the parties to allocate more seats for them at the national parliament as the formation of the unity government gather steams. Wani Michael, executive director of OKAY African Foundation, said it is time for the leaders to appreciate the participation of youth in the new unity government for the next three years and beyond. Nhial Tit Mamer, a researcher and director of Environmental Natural Resources Program at Sudd Institute, a Juba-based think-tank, said the youth need a conducive environment to ensure they have access to education, jobs and entrepreneurship. "Young people want professional opportunities for employment, training and entrepreneurship. They want to be free in order to pursue their dreams, and live in a secure environment for them to flourish," said Mamer. Under the 2018 revitalized peace deal, which was signed in Ethiopia, the government and opposition groups are tasked with establishing a unified national army to avoid a repeat of the violence that destroyed the 2015 peace agreement. US President Donald Trump on Sunday called Prime Minister Narendra Modi his "friend" and said that he looks forward to being with "millions and millions" of people during his visit to India, beginning Monday. "I look forward to being with the people of India. We will be with millions and millions of people. I get along very well with the Prime Minister. He is a friend of mine. Prime Minister Modi told me this will be the biggest event they have ever had," Trump told reporters before embarking on his visit to India. The US President and First Lady Melania Trump departed for their maiden two-day visit to India from Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on Sunday. The visiting dignitaries will have a stopover at Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany and will reach Ahmedabad on Monday. The US President, along with his family and a ministerial delegation will be in India for around 36 hours. During the visit, he is scheduled to participate in a roadshow with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and address a gathering at the Motera Stadium. From Ahmedabad, the US President and the First Lady will make a brief stop at Agra where they will visit the Taj Mahal at around 5:15 pm, before departing for the national capital later in the day for the main leg of the trip. On the morning of February 25, the US President will first receive a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhawan at 10 am as per the protocol. From there, he will go to the Rajghat to pay homage at the samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi. This will be followed by both, restricted, and delegation-level talks between Trump and Modi at the Hyderabad House in the national capital on Tuesday afternoon. The talks would be followed by the exchange of agreements and Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) between the two countries. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A centre has commended the decision of the Kaduna state government to appeal the release of 91 members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) as ordered by a Federal High Court. The Save Humanity Advocacy Centre (SHAC) said the recent judgement of the court on the detention of the Shiite members after an alleged attempt on the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai in 2015 and killing a soldier in the process is the most shocking and a travesty of justice. The executive director of SHAC, Joyce Ugwu, in a statement, said the order for the release of the Shiites is a dangerous precedent which would give IMN the nerve to perpetuate further nefarious activities. Ugwu said the order of the court will also encourage other militant groups and non-state actors to tow the same path. She urged the Kaduna state government not to relent towards ensuring that this anomaly is reversed by a higher and competent court of jurisdiction. Ugwu said the order for the release of the detainees would be best described as a mockery of all that the judicial institution in Nigeria represents. Ugwu said: The discharge and acquittal of the IMN members that brazenly engaged in violent acts that led to the death of a soldier is an indication that the IMN might have spread its tentacles to the judicial arm of government with the active support of the Iranian authorities. Storyful An affable deer created somewhat of a buzz in a neighborhood near Salt Lake City, Utah, he regularly visited over the holiday period.The deer, nicknamed Cooper by local residents, has been playing with children in the neighborhood of Herriman and was even spotted posing for photos, reports said.Herriman resident Angelica Lujan recorded footage of the tame deer interacting with her children outside of her home on South Rowell Drive.Speaking to KSTU, a Utah Division of Wildlife Resources representative said despite the deers friendly attitude, the best thing for the animal is for people to leave him alone.People dont realize these beautiful, cute deer can be aggressive as they get older. Weve had times in the past where these friendly deer, they do get aggressive, said Scott Root, Conservation Outreach Manager, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.Weve had kids hurt at bus stops. Bad things happen when we feed deer in a residential area, Root added. Credit: Angelica Lujan via Storyful By IANS NEW DELHI: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said that he is praying for the early release of three former chief ministers of Jammu & Kashmir from their detention and hoping that they will contribute to normalizing situation in Kashmir. Dozens of politicians, including three former chief ministers -- Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah of National Conference (NC) and Mehbooba Mufti of People's Democratic Party (PDP) -- were placed under preventive detention soon after the Modi government reorganized and bifurcated Jammu and Kashmir state into two Union Territories on August 5 last year. Though most of the politicians have been released since then, the three chief ministers and a dozen politicians remain detained. While Farooq Abdullah was booked under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) in September, Omar and Mehbooba were also recently detained under the same law. The government cited their provocative statements and threats issued before the nullification of Article 370 of the Indian constitution which granted special status to Jammu & Kashmir state. ALSO READ| Defence Minister Rajnath Singh strongly rebukes politics of communalism In an exclusive interview to IANS on Saturday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, "Kashmir has been peaceful. The situation is improving rapidly. Along with the improvement, these decisions (release of politicians from detention) will also be finalized. The government has not tortured anyone." Defending the government's decision, the Defence Minister said that certain steps had been taken in the interests of Kashmir. "Everybody should welcome it," he said. Singh said he will pray for the early release of the Abdullahs and Mufti from their detention. "I also pray that once they are out, they work and contribute towards improvement of the situation in Kashmir," the Union Minister said. Rajnath Singh drew accolades in Kashmir while he was the Home Minister in the previous government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for his uprightness and kindness. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Reuters) London, United Kingdom Sun, February 23, 2020 10:31 689 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad20660fa00 2 People pink-floyd,Julian-Assange,London,protest,Britain,Roger-Waters,Vivienne-Westwood,Wikileaks Free Hundreds of people including Roger Waters, co-founder of the Pink Floyd rock group, and designer Vivienne Westwood, marched through central London on Saturday demanding that jailed Wikileaks founder Julian Assange be released. A London court begins hearings on Monday to decide whether the Australian-born Assange should be extradited to the United States, almost a decade after WikiLeaks enraged Washington by publishing secret US documents. The 48-year-old, who spent seven years holed up in Ecuador's London embassy before being dragged out last April, is wanted by the US on 18 criminal counts of conspiring to hack government computers and violating an espionage law and could spend decades in prison if convicted. A hero to admirers who say he has exposed abuses of power, Assange is cast by critics as a dangerous enemy of the state who has undermined Western security. He says the extradition is politically motivated by those embarrassed by his revelations. Waving placards declaring "Journalism is not a crime" and "The truth will set you free", the protesters on Saturday marched from Australia House to Parliament Square where they were addressed by Assange's father, John Shipton. Shipton has said Assange's long confinement indoors has damaged his health and fears that sending his son to the United States would be akin to a death sentence. Read also: Trump 'offered pardon' to Assange if he denied Russia leak, court hears On Thursday, Dunja Mijatovic, the Council of Europe's Human Rights Commissioner, said Assange should not be extradited because it would have a chilling effect on press freedom. On Friday, Assange lawyer Eric Dupond-Moretti told Europe 1 radio that Assange's legal team would be in contact with French President Emmanuel Macron to make the case for Assange to get asylum in France. Assange has said his youngest child and the child's mother are French but a previous asylum request was rejected by France in 2015. Hopes briefly rose among Assange's supporters this week on reports that he might even get a pardon from U.S. President Donald Trump. But the White House was quick to deny that Trump had offered to pardon Assange if he were to say that the Russians were not involved in an email leak that damaged Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign against Trump. The extradition hearings at Woolwich Crown Court will be held in two parts, with the second section not starting until May to allow both sides more time to gather evidence. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 23 Trend: Over the past 24 hours, Armenian armed forces have violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops 21 times, Trend reports referring to Azerbaijani Defense Ministry on Feb. 23. The Armenian armed forces were using large caliber machine guns. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts. National Security Adviser Has Seen No Evidence of Russia Interfering to Help Trump White House national security adviser Robert OBrien said hes seen no evidence of Russia interfering in the 2020 election to help President Donald Trump, according to an interview aired on ABC on Feb. 23. OBrien was responding to anonymously sourced media reports that claimed the intelligence community told lawmakers in a briefing that Russia is interfering to help reelect Trump. I havent seen any intelligence that Russia is doing anything to attempt to get President Trump reelected, OBrien told ABC. I think this is the same old story that weve heard before. Weve been very tough on Russia, and weve been great on election security. So I think its a nonstory. OBrien isnt the only one disputing the reporting about the intelligence briefing. Marc Short, the chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence, told Fox News in an interview aired on Feb. 23 that there is no evidence that Russia favors Trumps reelection. I think theres not intelligence that said the Russians are trying to help Donald Trump win [the] election, Short told Fox. We know that foreign governments have been trying to interfere in elections to sow chaos. According to The New York Times, the briefing was provided to House lawmakers, including Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who led the House impeachment inquiry. Reports about the briefing were followed by the resignations of Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Joseph Maguire and the No. 2 official at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), Andrew Hallman. OBrien said that Maguires exit had nothing to do with the intelligence briefing. First of all, Joe Maguire wasnt pushed out, OBrien said. He was serving under the Vacancy Act. He was acting, and his term, I believe, was ending March 11 or March 2, like two weeks from now. Election threats executive Shelby Pierson was reportedly the person to voice the assessment that Russia was helping Trump. Lawmakers at the briefing reportedly pressed Pierson for evidence, but she didnt provide any. Then-DNI Dan Coats created the election threats executive position at the ODNI and appointed Pierson shortly before he resigned. The whistleblower who triggered the impeachment process referenced the Coats memo in his or her anonymous complaint. The ODNI has refused to release the memo, which isnt classified. In a separate briefing, the intelligence told Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) that Russia favored him in the primary. Trump and congressional lawmakers were briefed on the intelligence as well, according to The Washington Post. I dont care, frankly, who [Russian President Vladimir] Putin wants to be president, Sanders said in a statement. My message to Putin is clear: Stay out of American elections, and as president, I will make sure that you do. Trump noted on Twitter that the reports on Sanders are part of a campaign to steal the Democratic nomination from Sanders. The reason for this is that the Do Nothing Democrats, using disinformation Hoax number 7, dont want Bernie Sanders to get the Democrat Nomination, and they figure this would be very bad for his chances, the president wrote. Its all rigged, again, against Crazy Bernie Sanders! The Associated Press contributed to this report. Soldats camerounais au front. Droits reserves The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) says it is disturbed by the killing of a beneficiary of its food distribution programme in the crisis hit North West and South west regions of Cameroon. In a statement dated February 22, 2020, the food-assistance branch of the United Nations and the world's largest humanitarian organization addressing hunger and promoting food security accused Cameroons military of killing a beneficiary in Ekona. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is disturbed by news of the killing of a beneficiary by military men at the site of a food distribution near Ekona, in the South West Region of Cameroon, Saturdays statement reads in part. "Our sympathies and condolences are with the bereaved family, said WFP West Africa Regional Director Chris Nikoi, "and we condemn the breach of humanitarian space by armed groups and security forces in the crisis affecting the South West and North West regions of Cameroon. "We strongly urge respect of humanitarian operations and the protection of civilians by all parties, Nikoi said. The WFP notes that violent clashes between armed groups and security forces in the two regions of Cameroon have led to displacement, leaving tens of thousands of people in need of humanitarian assistance. Government position on allegations of military excesses Cameroon-Info.Net recalls that Cameroons Minister of Communication, Rene Emmanuel Sadi had in reacting to the reports of the killing of 22 civilians by the Defense and Security Forces in Ngarbuh said the military is a victim of fake news, wondering how soldiers will kill the same people they are called upon to protect. Hear him: We should indicate that in their legal and legitimate mission, and at the price of immeasurable sacrifices, our Defence and Security Forces are at work to annihilate the macabre dynamic established in the North West and South West regions by the secessionist armed bands, I mean terror, horror and abomination, in short. They do so with the restraint prescribed by the High Command, and in strict compliance with the fundamental principles of Humanitarian Law focused on the protection of vulnerable people (women, children, the elderly and the disabled). It should equally be emphasized that in fulfilling their regalian mission, the Cameroonian Defence and Security Forces are called upon to pursue armed groups in their entrenchments, located both in the forests and sometimes in the homes of populations. Moreover, it should be noted that in their criminal operations against the populations who dont support their cause, and against our Defence and Security Forces, armed gangs use cover-up techniques aimed at creating confusion among these populations and the general public, by wearing military uniforms, so as to impersonate the Cameroonian Armies. Yet, how can one believe for a moment that an army as disciplined and civic-minded as ours, can loot civilian properties and kill the people whose protection and security is their mission? Under no circumstances have our Defence and Security Forces deliberately undertaken to perpetrate abuses of any kind against the civilian populations at the service of whom they are assigned. The Government therefore strongly denies the fanciful and ungrounded accusations levelled by political activists, by sponsors of secessionist armed bands, by some Non-Governmental Organizations and some national and international media against our Defence and Security Forces. In the same vein, it is surprising how gullible these various actors are, to the extent that they give credit to fanciful allegations from nondescript and unreliable sources and hastily consider them as established truths. Authorities in Da Nang have announced that visitors from South Korea will have their health closely monitored, at a time when there is a surge in the number of infected cases in the East Asian country. Healthcare workers in the central Vietnamse city have taken proactive measures to control the influx of tourists from South Korea and considered them as those coming from places hit by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Tourism officials have been charged with preparing plans to deal with tourists from the South Korean market amid such an outbreak, Nguyen Xuan Binh, deputy director of the Da Nang Department of Tourism, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Sunday. The COVID-19 is hitting South Korea hard, with Daegu City in North Gyeongsang Province being the epicenter, Binh said. Da Nang will pool information on flights from South Korea, particularly those from the outbreak areas. South Korea is Da Nangs largest inbound market, with visitors making up 56 percent of the total international arrivals, according to the local Department of Tourism. There has been a 60-percent drop in the number of South Korean visitors since the novel coronavirus epidemic was first recorded. Da Nang now keeps a close watch on visitors from South Korea and they will be asked to fill out in-flight health declaration forms, said Nguyen Tien Hong, deputy director of the Department of Health. Such visitors will have their health status closely monitored, Hong added. South Korea reported 123 new confirmed coronavirus cases and a fourth death from the virus, taking total infections to 556, Reuters cited the Korea Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention as saying on Sunday. More than half the additional cases were found to be linked to a Shincheonji Church of Jesus congregation in the southeastern city of Daegu after a 61-year-old woman known as 'Patient 31' who attended services at the church tested positive for the virus last week, the news agency said. The woman had no recent record of overseas travel. The novel coronavirus stemmed from China in December and has spread to more than two dozen countries around the world, including Vietnam. More than 78,000 cases and over 2,400 deaths have been reported all over the globe, with the vast majority in China. Fifteen of 16 infected people in Vietnam have been discharged free of the virus from the hospital. The other is being treated well. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! The ruling on the Appalachian Trail crossing had three other elements that are not part of the appeal to the high court. The judges also said the permit didnt comply with mandatory standards for protecting soil, water and wildlife; that the agency didnt take a hard enough look at landslide and erosion risk; and that the Forest Service rejected alternate routes without fully analyzing them. Add CoolSocial badge. Show it by adding this HTML code on your site: Liberalartsadvantage.com scored 48 Social Media Impact. Social Media Impact score is a measure of how much a site is popular on social networks. 2.5/5.0 Stars by Social Team This CoolSocial report was updated on 3 Jan 2014, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. Add a widget like this on your site: click here The total number of people who shared the liberalartsadvantage homepage on Google Plus by a google +1 button. The total number of people who shared the liberalartsadvantage homepage on Delicious. 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A Facebook page link can be found in the homepage or in the robots.txt file. Facebook Timeline is the new layout of Facebook pages. The description of the Facebook page describes website and its services to the social media users. The URL of the found Facebook page. The total number of people who tagged or talked about website Facebook page in the last 7-10 days. Twitter account link TWITTER PAGE LINK NOT FOUND Three jailed for trafficking pregnant women to China for selling babies The defendants at the Nghe An Province court on February 21, 2020. Photo acquired by VnExpress. A Nghe An Province court sent three people to jail on Friday for trafficking pregnant women to China to sell their babies. Moong Thi Ba, 53, and Xeo Thi Tien, 38, received 18 months each for trafficking and Moong Thi Ly, 37, got 12 months for illegally getting people over the border. The three belong to the provinces Ky Son District, central Vietnam. According to the indictment, in March 2018 Bas daughter, Moong Thi Oanh, 33, returned to Vietnam after living in China for a while and told her mother to find a pregnant woman to sell her baby for VND60 million ($2,600). Ba managed to convince a pregnant woman in Ky Son and took her to China. Two months later, when the woman gave birth to a baby, Oanh sold it to a family for VND50 million ($2,200). Oanh brought the woman back to Vietnam but only gave her VND4 million ($170). In August 2018 Tien and Ly contacted Oanh and took two pregnant women to China. One of them reportedly died in an accident in China, and the other was injured. Tien, Ly, Oanh, and Ba were arrested in 2019, but Oanh was released due to her pregnancy and later fled. In 2018 Nghe An Province recorded more than 25 of pregnant women from Ky Son crossing the border during their last months of pregnancy. They sold their newborns, getting VND40-50 million ($1,700-$2,200) for a boy and VND70-80 million ($3,000-$3,500) for a girl. She's dating one of America's top Hollywood talent agents, Patrick Whitesell, 55. So it's no wonder Home And Away star Pia Miller, 36, has a taste for the finer things in life. On Friday, the 36-year-old was spotted wearing thousands of dollars worth of accessories as she went shopping in Sydney's Marrickville. She's got expensive taste! Pia Miller, 36, (pictured) was spotted wearing a pair of Gucci mules and a Rolex watch during a shopping trip in Sydney on Friday The Chilean-born beauty wore a pair of Gucci slides worth over $1,000, a $50,000 Rolex and a pair of designer sunglasses. She also slung a designer handbag decorated with a vintage-look scarf over her shoulder. She dressed down her designer accessories by wearing a loose-fitting white T-shirt and a pair of high-waisted blue jeans. Pia looked positively glowing during her shopping expedition, as she was spotted leaving a wellness store which stocks an extensive range of products for new mothers and children. After the shopping trip, Pia was later seen walking to her black Range Rover. Pia is currently enjoying a blossoming romance with Hollywood talent agent Patrick Whitesell. Simple and chic: Pia paired the upmarket accessories with a pair of high-waisted denim jeans and a loose-fitting white T-shirt Lush locks: Pia wore her stunning chestnut tresses down for the outing The couple only just returned from a getaway in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The pair looked more loved-up than ever in photos shared by the actress to Instagram earlier this week. In the snaps, which she captioned simply with the word 'happy', Pia cuddled up to Patrick as they embraced alongside a pool with a stunning sea view. Oh baby! Pia looked positively glowing during her shopping expedition, as she was spotted leaving a wellness store which stocks an extensive range of products for new mothers and children Shop til you drop! The former Home and Away star left the store empty handed Juggling act: Pia held a lanyard and her car keys in one hand, while juggling her iPhone in the other Appearing to be at a luxury resort, the pair could not keep their hands off one another. Pia looked relaxed in a simple white T-shirt and black shorts worn with sneakers, her brunette hair down. Patrick meanwhile opted for a chic and simple ensemble consisting of a crisp white T-shirt, blue jeans, sneakers and sunglasses. Loved up: Pia is currently enjoying a blossoming romance with Hollywood talent agent Patrick Whitesell Earlier this month, the Australian actress attended The Academy Awards in Los Angeles on the arm of her dashing American beau. Clearly excited to be in attendance at this year's star-studded awards show, Pia shared a video of herself on the red carpet with Patrick. Pia was first linked to the Hollywood power agent in August last year, following her split with her longtime fiance, Tyson Mullane, 31, in April. The couple made their public debut at a Halloween party in Los Angeles in October, amid reports they started dating back in May. She finally made their relationship Instagram official on Christmas Eve, sharing a loved-up photo with him outside of the Louvre in Paris, and captioning it 'P'. Following the violence, the administration also suspended internet services in Aligarh till midnight as a precautionary measure. A 22-year-old man was shot at and injured by a miscreant amid clashes that broke out in the old city area in Aligarh on Sunday between anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protesters and police after incidents of arson and stone pelting, said officials. The clashes led police to fire teargas shells to disperse the mob indulging in vandalisation of property and throwing stones at security personnel in upper Kot area of the Kotwali police station, said Aligarh District Magistrate Chandra Bhushan Singh. Following the violence, the administration also suspended internet services in Aligarh till Sunday midnight as a precautionary measure, Singh added. The violence broke out at a spot on the Mohamed Ali Road leading to the Kotwali police station where some women protesters were holding a dharna since Saturday with the police trying to evict them from there, he said. The trouble began around 5 pm when the police tried to persuade women protesters at Upper Kot near Kotwali to evict them from the road, he said. "We told them that women protesters were already holding a protest at Eidgah and they would not be permitted to hold another such protest near Kotwali," said Singh. He said 'even as efforts were underway to convince women to leave the area with prominent Muslim citizens of the area, including the Sahar mufti Abdul Khalid trying to defuse the situation, mayhem broke out and brick-batting started..' The district magistrate said police used tear gas shells to disperse the mob. "An electricity department transformer was set afire but police managed to douse the flames before they could spread," he said. Describing the situation in Upper Kot area as 'tense but under control', Singh said 'an intense patrolling of the affected areas is underway and the police are trying to trace out those who were 'instigating' the women protesters at Upper Kot since Saturday. There were also reports of injuries to some people but the exact number of those injured in clashes is yet to ascertained, said official sources. One of the injured included 22-year-old man Tariq, whose father and brother told police that he suffered bullet injury by a 'miscreant' who opened fire at his brother amid the clashes between police and protesters. Tariq was admitted at Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital at Aligarh Muslim University, where doctors described his condition as 'serious'. The victim has suffered a bullet injury in the stomach, they said. Tariq's father told police at the hospital in presence of this PTI reporter that his son was standing in front of his house when he was shot at by a miscreant whom he recognises. The clashes in the old city area broke out shortly after a Bhim Army-led march by hundreds of anti-CAA protesters heading to the district collectorate earlier were stopped midway by police and Rapid Action Force jawans. Stopped by police, the protesters, however, had headed towards the Eidgah area in the city where another group of anti-CAA women protesters had been holding an indefinite dharna for the past three weeks. As the Bhim Army-led protesters, including women, were stopped by police from moving ahead after they crossed over the Katpula Bridge from the old city, they decided to join women protesters in the Eidgah area. The protesters had taken out the march on a call by Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar. Shops in some areas near Kotwali had downed their shutters. Aligarh Senior Superintendent of Police Rajmuni, who took over the charge as the district police only last night, had earlier told mediapersons that following the abortive march, an FIR has been lodged against three persons at the Delhi Gate police station for trying to violate prohibitory orders and breach peace in the city. The new SSP said he was monitoring the situation arising out of the anti-CAA protests, going on both at the AMU and the old city area. He had said our 'channels of communications with protesters are going to remain open but it does not mean we will allow anybody to disturb the city's law and order'. CJI SA Bobde further seconded the role of technology in addressing challenges being faced by the judiciary like pendency of cases New Delhi: Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde on Sunday said that there is an urgent and great need of having a single system of laws across the world to conserve the environment. "There is a great need for a single system of laws on the environment across the world. Human beings are seeds as well as parasites as far as the environment is concerned since they take much more than they give to the environment," said Bobde while speaking at the International Judicial Conference 2020 on Sunday. "As we look into the future, one of the primary objectives is the conservation of the environment. In one of the landmark judgments of the Supreme Court, it ruled that the present generation does not have the right to encroach on the rights of the future generations as far as the environment is concerned," added Justice Bobde. Bobde further seconded the role of technology in addressing challenges being faced by the judiciary like pendency of cases. "In India, we have ensured that no matter where a judicial officer is located, all courts are electronically connected to the National Judicial Data Grid. In many High Courts, about 19 to 20 percent of the pendency is because of the Negotiable Instruments cases. Many cases are pending because summons has not been served," the CJI said. "As we head into the future, we are thinking of employing artificial intelligence (AI) to automate simple tasks associated with the administration of justice. With a reading speed of one million characters per second, the volume of any data for any purpose, whether research or analysis, becomes easy to deal with. But it must be treated as a tool and its introduction in the judicial system should be done with caution. But probably the human mind is bound to retain its supremacy," he added. Justice Bobde went on to say that the common thread that binds judges all across the world is a commitment to the dispensation of justice. The objective of increasing diversity in the judiciary in ensuring a gender-just world is paramount, he added. He further said that an increasingly globalised world has also seen the globalisation of the judiciary. "The globalisation of the bar has been accompanied by the globalisation of the bench. Increasingly, confronted with trans-national challenges judges regularly reach beyond their borders to inspect the jurisdiction of other countries to discern valuable principles. Recently, judgments and opinions of the Supreme Court were referenced by four judiciaries around the world. Judges never lose sight of the social reality of their own country," he said. The CJI further said that the Indian judiciary has an ancient origin yet it has charted its own course in the modern world. "The Indian judiciary has an ancient origin. It is uniquely connected by the yarn of history to the grand old tradition of the common law. Yet it has also charted its own course in the face of a geographically, linguistically and culturally diverse reality. India serves as a beacon of hope to the independent and developing countries," he said. "The Indian Supreme Court protects the rights of over 1.3 billion people. We have approximately 17,500 courts. In a country where over 22 languages and several thousand dialects are spoken, the Supreme Court has mandated the translation of its judgments to nine languages," he added. He further said that a commitment to access to justice furthers the commitment that constitutions are not meant only to check those in power but also to empower those who have been deprived of it. By Lawrence White and Valentina Za LONDON/MILAN (Reuters) - UniCredit Chief Executive Jean Pierre Mustier has ruled himself out of a switch to European rival HSBC , a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Sunday. Italy's biggest bank is set to announce he will remain part of the lender's plans, ending speculation Mustier was set to take the helm at HSBC after he emerged as a contender last week. UniCredit declined to comment. HSBC said last August it will appoint a new CEO within six to twelve months following the shock ouster of John Flint, with his interim replacement Noel Quinn the internal candidate and favourite for the role. The news of Mustier's withdrawal will come as a boost for Quinn, who announced on Tuesday an overhaul of HSBC as he auditions for the permanent role under Chairman Mark Tucker. Quinn announced HSBC would shed $100 billion in assets, shrink its investment bank and revamp its U.S. and European businesses in a drastic overhaul that will mean 35,000 jobs cut over three years. Analysts and investors had criticised Tucker's decision not to appoint Quinn as he presented the new strategy. Mustier arrived at UniCredit in mid-2016 to oversee a turnaround that has seen the bank slash costs and bad debts while also selling assets and new shares to boost capital. (Reporting By Lawrence White and Valentina Za; Editing by Rachel Armstrong and Daniel Wallis) Agartala, Feb 23 : A section of around 10,323 Tripura government teachers, facing termination of jobs due to a court verdict, on Sunday held a sit-in demonstration in Agartala demanding the setting up of alternative arrangements to protect their jobs, a leader of the teacher's body said. 'Amra 10,323' (Us 10,323) organisation convener Dalia Das said that so far 50 teachers had "died of psychological trauma and anxiety". She said the teachers, both men and women, held a mass demonstration on Sunday here demanding continuation of their jobs by the Tripura government. "Tripura government should provide a job to the family members of those 50 teachers who had either committed suicide or died of psychological trauma and anxiety," Das told the media. Over 10,323 government teachers with graduate, post-graduate and under-graduate educational qualifications were inducted into Tripura government schools in different phases since 2010 when the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M)-led Left Front government was in power. The recruitment process subsequently went to litigation and the Tripura High Court in 2014 terminated all the 10,323 teachers, saying that the selection criterion contained "discrepancies". Thereafter, Special Leave Petitions were filed in the Supreme Court by the then Left Front government and a section of teachers, while the apex court upheld the High Court verdict on March 29, 2017. Following an appeal by the previous Left Front government, the apex court extended their services up to June last year. After coming to power in March last year, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government had filed a fresh appeal in the Supreme Court In June last year, the Court granted them one-time final extension of their services till March 2020. An official of the Education Department said that though a few hundred of these teachers have been absorbed in other government positions and through separate recruitment processes, including Teachers Eligibility Tests (TET), the majority of them face job losses. These ad-hoc teachers had met the Education Minister Ratan Lal Nath and other Education Department officials and have held agitations on a number of occasions to protect their jobs, but all efforts have failed. Prior to the 2018 Tripura assembly elections, these teachers had hoped that the ruling BJP would find a permanent solution for the 10,323 government teachers. There are around 12,000 vacant posts of teachers in the government schools in Tripura. Currently, 41, 000 teachers are providing education to 7.29 lakh students in 4,928 government schools. According to the Right of the Child to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) guidelines, Teachers Eligibility Test (TET) is mandatory for recruitment of teachers in government schools. To appear for the TET, candidates ought to have 50 per cent marks in certain subjects and a Bachelor's degree or Diploma in Elementary Education or Diploma in Education. The HRD Ministry had earlier relaxed the minimum qualification norms for teachers, as notified by the NCTE, for Assam, West Bengal and Tripura. Teachers recruitment and termination of their jobs by the courts was a key political issue ahead of the February 2018 Tripura assembly polls. FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - A female manatee named Marlin and its calf were rescued after wildlife specialists found them injured in Florida waters. The South Florida Sun Sentinel reports the pair is being treated for wounds and infections at the Miami Seaquarium. The mother was found Saturday with boat strike wounds. The female calf has a wound on her underside. On Tuesday, rescuers initially spotted the mother swimming sideways, which indicates lung damage. On Wednesday, the manatees swam away and disappeared under a low bridge in Fort Lauderdale. After Saturdays rescue by experts from SeaWorld in Orlando and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, both were started on antibiotics. Marlin will be scheduled for a procedure where veterinarians will drain liquid or air from its chest. The newspaper says boats and other watercraft were the biggest cause of manatee deaths statewide last year, causing at least 136 of the 606 animal deaths. She showcased her modelling prowess earlier in the day during the Missoni show. And Irina Shayk looked just as stylish off the catwalk, as she stepped out following the show during Milan Fashion Week on Saturday evening. The model, 34, was sporting a set of knitted co-ords as she walked arm-in-arm with her pal Ali and headed out following the fashion presentation. Stepping out: Irina Shayk looked just as stylish off the catwalk, as she stepped out following the show during Milan Fashion Week on Saturday evening Irina's look consisted of a long cardigan which was buttoned down the front and teamed with a pair of form-fitting leggings in a matching pattern. She styled the outfit with a pair of green suede knee-high boots, while also adding a black leather handbag, with Missoni fabric tied around the handles. The mother-of-one showcased her natural beauty as she opted for soft touches of make-up and styled her brunette tresses back in a loose, sleek hair do. Glam: The model, 34, was sporting a set of knitted co-ords as she walked arm-in-arm with her friend Ali (pictured right) and headed out following the fashion presentation Chic: Irina's look consisted of a long cardigan which was buttoned down the front and teamed with a pair of form-fitting leggings in a matching pattern The Intimissimi model treated the pavement as her runway, as she strutted along past the waiting paparazzi as they snapped shots of the stunning brunette. Earlier in the evening during the Missoni show, Irina stunned on the runway in a muted brown ensemble complete with white PVC knee-high boots. The supermodel split from Bradley Cooper, 45, in June 2019, after four years together. They are parents to daughter Lea De Seine, two. Fashion pack: Earlier in the evening during the Missoni show, Irina stunned on the runway in a muted brown ensemble complete with white PVC knee-high boots Daring to be different: The Italian designer wasn't afraid to clash different patterns as Irina was seen wearing an array of different striped garments and checked pieces Irina's pal, Ali, is a Managing Partner at The Lions modelling agency and they have been friends for years, with him regularly appearing on her Instagram feed. Ali is dating a man called Teriek and he recently paid tribute to him on Instagram on Valentine's Day. Earlier this week, in-demand model Irina walked the runway for Moschino during Fashion Week. The Spring season designed by Moschino's Jeremy Scott featured elaborate hoop skirts, waist cinching bodices and busty bustiers teamed with lace up boots. While Irina was head to toe black, other creations featured French country scenes in classic pastel prints. Added details: She styled the outfit with a pair of green suede knee-high boots, while also adding a black leather handbag, with Missoni fabric tied around the handles Slick: The mother-of-one showcased her natural beauty as she opted for soft touches of make-up and styled her brunette tresses back in a loose, sleek hair do All eyes on me: The Intimissimi model treated the pavement as her runway, as she strutted along past the waiting paparazzi as they snapped shots of the stunning brunette Meanwhile, the beauty recently admitted there have been some tough times as a single mother since she and Bradley separated some eight months ago. 'It's hard to find a balance between being a single mom and being a working woman and provider,' she said in an interview with British Vogue. 'Trust me, there are days I wake up and I'm like, "Oh my god, I don't know what to do, I'm falling apart."' But the pair still appear to be on good terms, and were pictured together last week reuniting at a fashion event in London. Regal: Irina channelled Marie Antoinette as she cascaded down the catwalk at Moschino's Milan Fashion Week show on Thursday In Pics: PM Modi to inaugurate new campus of Classical Tamil institute in Chennai today India has everything needed to be hub for medical tourism: PM Modi It's an honour, says PM Modi ahead of Donald Trumps India visit India oi-Deepika S New Delhi, Feb 23: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday welcomed US president Donald Trump ahead of his two-day visit to India as the two countries look forward to strengthening the bilateral partnership. "India looks forward to welcoming @POTUS @realDonaldTrump. It is an honour that he will be with us tomorrow, starting with the historic programme in Ahmedabad," PM Modi tweeted. Earlier this month, Prime Minister Modi had said he was "extremely delighted" that the US president will visit India. "India will accord a memorable welcome to our esteemed guests. This visit is a very special one and it will go a long way in further cementing India-USA friendship," Modi had tweeted on February 12. Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will drive along the 22-km route between the airport and Motera Stadium, the venue for the "Namaste Trump" event, and pass 28 stages representing the states of the country as part of what is being billed as the "India Road Show". The route is expected to have tens of thousands of people and artists showcasing arts from different states and Union territories. The route will also feature decorations depicting events in the life of Mahatma Gandhi, whose life was closely associated with Ahmedabad. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, February 23, 2020, 17:07 [IST] New Delhi, Feb 23 : In a bilateral initiative intended to facilitate industry players and government agencies engage on global and local tax policies, the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) will launch the US-India Tax Forum on Tuesday (February 25) . The forum will bring over 50 tax experts from Fortune 500 companies together with senior officials from the Ministry of Finance, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the GST Council and Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), the USISPF said in a statement on Sunday. "The forum will meet on a regular basis with the government to share feedback on tax policy transparency and efficiency. It will also work with the government to ensure tax policy harmonization between multilateral and unilateral tax treaties," it said. On Tuesday, USISPF, along with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Observer Research Foundation (ORF) will also convene the US-India Forum, a gathering of current and former Indian and US government officials and private sector leaders. US President Donald Trump will arrive in India on Monday on a two-day visit. USISPF President and CEO Mukesh Aghi said: "President Trump's visit will undoubtedly strengthen the commercial and strategic between the world's oldest and largest democracy. Bilateral trade has gone up 12 per cent to $160 billion 2019, indicating the strength of the commercial partnership. On the strategic side, US now conducts maximum number of military exercises with India, including 'Operation Malabar', which has increased in its scope and complexity over the years." "USISPF looks forward to celebrating the burgeoning multifaceted partnership between the United States and India," Aghi added. A week on from Caroline Flack's death and much of the outpouring of sadness and reflection has evaporated in the way these things do. Caroline took her own life in the wake of a domestic incident the police were called to at her home, where she was accused of assaulting her boyfriend Lewis Burton - who's stated repeatedly he didn't wish any prosecution to occur. Photos of bloodstained bed clothes covered the front page of newspapers. "Flack Attack!" yelled the headlines. Little attention was given to the fact that it was her blood, not his, on the sheets. A presumption of what had happened was made by people who knew nothing of what actually went on that night. Caroline resigned from her role as presenter on the smash-hit TV show Love Island. Her life and her mental stability became the subject of column inches. And she was trolled relentlessly on social media by people accusing her of being a violent abuser, mentally ill, and many just calling her unprintable names. She wrote an Instagram post she never put up just days before she died, saying: "My whole world and my future was swept from under my feet. I've accepted shame and toxic opinions on my life for 10 years. I've lost my job. My home. My ability to speak. I'm not thinking about how I'm going to get my career back. I'm thinking about how I'm going to get my life back." She killed herself last Saturday. And the wave of online approbation that hit Caroline Flack - now sated - turned its sights on ''internet trolls''. Social media, particularly Twitter, is a bloodsport. It operates as groupthink. ''Be kind'' started to adorn people's profile pictures. And of course they're not wrong - being kind is a very good thing. Although I noticed some of the accounts emblazoned with it were the same accounts that called me a "domestic abuse apologist" when I pointed out - during the social-media frenzy Caroline Flack was enduring after the alleged assault - that the public backlash to her domestic incident was very different to the public backlash to Boris Johnson's. She had to resign. He was elected prime minister. But then I've noticed that it's often the accounts that say "You should kill yourself", or call you a "Fascist bitch", that also have ''Positivity is my thing" or "Kindness costs nothing'' listed on their bio. Read More I've nothing like the profile Caroline Flack had. But I am, in a lesser way, in the public eye and on more than one occasion I've run foul of social media which has brought the digital pitch forks down upon me. The first time, I was on Operation Transformation. I criticised a leader's drinking. And somehow in our drink culture it came as a huge surprise to people that a doctor on the national broadcaster's flagship health show would be critical of excessive drinking. Who knew? For days my accounts hopped with random strangers telling me what a disgusting person I was. And often, why I should die. People told me they knew where I lived. They would call around. Imaginative expletives and insults came in in their literal hundreds. I weathered it stubbornly for four days, only really cracking when I saw my 14-year-old trying to defend me online in the face of vicious insults by grown men and women. "Take down your comments, love." I told him. "You can't win here." Since then I've drawn fire over CervicalCheck. Over George Hook. And most peculiarly over suggesting on Twitter that the best way to disempower far-right, fringe politicians mightn't be to retweet and talk about them constantly. It might be better to, oh, I don't know, just ignore them and their tiny, irrelevant base? That drew the fascism accusations. Ironically, the weekend I was trending on Irish Twitter as a fascist, I was actually in Ethiopia filming in refugee camps, trying to highlight the humanitarian plight of refugees. Twitter pile-ons don't need to be deserved or accurate. They just need the mob to see other people going for someone. You don't even have to really know what it's about. You just throw out a version of other people's tweets and wait for the likes to come in. Interestingly, I was out socially one night and met a very friendly woman who suggested we should follow each other on Twitter and told me her account name. I realised I'd seen her tweet nasty things about me in the past. I found it hard to reconcile this smiling person in front of me with the snide remarks I'd seen her make and I asked about her tweets. She looked at me awkwardly and said: "Yes. I did say that stuff about you. But I wasn't in a good place. I was looking for approval." And that's the nub of the thing. Twitter pile-ons and social media trolling isn't really about the person being trolled. It's all about the person posting. They are hate often masquerading as virtue. And someone being cruel is still just someone being cruel, albeit while virtue-signalling sanctimoniously. We've always behaved this way. Women were locked up in Magdalene Laundries by the same instincts. Hate masquerading as virtue. Social media has just made it easier to spew now. I have, at times, cried over things I've seen said about me online. And I'm not particularly thin-skinned. It isn't usually what's said. It's usually the fact that it's the 2,000th nasty comment you've read in the past 72 hours. It's literally the straw that breaks the camel's back. And because I know what it feels like to be on the receiving end, I'm much less inclined to ever add to the online lynch mob, irrespective of the issue. If it's already been said by 500 other people - maybe your hot take isn't really required. Even if the likes are so enticing and maybe, just maybe, the mob can get someone fired. Cancel culture is power in the hands of the little people! Or perhaps it's just bullying. A new insidious form. I saw Katherine Lynch tweet in the wake of Caroline Flack's tragic death that we were lucky we didn't lose a young Irish comedian to cancel culture here. And I suspect she's right. I've no doubt that, if that happened, ''Be Kind'' would trend once more. And be paraded by the same accounts who assert their outrage furiously about things they actually know nothing about. So maybe don't just ''be kind'' - maybe also think. Think, am I going to be the 100th, or perhaps the 1,000th, notification that somebody gets today about how awful they are? And maybe, just maybe, they've already gotten that message? I know nothing personally about Caroline Flack's mental health - but I do know this: you don't always have to be vulnerable to react when you're pushed. @ciarakellydoc Japan's health minister has apologised after a woman who was allowed to leave a coronavirus-infected cruise ship docked near Tokyo tested positive for the virus. The woman in her 60s disembarked the Diamond Princess in Yokohama on Wednesday following a two-week quarantine on board, but was found to be positive following another test in Tochigi Prefecture, north of Tokyo. Health Minister Katsunobu Kato told a news conference in Tokyo on Saturday evening that 23 people who had disembarked on Wednesday and Thursday had not undergone tests since before Feb. 5, and the ministry was trying to reach them for retesting. "We deeply apologise for the situation caused by our oversight," Kato said. "We will take all necessary measures, like double checks, to prevent a recurrence." The cruise ship, owned by Carnival Corp, and carrying some 3,700 passengers and crew representing more than a dozen nationalities, has been quarantined in Yokohama since Feb. 3. Japan's government is facing growing questions about whether it is doing enough to stop the spread of the flu-like virus, which originated in China and has killed more than 2,400, as Tokyo prepares to host the 2020 Summer Olympics in July. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said at a meeting on combating the disease Sunday that it was necessary to urgently prepare medical provisions to prevent people from developing severe illness, Kyodo News reported. He also instructed health minister Kato to formulate a comprehensive policy to prevent the spread of infection. The U.S. State Department raised its travel advisory for Japan to Level 2 on its four-notch scale on Saturday because of what it termed "sustained community spread." The number of cases in Japan grew to 770 as of midday on Sunday, including the cruise ship, after a man in his 70s tested positive in the northern prefecture of Hokkaido, national broadcaster NHK reported. On the Diamond Princess alone, there have been 634 infections, according to NHK. That is the largest concentration outside China. Among new cases on Saturday was a boy under 10 years old in Hokkaido, which has the largest number of cases at 18 outside of Tokyo's 29, NHK said. Children had been thought to possibly be less vulnerable to the new virus, with far fewer reported infections in much younger people. A quarantine officer at a Hokkaido airport also tested positive on Saturday. Another was a teacher in Chiba Prefecture east of Tokyo who had gone to school despite showing symptoms. An expressway operator in Nagoya, central Japan, closed six toll gates on Sunday after a worker tested positive for the virus, leading it to ask other employees to stay home, NHK reported. Search Keywords: Short link: Forty years ago, I was a 24-year old law student walking through the streets of San Franciscos Tenderloin neighborhood. We had just opened a tenants legal office we called the Tenderloin Housing Clinic. My frequent walk from Hastings Law School to our office at Glide church exposed me to a whole new world. I made a deep connection to the Tenderloin that has kept me passionate about the neighborhood ever since. The Tenderloin has not had an easy time since I began working there, first as a law student, and since 1982 as THCs executive director. Today, I see the Tenderloin at a crossroads. The neighborhood made many big gains in recent years but now this progress is at risk. While it has stopped gentrification and is poised for a revival, misguided city policies may block its progress. I fear the Tenderloins historic cycle could be repeating itself. Blanchard; John Heres why: The (temporary) 80s revival: By the end of the 1970s, the Tenderloin was in a free fall. The New York Times described it as the porn capital of the USA. Barkers urged passers-by to visit cheap private booths. Prostitutes were available on most blocks. The housing stock was in acute disrepair, as I soon learned when visiting tenants in single-room-occupancy hotels and advocating for improved conditions. Many neighborhood residents had rich life histories. Seniors had moved to the Tenderloin before the neighborhoods sharp 1960s decline, preferring to live where they didnt need a car. Longtime residents enjoyed rent-controlled or government-subsidized housing and could not afford to move. 1980 was a turning point. Residents mobilized against three new high-rise luxury hotels along Mason and Powell streets, and the Tenderloin won a historic victory by securing millions of dollars in affordable-housing funds as a condition of the city approving those hotels. The influx of Southeast Asian immigrant families with thousands of children triggered new investment in restaurants and other small businesses, along with the rezoning of the Tenderloin to protect its low-income character. In 1985, I led a March Against Crime through the Tenderloin with Mayor Dianne Feinstein, the Rev. Cecil Williams, Leroy Looper and other city and neighborhood leaders. City support for the march led us to believe that the neighborhood would no longer be treated as a containment zone for illegal activities that the city wanted to keep out of other neighborhoods. But we were wrong. A combination of factors the loss of federal funding, an overall economic slowdown, and the citys failure to provide the police protection new Tenderloin businesses needed soon plunged the neighborhood into another two decades of decline. San Franciscos dot-com boom in the late 1990s bypassed the Tenderloin entirely. Progress did not resume until 2007, when property owners established a Community Benefits District. THC got city funding that year for the neighborhood to become the national Uptown Tenderloin Historic District, covering 409 Tenderloin buildings and over 31 blocks. This rich history encouraged me to create the Tenderloin Museum. I saw the neighborhoods future propelled by appreciation of its forgotten but storied past. Mayor Ed Lee sparks resurgence: The Tenderloins biggest boost came when Ed Lee became mayor in 2011. Lee believed in the Tenderloin and sold people on its future. The Tenderloin saw more investment from 2011 to 2018 than in the prior 50 years. New housing, quality restaurants, the arrival of the 826 Valencia writing program, the renovation of neighborhood parks, and the opening of the Tenderloin Museum in 2015 all built momentum. As in 1985, it seemed that the neighborhood was finally undergoing the systemic neighborhood safety improvements that we had long sought. City reverses progress: Yet in 2019, the Tenderloins sidewalk drug activities were worse than ever. And city policies were to blame. In July 2015, while Mayor Lee was encouraging investment, the SFPD decided to dramatically expand the Tenderloin Police Station to include Market Street, Sixth Street, Westfield Centre and other high-crime areas. The Tenderloin Station was created to prioritize staffing for our high-crime neighborhood; now, before adequate safety was assured, the city took this staffing away. Vacant city-owned properties at 440 Turk St., 101 Hyde St. and 180 Jones St. worsened the drug environment. The city allowed drug dealing to dominate all three sites without providing necessary security. La Cocina Municipal Marketplace will soon open at 101 Hyde, and 440 Turk is now occupied by city workers, but these positive outcomes do not excuse the citys long inaction. The city plans to turn 180 Jones into a 24-hour sobering center for meth across the street from the Boys & Girls Club and affordable family housing. Can you imagine the city placing such a facility at such a kid-centered area in any other neighborhood? Tenderloin turning point: Whats troubling about this city policy shift is that in many ways the Tenderloin over the past 40 years has been an incredible success. We preserved its low-income, residential character, architectural history, racial and ethnic diversity and authenticity. Recent investments have laid the foundation for a positive neighborhood transformation. But in 2020, our progressive city still maintains a double standard that bars activities in gentrified neighborhoods that it allows in the Tenderloin. That has to change. After 40 years, I still must ask: Will City Hall provide the Tenderloin with the safe environment other neighborhoods take for granted? Or keep the neighborhood waiting another 40 years? Randy Shaw is director of the Tenderloin Housing Clinic. He is the author of The Tenderloin: Sex, Crime and Resistance in the Heart of San Francisco. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sun, February 23, 2020 09:09 689 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad20660c4b9 4 Business USTR,Indonesia,developed-countries,united-states,Trade,subsidy Free Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto says the United States' decision to no longer recognize Indonesia as a developing country would not affect the country much, despite the potential effects the decision would bring. We will receive fewer facilities and benefits as were no long recognized as a developing country. However, were not worried about that, Airlangga said on Friday, as quoted by kontan.co.id. The US Trade Representative Office revoked the special preferences for Indonesia and other developing countries in the World Trade Organization, meaning that the US recognized Indonesia as a developed country. According to the policy issued on Feb. 10, Indonesia was excluded from the developing and least-developed countries list, making the country no longer eligible to receive Special Differential Treatment (SDT) from the WTOs Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures. The decision would open exported goods from Indonesia to be charged with higher tariffs compared to exported goods from developing countries. Read also: Government upbeat US will maintain GSP status for Indonesia The new policy would lower the de minimis thresholds to less than 1 percent as opposed to less than 2 percent in the previous policy. The threshold refers to the value of imported goods below which no duty or tax is collected. Moreover, Indonesia would no longer be eligible for the negligible import volumes criteria. However, things are still up in the air; therefore, were not worried, Airlangga said. According to Statistics Indonesia, the trade surplus between Indonesia and the US in January was US$1.01 billion increasing from the $804 million surplus in the same period last year. The agency also highlighted that the US had become Indonesias second largest non-oil products export target with a $1.62 billion surplus last month. Separately, the Trade Ministry said the US decision would affect its assessment of Indonesias Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) status. This is related to trade remedies rather than the GSP status, said the Trade Ministrys bilateral negotiations director, Ni Made Ayu Marthini, as quoted by kontan.co.id. (dpk) Medical staff prepare pre screening procedure at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases building at Tan Tock Seng Hospital in Singapore on 31 January. (PHOTO: Getty Images) SINGAPORE No new cases of COVID-19 infection have been found as of noon on Sunday (23 February), said the Ministry of Health in a news release. It added two more cases a 56-year-old male Chinese national from Wuhan and a 50-year-old male Singaporean were also discharged from hospital on the same day. In all, 51 have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospital, said MOH. Of the 38 cases who are still in hospital, most are stable or improving while five are in critical condition in the intensive care unit, the ministry added. Further investigations and contact tracing have also uncovered links between past and new cases. Four of the locally transmitted cases along with the aforementioned Chinese national and his wife, a 56-year-old Chinese national also from Wuhan, are linked to The Life Church and Missions Singapore at Paya Lebar Road. Meanwhile, nine cases are linked to the Yong Thai Hang Chinese medical products shop in Lavender. Three confirmed cases have also been linked to a private business meeting held at the Grand Hyatt Singapore hotel between 20 and 22 January. Five cases are also linked to the Seletar Aerospace Heights construction site. Also, 23 confirmed cases have been linked the Grace Assembly of God church at Tanglin Road. Investigations into these clusters of cases are ongoing, said MOH. As of noon on Sunday, the ministry has identified 2,812 close contacts of the confirmed cases and all were quarantined. Of this number 908 are currently in quarantine while 1,904 have completed their stint. (INFOGRAPHIC: Yahoo New SIngapore) Details on latest case The ministry also shared details about Singapores 89th coronavirus case, which was announced on Saturday. The 41-year-old Singapore permanent resident has no recent history of travel to mainland China and is currently warded at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID). He reported having symptoms of the virus on 3 February and sought treatment at two general practitioner clinics on 3 February, 7 February, 10 February, 17 February and Friday. Story continues He was referred to the NCID on Friday and test results returned the following morning showed he was infected with COVID-19. Prior to being admitted to hospital, he had gone to work at Affinity Equity Partners at Suntec Tower Three and also visited the Bishan Community Club. He stays at Serangoon Avenue 3, said MOH. Case links found Links have also found between confirmed cases of the virus. Singapores 44th case, a 37-year-old male Singaporean employed as a Certis Cisco officer, was found to be linked to two other cases a 73-year-old female Chinese national from Wuhan and her 42-year-old daughter. All three have since been discharged from hospital. The countrys 72nd case, a 40-year-old male Chinese national, has been linked to two other cases: a 61-year-old male Singaporean and a 35-year-old female Malaysian. The woman is a relative of the 40-year-old Chinese man. A 62-year-old male Singaporean who works for DBS case No. 50 here has been linked to three other cases: two family members, a 30-year-old male Singaporean and a 61-year-old female Singaporean, and another 35-year-old male Singaporean. The three family members have since been discharged from hospital. Case No. 75 a 71-year-old female Singaporean has been linked to a family member, a 71-year-old male Singaporean. Additionally, a 24-year-old male Singaporean university student Singapores 86th case has been linked to a 57-year-old female Singaporean, who is the students mother. She is also the first case here to be infected with both the dengue and COVID-19 viruses. Contact tracing is underway for the other nine locally transmitted cases to establish any links to previous cases or travel history to mainland China, said MOH. Related stories: COVID-19: Avoid non-essential travel to South Korea's Daegu city, Cheongdo county, says MOH COVID-19: Singapore confirms three new cases; six-month-old infant discharged with mother COVID-19: $77m package for taxi, private-hire car drivers amid falling ridership COVID-19: Singapore confirms one new case, an SIT uni student; 10 discharged COVID-19: 5 Singaporeans on board Diamond Princess allowed to disembark Watertown, NY (13601) Today Variable clouds with snow showers. High 34F. Winds SW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of snow 70%. Snow accumulating 1 to 3 inches. Higher wind gusts possible.. Tonight Variable clouds with snow showers. Low 27F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 50%. Snow accumulations less than one inch. People stand on the deck of the quarantined cruise ship Diamond Princess anchored at Yokohama, near Tokyo, on February 21, 2020. 12 Indian nationals on board the ship have so far tested positive for the coronavirus. (AP) Hyderabad: Four more Indian nationals onboard the ship Diamond Princess quarantined at Yokohama in Japan in view of the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak have tested positive for the disease, the Indian embassy in Tokyo announced this afternoon. In a tweet, the Indian embassy said it hoped that no additional Indian nationals onboard Diamond Princess would test positive for Covid-19. Unfortunately, results received at noon JST (Japan Standard Time) include four Indian crew members having tested positive, it said. Japanese authorities confirmed that samples from all onboard #DiamondPrincess collected for PCR test and being processed. All results expected by 25/26 Feb. Indian nationals on the ship, who would not test positive, will be facilitated by @IndianEmbTokyo soon after. @MEAIndia India in Japan (@IndianEmbTokyo) February 23, 2020 This takes to 12 the number of Indians onboard Diamond Princess who have tested positive for coronavirus. All 12 Indians are responding well to treatment, the embassy tweeted. Japanese authorities confirmed that samples from all onboard #DiamondPrincess collected for PCR test and being processed. All results expected by 25/26 Feb. Indian nationals on the ship, who would not test positive, will be facilitated by @IndianEmbTokyo soon after. @MEAIndia India in Japan (@IndianEmbTokyo) February 23, 2020 It also said that Japanese authorities confirmed that samples were taken from all passengers and crew members on the ship, and were being processed. All results expected by 25/26 Feb. Indian nationals on the ship who do not test positive will be facilitated by the Indian Embassy in Tokyo soon after, it said in a second tweet. Sign up for El Times, a newsletter with our best stories in Spanish, con enes y acentos. CARACAS, Venezuela As Venezuela tumbled deeper into economic crisis in 2017 and its people searched for a way out, one name kept coming up: Lorenzo Mendoza. The family name is universally known in Venezuela. Empresas Polar, the food conglomerate started by Mr. Mendozas grandfather, had grown into the countrys largest private company. Its corn meal, used to make the national dish, was in every pantry, and its beer a welcome part of social gatherings. As President Nicolas Maduros disastrous economic policies set off food shortages and a refugee crisis, Mr. Mendoza emerged as an outspoken critic of his administration and its persecution of the private sector. Polished and eloquent, Mr. Mendoza also offered a stark contrast to the gruff president. His popularity was such that pollsters measured him against Mr. Maduro in mock presidential matchups. OMJASVIN M D By Express News Service CHENNAI: To ensure equitable distribution of water and to reduce wastage, the Metro Water board is planning to improve its supply network especially in north Chennai. A top official with the Chennai Metro Water and Sewerage Supply Board (CMWSSB) said, `850 crore has been proposed for this project, and a Government Order to commence works is expected soon. The funds are expected to come through the Tamil Nadu Infrastructural Development Board (TNIDB) while the World Bank and Beijingbased Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank are likely to be the funding agencies, the official added. Under this project, which will be completed by 2022, old underground pipes covering 375km would be replaced at a cost of `185 crore. Till now, old pipes were replaced only when they got damaged. Now, all pipes in Tondiarpet, Royapuram, Perambur, and Anna Nagar, will be replaced at once. For streets without connections, 113 km long supplementary pipes would be laid at `108 crore. The move is likely to reduce North Chennais reliance on water tankers. The project aims to increase metro water connections by 1.85 lakh and provide over 6 lakh water metres at a cost of over `239 crore. Scientific measuring of water supply through metres would ensure last mile supply and it will be cost efficient for the residents, the CMWSSB official further said. The setting up of metres would also put an end to residents having to pay water tax even when there is no supply. Four Indian crew members who underwent tests for coronavirus on board the Diamond Princess moored off the Japan coast, have tested positive, taking the number of Indians infected with the virus on the vessel to 12, the Indian embassy said on Sunday. Unfortunately, the results received include four Indian crew members having tested positive, the Indian embassy tweeted. All 12 Indians are responding well to treatment. Passengers showing no signs of the deadly disease started deboarding the ship after the quarantine period ended last week. Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor Former U.S. Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch speaks at Georgetown University in Washington on Feb. 12, 2020. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images) Impeachment Witness Marie Yovanovitch Signs Book Deal Reportedly Worth 7 Figures Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, a key witness in the impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump, has signed a book deal. Publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt confirmed that it acquired the rights to Yovanovitchs as-yet-untitled memoir. The book will follow her career as a foreign service officer in Mogadishu, Somalia; Kyiv, Ukraine; and eventually Washington, where, to her dismay, she found a political system beset by many of the same challenges she had spent her career combating overseas, the publisher said in a statement. Yovanovitchs book will deliver pointed reflections on the issues confronting America today, and thoughts on how we can shore up our democracy. The company didnt disclose the terms of the contract, but two people familiar with the deal told The Associated Press that the agreement is worth seven figures. The release is expected in spring 2021, months after the elections in November. Yovanovitch is represented by the Javelin literary agency, which counts former FBI Director James Comey and former national security adviser John Bolton among its clients. Ambassador Yovanovitch has had a 30-year career of public service in many locations, with many lessons to be drawn. This is about much more than just the recent controversy, said Houghton Mifflin Senior Vice President and Publisher Bruce Nichols, in response to a question about why her book wasnt coming out this year. Trump removed Yovanovitch from the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine in 2019. Upon her return to Washington, she was given a post of her choice by the State Department with no negative impact on compensation. Yovanovitch testified in the impeachment inquiry about the events surrounding her return to Washington. She didnt provide any first-hand testimony related to the core allegations brought by House Democrats, who accused Trump of abusing his power and obstructing Congress. The Senate acquitted Trump of both charges on Feb. 5. The Democrats alleged that by removing Yovanovitch, Trump paved the way for carrying out the alleged scheme of pressuring Ukraine into investigating former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden. The allegations are drawn from a July 25, 2019, call between Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, during which Trump asked Zelensky to look into the firing of Ukraines prosecutor general, Viktor Shokin. Two weeks before he was forced to submit his resignation, Shokins office secured a court order to seize the assets of Mykola Zlochevsky, the owner of Burisma, a Ukrainian gas company. At the time, Hunter Biden held a paid position on Burismas board of directors. Joe Biden has more than once publicly bragged about personally forcing Shokins ouster by withholding $1 billion in loan guarantees from Ukraine while he was vice president. Yovanovitchs name came up during the call between Trump and Zelensky with both leaders expressing their negative views of her. Trump said Yovanovitch was bad news and the people she was dealing with in Ukraine were bad news. The Associated Press contributed to this report. An Egyptian woman has been awarded a massive compensation of EGP 1 million ($64,000) after contracting AIDS from her husband, in what her lawyer said is a first in the conservative country. "This is the first time an Egyptian court rules for a compensation over AIDS transfer between a husband and a wife in Egypt," l awyer Omar Gohar told Ahram Online on Suday The decision by a court in the Nile delta governorate of Beheira two days ago came after the lawyer presented a medical certificate proving that the husband was already infected with the virus four months before marriage. The court also ordered the husband to pay for the wife's monthly treatment expenses, Gohar said. The court said that it ruled in favour of the wife because the husband did not inform her about his condition before the marriage despite being aware that he had contracted the virus. The wife, 23, discovered she was infected with the virus during a routine pregnancy follow-up exam three months into her marriage. She also said that her child was infected with the disease. The disease remains a touchy subject in the conservative Muslim-majority country, with many reluctant to come forward out of fear of social stigma. Egypt is one of the countries with the lowest prevalence of HIV in the world, with the number of people infected with the virus averaging 0.02 percent of the population, Health Minister Hala Zayed said in 2018. According to Egypt's National AIDS Programme, around 2,470 new infection cases were identified in 2018, 13 percent of which were females. The lawyer said the suit, which was filed in mid-2019, called for a compensation of EGP 2 million, but the court granted half the amount. He also affirmed that such cases are not uncommon but do not reach the courts due to the sensitivity of the matter. While the husband could face a prison term under the Egyptian penal code, Gohar said the wife and her family are not considering filing a criminal case against him at this time. Gohar urged couples to undergo medical tests before marriage to ensure that they healthy and prepared for marriage. Our domestic uranium mining industry is under attack. The Jan. 8 announcement that the Mt. Taylor Uranium Mine near Grants plans to close is a sad sign of the times. Uranium is one of Americas greatest assets. This critical mineral fuels the nuclear power plants that provide about 20 percent of our electricity and 55 percent of our clean, carbon-free electricity. Uranium is also vital to our national security, fueling the nuclear Navys aircraft carriers and submarines and providing for other defense needs. The closure of the Mt. Taylor mine is further proof the U.S. uranium mining and nuclear fuel production industries are rapidly disappearing. Mt. Taylor is one of the largest and richest uranium mines in the United States. Now, it may be gone forever. The New Mexico Mining Association (NMMA) supports President Trumps goal of putting America First, but unless the administration takes action very soon to help restore this critical industry, more valuable infrastructure is likely to disappear in 2020 and beyond. As recently as the 1980s, the United States produced nearly 100% of our uranium requirements. In 2019, U.S. uranium miners produced less than 1% of our domestic requirement. To make matters worse, increasing levels of uranium are being imported from unfriendly nations like Russia, China and their allies. These facts should concern all Americans. President Trump has said he recognizes the threat we face if the uranium mining and nuclear fuel industries disappear, and he has emphasized the need for the United States to produce our own energy and critical minerals. Yet, so far, the Trump administration has not taken the critical action necessary to support our domestic uranium industry. More than 340,000,000 pounds of uranium came from New Mexico from 1970-1995, in the 1980s, uranium mining companies in New Mexico employed over 15,000 well-paid workers and annually contributed about $60,000,000 in tax revenues to the state. The New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources estimates more than 400,000,000 pounds of uranium reserves remain in the state. Today, no uranium is produced in New Mexico. In 2019, there was only a handful of workers employed in the industry in New Mexico and, essentially, there was zero revenue to the state. Grants was once characterized as the Uranium Capital of the World. The city thrived on a uranium mining industry that employed thousands of people in meaningful careers with significant salaries and benefits. The city served as a regional economic hub that provided first-rate medical services and educational opportunities for the Hispanic and Native Americans who comprise the majority of the regional population. As the domestic uranium mining industry withered, Grants slid into hard times. Crime and unemployment rates soared, while the tax base shriveled, municipal infrastructure crumbled and government services suffered. Renewed mining in the Grants area could reverse this decline and transform the city by rejuvenating the economy, not only for those working in this important industry, but all the merchants needed to support mining. Unless President Trump takes action on this issue soon, this same economic gut punch will land in small communities in other parts of New Mexico. File image Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has said that he is praying for the early release of three former Jammy and Kashmir chief ministers Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti from their detention. He also said that he hopes they will contribute to normalising the situation in the erstwhile state. Singh said he will pray for early release of the Abdullahs and Mufti from their detention. "I also pray that once they are out, they work and contribute towards improvement of the situation in Kashmir," he added. Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar of the National Conference (NC) and Mufti of the J&K Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are among the other politicians who are currently placed under preventive detention. They have been under detention since August 2019 when the Centre abrogated provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution and bifurcated J&K into two union territories. Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti were recently detained under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA). Farooq Abdullah has also been booked under PSA since September 2019. In an exclusive interview with news agency IANS, Singh said: "Kashmir has been peaceful. The situation is improving rapidly. Along with the improvement, these decisions (release of politicians from detention) will also be finalised. The government has not tortured anyone." Singh had also defended the governments decision by saying certain steps had been taken in the interest of Kashmir. Among the many dreadful incidents in the Middle East last week was the little-noticed story of a soldier fighting for government forces in Yemen who, upon finding out he wasnt getting paid, promptly pulled out his gun and shot himself dead in the middle of the Aden headquarters of the First Infantry Brigade. The death of a young man apparently distraught over his inability to feed his family was a reminder of the misery enveloping Yemens non-stop war, one of several grinding conflicts that have turned major stretches of the Middle East and North Africa into landscapes of horror and deprivation. The greatest tragedy of the five-year war in Yemen may be that of the numerous conflicts in the region it is the most easily resolved, if the international community had the will to rein it in rather than to largely ignore it, or serve as its enabler. Unlike Syria, Yemen itself holds little interest for either of the worlds superpowers. Unlike Iraq or Libya, it has little oil; its merely adjacent to an increasingly unimportant strait through which a tiny fraction of the worlds shipping passes. Unlike the Taliban and Khalifa Haftar, Yemens warring parties all have shown they can share power. No one in their right mind believes any one faction could rule the parched, lawless country at the southern edge of the Arabian Peninsula alone. In fact, there is little upside for any of the parties for continuing the war with Yemen. Like all wars, this one has spawned profiteers that see an interest in keeping the conflict going. But Yemen remains among the poorest countries on earth; theres not a whole lot there to exploit. More fundamentally, theres very little strategic upside in keeping the war going. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates launched the conflict against the surging Houthi rebels because the armed group was viewed as a proxy of their arch-rival Iran and a danger to the Arabian Peninsula monarchies. But the longer the war continues, the more closely the Houthis are allying with Iran, and the better the groups military capabilities become, posing even graver security threats to the Saudi kingdom ruled by Mohamed bin Salman and the UAE of Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed. Investigation finds evidence of Saudi double-tap strikes in Yemen Iran got involved in the war merely to play along, providing the Houthis with weapons and training as a relatively low-cost way to mire Saudi Arabia in a protracted conflict. Unlike Afghanistan or Iraq, Yemen shares no border with Iran; dor does it play a vital role in its ambitions to serve as protector of Shia Muslims. But as the war continues, its stake in the outcome of the conflict is becoming more deeply entrenched. Last week came reports that Iran is increasingly supplied with better weapons. The United States accused Iran of shipping the Houthis knock-offs of Russian Kornet anti-tank guided missiles and advanced surface-to-air missiles via a small cargo ship caught at sea on 9 February, the second major interdiction of alleged Iranian weapons since November. The continual supply of Iranian weapons to the Houthis has certainly prolonged the conflict, delayed a political solution and increased the suffering of the Yemeni people, US military spokesman William Urban told reporters. Then, on Friday, Houthis claimed they downed a Saudi Tornado fighter jet with an advanced surface-to-air missile, suggesting ever more sophisticated capabilities are being deployed on the battlefield. Instead of heading towards a conclusion, Yemens war is becoming more complicated and dangerous with each passing month. The anti-Houthi factions are now essentially at war themselves, as the separatist-minded Southern Transitional Council backed by the UAE regularly clashes with the UN-recognised government of Prime Minister Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, a client of Saudi Arabia. For Saudi Arabia, the conflict has been anything but cheap. Houthis claim the war is costing Saudi Arabia $60 billion. While the figure, like almost everything the group says, is likely exaggerated, Riyadh has unquestionably plunked down tens of billions of dollars to pay for wars weapons and mercenaries and to keep the fragile Hadi government afloat, even if its local allies are sometimes coming up short on paying the bills. Houthi attacks on Saudi territory have also likely cost the country. Imagine if, instead of bankrolling the war over the last five years, Riyadh had instead invested half that money in Yemeni education and agricultural projects perhaps even found a paying, productive job for the young man who shot himself dead over unpaid wages last week. Peace talks between the warring parties begun late last year have gone nowhere, with indications that a fragile truce over the port city of Hodeidah is unravelling. Meanwhile, western powers especially the United States, United Kingdom and France continue to sell Saudi Arabia weapons, and provide it diplomatic cover for a war that they admit in private moments is morally bankrupt and strategically counterproductive. Press them further and theyll admit they do so not necessarily because western companies profit directly from arms sales for the Yemen conflict, but because Saudi Arabia, the UAE and their partner Egypt buy a lot of weapons, saving jobs and yielding profits in the west. But if western economies are so flimsy that they depend on further immiserating 25 million already impoverished people, they dont merit salvation. You are here: World Flash Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday evening said the Turkish military had "martyrs" in Libya, while Turkish-backed forces killed 100 "rival fighters" in the country. "Of course we have a few martyrs," Erdogan said speaking in western Izmir province. But in return, Turkey have "neutralized" close to 100 rival members there, he said, referring to the Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Khalifa Haftar against the internationally recognized government based in Tripoli. "Against Haftar, we are there with our hero soldiers and our teams from the Syrian National Army," he said, admitting for the first time the presence of Turkish-backed Syrian rebels fighting in Libya. In January, Turkey sent military support along with army officers to Libya in support the Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli, led by Fayez al-Sarraj. Last week, the LNA reportedly targeted a Turkish vessel in Libyan port. Nirbhaya: After banging head against wall, Convict now tries to swallow staple pins in Tihar jail India oi-Madhuri Adnal New Delhi, Feb 23: After banging his head against the wall of his prison cell at Tihar Central Jail, Vinay Sharma, one of the four death row convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case has once again tried to hurt himself by swallowing the staple pin this time, nevertheless, he couldn't achieve his plan. The jail authorities stored a detailed eye on him and he managed to cease Vinay from doing so. The officer rushed Vinay to the jail hospital and acquired him handled. Few days ago, Sharma had injured himself by banging his head on his cell wall in Tihar Jail. He was stopped after security personnel spotted him. The incident happened in jail number 3 on Sunday afternoon, they said, adding that he got some minor injuries and was treated inside the prison premises. Nirbhaya case: Delhi court dismisses Vinay Sharma's plea claiming he suffers from mental illness Earlier on Saturday, a plea filed Sharma seeking treatment for 'insanity' was dismissed by a Delhi court which said that he is 'malingering' and 'desires himself to be falsely diagnosed mentally ill'. Additional Session Judge Dharmender Rana rejected the plea by Vinay Kumar Sharma saying there no are objective signs of psychological distress and he did not find any occasion to refer the convict to IHBAS (Institute of Human Behaviour & Allied Sciences) or any other hospital at this stage, as sought in the plea. The plea had claimed that Sharma had sustained grievous head injury and fracture in his right arm, and was suffering from "insanity", "mental illness" and "schizophrenia". The court said that "general anxiety and depression in case of a death row convict is obvious," as it noted that adequate medical treatment and psychological help has been provided to the condemned convict. "The jail superintendent is once again directed to ensure adequate care of the convicts as per rules," the judge said. The court noted the submissions made by Dr Vivek Rustogi and Dr Akash Narade, both working in Tihar, that although the convict has been observed to be anxious, agitated and restless, he has responded well to the supportive therapy conducted by the specialist psychiatry. "It is categorically observed that according to his psychological assessment, no behavioral abnormality was noted. It is reported that the conduct of the convict is suggestive of deliberate disruptive behaviour. "It is specifically reported that the convict was asking the specialist psychiatry for legally favouring the convict by diagnosing him mentally ill for helping him to commute his death sentence," the court noted. On mental status examination, the convict was found to have dramatic and superficial demonstration of mental illness, it noted. "No objective signs of psychological distress were observed. The convict desires himself to be falsely diagnosed 'mentally ill'. "Overall impression of his psychological condition is reported to be that of 'malingering'. It is reported that the general condition and vitals of the inmate are stable and satisfactory," the court observed. Malingering is falsification or profound exaggeration of physical or mental illness to gain external benefits such as avoiding work or trial (law) among others. The court further noted that in the CCTV footage, the convict was seen conversing with his counsel and family members and the "apparent tone and tenor of the convict is not suggestive of any abnormal behaviour, rather it convincingly corroborates the opinion of the medical experts". In their submissions, Tihar jail authorities termed the plea as "a bundle of distorted facts" and told the court that the convict was not only being provided regular medical care but also regular supportive therapy by the specialist psychiatry. The authorities said that the CCTV footage established that the convict himself had inflicted the injuries on himself. Nirbhaya: Convict Pawan refuses to meet new legal aid, authorities ask on last meeting with family "These all are bundle of distorted facts. Doctors attended him and found that an injury was made and they gave medicine. All injuries are self inflicted and superficial in nature.... The medical records says he is not suffering from any such mental illness and his checkup in any hospital is not required. He is under regular check by the jail doctor," the public prosecutor, representing jail authorities, said. The defence counsel said the convict has a plastered hand that shows he had fractures and it was not a superficial injury. "Why did the jail conceal the fact about his injuries from the court? Why are the documents not being filed," advocate A P Singh, appearing for the convict, said. The jail authorities opposed the submission and said "it's wrong to say he had a plastered arm. It wasn't a fracture." According to prison officials, Sharma injured himself by banging his head on his cell wall in Tihar Jail. The incident happened in jail number 3 on Sunday afternoon, they said, adding that he got some minor injuries and was treated inside the prison premises. The plea claimed that when Sharma's counsel visited him in the prison on the request of his family members, he found that he had sustained grievous head injury and fracture in his right arm with plaster and was suffering from "insanity", "mental illness" and "schizophrenia". Nirbhaya: Convict Vinay Sharma banged head on wall to injure self Sharma could not identify his counsel and his mother in jail, it claimed. The petition claimed that he was having "decreased sleep" for a long time and was referred to senior psychiatrist in view of drug dependence. The court had on February 17 issued fresh death warrants for March 3 at 6 am against the four death row convicts -- Vinay (26), Mukesh Kumar Singh (32), Pawan Gupta (25) and Akshay Kumar (31) in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case. This is the third time that death warrants have been issued against them. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, February 23, 2020, 14:03 [IST] If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here Washington County Public Schools asking public for input on funding Washington County Public Schools is asking the public for input on how they should spend the American Rescue Plan money from the federal government. AHMEDABAD, India Heading into election season, President Donald Trump is looking to surround himself with sympathetic officials, create made-for-TV spectacles and gin up massive, adoring crowds. Hell find it all in India he made sure of it. Just a few weeks before Trump was set to jet off to India, the president sent aides scrambling with the seemingly last-minute decision to hold a rally with 110,000 people at the worlds largest cricket stadium a colossal structure thats not even technically open yet. There, hes expecting an enthusiastic reception as he appears alongside the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, who shares Trumps nationalist streak. Ive always said the president is the greatest showman of our time, which in politics is a good thing, said Ohio state Rep. Niraj Antani, one of the few elected Indian American Republicans in the U.S. and a Trump supporter whose family hails from Modis home state, where the rally will be held. Trumps whirlwind two-day visit to India which also includes a tour of the Taj Mahal, the inspiration for Trumps ill-fated casino is ostensibly about discussing a limited trade deal to temper long-simmering economic tensions between the two countries. But Trump downplayed expectations about a deal before he left town, even as officials touted an anticipated announcement of a $2.6 billion deal for India to buy Seahawk helicopters from Lockheed Martin. Instead, the excursion is something of a super-size redux of 2019s Howdy Modi rally at a cavernous football stadium in Houston. There, Trump and Modi rallied with 50,000 people, mostly Indian Americans, as the two leaders heaped praise on one another. It was hailed as the largest event in the U.S. for a leader of a foreign nation. Now, Modi is returning the favor with Namaste Trump at the brand-new Motera Stadium in the prime ministers home state of Gujarat, featuring more than twice as many people. Trump is looking to appeal in his reelection campaign to Indian American voters, a growing force in the U.S. that has generally backed Democrats. Story continues Republicans have been trying for years to make inroads with Indian Americans, one of the fastest-growing ethnic groups in the United States, who register and vote at high rates. Riding on Modis popularity, being a friend of India is going to help him, said Rupesh Srivastava, a Michigan businessman and founding member of the Republican Hindu Coalition. An Indian woman looks at a wall painted with portraits of President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of Trump's visit to Ahmadabad, India. Modi like Trump rode to office on a wave of populist rhetoric, and he launched a Make in India campaign. He remains popular despite widespread protests over a new citizenship law that favors all other religions over Islam. In recent days, Trump has talked about the crowds he expects to see in India, telling reporters Modi promised him 7 million people would line the streets between the airport and stadium. He said we will have millions and millions of people, he said. Trump wrote in a Tweet on Saturday that he is looking "so forward to being with my great friends in INDIA!" Trump loves a big crowd. He often boasts about the size of his audiences and mocks his opponents, Republicans or Democrats, for what he deems lackluster support at events. He even told his first press secretary, Sean Spicer, to insist wrongly that he had summoned the largest inaugural crowd size of any president. This is a loud and boisterous country, and that, exactly in some ways, really fits with the Trump style, said Tanvi Madan, director of the India Project at the center-left Brookings Institution. I think the optics he will get more of them than other presidents do, because I think the Indians recognize that that is something that he will want. Dwight D. Eisenhower became the first president to visit India in 1959 when the United States began to see the country as a counter to China and spoke to hundreds of thousands of people in what was then open grounds in Delhi. But that isnt the norm. Trump, who will be making his first visit to India as president, is the fourth consecutive president to visit the country. Tim Roemer , who served as ambassador to India in the Obama administration, said American presidents have always been popular in India. He recalled that in 2010, when President Barack Obama was leaving India after his first trip there, he jokingly told the president he may want to stay because he was more popular in India than he was in the United States. That is something traditionally true for all U.S. presidents, he said. It is a symbol of the respect and close relationship between our two countries. Indians support Trump because he has attacked Pakistan for harboring terrorists and gone after China over its economic practices. India has long-standing tensions with both countries. Fifty-six percent of them have confidence in him to do the right thing on world affairs, a higher mark than Trump receives in most countries, according to a Pew Research survey released in January. But its different in the United States. Trumps job approval among Indian Americans was only 28 percent in 2018, according to the Asian American Voter Survey, a poll of registered Asian American voters. About 66 percent of respondents disapproved. Some Indian Americans, whose families came to the United States legally to study or work, support Trump because of his economic agenda especially the 2017 tax cuts and dont mind Trumps rhetoric on immigration because its primarily about illegal immigration. But he has angered some in the community by kicking India out of a trade preference program for developing countries and insisting Modi asked him to mediate in the longstanding dispute between India and Pakistan over the region of Kashmir. "The decision to hold the rally in Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Modi, may appear to represent good electoral politics in appealing to Indian Americans, said North Carolina state Sen. Jay Chaudhuri, an Indian American and state Democratic leader who has spoken out against Trump. However, a rally in Texas last year and a rally in Gujarat this month can't mask a president and his policies that run counter to our communities interest like education, immigration and gun safety." The first time he ran for office, Trump promised to work with Indian Americans. He spoke to 10,000 Hindus waving Trump for Hindu Americans signs at a Bollywood-themed event in Edison, N.J., home to a robust Indian community . I am a big fan of Hindu, and I am a big fan of India, Trump said. During that campaign, wealthy Indian American businessman Shalabh Kumar of Illinois, donated nearly $1 million to the joint fundraising campaign made up of Trumps campaign and the Republican National Committee. In 2016, about 1.2 million Indian American were registered to vote, according to Asian American and Pacific Islanders Data . That number is expected to rise to 1.4 million in 2020. Still, more than 80 percent of Indian Americans voted for Trumps 2016 opponent, Hillary Clinton, according to polling by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund. After he got into office, Trump celebrated Diwali, the most important holiday for most Indians, and appointed Indian Americans to numerous high-ranking positions. Nikki Haley was named ambassador to the United Nations, Seema Verma became administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Neomi Rao was tapped for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and Ajit Pai became chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. Richard Rossow, who worked at the U.S.-India Business Council and now holds the Wadhwani Chair in U.S.-India Policy Studies at the Center for Strategic & International Studies, predicted Indians wont treat Trump as a lame duck on this trip because they think he has a good chance at being reelected. President Trump is making a concerted effort to strengthen his own political base among Indian Americans, he said. It is a growing ethnic group in the United States, retaining strong bonds to India. So a large rally in India could both augment overall people-to-people ties but could also yield modest political dividends in the United States. Gaza, Feb 24 : Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for firing a barrage of rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel, according to a press statement. The group said its armed wing, Saraya Al-Quds militants, fired the rockets in retaliation for the death of its member Mohammad al-Na'em, 27, who was killed on Sunday morning in eastern Gaza Strip near the borders with Israel, Xinhua news agency reported. Earlier on Sunday, several explosions were heard in northern Gaza Strip after the Israeli defence system intercepted the fired rockets. Ismail Radwan, a senior leader of the Islamic Hamas Movement in Gaza, said that the firing of the rockets came in response to the killing of an Islamic Jihad member, whose body was pulled by an Israeli army bulldozer earlier on Sunday. Israeli army said that al-Na'em was killed earlier this morning east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza Strip after approaching the fence of the border between Gaza and Israel in an attempt to plant an explosive device. 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United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is enjoying her rising liberal stardom: emerging as a top surrogate for 2020 Democratic frontrunner Bernie Sanders while also launching a new political action committee designed to promote like-minded congressional candidates. But the freshman congresswoman's high profile also means there are no shortage of critics, and some of those critics believe they may now have an opportunity to at least complicate her 2020. That hope rests in a new primary challenge launched by Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, a longtime CNBC anchor and contributor. Caruso-Cabrera is the author of a book promoting the virtues of free-market economies and limited government, and is clearly not a fan of the Democratic socialism espoused by Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders. It is an uphill primary fight, given the liberal leanings of the Bronx and Queens neighborhoods that make up New York's 14th Congressional District. Plus Ocasio-Cortez is already proving her national progressive standing is an asset when it comes to fundraising. WeWork paid off a female whistleblower with more that $2million in cash to stay quiet after she threatened to expose an alleged culture of drug-taking, sleeping with colleagues and discrimination at the company, and claimed that she was a victim of a sex assault. The woman filed a 50-page document outlining a catalog of allegations in 2018, an investigation by Business Insider has claimed. She said there was widespread use of MDMA or Molly, cocaine, and Xanax at company events by the real estate team and outlined problematic sexual relations in the department. She worked under Mark Lapidus, the cousin of company founder and former CEO Adam Neumann's wife. Adam Neumann was CEO of WeWork when the female employee laid out a series of allegations, including that there was widespread use of MDMA or Molly, cocaine, and Xanax at company events Mark Lapidus, who the woman worked under, had a reputation for partying, spending $36,000 for a table at Encore Beach Club in Las Vegas (pictured) Lapidus was not named directly in the document but many of the allegations took place in the real estate department he ran. The employee, who has not been named because she alleges an unverified claim of sexual assault, laid out a host of allegations, threatening to sue the company and an unnamed WeWork coworker, as well as file a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. A senior manager admitted to the woman that he slept 'with two direct female subordinates,' the woman claimed. She said that in 2016 she saw a male executive smoking marijuana at a company event and that he said 'he wanted to have a go' with a drunk female subordinate. Lapidus, the cousin of Neumann's wife Rebekah, was sacked around the same time the company settled with the woman. The whistleblower was allegedly paid off around the time that Neumann was in fundraising talks with SoftBank - and negative press would have damaged the company's reputation. Lapidus was sacked from the company at around the same time it settled with the woman who made the allegations New York-based WeWork, the brainchild of Neumann and Miguel McKelvey, offers office space in prime locations. The company launched an investigation with an independent law firm, finding credible claims of bosses sleeping with subordinates and drug use. Sources who worked at the company told Business Insider that several other settlements were made by WeWork and they also highlighted issues within the real estate department. Lapidus was said to be viewed as a favorite at WeWork and his real estate department avoided scrutiny. He reportedly enjoyed wild parties where he spent large amounts of cash. In May 2017, he spent more than $5,000 for a team outing at London nightclub The Box, and another $36,000 for a table at Encore Beach Club in Las Vegas. Sources told Business Insider that the company's investigation found the real estate team was rife with problems. For instance, the probe discovered instances of managers sleeping with coworkers and subordinates, echoing an allegation from the document that a senior manager admitted to the woman that he slept 'with two direct female subordinates.' A spokesman for Neumann did not comment to Business Insider. Sandeep Mathrani, who has just taken over as CEO of WeWork, said that he would adopt a zero-tolerance approach Sandeep Mathrani, who has just taken over as CEO of WeWork, said that he would adopt a zero-tolerance approach. 'At WeWork, new executive leadership has zero tolerance for such behavior or any violation of our company policies,' he said. 'It is our highest priority to ensure our employees feel safe and respected, and this starts at the top," Mathrani said in the statement to Business Insider. 'In this new chapter at WeWork we are fully invested in upholding a culture of integrity.' A daredevil trying to prove the Earth is flat has been killed in a homemade rocket crash in California. Michael Hughes - who went by the moniker Mad Mike - was attempting to launch his steam-powered rocket to an altitude of 5,000ft (1,525m) from a site in the desert north-west of Los Angeles but crashed 20 seconds after take-off. Mr Hughes, 64, eventually wanted to prove his Flat Earth theory by taking photographs of the curvature of the planet - or lack of curvature under his theory - from space. The stunt was being filmed for a Science Channel programme called Homemade Astronauts. The programme confirmed his death, tweeting: Michael 'Mad Mike' Hughes tragically passed away today during an attempt to launch his homemade rocket. Our thoughts & prayers go out to his family & friends during this difficult time. It was always his dream to do this launch & Science Channel was there to chronicle his journey. San Bernadino Police Department has not released Mr Hughes identity but has confirmed a man had died in a rocket crash at 2pm on Saturday (10pm UK time). Video of the launch shows Mr Hughes' rocket arc off to the right almost immediately after take-off, with what appears to be the parachute falling away from the craft. The rocket then plummets nose-first to the ground. The crash happened in open desert near Barstow, a town north-west of San Bernadino. Mad Mike takes off in a homemade rocket during a previous lunch in 2018 / AP San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner public information officer Cindy Bachman said: A man was pronounced deceased after the rocket crashed in the open desert during a rocket launch event. Medical aid was staged for the launch and was on scene immediately. Mr Hughes had built the rocket with the help of partner Waldo Stakes and the pair were one of three teams featuring in the Science Channel programme Homemade Astronauts. Mr Hughes had previously taken-off in a homemade rocket in March 2018, reaching a height of 1,875 feet (571m) before what was described as a hard landing. The limo driver was taken away on a stretcher by paramedics but said he only suffered a sore back. He reached an estimated speed of around 350mph before pulling his parachute. However he had to deploy a second one because the craft was plummeting too quickly. He said at the time: Im tired of people saying I chickened out and didn't build a rocket. I'm tired of that stuff. I manned up and did it. Am I glad I did it? Yeah. I guess. I'll feel it in the morning. I wont be able to get out of bed. At least I can go home and have dinner and see my cats tonight. Homemade Astronauts was to follow self-financed, self-made teams in their quest to reach the Karman line, the invisible line 62 miles (100km) above the Earths surface considered as the beginning of space. Hughes outlined his quest to prove the Earth was flat to CBS News seven months after his 2018 mission. He said: The Flat Earth thing is like everything else to me. I just want people to question everything. Question what your congressman is doing, your city council. Question what really happened during the Civil War. What happened during 9/11. He said he had built his homemade rocket through trial and error, adding: You don't get a lot of second chances, though, in the rocket business. People wear masks to prevent the novel coronavirus walk along the street in Seoul, South Korea, on Feb. 22, 2020. (Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images) South Korea Reports 169 New Confirmed Cases of Coronavirus, 3 Deaths in 1 Day This article has been updated to include the latest information. South Korea on Sunday reported 169 new cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and three new deaths, bringing the total death toll to six. The outbreak has grown worse for South Korea this weekend. The sixth death was a 59-year-old man who was confirmed to be infected on Wednesday and began receiving treatment, according to local media outlet Yonhap News Agency. Late Sunday afternoon, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) announced 46 new cases of the virus and the countrys fifth death. Earlier in the morning, the country reported its fourth death and a rise of 123 cases from the previous day. Now, South Korea has a total of 602 known cases of coronavirusa huge spike from Thursday when the countrys tally stood at 104. Since then, KCDC has reported triple digits in new cases daily: 100 on Friday and 229 on Saturday. The outbreak in South Korea is the largest outside of mainland China, where the virus first emerged. The fifth death involves a 56-year-old woman, who was among 329 confirmed cases linked to the Shincheonji Church in the city of Daegu, which is home to about 2.5 million people and located roughly 186 miles southeast of the capital, Seoul. According to Yonhap, she died at Kyungpook National University Hospital in Daegu while receiving treatment for the virus. A follower of the church, a 61-year-old female, first tested positive for the virus on Feb. 18the countrys 31st confirmed case. Before she tested positive, Daegu and the broader North Gyeongsang Province did not have any known cases of the virus. More than 9,330 church members are now under self-quarantine. Among them, 1,248 have shown symptoms of the virus, according to KCDC. The fourth death was a 57-year-old patient at Daenam Hospital at Cheongdo, a county in North Gyeongsang Province. Also on Sunday, South Koreas President Moon Jae-in raised the countrys virus alert level to serious, the highest in a four-tier system. The COVID-19 incident has been confronted by a grave watershed. A few days from now is a very important moment, Moon said, according to local newspaper The Korea Times. Moon added: The government will perceive the crisis in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province as a national one. Of the new cases from Sunday, more than 110 are in Daegu and 25 are in North Gyeongsang Province, according to the KCDC. Although the situation is grave, we can overcome it, Moon emphasized. He said local authorities should not hesitate to take unprecedented powerful measures and they should not be limited by regulations. On Sunday afternoon, U.S. military forces in South Korea said that there remain zero confirmed cases of the virus among U.S. military personnel stationed there despite the rise in known cases. It also announced a number of health protection measures for U.S. soldiers, such as avoiding large groups, and avoiding travel or contact with others while sick. In response to the spike in coronavirus cases, South Korean government officials announced on Sunday that the new school year will be postponed by a week to March 9, for all of the countrys kindergartens, elementary, middle, and high schools, according to Yonhap. ANI Even as anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests at Delhi's Shaheen Bagh have been going on peacefully, a pro-CAA rally in Delhi's Maujpur turned violent. Maujpur lies near Jaffrabad area where a massive anti-CAA protest is also going on simultaneously. Read more Here's more top news of the day: 1) After Banning Vapes, Legal Age For Smoking Tobacco Will Soon Be Up From 18 To 21 Years BCCL In India, while the legal age for smoking is 18, many take up the habit at a very young age. According to a report, about 90 per cent of children under the age of 16 years (class 10) have used some form of tobacco in the past, and 70 per cent are still using tobacco products. Read more 2) Roads Around Shaheen Bagh Blocked Because Of Delhi Police Not Protesters, Interlocutor Tells SC To cut the impasse between the government and protesters at Delhi's Shaheen Bagh, the Supreme Court had appointed interlocutors to mediate and find a solution to the issue at hand. People, mostly women, at Shaheen Bagh have been staging a protest for more than two months now, against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Read more 3) Despite Heavy Security, Five Responsible Langurs Deployed To Protect Trump From Monkey Attack In Agra First, authorities in Ahmedabad built a wall to hide slums and poverty during Trumps roadshow in the city. Secondly, many slum-dwellers were served eviction notice in the city of Gujarat and in Agra, authorities released water into ecologically dead Yamuna to make it appear clean when Trump visits Taj Mahal with the First Lady Melania Trump. Read more 4) Cheers! Now You Can Get Foreign Liquor Delivered At Your Doorstep In Madhya Pradesh Representational Image "In order to increase revenue in the proposed excise system for the year 2020-21, 2,544 country liquor shops and 1,061 foreign liquor shops will be executed with 25 per cent increase in the annual value of the previous year," an official release said, as quoted by news agency ANI. Read more 5) Ram Sena Activist Announces Rs 10 Lakh Bounty For Killing Woman Who Raised Pakistan Zindabad Slogan Twitter A fringe group activist has announced a bounty of Rs 10 lakh for killing the woman who raised Pakistan Zindabad slogans at an anti-CAA rally in Bengaluru. Read more SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 15 Woke in Los Angeles to the shocking news that Caroline Flack has taken her own life at just 40 years old. After decades working in the news business, I dont shock easily but this left me, like everyone who knew her, absolutely reeling. Caroline was a mate of mine. We werent close friends, but we got on well, frequently met up at showbiz bashes, and exchanged irregular text messages about life and the universe. Caroline was whip-smart, warm, funny and laughed very loudly and very often usually at my expense I first got to know her during a Night Of Heroes Army charity dinner at the Imperial War Museum in London in 2009, where I sat between Caroline and Keeley Hawes. Our table also fielded those other noted shrinking violets Bradley Walsh, Kate Garraway, Vernon Kay and Coronation Street star Bill Roache, and it was an absolutely hilarious night. Caroline, like Keeley, was whip-smart, warm, funny and laughed very loudly and very often usually at my expense. She also wept openly at several of the incredibly moving stories of military heroism that we heard during the awards part of the evening, revealing a heart-on-a-sleeve emotional side to her sparkly personality. We sat together again at a Glamour Awards dinner a few years later where she drank me under the table and was outrageously good fun. And that was always how I thought of Caroline a great laugh who liked to live her life to the fullest, partying as hard as she worked. But she had her well-documented demons, too like many people in showbusiness and they all seemed to collide with the catastrophic sequence of events that led to the collapse of her professional and personal life and ultimately, horrifically, to her suicide. I was due to see Caroline at my annual Christmas pub party on December 19. She had replied immediately to my invite saying: Yeh, love to! See you there. But a few days before it took place, she was charged with assaulting her boyfriend Lewis Burton during an early-hours bust-up at her flat. Then she was forced to step down from her job presenting Love Island, a show she adored as much as I hate it. (You just wish that you were good-looking enough to be a contestant! she once taunted me, incorrectly.) You OK? I texted her as the furore raged so ferociously that she was forced to move out of her home and stay in a hotel. Its been a rough few days, she replied, with a crying emoji. So sorry, I said. You must be gutted. Just keep your head down for a bit and it will all blow over. And if you want a consoling drink with friends, youd obviously still be very welcome at my party. She thanked me, but on the day of the party, I received another text: Dont think Ill make it tonight. I cant even leave the hotel, let alone go home. This has been the worst time of my life. And for what? Throwing a phone in anger. Its so hard for one person to take. Understood, I replied. Its all a massive over-reaction, and it will pass. So sorry youre going through hell but having been through a few tough times myself, I can assure you that youll get through it. And then I wrote words that seem so horribly ironic now: At the end of the day, its just bloody telly and nobody died. The last contact I had with Caroline came two weeks ago after David Walliams made an unnecessarily cheap dig at her expense at the National Television Awards that was met with loud booing from the audience. I immediately defended her on Twitter and got a message from a friend of hers later that night saying: Caroline wanted me to thank you for your kind words and very much appreciates them, she is very grateful for your support. She took hurtful jibes to heart. Last October, the activist actress Jameela Jamil attacked Carolines new (now cancelled) plastic surgery-themed Channel 4 show The Surjury without having even seen it, accusing her of being involved in something that would prey on peoples insecurities. This led to many of Jamils one million followers bombarding Caroline with abuse to the extent that Caroline messaged me at the time to say: Im struggling with Jameela, the hate she aims at me (With an extraordinary lack of self-awareness, the same Jameela Jamil is now leading calls for the Government to investigate harassment waged by the media against Caroline.) I dont know what pushed Caroline over the edge, though I strongly suspect it had less to do with media coverage of her travails (she was good friends with many of the journalists that social media which savaged her while she was alive has rushed to blame since her death in its usual viciously hypocritical way) and more to do with the Crown Prosecution Service telling her the day before she died it was proceeding with her trial, despite her boyfriend (whom she was banned from contacting) saying he didnt want to press charges and was standing 100 per cent behind her. Shed lost the job she loved, wasnt allowed to see or talk to the man she loved, and was now facing the very public humiliation of what would undoubtedly have been a very lurid court case. Despite widespread support from her family and many concerned friends, it obviously all got too much for her. And thats just an absolute soul-crushing tragedy. RIP Caroline, you were a lovely person and Ill miss you. As of August 26th, 2021 Yahoo India will no longer be publishing content. Your Yahoo Account Mail and Search experiences will not be affected in any way and will operate as usual. We thank you for your support and readership. For more information on Yahoo India, please visit the FAQ "Serving in the military changes you. The shades and degrees of change vary for everyone, but no one is ever the same as... Arrested in South Africa, gangster Ravi Pujari, a wanted accused in 51 cases in Mumbai, including murder, extortion and shootouts over the past 24 years, will be brought to India on Monday, said police. Pujari has been named in at least 200 cases across the country. He was arrested in Senegal in West Africa in January 2019, where he jumped bail and fled to South Africa, where he was involved in drug trafficking and extortion racket. Sources in Indian Intelligence said he was hiding as Anthony Fernandes, a Burkina Faso passport holder, and was located in a remote village of South Africa. On a tip-off from the Indian external intelligence agency, the Senegal police air-dashed to South Africa last week and caught the 52-year-old gangster. He is being brought to the country by a team of officials, including senior IPS officers from his hometown Karnataka, where he is booked in 79 cases. [We are] coming with him from Senegal. Now in Paris. [We are] coming by Air France and [would be] there [in India] by midnight, a police official, who is part of the team, told PTI. The National Investigation Agency, Central Bureau of Investigation and the Research and Analysis Wing would join the investigation, sources said. Watch | Gangster Ravi Pujari extradited from Senegal arrives in India A senior Karnataka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, told HT, He is being brought to the country even as we speak and is likely to land in the early hours of Monday. Teams involving ADGP Amar Kumar Pandey and joint commissioner of police Sandeep Patil are involved in the mission, apart from a few department officials from Mangaluru who have tracked him and his family for years. Police officials said extraordinary precautions are being taken, given his record of throwing legal spanner into the works at the last minute or disappearing completely. We want to keep this quiet till he is on our soil, the police officer said. After his arrest in Senegal, the Mumbai crime branchs anti-extortion cell (AEC) compiled a dossier with details of 20 cases against him in Mumbai for his extradition. The selected cases were mostly registered under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Act (MCOCA), said an AEC official. All case papers were written in Marathi and were translated in English, which took at least two months. Apart from the documents, we collected biometric proof, including DNA samples collected from his family. The crime branch then handed over the compiled documents to additional chief secretary (home) who sent them to the ministry of home affairs (MHA) in Delhi to start the extradition process. A senior Mumbai crime branch official said the police in Karnataka, Kerala and Gujarat and other cities also prepared similar dossiers which were submitted to the MHA, from where they were sent to the authorities in Senegal. UK claims EU is in disarray over Brexit negotiations Britain has accused the EU of being in disarray in its approach to the post-Brexit trade talks, stepping up a war of words between the two sides. A week before the first round of formal talks in Brussels, a source close to the negotiations claimed that EU countries appeared divided and were distracted by issues such as securing the return of the Elgin Marbles to Greece, rather than focusing on the important decisions. The claim escalates a propaganda war between Downing Street and Brussels, which saw the two sides engage in a public row last week over the type of trade deal that the UK could strike with the EU. This week, senior ministers will sign off on the UKs list of demands for the negotiations in a meeting of the Cabinets exit strategy, or XS, committee on Tuesday, with the paper due to be published online on Thursday. Sunday Telegraph Comment The sane move is to give Greece back its Elgin marbles, Sarah Baxter Sunday Times >Yesterday: Immigration boss quits after run-ins with Patel Bullying allegations engulfing the home secretary, Priti Patel, have intensified as it emerged that major run-ins had forced the resignation of one of her departments most senior civil servants on immigration. Union sources have revealed that uncomfortable demands by Patel had prompted Mark Thomson, the director general of UK Visas and Immigration and HM Passport Office, to announce his departure just weeks after her appointment. Mick Jones of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), the largest trade union for Home Office staff, said that Patels approach to various immigration issues had led to Thomsons resignation. Hes indicated to our reps that it was mainly because they had had major run-ins. It was clear that [Patel] had come in and was trying to do things that they [Home Office officials] just werent comfortable with and [Thomson] sort of said Im off then. Observer MI5 chiefs do not trust Patel with their secrets Sunday Times Top civil servants on Tories hit list Sunday Telegraph Furious ministers accuse civil servants of co-ordinated attempt to oust Patel Sun on Sunday Johnsons aides draw up plans to break the stranglehold of trade unions- Daily Telegraph Comment The Observer view on the governments immigration plan, Leader Observer House of Lords expenses spiral out of control Peers paid themselves almost one-third more last year just as the size of the House of Lords is set to swell to its largest in two decades. Analysis by The Sunday Times found that the cost of peers expenses and daily attendance allowance rose by 29% in the year to last March to 23m.In a triple hit for taxpayers: The average tax-free payment was 30,827, higher than the median salary of a UK worker, while 31 lords claimed more in expenses than the standard take-home pay of an MP; Peers are set to receive an above average pay rise of 3.1%, taking their daily payment for attending to 323, andtThe latest round of peerages is expected to bring the total number of lords to 834, the highest since Tony Blair axed the majority of hereditary peers in 1999. One lord, former Labour minister Lord Cunningham, claimed a total of 79,437 last year, according to official House of Lords figures. Cunningham, 80, made 17 spoken contributions to the upper chamber despite checking in for his allowance on 159 of a possible 161 days. Sunday Times The peers who dont speak but claim their allowance Sunday Times Sunak to move Treasury officials north Rishi Sunak, the new chancellor, will use his first budget to announce that parts of the Treasury will move to the north of England as he unveils the biggest spending giveaway since 2001. A significant number of the Treasurys 1,500 posts will be transferred to an economic decision-making campus in the north in an effort to show northern voters who switched to the Tories in December that the government is serious about their priorities. The plan, Sunaks first big move since he replaced Sajid Javid earlier this month, will see officials from key departments of the Treasury moved to the new hub. They will funnel billions of pounds of public money to infrastructure projects and listen to the needs of taxpayers and businesses in the region. The chancellor, who represents Richmond in North Yorkshire, is the first MP from Yorkshire to run the Treasury since Denis Healey in the 1970s. The Tees Valley is favourite to host the hub after Sunak took nine officials to Teesside last month for a Treasury board meeting. Sunday Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/rishi-sunak-to-move-treasury-officials-north-7wgmh0r2x Councils ask wealthier households to pay a voluntary mansion tax Sunday Telegraph >Today: Flood defence money diverted from south The Environment Agency is to rewrite its controversial flood defence funding formula after claims that it pours cash into Englands richest regions, mostly in the south, at the expense of poorer flood-prone areas mainly in the north. The formula is criticised for favouring the southeast because it is based on property values. It means up to 60% of the 2.6bn flood defence funding from 2015 to 2021 will be spent around London despite the deluges hitting towns in the Pennines, Yorkshire Dales and Herefordshire in recent weeks during storms Ciara and Dennis. Many are still flooded. Now the formula is to be rewritten to focus more on protecting peoples health so property values will be less important. It means hundreds of millions of pounds could be diverted northwards and westwards, to protect Englands poorest flood-prone regions. Sunday Times Local leader seeks council tax increase for climate change action Sunday Times Comment Climate is right for Lib Dems and Labour to unite to fight Tories, Ed Davey Sunday Times Delegating is good in a leader, but the PM must not look idle, Leader Sunday Times The north of England needs funding and real power, Leader Sunday Times >Today: Lawson: This new Tory coalition has deep foundations Conventional wisdom is often right, in politics as in everything else. But that does not mean we should not question it. Since the Conservatives ballot-box triumph in December, the fashionable argument has been that it is impossible for the government to remain true to its traditional support in the affluent south while satisfying the demands of the former Labour voters in northern England and the Midlands who provided the electoral breakthrough. This is a truism rather than a demonstrable truth. No one has been more assiduous in challenging it than James Frayne, founder of the opinion research group Public First and author of Meet the People. He has conducted countless focus groups in these former Labour heartlands, so his opinions have an empirical basis. In October he wrote on the ConservativeHome website: I ran a detailed opinion research exercise for the Taxpayers Alliance to probe working-class attitudes to prospective tax policies . . . This research showed that working-class voters are much more supportive of business tax cuts than middle-class professional voters . . . Sunday Times Left demands Starmer reveals big bucks financial backers The race for the Labour leadership descended into a row over funding last night as opponents of Sir Keir Starmer, the frontrunner, accused him of failing to disclose the sources of his big bucks campaign. Voting in the contest opens tomorrow, with the left worried it could lose control of the party and fail to preserve Jeremy Corbyns legacy. Allies of Rebecca Long Bailey, the left-wing candidate, led calls for transparency as Starmer refused to publish a full list of donors before voting began. Ian Lavery, the party chairman, said: All candidates should be comfortable disclosing the source of campaign donations prior to the ballot papers being sent out so that members can cast their votes in full knowledge of their candidates funding. The Labour Party has long argued for transparency and full disclosure when it comes to general elections. The same should apply to internal elections. Sunday Times Starmer warns Labour: unite or face a generation out of power Observer Boring Starmer seeks to heal wounded Labour party FT Long-Bailey is heading for third place Mail on Sunday Comment Blair and the lefts perverse preference for failure over success, Andrew Rawnsley Observer And finally, the prime ministers vanishing briefs Boris Johnsons aides have been ordered to send him shorter memos, limiting papers to just two sides of A4. Civil servants have also been told to cut the number of documents put into the prime ministers red box to make sure that he reads them. The edict emerged after Johnson spent a week away at his Chevening country house. Members of the Downing Street policy unit were told to provide weekend reading for the prime minister on keys aspects of policy. But a source said: Theyve been told it should be an easy read: no more than four pages, or hes never going to read it. Two pages is preferable. Another said Johnsons private office and his closest aide, Dominic Cummings, had put a cap on what goes into the red box. An official said: Box submissions have to be brief if he is going to read it. If theyre overly long or overly complex, Dom sends them back with savage comments. A Whitehall source accused Johnson and Cummings of running government by ADHD attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Sunday Times Cummings and Johnson: working in tandem or pulling apart? Sunday Times Comment The Uttar Pradesh police raided a godown manufacturing spurious wine in Muzaffarnagar district and arrested two people on Sunday, officials said. According to Circle Officer Kuldeep Singh, a police team and excise department officials raided the godown on Joly road in Sikheda area and seized 8,500 litres of rectified liquor worth Rs 1 crore. A case has been registered against four people under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Excise Act, the police said, adding that two persons had been arrested. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Murdered rapper Pop Smoke cancelled a performance just three days before he was shot dead inside a California home over concerns there would be gang members present. Pop Smoke, real name Bashar Barakah Jackson, was scheduled to play a show at the Kings Theater in Brooklyn, New York, last Sunday when he announced on Instagram it would be axed. He initially cast blame of the cancelled show on the New York Police Department, but a law enforcement source told TMZ that Pop Smoke made the decision to pull the plug. TMZ reports that rapper Pop Smoke (pictured) cancelled a performance just three days before he was killed over concerns that gang members would be present 'I apologize to all my fans that when to Kings Theater today to see me,' the 20-year-old artist wrote. 'Unfortunately, NYPD wouldn't let me perform once again, but don't worry [I'm going to] make it up to you.' Pop Smoke was out on bail in a federal car theft case where he was accused of illegally transporting a 2019 Rolls-Royce Wraith from California. He was ordered by a judge to stay away from gang members and gang affiliates, so sources say cancelling the show was done for protection. Pop Smoke, 20, apologized to fans in an Instagram post about cancelling a show and blamed the NYPD for sudden change It's been reported that Pop Smoke has ties to the Crips gang in New York City and mentioned being a member during a song released on February 7, 2020. 'Everybody know I'm Crip,' he rapped in Armed N Dangerous. Authorities say Pop Smoke was killed around 4.13am on February 19 in a suspected gang-related attack after it was reported he was the victim of a home invasion gone wrong. The murder came several hours after Pop Smoke shared several social media posts showing off high-value items inside a home he was renting from Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Teddi Mellencamp and her husband. Teddi Mellencamp, 38, confirmed that a shooting had taken place at one of the couple's rental properties in an Instagram post. 'Foremost, we would like to extend our prayers and condolences to the family and loved ones affected by this tragic loss of life,' she wrote in the caption. 'We aren't aware of any of the details beyond what we've been told or seen reported on the news and at this time we would like to refrain from commenting further as we wish for the focus to remain on the law enforcement officers who are diligently doing their jobs.' The house is owned by actor and producer Edwin Arroyave, the husband of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Teddi Mellencamp (pictured together in February 2019) Teddi Mellencamp, 38, confirmed that a shooting had taken place at one of the couple's rental properties in an Instagram post (pictured) Devastated relatives of murdered rapper Pop Smoke are in 'full investigation mode' to try and find out who shot him dead in Los Angeles. Family sources say they have personally questioned friends and witnesses who were at the $2.5million Hollywood Hills mansion before the shooting and have demanded to see security footage. A source told TMZ that 'nothing makes sense' as it would be unlikely for an East Coast hitman to travel all the way to L.A. when the rapper spends so much of his time in New York. The source said Smoke was in L.A. to promoting his new album and to 'relax a bit' before going on tour in March. The apparent home invasion unfolded at about 4.30am at 2033 Hercules Drive (pictured). Pop Smoke was reportedly renting from Real Housewives star Teddi Mellencamp and her husband Insiders who have seen CCTV footage told TMZ four men can be seen approaching the $2.5million home on Hercules Drive roughly ten minutes after people inside deadbolted the front door. One of the suspects apparently walked to the back of the house, where there were no cameras, and entered before multiple shots were fired. That suspect, who TMZ said is presumed to be the shooter, then fled through the front door with nothing in his hands. He and his alleged accomplices are still on the run as of Thursday morning. Police arrived at the home within minutes of receiving a call about the gunfire. The murder of 20-year-old rapper Pop Smoke is being investigated as a gang-related attack, police sources say LAPD officials say they are still searching for the assailants, who fled the scene on foot First responders with the Los Angeles Fire Department were filmed rolling Pop Smoke out of the home on a stretcher. He was transported by ambulance to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in West Hollywood, where he was pronounced dead. Detectives questioned the witnesses inside the house and determined none of them were involved in the shooting. At a press conference Wednesday morning, LAPD Captain Steve Lurie said authorities were searching for between two and six suspects. Lurie did not disclose the name of the victim but multiple law enforcement sources and Pop Smoke's record label, Republic Records, confirmed it was the rapper, whose real name is Bashar Barakah Jackson. Lurie said the motive for the shooting has not been determined and investigators were not ready to say if it was targeted or random. Detectives suspect the assailants are probably gang members, but they have not determined if the slaying was motivated by gang rivalry, the outlet reported. Pop Smoke shared a video on his Facebook Story hours before the shooting which featured the exact address of the home where it took place Hours before he was killed Pop Smoke shared three photos of himself outside the home on Instagram. In two of the photos (above) the rapper is seen posing with Louis Vuitton luggage next to the same white Range Rover that was parked in the driveway when medics arrived 'There is a lot of information available,' LAPD Captain Jonathan Tippet said. 'We have some work to do.' Pop Smoke shared three photos of himself outside the home on Instagram the day before he was killed. In two of the photos the tracksuit-clad rapper is seen posing with Louis Vuitton luggage next to the same white Range Rover that was parked in the driveway when medics arrived. In the third photo, Pop Smoke is sitting in the driver's seat of the SUV next to his friend Mike Dee, who is holding a massive stack of cash. The caption read: 'GET STRAIGHT PASSION - ZIP HIM UP BAG EM - LOUIS V LOUIS V LOUIS V.' He also shared a video on his Facebook Story showing off pricey gifts he'd been sent. One of the gift bags clearly featured the address of the home - sparking speculation that the attackers learned where to find him via the post. Pop Smoke, who hails from Brooklyn, rose to fame last summer with the release of his debut mixtape Meet the Woo. The lead single on that album, Welcome to the Party, reached number five on Billboard's Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart and was remixed by Nicki Minaj. The rapper released his second mixtape, Meet the Woo V.2, earlier this month. The album was met with rave reviews and reached number seven on the Billboard 200 Albums chart. He rapper was set to go on tour in March, with 24 shows across the US and the UK. Ten of those shows were sold out within two weeks of when the tour was announced. Pop Smoke was also slated to perform at the famed Rolling Loud hip-hop festival in Miami in May. Last September the Times published an interview with Pop Smoke and noted that he'd recently been required to wear an ankle monitor as part of a diversion program connected to a weapon charge, which was later dismissed. The rapper told the newspaper that he wanted to make music for young people who 'got to carry their guns to school because it ain't safe, but they still got to make sure they get they diploma 'cause they mom could be happy. I do it for them.' In other interviews he described how he was expelled from middle school because he brought a firearm to campus. In October, Pop Smoke was removed from the lineup for Rolling Loud's festival in Queens after the NYPD sent a letter to organizers raising concerns that he and four other artists posed a public safety risk because they were 'affiliated with recent acts of violence citywide'. Warning - Explicit language: At first glance, it may seem contradictory that the nation's intelligence agencies were telling Congress that President Vladimir Putin of Russia is presumably striving to get President Donald Trump reelected, while also warning Sen. Bernie Sanders of evidence that he is the Russian president's favorite Democrat. But to the intelligence analysts and outside experts who have spent the past three years dissecting Russian motives in the 2016 election, and who tried to limit the effect of Russian meddling in the 2018 midterms, what is unfolding in 2020 makes perfect sense. Trump and Sanders represent the most divergent ends of their respective parties, and both are backed by supporters known more for their passion than their policy rigor, which makes them ripe for exploitation by Russian trolls, disinformation specialists and hackers for hire seeking to widen divisions in America. While the two candidates disagree on almost everything, both share an instinct that the U.S. is overcommitted abroad: Neither is likely to pursue policies that push back on Putin's plan to restore Moscow's influence around the world. And if you are trying to sow chaos in an already chaotic, vitriolic election, Putin could hardly hope for better than a faceoff between an incumbent with a history of race-baiting who is shouting "America First" at rallies and a democratic socialist from Vermont advocating a drastic expansion of taxes and government programs like Medicare. "Any figures that radicalize politics and do harm to center views and unity in the United States are good for Putin's Russia," said Victoria Nuland, who served as ambassador to NATO and assistant secretary of state for European affairs, and had her phone calls intercepted and broadcast by Russian intelligence services. The intelligence reports provided to the House Intelligence Committee, inciting Trump's ire, may make the U.S.' understanding of Putin's plans sound more certain than they really are, according to intelligence officials who contributed to the assessment. Those officials caution such reports are as much art as science, a mixture of informants, intercepted conversations and intuition as analysts in the nation's 17 intelligence agencies try to get into the heads of foreign leaders. Although intelligence officials have disputed that the officer who delivered the main briefing said Russia was actively aiding the president's reelection, people in the room said that intelligence officers' responses to lawmakers' follow-up questions made clear that Russia was trying to get Trump reelected. Intelligence is hardly a perfect process, as Americans learned when the nation went to war in Iraq based in part on an estimate that Saddam Hussein was in search of a nuclear weapon. But in this election, the broad strategy is not exactly a mystery. Putin, analysts agree, mostly seeks anything that would further take the sheen off American democracy and make presidential elections in the U.S. seem no more credible than his own. After that, he is eager for a compliant counterpart in the White House, one unlikely to challenge his territorial and nuclear ambitions. Not surprisingly, the Kremlin said this is all an American fantasy aimed at demonizing Russia for failings the U.S. shares. "These are more paranoid announcements which, to our regret, will multiply as we get closer to the election," Putin's confidant and spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, was quoted by Reuters Friday. "They have nothing to do with the truth." No matter who is elected, Putin has likely undermined one of his own primary goals: getting the U.S. and its allies to lift sanctions imposed after he annexed Crimea and accelerated a hybrid war against Ukraine. Sanders is hardly a new target for the Russians. The 2018 indictment of 12 Russian intelligence officers for their activities in the last presidential election claimed that the officers "engaged in operations primarily intended to communicate derogatory information about Hillary Clinton, to denigrate other candidates such as Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, and to support Bernie Sanders and then-candidate Donald Trump." Robert Mueller, in the report on Russian operations, concluded the release of memos hacked from the Democratic National Committee were meant to inflame Sanders' supporters by revealing the committee was funneling assets to Clinton. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. The more recent public reports emerging from the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI, and classified reports generated by the CIA and others, suggest that while the Russian objectives have remained the same, the techniques have shifted. "The Russians aren't going to use the old playbook; we know that," said Christopher Krebs, who runs the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. His organization, along with the National Security Agency and British intelligence, has been steadily documenting how Russian operatives are becoming stealthier, learning from the mistakes they made in 2016. As they focus on evading more vigilant government agencies and technology companies trying to identify and counter malicious online activity, the Russians are boring into Iranian cyberoffense units, apparently so that they can initiate attacks that look as if they originate in Iran which itself has shown interest in messing with the U.S.' electoral process. Russians are putting more of their attack operations on computer servers in the United States, where the NSA and other intelligence agencies but not the FBI and Homeland Security are prohibited from operating. And, in one of the most effective twists, they are feeding disinformation to unsuspecting Americans on Facebook and other social media. By seeding conspiracy theories and baseless claims on the platforms, Russians hope everyday Americans will retransmit those falsehoods from their own accounts. That is an attempt to elude Facebook's efforts to remove disinformation, which it can do more easily when it flags "inauthentic activity," like Russians posing as Americans. It is much harder to ban the words of real Americans who may be parroting a Russian storyline, even unintentionally. Krebs noted that this was why the Department of Homeland Security had to focus on educating Americans about where their information was coming from. "How do you explain," he asked last year, "'This is how you're being manipulated; this is how they're hacking your brain'?" In 2018, the U.S. Cyber Command and the NSA mounted a new and more public campaign to push back at the Russians, attacking and blocking their Internet Research Agency for a few days around the November elections, and texted warnings to Russian intelligence officers that they were being watched. The NSA is preparing for similar counterattacks this year: On Thursday, the United States cited intelligence and blamed Russia for a cyberattack last fall on the republic of Georgia, another place where Putin seems to be holding dress rehearsals. Now U.S. intelligence agencies face a new question: How do they run such operations and warn Congress and Americans at a moment when the president is declaring the intelligence on Russian election meddling is "another misinformation campaign" that is "launched by Democrats in Congress"? Superintendent Rob Watson joined Missoula County Public Schools just as it was wrapping up several years-long initiatives. Smart Schools 2020, funded by bonds passed by voters in 2015, has seen the completion of major renovation or construction projects at each of the districts buildings. Meanwhile, the Achievement for All plan transformed the districts instructional model and education tools. Now Watson is overseeing the creation of a sweeping long-term strategic plan. Guided by an advisory board packed with district staff, school board trustees and community members, and powered by public participation, the new plan seeks nothing less than to chart a course for the future of MCPS. Its bound to be a learning experience for all involved. Fortunately, Watson has already racked up plenty of experience and comes with some good ideas well. He has been an elementary and high school principal, including in Missoula, and previously served as the superintendent in Bozeman, during which time he was named a superintendent of the year. After being lured away to Missoula last July, Watson spent the rest of his summer and the first few months of the school year meeting with teachers, parents, students, business leaders and others in the community including the Missoulian editorial board and sharing what he heard with the district and school board. He has had a chance to review current district policy and get an up-close view of how those policies play out in real life. And he has had a chance to identify and smooth any communication bumps that might prevent anyone from being heard. All that just to set the stage for the next phases: inviting even more public participation and focusing comments on various aspects of the school experience. An online survey administered by the Montana School Boards Association, which is based in Helena, gathered more than 2,700 responses, mostly from parents of current or former students, but also from students themselves, MCPS employees, business owners and community members with no children. They were asked general questions about MCPS, such as what they would like to change, what they would not want to see changed, and what the districts top three priorities ought to be. A large majority 84% agreed that the school environment supports students and learning. More than 70% of respondents also agreed that the school environment in general is safe both physically and emotionally. Parent involvement was also gauged, and 76% agreed that parents are made to feel welcome in their childs school. However, respondents were more neutral about MCPS administration and the school board, with room for improvement in transparency and trust, and in addressing a perceived disconnect in procedures across different schools and departments. A more detailed summary of the survey findings is available on the MCPS website, and will be further explored at a public meeting this Tuesday evening following the school boards regular meeting. It will be the second of three meetings aimed at forming the first draft of the new strategic plan; the first was held last month and another is scheduled for March 25. Certain to be in attendance will be the advisory board, whose members have committed to showing up at each of the public meetings. And this advisory board alone counts 50 members, including leaders from MCPS, the University of Montana, city and county government, education-focused nonprofits, youth groups and others. They are tasked with helping the larger community get on the same page regarding the vast and ever-evolving challenges facing the next generations of Missoula students. These include big issues with no easy solutions, from social media and new technology, to school safety threats and community activism, to workforce training and higher education readiness. International programs, dual language learning, Indian Education for All, Common Core and STEM the list of the various critical components of a modern education is long, and each item is deserving of discussion. MCPS counts 18 schools nine elementary schools, three middle schools and four high schools, including one alternative high school and more than 9,200 students. A demographic study completed one year ago projected an increase in total enrollment of nearly 8% within the next five years. Thats an addition of more than 700 students by the 2023-24 school year. Currently, at least one in four MCPS students is eligible for free or reduced lunches, and each year the schools serve between 400 and 500 homeless students. One in five students is receiving some level of special education. As stated in their mission, MCPS must ensure that each and every one of these students achieves their full potential, regardless of circumstance and ability. Just how they go about doing this is a matter that must be decided by the community. This editorial represents the views of the Missoulian's Editorial Board: Publisher Jim Strauss, Editor Gwen Florio and Opinion Editor Tyler Christensen. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 UAE-based Marakeb Technologies, a leading autonomous technology provider, is showcasing its patented unmanned technology and modular integration into aerial, ground, and marine vehicles at the Unmanned Systems Exhibition & Conference (UMEX) in Abu Dhabi. UMEX, the largest unmanned systems event in the Mena region serves as the ideal platform to showcase industry-leading unmanned technologies and innovations and accelerates regional and international partnerships in a rapidly-changing world. The flagship event connects regional government delegations, agencies, industry, military, and civilian authorities to promote the defence, environmental, civil, and humanitarian benefits of unmanned systems. Marakeb Technologies continues to push the limits of its patented MAP Pro technology by expanding its unmanned conversion capabilities beyond marine vessels to ground and aerial vehicles. These capabilities are on full display at the event with the unveiling of three new unmanned vehicles catering to air, land, and sea. The common denominator between all three vehicles is the core of the autonomous conversion kit the MAP Pro which can convert any aerial, ground, and marine vehicle from manned to unmanned. The modular nature of its technology enables clients from distinct sectors to utilize their current assets for conversion, rather than purchasing full turnkey solutions. Marakeb has delivered unmanned vehicles to the petroleum, port security, military, and civil defence industries. Basel Shuhaiber, CEO of Marakeb Technologies said: The integration of unmanned technology is disrupting the traditional operations of many sectors at a rapid pace. Our aim is to strengthen the UAEs global positioning in the field of autonomy by developing long-term partnerships with regional and international leaders of industry in all three phases air, land, and sea. UMEX is taking place from February 23 to 25 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre. TradeArabia News Service The disclosure of the tumor comes just days before N.J. Gov. Phil Murphy is scheduled to deliver his annual budget address for the 2021 fiscal year. WOODLAND PARK, N.J. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy likely has cancer after doctors found a tumor on his kidney, he said Saturday night. Murphy, 62, plans to undergo surgery in early March to have the tumor removed and is expected to make a full recovery. "The prognosis is very good and I'm profoundly grateful to my doctors for detecting the tumor early," Murphy said on Twitter. "Over 50,000 New Jerseyans will hear the words 'you have cancer' this year, so Im far from alone here," said Murphy. "Its a situation that far too many families find themselves in. Thats why were fighting for them each and every day." Doctors found a 3-centimeter wide tumor on Murphy's left kidney during a recent CAT scan, according to his communications director, Mahen Gunaratna. About 90% of such tumors are cancerous, Gunaratna said. Friends Ive got a tumor on my left kidney and will undergo a partial nephrectomy in early March to remove it. The prognosis is very good and Im profoundly grateful to my doctors for detecting the tumor early. Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) February 23, 2020 The disclosure of the tumor comes just days before the Democratic governor is scheduled to deliver his annual budget address for the 2021 fiscal year. Murpheys office said he is still expected to deliver the speech, but shortly after that he will retreat from public duties. Murphy is expected to undergo surgery at a New York City hospital, Gunaratna said, during which time Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver will become acting governor. Murphy is expected to be in the hospital for a "couple days" and will slowly ease back into his role for several weeks after the surgery, he said. Oliver addressed the governor's Cabinet on Saturday night on behalf of Murphy. His wife, Tammy, said on Twitter that he's "a fighter" and thanked the "amazing" team of doctors who detected the tumor. Story continues She and Murphy's office used the moment to make a statement on health care as well. "He's more committed than ever to fighting for these families by standing up for the Affordable Care Act, reducing the cost of health care and making high-quality health care affordable and accessible to all," Gunaratna said. Many people reacted to the news on social media with prayers and warm wishes for Murphy. But the Twitter account of Todd Christie, the brother of Murphy's predecessor, Republican Gov. Chris Christie, did not care for Tammy Murphy's message. "Did you really end a heartfelt tweet about your husband having a tumor with a liberal talking point blah, blah, blah? My God you two are a match made in political BS heaven," Todd Christie wrote. This article originally appeared on NorthJersey: NJ Gov. Phil Murphy to have surgery to remove tumor on his kidney Chetana Belagere By Express News Service BENGALURU: While Nirbhaya killers are to be hanged in March, Umesh Reddy who terrorised women in Karnataka for several years as he raped and murdered women, is on death row. His petitions for mercy have been rejected repeatedly. Reddy confessed to killing 18 women and was convicted in nine cases. Investigators however say he has raped and killed at least 21 women. Reddy targeted lone homemakers, gaining entry into their houses on the pretext of asking for water or directions. At knife-point, he would force them to remove their clothes, tie them up, choke them and sexually assault them while they were unconscious. To throw police off-track, he would remove the victims jewellery after he killed them to make it appear like a robbery. Perhaps the most shocking case was that of a 37-year-old widow named Jayashree Maradi Subbaiah. On February 28, 1998, her six-year-old son returned from school to find that his mother was not at the door to welcome him as usual. Instead, the door was locked from the inside. His repeated knocks went unanswered. When he screamed, he heard a man say hoon, a way of saying yes in Kannada. When the man opened the door, a nightmare that he would never forget greeted the boy. His mother, semi-naked and unconscious, was tied to the window. The man who did that to his mother told him that she had been possessed by a spirit and he would go get help. Reddy, who was once a policeman, hails from Chitradurga. He started off with a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) unit in J&K, which he allegedly deserted. Returning to his hometown, he enrolled in the District Armed Reserve as a constable, thanks to oversight in the recruitment process. Things came to a head in November 1996 when he was caught for molesting a minor. He escaped to Bengaluru, where he would steal womens undergarments and engage in voyeuristic acts. Bengaluru police caught him over a robbery but he escaped and returned to Chitradurga where he committed his first killing. He raped and smothered a young woman named Roopa. He was immediately arrested, but managed to escape for the second time. In March 1998, just a week after Jayashrees rape and murder, Reddy was caught by the public in Peenya when he attempted to rape a woman. But Reddy again escaped from Parappana Agrahara Jail in Bengaluru. He was caught a few months later when he landed in a hospital after an accident on a stolen motorcycle. Doctors informed the police that they found him wearing womens undergarments. He was sent to Hiriyur jail. In 2002 he escaped again, but on May 17 that year two autorickshaw drivers found him in a barbers shop in Yeshwantpura in Bengaluru. He was nabbed and sent to Parappana Agrahara Jail. In May 2002, Reddy was charged with the rape and murder of 21 women in Chitradurga, Ballari, Bengaluru, Vadodara, and Kunigal - with seven in Bengaluru alone. In 2007, the 7th Fast Track Court, Bengaluru, sentenced Reddy to death for Jayashrees rape and murder. His mercy petitions have been rejected. Today, a 51-year-old Reddy is locked in a separate cell on days when he shows psychologically disruptive behaviour while he waits for his execution. New Delhi, Feb 23 : Though Indias readymade garment exports showed a marginal increase in April 2019-January 2020 period, apparel exporters are confident of capturing a larger market share due to the renewed enthusiastic support of the government, the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) said in a statement on Sunday. The statement cited AEPC Chairman A. Sakthivel saying this while addressing the body's 42nd Foundation Day here on Saturday. The statement said that the Chairman has brought up issues being faced by apparel exporters and discussed ways to promote apparel exports iin his recent interactions with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Textiles Minister Smriti Zubin Irani. "While the government has prepared the ground for growth of man-made fibre production in the country with its removal of anti-dumping duty on PTA, the Council has planned to participate in mega exhibitions across the world to showcase Indian apparel," he said. "Having started out of a small office space in Nehru Place in Delhi as a quota monitoring entity, our Council today has a countrywide presence with 12 offices and a 8,000 strong membership constitution of almost all large production houses, trading houses and small & medium scale units," Sakthivel said. AEPC members will participate in various international fairs this year including 'India Tex Trend Fair' in Tokyo and 'Pure London' in July, 'Magic Fair' in Las Vegas and 'Apparel Textile Sourcing' in Canada in August, 'Who's Next' in Paris in September, and 'Australia International Sourcing Fair' in Melbourne in November. "The apparel sector is the largest employment provider after agriculture and employs 12.90 million workers, of which 65-70 per cent are women," he added. LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) Lafayette police arrested three people believed to be responsible for a shooting at the Briarwood Apartments on Feb. 14. The victim was airlifted to an Indianapolis hospital with serious, non-life threatening injuries. The arrests happened at the Cambridge Estates apartment complex Saturday afternoon. Police spent several hours serving a search warrant there, It's unclear what led officers to that area. The three people are identified as Kendall Mitchell, who was arrested for possession of marijuana. Parnel Solomon, who was arrested for possession of marijuana and ecstasy. The third, Denzel Nelson was arrested for possible connection to a shooting at Briarwood Apartments on February 14. He's being charged with attempted murder Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the novel coronavirus outbreak a 'Public Health Emergency of International Concern' on the 30th of January (GMT). The world is trembled by the international spread of the novel coronavirus infections. Rapid distribution of medicines including anti-virus are demanded, however, it is very challenging to mass produce them in a short period of time due to complicated process of drug manufacturing. In the midst of this, a research team from POSTECH successfully developed catalytic nanoreactors that could simplify the manufacturing process of fine chemicals such as drugs and medicines. The research team consisted of Dr. Soumen Dutta and Prof. In Su Lee from POSTECH Department of Chemistry successfully incorporated three different functionalities of catalysts into a single metal organic framework (MOF) nanoplatform. They also demonstrated multistep cascade reactions, which produce final products in excellent yields and high optical activity, through synergistic effects of catalytic substances located within nano distance. Pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturing goes through series of synthesis and separation multistep process and requires expensive costs and long time for processing. Especially, catalysts used in each synthetic step most often time deactivate reactivity and selectivity of each other. So, it is very challenging and essential task to simplify the process by developing integration of different catalysts while maintaining their reactivity and stability. The research team synthesized a mesoporous metal-organic framework (MOF) with nano size pores (20~40nm) through the self-assembly of metal ions and organic ligands. Then, they created multimodal catalytic nanoreactors (MCNRs) by introducing metal nanoparticle catalysts and enzymes to the mesopores in phases. They verified that metal ions, nanoparticles, and enzymes allocated in the mesopores near MCNRs do not impede catalytic functionalities of each other but perform multistep cascade chemical reactions efficiently. The first author of the paper, Dr. Soumen Dutta said: We were able to demonstrate the chemical manufacturing process, which requires multistep procedures, in a simplified procedure with a single catalyst. This can lead to simplifying manufacturing process of fine chemical products such as drugs which need high optical selectivity." Prof. In Su Lee also showed his anticipation and said, "This can change the chemical process to eco-friendly that can use less solvents and energy used in separating intermediates. Especially, by reducing the number of chemical reaction steps, we can shorten the time needed for developing vaccines that can respond to a virus. It will also lower the production cost of drugs and prices." This research accomplishment was released in the online version of Angewandte Chemie International Edition, which is the most prominent journal in the field of chemistry and applied chemistry. The research was supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea. NEWSALERT-TN-PM Once in a lifetime covid pandemic has reaffirmed the importance of health sector, says PM Modi after inaugurating new medical colleges in TN. PTIOnce in a lifetime covid pandemic has reaffirmed the importance of health sector, says PM Modi after inaugurating new medical colleges in TN. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. The controversy over the refusal to allow gays to march openly in the Staten Island St. Patricks Parade isnt going away. The questions are going to get louder with each elected official who declines to march in the parade, whether they are doing it as an open boycott or not. The Pride Center of Staten Island has sought permission for its members to march under their own banner. Parade organizers have refused. One parade organizer, Larry Cummings, told the Advance recently that the parade is a non-sexual identification parade, and thats that. In years past, others have pointed to Catholic Church teachings against homosexuality as a justification for prohibiting gays from marching openly. A separate committee organizes the parade, but the event is identified with a local chapter of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, a Roman Catholic fraternal order. The controversy has smoldered ever since there was a tussle on the parade route when people marching with rainbow pins were confronted by a parade marshal in 2011. Im Catholic. Im a good chunk Irish too, thanks to my mom (nee Courtney). I dont have a problem with letting gays march openly. You know who else doesnt have a problem? Cardinal Timothy Dolan. Gays have marched openly in the St. Patricks Day Parade in Manhattan since 2015. You know who the grand marshal was that year? Cardinal Dolan. You know where the parade steps off? In front of St. Patricks Cathedral, the home office for Roman Catholicism in the United States and one of the most iconic symbols of the faith on Earth. And how can people talk about Catholic teachings on homosexuality in the middle of a child sex scandal that has shaken the Church to its foundations? If were going to talk about morality, lets talk about morality. Pope Francis, our spiritual and moral shepherd, asked who am I to judge? with regard to people who are gay. Maybe we should try to follow his lead. Are we still in that place where people who are gay are considered some kind of other? I thought we were well past that time, even here on more conservative Staten Island. I understand preserving tradition. I understand standing firm against creeping moral and religious relativism. Some hills are worth dying on. This parade stricture isnt one of them. These are our friends and family members. War veterans. First responders. Teachers. People from all walks of life. I dont think allowing them to march openly is going to turn our cherished St. Pats Parade into the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade, as some seem to fear. Heres another argument used to justify the exclusion: The parade is a private event. Those who run it can decide who can march and how. They make it sound like the parade is being held in somebodys driveway. The parade is not a private event. Not when a public street, Forest Avenue, is closed for the event. Not when police are assigned to keep order at intersections, and to place and then remove crowd barriers along the route. Not when the Sanitation Department cleans up. And not when public officials allocate funds to support the parade, as they have in years past. Thats public money going to an event that is exclusionary. Thats city worker salary and overtime. Do our federal, state and city officials stand by that use of funding? I know. Gays arent prohibited from marching. Theyre merely barred from marching under an identifying banner. Its a distinction without a difference. I wrote about that 2011 parade scrum for the Advance. A top parade official at the time told me that the parade committee would look into relaxing the stricture against gays marching openly in the near future. The future is now, friends. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday that White House national security adviser Robert O'Brien should "stay out of politics." Driving the news: O'Brien said on ABC News that it's "no surprise" Russia has attempted to interfere in favor of Sen. Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary because Sanders "honeymooned in Moscow." Sanders said late last week that he was briefed about a month ago on Russia's attempts to help his campaign and that he completely condemns Putin's interference. The big picture: A congressional briefing led by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence reportedly said that Russia had developed a preference for President Trump and was seeking to help his re-election campaign, in addition to Sanders' primary bid. O'Brien repeatedly said on the Sunday cable talk shows that he had not seen any intelligence to support this, despite Russia having interfered on Trump's behalf in 2016. Murphy countered on CNN: "What we know is that the Russians never stopped interfering in American politics. ... They are weighing in over and over again in support of right-wing causes, in support of Donald Trump's political agenda." "And of course it stands to reason that they want Donald Trump re-elected because he has been a gift to Russia," Murphy added. Go deeper: Trump misrepresents 2020 Russia briefing as Democratic "misinformation" Serdar Kilic is appointed Turkey special representative for Armenia Armenia ambassador to Georgia informs Switzerland envoy about Azerbaijan's gross ceasefire violation Economy minister: Armenia government was guided by political considerations when lifting sanctions on Turkey goods Turkey defense minister expresses support for Azerbaijan in another military aggression against Armenia Pashinyan, Putin discuss Karabakh, Kazakhstan Toivo Klaar: Deeply worried by reports of renewed incidents and casualties on Armenia-Azerbaijan Germany: A record 80,430 COVID-19 cases detected per day 3 more persons die of coronavirus in Artsakh Criminal case launched into 3 Armenia soldiers killing by Azerbaijan shootings Copper rises in price One of main tasks of Armenia peacekeepers in Kazakhstans Almaty is to prevent water supply system poisoning About 80 Americans cannot fly from Afghanistan Turkey parliament ex-deputy speaker: Armenia must fulfill 4 preconditions Border situation in Armenias Gegharkunik Province was calm at night French FM says talks on Iranian nuclear deal are progressing slowly 289 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Gold slightly rises in price North Korea says it successfully tested another hypersonic missile OSCE calls on Azerbaijan, Armenia to refrain from the use of force Oil is trading without a single dynamic US State Department welcomes announcement on CSTO forces withdrawal from Kazakhstan Newspaper: Ex-ministers are summoned to Hayastan All Armenian Fund parliamentary inquiry committee MOD: Armenia soldiers dead body found at midnight after Azerbaijan provocation Newspaper: Casualties of Armenia PM Pashinyan's 'era of peace' US concerned about EastMed natural gas pipeline project Giant fish sold at auction for over 16 million yen German Marshall Fund: It Is not too early to think about political change in Turkey Armenian Foreign Ministry: We call on Azerbaijani authorities to refrain from provocations Armenia's Geghamasar community head: The situation is stable now Queen Elizabeth II's favorite fast food revealed Human Rights Defender: Azerbaijani troops open fire on Armenian sovereign territory World Economic Forum: Cybersecurity and space pose new risks to the global economy Defense Ministry confirms Armenian side has 2 victims Satanovsky on sending Armenian servicemen to Kazakhstan Unofficial data: 2 servicemen killed as a result of Azerbaijan provocation CSTO and Kazakh Defense Ministry developing plan WHO thinks it's too early to consider COVID-19 pandemic European Commission to require Poland to pay fine of nearly EUR 70 million White House announces $308 million humanitarian aid for Afghanistan Erdogan angry at minister after efforts to strengthen lira failed Armenian FM has phone call with US Assistant Secretary of State India imposes one-week quarantine even for vaccinated tourists Armenian ex-president expresses condolences on poet Razmik Davoyan's death Traction Programme to showcase 8 startups during the Digital Demo Day Azerbaijan uses artillery and UAVs, 3 Armenian soldiers wounded NEWS.am daily digest: 11.01.22 Austrian Chancellor confirms plan for mandatory COVID-19 vaccination in February Armen Sarkissian and Kassym-Jomart Tokayev discuss situation in Kazakhstan Gulf, Iran and Turkey FMs to visit China 20 pregnant women with COVID-19 die in Azerbaijan in year Armenia hands over wanted US citizen to United States Economy ministry: Organizing of accommodation and public catering increased by 61.1% in Armenia Armenia parliament speaker expresses condolences on European Parliament President death Azerbaijan opens fire toward Armenia village sector, one soldier wounded Shoigu: CSTO peacekeepers deployed in Kazakhstan thanks to Syrian and Karabakh experience Azerbaijan official pledges to remove Armenian toponyms from Google Maps UN offers two plans to help Afghans totaling $ 5 billion in 2022 Armenia attorney general travels to Moscow on working visit Azerbaijan MOD blames Armenian side for soldiers death Dollar drops in Armenia Shirak Province captives families hold protest outside Armenia government building Rolls-Royce sales rise to record high in 2021 Ombudsman: Azerbaijanis directed gun at Armenia residents car in which his wife, 3-year-old child were ANCA urges President Biden and Congress to hold Azerbaijan and Turkey accountable for war crimes Serbia's Orthodox Patriarch tests positive for COVID-19 Brothers, sisters of 2020 Artsakh war military casualties to get compensation in lieu of their deceased parents Turkish authorities sanction arrest of 33 suspected FETO ties Copper rises in price Erdogan's spokesman, Biden's adviser discuss Armenian-Turkish relations Armenia deputy defense minister: No one can rule out border tension at any moment New commander elected of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh Armenia official: Those 100 soldiers absence will not assume any change in terms of border tension Millionaire Robert Durst dies aged 78 Reuters: Over 1.13 million cases of COVID-19 detected in US per day Great Armenian poet Razmik Davoyan dies 2 new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh Deputy PM Matevosyan: About 1,190 subvention programs implemented in Armenia from 2018 to 2021 243 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Armenia MP: It would be right to put pressure on Azerbaijanis to remove their firing positions Oil is getting more expensive Nearly 10,000 people detained in Kazakhstan in connection with riots Tokayev: CSTO peacekeepers will pull out from Kazakhstan within 10 days Newspaper: Armenia businessmen pay customs duties to Azerbaijanis to go to Iran European Parliament speaker David Sassoli dies Alikhan Smailov appointed Kazakhstan Prime Minister Newspaper: Health minister makes decision full of contradictions in terms of Covid-related restrictions in Armenia Newspaper: Armenia authorities once again showed their being unprincipled, worthless, opposition MP says Germany teacher who had cannibalism fantasies is sentenced to life in prison Israel's military and other security services undergo largest rearmament in years Spain PM calls for a debate to consider COVID-19 endemic disease Flyone Armenia and Pegasus receive permission for Yerevan-Istanbul-Yerevan flights Pope condemns "baseless" ideological misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines Arab foreign ministers to visit Beijing Azerbaijanis stoned an Armenian car on the Stepanakert-Goris road Armenian FM has a phone call with his Polish counterpart Macron travels to French Riviera to discuss internal security issues Artsakh Foreign Ministry: Azerbaijan's aggressive behavior aims to disrupt Russian peacekeepers' activities US COVID-19 cases reach 60 million European Parliament President hospitalized due to immune system dysfunction Washington and Ankara discuss normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkey Armenia is closely monitoring the outbreaks and prevalence of the new type of Coronavirus worldwide, Armenian Foreign Ministry said in a statement, News.am reports. In order to comprehensively assess the situation in our region, we closely cooperate with the Iranian and Georgian partners to exchange information, as well as to take necessary steps and consider possible scenarios. Information on further steps will be provided additionally. We urge the citizens of Armenia to refrain from visiting Iran without urgent need, and call on our citizens who are currently in Iran to contact the Embassy of Armenia to Iran, the message reads. Ashley Greene celebrated another year of life on Friday. The star was all smiles while alongside husband Paul Khoury and some pals in Los Angeles. The Twilight alum carried a bunch of birthday balloons and gifts, appearing to have the time of her life at Pinz Bowling Center. Birthday girl: Ashley Greene looked radiant while celebrating another year of life, alongside husband Paul Khoury and some pals in Los Angeles on Friday night To make his other half's 33rd extra special, Khoury brought his 'birthday princess' a Sweet Lady Jane Yellow butter cake. 'Best cake of all time. Literal obsession,' Greene wrote on Instagram of the cake, which was filled with three layers of vanilla butter cream and layers of fresh berries. The pair, who wed among the California redwoods in 2018, couldn't take their eyes off each other while friends snapped pictures of Khoury singing her Happy Birthday. In addition to knocking down pins, the crew played arcade games, shot hoops and made use of the venue's photo booth. Acting like kids: In addition to knocking down pins, the crew played arcade games, shot hoops and made use of the venue's photo booth Sweet surprise: The pair, who wed among the California redwoods in 2018, couldn't take their eyes off each other while friends snapped pictures of Khoury singing her Happy Birthday 'My heart' Greene captioned one of four black and white pictures of herself and Khoury sharing a sweet kiss on her Instagram Story, with a red heart emoji. The brunette beauty smiled softly while her friends took a break from bowling to gather around and sing. Earlier in the day, the actress revealed her friends and husband spent the day doing her favorite activities, which included a manicure and a B12 shot. 'My heart' Greene captioned one of four black and white pictures of herself and Khoury sharing a sweet kiss on her Instagram Story, with a red heart emoji 'Best cake of all time. Literal obsession,' Greene wrote on Instagram of the cake, which was filled with three layers of vanilla butter cream and layers of fresh berries 'So this birthday started out magically, thank you everyone for all of your birthday wishes and love. It made me so happy,' she said on in a video on Thursday morning. It seemed only natural for the birthday girl to conclude her fun day at her self-described 'happy place.' While posing among friends Rhiannon Rae, Eiza Gonzalez and Ryan Rottman, the star snapped selfies in a grey t-shirt and black leggings. Party pals: While posing among friends Rhiannon Rae, Eiza Gonzalez and Ryan Rottman, the star snapped selfies in a grey t-shirt and black leggings Selfies: Between shooting hoops, Greene lit up in one snap between Rottman and her husband and another with friend Julia Anderson kissing her cheek Greene's husband also preferred to keep things casual at the bowling alley, wearing a pair of striking ripped jeans that appeared shredded at the thighs. Between shooting hoops, Greene lit up in one snap between Rottman and her husband and another with friend Julia Anderson kissing her cheek. While posing with Anderson, the actress pouted her lips while rocking her brown tresses in a half-up, half-down hair style. Has Bernie Sanders ever lavished the kind of praise on the United States that he has heaped on the old regime of the Soviet Union, the dictators of Venezuela, or the Communist masters of Cuba? Has he ever praised the United States, period? When it comes to the United States versus its enemies, the guy is on the other side. Its probably past time to take Sanders seriously and take a look at the kind of foreign policy he is most likely to pursue. It is certainly past time to get a clue about the deep meaning of Bernie Sanders. AEIs Marc Thiessen and Danielle Pletka take up the subject of a Sanders foreign policy in their latest What the Hell is Going On? podcast (embedded below). They title this episode WTH is going on with Bernie Sanders? What having a democratic socialist as president would mean for American leadership abroad and provide this introduction: After visiting Moscow in 1988, Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders praised the Soviet system and established a sister city relationship with his hometown of Burlington, Vermont. Throughout his time in office, Sanders regularly hobnobbed with and supported Communist, anti-American and anti-Israel leaders. The Washington Posts [Global Opinions columnist] Josh Rogin joined the podcast to discuss Sanders foreign policy record and what having a democratic socialist as president would mean for American leadership abroad. He also touches on the broader Democratic field, explaining how their proposed national security policies differ from those of Donald Trump. Sanderss 1988 honeymoon trip to the Soviet Union in fact included stops in Moscow, Leningrad, and Yaroslavl. Looking back at Sanderss trip last year in the Washington Post, Michael Kranish reported: Returning to Vermont, Sanders held an hour-long news conference in which he extolled Russian policies on housing and health care, while criticizing the cost of both in the United States and boasted that he was willing to criticize his homeland. Kranishs account concludes: Sanders, meanwhile, was so enthused by the trip that he soon began planning his next foreign venture: a visit to Cuba the following year, during his last month as mayor. Under Castro, enormous progress has been made in improving the lives of poor people, Sanders said before leaving, while noting enormous deficiencies in democratic rights. While he failed in his goal to meet Fidel Castro, he returned home with even greater praise than he had for the Soviet Union. I did not see a hungry child. I did not see any homeless people, Sanders told the Burlington Free Press. While Cuba was not a perfect society, he said, the country not only has free health care but very high-quality health care . . . The revolution there is far deeper and more profound than I understood it to be. It really is a revolution in terms of values. AEI has posted a transcript of the podcast here. I have taken the heading of this post from a comment made by Danielle Pletka deep into the podcast. There is lots to disagree with here the participants disagree among themselves but its time to take up the subject. On Sunday's episode of Dancing With The Stars, Angie Kent was eliminated, making a shock exit after a moving dance dedicated to her grandmother. The former Bachelorette, who danced with partner Julian Caillon, was emotional after the judgement was delivered. The show's host Amanda Keller comforted her by warmly saying, 'you can't win them all'. Gone: Former Bachelorette Angie Kent (left) made a shock exit from Dancing With The Stars after moving tribute to her grandmother on Sunday. Pictured with with partner Julian Caillon The emotional 30-year-old Angie said: 'I tried, I tried so hard' before embracing her dance partner. Angie explained earlier in the episode that the dance was a tribute to her grandmother, who she lost two years ago. 'My memorable year is 2018. The year that I lost somebody I loved so much. That's the year that changed my life. Final goodbye: Angie explained earlier in the episode that the dance was a tribute to her grandmother, who she lost two years ago Tragic: 'My Nanny Fae was one of the most beautiful women you will ever meet. She was my best friend. Nanny was an amazing dancer,' she said 'My Nanny Fae was one of the most beautiful women you will ever meet. She was my best friend. Nanny was an amazing dancer.' The former Gogglebox star and her dance partner Julian chose Unforgettable by Nat King Cole for the song, for a very special reason. 'We think Nanny Fae would be proud. Such a gorgeous tribute,' the official Dancing With The Stars Instagram account wrote alongside photos of Angie on stage. She also said, joking: 'I'm hoping to channel some of Nanny's against because, let's face it, I'm not very elegant'. Angie is pictured as a child with her grandmother 'That was one of Nanny's funeral songs. That's very special to me,' the reality star added. She also said, joking: 'I'm hoping to channel some of Nanny because, let's face it, I'm not very elegant'. Dancing With The Stars marks her fourth reality show appearance. Angie rose to fame on Gogglebox, before making a mark on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here Australia and last year, on The Bachelorette. Dombivli police on Sunday arrested a 60-year-old watchman of a housing society for allegedly raping a 14-year-old girl repeatedly for three years. The minors family came to know about the incident after she was found to be pregnant. The accused, Uttam Nikalje, was arrested under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act. He was produced before a court on Sunday and has been remanded in police custody for two days. According to the police, the minors parents come to know about the crime after a doctor told them that the girl was seven-months pregnant during a check-up on Friday. The parents had taken the minor to see a doctor after she complained of stomach ache. S Aaher, senior inspector, Dombivli police station, said, The girl, in her statement, said the watchman had been raping her since the past three years in the watch mans room on the ground floor of the building. The girl had not told her parents anything about the incident before this. The parents had not realised that the girl was seven months into her pregnancy. We are investigating the case. Jessica Hoelting of Jacksonville has joined Farm Credit Illinois as an assistant vice president of lending in the Jacksonville regional office. The Jacksonville office serves Cass, Morgan and Scott counties. Hoelting was raised in Moscow Mills, Missouri, and graduated from Troy Buchanan High School before receiving a bachelors degree in agribusiness management from the University of Missouri. Prior to joining the Farm Credit Illinois team, Hoelting was an intern for FCS Financial in Jefferson City, Missouri, and CoBank in St. Louis. She is the daughter of Phil and Carol Hoelting of Moscow Mills. U.S. Cellular said it made a $12.75 million investment in its network infrastructure, store environment and statewide communities in Illinois in 2019. That amount includes nearly $12.4 million to enhance the network for Illinois residents through upgrades that improve coverage, capacity and data speed. The company invested $260,000 to update, redesign or relocate eight retail stores in Illinois throughout the year. Additionally, in 2019 U.S. Cellular celebrated five years of supporting Boys & Girls Club of America and STEM-focused education through a $1 million donation to the organizations academic pillar. A total of $90,000 went directly to five clubs in Illinois, and local associates spent more than 12,800 hours volunteering their time with these clubs and a variety of other non-profits throughout the year. It starts with the network, but it doesnt stop there for us, said Nakeita Stewart, director of sales for U.S. Cellular in Illinois. We make our stores welcoming, we hire and train smart and friendly associates, and because we are a part of the community, we invest in local youth to inspire them to lead us in to the next generation. Compiled by David C.L. Bauer Donald Trump will be the sixth US president ever to travel to India and the first one to land in Ahmedabad, where he will be joined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for an unprecedented roadshow and a historic joint address before a record crowd of more than one lakh people. Trump on Sunday left for his maiden visit to India for talks with the top Indian leadership during which the two countries are expected to significantly ramp up bilateral relations, especially in the defence and strategic ties. When Air Force One touches down Ahmedabad on Monday, he will become the fourth consecutive American president to visit India, reflecting on the new phase of bonhomie in the 21st century between the two largest democracies of the world. And he is only second White House occupant to travel to India in their first term. Barack Obama was the first US president to do so in 2010. Obama visited India twice in 2010 and 2015. Dwight D Eisenhower was the first US President to visit India in 1959. Richard Nixon travelled to India in 1969 and Jimmy Carter in 1978. Bill Clinton visited India in 2000 and George W Bush in 2006. President Eisenhower's historic visit to India from December 9 to 15 launched the bilateral relationship at an important period just over a decade after India's own independence. Through meetings with Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, the two sides affirmed the desire to foster a strong bilateral relationship and cooperate on shared values, including world peace, The Asia Group said. "On this trip I have been talking a lot about America's deep desire for peace. [] As far as the longing and aspirations of peoples are involved, we know we are one. [] The people to people is what will save the world, Eisenhower then said. Eisenhower addressed both houses of Parliament and delivered an address at the US Embassy in New Delhi. He received an Honorary Doctor of Law from the University of Delhi, participated in the inauguration of the World Agricultural Fair, and attended a civic reception hosted by the City of New Delhi. Tensions over US tacit support for Pakistan and close ties with Pakistani General Yahya Khan loomed over President Richard Nixon's short visit to India from July 31 to August 1, 1969. While President Nixon sought to build trust, the lack of personal chemistry with the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi dampened progress. These tensions would only deepen as India and Pakistan progressed toward conflict, which escalated into the Bangladesh War of Independence in 1971, The Asia Group said in a report released ahead of the visit. In New Delhi for less than one day, Nixon met with Indira Gandhi at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. No official statements or speeches were published from the visit. President Carter visited India from January 1 to 3, 1978, soon after Janata Party leader Morarji Desai succeeded Indira Gandhi as the prime minister. During his visit, Carter sought to ease tensions between the US and India, which had escalated during the 1971 Bangladesh War of Independence and India's 1974 nuclear weapons tests. However, Carter's attempt to urge India to sign the Nuclear NonProliferation Treaty blunted significant progress, The Asia Group, a strategy and capital advisory group based in Washington DC, said. Carter met Prime Minister Desai and addressed both houses of Parliament. He visited a village in Haryana, which soon after adopted the name Carterpuri. The two sides released a memorandum of conversation between the leaders, as well as President Carter's remarks before the Indian Parliament. Following a period of intense diplomatic engagement with India and Pakistan to deescalate the 1999 Kargil War, Bill Clinton visited India from March 19 to 25, 2000. "His watershed visit saw the two sides advance a higher level of ambition and outline new areas of bilateral cooperation across economic and strategic pillars. The diplomatic breakthrough also coincided with the rise of the Indian American diaspora in the United States, which strengthened the growing people-to-people ties between the two countries, The Asia Group said. Traveling with his wife Hillary and daughter Chelsea, the Clintons visited New Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Hyderabad, and Mumbai. Clinton and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee issued an expansive joint statement, in which both sides pledged to enhance cooperation. Clinton also addressed both houses of Parliament and committed to strengthening ties as strategic partners. During his visit from March 1 to 3, 2006, President George Bush's visit charted new opportunities for substantive bilateral cooperation. "Notably, the two countries finalised the framework the US-India Civil Nuclear Agreement, which affirmed the US acceptance of India as a nuclear power. Progress during the visit also reflected growing bipartisan support for the relationship and view that supporting India's rise was in the US interest particularly amid China's growing regional influence, The Asia Group said. Bush gave remarks on the US-India relationship at Purana Qila in New Delhi. Obama's first visit to India from November 6 to 9, 2010 elevated the country as a strategic partner and critical focus in the foreign policy pivot to Asia. "The two sides made progress across the strategic and trade pillars of the relationship. Notably, President Obama backed India's bid to join the United Nations Security Council, The Asia Group said. The two sides also agreed to USD 14.9 billion worth of trade deals and relaxed select trade restrictions and Obama addressed a joint session of the Parliament. Obama created history when he visited India for the second time in 2015 the first by a sitting US president from January 24 to 27. "The visit solidified the strong relationship between the two leaders and enabled them to chart historic progress on defence, clean energy, and climate change, The Asia Group said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The head of a Cambridge college has agreed to 'step back' from his duties following allegations he mishandled students' complaints about sexual misconduct. Trinity Hall said its master, Dr Jeremy Morris, made the move voluntarily while the college considers its response to the issues raised in a report published by Tortoise Media last week. The website revealed allegations of rape and sexual assault were made by three females against the same man in 2018. Dr Jeremy Morris (pictured) has agreed to 'step back' from his duties following allegations he mishandled students' complaints about sexual misconduct Trinity Hall College, Cambridge University. Trinity Hall said its master, Dr Jeremy Morris, made the move voluntarily while the college considers its response to the issues raised in a report published by Tortoise Media last week Two women chose to bring formal complaints through the college against the male student, who denied the allegations. Dr William O'Reilly, a Trinity Hall staff fellow and history lecturer, has also stepped back from teaching and supervision work after being criticised for his role in overseeing the disciplinary process triggered by the women's complaints. The Tortoise Media investigation has prompted more than 600 students to sign an open letter raising concerns over how sexual misconduct allegations are dealt with at Cambridge University. The letter written by Cambridge University Students' Union Women's Campaign said colleges were 'inadequately equipped' to tackle such issues. It called for 'a centralised system that allows these cases to be dealt with by independent external experts, not conflicted members of staff from the same college'. Dr William O'Reilly (pictured), a Trinity Hall staff fellow and history lecturer, has also stepped back from teaching and supervision work after being criticised for his role in overseeing the disciplinary process triggered by the women's complaints Nearly 300 students have also signed an open letter to the university's history faculty criticising its response to the allegations over Dr O'Reilly's conduct. In a statement, Trinity Hall said a panel of 'unconflicted Fellows' will issue an interim report in the week commencing March 2 on how it should respond to the issues raised by the Tortoise Media investigation. In an internal email, the university said: 'The Faculty takes its safeguarding responsibilities extremely seriously. It regards the welfare of its students as its highest priority. 'It also has a duty of care to a member of staff who is not under investigation for any offence and who protests his innocence. 'At the present time, Dr William O'Reilly has voluntarily and temporarily stepped back from his teaching and supervising.' A spokesman for Dr O'Reilly said: 'Dr O'Reilly believes he acted with integrity and followed appropriate safeguarding advice throughout the various internal processes at Trinity Hall. 'He rejects any suggestion that he behaved improperly and is appalled that what should have been confidential procedures have been made public.' Washington: US President Donald Trump who is coming to India on a two-day visit, departed from Washington on Sunday evening (February 23, 2020). Before his departure, Trump said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a friend of mine and he is looking forward to the meet. Addressing media, Trump said, "I look forward to being with the people of India. We will be with millions and millions of people. I get along very well with the PM. He is a friend of mine. PM Modi told me this will be the biggest event they have ever had," Trump also opened up on Taliban-Afghan issue and said, ''People just want to make a deal. Taliban is tired of fighting for the last nineteen years, which is quite a long time." He also praised Chinese Xi Jinping for combating coronavirus emergency and said, ''China and Xi Jinping doing a good job combatting coronavirus.'' Ivanka Trump who will be accompanying Donald Trump in his India visit also shared her thought on the visit and said that she is honoured to return to India and this is a grand friendship between the world's two largest democracies. Ivanka tweeted, "Two years after joining @narendramodi at the Global Entrepreneurial Summit in Hyderabad, I am honoured to return to India with @POTUS and @FLOTUS to celebrate that the grand friendship between the world`s two largest democracies has never been stronger!" Two years after joining @narendramodi at the Global Entrepreneurial Summit in Hyderabad, I am honored to return to India with @POTUS and @FLOTUS to celebrate that the grand friendship between the worlds two largest democracies has never been stronger pic.twitter.com/r1d5fl9mtq Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) February 23, 2020 Earlier, Ivanka visited India to attend the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) in Hyderabad in the year 2017. This will be the fifth meeting between PM Modi and Trump in the last eight months. US First Lady Melania Trump along with a high-level delegation including Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross will be travelling to India along with Trump. As Me Activist Sinead Burke was the first person with achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism, to be featured on the cover of Vogue. A good entry episode to Sinead Burke's As Me is the one with Victoria Beckham (above) who opens up about her battle to establish herself as a designer, when she was seen as just a WAG Each week she spends 45 minutes with an accomplished person to find out what it feels like to be them. A good entry episode is the interview with Victoria Beckham who opens up about her battle to establish herself as a designer, when people saw her as little more than a WAG. Americast There are countless podcasts about US politics and some get a bit lost in the weeds. This superb BBC show, hosted by old friends and journalists Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel, is an invaluable guide to the forthcoming presidential election. This superb BBC show, Americast, hosted by old friends and journalists Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel (above), is an invaluable guide to the forthcoming presidential election In each half-hour episode, the pair explain with humour and clarity just what is going on. They dont assume prior knowledge and they even swear a bit to keep things loose. Its charming and informative. White Wine Question Time Each week, Kate Thornton gets two old pals together and asks them questions that go to the heart of their friendship. Each week, Kate Thornton gets two old pals together and asks them questions that go to the heart of their friendship. Guest include author Lemn Sissay and Lisa Faulkner (above) Thornton and her guests allegedly drink three bottles of wine while they chat, though everyone always sounds suspiciously cogent. Start with the episode with author Lemn Sissay and Lisa Faulkner. My Mothers Murder In October 2017, Maltas most prominent investigative journalist, Daphne Caruana Galizia, was killed by a car bomb. The final words she wrote, half an hour before her death, were: There are crooks everywhere you look now. The situation is desperate. In this gut-wrenching four-part podcast, her son, Paul, seeks to uncover who murdered her. A man accidentally shot and killed his roommate when he was negligently handling a gun and shot her. The incident occurred on Feb. 21 when authorities responded to a call in Kissimmee, Florida, in reference to a shooting. When police arrived, however, they discovered that Savannah Leight Threatts had suffered from a gunshot wound and was already deceased. Authorities did not disclose where Threatts had been shot. MORE: 1-year-old boy shot in head when parents got into physical altercation over gun PHOTO: Anthonny Mendez, 23, of Kissimmee, Florida, was arrested after allegedly accidentally shooting and killing his roommate on Feb. 21 after negligently handling a gun before it discharged. (Osceola County Sheriff's Office) MORE: Father and 4-year-old son shot in head while play wrestling when man's concealed gun discharges Anthonny Mendez, 23, was subsequently questioned by the authorities and it was discovered that Mendez had been handling the gun in an irresponsible manner when the incident happened. Anthonny Mendez, a roommate and friend of Savannah, had been negligently handling a firearm and ultimately shot her, said the Osceola County Sheriffs Office in a statement on social media. Mendez was arrested for manslaughter, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and violation of probation. He is now being held at the Osceola County Jail with zero bond. Man accidentally kills roommate, shoots her while negligently handling gun originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday gave an example of a 105-year-old woman from Kerala who pursued her studies at an advanced age and exhorted people to seek inspiration from her and never let the student within themselves die. In his 62nd Mann Ki Baat programme, Prime Minister Modi said, "If we wish to progress in life, develop ourselves, and wish to achieve something then the first pre-condition for that is the student within us must never die. Our 105-year-old Bageerathi Amma, also gives us this inspiration." "Bageerathi Amma lives in Kerala's Kollam. She lost her mother at a very young age, she lost her husband as well. But Bageerathi Amma did not let go of her courage, did not lose her spirit," the prime minister said in his monthly radio programme. "She had to quit school before she was 10-years-old. She started re-schooling at the age of 105. Despite her advanced age, she wrote the level four exam and then waited for results. She scored 75 per cent in her exams. Not just that, she scored cent per cent in Mathematics. Bageerathi Amma now wants to continue her studies and wants to appear for higher exams," Modi said. 105-year-old Bageerathi Amma who cleared class four equivalency exam was felicitated Kerala State Literacy Mission in Kollam on February 6. Bageerathi Amma scripted history when she appeared for her fourth standard exam last November and become the oldest learner of the Kerala State Literacy Mission and has passed her examination. This grandmother from Parakulam in Kollam district of Kerala has six children and 16 grandchildren. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) By PTI NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said India looks forward to welcoming US President Donald Trump. The US president is on a visit to India from February 24 to 25. "India looks forward to welcoming @POTUS @realDonaldTrump. It is an honour that he will be with us tomorrow, starting with the historic programme in Ahmedabad," Modi wrote on Twitter. India looks forward to welcoming @POTUS @realDonaldTrump. It is an honour that he will be with us tomorrow, starting with the historic programme in Ahmedabad! https://t.co/fAVx9OUu1j Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 23, 2020 WATCH| Ahead of India visit, Trump tweets morphed 'Baahubali' video The prime minister was responding to tweet by Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, which said that "entire Gujarat speaks in one voice --#NamasteTrump". Express News Service By NEW DELHI: US President Donald Trump will raise the issue of religious freedom with PM Narendra Modi during his visit to India next week, the White House said on Friday. President Trump will talk about our shared tradition of democracy and religious freedom both in his public remarks and then certainly in private. He will raise these issues, particularly the religious freedom issue, which is extremely important to this administration, a senior White House official said in response to a question on whether Trump will raise the issue of the Citizenship Amendment Act or the National Register of Citizens during his meeting with Modi. Recalling how Modi spoke of inclusiveness after last years poll victory, the official said the world looks to India to maintain religious liberty and equal treatment of all. In the recent past, two city councils in the US Seattle and Cambridge had passed resolutions against the CAA saying it was discriminatory in nature. Ahead of Trumps visit, The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, a bipartisan US federal entity, published a factsheet claiming the CAA represents a significant downturn in religious freedom. Indias position is the CAA is an internal matter and the goal is to protect the oppressed minorities of neighbouring countries. In 2015, the then US President Barack Obama at a speech in Siri Fort auditorium in Delhi had said India would succeed only if it is not splintered on religious lines. In what can be termed a second chance at life for the canine, a puppy and a leopard were rescued by the local forest depart from a well in Varche Tembhe village after spending seven hours inside. The two animals fell inside the enclosed space after the feline chased the puppy for a hunt and despite a long duration of seven hours, the canine came out unhurt. Locals in the nearby area informed the forest department after which a four-hour-long operation was undertaken to rescue the animals. #WATCH Maharashtra: A leopard & a puppy were rescued by forest dept from a well in Tembhe village of Nandurbar dist, in rescue op which lasted for around 4 hrs. They were trapped in the well for around 7 hrs after falling into it when the leopard chased the puppy to hunt. (21.02) pic.twitter.com/TLAWh0xk8i ANI (@ANI) February 23, 2020 Uniformed personnel were seen lowering down a cage into the well using ropes. Later, the big cat was secured in the metal enclosure and taken away to safety. In a video of the two animals inside the well, the leopard is seen resting against a wall, seemingly recuperating from the impact of the fall. The dark brown puppy, on the other hand, is seen lying at a short distance from the other animal, wagging its tail. (ANI) MIAMI - Ryan Dionne held the emotionally distraught woman down and Keith Turner kneed her repeatedly in the head and back, according to witnesses to the brutal daytime assault. The two men then allegedly dragged their victim across a long field and a pavilion - her head "bobbing" off the ground, her eyes rolled back in her head - as they ordered potential witnesses: "Look away! Look Away!" Some did as they were told. But others looked on. Now they are telling their stories as part of a lawsuit that seeks to recover money for Cheryl Weimar, 51, who is paralyzed from the neck down as a result of the Aug. 21, 2019, attack. But because it happened at Lowell Correctional Institution and Weimar was an inmate, afforded few rights and little dignity, and Dionne and Turner were staff members, the alleged attackers have not been charged with a crime, and one of them remains on staff, his salary covered by the taxpayers of Florida. ADVERTISEMENT That would be Ryan Dionne. Keith Turner, 34, who had achieved the rank of lieutenant despite a sordid track record of complaints alleging he brutalized inmates at the women's prison and coerced them into performing sex acts, was dismissed only after being accused of molesting underage victims away from the job. Both men are subjects of an ongoing criminal investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Prison system spokeswoman Michelle Glady said the Department of Corrections doesn't comment on litigation or personnel matters, but that the prison system does not tolerate brutalizing inmates. When alleged assaults by prison staff are investigated as possible crimes, the inquiry can drag on for months only to lead in many cases to no charges. One remedy is a civil suit, but as that plods through the courts, taxpayers pay the salary of the alleged abuser or abusers. Deposed as part of the lawsuit, which names them individually and the Department of Corrections as defendants, both men repeatedly invoked their Fifth Amendment right to say nothing. According to the lawsuit, Dionne stated privately after the assault that he "beat (Plaintiff) stupid" because she couldn't clean a toilet. "After witnessing the officers drag the lady through the compound, I and others thought the lady was dead," Brittany Flutie Davis, a former Lowell inmate, said in a sworn statement. Davis was one of four women who recently gave similar statements about the day Weimar - who has a history of mental illness and suffered from a bad back and hip - was beaten by the corrections officers. ADVERTISEMENT Lawyer Ryan Andrews filed the federal civil rights lawsuit in September on behalf of Weimar. In the past week, Andrews filed three separate motions asking a judge for summary judgment against the two guards, Turner and Dionne, and a motion seeking partial summary judgment against the Florida Department of Corrections. Andrews said he hopes that Weimar, who is now a quadriplegic, "will get the care she needs." "The indisputable evidence establishes that defendant Dionne violated plaintiff's Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishments by using excessive force on plaintiff, causing her to suffer severe and permanent injuries," Andrews wrote in the motion. Weimar, who was incarcerated in 2016 on a domestic violence-related charge, was tasked with cleaning the toilet in a dorm and told guards she couldn't do it because of her hip condition. The officers ignored Weimar's declaration of a mental health emergency and began beating her, the Miami Herald was told. Andrews included recent depositions of both corrections officers. Neither answered any of Andrews' detailed questions, some as benign as whether they had given a deposition before. Many of the questions called for yes/no answers. A sample: Andrews: Do you currently work for the Florida Dionne: I'm asserting my Fifth Amendment right. ADVERTISEMENT Andrews: Did you have any physical interactions with Cheryl Weimar? Dionne: I'm asserting my Fifth Amendment right. But the women of Lowell didn't hold back. One woman - the Herald is not naming her because she is currently incarcerated - said she heard Turner say to Dion " 'Let's go take care of this,'" after another staffer, an officer Baez, called for help over the radio. "As they were dragging her, her feet and knees (were) hitting the ground, and the tops of her feet dragging on the ground behind her," she said. Later that day, she said, Baez told her and another woman "That lady didn't deserve that." Davis went on to say that inmates were threatened by officers with months of confinement, a highly restrictive and undesirable form of isolation, if they told a state lawmaker visiting the compound what they had seen. She also said Turner "had a reputation on the compound for sexually abusing female inmates." "It was also rumored that he contracted and continued to spread the sexually transmitted disease herpes to many of his female inmate victims," she said, adding he'd often threatened punishment. "If you refused to 'take care of him,' which meant oral or regular sex, he'd threaten to put you under investigation and take your gain time. Some of the girls were so desperate to not lose their gain time they would have sexual intercourse with Lt. Turner." Gain time is time shaved off a sentence for good behavior. Department of Corrections Secretary Mark Inch, quoted six months after the incident, said the department "has processes in place to identify, report, investigate, terminate and arrest, as applicable, those who violate our standards of professional conduct." "I have made it very clear that we have zero tolerance for abuse and have taken swift action to hold correctional officers accountable, when we have substantiated evidence against a staff member for misconduct," he said in a statement. "We will continue to fully cooperate in FDLE's open and active case and will exercise the patience necessary to get all of the facts. If any individual is found to have acted outside their authorities, we will take action against them." --- (Miami Herald staff writer Ben Conarck contributed to this report.) --- (c)2020 Miami Herald Visit Miami Herald at www.miamiherald.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Joe Biden took a victory lap for coming in a distant second in the Nevada caucuses Saturday to Bernie Sanders, having improved upon his fourth and fifth place finishes in the two opening primary states. 'Well, you all did it for me!' Biden told a crowd of supporters gathered in a Las Vegas union hall. 'Now we are going on to South Carolina to win and we're going to take this back.' 'By the way, I plan on coming back to win this state outright,' Biden added. Sanders had about a 36-point lead over Biden in the state when networks declared him the winner, though the former vice president offered no congratulations, and instead attacked the democratic socialist without saying his name. Later, as more results came in, the race tightened a bit. 'I know we don't have the final results yet, but I feel really good, you put me a position,' Biden said. 'You know the press is ready to declare people dead quickly. But we're alive and we're coming back and we're going to win.' Vice President Joe Biden appeared at a Las Vegas union hall Saturday after the Nevada caucuses to cheer the result The former vice president, who appeared alongside his wife Jill, came in a distant second to Bernie Sanders in the Nevada caucuses Saturday Joe Biden's second place finish was an improvement over his fifth-place finish in New Hampshire and fourth-place finish in Iowa A Joe Biden supporter cries at he speaks to his crowd of supporters in Las Vegas, Nevada Saturday after coming in second in the caucuses At one point a supporter yelled out 'comeback kid!' at Biden, a reference to the nickname given to Bill Clinton after he came in second place in New Hampshire, eventually earning him to the nomination in 1992. Biden talked of a strong union showing for him. 'And by the way, and by the way, I heard that we probably did awfully well with culinary workers,' he said in a coded dig at Sanders, as material sent out by the Culinary Workers Union pre-caucus had said the Vermont senator would 'end' their healthcare. Sanders backs Medicare-for-All, which would move all Americans over to a government healthcare plan. Sanders campaigns on healthcare being a 'right,' while Biden wants to improve on Obamacare, the healthcare law passed while he was serving as President Obama's vice president. 'I know we don't have the final results yet, but I feel really good, you put me a position,' Biden continued. 'You know the press is ready to declare people dead quickly. But we're alive and we're coming back and we're going to win.' 'I think we're in a position now to move on in a way that we haven't been until this moment,' the ex-veep said. Biden had finished a disappointing fourth place in Iowa and took fifth place in New Hampshire, while Sanders won the popular vote in the Hawkeye State and won the Granite State primary. 'I think we're going to go, we're going to win in South Carolina and then Super Tuesday and we are on our way,' Biden maintained. Turning his attention back to Sanders - but, again, not saying his rival's name - Biden explained that he thought Americans were looking for a fair shot 'not a handout.' 'I'm a Democrat for a simple reason - I ain't a socialist, I ain't a plutocrat, I'm a Democrat and I'm proud of it,' Biden said. 'Look, you gotta remember, what made you become a Democrat in the first place?' Explaining his was the idea that 'everybody needs a shot.' He, of course, brought up his close relationship with Obama. 'And I'm proud to still be his friend,' BIden said. 'And I tell you what, I promise you I wasn't talking about running a Democratic primary against him in 2012.' Biden was referring to a report from the Atlantic that Sanders had floated the idea of mounting a primary challenge against Obama in 2012, when the Democratic president was up for re-election. Then Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid had to step in and put a stop to it, the report said. The Sanders campaign has pushed back on the narrative. Biden got in one last dig before concluding his 12 minute remarks, which he was delivering as NBC called the Nevada caucuses for Sanders. 'We're going to have more help coming from Vladimir Putin ... who wants somebody who doesn't think [he] can beat Trump,' Biden said. One day before the caucuses it came out that Sanders had been briefed on Russian interference, including that the country - that interfered in the 2016 election - was trying to help himl, likely so the democratic socialist could lose the general election to President Trump. Published on 2020/02/23 | Source More than half of Koreans wish to work after retirement, an online poll suggests. Advertisement Amid growing concerns over financial security in retirement in an aging society, the Credit Suisse Research Institute polled 1,000 people in 16 countries. Some 63 percent of the Korean respondents said they want to work after reaching retirement age, the third highest proportion among countries surveyed behind India at 75 percent and Indonesia at 65 percent. Germany had the lowest proportion with 18 percent, followed by Canada with 25 percent and Switzerland with 28 percent. Credit Suisse said, "In many countries, The Pension system is too rigid to meet the changing needs of society". The mother of two children missing in Idaho repeatedly lied to police and asked others to lie as detectives began investigating the disappearances, according to newly released court documents. Lori Vallow, 46, was arrested in Hawaii on Thursday, months after her two children, Tylee Ryan, 17, and Joshua J.J. Vallow, 7, were last seen. Shes facing multiple charges, including two felony counts of desertion and nonsupport of children, according to a criminal complaint filed with an Idaho court. CNN has previously reached out to Vallows attorney, Sean Bartholick, but has not heard back. Other attempts to reach Bartholick this week were not successful. She is being held on $5 million bail, records show. Court documents released by the Madison County Prosecutors Office in Idaho Friday and obtained by CNN affiliate KTVK detail how Joshua was reported missing in November, the initial efforts of police to find him and how police discovered that his older sister Tylee was also missing. When detectives in Rexburg, Idaho, asked Vallow about her sons whereabouts in November, she told them her son was staying with a friend in Arizona, a probable cause affidavit states. After not being able to reach the friend by phone, detectives asked Vallow to call her friend herself. Vallow responded that they were at a movie theater watching Frozen 2 and it was unlikely that her friend would answer her cell phone, the affidavit said. When police reached the friend by phone later that day, she told police that Joshua was not with her and had not been there for several months, the document says. More than a week later, the friend called police saying that both Vallow and her husband, Chad Daybell, had asked her to lie to police about the childs whereabouts but she refused, the affidavit said. Nobody has seen or heard from Joshua and Tylee, who are referred to as J.V. and T.R. in court documents, since September and theres no indication that Vallow has been caring for them in the past months, the affidavit said. Couple fled Idaho, police say Vallow and Daybell fled their Rexburg, Idaho, home when authorities began looking for the children, police previously said. On Friday, Vallow appeared in a Kauai state court for an extradition hearing, according to Jan Kagehiro, a court spokeswoman. Vallows attorneys asked the court to lower her bail to $10,000 in the hearing provided to CNN by affiliates. The judge kept Vallows bail at $5 million and ordered that if Vallow posted bail, she must surrender any passport she possesses to the Kauai Police Department. Daybell, who is not facing charges, was sitting in the courtroom for the duration of the hearing. Vallows extradition hearing has been set for Monday, March 2. Dan Hempey, an attorney representing Vallow in Hawaii, could not be reached on Friday. Her brother and husband lied to detectives, affidavit says After Joshuas grandmother told police she hadnt heard from him, detectives went to Vallows apartment on Nov. 26 and spoke with her brother and Daybell outside the building, according to the affidavit. Chad acted as if he didnt know Lori very well and stated he didnt know her phone number, the affidavit states. Vallows brother told them the boy was with his grandmother in Louisiana, the affidavit says, but detectives knew she was in Arizona and the child was not with her. After the brother directed them to an apartment that appeared vacant, Daybell drove away but one of the detectives stopped him, the document states. When asked about Joshua, Daybell said he had last seen him in Vallows apartment in October and gave the detective his wifes number, the affidavit says. Daybell is not facing any charges linked to the missing children, police said. The Madison County Prosecutor declined to comment on whether Daybell would receive any charges in the future. His attorney is also Sean Bartholick, who could not be reached for comment. Kids were last seen weeks before Vallows wedding Vallow moved to Idaho from Arizona just a couple of months before police began searching for her children. Joshua attended the Kennedy Elementary School for several weeks before his mother told the school he would no longer be attending because she was going to home-school him, the affidavit said. He went to the school for the last time on Sept. 23, police said. The school told police that no other institutions have requested the boys transcripts. A babysitter who was hired online and had watched Joshua told police she spoke with Vallow on Sept. 24 and she told her the boy had gone to stay with his grandma and they would no longer need babysitting service, according to the affidavit. Vallow told a friend that Tylee was attending classes at Brigham Young University-Idaho but she was never enrolled there or at any other school affiliated with BYU, the affidavit said. Tylees older brother told police in Arizona that he had not spoken with his sister since Aug. 30, 2019. When he called, Vallow gave him excuses as to why Tylee could not speak with him, the affidavit said. Vallow, her brother, Alex Cox, and the two children visited the Yellowstone National Park on Sept. 8. A photo of Tylee at the parks entrance is the last record that police have of the girls whereabouts, according to the affidavit. Daybell and Vallow married two weeks after the Oct. 19 death of Daybells previous wife Tammy Daybell. The couple were married in Kauai on Nov. 5, but its unclear if the children were with them. The children do not appear in the wedding photos, police said. When interviewed by investigators, some of Daybells relatives said they were under the impression that Vallow was an empty-nester or had no young children, according to the affidavit. When police executed a search warrant in November at a storage unit rented by Vallow, they found a backpack with Joshuas initials on it, toys and childrens clothing, and other items associated with the child, the affidavit said. Vallow kept childrens birth certificates with her The couple returned to Hawaii in December, but flight records obtained by police suggest the children were not with Vallow, the affidavit said. They flew from Los Angeles to Kauai on December 1 and have remained there since. They have not been seen with children in Hawaii, police said. Last month, Kauai police found birth certificates for the two missing children, a bank card for Tylee which has been used since her last known sighting, an iPad belonging to Joshua, and the boys school registration receipts when they served a warrant on Vallow and Daybell, the affidavit said. When police searched a condo where they couple had been living, they didnt not find anything that indicates that a young child lives there, the affidavit said. The-CNN-Wire & 2020 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved. Over a hundred infernos raged across various parts of Australia this unusually intense fire season engulfing more than one billion animals and over 11 million hectares of land in their lethal flames. Now that the bushfires have been largely contained in several places including the worst-hit New South Wales, it is time to rebuild and revive all things lost. But, is it possible for the Australian bush and its residents like the koalas to return to their former state? What are some of the common myths associated with the fires that the world needs to know and forget? How can Australians and the international community aid the helpless Australian wildlife to find a new lease of life? Image: Petropoulos with a koala at Southern Koala Rescue at Adelaide, South Australia. Image credit: Wicked Wildlife. Image: Mertens' water monitor, a species endemic to northern Australia. Image credit: Wicked Wildlife. For answers, World Atlas spoke to Wildlife Presenter and Youtube creator Nicholas Petropoulos from Victoria, Australia. After working in zoos and wildlife parks pan-Australia, Petropoulos discovered that young Australians knew less about native wildlife than they did about lions, tigers, and pandas. With a mission in mind to spread awareness among the youngsters about the fauna that surrounded them, Petropoulos started visiting educational institutions with his ambassador animals. Image: A venomous pale-headed snake. Image credit: Wicked Wildlife. Soon, he presented at large public events where he taught people to love everything from snakes to crocodiles to cockatoos to wombats. More recently, he has started a YouTube channel called Wicked Wildlife that has a wider global reach bringing Australian wild wonders to people of the world. In an email interview, Petropoulos reveals some of the hard-hitting facts associated with the bushfires in Australia and tells us how we can contribute to helping fire-devastated Australian wildlife make a comeback. Australian Bushfire Myths Busted With the Australian bushfires becoming viral global news feed for months, rumors also spread with the same intensity as the flames. However, now that it is time to rebuild Australia's wild scene, the world needs to distinguish the truth from the myth. Petropoulos throws light on some of the common myths about the Australian bushfires that the world needs to know. They are as follows: Myth: That the fires were everywhere While massive sections of land have been burnt in various parts of Australia, the vast majority of the country and even fire-affected regions are still open for business and for people to visit and appreciate. Myth: That koalas are now functionally extinct Image: Petropoulos with a koala at Southern Koala Rescue at Adelaide, South Australia. Image credit: Wicked Wildlife. There is no doubt that the koalas have suffered severely during the recent bushfires. However, records show that koalas have demonstrated the ability to recover their populations when conserved, and have actually been far more endangered in the past. In a recent video, I explained that after decades of hunting for the fur trade koalas were rendered locally extinct in South Australia and critically endangered elsewhere by the 1920s before recovering to the populations we have today. Now, this isnt to say we dont need to be concerned about the koalas after the recent bushfires, but that their conservation is still an achievable goal. There is still hope left. Myth: Koalas were the worst-hit species Image: Petropolous with Boo the wombat. Wombats are marsupials native to Australia. Image credit: Wicked Wildlife Like we have said above, koala populations have certainly been decimated by the fires, but many other species have been affected too. For example, the kangaroo island dunnart that had a population that numbered less than 1,000 individuals before the fires, have had their entire natural range burnt out and populations reduced to just a few individuals. Myth: That grazing by cattle and feral horses would reduce the risk of fires like this in the future Since the fires, many people are pushing for the reintroduction of cattle grazing to public land and the conservation of Australias feral horse population under the pretense that it reduces fuel loads and thus the intensity of fires.While this sounds logical, science has gone to show the opposite in many ecosystems. Hooved animals are known to compact the soil and damage wetlands leading to a drier landscape. Overgrazing many softer less-flammable plant species by these animals allows invasive grasses to creep in and take their place creating a more flammable landscape. While this isnt the case for every ecosystem, some people dont realize its not as simple as grazing reduces fuel loads. Myth: Fires are the biggest threat to Australian wildlife While the fires have had a massive impact across much of the country, people need to realize that Australian wildlife is already in trouble due to habitat loss, the introduction of invasive species such as cats and foxes, and climate change. Addressing the fires specifically is a fantastic thing but we cannot afford to forget to tackle the other issues driving many species to extinction. Koalas And Bushfires Koalas, one of the most iconic species of Australia, became the focus of attention during the recent bushfires. With their fluffy ears and spoon-shaped nose lending them an adorable appearance, the koalas immediately attracted global support as the wildfires devastated their homeland and killed thousands of them. Petropolous answers some of the common questions that are associated with the effect of the bushfires on the koalas. What has changed for the koalas following the bushfires in Australia? During the recent bush fires, millions of hectares of land were ravaged. Most of it was prime koala habitat and a significant portion of the koalas' natural range. The fires have led to the unfortunate death of tens of thousands of koalas and many more coming into care as orphans who have lost their mothers or due to injuries like burns and smoke inhalation issues. On the other hand, these extremely tragic events have put koalas back on an international stage and we are witnessing a new drive for their conservation. Many people are now campaigning for the koala to be classified as an endangered species. What is being done to save the koalas? Thousands of koalas have been rescued by organizations such as Southern Koala Rescue, Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park, and hundreds of privately licensed wildlife carers. Wildlife sanctuaries are also accepting wild koalas to ensure they are fed and cared for while their habitat reestablishes itself to the point of being able to sustain stable koala populations again. In your most recent video, you have mentioned that the sub-urban habitat is now important for koala conservation. Why is it so? Image: Koala drinking water. Image credit: Wicked Wildlife A multitude of reasons makes sub-urban habitat vital for sustaining current wildlife populations. While a huge part of the habitat has been lost to the recent bushfires, it will, with time, rehabilitate and support koalas. On the other hand, an equally large amount of habitat has been lost over the last several hundred years due to clearing for agricultural and suburban development. The cities of Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and many more are all built on what was originally important koala habitat. While in many of these areas are completely devoid of koalas, most of these cities continue to have small koala populations that are trapped in islands of green among the concrete, and with the loss of koala numbers elsewhere these individuals can play an important role in maintaining total koala numbers. The other reason suburban areas need to be built with koalas in mind is to allow movement of animals from one area to another. While the recent fires have been some of the most catastrophic on record, bushfire has been a part of the Australian landscape for many thousands of years. In the past, animals of all species were able to move back into burnt-out areas from fire-unaffected areas and recolonize the fireground once it began producing food again. Today, we often have roads, towns or entire cities with a koala population on one side, and vacant habitat on the other. Thus, creating koala-friendly suburbs with strategically planted trees that allow them to pass through the area allows koalas to reach new areas. It also helps to promote gene flow between populations, preventing the inbreeding we see when populations are unable to migrate out of an area. The Important Question Is, What Can You Do? Image: A tawny frogmouth, a bird native to Australia. Image credit: Wicked Wildlife. What can the Australian people do to ensure the koalas and other Australian wildlife that suffered heavily due to the fires have a normal life again? While the generosity and care shown towards our wildlife carers since the fires have been fantastic, many people might not realize now that the fires are largely out, and the media attention has started to drift elsewhere, many wildlife carers are going to be providing and caring for these animals for many months to come. If people are wanting to help, then wildlife carers are going to need long-term help through financial donations as well as volunteers to get as many animals as possible back into the wild. Besides wildlife carers, many researchers are now conducting surveys to assess some of the less well-known species impacted by the fire and locals can contact their nearby universities to see if theres any fieldwork needing volunteers. Image: Petropoulos with a koala at Southern Koala Rescue at Adelaide, South Australia. Image credit: Wicked Wildlife. What can the world do to help Australias wildlife affected by the bushfires? There are several things people from around the world can do to help conserve Australian wildlife such as to continue to donate money, knit or sew pouches for wildlife carers, etc. However one of the major ways people overseas can help is to consider Australia as a place to visit for their next holiday. While there are lots of places where tourists can volunteer to work with wildlife even just visiting wildlife sanctuaries or local towns can help. Most wildlife carers are private people funding their work through their own wages or donations from within their town. Hence, when tourism-dependent towns start struggling they are not able to put money as donations to wildlife carers. The tourism sector also provides huge assistance to wildlife directly through wildlife parks and sanctuaries who are either taking in and caring for fire-battered animals themselves or assisting small private carers by sharing their resources.By visiting Australia and exploring its wildlife, tourists contribute to increasing the "economic" value of our wildlife. When governments see that people are visiting Australia specifically to see our wildlife in their natural environment then there is a bigger push to protect these habitats and the species residing there for economic reasons. On Friday morning, the Trump Administrations top child-welfare official came to Oregon and sat down, in a sun-lit office on North Russell Street, with the staff of Every Child. Lynn Johnson heard the story of Jillana Goble, who changed so many lives when she stepped into a disheveled child-welfare office in east Portland in 2012 and decided a rescue operation was in order. Johnson picked through one of the 27,000 welcome boxes that Every Child has delivered to Oregon foster children over the years, even as the non-profit which receives no state funding has become the states sole point of contact for those inquiring about ways to help children and families in the foster-care system. And she asked questions of the church pastors who have been with Every Child from the beginning, determined in the words of Christopher Coffman at River West to build bridges in this age of walls. It wasnt long before Johnson said, If I could clone what youre doing here, Id clone it in 50 states, and in the territories and with the (Native American) tribes. Youve created something unique and impressive. Im amazed. Johnson is the Assistant Secretary for the Administration for Children and Families at the Department of Health and Human Services. Before she took that assignment, Johnson was a parole and probation officer for 18 years, then the director of Jefferson County Human Services in Colorado. I spent a lot of money on secondary trauma for my staff because they didnt have this, she said. Everyone in child welfare should have these teams wrapped around them. Johnson has spent considerable time in the field of late, propelled by an executive order to eliminate unnecessary rules, regulations and red tape in the foster-care system. She is especially focused on the estimated 125,000 kids waiting to be cleared for adoption. Lynn Johnson, far left, meets with the staff of Every Child at its North Portland office. Approximately 500 of those children are in Oregon, according to the Department of Human Services. Because the agency devotes so much of its resources to the daily emergencies, the average wait for adoption approval is three years. My goal is to get rid of the unnecessary burdens, Johnson said, in whatever time this administration has left. I could have 10 months, I could have more. We dont know. Every minute matters. But the assistant secretary was drawn to Portland and meetings later in the day with Gov. Kate Brown and Fariborz Pakseresht, the director of DHS by the success of Every Child. She was especially intrigued that a state agency, a non-profit and the faith community could find such extraordinary common ground. From the beginning, when Goble teamed up with Ben Sand and Anthony Jordan at what is now known as The Contingent, the leadership at Every Child believed the child-welfare system is only as strong as the community that comes alongside it. Our secret sauce, our superpower, is that we mobilize community, Sand says. Its not the faith community. Its not the business community. Its not philanthropy. Its not the state or the feds. Its the aggregate of them all. We created this space where everyone can be together and do the best for kids. Assemble a welcome basket. Renovate a DHS office. Babysit on a Saturday night so foster parents can catch a movie. Grill hot dogs for the caseworkers who dont have time for lunch. Show up. At a crucial time, the Murdock Charitable Trust caught the vision and provided Every Child with a $200,000 grant. We believe the toughest jobs in society involve unconventional collaborations, Jeff Grubb, a Murdock trustee, told Johnson. We saw the potential for one of those. It was a high-risk grant in an unpopular space that had monumental impact for the entire state. The measure of that impact? To date, Every Child has helped 856 families to become certified foster-care providers. The non-profit has affiliates in 23 Oregon counties and, in the last year, has renovated 21 DHS offices or outdoor visitation areas. It has inspired almost 4,000 Oregonians to volunteer with their local child-welfare agency. It works tirelessly with Pakseresht and his staff to foster a welcoming community and wrap-around, trauma-informed care for children and caseworkers alike. And everyone is still in that space Every Child created, anxious to build on its success. When she goes looking for similar inspiration, Johnson told the morning gathering on North Russell Street, All too often I hear, Ill pray for you, rather than What are the things we can do? This overwhelms me. Theres movement. Its real. "And you all are leading the way. -- Steve Duin Stephen.b.duin@gmail.com Nearly 200 Israeli pupils were ordered to begin a two-week quarantine from Sunday after having come into contact with South Korean tourists who contracted the coronavirus, the ministry said. South Korean members of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus toured Israeli sites between February 8-15 and upon their return home 18 of them were discovered to be infected with the virus. Israel's health ministry urged people who might have encountered them to self-quarantine, including 180 pupils and 19 staff from three separate schools who it said had close contact with the South Korean visitors. The pupils and staff, including 18 teachers and a guard, were ordered "to remain home" for 14 days, the ministry said. Israel on Friday confirmed its first case of the virus in one of its nationals who had flown home from Japan after being quarantined on the stricken cruise ship Diamond Princess. On Saturday Israel refused to allow some 200 non-Israelis to disembark from a plane which arrived from South Korea, as part of measures against the new coronavirus. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Marysville, CA (95901) Today Some clouds this morning will give way to generally sunny skies for the afternoon. High near 60F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Considerable clouds this evening. Some decrease in clouds late. Low 41F. Winds light and variable. B ernie Sanders has won Nevadas presidential primary election as he cemented his status as the Democratic front-runner after strong showings in Iowa and New Hampshire. The 78-year-old, a self-described socialist, pulled further away from his moderate rivals with support from the states large Latino community. Mr Sanders quickly took his campaign to Texas on Saturday to rally supporters ahead of Super Tuesday next week. Speaking to a crowd in El Paso, he called President Donald Trump a pathological liar" and accused him of "running a corrupt administration. Democratic presidential candidate Sen Bernie Sanders / AP When we come together there is nothing we cant accomplish, Mr Sanders added. The win builds on the Vermont senators triumph in New Hampshires primary earlier this month, which followed his provisional tie for first with Pete Buttigieg in Iowa. Loading.... Nevadas population, which aligns more with the US as a whole than the opening elections in Iowa and New Hampshire, is 29 per cent Latino, 10 per cent black and 9 per cent Asian American and Pacific Islander. The vote comes at a critical moment for the Democratic Party as half a dozen more moderate candidates savage one another for the chance to emerge as the preferred alternative to Mr Sanderss. Those battling it out are searching for the momentum that will come with being one of the top candidates heading into South Carolina next and then Super Tuesday on March 3, though Mr Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden trail far behind Mr Sanders. (Bloomberg) -- Terms of Trade is a daily newsletter that untangles a world threatened by trade wars. Sign up here. European finance chiefs arrived at a meeting of their global peers in Riyadh demanding the urgent creation of a new global tax system for the 21st century that would capture the profits of tech multinationals. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin responded: its not that simple. New rules for taxing companies like Alphabet Inc.s Google and Facebook Inc. have stirred intense debate at this weekends Group of 20 meeting of finance chiefs. Finding a solution this year is key to maintaining a tariff truce the U.S. and Europe struck after France agreed to delay the collection of a national levy. While finance ministers from France and Germany were among those expressing confidence on Saturday that a compromise could be found in time, Mnuchin warned that he is somewhat hamstrung. Let me emphasize: in the U.S., depending upon what the solutions are, these may require congressional approval, he said during a discussion, sitting alongside Frances Bruno Le Maire. The pair have held tense discussions since France introduced a 3% levy last year on the digital revenue of companies that make their sales primarily online. The move was supposed to give impetus to international talks to redefine tax rules, and the government has pledged to abolish its national tax if there is agreement on such rules. The U.S. has argued the French measure discriminates against American companies, and threatened tariffs as high as 100% on $2.4 billion of French goods. Donald Trumps government agreed to hold fire on import duties and France pushed back collecting the digital tax until the end of 2020. One of the things were balancing is sticking with the fundamental issue of taxing based upon where companies are -- the more we change that to broaden this, the more we run into other issues, Mnuchin said. He indicated Congress as a hurdle before any major changes on taxes can be agreed upon, but added theres a tremendous desire to get this done. Story continues Spain, Italy and Austria also want to impose a digital service tax. Turkey, a G-20 member, introduced a 7.5% levy in December, targeting companies from Google and Facebook to Netflix Inc. It is our collective responsibility to reach a global agreement on this issue by the end of this year, the finance ministers of the euro areas four largest economy said in an editorial published in European newspapers. We now have a unique opportunity to recast the global tax system to make it fairer and more effective. Sticking Point The key sticking point is a U.S. proposal to make the new digital tax rules a safe-harbor regime. Doing that, the U.S. has said, would address concerns of taxpayers about mandatory departure from longstanding rules. France and others have contested that could render the rules effectively optional, which would make agreement impossible. In Riyadh, Mnuchin countered this interpretation. What a safe harbor is -- and theres lots of safe harbors that exist -- you pay the safe harbor as opposed to paying something else, and you get tax certainty, he said. People may pay a little bit more in a safe harbor knowing they have tax certainty. Le Maire said he welcomed Mnuchins clarification. We are in the process of technically assessing what it really means and what might be the consequences of such a solution, he said. It is fair and useful to give all the attention to this U.S. proposal. To get agreement, Le Maire also said France would be open to a phased or step-by-step approach. German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said theres more than a 50% chance that a deal is struck before the end of the year. Everyone has understood that it would be bad to push the debate into the next year or the year after that, he told reporters. We need something that helps protect us against the race to the bottom on taxes. The framework -- developed under the leadership of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development -- will also include a deal on a global minimum tax, which the group is close to agreeing on, according to Mnuchin. Most countries want any OECD deal to be accepted as a package: the digital service tax along with a global minimum tax. The OECD has said both reforms together could boost government tax revenues by around $100 billion. To contact the reporters on this story: Saleha Mohsin in Washington at smohsin2@bloomberg.net;William Horobin in Paris at whorobin@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Jana Randow, Paul Abelsky For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. EastEnders star Shona McGarty has revealed she kept her shock split from electrician fiance Ryan Harris a secret for over a year. The Hertfordshire-born actress, 28, told Fabulous Magazine that the break-up was amicable and that she didn't want to make a public announcement when things fizzled out last year. The couple had been dating for six years and got engaged on Shona's 26th birthday in 2018. The actress, known for playing Whitney Dean in the soap, had been planning an Irish-themed wedding, but surprised fans last month by revealing she and Ryan had called it quits. Shona told the publication she has a newfound sense of body confidence from being by herself, and admitted she cannot bear the thought of going on dates. Shona McGarty, 28, from Welwyn, Hertfordshire, told Fabulous Magazine her shock split from fiance Ryan Harris, which she announced last month, actually happened over a year ago (pictured at the National Television Awards on January 28) The couple (pictured) had been together for six years and got engaged on Shona's 26th birthday in October 2018 'I've actually been single for a year and a bit,' Shona said. 'I just didn't want to say anything. We were together for six years. When it ended it wasn't a bad break-up, it was amicable. 'We both came to the decision that, actually, this isn't what we really want. It fizzled out and we weren't the same people.' She added: 'I'm not dating. I've never been on a date. Never. My anxiety would go through the roof if I had to go on a date. I'm just waiting. I'm not going to force it.' Shona said she would ideally love to meet someone like herself, but that she has always been crippled by the fear people could be more attracted to her fame than her status. The breakup, Shona said, was amicable and she did not want to tell anyone about it, keeping it a secret for over a year Shona, who joined the cast of EastEnders in April 2008, explained she is comfortable staying by herself, and finally feels body confident after struggling with a negative self image for years. She said she loves herself better now than when she was 20 because she doesn't question her body as much as she used to back then. The actress admitted she used to be self-conscious about her arms, which she called 'T-Rex arms'. The actress explained she is happy alone and not looking to date anyone as the thought of it gives her anxiety (pictured at the NTAs last month) Shona also blasted the current trend of women having cosmetic surgery, claiming it's not necessary for young women to try to fit a certain beauty ideal. She added she doesn't like working out at the gym because she hates sweating in front of people. Shona has shunned traditional forms of exercise, preferring to attend dance classes and 'Clubbercise', which takes place in a dark room with techno music. Image Postal Service Dear Diary: I had left work for the day, and I had a letter to mail. I headed to the old-school mailbox on the corner near my office, on Sixth Avenue in Midtown. I pulled down on the handle and the mailbox door squeaked down with it. I slid my letter into the narrow slot and closed the door. I opened the door again to confirm that the letter had slid down and was not stuck in the slot. I was about to walk away when a woman approached the mailbox. She had a stack of letters in one hand and multiple bags hanging from each of her arms. The woman tried to grab the door handle with her free hand, but the bags she was carrying limited her reach. I could see she was not going to be able to open the mailbox while she was holding the bags. Priti Patel has ordered an investigation into leaking at the Home Office and vowed to root out the insiders behind a series of hostile briefings. The Home Secretary is understood to be 'livid' at reports she was being sidestepped by security chiefs who were claimed not to trust her with certain intelligence. Such devastating briefings yesterday prompted MI5 to take the highly unusual move of rubbishing these allegations and insisting Ms Patel is the victim of a dirty tricks campaign. But despite this public show of support, the furious minister has instructed the Cabinet Office to launch a leak probe to unearth the sources of these departmental row stories. In a highly unusual move, spy chiefs rebutted allegations made over the weekend that they do not trust Home Secretary Priti Patel (pictured on Friday) Helen MacNamara, the government's director of propriety and ethics, rejected this request, yet Ms Patel is set to plow ahead with it anyway, according to the Times. An ally said: 'Priti is absolutely livid. The blob is trying to kill her. She's determined to get to the bottom of it.' Spy chiefs rebutted allegations made over the weekend that they do not trust the Home Secretary. The whispering campaign against Miss Patel stepped up a gear at the weekend as anonymous sources reportedly claimed she was being kept out of the loop by intelligence officials. In a poisonous briefing, one official claimed: 'The spooks find her extremely difficult to deal with. She doesn't grasp the subtleties of intelligence. 'It's not black and white. They don't have confidence in her abilities.' A second source told The Sunday Times that the senior Cabinet minister receives less classified information than her predecessors. 'They [the intelligence services] have to decide how much to share, and they share less. The source added: 'She is also informed about things later in the decision-making process than before. Some things the security services do have legal implications, but she tends not to want to hear that.' But MI5 last night moved to quash the claims, as it warned that the 'untrue' accusations do 'not serve the public interest'. A security source said: 'Reports suggesting that the Home Secretary and MI5 do not have a strong working relationship are simply untrue. The Home Secretary is briefed daily on intelligence matters in exactly the same way as any previous post holder. No information is being withheld. 'Any report suggesting otherwise is simply wrong and does not serve the public interest.' An ally of Miss Patel last night said: 'Someone is clearly out to get Priti. The made-up briefing about our intelligence services has crossed the line.' The minister has faced a wave of negative briefings after allegations that she had tried to remove her most senior civil servant permanent secretary Sir Philip Rutnam following a series of rows. Allies of the Home Secretary were forced to deny claims that she had 'bullied and belittled' officials, made unreasonable demands or created an 'atmosphere of fear'. According to The Times, Sir Philip has raised concerns with the Cabinet Office about the minister. But friends of Miss Patel are thought to have regarded the clashes as about nothing out of the ordinary. The whispering campaign against Miss Patel stepped up a gear at the weekend as anonymous sources reportedly claimed she was being kept out of the loop by intelligence officials (Pictured: Philip Rutnam) A source said they 'strongly refute' accusations of bullying or belittling and had never seen any evidence of this, instead describing her as 'demanding but kind', adding: 'But it is a demanding job, that's the nature of the job.' The Home Office said 'no formal complaints' had been made. The Daily Mail revealed last week how Miss Patel fell out with Home Office officials after she accused them of dragging their feet over tougher action against eco-warrriors. She wanted them to look into ways to change police powers to stop protesters bringing cities to a standstill, a Government source said. But the Home Secretary felt they were raising objections to reforms which could have helped the police tackle organisations such as Extinction Rebellion. It is thought that Miss Patel wants to include the new measures in the Police Powers and Protection Bill expected to be submitted in the summer. Measures would not include the use of force but would be designed to ensure individuals can get to work or avoid seeing their businesses forced to shut. Around 100 more passengers were allowed to disembark from the coronavirus-stricken Diamond Princess cruise ship on Saturday as Japan's health minister apologised after 23 others were allowed to leave without being properly tested. The news came as a Japanese woman who left the ship on Wednesday tested positive for the virus after returning home to Tochigi Prefecture, Kyodo news agency reported, citing the prefectural government. She is the first person to have tested positive for the virus among the group of approximately 970 passengers who disembarked earlier this week, it said. The 100 passengers who left on Saturday had been in close contact with infected people on board, local media said. They included the last group of Japanese passengers to leave the ship, while some foreign passengers were still waiting on board for their governments to send chartered aircraft. Television footage showed a driver in a white protective suit at the wheel of a bus with the curtains drawn so that passengers could not be identified. They will be quarantined for two weeks near Tokyo, officials said. - An official apology - At a news conference on Saturday, Health Minister Katsunobu Kato apologised for 23 passengers having been allowed to leave the ship without undergoing all the required tests. "We deeply regret that our operational mistake caused the situation," Kato said, adding that the passengers would be tested again. With the latest disembarkation, a 14-day quarantine is expected to start for more than 1,000 crew still on board. Many of them were not placed in isolation as they were needed to keep the ship running -- preparing food and delivering meals to cabins. Critics have charged that they were inadvertently spreading the virus throughout the ship, which has seen more than 600 cases of the potentially deadly COVID-19 disease. Kato defended Japan's on-board quarantine, telling a TV programme Saturday there was no medical facility large enough to admit more than 3,000 people at once. Speaking at the news conference, Kato said six Australian passengers tested positive after leaving Japan. Meanwhile, 18 repatriated Americans and one Israeli who returned home from the ship have tested positive, authorities from the two countries announced Friday. Kato also confirmed that a Japanese hospital on Saturday used the anti-influenza medication Avigan, also known as Favipiravir, to treat a patient infected with the virus. Earlier in the day, Kato said the government would push for the use of such medicines if they were confirmed to be effective. Outside the Diamond Princess, Japan has seen 105 cases of the new coronavirus. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Reuters) Milan, Italy Sun, February 23, 2020 12:08 689 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad206612f22 2 Lifestyle fashion,Giorgio-Armani,marketing,Women,fashion-industry,Milan-Fashion-Week Free Giorgio Armani accused the fashion industry on Friday of "raping" women with short-lived trends and sex-driven marketing as he presented his Emporio Armani line at Milan Fashion Week. "I think it's time for me to say what I think. Women keep getting raped by designers, by us," Armani, 85, told reporters on the sidelines of the show for the line aimed at younger customers. "If a lady walks on the street and sees an ad with a woman with her boobs and arse in plain sight and she wants to be like that too, that's a way of raping her," Armani said. "You can rape a woman in many ways, either by throwing her in the basement or by suggesting that she dresses in a certain way." Armani, known for his sober, elegant outfits, founded his label in 1975 and has built it into a global brand. "In my show there are short skirts, long skirts, ample and tight trousers. I have given maximum freedom to women who can use all possibilities if they are sensible," he said. "I'm sick of hearing the word 'trend'. We need to try to work for today's woman. There shouldn't be trends," he said. In his Fall/Winter 2020 Emporio Armani show the designer stayed loyal to his simple and neutral looks, keeping silhouettes loose and straight lined with a new emphasis on recycled materials. Read also: Jakarta welcomes SEA's first EA7 Emporio Armani store "The R-EA capsule collection has been made with recycled fabrics and materials, as it has already been done for Emporio men's line," Armani said after the show. At the beginning, black dominated the catwalk, then it was the turn of shades of green and blue, because "shops need colors to catch customers' eye," as Armani remarked. Models wore short lace trimmed shorts, opaque tights and wide-legged trousers. Dressed were ruffled and cinched at the waist with belts or combined velvet and silk. Jackets, long and flowing or cropped and buttoned, were combined with tiny halter neck tops. Footwear mainly consisted of laced up boots and bags and clutches were small. Velvet, a recurring material, was also used in accessories. "The Emporio Armani woman is strong-willed, eclectic and bold in her decisions. With little regard for mundane rules, she is a young woman that bewilders and astonishes," show notes read. Armani will present the Fall/Winter 2020 collection for his main Giorgio Armani line on Sunday. PALMER Kappa Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma Society International met Jan. 26 at St. Johns Lutheran Church in Palmer. Group Ones Ardy Moeller, Lois Wegner, Barb McIlnay and Nora Lindner served a brunch followed by a program about Poor Farm history in Hall County. Doug Cramer with Prairie Pioneer Genealogical Society and Loren Avey, docent, spoke about numerous unmarked graves in the farms cemetery near Highway 281 north of Grand Island. They presented historic background about this farm and reminded all that most counties in Nebraska, as well as other states, utilized poor farms for destitution and/or debt repayment. Following the program, Mary Helen Fuchs called the meeting to order. The initiation of new chapter member Lois Fullington will be in March. A reminder: the DKG Legislative Day is scheduled for March 10 at the State Capitol and the states parliamentary workshop will be May 31 in Lincoln. Collegiate membership is now being offered by the Nebraska state organization to juniors and seniors in college and graduate students to enlarge enrollment and encourage degrees/careers in education. Airports on Spain's Canary Islands were closed again Sunday after a sandstorm hit the archipelago, airport authorities said. Air travel was first disrupted on the archipelago on Saturday after strong winds carrying red sand from the Sahara shrouded the tourist hotspot, forcing flights to and from the islands of Gran Canaria and Tenerife to be cancelled or diverted. Some flights briefly resumed Sunday morning before Spanish airport operator AENA was forced to close all eight airports in the Canaries -- the three in Gran Canaria and Tenerife as well as five others. "Visibility is very low," a spokeswoman for the airport operator said. AENA said flights were being diverted to mainland Spain as well as to Cape Verde, Morocco, Mauritania and Portugal. In a tweet, Transport Minister Jose Luis Abalos thanked these countries for their "solidarity" and said air transport professionals "do not remember such adverse weather for air transport in the Canary Islands." The regional government declared a state of alert on Saturday and advised people to keep doors and windows closed, avoid non-essential car travel and stay away from coastal areas. Spain's national weather service warned that winds of up to 120 kilometres (75 miles) were set to buffet the Canaries until Monday. Strong winds also prevented water-dropping aircraft from putting out fires near Tasarte village in southwest Gran Canaria, which have scorched around 300 hectares of land and forced 500 people to be evacuated, as well as in the neighbouring island of Tenerife. About 1,000 locals and tourists were evacuated in Tenerife as a precaution because of the risk from blazes which broke out near built-up areas in six municipalities on the north of the island amid scorching temperatures, said the head of the local government of Tenerife, Pedro Marin. "We are facing a completely unusual situation. It is the first time that so many fires have broken out in so many municipalities at the same time, and in different places," he told a news conference. Located off the coast of Morocco, the Canary Islands are a popular tourist destination for northern Europeans seeking winter sunshine. The archipelago received 13.1 million foreign visitors last year, according to national statistics institute INE figures, making it Spain's third most visited region. Three dalit youths were assaulted after being accused of stealing donkeys in Jaisalmer district, the third such incident to come to light in Rajsthan in recent days. Five persons have been arrested and three detained after a video of the incident surfaced, police said on Sunday. The incident occurred on February 15 in Rama village of Fatehgarh tehsil of the district. The youths were thrashed with sticks and kicked by nearly a dozen people for stealing donkeys. They were later handed over to Sangarh police. "Five persons have been arrested and three minors have been detained so far. A case has been registered in the matter under sections of SC/ST Act and further investigation in the matter is on," Station House Officer (SHO) of Sangarh police station Ugam Raj Soni said. Similar incidents had come to light in Nagaur and Barmer A chilling video of a man being beaten up brutally in Barmer allegedly for committed a theft had gone viral here, prompting the police to arrest a man and detain another on Friday for their alleged roles in the crime. The video surfaced on Thursday close on the heels of brutal assault on two Dalit youths on similar allegation of theft in Nagaur. The Barmer incident occurred on January 29. Police have arrested at least seven persons in connection with the Nagaur case which occurred on February 16. The Dalit men were beaten up, stripped and tortured by staffers of a motorcycle service agency in Karanu village after accusing them of committing theft. In the video, a group of men is seen thrashing two persons with rubber belts. They later dipped a piece of cloth wrapped on a screwdriver in petrol and inserted it in the private parts of one of the victims. The incidents have triggered a political storm in Rajasthan with the BJP attacking the ruling Congress. Union minister Arjun Ram Meghwal has alleged that the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government is unable to rein in crime in Rajasthan. Meghwal, who is an MP from Bikaner, had accused the police of manipulating the Nagaur case. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A New Zealand billionaire has quietly built up a significant stake in NMC Health in recent days, raising speculation he could be plotting an audacious takeover for the embattled FTSE 100 hospitals group. Richard Chandler's Clermont Group amassed a 2.7 per cent shareholding in NMC Health last week as the crisis over the company's finances deepened. NMC has come under attack from infamous short-seller Muddy Waters, founded by Carson Block, who accused it of manipulating its balance sheet in December. Analysts speculate that NMC may soon be the subject of a take-over bid Since then, a scandal has broken out over the complex share dealings of NMC's founder, Indian-born tycoon BR Shetty, culminating in his departure from the board last week as NMC sought answers from him. Chandler, who is also a vocal advocate of good corporate governance practices, could use his stake to push for improvements at NMC. Clermont Group is an investment firm based in Singapore and run by Chandler, the brother of Christopher Chandler, the billionaire behind the London Brexit-backing think-tank The Legatum Institute. The Chandlers are thought to be among the wealthiest businessmen from New Zealand. The stakebuilding move could stoke talk that Richard Chandler's interest in NMC Health goes beyond owning a small stake in the Gulf-based hospitals group as Clermont already owns significant healthcare assets in the Asian region. Clermont could not be reached for comment. Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary has sparked controversy by suggesting Muslim men should face extra searches at airports. (Photo: Brian Lawless/PA Images via Getty Images) Ryanair boss Michael OLeary has been condemned for encouraging racism after suggesting that Muslim men should face more searches at airports because they are more likely to be terrorists. OLearys comments to The Times, in which he said terrorists will generally be males of a Muslim persuasion, have also been branded abhorrent and racist and discriminatory. In the wide-ranging interview, the 58-year-old Ryanair chief executive suggested that families with young children should be subject to lesser checks because there was virtually zero chance of them being bombers. He said: Who are the bombers? They are going to be single males travelling on their own. If you are travelling with a family of kids, on you go; the chances you are going to blow them all up is zero. He added: You cant say stuff, because its racism, but it will generally be males of a Muslim persuasion. Thirty years ago it was the Irish. If that is where the threat is coming from, deal with the threat. Michael O'Leary has been condemned for "encouraging racism" by his comments. (Picture: Getty) The comments have sparked a backlash, with Labour MP Khalid Mahmood accusing Mr OLeary of encouraging racism. He told The Times: If he can tell me what colour Muslims are then Id be very happy to learn from him you cant judge a book by its cover. He added: In Germany this week a white person killed eight people. Should we profile white people to see if theyre being fascists? Hes being very blinkered and is actually encouraging racism. Read more: Damilola Taylor's killer is back behind bars after driving a car at a police officer Read more: Kickboxer jailed for 28 years after stabbing pub landlord to death over ban A spokeswoman for the Muslim Council of Britain said: Michael OLeary should be under no illusion: his comments are racist and discriminatory. He openly advocates discrimination against males of a Muslim persuasion, which presumably is not based on specific intelligence but solely whether someone looks or acts like a Muslim. Story continues This is the very definition of Islamophobia. READ: Our comments on the @Ryanair boss, Michael O'Leary, who has called for profiling against Muslim men at airports. Here is the @thetimes article on his troubling comments: https://t.co/b17KOKG02r See attached #TellMAMA pic.twitter.com/SdCKZJhGMi TellMAMAUK (@TellMamaUK) February 22, 2020 Tell MAMA UK, which monitors anti-Muslim activity, shared a statement from director Iman Atta OBE which said: Besides being discriminatory and basing judgements on the looks of people, which is abhorrent, OLeary clearly does not know about the history of terrorism, where people have used others to bypass this blunt & divisive technique. This could be a Gerald Ratner moment for OLeary, where his flippant statements come back to seriously affect his business. The comment refers to jewellery firm boss Gerald Ratner was axed after calling one of his own products total crap in 1991, causing profits to tumble. Its not the first time OLeary has made comments that have sparked a backlash. He once said: The best thing you can do with environmentalists is shoot them. On another occasion he directed his ire at travel agents, saying: Screw the travel agents. Take the f***ers out and shoot them. What have they done for passengers over the years? The agitations which have swept India against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act have created precedents none imagined earlier. Women predominate, some with babies in arms. So do students. The right to assemble peaceably and without arms is a fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution of India. What is equally accepted is that it is directly related to the fundamental right to freedom of speech. What is, however, an issue is their right to assembly to express their dissent to official policies or the ideology of the party in power. Minorities, especially Muslims, have faced grave handicaps. If they assemble to support the governments line, especially on Kashmir, they are hailed as nationalists. But, if they assemble to voice their dissent or seek redress for their grievances, they are dubbed communalists. In their agitation against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, Muslims won the support and sympathies of many cutting across religious and political lines. Silent are the usual Uncle Toms among Muslims, some of whom vociferously support the BJP and denounce Muslims. Some have even been rewarded for this. On February 13, 2020, the Bombay High Court delivered a landmark judgement, striking down as invalid an order by a police inspector refusing permission for an agitation. It was based on an order by an additional district magistrate. The ruling will encourage all protesters across the country and teach a lesson to the BJP government. The court said that it had to keep in mind that when people believe that a particular Act is an attack on their rights they are bound to defend that right. It underlined that it is not for the court to ascertain whether the exercise of such right will create a law and order problem This court is expected to consider the right of such persons to start agitation in a peaceful way. This court wants to express that such persons cannot be called traitors or anti-nationals only because they want to oppose one law. It will be an act of protest and only against the government for the reasons of CAA. The court noted that one of the clauses of the order prevented raising slogans, singing and beating drums. It can be said that though the order appears to be against everybody, in reality the order is against persons who want to agitate, to protest against the CAA. At present, such agitations are going on everywhere and there was no whisper of agitations of other nature in this region. Thus, it can be said that there was no fairness and the order was not made honestly. When we are considering a proceeding like the present one, we must keep in mind that we are a democratic republic, and our Constitution has given us the rule of law and not the rule of a majority. When such an act is made, some people, maybe of a particular religion like Muslims, may feel that it is against their interest and such act needs to be opposed. It is a matter of their perception and belief, and the court cannot go into the merits of that perception or belief. The court had to examine whether such persons had the right to agitate and oppose a law. If the court finds that it is part of their fundamental right, it is not open to the court to ascertain whether the exercise of such a right will create a law-and-order problem. That is the problem of a political government. In such cases, it is the duty of the government to approach such persons, have talks with them and try to convince them. The authorities cannot be of the view that only one particular community or religion had an interest in opposing the law. Many persons of all the communities may feel that it is against the interest of mankind, humanity or basic human values. The US Supreme Court had ruled on these very lines as far back as in 1937. Dirk De Jonge was convicted under a statute, which made it a criminal offence to advocate crime, physical violence, sabotage or any unlawful acts or methods as a means of accomplishing industrial change or political revolution. The charge against him was that he had participated in a meeting of the Communist Party, of which he was an admitted member. It had been held to protest against brutality and unlawful activity by the police and conditions of the jail. Speaking for a unanimous court, Chief Justice Hughes said that peaceable assembly for lawful discussion, however unpopular the sponsorship, cannot be made a crime the holding of meetings for peaceable political action cannot be proscribed. Further, the right of peaceable assembly is a right cognate to those of free speech and free press and is equally fundamental. The US Supreme Court thus linked the right to assemble peaceably without arms to the right to freedom of speech and expression. Processions are described as an assembly in motion. They can make history. Shaheen Bagh in New Delhi has become the name for similar mass meetings in protests all over India. By arrangement with Dawn Hardliners have won a crushing victory in Irans parliamentary elections, taking every single seat in the political powerbase of Tehran and leading in regions across the country. One unofficial tally forecasts that the nationalists and religious conservatives have won 178 of the 290 seats in the chamber with the liberals share falling to just 17 and another 43 going to independents. The triumph of the hardliners, many of whose candidates are affiliated to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), has been mirrored by the collapse of support for the reformists in both urban and rural areas. The turnout in the capital was just over 25 per cent, and 42.5 per cent for the rest of the country. Those figures, if confirmed, would be the lowest for any election since the Islamic revolution which overthrew the Shah in 1979. Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, a former mayor of Tehran and leading conservative who came top in the capital with more than 1.2 million votes, is expected to be appointed speaker. Iranians vote to elect new parliament Show all 9 1 /9 Iranians vote to elect new parliament Iranians vote to elect new parliament Iranians queue up during parliamentary elections at the Shah Abdul Azim shrine in the southern outskirts of Tehran on February 21, 2020 AFP via Getty Images Iranians vote to elect new parliament An Iranian man displays his ink-stained finger after casting his ballot during parliamentary election at a polling station AFP via Getty Images Iranians vote to elect new parliament Voters pose for a selfie during the parliament elections at a polling station AP Iranians vote to elect new parliament Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei casts his vote VIA REUTERS Iranians vote to elect new parliament An Iranian woman displays her ink-stained finger after voting AFP via Getty Images Iranians vote to elect new parliament Iranian voters pose for a selfie during parliamentary elections at the Shah Abdul Azim shrine on the southern outskirts of Tehran AFP via Getty Images Iranians vote to elect new parliament A woman gestures as she casts her vote at a polling station EPA Iranians vote to elect new parliament An Iranian woman casts her ballot at a polling station EPA Iranians vote to elect new parliament An Iranian woman casts her ballot at a polling station EPA It remains to be seen how the hardliners are going to use their new found power. Several of their leaders have talked about bringing impeachment proceedings against ministers and even the countrys president Hassan Rouhani. A previous attempt to initiate impeachment proceedings against Mr Rouhani failed to get off the ground in the reformist dominated parliament, but the numbers have now changed drastically. At the very least there are likely to be attempts to curb the power of the president and his foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, two key figures instrumental in driving through an agreement with international powers on the countrys nuclear programme. The hardliners had vehemently opposed that deal, holding that it compromised the states security and insisting the west would renege on it sooner or later. They have also accused the president and senior ministers of turning a blind eye to corruption. The outcome of any impeachment move would ultimately depend on the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the Guardian Council, the powerful election supervisory body. But the weakness of the reformists can be seen in the huge contrast between the polls on Friday and the last parliamentary and presidential elections, when the moderates swept to power with a mandate to carry out sweeping reforms. The turnout was more than 62 per cent each time. People had then flocked to vote in a wave of optimism after the nuclear deal with the anticipation of political and social changes, the economy transforming and excitement at Iran reopening to the outside world. But Donald Trumps drive to dismantle the agreement, pulling the US out of it and then imposing punitive sanctions, has left the economy struggling. There has also been mounting anger at political corruption, inefficiency and the failure to deliver on many of the promises made by the government. Ayatollah Khamenei and Mr Rouhani had repeatedly exhorted the electorate to vote, declaring that a failure to do so would be used by the US and its allies as a sign of popular discontent against the state. The supreme leader claimed that enemy propaganda in the form of publicising the spread of coronavirus in the country has been used to dissuade people from voting. But interior minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli pointed to the rising toll from the virus, with six dead so far, as one of the main factors in people staying away from the polling stations. He also maintained we believe that the number of votes and the turnout is absolutely acceptable. There were signs of regret among some of those who had opted not to vote. Farah Mazandaranihad voted for reformists in the previous parliamentary election and for Mr Rouhani for president. The 23-year-old student had abstained from voting this time out of dismay at the governments performance and also in protest at the decision by the Guardian Council to reject a total of 6,850 candidates out of 14,000. A lot of my friends and I decided not to vote, this was not ignoring politics but taking our own form of political action, she wanted to explain. We are now worried that they may use it to try control things like womens rights even more. Perhaps we will think again at the presidential election. Israel ordered nearly 200 pupils into home quarantine Sunday after they were in proximity to South Korean tourists carrying the coronavirus, as the premier announced a taskforce to manage the threat. "Today, I will appoint a ministerial team to convene on a daily basis in order to deal with this major challenge," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said after a special meeting on the COVID-19 virus. The meeting included senior security officials. The announcement came after South Korean members of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus toured Israeli sites between February 8-15 and upon their return home 18 of them were discovered to be infected with the virus. Israel's health ministry urged people who might have encountered them to self-quarantine, including 180 pupils and 19 staff from three separate schools who it said had close contact with the South Korean visitors. The pupils and staff, including 18 teachers and a guard, were instructed "to remain home" for 14 days, the education ministry said. The health ministry also published a detailed list of the sites visited by the South Korean tourists, ordering "anyone who has been in touch with the pilgrims" to "home-quarantine until 14 days from the encounter with the group have passed". Israel had on Friday confirmed its first case of the virus, in one of its nationals who had flown home from Japan after being quarantined on the stricken cruise ship Diamond Princess. On Saturday Israel refused to allow some 200 non-Israelis to disembark from a plane which arrived from South Korea, as part of measures against the new coronavirus. The health ministry has also ordered its citizens to observe an obligatory 14-day home-quarantine if they have recently visited Japan, South Korea, mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore or Thailand. "In addition, anyone who has been in Taiwan, Italy or Australia in the past 14 days and is developing the disease's symptoms should be examined," the ministry said in a statement. Internal Security Minister Gilad Erdan, who attended Sunday's situation assessment, warned that law enforcement would act against those found to be disobeying the self-quarantine order. "The Israeli police have prepared all the necessary enforcement teams in the event that there may be citizens who do not obey the instructions," he told journalists, without elaborating. He also warned those who might consider exploiting the scare to disrupt a hotly-contested March 2 general election. He said that concerns included the spreading of fake in order to affect voter turnout. "This is a criminal offence," he said. "There is special readiness by the police to prevent abuse. Meanwhile, Palestinian health minister Mai al-Kaila said there were no confirmed cases in the West Bank, but that to manage the threat her office was coordinating with Egypt, Jordan and Israel. Cooperation with Israel "is only in the matter of coronavirus," she said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Humility is in short supply in the cannabis industry. Investors want that to change. That was the message from several fund managers at the Northeast Cannabis Business Conference in Boston last week, where the industry was asked to reconcile its boundless optimism with the current reality of slumping stock prices and wary capital markets. We want to make sure the entrepreneurs we invest in are not drinking their own Kool-Aid, said Kevin McGovern, chairman of McGovern Capital, which holds stakes in several international cannabis companies. Dont be greedy, be realistic. In the early days of the industry, a company could achieve a high valuation with an ambitious growth forecast and not much else. That will backfire when those companies go to raise money again, McGovern said. The worst thing you can do is a financing at a high valuation from angel investors, and then lo and behold institutions come in and they laugh at you and they lead a down round of 50 or 75 per cent, he said. Publicly traded pot companies have also had to face the repercussions of their earlier swagger, with many revising or eliminating their forecasts as it became apparent that they were far too optimistic. This is also one of the reasons behind a recent spike in executive turnover. Because the cannabis industry is so new, it had never experienced a bear market until the downturn that began in mid-2019. This led company founders to believe that growth would continue forever, said David Traylor, senior managing director at industry adviser Golden Eagle Partners. One of the big problems we saw with a lot of companies was arrogance, Traylor said. They thought that money was going to grow on trees, that it was never going to end. He now looks for humility from executive teams before agreeing to work with them. Ross OBrien, founder and CEO of venture capital fund Bonaventure Equity, said pitch decks from companies with unrealistic valuations will go straight into the garbage. And its not just startups that need to be humble. Even the largest multi-state operators, or MSOs, could use a dose of humility, said Sean Stiefel, portfolio manager at hedge fund Navy Capital. This industry is moving so fast, people are going to get things wrong and the ability to recognize when you get something wrong and quickly pivot is probably the most important thing anybody from the biggest MSO to the smallest brand can do, Stiefel said. Govt. reactivates Strategic Development Projects Act By Bandula Sirimanna View(s): View(s): In the wake of the economic setbacks triggered by the Easter Sunday terror attack and the corona virus, the Government is now offering massive generous tax concessions and incentives to attract foreign investment. This was made possible following the reactivation of the Strategic Development Projects Act (SDPA) of 2008 which was put on hold for three years by the previous regime, a senior official of the Inland Revenue Department told the Business Times. Sri Lanka continues to experience low levels of foreign direct investment (FDI). According to Central Bank Governor Prof. W.D. Lakshman, Sri Lankas FDI is still around US$1 billion to $2 billion since the end of northeast conflict. Strategic development projects are to be given tax exemptions up to 25 years under the SDPA; a senior Finance Ministry official said adding that the government anticipates this would help FDI inflows. Foreign investors will be excluded from the payment of the VAT under the SDPA. This Act was introduced by the previous Rajapaksa regime in February 2008 and it was amended twice in 2011 and 2013 to widen its concessions. The UNF government has not made use of SPDA fully and it was confined to limited use administratively without repealing the Act while failing to introduce a new investment law. The cabinet paper devised to reactivate this Act blamed the previous UNF government for restricting the usage of the SDPA which has resulted in the hampering of international investor sentiment in Sri Lanka. Wajahat Habibullah, one of the interlocutors appointed by the Supreme Court to hold talks with protesters at Delhis Shaheen Bagh, has filed an affidavit on the issue of road blockage, news agency ANI reported on Sunday. According to Asian News International, Wajahat Habibullah has said in his affidavit the protest in Shaheen Bagh against the Citizenship Amendment Act is peaceful. The former bureaucrat, who is one of three mediators appointed by the top court, also stated the police have blocked five points around Shaheen Bagh, ANI reported. Road 13A, which connects Delhi with Noida, has been blocked for the last 68 days by the agitators, led by elderly women, protesting the citizenship act. The blockade has led to massive traffic jams in and around Ashram and parts of south Delhi, with other Noida-Delhi connections, such as the Nizamuddin bridge, also being hit severely. The Supreme Court had appointed senior lawyers Sanjay Hegde, Sadhna Ramachandran and former chief information commissioner Wajahat Habibullah as interlocutors on February 17 and asked them to talk to protesters at Shaheen Bagh and convince them to hold the agitation at an alternative site. They have, so far, held four round of talks with the Shaheen Bagh protesters on their blockade of the road since February 19. On Saturday, the protesters in Shaheen Bagh presented the interlocutors with a set of fresh demands, saying they want the top court to guarantee their safety before one carriageway on Road 13A is opened up. They also asked that the police withdraw cases filed against residents of Jamia Nagar for protests against the citizenship act on December 15 last year. Sadhana Ramachandran and Sanjay Hegde are likely to submit their report to the Supreme Court on Monday, when the court will resume its hearing on the matter. The top court had called for a balance last Monday and said that while people had the right to protest in a democracy, they should not be blocking roads, otherwise it would lead to chaos. The protests at Shaheen Bagh, which began on December 15, have blocked one of the main connections between Delhi and satellite city Noida, causing problems for thousands of commuters. They are protesting a law that fast-tracks Indian citizenship for persecuted non-Muslim minorities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Protesters allege the law is discriminatory to Muslims and fear it will be used along with the National Register of Citizens (NRC) to take away citizenship from some members of the minority community. The government has, however, said such perceptions of the law were untrue and result of a motivated campaign. It has also said CAA will not be repealed and ruled any nationwide NRC in the near future. The Madras High Court has observed a solitary allegation of intemperate language against a woman employee does not constitute an offence under the law on sexual harassment at work place and the act cannot be allowed to be misused with exaggerated or non-existent charges. Granting relief to a senior central government official who was accused of sexual harassment by a woman officer, it also said the Administrative Head or the Chief has every right to extract work and he or she has his or her own discretion and prerogatives. Allowing a petition by V Natarajan, Deputy Registrar of Trade Marks and GI, Intellectual Property of India, Chennai, a bench of Justices M Sathyanarayanan and R Hemalatha quashed orders of the Central Administrative Tribunal and the district Local Complaints Committee (LCC) against him. "The complainant, it appears, made a futile attempt to settle her personal score with the petitioner. Every office has to maintain certain decorum and women employees cannot be allowed to go scot-free without completing their assignments," the bench said in a lengthy order on Saturday. If a woman employee was discriminated against due to her inefficiency or for any other official reasons, the recourse for her is not the one taken by this complainant, it said. "Though the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 is intended to have an equal standing for women in the work place and to have a cordial workplace in which their dignity and self- respect are protected, it cannot be allowed to be misused by women to harass someone with an exaggerated or nonexistent allegations, the bench added. The woman officer had lodged a complaint on December 2, 2013 against the petitioner with the Registrar and Controller General of Trade Marks and GI and Patents and Design, accusing him of high-handed and arrogant behaviour, causing hurt to her self-respect. The Registrar and Controller General set up an internal complaints committee (ICC) as per the act. Subsequently, she made another complaint narrating many incidents about the "rude behavior" of Natarajan, in which she mentioned the word "sexual harassment" at several places. Later, she wrote to the Tamil Nadu State Commission for Women expressing apprehension the the ICC would not render justice as her complaint was against the head of department. Subsequently, based on an enquiry by the District Social Welfare Officer who found prima facie case, the LCC had recommended a detailed departmental enquiry against Natarajan. Meanwhile, the CAT allowed a plea by the complainant challenging the constitution of the ICC. The petitioner's appeal was dismissed by the tribunal, following which he moved the high court. The court said the woman's first complaint in 2013 was generic and its essence was "intemperate" language used by the officer and 'bias' shown against her. But the February 17, 2016 complaint before the LCC smacked of 'tutoring' and talked about "physical advances" and "lewd remarks" though it did not mention any date or sequence of events in support. "This also appears to be an afterthought. Therefore, a solitary allegation of intemperate language against a female employee does not constitute an offence" under the act, the bench said. "It gives an appearance that instructing a woman employee to do something officially or even scolding a woman employee itself is sexual harassment, it said. It held the CAT erred in concluding that the petitioner was the employer as defined under the act and therefore the ICC would not have any relevance while the LCC gave an erroneous decision with a non-speaking order which was also ex-parte. The court also faulted the woman officer for "defiant attitude" in not attending the ICC hearing and for approaching the state commission for women. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) Sunday morning closed the entry and exit of the Jaffrabad station in Northeast Delhi amid a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) outside the station. In a tweet, the DMRC also said trains will not stop at this station. Security Update Entry & exit of Jaffrabad have been closed. Trains will not be halting at this station. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (@OfficialDMRC) February 23, 2020 Delhi Police have also deployed additional personnel around the Jaffrabad metro station as women continued their protest against the CAA. There was already heavy security deployment, including women police personnel, in the area when the protest began Saturday night. Jaffrabad became the latest anti-CAA protest site in Delhi when about 500 people, mostly women, gathered there to protest against the new citizenship law and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), blocking a major road on Saturday night. The women, carrying the national tricolour and raising slogans of aazadi, said they would not move from the site till the Centre revoke Citizenship (Amendment) Act, PTI had reported. They also tied a blue band on their arm and also raised Jai Bhim slogans. The women had blocked road No. 66 which connects Seelampur to Maujpur and Yamuna Vihar. Another protest against the CAA is already on near the main Seelampur road and Kardampuri. The protest at Jaffrabad began even as efforts are on to clear a road blocked by anti-CAA and anti-NRC protesters at Shaheen Bagh in Southeast Delhi for over two months. The protesters have blocked the road connecting Southeast Delhi and Noida. The Supreme Court has appointed mediators to find a way to end the impasse. Protesters say the CAA which fast tracks citizenship for illegal non-Muslim migrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh is unconstitutional, divisive and discriminatory because it makes religion a test of citizenship. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency this week signed on as a Hidden Heroes state with the Elizabeth Dole Foundation, pledging to identify and support military caregivers. Hidden Heroes, founded by former U.S. Senator Elizabeth Dole, R-North Carolina, highlights issues faced by caregivers for military members and veterans. The group aims to connect caregivers with resources and inspire communities to take action supporting them. The groups Campaign Chair is actor Tom Hanks. If we want to be a nation that truly cares for those who have borne the battle, we must also be a nation that cares for our caregivers, Hanks said in a press release announcing Michigan joining the effort. There are now 150 municipalities and three states committed to the campaign. Many military and veteran caregivers are so busy helping others, they dont often ask for help for themselves. Today, we pledge our support to these dedicated caregivers, said Zaneta Adams, Director of the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, there were 589,326 veterans living in Michigan as of 2017. Of those, 53% are over the age of 65. Nationally, there are 19.9 million veterans. Dole said in a statement shes seen firsthand how hard caregivers work and the impact they have. But their needs are overwhelming, and as a country, we must come together to find helpful ways to support them in their life-long journey of care. That begins by encouraging our caregivers to raise their hands, become a part of our Hidden Heroes Caregiver Community its why our partnership with Michigan is so important, Dole said. The state urged people who are caregivers for veterans to visit the Hidden Heroes website for resources. Editor's note: Every other Sunday through the conclusion of this year's session of the Iowa Legislature, our local lawmakers will share their Statehouse views. Sen. Jim Carlin, R-Sioux City Iowa is one of the most heavily licensed states in the country. Nearly one-third of Iowans in the workforce are required to maintain a license to perform their jobs. Government licensing of many industries is appropriate, necessary, and in the interest of consumer safety. However, licensing in some professions is either unnecessary, too burdensome, or too expensive. Licensing can even be a method for some to reduce or eliminate potential competitors. It can also be a barrier to employment, and with unemployment in Iowa below three percent for more than two years, overcoming the hurdles for employers to find qualified workers has been a priority for legislators all session. To address these problems, Senate File 2114 reforms occupational licensing in Iowa. First, it provides for universal recognition of licenses from other states for most licenses. With this change, someone may relocate to Iowa for family or career-related reasons and not be required to go through redundant licensing requirements. One final piece of the bill lowers the fees for low-income Iowans applying for a professional license for the first time. A trade is often an accessible path out of poverty. Lowering the barrier to obtaining a license eliminates one more obstacle low-income Iowans face in rising out of poverty. One of the first things we did during our fifth week in the Senate was pass our education funding bills, Senate File 2164 and Senate File 2142. These bills together mean approximately $90 million in increased funding for Iowa schools. We are working with the House and governor to find middle ground on a funding amount that is sustainable and responsible. Our defined goals are to prioritize K-12 education and ensure money remains to fund other priorities, like public safety and easing the tax burden on Iowans. Rep. Chris Hall, D-Sioux City The University of Northern Iowa brought many of their students and faculty to the Capitol this past Monday. It was great to see the showcase and hear directly from campus leaders. Within that group, I was extremely pleased to visit with Dr. Alan Heisterkamp. Many Journal readers will know Alan from his work in Sioux City Community Schools and later with the Waitt Institute. Alan now leads the Center for Violence Prevention at UNI which does incredible work across the state and also houses the Governors Office on Bullying Prevention. (Side note: Alan and Roger Wendt knew me as a sixth-grader at Hoover Middle School, where they saw me in the principals office just once or twice.) The Center for Violence Prevention works with school districts and colleges to improve the environment our students live within during their daily life. They describe it by saying, as parents, educators, and community stakeholders, we owe it to our young people and to ourselves to speak up and take collective action in order to foster healthy relationships, nurturing homes, safe schools and thriving neighborhoods in all Iowa communities. Many thanks to Alan and his colleagues. What a great organization and cause for our support. Several years ago, the Iowa Senate passed an important bill to reduce bullying in our schools. It sought to update our laws to reflect the new forms of bullying that take place in social media, and although it passed 43-7 with strong bipartisanship in the Senate, it never cleared the House. Working with a group called Iowa Safe Schools and Sen. Jackie Smith of Sioux City, I was proud to file an updated and improved bill this past week. Twenty of my colleagues joined in signing onto the bill, numbered House File 2426. This bill is part of the renewed effort to see change for our students and improved culture around bullying. Rep. Tim Kacena, D-Sioux City Good Sunday to all. It has been quite the busy couple of days at the Capitol, as this past week was the first funnel week. This means bills that did not make it out of committee last week are more than likely dead for the session. This week I would like to touch on three bills that I was heavily involved with. HSB 584: Allows cities and counties to establish a length of service awards program as described in section 457(e) (11) of the Internal Revenue Code for volunteer firefighters and emergency medical care providers. The bill authorizes municipalities that choose to participate the opportunity to establish a fund, matched by state dollars, that will help retain our volunteer firefighters and EMS personnel at a time when so many are leaving. We cannot thank those local heroes enough who voluntarily risk their lives and provide services in a time of need, but this bill is a step in the right direction. H.F. 2259: This bill relates to human trafficking prevention training and reporting for employees of lodging providers in the state. The human trafficking prevention training must focus on the accurate and prompt identification and reporting of and response to suspected human trafficking. No later than Dec. 31, 2021, the commissioner must develop and certify a lodging providers voluntary completion of prevention training. The bill also states that a public employer or public employee cannot use public funds if the lodging provider failed to certify. H.F. 684: During past legislative sessions we passed bills dealing with immunity for those youths who call 911 during a drug overdose. H.F 684 extends that immunity to persons under the age of 21 to include alcohol poisoning. The bill creates a new code section, 701.12, which provides that a person under the age of 21 shall not be prosecuted for public intoxication, possession under the legal age, if the person in good faith sought emergency assistance for a person due to alcohol overdose. Sen. Jackie Smith, D-Sioux City February 21 was known as the first funnel at the state Capitol. That means policy bills (that dont concern taxes or the budget) must be passed by a committee to be considered during the remainder of the session. Its often the busiest week of the year; every day is filled with meetings as Iowans push for their priorities to move forward. Senate Democrats have introduced legislation designed to solve problems and help Iowans. I remain committed to initiatives that put Iowans first, including proposals to: Create good jobs and improve economic security. Ensure our students are getting the best education in the country. Revitalize every Iowa neighborhood and community, both rural and urban. Enhance the quality of life for all Iowans. While we are at it, we must do no harm. For example, a workforce shortage should not be justification to jeopardize Iowans safety. Many jobs require a professional license, which helps ensure competency and business and ethical standards. However, there is a push among some legislators and organizations to roll back or eliminate professional licensure in Iowa so that entrepreneurs can quickly get into business. I am all for eliminating unnecessary red tape and bureaucracy, but not at the risk of endangering Iowans health and safety. Take hearing aid specialists and audiologists licensed to dispense hearing aids. Hearing aid specialists are part of our health care workforce and are federally recognized and regulated in all 50 states, but a Senate bill (SSB 3089) would eliminate the licensing requirement in Iowa. Last year alone, one Iowa hearing aid provider referred more than 500 patients to ear, nose and throat specialists. Some were found to have tumors. This is just one situation in which changes to licensure could pose health risks for Iowans. Im committed to carefully assessing all legislation of this type so that we strike the right balance between protecting consumers and growing our economy. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sharad Bobde on Sunday said that there is an urgent and great need of having a single system of laws across the world to conserve the environment. "There is a great need for a single system of laws on the environment across the world. Human beings are seeds as well as parasites as far as the environment is concerned since they take much more than they give to the environment," said Justice Bobde while speaking at the International Judicial Conference 2020 here on Sunday. "As we look into the future, one of the primary objectives is the conservation of the environment. In one of the landmark judgments of the Supreme Court, it ruled that the present generation does not have the right to encroach on the rights of the future generations as far as the environment is concerned," added Justice Bobde. Justice Bobde further seconded the role of technology in addressing challenges being faced by the judiciary like pendency of cases. "In India, we have ensured that no matter where a judicial officer is located, all courts are electronically connected to the Judicial Data Grid. In many High Courts, about 19-20 per cent of the pendency is because of the Negotiable Instruments cases. Many cases are pending because summons has not been served," the CJI said. "As we head into the future, we are thinking of employing artificial intelligence (AI) to automate simple tasks associated with the administration of justice. With a reading speed of one million characters per second, the volume of any data for any purpose, whether research or analysis, becomes easy to deal with. But it must be treated as a tool and its introduction in the judicial system should be done with caution. But probably the human mind is bound to retain its supremacy," he added. Justice Bobde went on to say that the common thread that binds judges all across the world is a commitment to the dispensation of justice. The objective of increasing diversity in the judiciary in ensuring a gender-just world is paramount, he added. He further said that an increasingly globalised world has also seen the globalisation of the judiciary. "The globalisation of the bar has been accompanied by the globalisation of the bench. Increasingly, confronted with trans- challenges judges regularly reach beyond their borders to inspect the jurisdiction of other countries to discern valuable principles. Recently, judgments and opinions of the Supreme Court were referenced by four judiciaries around the world. Judges never lose sight of the social reality of their own country," he said. The CJI further said that the Indian judiciary has an ancient origin yet it has charted its own course in the modern world. "The Indian judiciary has an ancient origin. It is uniquely connected by the yarn of history to the grand old tradition of the common law. Yet it has also charted its own course in the face of a geographically, linguistically and culturally diverse reality. India serves as a beacon of hope to the independent and developing countries," he said. "The Indian Supreme Court protects the rights of over 1.3 billion people. We have approximately 17,500 courts. In a country where over 22 languages and several thousand dialects are spoken, the Supreme Court has mandated the translation of its judgments to nine languages," he added. He further said that a commitment to access to justice furthers the commitment that constitutions are not meant only to check those in power but also to empower those who have been deprived of it. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Debutant director Hitesh Kewalya says sex is merely an aspect of sexuality and as long as a film covers the larger concept, one can't go crass. Hitesh, who made his debut with "Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan", said many people in the society tend to mix sexuality with sex which muddles the conversation. "Sexuality is not just about sex. So that's the line. As long as you're talking about sexuality, it can never go crass because that is natural. When you talk about sex, it's a different thing. I'm not saying there can't be a film which only talks about sex. That's an aspect of sexuality. That is what one needs to be aware of. "When you're writing (a film) like this, we have to be sensitive about that. Once you are aware of it, and when you are writing it, you keep checking and rechecking it. If you're aware of that, then you can control the communication and hope it doesn't go wrong. I'm not saying it can't go wrong, but it'll never go crass," Hitesh told PTI in an interview here. Starring Ayushmann Khurrana and Jitendra Kumar, "Shubh Mangal Zyada..." is a same-sex love story woven around two middle-class families in small-town India. The director, who has also written the film, said when he creates characters comprising a couple, most of the time he ensures that the two parts complement each other. "Like in a heteronormative couple, they say opposites attract. That's why I wanted to create a pair which worked at that level - yin and yang. The choice of these actors was also based on the fact that they should bring their own personalities right to the character only then a character comes to life," he added. When writers write, Hitesh said, they create a little half-done characters because they want the "cup to be filled" by the actors. "So Jeetu being this guy from the digital space, but not really known in the film world. He is a little quiet guy when he's not in front of a camera, so he observes more. And when he speaks, he speaks sense. So somehow he brought that personality into the character. "Same for Ayushmann. It was interesting to see them coming in owning these characters and yet be complementary. So you add a little, they add a little and you create a character as you go along," the director added. Another couple the viewer is eager to watch on screen is the reunion of Neena Gupta and Gajraj Rao. The duo, whose heartwarming performance as a middle-aged couple facing unwanted pregnancy in "Badhaai Ho!" won the hearts of the audience, play parents to Jitendra's character. Hitesh said when one has to deliver a difficult subject like a same-sex romance, a director needs the story to be carried to the right people through the right actors. "I needed actors who were endearing, who people have accepted and who they would listen to. Whether it's Ayushmann, Jeetu, Neena ji, Gajraj sir, Manu Rishi, even the newer actors were endearing. I needed all of them. But Neena ji and Gajraj sir are playing a completely different jodi this time. That's the newness." He hopes after "Shubh Mangal Zyada...", the audience has enough fodder to talk about one's sexuality. "We give them enough good scenes to not just laugh about, but also talk about this aspect. And I hope among them -- men, women, any gender, anyone who falls anywhere on the spectrum of the sexuality -- they should be able to have a conversation about sexuality," he added. The film is a sequel to 2018's "Shubh Mangal Saavdhan", also starring Ayushmann, which addressed another taboo subject of erectile dysfunction. Bollywood easily falls into the trap of a franchise, but Hitesh said a follow-up to his film would only happen if the team had an important story to tell. "We don't go only by the fact that the last film was successful so let's make another, especially this series. It's not just a comedy franchise. It is talking about an important issue in each film. "So, it is important for us to have something to say. If we have something new to say and the right way to say it, then that film will be made. If that film is not needed, it won't be made. No matter how successful this one becomes," he said. Also featuring Maanvi Gagroo and Sunita Rajwar, "Shubh Mangal Zyada..." released on Friday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A new eye scan could help identify autism in children years earlier than currently possible. The non-invasive eye scan utilizes a hand-held device to find a pattern of subtle electrical signals in the retina that are different in children on the autism spectrum, which are directly linked to differences in their brain development. The scan was tested on about 180 people with and without autism between the ages of 5 and 21 in collaboration with Yale University in the US, University College London and Great Ormond Street Hospital in the UK, as part of a study published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. These potential biomarkers for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) could allow for early detection of other disorders, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Dr. Paul Constable, a senior lecturer at the College of Nursing and Health Sciences at Flinders University, has been searching for an autism "biomarker" since 2006, in an effort to improve early detection and intervention methods after his own child was diagnosed. The retina is an extension of the brain, made of neural tissue and connected to the brain by the optic nerve, so it was an ideal place to look. The test is a quick, non-intrusive eye-scan using a hand-held device and we anticipate it will be equally effective on younger children. Very early diagnosis means not only can children receive important interventions, but families are empowered to get the necessary supports in place, come to terms with the diagnosis, and make informed decisions." Dr. Paul Constable, senior lecturer at the College of Nursing and Health Sciences at Flinders University Dr. Constable's research team is also investigating the scan to detect autism in younger children and other conditions including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and other neurodevelopmental disorders. "Now we have found a likely candidate biomarker for autism, the next stage is to look at young children, even infants, as the earlier we can get to intervention stages the better," Dr. Constable says. He says his team often encounters parents who have two or three young children with autism, as the chance of having a second autistic child is much higher for parents with one child on the spectrum. Autism in Australia is usually diagnosed after the age of four. Early detection in firstborn children could give parents the opportunity to decide if they want to have more kids, with previous studies indicating an increased likelihood siblings of autistic children are more likely to develop the disorder. "Detection inevitably changes family dynamics and goals, and creates consideration about the time required to help the child," Dr. Constable says. "Very early diagnosis means not only can children receive important interventions, but families are empowered to get the necessary supports in place, come to terms with the diagnosis, and make informed decisions." The Delta State Government has released the statement below warning residents of the state against killing protective animals. The government warned that anyone caught hunting protective animals within the state will be arrested and prosecuted. Read the full statement below. The attention of the Delta State Government has been drawn to a virile online video where some uninformed youths were seen dragging a captured Manatee which is among protective sea animals. We condemn in its entirety the inhuman act of the unidentified youth whose actions have become an embarrassment to the state. The state government seriously frowns at the actions of these youth which negates the Bonn Convention on Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals. The government hereby warns that anyone caught hunting protective animals within the state will be arrested and prosecuted in line with relevant laws of the land. Let me re-emphasise that it is against the law for those in the habit of killing animals that are protected by the law. Anybody caught killing such animal will be jailed because we cannot continue to watch people destroy our nature out of ignorance Rather than kill such animals, people are advised to render help to them to return to their natural habitats where necessary. The State Ministry of Information will partner its Environment counterpart and other relevant government agencies to carry out intensive campaigns on the preservation of these endangered protective animals. To be forewarned is to be forearmed. Aniagwu Charles Hon. Commissioner for Information Delta State F rench President Emmanuel Macron has said he is "not certain" that a deal can be secured between the UK and EU by the end of the Brexit transition period. Mr Macron said that negotiations would be "tense" ahead of the December 31 deadline, and said he believed difficulties would arise particularly around fishing. Speaking at a convention of agricultural workers over the weekend, he said: [Negotiating is] going to be tense because [the talks] are very tough. "Boris Johnson has a card in his hand and it is fishing and with that he will try to gain access to the market. "It is not certain that we will have a global deal by the end of the year." President Macron said that negotiations could be difficult as Boris Johnson has fishing in his hand / PA Meanwhile in the UK, the government is preparing to unveil its demands for the trade talks. Ministers are expected to show their preference for a Canada-style agreement in the negotiating mandate, which is scheduled for publication on Thursday. But this comes after the EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier ruled out the possibility the UK can have the same deal as Canada. Michel Barnier has said the EU's deal with Canada cannot be compared with what the UK wants (Reuters) / REUTERS His comments followed a speech from UKs chief negotiator David Frost last week, where it was stated that the UK wanted to pursue a deal similar to the North American nation. He dismissed signing up to a level playing field setting common rules and standards to prevent businesses in the UK undercutting those in the bloc, which prompted a rebuke from Mr Barnier. The EU negotiator said: A trade agreement that includes in particular fishing and includes a level playing field, with a country that has a very particular proximity a unique territorial and economic closeness it cant be compared to Canada or South Korea or Japan. Canadas deal took seven years to negotiate, with import tariffs eliminated on most goods between the nation and the bloc, though some customs and VAT checks remain. Mr Johnson is to convene his Brexit Cabinet on Tuesday to sign off on the mandate before it is published online and laid in Parliament on Thursday. Mr Frost and his team will then head to Brussels for the first round of negotiations on March 2. The EU member states are expected to adopt their negotiating position on Tuesday. Brussels is yet to publish its negotiating mandate but a leaked draft reportedly included a stipulation the UK must return unlawfully removed cultural objects to their countries of origin. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 The Huntsville Housing Authority found high levels of radioactive gas inside more than 60 public housing units last fall but never told the tenants they were breathing cancer-causing radon. Residents of Butler Terrace Addition knew nothing until reporters from AL.com and its affiliate, The Oregonian/OregonLive, made contact with some of them last week. Had you not come by, I would have never known, said one tenant, a mother, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal from housing officials. Its ridiculous, she added. Its unfair. And I just have to sit here breathing it in. The housing authority confirmed it failed to share its testing results with residents but said it has already begun repair work to lower radon levels in a handful of units. Officials also confirmed no other public housing developments have been tested. This is not something anyone can fix overnight, Sandra Eddlemon, the agencys executive director, wrote in an email. I will tell you that we are working with a contractor concerning mitigation and any vacant units testing above the acceptable level are not being filled. Eddlemon, who declined to be interviewed, said in a statement that officials did not want to alarm residents until a plan is in place to fix the problem. Eddlemon said a contractor has already installed a ventilation system in one building but it lowered radon levels in only five of six units. The contractor is now working on a revised plan to reduce the levels in all of the apartments," she added. We feel it is important to inform them of the radon levels we found, but that it is equally important to let them know how we plan to address it for them, she wrote. What we dont want to do is incite fear with this information and not be able to present a resolution. The results of Huntsvilles testing validated findings from an investigation by The Oregonian/OregonLive and AL.com, which exposed how federal and local housing officials nationally have failed to protect low-income tenants. The findings included independent testing by reporters showing high levels of radon in apartments at the complex that the housing authority hadnt tested since the 1990s. The fact that Huntsville officials had documented proof of problems came to light only this month, when the newsroom obtained testing results in response to a public records request. The documents show that officials found high radon at Butler Terrace Addition in 66 of 108 tests, a startlingly high rate. In some units, the level of radioactivity detected was many times the amount set by federal standards. One of those apartments belongs to Latoya Jemes. This is a health hazard, Jemes said. I have three small kids. I hope they fix it soon or move us. Jemes apartment tested nearly 3 times the level that the federal government says should be fixed. She learned about her radon results from a reporter at AL.com, which partnered with The Oregonian/OregonLives investigation. They should be held responsible, Jemes said of the housing authority. We could get sick. Confirmation of widespread problems in Huntsville marks the latest development since publication of the newsrooms investigation in November. Twenty-five federal lawmakers, including presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren and Alabama Sen. Doug Jones, have now called for action. President Donald Trumps budget proposal also includes $5 million for radon testing and mitigation in public housing. Radon is a naturally occurring gas that seeps from the ground and can pool at high levels inside homes. It is the second-leading cause of lung cancer in America, estimated to kill 21,000 annually. Recognizing the threat, Congress in 1988 directed the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to protect public housing tenants from exposure. But HUD did not mandate testing by local housing authorities and waited until 2013 to begin encouraging it. The Oregonian/OregonLive surveyed 64 housing authorities across the country and found fewer than one-third could produce testing records. Among those was Huntsville, where officials said they tested for radon in the early 1990s and installed removal systems for units with problems. As part of the investigation, reporters from AL.com visited Butler Terrace and Butler Terrace Addition to conduct independent testing. Reporters recorded high levels in a sampling of seven units in 2018, and shared those results within two weeks with the tenants who remained at the complex. The Oregonian/OregonLive presented its findings to the housing authority on Sept. 19. Eddlemon, in her statement, questioned why The Oregonian/OregonLive didnt share its investigative findings earlier with the housing authority. Weve had about five months since we learned about it, and weve been steadily working with experts on testing and on ways to mitigate the radon levels for our families, she wrote. Just as it takes time to put together an investigative news story, it takes time for us to investigate and put a plan of action into place. When The Oregonian/OregonLive did share its results with Eddlemon last September, she did not respond to six emails, replying Oct. 7 only after a reporter started contacting board members. The housing authority also launched testing of 10 locations and confirmed high radioactivity in three, according to reports dated Oct. 10. Eddlemon at the time would not agree to be interviewed or answer written questions, including whether officials would test. Our residents are very important to us, she said in a brief statement after testing had secretly begun. Huntsville later completed an additional 98 tests, finding high radioactivity in 63, according to a Nov. 11 report. The highest test recorded radon at six times the federal action level. Eddlemon did not disclose those results when the newsroom again contacted her prior to publishing its yearlong investigation in November. Eddlemon did not respond to three inquires afterward about whether the housing authority was considering radon testing. Delvin Sullivan, chairman of the housing authoritys board of directors, told The Oregonian/OregonLive in December theres a lot of energy being put into this so these folks are safe. But Sullivan said he did not have details and referred questions to Eddlemon. Huntsvilles testing results should have prompted swift action, said Kyle Hoylman, a board member for the national radon-testing trade group, the American Association of Radon Scientists and Technologists. He said about half of the units in Huntsville produced high enough radon levels that typically warrant repairs automatically, without any need for further testing to corroborate the initial results, while others could be checked again. But Hoylman said that testing already should have happened. Certainly thats not something you want to see drug out over four, five, six months, he said of re-testing. Whats reasonable is typically four to six weeks. Reporters from The Oregonian/OregonLive and AL.com spoke with eight families last week who live in units with high radon. All but one requested anonymity for fear of being evicted for speaking out. I think its crap, said one woman. We have children who live out here. We have a right to know. Another woman said that the housing authority had told her shed get her test results back in two weeks. She didnt. If its going to make my kids sick, she said, something needs to be done. The Huntsville Housing Authority has proposed demolishing the complex that comprises Butler Terrace and Butler Terrace Addition, which together total 254 units. Officials recently received a $1.3 million grant to plan the redevelopment effort over the next three years, although its unclear when demolition might occur. The confirmation of high radon at Butler Terrace Addition also raises broader questions about the rest Huntsvilles public housing. Madison County is considered to be at high risk for indoor radon that exceeds the federal action level, according to data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Eddlemon, who is retiring from the housing authority March 2, said no steps have been taken to test other public housing complexes. After we address this immediate concern, we will want to look at all of our public housing apartments, she wrote. In order to test all of our properties in Huntsville, we will have to go through HUD budget and procurement processes. This all takes time. Huntsvilles board of directors is scheduled to meet at noon Monday. The meeting is open to the public. Residents who want to find out their results can contact reporters Brad Schmidt or Anna Claire Vollers. -- Brad Schmidt; bschmidt@oregonian.com; 503-294-7628; @_brad_schmidt -- Anna Claire Vollers; avollers@al.com; @acvollers U.S. president says looking forward to meeting friends in India Washington: U.S. president Donald Trump on Saturday said he was looking forward to being with his "great friends" in India next week as he retweeted a short video in which his face was superimposed on the hit movie-character Bahubali, showing the president as a great saviour bringing peace to his kingdom. Trump will pay a state visit to India on February 24 and 25, accompanied by a high-level delegation including first lady Melania Trump, his daughter Ivanka, son-in-law Jared Kushner and a galaxy of top American officials. "Look so forward to being with my great friends India!" Trump said in the tweet. Along with the tweet, Trump retweeted an 81-second video by a Twitter account identified as "Sol" with the handle Solmemes1. Look so forward to being with my great friends in INDIA! https://t.co/1jdk3AW6fG Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 22, 2020 "To celebrate Trump's visit to India I wanted to make a video to show how in my warped mind it will go... USA and India united!" the handle Solmemes1 tweeted in the original post with the video. Trump appears as a great saviour, in the short animated clip, riding on a chariot with Melania. A few stills later, Trump is seen riding a horse carrying on his shoulders his son Donald Jr and daughter Ivanka. Later, he is welcomed by Narendra Modi in a village setting. Hundreds and thousands of people are seen welcoming Trump in the video. "This week Trump will visit India and in celebration I have created a new meme for the occasion... You few, who are my patrons, get to see it first!" Sol told viewers on subscription content service Patreon on Saturday. A few hours later, Trump retweeted the video. In the Twitter description, Sol describes herself as "award winning master memetician, professor of memology at University of GFY, my views are my own and not associated with real life." The Trump-Bahubali video, which ends with "USA and India United", went viral after Trump retweeted it. In a few hours, it was seen by nearly 6 lakh people. Sol in one of her previous posts, dated January 23, writes she was inspired by a video of Bahubali sent to her by a friend, which is the story of 'good defeating evil.' This inspired Sol to create her first Bahubali-theme meme. The video, lasting 93 seconds, is titled "Jiyo Re Baahu Trump", in which the first lady is seen wearing a saree. "Jiyo Re Bahubali," is the theme song of the video. My first one not as good but was fun! https://t.co/Tm6syhx1uc Sol (@Solmemes1) February 23, 2020 "I just loved this video when I saw it! A friend sent it to me and he told me that it is the story of good defeating evil... it was so fitting I had to make it (meme)..." Sol wrote in her post. Sol's posts show that she is an admirer of Trump. Sol's January 23 video was released at the peak of Trump's impeachment proceedings. Trump is seen being greeted by an elephant, which bears the logo of the Republican Party. Towards the end of the video, Trump is seen riding the elephant, and putting on fire the effigy of "Raavan" marked as "D" in a big circle representing the opposition Democratic Party. An arrow is given by warrior Narendra Modi to the First Lady, who then passes it on to Trump, before he lights the effigy. Local leaders in Alabama say they will try to stop Americans who tested positive for coronavirus and evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship from being quarantined at a facility in Anniston. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Saturday announced plans to quarantine the evacuees at the FEMA Center for Domestic Preparedness in Anniston. Elleen Kane, an HHS spokeswoman, told AL.com the evacuees will be transported next week. Here is AL.coms complete coverage of the plan to bring coronavirus patients to Alabama The Anniston City Council and Calhoun County Commission on Sunday will convene emergency meetings about seeking court intervention to stop the federal governments plans . The county commission will also consider declaring a local emergency. Were live at an Anniston City Council meeting called to discuss people infected with Coronavirus being quarantined at the FEMA Center for Domestic Preparedness in Anniston. Posted by al.com on Sunday, February 23, 2020 The city council will meet at 10 a.m. at the Anniston City Meeting Center. The commission will meet at 2 p.m. at the Calhoun County Offices. The Oxford City Council will meet at 3 p.m. in support of the leaders in Anniston and Calhoun County. Local leaders said they were completely caught off guard" by the HHS announcement, which they learned about on Saturday afternoon through local news media. UPDATE: We have been in contact with Congressman Mike Rogers and Senator Richard Shelby. The plan to house the... Posted by Calhoun County EMA on Saturday, February 22, 2020 Local officials announced Saturday night that they will ask a court to stop the transportation of the evacuees. At a press conference earlier Saturday, Tim Hodges, chairman of the Calhoun County Commission, referenced a temporary restraining order issued by a federal judge to halt the transportation of anyone who has tested positive for coronavirus to Costa Mesa, California. City leaders there had asked the court to intervene. That may be something that we need to do on behalf of not only Anniston but the entire county, Hodges said, because whether this happens or not or we can stop it or not, it cant happen this quick." Local officials said they learned of the federal governments plan to transport the evacuees to Anniston through local news media around 12:30 p.m. on Saturday. They said they were not consulted by the government beforehand. This was a decision by the federal government and the federal government solely, Anniston Mayor Jack Draper said at the press conference. The City of Anniston, along with the Calhoun County Commission hold a news conference in response to a coronavirus quarantine. The City of Anniston, along with the Calhoun County Commission hold a news conference in response to a coronavirus quarantine. Posted by WVTM 13 on Saturday, February 22, 2020 Those who will be quarantined have tested positive for coronavirus, according to federal health officials, though they either dont have symptoms or have mild flu-like symptoms. Coronavirus can cause mild to severe symptoms of fever, cough and shortness of breath, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The federal government has assured us these patients will not have any impact on our local community, and that no one is at risk, Draper said. U.S. Rep Mike Rogers, a Republican of Anniston, said he spoke to President Donald Trump about the situation and both men agree transporting the evacuees to Alabama is the wrong decision. I will continue to work with President Trump & HHS to find the best facilities that meet the needs for those Americans that have been exposed to this dangerous virus, Rogers said on Twitter. The CDP (Center for Domestic Preparedness) is not that place. Earlier this evening, I spoke w/ @realDonaldTrump. He agreed with me that the decision by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to house those Americans exposed to Coronavirus (COVID-19) at the Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP) in Anniston is the wrong decision. Mike Rogers (@RepMikeRogersAL) February 23, 2020 Under the HHS plan, evacuees will stay in an area separate from the FEMA Centers training participants, officials said. HHS said it will provide the evacuees with basic medical care, and they will remain at the Center until being medically cleared. Any of the evacuees who become seriously ill will be transported to pre-identified hospitals for medical care, says a news release from HHS officials. The passengers were evacuated back to the U.S. by the federal government from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan. Local leaders in Alabama said they dont know how many of the passengers are being sent to Anniston. As of Saturday, coronavirus cases have been reported in 28 countries, including the U.S., The New York Times reported. In the U.S., at least 34 people 18 of them evacuees from the Diamond Princess cruise ship were infected as of Friday, according to the Times. President Trump was furious and surprised that Americans evacuated from the cruise ship were being flown back to the U.S. earlier this week, despite testing positive for the coronavirus, The Washington Post reported. All of the U.S. cases are linked to international travel, the Times reported. As of Saturday, the virus was not spreading in U.S. communities, according to the CDC. The overwhelming majority of coronavirus cases more than 76,000 have been reported in China, where the virus originated in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, the Times reported. Of those cases in China, more than 2,300 have been deadly. Read more: What you need to know about FEMAs Anniston facility This story was last updated at 10:56 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020. Two Texas plaintiffs attorneys have completed their purchase of the Loncar & Associates law firm from the estate of prominent personal injury lawyer Brian Loncar. The sale of the Dallas firm, which maintains an office in Beaumont, closed on Jan. 23. It pushes Loncars heirs and new owners Ted Lyon and Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins to the finish line of a contentious, three-year battle over Loncars estate in probate court. Related: For a longer version of this article, please visit texaslawbook.net According to court records, Dallas County Probate Judge Brenda Hull Thompson cleared the way for the $13 million transaction on Dec. 2 after a two-part hearing over the matter. The $13 million legal question was whether Texas law allows Jenkins, who is also the executor of Loncars estate, to purchase the law firm. Jenkins, Lyon (who represents Jenkins) and others on Jenkins legal team argued that it was in the best interest of the estate for Jenkins to purchase the firm. Judge Thompson agreed, authorizing the sale of the law firm under the terms laid out in an Oct. 11, 2019, stock purchase agreement reached with Brian Loncars daughters, the sole remaining beneficiaries of the trust tied to his estate. Jenkins told The Texas Lawbook that the Loncar firm has helped thousands of people a year for 30 years. The life of Brian Loncar, 56, ended in tragedy on the morning of Dec. 4, 2016, when he died in his Rolls-Royce from a cocaine overdose. Loncar, who was parked outside his law office, died just a week following the suicide of his 16-year-old daughter, who had been battling depression. Sue Loncar, Brians wife and the high schoolers mother, told NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth in a May 2017 interview that she believed her husband, who had a lifelong struggle with addiction, medicated to dull the pain of losing their daughter. Loncar became a giant in the Texas plaintiffs bar beginning in late 1980s for his TV ads under the nickname, The Strong Arm, which helped him build Loncar & Associates to an 11-office, multimillion-dollar law firm. As a larger-than-life celebrity lawyer who left behind an estate in the dozens of millions, Loncars death captured headlines around the world. But much like the Google results that chronicle Loncars controversial life, drama surrounded both the sale of his law firm and the overall probate of his estate. Following Loncars death, Lyon said, lawsuits emerged from parties claiming the Loncar estate owed them money. Lyon originally got involved in the probate case to help oversee that sub-litigation. Meanwhile, Dallas advisory firm Hayse, which was hired by the estate, spent a year marketing Loncar & Associates to other plaintiffs law firms across the country. Those efforts resulted in no prospects promising enough for a sale acceptable to Loncars heirs, court documents say. That led sisters Abby and Hailey Loncar to inquire last year whether Jenkins was interested in buying the law firm. Dallas attorney Bret Madole, who represented Hailey Loncar in the transaction, said the sisters concluded Jenkins was the best fit to take over the firm because he already knew the ins and outs of the business through his experience with running the estate. Moreover, as a 30-year friend of their father, they had also known Jenkins for a long time. Jenkins said he asked Lyon if he wanted to be his partner in the purchase, and the two agreed to a 50/50 split. The negotiation period commenced, and they agreed to buy the firm for $13 million, records show. However, the deal was not without legal obstacles. At the surface it appeared that Texas law might prohibit Jenkins from purchasing the firm because of his role as executor of Loncars estate; doing so would make him both the buyer and the seller. So the parties had to convince Judge Thompson that because it was in the best interest of the estate, there were provisions of the Texas Estates Code under which the transaction could be allowed. Then a week after Jenkins and the Loncar daughters filed their joint motion to approve the sale of the law firm, Loncars widow and others objected. Court documents show that before his death, Brian and Sue Loncar entered a partition agreement to divide their assets. Mrs. Loncar argued in an earlier lawsuit brought against the estate that her husband had been hiding assets so that he would not have to pay her what she was owed under their partition agreement and that Jenkins had helped Loncar hide his assets a conflict of interest. That lawsuit was later dismissed. In her objection to the sale of the firm, Mrs. Loncar renewed those claims, and argued that the sale proposal was not in the best interest of the estate because the law firm was worth more than $13 million. Later, she withdrew her objection and on Dec. 2, Judge Thompson approved the sale. Under terms of the stock purchase agreement reached with Abby and Hailey Loncar, Lyon and Jenkins put down $7 million in cash, and agreed to pay off the remaining $6 million balance through quarterly payments over the next four years. The deal did not include any real property, Jenkins said, so rental payments will provide another source of income for Loncars daughters. Lyon said he will not be involved in day-to-day operations of Loncar & Associates. Jenkins said he will assume the role of president. In addition, Jenkins and Lyon acquired an ongoing trademark dispute between Loncar & Associates and Colorado attorney Frank Azar, one of Loncars former law partners. The lawsuit, over use of phrase The Strong Arm, is currently pending in U.S. District Judge Sam Lindsays court in the Northern District of Texas. Hyderabad: Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president N. Uttam Kumar Reddy on Saturday demanded that the government immediately announce the new Pay Revision Commission (PRC) for state employees, teachers and pensioners. In an open letter to Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, Mr Reddy said that nearly 4 lakh teachers and employees and about 3 lakh pensioners were desperately waiting for the new PRC scales. He said that teachers and employees had played a major role during the statehood movement and had risked their jobs and careers by participating in 42-day Sakala Janula Samme (general strike). Stating that they expected a better future and financial growth after the formation of Telangana state, Mr Reddy said, Neither the employees nor teachers benefited in any way during the last six years although the Chief Minister claims that his government is employee-friendly. He said that the new PRC scales should have been applied from July 1, 2018. The announcement of the 11th PRC has been delayed by almost 20 months, causing huge financial losses to the employees and teachers. With the state government extending the term of the PRC by another six months; the employees are forced to face mental agony for longer, Mr Reddy said. He asked why the reasons for the extension of the PRC's term were not placed in the public domain. He said the PRCs term is limited to five years, but no fitment in pay scales had been announced for the last three years. The TPCC chief said that the previous Congress regime had declared 39 per cent fitment and other benefits in the 9th PRC. In 2013, the Congress government had announced the 10th PRC five months in advance. When the report was delayed, 27 per cent interim relief was announced in order to reduce the burden on the employees. Mr Reddy alleged that the employees were not being given promotions, transfers or inter-district transfers and the services rules for teachers are not yet drafted. Language pandits and physical education teachers had got no upgradation although they were promised promotion as school assistants. He alleged that the employees were being denied treatment in corporate hospitals under Employees Health Scheme (EHS) as the government had not cleared their dues of `1,200 crore. Mr Reddy said the pensioners who completed 70 years of age should be given their quantum of incentive as recommended by the 10th PRC. On the one side, the state government is claiming financial stability. On the other, it is borrowing lakhs of crores. Under any circumstances, the government should not delay the announcement of PRC and help lakhs of employees, teachers and pensioners, Mr Reddy demanded. UPDATE: Poconos attempted homicide suspect nabbed in Brooklyn, cops say A Monroe County man remains on the lam after allegedly stabbing his wife multiple times and fleeing the couples home in a BMW, police said. Pocono Mountain Regional police have been searching for 58-year-old Edward Eddie Sartoris since Friday evening and obtained a warrant for his arrest. Sartoris is charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault, prohibited offense weapon, terroristic threats, possession of an instrument of crime, simple assault and reckless endangerment. He was involved in a dispute with his wife and the couples home in the 1600 block of Glacier Drive in Tunkhannock Township just after 10:30 p.m. Friday, according to police. Its unclear what led to the altercation. Sartoris then stabbed his wife multiple times with the couples three adult children in the room, police said. The woman was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Pocono in East Stroudsburg for treatment of unspecified injuries. Sartoris is believed to be driving a blue BMW 3-series convertible with Pennsylvania registration: FXX-2979. He is being described by police as white, 6 feet, 1 inch in height, weighing 230 pounds, and having brown hair and brown eyes. He has family in the New York City area and is also employed there, police said. Those with information about the whereabouts of Sartoris are asked to call Pocono Mountain Regional Police at 570-895-2400. Those who see Sartoris or his vehicle should call 911 immediately, police said. Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. The visiting Indian delegation at the Berlin International Film Festival discussed the country's participation in the Cannes Film Market 2020. The delegation held a meeting with their counterparts from Cannes Film Festival -- Ms Maud Amson, Head of Sales and Operations, Marche Du Film, Cannes Film Festival, and Mr Arnaud Menindes, Sales and Operations - Advertising at March du Film. The two sides also discussed a proposal to position India much more strategically at the annual film festival. The Cannes delegation expressed their collaboration and participation for the 51st edition of International Film Festival Of India (IFFI). The Indian delegation also met representatives of major film festivals and film commissions as well as renowned international producers. Italian producer Sergio Scapegini expressed that Italy would actively consider participating and collaborating with India for IFFI. He also underlined that the participation would pave-forward for more proactive ties between the two countries. The Indian Pavilion at Berlinale has been organised by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting in association with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). Over 40 Indian film companies are participating at Berlinale 2020. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will accompany US President Donald Trump and US First Lady Melania Trump, on their visit to Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad on February 24, sources informed. Three chairs have been set up on the Sabarmati riverside for the visiting dignitaries. The security is being monitored by officials from state and central agencies along with the US secret service. The US President, along with his family and a ministerial delegation will be in India for around 36 hours. During the visit, he is scheduled to participate in a roadshow with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and address a gathering at the Motera stadium here. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Aligarh, Feb 23 : The protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) turned violent on Sunday evening after the women sitting on protest were asked to move from there. Many shops, two-wheelers and police barricades were set ablaze and stone pelting was reported from Babri Mandi, Ghas-ki-Mandi and Upperkot. The police lathicharged the protesters and also used tear gas shells to disperse the crowd. A huge crowd has gathered to protest against the CAA and the NRC at Shahjamal Idgah here. Women protesters have been removed from Upperkot Kotwali area. The crowd has been chanting anti-government slogans. Several Bhim Army workers were also present among the protesters at Delhi Gate and Upperkot area. The police said the women started throwing stones at police vehicles. The police said they have identified several students of Aligarh Muslim University who are involved in the stone pelting incident. Heavy police force has been deployed at Delhi Gate and Upperkot. The administration has also blocked Internet services in the area from 6 p.m. to 12 midnight. Maharashtra village passes resolution against NRC India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Feb 23: Patrud village in Beed district of Maharashtra has passed a resolution against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). The gram panchayat of Patrud in Majalgaon tehsil passed the resolution at its meeting held on February 2. The copy of the resolution has gone viral on social media. Woman raises pro-Pak slogans at anti-CAA stir in Bengaluru in the presence of AIMIM chief Owaisi "There is confusion in the society over the CAA and NRC. All the people residing here are Indians, but don't have any documents to prove their nationality. Hence CAA and NRC should not be implemented in the village," the resolution says. NEWS AT NOON FEB 23rd, 2020 A resident of Pathrud, Eknath Maske, said, "The population of the village is around 18,000. The villagers were against the new citizenship law and NRC. Hence we decided not to implement these things in the village and passed a resolution." Gram sevak Sudhakar Gaikwad said, "The government's move on CAA and NRC affected the social fabric of the village. Therefore, the villagers decided to pass this resolution. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, February 23, 2020, 8:46 [IST] PARIS The founder of a French charity who helped improve the lives of people with learning disabilities for over half a century had also engaged in manipulative sexual relationships with at least six women, the charity has revealed in a new internal report. The report, released last week by the French-based charity, LArche International, said that Jean Vanier, the charitys founder, had relationships with women from 1970 to 2005 that were at turns inappropriate, coercive or non-consensual. It also said he had a psychological hold over some of the victims. None of the women who said they had been abused by Mr. Vanier had a disability. Some worked in the community, and some were nuns, according to the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail. Mr. Vanier, a Canadian religious leader who founded the charity in 1964, died in Paris last year at age 90. UAE Coronavirus REUTERS/Christopher Pike The COVID-19 virus has been found in 30 countries across the world, and the World Health Organization is calling the spread "worrisome." An expert told Business Insider that many countries don't have resources for infectious disease, and many lack an outbreak preparedness plan. Containment may no longer be effective to tackle the novel virus as it continues to spread, especially to countries who don't have the capacity to screen for and isolate those who have it. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. While China is reporting a dip in new COVID-19 infections, cases of the novel virus are still being discovered in new countries, many of which have no ties to the epicenter of the outbreak. Four people died from the virus in Iran in the past few days, a foreigner was diagnosed with it in Egypt, and the first case of the virus was just discovered in Lebanon, making it the 30th country to report cases of COVID-19. The cases in Iran were not linked to Wuhan, and the case in Lebanon was linked to cases in Iran, suggesting that the virus is spreading between people with no ties to the origin of the outbreak. The World Health Organization has said that trend is worrisome and suggests that virus may spread broadly. The number of infections outside of mainland China, where the virus originated is growing and currently stands at over 1,000, and 12 people have died in other countries. While the approach so far has been containment, it's not clear if that will continue to work, or if every country is capable of containing and treating those who may fall ill with COVID-19. Some countries are 'strapped for infectious disease resources' Emily Ricotta, a research fellow at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases told Business Insider that, "Many places don't already have a preparedness plan for outbreaks." Additionally, even if they get funding to tackle the issue, they may not have the capacity to actually screen for or isolate confirmed cases. She also added that in general, countries tend to be "strapped for infectious disease resources." Story continues Ricotta said that was the case with Liberia during the Ebola crisis in 2014. While the country received funds to tackle the outbreak, there wasn't the capacity to actually use those funds. The country lacked the necessary equipment and personnel to implement necessary protocols, and international organizations stepped in to set up clinics. The World Health Organization called the outbreak a global health emergency three weeks ago, but it has not labeled the outbreak as a pandemic yet, since most cases of human-to-human transmission have occurred only in China. In order for an outbreak to be considered a pandemic, there has to be "sustained" human-to-human transmission in multiple locations. Sharon Lewin, director of the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in Melbourne, Australia, told Business Insider it's hard to tell if there is any specific place that could become a hotbed for the virus, since the approach to curtailing the spread so far has been containment. Ricotta noted, however, "There gets to be a point where containment is not going to work." Some areas could be hit harder than others Other experts suggest there maybe a criteria for determining if a particular location could potentially exacerbate the spread of the virus. Keiji Fukuda, the director and clinical professor at the School of Public Health at The University of Hong Kong, told Business Insider that it is anticipated that crowded settings could see a significant percentage of residents catching the virus. Robert Kim-Farley, a professor at UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, told Business Insider his concern with the spread of the virus is if it reaches poorer countries that are densely populated, or don't have the resources to screen for and treat people who contract the novel virus. "My greatest concern is not here in the United States, where we have a robust health care system," Kim-Farley said. He also add that there are a few things that can make another location particularly susceptible to an outbreak. Places with dense populations make it easier for the virus to spread; a poor public health system may also make it difficult to screen for the virus and then treat people; as well as if there's a lack of resources to properly isolate and quarantine those who are infected or suspected of being infected. Lewin added that low and middle income countries could lack the resources and laboratories to test for the virus, which could increase the likelihood for the virus to spread. If you can't detect that someone has the virus early on and isolate them, they could pass it on to many more people. "Any confined community, where you have a lot of people close together and the virus enters into that, it could be problematic," Kim-Farley said. What happens next is hard to predict Kim-Farley and other experts have said there are a few possibilities for how the outbreak plays out in the end. Kim-Farley said, this could go away like the SARS virus, or it could spread to other countries, including developing countries and become endemic like the flu. COVID-19 has already killed and infected more people than SARS did when it was an outbreak in 2002. While SARS killed 774 people and infected 8,098 in about 9 months, COVID-19 has killed over 2,000 people and infected more than 76,000 in less than 3 months. While there is still a lot to be learned about how the virus is transmitted, it appears to be easier to transmit than SARS, many experts believe it spreads through droplets. Kim-Farley said if it does spread to other countries, we could see it "seeding" in more places. Fukuda also said how fast the virus spreads within that population is "highly variable." He explained that it appears this virus impacts older people more then those who are young, so if the population is young and healthy then the impact of the virus may be minimal but, "if the population is young but malnourished, then severe disease might occur much more frequently in comparison with health young groups." Kim-Farley added that the world is currently on alert to the possible threat of the virus. "As compared to Wuhan, where in a sense it blindside people, the world is on alert," he said. Countries and communities can begin to take measures to limit the spread of the virus, but as more cases begin to appear in countries across the world a new approach beyond containment may be necessary. WHO has already said they're running out of time to contain this virus. "We still have a chance to contain it. But while doing that, we have to prepare at the same time for any eventualities, because this outbreak could go any direction. It could even be messy," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. Read the original article on Business Insider Department of Homeland Security whistleblower Philip Haney, who spoke out against his own agency during the Obama administration, was found shot dead in California. The Amador County Sheriff's Office said that authorities responded to reports of a man lying on the ground with an apparent gunshot injury near Highway 124 and Highway 16 in Plymouth. Red State and Heavy said Haney had been missing since Wednesday, and that the gunshot wound was found in his chest. 'Upon their arrival, they located and identified 66-year-old Philip Haney, who was deceased and appeared to have suffered a single, self-inflicted gunshot wound,' said authorities, according to the Washington Examiner. Philip Haney (pictured), a former Department of Homeland Security official who blew the whistle on the agency, was found dead Friday with a gunshot wound 'A firearm was located next to Haney and his vehicle. This investigation is active and ongoing. No further details will be released at this time.' Authorities have not shared any further details as they investigate Haney's death, no arrests have been made and a motive has not been made clear. Although the nature of Haney's death has not determined, a Fox News contributor suggested he was murdered. 'Somebody I deeply respected and considered a friend Phil Haney - a DHS whistleblower during the Obama Admin was apparently killed yesterday in Southern California. Pray for his family and pray they find the person who murdered him,' she wrote on Twitter. Fox News contributor Sara A. Carter suggested shared condolences to Haney's family and suggested the former official was murdered Sources said Haney, who formally retired in 2015, was recently in contact with top government officials about return to work with DHS. He was also engaged to be married. Haney gained national attention after he called out the DHS under the Obama administration, of which he criticized for its handling of radical Jihadists and Islamic extremists, in 2016. He would testify that DHS ordered him to delete hundreds of files pertaining to people with ties to Islamist terrorist groups and argued that several terrorist attacks in the U.S. could have been prevented if certain files were maintained. 'It is very plausible that one or more of the subsequent terror attacks on the homeland could have been prevented if more subject matter experts in the Department of Homeland Security had been allowed to do our jobs back in late 2009,' Haney wrote in an opinion piece for The Hill in 2016. Haney (pictured) testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in 2016 that DHS deleted hundreds of files about people with ties to Islamist terrorist groups In regards to a thwarted terror attack on a Christmas Day flight to Detroit, Michigan, Haney recalled how Obama cast blame on DHS for not identifying the threat 'President Obama threw the intelligence community under the bus for its failure to 'connect the dots.' He said, 'this was not a failure to collect intelligence, it was a failure to integrate and understand the intelligence that we already had.' He also called out the administration for prioritizing 'political correctness' over safety. 'I can no longer be silent about the dangerous state of America's counter-terror strategy, our leaders' willingness to compromise the security of citizens for the ideological rigidity of political correctnessand, consequently, our vulnerability to devastating, mass-casualty attack.' Haney said the devastating 2016 Orlando Pulse Nightclub shooting and 2015 San Bernardino terror attack could have been prevented if DHS took the right precautions. In a 2015 interview with Fox News, Haney said his and other DHS employees efforts were stalled after they were accused of unfairly targeting Muslims. If not halted, he said, they could have prevented the San Bernardino attack orchestrated by Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik that killed 14 people. The couple could have 'very plausibly' been flagged to the security services over their connections to Deobandi Movement, and its sub-groups al-Huda and Tablighi Jamaat,' Haney said. 'Either Syed would have been put on the no-fly list because of his association with that mosque, and or the K-1 visa that his wife was given may have been denied because of his affiliation with a known organization,' he said. At the time of Haney's testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Republicans questioned former Obama-era DHS Secretary Jet Johnson about the allegations. Sen. Ted Cruz asked: 'Was Mr. Haney's testimony that the Department of Homeland Security order over 800 documents ... altered or deleted accurate?' Johnson replied he had 'no idea' and denied ever knowing who Haney was. 'I don't know who Mr. Haney is. I wouldn't know him if he walked into the room,' he said. Red State and Heavy said Haney (pictured) has been missing since Wednesday and was not seen until he was found Friday During that same year, Haney released his first book, See Something Say Nothing: A Homeland Security Officer Exposes the Government's Submission to Jihad' about his experiences in DHS. He told the Washington Examiner through text that he planned on writing a sequel. 'The National Security Meltdown sequel will pick up right where SSSN left off,' he wrote. 'My intention is to have it ready by early-to mid-Spring of 2020 (just before the political sound wave hits), then ride that wave all the way to the Nov. elections.' Haney became a founding member of the Department of Homeland Security in 2002 as a Customs & Border Protection agricultural officer. He would go on to serve as an armed CBP officer before being promoted to its Advanced Targeting Team. Haney specialized in Islamic theology and the strategies used by the global Islamic movement. A uniform 28 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) will be levied on state-run and authorised lotteries from March 1, according to a notification. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, led by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, had in December last year decided to increase the rate as well as implement a single rate for lotteries. Buyers would now have to shell out 28 per cent GST on lotteries. According to notification issued by the revenue department, the GST rate on supply of lotteries has been amended to 14 per cent and a similar percentage will be levied by the states. As a result, total GST on lotteries will increase to 28 per cent. "This notification shall come into force on March 1, 2020," the revenue department notification said. Presently, lotteries run by the state-owned agencies levy 12 per cent GST, while a state-authorised lottery attracts 28 per cent tax. The lottery industry had pitched for a uniform tax rate on lotteries following which a group of ministers were set up to suggest the GST rate. The eight-member group of ministers, which was headed by Maharashtra Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, had recommended that the council would decide either on 18 per cent or 28 per cent GST for lotteries. Following this, the GST Council in December voted for a single rate of 28 per cent on supply of lotteries. "Gambling in the form of Lottery has been allowed in a few states, where it has penetrated at grass root levels, now changing the tax rate from a prospective date would help the dealers in effectively implementing the new tax rate," AMRG & Associates Senior Partner Rajat Mohan said. All lotteries are organised by states as per the provisions of Lottery Regulation Act 1998. Currently ten states in the country including Maharashtra, West Bengal, Punjab and Arunachal Pradesh allow lotteries. By Chitranjan Kumar with PTI inputs Also Read: US beats China to become India's top trading partner Also Read: FPIs spend over Rs 23,000 crore in February so far The former Governor of Zamfara State and originator of Sharia Law in northern states, Senator Ahmed Sani Yarima, has expressed doubt that President Muhammadu Buhari signed agreement with the national leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, to handover the president to him in 2023 after the second tenure. Yarima, in a media interaction, said that even if such agreement exists; it cannot be implemented in the APC. He maintained that President Buhari has declared his neutrality in the horse trading for APC 2023 presidential ticket, and therefore, cannot endorse Tinubu as his successor. He said that such insinuation is mere speculation. President Buhari is alleged to have signed an agreement with Tinubu, to hand over to him in 2023. Yarima, though doubting such agreement, emphasized that modern politics in Nigeria has gone beyond clique decision process. He stated Nigeria does not belong to any political principal, saying: and I dont think anyone in any position can determine what Nigeria should have. Politics is about election for people to decide what they want. So, it is the majority of the people that will determine who they want. He insisted that if such agreement was signed, it cannot guarantee the beneficiary the APC ticket. If he signed an agreement with Asiwaju, that agreement cannot be implemented even in getting the ticket. It cannot guarantee Asiwaju a ticket, Yarima declared. The former governor emphasized that President Buhari has declared; and the party has decided that APC primary election is going to be direct. Will he direct everybody to go and vote for Asiwaju, Yarima asked. He expressed his belief that the APC primary election will be a free and fair. Agreement or no agreement is a political statement, but I dont think that is possible because I dont think that the Buhari that I know will sign any agreement. He knows that he doesnt have the powers and the authority to hand over power to whomever he so wishes. He said it is going to be free and fair; in fact, he even said it in the open that he doesnt have any candidate. So, these are just speculations, Yarima declared. PV: 0 Beating a deadly virus View(s): The trio was at the gate having a go at Aldoris, the choon-paan karaya, and pulling his leg. Aney miss, kaeme tikak ganna-ko (Miss, please buy some food), he pleaded. Issaravela oya kiyanna-ko corona virusaya gena monavada danne kiyala (First tell us what you know about the coronavirus), cajoled Serapina, the youngest of the trio. Aney miss, mama kisi deyak danne neha. Magey wede maalu paan ha banis viku-nana eka (I dont know, my job is to sell maalu paan and buns), he said. The trio then purchased three maalu paans and moved to the margosa tree. Sitting comfortably, Kussi Amma Sera said: Mema vairasaya ekalasayak wunuth hondai (I hope this virus will settle down). Eh wage thamai, mokada Lankawe hitiye eka ledek-ne (It looks as if it would, since we have only one confirmed case in Sri Lanka), noted Mabel Rasthiyadu. I had finished breakfast in the kitchen (where I occasionally eat) and moved to the office room, while hearing snatches of the conversation from the trio, when the phone rang. I picked up my mug of tea and settling in the office room, picked up the phone. It was Koththamalli Fernando, the Kokatath Thailaya (oil for any ailments) expert who has a remedy for any issue, also wanting to discuss the coronavirus. I assumed he wanted to say that herbal medicine can find a cure for the virus. This coronavirus is increasing though in Sri Lanka we have been able to contain it with just one case, he said. Thats correct. To some extent our authorities have been able to spread the message on how to avoid catching the infection, I said, asking: Do you think our vedamahattayas will be able to find a cure for this? I am not very sure, he said, one of the few occasions where he didnt have a remedy or profess to have one for an ailment. We need to look at first whether western medicine research has found a cure, he added. While conversing with him, my mind slipped back to the various developments this week pertaining to the coronavirus, its impact on Sri Lankans and the business and economic impact. An opinion poll by the Business Times (see Page 1) showed that while most people felt the health authorities were adequately dealing with the situation, they were not convinced that there was sufficient awareness about how to stay safe and not get infected. To another question whether there are adequate precautions at the air and sea ports, the response was mixed with only 32 per cent saying there were adequate measures taken. On the business impact, a Ceylon Chamber of Commerce poll on the issue found that the coronavirus outbreak is likely to have a greater global impact than the SARS outbreak in 2002-03 In the chamber poll, nearly 50 per cent said businesses have been affected. On the tourism front, the regular inflow of 25,000-30,000 Chinese tourists per month has reduced to a trickle affecting hotels in Sri Lanka. China is Sri Lankas third largest source market. Being one of the key suppliers of accessories to the garments industry, the local apparel sector was also struggling to find alternative sources, as supply from China had been affected. Furthermore, online sales had been affected for computer parts and other electronic equipment as China is one of the biggest suppliers to online retail platforms. Globally, travel is taking a beating with airlines in the Asia Pacific region either cutting down flights or considering this measure due to the sharp fall in overseas travel by the Chinese and also visitors into China. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) on Thursday announced that its initial assessment of the impact of the coronavirus 2019 outbreak shows a potential 13 per cent full-year loss of passenger demand for carriers in the Asia-Pacific region. It said the net impact will be an 8.2 per cent full-year contraction compared to 2019 demand levels. In this scenario, that would translate into a US$27.8 billion revenue loss in 2020 for carriers in the Asia-Pacific region the bulk of which would be borne by carriers registered in China, with $12.8 billion lost in the China domestic market alone, the organisation said. Back to the conversation with Koththamalli, I told him that one of the respondents in the Business Times poll had said that while a lot of attention has been paid to the coronavirus, there are other ailments like dengue which have taken lives and made people ill, which have not got the attention they deserve. The problem is that in the case of the coronavirus, we are dealing with a virus that crosses borders and has bigger implications for Sri Lanka than any other disease, he said. You may be right, I replied. For Sri Lanka, the biggest blow was to tourism which had just been recovering from the devastating effects of the Easter Sunday bombings in April last year. Tourism was gradually recovering and hotels were preparing for a better summer, when it was hit again by the coronavirus, I said. Cruise tourism has also been badly dented. Many ships call over at the Colombo port where passengers generally have a days city tour of Colombo. Thousands have been quarantined off the coast of Japan on board the Diamond Princess, after the virus was detected in someone whod disembarked. Passengers have not been allowed to leave the ship, with over 600 people passengers and crew ill, while two passengers have died. In Singapore, some cruise operators have suspended cruises and offering to postpone bookings or refund the entire fee paid by passengers. Concluding the conversation with Koththamalli, I look at my mug and find I have drunk all the tea, wishing for more. As if reading my thoughts, Kussi Amma Sera walks in with another mug of tea, saying: Corona virus gataluva ikmanin visadai kiyala mama balaporottu venawa (I hope the coronavirus problem will be solved soon). Taking a sip of tea, I nodded my head, reflecting on how Sri Lankas economic future revolves around global trade and global implications now affected by the twin impacts on tourism from the Easter Sunday bombings and the coronavirus. China slowdown shakes local apparel industry By Sunimalee Dias View(s): View(s): The apparel industry is facing a crisis as Sri Lankan factories are looking at the possibility of reducing work times and contemplating shutting down until China resumes operations. The coronavirus outbreak in China has led to a number of cities being quarantined and causing concern among firms globally as the country is one of the largest supplier of accessories and fabric used in the manufacture of apparel wear. Sri Lanka Apparel Exporters Association (SLAEA) Chairman Rehan Lakahny told the Business Times that due to uncertainty of when China would come out of its current epidemic the apparel industry in Sri Lanka will be impacted with some factories likely to close their operations for some time or reduce their working hours if the situation continues and depending on the demand from each factory here. While some factories in China are still not in operation and there are likely to be delays, some shipments were missed since even once they resume work most staff is not allowed to report to work with some factories working on reduced number of days and Chinese authorities also keeping a check on people going back to work. So factories are finding it difficult to start work and get their staff back from other provinces as well, reports stated. It is believed that delays and low staffed factories are likely to create further impacts on the apparel industry in Sri Lanka and globally. According to the World Trade Organization (WTO) data, 37.6 per cent of world textile exports in 2018 came from China a record high with the country supplying almost two-thirds of the textiles used by manufacturers across South East Asia. He noted that immediate requirements up to June would be hard to be channelled from other markets. However, in the long term we are all looking at different avenues but it depends on how long this problem goes on. Currently most manufacturers are in search of other sources of buying raw materials and accessories but China still is competitive compared to even India. Within two weeks the situation is likely to become more serious as the local apparel industry is looking at taking their own measures to mitigate the problems they face. Dedicated freight corridor is expected to bring down the freight charges by 50 per cent when it will become operational in 2021, a top DFCCIL official has said. Dedicated freight corridor project is part of the Golden Quadrilateral connecting New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. The haulage charges on Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Ltd network will be 50 per cent lower compared to the freight tariff in the Indian Railways (IRs), DFCCIL MD Anurag Sachan told media during a two-day construction site visit of Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC) here. "We will be running all the trains at 100 kilometres per hour (kmph) on a fully automated signal system, so the haulage charges compared to the IRs will be very less. It will be 50 per cent. We will be running 120 trains each way a day with total carrying capacity of 13,000 tonne. So, we will not let this capacity to be under utilised," Sachan said. The corporation is in talks with the Ministry of Railways that some part of lower freight charges should be passed on to the customers, he said. However, he clarified that it will be on the regulatory body for the sector to fix the charges. "As so much capacity is being created and so as per the concession agreement with the Indian Railways, we will also allow private players to come and run their own trains. There will be a regulatory body, like in the developed countries, and there will be a non-discriminatory access to these private players to operate. So, there will be a very fair competition between private players and the Indian Railways. "They will be at par. So, I am sure that with these kind of transparency, the freight charges will come down," Sachan said. Notably, the bulk of goods is being carried via roads in India as it is faster as well as cheaper than the railways. Over the past many decades since 1950s, the Indian Railways has been losing market share to road transport because of inadequate infrastructure and poor services. As on date, 90 per cent of India's passenger traffic and 65 per cent of its freight use road transport and these shares are growing, as per DFCCIL. The corporation, a public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Railways, is currently engaged in constructing the EDFC and the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor ((WDFC). EDFC will cover a length of over 1,800 kilometre between Ludhiana to Kolkata, while WDFC will ply between Dadri and JNPT port in Mumbai (1500 km). The two corridors are expected to be completed by December 2021 and once fully operational they are expected to take over a bulk of freight traffic from the Indian Railways and thus help in making the passenger traffic more efficient and smooth. The two corridors with an expected cost of Rs 81,000 crore (USD 12 billion) are being partly funded by the World Bank (eastern lane) and Japanese government's investment arm JICA (western lane). Sachan said DFCCIL has spent around Rs 34,000 crore on this project in the last six years. "The government has taken a priority for this project and the project is being monitored by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and the Prime Minister himself...World Bank is also monitoring us. So, everybody is trying that this project should be completed as earliest as possible," he said. The portions which have been completed along these corridors are already being operationalised for the automated running system. The operation control center (OCC) at Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh will be the command centre for the entire route of EDFC. Equipped with first of its kind Integrated Train Management System (TMS) and Supervisory, Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) System in India, it is built on ICONIS (Integrated Control and Information System) platform. Sachan said the corporation has written to the PMO to invite Prime Minister Narendra Modi to inaugurate this control centre when he visits Prayagraj later this month. This centre hosts a 90 metre long digital wall with officials monitoring it on a 247 basis to manage the automated goods trains running system. Sachan also said that DFCCIL will start survey of the remaining corridors of the Golden Quadrilateral, and begin work by the time the western and eastern corridors are completed by December 2021. "The government, after seeing the progress on these two corridors, have decided that it is the right time that we should plan to take up the future corridors so that by the time we finish these in two years, these corridors are also planned for execution," he said. Three more corridors are lined up -- East Coast corridor from Kharagpur to Vijaywada (about 1,000 kilometres); South-East to West corridor from Bhusawal to Dhankuni (near Kolkata) and North South sub-corridor from Vijaywada to Itarsi (in Madhya Pradesh). The total length of these three corridors is about 4,000 kilometres. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The budget session of both houses of the Bihar legislature is likely to begin on a stormy note on Monday, as the opposition gears up to corner the state government on a host of issues, including law and order and wages of contractual teachers. The five-week long session will have a total of 22 sittings during which the Nitish Kumar government is scheduled to present the state budget for 2020-21, apart from other legislations. There will be a recess on account of Holi between March 9 and 13. The budget session will begin with the governor's address to joint sittings of both the Houses. "We will focus attention on the government's failure in controlling law and order, which is evident from the sharp rise in incidents of loot, murder and rape," Senior RJD leader and MLA Bhai Virendra said. "We will also raise the issues of unemployment, migration, equal pay-for-equal work of contractual teachers who have been agitating for their demands. Different scams in which the state government has been mired in would also be highlighted," he said. Virendra urged the opposition parties to put a strong and united voice. Congress chief whip Rajesh Kumar said the party will raise the issues of CAA and reservation for the backward classes. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Famous Gujarati delicacy 'khaman' has made its way into the menu of the high tea to be offered to US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania during their brief visit to Sabarmati Ashram here on Monday. Apart from khaman, the VVIPs from the US and their delegation will be offered broccoli and corn samosa, apple pie, kaju katli and a variety of teas to choose from, said chef Suresh Khanna of Ahmedabad's Fortune Landmark Hotel. Khanna, a celebrity chef, has been given the task of preparing food for Trump and his delegation during their visit to the Sabarmati Ashram on Monday afternoon. "Tomorrow is an important day for all of us at Fortune Landmark Hotel. We have prepared a high tea menu for them. Khaman is a famous Gujarati delicacy. We will prepare light steam khaman for Donald Trump," Khanna told reporters here. "Other items include apple pie, broccoli and corn samosa, kaju katli and different types of tea, such as green and lemon tea," he added. Trump, after his arrival here from Washington on Monday afternoon, will visit the Ashram, also known as Gandhi Ashram, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Ashram trustees have informed the media that Trump and Modi would spend around 15 minutes there before proceeding to the 'Namaste Trump' event at Motera Stadium. Trump would leave for Agra at around 3.30 pm. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Meanwhile, Kashmir, which we rightly believe is nobodys business, appears to be becoming everybodys business. In Davos, with Imran Khan by his side, President Trump volunteered not for the first time to mediate between India and Pakistan. What Trump will say during his much-publicised visit is anybodys guess. Kashmir, like the Internet, has been mostly in silent mode since August 5. The quietude could be deceptive. It is never easy to decipher the Kashmiri mind. Kashmiri duality has been both a liability and an asset. After August 5, it has kept everybody befuddled. Sometimes nothing needs to be done; you just live through it, wait it out. The winter in any event is a period of hibernation and this has been a particularly severe winter with an extended chillai kalan. At this stage we could claim that the security paradigm has succeeded but it shelf life has run out. If the Kashmiri is tired of mourning the demise of Article 370, Delhi too seems to be back to the mid-1990s. Militancy has not ended. Radicalisation is growing apace with hopelessness but the Islamic State, which is often talked about, is still alien to Kashmir. The J&K police, which knows best about the goings-on in the Valley, is no longer wholly trusted. Boys laugh at the constable, yet he is the only one who knows what they are up to. There is talk of infiltration of foreigners in the last six months, yet those killed in recent encounters have mostly been homegrown. What is the Jaish, the deadliest of foreign terrorist groups, up to? The security forces, as always, have done more than their job in Kashmir. Now it is up to the politicians, as our generals have repeatedly said. The Kashmiri is undoubtedly tired, castrated, beaten, desperately seeking normalcy. Much as he despises defeat, he is looking for a way out. In the hopelessness, he needs hope most of all. It is time to listen and to engage with the Kashmiri. Since the lockdown, an impression has gained currency that Delhi was set to demolish the Abdullah family. That would be easier said than done trying to wish away the National Conference as deeply etched in Kashmiri consciousness as Charar-e-Sharif, Shah-e-Hamdaan, Sahab and Hazratbal. As M.J. Akbar writes in Kashmir: Behind the Vale, Sheikh Abdullah was the greatest leader in modern Kashmir, without the force of whose personality and dedication to secularism, Kashmir would not have remained in India. On the Sheikhs passing, on September 8, 1982, a sea of Kashmiris choked the streets of Srinagar to catch a last glimpse of the Sher-e-Kashmir. Indira Gandhi and the director of the Intelligence Bureau, who had flown to Srinagar, had to travel by boat from the Centaur Hotel to Naseem Bagh near the Hazratbal mosque, Sheikhs final resting place. When the Sheikhs widow, Begum Akbar Jahan, or madre meharban, the benevolent mother, as she was called in Kashmir, passed away on July 11, 2000, her funeral was attended, among others, by Atal Behari Vajpayee, L.K. Advani and George Fernandes, a personal friend of Dr Farooq Abdullah. Where in the Valley will we find the Mahatma to replace Dr Farooq Abdullah and how would Atalji have reacted to the incarceration of his favourite Omar Abdullah, whom he desperately wanted to see chief minister in 2002? History cannot be distorted by cutting a couple of holidays. What history will record is that three generations of the Abdullah family that stood by India were in prison because of our prejudices. Nor will Vajpayee be easily forgotten in Kashmir. Like Banquos ghost, Vajpayee will haunt the policymakers of Kashmir for a long time. As the former, renowned Mossad chief, Efraim Halevy, said of the Hamas, the Kashmiri can neither be destroyed nor permanently contained. Engagement is the only way forward. Without politics and democracy, radicalism, the offshoot of frustration, will eat into Kashmir, particularly its youth. P.V. Narasimha Rao understood this when, with terrorism not fully subdued, he promised the sky to the Kashmiris to facilitate elections in J&K in 1996. Then too, Farooq Abdullah came to Delhis rescue. Mufti Mohammed Sayeed never tired of saying that there was no solution to Kashmir except Farooq. The Muftis refrain before he became chief minister in 2002 was that politics in Kashmir needed a level playing field. The playing field now is as bare as Mother Hubbards cupboard. The three former chief ministers who could possibly fill the void are all under detention and yet there appears to be a rush to the mainstream. In a vacuum everyone is a chief minister, or so they think. The Kashmiris are always ready to listen and engage. The separatists too, at least the Advani Hurriyat, so labelled in Kashmir because of their engagement with the former deputy prime minister in early 2004, need to seriously contemplate, if given another, last, chance, whether they would grab it or continue to look over their shoulder and be consigned to the dustbin of history. The magic of democracy is that hardliners get moderated and mainstreamed. Kashmir cannot be changed without compassion. It needs a sense of belonging and dignity. That is why we should also engage with Pakistan. Sudheendra Kulkarni, who visited Pakistan in December, wrote on his return that Pakistan was ready, more ready than ever before, for engagement with India. Imran Khan obviously wants peace but if people who visit Delhi via Islamabad and Rawalpindi are to be believed, then the generals too now want peace with India. Imran should not miss out on the invitation to visit India for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meet that may pave the way for the resumption of the Saarc summit. As the poet Wallace Stevens says, After the final no comes yes and on that yes the future depends. Meanwhile, Kashmir, which we rightly believe is nobodys business, appears to be becoming everybodys business. In Davos, with Imran Khan by his side, President Trump volunteered not for the first time to mediate between India and Pakistan. What Trump will say during his much-publicised visit is anybodys guess. Given his sense of self-importance, the Kashmiri always finds himself stranded at the crossroads. Even when it is time to look ahead, he will be harking back to the past and his litany of grievances. Despair, however, Noam Chomsky says, even in the most horrendous situations, is not an option. Kashmir has two choices; give up and wait for worse to follow, or grasp whatever opportunity comes its way. Our atoot ang is estranged. Friends are no longer what they used to be; at times, only familiarity remains. But Kashmir chose correctly in 1947 and will again, whenever tested. Kashmiriyat is not dead. Kashmiri goodness will prevail. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sun, February 23, 2020 12:51 689 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad20661422a 1 National Wuhan-coronavirus,Wuhan-coronavirus-Indonesia-zero-case,Wuhan-coronavirus-in-Indonesia,Japan,coronavirus,outbreak,hospital Free A Japanese man has tested positive for the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) shortly after returning from a visit to Indonesia, Japanese public broadcaster NHK has reported. According to the NHK report, the Tokyo metropolitan government announced on Saturday that the man, a Tokyo resident in his 60s, had been infected by the novel coronavirus. The man, a staff member of a senior care facility, visited a healthcare institution on Feb. 12 after he developed "cold-like symptoms", but returned home the same day because he was not diagnosed with pneumonia. He returned to work at the senior home on Feb. 13. He spent Feb. 14 at home and then reportedly traveled to Indonesia on a family vacation on Feb. 15. The NHK report did not specify the man's exact destination in Indonesia. The man was hospitalized upon his return to Japan on Feb. 19 for severe difficulty breathing, and is said to be in "serious condition". A press release from the Tokyo Novel Coronavirus Infectious Disease Control Center on the Tokyo metropolitan government's website states that a Tokyo resident in his 60s had tested positive for the disease and that the onset of his symptoms occurred on Feb. 12. The release, however, does not mention any travel history to Indonesia, saying only that the man had no travel history to China within 14 days prior to onset of symptoms. The patient's condition is listed as "serious". This case marks the second time a patient has tested positive for COVID-19 following a visit to Indonesia. The first, a Chinese man identified as Jin, tested positive for the disease earlier this month, eight days after returning from Bali. (kmt) By his visit to Italy, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev demonstrated the ability to pursue an independent policy for the development of friendly relations with the EU countries as well, famous Ukrainian economist, expert Alexander Okhrimenko told Trend. The expert noted that the state visit by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to Italy is a landmark event for both Azerbaijan and Italy. This will allow us to build another vector of European-Azerbaijani cooperation, pave a new route from Asia to Europe, Okhrimenko added. For Italian business, economic cooperation with Azerbaijan is beneficial, as oil supplies and diversification of their sources and routes are extremely important for this country. At the same time, Azerbaijans economic cooperation with Italy is a stable guaranteed income and the opportunity to develop new areas of business, such as agriculture, chemical industry and machine engineering. It is noteworthy that during his visit, President Ilham Aliyev met with representatives of Italian business, where they got the opportunity to learn directly from the leader of Azerbaijan what economic prospects open for them in his country and what ways of cooperation are possible to implement business plans, said the Ukrainian expert. In addition, Azerbaijan is the reliable and biggest supplier of oil for Italy, Okhrimenko added. Italy accounts for 17 percent of Azerbaijani crude oil, said the expert. If we include gas contracts, it becomes obvious that Europe, in particular Italy, sees Azerbaijan as a reliable partner, since it trusts its energy security to Baku. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, as part of his state visit to Italy, held official meetings with Italian President Sergio Mattarella - one on one and in expanded format. Azerbaijan and Italy signed 17 documents aimed at expanding bilateral cooperation in various fields. In particular, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and President of the Italian Council of Ministers Giuseppe Conte signed the Joint Declaration on Strengthening Multidimensional Strategic Partnership between Azerbaijan and Italy. Radioactive gas has been found inside more than 60 apartments at a public housing complex in Alabama, validating findings from a national investigation by The Oregonian/OregonLive exposing how federal and local housing officials have failed to protect low-income tenants. The Huntsville Housing Authority to this day has not told tenants that they are breathing high levels of radon. Some learned about their test results last week from reporters. Had you not come by, I would have never known, said one tenant, a mother, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal from housing officials. Its ridiculous, she added. Its unfair. And I just have to sit here breathing it in. The housing authority confirmed it failed to share its testing results with residents but said it has already begun repair work to lower radon levels in a handful of units. Officials also confirmed no other public housing developments have been tested. This is not something anyone can fix overnight, Sandra Eddlemon, the agencys executive director, wrote in an email. I will tell you that we are working with a contractor concerning mitigation and any vacant units testing above the acceptable level are not being filled. Eddlemon, who declined to be interviewed, said in a statement that officials did not want to alarm residents until a plan is in place to fix the problem. We feel it is important to inform them of the radon levels we found, but that it is equally important to let them know how we plan to address it for them, she wrote. What we dont want to do is incite fear with this information and not be able to present a resolution. Confirmation of widespread problems in Huntsville marks the latest development since publication of the newsrooms Cancer Cloud investigation in November. Twenty-five federal lawmakers, including presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren, have now called for action. President Donald Trumps budget proposal also includes $5 million for radon testing and mitigation in public housing. The testing that turned up alarming problems in Huntsville happened last fall, just weeks after the housing authority received inquiries from the newsroom during its investigation. The fact that Huntsville officials had documented proof of problems came to light only this month, when the newsroom obtained testing results in response to a public records request. The documents show that officials found high radon at Butler Terrace Addition in 66 of 108 tests, a startlingly high rate. In some units, the level of radioactivity detected was many times the amount set by federal standards. One of those apartments belongs to Latoya Jemes. This is a health hazard, Jemes said. I have three small kids. I hope they fix it soon or move us. Jemes apartment tested nearly 3 times the level that the federal government says should be fixed. She learned about her radon results from a reporter at AL.com, which partnered with The Oregonian/OregonLives investigation. They should be held responsible, Jemes said of the housing authority. We could get sick. Radon is a naturally occurring gas that seeps from the ground and can pool at high levels inside homes. It is the second-leading cause of lung cancer in America, estimated to kill 21,000 annually. Recognizing the threat, Congress in 1988 directed the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to protect public housing tenants from exposure. But HUD did not mandate testing by local housing authorities and waited until 2013 to begin encouraging it. The Oregonian/OregonLive surveyed 64 housing authorities across the country and found fewer than one-third could produce testing records. Among those was Huntsville, where officials said they tested for radon in the early 1990s and installed removal systems for units with problems. As part of the investigation, reporters from AL.com visited Butler Terrace and Butler Terrace Addition to conduct independent testing. Reporters recorded high levels in a sampling of seven units, and shared those results within two weeks with the tenants who remained at the complex. The Oregonian/OregonLive presented its findings with the housing authority on Sept. 19. Eddlemon, in her statement, questioned why The Oregonian/OregonLive didnt share its investigative findings earlier with the housing authority. Weve had about five months since we learned about it, and weve been steadily working with experts on testing and on ways to mitigate the radon levels for our families, she wrote. Just as it takes time to put together an investigative news story, it takes time for us to investigate and put a plan of action into place. When The Oregonian/OregonLive did share its results with Eddlemon last September, she did not respond to six emails, replying Oct. 7 only after a reporter started contacting board members. The housing authority also launched testing of 10 locations and confirmed high radioactivity in three, according to reports dated Oct. 10. Eddlemon at the time would not agree to be interviewed or answer written questions, including whether officials would test. Our residents are very important to us, she said in a brief statement after testing had secretly begun. Huntsville later completed an additional 98 tests, finding high radioactivity in 63, according to a Nov. 11 report. The highest test recorded radon at six times the federal action level. Eddlemon did not disclose those results when the newsroom again contacted her prior to publishing its yearlong investigation in November. Eddlemon did not respond to three inquires afterward about whether the housing authority was considering radon testing. Delvin Sullivan, chairman of the housing authoritys board of directors, told The Oregonian/OregonLive in December theres a lot of energy being put into this so these folks are safe. But Sullivan said he did not have details and referred questions to Eddlemon. Huntsvilles testing results should have prompted swift action, said Kyle Hoylman, a board member for the national radon-testing trade group, the American Association of Radon Scientists and Technologists. He said about half of the units in Huntsville produced high enough radon levels that typically warrant repairs automatically, without any need for further testing to corroborate the initial results, while others could be checked again. But Hoylman said that testing already should have happened. Certainly thats not something you want to see drug out over four, five, six months, he said of re-testing. Whats reasonable is typically four to six weeks. Reporters from The Oregonian/OregonLive and AL.com spoke with eight families this week who live in units with high radon. All but one requested anonymity for fear of being evicted for speaking out. I think its crap, said one woman. We have children who live out here. We have a right to know. Another woman said that the housing authority had told her shed get her test results back in two weeks. She didnt. If its going to make my kids sick, she said, something needs to be done. Eddlemon told The Oregonian/OregonLive that a contractor has already installed a ventilation system in one building but it lowered radon levels in only five of six units. The contractor is now working on a revised plan to reduce the levels in all of the apartments," she added. The Huntsville Housing Authority has proposed demolishing the complex that comprises Butler Terrace and Butler Terrace Addition, which together total 254 units. Officials recently received a $1.3 million grant to plan the redevelopment effort over the next three years, although its unclear when demolition might occur. The confirmation of high radon at Butler Terrace Addition also raises broader questions about the rest Huntsvilles public housing. Madison County is considered to be at high risk for indoor radon that exceeds the federal action level, according to data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Eddlemon, who is retiring from the housing authority March 2, said no steps have been taken to test other public housing complexes. After we address this immediate concern, we will want to look at all of our public housing apartments, she wrote. In order to test all of our properties in Huntsville, we will have to go through HUD budget and procurement processes. This all takes time. Residents who want to find out their results can contact reporters Brad Schmidt or Anna Claire Vollers. -- Brad Schmidt; bschmidt@oregonian.com; 503-294-7628; @_brad_schmidt -- Anna Claire Vollers; avollers@al.com; @acvollers US President Donald Trump will be embarking on his first official visit to India early next week. Accompanied by a ministerial delegation of officials, the visiting dignitary is expected to raise issues over religious freedom and recent developments in Kashmir. This is the eighth visit by a sitting US President and the ninth meeting between Modi and Trump. The duo had first met each other during the Prime Minister's first trip to the White House in June 2017 post the President assuming power earlier that year. Modi and Trump had then held an almost five-hour long bilateral conversation in a bid to forge a strong personal bond and advance a solid bilateral relationship. The visit was the first attempt on both sides that provided an opportunity to further strengthen the US-India strategic partnership. Within days, the two leaders once again met at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, in July 2017. The President had waved to Modi and then walked up to him for an "impromptu" chat after the summit. "In an impromptu interaction at G20 Summit, POTUS waves to the PM, walks to him, other leaders gather around. Gr8 moments," Arvind Panagariya, then India's Sherpa for G20 talks had tweeted. The two leaders then met on the margins of the 30th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit that took place on April 26-27, 2017, and then at the East Asia Summit in the Filipino capital of Manila in November 2017. Modi and Trump, along with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, had held a trilateral meeting and discussed the Indo-Pacific connectivity. The two leaders had met on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Argentina in 2018, Modi's last multilateral summit before the 2019 general elections. Amidst this, the US President had declined India's invitation to attend this year's Republic Day as the chief guest owing to scheduling issues. Since the Prime Minister's re-election in May last year, Modi and Trump have met four times so far. In a fifth meeting, Modi and Trump had also engaged bilaterally on the sidelines of G20 summit in Osaka in Japan, in June last year, within a month after the former secured a second five-year term in the Lok Sabha elections. The two leaders met again in Houston and then on the sidelines of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York last September. The previous two meetings of the duo were on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Japan and G-7 Summit in France this summer. The US President joined the Indian Prime Minister in Houston's NRG Stadium on September 22, 2019, to address the 'Howdy Modi' rally, a mega event that was attended by more than 50,000 Indian-Americans. In return, Trump now has been promised 'millions and millions of people' to greet him and the First Lady, Melania Trump in India. The visiting dignitary is also expected to attend an event at the Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad, named 'Namaste Trump,' on the lines of the 'Howdy Modi.' Following the event, both the leaders joined together to review a wide gamut of bilateral relations shared between the two democracies on "shared values, convergent interests and complementary strengths". Former India's ambassador to the US Harsh Vardhan Shringla had then said, "India-US strategic partnership has emerged as one of the key bilateral relationships from the start of this century and has the potential to become the defining partnership within this century." Modi had reiterated that India has taken a number of steps in this regard such as improving the business and investment climate. He repeated the same thing during his visit to Houston, where Indian companies are investing in the US. Tensions on the trade front between the two countries had emerged in June last year, after Trump revoked preferential trade privileges, in response to which India imposed tariffs on 28 US products, including almonds and apples. However, it should be noted that despite several meetings between the two sides in both India and the US trade negotiators of the two countries are yet to finalise on a deal even after 18 months. Even prior to Trump's upcoming visit to India, US administration officials have raised concerns over India's protectionist policy, adding that the "Make in India" campaign makes the discussion on trade difficult. Regarding his repeated offer of mediation on Kashmir, Trump had then noted that he believes Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan would "get along" and work out a peaceful solution to the recent disputes between New Delhi and Islamabad. Modi and Trump had held bilateral talks in Biarritz in France, on the sidelines of the 45th Group of Seven (G7) summit last year. The meeting assumed significance as both the two leaders had met for the first time since the abrogation of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution that provided special status to Jammu and Kashmir. The abortion of the former legislation became a bone of contention for Pakistan in the wake of which the country downgraded its diplomatic ties with India and expelled its envoy. "We spoke last night about Kashmir, Prime Minister really feels he has it under control. They speak with Pakistan and I am sure that they will be able to do something that will be very good," the US President had told reporters after his meeting with Modi when asked over his discussion about the regional situation post-New Delhi's decision. Therefore, Trump's upcoming visit to India, next week, will surely make Pakistan turn its head as the dignitary will arrive in South Asia but would not pay a visit to the Islamic country despite, time and again, spreading false narratives and trying to humiliate India on the global platform. It is to be seen how the US President take his relationship further with India amid New Delhi's contentions with Islamabad. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will have an extensive schedule for February 25 when they arrive in Delhi. According to sources, there will be multiple meetings and delegation-level talks apart from the exchange of agreements. On Friday, the Department of State, during a press briefing, said that the visit would focus on enhancing economic, energy, defense and security cooperation between the two countries. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Rotunda Rumblings Time keeps on slipping: Cleveland.coms Laura Hancock looked at several missed deadlines on key Ohio Statehouse bills, the most recent being the EdChoice voucher changes. For a decade, state lawmakers passed budgets within deadlines in the Ohio Constitution, but thats changed since Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder took over his chamber. Senators in the Keys: The committee meetings set to work out the difference between the Ohio House and Senate visions of the school voucher program has conflicted with a GOP Senate fundraiser in Key West, Florida, Hancock reports. Senators said their fundraiser was scheduled months ago and the House chose the conference committee schedule. Face lift: Attorney General Dave Yost has approved a $21.4 million overhaul of Ohios controversial facial-recognition program, which law enforcement uses to match pictures of suspects and missing persons with millions of drivers license and mug-shot photos. As cleveland.coms Jeremy Pelzer reports, Yost also released a list of recommended reforms to the program from a task force, which include limiting use of the database to state Bureau of Criminal Investigation officials. Early vote rare in primaries: Early voting began this week, but dont expect a lot of it for the Ohio primary. History tells us its rare. Just 17% of the primary ballots cast in the primary two years ago were absentee, and just 14% in the presidential primary four years ago, reports cleveland.coms Rich Exner. In comparison, absentee voting typically accounts for more than 30% of the general election ballots. Overall, early or on Election Day, 1.3 million Ohioans took part in the Democratic primary in 2016. Expect more than 5 million voters in the general election this fall. Check out: The Ohio House again has passed a resolution urging the federal government to end the requirement in Greater Cleveland that drivers there get E-checks for their vehicles. The resolutions sponsor, state Rep. Bill Roemer, said on the House floor Thursday that E-check is obsolete and burdensome for state drivers. Democrats who voted against the resolution said E-Check helps reduce emissions and comply with federal environmental regulations. The resolution passed the House 62-29 on Thursday, and now heads to the Senate for consideration. Fixed term: Its been a busy week in ballot-measure updates. First, as cleveland.coms Andrew Tobias reports, a campaign backing a constitutional amendment imposing lifetime term limits on state lawmakers filed paperwork with the state on Wednesday. Ohioans for Legislative Term Limits would allow lawmakers to serve up a total of 16 years in either chamber, but no more. If approved, it would have the interesting side effect of re-starting the clock at 16 years for any incumbent lawmakers elected in November. Waging a campaign: Backers of a proposed $13 minimum wage state ballot measure landed a key new supporter recently, Tobias writes. The Ohio AFL-CIO, the states largest organized labor group, recently began quietly supporting the measure, including asking its regional labor councils to circulate petitions. The campaign will need to line up as much labor support as it can get or find funding to collect the signatures needed to make the November ballot. Hurdle cleared: Attorney General Dave Yost on Thursday OKd summary language for a proposed constitutional amendment that would expand ballot access in Ohio, Tobias reports. The measure, which would mandate automated voter registration for anyone visiting the BMV, expanded early-voting days and allowing people to register to vote and cast a ballot in the same day, now is headed to the Ohio Ballot Board, the final step before backers can begin collecting signatures. Something to talk about: The latest episode of This Week in the CLE, cleveland.coms weekly news and analysis podcast, includes a discussion about Gov. Mike DeWine keeping his opinion of the death penalty to himself, the Mike Bloomberg campaign reaching out to Ohio voters through texts, and more. Give it a listen. Rick roll: Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum was in Ohio on Thursday to hobnob with Republican and conservative leaders. He was there to promote a family-leave plan backed by President Donald Trump, according to Aaron Baer, president of Citizens for Community Values, who hosted Santorum at an event in Cincinnati. Santorum also dropped in for a meeting of DeWines cabinet. DeWine and Santorum, both Republicans, served together in the Senate, and DeWine for a time endorsed Santorums 2012 run for president. A win for water: After years of rebuffing pressure to limit fertilizer and manure flowing into Lake Erie, Ohio will develop a Total Maximum Daily Load for phosphorus, which causes harmful algal blooms in the western basin, writes cleveland.coms Laura Johnston. The state will spend two to three years to develop an enforceable limit on the amount of phosphorus that can be dumped into the water. Less Wexner: Les Wexner, a Columbus-area billionaire and one of Ohios largest political donors, is stepping down as CEO and chairman of L Brands, which owns Victorias Secret and Bath and Body Works. Victorias Secret is being sold to a private equity firm. Wexner gave up his Republican Party membership after President Donald Trump said there were very fine people on both sides of the Charlottesville confrontation between white supremacists and protesters. However, Wexner took a lot of criticism for his once close relationship with dead financier and accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, according to the New York Times. Jordan in Israel: On a visit to Israel this week, U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and toured Jerusalems Temple Mount with a former member of Israels Knesset who was later arrested, reports cleveland.coms Sabrina Eaton. The former Knesset member, Yehuda Glick, advocates for Christians and Jews to be allowed to pray at the Temple Mount, a holy site to both Muslims and Jews where only Muslims are currently permitted to pray. Media in Israel reported Glick was arrested after bringing Jordan and Johnson through the site, for being provocative, as the Jewish Telegraphic Agency put it, or walking too slow, as JewishPress.com reported. First black astronaut honored: Guion Bluford, a retired fighter pilot from Westlake who became the first black American in space, was awarded the Ohio Distinguished Service Medal by the governor on Thursday, Pelzer reports. Its the first time DeWine has presented the medal, Ohios highest non-combat award. Happening today: This afternoon, DeWine will sign House Bill 129, which makes it legal for motorcyclists to wear earphones or earplugs for hearing protection while riding, in a ceremonial event at the Statehouse. Buckeye Brain Tease Question: MLB VP and Ambassador for Inclusion Billy Bean spoke at the City Club recently. On what team did he briefly play with Billy Beane of Moneyball fame? Email your response to capitolletter@cleveland.com. The first correct respondent will be mentioned in next weeks newsletter. Thanks for responding to last weeks trivia question: What Northeast Ohio theater was built in the Spanish Baroque style, and has a ceiling painted to show a starry night with wisps of clouds? Answer: The Palace Theatre in Canton opened in 1926, originally as a vaudeville and movie house, and was designed to evoke a Spanish courtyard on a midsummer night. The theater fell to neglect in the 1960s and 1970s, but reopened in 1980, and $4 million has been poured into the building for its restoration. Today it hosts over 300 events a year. Capitol Letter readers Ryan Stubenrauch of Lewis Center and Tom Needles Whitehall were the first to send in the correct answer. On The Move Miranda Motter, CEO of the Ohio Association of Health Plans, has been named senior vice president of state affairs and policy for Americas Health Insurance Plans. The Ohio organization has begun a search for a new CEO. Birthdays Friday: State Rep. Jeff Crossman; Caleb Anderson, legislative aide to state Rep. D.J. Swearingen; David Tod, Ohios 25th governor (1805-1868) Saturday: State Rep. Juanita Brent; Matt Taylor, legislative aide to state Rep. Doug Green; Ohio Supreme Court Justice Pat DeWine Straight from the Source Today, Thursday, is special. Its not Tuesday on a Thursdayits 2s day on Thursday. And today02.20.20is doubly important because it is the 2nd day of early voting in Ohio. - A quirky fundraising email sent from Jennifer Brunner, a Democratic appeals court judge and former secretary of state whos running for Ohio Supreme Court this year. Capitol Letter is a daily briefing providing succinct, timely information for those who care deeply about the decisions made by state government. If you do not already subscribe, you can sign up here to get Capitol Letter in your email box each weekday for free. Biographer Brian Jay Jones showcases the life and work of Jim Henson, from his early television and commercials, through his work as an avant-garde filmmaker, documentarian and beyond. Acclaimed biographer Brian Jay Jones showcases the life and work of Jim Henson, from his early television and commercial work, through his work as an avant-garde filmmaker and documentarian, and into Sesame Street, Saturday Night Live, and The Muppet Show. Using a multi-media presentation, including rare video footage, Jones will explore films like The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth, as well as TV fare like The Storyteller and Fraggle Rock. Joneswho grew up in New Mexico and is a graduate of UNMwill provide some insight into Henson's little-known New Mexico connections. $5 additional special exhibit surcharge for The Jim Henson Exhibition: Imagination Unlimited applies. No surcharge for children 12 and under. Surcharge applies to all others, including members, and during free days and events at Albuquerque Museum. Three years ago, on the same day, we Indians lost one of the most iconic personalities of our film industry - Sridevi. Today marks the third death anniversary of the legendary actress, who breathed her last in Dubai owing to the accidental drowning in the bathtub. The actress was in Dubai to attend the wedding of her family member, Mohit Marwah. On her death anniversary, let's revisit her last Instagram post, which is all about 'family love'. In her last Instagram picture, Sridevi can be seen posing along with her family including her husband Boney Kapoor and younger daughter, Khushi Kapoor. They all can be seen decked up in traditional attires. The only missing factor in the picture is the presence of Janhvi Kapoor. You will be surprised to know that even though Sridevi's Instagram page in not active from the last two years, fans have left comments on her last post. Have a look at it below.. @mejaa.72: "Your memory is a treasure and you are missed beyond measure." @dmc9033: "Sri ji you will always be loved and missed, understand you better understand!! @lllx_2020: "She will never be forgotten.. She will always be remembered by those who loved her #ripsridevigaru... I truly loved her and still do!!!!" Remembering Sridevi: Here's The Top 5 Tamil Films Of The Veteran Actress Which You Shouldn't Miss! On a related note, in 2019, Boney Kapoor had opened up about Sridevi's death and had told a media portal, "She was dedication personified. I have worked with many actors and with due respect to all the actor that I have worked with, who were really hardworking, she was on a different level all together." He had further added, "She was a legend in her lifetime and she remains a legend after she has left us. She may have left for the world, but for me, for us, she is still around. She is wishing us well and taking care of us and is still around." Sridevi's last Bollywood film was Mom, which was released on July 7, 2017. However, she had a special appearance in Shah Rukh Khan's Zero, which was released in December, 2018. Even though Sridevi is not with us anymore, her films and memories will always be etched in our hearts. (Social media posts are unedited.) Online automobile marketplace Droom will pump in about USD 100 million (about Rs 718 crore) this year towards further strengthening its technology offerings, marketing and new initiatives, its founder and CEO Sandeep Aggarwal said. The company, which aims to touch USD 120 million (about Rs 862 crore) in net revenue by 2021, is also looking at expanding its international operations to six new markets including Indonesia, Vietnam and the UAE this year. "We have earmarked a capex (capital expenditure) of about USD 100 million this year. Of this, about USD 50 million will be towards marketing and promotion, USD 30 million for headcount and technology and roughly USD 20 million for new initiatives," Aggarwal told PTI. He added that the company has been working on keeping its cash burn low and is hopeful of also hitting profits by the end of the year. Aggarwal said the company has already established presence in three international markets and is looking at growing that further this year. Droom is looking at Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam in Southeast Asia and the UAE, Oman and Saudi Arabia in the Middle East. "While we are aggressively expanding our international presence, we are also deepening our presence within the India market as we believe this will continue to be the mainstay of our business. Less than 10 per cent of our revenues will come from international operations," he said. The company also plans to raise about USD 150 million before it launches an initial public offering (IPO) in 2021. It has so far raised close to USD 125 million in six rounds of funding from investors like Lightbox, Beenext, Beenos, Digital Garage, Toyota Tsusho Corporation, and Integrated Assets Management. Droom had clocked a gross merchandise value of USD 1.2 billion on its platform with a net revenue of USD 32 million in 2019. Its platform processed over 6.1 lakh orders last year. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Eric Adams, holding a picture of his late mother, is sworn in as New York mayor during the New Years celebration in Times Square. (Reuters) In his first 10 days, Eric Adams has veered between swagger and tragedy, praise and criticism, as he begins leading the nations largest city. So whos afraid of Donald Trump? View(s): What the hell is all this bloody nonsense, if youll pardon the lingo? Some chap called Marikkar who it is said is a UNP MP, has proposed a plan that should have US President Trump running for cover. After all what else could he do when such masterly ripostes are hurled at him by some chap he has not seen nor heard of and probably does not wish to despite all the crazy antics of good old Trump. It has all to do with the refusal of US entry visas to Sri Lankas army commander Lt. Gen Shavendra Silva and his family. Such is the state of journalism here that I have yet to read in the print media or hear on the electronic media- which appears to consider itself ready to provide master classes in television production and presentation to the world- what Shavendra Silvas travel was all about. Was he headed for the US on official business like participating at a military conference or seminar, on an invitation for multilateral discussions or was it a pure and simple holiday plan? The fact that his family was to accompany him suggests it was on holiday or some personal business. It is important to know for it gives a different complexion to this visa refusal affair. MP Marikkar-or better still Marikkar MP- has come up with a novel way of forcing Mr Trump to concede defeat and raise his hands above his head in abject surrender. Marikkar MP calls on all Sri Lankans-and patriotic ones at that-not to apply for visas to travel to the US until the Trump administration goes down on all fours and promptly issues entry visas to Silva and co. That would be a singular triumph for the patriotic forces that Marikkar wants to harness in his war against Trump. But there are a few problems that the ingenious and resourceful UNP politician appears not to have considered. All well and good if Marikkar MP can muster the forces that will drive the Trumpian hordes from the Washington swamps to the Pacific coast. In fact he can bombard the US 50th State with verbal missiles as the Japanese did with bombs during its sustained air attacks. But supposing, just supposing, that Twitter Trump is in no mood to appease some country that he cannot find on a world map. Imagine a brief encounter in The White House. Hey Lou, says Trump to an official about to be kicked-outlike dozens of his predecessors, come over here pronto. A minute passes and there is a knock on the Oval Office door. What the goddam hell is going on here? Where the hell on this globe is this godammed place called Sree Lanker. I would not know Mister President, replies the official. Then what the hell are you doing here? Does nobody in this place known anything any more? Go find somebody who knows for gods sake. Time passes and there is no sign of Lou. An exasperated Trump calls a senior official who is senior enough to know. Where the hell is that fellow Lou? Trump shouts into the phone He is looking for somebody who knows where Sree Lanker is, says the senior man. Has he found anybody? No Mr President, So what the hell is Lou doing? He handed in his resignation and last seen he was running to the exit. This place is becoming nuttier by the day. Maybe Ill just tweet some twit and see what happens. Mister President, if I might suggest, why not tweet that chap called Marikkar mentioned in the New York Times? Now it is not only fake news but fake trying to rouse the people. Let him sweat it out till climate change gets him, yells the president slamming the phone down. Meanwhile back in Colombo, Marikkar MP is besieged with emails, social media comments calling the politician all sorts of unsavoury names most printable of which are idiot, fool and other epithets that should keep him quiet until parliament is dissolved and he can quietly clear the garbage piled outside his doorstep by irate Sri Lankans who had been advised by Marikkar MP not to apply for visas. In one comment aimed at Marikkar, he was asked whether he had intended visiting the US and whether it was Shavendra Silva fiasco that has stopped him from applying for a visa. It is easy for him to say dont apply because he was going nowhere there. Can Marikkar show proof that he was planning to visit the US. If not how dare he asks others with genuine reasons to enter the US not to apply for permission to enter. Said another-I say Marikkar. If you are so concerned about the US denial of entry to Shavendra Silva why do you not go and lie opposite the US Embassy and fast to death, unto death or whatever suits the flavour of the month. Why, you could always count on Wee-mal of the loud- month brigade to join in the farce, sorry fast. He might not stay the course after all there is always the possibility that Trumps hamburgers might lure him away from this ham-fisted effort at free publicity. And if you need religious support there is always another parliamentary colleague Athureliye Rathana Thera who has some experience in fasting- unto- death though the theros efforts did not reach any tragic denouement. If Marikkar MP seriously believes and is not grandstanding that Donald Trump is going to change his mind and relax the visa restriction to permit Shavendra Silva and family entry he must surely be living in cuckooland. So if Marikkar MP wants Sri Lankans intending to visit the US for whatever reason to refrain from applying for entry visas then they would have to wait a long, long time. As for Marikkar it would not affect him the slightest if he has no intention of going there anyway. So who loses- not Marikkar but those who will foolishly accept his advise. Would it not be far better if Mr Marikkar turns his attention to settling internecine political war in the UNP rather than meddling in issues he knows little about. This battle over Shavendra Silva is nothing new. He ran into several problems when he was posted to Sri Lankas UN mission in New York with one particular blog called the Inner City Press targeting him. He was also targeted when he was ousted from one of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki moons special committees though he was appointed by the Asia-Pacific group. One thing to keep in mind-and a principle that Sri Lanka has fallen back on- is that it is the right of a sovereign nation to decide who should be permitted to enter a country, who should be allowed to stay and who should be refused entry. Maybe somebody could recall instances when Ceylon/Sri Lanka has turned down visa applications of others seeking to enter the country. Every day the British and other western embassies here refuse applications for visas. Mr Marikkar does not seem concerned about them. Maybe he should. "The reason why I always have the US in mind, even though Australia is home and the foundations are here, is because in Australia, it's so hard to build a great business," he says. In Australia, it's so hard to build a great business. [...] So if you build a brand here that people love, and you can be successful financially, you can go anywhere. Steven Marks "There's a small population, right, labour costs are so high, fresh fruit and veg is so expensive and rents are so high. So if you build a brand here that people love, and you can be successful financially, you can go anywhere. I truly believe that." Marks says labour costs are a major issue in Australia, with 10 staff full-time at Guzman y Gomez's head office of 100 just ensuring staff are paid correctly. "The labour laws here are so hard to interpret," he says, pointing to the collapse of celebrity chef George Calombaris' restaurant empire following staff underpayment. "All I know is 400 people have lost their jobs and that is not good," he says. "Calombaris, I don't know him, I don't know if he's a good guy or he's a bad guy, [...] but I think we have to do a better job." Marks says the issue is the complexity of the system and labour laws need to be updated to reflect a 24-7 economy. "The labour laws in Australia are so antiquated, it's all we talk about because it would absolutely kill me, like everything our guys have to be paid correctly," he says. "But to interpret it is so difficult, man that's all we do. I think some people are fraudulent but I think a lot aren't. And that's the problem." From street kid to hedge funds Marks describes himself as a "street kid" growing up in New York with a single mother who raised three boys. "My dad growing up was a pool hustler out of Miami Beach and he died homeless and a drug addict," he says. "So I've seen how bad life is." However with a mind for numbers Marks went to the prestigious Wharton business school at the University of Pennsylvania and got his start working for legendary hedge fund manager Steve Cohen, whose life proved the inspiration for the television series Billions. "I don't know anything else, I just know complete failure or success," Marks says. Marks and Hazan started Guzman y Gomez with their own savings and then brought in 10 shareholders including Peter Ritchie, the founder of McDonalds Australia, Guy Russo, former chief executive of McDonald's Australia, Kmart and Target, and former McDonald's executive Steve Jermyn, before attracting $44 million from private investment firm TDM Growth Partners in 2018. These experienced shareholders have helped Guzman y Gomez use franchising to achieve its fast growth. Franchisees pay up to $1 million to buy a Guzman y Gomez store and then ongoing fees of 8 per cent royalty and 3 per cent marketing. Aligned interests Marks says franchising has had a "bad rap" in Australia which has often been deserved with the parliamentary inquiry into franchising highlighting structural issues with the system. He claims Guzman y Gomez is different, with 30 company-owned stores ensuring the owners of the business have the same interests as the franchisees. "Be very wary of a franchise that don't own, doesn't have any corporate restaurants," he says. "We're growing our corporate restaurants. We don't take any rebates. I believe that anybody sort of buys into your dreams that you're accountable to making sure that they fulfil theirs." Russo, who also chairs the Guzman y Gomez board, was on board as soon as he met Marks. Loading "I fell in love with him and his food immediately," the fast food and retail veteran says. "I normally don't invest in startups but I thought this could be great for our grandchildren or we could lose all our money," he says. "I loved the food and I loved him, he had all the passion you wanted in an executive." Russo says it is "too early to call" whether Guzman y Gomez can succeed in the US. "I have a pretty philosophical view of overseas expansion because of McDonald's, which is open one shop and wait patiently to see if the customers love it, and if you can get the right economics out of the store," he says. Former McDonald's Australia, Target and Kmart chief executive Guy Russo is an investor in Guzman y Gomez and chairman of the board. Credit:Peter Braig All board members are unpaid and Russo is so enthusiastic about the business he was mopping the floors and taking a shift on the drive-through at Guzman y Gomez's Chicago store opening. "It's exciting to be part of the journey," Russo says. Investor Tom Cowan of TDM says Guzman y Gomez faces significant competition in the US from incumbent Mexican chains Chipotle and Taco Bell, which between them turn over more than $US10 billion ($13 billion) a year. "We think Guzman y Gomez has a far better customer experience both in terms of the quality of the food and also being able to deliver at speed," he says. "Ultimately if you have a better customer experience and the right management team you should be able to execute on that opportunity." Loading The next step for Guzman y Gomez is an initial public offering in two to three years, with Cowan describing the franchise as having "all the qualities required" for a successful IPO. "My dream as a kid was I always wanted to list the business," Marks says. "I want people to be able to own Guzman y Gomez, to have shares in something that they love. "I'm going to build the next McDonald's, I'm going to build the next Chipotle, and the team believes in it and I believe in it. I really want us to build the best restaurant company in the world and I want to change the way people eat." The reporter attended SuiteConnect in Sydney as a guest of NetSuite. From H-1B visas to trade, Congress throws questions at Modi before Trump visit India oi-PTI New Delhi, Feb 23: Ahead of US President Donald Trump's visit, the Congress on Sunday asked whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi would raise with him the issue of easing H-1B visas, restoration of GSP status and security concerns over Taliban. Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala asked why Prime Minister Modi is silent about "India First" as President Trump talked of "America First". He also asked whether Modi would ensure cheaper oil for India after it stopped buying oil from Iran in view of sanctions and if Indian steel exports would get a boost after India commits to USD 3 billion defence purchases. Trump shares edited Baahubali video, says look forward to being with my great friends in India "Trump Government's restrictive immigration policies have hit H-1B visas. Indians get 70 pc of 85000 H-1B Visas. "Now, Rejection Rate for India has increased from 6 pc in 2015 to 24 pc in 2019, especially for IT professionals. Post 10 million people gala event, Will PM Modi ask for easing H-1B visas," he asked on Twitter. Surjewala said as US prepares to sign a deal with Taliban on February 29, what about India's red lines. "Have we forgotten IC-814 hijacking and release of terrorist Masood Azhar in Kandhar, who's JeM then attacked Parliament and Pulwama? As gala bash unfolds, Will Modiji raise our National Security concerns," he said. The Congress leader said continuing since 1974, the US removed India from Duty Free Imports i.e GSP (generalised system of preferences) on 5 June, 2019. It has affected the USD 5.6 billion Indian exports to the US, especially gems, jewellery, rice, leather, he noted. "Post 'Howdy Modi' and 'Namaste Trump' gala events, Will PM ensure restoration of GSP status," he asked. NEWS AT NOON FEB 23rd, 2020 Surjewala said up till 2018, India imported 250 crore ton Crude Oil/month from Iran on Rupee payment, 90 days credit and doorstep delivery. The Modi government stopped buying cheaper Iran oil as per US sanctions that raised oil prices in India, he alleged. "As fest continues in Ahmedabad, Will Modiji secure cheaper oil for India," he asked. Trump visit wont benefit India says Swamy The Congress leader alleged that India's exports of USD 761 million of steel to the US fell by 50 pc to USD 372 million as the Trump Government hiked tariffs on import by 25 pc. "As India commits to USD 3 billion Defense purchases, why zero relief for India's export of steel? US President Trump is on a visit to India from February 24 and 25. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, February 23, 2020, 11:29 [IST] By Express News Service BENGALURU: Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday afternoon held a closed-door meeting with the police top brass including officials from the Intelligence department. Sources said that the minister told them to mandatorily do a background check of speakers at anti-CAA/NRC/NPR events and also get all details from the organisers before granting permission. The sources said the department, including the Intelligence officials, were reprimanded for not having prior information on who the guests were at AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owiasis recent event at Freedom Park where activist Amulya raised slogans hailing Pakistan. He has instructed all officers to ensure that such incidents do not occur, the sources said. Such instances send a wrong message about the security in the state and should be controlled at any cost, the minister is believed to have told the officers. The home minister also said that there are some people who are trying to influence the student community by visiting colleges and instigating them to speak against the NRC, NPR and CAA and also against the country, which needs to be curbed immediately. Speakers online accounts may be screened According to officials, he told them to track such organisations and also keep a list of organisers, attendees and also chief guests wherever anti-CAA events are held. Expressing unhappiness with City Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao, the minister reportedly asked, How many policemen were deployed at Freedom Park on that day? Werent the organisers questioned on who the guests were? Why wasnt the background of the people attending the event checked beforehand? A senior officer who attended the meeting said social media accounts and previous speeches of public speakers might also be monitored by the police. Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. 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Digital Editor Surging Democratic front-runner Bernie Sanders is leading the partys primary contests in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin, a new poll finds, while President Donald Trump is running neck-and-neck with almost all of the Democratic contenders in those critical battleground states. The poll, conducted before Sanders victory in the Nevada caucuses Saturday, suggests that only marginal differences separate the Democratic candidates when it comes to their strength against Trump. And it portends another general election that could be decided by a handful of votes in any one of those swing states. The poll found Trump trailing all the Democratic candidates in Michigan, but virtually tied with each of them in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. If the rest of the electoral map stays the same as in 2016, Democrats would need to win all three states to defeat Trump. All three states are up for grabs in 2020, said Barry Burden, director of the University of Wisconsin-Madisons Elections Research Center, which conducted the poll. Trump is in a more difficult position in Michigan than the other two states, but each of the Midwest battlegrounds could be won by either party, almost regardless of who becomes the Democratic nominee. The poll provides the second recent look at the states that, by tiny margins, sealed the 2016 election for Trump, after decades of voting Democratic in presidential races. A Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday also found Trump trailing the Democrats in Pennsylvania and Michigan, but ahead in Wisconsin. The states impact on the Democratic primary is less clear, because Wisconsin and Pennsylvania will vote relatively late in the process. But given the Keystone States size and its cache of delegates, it could play a major role in the primary if the race continues without a dominant leader. Pennsylvania primary: Sanders leads, Bloomberg rises Sanders, a Vermont senator who has had the strongest start in the primary, has support from 25% of Pennsylvania Democrats, while former Vice President Joe Biden is second, with 20%. Mike Bloomberg, the billionaire former New York mayor, is on his heels at 19%. Further back are Pete Buttigieg (12%), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (9%), and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (5%). That makes for the tightest Democratic race in any of the three battlegrounds, though with Pennsylvania voting April 28, theres also more time for shifts. READ MORE: Pennsylvania looks a lot like America. How come it doesnt have a bigger say in the 2020 primary? In Michigan, which will vote March 10, Sanders has 25% support among Democrats and Biden is next, with 16%. Sanders has his biggest lead in Wisconsin, where he has 30% support. Biden, Bloomberg, Buttigieg and Warren all have 12% or 13% there. Wisconsin will hold its primary April 7. Pennsylvania general election: A dead heat Decided by just 44,000 votes in 2016, Pennsylvania is looking at another narrow result in the general election, the University Wisconsin poll suggests. Sanders fares best against Trump in a hypothetical match-up there, leading 47% to 45% within the polls 3% to 4% margin of error. Biden leads Trump 46% to 45%, and every other Democrat is even with Trump in the Keystone State. About 45% of Pennsylvanians strongly or somewhat approve of Trumps job performance, and 52% somewhat or strongly disapprove. Those numbers were similar in Michigan and Wisconsin. Democrats lead Michigan, tight in Wisconsin Every Democrat leads Trump by 1 or 2 percentage points in Wisconsin, this poll found (a stark contrast from Quinnipiacs result). But thats a statistically insignificant lead. Democrats fare better in Michigan. Sanders leads Trump 48% to 41%, Buttigieg has a 6 percentage point edge on the president, and the rest of the Democrats lead by 3 to 4 percentage points. Trump won each of the three states by less than 1 percentage point in 2016. About 90% of voters who supported Trump in 2016 plan to vote for him again, the poll found. But those who didnt vote in 2016 favor Democrats by double-digit margins. Democratic differences The Democratic candidates show differing strengths. Sanders dominates with those aged 18 to 29, garnering 55% of their support. He has less than 9% support among those older than 65. Bloomberg narrowly leads that age group. Union members in the three states prefer Biden. He and Warren have more support in urban areas, while Buttigieg does best in small towns and rural regions. The poll was conducted Feb. 11-20, in the immediate aftermath of Sanders win in the New Hampshire primary. The poll surveyed 1,300 adults in Michigan, 1,300 in Pennsylvania, and 1,000 in Wisconsin. The analyses of the primary and general elections were based only on the responses of registered voters. The margin of error was 3 to 4 percentage points for full state results, though larger for smaller samples, such as the Democratic primary. The Kentucky House of Representatives approved a medical marijuana legalization bill on Thursday. The vote was 65 representatives in favor, with 30 against. The bill now goes to the state's Senate for approval; if it passes in that chamber and is signed by Governor Andy Beshear, it will become law. The news comes barely a week after the proposed law overwhelmingly passed in the House's judiciary committee. Meanwhile, a similar bill is also rapidly moving through the Alabama legislature. Both developments indicate a potential thaw in the approach of southern states to marijuana legalization. Unlike other regions in the U.S., no southern state permits both recreational and medical cannabis. In fact, three states in the region -- Alabama (at present), South Carolina, and Tennessee -- bar all forms of the drug, and have never decriminalized it. Even their first steps toward medical marijuana legalization seem tentative. Both Kentucky's and Alabama's bills are restrictive compared to medical cannabis laws that have been passed in other states. In Kentucky's case, prescriptions of the drug would be limited to a number of ailments determined by a state regulatory board. And like Alabama's bill, Kentucky's does not permit the sale of cannabis products that can be smoked. In the most likely scenario, big marijuana companies would try to crack the Kentucky market if the bill ultimately passes into law. Green Thumb Industries (OTC:GTBIF) and Cresco Labs (OTC:CRLBF) are both based in neighboring Illinois, and have enjoyed robust business in their home state. Making a push across the border would be a sensible move, although neither Green Thumb nor Cresco has indicated plans to do so. On Friday, Green Thumb stock dipped by 3%, while Cresco rose by slightly over 1%. The Most Rev. Dr. Andrew Fuanya Nkea, Archbishop of Bamenda Facebook The Most Reverend Dr. Andrew Fuanya Nkea has taken over canonical possession of the Metropolitan See of Bamenda. The ceremony took place Saturday, February 22, 2020 at the Saint Joseph's Metropolitan Cathedral in Bamenda. He succeeds Archbishop Cornelius Fontem Esua who officially begins his retirement this day. The solemn high mass was attended among others by His Grace Julio Murat, Apostolic Nuncio to Cameroon, over 10 Roman Catholic Bishops, Members of Government including Territorial Administration Minister Atanga Nji Paul and Minister Delegate Paul Tasong, as well as hundreds of priests and thousands of laity. Among other gifts, friends of Archbishop Andrew Nkea offered the man of God a brand new Land Cruiser VXR. The college of friends of Archbishop Nkea was led by Paul Tasong, Minister Delegate to the Minister of Economy, Planning and Regional Development. Pope Francis had on December 30, 2019 promoted the clergy known for his emphasis on family, community, and traditional values from Bishop to Archbishop. The Holy See Press Office confirmed that the pope has named Bishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya as the new Archbishop of Bamenda in Cameroon. Bishop Nkea, 54, has served as the Bishop of Mamfe, also in Cameroon, since 2014. He came to international attention during the 2018 meeting of the Synod of Bishops on young people, faith, and vocational discernment. In contrast to the situation in many European countries, Nkea said during the synod, the Church in Cameroon and in many parts of Africa is growing including among young peoples. My churches are all bursting, and I dont have space to keep the young people, said Nkea during a Vatican press conference in October last year. And my shortest Mass would be about two and a half hours. Bishop Nkea was born in 1965 and ordained a priest for the Diocese of Buea, Cameroon, in 1992, at the age of 26. In 2013, he was appointed as coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Mamfe, becoming the diocesan bishop the following year. Nkeas new see, Bamenda, was erected as a diocese in 1970 and elevated to a metropolitan archdiocese by St. John Paul II in 1982. In recent years, the archdiocese has shown clear signs of growth and evangelization. While the population of the archdiocese remained stable at 1.4 million people between 2015 and 2018, the percentage of Catholics rose from 29% to 42% during the same period. During the Synod on young people, Nkea credited the Churchs growth in Cameroon to the alignment between Church teaching and the values of Cameroonian society, and the strength of the family as a cultural institution. People ask me, Why are your churches full? Nkea said in 2018. Coming from Africa, the family is a very, very strong institution. We come from a culture in which tradition normally is handed from one generation to the other. Nkea has also spoken about the need for the Church to teach unambiguously on issues of morals and sexuality, remarking during the 2018 synod that he would not accept any usage of so-called LGBT terminology in Church documents because 99.9 percent of the young people in his diocese would stand at my door and say, 'What's this?' Our traditional values still equate to the values of the Church, and so we hand over the tradition to our young people undiluted and uncontaminated, he continued, noting that a strong sense of community in the Church is something very important that Europe can learn from Africa. In Africa, the new archbishop said, there's still a lot of things we do as community. That is the difference. What we are trying to do in these small Christian communities is to fight the in-creeping of individualism, he said. The police has provided round the clock security at the house of Amulya after an attack allegedly by Bajrang Dal, a pro-Hindu outfit. (Pic: Amulya Leona facebook page) CHIKKAMAGALURU/ Bengaluru: Oswald Noronha, father of activist Amulya Noronha, who is behind bars after she raised pro-Pakistan slogans at an anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) meeting in Bengaluru a few days ago, has been asked by Chikkamagaluru police in his hometown not to travel outside his native village, Shivapura, in Hirekodige gram panchayat of Koppa taluk as a precautionary measure. The police has provided round the clock security at the house of Amulya after an attack allegedly by Bajrang Dal, a pro-Hindu outfit. Police sources say that they will provide security to Noronha if he wants to move around for work. Im unfazed by the attack on my house, I am safe with police security provided to me, Oswald told Deccan Chronicle on Sunday. Meanwhile, residents at Shivapura expressed displeasure that Amulya had brought disrepute to the village with her pro-Pakistan sloganeering. We have maintained a distance from the Oswald family. The family too maintained a distance from the villagers, claimed a villager. Meanwhile, former Karnataka minister D.K. Shivakumar came out in support of Amulya. He reiterated, One should give her (Amulya) a fair chance, so that it becomes clear what she really wanted say or meant by making such a statement. We should not jump to a conclusion in her case so early, Gov. Phil Murphy announced Saturday he is being treated for what is most likely kidney cancer. Doctors who found a tumor during a routine CT scan have assured the governor they caught the illness early and are optimistic about his prognosis, Murphy said. The tumor in located on Murphys left kidney and measures 3 centimeters (1.1 inches), his office said. The governor said there is a 90 percent chance the mass is malignant (cancerous), leaving a 10 percent chance its benign. Either way, when Murphy undergoes surgery early next month, part of his left kidney will be removed a procedure also known as a partial nephrectomy. Assuming the 62-year old governors tumor is malignant, his physician says it is Stage T1a cancer. The T stands for tumor; the number 1 means it is the smallest size (under 7 cm); the "a" means it is has not spread outside the kidney. Murphy said doctors do not expect radiation or chemotherapy to be necessary, but he will be monitored closely for a recurrence. We consider ourselves incredibly fortunate, Murphy told NJ Advance Media during an interview alongside First Lady Tammy Murphy at their Middletown home on Saturday. Heres a quick primer on kidney cancer and what patients may encounter: Q: Where are the kidneys located and what functions do they perform? A: Kidneys are bean-shaped organs about the size of a fist, located in the abdomen and protected by the ribcage. They filter the blood removing excess water, salt and other substances and produce urine. Q: What are the warning signs of kidney cancer? A: Symptoms may not be evident early on and patients often find it undergoing an ultrasound or another diagnostic test for an unrelated reason. (This was true for Murphy.) The most common symptom is blood in the urine. Other symptoms may include persistent lower back pain, fatigue, weight loss, fever and swelling in the legs or ankles. Q: How many types of kidney cancer are there? A: The most common type is renal cell carcinoma, with cancer cells forming in the lining of the kidney and over time creating a tumor. There are five different renal cell carcinomas, although 80 percent of patients are diagnosed with clear cell carcinoma, which, like the name suggests, appears pale under a microscope. Patients may also be diagnosed with transitional cell carcinoma, located in the tubes that carry urine from the kidneys to the bladder, and renal sarcoma, found in the kidneys connective tissue. Q: What are the treatment options? A: Surgery is typical, but chemotherapy, radiation, targeted drug therapy and immunotherapy are among the options. Murphy said his surgery is expected to last a few hours and will involve doctors freezing his kidney to extract the tumor. The governor also said he will do a CAT scan in six months, another six months after that, and then in five years to monitor his recovery. Q: What is the survival rate for a patient with stage 1 kidney cancer? A: Patients with localized kidney cancer meaning it has not spread beyond the organ have a 93 percent chance of surviving at the five-year mark. Q: Who is most likely to get kidney cancer? A: People who smoke, are obese, have high blood pressure, are routinely exposed to chemicals such as asbestos and cadmium, or who have a family history of kidney cancers and specific kidney diseases are most at risk. The governor who is an avid runner said there is no history of cancer in his family of which he is aware. But, he noted, doctors said there may be a history he doesnt know about. The average age of a person diagnosed with kidney cancer is 64. The average age of a person who dies from kidney cancer is 71. Three-quarters of kidney cancers are diagnosed in people who are 55 or older, and men are twice as likely to develop the disease. More than 51,000 people in the nation are diagnosed with kidney cancer every year. SOURCES: Cancer Institute of New Jersey; Cancer Treatment Centers of America; New York Presbyterian Cancer Care; the medical journal, Urology; Memorial Sloane Kettering Cancer Center; American Cancer Society. Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. In case of bad weather, alternative landing for Air Force One carrying Trump to be Jaipur airport India oi-Madhuri Adnal Jaipur, Feb 23: A special aircraft of the US Army carrying top officials arrived on Saturday at Jaipur International Airport to take stock of security arrangements ahead of US President Donald Trump's visit to India, an airport official said. "The aircraft landed at the airport at 9 am and flew out at 11 am. US Embassy officials took stock of the security measures at the airport. There is no scheduled programme at the airport but precautionary measures are being taken," Jaipur International Airport Director J S Balhara said. Trump will be on a two-day visit to India from February 24 to 25 and Jaipur airport will be the first alternative for landing his aircraft in case of bad weather, the official said. NEWS AT NOON FEB 23rd, 2020 Air Force One is the official air traffic control call sign for a United States Air Force aircraft carrying the president of the United States. In common parlance, the term is used to denote U.S. Air Force aircraft modified and used to transport the president. The aircraft are prominent symbols of the American presidency and its power. Ben Affleck as Batman. Ben Affleck believes that Zack Snyders cut of the Justice League should be made available for the legions of DC fans that want to see the directors version of the blockbuster. I do think that movie, you know, having two directors is a very weird thing, admitted Affleck. And for Justice League, the director had a family tragedy. and so you have a kind of cows body with a horses head a little bit with two directors a lot of times, for better or for worse. I do think Zacks cut should be available. Read more: Affleck and Gadot call for Snyder cut of Justice League Affleck made this declaration to Cinema Blend, while he also took the time to explain why he decided to tweet out the hugely popular hashtag #ReleaseTheSnyderCut on November 17, 2019, alongside Wonder Woman Gal Gadot. I didnt know about it. Zack was like, Hey, they are doing this thing. And I said, Zack, I love you, and I support you. However I can help you. Director Zack Snyder poses as he arrives on the red carpet for the screening of the movie "Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice" in Mexico City, Mexico, March 19, 2016. REUTERS/Henry Romero Justice League fans have pined to see Snyders cut ever since it was announced that Joss Whedon was replacing Snyder as the director for the films reshoots. Snyder was unable to do so after the death of his daughter. Read More: Ben Affleck says alcohol battle brought with it the 'biggest regret' of his life When Justice League was eventually released, Snyder die-hards were so unimpressed by the result that they started an online movement calling for the 300 directors take on the film. Snyder has repeatedly added to this groundswell by releasing various behind the scenes images outlining his unseen vision for the film. Unfortunately for Snyder fans, Warner Bros are yet to announce whether or not they have any interest in actually releasing his cut of Justice League. Even before he was announced the winner in Nevada, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders was already shifting his attention to Super Tuesday and putting on a push to win Texas and San Antonio specifically. Were going to win the Democratic primary in Texas, the Vermont senator said to a roar from more than 3,000 people at the Cowboys Dancehall. The president gets very upset easily so dont tell him that were going to beat him here in Texas. Sanders said hes building a coalition that didnt just win Nevada but is going to sweep this country because voters are tired of President Donald Trumps politics. The American people are sick and tired of a president who lies all of the time, Sanders said. They are sick and tired of a corrupt administration. Sanders emphasized an agenda for working people and the middle class that includes a higher minimum wage, health care for all and elimination of student debt. All over this country, workers are sick and tired of earning starvation wages, Sanders said. You cant make it on 9 bucks an hour or 11 bucks an hour or 12 bucks an hour. Even though he was in Texas, Sanders did not hesitate to take on the issues of fossil fuels and gun control. Sanders said the nation has to move away from oil and gas and said he would fight for universal background checks and the end to the sale of assault-style weapons. If we stand together, we will not only defeat Trump, we will transform this country and create a government and an economy that works for all of us and not wealthy campaign contributors, Sanders said. Sanders earlier in the day hosted a rally in El Paso. Today, he was planning rallies for Houston and Austin. Democrat Karina Vigil, a San Antonio native who was attending her first Sanders rally, said shes convinced Sanders can win Texas. She said there is a lot of youthful energy behind Sanders in cities all over Texas, and thats going to be a big help on election day. Vigil said she knows a lot of people are worried that Sanders supporters wont back the eventual nominee if it is not him, but she said shes not one of those people. Im vote-blue-for-whoever wins, Vigil said. Jim Hightower, the former Texas Agriculture Commission who is helping Sanders in Texas, said Sanders has an advantage over the rest of the field in Texas because he essentially never stopped building in Texas after the 2016 campaign. He said since then, a group called Our Revolution formed that kept building a network of support for Sanders in the state. While some Democrats have worried about how Sanders call for Medicare for All and his climate change plans would affect the Texas oil industry, Hightower said they shouldnt be. He said the public wants and needs health care. Every man, woman and child would get health care, Hightower said. There is much deeper appeal for that than the intelligentsia wants to believe. On the oil industry, Hightower said Sanders has been calling for a gradual transition away from fossil fuels that would give workers a chance to move into other good-paying jobs. Bernie has said we cannot abandon these people, Hightower said. We need to train them for other jobs and help them with job placement. You have to create jobs with a future. Sanders is coming to Texas as new polls show him gaining steam here. In University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll conducted from Jan. 31 to Feb. 9, Sanders was winning the support of 24 percent of Democratic voters in the state. Biden was second at 22 percent. It was the first major poll of Texas voters in almost a year that didnt show Biden as the leader. Early voting in Texas runs through Friday. Feb. 28 The Democratic primary is March 3. An elderly security guard posted at a steel company in Kalamna area of the city was allegedly killed by unidentified persons, police said on Sunday. The incident occurred in the wee hours of Saturday, they said. "The deceased, identified as Namdeorao Bawne (69), was sitting on a chair at the company's gate when some unidentified persons came from behind and hit him on the head with an iron rod. He fell unconscious after that and the assailants fled from the spot," an official of Kalmna police station said. Some morning walkers later informed the police, they said. Police have questioned four other security guards posted at the company in this connection and also gone through the CCTV footage to identify the assailants. "The motive behind the assault is being ascertained," police said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A builder accused of drunkenly mowing down seven kids - killing four of them and leaving another critically injured - is set to be hit with more charges over the crash. Samuel William Davidson, 29, lost control of his Mitsubishi 4WD and mounted the kerb, ploughing into seven children who were on their way to buy an ice-cream in Oatlands, in Sydney's north-west on February 1. Antony, 13, Angelina, 12, and Sienna Abdallah, 8 and their cousin, 11-year-old Veronica Sakr were all killed and another 11-year-old boy is still suffering in hospital. Davidson received 20 charges including manslaughter and drink driving and police allege he was three times over the legal blood alcohol limit after the crash. Truck driver Samuel William Davidson, 29, has been charged with 20 offences including four counts of manslaughter and high range drink driving Antony (far left), 13, Angelina (far right), 12, and Sienna Abdallah (front left), 9, were killed in the horror accident His blood was tested last week and will be analysed by impairment expert Dr Judy Perl. It is likely Davidson will face drug driving after the tests are examined, according to a source close to the investigation, The Sunday Telegraph reported. Witnesses said he was driving erratically and had tried to overtake someone at a roundabout. Danny Abdallah who is the father to Antony, Angelina and Sienna has called for the NSW government to scrap the legal blood alcohol limit of 0.05. 'I'm a drinker, but I think the alcohol limit should be zero.' he previously told Daily Mail Australia. Davidson is likely to face more charges for driving under the influence of drugs after his blood tests are analysed 'I think you should just know that you can't have any, that you can only have water, so the temptation isn't there. 'People think 'I'll just have one more, I'll be all right' because they don't want to get a taxi or an Uber, or they've spent all their money on the night out. 'We have to do something.' Davidson was refused bail and will appear in court again on April 2. Danny Abdallah (pictured with wife Leila) is calling for NSW to scrap the legal blood alcohol limit of 0.05 The children were on their way to get ice-cream when Davidson ploughed into them on February 1 Vietnam could cease to have an operating train system in less than two weeks unless a funding issue at the Vietnam Railways Corporation (VNR) is resolved, an official has said. A railway worker in Thuan Bac district, south-central Ninh Thuan province. The stunning revelation came this week when Vu Anh Minh, Chairman of the VNR's Member Council, spoke at a meeting between the Governments working group and the Committee for Management of State Capital at Enterprises (CMSC). The railway operator hasn't received a single VND from the State since November 2018, when a change in how it was managed stopped the flow of cash, leaving the corporation without a budget for vital railway maintenance. The VNR used to be under the management of the Ministry of Transport but in November 2018, it was transferred to the CMSC, as part of efforts to separate State capital management from corporate administration. Before the transfer, annual budget estimates allocated to the VNR for maintenance work were made by the transport ministry, which can no longer allocate funding as it does not manage the VNR. However, the CMSC is also unable to approve the budget for the VNR as the railway law only allows it to monitor the use of the State budget for production and business purposes, not for asset management under which maintenance work for railways is categorised. The funding shortfall has left more than 11,000 railway workers unpaid since the beginning of this year. If the problem is still unresolved in early March, the corporation will have to halt train operation, Minh said. He said to make up for the budget shortage, maintenance companies under the VNR had advanced about 200 billion VND (8.7 million USD) to continue the work but these sources are limited. Despite the financial struggles, the VNR still ordered maintenance companies to continue working to ensure trains run safely, Dang Sy Manh, VNRs General Director told the Vietnam News Agency. The VNR had reported its problems to the CMSC, the Government and National Assembly Standing Committee to seek solutions, said Manh. The transport ministry has proposed taking back the VNR under its control to clear the confusion. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc asked the ministry and the CMSC to assess the proposal and report to the Government in early March. Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Ngoc Dong said the ministry had assigned consultant agencies to assess the pros and cons of re-transferring the VNR to the transport ministry. The VNR operates more than 1,500 crossroads with railway lines and on more than 3,000km of railway lines crossing 34 provinces and cities across the country. More than 7.6 million people used trains in the first 11 months of 2019./.VNS Gov't considers giving Vietnam Railways back to transport ministry Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has ordered an analysis on a proposal to move Vietnam Railways (VR) under the umbrella of the transport ministry following legal confusion that left the corporation with no budget for railway maintenance. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Tim Reid and Simon Lewis (Reuters) Las Vegas, United States Sun, February 23, 2020 08:42 689 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad20660b13b 2 World US,politics,Democratic-party,presidential-caucuses,Bernie-Sanders Free Bernie Sanders appeared headed to a decisive victory in the Democratic presidential caucuses in Nevada on Saturday, and early returns showed Joe Biden possibly landing a second-place finish that would give his struggling campaign new hope. Fox News and MSNBC projected Sanders as the winner in Nevada, where he was leading with more than 40 percent of the final round of popular votes with about 10 percent of precincts reported, four hours after the caucuses began. But there were long delays in the reporting of fresh results. The win in Nevada will further boost the front-running candidacy of Sanders, a United States senator from Vermont, after his strong showings in Iowa and New Hampshire earlier this month. He was buoyed by what entrance polls showed was strong support for a government-run Medicare for All healthcare plan like the one he has proposed. Biden, the former vice president, had been in desperate need of a strong showing after poor finishes in the first two contests. He was a distant second to Sanders with 19 percent of the vote with 10 percent of the precincts reported but ahead of former Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, in third with 17 percent. "The press is ready to declare people dead quickly, but were alive and were coming back and were gonna win," Biden told supporters in Las Vegas. Senator Elizabeth Warren was fourth with 11 percent in Nevada, where voters poured into more than 250 sites around the state to make their pick for a Democratic challenger to President Donald Trump in the Nov. 3 election. After a technical meltdown delayed results during the Iowa caucuses, Nevada Democratic Party officials promised that a revised reporting system using a telephone hotline and photos of caucus reporting sheets would ensure a smoother process. But precinct chairs at some caucuses reported long waits on the phone lines. Larry Van, a retired pharmacist who was the volunteer secretary at a precinct that went to Biden, said he called the phone number to report results eight times before he eventually got through. In the final result of a caucus at the famed Bellagio hotel on the Las Vegas strip, Sanders finished with 76 votes, Biden had 45 and no other candidate ended with a vote. Workers at the hotel, who are members of the Culinary Workers Union, streamed out of the caucus after backing Sanders despite their leadership expressing reservations about his healthcare plan. "I went for Bernie. I'm not big into politics, but I like the things he's going for: student loan debt, schools, free healthcare," said Aleiza Smith, 22, a housekeeper at the Bellagio. Four days of early voting in Nevada this week drew more than 75,000 Democrats, more than half first-time voters, putting the party in position to surpass the turnout record of 118,000 in 2008, when Barack Obama's candidacy electrified the party. But those early votes had to be counted along with those cast on Saturday, complicating the process. An entrance poll by the Edison Research agency showed six in 10 Nevada voters at the caucuses backed the Medicare for All proposal, a version of which is also supported by Warren. Six out of 10 caucus-goers wanted someone who can beat Trump more than someone who agrees with them on major issues, according to the poll. The entrance poll also showed that Sanders, a self-identified democratic socialist, may be expanding his appeal beyond his core base of supporters led by youth and Hispanics. Sanders was leading in Nevada across all age groups except for those older than 65. Around 54 percent of Latino voters said they backed him, while 24 percent of college-educated white women and 34 percent of those who have a union member in their families supported him. The Nevada caucuses came a day after news broke that Sanders had been briefed by US officials that Russia was trying to help his campaign as part of an effort to interfere with the 2020 presidential election. While Sanders' rivals tried to blunt his momentum in the caucuses, they each faced significant challenges of their own. Biden and Warren were looking to jump-start struggling campaigns after poor finishes in the first two states, while Buttigieg and Senator Amy Klobuchar are hoping to prove they can appeal to Nevada's more diverse electorate. Sanders spoke to about 2,000 people in Las Vegas on Friday night, revving up the crowd with vows to take on "the corporate elite" and the "whole damn 1 percent". Trump, who lost Nevada to Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016, tweeted on Saturday that he expected to win in Nevada in the general election in November and alluded to the reports that a Russian disinformation effort was supporting Sanders. At a Democratic debate in Nevada on Wednesday, candidates launched scathing attacks on Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire former mayor of New York City, who has been rising in the polls on the back of a self-funded advertising blitz but is not competing in Nevada. The next primary will be on Feb. 29 in South Carolina, followed by the Super Tuesday contests in 14 states on March 3 that pick more than one-third of the pledged delegates who will help select a Democratic nominee. Nevada is the first nominating state with a diverse population after contests in predominantly white Iowa and New Hampshire. Prince Andrew 'grinded against and groped' Virginia Roberts on Jeffrey Epstein's private Caribbean island, a witness has claimed. Steve Scully, 70, said he saw the Duke of York fooling around by the pool for several minutes with a bikini-clad blonde which he insists was sex slave Ms Roberts. Mr Scully, who maintained the internet and phone signal on Little St James for the billionaire paedophile, made the bombshell accusations in an interview with the Sun on Sunday. Andrew has strenuously denied Ms Roberts allegations that she was forced to have sex with him three times in 2001. Prince Andrew and Virginia Roberts, aged 17, in London. A witness has now claimed he saw the couple getting intimate on Jeffrey Epstein's private island Steve Scully, 70, said he saw the Duke of York fooling around by the pool on Little St James (pictured) for several minutes with a bikini-clad blonde he insists was sex slave Ms Roberts Ms Roberts - now known as Ms Giuffre - also claims she was coerced into having an orgy with Andrew on Epstein's luxury hideaway. It was on this sun-kissed bolthole where Mr Scully insists he saw Andrew and Ms Roberts getting intimate some time between 2001 and 2004. The father-of-three said: 'He was grabbing her ass and stuff like that. They were kissing. 'He was grinding against her and groping her.' As he watched the couple, Mr Scully said he was acutely aware how much younger the woman was, and that she 'stood like a kid would stand behind a parent' This made him feel uncomfortable as he believed their relationship 'wasn't appropriate'. Andrew's relationship with the now dead paedophile (pictured) has dogged the royal, 60, over the last 12 months Virginia Roberts holds a photo of herself at age 16, when she says Jeffrey Epstein began abusing her But Mr Scully also claimed that the woman believed to be Ms Roberts was not resisting the advances from Andrew, whose face was a picture of 'excitement'. The witness said he bumped into Andrew holding hands with the blonde, and even recalled his conversation with the royal. 'I said, "Your Highness," and he said, "No, it's Andrew". I said, "I'm sorry, I really didn't know how to address you",' according to the Sun on Sunday. Mr Scully, who lives on the nearby island of St Thomas and worked for Epstein between 1999 and 2006, said he would repeat his allegation in court under oath. Andrew's relationship with the now dead paedophile has dogged the royal, 60, over the last 12 months. Ms Roberts claims the prince abused her three times - once at Epstein's New York apartment, once in the Caribbean, and once at the London home of Ghislane Maxwell, Epstein's alleged madam. Speaking about her first alleged encounter with Andrew in London, she said she was taken to Tramp nightclub where she recalls dancing with the 'sweating' prince. After leaving the nightclub, Ms Roberts said: 'In the car Ghislaine tells me that I have to do for Andrew what I do for Jeffrey.' Her lawyer tonight described Mr Scully as a 'significant witness'. Andrew has been attacked by US attorneys for Epstein's alleged victims for not cooperating with the case. Earlier this week, a school bus urging him to comply drove outside Buckingham Palace. Buckingham Palace last night declined to comment. Channel Seven's brand new Big Brother Australia 2020 house is almost complete. On Saturday, a team of production staff were seen applying the final touches to the new purpose-built studio inside a warehouse at North Head Sanctuary, Manly. In Daily Mail Australia's exclusive pictures, the show's new eye logo has been erected on the front of the warehouse ahead of the highly-anticipated reboot. Coming soon! Channel Seven's brand new Big Brother Australia 2020 house is almost finished Over the weekend, workers were seen building a huge platform and small stage for housemates to enter the new studio. Several metallic circular arches line the platform for housemates to walk under. The purpose-built studio was a hive of activity, with lots of renovations happening. Finishing touches! On Saturday, a team of production staff were seen applying the final touches to the new purpose-built studio inside a warehouse at North Head Sanctuary, Manly Exciting! Workers were seen building a huge platform and small stage for housemates to enter Last week, photos obtained by fan website BehindBigBrother.com showed the complex with backyard area, a control room and communication tower. A note on the work site revealed that Amelia Fisk, who previously produced the series in 2006, will return as the shows executive producer. Filming in the state-of-the-art house is rumoured to begin next month. Revealed! Last week, photos obtained by fan website BehindBigBrother.com showed the complex with backyard area, a control room and communication tower Sonia Kruger has confirmed she will host the show following her return to Seven. Big space! Photos obtained by the fan website show a warehouse-like complex with backyard While chatting to The Kyle and Jackie O Show recently, the 54-year-old revealed she had only been asked to host the reality show just a few days earlier. 'Literally like last week [the network] said to me do we want you to host Big Brother. You could've knocked me over with a feather because I know there were a lot of people in the mix,' said Sonia. It is believed that the reboot will be pre-recorded, and aired later in the year. Big Brother was previously filmed in a $13million house and production facility at Gold Coast's Dreamworld, but the property was burned down by children in 2019. Production site: The construction area also features a control room Actors Ajay Devgn and Kajol celebrate their 21st wedding anniversary on Monday. The beloved Bollywood couple got married in 1999 and have been hilariously trolling each other ever since. Talking about how they met and fell in love, Kajol recently told Humans of Bombay she was talking about him behind his back when the first time she saw him. We met 25 years ago, on the sets of HulchulI was ready for the shot & asked, Wheres my hero? Someone pointed him outhe was broodily sitting in a corner. So 10 minutes before I met him, I bitched about him! We began talking on set & became friends, she said. Kajol and Ajay Devgn on their wedding day. Kajol added that they were both dating someone else at the time but things worked out. I was dating someone at the time and so was heIve even complained about my then boyfriend to him! Soon, we both broke up with our significant others, she added. Wed been dating for 4 years, when we decided to get married. His parents were on board, but my dad didnt talk to me for 4 days. He wanted me to focus on my career, but I was firm and he eventually came around, she said. Kajol and Ajay kept their marriage a secret and even gave the media a wrong address to keep them confused. The couple began a perfect life together and welcomed daughter Nysa and son Yug. Life with him is contentwere not too romantic or anythingwe care for each other. If Im thinking idiotic things, itll come out of my mouth without a filter and vice versa, she said about their marriage. Also read: Pawan & Pooja review: Deepti Naval-Mahesh Manjrekar liven up this series of urban love stories So on their anniversary, check out their most romantic Instagram posts about each other: Ajay and Kajol were recently seen together in Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior. While Ajay played Maratha warrior Taanaji Malusare, Kajol essays the role of his wife, Savitribai Malusare. Kajol will now be seen in multi-starrer film Devi. Sharing the films poster on Instagram, Ajay wrote that he was proud of her for doing the film. Women empowerment is not a statement for me. Its a way of life. So proud that Kajol is doing Devi, a sensitive film thats headed in the right direction, he captioned his post. Follow @htshowbiz for more For many, it's the biggest one-off tax slug they will pay. And it comes on top of many people's biggest financial outlay. It's that double whammy that has so many economists calling for the abolishment of stamp duty on homes. They have a point. While the rate varies, depending on house value and various concessions, a $750,000 purchase will set you back $40,000 in stamp duty. Hand over $1 million for a house, and expect to pay an extra $55,000 to the state government. Abolishing stamp duty would help more people enter the housing market. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer Two former federal treasury secretaries, Ken Henry and Martin Parkinson, are just the latest calling on the states to scrap stamp duty in favour of a broad-based and ongoing annual land tax. Existing homeowners would be exempt, as they have already contributed stamp duty. "Its a big obstacle for first home buyers saving for the deposit and then saving for the stamp duty, Its just nuts," Dr Henry said. Susan Martinelli Shea, the president and founder of Dancing with the Students, attended Shen Yun Performing Arts on Feb. 22, 2020 with Mark Murphy, an account executive with an international fragrance company. (NTD Television) PHILADELPHIAShen Yun Performing Arts inspired its Philadelphia audience with the grace and beauty of Chinese culture on Feb. 22, 2020, even as it left many lamenting the tragic fate of those traditions in the land where they originated. Merriam Theater was packed with people to take in the New York-based companys presentation of true Chinese culture, a performance based on the history, legends, and spiritual foundation of the worlds oldest continuous civilization. It was unbelievable. They did moves Ive never seen, said Susan Martinelli Shea, the president and founder of Dancing with the Students, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that teaches ballroom dancing, manners, and respect to inner-city students. I could not believe the height that the jumps got for the men and the women. It was flawless. It really was, she said. Wonderful, agreed her date, Mark Murphy, a musician who also works in the fragrance business. The movement was beautiful and fluid, but also very obviously challenging. And there wasnt one flaw. Is somebody falling? Please fall. No, they wont, because theyre inhuman, he said. A Performance of Sight and Sound Shen Yuns dancers are trained in classical Chinese dance, and also study the folk dances of Chinas various ethnicities. Their movements are backed up by a symphony orchestra that includes the addition of ancient Chinese instruments like the erhu and pipa for a sound that is both familiar and unique. The beauty that comes from the stage was really wonderful, very inspirational, said Murphy, who described Shen Yuns music as sometimes peaceful, sometimes energetic, and sometimes pensive. The orchestra was beautiful, and the music was wonderful, really enjoyed it, he said. It was a little emotional and really beautiful, added Shea. It was perfect. Shea said Shen Yuns effort to revive Chinese culture was a gift. Murphy agreed. I concur fully. It just nice to just witness the culture, this side of the culture, he said. Journalism professor David Mindich and gastroenterologist Patricia Kozuch enjoyed Shen Yun at the Merriam Theater in Philadelphia, on Feb. 22, 2020. (Frank Liang/The Epoch Times) Shen Yuns dancers made an impression on many in the audience with grand leaps, intricate choreography, and the tumbling moves that are distinct to classical Chinese dance. These jumping and tumbling techniques are more familiar to most people as acrobatics and gymnastics but actually originate in classical Chinese dance. David Mindich, a professor of journalism at Temple University, was particularly impressed by these movements. I thought the leaps were so acrobatic and the dance was beautiful, he said. The human body can do so many miraculous things and its very exciting to see all of the flips, the dancing, the storytellingits just very impressive. Its wonderful, he said. A Culture to Revive Shen Yun tours the world on a mission to revive 5,000 years of divinely inspired Chinese culture, a rich history that has been systematically suppressed in China proper because of the Chinese Communist Partys attempts to forcibly change the Chinese people. Some 60 million to 80 million Chinese people have died since 1949 due to the regimes attempts to restructure Chinese society and wipe out traditional beliefs. Mindich said the performance that evening helped to preserve Chinese traditions. I think in any culture you want to preserve all the traditions because it would be a shame to lose them. If you dont have performances like this, traditions can die out and the world becomes poorer, he said. His date, gastroenterologist Patricia Kozuch, director of the inflammatory bowel disease program at Jefferson University Hospitals, said she also enjoyed the performance. I think it evokes a lot of beauty, I think theres a peaceful quality to it as well, she said. The costumes and the background also were beautiful and how they integrate that into the show was interesting, she said. Keith and Lora Dutill both described Shen Yun as a performance of grace after seeing the performance at the Merriam Theater in Philadelphia on Feb. 22, 2020. (The Epoch Times) Keith Dutill, a trial lawyer with Stradley Ronan, summarized Shen Yun as Beauty, grace, and compassion. Its terrific. Ive never seen anything quite like it, said Dutill. He said Shen Yun conveyed a message that from faith comes beauty. Its tragic that the people of China are kept from experiencing it by the government, he said. Its apparent that the beauty of the dance comes from something within, it comes from a faith within, its something bigger than themselves. And that truth and beauty and goodness are all intertwined, theyre all wrapped together. Thats what theyre expressing from the dance, he said. He noted something of the resilience of such people in the performance. Theyre going to continue to live according to their convictions, notwithstanding of the dangers that it creates, he said. His wife, Lora Dutill appreciated the history presented in the performance and lamented the demise of traditional Chinese culture. I see how sad that it is that they cant continue to seek truth and beauty and goodness, she said. She summarized the performance as Grace, purity, goodness, and life. I love the colors, I love the balance between softness and strength, and I think its shown in their discipline, their self-discipline, and I would definitely recommend it, she said. Shen Yun is playing at Merriam Theater until March 1. With reporting by NTD Television and Frank Liang. 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. Forces loyal to Libyan eastern-based commander Khalifa Haftar said on Sunday they had killed 16 Turkish soldiers in recent weeks, a day after Turkey acknowledged it had lost several martyrs in combat in the north African country, Reuters reports. Khalid al-Mahjoub, a spokesman for Haftars self-styled Libya National Army (LNA), said the Turks were killed in the port city of Misrata, in battles in Tripoli and in the town of al-Falah south of the capital. Turkey backs Libyas internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) and has sent Syrian soldiers along with some of its own soldiers and weapons to help the Tripoli-based administration repel an attempt by the LNA to capture the city. Haftars forces are backed by the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, and have also had help from Russian mercenaries. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday acknowledged some Turkish losses in Libyas struggle. We are there (in Libya) with our (Turkish) soldiers and our teams from the Syrian National Army. We continue the struggle there. We have several martyrs. In return, however, we neutralized nearly a hundred (of Haftars) legionaries, Erdogan said. The Syrian National Army, also known as Free Syrian Army, is a Turkey-backed Syrian rebel group fighting against pro-Damascus forces in northern Syria, where 16 Turkish soldiers have been killed so far this month. By IANS NEW DELHI: Dreaded underworld don Ravi Pujari, operating from overseas, has been reportedly arrested in South Africa and efforts are on for his deportation to India. Pujari, who parted ways with underworld don Chhota Rajan, had jumped bail from Senegal, last year and had escaped to South Africa, where he was involved in big time drug trafficking and extortion racket. Sources in Indian Intelligence said that Ravi Pujari, who was hiding with a false identity of Anthony Fernandes, a Burkina Faso passport holder, was located in a remote village in South Africa. On a tip off from Indian external intelligence agency, the Senegal police air dashed South Africa last week. Pujari (52), wanted in over 200 cases of heinous crimes including murder and extortion, was detained with the help of South African agencies. Dreaded underworld don #RaviPujari, operating from overseas, has been reportedly arrested in #SouthAfrica and efforts are on for his deportation to #India. Photo: IANS pic.twitter.com/wSIz7eKVEj IANS Tweets (@ians_india) February 23, 2020 Sources in Mumbai Police said that Pujari's arrest has not yet been confirmed officially but Ministry of External Affairs is in touch with its mission in South Africa. An official in MEA refused to speak on the issue. Embassy of Senegal in Vasant Vihar, New Delhi, also did not respond to IANS' queries in connection with Pujari's arrest. The mafiaso first came into news in early 2000 when he started extorting huge amounts from famous Bollywood personalties and builders. He was involved in an attempt to murder case, aimed at killing a prominent lawyer of Mumbai. Pujari's wife Padma and three children also fled India and some of them hold Burkina Faso passport. His son who was recently married in Australia reportedly hold an Australian passport. Earlier last year Ravi Pujari, living under identity of Anthony had jumped bailed from a Senegal court through fraudulent means. IANS had accessed the don's new passport. Pujari now goes under the name of Anthony Fernandes and is a citizen of Burkina Faso, a West African country, his date of birth is shown as 25.1.1961. Pujari, a movie junkie influenced by Amitabh Bachchan's portrayal as Anthony Gonsalves in 'Amar Akbar Anthony' was using the name Anthony Fernandes. This passport was issued on 10.7.2013 and is valid till 8.7.2023. The passport showed his profession as Agent Commercial which means that he is designated as a businessman running a chain of restaurants Namaste India in Senegal, Burkina Faso and neighbouring countries. Pujari's lawyers in Senegal had argued in the court citing that he is Anthony Fernandes, a businessmen from Burkina Faso as mentioned in his passport and not a fugitive as claimed by the Indian Government. Clearly indicating a collusion between top government functionaries of Burkina Faso and Pujari in which an influential Indian businessman, who is his partner in a restaurant chain, may have played a role of conduit. New Delhi, Feb 23 : Dreaded underworld don Ravi Pujari, operating from overseas, has been reportedly arrested in South Africa and efforts are on for his deportation to India. Pujari, who parted ways with underworld don Chhota Rajan, had jumped bail from Senegal, last year and had escaped to South Africa, where he was involved in big time drug trafficking and extortion racket. Sources in Indian Intelligence said that Ravi Pujari, who was hiding with a false identity of Anthony Fernandes, a Burkina Faso passport holder, was located in a remote village in South Africa. On a tip off from Indian external intelligence agency, the Senegal police air dashed South Africa last week. Pujari, 52, wanted in over 200 cases of heinous crimes, including murder and extortion, was detained with the help of South African agencies. Sources in Mumbai Police said that Pujari's arrest has not yet been confirmed officially but Ministry of External Affairs is in touch with its mission in South Africa. An official in MEA refused to speak on the issue. Embassy of Senegal in Vasant Vihar, New Delhi, also did not respond to IANS' queries in connection with Pujari's arrest. The mafiaso first came into news in early 2000 when he started extorting huge amounts from famous Bollywood personalties and builders. He was involved in an attempt to murder case, aimed at killing a prominent lawyer of Mumbai. Pujari's wife Padma and three children also fled India and some of them hold Burkina Faso passport. His son who was recently married in Australia reportedly hold an Australian passport. Earlier last year Ravi Pujari, living under identity of Anthony had jumped bailed from a Senegal court through fraudulent means. IANS had accessed the don's new passport. Pujari now goes under the name of Anthony Fernandes and is a citizen of Burkina Faso, a West African country, his date of birth is shown as 25.1.1961. Pujari, a movie junkie influenced by Amitabh Bachchan's portrayal as Anthony Gonsalves in 'Amar Akbar Anthony' was using the name Anthony Fernandes. This passport was issued on 10.7.2013 and is valid till 8.7.2023. The passport showed his profession as Agent Commercial which means that he is designated as a businessman running a chain of restaurants Namaste India in Senegal, Burkina Faso and neighbouring countries. Pujari's lawyers in Senegal had argued in the court citing that he is Anthony Fernandes, a businessmen from Burkina Faso as mentioned in his passport and not a fugitive as claimed by the Indian Government. Clearly indicating a collusion between top government functionaries of Burkina Faso and Pujari in which an influential Indian businessman, who is his partner in a restaurant chain, may have played a role of conduit. A 2-year-old girl fell into a septic tank at a Texas recreational vehicle park Wednesday evening, spurring a frantic but unsuccessful effort to rescue her, authorities said. The Rockport Volunteer Fire Department said firefighters were dispatched to Paradise Lagoons RV park in Aransas Pass, Texas, around 5:30 p.m. for a child who had fallen into a septic tank. Firefighters found the girl in the water about 15 feet below ground, the department said in a statement. Bystanders in the park had tried and failed to rescue the child, and emergency crews made several urgent attempts to get to her as well, assisted by civilians using shovels and backhoes, the department said. The city of Rockport also used heavy equipment to try to assist emergency crews. About an hour after emergency crews arrived, a firefighter was lowered into the tank and reached the child with assistance from the Ingleside Volunteer Fire Department's specialized rope rescue team, the Rockport Fire Department said. The girl had been underwater for a significant period of time, the department said, and had died by the time firefighters removed her from the septic tank. The family identified the girl as 2-year-old Charleigh Nicole Nelson, according to CNN affiliate KRIS. "This is a terrible tragedy for the family of this child, her neighbors who witnessed the event, and all of the 1st responders who assisted in the recovery," said Rockport Volunteer Fire Department spokeswoman Gillian Cox. "Although an unbelievably heartbreaking outcome, we wish to recognize there was an amazing team effort with the coordination of recovery by all first responding agencies including the Aransas County dispatchers and the nearby civilians who responded to assist." Here is the official schedule of United States President Donald Trump's engagements in India as issued by the Ministry of External Affairs. IMAGE: Children make paintings ahead of US President Donald Trumps maiden India visit, in Mumbai, on Sunday. Photograph: Mitesh Bhuvad/PTI Photo Monday, February 24 11.40 am: President Donald Trump to arrive at Sardar Vallabhbhai International Airport, Ahmedabad 12.15 pm: Sabarmati Ashram (Ahmedabad) 01.05 pm: Namaste Trump Event at Motera Stadium 03.30 pm: Emplane for Agra 04.45 pm: Arrival at Agra 05.15 pm: Visit to Taj Mahal 06.45 pm: Emplane for Delhi 07.30 pm: Arrive at Delhi Tuesday, February 25 10 am: Ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan 10.30 am: Wreath laying at the samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat 11 am: Meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Hyderabad House 12.40 pm: Exchange of Agreements/ Press Statement at Hyderabad House 07.30 pm: Meeting with President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan 10 pm: Departure. The number of people infected with coronavirus in Italy has gone up to 79, Sputnik reported citing authorities. Italy reported a rapid rise in coronavirus cases on Saturday after dozens tested positive in two northern regions. In the past two days, 62 coronavirus cases have been registered in Italy. Italy reported the first death from coronavirus on Friday in Veneto region. A 78-year-old man died from respiratory complications. He is known to have had dinner this month with a friend who had returned from a trip to China. The deadly coronavirus first originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan and has since then killed more than 2,200 people in that country alone, while cases have been reported 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.) In Coronavirus Epicenter of Wuhan, Man Jumps to His Death After Failing to Get Treatment A 70-year man infected with the novel coronavirus jumped to his death in the city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, after local officials refused to send him to a hospital for treatment. The mans wife, a 68-year-woman surnamed Cheng, said her husband jumped from the ninth floor of their apartment building in the Qiaokou district at about 2 p.m. local time on Feb. 10. I had just laid down to [take a rest] when I heard a loud bang. I got up immediately, Cheng told the Chinese-language Epoch Times. I didnt know he would do something stupid. He could hardly walk. He used a stick to get on top of a stool before jumping from the ninth floor. Her husband was a hemodialysis patient and needed to go to the hospital for treatment three times a week, she said. During one of his trips to the hospital, according to Cheng, he was infected with the virus; she said she was eventually infected as well. Cheng said she took him to at least two different hospitals on Jan. 27, but both refused to attend to him, claiming that they had no capacity to treat him at the time. They reached out to the local neighborhood committee, an organization run by the Chinese Communist Party, in the hope that they could be admitted to a hospital for his dialysis treatment and to get an official diagnostic test for the coronavirus. Cheng said the neighborhood committee didnt appear to care, saying the couple first needed to secure permission from officials of the street committee and health and family planning committee, which are Party organizations at the local level that typically manage residents activities. In the week before her husband ended his life, Cheng said that he could barely eat anything and developed a serious case of diarrheaconditions that pushed her husband to end his life. On Feb. 9, the street committee called the family and said the man could be tested for the virus in the evening. But the committee later said, without providing an explanation, that the testing couldnt be conducted after all, the couples son said. Cheng said the street committee agreed Feb. 11 to let her go to a hospital, after her younger son threatened the committee over not handing over his fathers dead body for cremation. The son was also infected with the virus, but his condition had steadily improved after taking some medicine. Chengs son filmed himself while in a heated argument with the street committee on Feb. 10. In the video, he said his father wouldnt have jumped if the committee had kept their word. PARMA, Ohio -- Many of the pets the Northeast Ohio SPCA rescues come from shelters in Southern states that are forced to kill abandoned animals due to lack of funding. To help these pets, SPCA volunteers and staff travel hundreds of miles to pick them up so that they can be adopted in the Cleveland area. However, the van they use is old and cannot make many more long-distance trips. In addition, the setup of the van is cramped, said Stefanie Merkosky, executive director. The pets stay in stacked portable crates, which she said can lead to a traumatic experience for pets that are already in a high-stress situation. The cost of a new van, including customization expenses, could run as much as $60,000. To help kick off this drive, Scott and Marti Cochran of Strongsville have pledged to match up to $1,000 worth of donations. They have been donors since the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and Scott Cochran said they were eager to help the organization prevent more pet deaths. It is something we felt would help as many animals as possible, he said, adding that many people dont know that many areas do not operate no-kill animal shelters. The transport van the SPCA wishes to buy would be customized with built-in kennels and a drainage system to improve sanitation, Merkosky said. In addition, it would have an aisle in the middle to allow pets and handlers to easily enter and exit the van. Merkosky said the van the organization wishes to buy is similar to one used by Puppy Pipeline, an organization in Georgia that transports pets to non-kill shelters such as the SPCA. Donations can be made by going to the organizations website at https://northeastohiospca.org/. Read more from the Parma Sun Post. The two scenes are familiar, though separated by 32 years: A lieutenant colonel, a rank that takes nearly 20 years to attain, raises his hand and swears to tell the truth before a congressional committee about appropriations shenanigans he was aware of as a result of his role on the staff of the National Security Council. He wears his service uniform adorned with ribbons signifying where hes served and fought, as well as several personal awards. Those include a Purple Heart for injuries received in combat against an enemy of the United States. Its the United States oldest award, originally presented to members of George Washingtons Continental Army and called the Badge of Military Merit. Todays medal bears a profile of our first president. Lt. Col. Oliver North gestures while testifying before the joint House-Senate panels investigating the Iran-contra affair on Capitol Hill, on July 11, 1987 in Washington. (AP Photo/John Duricka)ASSOCIATED PRESS In the earlier scene, Oliver North testified in 1987 about a scheme to illegally sell arms to Iran and divert proceeds from those sales to rebel groups in Nicaragua. Although one of the schemes objectives was admirable to free U.S. hostages held in Lebanon Lt. Col. North misstated facts and withheld critical information in his testimony, such as orders he gave to his secretary to shred documents important to the investigation. In short, with the legacy of the man who legend has it cannot tell a lie on his breast, and having sworn to tell the truth, Lt. Col. North lied. As a result, he was indicted on 16 felony counts and convicted of three (though his convictions were later vacated and reversed). Things worked out well for him, though, as he landed book deals, launched a radio show, and is a regular paid speaker at corporate and political events. Hes often looked at by conservative politicians and personalities as an inspiring role model. It was once said of him, If Colonel North broke any rules, he will stand up and take it as the Marine he is. But I say, if Colonel North ripped off the ayatollah and took some $30 million to give to the contras, God Bless Colonel North. Fast forward to the present as Congress sought answers about the withholding of appropriated funds to Ukraine, and another lieutenant colonel who had firsthand knowledge of the events was thrust into the spotlight. Like Oliver North, Alexander Vindman came before Congress in his service uniform, his Purple Heart ribbon atop the rows of other awards from his years of service. But instead of choosing to obfuscate facts, frustrate the investigation, and protect others who may have broken the law i.e., lie Lt. Col. Vindman volunteered the truth about what he heard on a now-infamous phone call. Frank "Gus" Biggio served with the Marines in Afghanistan in 2009. For his candor, Lt. Col. Vindman was mocked and pilloried by Republican politicians, conservative commentators, and even the White House. The party and people who so proudly wrap themselves in patriotic rhetoric and symbolic gestures of support for our military took no shame in questioning the loyalties and patriotism of Lt. Col. Vindman, even mocking his decision to wear his service uniform during his testimony. Character attacks were part of the Republicans arsenal during his testimony, including U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio claiming that one of Lt. Col. Vindmans former bosses questioned his judgment only to be rebuffed by Lt. Col. Vindmans recitation of that commanders most recent evaluation of him as being an officer who is brilliant, unflappable and exercises excellent judgment. Lt. Col. Vindman was praised for his service by recently retired Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford, among others. But so many other politicians and media figures chose to impugn him, or just remain silent in the wake of the baseless character attacks against him. The vindictiveness would be funny if it was part of a Monty Python skit, but instead is frightening because it is so real. Among other things, Lt. Col. Vindmans familys safety was threatened simply because he reported the truth. With the impeachment trial in the Senate now over, President Donald Trump has begun a purge of everybody who had the nerve and integrity to shed light on the events that he and his supporters have tried so hard to keep in the dark, with Lt. Col. Vindman and his brother among the first to go. Its too early to tell how Lt. Col. Vindman will be regarded by history, or whether hell enjoy the esteem in some circles that Lt. Col. North enjoyed after he became a household name. But I hope I speak for millions of Americans when I say to Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman: Thank you for your courage, your integrity, and your service. Frank Gus Biggio, an Ohio native, served with the Marines in Afghanistan in 2009. ******************************* Have something to say about this topic? Use the comments to share your thoughts. Then, stay informed when readers reply to your comments by using the Follow option at the top of the comments, and look for updates via the small blue bell in the lower right as you look at more stories on cleveland.com. Mike Hughes, who had described himself as the worlds greatest daredevil, died Saturday when the launch of his homemade rocket failed. The 64-year-old was out on a mission to prove the Earth was flat, but his steam-powered rocket crashed shortly after takeoff near Barstow, California. Journalist Justin Chapman, who was working on a profile of Hughes, captured the launch and subsequent crash in a video he posted to Twitter. Everyone was stunned. They didnt know what to do, Chapman told the Los Angeles Times. He landed about a half a mile away from the launch pad. Advertisement Mad Mike Hughes just launched himself in a self-made steam-powered rocket and crash landed. Very likely did not survive. #MadMike #MadMikeHughes pic.twitter.com/svtviTEi8f Justin Chapman (@justindchapman) February 22, 2020 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hughes carried out the launch for a new Science Channel series called Homemade Astronauts. It was always his dream to do this launch, and Science Channel was there to chronicle his journey, Science Channel said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Michael 'Mad Mike' Hughes tragically passed away today during an attempt to launch his homemade rocket. Our thoughts & prayers go out to his family & friends during this difficult time. It was always his dream to do this launch & Science Channel was there to chronicle his journey pic.twitter.com/GxwjpVf2md Science Channel (@ScienceChannel) February 23, 2020 There was precedent for Hughes launch considering that in March 2018 he managed to go 1,875 feet above the Mojave Desert on a homemade rocket. The goal at the time was to photograph the Earth to prove his theory that the Earth is shaped like a Frisbee. He expressed confidence that if he got a chance to get to space, it would shut the door on this ball Earth. But even as he became one of the best-known flat-Earthers, Hughes said he was open to being wrong. I expect to see a flat disk up there, he said in an interview with CBS after his 2018 launch. I dont have an agenda. If its a round Earth or a ball, Im going to come down and say, Hey guys, Im bad. Its a ball, OK? Advertisement Advertisement According to his public relations representative, though, the whole flat-Earth theory was likely all part of a ruse to get more funding. I dont think he believed it, Darren Shuster said. He did have some governmental conspiracy theories. But dont confuse it with that flat Earth thing. That was a PR stunt we dreamed up. Theres also some speculation that Science Channel may have asked him to tone down the whole flat-Earth talk. In a video ahead of the launch, Hughes never mentioned his flat-Earth views. The flat Earth thing is like everything else to me. I just want people to question everything. Question what your congressman is doing, your city council. Question what really happened during the Civil War. What happened during 9/11, Hughes said in the 2018 CBS interview. Banker Phares is a practicing attorney and founding member of the Estate Planning and Probate Law certification by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He is the John and Karen Mast Professor at SFA and teaches in the Department of Economics and Finance. The nation's police forces and Border Force have warned that a string of tax increases on tobacco, aimed at cutting Australia's smoking rate, has encouraged organised criminals into the market just as the excise on a single cigarette is poised to hit $1. As the federal budget's dependence on tobacco excise climbs to record levels, MPs are looking at ways to stop a sharp lift in the supply and sale of illicit cigarettes that is being driven by organised criminals taking advantage of the big increase in prices. The Rudd government started a string of tobacco excise increases in 2010 that, accompanied by health initiatives such as plain packaging, have reduced the national smoking rate sharply. The most recent national accounts showed total legal tobacco consumption at an all-time low. TORONTO - It sometimes seems like the trajectory of a life that has taken him from one side of the law to the other since his arrival in Canada as an infant three decades ago belongs to someone else. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 23/2/2020 (688 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Rohan George poses for a photograph in Toronto on Thursday, February 20, 2020. George, a one-time gang member who admitted to stabbing a perceived rival in the back and leaving the victim in a park to die, has turned his life around to the point where he has now won permission to practise as a lawyer. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette TORONTO - It sometimes seems like the trajectory of a life that has taken him from one side of the law to the other since his arrival in Canada as an infant three decades ago belongs to someone else. It's a tale of disaffected youth, senseless violence and finally redemption. "When I was nine, I was an altar server; when I was 14, I was a straight-A student; when I was 19, I was facing first-degree murder," Rohan George tells The Canadian Press. "When I'm 34, I'm being called to the bar. Life isn't linear." In a recent decision, the regulator for Ontario's law profession decided that the former Tamil gang member has overwhelmingly demonstrated that he's of "good character" a prerequisite to his professional licensing. Evidence before the law society panel was that George, of Markham, Ont., came to Canada with his family as refugees from Sri Lanka in 1986. The youngest of four children, George was a good student despite having moved around Canada a dozen times by the time he was 12 years old. Things started to unravel in his mid-teens, during his years at Mother Teresa Catholic Secondary in east-end Toronto. Like other Tamil teens of immigrant parents, he struggled to find his place in a system that seemed indifferent at best, exclusionary at worst. Belonging to some kind of gang afforded a sense of identity. "My case is a microcosm of Tamil youth at that time," George said. "We couldn't integrate. I grew up in a culture of violence. That was what was normal to me. When you're in that bubble, it's just another Tuesday." There was a 2004 conviction for a stolen bottle of alcohol and failure to attend court, for which he was sentenced to 30 days. But things really went off the rails in January 2005, when George, then 19 years old, took part in what the trial judge described as an "utterly senseless" killing payback for an earlier gang altercation. George and three others grabbed their teen victim at his work and forced him into a car. He and a second man then stabbed the resisting teen four times in the back and left him at a nearby park to die. Some days, he says, he still feels like a killer, other days he knows that's not who he is. He's kept his head down, stayed out of the limelight. He's speaking to the media for the first time now only because the law society decision put him on their radar. "I've stayed silent for 15 years, I've stayed in the shadow for 15 years, out of respect for the victim's family. There's nothing I could say to them." Charged with first-degree murder, George pleaded guilty to manslaughter in March 2007, and was sentenced to eight years behind bars. He was granted full parole in June 2009, having spent time in some of the country's toughest penal institutions, and immediately ran into obstacles all-too familiar to those who've been sucked into the criminal justice vortex. "I couldn't apply to Wal-Mart. They had a criminal check. Every point along the way, it was, 'Sorry, no'," he said. "I really wanted that to change." He plunged into academics. He finished a liberal arts diploma with distinction at Seneca College in 2011, then obtained an honours bachelor of arts degree from the University of Toronto in 2013. He completed his law degree through the University of Windsor in June 2017. In extensive submissions to the law society panel, George described how he had turned his life around. A key moment, he said, came during talks with a psychologist in Joyceville Penitentiary, where he learned the concept of "active remorse." The idea, he said, was that simply feeling guilty about past misdeeds does little to improve the world. More important is to try to make a positive difference. More than two-dozen letters of reference from faculty members to friends and family to work colleagues attested to his good character. The panel decided his turnaround was the real deal. "The concept of rehabilitation is based on the capacity in human nature for someone to recognize their mistakes, to make amends, to correct the course of their lives, and to become productive and positive members of their community," the panel found. "He is an excellent example of rehabilitation." Still, George says he won't be diving into legal robes or roles just yet. He wants to take time off, he says, to properly process the past years of his life before taking on the responsibility of practising law, of perhaps one day getting to address a jury this time on behalf of a client. "For me, it's a super-power. I'm scared. It's a really powerful thing and I don't want to mess it up," George said as he struggled for words. "I'm a little bit shaken." This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Feb. 23, 2020. Jose Ismael Irizarry was sent to Cartagena to investigate money laundering by Colombias notoriously violent drug cartels. But instead of using his stable of confidential informants to bring down the gangs, the authorities said, Mr. Irizarry worked with a Colombian drug trafficker to launder money seized from undercover drug operations and used the cash to buy a Tiffany diamond ring, a $135,000 Land Rover and a home in Cartagena. On Friday, Mr. Irizarry, a former special agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration who had worked in Miami, Cartagena and Washington until he resigned in 2018, was arrested along with his wife, Nathalia Gomez-Irizarry, near their home in San Juan, P.R. Mr. Irizarry, 46, was charged with conspiracy to launder money, honest services wire fraud, bank fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, conspiracy to commit identity theft and aggravated identity theft. Ms. Gomez-Irizarry, 36, was charged with conspiracy to launder money. Both were released on bond and are due back in court on Wednesday. Jose Luis Novas-Debien, a lawyer for the couple, did not immediately respond to messages on Saturday. One, two, three! Having won the popular vote in Iowa and New Hampshire, and looking set for a landslide in the western state of Nevada, Bernie Sanders has done two things. Firstly, he has made history by being the first Democrat to pull off such a feat in the first three states in the nation to vote. Secondly, he has very decidedly made himself the partys frontrunner. Some people it seems, save the best things for those later stages of their lives. Four years ago, the senator from Vermont was defeated 53 - 47 by Hillary Clinton, after he had run her to within half-a-percentage point in Iowa, and having bagged New Hampshire. 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 We have come a very long way in nine months, he said to supporters in Las Vegas back in 2016. It is clear to me, and I think most observers, that the wind is at our backs. We have the momentum. Sanders may have had the wind at his back these past four years, as he watched his ideas, one considered kooky or crazy, get taken up by many of his Democratic Party. But he also worked incredibly hard. Buoyed and backed by millennials and especially young people of colour, the 78-year-old Sanders has placed himself at a position he might only have dreamed about. If he continues to perform as he has in these first three states, it appears only a matter of time before he gathers enough delegates to nail down the nomination, possibly some time before the party holds its convention in Milwaukee. He path is not certain. The great uncertainty is what happens on Super Tuesday when more than a dozen states hold their primaries, including those battlegrounds where former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg has spent up to $400m on political advertising. Bernie Sanders dismisses criticism from former Goldman CEO That money was enough to raise his profile to qualify for the ninth Democratic debate this week in Las Vegas, where he was roundly attacked by Sanders and other Democrats. What we do not know is whether poll numbers translate into actual votes. It is also far from clear whether Sanders can beat Donald Trump. Polls suggest he would do. But historically polls about the general election taken at this point in the cycle are not very reliable. On Saturday night, Sanders allowed himself something of a mini-celebration. We won the Iowa caucus. We won the New Hampshire primary. Now, according to three networks we have won the Nevada caucus, he declared in Texas. So let me thank the people of Nevada for their support. In Nevada we have put together a multi-generational, multi-racial coalition that not only swept Nevada, but will sweep the country. The Democratic nomination is by no means a sure thing for Bernie Sanders. But after his victory in Nevada it is his to lose. Ontarios Catholic community is struggling to come to terms with an explosive report that found respected Canadian humanitarian Jean Vanier had sexually abused six women. The findings were contained in an internal report released Saturday by Vaniers French-based charity, LArche International. The report said Vanier, who died last year at age 90, engaged in manipulative sexual relationships that took place under coercive conditions, from 1970 to 2005. LArche is an international private charity that helps people with intellectual disabilities through support networks, programming and housing. According to LArches report, their inquiry team received allegations from six women and directly interviewed five of them. We are both shocked and saddened by these findings, wrote Lori Vaanholt, spokesperson for LArche, in a statement. We honour the courage of the women who came forward and stand in solidarity with them and all victims of abuse. We unreservedly condemn these actions which are in total contradiction with our core values and the fundamental principles of respect for the dignity of each person. Toronto Catholic District School Board trustee Maria Rizzo said on Twitter Saturday that she was having trouble processing the allegations and that she was in shock. Many asking about changing name of TCDSB school named after Jean Vanier. I havent processed allegations due to shock. We need to reflect & consult school community as a 1st step. Reflect again, Rizzo tweeted. There are half-a-dozen Catholic schools in the Greater Toronto area and neighbouring communities named after Vanier, who had been nominated several times for the Nobel Peace Prize. We are deeply concerned about this news and for those individuals and communities that may be impacted. We will be providing staff and students at the school with supports including social workers on Monday in case those services are required by anyone in our school community, said TCDSB spokesperson Shazia Vlahos. Peter Fracassi is a trustee on the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board whose ward covers four schools, including one named after Vanier. He told the Star Saturday that if the reports are true, he would support changing the name of the school, and added he will discuss the matter with the rest of the board at a meeting in the coming week. A media officer for Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board said after reaching out to the chair of the board and the director of education, they will need to evaluate how the news of the report impacts their district and Catholic community. This week, as a board, we will be seeking more information and discussing next steps. At this time we are holding all of those involved in our prayers, said Tracy Austin. RELATED STORIES Canada Canadian LArche group shocked by report that founder sexually abused women During its investigation, the LArche team reviewed statements and interviews from more than 30 other people in addition to the alleged victims, including former leaders and staff both from LArche and outside the charity, as well as a number of experts. The alleged victims felt deprived of their free will and so the sexual activity was coerced or took place under coercive conditions, the report said. It did not rule out potential other victims. The report also said none of the women were disabled, a significant point given the Vatican has long sought to portray any sexual relationship between religious leaders and other adults as consensual unless there was clear evidence of disability. This is not the first time there has been a call to change the name of schools amid controversy. In 2017, the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario and other groups said that Sir John A. Macdonald, Canadas first prime minister, should not have his name on any schools because of his creation of residential schools which many consider an act of genocide against Indigenous people. With files from Ilya Banares and The Associated Press As protests continue to erupt in the streets of Kenosha, Wisconsin, and across the world in outrage against the horrific shooting of Jacob Bla Read more A woman and her boyfriend were arrested and charged with murder for allegedly beating and strangling three women to death over a rental dispute in California last week. Jordan Guzman, 20, and her boyfriend, Anthony McCloud, 18, were taken into custody in Las Vegas - 400 miles away from a Hemet, California, home where the bodies of Wendy Lopez-Araiza, her daughter, Genesis Lopez-Araiza, and her son's 18-year-old girlfriend, Trinity Clyde, were found on Wednesday. According to a statement from the Hemet Police Department, Wendy's husband arrived to their home after getting off work Wednesday night shortly after 8.40pm. He immediately called 911 after he found his dead wife and reported that the home was 'covered in blood'. Jordan Guzman, 20, and her boyfriend, Anthony McCloud, 18, have been arrested in Las Vegas for allegedly strangling three women to death over a rental dispute in California last week According the Hemet Police Department, Wendy Lopez-Araiza's husband (left) arrived to their home after getting off work Wednesday night shortly after 8.40pm. He called 911 after he found his wife and reported that the home was 'covered in blood' When officers from the department arrived to the home located in the 1400 block of Rabbit Peak Way in Hemet, they found all three women. According to police, Guzman had recently moved into the home and McCloud had been seen visiting the residence prior to the incident. All three victims were pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities said Guzman and McCloud stole Clyde's Hyundai Sonata. 'Investigators learned rather quickly of a possible Las Vegas connection and immediately contacted Nevada authorities to be on the lookout for Trinitys missing Hyundai Sonata,' police said in the statement. On Thursday, police located the vehicle in Las Vegas and Guzman and McCloud were arrested. The bodies of Lopez-Araiza's daughter, Genesis Lopez-Araiza (left), and her son's 18-year-old girlfriend, Trinity Clyde (right), were also found on Wednesday Guzman and McCloud were both charged with three counts of murder each. They are being held at Clark County Detention Center in Las Vegas on $2million bail each. Both are subject to the extradition process, which may take several weeks. It's unclear how long Guzman was a tenant at the residence, but police said on Friday that a dispute over her rental agreement sparked the alleged attacks. Family members launched a GoFundMe for the mother and daughter. 'They were brutally and senselessly murdered. We are asking for financial help, because this tragedy is impossible for us to handle at this moment, on our own. Please help us with the funeral expenses,' the page reads. The account has raised more than $10,000 as of Sunday morning. LAS VEGASSen. Bernie Sanders cruised to victory in the Nevada caucuses, heartening his supporters and stoking alarm among moderates who fear he is too liberal and would lose to President Donald Trump. Takeaways from the Nevada caucuses: Sanders' presidential bid gets rocket fuel Sanders convincing win means there is no longer an asterisk next to his status as the front-runner in the race. He proved his strength with a broad coalition that included Latino voters, union members and African Americans. Now Sanders claims three victories in a row heading into South Carolina next Saturday, and more important, Super Tuesday on March 3 when about one-third of the delegates needed for the nomination are at stake. The biggest prizes that day, California and Texas, look a lot like Nevada demographically. Another advantage: His opponents remain splintered and, with the exception of billionaire former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg, under-funded to compete across such a vast terrain. But now there will be extraordinary pressure to try to consolidate moderate support in an effort to stop Sanders rise. And Sen. Elizabeth Warren will have a decision to make on how much she tries to draw separation from Sanders since they are both competing for the progressive vote. There is at least one strong note of caution about Sanders success. In Iowa and New Hampshire he didnt seem to grow the electorate substantially. Data is still out in Nevada. Buttigieg issues warning about Sanders Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg ran well behind Sanders, but he tried to cast himself as the strongest alternative to Sanders. In language uncharacteristically blunt, Buttigieg issued a warning to Democrats about the perils of nominating Sanders, whom he characterized as inflexible and whose ideas are not in the American mainstream. Sen. Sanders believes in an inflexible, ideological revolution that leaves out most Democrats, not to mention most Americans, Buttigieg told supporters. He held himself out as the only viable alternative. We can prioritize either ideological purity or inclusive victory, Buttigieg said. He added: Sen. Sanders sees capitalism as the root of all evil. Hed go beyond reform and reorder the economy in ways most Democrats let alone most Americans dont support. Despite his forceful argument, theres a serious risk to Buttigieg in the upcoming calendar. He will have to win over black voters in South Carolina, then pivot to a multistate primary with comparatively limited resources. Buttigieg put out a plea for $13 million from donors before Super Tuesday. The former mayor of a city of 100,000 has repeatedly defied the odds in the presidential nominating contests, but the odds are getting longer. Biden has his back against a firewall Former vice-president Joe Biden was hoping Nevada would turn things around for him after a disastrous showing in Iowa and then New Hampshire. He argued that hed do better in a more diverse state. But Biden again lost badly even as he told supporters at a union hall, Were alive and coming back and were gonna win. His last and best hope may be to win in South Carolina next Saturday. Hes counting on his support among the states black voters they could make up two-thirds of the voters to serve as his firewall. If Biden doesnt win South Carolina, the rationale for his candidacy will much harder to maintain. In Las Vegas, he tried out a new rallying cry: I aint a socialist. I aint a plutocrat. Im a Democrat. And Im proud of it. Party loyalty may be all Biden has left. Maybe culinary isn't all-powerful after all The 60,000-member Culinary Workers Local 226 represents workers in the casinos on the Las Vegas strip, and its routinely described, correctly, as the most powerful force in the states Democratic politics. But its not omnipotent. Culinary didnt want Sanders to win. It has strongly opposed his Medicare for All plan, warning its members that it would eliminate their own generous health plan. Some observers thought the union might end up backing Biden. But after the former vice-presidents embarrassing performances in Iowa and New Hampshire, Culinary instead stayed neutral. The calls from leadership went unheeded by many. Sanders had strong showings in some caucuses in casinos where crowds of Culinary members chanted the Vermont senators name and powered him to wins in most casinos. Culinary is driven by its members, many of whom are Sanders supporters, and there was no consensus among the rest about what they should do. Leadership decided to refrain from a divisive fight, helping pave the way for Sanders win. Its a reminder that even in places like Nevada with strong political institutions, those institutions ultimately derive their power from voters. No bounce for Klobuchar Sen. Amy Klobuchar produced one of the few surprises of the race when she surged to a third-place finish in New Hampshire, announced that she had raised more than $12 million, and vowed to prove her doubters wrong. Her momentum proved short-lived. She finished well behind the leading candidates, and in the process, prompted questions about her viability. But in a speech to supporters in her home state of Minnesota, she was defiant and said she would continue. She even tried to make a virtue of the fact that Trump mentioned her name at a rally. By the way, for the first time ever, he mentioned me at a rally, she said. You know Ive arrived now. You know they must be worried. Probably not. Time is running out for candidates who havent finished higher than third in any contest. That also applies to Warren, also desperately needs a win. Her strong debate performance came after much of the state had already cast early votes. Not a great return on investment Tom Steyer, the billionaire who made his fortune running a hedge fund, bet heavily in Nevada, more than $12 million on advertising, and lost big, finishing sixth. Steyer has made strong appeals to minority voters, but in Nevada, failed decisively. But Steyers impact on the race could come next week in South Carolina, where he has spent even more money. Polls show that he has made significant inroads among African American voters. That would not be good news for Biden, who is counting on those votes to resuscitate his campaign. Patna: Ahead of the upcoming state elections in Bihar, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president Jagat Prakash Nadda, on his daylong visit to Patna on Saturday, met with Nitish Kumar in a sign of affirmation of the Chief Minister's candidacy who has been declared the face of the NDA in Bihar by top BJP leaders like Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Nadda, however, described his meeting with Kumar a personal event during which he invited him to the upcoming wedding of his son. Kumar welcomed Nadda, who has born and educated in Patna, with a flower bouquet at his residence on 1 Anne Marg. The two were also said to have briefly discussed the political scenario in Bihar and how to work together to ensure a massive victory in the state where the opposition, at best, remains extremely fragmented. Earlier, Nadda arrived at the party office on Birchand Patel Marg where he electronically inaugurated brand-new offices in ten districts in the state. Speaking at a press conference, Nadda re-affirmed his faith in Nitish Kumar saying the NDA would contest election in Bihar under the able leadership of the Janata Dal-U leader. Assembly polls are to be held in Bihar in November later this year. The BJP chief advised party leaders and workers not to be distracted by misinformation by opposition leaders and concentrate on the main goal of making the NDA victorious in a landslide. "Bihar has developed tremendously under the leadership of Nitish Kumar and we need to keep it going to make Bihar one of the top states in the country. In the last five years, Prime Minister Modi has given thousands of crores to Bihar that has helped the Chief Minister improve infrastructure in the state. Simply put, the NDA has changed the fate of Bihar. It used to take seven hours to go to Muzaffarpur from Patna. Now it takes 3-4 hours even to reach Champaran. The government has developed a massive network of roads, bridges, and flyovers and the new Bihar Museum and the new police headquarters tell the tale of real development in the state," Nadda said. Central Minister and former BJP state chief Nityanand Rai, his successor Dr. Sanjay Jaiswal, MP Gopalji Thakur, Nand Kishore Yadav, Mangal Pandey, Radha Mohan Singh, Sanjay Mayukh and other state BJP leaders were among many present on the occasion. , We're sorry, this article is not currently available MBABANE It seems the uproar over corporate income tax is justified. Eswatini companies are taxed higher as compared to most countries in the SADC region. SADC is an acronym for the Southern African Development Community and it consists of 16 countries. Eswatinis corporate tax still stands at 27.50 per cent. There is a bid to slash it down to 12.5. This is direct tax imposed on the income of corporations or equivalent legal entities. The countrys figure is higher than that of its SADC counterparts which include Lesotho (25), Zimbabwe (24.72), Madagascar (20) and Mauritius (15). Some of these countries have an almost similar economy to Eswatini. Countries with higher figures in comparison to Eswatini include Mozambique, Namibia (both 32), Malawi (30), Zambia (35) and Seychelles (33), among others. In the Budget Speech of the past year (2019), government had committed to improving the Ease of Doing Business by significantly reducing Corporate Tax. Fast forward to 2020, the dream of the tax reduction is yet to be realised. Member of Parliament Marwick Khumalo, who is Finance Portfolio Committee Chairman, had suggested that the reduction of the tax could take longer. Seminar He was speaking during a Central Bank of Eswatini (CBE) Post-Budget seminar at Happy Valley Resort in Ezulwini last Thursday. Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg was last Friday sought for comment on the update in effecting the eagerly-awaited changes. The proposed reduction is in the Income Tax Amendment Bill that has just passed the AGs (Attorney Generals) Office and it will be tabled soon, said the minister. Reducing the corporate income tax, according to an economic expert, will benefit workers as new investments boost productivity and lead to wage growth. Lowering the corporate income tax incentivises new investment, leading to an increase of the capital stock. A corporate tax rate that is more in line with our competitors reduces the incentives for firms to realise their profits in lower-tax jurisdictions and encourages companies to invest in the country, shared an economic expert. Meanwhile, the high corporate tax is partly the cause of Eswatinis unwelcome rank on the Ease of Doing Business Index. The World Bank currently ranks Eswatini 121 out of 190 economies on Ease of Doing Business. Eswatini Revenue Authoritys (SRA) annual report for 2018/19, on the other hand, showed that companies brought in E1.458 billion in revenue. It was an increment of 6.1 per cent as compared to the past year. Generally, revenue collection showed an upward growth trend of six per cent in 2018/19 financial year. Women were once Republicans. In this centennial year of womens suffrage, it is interesting to see what a difference a century can make. In 1919 thousands of women demonstrators converged on the White House demanding Democratic President Woodrow Wilson withdraw his opposition to womens suffrage. Among those arrested was a young suffragist who made national news by chaining herself to the White House fence and being extricated with bolt cutters. She was Hazel Hunkins of Billings, Montana. After Wilson grudgingly switched his position, enough Democrats joined an overwhelming majority of Congressional Republicans to send the proposed 19th Amendment to the states for ratification. Of the 36 of 48 states necessary to amend the Constitution, 28 with majority Republican legislatures did so, and with 8 controlled by Democrats, ratification occurred just three months before the 1920 election. After 141 years of U.S. history, women got the right to vote. (Native American women and men had to wait until 1924.) Democrats fears of women voters also came true in 1920, when women contributed heavily to a massive Republican victory. Womens preference for Republicans continued to varying degrees until at least the 1960s. In 1972 a Democratic Congress passed and proposed to the states, the 27th, or Equal Rights Amendment, which reads Equality of rights . . . shall not be denied . . . on account of sex. Under the primary sponsorship of Democratic Representative Pat Regan of Billings, Montana was the 32nd state to ratify in 1974. Attempts to rescind (take back) Montanas ratification began in the 1975 Legislature, and again in 1977. But largely with the votes of majority Democrats, both were defeated. In one of those sessions Phyllis Schlafly, charismatic Illinois political activist, came to Montana at the invitation of former first lady Betty Babcock, to personally lead the rescission forces. The last battle over the ERA in Montana occurred when shrewd and respected Republican Senator Jack Galt led the rescission forces in 1979. He was my good friend. I had emerged as one of the legislative leaders against rescission, but that was when disagreeing legislators remained friends. I heard that Jack had a letter in specific support of his bill from former Senator Sam Ervin, Democrat hero of Watergate fame. I knew support for the ERA was in the Republican National Platform, so I called the Republican National chair, former Senator Bill Brock of Tennessee, who readily gave me a strong statement in support for the ERA and against rescission. After my friend used the Ervin quote in floor debate I was able to counter with my quote from Brock. Jack and I had dinner together that night. The 1979 effort to rescind passed the Senate, but was decisively killed by House Democrats, thus ending the ERA war in Montana. The issue, however recently resurfaced after Virginia became the 38th state of the 50 now necessary to ratify. But, Virginias action occurred 28 years after the Congressionally imposed 1982 deadline for ratification. The U.S. House has just passed legislation to retroactively eliminate the time limit. However, even in the view of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, that is probably unconstitutional; but it is certain not to even be considered in Mitch McConnells Senate. Of ongoing significance is that women are a growing majority of voters. In the time of Trump, women now overwhelmingly identify with the Democrats. Probably to the long-term detriment of Republicans, there may soon not be enough grouchy old white men and angry young white men to save the once Grand Old Republican Party from a bleak and weakened future of political impotence. Bob Brown is a former Montana Secretary of State and State Senate President. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 By PTI ALIGARH: A 22-year-old man was shot at and injured by a miscreant amid clashes that broke out in the old city area here on Sunday between anti-CAA protesters and police after incidents of arson and stone pelting, said officials. The clashes led police to fire teargas shells to disperse the mob indulging in vandalisation of property and throwing stones at security personnel in upper Kot area of the Kotwali police station, said Aligarh District Magistrate Chandra Bhushan Singh. Following the incident of violence, the adminstration also suspended internet services in the city till midnight today as a precautionary measure, Singh added. The violence broke out at a spot on the Mohamed Ali Road leading to the Kotwali police station where some women protestors were holding a dharna since Saturday on the Mohamed Ali Road leading to the Kotwali police station with the police trying to evict protesters from there, he said. The trouble began around 5 pm when the police tried to persuade women protestors at Upper Kot near Kotwali to evict them from the road, he said. "We told them that women protestors were already holding a protest at Eidgah and they would not be permitted to hold another such protest near Kotwali," said Singh. He said "even as efforts were underway to convince women to leave the area with prominent Muslim citizens of the area, including the Sahar mufti Abdul Khalid trying to defuse the situation, mayhem broke out and brick-batting started.." The district magistrate said police used tear gas shells to disperse the mob. "An electricity department transformer was set afire but police managed to douse the flames before they could spread," he said. Describing the situation in Upper Kot area as "tense but under control" Singh said "an intense patrolling of the affected areas is underway and the police are trying to trace out those who were "instigating" the women protestors at Upper Kot since yesterday" There were also reports of injuries to some people but the exact number of those injured in clashes is yet to ascertained, said official sources. One of the injured included 22-year-old man Tariq, whose father and brother told police that he suffered bullet injury by a "miscreant" who opened fire at his brother amid the clashes between police and protesters. Tariq was admitted at Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital at Aligarh Muslim University here, where doctors described his condition as "serious". The victim has suffered a bullet injury in the stomach, they said. Tariq's father told police at the hospital in presence of this PTI reporter that his son was standing in front of his house when he was shot at by a miscreant whom he recognises. The clashes in the old city area broke out shortly after a Bhim Army-led march by hundreds of anti-CAA protesters heading to the district collectorate earlier were stopped midway by police and Rapid Action Force jawans. Stopped by police, the protesters, however, had headed towards the Eidgah area in the city where another group of anti-CAA women protestors had been holding an indefinite dharna for the past three weeks. As the Bhim Army-led protestors, including women, were stopped by police from moving ahead after they crossed over the Katpula Bridge from the old city, they decided to join women protesters in the Eidgah area. The protesters had taken out the march on a call by Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar. Shops in some areas near Kotwali had downed their shutters. Aligarh SSP Rajmuni, who took over the charge as the district police only last night, had earlier told mediapersons that following the abortive march, an FIR has been lodged against three persons at the Delhi Gate police station for trying to violate prohibitory orders and breach peace in the city. The new SSP said he was monitoring the situation arising out of the anti-CAA protests, going on both at the AMU and the old city area. He had said our "channels of communications with protesters are going to remain open but it does not mean we will allow anybody to disturb the city's law and order". Chinese President Xi Jinping has written a letter to Bill Gates thanking him for the 'generosity' of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and their support for tackling the outbreak of coronavirus. According to media reports, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has committed up to $100 million for the global response to the virus that broke out in China in December last year. As per media reports, Xi Jinping in his letter appreciated the generosity shown by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and called for enhanced international coordination and concerted efforts against the outbreak. Read: Coronavirus Outbreak: Iran Reports 3 More Deaths With 15 New Confirmed Cases According to reports, the money committed by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will be used to strengthen detection, treatment efforts, protecting at-risk populations and developing vaccines. Media reports stated that the foundation would direct $20 million to organisations like WHO, National Health Commission of China, US Center for Disease Control and Protection and the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Read: Japan Minister Apologises After Woman Who Left Coronavirus-stricken Ship Tests Positive In a letter that was shared by the Chinese government on their official website, President Xi Jinping wrote, "As I often say, mankind is a community with a shared future. To prevail over a disease that threatens all, unity and cooperation is the most powerful weapon. The Foundation has been quick in joining the global action and has played an active role in the global response against the outbreak. I support your cooperation with relevant Chinese institutions, and look forward to enhanced coordination and concerted efforts in the international community for the sake of health and well-being of all." Coronavirus outbreak China is battling the contagious virus as millions remain under lockdown in the central Hubei province, the epicentre of the disease. According to media reports, the new coronavirus has claimed over 2,400 lives in China alone and has infected more than 79,000 people. The United States Center for Disease Control (CDC) had earlier said that the virus has already spread to 27 countries, including as far as western Europe. As per reports, the coronavirus originated from a seafood market in China's Wuhan city, where animals were being traded illegally. Read: Coronavirus: Third Chartered Plane Carrying Diamond Princess Evacuees Lands In Hong Kong The coronavirus has claimed more lives than its predecessor Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). According to reports, SARS, which broke out in China in 2002-2003 had claimed more than 774 lives, which is way below the current death toll from COVID-19. According to reports, China on February 13 reported the highest number of deaths caused by the virus in a single day as 254 people died in Hubei province. Read: Taiwan To Evacuate Citizens From Coronavirus-hit Cruise Ship In Japan The Observer's food critic Jay Rayner has said that his latest review, of a Chinese restaurant, was 'an act of solidarity' in the wake of 'misplaced fear' and racism surrounding the coronavirus. The outspoken writer was reviewing the Four Seasons in London's Chinatown, and took to Twitter to share the wider context of his piece. He wrote: 'This week's review, as well as being a description of fabulous Cantonese roast meats at Four Seasons, is also an act of solidarity with Britain's Chinese community which has suffered via misplaced racist fear over Coronavirus. The Observer's food critic Jay Rayner has said that his latest review, of a Chinese restaurant, was 'an act of solidarity' in the wake of racism surrounding the coronavirus 'Support your local Chinese.' The deadly virus was first detected late last year in the city of Wuhan, the capital of Central China's Hubei province. Coronavirus has since claimed 2,458 lives and infected 78,572 people according to AP, almost all of them in China. 'I've never seen it like this before,' Mr Rayner wrote of the scenes that awaited him in a 'sparsely populated' Gerrard Street in Chinatown. News coverage of the virus began to ramp up early this year and Jackie, duty manager of the Four Seasons, told Mr Rayner that 'business just went down.' 'We want the business back but we can't do anything about it. People are scared,' the critic said the restaurant worker added. The outspoken writer was reviewing the Four Seasons in London's Chinatown, and took to Twitter to share the wider context of his piece. Not only has business gone down, racism also seems to be on the rise. A spate of recent racially-motivated incidents against Chinese people are being investigated by police. Four incidents were reported in three days in Southampton at the start of the month, according to a dossier compiled by the Chinese Association of Southampton (CAS) seen by the Guardian. During one of those, a Chinese student had a stone thrown at her and was told to go back to their 'f****** country.' In another, a woman was called a 'f****** virus, and a third person was allegedly told to get off a bus by the driver - because she was wearing a face mask. 'I've never seen it like this before,' Mr Rayner wrote of the scenes that awaited him in a 'sparsely populated' Gerrard Street in Chinatown. The Four Seasons is shown in the centre Mr Rayner said a friend dubbed the treatment 'health-linked racial discrimination'. 'It doesn't matter what excuse you choose for your racism. It's still racism,' he added. He said that his review carries a simple message of support for 'your local Chinese restaurant'. 'Go show them that ethnicity is not a marker for disease,' he said, adding that he didn't need to go there as he has been eating at the establishment for years, describing his visit as 'an act of solidarity that also gets me roast duck.' Londons Chinatown stands eerily deserted two weeks ago, as thousands of revellers keep their distance from the tourist spot as coronavirus panic sweeps the UK Reacting to Mr Rayner's review on Twitter, one person said: 'I'm baffled people would avoid Chinese restaurants in London for the coronavirus... you've definitely inspired me to go ASAP.' Another said: 'Such an excellent and timely review. So shameful that some people are avoiding our wonderful Chinese restaurants for the silliest of reasons.' The news comes as Italian authorities placed 50,000 people in lockdown in ten towns in Lombardy and Veneto, telling them to remain indoors as two people died after contracting the virus. A 78-year-old man infected with it died in Veneto. A post-mortem on a 77-year-old woman in Lombardy came back positive, though it was not clear if illness from the virus caused her death. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 23) The military said it will follow its no-ransom policy amid reports of Abu Sayyaf Group members seeking money in exchange for the release of five kidnapped Indonesians. LtGen Cirilito Sobejana, Armed Forces Western Mindanao Command chief, said he is still verifying reports saying the rebels demanded a P30 million-peso ransom. "[We] have to stick with our no ransom policy kaya [that is why] we do not allow people doing the negotiations for the payment of the ransom pagka meron man kaming mamonitor na ganoon [if we do monitor such a case]," he said. The Abu Sayyaf abducted five Indonesians off Sabah, Malaysia last month. WesMinCom spokesman Maj. Arvin Encinas said the victims may currently be in Patikul, Sulu. Sobejana also discouraged family members to concede money as the ASG may use this to fund future attacks. "Giving in ransom kasi pagka may perang pumapasok sa kanila e [tiyak] magagamit nila na pambili ng kagamitan o kaya pang-finance ng ibang grupo para dumukot ng biktima at mapunta rin sa kanila para makapag-demand naman ulit sila ng ransom," he added. [Translation: Giving in ransom, when they receive money then definitely they will use it to buy equipment or finance other groups to abduct victims and to demand more ransom.] He added that they are also looking for a doctor whom he said the ASG kidnapped two weeks ago. Greyhound Lines will no longer allow Border Patrol agents to conduct immigration checks on its buses without warrants, the company said on Friday one week after a leaked memo revealed that agents could not board buses without consent. For years, Greyhound, the largest bus company in America, had been allowing border agents to board its vehicles without warrants, citing a law that it said it didn't agree with. "CBP searches have negatively impacted both our customers and our operations," the company said in 2018, referring to Customs and Border Protection, the Border Patrol's parent agency. "Greyhound does not coordinate with CBP, nor do we support these actions." But in a leaked Customs and Border Protection memo that was reported by The Associated Press, the Border Patrol chief confirmed that agents were prohibited from boarding buses and questioning passengers without warrants or the company's consent. "When transportation checks occur on a bus at non-checkpoint locations, the agent must demonstrate that he or she gained access to the bus with the consent of the company's owner or one of the company's employees," Chief Carla Provost wrote in the memo, which was dated Jan. 28. In a statement on Saturday, a Customs and Border Protection official said that while the agency "does not comment on materials asserted to be leaked internal memos, management regularly disseminates information to reinforce existing protocols." The official did not directly address Greyhound's change but added that "enforcement operations away from the immediate border are performed consistent with law and in direct support of immediate border enforcement efforts, and such operations function as a means of preventing smuggling and other criminal organizations from exploitation of existing transportation hubs to travel further into the United States." In its statement on Friday, Greyhound referred to a "policy change" at the border agency, although it was not clear that the agency had in fact altered any of its policies. "We welcome the clarity that this change in protocol brings, as it aligns with our previously stated position, which is that we do not consent to warrantless searches," the company said. "We are providing drivers and terminal employees with updated training regarding this policy change." The company said that it would place stickers on its buses "clearly displaying our position" and that it planned to send "a letter to the Department of Homeland Security formally stating we do not consent to warrantless searches on our buses and in terminal areas that are not open to the general public." The changes were to take effect immediately. The American Civil Liberties Union applauded Greyhound's announcement. "We are pleased to see Greyhound clearly communicate that it does not consent to racial profiling and harassment on its buses," said Andrea Flores, deputy director for policy in the ACLU's equality division. "Greyhound is sending a message that it prioritizes the communities it serves," she added. "We will continue to push other transportation companies to follow its leadership." Last year, Bob Ferguson, the attorney general of Washington state, said that Greyhound's practice of allowing searches of its vehicles at a train station and bus terminal in Spokane fell "harshly on passengers of color, who are reportedly singled out by CBP for questioning and detention." Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi has proposed that inflammatory speeches made to instigate inter-regional clashes be included in the definition of hate speech to maintain the honour and dignity of Indian citizens, two government officials, who refused to be named, told Hindustan Times. The PM sought an expansion of the definition of hate speech during the annual conference of state police chiefs and intelligence/investigation agencies held in December following which the Intelligence Bureau recently sent the action points to all the states and ministries concerned. Hindustan Times has reviewed the action points. PM Modi also said that while reviewing existing laws, the objective should be to maintain the honour and dignity of aggrieved civilians. The officials cited above said the PM was hinting at including incidents such as attacks on north Indians in Maharashtra at the behest of a political party, or anti-national statements made for carving out a separate state like Khalistan, which have the potential to cause inter-regional clashes, and attacks on students from the north-east or Kashmir in other parts of the country in the amended laws pertaining to hate speech. Any publication, comments on social media and cartoons, which are potentially incendiary and could cause a regional clash could also be included in the amended definition of hate speech, said one of the officials. The current laws, pertaining to hate speech, will be analysed prior to taking a call on whether there is an immediate need to make changes or existing provisions are adequate, they added. At present, hate speech is defined on the basis of religion, ethnicity, culture or race. Even though the term hate speech itself doesnt find mention anywhere in the law, it is identified through various laws that address such speech, including Sections 153A, 153B, 295A, 298, 505 (1), 505 (2) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). These laws say that any words or imputation, spoken or written or signs/visual representation, which may promote disharmony or hatred or insults/offends any religion, culture, language, caste or community, is a punishable offence. Besides, there are laws like the Information Technology Act, which are often used by agencies/police to charge an individual inciting any clashes/conflict on social media. In 2017, the 21st Law Commission had recommended inserting new acts, which covered ridiculing or abusing anyone on account of region, place of birth etc. The commission recommended that Section 153C, which prohibits incitement to hatred, and Section 505A, which deals with causing fear, alarm, or provocation of violence in certain cases, be added in the IPC. There are enough existing laws if government and police are serious about acting against people who spread hate. What matters is the will to implement the laws. If a law is introduced and it is implemented in a discriminatory manner, then its no good, said Ajai Sahni, an internal security expert. PM Modi also urged police forces and agencies to co-opt lawyers, retired judges and Indian Police Service officers in the process of reviewing the existing laws. All the state police chiefs have been asked to compile a report on hate speech and send their recommendations to the Union ministry of home affairs, the officials said. UNIVERSITY of Limericks on-campus accommodation rates have risen by almost 40 percent in the past four years, a price hike which has been described as unfair by students. The university released its 2020/2021 accommodation rates this week ahead of the annual lottery process, which thousands of students hoping to attend UL enter in the next few weeks to secure a room. On average, prices increased by 3.65 percent from last years rates at an average of 219.71, while prices have increased by 38.75 percent from 2016/2017 figures - an average of 1682.21 in four years. A final year student in the University, who lived in one of the on-campus accommodation villages for her first two years of study, told the Limerick Leader that the year-on-year increase is posing a barrier to students. I think the price hike this year isnt fair for students, she said, its creating a greater barrier for students to go to be able to afford to go to college - its not giving everyone an equal chance. Are we heading back to the old days where only the mega-rich went to college? The student, who now lives in a privately-rented house near the campus, said she loved living on-campus during her first year in UL. It was easier to make friends especially when moving to a college by myself away from home, she explained, the price was expensive but for peace of mind it was just easier to live on campus - moving is already a big deal, but being on campus makes it easier. Students need basic, safe, affordable, readily available accommodation. Thats it. Students dont want the five-star hotel experience for accommodation on-campus, we just need basic facilities at an affordable price. This is what the university should be building, not posh student apartments that nobody can afford. The largest increase of the five main on-campus villages was seen in eight-bed apartments in Kilmurry, where a room now costs 5,475.8 for the academic year - an increase of 46 percent from its 2016/2017 figure. Meanwhile, the most expensive on-campus option is priced at 6890.60 for the academic year, which works out at over 765 per month, for a room in a two-bed apartment in Thomond or Cappavilla on the north campus. A recent report by Daft.ie showed that a mortgage on a two-bed home in Limerick city is priced at 459 per month on average, while to rent is 1,010 and 904 for a one-bed apartment. A UL spokesperson said: University of Limerick (UL) has experienced phenomenal growth in the past 12 years, with an almost 50% increase in student numbers from 11,500 to 16,300 in 2019. The University has consistently acted to adapt to this and to address future growth in providing modern spaces for education and research and further accommodation for students. In the past five years, UL has spent 20 million in refurbishment and upgrade costs across all of the on-campus accommodation villages. More than 2.4m will be spent this year and next in further enhancements to existing accommodation services. Following significant demand for on-campus accommodation in August 2019, UL has introduced a shared accommodation (twin room) option to add 630 extra beds to the 2,850 already available in the on-campus residences. The option for twin (sharing) will be significantly cheaper in some cases up to 45% cheaper - and offer a reduced price point for on-campus accommodation that has not previously existed. It will also represent some of the cheapest on-campus accommodation in the country. Twin room costs will range from 2,800 to 4,250 per person, which includes utilities and UL Sport membership. General room rates for on-campus accommodation at UL will increase on average by between 3.5%-4% for the coming academic year, it was added. Operating costs, including the cost of labour, forecasted to grow by over 3% in the coming year, are increasing. In addition the consumer price index for the 12 months to October 2019 for Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels increased by 3.2%. Accommodation at UL remains among the most affordable in the country. In Spring 2019, ULs Campus Accommodation was ranked number one in Ireland for both accommodation quality and cost in the I-Graduate international student barometer survey. 'Waves' of repentance, revival occurring in Tennessee Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Marked by fasting and sincere repentance, "waves" of revival are breaking out as the Holy Spirit is stirring across the state of Tennessee. In an effort that includes hundreds of churches across the Volunteer state, a 30-day prayer and fasting initiative called Awaken Tennessee began on Jan. 26 and concludes Sunday. John Butler, pastor of East Rogersville Baptist Church in Rogersville, Tennessee, said in a Thursday phone interview with The Christian Post that he has been a student of revival for many years and has prayed fervently for it for many years. His church found out about the Awaken initiative, which happened to coincide with a conference he had planned in conjunction with the Asbury revival that occurred 50 years ago and a revival that occurred in Brownwood, Texas, 25 years ago. "In the past you've had revivals that have been somewhat based in one thing or another. I think for us this really is a Word-driven and prayer-focused time of revival. When you look back at the first, second and even third Great Awakenings you see this word excesses, strange things happening. We're not seeing any of that," Butler said. "What we're seeing is God's presence is in this place and people are convicted of sin, they repent. If they've got a relationship with Jesus, they repent and He cleanses them. If they don't have a relationship with Jesus that's what happens, they're born into the Kingdom. We're seeing people saved. God's doing a considerable work [among] our students." He added: "People are coming and we're worshiping God and God is changing lives." According to The Christian Broadcasting Network, the call to fast and pray across the Volunteer state began last year when Pastor Dave Clayton of Nashville's Ethos Church got 400 churches to unite and pray for every single resident of the city. Other pastors throughout the state followed suit and replicated the initiative in their communities. Baptists, Methodists, nondenominational churches and Pentecostal and Charismatic churches are all reportedly involved. "Know that God seems to move in waves. This has proven to be ever so helpful as we progress through these days of revival. We have witnessed these waves. All of the services have been Spirit-filled yet some are just overpowering and that is what we are seeing," Butler said in an interview with CBN News. Sheldon Livesay, East Tennessee coordinator for Awaken Tennessee, told the outlet that "there has been a 50-year history of intense prayer across our region and the last two years we've seen God lead cities of churches together to do prayer walks, crusades, and tent revivals." "Awaken Tennessee seems it has brought that extra Holy Spirit presence through prayer and fasting that we see exploding in church after church." Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sun, February 23, 2020 17:17 689 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad20661c3d1 1 National KPAI,controversy,sperm,sex,pregnancy,swimming,swimming-pool,swimmer Free An Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) commissioner has apologized for claiming that women could get pregnant from swimming in the same pool as men. KPAI commissioner for health, narcotics, and addictive substances, Sitti Hikmawatty, conceded that she had made an inaccurate statement. It was a personal statement and not from the KPAI, she said in a press release on Sunday, adding that she had already made a retraction but not before drawing widespread ridicule both online and offline. Sitti made the statement during an interview with tribunnews.com, saying that women should exercise caution when swimming in a public swimming pool with men or risk getting pregnant. There is an especially strong type of male sperm that may cause [] pregnancy in a swimming pool, Sitti said in the interview. Even without penetration, men may become sexually excited [by women in the pool] and ejaculate, therefore causing a pregnancy. She went on to say that his type of pregnancy was more likely to happen if the women in question had reached an age of being sexually active. If women are in a phase where they are sexually active, [such a pregnancy] may occur. No one knows for sure how men react to the sight of women in a swimming pool. The series of bizarre claims were immediately met with strong responses from the public, including medical practitioners. Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI) executive Nazar said it was impossible for women to get pregnant in a swimming pool. The water in swimming pools [] contains chlorine and other chemicals, he said on Sunday as quoted by Antara news agency. Sperm cannot survive in these conditions. Indonesian netizens have weighed in on the matter by using what they are most known for: memes and sarcasm. Web comic artist KomikFaktap, for example, posted on twitter an image he created that was inspired by the theatrical poster for Steven Spielbergs Jaws. But instead of a great white shark emerging from the depths of the ocean, a school super sperm is swimming toward an unsuspecting female swimmer. The movie title has been replaced with AWAS (watch out). The importance of proper sex education, @KomikFaktap wrote in the caption of the post, which has been retweeted over 4,500 times on the social media platform. Others were less inclined to humor in their response to Sittis statement, with some calling for her immediate dismissal from the KPAI. Ternyata masih ada yg belum tahu kenapa cewek berendam di air banjir bisa hamil? Ini loh, beritanya. Ini statemen terbodoh dan skaligus bikin malu lembaga @KPAI_official ! Sebaiknya komisioner yg sprti ini dipecat saja. Setuju? #PecatSittiHikmawattyhttps://t.co/uOB2SkHVkv Dumdum (@yusuf_dumdum) February 23, 2020 This is the dumbest statement, one that shames the KPAI. Commissioners like [Sitti] need to be removed from office. Agree? @yusuf_dumdum tweeted. Another Twitter user, @jr_kw19, wrote, Im baffled as to how the KPAI is still run by people who think this way. IQ Jongkok !!! Anggota KPAI Sitti Hikmawatti mengatakan kehamilan dapat terjadi jika berenang dgn laki laki Heran @KPAI_official di isi dgn orang yg pola pikirnya begini #PecatSittiHikmawatty pic.twitter.com/YwWba3qW5S Pribumi Kawe (@jr_kw19) February 23, 2020 The KPAI itself has issued an official response to the public backlash, saying that Sittis statement did not represent the organization. We hereby state that KPAIs understanding and attitude are not reflected in the online news narrative, KPAI chairman Susanto wrote in the statement on Saturday. (rfa) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday said that he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron on March 5 to discuss the situation in northwest Syria. Erdogan, however, did not specify where the meeting would be held. He reportedly said that Turkey "determined our road map" for Syria after calls on Friday with the Russian, German and French leaders. Meeting of world leaders Erdogan while speaking in the Izmir province said, "I held telephone conversations with Putin, Macron and Merkel on Idlib. We will meet together on March 5 and discuss this topic again." This latest announcement by Erdogan comes after a Turkish soldier was killed in Syria's Idlib province in a bomb attack by the Russian-backed government forces. According to reports, the situation in Syria has greatly deteriorated and nearly a million people have been displaced because of the conflict. The man-made humanitarian nightmare for the long-suffering Syrian people must stop, UN chief Antonio Guterres while addressing international media reporters had said. He added that there wasnt any military but only a political solution to the crisis. Though during his address at the UN headquarters, he did not talk about any specific plan for curbing the bloodshed in longest rebel holdout, international media reported. Read: Turkey Unhappy With Ankara-Moscow Talks On Syria Offensive Read: UN Alarmed By Civilian Suffering In Syria Since December, over 9,00,000 people have fled the Idlib province which has been a constant target for the regime lead the Syrian government to launch military attacks. Guterres recalled that he had repeatedly called for an immediate ceasefire in Idlib and urged parties to avoid any further escalation. It is crucial to break the vicious cycle of violence and suffering, he said. The area has reportedly witnessed the biggest wave of displacement since the 9-year-conflict first started. The UN Chief said that the refugees have escaped under the most tragic conditions. Young children freezing to death in the cold, he added. Despite ceasefire arrangement made under 2017 under a de-escalation agreement, and his recent appeals for an end to the hostility developments on the ground are making conditions increasingly more dangerous. (With inputs from ANI) (Image Credits: AP) Read: UN: Thousands Fleeing Syrian Offensive, Kids Dying In Cold Read: UN Chief Calls Syrian Crisis 'humanitarian Nightmare', Says There Is No Military Solution Abuja (Nigeria), 23 February 2020 (SPS) - Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama of Nigeria has reaffirmed his country's firm position over the just cause of Western Sahara people and their right to self-determination. The minister made the statement when he received the ongoing ambassador of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), Malainin Sidig, at the ministry's headquarters. The meeting tackled "the developments of Western Sahara issue at both African and international levels, the different aspects of cooperation and ways to develop the historical relations between the two countries and the two brother peoples. Speaking in the name of the government and people of the Saharawi Republic, the ambassador praised Nigerian State and people's historical support to Western Sahara people in its struggle. A large number of Nigerian organizations are supporting the Saharawi people in its struggle for liberation and self-determination. (SPS) 062/SPS/APS Palestinian militants fired some 20 rockets toward southern Israel on Sunday evening, the Israeli military said, hours after Israel said it killed a Palestinian militant who tried to place a bomb along the Israel-Gaza barrier fence. There was no immediate claim for the rocket fire, but it appeared to be meant to avenge the death of the militant. Palestinians were furious over the image of the man's lifeless body dangling off the front of an Israeli bulldozer that had crossed into Gaza to retrieve it. There was also criticism in Gaza of the territory's Hamas rulers for not responding. Israel said another Palestinian militant was shot and wounded in the clash. The Israeli military reported air raid sirens throughout southern Israel, and said at least 20 rockets had been fired. There were no reports of damage or injuries on the Israeli side, but it was the heaviest barrage of rockets from the Gaza Strip in several months. Israel and the Islamic Jihad group engaged in a heavy round of fighting last November after the Israeli military killed a top Islamic Jihad commander. Since then, Israel and Gaza's more powerful Hamas group have been working through Egyptian mediators to cement an informal cease-fire. But Islamic Jihad has continued to try to carry out attacks. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) WASHINGTON - Intelligence officers pride themselves as apolitical fact-finders who follow the rule of "speak truth to power." But President Donald Trump has tacked on a new coda: "Do so at your peril." In ousting his acting director of national intelligence, Joseph Maguire, this week after a revealing briefing on foreign election interference, Trump has reminded members of the intelligence community that he views the information they bring him through a deeply personal lens. Trump upbraided Maguire in the Oval Office on Feb. 14, believing that the intelligence community had handed Democrats political ammunition during a bipartisan briefing a day earlier about efforts to secure the 2020 election. A senior career intelligence officer who worked for Maguire told lawmakers that Russia had "developed a preference" for Trump. She also described other steps Russia is taking, including assistance to the presidential campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. Trump responded not by rejecting Russia's interference or pressing his officials to work harder to deter it, but by telling Maguire and another senior career intelligence official present that they were being "played," according to a senior White House official. Five days later, Trump announced that Richard Grenell, the U.S. ambassador to Germany and a presidential loyalist, would step in as the new acting director of national intelligence. Maguire was told to vacate his office at the DNI's headquarters in Virginia by 10 a.m. the next morning, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Current and former national security officials were appalled but not surprised by Maguire's unceremonious dispatch. "[I]n this administration, good men and women don't last long," retired Adm. William H. McRaven, who led the raid that killed Osama bin Laden and is one of Maguire's closest friends, wrote in an opinion piece for The Washington Post on Friday. "Joe was dismissed for doing his job: overseeing the dissemination of intelligence to elected officials who needed that information to do their jobs," McRaven wrote. Intelligence officers are used to working with presidents who don't enthusiastically embrace or always agree with their analysis. But Trump's tendency to shoot the messenger puts the people working for him in a precarious position. "Since the day Trump took office we've had a president who has made clear to everyone around him that if you do things he doesn't like there are going to be swift and public consequences," said Katrina Mulligan, a former National Security Council aide for the Obama administration. "So the intelligence community at this point is having to walk a tightrope. They have to provide him with information - he's the one responsible for protecting the nation. And yet they might start to feel like they need to hold things back to avoid triggering his anger. That's not good." Three other former senior intelligence officials said Trump's violent reactions could encourage his advisers to withhold unsettling information. There is talk of "trying to hide" stuff, one of the former officials said, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private discussions. "Some people believe the president can't be trusted with this politically sensitive information anymore. There's a sense that he's installing his guy [Grenell] and they're going to come in and try to look for stuff, and they're not trustworthy." Grenell, who has no experience in the intelligence community, is close to Trump and his children. The president delights in his boosterism on Fox News and Twitter, where Grenell frequently clashes with the president's critics and with journalists. Current and former intelligence officials see Grenell's appointment, which he has said will last only until a permanent director is confirmed by the Senate, as a signal that Trump intends to exert more political control over the intelligence community. A House intelligence committee official worried that Trump "has installed a new acting DNI to protect himself and interfere politically in the crucial work of the intelligence community, leaving our elections more vulnerable to foreign interference than ever." The decision to move another Trump loyalist, Kash Patel, into a senior advisory position at the intelligence director's office further cemented that impression. Patel, a former aide to Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., and most recently the top counterterrorism official on the National Security Council, has infuriated CIA and FBI personnel over his efforts to prove a conspiracy in the intelligence community to bring down the president by investigating his campaign's possible ties to Russia in 2016. U.S. intelligence agencies unanimously concluded that in 2016 Russia leaked emails from the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign as part of an effort to harm her candidacy and boost Trump, a finding that has long riled Trump and congressional Republicans. The recent analysis that Russia is again trying to help Trump inflamed a long-sensitive nerve. Trump bristles at the mention of what he calls the "hoax" of Russian interference in his first campaign, current and former administration officials have said. Then-Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was told by acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney not to discuss the subject with the president, because it would make him angry, according to current and former officials. Trump's frustrations with election security were on display again when he dressed down Maguire. The president questioned him about why Russia would want to help him, arguing that there was no evidence to support the claim. Nunes, the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee and one of Trump's most stalwart allies on Capitol Hill, had already told Trump that Maguire's election security coordinator, Shelby Pierson, and other officials at the briefing were unpersuasive, according to a White House official with knowledge of their conversation and the president's argument with his intelligence advisers. The president was upset by what he felt were Pierson's unsubstantiated comments. "If you're going to come in and say Russia is trying to interfere with our election, or has a preferred candidate, you better have the evidence for the president," the official said. But other officials said Trump had been told before about Russian interference. The analysis that Russia favored Trump may have been new, but the president already knew about Russia's tactics and strategies heading into 2020. One U.S. official said Pierson's statement that Russia has "developed a preference" for Trump "may overstate the underlying intelligence." "The underlying intelligence doesn't conclusively support that assessment," the official said. Some lawmakers told Pierson that Russia wouldn't support Trump because he provided lethal weapons to Ukraine to defend against Russia. (Trump froze other congressionally approved aid for Ukraine while he sought Ukraine's investigations of his political rivals, actions that led to his impeachment.) Intelligence, however, is often inconclusive. Current and former officials also noted that briefers such as Pierson generally don't share raw intelligence or the evidence underlying a broader assessment with lawmakers. Regardless of whether Pierson overstated what's currently known, the message from Trump to intelligence officers seemed clear. "The entire executive branch is spooked right now because election interference in his mind is about him," one former intelligence official said. "So you can't do anything that isn't essentially under the radar or you might end up blowing up the effort." A senior U.S. intelligence official with direct knowledge of intelligence briefings with the president said that Trump is open to information he might not want to hear. "We never get a briefing canceled because we give him bad news," said the senior official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the details of intelligence briefings. "We go in and he treats us with respect. He listens, he asks questions and he lets us answer those questions," the official said. "Much of our news is bad news. Yet he invites us back." The official, who is familiar with briefings to former presidents, said intelligence officers understand that their job is to convey information to Trump, and not to be pressured by his or others' public comments. "Our job isn't to listen to Twitter," the official said. "We are focused on and have to be able to explain everything that's going on in the world." The official added, "We don't want to leave the impression that the briefers feel any pressure" to pull punches or tell Trump what he wants to hear. "We don't." Former administration officials said Trump likes to challenge the briefers on how they know what they know, which is sometimes viewed as appropriate skepticism. But other times, such as on North Korea or Russia, he will not accept their facts if they are contrary to his intentions. Pierson, who has been the national intelligence manager for Russia, is the first election threats executive, a position created last July by then-DNI Director Daniel Coats to coordinate election security activities across the intelligence community. That includes monitoring different streams of intelligence that agencies collect about interference activities and intentions - the kind of information used to conclude that Russia has developed a preference for reelecting Trump. With colleagues from other agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI, Pierson has sought to broaden and elevate the discussion about foreign interference threats. "There's been a real push to raise public awareness across the voting populace," she said in a discussion sponsored by American University's Tech Law and Security Program this month. Pierson also acknowledged officials were worried that election security could acquire a partisan tinge. "There was some original concern that the government doesn't want to weigh in too heavily on this, particularly because of [the fear of it appearing to be] a political endeavor, which I think also makes these challenges . . . even more complicated," she said. Trump's national security adviser, Robert O'Brien, told ABC's George Stephanopoulos in an interview that he had not seen any intelligence that Russia wanted to help Trump. But O'Brien said reports that Russia is helping Sanders were "no surprise," adding that he "honeymooned in Moscow." As intelligence officials struggle to draw attention to election interference, Trump is purging the ranks of advisers he believes won't strongly defend him. Johnny McEntee, the new head of the White House Presidential Personnel Office, has asked agencies to tell him about appointees who are opposed to the president, according to a White House official. "We want bad people out of our government!" Trump tweeted Feb. 13, the day before he met with Maguire. The National Security Council, the State Department and the Justice Department are under particular scrutiny, according to two administration officials, and several officials there have recently resigned or been reassigned. Experts worry that as more officials are pushed out, their replacements will have an obvious incentive to keep their heads down and not provoke Trump. "The intelligence community plays an indispensable role in providing the best possible analysis to policymakers on threats to the nation," said Laura Rosenberger, a former National Security Council and State Department aide in the Obama administration who works on election security issues for the Alliance for Securing Democracy. "That analysis is essential in ensuring that policymakers can take steps to protect our national security," Rosenberger said. "Sending a signal that the intelligence community will be penalized if it presents analysis that the president doesn't like risks leaving our country dangerously blind to threats against it." - - - The Washington Post's Missy Ryan contributed to this report. Las Vegas Bernie Sanders scored a commanding victory in Nevada's presidential caucuses on Saturday, cementing his status as the Democrats' national front-runner but escalating tensions over whether he's too liberal to defeat President Donald Trump. As Sanders celebrated, Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg vied for second and Elizabeth Warren trailed further behind. They were all seeking any possible momentum heading into next-up South Carolina and then Super Tuesday on March 3. Nevada's caucuses were the first chance for White House hopefuls to demonstrate appeal to a diverse group of voters in a state far more representative of the country as a whole than Iowa and New Hampshire. Sanders, a 78-year Vermont senator and self-described democratic socialist, won by rallying his fiercely loyal base and tapping into support from Nevada's large Latino community. In a show of confidence, Sanders left Nevada for Texas, which offers one of the biggest delegate troves in just 10 days on Super Tuesday. "We are bringing our people together," he declared. "In Nevada we have just brought together a multigenerational, multiracial coalition which is not only going to win in Nevada, it's going to sweep this country." Saturday's win built on Sanders' win earlier this month in the New Hampshire primary. He essentially tied for first place in the Iowa caucuses with Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who has sought to position himself as an ideological counter to Sanders' unabashedly progressive politics. But for all the energy and attention devoted to the first three states, they award only a tiny fraction of the delegates needed to capture the nomination. After South Carolina, the contest becomes national in scope, putting a premium on candidates who have the resources to compete in states as large as California and Texas. While Sanders' victory in Nevada encouraged his supporters, it only deepened concern among establishment-minded Democratic leaders who fear he is too extreme to defeat Trump. Sanders for decades has been calling for transformative policies to address inequities in politics and the economy, none bigger than his signature "Medicare for All" health care plan that would replace the private insurance system with a government-run universal system. Trump gloated on social media, continuing his weeks-long push to sow discord between Sanders and his Democratic rivals. "Looks like Crazy Bernie is doing well in the Great State of Nevada. Biden & the rest look weak," Trump tweeted. "Congratulations Bernie, & don't let them take it away from you!" Buttigieg congratulated Sanders, too, but then launched an aggressive verbal assault on the senator as too divisive. "Before we rush to nominate Senator Sanders in our one shot to take on this president, let's take a sober look at what is at stake for our party, for our values and for those with so much to lose," he said. "Senator Sanders believes in an inflexible, ideological revolution that leaves out most Democrats, not to mention most Americans." Biden also took aim at the Vermont senator as he claimed a success but not a victory in Nevada that would trigger a comeback. Without naming names, he took a swipe at Sanders and billionaire Mike Bloomberg, who wasn't on the Nevada ballot but has emerged as a threat to Biden in contests that begin next month. "I ain't a socialist. I'm not a plutocrat. I'm a Democrat," Biden declared. Also in the fight: Warren, who desperately needed a spark to revive her stalled bid; billionaire Tom Steyer, who spent more than $12 million on Nevada television and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who hoped to prove her strong New Hampshire finish was no fluke. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Klobuchar, campaigning in her home state of Minnesota Saturday night, claimed Nevada success no matter her poor showing. "As usual I think we have exceeded expectations," she said. The first presidential contest in the West tested the candidates' strength with black and Latino voters for the first time in 2020. Nevada's population aligns more with the U.S. as a whole, compared with Iowa and New Hampshire: 29 percent Latino, 10 percent black and 9 percent Asian American and Pacific Islander. Former New York Mayor Bloomberg, who dominated the political conversation this week, wasn't on the ballot. He's betting everything on a series of delegate-rich states that begin voting next month. The stakes were high for Nevada Democrats to avoid a repeat of the chaos in the still-unresolved Iowa caucuses, and it appeared Saturday's contest was largely successful. Unlike state primaries and the November election, which are run by government officials, caucuses are overseen by state parties. Nevada Democrats sought to minimize problems by creating multiple redundancies in their reporting system, relying on results called in by phone, a paper worksheet filled out by caucus organizers, a photo of that worksheet sent in by text message and electronic results captured with a Google form. In addition, it appeared Nevada Democrats were able to successfully navigate a complicated process for adding early voting to the caucus process. Nearly 75,000 people cast early ballots over a four-day period, and the party was able to process those in time for Saturday so they could be integrated into the in-person vote. Only Biden, Buttigieg and Steyer were still in the state when news of Sanders' victory was announced. More than half of South Korea's novel coronavirus cases are linked to a branch of a controversial religious group in the southern city of Daegu. At least 231 of the country's 433 confirmed cases are associated with the Shincheonji religious group, according to South Korea's Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (KCDC). The total number of cases reported in South Korea in the past 24 hours stands at 229, after 142 new cases were confirmed overnight. Around 9,300 Shincheonji members are being put into self-isolation and will be tested, the country's Ministry of Health and Welfare said Saturday. The Shincheonji is centered around the personality of its founder and chairman, Lee Man-hee. On a website believed to be the group's official homepage, the group heavily suggests that Lee is the "Promised Pastor" mentioned in the Bible. The passage it highlights suggests that the Promised Pastor is the second coming of Jesus Christ. Members of the group congregate in a way that puts them in close contact with one another for long periods of time. KCDC Director Jung Eun-Kyeong said at a press briefing on Friday: "(We are) seeing that there is a possibility that the characteristics of many people sitting close together in a very confined space and holding service for more than an hour ... (could have led to) a few who were exposed infecting many (other) infectees." The group said it "deeply regrets" the outbreak which occurred in their Daegu branch, in a statement released online Friday. It said its "services, gatherings, and mission activity" have been stopped and all its buildings are being sanitized. The group also expressed concern over what it says is "false information" that has been circulating about it, especially reports that it is the "'main culprit in the spread of virus,' referring to our 'unusual service style.'" It added that it had to hold services on the floor to "maximize the number of occupants in our small space -- which was due to Shincheonji not being allowed our rightful building permit." CNN has attempted to contact the Shincheonji group for comment. The group has previously been described as a cult. John Everard, a former British diplomat and Korea expert, told CNN: "There are all sorts of cults in South Korea. They [Shincheonji members] are generally regarded as not particularly malign. They hold beliefs that are a long way out of the mainstream and in Pastor Lee there is a real cult of personality. In that context, Pastor Lee's cult of personality isn't one of the most extreme, but it does exist." The Church of England had also previously issued a warning about splinter groups in the UK in which it suggested the group was a cult. As South Korea grapples with the outbreak, two patients who have been diagnosed with coronavirus have died in the country, according to the KCDC. The first patient tested positive for the virus after their death, according to the KCDC on Thursday. On Friday, KCDC director Jung said the victim had a chronic lung disease and had been hospitalized for a long period of time. Jung also stated that the second patient, identified as a woman born in 1965, was confirmed to have the virus on Friday. South Korean officials said on Friday that the two cities where the outbreak of the virus had been confirmed would be designated as "special care zones." Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said: "(The government) will carry out special measures by designating the Daegu and Cheongdo areas, which are experiencing difficulties due to a sudden increase in confirmed cases, as 'special care zones.'" The government also plans to send military medical staff and prepare temporary isolation facilities for those who are unable to isolate themselves. Concern is growing in the housebuilding sector that a long delay in forming a government will have a serious impact on housing supply, according to key industry figures. The crisis in the sector requires an all-party agreement on policy similar to one in place to deal with health, they told the Sunday Independent. Uncertainty around the make up of the next government is already causing problems for builders, according to Wexford-based Anthony Neville who operates across the Leinster region. "I am selling a development of three-bed homes in Enniscorthy for 210,000 each and purchasers are not showing up," he said. "That is because my potential customers are on the Wexford housing list and cannot get mortgage approval." Neville, a former chairman of the Irish Housebuilders Association (IHBA) but who was speaking in a private capacity, said that a local authority had turned down planning permission for another of his developments saying it was too dense. "I appealed that decision to An Bord Pleanala and they've just come back and turned it down on the basis that it is not dense enough. There is no minister there now to drive policy so nothing will happen and the industry is in total limbo." Construction Industry Federation (CIF) director general Tom Parlon expressed similar concerns when contacted by this newspaper: "There's a lot of concern around uncertainty across the construction and property industries," he said. "You can measure risk, but you can't measure uncertainty, particularly the sort of political uncertainty we're going to face over the coming month." Prolonged uncertainty would have "a significant impact on the investment pipeline that can only stymie the delivery of housing and apartments," said Parlon. "We're calling on the parties to accelerate discussions and come to some arrangement as quickly as possible. Whatever the composition of the next Government, we believe that the housing crisis necessitates a cross-party agreement backed up by emergency legislation similar to the approach adopted for Slaintecare." Parlon continued: "I'm afraid that housing will probably be the rock that the next Government crashes on also. I do not see enough coordination and collaboration between the industry and the myriad bodies of the state and local government that's required to deliver a quantum shift in housing output," he said. The CIF boss said the government had contributed to the problems in the sector because it adds to the cost of construction. "When finance is limited, our banks are restricted from lending to homebuilders, such a high tax take means builders can't secure finance, hence they can't build," said Parlon. "The result is that its unaffordable to build affordable homes so young couples move home, go on the social housing list or face paying exorbitant amounts in Ireland's 'rental purgatory'." About the show A weekly programme that examines and dissects the worlds media, how they operate and the stories they cover. Watch The Listening Post every Saturday at 0830GMT A tattoo parlour that does designs for children using multi-coloured permanent markers has divided parents with some hailing it an 'awesome idea' while others claim its a 'gateway drug to the real thing'. Ink and Skin Studios in Kentucky, USA, do the creative designs in exchange for a donation to charity. They shared pictures of their designs - which include baby Yoda, Deadpool and Anna and Elsa from Frozen - to Facebook and parents swiftly flocked to the comments to share their thoughts. A tattoo parlour that does designs for children using multi-coloured permanent markers has divided parents with some hailing it an 'awesome idea' while others claim its a 'gateway drug to the real thing' Some highlighted potential health risks Sharpies pose to children's skin. Faye Leonhardt said: 'I love this, but I understand "Sharpies" are not good for skin.' Matthew Rhoads said: 'Not opposed to this idea but I don't know how safe sharpie is on your skin. Ink and Skin Studios shared pictures of their designs - which include baby Yoda, a deadpool mask and Anna and Elsa from Frozen - to Facebook 'Obviously theres gonna be the we used to draw on ourselves and were fine comments but youre fine now. 'You don't know long term effects. Its still a cool idea maybe just use something different if possible.' Others claimed the fake tattoos would encourage children to get real ones. Brandi Tabor said: 'Nope. Consider it the gateway drug to the real thing.' Some people highlighted potential health risks Sharpies pose to children's skin. Pictured: Some of the designs the studio did on children using permanent markers Others claimed the fake tattoos would encourage children to get real ones. Pictured: Skyla Lynn getting her fake tattoo Others disagreed and said the drawings offer a way for children to experiment with 'forbidden' topics because 'the more you shelter them the more theyll rebel'. Melaine McQuillan said the 'tattoos' are 'a brilliant idea to educate kids who think they want' one. She added: 'Give them a fake one for a couple of weeks and get them to think about whether they want that for the rest of their lives. Far better than having them sneak out and turn up at home with a real one by a backyard tattooist. Viewers swiftly flocked to the comments to share their thoughts on the permanent-marker tattoos, and many people were divided 'You can't scrub a real one off.' Scott Booth said: 'Coming from a fellow tattoo artist this is a great way to let kids express themselves with the love of art and best of all it's just sharpie, it comes off after a while, but the smiles of the kids are what matters.' Jenny Rogerson said: 'I see this as a great educational tool. Teach kids about tattoos and safety with tattoos teaches them about decisions. 'I have tattoo talk with any child who asks with permission from their parent the important decision and not to take it lightly.' The US Embassy on Sunday (February 23) said that it no objection to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy CM Manish Sisodia accompanying First Lady Melania Trump during the latter's visit to a Delhi government school but the two leaders were dropped from the list because US First Lady's visit should not be seen as a political event. While the US embassy had no objection to the presence of the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister, we appreciate their recognition that this is not a political event and that it is best to ensure the focus is on education, the school, and the students," said a US Embassy spokesperson. Earlier, the AAP had said that CM Kejriwal and his deputy Sisodia would not accompany Melania Trump on her visit to a Delhi government school on Tuesday (February 25). It is to be noted that Melania is arriving in India on February 24 with US President Donald Trump and she is scheduled to observe a happiness class at a government school in Delhi. Meanwhile, Delhi Deputy CM Sisodia on Sunday broke his silence over the matter and said that it is a matter of immense pride for Delhi government, teachers and students and US First Lady is visiting a school run by Delhi government. "It's a matter of great pride for Delhi Govt, teachers and students that US First Lady is visiting a Delhi Govt school. It's a big appreciation for us that the work of AAP govt in education sector, especially Happiness classes, is being recognised in the world," he said. "However, certain concerns were expressed by US embassy regarding CM&Deputy CM accompanying the First Lady during the school visit. We respect the same. We welcome the First Lady wholeheartedly and will do our best to facilitate the tour," added Sisodia. "Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and myself would have loved to personally receive First Lady in Delhi Govt school&brief her about concept of Happiness Classes and positive impact that it has on students, during her visit to classrooms," noted Deputy CM Sisodia. I dont want to shoot you, the officer said. You probably will, Hall can be heard answering. No, I do not want to, the officer said. Do not make me do this, OK? Hall ignores other officers commands as footage shows them take up positions throughout the store. Officer Lingor enters and takes a position behind the checkout counter until shots are fired, while Officer Hill is at the east entrance by the counter until shots are fired. Lt. Edwards comes into the store from the west doors equipped with a ballistic shield and takes up position next to the unidentified initial responding officer. While officers take up positions inside the store, Hall can be heard telling officers they are going to have to kill somebody today. ... Theres no ending it, the end is my death. ... You will have to take my life. Less than lethal s---- aint going to work. I will pick this s---- up and you will shoot me in the face regardless. Warner stranded as Australia fall short in second T20 South Africa v Australia - Second T20 PORT ELIZABETH, South Africa (Reuters) - Opener David Warner scored an unbeaten half-century in vain as Australia blew what appeared to be a comfortable chase and South Africa claimed a 12-run victory in the second Twenty20 International on Sunday. South Africa posted a below-par 158 for four in their 20 overs as Australia strangled their bright start, but were able to defend the total as the wicket slowed up and the touring side found scoring increasingly difficult. Warner was unbeaten on 67 from 56 balls and having reached 98 for one in the 13th over, Australia looked odds-on for the victory until South Africa found a way to cut off the boundaries and they finished short on 146 for six. The series is level at 1-1 with the decider to be played in Cape Town on Wednesday, after which the sides will contest three one-day internationals. "We've played here a number of times and I've realised that the new ball is key," South Africa captain Quinton de Kock said at the post-match presentation. "We understand that this wicket, especially late afternoon, for the team batting second it's always going to be difficult." De Kock was again the mainstay of the South African innings, his clean striking bringing five fours and four sixes in a fine 70 from 47 balls before he holed out to mid-off. Rassie van der Dussen (37 from 26 balls) provided a vital contribution, but South Africa were 20 or so runs short of where they should have been, having scored only 36 runs in the last five overs with wickets in hand. Seamer Kane Richardson was the pick of the Australian bowling attack with 2-21 in four overs. Australia appeared to be cruising in their reply and when Steve Smith (29 from 26 balls) was out with the score on 98, they required 61 from 45 balls with eight wickets remaining. But South Africa used the slow wicket expertly as leg-spinner Tabraiz Shamsi returned figures of 0-17 in his four overs to increase the pressure on the visitors. Story continues Australia needed 20 from the final 12 balls and when Kagiso Rabadas penultimate over went for only three, they were firmly on the back foot and never recovered momentum. "I thought we were in the hunt for most of the chase. We just didn't get that kick at the end that we needed," Australia skipper Aaron Finch said. "Both teams bowled well at the end, it's not ideal but a great game." (Reporting by Nick Said, editing by Ed Osmond) I dont have a strong sense of confidence that anybody is steering the ship at Lincoln, Lehman said. Also, I think there is a strong desire on both the part of faculty members and parents at Lincoln to do something productive. I dont get a sense the administration is as heavily invested in that process as the parents and teachers are, and that really bothers me. Mistakes have to have been made if weve gone through as many principals as we have in the last few years. It is my job and responsibility to make sure that they know how to supervise, said Collins, a Marine Corps veteran. Because you have to know how to lead people, you just cant be a boss. A boss just tells people what to do and thats not what we need here. We need people to be leaders. Please register or log in to keep reading. No credit card required! Stay logged in to skip the surveys. 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CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing Company Person for contact Name: Gurgu C Phone Number: (818) 359-3898 Email: cgurgu@internetmarketingcompany.biz Website: https://compare-autoinsurance.org SOURCE: Internet Marketing Company View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/577482/Cheap-Car-Insurance-2020-How-to-Save-Money-on-Auto-Insurance Tripoli, Libya (PANA)-The Chairman of the Presidential Council of the Government of National Accord, Fayez al-Sarraj, will Monday address the 43rd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCHR) in Geneva, Switzerland, where he will present the latest developments in the Libyan crisis - Bungoma county government received reports that Mt. Elgon residents were planning on feasting on the locusts - The county warned them against eating them saying they posed a great health challenge since they harboured chemicals from previous spraying - Bungoma became the 19th devolved unit to be invaded by the voracious feeders which UN's FAO listed as a glaring threat to food security The county government of Bungoma has warned its residents against feasting on the swarms of locusts that have invaded various parts of the region. The county became the 19th devolved unit to be invaded by the voracious feeders which have been in the country from December 28, 2019. READ ALSO: Video vixen in Binti Kiziwi song released from China jail after 7 years Bungoma residents were warned against eating locusts since they harboured chemicals. Photo: Getty Images. Source: Getty Images READ ALSO: Justice Sankale to be charged as third person in Tob Cohen's murder The Agriculture County Executive Committee (CEC) Mathews Makanda said the insects were harbouring chemicals sprayed on them in areas they previously invaded thus posing a health risk if ingested, NTV reported. He sounded the warning at a time his office received reports that a section of Mt. Elgon residents were planning on eating the pests as a method of controlling them. The insects invaded Kimilili and Mt Elgon constituencies in Bungoma. READ ALSO: Love wins: Ali Kiba, Kenyan wife share sweet dance moves on son's birthday The Agriculture CEC Mathews Makanda (Pictured) had received reports that Mt. Elgon residents were planning on eating the locusts. Photo: The Star. Source: UGC The government has been deploying various tactics, such as aerial spraying to exterminate the pests. They first entered the country from Ethiopia and invaded Wajir and Garissa counties on December 28, 2019. They have so far been spotted in over 15 counties which include Kisumu, Kirinyaga, Meru, Kitui, Embu among others. CS Peter Munya had said the locusts were too old to destroy vegetation. Photo: Hon Peter Munya. Source: Facebook A week ago, Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya came under fire after saying the insects were too old to destroy vegetation. He said the yellow pigment on the insects indicated they were old and could ruin crops further stating Kenyans should not be worried. Kenyans were concerned the Jubilee administration was handling the menace casually forgetting the infestation was a glaring threat to food security. The United States (US) government recently donated KSh 800 million to Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia to aid in alleviating the locusts. Do you have a groundbreaking story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690. Contact Tuko.co.ke instantly. My 21 years in America were useless | Tuko TV Source: TUKO.co.ke Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-23 09:52:01|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- President Xi Jinping has encouraged medical students of Tibet University to build strong ability and serve the people at the primary level ahead of the Tibetan New Year. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks Friday when answering a letter from the students who are interning at Peking University Shougang Hospital in Beijing. Iraq: A minibus stopped outside the world's largest cemetery in the Iraqi Shiite holy city of Najaf. Five women got out, telephone cameras filming the scene, and dashed excitedly towards a grave. Clad in black, they joined wailing women and men beating their chests in grief at Wadi al-Salam (valley of peace), an ever expanding cemetery. All eyes were on the grave of Iraqi paramilitary commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. Killed alongside top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in a US drone strike in Baghdad on January 3, Muhandis is now revered as a martyred icon of anti-American resistance. His grave has become a magnet for Shiites vowing vengeance against Washington. Below a life-sized portrait of the deceased commander, a young man kneeled before his grave, the wailing of women ringing around him. "May God avenge us from America," the man screamed. Located along aisle nine of Wadi al-Salam, the commander's final resting place has gained near-holy status. It has become a stop for the thousands of Shiite pilgrims who pass through Najaf each day to visit the tomb of Imam Ali, son-in-law of the Prophet Mohammed. "It is not just a grave, it has been transformed into a shrine," Abbas Abdul Hussein, a security official at the cemetery, said. "Men, women and children... flock from Iran, Lebanon and Bahrain daily to visit Abu Mahdi," he said. HELL TO PAY Washington's number one enemy in Iraq, Muhandis was head of the Hashed al-Shaabi, an Iraqi military network largely incorporated into the state. He was Soleimani's top Iraqi aide and widely seen as Tehran's man in Baghdad. The US strike that killed Muhandis and Soleimani outside Baghdad airport dealt a severe blow to Tehran and its so-called axis of resistance that stretches across Iran, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon. Iraq's armed factions, the most hardline of which are financed, trained and armed by Iran, have vowed to avenge Muhandis's death. They said America's 5,200 troops in Iraq would have "hell" to pay. But almost two months after the assassination, there has yet to be a heavy response, apart from Iranian missile strikes on January 8. As well as the grave at Wadi Salam, a small altar has been erected at the site of Muhandis's death at the entrance to Baghdad airport. Dressed in black from head-to-toe, Um Hussein said she made a 450-kilometre (280-mile) trek from Basra in southern Iraq to pay homage at the grave. "Every time we come to visit (the tomb of) Imam Ali, we will make a stop to see the hero and martyr Muhandis," she said. HERO WHO DEFEATED IS From the early hours of the day until after sunset, the entrance to the cemetery is bustling with mini-busses ferrying visitors. Standing over Muhandis's grave, tears rolling down her cheeks, Souad said she also came from Basra to honour the "hero" who "defeated" the Islamic State (IS) group. "His death really affected us and the Hashed as a whole," she said. Wadi Salam is also the final resting place of thousands of Hashed fighters killed during the 2014-2017 battle against IS. It was on this front that Muhandis -- known for his virulent anti-Americanism long before the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq -- became a revered figure. Muhandis, accused of involvement in deadly 1983 attacks against the French and US embassies in Kuwait, oversaw the Hashed and its integration into the state. He transformed most of his paramilitary fighters into regulars, but some have remained outside state structures, including those Washington accuses of attacking its personnel in Iraq. Flanked by the graves of other Shiite commanders, Reza Abadi, an Iranian from Soleimani's hometown of Kerman, recited a eulogy over the grave of Muhandis. "We came here to show our respect for this man who is dear to Iranians and Iraqis," he said. "The memory of the two martyrs, Hajj Qasem and Abu Mahdi, will never be forgotten." GE, a global technology company, and Indias Vedanta Limited - Aluminium & Power business, have signed an agreement to implement GEs Digital Smelter solutions at its largest smelter in India at Jharsuguda in Odisha to significantly increase its operational efficiency and productivity. Vedanta Limited Aluminium & Power business is Indias largest producer of aluminium with an installed capacity of 2.2 MTPA and has an extensive portfolio of value-added aluminium products which are used by a wide gamut of core industries. This will be the first such deployment of digital twin technology at any aluminium smelter in India and is part of Vedantas long-term digital transformation initiatives, said a statement. The digital twin technology and advanced data analytics being deployed are expected to substantially reduce specific power consumption at the smelter. Typically, a one-percent reduction in specific power consumption based on digital smelter solutions can save about $4-5 million annually in the smelter potlines alone, for every 1 million ton per annum (MTPA) of aluminium production. In addition, this digital solution is expected to improve raw material utilisation, increase smelter pot life, operational efficiency, safety and reduce wastage. Ajay Kapur, CEO Aluminium & Power Business, Vedanta, said: Aluminium is a metal of strategic importance and it finds applications in key sectors such as aerospace, electrical distribution, construction, transportation etc. Being the largest producer of aluminium in India, with an extensive value-added product portfolio, this partnership with GE will help us enhance sustainability and bring in more predictability to our business as we are constantly looking at innovative digital technologies to optimise our business performance levels, he said. The application of digital industrial solutions is an extraordinary opportunity to accelerate productivity levels to benchmark beating standards, he added. Mahesh Palashikar, president and CEO, GE South Asia, said: Our company has a strong history of leadership to enhance competitiveness, efficiency and sustainability for our customers. We are proud to support Vedantas efforts to drive operational excellence across its aluminium smelter plants which will include advanced data analytics to model plant assets and deliver process advisories to enhance business outcomes. This will set new benchmarks in the industry, he added. GEs Digital Smelter solutions are a significant step in charting the next generation of smelting operations globally. Industrial IoT solutions are becoming mission-critical for industrial companies around the world, said Bhanu Shekhar, chief commercial officer at GE Digital. By combining machine learning and predictive analytics with the deep domain expertise of our teams we are helping customers like Vedantas aluminium business to better operate, analyse and optimise their operations. These predictive insights and process advisories improve operational performance and reduce risks such as unplanned shutdowns, he said. Together with Vedanta we will work on improving asset health and production processes through the application of big data analytics, advanced failure mode analysis and process optimisation modeling. Historical information and real-time data will be processed using data analytics to generate alerts and insights which will be shared with plant operators and maintenance teams to help them execute their duties more effectively and achieve greater business outcomes for the plant. GEs digital solutions use machine learning algorithms to provide multiple outcomes such as pot health/leak alerts, virtual-sensor based dosing recommendations, anode-effect predictions, etc. which are entirely data analytics driven and require no additional sensing hardware or infrastructure. GEs suite of Digital Smelter solutions is being internally developed jointly by GE Digital and GE Global Research Center to address all the elements of such a large-scale operation in the potlines, as well as for the other operational adjacencies that make up the entire smelter plant ecosystem, it stated. TradeArabia News Service Bitcoin will transform our current financial systems and eliminate segregation created by countries borders. This is is the view of Farzam Ehsani, the CEO of South Africa cryptocurrency exchange VALR. Ehsani was not always a Bitcoin advocate, however, and when he first heard about the technology he was skeptical. When I first heard about Bitcoin, I thought it was a scam. When its price fell from over $1,100 in late 2013 to less than $250, I felt vindicated in this belief, said Ehsani. Then I spoke to a close friend in San Francisco, who founded a start-up in the Bitcoin space in 2014. Ehsani suggested to his friend that he should be doing more worthy things with his life, but his friend replied with: Farzam, I dont think you understand what Bitcoin and blockchain technology are. Let me explain. Since then Ive been captivated by technology, and specifically the promise that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin hold for transforming our current financial system. Technology space Ehsanis journey into the working world started with him attending primary and secondary school in Kenya, and then UC Berkeley in California. His first real job was as a resident assistant at the International House at UC Berkeley, where he was paid $9 per hour. He then went on to work at Deloitte Consulting, McKinsey, and Rand Merchant Bank (RMB). I worked hard, but I was also very lucky to have these opportunities, said Ehsani. His big break in the blockchain scene arrived when he was asked to help set up RMBs Fintech Unit in January 2016, after asking many questions to the banks leadership about Bitcoin and blockchain technology. At the time no one had heard of the term blockchain, and everyone associated Bitcoin with drugs and the dark net, he said. After leading the blockchain work at the bank for over two years, he realized there was a limited appetite for banks to enter the cryptocurrency space. I then left to start VALR with my co-founders. Best advice Founding a company has many rewards, said Ehsani, including the ability to create a product from scratch that serves tens of thousands of people. And the ability to do this on ones own terms along with ones team is even better. A leadership role is all-consuming, particularly in the early stages of a start-up, though, and taking a holiday is an elusive concept, he said. For South Africans who would like to advance their carriers in the tech space, or break into it for the first time, Ehsani said you cannot take no for an answer. Dont be afraid of failing. Dont worry about what other people think. And if you want a career at a particular company, dont just submit your CV, he said. Pick up the phone, call the company, ask to speak to their HR department, and request a meeting to introduce yourself and find out more about the company. And when youre ready, think about going out on your own and creating something beautiful for the world. Farzam Ehsanis tech choices Ehsanis personal tech choices are detailed below. Which smartphone do you use? Not disclosed. Which laptop do you use? Not disclosed. What is the best gadget you have ever bought? Airpods What is the worst gadget you have ever bought? A melon baller. What Internet connection do you have at home? Fibre What is the best investment you have ever made? Bitcoin What is the worst investment you have ever made? Holding fiat currency (government money). What is the best business book you have ever read? The Founders Dilemmas by Noam Wasserman. Now read: New version of Windows 10 will install updates in seconds Amid the rising dread of coronavirus, US Department of State has raised its alert for Japan to level 2 on the four-level advisory scale, international media reported. The department on Saturday called for an increased caution by its citizens when travelling to Japan. Meanwhile, Meanwhile, COVID-19 has infected over 77,700 people and killed nearly 2,458 people globally with 17 deaths outside mainland China. #Japan Travel Advisory Update: Level 2- Exercise increased caution due to outbreak of COVID-19, novel (new) #coronavirus disease. On January 30 the WHO determined the rapidly spreading outbreak constitutes Public Health Emergency of International Concern. https://t.co/840H5WbmUj pic.twitter.com/25cdcxLFLF Travel - State Dept (@TravelGov) February 22, 2020 Read: Coronavirus Outbreak: Iran Reports 3 More Deaths With 15 New Confirmed Cases 'Sustained community spread' in Japan The previous advisory at level 1 called on citizens to exercise normal precautions while in Japan. According to the US State Department, many infection cases of the pneumonia-causing virus have been associated with travel to or from mainland China or being in close contact with such travellers. But 'sustained community spread' has been reported in Japan, which means that people in the country have been infected with the virus, though 'how or where they became infected is not known, and the spread is ongoing.' Read: Coronavirus Is Communist China's "biggest Health Emergency": Xi Jinping The department said that older adults and people with chronic medical may be at higher risk for severe disease, and advised such people to consult a healthcare provider before travelling to Japan. Japanese media reported that these steps came amid reports that the virus has travelled from China to Japan via unidentified routes. Read: Japan Minister Apologises After Woman Who Left Coronavirus-stricken Ship Tests Positive Read: Gujarat Visit: US President Donald Trump To Get Glimpses Of India's Cultural Diversity Meanwhile, the Health Minister of Japan has apologised after a woman who was allowed to disembark coronavirus-stricken cruise ship tested positive for the virulent virus on February 23. The woman believed to be in her 60s was allowed to leave the Diamond Princess on Wednesday after a two week quarantine period was found to be positive after a test in Tochigi Prefecture, north of Tokyo, as per reports. Katsunobu Kato, the health minister told a news conference in Tokyo on Saturday evening that 23 people who had disembarked on Wednesday and Thursday had not carried any further since before Feb 5, and the ministry is trying to locate them for retests. WASHINGTON After earning his first top 2 spot in the Democratic race Saturday in Nevada, former Vice President Joe Biden heads to a crucial test in the South Carolina primary, where political experts said a win could breathe life into his flagging presidential campaign or another loss could end it. He will be fighting clear front-runner Bernie Sanders, who won the popular vote in the first three nominating contests and performed well among black voters in Nevada's caucuses. Black voters make up the majority of South Carolina's Democratic primary electorate, and polls have long showed Biden with a strong lead among them. In a speech to cheering supporters in Las Vegas on Saturday evening, Biden was confident: "We're alive, and we're coming back, and we're gonna win. ... I think we're in a position now to move on in a way that we haven't been until this moment. I think we're going to go, we're going to win in South Carolina and then Super Tuesday, and we are on our way." Biden led polls in the Palmetto State by 20 percentage points last fall before placing fourth in Iowa and fifth in New Hampshire. Biden downplayed those early contests, focusing on more diverse states such as South Carolina, which he argued would better gauge which Democrat should challenge President Donald Trump. Nevada, which has a significant Latino population, favored Sen. Sanders, I-Vt., in its caucuses Saturday, and Biden placed second. In South Carolina, African Americans traditionally account for more than 60% of Democratic primary voters. Even as the votes were counted in New Hampshire, Biden flew to rally supporters in Columbia, South Carolina. Up until now, we havent heard from the most committed constituency in the Democratic Party, the African American community, Biden said at the time. So to hear all these pundits and experts, all these cable TV talkers talk about the race, tell them, It aint over, man. Were just getting started. Story continues Biden, 77, enjoys several advantages in South Carolina. He served eight years as vice president to the first black president, Barack Obama. Biden earlier served 36 years in the Senate, where he worked with state political leaders such as House Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C. And Biden vacations regularly on Kiawah Island. "Biden has something here that other candidates just don't and can't," said Jordan Ragusa, associate chair of the political science department at the College of Charleston. "I think Biden is still the favorite in South Carolina, but certainly it seems there are cracks in his firewall. It's looking a little more penetrable." Former Vice President Joe Biden counts on the residents of South Carolina to put him on top in the Democratic race to challenge President Donald Trump. Biden's lead over Sanders narrowed to 4 points by Feb. 18, according to an average of state polls compiled by RealClearPolitics.com. Political experts said polling is fluid and voters are still making up their minds, but a Sanders win would demonstrate his support among minorities and show that Biden couldn't win where his prospects were best. "Biden really has to stake his claim here," said Robert Oldendick, a political science professor at the University of South Carolina. "I think he has to win. If he does not win in South Carolina, it's pretty much the end of his campaign." Test for black voters South Carolina is the first primary contest with a significant black population, a key constituency in national Democratic politics. Voters care most about the economy and the protection of social welfare programs but are less interested in ideological issues such as climate change, according to political experts. "A lot of people say that African American voters in the South are pragmatists," said Ragusa, who co-wrote "First in the South: Why the South Carolina Presidential Primary Matters." "They are not as attuned to ideological considerations, like voters in the Midwest or Northeast, white or black." James Hodges, a former South Carolina governor who was national co-chairman of Obama's 2008 campaign, said the state offered a good indicator of who would become the nominee because results in earlier states were muddled in 2008 and 2016. "South Carolina sort of reset the stage, in large part because of the significance of the African American vote," said Hodges, who is president of McGuireWoods Consulting. The state's primary Saturday could hint at Super Tuesday results in other Southern states such as Alabama and North Carolina. "The Super Tuesday states in the South are similar in terms of culture, in terms of the nature of the electorate, with a much higher minority population," Oldendick said. "I don't know that those other early states value the economy as much as voters here." Divided moderate vote The South Carolina contest comes at a critical time for Biden. He led an average of national polls for months after announcing his candidacy April 25, 2019. After the disappointing finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire, Biden fell behind Sanders. Biden faced challenges in the crowded Democratic field from fellow moderates such as Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. Each offered a message seeking to unify the politically polarized country. Neither of Biden's rivals could afford much time in South Carolina as they concentrated on earlier contests. "They really haven't spent a lot of time in South Carolina of late," Ragusa said. At the rally in Columbia, Biden repeatedly noted his work with Obama. He promoted his record fighting loan discrimination from banks and his support of voting rights legislation, of historically black colleges and universities and of the Violence Against Women Act. "We have so much more to do," Biden told the crowd. During a conference call Thursday with the Black Economic Alliance a nonpartisan coalition of business leaders who advocate for work, wages and wealth of black Americans Biden described his priorities for investing in black communities with infrastructure such as broadband. Biden promoted educational proposals, such as doubling Pell Grants for poor students and allowing their use at programs other than for four-year degrees. I dont think anyone deserves the black vote its about earning the black vote, Biden said. I have never, never, never, never taken it for granted. Asked about his support slipping among blacks, Biden acknowledged that he couldnt compete with hundreds of millions of dollars spent by two self-funded billionaires in the race: former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg and Tom Steyer. But I can compete by showing up because they know me, Biden said. They know my heart, they know my head, they know my record and they know what Ive done. Pete Buttigieg visits Rock Hill, S.C., on Oct. 27, 2019. Sanders challenges Biden Biden faced criticism from more liberal candidates, such as Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. Buttigieg and Sanders divided the early contests and were nearly tied in delegates coming out of Iowa and New Hampshire. Sanders won Nevada by a large margin Saturday and took the lead in delegates. Sanders pays much more attention to South Carolina than in 2016, when Hillary Clinton beat him soundly with nearly three-quarters of the vote. This year, Ragusa said, Sanders has a shot to win because of the fragmented vote among more moderate candidates. "A strong second-place finish could be just as important as victory in signaling that he could win in a national campaign," Ragusa said. "He really needs to show he is the candidate who can appeal to voters across the spectrum, not just voters in liberal and snowy white states like Iowa and New Hampshire." Sen. Bernie Sanders; Brenda Murphy, president of the South Carolina NAACP chapter; and Sen. Cory Booker march down Main Street to the Statehouse in commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Columbia, S.C. Steyer a 'wild card' Steyer could be a factor after spending $10 million in the state on TV ads, digital ads on Facebook and YouTube and direct mail. Despite missing debates, Steyer edged into third place in the average of South Carolina state polling by RealClearPolitics. "They are just carpet-bombing the state with ads," Ragusa said. He distinguished Steyer from Bloomberg because he campaigns in person, shaking hands and talking about reparations for the descendants of slaves, the importance of historically black colleges and universities and social justice. "African Americans think he's got the right message," said Ragusa, whose hunch is that Steyer eroded Biden's lead among moderates. "He's the guy to watch, in terms of the wild card," Hodges said. Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer speaks to attendees of the Blue Jamboree on Oct. 5, 2019, in North Charleston, S.C. Bloomberg not on ballot, still a factor Bloomberg's name won't be on the South Carolina primary ballot. Voters can't write in his name. He's focused on Super Tuesday states that will decide on March 3 more than one-third of the pledged delegates to the Democratic National Convention. After anteing up nearly $464 million through the end of January, which allowed him to blanket the country with television and digital advertising, Bloomberg's performance in national polls allowed him to join the Nevada debate last week and the South Carolina debate Tuesday. His performance in Nevada was widely criticized. Hodges said that although Bloomberg isn't competing in South Carolina, his strategy of waiting until later in the nominating process might work. "The field will be winnowed down for him," Hodges said. "He'll have money and not have been scuffed up in the early primaries." Former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg has bombarded television with ads. Uncertainties before primary The candidates could change some minds before votes are cast. CBS News will host a debate Tuesday in Charleston, where seven candidates qualified. As endorsements line up, Clyburn remains uncommitted. He said he wouldn't endorse a candidate before the debate and possibly not afterward. He could influence some votes if he endorses before the primary. "He's playing it close to the vest and doesn't want the role of 'kingmaker,' " Oldendick said. Preview of Super Tuesday Despite the attention paid to Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, those four contests choose only 155 pledged delegates to the Democratic National Convention. South Carolina comes three days before Super Tuesday, when 1,357 out of 3,979 pledged delegates will be chosen in 14 states and American Samoa. Political experts said a Biden loss in South Carolina would probably knock him out of the race. A win would keep his candidacy alive for bigger states such as California and Texas. "A good performance will give him a boost," Oldendick said. Bidens lead against Sanders narrowed in the latest Winthrop University poll released Friday, and one in five voters remain undecided. Biden is favored by 24% of respondents, compared with 19% for Sanders. The poll of 449 likely voters, which was conducted Feb. 9-19, has a +/- 4.7-percentage-point margin of error. Flames seem to be licking through the cracks in Bidens firewall, said Scott Huffmon, the Winthrop poll director. Without a strong showing in South Carolina, Bidens campaign will be limping into Super Tuesday. Even a win, if not significant and decisive, will be interpreted as a loss by his opponents. Ragusa said Biden needs to win by at least 10 points. "If Sanders does well and come close to Biden, it gives him a legitimate claim to having some of that same crossover appeal, and it undermines Biden's strongest argument going forward," Ragusa said. Contributing: Jeanine Santucci This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: South Carolina primary: Joe Biden stakes Democratic presidential bid The Guardian reports: The US defence secretary, Mark Esper, warned that US alliances including the future of Nato were in jeopardy if European countries went ahead with using Chinese Huawei technology in their 5G networks. Esper also warned future intelligence cooperation would be at risk, as the US would no longer be certain its communications networks were secure. His remarks at the Munich security conference on Saturday, bolstered by similar warnings from the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, remove any doubt that the US sees finding an alternative to Huawei as central to its own security. Doris Rink believes she is part of living history and wants to put a price on it -- $1.75 million, to be exact. Shell also throw in historical artifacts found in and around the log cabin she has lived in for the last 47 years in the Gibbstown section of Greenwich, built in 1638 and listed in the state and national historic registry, for an extra $1.2 million. It is for sale, as it has been for the past three years. The 1,800 square-foot dwelling includes an upstairs addition from the 1700s and some modern amenities, such as central air conditioning, even in the 282-year-old log cabin. It sits on 1.3 acres near a creek, just off of busy Swedesboro Road in Gloucester County, 49 miles southeast of Philadelphia. Rink, 76, wants to live here for the remainder of her life. Her hope is that an investor or an institution will see the value she and her husband, who died last year, had seen in the structure, which historians regard as one of the oldest dwellings in its original locations in North America. My selling point is I hope they will fall in love with this place as much as I have, Rink said this week. You really feel like youre really a living part of history living in this property. I reflect on what life was like back in the 17th century. Rink and her husband Harry, who was 89 when he died, had poured their own money and know-how into maintaining the historic property. Doris said they would also occasionally get historic preservation grants for major repairs like a roof. They willingly gave free tours of the 16-by-22 foot cabin, including once at 2:30 a.m. to a busload of tourists from New Hampshire. The bus driver was once a neighbor and Doris said though she was sound asleep when the bus pulled up, she and Harry proudly showed off the cabin and its artifacts including some 17th Century ironwork. But not everyone sees the inherent value in what is known as the Nothnagle Log Cabin. The assessed property value where it is located in Greenwich is $156,400. Obviously the owner has a longtime connection to that property and feels its worth a little bit more than what the market does, Gloucester County Tax Assessor Craig Black said Friday. What were evaluating is market value. Were not going to assess a historic value to that property. You couldnt do that for tax purposes. But Margaret Westfield, a historical architect, has evaluated Nothnagle Cabin and sees its value. Within the context of South Jersey it is one of the most, if not the most important structure still standing, Westfield said. It is one of a kind and built so early and it is still intact. It is irreplaceable. You cant understand it from a picture. You have to stand in it and understand people lived in this space. Westfield said she thinks the property should be acquired and preserved by local, county and state officials. The Rinks were asking for $2.9 million in 2017 when the cabin went on the market. Doris said she agreed to reduce the price to $1.75 million without the artifacts but would include them for an additional $1.2 million. She also said her willingness to not live out here days here also factored into the price. But she reasons whoever buys it may want her to stick around as a tour guide and onsite historian. Rink said they had a few inquiries into the property when it was originally listed but hopes the reduced price will stir interest again. I want everything in place when I die so it will last a long time, Harry told the New York Times in 2000. I like to have the school kids here and I show them how people lived and what they grew in the area. The cabins original logs are practically all intact, constructed in what is called a full dovetail meaning the corners are carved at an angle and are bonded together without nails. The foundation bricks are believed to have been ballast for ships carrying the Swedish/Finnish settlers who built the cabin. When Harry was young, he helped his aunt and uncle, the previous owners, maintain the cabin including making mortar out of clay and mud to patch space between the logs. He eventually bought it from them in 1968 and Doris moved in six years later and has lived there since. Its one of a kind, listing agent Christina Huang said. No one knows more about the cabin than they do. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-23 19:23:23|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close HARBIN, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Putting on a face mask, checking the body temperature and disinfecting his wear, He Yingming completes these steps before he leaves home and goes to work in the morning. "These prevention measures are necessary amid the novel coronavirus epidemic," said He, a resident in the township of Kertai in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. His family fell into poverty after he got sick a few years ago. The family relies on He's job at a fungus production company with a monthly income of 1,500 yuan (around 200 U.S. dollars). Since the virus outbreak picked up speed in late January, many Chinese companies have suspended production to avoid risks of epidemic spread. "I was worried about if the company could survive the hard time," He said. "I did not expect the company to resume operation so fast." China has urged local governments to tailor support policies for poverty alleviation in regions and projects impacted by the novel coronavirus outbreak. "The fungus production is a pillar industry for the village. It has resumed production in a timely manner with preferential policies support," said Guo Yu, head of Kertai Township. In 2020, the company is expected to produce some 250,000 bags of mushrooms and generate a net income of 1 million yuan, which will increase income by 1,000 yuan, respectively, for 46 poor households. Yu Shoulong, manager of a dairy farm in the county of Lindian, encountered sales problems caused by the epidemic. "The local government helped us find a new sales channel. We now can sell 43 tonnes of milk each day," Yu said. The dairy farm brought an average income of 2,000 yuan for 567 poor households last year. Liu Jie, a cattle farmer in the county, has shaken off poverty thanks to the favorable loan policies offered by the local government. "I am not worried about the epidemic," said Liu. "The feeding stuff is sufficient. The village also provides various epidemic prevention supplies for us." Liu volunteered in the epidemic control team of the village. He patrolled around the village for eight hours each day. "I could not get rid of poverty without others' help," said Liu. "Now, it is time to do what I can to help others in return." US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are visiting India with an aim to build upon the strategic interests that Washington shares with New Delhi, White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham said on Sunday. "We are wheels up for India, where Donald Trump and Flotus (First lady Melania Trump) have a full agenda building upon our many shared values and strategic/economic interests. Looking forward to a trip meant to further demonstrate the strong and enduring ties between our two countries! Namaste Trump," Grisham wrote on Twitter. In a pre-departure statement, Trump had Sunday called Prime Minister Narendra Modi his "friend" and said that he looks forward to being with "millions and millions" of people during his 36-hour three-city visit of India beginning Monday. "I look forward to being with the people of India. We will be with millions and millions of people. I get along very well with the Prime Minister. He is a friend of mine. Prime Minister Modi told me this will be the biggest event they have ever had," Trump told reporters before embarking on his visit to India. The US President and First Lady Melania Trump departed for their maiden two-day visit to India from Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on Sunday. The visiting dignitaries will have a stopover at Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany and will reach Ahmedabad on Monday. The US President, along with his family and a ministerial delegation will be in India for around 36 hours. During the visit, he is scheduled to participate in a roadshow with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and address a gathering at the Motera Stadium. From Ahmedabad, the US President and the First Lady will make a brief stop at Agra where they will visit the Taj Mahal at around 5:15 pm, before departing for the national capital later in the day for the main leg of the trip. On the morning of February 25, the US President will first receive a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhawan at 10 am as per the protocol. From there, he will go to the Rajghat to pay homage at the samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi. This will be followed by both, restricted, and delegation-level talks between Trump and Modi at the Hyderabad House in the national capital on Tuesday afternoon. The talks would be followed by the exchange of agreements and Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) between the two countries. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Caroline Laws, the wife of radio legend John, has died aged 82 after battling cancer. Mrs Laws, who was diagnosed in 2016, met her husband 69 years ago when she was 14 and the radio host was 16. The couple were introduced at a dance at a mutual friend's home in Lindfield on Sydney's North Shore in 1951. Radio 2SM, where Laws hosts a much-loved morning show, announced the news of her death this morning. Radio 2SM, where Laws hosts a much-loved morning show, announced the news this morning. Mrs Laws, who was diagnosed in 2016, has passed away 69 years after the pair fell in love when she was 14 and the radio host was 16. Pictured: The pair at a charity lunch in 2007 The couple met in 1951 but were re-united in the 1970s and got married in 1976 The show's Twitter page posted: 'It is with a heavy heart, we announce this morning the sad passing of Caroline Laws beloved wife of legendary Australian broadcaster John Laws. Vale Caroline Laws you will be forever loved by all.' In 2016, Laws told The Australian Women's Weekly that he loved his wife at first sight. But the pair didn't see each other for 20 years as Mrs Laws travelled to London to pursue ballet dancing and married another man. Upon her return, Laws was a fully-fledged radio and television personality and was able to woo her. 'As soon as she came back into my life that was it, she was the woman and we've been together ever since.' He nicknamed her 'The Princess' and introduced her to his audience through his popular talkback radio show on 2UE. The Laws' love story 1951: Pair meet at a party in north Sydney as teenagers 1960s: Mrs Laws goes to London to pursue ballet dancing 1970s: The pair re-unite and start dating 1976: The pair get married 2016: Mrs Laws is diagnosed with cancer 2020: Mrs Laws dies aged 82 Advertisement Mrs Laws was hospitalised with bronchial conditions in Rome on their annual holiday at the start of 2016. Together the pair have nine children from three former marriages. They enjoyed collectible art and luxury travel. Laws, 84, was the host of an Australian morning radio program combining music with interviews, opinion, live advertising readings and listener talkback. His distinctive voice earned him the nickname 'the Golden Tonsils'. Laws retired in 2007 but returned to radio in February 2011 as the host of a morning programme on 2SM and the Super Radio Network. In a statement, the network said: 'John referred to Caroline as his greatest confidant, doting upon her to his devoted listeners across Australia. 'On behalf of Mr Bill Caralis, the John Laws team, his colleagues at The Super Radio Network, and for those of us within the wider Australian radio industry, we extend our deepest condolences to John Laws and his family at this sad time.' Rival broadcaster Ray Hadley also paid tribute to Mrs Laws. He on his 2GB show: 'She was an extremely elegant and delightful lady, and it would be impossible to even comprehend what John's going through at the moment. 'I offer, with everyone else, our sincere condolences on the loss of his beautiful wife.' US President Donald Trump is set to arrive in Ahmedabad on February 24. Security has been heightened in the city with the presidents staff already reaching Ahmedabad airport to look after the preparedness. Trump will be accompanied by his wife Melania.Being one of the most important figures in the world, Trump is protected by a top-notch security ring. (Image: Reuters) The Patna High Court has released a recruitment notification for the post of District Judge (Entry Level). The recruitment notification was released for a total of 27 vacancies. The selection of the candidates will be based on the written test and interview. Candidates should meet all the eligibility conditions set by the exam authority to apply online. One should possess a law degree with 7 years of practice. The shortlisted candidates will earn up to Rs 63,070 per month. Interested candidates can apply online until March 21, 2020. Check the complete details about Patna High Court recruitment 2020 below. Patna High Court Recruitment 2020 Vacancies General - 23 vacancies EBC - 1 vacancy SC - 3 vacancies CRITERIA DETAILS Name Of The Posts District Judge (Entry Level) Organisation Patna High Court Educational Qualification Bachelor Degree in Law Experience 7 years Job Location Bihar Salary Scale Rs 51,550 to Rs 63,070 per month Industry Judicial Application Start Date February 21, 2020 Application End Date March 21, 2020 Age Limit The minimum age limit is 35 years as on January 1, 2020. The maximum age limit is 50 years. Application Fee Candidates should pay Rs 1000 as application fee to complete the registration process. Candidates belonging to SC/ ST/ PWD should pay Rs 500 as application fee. Download Patna High Court recruitment 2020 How To Apply Interested candidates should visit the official site to apply online for the Patna High Court recruitment 2020. The last date to apply online is March 21, 2020. The online link to apply is http://patnahighcourt.gov.in/EXAM/BSJS2020/DefaultBSJS2020.aspx BPSC Recruitment For 69 Project Manager Posts Samsung C&T, a global engineering and construction company, has announced that it has been awarded a 1.15 trillion won ($952 million) contract by Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) to build a 2,400 MW combined cycle power plant in Fujairah, UAE. Located some 300 km northeast of Abu Dhabi, the project is being developed in partnership with Japanese developer Marubeni Corporation. Under this contract, Samsung C&T will function as the exclusive engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor, thus signaling a bright year ahead for the company in 2020, said the Korean builder. The construction phase of the project is expected to be completed in April 2023. Once ready, the new plant will power a total of 380,000 homes in the northern region of the UAE, it stated. Samsung C&T is a major player in the utility sector with an extensive experience in building many power plants throughout the Middle East region. It is currently working on building a nuclear power plant in the UAE, a metro system in Saudi Arabias Riyadh, and a desalination plant in Qatar. The Korean builder said the Fujairah F3 contract win will further solidify the companys position as a global EPC player in the region.-TradeArabia News Service Believing a united Ireland is not a likely outcome in the short term is not the same as being against a united Ireland, but that thought appears too complex to survive in the heads of the most dogmatic nationalists. They were made freshly indignant last week by a new study, undertaken on behalf of Queen's University Belfast and others, which found only 28pc of people in Northern Ireland would vote for Irish unity if there was a border poll tomorrow - and that research was conducted before the recent Irish election, whose strong showing for Sinn Fein alarmed the most moderate Unionists. The highly public inclusion of Gerry Adams in the negotiating team for a new coalition government will hardly help push support higher. The figure in favour of a united Ireland does look suspiciously low, considering that nationalists gained just under 40pc of the vote at the last Stormont Assembly election. There were also a high number of 'don't knows' in the latest survey, and nobody really knows what would happen over the course of a border poll campaign. It is still foolish to keep talking as if the balance has shifted decisively towards Irish unity and that the necessity to make preparations for it has become urgent. Under the Belfast Agreement, the decision on whether or not to hold a border poll resides entirely with the UK secretary of state for Northern Ireland, and there is not the slightest reason to believe he is planning to do so any time soon simply to satisfy the whims of Sinn Fein, which has concluded that 25pc support in one jurisdiction is a mandate for a referendum in another one. But try telling that to Sinn Fein supporters right now. One might as well be talking to the moon. Republicans take any refusal to accept a united Ireland is imminent as proof of die-hard opposition to the idea of Irish unity itself. I could never imagine voting for Sinn Fein. Last Friday's statement by Garda Commissioner Drew Harris that he agrees with the PSNI assessment that the IRA army council still directs Sinn Fein policy was just another reminder its moral compass is dangerously askew. At the same time, I have always been entirely clear that, if there was a border poll, I'd vote for a united Ireland. There's no contradiction. Sinn Fein doesn't own the aspiration for Irish unity. They just tainted it with their own brand of degeneracy. Read More Having said that, if such a poll was to fall short, as it surely would right now, I wouldn't lose any sleep over it either. I'd get up next morning, feed the cat, make a cup of coffee and get on with my day. Unless you're living under dictatorship, personal happiness is rarely determined by a particular set of constitutional arrangements. If Irish unity did come about, only a halfwit could believe it would magically solve all the country's social and economic problems. In the short term, there would probably even be violence from those who wished to resist being absorbed into the Irish State. That is why the late Seamus Mallon came to the conclusion in his memoir, A Shared Home Place, published in the final year of his life, that the current requirement for a simple majority to trigger constitutional change was not sufficient to preserve peace. With customary generosity of spirit, Mallon felt a wider margin of victory would need to be achieved in order to avoid a reversal of the situation which forced nationalists into an artificially designed Northern state against their will. As it happens, I don't agree with that either. The terms under which Irish unity might come about were established by the Belfast Agreement, and it would be an act of bad faith to move the goalposts now. But it is all theoretical anyway. There isn't going to be a united Ireland imminently, and it would only be a distraction from real problems if there was. Still in every statement issued since the General Election, Mary Lou McDonald has made a pledge to "advance Irish unity" one of the main priorities. Addressing the party's new TDs for the first time, she said that doing so was "not only possible, but necessary at this time" and it was a "duty of the Irish Government to commence this process". What's the big rush? There is nothing new in any of this. Sinn Fein has been calling for a Green Paper on Irish unity for years, together with the establishment of a special Oireachtas committee and appointment of a dedicated minister to oversee the transition. In a 2005 paper, the party couldn't have put it more plainly: "The creation of a united Ireland is the primary political objective of SF." It comes before everything else. If unity could only be achieved while seeing a doubling of homelessness and health service waiting lists, republicans would accept it as a price worth paying without a moment's hesitation. They might well believe a united Ireland would be a better Ireland, but making it better is incidental to the project. The reason it continues to occupy such a disproportionate amount of Sinn Fein's energy is because it provides the rocket fuel that gives the party momentum, and, if it stopped filling the tank, the engines would soon stop firing. It would just be People Before Profit with a larger bank balance. It is for the same reason that, following the Election, Mary Lou said she would be asking the EU to support Irish reunification if she was in the next government. It is all about keeping up the pressure on people who don't want unity in the hope their resistance will crumble. In his book on the Northern Ireland peace process, Great Hatred, Little Room, Downing Street negotiator Jonathan Powell recalls that the demand for the British to take on the role of "persuaders" for Irish unity - a slight refinement of the previous demand that Britain declare its intention to withdraw - was central to the IRA's, and therefore Sinn Fein's, approach. Prime Minister Tony Blair refused point blank. The reason it matters so much to republicans is because it would be a signal to Unionists that their time was up, and that, even if their consent was still needed for constitutional change, the withdrawal of support by the British government would, as one academic paper explains, "in itself lead to an erosion of the Unionist majority, since the obvious next step... would be to seek terms as an Irish national minority" and for those who didn't like the outcome to "leave for Great Britain". Having come up against a brick wall in London, Sinn Fein now appears to have concluded the EU might take on that role instead. Sinn Fein ought to have realised by now that, as a UK representative told his government in the early 1970s, the only prospect of Irish unity lies in "the seduction, not the rape of the North". It's a disagreeable image, but the point stands. His own prediction was that "the south will, I suspect, be a long time a-wooing, if they ever start". SF certainly hasn't. Its charm offensives always end up by having more offensiveness than charm. Think of it as a relationship between any couple. They split up years ago, one partner wants to get back together, and the other knows it, but isn't ready, and may never be ready, or has absolutely no interest in reconciling and repeatedly makes it clear. Still the other partner keeps going on at them, sometimes threatening, sometimes begging, to just lie back, relax, and let the inevitable happen. At some point it becomes harassment, and that point is now. It's got to a stage where Unionists would be perfectly justified in taking out a restraining order. The legal battle over the 2019 governorship election in Bayelsa is far from over for now, as a governorship candidate of another political party has gone to court to seek the cancellation of the election. The All Progressive Congress (APC) earlier called for fresh election in the state after the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Douye Diri, was sworn in as governor. Mr Diri became governor after the Supreme Court sacked the candidate of the APC, David Lyon, who won the November 16 governorship election. The apex court had declared that Mr Lyons deputy, Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo, presented false information to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in aid of his qualification for the election. The governorship candidate of Liberation Movement in the election, Vijah Opuama, Friday filed a petition before the election tribunal in Abuja, claiming that the PDP did not have a qualified candidate in the election. Mr Opuma scored 100 votes out of the 146,999 votes recorded in the governorship election, according to the result announced by INEC. His political party is among the 74 parties deregistered by INEC recently. Mr Opuama claimed in his petition that Mr Diris deputy, Lawrence Ewrujakpor, presented forged university certificate and the National Youth Service Corps exemption certificate (NYSC) to INEC before the conduct of the election. Mr Opuama also said that both Mr Diri and Mr Ewrujakpor were not qualified to contest the election because of invalid multiple nomination. The PDP, INEC, Mr Diri and Mr Ewrujakpor are respondents in the case. No date has been fixed yet for the hearing of the petition. The APC, in a letter to INEC a few days ago, said the swearing-in of Mr Diri as Bayelsa governor was unconstitutional and that the election commission should conduct fresh election in the state. The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party or any other candidate whatsoever, none satisfies the requirement of one quarter of the votes cast in at least 2/3 of the local government areas in the state as required by the supreme court judgement further request that a fresh election be conducted by the commission for the office of the Executive Governor of Bayelsa State, APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, said in the letter to INEC. INEC, however, said Mr Diri met the constitutional requirement to be sworn in as governor. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. As the Prime Minister said recently some "will go out and make a glib promise about [net-zero targets] and they can't look Australians in the eye and tell them what it will mean for their electricity prices, what it will mean for their jobs". That's why the government is reviewing strategies to assess the impact of a revised target to take to the Glasgow climate conference later this year. Unlike Labor that can promise a headline target but not how they'll meet it, the government is mapping out a technology pathway to confront Australians with the choices that are before us. It's also argued the commission is necessary to establish a monitoring and reporting framework for emissions cuts. Again: false. That's what the Clean Energy Regulator does. This bill is just politics. For weeks its sponsor has run email campaigns demanding MPs vote for a bill before providing a copy. Now we know why. The bill can't withstand scrutiny. The campaign for the bill is also anchored around the idea that "climate is a matter of conscience". That's policy-by-hashtag. Action on climate change is about responsibility. At the last election parliamentarians were elected on different platforms to cut emissions. Parliamentarians are accountable to Australians, not unelected bureaucrats. Cutting emissions is one of the most serious economic and environmental challenges and opportunities we all collectively face. Trust is critical to achieve sustainable emissions reduction with the support of the Australian people. What you do before an election is what you should honour after. Just ask Julia Gillard. The foundation of liberalism is that citizens, communities and countries should accept responsibility. Just like littering, individually we cannot stop needless pollution, but we should encourage everyone to take responsibility to steward our environment. Loading Australia is only 1.3 per cent of global emissions. We cannot stop the consequences of human influence on the climate in isolation. Even with Australia's emissions at zero we will be wholly exposed to a changing climate. The false argument some put forward is our low emissions are an excuse to do nothing. That's absurd. Emissions cuts and our target should be used to leverage other countries to voluntarily make commitments and revise them as they're met too. Loading That principle is at the heart of Australia's target to cut emissions by 26 to 28 per cent of 2005 levels by 2030. Australia's is high comparable to other countries on both national and per capita terms. Critically, these targets were endorsed by the Australian people at the last election. A solution cannot be one-size-fits-all. Australia is traditionally a fossil-fuel dependent economy and faces a considerable challenge in transitioning our electricity and transport sectors, our agriculture and mining exports and royalties. Our plan is anchored around cutting emissions, not jobs. The $3.5 billion Climate Solutions Package is a sector-by-sector plan that can "evolve" as emissions are cut. For example, the Commonwealth invested $960 million with the NSW government for a Renewable Energy Zone to provide up to 3000 megawatts of wind and solar projects. That's in addition to investments in hydrogen power, the Snowy Hydro 2.0 battery of the nation project and hundreds of local projects across Australia by governments and the private sector. It's a strategy for emissions cuts through technology, not taxes. By Express News Service BENGALURU: State BJP leaders have strongly condemned 19-year-old Amulya Leona for shouting a pro-Pakistan slogan with Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa saying it is disturbing peace in the state. Congress and JDS leaders too have taken a similar stand, but said that the issue is diverting attention from the real purpose of anti-CAA protests. Former Home Minister and Congress MLA Ramalinga Reddy said it is unfortunate that a youngster is shouting anti-national slogans. But the government should take action against them. If action isnt taken, more people will be encouraged to repeat this behaviour. Young minds should develop patriotism, he said. Another senior Congress, requesting anonymity, told The New Indian Express, Anti-CAA protests cut across parties, religion, region and caste. Every section of society has come out on the streets to raise its voice. This sloganeering has diverted the issue, and it should not have happened. KPCC working president Eshwar Khandre also condemned the act. The government should give this issue to a proper agency so that an honest probe can be conducted. Everyone has a right to expression, but that shouldnt be misused, Khandre said. A senior JDS leader said that the Assembly session is going on now and that there are many other issues, such as Mangaluru firing and Bidar sedition case, that need to be tackled. Amulya and Arudra incidents are just distractions from real issues, he told The New Indian Express. Former CM and JDS leader H D Kumaraswamy had earlier said that he strongly condemned Amulyas act. Local leaders and residents in Anniston on Sunday morning invoked both their faith and their fears about Americans who tested positive for coronavirus and evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship being quarantined at a facility in Anniston. The Department of Health and Human Services announced Saturday it was bringing American evacuees to the Center for Domestic Preparedness in Anniston. The patients coming to Alabama were evacuated from the Diamond Princess, a cruise ship docked in Japan during an outbreak of coronavirus. The evacuees tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, but are either asymptomatic or have mild flu like symptoms. Here is AL.coms complete coverage of the plan to bring coronavirus patients to Alabama In a special called Anniston City Council meeting Sunday morning, the city council approved a resolution asking the city attorney and city manager to explore what, if any, legal rights the city has to keep people infected with Coronavirus from being quarantined at the FEMA Center for Domestic Preparedness in Anniston. City councilors Millie Harris, Benjamin Little and Jay Jenkins were present at the meeting along with mayor Jack Draper. After the meeting ended, Gov. Kay Ivey said the Saturday press release announcing the plans was sent inadvertently and perhaps prematurely." Ivey said the Anniston site will be a back-up site for patients. Concerned residents filled the seats at the Anniston City Council meeting. Many of them were frustrated that public comment was not allowed at the meeting. Some residents wanted more public information about how the patients would be brought to the Anniston facility. Some residents who attended the meeting werent happy there wasnt opportunity for public comment pic.twitter.com/4PmOvuNFsM Anna Beahm (@_AnnaBeahm) February 23, 2020 Harris said shes concerned about coronavirus patients being housed at the CDP center just north of the city center. Theres so many unknowns to this. My question is, are there less populated locations where they could be housed? Will set a precedent in the future to bring more of these quarantined individuals here? Harris said during the meeting. Whats primary is the health of this community. This is not easy. We have to weigh everything. Im scared. In spite of that, I cannot quit hearing Matthew 25:40 in my head. These folks are victims. This is a most unfortunate situation, Jenkins said. In that Bible verse, Jesus talks about serving people in need, saying serving those in need is the equivalent to serving God. While the city does get federal funds for the site, there are some risks to having such a site, Jenkins said. We benefit from this. But with the benefit comes a price. For the first time, were having to see some of that, Jenkins said. Little said members of the community should remember that these people infected with coronavirus are fellow Americans, and they are human. I understand fear in this community. I also know these people (who tested positive for coronavirus) are people who are working and contribute to society. They went on vacation to enjoy themselves and go caught up in a situation where they cant go home. You have to put yourself in their shoes their familys shoes. I hope community will put a welcome sign out, Little said. Little voted against the resolution. UPDATED: PLAN HAS BEEN CANCELLED ___________________________________________ Special Meeting of the Anniston City Council Posted by The City of Anniston, Alabama on Sunday, February 23, 2020 Public comment was not allowed at the meeting, and some residents began shouting at the mayor and city councilors after the meeting ended. Many of the residents said they feared for the health of their own families if coronavirus patients come to Anniston. This is not fair. This is our lives against their lives, said Anniston resident Yvonne Gomes. People saying, this is a risk that we have to face, well I understand that, but theres ways that we can prevent that risk. There could be better further out place they can be besides being 10 miles down the road from the community here. We have schools here. We have Walmart. We have people that go shopping. However, other residents feel this is Annistons opportunity to step up and serve Americans in need, including Draper. We clearly have to be concerned about the health of our community. At the same time, recognize the eyes of the nation and the world are on us. These are fellow Americans who have contracted this horrible disease. We are in partnership with all Americans thought state and federal government, Draper said during the meeting. Anniston resident Keith Holland after the meeting urged the mayor to present the other side of the argument about coronavirus patients coming to the FEMA facility in Anniston. Our number has been called. Its up to us to step forward in a positive manner. With a public information campaign, make the public available to open meetings and to quell these fears, Holland told the mayor after the meeting ended. We are more prepared than anywhere in North America to accept these people. We should be proud that weve been chosen to take this stand. We should take equal steps immediately to promote the other side of the argument. Local officials are meeting with officials with the Department of Health and Human Services and other government officials this afternoon. Draper said he didnt know all the local and federal officials who will be in that meeting. Two more meetings regarding coronavirus patients coming to Alabama will be held tomorrow: Taking cash and putting it through a casino and hopefully turning that into some level of winnings or at least the ability to make it look like it was winnings ... that's money laundering 101. Softening its approach The money transfer goes to the heart of the allegations facing the casino giant: that it had a reckless and aggressive approach to cultivating super-wealthy Chinese high rollers which encouraged money launderers and serious organised criminals. Leaked emails from inside Crown show Mr Anh was also part of a trusted team of senior managers who were sent to China to recruit high rollers, an activity that contributed to the October 2016 arrest and imprisonment of Crowns China staff. The revelations about the $500,000 transaction also raise questions for Austrac, the anti-money laundering agency which helps uphold money laundering laws but which has failed to take any meaningful action against Crown. Law enforcement officials from multiple agencies along with former Austrac staff said the small agency had not done enough to act on the multiple indicators that Crown was enabling money launderers, with Austrac instead directing its litigation resources to high-profile actions against banks. But sources also said the agency had alerted partner policing agencies about suspicious activity at Crown and, at least until recently, this had led to little tangible action. Austrac previously declined to comment on its dealings with Crown, but has insisted it closely scrutinises all casinos. Crowns initial reaction to allegations last year that it had failed in its corporate and social responsibility to counter money laundering was to argue (including with full page media advertisements) that the media expose that sparked a raft of inquiries was inaccurate. Crown Sydney Barangaroo casino is under threat from multiple inquiries. Credit:Peter Braig One of those inquiries, an investigation by the NSW Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority and former judge Patricia Bergin to probe Crowns fitness to run its proposed high roller casino in Barangaroo, Sydney, opened last month. Since then, Crown executive chairman John Alexander has stood down and Crown appears to have softened its public response. The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission is also probing money laundering at Crown and other casinos. In response to allegations relating to the Nan Hu money transfer, Crown said in a statement: Crown takes these allegations very seriously and has notified these issues to the relevant federal and state regulators and the ILGA (Bergin) inquiry set up to examine such matters and will assist any investigations. A deal made in Heaven The $500,000 transaction involving Crown vice president Veng Anh and Nan Hu leads to a world of big gamblers, nightclubs and crime bosses. Hu is a criminal who was convicted in 2015 for trafficking cocaine, possessing ice and money laundering offences. Mr Anh likely knew Hu through Chinese nightclubs in Melbournes CBD, which Mr Anh attended with Crown high rollers and junket agents though it is not clear if he knew of his criminal past. Among the clubs was the now defunct Heaven Club. The Heaven Club Credit:Luis Ascui Casino records sighted by The Age, the Herald and 60 Minutes reveal that in January 2017, Anh authorised Crown staff at its Burswood Casino to transfer $500,000 to Hu from a Crown Resorts- controlled account. Hu was not an approved Crown gambler or agent, and sending him funds breached the casinos own policies which were created to prevent money laundering. The funds came from an account linked to Crown high-roller agent Tom Mr Chinatown Zhou, who was exposed last year as an international criminal fugitive wanted by Interpol. Mr Zhou worked with Mr Anh to lure Chinese high rollers to Crown. Mr Zhou was a regular attendee of the Heaven nightclub, often going with prostitutes, drugs and Crown high rollers. He told associates he wanted to invest in the club. "Mr Chinatown", Tom Zhou. A source who worked with Crowns security team said he had seen Mr Anh at Heaven, while other sources with knowledge of Mr Anhs activities said he encouraged high rollers to attend. It is unclear if Mr Anh knew that Hu was a convicted drug trafficker and organised criminal when he directed Crowns Perth staff to send him the $500,000 in January 2017. But the transaction should have raised red flags, and there was no legitimate reason for the funds to be sent to Hu. Bank records show Hu collected the $500,000 sent from Crown from his Commonwealth Bank account in the form of bank cheques. He then gave these cheques to a company controlled by Timothy Ma, a notorious organised crime figure who was jailed for heroin trafficking in the early 2000s and who works with the Italian mafia and bikies trafficking drugs. Mr Anh declined to answer questions when confronted at his mothers house, and Hu has flown to China and could not be contacted. Belated disclosure The $500,000 transaction should have been reported by Crown to Austrac within three days but waited almost a year until West Australian money laundering authorities contacted the company about it. This meant the cash had disappeared into a criminal syndicate before it could be traced and seized. Former gaming regulator and counter money laundering expert Alan Pedley said the delay suggested Crown prioritised pleasing high rollers over its reporting duties. The customers were of such high value that (Crown was)... perhaps prepared to overlook their normal money laundering controls, he said. By accessing Crown internal records and other financial transaction data, The Age, the Herald and 60 Minutes has uncovered a pattern of serious organised criminals using the casino as a hub for their money laundering and criminal operations. Loading The Ma criminal syndicate and Hu appear to have used Crowns high rollers and agents to fund their operations in Melbourne. Casino records show that the Ma syndicate has multiple financial ties to Crown, and the syndicates members had gambled millions of dollars at, and received large money transfers from, Crowns casinos. Hu was also behind efforts to set up a karaoke bar to cater for Crown high rollers at the site of an illegal brothel on Melbournes Elizabeth Street. Records show this venture too was funded by Crowns high rollers and junket agents. The Age and The Sydney Morning Heralds revelations about Crown Former Crown China employee Jenny Jiang revealed what Crown had long denied - that it was illegally selling gambling trips to mainland Chinese customers, endangering local staff by offering luxury gifts, free gambling cash known as lucky money and free use of private jets. Financial adviser Roy Moo, a licensed Crown junket representative, in 2013 used Crown to transfer $969,000 in drug money to Hong Kong. He was just one of those who helped international crime syndicate The Company exploit Crown to launder funds. Crown Resorts paid brothel owner and alleged human trafficker Simon Pan to lure high rollers to its Australian casinos. Asian sex workers had been flown into Australia on private jets organised by Crown junket operators. Crown junket partner and Toorak resident Tom Mr Chinatown Zhou was an international criminal fugitive, the subject of an Interpol red notice for financial crime. Ming Chai, the cousin of Chinese president Xi Jinping, was a Crown VVIP, implicated in crime and an associate of Zhou. A number of serving police and border force officials including Andrew Ure and Greg Leather were moonlighting doing security work for Crown junket operators. Huang Xiangmo, the political donor ASIO expelled from Australia over his foreign influence activities, was an $800 million-a-year Crown high roller and such a big punter that Crown used him as a case study of the benefits of uber-wealthy Chinese gamblers moving to live in Australia. Australias peak criminal intelligence agency, the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, announced a sweeping investigation into organised crime in Australian casinos. Alvin Chau, the chief executive and co-owner of Crown Resorts' major junket partner, Suncity had been blocked by Home Affairs from entering Australia over alleged links to organised crime. Victorian gaming minister Marlene Kairouz announces an investigation into the serious allegations that must be investigated relating to Crown. Crowns high-roller agent partner, Song Zezhai, had been named in a Chinese court as running a large illegal gambling syndicate in eastern China that engaged in extortion. Drug traffickers used two private companies, Southbank Investments Pty Ltd and Riverbank Investments Pty Ltd, both set up by Crown Resorts with Crown executives as directors, to bank suspected proceeds of crime including drug trafficking and money laundering. NSW Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority announces a public inquiry with royal commission powers into the casino giant and "its close associates". Joseph Wong, a businessman blacklisted by the UN and Australia because he funded a war criminal, was a Crown Resorts high roller who gambled millions in its VIP rooms even though he was subject to international sanctions. An inquiry by the NSW Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority began with an outline of multiple probity and legal issues. James Packer was slated to give evidence. Crown Resorts' most senior board member John Alexander stepped down as executive chairman as part of sweeping governance overhaul. Hong Kong gambling giant Melco Resorts, run by Lawrence Ho bailed on its plan to build up a large stake in James Packer's casino group Crown Resorts. Tom Zhou had been arrested in January and extradited to China for suspected money laundering and corruption. FOI documents revealed Crown casino's "special arrangement" with the Australian government gave Chinese high rollers access to fast-tracked visas and allowed Crown itself to vouch for people's character. Tom Zhou in 2017 had been involved in a plan to buy the Vanuatu casino resort using a company that involved Zhous child as a director, along with the former chief lawyer for Sydneys The Star casino, Michael Anderson. There is no evidence that Mr Anderson has been involved in or knew about any wrongdoing. Crown announced a 34 per cent dive in VIP turnover in the six months to December 31, which drove a sharper than expected fall in underlying profits. It blamed weak high-roller market conditions and negative publicity. Cheng Ting Kong, Co-owner of Crown and The Stars junket partner Suncity, was on the Australian Priority Organisation Target list in around 2017, putting him among a select group of suspected regional crime bosses that the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission has assessed represent the top tier of groups involved in serious and organised criminal activity. Goa Carnival begins, thousands watch float parade led by King Momo India oi-Madhuri Adnal Panaji, Feb 23: The world-renowned Goa Carnival 2020 began in Panaji on Saturday and thousands of people lined the streets to watch the float parade led by the mythological King Momo who hold reigns in the state for four days. The parade, flagged off by state tourism minister Manohar Ajgaonkar, traveled three kilometres on the picturesque DB Bandodkar Road along the Mandovi river and culminated four hours later near the Kala Academy. Section 144 lifted ahead of Goa Carnival 2020 Lawyer Shalom Saldanha was chosen as King Momo by the state tourism department for this year's festivities, which will culminate on February 25. NEWS AT 3 PM, FEBRUARY 23rd , 2020..... Among the highlights of the float parade were martial arts performers and decorated cars. Speaking to PTI before the start of the parade, 'King Momo' Saldanha said festivities this year were dedicated to a drug-free Goa. "Say no to drugs. When you drink, drink responsibly," he said. The Carnival parade will be held in Margao on Sunday followed by towns like Mapusa, Morjim, Quepem and Curchorem. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, February 23, 2020, 9:41 [IST] The annual charity concert of the Drumshanbo Traditional Irish Music course will be held in the Mayflower Community Centre, Drumshanbo on Friday, March 6 at 8pm. Doors open at 7.30pm. Feile Fiche Fiche - Return of the Wild Geese, is the theme of this years concert. The evening will be organised and performed by the students of the course and all proceeds will be shared equally among three charities; North West Hospice, Leitrim Calling and LAPWD, Leitrim Association of People with Disabilities. LAPWD provides quality assistance, respite and home care services. Leitrim Calling is a free, friendly, confidential telephone call service reaching out to older and vulnerable persons in our community. North West Hospice provides specialist care with compassion for those living with life-limiting illnesses in Sligo, Leitrim, South Donegal and West Cavan. The Drumshanbo Traditional Irish Music course was established in 1997 and is the only music course of its kind in the country, providing an introduction to the traditional arts at QQI Level 5. Students study modules in Irish music, music theory, music performance, event production, music technology, music industry studies, word processing and communications. Students are encouraged to learn an instrument of their choice and to practice every day, a core element of the course being the transmission of Irish music in the traditional manner - by ear. The annual charity concert is one of the highlights of the year and provides an ideal opportunity for students to showcase the tunes, songs and dances that they have been working on throughout the year. Tickets are 7 and can be bought at the door on the night with U-12s going free. There is a door prize of 100 and there will also be a raffle during the interval with great prizes sponsored by local businesses. Your attendance and support would be greatly appreciated! LAS VEGAS - Pete Buttigiegs campaign has questioned his third-place finish in Nevadas caucuses and called for the states Democratic party to release a more detailed breakdown of votes and address reports of more than 200 problems allocating votes in Saturdays caucuses. But the Nevada State Democratic Party is suggesting that Buttigiegs campaign seek a recount if it wants to challenge results. In a letter sent to the state party late Saturday night and provided to The Associated Press on Sunday, the Buttigieg campaign said the process of integrating four days of early voting into in-person caucuses held Saturday was plagued with errors and inconsistencies. The campaign also said it received reports that volunteers running caucuses did not appear to follow rules that could have allowed candidates to pick up more support on a second round of voting. Bernie Sanders won Nevadas caucuses, with Joe Biden a distant second and Buttigieg in third. Currently our data shows that this is a razor-thin margin for second place in Nevada, and due to irregularities and a number of unresolved questions we have raised with the Nevada Democratic Party, its unclear what the final results will be, Buttigiegs deputy campaign manager Hari Sevugan said in a statement. Nearly 75,000 people cast votes during four days of early caucus voting almost as many Democrats who participated in Nevadas 2016 caucuses. Their votes, cast at sites anywhere in the county, had to be routed by the party back to the voters home precinct and added to the in-person votes cast Saturday by their neighbours. Buttigiegs campaign said it received more than 200 reports of problems merging the early votes, including cases where the early votes werent used, were incorrectly read or the wrong early vote data matching another precinct was used to calculate whether a candidate had enough support. The claim matches a Biden campaign precinct captain who told The Associated Press he witnessed two precincts on Saturday where caucus organizers announced midway through that they had switched the vote numbers for the precincts, before switching them back and forth at least four times. The Buttigieg campaign called for the party to release more detail of the votes, including a breakdown of early votes cast by home precincts. Nevada Democratic Party spokeswoman Molly Forgey said the party is continuing to verify and report results and is not going to offer a more detailed breakdown than it already planned to provide. As laid out in our recount guidance, there is a formal method for requesting a challenge of results, Forgey said. The partys rules say any request for a recount must be filed by 5 p.m. Monday. The Buttigieg campaign did not immediately have a comment on whether it intended to seek a recount. A Bheem Army-led march by hundreds of anti-CAA protesters heading to the district collectorate on Sunday afternoon was stopped midway by police and Rapid Action Force jawans. The protestors, including women, were stopped by police from moving ahead after they crossed over the Katpula Bridge from the old city. The protesters had taken out the march on a call by Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar. With large number of policemen blocking their way, the protestors changed their way and reached Eidgah instead where a large group of anti-CAA women protestors have been holding an indefinite dharna for the past three weeks. Shops in some areas near Kotwali had downed their shutters. Aligarh SSP Rajmuni, who recently took over the charge as the district police, chief told mediapersons that following the abortive march, an FIR was lodged against three persons at the Delhi Gate police station for trying to violate prohibitory orders and breach peace in the city. The new SSP said he was monitoring the situation due to anti-CAA protests, going on both at the AMU and the old city area. He said our "channels of communications with protesters are going to remain open but it does not mean we will allow anybody disturb the city's law and order". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Inspired by the spiritual thought of Jainism, many people living in Japan are travelling all the way to India to convert from Zen to the Jain religion. According to a TOI report, many Japanese people are opting to live like astute Jains. From wrapping a white loincloth, chanting the Navkar Mantra, eating before sunset and drinking warm water, to meditating for hours at derasars in Japan (Jain temple), they are doing it all. The town of Naganoken, home to the seventh century Zenko-Ji temple with a hidden Buddha, sees hundreds of Japanese nationals travel to Palitana and Shankheswar in Gujarat, to embrace Jainism every year. TOI Most of these people initially were followers of Zen. For those unaware, Zen is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, the are known as the Chan School, and later developed into various schools. After Naganoken, the popularity of Jainism is spreading in Osaka and Tokyo too. Not only have thousands of Japanese turned to Jainism, but many are taking up monkhood. Under normal practice, initiation into monkhood comes after immense training. The initiates live with monks in temples and the preparatory phase can last anywhere between six months and 10 years, says Babulal Jain-Ujwal, an expert in Jainism. Just a month ago, 2,500 Japanese travelled to Tharad in northern Gujarat and spent a week there with the disciples of Jayant Sensuriswarji Maharaj Saheb. There are a number of Japanese coming here in large numbers. They follow all our rules, pray with us, eat Satvik food before the sun sets, mediate and go back home to follow the same lifestyle we induct them into, said Nityasen Suriswarji Maharaj Saheb. A new temple is being planned in Japan and now we are told there are more than 5,000 families are newly inducted into Jainism, he added. Churushi, who has changed her name as Tulsi, wanted to take Deeksha (renunciation). My guru entrusted me with a bigger task: To spread Jainism across Japan. Every month, since then I have been travelling to India four to five times a year with hundreds of Japanese who are ready to embrace Jainism, Tulsi said. Another group of Japanese nationals is expected to travel to Gujarat next week. The Japanese are also taking Hindi tutorials to understand the intricacies of the religious texts, said Jain-Ujwal. A new fast response U.S. Coast Guard cutter has been named after a rescuer from Michigan who lost his life trying to save three teenage brothers who were swept off a pier during a fierce Lake Superior storm known as Black Sunday. The Coast Guard took delivery of the new cutter this month in Key West, Florida. It will be the second of three fast response cutters stationed in Galveston, Texas, the military said. The new cutters namesake, Petty Officer 1st class Edgar Culbertson of Ferndale, was 31 when he died during the rescue effort in Duluth, Minnesota on April 30, 1967. Culbertson and two other Coast Guard rescuers had tethered themselves with rope and spaced themselves 25 feet apart in an effort to rescue the brothers. Culbertson died, as did all three brothers. The two other Coast Guard rescuers survived. For their bravery and heroism, all three service members were awarded the Coast Guard medal. Here are some of the details of the Black Sunday rescue. For a full account, read the rescue anniversary story here. Winds were blowing at 45 mph that night, whipping up waves along the coast of Duluth, a port town on Superiors northwestern shore. Witnesses saw brothers Eric, Arthur and Nathan Halverson - two 16-year-old twins and a 17-year-old - running on the pier about 7:45 p.m. The boys had driven to the pier after a church gathering, their parents later said. One brother was swept off by the crashing waves, and the other two were stranded on the pier, reports said. Volunteers who headed out to rescue the siblings included Culbertson, Boatswains Mate 2nd Class Richard Callahan, 21, of Cicero, Ill., and Fireman Ronald C. Prei, 21, of St. Francis, Wis. Portrait of Edgar A. Culbertson. Photo Courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard. The crew tethered themselves together using a rope, with 25-foot spacing and set out searching the pier with only a hand lantern to light the way, according to a Coast Guard account of the rescue attempt. "The men shuffled their way out to the lighthouse without incident, but also without finding the missing boys. On their way back, Culbertson was knocked off the pier by a large wave, causing him to fall below onto the rocks along the shores of the lake. His body was later found on the beach. Fencing was later added to the pier as a safety measure. The fast response cutter named for Culbertson is a versatile ship designed for many functions, including search and rescue, port security, fishery patrols, national defense, and drug and migrant interdiction. They feature advanced command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment; over-the-horizon cutter boat deployment to reach vessels of interest; and improved habitability and seakeeping, the Coast Guard said in a recent announcement on the ships delivery. The ships have a maximum speed of 28 knots, range of 2,500 nautical miles and endurance of at least a five-day deployment. It joins 36 other fast response cutters already in use. There are 12 in Florida; seven in Puerto Rico; four in California; three in Hawaii and New Jersey; two in Alaska, Mississippi and North Carolina; and one in Texas. The Coast Guard has ordered 50 of the cutters to date. Future FRC homeports include Santa Rita, Guam; Astoria, Oregon; and Kodiak, Seward and Sitka, Alaska. READ MORE Remembering Lake Superiors Black Sunday storm that killed 3 boys, Coast Guard rescuer Lighthouse mystery: Air Force pilot crashes, leaves heartbreaking note before vanishing Great Lakes first woman boat captain remembered for steely nerve, sass New Delhi, Feb 23 : For US President Donald Trump, Twitter is just a typewriter which takes him to television, breaking news, on Facebook and all over the place instantly to make sure he is noticed directly and distinctly. As Trump begins his two-day India visit on Monday, Twitter is set to be back in the limelight the moment he tweets photos, videos or text in his usual style from a platform which, for him, is "the modern way to communicate". His spelling errors and gaffes have minimised in the recent past, but the texture and tonality of his tweets are the same. Setting the tone of his visit earlier this week, Trump had said that although India doesn't give the US a fair deal, he is coming because he likes Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "I congratulated Prime Minister Modi. I said, 'But, you know, you have 1.5 billion people. I have 350 million. You have an advantage'," Trump had said in Las Vegas. "We're going to India, and we may make a tremendous deal there, or maybe we'll slow it down. We'll do it after the election. I think that could happen too. So we'll see what happens. "But we're only making deals if they're good deals, because we're putting America first. Whether people like it or not, we're putting America first," the US President had said. Trump is scheduled to visit India on February 24 and 25. The President and First Lady Melania will spend the first day of the trip in Ahmedabad and Agra before moving to Delhi for the official reception and bilateral talks. Back on Twitter, Trump lauded the Bollywood gay rom-com "Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan" on Friday. "A new #Bollywood rom-com featuring a gay romance is hoping to win over older people, following the decriminalisation of homosexuality. Hurrah!" tweeted @PeterTatchell. To this, @realDonaldTrump tweeted: "Great!" There is, however, a distinct change that has been spotted in his tweets over the years. By analysing the patterns of Trump's tweets, researchers in September last year found that his posts have become more conversational and engaging than before. Trump's tweets varied systematically before, during, and after the 2016 presidential campaign, depending on the communicative goals of the President and his team. "We find that the account shows clear patterns of stylistic variation over time and argue that these results provide a window into the communication strategy of Trump and his team during the campaign," said the study's researcher Jack Grieve from the University of Birmingham. For the study published in the journal PLOS ONE, researchers downloaded the corpus of tweets sent from the '@realDonaldTrump' Twitter account from 2009 to 2018, which were preserved in the Trump Twitter Archive. By analysing the patterns of grammatical co-occurrence, the researchers were able to identify four general style variations of Trump's tweets -- 1) conversational 2) campaigning 3) advisory 4) engaged -- and observed how these stylistic patterns shifted over time. However, in December last year, Trump made a Twitter record when he tweeted a whopping 123 times in a couple of hours against the House Judiciary Committee's decision to initiate impeachment charges against him. The @realDonaldTrump posted a total of 123 times, including tweets and retweets, breaking a previous record. Wait till Monday when social media goes ballistic over his maiden India visit, with Twitter leading the pack. A powerful earthquake struck the Turkish-Iranian border on February 23, taking the lives of several people and causing damages, as the Anadolu agency reported. As a result of the natural disaster in the village of Ozpinar, numerous damage occurred. There are still seven citizens under the rubble. At least seven cases of death were confirmed, including three children. Five residents were injured and delivered to the local hospital. It is noted that an earthquake of magnitude 5.7 occurred in Iran. The earthquake struck at 9:22 local time in a city and capital of Khoy County, West Azerbaijan Province. As we reported before, an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.1 points took place in Romania's Vrancea county. Ukraine's State Emergency Service reported that with the reference to the Chief Centre of Special Control of the National Space Agency. The shakes spread on the territory of Ukraine's Odesa region; the State Emergency Service of Ukraine did not observe any consequences. Within the nearest twenty years, a global earthquake might stir up the Zakarpattia region as this area is in a seismic zone. Oleksandr Kedzera, Deputy Director of Institute of Geophysics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, said this. New Vote on Account after April polls By Damith Wickramasekara View(s): View(s): President Gotabaya Rajapaksa will submit a new Vote on Account (VOA) after the upcoming general election, seeking Rs 500 billion to cover Government expenses for three months from April. A senior Treasury official told the Sunday Times that the VOA was required to pay state-sector salaries, pensions, buy medicines and meet other essential expenditure. The official noted that the current VOA approved under the previous Government was valid until April 30. Under Article 150(3) of the Constitution, the President is empowered to use funds from the Consolidated Fund to cover any expenditure necessary to maintain public services for three months from the date on which the new Parliament is summoned to meet. Development Banking and Loan Schemes State Minister Shehan Semasinghe, however, stated that the Government was focused on presenting a full budget at the earliest opportunity after the parliamentary election. We hope that Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa will present a full budget in his capacity as Minister of Finance. We need such a budget if we are to provide all the benefits that should be given to the people, he said, adding that a new VOA would be presented if this could not be done. On Thursday, the Government abandoned plans to present an amended VOA seeking to obtain an additional Rs 367 billion for Government expenses. This came after the Opposition declined to support the motion. Minister Semasinghe noted that the Government had also sought to Rs 156 billion to pay outstanding amounts owed to contractors for projects undertaken under the previous Government. Unfortunately, we could not get approval for this. We urge the contractors to remain patient for another two months until the election is over, he said. Kalaburagi police issued a notice to AIMIM Spokesperson and former MLA Waris Yusuf Pathan directing him to appear before them for interrogation for his hate speech made at an anti-CAA public meeting held at Peer Bengali grounds here on February 15. Kalaburagi Rural Police Station PSI went to Mumbai to hand over the notice. The leader has been directed to appear before the police within seven days after the notice reached, said police source. BJP leader Shwetha Rathod lodged a police complaint against Pathan on Friday night at Kalaburagi rural police station. Flame and smoke are seen during Israeli air strikes in the southern Gaza Strip By Ari Rabinovitch and Nidal al-Mughrabi JERUSALEM/GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli fighter jets launched air strikes on suspected Islamic Jihad positions in Syria, the Israeli military said on Monday, after the militant group and Israel exchanged rockets and air strikes around Gaza. An Israeli military statement said its forces had "struck Islamic Jihad terror targets south of Damascus" in addition to "dozens" of Islamic Jihad targets throughout the Gaza Strip. The air strike in the Adeliyah region outside Damascus targeted what the Israeli military called "a hub of Islamic Jihad's activity in Syria," including the research and development of weapons. The Israeli announcement came shortly after Syrian state media said its air defenses had intercepted "hostile targets" over the Syrian capital, Damascus. The strike escalated the latest round of hostilities, which began around dawn on Sunday, when, Israel said, its troops killed an Islamic Jihad member who was trying to plant explosives near Israel's border fence with the Gaza Strip. Video footage shot by a Gaza photographer and widely posted on social media showed what appeared to be the lifeless body of an Islamic Jihad militant dangling from an Israeli military bulldozer as it removed the corpse. Palestinian health officials and other onlookers said two other Palestinians were wounded by Israeli gunfire directed at a group of people who had approached the area and tried to recover the body. The images caused an uproar in Gaza, with many social media commentators calling for retaliation. Islamic Jihad fired a barrage of rockets from Gaza into Israel, setting off air-raid sirens in communities such as Ashkelon. Israel hit back with a series of air strikes in Gaza. The rockets sent residents of southern Israel running for shelters. Some of the rocket fire was intercepted by Israeli aerial missile defenses, and there were no reports of any Israelis injured. Story continues The Israeli military said that among the "dozens" of targets struck in Gaza were underground infrastructure and compounds in Rafah that had been used to store raw material used for manufacturing rockets. Shortly before midnight on Sunday, the Syrian state news agency SANA quoted a military source saying that Israeli planes had entered Syrian airspace and targeted areas around Damascus with a wave of guided missiles. Syrian state-run al-Ikhbariya TV aired footage of what it said were explosions set off in the Damascus night sky by the air defenses system shooting down missiles. The Syrian military source said most missiles were destroyed before reaching their targets and that the aftermath of the strike was being examined. Israel says it has carried out hundreds of strikes against targets in Syria in recent years. In November, Islamic Jihad said Israel had targeted the house of one of its officials in Damascus, killing one of his sons. (Reporting by Nidal Almughrabi in Gaza, Kinda Makieh in Damascus and Ari Rabinovitch in Jerusalem; Editing by Peter Cooney) Police have arrested two people in connection with an incident wherein a group of people thrashed three men for allegedly trying to steal donkeys in Rama village under Sangad Police Station limits here. The incident came to light after a video of the same went viral on social media. The incident took place on February 15 and the video surfaced on February 22. According to police, a case has been registered under the SC/ST Act and further investigation is underway in the case. The search for other accused is on. The incident comes close on heels of another case in Nagaur where two Dalit men were recently tortured for alleged theft. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) When the Centre revoked Article 370 and trifurcated Jammu and Kashmir into a state and two union territories on 5 August, 2019, a spanner was thrown for the first time into the relentless wheels of a thousand-year-old demographic war against India. The giant machinery screeched to a halt, startled and furious. But the war has not stopped, and there is no evidence that assaults on Indias and particularly Jammu and Kashmirs demography will cease anytime soon. News emerging from Jammu is chilling. A report by an organisation named Ikkjutt Jammu claims over the past 30 to 35 years, 50 lakh kanals of mostly forest land think of the combined expanse of Jodhpur and Udaipur has been illegally given to Muslim religious organisations. This includes large tracts of forest land. State governments run by the Abdullahs, Muftis and even Congress Ghulam Nabi Azad showed generosity under the Roshni Act, which the last Jammu and Kashmir governor scrapped. The court has also ordered the return of every piece of land from the encroachers. This enactment stands repealed on 28 November, 2018, by the State Administrative Council (SAC) led by the governor annulling the Roshni Scheme after concluding that it had not served its purpose and was no longer relevant in the present context, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court stated in its order. The court has now asked for return of land pertaining to each of 25,500-odd cases of dubious transfer of state land under the Roshni Scheme in Jammu and just 4,500 cases in Kashmir. A police and intelligence note shows that Pakistan-sponsored terror group Hizbul Mujahideen has started tracking the movements of main petitioner in the case and chairman of Ikkjutt Jammu, advocate Ankur Sharma, along with Jammu and KashmirBJP president Ravinder Raina. Besides the 6.25 lakh acres doled out to encroachers which triggered a massive outrage in Jammu, the Ikkjutt Jammu report shows signs of a demographic takeover are strewn all around. More than 100 mosques have been built in Jammu city. In 1994, there were just three. A new Jammu city has come up on the Bhatindi Hills forest sopes, Sidhra and Tawi floor bed. Bhatindi is now a busy town, and here one can witness a wholesale capture of mountain slopes which were lush green forests, the report says. Worries over demographic takeover are not just restricted to Jammu. In Ladakh, Buddhists organisations have repeatedly complained about "forcible conversions and marriages, Muslim businesses taking over Leh (Kargil is already Shia-dominated), and a steady expansion of population". The community constitutes 46.4 percent of the population compared to 39.5 percent Buddhists. The Ladakh Buddhist Association is fighting against what it calls systematic love jihad in which it claims "dozens of young Buddhist women, and often underage girls, are being lured or forced into marriage". Kashmir itself may be a demographic battleground, with the talk of re-settling Hindu Pandits who were killed and ethnically cleansed from their homeland in the 1990s. Kashmir may also see mass housing for troop families and an influx of businesses and migrant labour from the Indian mainland who can settle there now. Article 370 gave one-way demographic protection and advantage to Muslims in Jammu and Kashmir. With its repeal, new demographic battles bubbling under the surface are waiting to break out. Sponsors of population jihad from across the border must be worried. N C Bipindra By One day in mid-September 2019, an Indian Army Brigadier commanding around 3,000 soldiers along the 1,126-km Line of Actual Control with China walked across to stiffly shake hands with a Colonel from the Peoples Liberation Army during a flag meeting at Bumla. The gesture signalled that India is prepared for war any time and if need be, can give a bloody nose to any of its enemies, irrespective of their size. It was the Brigadier who had asked for the meeting as protocol demanded, to convey a single message: the Indian Army will, for the first time ever, be carrying out a massive war-gaming exercise in its eastern region bordering China, somewhere around 100 km inside Indian territory. It was a sign to prepare for the unexpecteda possible war with the northern adversary. India has made significant changes in its military structure, with the appointment of the first-ever Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, as the single-point military contact with the government and to bring about the much-needed synergy among the Army, Navy and the Air Force. The government has approved the Armys restructuring, to ensure that it has enough manpower and adequate specialist equipment to meet any challenges against Pakistan and China. A month after that flag meeting, Indias newly acquired Chinook heavy-lift helicopters flew over Arunachal Pradesh, the border state claimed fully by China. The twin rotors of Boeing-made helos whirred warnings against the backdrop of the clear blue skies, with BAE Systems-made M777 ultralight howitzers attached to its belly. They were taking part in the massive military exercise code-named Him Vijay that saw a Division-sized troop of around 12,000 soldiers validate Indias new warfare doctrines and concepts to perfect the art of winning any war against China. The US-made helicopter can carry loads up to 10 tonnes while the loaded M777s, weighing just 3,745kg (half the weight of a Bofors gun used in the 1999 Kargil war), can bring 155mm artillery firepower on enemy positions. As the Indian troopers were practicing moves to counter China in the east, the Army on the western border with Pakistan launched a massive week-long military exercise in Barmer district, Rajasthan. Conducted by the Bhopal-based Sudarshan Chakra Strike Corps, around 40,000 warriors honed their combat skills and validated their deep-strike capabilities in desert terrain and to deal a swift punitive blow to the adversary. The integrated air and land battlefield scenario saw the Indian troopers deploying the newly inducted T-90, T-72 and Arjun battle tanks, supported by the Mi-25 and Mi-35 attack helicopters, and the K-9 Vajra Self Propelled Artillery Gun System, Grad and Tunguska missiles and rockets slamming the enemy positions and blowing them to smithreens. Indigenous armed Rudra helicopters boasting innovative military technologies and prowess of the armys Network Centric Force, ensuring effective communication between the sensor, shooter and decision-maker. The September 2016 surgical strikes by the Indian Special Forces on Pakistani terror camps were a hit-back strategy never been attempted by India. It changed the paradigm of Indian reaction to Pakistani provocations with an unpredictability which is now a predicament for the Pakistan Army. The cross-border action is just a sample of the Indian Armys capability should a full-scale war break out. The Brave New Indian Army is envisaged as a lean, mean fighting machine with the capability to act swiftly and decisively against any attack. The success of all military power lies in its brain before the brawn is deployed; it requires experience combined with ideation and coordination. The appointment of Indias first Chief of Defence Staff was to ensure seamless coordination with the countrys political command, which has placed national security and military empowerment on top of its agenda. Coaction is behind the creation of another new postDeputy Chief of the Army Staff Strategy DCOAS (Strategy)who will handle military operations, military intelligence, strategic planning and operational logistics. Factoring in the importance of cyber warfare, a new information warfare wing and hybrid warfare is in the offing. The beginning of the change in strategy and modernisation was perhaps the unconventional public announcement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Paris on April 15, 2015, to buy 36 fully built Rafale fighter jets; his justification named critical operational necessity. Since January 2012, the Defence Ministry had been caught in the dithering and disagreements between the military and bureaucracy on the purchase of Dassault Aviation-built aircraft and the mainstay Sukhoi Su-30MKIs. With his Rafale decision, Modi was signalling the importance of cutting through red tape, for long the bane of arms procurement and modernisation in the military. The changes in the structure are in tune with the Indian Armys Land Warfare Doctrine that was adopted in 2018 aimed at winning wars of the future. For, no bullet has been fired across the border between India and China for the last 40 years, except for minor skirmishes over territory. But if there has been no war earlier, it doesnt mean there will be no war in the future. We have to be prepared for a war at all times, Indian Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane told this writer in late January. On the conflict scenario along the northern borders with China, all measures will be undertaken to enhance deterrence. Till 2013, India had only three strike corpsa war-fighting force of around 35,000 troopers each to penetrate behind enemy linesto focus on Pakistan. The PLA and the Pakistan Army together can muster over two million armed personnel against Indias 1.3 million-strong military. Hence, outdated ideas of deploying large military formations on the battlefield have given way to the new Integrated Battle Groups (IBGs), specialist forces with warfare capabilities and equipment to suit the terrain and the task assigned for a battle. IBGs are a huge transition from the Cold Start doctrine, a loose term for a swift, short war with Pakistan with deployment in just about two days. The new Indian doctrine talks of using all its forces as IBGs, with equipment matching their envisaged roles and potential for greater flexibility. The IX Corps at Yol Cantonment in Himachal Pradesh, under the Chandimandir-based Western Army Command, will be the first to be tested, followed by the XVII Mountain Strike Corps. The IBGs involve the integration of infantry, armoured tank regiments, artillery, UAVs, engineers and signals into one fighting unit, whereas the old model had each of these functioning in silos. Now the Army plans to fully raise a dozen or more IBGs with about 5,000 soldiers each within a year. These battle groups, which are theatre-based formations for fighting a quick, short war, will be equipped with specialist weapons and platforms to meet their unique requirements. In the next two years, IBGs will cover the entire expanse of Indias western and eastern borders. To arm these new battle groups, fresh procurement such as the Rs 20,000-crore contract for 464 more T-90 battle tanks has begun. IBGscomposed of a mix of infantry, artillery, air defence, signals and engineerswill be centred around T-90S tanks and will be backed by attack helicopters on the western border. A different battle composition will focus on China based on the terrain and nature of combat by using Chinook helicopters and ultralight M777 howitzers. This transition is to prepare India for what both General Rawat and General Naravane have warned of: a joint Pakistan-China two-front war to squeeze Indian troops and test their capabilities and capacities on both the western and northern borders. The new philosophy will maximise the joint resources of the three forces to maintain ascendancy and deterrence against Indias traditional rivals. A big challenge for the Army is to meet its budgetary constraints effectively. This year, Indias defence modernisation budget stands at $16 billion against $15 billion last year. In 2017, when the Sukna-based 33 Corps was engaged in a 72-day standoff with the PLA at Doklam, Indian Army commanders refused to wilt under pressure and retreat. The 33 Corps was mobilised with additional resources. However, the inherent disadvantage became apparent soon: the enhanced operation had consumed the armys total transportation budget for the remaining part of the year. No additional budget was allotted for the last quarter of the FY18 either. Fifty-five years ago, on October 20, 1962, the PLA crossed into Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh, and started a war that lasted a month. The Chinese strategy was well thought out: after gobbling up 43,000 sq km of land in Aksai Chin, the PLA swiftly withdrew from Indian territory to avoid being trapped by snowfall. India lost 3,250 soldiers. An analytical assessment of force structuring, doctrinal advancement over the last 30 years and modernisation efforts will reveal the high level of complexity that has gone into optimising the Indian Army capabilities, and keeping pace with or stealing a march over its strong adversaries who threaten our borders and internal security. Indias New Formations In three years, Indian military will have joint theatre commands China Theatre Command Peninsular Theatre Command Air Defence Command Cyber Defence Command Space Command Special Operations Command Armys Force Structure Old Command 3 Corps Corps 3 Divisions Division 3 Brigades Brigade 3 Battalions Battalion 3 Companies New Two Integrated Battle Group = One Division One Integrated Battle Group = Infantry, Armoured, Artillery, Signals & Engineers (Full fighting unit) The Ether War Against China Picks Up In September 2019, Indias newest nuclear power plant at Kudankulam came under a malware attack which went unnoticed for almost 48 hours, before the government admitted to the breach. A combined investigation by the Department of Atomic Energy and the CERT-IN revealed that the infected computer belonged to a user who went online for administrative purposes. The attack on the facility was not an isolated cyber breach. Over the last decade, China is known to unleash military and nonmilitary offensives on enemy installations. Chinese military thinker Sun Tzus Art of War says that a war can be won without having to go into battle. The Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) has taken the idea to its next level. It wages digital war from air-conditioned facilities deep inside Chinese territory, without having to meet the enemy face to face. Since 2009, India has faced cyber-attacks on its critical facilities, including the National Informatics Centre servers, Defence Research and Development Organisation, Indian Space Research Organisation, Prime Ministers Office, and the Ministry of External Affairs, ranging from defacing of the website to even downing an Indian Air Force Sukhoi combat jet. In April 1997, the Chinese Central Military Commission set up a 100-member elite corps to devise ways of hacking into computer systems of the US and other Western countries. In 2015, PLA decided to raise Strategic Support Force, which is being touted as the fifth service and not just a branch of PLA. Though the Indian military woke up to this challenge a decade ago, it is now in the process of setting up Cyber, Space and Special Operations Commands. The government has established cyber defence and space agencies with headquarters in New Delhi, along with a special operations division based in Agra. These three key agencies are expected to secure Indian assets from attacks on its critical cyber and space assets. A fourth is dedicated to special operations such as the Surgical Strike deep inside Pakistan territory. While the Defence Cyber Agency will be spearheaded by the Indian Navy, the Defence Space Agency will be under the leadership of the Indian Air Force and the Armed Forces Special Operations Division under the Indian Army, each staffed with personnel from all three services. While the three are looking at raising a battalion-strength of around 1,000 initially, these would develop into larger formations over time. The cyber agency team is currently being trained at the National Technical Research Organisation, one of Indias cyber-espionage spying units. Its current focus is to create assets with both defensive and offensive capabilities. Battles India Fought 1947 with Pakistan: India successfully repels attack on Jammu and Kashmir, but loses control over parts of Kashmir. What went wrong: Midway through the war, India went to the UN against Pakistan, resulting in a ceasefire. 1962 with China: Chinas massive attack leaves India reeling; the defeat has had a deep scar on Indias psyche. What went wrong: India failed to use air force, resulting in a disadvantage against the superior Chinese numbers. 1965 with Pakistan: India successfully defeats Pakistans plan to cut off Kashmir from Indias mainland. What was right: Pakistan miscalculated Indias strength and resolve to militarily defend its territory. 1971 with Pakistan: India inflicts a crushing blow to Pakistan, midwives creation of Bangladesh. What was right: India had done enough groundwork with Mukti Bahini, the underground resistance to Pakistan in East Pakistan. 1999 with Pakistan: India overthrows Pakistan Army regulars who clandestinely occupy Kargil heights. What was right: Pakistan thought India would talk only peace with statesman Atal Bihari Vajpayee at the helm. But he took a military call. Last month, the educational research and advocacy organisation, Pratham, completed 25 years of existence. Late last year, the environmental research and advocacy organisation, Kalpavriksh, completed 40 years of existence. Both anniversaries went unnoticed by the media, whether mainstream or alternative, digital or print. This was unfortunate, for Pratham and Kalpavriksh are both remarkable institutions, while the fields they work in, education and the environment respectively, are vital to Indias future. Since I have known both organisations for many years now, I thought I should make some amends for this silence, and pay my personal tribute to these two national treasures. Kalpavriksh was started by a group of high school students in Delhi in 1979. I could, in fact, name some of them, except that they wont allow me to, since the group always stoutly refuses to be identified by individuals. So let me speak instead of the kind of work they have done. KV (as it chooses to be known) began with an interest in the ecology of the National Capital Region, studying the native plant and bird life of the Aravallis, while seeking to save these hills from urban sprawl and unregulated mining. In the early 1980s, the members of Kalpavriksh began to look outside Delhi as well. They travelled in the Himalaya with activists of the Chipko movement, who alerted them to the destruction to the hill ecology and the village economy by commercial forestry. Then, they travelled in the Narmada Valley on their own, studying the impact on tribal communities of a series of mega-dams being built on that river. Their report, published in the Economic and Political Weekly in June 1984, attracted the attention of the social activist Medha Patkar, who soon moved to the Narmada ghati to work with those who were to be displaced and rendered homeless by these dams. Some of the founding members of Kalpavriksh took their commitment into other fields; achieving distinction as journalists, human rights activists, and university professors. Some stayed close to their original mission namely, charting a sustainable environmental future. They did field research in remote and vulnerable areas such as the Northeast, the Western Ghats, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, working with local communities in restoring ravaged ecosystems. Now headquartered in Pune, Kalpavriksh remains a vibrant and energetic organisation, driven by the same sense of idealism as when it was first established 40 years ago. Pratham was founded in the city of Mumbai in January 1995. Its prime movers were Madhav Chavan and Farida Lambay, both of whom had a background in research and teaching. Both were animated by a strong social conscience. They first worked among slum children in Mumbai, who tended to drop out of school early so as to contribute to the meagre family income. Then, like Kalpavriksh, having established their credibility through solid work in their home city, Prathams founders spread their wings wider. Animated by the aim of having every child in school and working well, Pratham has since established its presence in as many as 23 states and Union Territories. Pratham has done pioneering work in teacher training and curriculum development. Its all-India network of trainers, working in tens of thousands of schools across the country, focuses on building foundational skills among young children, particularly in reading and arithmetic. Pratham also has a strong research wing, manifested in the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) that it has produced for many years now. These reports document learning outcomes by age groups and subjects across Indian states. The ASER reports have become a veritable gold mine for educational researchers, and could become a key input in designing more effective public policies as well. Finally, through Pratham Books, the organisation has published hundreds of engagingly written and well-illustrated books for children, across a wide variety of subject areas and in many different languages. I began my career as a scholar of the environment, and thus have had close professional dealings with Kalpavriksh. I am not an educational researcher; and thus cannot comment with the same authority on Prathams work. However, I have had many meetings with its founders and staffers, and have come away impressed by their intelligence, their commitment, and their remarkable capacity to absorb and learn from criticism. Among the organisations admirers are the Nobel Laureates Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Dufflo, who have done much of their own research in collaboration with Pratham. As someone who has had the great good luck to know both Kalpavriksh and Pratham, I am struck by some striking parallels. Both began and dug deep roots in a single city Delhi in one case, Mumbai in the other before expanding to other parts of the country. Both have had productive international collaborations, yet remain strongly rooted in the Indian context. Both believe in the importance of original, primary, research; both have published a series of important books and reports embodying this research. Both wish or hope to use this research to influence public opinion and State policy. Finally, the leadership of both Kalpavriksh and Pratham have always placed the organisation above themselves; this in contrast to so many other non-governmental organisations in India, whose story so often begins and ends with the charisma and personality of the founder. That the anniversaries of these two great Indian organisations were ignored by the media is not altogether surprising. For the Indian media is consumed by politics, by looking ahead at the last election or looking back at the last one, with analysing what this minister said or what that Opposition leader tweeted. In this obsession with elections and parties, subjects like education and the environment get short shrift. Yet, surely the countrys future vitally depends on the state of our schools and colleges, on the state of our air, water, soils, and forests. Perhaps it is time we paid more attention to what organisations like Kalpavriksh and Pratham do, say, and think. Readers of this column can visit their websites for a start. Ramachandra Guha is the author of Gandhi: The Years That Changed The World The views expressed are personal SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ramachandra Guha Ramachandra Guha is a historian based in Bengaluru. His books include India After Gandhi, A Corner of a Foreign Field, Environmentalism: A Global History, and Gandhi Before India. He tweets as @Ram_Guha ...view detail There is often a preconceived notion that only objects associated with the rich and famous, important events, or prominent businesses can become part of the collection of the McLean County Museum of History. But this is simply not the case. While these types of objects are indeed a part of our vast collection of over 20,000 objects, the bulk of what we collect and preserve represents material culture (human-made items) used in everyday life that have a connection to any person who lived or currently lives in McLean County. It is through these objects that we bring to life the rich stories of the people of McLean County individuals of all races, gender, religions, economic status, education level, and more. The museum recently received a donation that sheds light on the story of Bloomington resident Clyde Noble. If you recognize that name, you likely remember Noble as a famous Bloomington aerial artist, but he had more than one career! Born on Aug. 30, 1881, Clyde Noble was the youngest of James and Sarah Nobles 11 children. At the age of 15, Noble was sent to Chicago to learn a trade the art of engraving and jewelry making. He returned to Bloomington after completing his two-year apprenticeship and began looking for work. An advertisement posted by Frank Parritt in April 1900 may have been the ideal opportunity for him. A local jeweler with his own store, Parritt advertised for A boy, but that none under the age of 15 apply. Noble began working for Parritt that spring, but the Main Street business soon went up in flames destroyed by the Great Fire of 1900 that consumed five and a half city blocks of Bloomington. When made aware of the fire, Noble was soon onsite, making every effort to rescue Parritts most valuable jewelry. According to The Pantagraph, Parritt gave Noble a beautiful gold watch and chain as a token for faithful work done during the night of the fire. When Parritt reopened the store at 317 N. Main St., Noble was there. He was also there when Parritt opened a new store at 106 W. Washington St. in 1901. Noble continued to work faithfully for Parritt, but he was getting itchy feet. He was 23 and had watched his brother Charles achieve success as an aerial artist. Clyde undoubtedly watched Charles practices and tried some tricks himself before deciding in 1904 to leave his career as a jeweler and join his brothers troupe, the Flying Fishers. During his 18-year career as an aerial artist, Clyde traveled across the U.S. making a name for himself. He also met and married Emily Vecchi, a world-renowned bicycle performer. In 1918, the couple decided they had had enough of the nomadic life of circus performers and retired to Bloomington. Noble returned to his former occupation, taking a position as a clerk and jeweler in Will Homuths store on the south side of the courthouse square. Noble crafted, sold, and repaired jewelry for Homuth until 1919, at which time he became head of the jewelry department at Mayer Livingston Companys newly constructed Newmarket Department store, located at 102-108 N. Center St. (currently the vacant Front & Center Building). An opening week Pantagraph advertisement stated, Mr. Clyde Noble and capable assistants will in their utmost ability help you select the Premiere of all gifts. Emily was also hired and helped Clyde as a salesclerk. But when the Newmarket was sold to Montgomery Ward & Co. in 1938, Clyde decided it was time to open his own store across the street at 111 N. Center St. The business did well. In the fall of 1941, Clyde incorporated the store with new partners, Melvin S. Sorg and his wife under the name Sigmund Sorg Inc. But the companys success led to the store being targeted by thieves. In 1943 they broke in, battering in a sheet iron covering which had been bolted over a second-floor window on the south side of the building, adjoining an alley. Fortunately for Clyde, most of the jewelry stolen was relatively inexpensive card jewelry. In July of 1944, Clyde announced that he had sold the store to Melvin Sorg and was retiring. At this time, Clyde sold all the personal tools he had used over the many years as a Bloomington jeweler. His jewelers scale was purchased by Julie Graves Snavely, who believed her nephew Edgar Lundeen Jr. (15 years old at the time) would appreciate it. Long story short he did! And though Lundeen did not take up the jewelry business (he worked as a professional management specialist for many years), he preserved this interesting bit of our history for many years, donating it to the museum in 2019. A Piece From Our Past is a weekly column provided by the McLean County Museum of History. Love 3 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 As China considers delaying the annual meeting of its legislature amid the coronavirus epidemic, one big question is how such a rare move will affect fiscal policy at a time when the faltering economy badly needs support. The annual session of the National People's Congress and a parallel meeting of the country's top political advisory body is the most important annual political event in China. Bringing together nearly 3,000 delegates from across the country, the annual NPC meeting in Beijing passes legislation, approves the national budget and sets key economic targets for the year. This year's NPC meeting is scheduled to start March 5 and last about 10 days. But as China grapples with a deadly epidemic that has sickened more than 74,000 people, lawmakers have suggested delaying the session. A meeting to decide the issue will be held later this month, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Monday. A postponement would be the first since 1995, when China adopted the current March schedule for the legislative session. It would mean delaying approval of the national budget, fueling concerns over the consistency of fiscal policies needed to bolster growth. There is little sign that a delayed NPC meeting would significantly disrupt China's fiscal policy implementation, although it would leave question marks over the closely watched annual growth target and budget deficit ratio. Economists have widely forecast that this year's NPC meeting will approve a higher budget deficit to spur growth. It is unclear how long the annual session may be delayed. Analysts said the schedule should not be postponed for long, as doing so might upset budget arrangements and fiscal policy implementation. China's Budget Law stipulates that central and local budget drafts must be reviewed by the annual NPC meeting before government departments can start spending, although lower level governments' budgets are subject to approval only by local legislatures. As of February, most local governments had completed this year's local legislative meetings and reviews of local budgets, except the southwestern provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan, as well as several county-level cities. The central budget plan subject to NPC approval will decide how much money the central government transfers to local authorities and the pace of local government bond issuance. A delayed budget review may not affect fiscal policy much, some experts say. That is because, in practice, the central government often informs local authorities beforehand how much they can expect to receive in the coming year so that local governments can work out their own budget plans. Part of the funding will also be sent to local governments before the new year starts, local fiscal department officials told Caixin. This year, about 70% of central government funding has been allocated to local authorities and can be used once local legislators approve, they said. Data released by the Ministry of Finance showed that the central government has allocated 2.44 trillion yuan ($349 billion) in general funding to local governments for 2020. In addition, several hundred billion yuan in special funding has also been sent to local authorities. A delayed NPC meeting may hinder some projects that require special approval for central government funding, a local fiscal official said. Since the Covid-19 outbreak, the Finance Ministry has allocated more than 20 billion yuan in special funds to support local governments' fight against the deadly virus. The delayed budget review will not affect local governments' bond sales very much, as the State Council, the cabinet, started allocating a major part of the bond quotas as early as November, under authority granted to it by the NPC. Annual debt quotas were originally issued after approval by the annual NPC meeting in March, but the legislature's standing committee passed a bill in December 2018 allowing the Ministry of Finance to assign as much as 60% of the quotas early to push more spending into the first quarter of the year and help local governments better plan their budgets. So far, the cabinet has assigned 1.848 trillion yuan of bond quotas to local governments to bolster local economies. These governments have maintained a steady pace of bond sales so far this year despite the virus outbreak, Finance Ministry data shows. Nikkei Falcon Oil & Gas has completed a crucial 1,500 metre horizontal well as it prepares to begin fracking within weeks at its potentially major gas prospect in Australia's Northern Territories. The Dublin-based explorer said the 21-day drilling operations, including casing and cementing, on the Kyalla well in the Beetaloo basin have been successfully completed. The well had been drilled at a depth of 3,809 metres. Falcon chief executive Philip O'Quigley told the Sunday Independent that the horizontal well was "a milestone" for the company's bid to bring the prospect into commercial production, alongside its Australian partner Origin Energy. "Now we are getting ready for the fracture stimulation of the well which will happen soon," he said, adding that the company must first clear a number of regulatory hurdles that could take some weeks. The fracking process itself would then take up to three weeks and would allow the companies to test the flow rate of gas from the well. "That will be a big moment for us and we will follow that with a 90-day production test," he said. Former Biggest Loser star Fiona Falkiner is currently soaking up the sun in Sri Lanka with her fiancee Hayley Willis. And on Sunday, the 37-year-old looked calm and relaxed as she went sans top while enjoying a drink alongside her lady love. Fiona could be seen holding hands with Hayley on Instagram, as the two women looked at the tropical view from a villa pool. Forgetting something? Former Biggest Loser star Fiona Falkiner (left) went topless during Sri Lankan getaway with fiancee Hayley Willis this week Fiona stripped down to a nude-hued skirt, while Hayley only wore a pair of black bikini bottoms in the racy snap. 'Listening to the monkeys, sipping coronas and soaking in all the Sri Lanka rays. Feeling very fortunate to be here with my love,' Hayley wrote. 'It doesn't get much better than this.' Romantic: 'Listening to the monkeys, sipping coronas and soaking in all the Sri Lanka rays. Feeling very fortunate to be here with my love,' Hayley wrote Hayley then shared a number of snaps on the beach with Fiona, with the two women nestling close with each other. Fiona has been clearly living her best life on the holiday, with her showcasing her figure in a plunging pink swimsuit on Friday. Fiona is currently holidaying with her fiancee Hayley at Haritha Villas and Spa in Sri Lanka. Wild thing! Girlfriend Hayley also stripped down to a leopard print bikini on the getaway Turning heads! Fiona (pictured) flaunted her sensational curves in a plunging pink swimsuit during the getaway earlier this week The loved-up couple are celebrating Hayley's 30th birthday. Fiona and Hayley announced their engagement in April 2019, after 10 months of dating. Hayley popped the question while the couple where enjoying a holiday in Vanuatu. The pair first started talking on Instagram while Fiona was holidaying in Europe in June, 2018. Romantic getaway: Fiona is currently holidaying with her fiancee Hayley (pictured) at the Haritha Villas and Spa in Sri Lanka Fiona told The Daily Telegraph's Stellar magazine in May last year that a particular direct message from Hayley 'stood out' more than others. 'Everyone pretends they don't read their DMs, but they do,' she said. Fiona has previously revealed she and Hayley are planning on marrying this year. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-24 05:38:43|Editor: yan Video Player Close DAMASCUS, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Several explosions were heard on Sunday night reverberating across the Syrian capital Damascus, in what appears to be the Syrian air defenses responding to attacks, state TV said. Police in Philadelphia are looking for someone they say shot a man and one of his two dogs early Sunday. The shooting occurred around midnight outside of the Wyncote Beer Deli at 65th Street and Wyncote Avenue in the citys Germantown section, Action News 6 ABC is reporting. According to reports, a gunman approached a 34-year-old man and his two pit bulls and fired nine shots, hitting the man four times in the hands and legs. One of the two dogs was shot at least once before both dogs ran from the scene, reports indicate. Police took the man to the hospital. So far, investigators do not have a motive for the shooting and are reviewing surveillance footage, according to reports. No arrests have been made. 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. Amar Bhushan By Prior to December 15, 2019, most people in Delhi and the rest of India would not have heard of Shaheen Bagh. Since then, it has acquired a unique notoriety. Hundreds of Muslim women, some old and very old, kids looking like zombies due to lack of sleep and mothers holding toddlers in arms have been squatting 24x7, on the main road near Shaheen Bagh that connects the city to Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. They want the black law (read CAA), NRC and NPR withdrawn, because if these get implemented, they will be expelled to detention camps as illegal immigrants. Their demand is inexplicable because the Citizenship Amendment Act does not take away their citizenship, NRC is not on the governments agenda and NPR is like census that keeps getting updated since 1872, every 10 years. The problem is not with squatters freedom from their grinding housekeeping or with their right to express dissent over the CAA, but with their complete lack of empathy for fellow citizens in the neighbourhood colonies, commuters, shopkeepers and roadside vendors whose daily life has been brought to a standstill. They are left to suffer because they have no voice, no courage to confront picketers and have no courts or police to rescue them from the blockade. In democratic India, it is perhaps the trespassers who have the right to define who will live where and how. Shaheen Bagh has also created a new model of protest for forcing governments to accept demand. It is already being gleefully replicated in some cities in India and will surely cheer the habitual dissenters to organise agitations in future, accordingly. They only have to ensure that: kids and women join the carnival in huge numbers, arrangements are made in advance to financially sustain protesters for a long period, rabble-rousers are regularly invited to give fiery speeches in support of their demand and location of the protest is so chosen that daily life of common man gets massively affected. Thanks to this experiment, aura of the rule of law stands shredded in bits and pieces. Instead of clearing the blockade by using water cannon, teargas, pellets and opening fire, Delhi Police has been busy in counselling and begging protesting women to go back home. It is funny seeing them clutch on to the barricades, playing kabaddi with agitators. They appear lost, abandoned and desperate to return to their barracks. They cannot use force against women and kids, because the government fears, it will traumatise the social conscience of the nation, infuriate justices and evoke ridicule from human right activists in India and abroad. So, hell with the enforcement of law and maintenance of public order! Indeed, the courts are angry with protesters for blocking the road but wont issue clear directions. They want the police to enforce Section 144 judiciously but what is judicious, they wont define. It is true, police have committed mistakes but like all institutions, they are also fallible. But instead of letting them perform their legitimate duties, every stakeholder has shackled them. It is dangerous because police are the only instrument that every civilised nation has, to ensure safety to masses from unruly few. ( Amar Bhushan is a former special secretary, Research and Analysis Wing and can be contacted at amarbhushan@hotmail.com ) BJP National President JP Nadda on Sunday, February 23, expressed his pride over India becoming the fifth-largest economy in the world with a GDP of $2.94 Trillion. Taking to Twitter, Nadda stated that the country is "steadily" moving towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of becoming a $5 trillion economy. India is now the 5th largest economy in the world with a GDP of $ 2.94 Trillion. Under the visionary leadership of Hon PM @narendramodi Ji,country is moving steadily towards $ 5 trillion economy goal . This is the impact of the progressive economic schemes & measures of the govt. Jagat Prakash Nadda (@JPNadda) February 23, 2020 India becomes fifth-largest economy According to a report released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), India has become the fifth-largest economy in the world. As per the report, India's GDP growth has been among the "highest in the world" in the past decade, regularly achieving annual nominal GDP growth of between 6-7%. India has shot up in the charts, recording a GDP of $2.94 trillion. Taking to Twitter, the World Economic Forum (WEF) tweeted the rank chart. India has overtaken countries like France and the UK as per the IMF list. Read: 'Proud that India will chair COP Convention on migratory species for 3 years': PM Modi Read: India is now the world's 5th largest economy, according to IMF PM Modi's vision The country's next major target is achieving a $5 trillion economy by 2024-25. The Indian government on several occasions has stated that it has been setting the foundation of the ambitious target. Addressing the 2019 Republic Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said, "Along with constant efforts to improve the standard of living in India, the country has also set an aim of $5 trillion economy, and I am confident that with the motto of 'Nation First' we will get the desired result of all our efforts and the country will also achieve all its goals." Read: BJP K'taka questions anti-CAA protesters for not rising up against Congress' shortcomings While presenting the Union Budget 2020 on February 1, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced that the country was expecting nominal GDP growth of 10% in the next fiscal year as compared to the usual 7-7.5%. She had also announced that the nominal GDP growth rate was only expected to grow with 12.6% and 12.8% in FY22 and FY23, respectively. Read: PM Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, JP Nadda wish Arunachal Pradesh citizens on statehood day Several west-central Illinois municipalities are taking a wait-and-see approach to a bill introduced in the state Senate that would allow municipalities to vote on increasing the fuel tax by 3 cents a gallon. The bill was filed Feb. 4 by Sen. Bill Cunningham, D-Chicago. If signed into law, municipalities would be able to impose a tax in 1-cent increments that could not exceed 3 cents per gallon of gas within the municipality, according to WICS-TV in Springfield. Currently, only municipalities in counties with a population of more than 3 million inhabitants can impose a motor fuel tax. Cunningham said the bill was introduced at the request of the Illinois Municipal League to help municipalities fund street repairs. Mayors in several municipalities in west-central Illinois said they were waiting to see where the legislation goes and are hoping to learn more about the costs and benefits of implementing the increase. Jacksonville Mayor Andy Ezard said the option to increase the gas tax had not been discussed at the city council or the mayors office. He said the city would need to see if the measure passes before a serious discussion could take place. The city already has passed its motor fuel tax plan for this year and considering such an increase would need to happen later down the line, Ezard said. Jacksonville has several roads that could use funding for improvements, Ezard said, but a decision on implementing the tax increase if the bill passes would need to go to the city council. Winchester Mayor Rex McIntyre said he needs to see figures on the revenue that could be produced by the tax before he could take a definite position. Winchester City Council has not broached the topic. Street projects in Winchesters downtown could benefit from extra funding, but an increase in the tax coming less than a year after the state doubled the gas tax could be an issue for Winchester residents, McIntyre said. Beardstown City Council also has not discussed the issue, Mayor Leslie Harris, noting she would bring the issue to the council if the bill passes. Cunningham has suggested that the Senate may not take action on the bill this year. He said he is waiting on the Illinois Municipal League to bring consensus on the topic from around the state, according to WICS. On Facebook, reaction to the proposed bill has been mostly negative, with west-central Illinois residents saying an increase in the fuel tax would hurt peoples budgets. We are already taxed to a great degree, Greg L. Winchester of South Jacksonville said in a comment on Facebook. There are a couple of exceptions but, overall, Illinois elected representatives are poor stewards of the taxpayers hard-earned money. By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 02/22/2020 ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade. star Nicole Nafziger has teased an upcoming exciting trip on Instagram, and many fans are speculating she's going to visit her fiance Azan Tefou "Bed hair don't care. Do you have any trips/vacation coming? Where are you going? I have a trip coming up and I'm so excited," Nicole, 26, captioned a selfie on Thursday.Comments from fans poured in, with some guessing she's heading to visit Azan in Morocco."If it has anything to do with Azan, not to be rude but it will get canceled last minute by him unless you decide to go alone... hope it works [though]," one follower wrote to Nicole.Nicole and Azan's relationship -- if the couple is even still together -- has been flying under the radar in recent months.In November 2019, RadarOnline reported it had been two years since the couple last saw each other "They still talk occasionally, but there have been a lot of fights between them on the phone," a source said. "The family is surprised they're still together."The source also insisted Nicole and Azan had "no plans for a wedding.""He can't get a visa," the source explained to the website. "She's talked about going back to Morocco, but she doesn't have money. She has to save."Nicole and Azan met on a mobile dating app years ago when she was 21 years old and living in Bradenton, FL. Azan was 23 years old and from Agadir, Morocco, at the time.Nicole and Azan got their start on reality TV by starring on Season 4 of the original series, followed by Season 5 of the series.That later led into an appearance on Season 3 of : Happily Ever After? and then Season 4.Nicole and Azan's initial wedding plans in Morocco in 2018 fell through due to alleged time and financial constraints.At the time, Azan seemed to convince Nicole to invest $6,000 of her wedding money into opening a beauty store instead, while he planned to contribute $500 to the overall cost.It's unclear whether that store was a real possibility or will ever actually open considering both Nicole and Azan have made different claims in recent months.Nicole therefore returned to the U.S. but flew back to Morocco in 2019, when she thought a wedding would be "highly likely." But the trip got canceled just two weeks later. (Prior to Nicole's Morocco plans falling through, Azan had also canceled the pair's vacation to Grenada due to an alleged "family emergency.")Nicole never disclosed the reasons behind canceling her latest trip to Morocco, but the frustration and disappointment all over her face on Season 4 of : Happily Ever After? pointed to Azan being the decision-maker.During the Tell-All special for the spinoff's fourth season, Nicole announced her trip to Morocco didn't happen "because sometimes, things are just personal."In August 2019, a source told In Touch Weekly that Nicole was getting her life "back on track" with a new job as a barista at Starbucks and an apartment of her own. Nicole had also enrolled May, now 5, in kindergarten.And the following month, Nicole reportedly revealed on social media she and Azan decided to stop filming for : Happily Ever After? and were leaving the series."They're tired of being harassed," the source told the website. "It was Nicole's decision. They have no intention right now of going back on the program."Around that same time, however, Nicole insisted on Instagram she and Azan were " still together happily ," although they had no immediate plans to marry "We don't have plans to get married officially at this moment because I'm doing my life here with [my daughter] May right now and he's working doing his life there right now. That doesn't mean we won't, it means we'll do it when the time is right for us," Nicole wrote to a fan at the time.Nicole went on to say, "Don't believe rumors. Because 90% of what y'all read on the Internet about him and us is false. Trust me or not, that's not my business. I don't put all of our life out there. That's not called lying, it's called privacy. Good day."Viewers last saw Nicole completely smitten with Azan, looking forward to hopefully welcoming him into the United States one day.Want more spoilers or couples updates? Click here to visit our webpage! The Times Media Co. has launched the new SmartSend service to help business owners across the Calumet Region connect directly with their customers via text message. "It is a monthly subscription that allows our advertisers to build a database of their customers through a texting platform and then be able to market to them directly with messaging and creative that they can access through an app on their phone," Vice President of Sales Tom Schager said. "SmartSend can provide our clients with a direct communication line to their biggest fans and will be able to offer them deals/coupons or just to say, 'Thanks!'" Market research has found an estimated 75% of consumers are OK with receiving text messages from brands after they've opted in, Schager said. Text messages have a 98% open rate, and 90% of them are read within three minutes. Texts have an estimated 209% higher response rate than phone, email or Facebook in an era when many people are tethered to their smartphones, Schager said. Puducherry Lt Governor Kiran Bedi has sought the opinion of Centre on the Congress government's proposalto introduce casinos in the Union Territory as part of its measures to shore up more revenue. In a whatsapp message to the media on Sunday, containing details of the number of files cleared last week, the former IPS officer said she had referred on February 17, the file received from the government seeking amendment to the Puducherry Gaming Act 1965 to open on shore and off shore casino here. While Bedi had been maintaining that casino should not be introduced, the Narayanasamy-led government had been insisting on the facility from the point of mobilising revenue for the fund starved administration. A difference of opinion had cropped up and whenever there is a disagreement between the Administrator (Lt Governor) and the elected government, the matter should be sent to the Home Ministry as per provisions of the rules relating to conduct of business of the Administration. Hence, the proposal of the government to introduce on casino was referred to the Home Ministry for its opinion. Virtually rebutting criticisms by the Chief Minister that she had been sitting on the government files for months together, the Lt Governor said 73 files relating to various subjects were cleared last week and one relating to casino had however been sent to the Home Ministry for its opinion. She also said she had uploaded the details of the files in her whatsapp message only to ensure that transparency was being maintained by her office and also to enable the officers to know of the status of the files. The move of the government to establish casino had already drawn criticisms from various quarters including the CPI, a constituent of the Secular front headed by the ruling Congress. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) America worries that Huawei, China's telecoms giant, spies on behalf of its government and threatens Western interests. Such concerns are not just about America's security, but also its insecurity. By The Economist February 22, 2020 " Information Clearing House " - Rarely does a country go to war with a private company. But America has done just that. But is this really about Huawei or is it something bigger than that? And what is the threat? What is this war really about and why is Huawei in the middle of it? Founded in China in 1987 Huawei is now the worlds largest maker of telecoms equipment with revenues exceeding $103bn. When you think about Huawei you might think about the handset. That makes sense, since it sold 200m of them in 2018 alone. But close to half of its revenue comes from selling network equipment. In fact, since 2014 its outgrown all its competitors reaching over 3bn people. This is how networks function - Your phone sends a signal to a nearby tower using radio waves, voice and data are passed over an internal network run by your phone company, which connects your handset to other phone users and the wider internet. In other words, these antennas connect us all. But now, theres a new kind of network. Although 5G is massively overhyped, it is coming and Huawei is a leading force in this innovation. But though this computerised, smart future opens up new possibilities it comes with a health warning. Because if entire networks are vulnerable this opens the door to countries spying on one another. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter In a rare interview with The Economist Ren Zhengfei, Huaweis founder and CEO, talked about the political storm surrounding his company. As the argument rages over the security of Huaweis products the effects can be seen in some unexpected places. Joe Franell runs Eastern Oregon Telecom, a small network serving the people of this rural area. The problem is that the network here relies on Huawei technology. Its a similar story around the world Mobile-phone users in developing countries have benefited from Huaweis attractive deals. But how is Huawei undercutting its competitors? Whether or how Huawei is connected to and subsidised by the Chinese government is unclear. But what is clear is this - China is the kind of country where if the party says jump all you can say is, well how high? Loyalty to the state is actually enshrined in Chinas intelligence law Article 7, a 2017 addition, states that Any organisation or citizen shall support, assist and co-operate with the state intelligence work. Critics say this law means that when you buy Huawei equipment you may be exposing yourself to surveillance by the Chinese intelligence services. And this makes governments very uncomfortable. The fear is that Huawei will leave backdoor vulnerabilities in its networks that would provide China with an opportunity to spy on its competitors and enemies. To counter this mistrust, Huawei has shared its code and allowed the likes of Britains National Cyber Security Centre to scan it for backdoors. So, if theres no solid security threat why is America making an enemy out of Huawei? It seems as though the concern over Huawei is not only about Americas security but also its insecurity. And its causing collateral damage at home as well as abroad. In May 2019 the Trump administration issued an executive order which not only forbade American companies from supplying Huawei with components, but restricted domestic networks from using its equipment. Its a move that feels like an own goal to Americans like Joe Franell. And theres another uncomfortable truth that America cant ignore. Smartphone technology relies on a truly global supply chain. Take an average smartphone. Some contain components from more than 200 international suppliers. Screens might be made by Samsung in South Korea. The camera lens engineered in Germany. The chip could be designed by a California-based company and manufactured in Taiwan. The battery could come from Japan and the audio chip from China. But increasingly, hostility and lack of trust threaten to fracture these supply chains. America's concerns about Huawei are understandable. But the risks can be managed by limiting the use of Huawei equipment to less sensitive parts of 5G networks. That way it is possible to benefit from the low cost of Huaweis equipment while minimising security concerns. Billions of people around the world have benefited from increased connectivity made possible by global standards and global supply chains. But if political mistrust divides the telecoms industry into rival camps everybody stands to lose Read more here: https://econ.st/2O9kgyc (Bloomberg) -- Intuit Inc. is close to buying Credit Karma Inc. for about $7 billion in cash and stock deal, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter it didnt identify. The purchase, which could be announced by Monday, will push the maker of TurboTax deeper into the consumer finance space, the newspaper said. The acquisition would also be Intuits largest in its 37-year history, it added. Broadening its sales base is important at a time when Morgan Stanley said its expecting tax-preparation software companies to face headwinds for the revenue they get from each tax return this year due to the combined effect of a rising mix of free filings and lower need for services that assist do-it-yourself filers. Still, Morgan Stanley analyst Keith Weiss had expected Intuit to hit the high end of its implied consumer tax guidance as TurboTax continues to gain market share. Intuit shares have risen 14% since the start of the year, compared with a 3.3% advance in the S&P 500 Index. Tax-Prep Analyst Sees More Free Filers Hampering Revenue Growth Under current negotiations, closely-held Credit Karma would operate as a standalone unit with its Chief Executive Officer Kenneth Lin staying in charge, one person told the paper. The San Francisco-based company is backed by funds such as private-equity firm Silver Lake and financial-technology venture firm Ribbit Capital, it added. Credit Karma, which was co-founded by Lin, was considering an initial stock offering before late 2019 amid a series of weak-performing trading debuts, the newspaper said. Its website gives users access to credit scores and recommends financial products from credit cards to personal and car loans. Intuit is expected to report its second-quarter earnings on Monday. Credit Karma Changed Its Approach to Gain Customer Trust (Adds more details starting in third paragraph.) To contact the reporter on this story: Jihye Lee in Seoul at jlee2352@bloomberg.net Story continues To contact the editors responsible for this story: Shamim Adam at sadam2@bloomberg.net, ;Liana Baker at lbaker75@bloomberg.net, Linus Chua, Sungwoo Park For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. Stakeholders on environmental protection have called on the Federal Government of Nigeria and other states to aggressively deploy information, satellite, molecular, drone and other relevant technologies to promote transparency in the forestry sector and prevent the alarming illicit trading in Nigerias endangered plant species, particularly Rosewood. In a statement signed by the Executive Secretary of HEDA Resource Centre, Sulaimon Arigbabu, following a communique issued on Thursday, February 20, 2020 in Abuja at the end of a one-day workshop on preventing the illicit trade in Nigerias endangered plant species, organised by the HEDA Resource Centre and the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) in partnership with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the participants observed that the external demand for endangered plant species has only resulted in unwarranted pressure on the Nigerian forests and illicit trades significantly shortchanging Nigeria in the forest economy and polluting the environment. According to the statement, the environmentalists also commended the federal government for banning the exportation of charcoal since 2016. They, however, urged the government to do more than banning it on paper, and rather effectively implement the ban and ensure the application of necessary sanctions against defaulters, including law enforcement officers who compromise the banning order. They also commended the federal government for its raising of 2 million seedlings, urging it to collaborate more with state governments with constitutional responsibilities and direct custody of the forests as well as local governments and traditional rulers. The stakeholders further urged that: The idea of communal ownership of forests should be encouraged as it is already being practised in communities like Ekuri and Iko-Esai in Akamkpa local government area of Cross-River State. However, emphasis should be placed on both individual and communal ownerships. They added that: There should be incentives in form of polluter pay principle to encourage communities concerned and ensure sustainable forest economy through Corporate Social Responsibility. Olabode Popoola, Vice Chancellor of Osun State University, who was the lead presenter at the workshop, noted while making his presentation on: The dynamics of forest resources trade/market and implications for sustainable development, that The Chinese demand for rosewood has spurred a largely illicit trade in West Africa, heightening tension in the sub-region. Therefore, he recommended that: The government should urgently undertake forest and biodiversity resources assessment of the country to establish the status of the resources. The Presidential Initiative on Afforestation (PIA) should be implemented to fast track the recovery of the forest sector from its current parlous state. Acknowledging the discrepancy in records between the extremely low Nigerian record of Rosewood export to China and the comparably high Chinese record of Rosewood import from Nigeria into China, Muhtari Aminu Kano, Director General of the Nigeria Conservation Foundation who presented a paper on Criminal exploitation of Nigerias endangered species and the rosewood trade question: focusing on the bigger picture, urged the Nigerian government to engage the secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to hold to account China in particular and other countries involved illicit trading of the Rosewood and other plant species. Kidan Araya of the US-based non-governmental organisation, Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), who led discussion on the Criminal decimation of Nigerias forest resources: blocking the leakages from within and without, emphasised the role of digital information and satellite technologies in ensuring transparency in the administration of the forests. Renowned legal practitioner and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana (SAN), who during the workshop pledged his support to HEDAs campaign against illicit trading in Nigerias endangered species also noted that there is an enabling legal framework that can help to ensure the realisation of the campaign objectives. According to him: Section 20 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as Amended) as well as Article 24 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights obligates the government to protect the environment. However, participants expressed concern that although there are strong rules, regulations and legal frameworks to address and govern a sustainable exploitation of forest resources in Nigeria, implementations remain weak. According to them, trees in Nigeria are continually cut down with impunity and obviously devastating effects. Therefore, they recommended that: laws on forestry should be reviewed to strengthen penalisation of offenders; there should be an effective collaboration among law enforcement agencies in order to tackle illegal logging; and institutions at federal and state levels including traditional institutions should be strengthened to improve the forestry governance. According to the statement, the workshop also featured a panel discussion by Andrew Ilo, publisher of Enviro News; Mike Simire, Director General of the Biodiversity and Environmental Research Center (BERC); Bode Olufemi of Environmental Rights Action (ERA); Director of the forestry department of the Taraba State Ministry of Environment; representatives of the Nigeria Customs Service and the Federal Ministry of Environment. There were seminal contributions from other critical stakeholders at the workshop notably the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), academics and forestry experts, research institutions; traditional rulers including Chief Obi Owai of Iko Esai, Mr Joshua Kogaya (District head, Kagoro), and Oba Olatunde Olusola of Ikun Ekiti; as well as non-state actors, the statement read. Participants noted that the over-exploitation of forest resources is often a function of State Governments treating it as a form of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), therefore, they suggested that: There should be increased sensitisation of and by both state and non-state actors on the issues of forest preservation and prevention of illicit logging and trading, adding that: a National Forest and Biodiversity dialogue to evolve inter-sectorial and inter-governmental strategies for a more holistic approach to sustainable forest management should be urgently convened. It added: The anticorruption agencies present at the event, lead by the EFCC and ICPC expressed commitments to take more interest in the illicit financial flows and proceeds of crime from the illegal activities in the forestry sector. Participants urged governments at all levels to tackle corruption frontally in order for all the measures suggested to work. Source: Ridwan Sulaimon r.sulaimon@hedang.org As signage near the road will tell you, this was the home of Adlai E. Stevenson II, former governor of Illinois and United Nations ambassador during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. He was also the Democratic nominee for president not once but twice, with only the popularity of Dwight D. Eisenhower keeping him from the White House. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-23 09:05:57|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close GUIYANG, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Southwest China's Guizhou Province rolled out a guideline for the tourist attractions which resumed operation amid novel coronavirus outbreak. The provincial department of culture and tourism issued the guideline with 50 detailed measures, encouraging scenic sites to halve the daily maximum capacity and offer online ticket booking service and asking them to disinfect public spaces and facilities and check the temperature of tourists before entry. Tourist attractions will organize training related to epidemic prevention and control for the working staff before they open to the public. The guideline also asked tourists and employees of the scenic spots to quarantine themselves at home and report to communities if they show symptoms of cough or fever. During the epidemic, a total of 414 A-level tourist resorts were temporarily closed in Guizhou, and travel agencies have canceled travel contacts with over 25,000 customers. Chinese cities such as Shanghai, Nanjing and Hangzhou have announced to reopen the city's tourist attractions gradually under stringent epidemic-control measures. Victoria's Secret, the world-famous American lingerie brand, has been struggling of late. The underwear firm's parent company L Brands (LB) sold a controlling stake of the lingerie-maker to private equity firm Sycamore Partners for $525 million on Friday. After the sale, Sycamore Partners acquired 55 percent of the brand, while L Brands retains 45 percent. Earlier, Victoria's Secret's total enterprise was valued at $1.1 billion. Models walk the runway during the 2018 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show at Pier 94 on November 8, 2018 in New York City. [Photo/VCG] Declining profits For decades, the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, an annual catwalk promoting the brand's lingerie and sleepwear, has remained one of the most influential stages for supermodels worldwide to walk on. First launched in the early 1990s, the show has been broadcast in over 180 countries and regions. However, TV ratings of the show have continuously dropped in the past five years. According to CBS, one of the biggest commercial broadcast television and radio networks in the U.S., viewer rates for the show fell by 32% in 2017 compared with the previous year. Its 2018 show suffered its worst year ever, with just 3.3 million viewers across America, down from the previous year's 4.98 million, though the show cost $130 million. Five years ago, Victoria's Secret produced about two-thirds of the revenue for L Brands, which was a total of $28 billion. However, its sales have been declining, resulting in a 75% fall in its parent company shares since 2015. Models walk the runway during the 2018 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show at Pier 94 on November 8, 2018 in New York City. [Photo/VCG] Mired in controversy "Out of the frying pan and into the fire" is probably a very accurate phrase to describe the situation which Victoria's Secret has found itself in in recent years. An investigative report from the New York Times described an "entrenched culture of misogyny, bullying and harassment" at Victoria's Secret, causing public scrutiny of the company and the whole modeling industry. Published in early February, the article pointed out that the incidents happened especially under the supervision of two men: Former executive Ed Razek and Leslie Wexner, founder of the L Brands. It cited instances of Razek trying to kiss models, asking them to sit on his lap and other misconduct. Razek left the brand in 2019 following multiple controversial allegations. Following the report, over 100 Victoria's Secret models published a letter unveiling the sexual harassment and hidden rules and called for protection for the models. The sexy, supermodel image portrayed by the brand has helped its business in the past. But in recent years, more and more people have been criticizing this mindset of over-sexualizing the female body. Body positivity and inclusivity, shown by featuring models of a variety of body types and sizes have been something the fashion circle is promoting. Victoria's Secret 2018 runway models pose backstage during the 2018 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show at Pier 94 on November 8, 2018 in New York City. [Photo/VCG] Lost in fierce market competition Victoria's Secret has struggled in the past few years due to the change in consumer preferences in the era of e-commerce. Instead of developing its e-commerce, most sales continue to be from bricks and mortar stores. Meanwhile, more and more customers are preferring affordable, comfortable lingerie. The rise of brands such as Aerie, Lively, Third Love and Target is a head-on blow for the Victoria's Secret which is labeled as high-end. Mass merchants like H&M have also stepped into the lingerie market. Not long ago, H&M launched a lingerie collaboration with Love Stories, increasing competition in the market. From 2016-2018, the market share in the U.S. its most important market dropped from 33 percent to 24%. "Victoria's Secret has emphasized too much on sex appeal and fashion. Its products ignore customers' basic demand for underwear, which is comfortableness and practicality," said Xu Xiongjun, founder of Chinese consulting company Jiu De Ding Wei. New Mexico Democratic Congresswoman Xochitl Torres Small and conservative energy advocacy group Power the Future find themselves on the same side when it comes to New York Congresswomans Alexandria Ocasio-Cortezs bill to ban fracking nationwide. Theyre against it. Torres Small who represents the area of the state experiencing a record breaking oil boom said she has been consistently opposed a fracking ban because if we shut down oil and gas drilling in New Mexico today, wed have to shut down our schools tomorrow. I will continue to support responsible energy production in the district, including one of the countrys largest sources of oil and gas in the Permian Basin, she said. Larry Behrens, western states director for Power the Future, said the states energy workers use fracking to produce over 100,000 jobs and billions to the economy. The fact that a socialist representative from New York wants to destroy our economy deserves nothing but condemnation from New Mexicos elected representatives, he said. State revenue from oil and gas activity soared to a record $3.1 billion in fiscal 2019, up 41% from the $2.2 billion generated the year before, according to the latest annual report from the New Mexico Tax Research Institute. Taxes and royalties from the oil and gas industry now make up more than 40% of the states total revenue base. Ocasio-Cortezs bill a companion to legislation sponsored by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders would ban fracking across the nation by 2025. The legislation would also prohibit fracking within 2,500 feet of homes and schools by February 2021. It also would provide a transition for working families in the fracking industry. JOB FAIR FOR PLANT WORKERS: Torres Small and New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions organized a resource fair tailored to the more than 100 employees of Escalante Power Station in Prewitt. The fair was organized in response to news that Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association would close three coal facilities, including the Escalante Power Station, by the end of 2020. Fifteen employers and several service providers met with active job seekers about potential job openings, eligible skills trainings and additional support available. Losing jobs in rural communities is both a personal crisis and a crisis for the community, Torres Small said. TARGETING HUMAN TRAFFICKING: Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., hosted Human Trafficking Awareness workshops at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Artesia and at Hobbs City Hall last week to bring together the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies to work with local law enforcement and nongovernmental organizations. My hope is that these workshops can help us learn from federal experts and from each other about what tools are effective and what else we should be doing to end human trafficking, the senator said. Heinrich is a cosponsor of the bipartisan Human Trafficking and Exploitation Prevention Training Act of 2020, which would prevent the human trafficking and exploitation of children by providing grants critical for training students, parents, teachers, and school personnel to understand, recognize, prevent, and respond to signs of human trafficking. Scott Turner: sturner@abqjournal.com Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his 'Mann Ki Baat' radio address on Sunday narrated two stories of courage and determination from Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh and said that our courage during adverse circumstances in life can help us completely alter the situation. "I read one such story which I would surely like to share with you. This is the story of Salman who lives in Hamirpur village of Moradabad. Salman, a divyang (specially-abled) by birth, is manufacturing slippers and detergent in Hamirpur village of UP's Moradabad. He has trained and employed 30 divyangs. Salman has resolved to employ 100 more people this year. I salute their courage and entrepreneurship," said Modi. "Similarly in Gujarat, most villagers of Ajrak in Kutch were migrating after the earthquake in 2001. But one person, Ismail Khatri decided to stay back and nurture his traditional art form of Ajrak Print. Now, the hardworking village folk has turned 'Ajrak print' into a major brand," said the Prime Minister. This edition of 'Mann Ki Baat' marked Modi's 62nd radio address to the nation. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) We attempted to send a notification to your email address but we were unable to verify that you provided a valid email address. Please click here to update your email address if you wish to receive notifications. Otherwise, you may click here to disable notifications and hide this message. THERE are 328 applicants on the housing waiting list in the Adare Rathkeale Municipal District but just 133 houses are in the pipeline, councillors have been told. Moreover, these 133 houses are coming on stream in just six out of eleven towns and villages in the district. Demand for houses is highest in Adare with 100 applicants but just 42 are in the pipeline leaving a shortfall of 58. Meanwhile, senior architect with the council, Seamus Hanrahan, told councillors Adare has the lowest level of social housing, with just 29 out of 513 residences that could be described as social housing. His comments came when he brought before them the Part 8 proposal to build 31 new social houses and provide eight serviced sites for affordable homes in Adare. We are keen to progress this scheme, to move it along, he said. But Cllr Stephen Keary, who said he very supportive of the affordable sites concept, was concerned there was no policy in place as to how the affordable sites would be disposed of. I know it is not possible to ringfence them, he said before pointing out that they had wanted to support young people to build their own home. We have heard of several young people who had to leave Adare and try and source a site elsewhere. Cllr Kevin Sheahan agreed that councillors needed to be able to explain to people who was eligible and how they could apply. Mr Hanrahan pointed out that a scheme of priorities had been voted on by the full council. But he continued, the council had engaged with a particular Approved Housing Board about the potential of forming a co-op to deliver the eight units on the sites. Such an approach had delivered houses in Dublin, he pointed out. The last thing you want is a mish-mash of designs, he said. He undertook to keep councillors informed of any developments on that issue. Later in the meeting, Aoife Duke, director of housing development, presented a list to councillors showing where the demand for 328 houses lies. The highest demand is Adare, followed by Askeaton where there is a waiting list of 50 and Croom where the waiting list is 42. Ms Duke explained that 133 units are in the pipeine, either through new build, buy and renews, refurbishment and infill or an unfinished estate. It is not adequate, she said. We would be calling on private developers to come forward with turnkey solutions. She also set out the measures required over the next five years to meet the shortfall of 191 units. We do have a significant plan prepared to meet it, she said. We are determined to meet that need. She warned though that there is very little money to buy houses.she said. Money for 47 was allocated in 2019 but 71 were bought. The council expects to buy just 10 or 12 in 2020. We have been warned not to exceed that. Most of the money is going into the building programme, she added. Cllr Sheahan pointed out that a big problem in Askeaton was the wastewater treatment plant and he asked about the feasibility of Group treatment plants. Meanwhile, Cllr Keary castigated the council for turning a blind eye on an unfinished estate in Ballywilliam. Its a national disgrace, he said. The houses are there if you want to go and make an effort either to acquire them or renew them. Technically, it is not a ghost estate, Cllr Keary was told. Each house is individually owned. We have started the process of getting them completed, Director of Services, Caroline Curley said. She also told him that tenants on HAP schemes are vetted. Housing in Adare was one of the key issues identified in the Adare Five-Year-Plan which the Adare Civic Trust will be launching shortly. Korean director Bong Joon-ho (L) and producer Kwak Sin-ae (R) smile during a press conference for the movie of Parasite in Seoul, Feb. 19, 2020. EPA Even a day before the 92nd Academy Awards on Feb. 9, Bong Joon-ho's black comedy thriller was considered an underdog in the Oscar's best picture competition with war film "1917." Many U.S. media and pundits made predictions that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) members were unlikely to vote the non-English language film for the top Oscar prize. Kwak Sin-ae, producer of "Parasite" and CEO of its production house Barunson E&M, said that it seemed to be difficult for the film to overcome the barrier of subtitles, considering recent Oscar winners, most of which were English-language films, screenplays and actors. "I thought our film winning the best picture would be a history-making choice by the academy between change and tradition," Kwak said during an interview with Yonhap News Agency on Friday. "It seemed that '1917' was the front-runner, and we had a very slim chance to pull off the upset." But the AMPAS members chose to make a change and gave the most coveted accolade to the Korean-language "Parasite," along with three other titles: best director, best screenplay and best international feature film. "The AMPAS members are people working in the film industry. I know it is very hard for them to make an unprecedented choice," she said. "It needs great determination and braveness. ... I respect them." With the Oscar's novel choice, moreover, Kwak became the first Asian female producer to win best picture from the academy. The 51-year filmmaker said she was not aware she was the "first" Asian woman to win the title, but it helped her recall her 25-year dedication to the South Korean cinema industry. Starting her career as a reporter for the film magazine "Kino" in the mid-1990s, she has engaged in a number of films, including "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring" (2003), as a marketing official and a producer. "I was not a cinephile when I was a child. I just liked to read stories. My early colleagues loved cinema so much, but I didn't that much," said Kwak, whose elder brother is renowned director Kwak Kyung-taek, who made the box-office hit "Friend" (2001). "As a film reporter in my early 20s, I deeply studied film history, watched piles of movies and had interviews. I think that hard-working period was my turning point." She said she hopes to play a role in expanding the horizons of female filmmakers in the Korean cinematic community, which celebrated its 100th anniversary last year. It is impressive that many prominent female directors have made a splash in the industry, led by Kim Do-young of "Kim Ji-young, Born 1982" and Kim Bo-ra of "House of Hummingbird," she added. "If I am given a role, I want to do something good with female filmmakers and creators," she said. "It can be in filmmaking or something else. I'm going to push forward." (Yonhap) remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. As India gears up to welcome US President Donald Trump, who is on his maiden official visit to India, an Amritsar-based kite maker has designed special kites to welcome Trump. "As US President Donald Trump will be visiting India, so I have made some kites to welcome him. There are kites with pictures of PM Narendra Modi and Donald Trump. I have written some welcome messages on them," Jagmohan Kanojia, the kite maker told ANI. Trump, along with his family, is scheduled to visit India on February 24-25, his first official visit to this country. Kanojia hopes the visit strengthens the relationship between both the countries. "On some kites, I have written 'Namaste Trump'. I hope the visit strengthens the relationship between the countries. This visit will definitely have an impact on India. I want to welcome the President through these kites," he added. The 'Namaste Trump' event is scheduled to be held at Motera Stadium on February 24. Trump will depart for India from the Joint Base in Maryland today evening. The US President, along with his family and a ministerial delegation, will be in India for around 36 hours. During the visit, he is scheduled to participate in a roadshow with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and address a gathering at the Motera stadium. On Monday evening, the President and his family will be visiting the Taj Mahal in Agra. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) 1 / 175058123112162351832()1750581231121623654351PCR8 Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-24 02:30:22|Editor: yan Video Player Close BAGHDAD, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- A total of two Islamic State (IS) militants and a civilian were killed on Sunday in separate attacks in Iraq's eastern province of Diyala, a provincial police source said. A force affiliated with the intelligence service raided an IS hideout in Buhruz area, some 25 km south of the provincial capital Baquba, and killed two IS militants wearing explosive belts, Alaa al-Saadi told Xinhua. In a separate incident, unidentified gunmen opened fire on a civilian and killed him before they fled the scene in Juba area in east of Baquba, some 65 km northeast of Baghdad, al-Saadi said. Also in the province, two people were wounded by a roadside bomb planted by IS militants in a rural area near the town of Jalawlaa, some 135 km northeast of Baghdad, he added. Despite repeated military operations in Diyala Province, remnants of IS militants are still hiding in some rugged areas near the border with Iran, and in the sprawling areas extending from the western part of the province to the Hamreen mountain range in north of Baquba. The security situation in Iraq has been dramatically improved after Iraqi security forces fully defeated the extremist IS militants across the country late in 2017. Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, the National Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), on Saturday pointedly accused the Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki of sponsoring thugs to attack him at the Benin Airport yesterday. He made the accusation in a late night telephone call to him by a national daily to ascertain the veracity of reports making the rounds about his attack. A claim the governor had earlier denied in a press statement following the reported attack. Yes, I was attacked by thugs sponsored by the State Governor, he responded. Oshiomhole then proceeded to narrate in graphic details his ordeal in the hands of thugs whom he said were acting on the governors directives. He also lamented the role played by the Edo State Commissioner of Police whom he accused of failing to arrest the thugs. He said he flew into Benin to honour an invitation by a member of their party, Hon. Agbonanyinma for the burial of his mother. I actually got information that the governor was trying to prevent me from coming to Benin and that thugs were being mobilized to stop me. I called the Commissioner of Police about it and asked him to do something. He said he was however surprised when on his way to the airport the Commissioner of Police called him to say he doesnt want me to come because the governor doesnt want me to come. I asked him why? And he said because of the situation at the airport and the number of thugs that had converged there. I said but you know the thugs, he said yes. I said; you know that they were sent by the governor, he said yes. He even said the governors CSO is there and one retired DSP. I said you know the thugs and the man who sent them, you also know their leaders if you cannot do anything to stop the governor because he has immunity fine, but the thugs dont have immunity. Why dont you arrest them? Why will you ask me instead, not to come to attend a private function because the governor does not want me to come to Benin. I told him Im coming and that it is for him to provide necessary security. So, I landed in Benin. With the aid of the security personnel at the airport, I was able to get out of the plane to the lounge and proceeded to the car and the thugs were stoning my convoy. Well, I got home safe. You have seen the photographs of the vehicles. They even had to move armoured tanks to the airport. I went to the function I came for and came back home. By the time I got home, the governor had ordered his people to use two trucks to block the road to my house. You cant access my house from either side. My house is on a T- Junction. They blocked both roads. Oshiomhole accused his traducers of planning to bomb his residence at night, I have information that they would send boys to throw bombs into the house and that no one would be able to come to my aid. With that information, I called the CP, he said yes, the governor ordered the blockade of my house because he did not authorise my visit. I told him I came on a private visit and I dont need the Governors authorisation. I came to attend a burial ceremony of the mother of one of our members. Why do I need approval of the governor to attend the function? They said the governor also said that he didnt want anybody to come and visit me in my house in the evening. But then why should people not be able to come to my house? Am in a solitary confinement? I called the Inspector General of Police who then called the CP to provide additional security for my house. It was only after the IG called the CP that he sent additional security to my house. Right now I think they are trying to tow the trucks away. Checks by BreakingTimes revealed that the APC national chairman was in the Edo State capital for the burial of the mother of his political associate and former member of the House of Representatives, Ehiozuwa Agbonanyinma. Oshiomhole has been having a running battle with the state governor, Godwin Obaseki, whom he helped to succeed him as governor. A small hostile crowd, as if aware of his impending arrival, had taken positions around the airport environment. The thugs were matched by a strong detachment of security personnel drawn from the police, Department of State Services (DSS), and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps. The thugs attempted to gain entry into the VIP section of the airport from the exit gate, but they were repelled by the security men who shot into the air to disperse them. Oshiomhole was unhurt, even though one of his vehicles, a sport utility vehicle, was damaged. Despite the hostile reception at the airport, he was received by some of his associates, led by his former deputy, Dr. Pius Odubu, amid heckles by the thugs. Oshiomholes associates were also quick to blame the attack on the state government, an accusation denied by the governor. The state government denied involvement in the action of the youths, saying it had no role in the incident at the Benin Airport or any of the series of anti-Oshiomhole protests in Abuja. In a statement, Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Communication Strategy, Mr. Crusoe Osagie, said the Edo State Government had no connection with the crowd that was reported to have booed Oshiomhole. The statement read, It has come to our notice that Comrade Adams Oshiomhole arrived Benin today and was booed by a crowd of people. We are not directly or remotely involved in the act. We condemn insinuations that the Edo State Government is in any way involved in such an act. The series of anti-Oshiomhole protests across the country in the last couple of days, including those who jeered and booed Comrade Oshiomhole in Benin City on Saturday, have nothing to do with the government in Edo State. Oshiomhole, just like any other law-abiding person, is welcome into the state as long as he does not engage in any activity capable of disrupting peace and safety. We categorically state that we are not in whatever guise involved with those who engaged in the act against the former governor. The statement said the state government would continue to maintain law and order, adding that the government is committed to protecting the rights of all law-abiding citizens in the state. Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald has announced her party's plans to hold a series of public rallies over the next two weeks in a bid to bolster its case with the public that it should not be excluded from the next government. Ms McDonald said her party is "determined to deliver on the desire of the people for a government for change" and that Sinn Fein will step up its efforts in the coming weeks. As well as talking to other parties in a series of bilateral meetings, she has announced the first in a series of public rallies "to bring the conversation about a government for change to the people". She hit out at Fianna Fail and Fine Gael saying their plan to "carve-up political power and to block change is a rejection of what people voted for". Last night, Leo Varadkar told the Sunday Independent: "Sinn Fein seems to think it won the election even though 75pc of people didn't vote for them. Rallies and marches designed to force your way into government is not what a normal democratic party does." Former Fine Gael justice minister Alan Shatter was also critical of Sinn Fein's plans. "I don't think there is any precedent in Irish politics for a political party that has got a 24.5pc vote holding a series of rallies to demand they are part of a government," he told the Sunday Independent. "Over 75pc of voters did not support Sinn Fein. Rallies to demand a Sinn Fein-led government have no valid role in our democracy." Meanwhile, Green Party leader Eamon Ryan has signalled that a coalition with Fianna Fail and Fine Gael is on the cards after admitting it would be "difficult" to form a government involving Sinn Fein. Mr Ryan told the Sunday Independent that the next government will likely involve two of the three main parties and that it would be "difficult" to involve Sinn Fein given the opposition of Fianna Fail and Fine Gael to working with Mary Lou McDonald's party. Sinn Fein's planned rallies will take place in Cork, Dublin, Newry, Cavan and Galway. Ms McDonald said: "In the coming week Sinn Fein will be stepping up our engagements with other parties to bring a Government for Change about, beginning with a meeting with the Green Party on Monday and with other parties and Independents in the course of the week." She said she is looking forward to the rallies and "engaging with those who want real change over the coming period". Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is holding out on entering talks to form a government this weekend as Fine Gael sources claim that Micheal Martin is blocking the formation of a government by refusing to talk to Sinn Fein. "Fine Gael is preparing for opposition and believes that the onus remains on the opposition parties like Sinn Fein or Fianna Fail to form a government. They have 125 seats and only need 80 to form a government," Mr Varadkar's spokesman said last night. Fine Gael sources have also hit out at the Fianna Fail leader. "Micheal Martin is the barrier to the formation of a government," one source said. Another Fine Gael source said: "Many people in Fine Gael are annoyed that the same people in politics, in interest groups and the commentariat who spent the last nine years trying to undermine us and drive us out of office are now demanding that we go back into government. "There is a huge backlash against that in the party." Mr Ryan said the next government "will be a three or four-party coalition probably" that would involve "probably two out of the three" largest parties as well as others. He cited Mr Martin's comments regarding Sinn Fein in the Dail last Thursday, where he criticised its "efforts to legitimise a murderous sectarian campaign", as evidence of it being problematic to form a government that would include the party. "Yeah, it is difficult to see how we form a government [with Sinn Fein], but these things can change," he said. Mr Ryan said the Greens will talk to all parties in detail this week, but he also raised doubts about elements of Sinn Fein's manifesto on climate change and transport, saying there was "no clarity at all as to how they want to meet the targets" on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Mr Ryan's party will hold two days of exploratory talks with Sinn Fein tomorrow and Tuesday, followed by two days of talks with Fianna Fail, with Fine Gael scheduled later in the week. Social Democrats' co-leaders, Catherine Murphy and Roisin Shortall, yesterday ruled out the party being part of a coalition government with Fine Gael and Fianna Fail. Mr Ryan is now being viewed as the 'kingmaker' in Fianna Fail's efforts to form a government. "In any arrangement he would be the glue that keeps a lot of things together because he doesn't tend to go off on one," said a senior Fianna Fail TD. Mr Martin will meet with Mr Varadkar as early as Tuesday to discuss forming a coalition government. A senior Fianna Fail source said any talks with Fine Gael would be in parallel with other parties except Sinn Fein. Some senior Fine Gael figures are increasingly resigned to the party entering a coalition with Fianna Fail in order to avoid a second election. "I do believe the destination is Fianna Fail-Fine Gael-Greens - with some Independents," a senior Fine Gael minister said. However, the Taoiseach's spokesman insisted that the party is not actively seeking a place in government and that Mr Varadkar will report back to the parliamentary party to assess whether there is any basis to pursue further talks. "Fine Gael is willing to talk to other parties about participating in government but only if the opposition fails in its efforts and we are wanted and needed," the spokesman said. "Fine Gael could only participate on the basis that there is respect for the 450,000 votes that Fine Gael received and the policies they voted for. "That would have to be recognised in the composition of any Programme for Government and the composition of the Government. We won 35 seats and are one of three roughly equal medium-sized parties in the Dail. Our mandate is as valid as anyone else's." A senior Fine Gael source said it would "be helpful if some of those who tried to get us out of government now got out of our way". Meanwhile, justice spokesman Jim O'Callaghan's exclusion from the Fianna Fail talks team has sparked speculation in the party that he is attempting to make a play for the leadership. His declaration that he would not serve in government with Sinn Fein on RTE Radio two days after Mr Martin had left open that possibility resulted in a "cold wind blowing in his direction", according to source. Mr O'Callaghan is privately dismissive of claims he is plotting a leadership bid - but he is viewed by some senior Fianna Fail TDs as Mr Martin's most obvious successor. A senior Fianna Fail source played down Mr O'Callaghan's exclusion, insisting: "There were 32 TDs not put on the team." Mr Martin's case to be the next Taoiseach was bolstered by his securing the backing of four Independent TDs, Sean Canney, Michael McNamara, Noel Grealish and Cathal Berry, in the vote for Taoiseach last Thursday. Mr Canney, who also supported Mr Varadkar's nomination, said he had to show loyalty to the outgoing Taoiseach but now believes the next government will be made up of Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, the Greens and some Independents. He said he would be open to being part of this. Mr McNamara said Mr Martin is the only person who can form a government, while Mr Berry, a former Army Ranger who has campaigned on the issue of Defence Forces pay, said the Fianna Fail leader had listened to his concerns - but denied he had been promised the defence minister job. "I don't have any personal ambition to be defence minister but I'd be very interested in solving the problem," Mr Berry said. Mr Grealish did not respond to calls. Streaming tech start-up Ticker is moving to a 250sqm warehouse-style studio development in Richmond, east of Melbournes CBD. Dubbed the Ticker Loft, Studio 1 will house an open plan newsroom and large studio for news and interview program Ticker Today, featuring the latest tech and business news and interviews with startup founders and CEOs. Studio 2 will be a multi-purpose studio featuring large LED screens and the ability to create different looks for different shows quickly. Studio 3 will feel like a bar, allowing hosts to go between studios during shows. Ticker Founder and CEO Ahron Young says: Richmond and Cremorne have been dubbed Silicon Yarra as Australias answer to Silicon Valley, with a huge number of startups and entrepreneurs calling the area home. Richmond also witnessed the birth of television in Victoria thanks to Channel Nine. While the traditional TV model is coming under pressure, there are huge opportunities for streaming multi-media businesses like Ticker, Young says. Ticker Commercial & Partnerships Director Jed Bertalli added, We currently produce 25 hours of content a week and our brand new facility will enable us to multiply that. The three studios have been purposely deigned to maximise both Ticker programming and productions. We are the one-stop-shop for businesses to create credible content. Plenty more programs are on the way, covering everything from the business of weddings, and change in every industry. Our integrated sponsorship opportunities are proving more effective than traditional advertising, with Ticker content reaching well over 3.6 million Australians in the month of February alone. The building is currently undergoing major renovations. Ticker currently broadcasts live on the website, the iOS app, Twitter, Youtube Live and Facebook Live. You can also watch Ticker live on Amazon Alexa devices. Over coming weeks it will add streaming Apps for Apple TV, iOS, Android TV and mobile devices. The 23-year-old Dalit man from Rajasthans Nagaur district ,who was beaten up and violated with a petrol-laced screwdriver by a group of Rajputs, says the incident would have gone unreported had the video not leaked on social media sites because he wouldnt have dared to complain to the police . I would not have reported the incident to the police if the video had not gone viral. The Rajput men threatened me with dire consequences if I told anyone, the man said about the incident Seven people -- the manager and six employees of a motorcycle service centre -- have been arrested in connection with the incident that took place on February 16, three days before the videos surfaced on social media. In the videos, two Dalits are seen being beaten with fan belts and one of them, the 23-year-old, is stripped and violated with a screwdriver. One of the accused filmed the torture on his mobile phone. The Nagaur incident has once again exposed the ugly reality of the deep caste divide that exists in Rajasthan and the fear of the upper castes that the Dalits live in despite promises by successive governments to protect them from oppression and ensure their emancipation. Rajasthan Police crime branch data show that incidents of violence against the Dalits increased 47.47% from 2018 to 2019. Kavita Srivastav, general secretary of the Rajasthan chapter of the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties, says the Dalits continue to face caste violence and live in fear of the police. Another case in point is the April 2019 gang rape of a 19-year-old Dalit woman in front of her husband by five men who filmed the crime in Rajasthans Alwar and put it on social media. The rapists had waylaid the couple and beaten up the husband before taking turns to rape the woman. The victims family said the local police did not register a case although a complaint was lodged on April 29. A case was finally registered on May 2 under the Indian Penal Code and the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act after the video had gone viral and chief minister Ashok Gehlot issued an order that the first information report be registered in the offices of the superintendent of police. Nagaur district has the fifth highest number of cases of cruelty against Dalits in Rajasthan. According to police data, in 2019, Ganganagar and Bharatpur had the highest number of cases (408 each) followed by Hanumangarh with 311, Bikaner with 292, closely followed by Nagaur with 281. Additional director general of police (crime) BL Soni said the increase in the number of incidents of violence against Dalits in Rajasthan was a reflection of a liberal FIR registration policy adopted by the police. Former Rajasthan director general of police and current Congress MLA Harish Chandra Meena questioned this claim. He said he had to sit on a sit-in protest in Tonk district to get an FIR registered in the suspicious death of a lorry driver last year. Even in the Alwar gang rape case, no FIR was registered until the video of the incident had gone viral, he pointed out.. In the Nagaur incident, Satish Kumar of the Centre for Dalit Rights noted, the victims family said news of the incident had spread locally. If people locally knew about the incident, was the police sleeping for three days, he asked. The 23-year-old man who was beaten up and violated in the incident sat huddled in a two-room tenement on a sprawling 14-acre farm where the jeera crop was ready to harvest. His village, Sohan Nagar, is set in the sandy flatlands of Nagaurt, 350 km from the Rajasthan capital Jaipur. The victim and his cousin were assaulted in Karnu village where they had gone to get their bike serviced at the garage owned by a Rajput, Hanuman Singh, who is now in police custody. According to the accused, the cousins stole some money from the cash counter -- the reason why they were tortured . When the video went viral on February 19, the police had no option but to act. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, whose party governs Rajasthan, tweeted that the government should take prompt action. The Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party dispatched delegations to the village to probe the incident. Rashtriya Loktantrik Party leader Hanuman Beniwal and Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati attacked the Congress government. Politicians, Dalit rights activists, members of civil society organisations, media and the police all made a beeline to the remote village. The same day, the victims went to the Panchodi police station to file an FIR, and the police arrested the seven suspects within hours. Investigating officer Mukul Sharma said there had been no negligence by the police.On the video, he said: It was the social media cell of the Nagaur police that intercepted the video on February 18 and informed us and we acted. On the allegation that the torture victims had stolen money, Sharma said an FIR of theft had been filed against the cousins and the complaint was being investigated. He said the police had written to Facebook and other social media sites to remove the video from their platforms. Gautam Nayak, a lawyer, is blunt. The SHO (station house officer) Rajpal Singh is a Rajput and the accused are Rajputs. He tried to shield them. We are demanding that he be suspended. Satish Kumar of the Centre for Dalit Rights said the police had invoked mild provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the he Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, such as wrongful restraint, voluntarily causing hurt and unlawful assembly against the suspects. They should have also put sections 307 (attempt to murder), 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention), 120 (B) (punishment for criminal conspiracy), 326 (a) (punishment for acid attacks) of the IPC. Sections 3 (2) (giving false evidence) and section 3 (2) (iii) (committing mischief by fire or any explosive substance) of the SC/ST Act and sections 66 and 67 of the IT Act, he said. PL Mimroth, founder of the Centre for Dalit Rights, said the law alone cannot do enough to prevent the recurrence of such violations. The hold of the caste divide is perhaps a pointer to the fact that law alone cannot vanquish such social evils, he said. Why do certain castes feel emboldened to act in reprehensible ways, he asked. There is a need to change the mindset and sensitise the people. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-23 10:21:04|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close CHANGSHA, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- After the installation of an "ozone disinfection chamber," Wang Xiangqian felt relieved to resume work amid the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. As an employee of Broad Clean Air Technology Co., Ltd. in the Changsha Economic and Technological Development Zone, central China's Hunan Province, Wang disinfects himself in the 5-square-meter ozone disinfection chamber before entering the industrial park. More than 2,000 employees in the industrial park where Wang's company is located have returned to work so far. Walking into the ozone disinfection chamber, two electrostatic air purifiers in the confined space release ozone, killing bacteria and viruses. "Although we have asked all the staff to wear masks, we still need to do more," said Guo Jinglong, the general manager of the user center of the company. Guo said on Feb. 9, the company produced two "ozone disinfection chambers" based on the technology of electrostatic purification machine and ozone generator overnight and used in the industrial parks in Changsha, capital of the province and Xiangyin County. "Compared with chlorinated disinfectants and ultraviolet disinfection, ozone disinfection has the characteristics of full coverage and super-cleanliness, avoiding residues that cause secondary pollution," Guo said. "The ozone disinfection chamber can help enterprises with epidemic prevention after their employees resume work," Guo said, adding that many enterprises have been consulting them to purchase it. Three kilometers away in another industrial park, at lunchtime, the road is almost empty, with only a driverless delivery vehicle named "Super Shadow" running between the office buildings. "Hello, your food has arrived at the downstairs of your building, please scan the QR code to fetch the meal," read one text message sent to the customer who ordered the meal over the phone. Workers and employees in the industrial park then came to the driverless vehicle and took the lunch they had booked through WeChat. "Super Shadow" was not designed to deliver food, but an unmanned logistics vehicle developed by Xingshen Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. The company focuses on the core technology of unmanned driving, providing technologies, products and overall solutions related to unmanned driving. "After returning to work, we decided to use unmanned vehicles to deliver meals to reduce the chances of cross-infection when gathering," said Li Rui, chief operating officer of Xingshen. The company has urgently renovated the internal structure of the "Super Shallow," set up a thermal insulation layer, and turned off the touch screen, allowing people to take meals by scanning QR codes to reduce the risks of touch infection. "'Super Shadow' can carry up to 200 packed meals at one time. As the delivery route is set, it will return after the delivery is complete," Li said. "The unmanned vehicle can be controlled with a smartphone, and it is always disinfected before departure and after return." "Artificial intelligence enterprises should give full play to their advantages to help resume work and production," Li said. By Express News Service GUNTUR: D Gangadharam has assumed charge as Guntur Urban Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP). Before this, he served as an officer on special duty (OSD) to Home Minister M Sucharita. He joined the Police department as a sub-inspector at Racherla police station in Prakasam district in 1989. Later, he was promoted and posted in Guntur as circle inspector in 2005. In 2010, Gangadhram was promoted as deputy superintendent of police and served in intelligence wing of the Police department at Hyderabad, Guntur East division and Bapatla sub-division police stations. He also worked as Guntur Anti-Corruption Bureau DSP. The increase of cheap honey imports from China and Ukraine is making honey producers in the EU lower their prices as they can't compete. Copa-Cogeca, a union of the two major agricultural umbrella organizations and the strongest interest group for European farmers, has called on EU authorities to draw up an emergency action plan that would serve as a protectionist measure for European beekeepers and essentially shut the door on access to the highly lucrative European consumer market for non-EU honey producers. According to Etienne Bruneau, the chair of a Copa-Cogeca working party, European honey producers face a "critical and extremely volatile" market situation that not only threatens the sector itself but also against European consumers and the EU's biodiversity. Bruneau, in an interview with Brussels-headquartered New Europe, shed light on what Copa-Cogeca says are threats to the EU's honey sector and demanded that Brussels do more to protect European beekeepers and consumers. Read alsoUkraine cuts honey exports by 40% in Jan-Sept The current situation on the market, according to Bruneau, is unfavorable for European beekeepers as imported honey products, notably from Ukraine and China, are sold in Europe at far lower prices than honey that was produced in the EU. Furthermore, Bruneau claimed the honey products that are imported from Ukraine and China are usually of very poor quality where sugar is added to the honey, most of which is produced using questionable hygienic standards that do not meet Europe's regulatory standards. Bruneau says the increase of cheap honey imports from China and Ukraine, the latter of which has a free-trade agreement with the EU, is making honey producers lower their prices as they can't compete. "Today, there are many beekeepers that have gone out of business because they can't survive in these conditions," said Bruneau who added that when European producers sell their honey, "they lose money." Copa-Cogeca wants Brussels to guarantee that any honey imported from third countries is in line with the EU's definition of honey and to make it mandatory for Ukrainian and Chinese honey-makers to label their products, in according with European regulations, that their products are either pure or contain additives. Like every Sandhurst cadet, the young Prince Harry had the age-old maxim variously attributed to Erwin Rommel, the Duke of Wellington and the 6th century BC Chinese general Sun Tzu drummed in to him throughout his military training: time spent in reconnaissance is seldom wasted. So how is it that, after all those months of supposedly careful planning, the great 'Sussex Royal' adventure now looks more like the retreat from Dunkirk? And why, given their evident concern about retaining their royal status, have the Duke and Duchess of Sussex shown such disrespect for the person from whom that status descends the Queen? For the latest pique-filled statement on the sussexroyal.com website is enough to test the patience of the most sympathetic observers. Like every Sandhurst cadet, Prince Harry (pictured with Meghan Markle) had the age-old maxim drummed in to him throughout his military training: time spent in reconnaissance is seldom wasted Yes, it must be extremely irksome to spend a great deal of time and money creating a new brand for yourself and registering a plethora of trademarks, only to be told that it's all a non-starter. Yes, the Sussexes may well feel there is one set of rules for those still inside the royal compound and another for them. Yet the couple have only themselves to blame, not that they seem willing to acknowledge that. In the latest online message to their 11.2 million followers, they have posted a number of thinly veiled grumbles about various members of the Royal Family. However, it is the dismissive tone of their remarks about the Queen's authority which surprises me most and leaves me wondering just who on earth is advising them. The thrust of their argument is as follows: We are royal and we can jolly well use the word 'royal' all over the world if we want to because it is not in the gift of the Queen or the British Government; we have merely chosen not to do so. Last Tuesday, the Mail's Rebecca English broke the story that the Palace had told Harry and Meghan their 'Sussex Royal' brand would have to go because they are no longer part of regular royal operations. Alongside it, I wrote a piece explaining that there was nothing personal about this. Rather, the monarchy's own 'brand' is protected by a series of well-established laws including the Trade Marks Act, the Companies Act and an international agreement dating back more than a century and signed by 177 nations. How is it that, after all those months of supposedly careful planning, the great 'Sussex Royal' adventure now looks more like the retreat from Dunkirk, writes Robert Hardman (Pictured: Prince Harry with Archie) It is the dismissive tone of their remarks about the Queen's authority which surprises me most and leaves me wondering just who on earth is advising them, writes Hardman I also said the couple should have consulted the official royal website. 'There,' I wrote, 'they will find exhaustive guidance from the Lord Chamberlain's Office on how businesses can lay claim to any sort of 'royal' status. Much of it, in any case, is governed not by the Palace but by the Cabinet Office.' Late on Friday, the Sussexes put out a lengthy statement, following Palace confirmation of the Mail's story. It contained a number of peevish assertions but the stand-out gripe was this: 'While there is not any jurisdiction by The Monarchy or Cabinet Office over the use of the word 'Royal' overseas, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex do not intend to use 'Sussex Royal' or any iteration of the word 'Royal' in any territory (either within the UK or otherwise) when the transition occurs Spring 2020.' What an extraordinary thing to say. Ever since they sprung their royal resignation on the Royal Family and the world, the Sussexes have said they plan to divide their time between the UK and abroad. They are not emigrating in perpetuity. So they could hardly raise two fingers to British law and set up some bogus 'royal' entity internationally while expecting to be taken seriously back home. Nor is this statement correct anyway. The monarchy in tandem with several 'overseas' governments including that in Canada where the couple are actually living do have a jurisdiction over the word 'royal'. That is because the Queen is sovereign of 15 nations other than this one. Any requests for 'royal' designation in Canada, for example, must be sent to the Governor-General's Office at wait for it 1 Sussex Drive, Ottawa. The statement also neglects the fact that there is another player in this saga, namely the Secretary of State for Business, currently Alok Sharma, who has jurisdiction over 'royal' names for 'any type of business' under the Companies Act of 2006. Similarly, all royal trademarks fall under the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property of 1883. Yesterday, I consulted a top commercial lawyer at an international law firm with offices in the UK and US. Her verdict: 'Signatories to the Paris Convention are required to use reasonable efforts to enforce the trademark legislation of other signatory nation states, giving overseas effect to national protective laws. For example, the US signed the convention back in 1887 and Canada in 1923, so the UK could take steps to challenge the use of 'Sussex Royal' on websites and branding there.' Setting aside the legalities, it is the confrontational tone which jars. Whoever is behind this combative approach clearly has a tin ear for public sensibilities about the monarchy in the UK. But then the couple are clearly not being advised from the UK. Just look at the phrasing of their statement: 'Per the agreement' instead of 'As per the agreement'. Or '...when the transition occurs Spring 2020.' Prince Harry would never write or talk like that. He would say 'when the transition occurs in the Spring of 2020.' The couple also complain that 'while there is precedent for other titled members of the Royal Family to seek employment outside of [sic] the institution, for The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, a 12-month review period has been put in place.' It is not the rogue 'of' that is likely to upset the Queen but the fact that the '12-month review period' is anything but a heavy-handed restriction on the Sussexes' freedom. Rather, it is the monarch's way of ensuring the doors remain open for the couple to return if things do not go as planned. And right now, they certainly do not. Fairfield Police Fairfield police arrested a 24-year-old man on suspicion of attempted murder Saturday after he broke into an ex-girlfriends apartment and stabbed a person, officials said. Jacob Travis broke into the Gregory Street apartment around 11:15 p.m. Friday while several people were there, Fairfield police said in a statement. He wielded a knife and started a fight with one of the individuals in the apartment, stabbing the person multiple times, police said. HMS Vigilant at HM Naval Base Clyde, Faslane, which carries the UK's Trident nuclear deterrent: PA The UK government has committed to a multibillion-pound replacement of its nuclear warheads, the Pentagon has revealed before British ministers had announced the plans or informed parliament. Two American defence officials seemingly jumped the gun by disclosing details of Trident renewal - which will be supported by US technology in committee hearings earlier this month, it has emerged. Strategic Command Admiral Charles Richard told a Senate hearing last week that a replacement warhead called W93 or Mk7 was needed in the US. He added: This effort will also support a parallel replacement warhead programme in the United Kingdom whose nuclear deterrent plays an absolutely vital role in Natos overall defence posture. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has confirmed it is working towards replacing the warheads after testimony surfaced. It is understood the UK government has been unable to find the time to inform parliament, which is in recess, but an official announcement will be made when MPs return to Westminster. Mr Richard is not the only US official to have spoken about the agreement before the UK government publicly confirmed it. Alan Shaffer, the Pentagons deputy undersecretary of defence for acquisition and sustainment, reportedly told a conference earlier this month: I think its wonderful that the UK is working on a new warhead at the same time, and I think we will have discussions and be able to share technologies. His comments were reported by trade publication Defense Daily. A Ministry of Defence spokesperson, said: As previously stated in the 2015 defence review, we can confirm that we are working towards replacing the warhead. We have a strong defence relationship with the US and will continue to remain compatible with the US Trident missile. An announcement about the UKs Replacement Warhead Programme will be made in due course. An MoDs update to parliament published shortly before Christmas did not confirm the upgrade. Story continues Work also continues to develop the evidence to support a government decision when replacing the warhead, it said at the time. Boris Johnson has long backed the proposed replacement and the Conservatives committed to renewing the deterrent ahead of the election. The cost has been estimated at 31bn. Read more READ MORE Iran warns it will exit global nuclear weapons pact if referred to UN HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) Free speech concerns that were raised following the arrests of two University of Connecticut students accused of saying a racial slur have led state legislators to consider repealing a century-old law that bans ridicule based on race, religion or nationality. The episode on campus involving two white students in October was recorded on video and sparked protests against racism. Many people applauded their arrests, but civil liberties groups condemned them as an affront to First Amendment rights. Police said the students, Jarred Karal and Ryan Mucaj, uttered the racial slur several times while walking through the parking lot of a campus apartment complex and were recorded by a black student. They said that they were playing a game that involved saying offensive words and that it was not directed at anyone in particular. They were charged under a 1917 law that makes it a misdemeanor for anyone who ridicules or holds up to contempt any person or class of persons, on account of the creed, religion, color, denomination, nationality or race of such person or class of persons. A bill before the Legislature's Judiciary Committee would repeal the law, which has been criticized by law professors around the country and other groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, which said the students' conduct was offensive but not criminal. A public hearing was held Friday on the bill whose full title is "An Act Repealing the Prohibition Against Ridicule of Another Person on Account of Creed, Religion, Color, Denomination, Nationality or Race." I know the title sort of sounds like, whoa, what are they doing, said state Sen. John Kissel, an Enfield Republican and ranking member of the Judiciary Committee. But ... the issue as to whether someone can really face criminal charges for something that has some real questionable constitutionality, I think, is at least worth discussing at this point in time. Story continues According to state court records, the ridicule charge, which carries up to 30 days in jail, has been filed 40 times since 2012, resulting in 10 convictions. Only one of the convictions included jail time. Critics say the law appears to be among only a few such state laws in the country. It is so clearly unconstitutional under the First Amendment that it's hard to believe that it's still on the books, said William Dunlap, a professor at the Quinnipiac University School of Law in North Haven, Connecticut. It punishes speech based on the content of the speech, and that it is one of the key concepts of the First Amendment that the government cannot punish speech based on its content. Douglas Spencer, a UConn law professor, added the state ridicule law, in theory, could be used to arrest comedians who make fun of others. I dont think the old statute would survive a constitutional challenge, Spencer said. Scot X. Esdaile, president of the Connecticut State Conference of the NAACP, said that the bill to repeal the law raises serious concerns and that he will seek opinions from civil rights lawyers and NAACP officials about the proposal. The state Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities has asked the Judiciary Committee to reject the repeal bill, in written testimony for the hearing. At a time when hate and bias incidents are on the rise, it is critical that the state not remove these types of prohibitions that aim to deter or punish this unacceptable behavior, the commission said. The Judiciary Committee received written testimony from three other people, all in favor of repeal. During the hearing on Friday, when testimony on several other bills was heard, only one person talked about the repeal bill and did not take a position either for or against, Kissel said. Karal, of Plainville, has been granted a probation program that could result in his criminal charges being dismissed, while the criminal case is pending for Mucaj, of Granby. The two students have filed a federal lawsuit against the university, saying they were being punished in violation of their free speech rights. A judge ruled last month that the school cannot discipline the students, including barring them from student housing, while the criminal cases are pending. In defending UConn, the state attorney general's office has filed court documents saying UConn officials deny any proposed discipline is based on the students' use of racial slurs, but instead is based on their violation of the disruptive behavior provision of the student code. By Trend Azerbaijani gas is important for Italy in terms of energy security, Francis Perrin, Senior Fellow at the Policy Center for the New South (PCNS, Rabat) and at the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs (IRIS, Paris) told Trend. He pointed out that the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), part of the Southern Gas Corridor, will allow Europe and Italy to import gas from the Caspian Sea region for the first time thanks to the Shah Deniz 2 gasfield development offshore Azerbaijan. Italy will have access to a new source of gas, which is important in terms of energy security and useful in its negotiations with other gas suppliers. An importing country can get better terms when it is able to show that there is more competition among several gas exporters for its national gas market, said Perren. He pointed out that Italy is a gas producer but its production is small and is on a decreasing trend. This country imports a lot of gas and, as for every large energy importer, it is very important to find new sources of gas supplies in order to diversify its imports. During the first 11 months of 2019 Italy's natural gas producton amounted to 4,478 million cubic meters, according to the IEA, and its gas imports reached 65,549 million cubic meters. Over this period gas production fell by 10 percent and gas imports rose by almost 6 percent on the same period of 2018, the expert explained. Perren said Italy is the third-largest economy in the European Union (EU) since the Brexit behind Germany and France. It needs energy including natural gas. Gas is especially important to produce power. Italy is the EU's second-largest gas consumer behind Germany. Its gas consumption was 66,272 million cubic meters over the first 11 months of 2019 (January to November), a rise of 4% over the same period of 2018, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), he added. Perren noted that the main gas suppliers of Italy are Russia, Algeria, Qatar and Libya in this order and Azerbaijan will soon join the list of Italy's suppliers with gas transported by pipeline. Italy will receive 8.8 billon cubic meters of gas via TAP, with supplies expected by late 2020. TAP project is 92 percent complete as of late January. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz GRAND RAPIDS, MI The Rev. Nathaniel Moody, a longtime community leader, received the Giant Among Giants award Saturday night, the highest honor bestowed at the 38th annual Giant Awards ceremony and banquet. Moody was honored for working hard to give back to the community in meaningful ways. The Giant Awards celebrate members of the African American community for their exceptional contributions in shaping the history, culture, and quality of life of the Grand Rapids community. Thirteen people were recognized at the sold out event at the JW Marriott Hotel. Moodys top honor was a closely guarded secret until the Feb. 22 event. Related: 2020 Giant Awards celebrate exceptional contributions to the Grand Rapids community A pastor, certified mortician, business owner and Third Ward City Commissioner, Moody wears many hats, according to his wife, Laura B. Moody. As a pastor, he goes out and visits the sick, opens up our doors at the church for families who dont have anywhere to go, Laura Moody said. She founded Brown-Hutcherson Ministries with her husband in 1996. Our mission has been to build a life of praise and worship and to use the gifts God has given us to help each other and to reach all souls, she said. Nathaniel Moody was born and raised in Grand Rapids, and throughout his life, he has given back to the community, his wife said. After graduating from Central High School, Moody earned an associate of arts degree from the former Grand Rapids Junior College. He went on to earn a degree in mortuary science from Worsham College in Chicago. He also received a masters degree in theology from Cornerstone University. As a lifelong learner, Moody has often stressed the importance of education. Prior to his July 2018 unanimous appointment to the Grand Rapids City Commission to fill a vacant seat, he served on the Grand Rapids Board of Education from 2013 to 2017. There are so many children in the Grand Rapids Public Schools system in need of support, and I thought as a father and community member it was time to get involved, Moody told MLive when he filed to run for school board. Laura Moody said her husband has felt called by God to serve the community the ways he does. Whatever we can do to help others, that has been his mission, she said. Theres not a time you cant call him, be it the wee hours of the morning, be it late at night. Moody has been recognized with various awards for his leadership, such as the 2019 Grand Rapids African American Health Institute Edward & Harriet Jones Health & Equity Trailblazer Award. Hes served on numerous boards and committees, including the Spectrum Health Community Services Board, Police Chief Advisory Committee, Grand Rapids Community College Foundation Board and Grand Rapids Area Association of Pastors. If God told you, then I know Gods going to equip you, so its my job to pray through and make sure you do what youre supposed to do, Laura Moody said. Hes always had a want to make sure things are done and done right and, looking at the community, what can he do to make things better. Besides his civic engagement and volunteerism, Laura Moody says her husband of 41 years is a committed family man to his four children and four grandchildren. As a husband, we always talk about the three Cs for us, and thats communication, commitment and compromise, she said. Him and I pray together, faithfully, every day. Grand Rapids Community College hosts the event. Here are the other Giant honorees recognized Saturday: Ethel Coe Humanities Award, Eddie L. Stephens, Jr. Eugene Browning Medical Service Award - Clarence Teddy Henderson Floyd Skinner Justice Award - Michelle Smith-Lowe Hattie Beverly Education Award - Jerry F. McComb H.C. Toliver Religious Life Award - James Lee Abney, Sr. Martha Reynolds Labor Award - Larry Donston Milo Brown Business Award - Crystal T. Hardley Phyllis Scott Activist Award - Misti L. Stanton Raymond Tardy Community Service Award - Angela D. Nelson W.W. Plummer Humanitarian Award - Eddie T.L. Tadlock Walter Coe Public Service Award - Ovell R. Barbee, Jr. William Glenn Trailblazer Award - Judge Christina Elmore Two Junior Giant Awards were presented: Cedric Ward Leadership Scholarship - Recipient Alexandria Vaughn-Earvin, 17, is a senior at Forest Hills Central High School. Dr. Patricia Pulliam Leadership Scholarship - Recipient Brandon J. Fuller, 22, is a senior at Hope College. Read more on MLive: Pastors urge Grand Rapids city leaders to continue waivers for marijuana shops near churches One of the largest UICA exhibits ever highlights black women Clinic offered for those seeking expungement of criminal records in Grand Rapids suburb 3M, Wolverine settle pollution lawsuit with Michigan family Grand Rapids to add splash pad, bathrooms at these parks Iran's hardliners took victory today in a general election marred by the lowest turnout since the 1979 Islamic Revolution amid anger at the government. Tehran, which reported its first case of coronavirus two days before Friday's ballot, accused 'enemies' of fuelling fears of the deadly contagion to stifle voting. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said: 'Their media did not ignore the tiniest opportunity for discouraging people and resorting to the pretext of diseases and the virus.' However, experts had anticipated low turnout amid growing anger at the government over biting economic conditions, made worse by conflict with the US, and the conservative authorities' barring more than half the 16,000 candidates. Iranians queue to vote in the parliamentary elections in a polling station on Friday in the capital Tehran Iranian President Hassan Rouhani casts his ballot for the 11th Parliamentary elections at a polling station in Tehran, Iran on polling day It signals a shift from four years ago when moderates and reformists won a slender majority in parliament and heaps further pressure on President Hassan Rouhani. The interior ministry announced results of 95 percent of the 208 constituencies in Friday's election, declaring the names of the winning candidates but without specifying their political affiliation. 'Victory for the anti-American candidates, a new slap for Trump,' crowed the ultra-conservative Kayhan newspaper. 'The people have disqualified the reformists,' it added, alluding to Rouhani's backers, who have been weakened by President Donald Trump pulling the US out of a landmark nuclear deal and by a slew of economic and political crises. Seventeen women were elected, the website of the government newspaper Iran said - the same number as in the outgoing 290-seat parliament. Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli announced the participation rate was 42.6 percent - the lowest in four decades. The election came two days after Iran announced its first cases of the deadly new coronavirus that emerged in China. Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei speaks on the coronavirus cases and last week's elections in Tehran on Sunday. 'Their media did not ignore the tiniest opportunity for discouraging people and resorting to the pretext of diseases and the virus.' He said Poll workers empty full ballot boxes after the parliamentary election voting time ended in Tehran in the early hours of Saturday 'We held these elections when there were various incidents in the country: we had bad weather, there was this coronavirus disease, there was the plane crash,' Rahmani Fazli said, referring to the January 3 downing of a Ukrainian airliner which killed 176 people. He said that in such a scenario 'the turnout rate seems perfectly acceptable for us.' A low participation had been widely forecast, as a conservative-dominated electoral watchdog disqualified about half of the 16,000-odd candidates, mostly moderates and reformists. The Fars news agency said a second round would be held in at least 11 constituencies. One woman candidate has qualified for the second round, Iran newspaper added. Voter apathy marked the polls, but Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei lauded the people's 'huge participation' despite what he termed 'negative propaganda' by foreign media. It 'began a few months ago and grew larger approaching the election and in the past two days, under the pretext of this illness,' he said. 'Their media did not miss the slightest opportunity to discourage people from voting. (Our enemies) are even opposed to any election by the Iranian people,' the leader added. Iran on Sunday reported three new coronavirus deaths, taking its toll to eight - the highest in any country outside China. It said there were 43 COVID-19 virus infections nationwide. Iranians queue up during parliamentary elections at the Shah Abdul Azim shrine in the southern outskirts of Tehran An Iranian woman shows her voting document during parliamentary elections at the Shah Abdul Azim shrine on the southern outskirts of Tehran on Friday Authorities ordered the closure of schools, universities and other educational centres in 14 of Iran's 31 provinces from Sunday and said Tehran could be under quarantine, if necessary. Art events, concerts and film shows have been banned for a week across the country. In the past 24 hours, four new infections surfaced in Tehran, seven in the holy city of Qom - where the country's first infections emerged - two in Gilan and one each in Markazi and Tonekabon, health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said. 'We are on the frontlines, we need help,' said the head of Qom's medical sciences university, Mohammadreza Ghadir. 'If I can say one thing, it is help Qom.' Iran's health minister, Saeed Namaki, said the treatment of COVID-19 cases would be free. 'In every city, one hospital will be dedicated to treating coronavirus cases,' he said, adding that this number would be greater in bigger cities like the capital. Tehran's city hall has ordered the closure of snack shops and water fountains in metro stations, officials said. Iranians queue up to vote during parliamentary elections at the Shah Abdul Azim shrine in southern Tehran Tehran municipality spokesman Gholamreza Mohammadi said buses and underground trains were being disinfected. Mohsen Hashemi, head of Tehran's municipal council, said, 'If the number of infections increases in Tehran, the whole city will be quarantined.' Posters were also put up across the sprawling city of eight million on Sunday, asking people not to shake hands as part of a coronavirus prevention campaign. Iran's cyberpolice meanwhile warned that anyone putting 'fake clips' online related to the virus would be punished. The World Health Organization has expressed concern over the speed at which COVID-19 has spread in Iran, as well as it being exported from the Islamic republic to other countries, including Lebanon. Colombo: The Sri Lankan government on Sunday appointed a six-member team to help police collect authentic information and expedite an ongoing presidential probe into the devastating Easter Sunday terror attack that killed over 250 people. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa decided to hasten the probe into the April 21 attack which had proved crucial in his decisive electoral victory last November. Rajapaksa used the Easter Sunday terrorist attack to portray himself as the leader who could stop terrorism. The voters gave him a big mandate and elected him as President in November last year. Rajapaksa stormed to victory, trouncing his nearest rival Sajith Premadasa by a margin of over 13 lakh votes - 52.25 per cent of votes polled against 41.99 per cent. The 6-member task force has been appointed to help police's CID to "speed up the ongoing investigations" and will submit weekly reports to the defense ministry on the progress of investigation, according to a statement. "The CID investigation into these attacks was not conducted in an effective way by the last regime," defense ministry secretary Kamal Gunaratne was quoted as saying in the statement. The team has been tasked to "collect authentic information and evidence to take legal action against all those involved in supporting the extremists". Nine suicide bombers belonging to local Islamist extremist group National Thawheed Jamaat (NTJ) linked to ISIS carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and three luxury hotels on the Easter Sunday, killing 258 people, including 11 Indians. The previous government was blamed for its inability to prevent the attacks in spite of the prior intelligence made available. The Muslim minority party leaders who were ministers in the previous government were alleged to have supported the Jihadis. Head of a local Catholic church Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith early this week said though the parliamentary panel of the previous government was a cover up, yet he was happy with the presidential probe appointed by Rajapaksa's predecessor Maithripala Sirisena. Gardai investigating violence against Quinn Industrial Holdings (QIH) have uncovered a network of front companies and bank accounts used to launder monies paid to senior criminal Cyril McGuinness. Independent.ie has learned that millions of euro were funnelled through the bank accounts of up to five bogus companies. They were registered in the Republic and ostensibly set up to buy and sell plant machinery. Security sources revealed that the money trail may finally uncover evidence of direct links between McGuinness - dubbed 'Dublin Jimmy' - and the paymaster suspected of bankrolling the vendetta against the companies formerly owned by Sean Quinn. There has been a campaign of violence and intimidation against QIH executives which culminated in the abduction and torture of Kevin Lunney last September. The chief operations officer for QIH was beaten and tortured in a horse box. Expand Close Launder: Gardai believe money was funnelled to Cyril McGuinness, pictured, to pay for attacks against QIH, including the abduction and torture of Kevin Lunney. Photo: Collins Courts / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Launder: Gardai believe money was funnelled to Cyril McGuinness, pictured, to pay for attacks against QIH, including the abduction and torture of Kevin Lunney. Photo: Collins Courts He was left severely injured and traumatised before being dumped on a remote roadside in Co Cavan. The Garda National Economic Crime Bureau, CAB and the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation are involved in a complex investigation to trace McGuinness's wealth and the monies he was paid for carrying out the attacks. The enquiry has been focusing on a number of companies which were set up to launder the proceeds of crime by an accountant operating from Co Galway. At least one of the companies is registered in Co Sligo in the name of a man who suffers from alcohol-related problems and, it is understood, was unaware he was the registered owner of the company. It is understood that 970,000 was washed through the company's bank accounts. Gardai have established that McGuinness withdrew more than 500,000 in cash through ATM machines in counties along the Border two years ago. The Irish Independent has learned that detectives are now trying to establish proof that the accounts were used by a relative of the paymaster to funnel cash to McGuinness. This would have been done as payment for arson attacks and other acts of violence, which included the abduction and torture of Mr Lunney. Gardai have received intelligence reports that associates of McGuinness bought farms as part of the money laundering operation. A London-based construction company and a large UK property portfolio, which is owned by one of his closest associates from Co Cavan, is also being investigated. 'Dublin Jimmy' died from heart failure last November when police raided his safe house in Derbyshire. At the time, UK police seized phones and computers which, it was hoped, would uncover evidence of the criminal's business arrangements with the paymaster. However, sources have revealed gardai have only been given access to a limited portion of the material recovered from McGuinness's devices. It sparked speculation in some quarters that efforts are being made to cover up the fact McGuinness was working as an agent for some UK security services. Security sources have confirmed that McGuinness worked with the IRA for several years and was particularly close to IRA godfather Thomas 'Slab' Murphy. The 'work' involved providing transport for bombs and smuggling operations, according to one former senior Special Branch source. Meanwhile, it emerged this week that gardai have officially informed the directors of QIH that the threat level against each of them is as "high as it has ever been". The revelation followed an apparent resumption of violence against QIH when an attempted arson attack took place at the home of a relative of one of the directors last weekend. The incident occurred in the early hours of last Saturday morning near Derrylin, when two men tried to set fire to a truck and another vehicle which were parked near the relative's home. However, it is understood that the would-be arsonists were disturbed and sped off before any damage was done and the incident was captured on CCTV. The Irish Independent recently revealed that the joint Garda/PSNI investigation is gearing up for a further series of arrests on both sides of the Border. Investigators have been preparing files for the DPP which are expected to recommend that a number of individuals be charged with either withholding information or providing false information about related criminal activities. Sources revealed major progress has been made in each of three separate strands in the overall joint Garda/PSNI investigation, especially following the death of McGuinness which left his criminal organisation in tatters. It is now the biggest criminal investigation on the island as it continues to spread out and become more complex in nature. Separate enquiries have been set up to investigate the campaign of violence and intimidation going back to 2011. A 29-year-old female doctor died on Sunday after contracting the coronavirus while treating patients at a hospital in China's worst-hit Wuhan city, taking the death toll of the medical staff to 10, according to a media report. Xia Sisi, a gastroenterology physician got infected while working at the Union Jiangbei Hospital of Wuhan in Hubei province, the epicentre of the virus. She was hospitalised on January 19 and later transferred to Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University on February 7 after her condition worsened. She died on Sunday, state-run Xinhua agency reported. The Union Jiangbei Hospital mourned the death of Xia and expressed condolences for her family. The Chinese medical staff, who are on the frontline fighting the COVID-19, are paying a heavy price in treating the surging number of cases. China's National Health Commission earlier said that a total of 1,716 medical workers had contracted the infection as of February 11. Xia's death takes the death toll among the medical staff to 10. On February 20, Peng Yinhua (29), who postponed his wedding to treat patients infected with the coronavirus, died. Earlier, Li Wenliang, a 34-year-old doctor, who was one of the first people to sound the alarm about the new outbreak died on February 7. Li sent a message to his medical-school alumni group on December 30, warning that seven patients had been quarantined at Wuhan Central Hospital after suffering from respiratory illness that seemed like the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). Liu Zhiming, head of the Wuchang Hospital too died due to the virus. Liu Fan, a senior nurse of the hospital, also died along with her parents and brother from the disease. Ninety-seven more people died in China due to coronavirus, taking the death toll to 2,442, while the confirmed cases rose to 76,936, officials said on Sunday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Senator Bernie Sanders posted an emphatic win in Nevada state Saturday consolidating his status as the front runner in Democratic nominating contests, with former Vice-President Joe Biden finishing a distant second. The win in Nevada was crucial as it is racially and ethnically more diverse than the predominantly white Iowa and New Hampshire, the first two states in the nominating context that he tied and narrowly won. It demonstrated Sanders expanding base and appeal, which will severely tested in coming races. We are bringing our people together, Sanders said in a victory speech. In Nevada we have just brought together a multigenerational, multiracial coalition which is not only going to win in Nevada, its going to sweep this country. Next up is South Carolina, a state that is predominantly African American, and which has been nursed by Biden as his firewall. The former vice-president has polled very well among the community in the state and outside and is expecting to win here to turn around his fortunes. Loyally serving President Barack Obama as his vice-president for two terms has a lot to do with it, and Biden has built on it by embracing his former bosss legacy; minus the warts, critics have pointed out. But the big prize for the candidates is the Super Tuesday primaries of March, when 14 states hold their primaries and caucuses, with the largest trove of delegates up for grabs. The race for delegates, every state sends a certain number of delegates who will elect the nominee at the partys presidential convention in the summer, more than the popular votes, which none of the candidates appear in a position to win, according to experts and pundits. And billionaire Michael Bloomberg, who has been surging in polls based on an estimated $400 million he has spent on ads, is waiting to make an impact. He has skipped all other nominating contests until then, as part of an unorthodox poll strategy, and focussed on the Super Tuesday states. By Elizabeth Culliford and Katie Paul Feb 21 (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg's campaign has pumped $25.7 million into the billionaire candidate's little-known digital arm Hawkfish since he entered the race last November, according to disclosures to the Federal Election Commission. Hawkfish LLC, which was founded by the former New York mayor in 2019, has been rapidly hiring tech executives, data scientists, software engineers and machine learning experts to try and counter Republican President Donald Trump's digital advantage ahead of the November 2020 election. The company, which is based out of the Bloomberg campaign's midtown Manhattan headquarters, now has at least 200 employees. Bloomberg, who was attacked during his first debate Wednesday by the other Democratic rivals vying to unseat Trump, is spending unparalleled amounts of money on his advertising campaign. According to campaign disclosures filed this week, the Bloomberg campaign has spent $409 million on his run through January, with most of the money funding a TV advertising blitz. It has spent $87 million on Google and Facebook ads, according to Democratic digital firm Bully Pulpit Interactive. . Hawkfish describes itself on its LinkedIn page as "a new startup to build state-of-the-art data and tech infrastructure for Democratic candidates, good causes and common sense solutions." Ex-Facebook chief marketing officer Gary Briggs, former Foursquare CEO Jeff Glueck hold senior positions and on Thursday, CNBC reported that Hawkfish had hired ad executive Tim Castree, who was previously North America CEO of WPP Group subsidiary GroupM. Other staff and advisors include alumni from Google, ad tech firm The Trade Desk and Goldman Sachs, according to their LinkedIn profiles. Eric Kuhn, who has described himself as the first agent in Hollywood to focus on social media during his time at United Talent Agency, has also joined Hawkfish as a senior advisor working on digital organizing and influencers, a signal that the campaign could build on its recent controversial strategy of paying popular Instagram meme accounts to post content. Story continues The campaign has said that Hawkfish will continue to be funded "in a big way" through November, regardless of whether Bloomberg wins the nomination. "Bloomberg is not only the best funded, but candidly far and away the most sophisticated with data," said JT Kostman, a data scientist who worked on social media strategy for Barack Obamaas 2012 presidential campaign. By using social network analysis to identify the most influential people and targeting them to share messages, Hawkfish is able to create a sense that "everyone is saying this," he said. Hawkfish says that it has previously done work for Democratic candidates in 2019 state elections in Virginia and Kentucky, but calls Bloomberg's campaign "our first major customer." The campaign said Hawkfish sees itself as competing with the digital team run by Trump's now campaign manager Brad Parscale in 2016, running a data-driven operation to create content and push paid ads to target voters. The name, according to the campaign, comes from Bloomberg's interest in marine life. When he was mayor of New York, he installed giant fish tanks at City Hall and the offices of his financial news and data firm Bloomberg LLC are known for housing aquariums. (Reporting by Elizabeth Culliford and Katie Paul in San Francisco; Editing by Greg Mitchell and Kim Coghill) Elizabeth Acevedo's poetry and her young-adult novels are part of a broader movement to represent AfroLatina lives and issues. In The Poet X, Xiomara must navigate a multitude of identities and issues: her Dominican identity, her blackness, her religion, her parents' discipline, and the ways in which her body is treated like a thing for public consumption. In addition to the book's themes, The Poet X is formally complex. She uses silence, spacing, codeswitching, a variety of genres -- such as notes passed between Xiomara and her best friend -- in addition to popular culture references. Acevedo's slam poetry background is evident in the novel's lyricism and benefits from being read aloud. The Poet X paints a picture through poetry of the pressure of AfroLatina girlhood. As black Latina scholar Omaris Z. Zamora writes, Xiomara's poetry is about "Being a black girl in a world where your consent is non-existent, your body is a sin, and you have no agency, yet you are seen as lustful, willful, assertive, and aggressive. You are forced to make yourself small, to try to blend in, and be as quiet as possible." The novel explores how young girls of color struggle with the silences in their families and cultures as well as how to find and use their voices. Down-ballot candidates will not be able to simply spurn Sanders if he is the nominee, prominent Democrats warn, lest they risk the ire of his base. Former Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), who presided over efforts to win the Senate back for Democrats in 2006 and expanded that majority to a filibuster-proof margin two years later, said in an interview Thursday that as the nominee, Sanders would have to personally assure Senate candidates like Arizonas Kelly and former Colorado governor John Hickenlooper that they have a free hand to run their campaigns on their own terms and distance themselves without fearing blowback. The Persian Gulf is, without doubt, the most prominent oil and gas production area in the world. After decades of intensive exploration and production, the region still amaze persistent explorers. Even well-explored countries such as the UAE still hold surprises. The Emirates are already one of the worlds largest producer and exporter of oil. In 2019 on average 2.9 million barrels per day were extracted, which generates approximately 30 percent of the countrys GDP. Despite its impressive production capacity, the UAE remains strongly dependent on imported natural gas to meet domestic demand. A third of the countrys gas is provided by neighboring Qatar. The majority is exported through the Dolphin pipeline. The fraught political relations between Qatar and the UAE due the latter's support of the Saudi-led blockade create an awkward commercial relationship. Therefore, the discovery of a massive gas field on the border of Dubai and Abu Dhabi could become a significant game-changer. Becoming self-sufficient improves the countrys energy security and potentially transforms the regional geopolitical environment. At the start of this month, the UAE announced the discovery of the largest single gas field since 2005. According to the authorities, the Jebel Ali field contains 80 trillion standard cubic feet of gas. It has the potential of making the Emirates self-sufficient. However, the gas fields development could take years during which the UAE is dependent on imported natural gas (both piped and LNG). Related: U.S. Gasoline Prices Jump On Outages At Major Oil Refineries Even though theyre on track to achieving self-sufficiency somewhere in the middle of the 2020s, the UAE is contractually obliged to keep buying natural gas from neighbor Qatar. The Emirates signed an export deal with the Qataris before tension rose due to the Saudi-led blockade. However, that could become an advantage if the UAE decides to enter the global LNG market. According to Samer Mosis, a senior analyst with S&P Global Platts Analytics, while the discovery has the potential to bring the UAE one step closer to gas self-sufficiency, significant unknowns remain around development costs and volumes. This could mean that self-sufficiency is more difficult and expensive to achieve than currently anticipated. Although Qatar has remained a reliable exporter despite the blockade, energy dependency is not sustainable and desired even among friendly nations. Therefore, the Emirates have been pursuing a diversification policy. The goal is to develop alternative sources of energy production such as renewables and nuclear. According to ADNOC CEO Sultan al-Jaber, the UAE are on track to double the number of renewable energy projects until 2030. During the previous 10 years, the renewable energy portfolio already grew by more than 400 percent. Also, the Emirates have ordered the construction of the Arab worlds first nuclear power plant built by Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO). The Barakah plant is a massive undertaking which should generate 5.6 GW when its completed. The facility was originally due to open in 2017, but delays have extended its opening and therefore also the UAEs dependence on gas imports. Related: Texas Oil Production To Rise In 2020 Despite Lower Prices Assuming that the Emirates energy policy bears fruit and the intended goals are reached by the end of this decade, the massive gas field could be redundant for domestic purposes. When that happens, the gas could be employed for other purposes such as export. Currently, the majority of the UAEs income is derived from oil exports. Electrification of vehicles is a significant threat to oil-exporting countries. The UAE acknowledges the threat imposed by the changing attitudes towards oil production which has led to an ambitious economic diversification plan. Natural gas could become an important pillar of growth in the short and medium long term. While the consumption of oil is slated to peak somewhere around 2030, natural gas's share will remain growing. Therefore, a domestic LNG industry could become an important part of the UAEs energy portfolio. Regardless of the possible financial windfall, the Emirates need to double down on their diversification policy to improve energy security and reduce dependence. By Vanand Meliksetian for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: It looks like Married At First Sight brides Natasha Spencer and Tash Herz were more than just friends behind the scenes. New Idea published photos on Monday of the two women passionately kissing on holiday in Bali, Indonesia, in early November. They flew overseas together after leaving Nine's social experiment, which was filmed between September and December in Sydney. Didn't see that coming! It looks like Married At First Sight brides Natasha Spencer (right) and Tash Herz (left) were more than just friends behind the scenes. Pictured on November 3 Tash, 31, and Natasha, 26, were pictured kissing and cuddling at their resort, before partying at the Ku De Ta nightclub in Seminyak. 'They couldn't keep their hands off each other,' an onlooker said. 'And they were getting a lot of attention from others too.' Lovebirds! New Idea published photos on Monday of the two women passionately kissing on holiday in Bali, Indonesia, in early November. Pictured at Sydney Airport, before flying to Bali 'If you didn't know they were from that show, you would definitely think they were in love, the way they were with each other,' the source added. The overseas trip took place when MAFS still had five weeks of production to go. They were pictured flying out of Sydney Airport on November 3. The pair first met when Nine's social experiment began filming in September. Jealousy? The pair's flirty friendship reportedly caused tensions between Tash and her 'wife', Amanda Micallef (right), who both voted to leave at Sunday night's commitment ceremony Their flirty friendship reportedly caused tensions between Tash and her 'wife', Amanda Micallef, who both voted to leave at Sunday night's commitment ceremony. Natasha, who identifies as straight, is still technically 'married' to Mikey Pembroke, but it's believed their relationship falls apart in upcoming episodes. Married At First Sight continues Monday at 7.30pm on Channel Nine JACKSON, MI - A man was arrested after firing multiple gunshots late Saturday in Jackson. Jackson Police Sgt. Jennifer Flick said officers were dispatched around 11 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 22 to a call for shots fired in the 300 block of West Morrell Street. Following the incident, police arrested a 21-year-old man from Jackson. Flick said police did not discover any specific person or motive for the shots being fired. The man currently is being lodged in the Jackson County Jail. A report from the incident will be reviewed by the prosecutors office on Monday, Flick said. On 25 February 1944, 23 Luxembourgish resistance fighters were executed at the Hinzert concentration camp near Trier, Germany. A ceremony will be held on Sunday at the Glacis chapel to remember those who fought against the Nazis in the Second World War. The 23 Luxembourgers who were shot in Hinzert are remembered as symbolic representatives of all those who died fighting for the Grand Duchy's freedom. According to the Committee for the Remembrance of the Second World War, no fewer than 1,586 Luxembourgers were deported to Hinzert, 76 of whom were killed for their defiance. In total around 4,000 Luxembourgish men and women were taken to concentration camps for political reasons, 800 of whom did not survive. The memorial mass is due to begin at 11am at the Glacis chapel, before a procession on the corner of Rue de la Faiencerie and Allee des Resistants et des Deportes, followed by a ceremony at the Hinzert cross in the cemetery nearby at midday. The procession will be accompanied by a military band. New Delhi, Feb 23 : A Shaheen Bagh-style protest started at Jaffrabad metro station in northeast Delhi on Sunday after more than 200 women gathered here to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Women started to gather at the metro station from Saturday night itself after which police and paramilitary forces were deployed here. Since the protest is staged by women, huge number of women officers have also been deployed. Road no. 66 has been blocked by the protesters while entry and exit from the metro station has been stopped. Most of the protesters are carrying the national flag and chanting slogans of "Azadi" while some are even wearing blue bands and chanting 'Jai Bhim'. The protesters said the protest is not only against the CAA and the NRC but they are also supporting the 'Bharat Bandh' called by Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad over reservations in promotions on February 23. Speaking to IANS on the protest at Jaffrabad, BJP leader Vijay Goel said: "This protest is prearranged by the opposition who were not able to defeat PM Modi. The law has been passed by the Parliament and protesting against it or promoting propaganda over it is wrong." "Police can take action against it but since there are women and children at the protest, we don't want any violence over there," said Goel. Latest updates on Howdy Modi Houston Photograph: Alex Brandon/AP Donald Trumps national security adviser has said he has not seen any intelligence that Russia is doing anything to get the president re-elected, but also seemed to accept reports that Russia is backing Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary. Related: Donald Trump pounces on reports Russia is seeking to help Bernie Sanders In response, one senior Democrat slammed the politicisation of intelligence by the Trump administration and said Robert OBrien should stay out of politics. OBriens claim, in an interview with ABCs This Week, came at the end of a week in which it was reported that US officials briefed the House intelligence committee that Russia was again trying to help get Trump elected. Reports of Trumps furious reaction were followed by the departure of Joseph Maguire, the acting director of national intelligence, and his replacement by Richard Grenell, formerly ambassador to Germany and a Trump loyalist. The president has tweeted extensively on the subject, blaming Democrats and the media for disinformation hoax number 7. It was also reported this week that Trump, congressional leaders and Sanders himself were briefed that Moscow was repeating another tactic from 2016 and backing the Vermont senator. Sanders told Russia to stay out of US elections, then won convincingly in Nevada. OBrien said Russian backing for Sanders would be no surprise. He honeymooned in Moscow. Sanders has described a 10-day visit to the then Soviet capital in 1988 as a very strange honeymoon. OBrien was repeating a line used by Trump at campaign events. Speaking to CNNs State of the Union, Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat on the Senate foreign relations committee, said OBrien had made a political statement and as national security adviser should stay out of politics. Asked if he had seen analysis showing a Russian aim in its election interference efforts was to help the president, OBrien said: I have not seen that, and the national security adviser gets pretty good access to our intelligence. I havent seen any intelligence that Russia is doing anything to attempt to get President Trump re-elected. Story continues OBrien said he was not making a distinction between seeing actual intelligence material and seeing analysis of it. No, I havent seen any intelligence on that, he said. And I havent seen any analysis on that. He also said Grenell and the CIA director, Gina Haspel, had not seen such material and contended: President Trump has rebuilt the American military to an extent we havent seen since Ronald Reagan. So I dont think its any surprise that Russia or China or Iran would want somebody other than President Trump. Murphy countered that it stands to reason that Russia wants Trump elected because he has been a gift to Russia. He has essentially ceded the Middle East to Russian interests, he has accomplished more in undermining Nato than Russia has in the last 20 years and he continues to effectively deny that they have an ongoing political operation here in the United States that by and large is an attempt to support Donald Trump. US intelligence concluded that Russia ran interference efforts through the 2016 election, aiming to boost Trump against Hillary Clinton and stoke divisions in US society. Trump has rejected such conclusions, including standing with the Russian leader in Helsinki in July 2018 and saying: I have President Putin. He just said its not Russia. I will say this. I dont see any reason why it would be. OBrien, Trumps fourth national security adviser, is a lawyer and former hostage negotiator who according to a New York Times report runs National Security Council meetings that include printouts of presidential tweets. Like the president, he said reports about the House briefing were based on leaks. Speaking to reporters on Sunday as he left Washington for a visit to India, Trump accused the House intelligence chair, Adam Schiff, of leaking the information about Russia and Sanders. He also said he had not been briefed about the Sanders link. OBrien said he had seen the reports from that briefing at the intel committee [and] also heard that from the briefers that thats not what they intended the story to be. So, look I havent seen any evidence that Russia is doing anything to attempt to get President Trump re-elected. And our message to the Russians is stay out of the US elections. Weve been very tough on Russia and weve been great on election security. Senate Republicans this month blocked three bills meant to strengthen election security, shortly after being told by intelligence agencies the US was not doing enough to guard against a repeat of 2016. OBrien said the White House was working very hard with the states. Related: Trump reportedly calls John Bolton a 'traitor' and wants to block his book Were going to paper ballots in many cases to harden our election infrastructure, he said, to make sure that not only is there not election influence through trolls and Twitter and that sort of thing, but to make sure that countries cant hack into our secretaries of state in our 50 states and change election results or cause mischief on election day. Reports of Trumps fury at Maguire were incorrect, OBrien added, saying the acting directors time in the role had simply expired. We needed a Senate-confirmed official to come in and replace him, OBrien said. And so we went with a highly qualified person, Ambassador Grenell. Most observers think Grenell is not qualified and would not be confirmed by the Senate. Filling the role in an acting capacity as many Trump aides do lets him avoid that hurdle. OBrien said Trump would move quickly to make a permanent appointment but Murphy said Grenells move made him worried about the politicisation of intelligence by this administration. The new acting head of intelligence has no background in intel, he said. He is a Trump loyalist. And I think we all worry about this administration controlling massive amounts of intelligence, massive amounts of classified information, and leaking it out to the press when it advantages them. For six years, officials in this Monmouth County town have repeatedly sounded alarms about conditions at Manalapan Manor, a residential care home that houses low-income people with mental and physical disabilities, calling it dirty, rundown and even dangerous. The facilitys inadequate food and supervision, along with a total lack of anything to do at the home, means that residents cross a busy highway to go to Wawa or CVS, the township says. In the last five years, four residents have been killed crossing Route 33. The most recent, Phillip Baines, 39, of Newark, died a week ago. The death has rekindled the three-way feud between Manalapan Manors owners, the township and state inspectors at the Department of Community Affairs. The dispute has been going on since 2013 and predates the current owners who bought it in 2017. The state DCA declined again this week to revoke its license as the township had requested. At the heart of the issue is a profound disagreement about what a facility like Manalapan Manor should be and what standard it must live up to. If there were animals in that facility, cats or dogs, people would be out there protesting, Deputy Mayor Susan Cohen said Thursday. In letters begging the state to revoke the facilitys license, Cohen has described past issues ranging from bedbug infestations to clogged toilets and plumbing problems, and so many incidents that police are often called there multiple times a day. But the state agency in charge of inspecting the facility maintains it is in compliance and past violations 182 in 2019 alone have been addressed. Two inspections in the last week found no further violations, the state told Cohen Wednesday. She doesnt put much stock in what they say, however. After an inspection Nov. 7 found the facility compliant, Cohen sent photographs of the interior to inspectors. As a result, they came back a week later and found 21 violations, ranging from a malfunctioning fire alert system to broken furniture, toilet and windows, records show. All were soon fixed, the state said. A damaged door, broken window and dirty mattress cover were photographed by a volunteer in Manalapan Manor in November 2019, according to Deputy Mayor Susan Cohen.Provided While there are strict rules about the quality of care and living conditions in group homes and nursing homes, the states expectations for facilities like Manalapan Manor though they are classified as residential health care facilities are not the same. While this facility has been characterized as a mental health or senior facility, it is not. It is a boarding home that houses low-income individuals with physical and mental illnesses, Edward Smith, director of the Department of Community Affairs Division of Codes and Standards, said in a letter to Cohen in November. It is unrealistic to expect that any facility of this class would be fully compliant for any length of the time considering the population it is serving. The state describes a residential care facility as a place providing sheltered care and services, in a homelike setting, to residents who do not require skilled nursing care, in order to assist residents to maintain personal interests and dignity as well as to protect their health and safety. On Monday afternoon at Manalapan Manor, an employee and a resident threw furniture into a heaping dumpster. A painter, loading his rollers into his pickup truck, had just finished a days work. They are signs the owners are making good on a promise to renovate the facility, though they have not furnished any plans or permit applications to township or state officials. A reporter was asked to leave and was not allowed inside, but several residents said it was an alright place to live. Its clean inside there. Theyre doing the rooms, said one man who had crossed Route 33 to smoke a cigarette in the sun while sitting on the steps of a boarded-up deli. Employee Nathan Welch and a resident of Manalapan Manor throw old furniture into a dumpster during renovations of the care facility and boarding house Monday, Feb. 17, 2020.Rebecca Everett For NJ.com The facility still does not look like much from the outside. Trash and discarded furniture dotted the brushy area surrounding the driveway, which was nearly impassable due to deep potholes several feet in diameter. At a meeting last week, Cohen said the owners produced pictures of a nursing home they own and vowed to do something similar in Manalapan, to attract residents who can pay out of pocket as opposed to out of their government checks. The owners have never spoken publicly about the facility. The state identified Mukund J. Thakar of Monroe Township as the primary owner, and Cohen said Jay Thakar, his son, arranged the meeting with her last week. The elder Thakar is the founder of My Indian Nursing Home, a company that runs nursing home facilities for Indian people, complete with Indian staff, food and cultural activities, according to its website. The business operates within 10 nursing homes throughout the state and one in New York. Cohen said Mihir Patel is the license holder for Manalapan Manor, and the corporation that owns the Manalapan property has its registered address at his Edison mansion. Attempts to reach Mukund Thakar and Patel at their homes and via phone were unsuccessful. Reached via email, Jay Thakar asked a reporter Monday to email him questions, so he could discuss answers with his lawyer and partners. He did not respond to follow-up emails. Cohen remains skeptical of the turnaround the owner is promising. She would still rather see the property put to some other use that doesnt have vulnerable people living on a four-lane highway. Cohen said there is a crosswalk at the traffic light at Woodward Road, but it is not in front of the facility. A community member donated yellow reflective vests for residents to wear when crossing, but residents generally dont wear them, Cohen said. Theres no supervision, and theres no programs, so theres nothing for them to do, she said, other than walk to the businesses nearby. For the fourth time in roughly five years, a resident of Manalapan Manor died crossing NJ-33 in front of the residence, located down the driveway to the right.Google Maps And while Cohen said the main concern is the residents safety, her letters to the state also express frustration over community members and businesses unsatisfactory encounters with manor residents, including at the Wawa and CVS. She said people are frightened by their panhandling. In a period of four months last summer, police were called over 100 times for trespassing, harassment and suspicious person complaints about Manalapan Manor residents at businesses, she said. But whether community members feel comfortable with the residents presence at the businesses is not the purview of the state agency. Officials reiterated in communications with Cohen that facilities like Manalapan Manor are prohibited from restricting residents movements and the residents have every right to visit Wawa just like anyone else. On Monday afternoon, no residents were seen at the businesses, but the manors population has dwindled to fewer than 16 people (down from close to 50) as the renovations get underway. Cohen said she heard this week the owners now plan to comply with her request that they relocate all residents during the work. I gave them 30 days to move everyone out or Im going to bring a bus of residents from Manalapan and were going to storm DCA, she said. She also hopes that a bill written by Assemblymen Robert Clifton and Ronald Dancer will help improve things at the manor. It would require residential health care facilities to have at least two staffers at all times whose primary or secondary responsibility is supervision. It also says facilities must develop, maintain, and enforce a comprehensive plan concerning residents who leave the premises of the facility, but doesnt specify what that should look like. While the renovations and the bill are encouraging, Cohen said she still wants the boarding house shuttered. Smiths letter to Cohen said was unrealistic to expect such a facility to be fully compliant considering the population it serves, but Cohen said she expects that specifically because of the vulnerable people it serves. Thats just not the way you treat people, she said. Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccajeverett. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips One of Editor & Publishers 10 That Do It Right 2021 The racist chief of a chain of luxury care homes has been outed for refusing to hire someone because they were black. Cristina Bila, 61, demanded that managerial candidate Paulett Mills be taken out of the running for the position at Pondsmead nursing home in Radstock, Somerset. Mrs Mills initially wowed interviewers and managers were keen to hire her because they believed she would be able to secure an 'outstanding' rating for the home. Cristina Bila, 61, (pictured) demanded that managerial candidate Paulett Mills be taken out of the running for the position at Pondsmead nursing home in Radstock, Somerset But after finding out the colour of her skin, Bila said she 'did not want Mrs Mills because she was black'. She then told colleagues to disguise the true reason behind Ms Mills's rejection. Details of the racist incident emerged after a senior staff member quit her job in protest and successfully sued Bila's company, Avon Care Homes Ltd, for constructive dismissal. Bristol Employment Tribunal heard that secretary Caroline Hobbs, 55, jotted down on Post-It Notes as Mrs Bila told how she 'did not want Mrs Mills because she was black'. She reportedly blasted: 'To have black people in charge of a home like that is not going to work. I don't have to explain it to anyone. 'I will interview her and then say I don't like her, I am not having her as a manager.' After resigning in protest, Ms Hobbs then phoned Mrs Mills to warn her she wouldn't get the job 'because of the colour of her skin'. Details of the racist incident emerged after a senior staff member quit her job in protest and successfully sued Bila's company, Avon Care Homes Ltd, for constructive dismissal. Bristol Employment Tribunal heard that secretary Caroline Hobbs, 55, jotted down on Post-It Notes as Mrs Bila told how she 'did not want Mrs Mills because she was black' Speaking after the tribunal win, Mrs Hobbs, from Shepton Mallet, Somerset, said: 'Cristina told me that black people in a management position were not the right image for her company. 'I had no option but to walk. I couldn't stand by and allow that behaviour. I had to tell Paulett that she was being racially discriminated against. 'I don't have a lot of money but I know I couldn't stay because I was not brought up that way. 'I was so worried that I wouldn't get justice but I am so pleased the truth has come out. 'Hopefully now discrimination at Avon Care Homes will stop.' Mrs Mills, who has more than two decades of care home experience, applied for the manager post at upmarket Pondsmead in April last year. The tribunal was told how Mrs Hobbs and Mrs Bila's deputy, Julia Rea, feared she would not be employed if her skin colour was known. Employment judge Christa Christensen said: 'It was agreed that Mrs Rea would tell Mrs Bila that she had ''beautiful dark skin''. 'It became clear to Mrs Bila that Mrs Mills was black. She was cross at Mrs Rea for not being clear enough the day before regarding Mrs Mills's ethnicity.' The tribunal heard that Mrs Bila then ordered a pre-decided second interview in which Mrs Mills would be rejected 'because she did not want to employ a black home manager'. Mrs Hobbs's resignation note read: 'I am unable to continue working for a company that has illegal working practice with regard to racial and colour prejudice held by the managing director.' She is set for a damages payout at a later date. Judge Christensen ruled: 'The actions of Mrs Bila utterly undermined Mrs Hobbs's ability to trust her employer. 'She could not tolerate continuing to be employed on the basis that she was being instructed in terms to be complicit in recruitment practices that there were unlawful.' Mrs Bila claimed the remarks alleged by Mrs Hobbs never took place, and that she did not know Mrs Mills was black. She insisted in evidence that Mrs Hobbs cooked up a 'premeditated plan to secure financial gain'. But her account was rejected by the tribunal judge. Judge Christensen said: 'It seems inherently unlikely that the claimant has embarked upon a premeditated plan to bring a claim against the respondent to make a financial gain. Mrs Mills is set to take legal action against Avon Care Homes next month. She declined to comment ahead of her tribunal hearing. Avon Care Homes Ltd and Cristina Bila refused to comment. The Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board is likely to take a decision in its meeting on Monday regarding the land given by the state government for construction of a mosque. "We have already said about honouring the Supreme Court verdict on the Ayodhya issue," board chairman Zufar Farooqui told PTI on Sunday. "The meeting of the board will deliberate upon the documents pertaining to allotment of land by the government. A decision will also be taken as to what should be built on that piece of land," Farooqui said. Asked about Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma's offer regarding formation of a trust for construction of a mosque, Farooqui said: "The government formed the trust for the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya on the directives of the Supreme Court. No such instructions were issued for the mosque. This offer will be discussed in the board's meeting." On Friday, the board had said that it did not have the option to reject the alternative piece of land given to it under the Supreme Court's Ayodhya verdict, but would decide how to use it when it meets on Monday. In a historic verdict in November on the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of construction of a temple. It also ruled that an alternative five-acre plot must be found for a mosque within Ayodhya. Soon after the verdict, there were suggestions that the board should not accept the land. "Following the Supreme Court verdict, the Sunni Waqf Board does not have the choice of rejecting the five-acre alternative land for the construction of a mosque in Ayodhya as it would amount to contempt of court," Farooqui had said. "We had been saying since the very beginning that we will abide by the court verdict on the issue, and because of this we did not go in for a review of the verdict. There has been no shift in our stand," he had said. Besides Farooqui, there are seven other members on the Sunni Waqf Board. Earlier this month, the Uttar Pradesh government gave the allotment letter to the board for the plot at Dhannipur village in Ayodhya's Sohawal area. It is on the Ayodhya-Lucknow highway, about 20 km from the district headquarters. Based on the SC verdict, the Centre had asked the Uttar Pradesh government to allot five acres of land to the Sunni Waqf Board. The UP cabinet made the allotment after its meeting of February 5. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Scout Movement celebrates Founders Day this week View(s): The Scout movements Founders Day, which marks the birthday of Robert Baden-Powell, was celebrated this week. In this picture a group of scouts can be seen attending the International Mother Language day at the Independence square, Colombo 7 on Friday. It was organised by the Education Ministry and the Bangladesh High Commission in Colombo. Pic by Amila Gamage LJP national president Chirag Paswan has said that demands of contractual teachers of the government schools in Bihar, who have been on an indefinite strike since February 17, will be included in the party's manifesto for the upcoming assembly elections due later this year. Around 4.5 lakh contractual teachers of the government schools have been observing the strike with their eight-point charter of demands --'equal pay for equal work' being the primary one. "I completely agree with you and will not only give this (charter of demands) to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar but also include in our party's manifesto," Paswan said after meeting with a group of protesting teachers in Sheohar. He was in Sheohar on Saturday as a part of his "Bihar First, Bihari First" yatra. With the promise of pulling the state out of its long history of backwardness, the party chief, who recently took the mantle from his father and LJP founder Ram Vilas Paswan, had launched the programme on Friday. His state-wide 'yatra' will culminate in a rally at Gandhi Maidan here on April 14. However, the state government has threatened to take stern action against those participating in the strike. Education minister Krishnandan Prasad Verma had condemned the teachers' strike, saying that the government will "not fulfill their demands as it is following the apex court's verdict". In a setback to the contractual teachers, the Supreme Court, in May last year, had refused to regularise their services and set aside the Patna High Court ruling that they were eligible to get equal pay for equal work. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) [Portrait design by Peng Xingxin for China.org.cn] He Guangming was as happy as ever when his first grandson was born. The whole family was overjoyed, with both the baby and the mother perfectly healthy. But even though they are all living under the same roof, He did not often go into the nursery room. They could not afford any risks. He and his wife came to Wuhan, Hubei province, in mid-January, just before the baby was born. Soon after their arrival, news came of the novel coronavirus outbreak, and on Jan. 23, the city was placed in total lockdown. The busy transportation hub in central China came to a sudden standstill. The city's 11 million residents, not to mention people like He who were there for one special occasion or another, have stayed and endured countless adversities. A month has passed. While many continue to cope with the outbreak, isolation, and other hardships, some have found hope in small happinesslike He and his wife, who would wear thick masks and visit the new baby in the next room for a few seconds a day. Canceling Spring Festival celebrations The novel coronavirus disease, known as COVID-19, has so far claimed the lives of more than 2,300 around the world, including 1,856 in Wuhan. Since the start of its lockdown, the only people authorized to move in and out of the city have been workers bringing in essential supplies, as well as nearly 40,000 doctors and nurses rushing from all over China to the frontline to save infected patients. Meanwhile, ordinary people have stayed put in their homes, answering the call of the government to avoid going out and gathering into crowds. To people in China, this was no small ask. The timing of the outbreak could not have been worse, occurring right before the Chinese New Yearalso known as Spring Festivalwhich this year fell on Jan. 25. On this most important of holidays, reuniting with families and relatives is beyond tradition. Visiting and spending time with extended families and relatives has been the way Qi Yang celebrated every Chinese New Year. Normally working in Wuhan, Qi left for home in neighboring Jingzhou city a day before the lockdown, planning to attend a family gathering of more than 20 people during the holiday. Like families all over China, Qi's family canceled the plan after learning about the severity of the disease. Qi, along with his wife and son, stayed with his parents at home, making a simple dinner using what food materials they had to celebrate the Chinese New Year. "Never in my life have I ever spent the Spring Festival like this," said the 34-year-old Qi. F our of the cruise ship passengers evacuated from Japan have tested positive for coronavirus in the UK. The virus was passed on in the Diamond Princess cruise ship and the affected patients have been transferred from Arrowe Park Hospital to specialist infection centres. Chief Medical Officer for England Professor Chris Whitty said this brought the total number of virus cases in the UK to 13. The passengers had been among a group of 30 British nationals and two Irish citizens who arrived at a quarantine block in Merseyside on Saturday. The Department of Health said a full infectious disease risk assessment was done before Saturdays repatriation flight and that no-one who boarded the flight had displayed any symptoms of the virus. Any more passengers who test positive will immediately be taken into specialist NHS care, the department said. It added that appropriate arrangements are in place at Arrowe Park, including strict separation of passengers from staff and from each other. Of the four people who tested positive for coronavirus, two patients are in the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield, one is in the Royal Liverpool University Hospital and a fourth was taken to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, NHS England said. It is understood some British nationals who are part of the Diamond Princess crew opted to remain on the ship. Coronavirus: Diamond Princess cruise ship quarantined 1 /32 Coronavirus: Diamond Princess cruise ship quarantined Cruise ship Diamond Princess is anchored off the shore of Yokohama, south of Tokyo AP Global interest: David Abel, who is on board Diamond Princess with his wife Sally, has been posting updates on social media David Abel Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), officials of the DFA-Philippines in Tokyo with Department of Health team wear protective suits as they prepare for the disembarkation of Filipino crew members on board the Diamond Princess Cruise Ship at Yokohama Port AP A man in a proctective clothing is seen on the sixth deck of cruise ship Diamond Princess in Yokohama via Reuters A woman holds a Japanese flag that reads "shortage of medicine" on the cruise ship Diamond Princess Reuters Passengers disembarking from the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked at Yokohama Port are pictured in Yokohama REUTERS/Kyodo Japan David Abel of the Diamond Princess cruise ship that has been quarantined in Japan. PA David Abel being treated David Abel Workers in protective clothes stand before passengers disembarkating off the Diamond Princess AFP via Getty Images Quarantine operation on the eighth deck of cruise ship Diamond Princess in Yokohama via Reuters An empty general view of Diamond Princess cruise ship PA The Diamond Princess cruise ship, in quarantine due to fears of new COVID-19 coronavirus, is seen at Daikoku pier cruise terminal in Yokohama AFP via Getty Images Sally Abel being treated David Abel/Facebook Men wearing protective gear are seen near the cruise ship Diamond Princess, Reuters The Diamond Princess cruise ship with around 3,700 people on board sits anchored in quarantine off the port of Yokohama after a number of passengers were confirmed to be infected with coronavirus Getty Images An empty general view of Diamond Princess cruise ship PA Medical workers in protective suits lead a passenger tested positive for a new coronavirus from the cruise ship Diamond Princess at Yokohama Port AP Buses carrying passengers who have been under quarantine on a coronavirus-stricken cruise ship off the coast of Japan, the Diamond Princess, leave RAF Boscombe Down in Amesbury Reuters An empty casino on the Diamond Princess cruise ship PA Workers in protective gear are seen on the Japan Coast Guard boats in Yokohama Jiji Press/AFP via Getty Images An empty atrium on the Diamond Princess cruise shi PA Workers in protective gear transfer a person under a blue sheet from the Diamond Princess cruise ship onto a Japan Coast Guard boat in Yokohama Jiji Press/AFP via Getty Images Medical workers in protective suits carry belongings of passengers of the cruise ship Diamond Princess at Yokohama Port AP Cruise ship Diamond Princess is anchored off the shore of Yokohama, south of Tokyo AP This is the second batch of evacuees staying in Merseyside following the hosting of 83 British nationals earlier in February and a health official said they now have a blueprint for how to handle the new arrivals. Janelle Holmes, chief executive at Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Trust reassured staff that the hospital was "running as usual". "When guests arrived yesterday evening, we followed clear guidance in relation to infection prevention control. This was to minimise the chance of any infection spreading." On Sunday, 118 people who had been evacuated from virus-epicentre Wuhan and were staying at the Kents Hill Park training and conference centre in Milton Keynes were released following a two week quarantine period. The four new coronavirus cases come as one of the Diamond Princess passengers who was hospitalised after testing positive for coronavirus died in Japan, becoming the third fatality from the stricken cruise ship. Press Association Images Japan's health ministry also announced 57 more cases of infections from the ship, including 55 crew members still on board and two passengers who had infected roommates and were in a prolonged quarantine at a government facility. Together with the new cases, 691 people have been infected on the ship, or nearly one-fifth of the vessels original population of 3,711. British couple David and Sally Abel, from Northamptonshire, who were on the cruise for their 50th wedding anniversary, are still in a Japanese hospital after being diagnosed with coronavirus and pneumonia. Relatives said the couple are both having a really tough time and feel very much in the dark in terms of treatment, adding that they are awaiting further tests. Speaking in a liveblog on Sunday, their daughter-in-law Roberta Abel said: We want to get them discharged from the hospital and back to the UK as negative. They are scared. They said to us today, If we get that virus again, we are not coming home. In a message to Arrowe Park staff, the chief executive of Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Trust, Janelle Holmes, said: We always had a plan in place for this eventuality and this has been carried out successfully. I want to repeat and reassure that we are continuing to work with national experts from Public Health England at all times and they are on site, along with local infection control experts and other healthcare professionals. When guests arrived yesterday evening, we followed clear guidance in relation to infection prevention control. This was to minimise the chance of any infection spreading. Just to reiterate that our hospital is running as usual including all community-led services. Please continue to help us to ensure that our patients are getting accurate information on this situation and are attending appointments as usual. In Europe, a third person who was infected with coronavirus has died in Italy as authorities scramble to contain the biggest outbreak of the virus on the continent. The number of people infected with the virus in Italy has jumped to more than 130 as a dozen towns were put on lockdown. The minister of military production told MPs that the first electric bus will be produced in Egypt next November Egypt's Minister of Military Production Mohamed El-Assar told MPs in a meeting on Sunday morning that Egypt aims to produce 2,000 electric buses within the coming four years. "We plan to produce 500 electric buses a year, or a total of 2,000 within four years, and there is a possibility that this number will increase to 5,000 by the year 2024," said El-Assar. Addressing parliament's industrial committee, El-Assar said the first electric bus will be produced in Egypt next November. "These buses will operate inside major cities in the first stage," said El-Assar, adding that "a memorandum of understanding will be signed with an American Company Foton to produce electric buses in Egypt." El-Assar revealed that the government has contracted the Chinese car-maker Geely to also produce electric vehicles. "To achieve this objective, we will begin with setting up electric charging stations in cooperation with companies that have experience in this sector," said El-Assar. He said that the government and the Ministry of Military Production are under orders from President Abdel-Fatah El-Sisi to spread the industry of electric vehicles in Egypt. "As a result, the Ministry of Military Production has so far held seven meetings to draw up a strategy in this new sector, and once finished it will be presented to the president to be ratified," said El-Assar, adding that "the costs of producing and maintaining electric vehicles are low, not to mention they are environment friendly." "Egypt is now more qualified to join the age of vehicle production after 40 years of focusing on just assembling automobiles," said El-Assar. El-Assar also revealed that Egypt has come a long way in producing car batteries. "I will announce the details of this only after we reach an advanced level," said El-Assar, adding that the factories affiliated with the Ministry of Military Production are the ones that are working on producing car batteries. El-Assar indicated the private sector is the one in charge of setting up all feeding industries necessary to the production of vehicles in Egypt. "We also trying to restructure Al-Nasr Car Company, and I think that the government will reach a final decision on the future of this public sector company very soon," said El-Assar. 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Koda was arrested from Jharkhands Dumka district on Saturday evening in a joint operation of the Jharkhand police and Bihars special task force (STF), police said. Carrying rewards of 10 lakh in Jharkhand and 1 lakh in Bihar, he reportedly died of cardiac arrest during a recovery operation in Jamui, police said. Dumkas, superintendent of police (SP), YS Ramesh, said, We arrested him and handed him over to the Bihar STF. Bihar police could give more details on him. As per the information we received, he died of cardiac arrest during a recovery operation in Jamui. Koda had complained of chest pain. When he was brought to Jamui Sadar Hospital, he was declared dead, police said. Zonal commander of the CPI (Maoist), Koda had reportedly come to Dumka for hatching a conspiracy of a Maoist operation, police claimed. On a tip-off, Bihar STF arrived in Dumka and began search operations. The police arrested two more Maoists, Iliyas Hembrom and Sushil Hansda, who reportedly provided information on Koda. Koda, active as a Maoist cadre since 1998, was wanted in several cases in Bihar and Jharkhand. According to the police, Koda was wanted in more than 10 cases including murder, extortion and loot in Jharkhands Giridih district. Koda was one of the accused in the murder of former chief minister Babulal Marandis son, said additional superintendent of police (operation), Giridih, Deepak Kumar. In October 2007, armed Maoists had opened fire during a cultural programme and killed 19 people, including Anup Marandi, son of Marandi, at Chilkhari village in Giridih district. Marandis brother, Nunulal, was reportedly the target of the rebels. He, however, escaped unhurt. Koda was also accused in the killing of CRPFs second-in command Heera Jha during an anti-Maoist operation in Giridih-Jamui border in 2014, Kumar said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON DUBAI, Jan 28 (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates' nuclear power plant's first reactor is ready to start operating, state news agency WAM reported on Tuesday. Operator Nawah Energy Company is concluding the final requirements before "commencing the loading of the first fuel assemblies safely into Unit 1 of the Barakah plant, scheduled for first quarter of 2020," WAM reported. Barakah will be the UAE's first nuclear plant and the world's largest when complete, with four reactors and 5,600 megawatts (MW) of capacity. It is being built by Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO). (Reporting by Maher Chmaytelli; writing by Rania El Gamal; Editing by Louise Heavens) Public broadcaster Doordarshan has deployed a fleet of high definition broadcast vans and cameras in Ahmedabad, Agra and Delhi to provide live coverage of US President Donald Trump's visit to India, a statement said on Sunday. The live feed for DD India will be distributed globally. "Apart from major American and European TV networks who will be carrying the global live feed of DD India, the event will also be available in Korea through DD India on the 'myK' platform as well as in Bangladesh via satellite," the statement said. On Monday, President Trump and Prime Minister Modi will take part in a 22-km roadshow from the Ahmedabad international airport. Then they will proceed for the 'Namaste Trump' event at the newly built Sardar Patel Stadium in the city's Motera area, where over one lakh people are expected to be present. The US president will later fly down to Agra and arrive Delhi on Monday evening. On the morning of February 25, the US president and First Lady Melania Trump will be accorded a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan. From there, they will go to Raj Ghat to pay homage at Mahatma Gandhi's 'samadhi'. It will be followed by restricted and delegation-level talks between Trump and Modi at Hyderabad House. "With this extensive deployment, Prasar Bharati's global English channel, DD India, is all set to provide a bird's eye view of the much awaited multi-city two-day visit of President Donald Trump to India," the statement said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Switzerland denied having in its territories a representation of the Polisario, reducing the Algerian-backed group to its status of a separatist militia serving its paymasters regional agenda. The Polisario does not have a representation in the UN Geneva neither, said Swiss foreign ministry in a note sent to Moroccos embassy in Berne. The note came in response to the increasing activity of a Polisario proponent in Switzerland where he claimed to be a representative of the separatists. Polisario advocates abroad often use Algerian passports and are funded by the Algerian taxpayer. Voices started to raise within the Algerian political class to denounce the squandering of public money to support a separatist group that serves the Algerian regimes regional hegemonic schemes. Democratic Congressional candidate Katie Hill casts her ballot while voting in California's 25th Congressional district in Agua Dulce, Calif., on Nov. 6, 2018. (Mario Tama/Getty Images) Man Linked to Former Rep. Hills Campaign Arrested for Hacking Her Opponents Website A man who allegedly hacked the website of a congressional contender in Californias 25th District has ties to the Democrat who won the race, Katie Hill, according to an FBI affidavit. Both of Hills opponents in the 2018 Democratic primary, Jess Phoenix and Bryan Caforio, complained that their websites were disrupted by cyberattacks. The man responsible for the attacks on Caforio was Arthur Dam, according to a Feb. 19 affidavit by FBI special agent Elliott Weideman. Dam was arrested on Feb. 21, the Department of Justice (DOJ) stated in a release. Dams wife, Kelsey OHara, was fundraising for Hill as her campaign consultant and went on to become a program and research director in Hills congressional office in Palmdale, California. Hill had the blessing of the Democratic establishment. Former President Barack Obama endorsed her, saying she was running to take the values of her community to Washington. She won the Democratic nomination by less than 3,000 votes and went on to beat the Republican incumbent, Steve Knight, with 54 percent of the vote, outspending him more than 3-to-1. She resigned in November amid an ethics probe after photos were leaked to the media of her having intimate relations with a former campaign staffer. Hill complained of cyber exploitation at the time. Cyberattacks As the FBI agent described, Caforios campaign website was targeted four times by a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack that took it down for a total of about 21 hours, including on April 28, 2018, right before a live television debate between the candidates. The website remained offline for at least the duration of the debate. DDoS attacks overload a website with bogus traffic in order to shut it down. The agent found that the computer IP addresses linked to the attacks on Caforio were assigned to a single Amazon Web Services (AWS) account registered with the email address preatorian_@hotmail.com. Dam listed the address as one of the emails on his Apple account and also as his recovery address for his Gmail account. The IP addresses used to access the AWS account were linked to OHaras and Dams home address as well as his workplace address. The agent went as far as to collect Dams banking records and the geolocation data and browsing history from his Google account, which further corroborated Dams involvement. Dam was found to have conducted extensive research on both the Victim and various cyber exploits, malicious toolkits, and cyber attacks, including the same kind of cyber attack used against the Victim, the agent said. Hills campaign disclosed that Dam made a $500 in-kind contribution in the form of graphic design and website security consultation. Im absolutely shocked and saddened to learn today that Katie Hills campaign associates hacked my campaign in order to help her advance through the primary, Caforio told The Epoch Times in a statement. This should serve as a somber reminder that Russia is not the only threat to our democracy. There are bad actors on all sides who will do anything for their own personal gain, and we need to come together as Americans to defend our country and hold everyone responsible accountable. Attempts by The Epoch Times to reach Hill and OHara for comment were unsuccessful. Dam was charged with intentionally damaging and attempting to damage a protected computer. Law enforcement at all levels has pledged to ensure the integrity of every election, U.S. Attorney Nick Hanna said in the DOJ release. We will not tolerate interference with computer systems associated with candidates or voting. Cases like this demonstrate our commitment to preserving our democratic system. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-24 05:45:44|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close People watch snow geese at the Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, the United States, on Feb. 22, 2020. Thousands of bird viewers swarmed to the Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area on Saturday to watch migrating snow geese. (Xinhua/Qin Lang) TO GO WITH "U.S. wildlife habitat sees earlier snow goose migration amid weather changes" NEW YORK, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of bird viewers swarmed to the Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area in Lancaster County of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania on Saturday to watch migrating snow geese. The nearly 400 acres of water surface at Middle Creek was densely covered with waterfowls, mainly white colored snow geese, estimated to be over 100,000, and a few thousand tundra swans and Canada geese. From time to time the snow geese would take off in massive flocks from the lake to blot out the sky. What could be heard at the time were loud honks of the vocal birds and continuous camera shutters at the observation point. In a few minutes, the birds would land again on the water. It's the annual revelry for bird viewers, but came earlier this year, according to Lauren Ferreri, visitor and biological manager at Middle Creek. She said snow geese showed up at about mid January this year, a little bit earlier than usual. "We usually tell people the peak is around mid February to mid March. Historically, it was more into April. But it seems like it's getting earlier," she said in an interview with Xinhua on Saturday. "It just depends on the weather. We've had a very mild winter." She said although the migration is different each year, over time it's becoming a trend to be earlier. "It's really based on weather patterns. The snow geese really like to have an ice-free lake and snow-free fields." Ferreri said she has been working at Middle Creek since 2016 and noticed that as Middle Creek winters are constantly milder, there have been no hard freezes or large snow events, and no major snow storms for the past few years. "If you track migrations over time with the snow geese, they are becoming earlier and earlier," she said. "We've noticed the trends." The birds are trying to adjust themselves to be flexible around those weather changes, she said. According to Ferreri, climate change may endanger many wild life species, but it seems to be the opposite for snow geese. In the 1900s, the population of snow geese was as low as 2,000 or so, and now the estimated number is 10 to 20 million in North America. "It seems they are reaching a point of overpopulation," she said. According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission's website, hunting has been used as a way to bring down the number of snow geese, with 1 million to 1.5 million birds harvested annually in the state. "When snow geese populations are too large, the birds' feeding can destroy their own habitat, which is also used by other species," it says. Apart from climate change, the major concerns are the declining of waterfowl habitat and the related ecosystems, as well as pollution in major habitat areas in the world, Ferreri said. Education and regulation are the two most effective methods to maintain a healthy wildlife balance, she added. Middle Creek only serves as a roost for the snow geese, where they stay for some time waiting for the weather to warm up in the north. Their destinations are the areas in and around the Arctic, where they will hatch their goslings. When next winter comes, they will embark on a journey south and repeat the annual migration. Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - Following the formation of the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity in South Sudan, Amnesty International has called for a speedy investigation and prosecution of armed groups that committed atrocities against the people during the conflict in the country US President and First lady are likely to be accorded a traditional welcome complete with the traditional 'teeka', garlands and stole at the ITC Maurya here on Monday night, sources said. The five-star hotel, symbolised by the distinctive logo of hands folded in the traditional 'Namaste', will harp on its own branding and the fact that 'Namaste Trump' has been trending all over. The entire hotel will resonate with the theme of 'Namaste'. According to the sources, the President of the United States (POTUS) and First Lady of the United States (FLOTUS) will be welcomed with traditional 'teeka', 'thali' laden with flowers and stoles after they arrive at the hotel on Monday. They said women dressed in traditional attire will greet the Trumps. A similar traditional Indian welcome was accorded to former US president Barack Obama when he came to India twice, once during 2010 and the second time in 2015, as the chief guest of India's Republic Day celebrations. The Trumps will be staying in the Grand Presidential Suite, known as 'Chanakya'. The suite has hosted several heads of states including former US presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and George W Bush. The premium hotel, however, remained tight-lipped about the special arrangements made to welcome the Trumps. A multi-tier security arrangement comprising the Delhi Police, US Secret Service and other agencies is in place in the capital. At the five-star property, a three-layer security will be in place. The hotel, located in Diplomatic Enclave in Chanakyapuri, will have police personnel in plain clothes patrolling every floor. The US President's daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner will also be part of the high-level delegation accompanying him during his visit to India. The US president will arrive in Ahmedabad on February 24 for a little less than 36-hour India trip. From Ahmedabad, the US president will travel to Agra to have a glimpse of the iconic Taj Mahal. The Trump family will spend about an hour at the Taj Mahal before sunset. Then they will leave for Delhi for the main leg of the visit. On the morning of February 25, Trump and the First Lady would be accorded a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan. From there, they would go to Rajghat to pay homage at the 'samadhi' of Mahatma Gandhi. It would be followed by restricted and delegation-level talks between Trump and Modi at Hyderabad House. At least 20 Pakistani government officials have been removed from their posts for failing to give the "due protocol" to Prime Minister Imran Khan's wife Bushra Bibi during her recent visit to a shrine in the country's Punjab province. Bushra on February 20 visited Baba Farid shrine in Punjab's Pakpattan district without informing the administration. She got infuriated when the security deployed at the shrine's Beheshtee Darwaza did not open it for her immediately, an official said. She got infuriated when the security deployed at the Beheshtee Darwaza (door to heaven) did not open for her immediately," Gulzar Hussain Shah, the chief administrator of Punjab's Auqaf department, said. He said some the employees posted at the Pakpattan districts have been transferred for showing negligence in departmental administrative affairs. In a similar situation previously, at least two police chiefs of the district have been removed in connection with protocol issues during the visit of Bushra Bibi and her other family members to the shrine. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) By Steve Gorman LONG BEACH, Calif. (Reuters) - With a white captain's hat perched on his head, Calvin Ballard seemed relaxed as he waited to depart on his first-ever cruise to Mexico, unfazed by the possibility of being trapped on a ship under siege by an outbreak of coronavirus By Steve Gorman LONG BEACH, Calif. (Reuters) - With a white captain's hat perched on his head, Calvin Ballard seemed relaxed as he waited to depart on his first-ever cruise to Mexico, unfazed by the possibility of being trapped on a ship under siege by an outbreak of coronavirus. Like many fellow vacationers streaming onto an ocean liner docked near Los Angeles, Ballard said he was well aware that passengers aboard other cruises had ended up stranded for weeks, far from home, and he vowed to take special care to stay healthy. Nonetheless, he was determined to have a good time. "What we're planning on doing is washing our hands often, trying not to touch things and then touch our mouths, and just being aware of how we come into contact with people - the smart stuff," the 55-year-old asset manager from Orange, California, said cheerfully. "We're focusing on enjoying ourselves." Ballard and his wife, Judy, 50, sporting a sailor's cap, were among some 2,350 Carnival Cruise Line passengers who departed on Thursday from the Port of Long Beach on a three-day voyage to the resort city of Ensenada on Mexico's Baja coast. From those pausing for interviews with Reuters just outside the terminal, it was clear most passengers had packed extra hand sanitizer with their sunscreen and would likely approach the food buffet lines with greater trepidation than in the past. All readily acknowledged that the coronavirus scare and stories of cruise ships under quarantine in Cambodia and Japan were not far from their minds. "We've all heard the horror stories," said Andrew MacKenzie, 37, from Napa, California, as he waited with a buddy before boarding the Carnival Imagination. But all professed they had made peace with the idea of being herded into relatively close quarters with hundreds of strangers, and were resolved to follow meticulous hand hygiene and keep a safe distance from anyone who appeared sick. Embarking passengers said they also took comfort knowing their North American getaway was far from the epicenter of the coronavirus epidemic, which has infected more than 75,000 people and killed over 2,200. The overwhelming bulk of cases and deaths are in China. "Hopefully we'll be just fine," said Shirley Sosin, 67, traveling with her friend, Bernadette Neve, 53, both of them registered nurses from Fresno. They booked their trip well before the coronavirus outbreak but felt reassured by steps Carnival said it has instituted to minimize the risk, including more rigorous pre-cruise health screenings and "enhanced onboard sanitation measures." A central precaution is a strict prohibition against any passengers or crew who have been to China, Hong Kong or Macau during the previous 14 days - the presumed incubation period of the virus. The cruise line promised full refunds for passengers denied boarding. CRUISE EARNINGS TAKE A HIT Although the carrier said it is operating as usual in North America and Australia, its parent, Carnival Corp, the world's largest cruise ship company, is taking a major hit from coronavirus-related disruptions of its business in Asia. The company, which ended 2019 with adjusted earnings per share of $4.40, has projected its 2020 financial performance will be diminished by 55 to 65 cents a share, including passenger compensation for canceled bookings. Paul Meade, 57, a resident of Lincolnshire, England, capping a family visit to Utah with a quick trip to Mexico, said he and his wife were "following the (coronavirus) story on the news." "But a three-day cruise from L.A., I don't think there's anything to worry about," he said. "We do know the precautions for good hygiene, and we practice them anyway, so I don't think there's reason to be overly concerned." Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, agreed there was little to fear from coronavirus, in light of precautions taken by cruise lines. "The risk of someone getting the flu is infinitely greater than the risk of getting coronavirus if you're cruising in the Western Hemisphere, or even to Hawaii," he said. Schaffner said cruise lines have done much in recent years to improve disinfectant measures and training of personnel in good hygiene, reducing the frequency of onboard outbreaks of food-borne and respiratory illnesses. Nevertheless, he said diligent hand-washing, proper covering of coughs and sneezes and self-reporting of illnesses are key to curtailing germs, including seasonal flu and norovirus, a severe intestinal disease that has been particularly troublesome at sea. Coronavirus is spread primarily through tiny droplets coughed or sneezed directly from an infected person into the face of someone nearby, as opposed to the more contagious "airborne" transmission of a virus like measles, which can remain suspended in enclosed spaces and be breathed in hours after being exhaled by sick individuals, Schaffner said. Although coronavirus can also be picked up from surfaces, droplet spread is seen as its principal vector, so "widespread disinfection is unlikely to be effective" in curbing its transmission, according to a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance. Overall, the risk of contracting coronavirus on a cruise in North America remains "very, very low," Schaffner said, adding that his advice to someone expressing an interest in taking such a trip: "Bon voyage." (Reporting and writing by Steve Gorman in Long Beach; additional reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by Frank McGurty and Daniel Wallis) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-23 18:22:15|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close LHASA, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Yangzom and her family in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, decided to celebrate a quiet Tibetan New Year this year as local authorities called on citizens not to hold or participate in group activities amid the coronavirus epidemic outbreak. Two days ahead of the Tibetan New Year which falls on Feb. 24 is the traditional "Gutu Eve" for families to have a feast of cooked wheaten food at home. For the family of Yangzom, they also celebrated the recovery of 72-year-old Losang, Yangzom's mother-in-law, who had rheumatoid arthritis surgery earlier in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. The family was advised to stay at home for 14 days in quarantine after returning home on Feb. 17, but their expectation for the traditional holiday did not fall through as their neighborhood has taken on the responsibility for meeting the needs of the isolated household. "The dinner table on the 'Gutu Eve' was piled with traditional dishes and deserts just like previous years, thanks to the groceries and daily necessities handed out by our neighborhood," said Losang. Losang has two sons and a daughter who are all on duty for the anti-epidemic fight. She said she understood and supported their absence for the family gathering on this year's "Gutu Eve". "We wish our country and hometown Tibet happiness and good health in the new year," said Yangzom when tasting a specially made dumpling for the holiday. She added that the stuffing in the dumplings also represents their new year wishes such as coins for wealth and brown sugar for happiness. "We understand that now is the critical time for epidemic prevention and control and we will celebrate a quiet Tibetan New Year to reduce crowd gathering," said Yangzom. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-24 02:24:21|Editor: yan Video Player Close RIYADH, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- The finance ministers and central bankers of the Group of 20 (G20) discussed issues of the coronavirus, taxation and global economy during a two-day meeting concluded on Sunday in Riyadh. The G20 financial officials agreed to observe the risks of the coronavirus outbreak and adopt policies to limit its global implications, according to Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan. Global growth would be about 0.1 percentage point lower because of the virus, Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, predicted in her opening speech. "In January, we projected global growth to strengthen from 2.9 percent last year to 3.3 percent this year. Since then, the COVID-19, a global health emergency, has disrupted activity in China," she said, expecting China's economy to "return to normal in the second quarter of 2020." "The Chinese authorities are working to mitigate the negative impact of COVID-19 on the economy," Georgieva said. "With strong and coordinated measures, the spread of the virus in China and in the world can be contained," she noted, referring to the World Health Organization's assessment. A day earlier, the financial ministers also discussed the issues regarding taxation and global economy during the G20 International Taxation Priorities Symposium. "With the support of the G20 countries, the international community has achieved great successes in combating tax evasion and the transfer of profits," said Ahmed al-Kholifey, governor of Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority. The members of the Economic Cooperation Organization of the G20 and the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes work together to implement internationally recognized standards of tax transparency, he noted. More than 6,000 bilateral cooperation agreements were signed to help tax authorities around the world to take advantage of the automatic exchange of information mechanisms, said al-Jadaan. Global economy has witnessed many challenges recently due to the uncertainty in world trade, geopolitical factors and social unrest in some parts of the world, including this region, al-Kholifey noted. "This backdrop was definitely a challenging one for policymakers. But the Phase One trade agreement between the U.S. and China and a more orderly Brexit process helped stabilize business confidence," the Saudi official said. Somrita Ghosh By NEW DELHI: The AAP government is set to introduce the Maths Teaching Project from May in its schools to improve mathematics skills of 10th standard students of select schools. Last year, the AAP-run state cabinet had passed the proposal placed by the Directorate of Education. The project will begin in May 2020 and continue till CBSE class 10 Mathematics Compartment Examination. It couldnt be started in January because of MCC. There is a certain criterion for selecting the schools. It wont be carried out in all schools. The project is aimed for those whose scores are low in math, a senior official from the education department told The Sunday Standard. According to a draft of the proposed project, accessed by this reporter, these remedial classes will be on for two to three hours daily. During this duration, the regular teachers of these identified schools will associate themselves with the teachers from the external agency for smooth conduct of the classes. We have floated tenders and are looking for agencies that provide competitive exam classes. The idea so far is to have these classes beyond the routine school hours, be it during summer holidays or before and after school, the official added. The external agency will deploy teachers in each school as per requirement of the school. The ideal size of the class would be 30-40 pupils. The topics taken up by both the teachers will be the same so that for the students. Both the external and internal teachers would be supplementing each other. Any initiative taken by government to improve math skills or any other subject is a welcome move. In the past, Delhi government organised remedial classes to improve learning skills of students in its schools. However, it was not reflected in any of the surveys done by various agencies. Had this initiative been taken a bit early that could have been more beneficial for students, said Avinash Chandra, Editor, Azadi.me. Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders has said that if elected president he would "absolutely" use the military if warranted, both to protect US interests and to support its allies. He also said he would be willing to meet with the North Korean dictator, Kim Jong Un, as President Donald Trump has done. Sanders has emerged with an early lead in the Democratic nominating process, and as a self-declared democratic socialist his foreign and security policies are starting to draw closer scrutiny. But he has denied being a pacifist. In an interview airing Sunday on CBS's "60 Minutes," the Vermont senator was asked in what circumstances he, as commander-in-chief, would deploy US military forces. He listed these criteria: "Threats against the American people, to be sure. Threats against our allies. I believe in NATO. "I believe that the United States, everything being equal, should be working with other countries in alliance, not doing it alone." - 'We will not sit by' When the interviewer asked whether he would order military action if Taiwan came under attack from China, Sanders replied: "Yeah. I mean, I think we have got to make it clear to countries around the world that we will not sit by and allow invasions to take place, absolutely." The senator, who scored a resounding victory Saturday in the Nevada presidential caucuses, was asked if he would follow Trump's example and meet with the North Korean leader. "Yeah, I mean I've criticised Trump for everything..." he said. "But meeting with people who are antagonistic is, to me, not a bad thing." Sanders added that he believed Trump was "unprepared" when he met with Kim -- their meeting last year in Hanoi collapsed in disagreement. "But I do not have a problem with sitting down with adversaries all over the world." In a recent New York Times survey of the Democratic candidates, Sanders and fellow Senator Elizabeth Warren said they would continue Trump's personal diplomacy with Kim, but former vice president Joe Biden, former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg and Senator Amy Klobuchar said they would not. Sanders, along with Biden and Bloomberg, also said he would consider using force to pre-empt an Iranian or North Korean nuclear or missile test. Sanders is known best for his positions on economic justice -- particularly the yawning gap in the US between the wealthiest Americans and those much less well-to-do. But as his chances of winning the Democratic nomination rise, scrutiny is bound to intensify on other issues. As a student at the University of Chicago during the turmoil of the 1960s and 1970s, Sanders belonged to several leftist and anti-war groups, including the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. In 2015, when a Politico interviewer questioned him about his decision to register as a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War, he replied: "I am not a pacifist." "I supported the war in Afghanistan," in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks, he noted. In 1991, however, he had opposed the first Gulf War. Sanders told Politico that he had backed the Clinton administration's military actions in Kosovo and President Barack Obama's air strikes in Syria. But he then added, "I happen to believe from the bottom of my heart that war should be the last resort. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) DUBLIN (BCN) On Saturday, almost two years after breaking ground, Dublin officials unveiled the city's new police station, which will also include a much larger Emergency Operations Center and briefing/training room. The new Dublin police headquarters, at the corner of Clark Avenue and Dublin Boulevard, will anchor the city's new Public Safety Complex, which also includes the existing Alameda County Fire Department administrative offices. Also part of the new complex is a 17-foot aluminum sculpture, "Ribbon," by Gordon Huether, that honors the local police and fire agencies. The Dublin City Council approved the bid to build the station in February 2018, with an anticipated construction cost of $15 million. The lower level of the current Dublin Police Services headquarters at Dublin Civic Center will be transformed into a future Cultural Arts Center, while City of Dublin Parks and Community Services staff will move into the upper level of the former police building. 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. Paul Reitter And Chad Wellmon in The Chronicle Review: In the summer of 1917, a group of university students in Munich invited Max Weber to launch a lecture series on intellectual work as a vocation with a talk about the scholars work. He was, in a way, an odd choice. Fifty-three at the time, Weber hadnt held an academic job in over a decade. His career had begun promisingly, but in 1899 he suffered a nervous breakdown and gave up his position as a professor of economics at the University of Heidelberg. Supported by the inheritance of his wife, Marianne, he spent years going from clinic to clinic in search of relief. He continued to write about lifelong concerns such as the social effects of religion, contributing articles to scholarly journals while also writing journalistic essays for newspapers and periodicals. Yet in 1917, his last major publication was The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, which had originally appeared as two separate essays in 1904 and 1905. Still, it was understandable why the students in Munich were drawn to Weber. They belonged to the Free Student Alliance, an organization devoted to championing the lofty ideals of the German research university the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake, Bildung or moral education, academic freedom, and the democratization of all these goods at a time when those ideals appeared to be imperiled by disciplinary specialization, state intervention, the influence of industrial capitalism, and the war. Writing over the years as a kind of insider-outsider, Weber had distinguished himself as an extraordinarily erudite and forceful defender of an ideal university. More here. They will stay in Novi Sanzhary's health center for 14 days. Deputy Health Minister Viktor Liashko says the observation period for Ukrainian and foreign citizens evacuated from China's Wuhan will be 14 days. Answering a question from journalists about the length of the incubation period of the novel coronavirus, Liashko confirmed his ministry's information and referred to recommendations by the World Health Organization, the RBC-Ukraine media outlet said. Read alsoUkraine considering second flight to evacuate Ukrainians from China if enough applications "This is 14 days minimum. If during the observation an evacuee in quarantine shows symptoms of the disease, he or she will be hospitalized to an isolation ward that protects against the spread of the disease in the hospital," he said at a press briefing. At the same time, he said, if the evacuee tests positive for the coronavirus, the term of the quarantine will increase by another two weeks. As UNIAN reported earlier, a plane with 45 Ukrainians and 27 foreigners evacuated from China's Wuhan amid the outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus arrived in Ukraine on February 20. The evacuees were then bussed to the town of Novi Sanzhary in Poltava region and accommodated at a local medical center, which is within the Ukrainian Interior Ministry's jurisdiction, for 14-day observation. Electromagnetic Compatibility - evaluation of the EU Rules The European Commission has announced a Published Initiative on the Electromagnetic Compatibility - evaluation of the EU Rules IARU Region 1 says: The first step in this process is a Roadmap which provides feedback to the Commission. This is then followed by a Public Consultation which allows for more detailed submissions IARU has drawn up some broad comments and submitted them as feedback by the IARU Political Relations Committee. IARU is acutely aware of the concerns of Member Societies and radio amateurs about the threat of increasing levels of noise and harmful interference and this is one response in a series of other initiatives by IARU. EC Electromagnetic Compatibility Initiative https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/11868-Evaluation-of-the-Electromagnetic-Compatibility-Directive IARU Response https://www.iaru-r1.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/PRC-IARU-EMCD-Review-Comments-February-2020.pdf IARU Region 1 post https://www.iaru-r1.org/2020/electromagnetic-compatibility-evaluation-of-the-eu-rules/ When I began to ask my patient questions about whether hed had unprotected sex, he became visibly uncomfortable. So, I asked his father to leave, which the father refused to do. Based on my patients symptoms, I treated him for a common STI and scheduled him for a follow-up visit, hoping hed come alone so we could talk more openly. If my patient feels that they cant disclose all the details of their health with me, then its harder to do my job and find the right diagnosis and treatment. T J S George By At last PV Narasimha Rao has been called what he really was, the first BJP Prime Minister of India. The assertion is made by his own confidant PVRK Prasad in his book Asalem Jarigindante (What really happened). A cursory look is enough to see that Rao tried to do exactly what Narendra Modi is doing now - cleansing Ayodhya of Muslim traces and making it the exclusive domain of Rama. Let us not forget that Babri Masjid was demolished when Rao was Prime Minister. He knew all the secret preparations that were being made by the kar sevaks assembled by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. But he kept quiet and the masjid was gone. Years later, the Liberhan inquiry report said VHP-BJP leaders could just as easily have prevented the demolition but the hidden intention of one and all [was] to accomplish demolition. Narasimha Rao set up a trust to build a temple just as Narendra Modi has done now. But his efforts failed because he didnt get VHP-RSS support; the Hindutva lobby must have known that Raos game plan was to checkmate BJP from monopolising Lord Ram. Now BJP does monopolise the Lord. The irony is that the intention of all politicians, irrespective of party, is to use the Lord for electoral gains. This explains why the Congress also plays the God game despite its secular pretensions. At a rally in Chitrakoot last year, posters appeared with pictures of Ram Bhakt Pandit Rahul Gandhi. The party also held Ram Van Gaman Path Yatra tracing Ramas route to exile. Even if Rahulji was embarrassed, he could do nothing to stop his partymens enthusiasm. In any case, democracy seems to have made it obligatory for gods to join one political party or another. Although the Modi governments thrust has been undisguised, emotions generated by the masjid demolition have not died down. VHP leaders still celebrate the day so that our children know its importance. A member of the Babri Masjid Action Committee was more blunt: Future generations should know that on this day the rule of mob won in our country. Are wounds too deep to heal? Optimists might have seen a sign of softening on the Hindutva side. The VHP has been celebrating the masjid demolition day as Shaurya Diwas, day of bravery. Yogi Adityanaths Hindu Yuva Vahini toned it down to Bhagwa Diwas, saffron day. But there were instructions to fly saffron flags in all Hindu homes. This idea was given up at the last moment because as BJP leaders explained, the government wanted to emphasise the theme of development. That was the most surprising - and, if true, encouraging - twist in the tale ever since this political one-upmanship began. A government with saffron preferences deciding to give up a Hindutva idea and stress development instead is a pointer to what this country can become if the ruling groups remove their blinkers. However, the actions of the Adityanath government since the controversies began over the Citizenship Amendment Act suggest that the development reference was perhaps an intended slip. Emotions over religious themes and locations are often manipulations by interested parties. This thought will surely come to anyone who reads Ayodhya: City of Faith, City of Discord by Valay Singh. The author takes up the case of JP Mishra, a regular at Ayodhya who comes at least twice a month to bathe in the Sarayu. After visiting some temples, when they were about to part, the author asked Mishra if he would visit the Hanuman temple. No, I am in a hurry, was the reply. Do you go to Ram Janmabhoomi? Mishra said: Never. He believes that Rama was born in Ayodhya but refuses to obsess about the makeshift temple where the masjid stood. This fuss over one temple does not attract me. As author Valay Singh puts it: To many locals like him, the Ram temple movement had discredited itself even before the mosque had been demolished. That is the ground reality. The average citizen is not communally inclined. Left to himself, he will function not as a Hindu or Muslim or Jain or Christian, but as an Indian. But he is never left to himself. He is manipulated, deluded and engineered into compromising situations. He seldom sins, but he is incessantly sinned against. He has the appearances of a citizen, but in fact, he is a captive in the hands of schemers. He could not even see, when it happened, that a Congressman was the first BJP Prime Minister of India. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Kanishka Singh (Reuters) Sun, February 23, 2020 12:35 689 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad206613486 2 News MGM,MGM-Resorts,data-breach,travel,resort,united-states,casino Free US casino operator MGM Resorts International has been sued over a data breach last year, which the company confirmed earlier this week and which reportedly involved details of over 10.6 million hotel guests. The lawsuit was filed by law firm Morgan & Morgan, whose lawyer John Yanchunis has also represented some Yahoo users in a breach of 3 billion accounts between 2013 and 2016. MGM Resorts said on Thursday that last summer it "discovered unauthorized access to a cloud server that contained a limited amount of information for certain previous guests". The majority of information exposed related to the names of guests and their phone numbers, a company spokesman had said, without confirming the exact number of guests affected. Read also: Hacks and facts: 10 things you didn't know about data privacy Technology website ZDNet reported that the personal details of more than 10.6 million guests who stayed at MGM Resorts hotels were published on a hacking forum this week. The details in the leaked files reportedly included information on celebrities, chief executives of technology companies, reporters and government officials. Morgan & Morgan filed its lawsuit on Friday as a "complaint for damages" and "injunctive relief", according to the filing at the US District Court for the District of Nevada. Yanchunis has previously been associated with several other data breach lawsuits, including against credit reporting agency Equifax over its 2017 breach of nearly 150 million Americans and against Facebook Inc and political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica for obtaining information belonging to millions of Facebook users without permission. Civil engineering experts from the University of Birmingham will work with the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) to create a hi-tech monitoring system that will allow the government to respond to damage and deterioration on the country's rural roads. As per an MoU signed earlier this week, the engineers from UK will provide the Ministry with mechanisms that allow automated analysis of rural road condition. We are a global civic' university, and proud that our civil engineering experts are working with partners in India to contribute to improving the well-being of its citizens, Birmingham University Vice Chancellor Sir David Eastwood told PTI. The agreement will see the University of Birmingham and MoRD working together on promoting research, building traffic capacity and redefining standards of practice in the construction and maintenance of rural roads, he added. A team of university experts led by Michael Burrow and Gurmel Ghataora will work with one of MoRD's Rural Connectivity and Training Centres to set up a Global Centre of Excellence in Rural Roads. The initiative will bring together leading research groups and practitioners, initially from India and the UK, with the aim of developing a global reach. MoRD Additional Secretary Alka Upadhyaya said, Improving rural roads is helping to increase trade between villages and towns, as well as improving people's access to job opportunities and boosting school enrolment and attendance. Farmers can demand a better price for their produce - increasing their incomes We look forward to working with the University of Birmingham to create a partnership that will further improve India's road network connecting towns and villages benefiting a host of communities across the country, she added. MORD will also identify training needs amongst those working on rural roads in India, so that experts from the University can provide professional-development programmes to address these needs. Manu Sasidharan, Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham, said, The project will help us gain a valuable insight into transport issues in India. People living in rural communities will benefit from Birmingham experts working with their Indian partners, as they evaluate technologies and standards for the construction and maintenance of rural roads. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ankara has not yet fulfilled the terms of the Syria accords that were reached more than a year ago in Sochi, Russian Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with Rossiya-1 TV channel, TASS reported. "In this case, we can clearly say that the conditions of the Sochi accords that stated that Turkey would have to ensure demarcation, withdrawal of heavy weapons and so on, which were signed by the two presidents more than a year ago, have not yet been fulfilled," he said. "Very dangerous samples of military equipment fall into their hands [terrorists in Idlib]. And all this, unfortunately, does not contribute to the normalization of the situation," Peskov said. On September 17, 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at their meeting in Sochi, Russia, agreed to create a 15-20 kilometer-wide demilitarized zone along the line of contact in the Idlib province by October 15, 2018. However, at the time Ankara asked to have extra time and to postpone the start of joint patrolling in Idlib due to the inability to guarantee security on their part. Advice for other refugees? I think the first step is to speak good English and to attend social groups church, the Center for People in Need, Lincoln Literacy, many other places that try to help refugees. It is a necessity to be close to people, to feel you are alive. I know the culture is different, but that's not difficult to learn. You can also explain your culture to others; we all get benefits. Some criticize allowing refugees to resettle in the U.S. or call for a stricter vetting process. What are your thoughts? It's a country for all people. But if it is possible to identify the type of people in order to avoid problems or to avoid any other dangers, let us put on some limitations or conditions in order to certify these people. That would be better than to prevent them from coming here. The procedure is very slow. We waited for four years. Now people have to wait more than six to eight years. It's gotten harder, unfortunately. I'm not sure what the reason is exactly, but maybe a lot of people are applying, so it takes a long time. ... I've faced some obstacles in becoming a (U.S.) citizen. My wife is a citizen now, and that is something I'm trying to pursue. The China stage at the annual Australian National Multicultural Festival in 2020 was less glitzy, as actors and actresses in China were unable to come due to the COVID-19 outbreak. However, it seemed to attract more visitors this year, who signed their names and left encouraging words on a banner bearing the slogan: Be Strong, China! This year sees the 24th version of the National Multicultural Festival, one of the largest events of its kind in Australia which ran from Friday to Sunday. As of Saturday noon, the banner has collected more than 500 signatures in less than a day. "Good luck Wuhan, hopefully a cure or vaccine is found soon," wrote Julie Bennett, a doctor who wanted to send a message that China is not alone combating the epidemic. "It's a sad situation. We support all our friends and brothers and sisters in China," Bennett told Xinhua, adding she also would like to send a message to the Chinese combating the epidemic: "You are not alone." "Be strong Wuhan," Alice Yeardley wrote carefully in Chinese characters. She is a student from the Australian National University and has several Chinese schoolmates who were not able to return for the new semester due to the epidemic. "Hope everything gets better in the future," she said. "Dear Wuhan, I am sorry for your pain and grief," Natasha Cross wrote. The librarian had studied with people from China before and said they were all lovely people. Louise Salway signed with her young children Joey and Delilah. "My daughter has got a teacher from China," she said. "We understand it must be really hard for people (in China) at the moment, but we support you." Kylie Gibson who worked for the Department of Defense has planned to go to China this year before her trip was canceled. "We love you and give you strength. Visit you soon," she wrote. The three-day event saw local residents at different ages and with different skin colors coming to sign on the banner. According to Robert Johnson, a Chinese Australian Liberal candidate who initiated the campaign, more than 2,000 people have signed as of Saturday evening. Some people thanked Wuhan and China for their efforts to contain the epidemic, while others expressed their wishes. Johnson showed Xinhua signatures of David Hurley, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, and his wife Linda. "We would like to send the banner ultimately to Wuhan to let people there know that we in Canberra are with them," he told Xinhua. The banner signing was not the only event to show people's support to China. The Chinese lion and dragon dancers are the first squad among all groups participating in the street parade on Saturday, which drew over 2,000 performers representing different cultures. Before they started, the Chinese performers shouted "Be Strong China, Be Strong Wuhan." Volunteers held a box in the street, where some visitors donated for Wuhan. "We congratulate the Chinese government for all that you're doing to manage the situation, and we look forward to or being resolved very soon," said Alistair Coe, leader of the Liberal Party in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). He noted that more than 160 languages are spoken in Canberra and a very important component of the city is the Chinese community. "We have a wonderful Chinese community in Canberra," he said. "We're blessed to have an extraordinary contribution in so many different sectors." This view was shared by ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr who told Xinhua that the National Multicultural Festival is an event that brings people from all over the world to celebrate cultural diversity. "We understand just how difficult it is in China at the moment. So we encourage everyone to stay strong and to be passionate," he said. "I'm sure that the world health authorities and Chinese health authorities will be continuing to work to contain the virus and create a vaccine, and we do hope that things will return to normal as soon as possible...The future will be bright once we get through." "I was touched by the Chinese communities here showing their love and support to those affected by the COVID-19 epidemic," said Wang Xining, minister of the Chinese Embassy to Australia. He said the embassy received messages from Australian people of all walks of life, including businessmen, headmasters from universities, and politicians. "I am sure that under the leadership of our government, the epidemic could be quickly contained, and may our relationship with Australia see a new opportunity of development afterwards," Wang said. Syrian military personnel are seen in the town of Tal Toukan, the countryside of Idlib province in northwestern Syria on Feb. 5, 2020. (Str/Xinhua) The two ministers discussed the issues of stabilization of the situation in the Idlib de-escalation zone, the Russian Defense Ministry said. MOSCOW, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu discussed the situation in the Syrian city of Idlib with his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar during a phone conversation, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement Saturday. "During the phone conversation, the two sides discussed the issues of stabilization of the situation in the Idlib de-escalation zone," the statement made available to Xinhua reads. The ministers exchanged opinions on the situation in Syria, it added. On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed during a phone conversation the recent escalation of tensions in Idlib and confirmed that intense military contacts would continue amid the Idlib escalation. On Thursday, Syrian government troops backed up by Russian warplanes repelled several massive attacks by militants supported by Turkish artillery fire in Idlib. Russia's Su-24 attack aircraft struck the militants, while the Russian military urged Turkey to stop supporting the militants and halt supplying weapons to them in order to avoid future incidents. They've costarred in three entertaining musical films about an a capella girl group in competition, and now one of their own is getting married. Pitch Perfect stars Anna Kendrick, Anna Camp and Chrissie Fit joined bride-to-be Brittany Snow in Palm Springs, California for her bachelorette party Friday, ahead of her impending nuptials to Tyler Stanaland. Snow, 33, along with Camp and Fit all posted snippets of the joyous festivities to their respective Instagram accounts, which included holding court in the Jacuzzi and pool, making fun of local license plates, as well as regular old drinking and food merriment. Sisters: Pitch Perfect star Anna Camp joined costar and bride-to-be Brittany Snow in Palm Springs for her bachelorette party Friday In keeping with the fun and festive tone, signage and hashtags were used that stemmed from Brittany's sir name: examples included #Snowonebutyou and #TheFinalSnowdown. 'She's getting married!!! And we love seeing the world through gold colored glasses,' Camp, 37, captioned a photo of herself and Snow posing in the backseat of a car, each wearing yellow-hued sunglasses. Another snap showed all the ladies Kendrick, Camp, Fit and Snow included with other guests gathered around a lovely outdoor meal spread, with many of them wearing glowing lit up garlands on their heads. Over the top of the image read the hashtag #snowonebutyou. Lighting up her life: Anna Kendrick (third from right), Chrissie Fit (lower left) and many other friends also joined in on the festivities Fun times: Joyous festivities included holding court in the Jacuzzi and pool, making fun of local license plates, as well as regular old drinking and food merriment Chrissie, who was not in the 2012 Pitch Perfect but joined for sequels Pitch Perfect 2 in 2015 and the third installment two years later, posted a fab snap of the girl group on Friday night under a banner reading 'SNOW,' with everyone rocking a different and fun pose. 'It has begun! #TheFinalSnowdown' she wrote next to the image. Brittany herself also shared moments from the party to her Instagram Story, in one posing with cat ears next to the word 'Bride,' and another showing a 'dedication playlist' entitled 'the final Snowdown'. Perfect girls: Chrissie posted a fab snap of the girl group on Friday night under a banner reading 'SNOW,' with everyone rocking a different and fun pose While Brittany and Tyler have yet to publicly set a date for their wedding, the Prom Night star has previously said they'd like to tie the knot this summer. Stanaland, 29, got down on one knee to pop the question to Snow in February of last year. 'A couple weeks ago, I said 'YES' about a million times to the man of my wildest & most beautiful dreams,' Snow wrote in the caption to a romantic black and white image of the pair at the time. 'After celebrating with friends and family, we wanted to let a few more friends (you guys) know this happened.' BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 23 By Elnur Baghishov - Trend: US sanctions are similar to the new coronavirus, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said at a meeting with Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg in Tehran, Trend reports referring to the website of the Office of the Iranian President. Rouhani noted that the fear of this virus is greater than the virus itself. The Iranian president added that the US imposed sanctions on Iranian food and medicines in addition to the countrys economy. The imposition of these sanctions is a terror attack, and Iran expects the EU to fulfill its humanitarian mission in this regard, said Rouhani. The Iranian president added that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) may have a positive impact on the security and peace not only in Iran, Europe and 5+1 group countries, but the whole region and the world. Rouhani said that Iran still hopes that the nuclear agreement will be preserved. Nuclear agreement could be a good basis for building confidence between Iran and the West, mainly the EU and the US, the president noted. Iran, in turn, remained committed to this agreement. Eight people have died as a result of the new coronavirus in Iran. The outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan - which is an international transport hub - began at a fish market in late December 2019. 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 and Sri Lanka. The US imposed new sanctions on Iran in November 2018. Over the past period, the sanctions included Iran's oil exports, more than 700 banks, companies and individuals. In January 2016, JCPOA was launched between Iran and the P5+1 group (US, Russia, China, UK, France and Germany) in connection with Iran's nuclear program. In May 2018, the US announced its withdrawal from the deal and imposed sanctions against Iran in November of the same year. In order to preserve the agreements reached as part of the JCPOA, the European signatories of the deal stated in January 2019 that a financial mechanism for maintaining trade with Iran called INSTEX was formed. On May 8, 2019, Iran announced that it had ceased fulfilling its commitments regarding the sale of over 300 kilograms of uranium, as stated in the deal, basing its decision on the other signatories having not fulfilled their obligations. On July 7, Iran announced that it will not be fulfilling its commitments regarding the enrichment of uranium at 3.67 percent and the reconstruction of the Arak Heavy Water Reactor Facility as stated in the deal. On Sept. 5, Iran announced that it will enrich uranium using next-generation centrifuges and will not mix it with the enriched uranium residues as part of the third step of reducing commitments in JCPOA. On Nov. 5, 2019, Iran announced that it took the fourth step in connection with reducing its commitments to the nuclear agreement. So, uranium gas is being pumped to the centrifuges at the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant. Iran took the last fifth step in reducing the number of its commitments within JCPOA. Iran no longer faces any restrictions on its nuclear program. CLINTON COUNTY, Ind. (WLFI) - Frankfort police were able to catch a man with multiple arrest warrant after he fled from them in a car. Officers found 23-year-old Jordyn Prater of Mulberry Thursday evening. Officers said they were familiar with Prater and knew he had active arrest warrants. They found him in a car on the 2100 block of Holiday Road. He then led police on a pursuit out into the county This isn't the first time Prater has taken police on a car chase. As we previously reported, he escaped from officers in Tippecanoe County on January 22nd. The Dayton Town Marshall and LPD officers believed Prater was on his way to harm someone with a gun last month. On Thursday, Prater drove into a muddy field in an attempt to escape, but his car got stuck and police were able to catch him in the area of 500 North and 400 East. Deputies from the Clinton County Sheriff's Office assisted in the pursuit. Prater is facing nine different preliminary charges and warrants in Tippecanoe and Clinton Counties. His preliminary charges include dealing methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine, resisting law enforcement, possession of marijuana, driving while suspended/prior, reckless driving, aggressive driving, criminal mischief, and possession of paraphernalia. The photo linked to this story is from a previous arrest. In South Korea, Singapore and Iran, clusters of infections are leading to a jump in cases of the new viral illness outside China. But its not the numbers that are worrying experts: It's that increasingly they can't trace where the clusters started. World Health Organization officials said China's crackdown on parts of the country bought time for the rest of the world to prepare for the new virus. But as hot spots emerge around the globe, trouble finding each source the first patient who sparks every new cluster might signal the disease has begun spreading too widely for tried-and-true public health steps to stamp it out. A number of spot fires, occurring around the world is a sign that things are ticking along, and what we are going to have here is probably a pandemic, said Ian Mackay, who studies viruses at Australia's University of Queensland. That worst-case isn't here yet, the WHO insists. It isn't convinced that countries outside China need more draconian measures, but it pointed to spikes in cases in Iran and South Korea to warn that time may be running out to contain the virus. What we see is a very different phase of this outbreak depending where you look, said WHO's Dr. Sylvie Briand. We see different patterns of transmission in different places. CHINAS CORONAVIRUS PICKS UP GLOBALLY, CLAIMING LIVES IN 7 COUNTRIES The World Health Organization defines a global pandemic as a disease spreading on two continents, though some public health experts would call an outbreak a pandemic if the spread is over a wide area or across many international borders. The newest red flag: Iran has reported 28 cases, including five deaths, in just days. The cluster began in the city of Qom, a popular religious destination, but it's not clear how. Worse, infected travelers from Iran already have been discovered in Lebanon and Canada. In South Korea, most of the hundreds of new cases detected since Wednesday are linked to a church in the city of Daegu and a nearby hospital. But health authorities have not yet found the index case, the person among the churchs 9,000 followers who set off the chain of infections. Story continues GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE DR. DOOM WARNS CORONAVIRUS WILL SHOCK CHINESE ECONOMY There also have been several cases in the capital, Seoul, where the infection routes have not yet been traced. In Europe, Italy saw cases of the new virus more than quadruple in a day as it grapples with infections in a northern region that apparently have spread through a hospital and a cafe. A cluster of cases isn't inherently worrying in fact, it's expected as an infection that's easy to spread is carried around the world by travelers. The first line of defense: Isolate the sick to treat them and prevent further spread, and quarantine people who came in contact with them until the incubation period is over. But as the virus becomes more widespread, trying to trace every contact would be futile, Singapores Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong acknowledged earlier this month. If we still hospitalize and isolate every suspect case, our hospitals will be overwhelmed, he said. So far, the city-state has identified five clusters of transmission, including two churches. But there remain eight locally transmitted cases with no links to earlier cases, or to China. Viruses vary in how they infect. The new coronavirus unlike its cousins SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, and MERS, or Middle East respiratory syndrome spreads as easily as a common cold. And it's almost certainly being spread by people who show such mild symptoms that no one can tell, said Dr. Amesh Adalja of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. If that's the case, all of these containment methods are not going to work, Adalja said. It's likely mixed in the cold and flu season all over the place, in multiple countries and gone unnoticed until someone gets severely ill. These milder symptoms are good news in terms of not as many people dying, said Mackay, of Australia. But its really bad news if you are trying to stop a pandemic, he added. CORONAVIRUS MAY SLASH $29 BILLION FROM AIRLINES' REVENUE When Hong Kong reported it first death from the virus earlier this month, it also confirmed three locally transmitted cases with no known link to any previous cases or any travel history to China. Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Center for Health Protection warned then that "there could be invisible chains of infection happening within communities." Officials in both South Korea and Japan have signaled in the past week that the spread is entering a new phase in their countries. On Friday, South Korean Prime Minister Chung Se-kyun said the government would have to shift its focus from quarantine and border control to slowing the spread of the virus. Schools and churches were closed and some mass gatherings banned. Takaji Wakita, head of Japan's National Institute of Infectious Diseases, earlier urged people to work at home or in shifts to avoid being in a crowd, and refrain from holding non-essential and non-urgent meetings. But Adalja cautioned that far-reaching measures like China instituted in the outbreak's epicenter of Wuhan where citizens have been ordered to stay in their homes for weeks can backfire. While it remains to be seen if the new virus is waning, that kind of lockdown makes it hard for people to get other critically important care, like fast treatment for a heart attack. There's no way to predict if the recent clusters will burn out or trigger widespread transmission. For now, health officials should try and contain the infection for as long as possible while preparing for a change in strategy by preparing hospitals, readying protective equipment and bolstering laboratory capacity, said Gagandeep Kang, a microbiologist who leads Indias Translational Health Science and Technology Institute. Although the window of opportunity is narrowing to contain the outbreak, we still have a chance to contain it," said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. But while doing that, we have to prepare at the same time for any eventualities, because this outbreak could go any direction it could even be messy. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS Related Articles Exactly 8,371 days ago, the state Supreme Court ordered a a complete systematic overhaul of how Ohio unconstitutionally, the justices ruled funds public schools. That was in 1997. In the 23 years since the court ruled in whats called the DeRolph case, Ohios had six governors. Ohios House has had seven speakers. Ohios Senate has had six presidents. And Supreme Court Justice Francis E. Sweeney Sr., the Lakewood Democrat who wrote the courts DeRolph decision, died in 2011. Yet essentially nothing has changed Thats why it isnt a huge surprise that Ohios House, led by Speaker Larry Householder, a Republican from Perry Countys Glenford, and Ohios Senate, led by President Larry Obhof, a Medina Republican, cant agree on how to fix Ohios school voucher mess. School policy is supposed to be about the children. Experience teaches its usually about something else. All those governors and legislators havent been good at reforming school funding. But theyve been great at changing the subject. A few months after the 1997 ruling, the legislature and then-Gov. George V. Voinovich decided to help school districts cover the cost of building schools. That didnt help school districts pay teachers, or the electric company. Thats your job, Ms. & Mr. Homeowner, even though Justice Sweeney wrote in 1997s ruling that among the factors which contribute to the unworkability of the [school funding] system and must be eliminated are the emphasis of Ohios school funding system on local property tax. (Emphasis added.) Has that happened? But the buff schoolhouses built with state money deflected questions about which academic courses are (or arent) offered to the children inside those buildings, or how experienced a buildings teachers are. And there was a bonus for the pols: School construction created jobs for the building trades (although the school construction law unjustly denies those men and women the prevailing wage). School choice (voucher) programs also masked Statehouse school-funding inaction. Commendable as vouchers are, they should play second fiddle to full funding of public schools. The Ohio Constitution requires the General Assembly, first and foremost, to secure a thorough and efficient system of common schools throughout the state. (Italics added.) Messrs. Merriam and Webster, the dictionary guys, say a common school is a free public school. Ohios first voucher program, which the General Assembly created in 1995, was the Cleveland Scholarship Program. It helps pupils who live in Clevelands school district pay for private schooling. In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Cleveland voucher program. A key lawyer in winning that case for the state was an assistant Ohio attorney general named Judith L. French now an Ohio Supreme Court justice. In 1997, legislators created what was supposed to be a 20-charter-school pilot in Lucas County. That pilot was scheduled to sunset in June 2003. It didnt. Charter schools, some good, some anything but, have sprung up all over Ohio. And in 2005, legislators created another voucher option, EdChoice, and expanded it in 2013. One type of EdChoice voucher paid for by the school district where a pupil lives gives pupils from designated public schools financial help to attend participating nonpublic schools. Designated public schools is Statehouse newspeak for public school buildings with bad grades on state report cards. But the report cards that grade a school buildings academics have incorrectly downgraded many. That boosts the number of eligible EdChoice voucher pupils likely ballooning the financial hit to their school districts. Untying that knot is what the Statehouse hullaballoo is supposedly about. (Another type of EdChoice voucher, paid for by the state, offers low-income students help to attend nonpublic schools.) Correcting school-building report cards, and backstopping school districts budgets, isnt rocket science. Maybe something else is in play. One possible goal of EdChoice last-ditchers might be to bust the teachers union while continuing, for yet another year, to ignore the General Assemblys constitutional duty to fairly finance Ohio public schools first. Thomas Suddes, a member of the editorial board, writes from Athens. To reach Thomas Suddes: tsuddes@cleveland.com, 216-408-9474 Have something to say about this topic? Use the comments to share your thoughts. Then, stay informed when readers reply to your comments by using the Follow option at the top of the comments, and look for updates via the small blue bell in the lower right as you look at more stories on cleveland.com. Antarctica's Eagle Island now has a side that's almost ice-free following this month's searing heat wave in the region, images released by NASA show. Why it matters: "The warm spell caused widespread melting on nearby glaciers," NASA said in its report. It's the third major melt event of the 20192020 Southern Hemisphere summer, following warm spells in January and last November, according to the United Nation's World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Such persistent warmth was not typical in Antarctica until the 21st century, but it has become more common in recent years." NASA statement Driving the news: The Argentine Antarctic research base Esperanza reported a temperature of 64.9F on Feb. 6 indicating a "likely legitimate record," per the WMO, which is still verifying the statistics. The island "experienced peak melt" about 1 inch on the day of the reported heat record, leading to a loss of 4 inches in total within 10 days, NASA said in a statement Friday. "About 20% of seasonal snow accumulation in the region melted in this one event on Eagle Island," the statement added. What they're saying: Mauri Pelto, a glaciologist at Nichols College, who observed the warming event as 0.9 square miles of snowpack became saturated with meltwater, said in NASA's report: "I havent seen melt ponds develop this quickly in Antarctica. You see these kinds of melt events in Alaska and Greenland, but not usually in Antarctica." Of note: The event comes after scientists in January found for the first time warm water beneath Antarctica's "doomsday glacier," so-called because it's one of the region's fastest melting glaciers. The bottom line: "If you think about this one event in February, it isn't that significant," Pelto said. "It's more significant that these events are coming more frequently." Go deeper: Corporal punishment is slowly disappearing from Nigerian schools, but teachers, parents and other stakeholders do not agree on the potential effects of the development on the pupils. Some teachers and parents believe that the government has banned corporal punishment in schools. Following the act of the Federal Ministry of Education, there is no more corporal punishment in schools. It is only the headteacher who is permitted to punish any child indicted of a grievous offence. Teachers or any other person are not allowed to give corporal punishment to students by the act which we are following at Tophill Schools, Omang Julius, vice-principal of the Abuja private school, said. He said most schools also stopped corporal punishment because it scares pupils away. If we use corporal punishment for correction then you are instigating the childs attitude, they will feel like after all what are they going to do, its just flogging. So it conditions a permanent result on that behaviour. PREMIUM TIMES findings, however, show that the government has not announced a policy banning corporal punishment in schools. The minister of state for education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, last year said the federal government would no longer tolerate bullying in schools, but he was not referring to corporal punishment. UNICEF defines physical or corporal punishment as an action intended to cause physical pain or discomfort, but no injuries The minister said bullying does mental, social and psychological damage to the well-being of victims. The spokesperson of the education ministry, Ben Goong, emphasised that the government did not ban corporal punishment. The minister of state said there should be no more bullying in our secondary schools because bullying is different from corporal punishment, whereby the senior students might want to bully the junior students, he said. He said any offence warranting beating should not be done by students but should be reported to school management. Notwithstanding that clarification, officials in most of the schools in Abuja visited by PREMIUM TIMES said they no longer apply corporal punishment on pupils because of parents attitude to it. READ ALSO: Some parents go as far as beating up the teacher or demanding the termination of the teachers appointment for beating their wards. So, it is a law in most schools now not to beat a pupil but rather give other forms of punishment, a teacher told PREMIUM TIMES. The teachers said in many schools, pupils can only be beaten in the presence of the school owner, principal or vice-principal. Schools visited Some of the teachers lamented that the absence of corporal punishment encourages pupils to be rude to them. We dont beat them, that is the first law you will know before we employ you, a school owner told PREMIUM TIMES. Some school owners said parents who are afraid of their children being beaten by teachers check for CCTV in schools before enrolling the children. They said CCTV allows them to check how their wards are being treated. At Morfol School, Abuja, the administration officer, Joy Bassey, said the teachers are not allowed to serve corporal punishment on pupils even when they do not do their assignments. We have given them the rule not to touch any child. Even some parents also said shouting at the pupils is child abuse. We only give light punishments like stand up, raise your hands, face the wall and others, she said. They no longer respect us However, some stakeholders warned that removing corporal punishment from the school system would do more harm than good. The Head of Teachers at Omoleye Elementary School in Osun State, Stella Olateju, said: They used to fear us before such as if we call one pupil, three will run to you. However, they dont respond again. Even their parents come to school to complain that they dont care about their assignments at home any longer. At L.A Elementary School in Akarabata, Modakeke area of Ile-Ife, Osun State, the headteacher, Ogunleye Emmanuel, said he believes in corporal punishment. Advertisements The idea of erasing corporal punishment cannot help the pupils. Even the Bible says you should use a stick to correct the mistakes of the pupils. There are times we still use it here. It is when you flog them that they will obey. So, I dont support total eradication. Bringing another dimension into the debate, Ogundiran F. B., a teacher at Holy Saviours Elementary School in Alapata, Ife, Osun State, said kids now are too small to be flogged. Alternative punishment Mr Julius of Tophills School said many parents abhor corporal punishment, while others complain that private schools do not beat their wards. We have an issue like that in PTA where some parents will say that the private schools are the ones spoiling the children, that we are not giving them real punishment because we are petting the children. But some parents would say no, please this is my only child, dont ever give him corporal punishment. So we have such issues but our administrators in the school know how to balance issues, he said Parents differ on corporal punishment Many parents reached by PREMIUM TIMES expressed diverse views on corporal punishment. Some parents said children need to be flogged, but others believe it is a wrong method of correction. A parent who introduced himself as Mr Ayinla said the ban on corporal punishment is hurting the children. Spare the rod and spoil the child, children should be beaten and corrected. I dont believe in the ban at all, he said. However, a parent, Mrs Lekwot, said corporal punishment should not be enforced in schools. For me, there are mild punishments. Corporal punishment can be dehumanising. Some teachers lack control and can go as far as inflicting bodily injury on the students. Ex-Principal speaks The immediate past president of the All Nigeria Confederation of Principals of Secondary Schools (ANCOPSS), Fatima Binta, said corporal punishment is no more in vogue. Instead of using corporal punishment, it is advisable we use positive and negative re-enforcement. Positive reinforcement like praise, words of encouragement. Negative reinforcement is when a child disobeys, the child can be asked to kneel in front of the class instead of caning the child, she said. She said corporal punishment is no longer encouraged in schools not because Africans are trying to copy the European style, but because there are other ways to correct a child rather than inflicting injury on a child. If corporal punishment is to be administered, it has to be with caution in a way we dont inflict injury or stigmatise a child. There should be moderation in corporal punishment, she said. Facts Although many parents no longer approve of corporal punishment in schools, data shows that children in Nigeria continue to suffer physical violence. According to the 2014 National Survey on Violence against Children in Nigeria, one out of every three children have experienced physical violence from their parents or teachers. Nigerias Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2016-17 corroborated that finding. The data showed that over 30 per cent of children across Nigeria have experienced physical violence from parents or teachers. The data showed that 39 per cent of children in the South-east experienced severe physical punishment, while in the North-central, 36.1 per cent of children had the same experience. In the other regions, 31 per cent of children between the ages of one and 14 years in the South-south experienced severe physical punishment. In the North-west, it is 29 per cent, in the South-west, 26.4 per cent and in the North-east, 23.7 per cent. The data further showed that in the South-south, 93.6 per cent of children under 14 years have experienced corporal punishment, while in the South-east, it is 92.7 per cent. In the South-west, 91.8 per cent of the children have suffered the same experience and in the North-central, 90.3 per cent. In the North-east, 83.4 per cent of children were affected while the North-west states have the lowest figure with 78.1 per cent. The Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children referred to Nigeria as one of the pathfinding countries that have made formal commitments to ending violence against children, but there is insufficient evidence in practice that indicates this commitment. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 23 Trend: Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has sent a letter of condolences to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "I was deeply saddened by the news of heavy casualties and destructions caused by an earthquake that hit today Van province, reads the letter. "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." "May Allah rest the souls of the dead in peace!" Saudi Oil Company Aramco announced Saturday that it has received approval to develop the giant Al-Jafoura field, in the eastern region of Saudi Arabia, which is the largest non-associated and non-conventional gas field discovered, so far. Chairman of the Companys Board of Directors Yasser bin Othman Al-Ramyan said the development of the field will support the Kingdoms leading position in the global energy sector, and contribute to achieving the companys goal of being the largest integrated energy and chemicals company, at the international level, reports the Saudi Press Agency SPA. For his part, Saudi Aramco President and Chief Executive Officer Eng. Amin Hassan Al-Nasser said the development of Al-Jafoura field will enhance the diversity of the companys resources and support the economic diversification of the Kingdom, as well. According to Aramco, the fields development would provide the state with annual net income of about $8.6bn for 22 years. It will also contribute about $20bn to the kingdoms gross domestic product per year. The dimensions of Al-Jafoura field are estimated at 170 km long and 100 km wide. The volume of gas resources in the field is estimated at 200 trillion cubic feet of raw gas, rich in gas liquids, which are the feedstock for the petrochemical and mineral industries. On the other hand, the development stages of the field, which is expected to start production in the beginning of the Year 2024, will increase the fields gas production gradually to reach about 2.2 billion standard cubic feet per day of selling gas in 2036, the company said in a press release relayed by SPA. Given the characteristics of the field, it will be able to produce about 425 million standard cubic feet of ethane per day, representing about 40% of the current production, produce about 550 thousand barrels per day of gas liquids and condensates required for the petrochemical industries. Development of Al-Jafoura will be in accordance with the highest environmental standards that Saudi Aramco, always, adheres to, the company said. Aramco is expanding its search for gas as a potential export to help reduce the nations reliance on sales of crude oil. Saudi Arabia also wants to use gas at home as fuel in power stations and as feedstock for the production of petrochemicals, a high-priority industry for the government in its 2030 strategy to diversify the economy. South Korea raised its alert on the coronavirus to the highest level Sunday after reporting three more deaths and 169 new infections. The country has seen a rapid surge in the number of coronavirus cases since a cluster of infections emerged from a religious sect in the southern city of Daegu. The national toll of 602 cases is now the highest outside China, apart from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan. The COVID-19 incident faces a grave turning point. The next few days will be crucial, said President Moon Jae-in following a government meeting on the virus.- The government will raise the alert level to the highest level of grave according to experts recommendations and drastically strengthen our response system, Moon said. He also urged officials to take unprecedented powerful measures to contain the outbreak. The government ordered all schools and kindergartens nationwide to extend the spring break by a week in an effort to prevent further spread of the virus. On Sunday South Korea reported 169 new cases and three deaths, taking the countrywide toll to five. One of the victims was a patient being treated for mental health issues at a hospital in Cheongdo, a southern city linked to the religious sect where around 100 new cases were reported. Among the latest infections, 95 involved the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in the nearby city of Daegu, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. More than 300 cases have been linked to the church, starting with a 61-year-old woman who developed a fever on February 10 and attended at least four services in Daegu before being diagnosed. Biggest victims Some 9,300 Shincheonji members in Daegu have either been quarantined or have been asked to stay at home, said KCDC director Jung Eun-kyeong, with more than 1,240 saying they had symptoms. Daegu South Koreas fourth-biggest city, with a population of 2.5 million reported more than 90 new cases on Sunday, bringing the citys total to 247, mayor Kwon Young-jin said. The mayor asked all Shincheonji members with symptoms to come forward and be tested, with hundreds of members yet to be reached by authorities. Moon described the situation in Daegu and Cheongdo the birthplace of Shincheonjis founder Lee Man-hee as a national crisis, adding the cities will receive full support for any lacking medical supplies and personnel. Shincheonji, often accused of being a cult, claims its founder has donned the mantle of Jesus Christ and will take 144,000 people with him to heaven on judgement day. But with more church members than available places in heaven, they are said to have to compete for slots and pursue converts. In a video statement read out by its spokesman, Shincheonji apologised for causing concern, but insisted it was cooperating with health authorities for the early cessation of the situation. The spokesman refuted public criticism blaming his church over the spike in the number of infections, noting the virus had broken out in China. Please be aware that the Shincheonji Church of Jesus and its members are the biggest victims of the COVID-19, he said. Increased caution Among the new cases were 18 people recently returned from a group pilgrimage to Israel, the KCDC said. It was unclear how they had been infected, but authorities said one of the victims were likely exposed to the virus before their trip, given Israel has reported only one confirmed COVID-19 case so far. Israel has issued an entry ban on South Koreans and refused to allow non-Israelis to disembark from a Korean Air plane on Saturday. The US State Department on Saturday raised its travel advisory for South Korea, joining a handful of countries bolstering their vigilance after its rapid spike in the number of infections. US citizens were asked to exercise increased caution when travelling to South Korea, where sustained community spread has been reported. Sustained community spread means that people in South Korea have been infected with the virus, but how or where they became infected is not known, and the spread is ongoing, the State Department said on its website. Separately, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also issued an Alert Level 2 travel health notice, saying older adults and those with chronic medical conditions should consider postponing nonessential travel. Britain has also advised its nationals against all but essential travel to Daegu and Cheongdo. SOURCE: AFP By Andrea Shalal and Michael Nienaber RIYADH (Reuters) - Finance officials from the world's 20 biggest economies (G20) on Sunday referenced climate change in their final communique for the first time in U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, but stopped short of calling it a major risk to the economy. The United States blocked including climate change on a list of downside risks to global growth that had won agreement by nearly all other G20 delegates, but ultimately agreed to permit a reference to the Financial Stability Board's work examining the implications of climate change for financial stability. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin played down the importance of the language included, calling it a "purely factual" reference to work being done by the FSB. But several G20 sources said it marked progress toward greater recognition of the economic risks posed by climate change. "I did not bend to pressure from the Europeans," Mnuchin told reporters after the release of the communique, bristling at the characterization of one reporter. Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan, hosting the meeting in Riyadh, told reporters that climate change remained a very important issue on the Saudi G20 presidency agenda and that there had been discussions related to financial risks at large linked to the issue. Discussions related to "climate change and environmental protection" would continue at ministerial meetings and in technical groups throughout the year, he said. One G20 source said it was the first time a reference to climate change had been included in a G20 finance communique during Trump's presidency, even though it was removed from the top of the joint statement. U.S. officials have resisted naming climate change as an economic risk since Trump took office in 2017. One of his first acts as president was to announce Washington's withdrawal from the Paris climate accord. Story continues Asked why Washington did not back a broader reference to climate change in the communique, Mnuchin told Reuters, "This is an economic forum, so issues of disclosure and an FSB report are relevant, but the broader issue is just not as applicable." Delegates worked out the compromise this weekend after Washington objected to a proposal to add "macroeconomic risk related to environmental stability" to a list of downside risks to global growth, two G20 diplomatic sources said. The final version of the communique eliminated those words from the first paragraph, leaving the only mention of climate concerns in the context of the work being done by the FSB further down in the document. That passage reads: "Mobilizing sustainable finance and strengthening financial inclusion are important for global growth and stability. The FSB is examining the financial stability implications of climate change." "We welcome private sector participation and transparency in these areas." ESCALATING CONCERNS G20 finance ministers and central bankers met in the Saudi capital on Saturday and Sunday to discuss top global economic challenges, including the spread of coronavirus. Concerns about the economic impact of climate change have escalated in recent years and pressure is mounting on business to accelerate the shift to a low-carbon economy ahead of United Nations climate talks in November. A report issued last week forecast the world's financial services sector risks losses of up to $1 trillion if it fails to respond quickly to climate change and is hit by policy shifts such as the introduction of a carbon tax. The International Monetary Fund included climate-related disasters in a list of risks that could derail a "highly fragile" projected recovery in the global economy in 2020. It estimated that a typical climate-related natural disaster reduced growth by an average of 0.4 percentage points in the affected country the year it occurred. "We should not hide away from what is going on. The climate crisis is upon us," IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva told a conference in Riyadh on Friday ahead of the G20 talks. In a statement after the meetings ended, Georgieva called for concerted action "to scale up climate change mitigation and adaptation." The communique forecasts a modest pick-up in global growth this year and next, but cites downside risks to this outlook stemming from geopolitical and remaining trade tensions and policy uncertainty. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal and Michael Nienaber; Additional reporting by Jan Strupczewksi and Davide Barbuscia; Editing by Jan Harvey, Frances Kerry and Daniel Wallis) After delivering unanimous guilty verdicts on all 12 counts, jurors in the double-murder trial of Jeremy Christian arent done yet. The jury will return to the courtroom Tuesday and Wednesday to make findings about who Christian is as a person and his crimes. That will help the judge determine the sentence. Christian is accused of killing Ricky Best, 53, and Taliesin Namkai-Meche, 23, and wounding Micah Fletcher, then 21, on May 26, 2017, on a Green Line train as it pulled into the Hollywood Transit Center in Northeast Portland. Heres what happened last week. Closing arguments: planned rampage or self defense? Attorneys painted dueling portraits of the carnage that unfolded on the MAX train in 2017 in their closing arguments on Wednesday. Prosecutors painted Jeremy Christian as an angry, violent and bigoted person. And when he boarded a rush-hour MAX train with a knife in his pocket and started spouting racist beliefs, prosecutor Jeff Howes told jurors, he had a plan for anyone who challenged him: Stab them. But defense attorney Greg Scholl said the events of that afternoon on May 26, 2017, might have turned out much differently had Micah Fletcher, who tried to get Christian to leave the train, had not approached Christian so aggressively. We live in a world where confronting a loud and annoying and obnoxious person in the wrong way can lead to catastrophic results. And that is what happened in this case," Scholl said. Christian hasnt disputed that he stabbed the men but said he was acting in self-defense and shouldnt be found guilty of any crimes. Jury combs through hours of testimony to reach guilty verdict 30 Jeremy Christian trial verdict The seven men and five women on the jury deliberated about 11 hours over two days before reaching their decision Friday. Jurors -- one who is black and the others who appear to be white -- were unanimous on all counts: two first-degree murder charges in the deaths of Namkai-Meche and Best; first-degree attempted murder and first-degree assault of Fletcher; second-degree intimidation against the teenage girls and Hester; unlawful use of a weapon and menacing against Forde; and second-degree assault, menacing and unlawful use of a weapon against Hester. Before delivering a verdict Friday, jurors asked Multnomah County Circuit Judge Cheryl Albrecht for clarification on one point her 21 pages of jury instructions. Sentencing to come Under Oregons 2019 first-degree murder law, Albrecht has two options: She could sentence Christian to true life -- meaning hell spend the rest of his life in prison with no possibility of release -- or she could sentence him to life in prison with a 30-year minimum. But in the case of the latter, the judge could order that Christian serve two consecutive 30-year minimum terms, for a total of at least 60 years. On top of that, she could add another 7 1/2 years for attempted murder and possibly several years more for the other charges. If the judge sentences Christian to consecutive sentences, he could be more than 100 years old before hes eligible for release. He was 35 at the time of the stabbings. Stay informed -- The Oregonian/OregonLive A man carries a wounded boy to an ambulance after an earthquake hit villages in Baskale town in Van province, Turkey, at the border with Iran, on Feb. 23, 2020. (IHA via AP) 9 Dead in Turkey After Quake Hits Rural Iran Border Region ISTANBULNine people died and hundreds of buildings collapsed in southeastern Turkey on Feb. 23 after a magnitude-5.7 earthquake struck near the border with Iran, injuring dozens in villages and towns in both countries, government officials said. The quake was centered west of the Iranian city of Khoy and affected villages in the Turkish province of Van. Three of those killed were children and 37 Turks were injured, including nine critically, Turkeys health ministry said. The shallow temblor caused more than 1,000 buildings to collapse in Turkey, prompting a brief rescue effort to find those trapped under rubble. The quake damaged buildings some 90 km (56 miles) to the west in the Turkish city of Van, and to the east in dozens of villages in Iran, where state TV said 75 people were injured, including six who have been hospitalized, although there were no fatalities. Crisscrossed by major fault lines, Iran and Turkey are among the most earthquake-prone countries in the world. Turkish TV footage showed people digging with shovels and their hands in the rubble, as well as furniture and belongings strewn on cracked and snowy roads. In one village, the ground cratered under several buildings, while in others, residents were wrapped in blankets outside homes with crumbled and cracked exterior walls, fallen metal roofs and twisted wiring. The damage caused loss of life, the governor of Van, Mehmet Bilmez, told reporters standing in front of a pile of cinder blocks and sheet metal. There is destruction in all four villages he visited on Feb. 23, he added. Houses are reduced to rubble after an earthquake hit villages in Baskale in Van province, Turkey, at the border with Iran, on Feb. 23, 2020. (IHA via AP) The European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said the quake, which hit at 8:53 a.m. local time, had a depth of 5 km (3.1 miles). Broadcasters and government officials said dozens of villages were rattled in Turkey, which like Iran has a history of powerful earthquakes. Nearly 150 tents were sent to shelter families in the region, where several schools in the districts of Baskale, Saray, and Gurpinar sustained minor damage. Twenty-five ambulances, a medical helicopter, and 13 emergency teams had been sent to the region, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said Turkeys Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) has begun rescue work in villages including in Ozpinar, about 25 km (16 miles) south of the epicenter, said Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu. AFAD measured the tremor at a 5.9 magnitude. The U.S. Geological Survey put the epicenter 47 km (29 miles) west of the Iranian city of Khoy, where people felt the tremor, according to state TV. An earthquake last month in eastern Turkey killed more than 40 people while another in Iran caused structural damage to homes, without any fatalities. An Iranian official told state TV that rescue teams had been dispatched to the area in Irans West Azarbaijan province. Another local official said the earthquake was felt in several towns including Urmiah and Salmas, and many villages including some that suffered 100 percent damage, state TV reported. By Irem Koca and Jonathan Spicer Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg took a break from the campaign trail to attend church in South Carolina on Sunday as they search for answers to slow rival Bernie Sanders' growing lead in the 2020 presidential race. Biden broke bread with parishioners at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, while Buttigieg attended a service at First Baptist Church of James Island a few miles to the south in Charleston proper. The candidates' pause for prayer came as they are projected to take home second and third place respectively in Nevada's primary on Saturday, trailing well behind Vermont Senator Sanders. Joe Biden (left) and Pete Buttigieg (right) took a break from the campaign trail to attend church in South Carolina on Sunday as they search for answers to slow rival Bernie Sanders' growing lead in the 2020 presidential race Biden made an appearance at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston The former vice president was joined by his wife Jill (left) and granddaughter Finnegan (center) Biden happily greeted fellow worshippers at the church in North Charleston Biden and Buttigieg appeared in high spirits as they attended church services just 24 miles apart in Charleston. The former vice president sat alongside his wife Jill and granddaughter Finnegan and briefly spoke from the pulpit during the service at Royal Missionary Baptist Church. After the service concluded he was seen greeting parishioners with a wide grin spread across his face. Meanwhile, Buttigieg was just 24 miles south at First Baptist Church of James Island. The former South Bend, Indiana mayor was joined by Ryann Richardson, the reigning Miss Black America. Both moderates are in the state lobbying for last minute votes ahead of South Carolina's primary on February 29, which they hope will breathe new life into their campaigns following tough losses to Bernie Sanders on Saturday in Nevada. Meanwhile, former South Bend, Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg attended a service at First Baptist Church of James Island 24 miles away in Charleston proper Buttigieg is seen giving a sermon at First Baptist Church of James Island on Sunday Buttigieg attended the service with Ryann Richardson (right), the reigning Miss Black America While his rivals were in church, Bernie Sanders held a rally in Houston, Texas (pictured) With 60 percent of Nevada precincts reporting as of Sunday afternoon, Sanders is leading the pack with 46 percent of the vote, followed far behind by Biden at 19.6 percent and Buttigieg at 15.3 percent. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar trailed at 10.1 percent and 4.8 percent respectively. Sanders' landslide victory injected a wave of momentum into his campaign. While his fellow contenders were in church, Sanders held a rally in Houston, Texas, on Sunday and projected himself a winner in that state and in November's general election. Referring to supporters of President Donald Trump, Sanders told a cheering crowd at University of Houston: 'Don't tell anybody because these folks get very agitated and nervous' before continuing, 'We are going to win here.' Sanders meant during the primary's 'Super Tuesday' on March 3, but also said 'in November we're going to defeat Trump here.' Sanders celebrated his landslide victory in Nevada during his rally at University of Houston on Sunday morning The Vermont senator projected that he would win the upcoming Texas primary as well as November's general election Before voters in Texas and 13 other states head to the polls on Super Tuesday, South Carolinians will cast their ballots on the last day of February. Biden's once-strong prospects had faded sharply for weeks, but he said Saturday that he felt 'really good' about his second-place showing in Nevada and shouldn't be counted out. His team is banking on a strong showing in South Carolina, where Biden has enjoyed support among a majority-black Democratic electorate. But after Sanders came in virtually tied for first in Iowa and then won in New Hampshire, his undeniable victory in Nevada places him squarely in the driver's seat, at least for now. He leads national polls by an 11 point margin over Biden and by 13 points over Mike Bloomberg, the former New York mayor who skipped the early voting states to focus on Super Tuesday. Buttigieg's campaign has questioned his third-place finish in Nevada's caucuses and called for the state's Democratic party to release a more detailed breakdown of votes. Buttigieg is seen speaking at a campaign rally late Saturday night Buttigieg's campaign has questioned his third-place finish in Nevada's caucuses and called for the state's Democratic party to release a more detailed breakdown of votes and address reports of more than 200 problems allocating votes in Saturday's caucuses. In a letter sent to the state party late Saturday night and provided to The Associated Press on Sunday, the Buttigieg campaign said the process of integrating four days of early voting into in-person caucuses held Saturday was 'plagued with errors and inconsistencies'. The campaign also said it received reports that volunteers running caucuses did not appear to follow rules that could have allowed candidates to pick up more support on a second round of voting. 'Currently our data shows that this is a razor-thin margin for second place in Nevada, and due to irregularities and a number of unresolved questions we have raised with the Nevada Democratic Party, it's unclear what the final results will be,' Buttigiegs deputy campaign manager Hari Sevugan said in a statement. But the Nevada State Democratic Party is suggesting that Buttigieg's campaign seek a recount if it wants to challenge results. Some 46,000 individuals were physically injured during the Troubles, with thousands more psychologically traumatised by its consequences. One of Julian Smith's last pieces of official business as Secretary of State was to sign-off on the regulations on a pension payment scheme for seriously injured victims of the Troubles. This payment scheme has been advocated by the Wave Trauma Centre and the Commission for Victims and Survivors since 2013 as a means to provide financial security for many victims who were left disabled and inadequately compensated in the past. The passage of time compounded their harm; many of those injured have found their disability worsen in older age as their health deteriorates and their financial security becomes more precarious, especially in the past few years of austerity. Despite the victim pension regulation coming into legal effect, Secretary of State Smith's departure and local political parties highlighting that the Executive budget cannot afford to pay for all victims places the delivery of the victim payments in jeopardy. The Executive Office has stated that the scheme, in its first year, will cost roughly between 25m and 60m, with the first three years amounting to 109m. This will take a substantial chunk of the financial commitment made in the recent agreement around increased funding for legacy of 250m, which is also supposed to cover the establishment of the legacy institutions under the Stormont House Agreement. It is worth outlining the nature of the scheme to provide some insight into how it will operate in practice and why it will cost this much. The scheme's official title, under the Victims' Payments Regulations 2020, is the 'Troubles Permanent Disablement Payment Scheme' and will officially operate from May 29, 2020, when the first applications will begin to be processed. A board will be established before the end of May and will be responsible for the running and management of the payments scheme. The board will be presided over by a judge and will be guided by principles on the need to be responsive to and to prioritise victims' needs, to be transparent and communicate effectively, the scheme to be simple to navigate, applications to be determined without delay and for personal data to be handled sensitively. Those who will be eligible include anyone who has suffered a permanent disablement of more than 14% in a Troubles-related incident in the UK, in Europe, where the person is a British citizen born in Northern Ireland, was outside the UK in service of the Crown, or an accompanying close relative of the person serving outside the UK in service of the Crown. The time period for such an injury is between January 1, 1966 and April 12, 2010, though the panel can overlook this time period if it undermines the purposes of the scheme. Given the extent of injuries, which could include hearing loss, loss of a thumb and PTSD, it is likely to include thousands of victims. Added to this is the inclusion of victims not only in Northern Ireland, but also those in the rest of the UK. Both these factors increase the scope and cost of the scheme, perhaps moving it beyond an Executive matter to one for the Government at Westminster. In terms of injury amounting to disablement, this is defined in the regulations as "damage, disfigurement and loss of physical or mental capacity resulting from injury". This will be assessed by a health professional through an applicant's paperwork, where available, through the VSS, or medical records, rather than requiring each individual to be medically assessed in person. The level of disablement will also determine the monthly payment amount, or lump sum, of the claimant, which is likely to range from 2,000 to 10,000 per year. There are also provisions for those over the age of 60 to choose a lump sum and elderly, or terminally ill, applicants will be prioritised for assessment. Support will also be provided to family members who had to give up careers and education opportunities to become full-time carers through a 10-year pension on the death of the injured victim. Under the regulations, a carer is someone who "regularly and substantially" engages in caring for the injured victim, such as being entitled to a carer's allowance. The pension for injured victims and carers is likely to operate for around 30 years, creating a substantial expense that would go beyond the current budget of the Executive. One contentious issue, which has dogged the pension for injured victims for many years, has been whether or not those who were injured by their own hand would be eligible. Under the regulations, they are explicitly excluded. In addition, individuals who have convictions longer than two-and-a-half years, or life sentences, can also be ruled ineligible by the board, where it is considered a payment would be inappropriate. As the scope of injury is quite broad, including physical and psychological injury amounting to permanent disablement, this is likely to exclude a number of individuals with convictions, but who were also unlawfully harmed. This may be difficult to square with the scheme's purpose of acknowledgement and reconciliation. Despite the complexity of the regulations and their scope, it is likely to incur a substantial financial commitment. Seriously injured victims cannot wait any longer. Already some of the initial campaigners for the pension have passed away. As the scheme covers the whole of the UK, it only makes sense that the budget for the payments should be covered by Westminster to ensure that it is promptly, adequately and effectively delivered to all victims who deserve this acknowledgment and redress. For too long, injured victims have shouldered the burden of the Troubles and, rightly, the Government should act in good faith to ensure these victims' financial security and dignity in later years. Dr Luke Moffett is a senior lecturer at the School of Law, Queen's University Belfast Raviji, the same thing just happened to me: Shashi Tharoor to seek explanation from Twitter What is itat e-dwar the new e-filing portal of the IT appellate tribunal Social media companies free to do business, but should be accountable to Indian laws: Ravi Shankar Prasad Big step towards transparency: Prasad on first compliance report by Google, FB under new IT rules Ashwini Vaishnaw gets thumbs-up from Ravi Shankar Prasad on IT rules If over 45 countries use Pegasus, why target just India?, asks Ravi Shankar Prasad Corrupt, terrorists have no right to privacy: Prasad India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Feb 23: Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Saturday said terrorists and corrupt people have "no right to privacy" and such persons should not be allowed to abuse the system. Speaking at the International Judicial Conference 2020 'Judiciary and the Changing World' at the Supreme Court, the minister said populism should not infringe upon the settled principles of law. Concerned about fake news, social media abuse; people should be accountable: Ravi Shankar Prasad NEWS AT NOON FEB 23rd, 2020 Prasad said governance must be left to the elected representatives and delivering judgements should be left to the judges. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, February 23, 2020, 8:40 [IST] Flights from Turkey to Iran are still allowed. Turkey has closed its border with Iran and halted incoming flights as a precaution to stop the potential spread of coronavirus after the neighboring country reported 43 cases of the disease, the health minister said on Sunday. All highways and railways were closed as of 5 p.m. (14:00 GMT) and flights from Iran suspended, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca told reporters, Reuters said. Read alsoNumber of deaths from novel coronavirus rises to 2,462 Flights from Turkey to Iran are still allowed. Eight people have died in Iran, the highest death toll from the new coronavirus outside of China where it originated. Five people in the southeastern Turkish city of Van were found to not have coronavirus after being put under observation, Koca said. Turkey has been monitoring the border with thermal cameras in recent days, he added. There are three main land crossings along the roughly 500 km (310 mile) border between Turkey's southeast and Iran's northwest. By Trend By his visit to Italy, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev demonstrated the ability to pursue an independent policy for the development of friendly relations with the EU countries as well, famous Ukrainian economist, expert Alexander Okhrimenko told Trend. The expert noted that the state visit by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to Italy is a landmark event for both Azerbaijan and Italy. This will allow us to build another vector of European-Azerbaijani cooperation, pave a new route from Asia to Europe, Okhrimenko added. For Italian business, economic cooperation with Azerbaijan is beneficial, as oil supplies and diversification of their sources and routes are extremely important for this country. At the same time, Azerbaijans economic cooperation with Italy is a stable guaranteed income and the opportunity to develop new areas of business, such as agriculture, chemical industry and machine engineering. It is noteworthy that during his visit, President Ilham Aliyev met with representatives of Italian business, where they got the opportunity to learn directly from the leader of Azerbaijan what economic prospects open for them in his country and what ways of cooperation are possible to implement business plans, said the Ukrainian expert. In addition, Azerbaijan is the reliable and biggest supplier of oil for Italy, Okhrimenko added. Italy accounts for 17 percent of Azerbaijani crude oil, said the expert. If we include gas contracts, it becomes obvious that Europe, in particular Italy, sees Azerbaijan as a reliable partner, since it trusts its energy security to Baku. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, as part of his state visit to Italy, held official meetings with Italian President Sergio Mattarella - one on one and in expanded format. Azerbaijan and Italy signed 17 documents aimed at expanding bilateral cooperation in various fields. In particular, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and President of the Italian Council of Ministers Giuseppe Conte signed the Joint Declaration on Strengthening Multidimensional Strategic Partnership between Azerbaijan and Italy. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Last week, I was honored to receive the endorsement of President Donald J. Trump in my campaign to represent the people of Texas 11th Congressional district. His show of public support was meaningful to me for all the obvious reasons, but also because, like President Trump, I come to the political arena as an outsider not a career politician. Recently, some have seen fit to call my honor and my conservative principles into question. Worse still, they have claimed that President Trumps endorsement of my campaign is somehow connected to the DC Swamp suggesting that president is either too weak or too stupid to issue his own endorsements. As a veteran, I find these comments gravely insulting and offensive, not just to me, but to my commander-in-chief. The fact is, Im proud to have the presidents endorsement and proud to have the support of the same military veterans groups that have fought to elect strong conservative champions like Rep. Van Taylor, Rep. Dan Crenshaw and Rep. Greg Steube of the House Freedom Caucus. When my family and I first made the decision to run for Congress, we did so out of the same sense of duty and service that led me to join the U.S. Air Force after high school. I felt strongly that this community needed a representative that could go to Washington and help our president drain the swamp, stop the rampant political corruption thats bankrupting our nation and support a vision of America that looks more like Texas. As a seventh-generation Texan, I grew up farming and ranching in the heart of this district and was raised to work hard, speak honestly and honor God in everything I do. Sadly, as the years have passed, Ive watched those simple conservative values ridiculed and denigrated by the liberal elites and the Washington establishment. Theres an old saying that whats right isnt always popular. As voters go to the polls to elect our next U.S. representative for the 11th Congressional district, I believe its critical that we select someone with the courage and moral fortitude to fight for what they know is right, no matter how politically unpopular it may be. We deserve a representative in Washington that will fight unapologetically for the values we hold dear, including the right to worship God freely and without government interference, the right to bear arms for the protection of ourselves and our families and most importantly, the fundamental right to life. As your Congressman, I will proudly support and defend these values with every breath I take. As a veteran combat pilot and member of the presidents national security team, Ive dedicated the majority of my life to defending this country. Whether flying combat missions over the skies of Iraq and Syria, or preparing policy options at the White House National Security Council, Id like to believe I didnt spend the past 20 years fighting to keep our country safe only to return to a porous and unsecure border here at home. Like most of you, Im fed up with watching drugs and violence pour across our southern border while our nations politicians endlessly debate what to do about it. As your next Congressman, Ill stand with the president to build the wall and secure our border once and for all. Our district has also been blessed by God with some of the most abundant oil and gas reserves in the entire world. In Congress, I will promote and protect the vibrant oil and gas industry thats under attack from the radical left and push toward a future of complete energy independence for the United States. Furthermore, I believe I am uniquely qualified to explain how breaking our dependence on Middle Eastern oil will prove critical to our national security, and enhance our ability to conduct the kind of strategic strikes that allowed the presidenti to rid the world of a dangerous terrorist mastermind like Iranian General Qasem Soleimani. As proud as I am to have earned the endorsement of President Trump and local leaders like Mayor Patrick Payton in this campaign, the most important endorsement belongs to you, the voters. Im asking to be your voice in Congress because I believe I have the leadership and the experience it takes to defend our shared conservative values and preserve our way of life for our children and grandchildren. My name is Lt. Col. August Pfluger and Im asking for your support, Im asking for your vote, and most importantly, Im asking for your prayers. Please vote August Pfluger for U.S. Congress in the March 3 Republican primary. BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Medical professionals from a Beijing-based military hospital have used the 5G technology to provide technical support to their counterparts attending to COVID-19 patients in Wuhan. Nursing experts from the Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital demonstrated how to perform chest physical therapy for patients in critical conditions to medical workers thousands of miles away in Wuhan, the hospital said on Saturday. "We hope the therapy will help patients recover and lower the risks of infection among medics attending to those patients," said Pi Hongying, a nursing expert from the Beijing-based military hospital. Viewing the demonstration via the 5G-powered telemedicine platform in Wuhan included military medics tasked with treating patients in Huoshenshan Hospital, Taikang Tongji Hospital and a branch of Hubei's Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital in Wuhan. Here are todays leading news stories: Politics -- A delegation of Vietnamese officials attended the first Senior Officials Meeting (SOM 1) and related meetings of the Asia-Pacific Cooperation (APEC) forum 2020 (APEC 2020) in Malaysias Putrajaya City on February 20-22. Society -- It is forecast to become hotter in southern Vietnam, including Ho Chi Minh City, over the next days, with temperatures reaching 36 degrees Celsius from noon until 3:00 pm every day. -- Police in the northern city of Hai Phong have launched an investigation after a burned body of a man was found inside a barrel on Saturday evening. -- Three people were killed and three others in a critical condition after a crane collapsed at the construction site of a factory in the southern province of Binh Duong on Saturday morning. -- Police in Hanoi have discovered a local man buying approximately 620 kilograms of used face masks from the northern province of Vinh Phuc and storing them in his house in the capital. -- A 29-year-old man in the northern province of Bac Ninh has been arrested for murdering his aunt at the victims home before stealing from her on Friday. Business -- Budget catrrier Vietjet has launched a special promotion offering half-price fares throughout Vietnam and international destinations in Asia. Passengers can book tickets until February 29 using the promotion code "BOOKNOW50" to get the discount. Lifestyle -- Ca tru, literally translated as tally card songs, which is a traditional Vietnamese genre of musical storytelling, is honored by Google Doodles on Sunday. World news -- Over 78,700 people have been infected with the novel coronavirus and 2,461 killed globally as of Sunday morning, according to the South China Morning Post. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! The cabin was destroyed in the fire (stock photo) Police have appealed for information after a log cabin was destroyed in a fire at Donard Park in Newcastle. The fire, which is believed to have been started deliberately, happened at an outdoor recreation and residential centre shortly before 7pm. Sergeant McIlveen said: "Thankfully, there are no reports of injuries and no damage to the nearby main property. "We are appealing to anyone with information to contact us on 101, quoting reference number 1541 of 22/02/20." Information can also be provided to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, which is 100% anonymous and gives people the power to speak up and stop crime. 3 1 of 3 On Scene TV Show More Show Less 2 of 3 On Scene TV Show More Show Less 3 of 3 Two people were found dead Saturday night in a Missouri City home after a suspect shot at a police officer responding to a 911 call at the residence. Officers were dispatched around 6:40 p.m. to the 1100 block of Mesa Verde, where one officer was confronted by an armed man who began shooting at law enforcement outside the home, said Missouri City Police Department Lt. Russell Terry. LIMERICK! Limerick! Its a hell of a town! That was the celebratory vibe last week when a delegation of public representatives and officials launched the long-awaited Brand Limerick marketing campaign in New York city. Limerick: Atlantic Edge, European Embrace will showcase Limerick as a globally competitive, international city. It follows months of research by creative agency M&C Saatchi between late 2018 and early 2019, which cost around 70,000. The result is a massive new campaign that will focus on Limericks strengths in areas such as tourism, business, and education. Now, Irelands third-largest city has declared a bold ambition for US inward growth and investment with the unveiling in New York of a new brand positioning and international marketing campaign. The brand was unveiled to an audience that included representatives from the New York business and arts communities, Tourism Ireland and the Limerick diaspora at the Irish Consulate on Park Avenue on Thursday night. The creation of the Limerick brandmark involved key inputs from a range of stakeholders, from members of the public and business community during early-stage focus groups through to students of the renowned Limerick School of Art & Design one of the top 50 third level art and design institutions in the world. In addition to M&C Saatchi, the creative process also saw a number of local companies, including True Media, Limerick Printmakers, Treaty City Brewery, and Limerick Chocolate Shop, engaged by Limerick City and County Council. Irelands largest marketing communications company, Core Media, will be involved in rolling out the programme nationally and internationally with a bespoke media buying campaign across traditional and social media. A major multi-market campaign, Percentages, is a cornerstone of the programme which aims to quantify Limericks combination of edginess and friendliness. The character and culture of Limerick will also be articulated through a roll-out of Limerick local heroes, which will see inspirational people tell their stories on video and become faces of the campaign to amplify the sense of edge and embrace that typifies the city and county. Speaking at the US launch, Mayor Michael Sheahan said it was a real milestone. The councils head of marketing and communications, Laura said a huge amount of work has gone into getting us here today but today is really just the start. New Delhi, Feb 24 : Lotteries will now attract a 28 per cent uniform Goods and Services Tax (GST) from March 1. This GST rate will be applicable to state-run and authorised lotteries from March 1, according to a notification. The GST Council, led by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, had in December last year decided to increase the rate as well as implement a single rate for lotteries. Buyers of tickets for lotteries would now have to shell out 28 per cent. According to notification issued by the revenue department, the GST rate on supply of lotteries has been amended to 14 per cent and a similar percentage will be levied by the states. As a result, total GST on lotteries will increase to 28 per cent. "This notification shall come into force on March 1, 2020," a notification by the revenue department said. Currently, lotteries run by the state-owned agencies levy 12 per cent GST, while a state-authorised lottery attracts 28 per cent tax. The lottery industry had sought a uniform tax rate on lotteries following which a group of ministers were set up to suggest the GST rate. The eight-member group of ministers headed by Maharashtra Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, had recommended that the council would decide either on 18 per cent or 28 per cent GST for lotteries. Following this, the GST Council in December voted for a single rate of 28 per cent on supply of lotteries. He may have been more then 6,000 miles away but that didn't stop a soldier stationed in Iraq from calling the cops in Chicago after spotting two robbers allegedly breaking into his home. Soldier Richard Wharton was viewing his doorbell camera via the Nest app on his smartphone when he noticed two people leave his garage with some of his power tools. He immediately called the Park Ridge police to alert them of the suspected theft and explained how he had video evidence of a crime being committed. Andres Gutierrez, left, and Brandon Shaw, right, were arrested at around 2:30am on Friday and charged with three counts of burglary Park Ridge cops responded quickly and spotted two men weighed down with the stolen electric tools according to Fox32. Andres Gutierrez and Brandon Shaw were arrested at around 2.30am on Friday and taken into custody. 'He saw it and watched it and communicated great with us and called us right away,' Tom Gadomski with Park Ridge police said. Soldier Richard Wharton was 6,500 miles away and using an app on his phone hooked up to a doorbell camera he spotted the burglars walking out with his power tools The camera clearly captured the men walking out from his garage loaded with tools. They were apprehended a short time later 'We had officers right in the area and found the offenders and took them into custody.' Police say they are suspected of stealing items from parked cars in the area as well. Gutierrez and Shaw were charged with three counts of burglary. 'The Park Ridge Police Department extends our sincere appreciation to Soldier Richard Wharton who, while protecting his country overseas, also assisted his hometown police department in the apprehension of two burglary suspects,' the police wrote in a statement. New Delhi, Feb 23 : Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad has been invited to attend the reception of US President Donald Trump at Rashtrapati Bhavan on February 25, a source said on Sunday. The source, however, could not confirm if Azad would attend the function as he is out of Delhi. "It would be confirmed after he returns tomorrow (Monday)." Earlier, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury had declined the invitation to attend the Presidential banquet saying since party interim-president Sonia Gandhi has not been invited, he will not attend. The Floor leaders of both House of Parliament have been invited to for the Presidential banquet to be hosted on Tuesday. The schedule of the US President has no mention of meeting with any opposition leaders. The Congress had said on Friday that it has not received any invitation yet for its leaders to meet Trump on his upcoming two-day visit to India. Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma said: "If any invitation comes, we will take a view on it." Since the day Trump took office, weve had a president who has made clear to everyone around him that if you do things he doesnt like, there are going to be swift and public consequences, said Katrina Mulligan, a former National Security Council aide for the Obama administration. So the intelligence community at this point is having to walk a tightrope. They have to provide him with information hes the one responsible for protecting the nation. And yet they might start to feel like they need to hold things back to avoid triggering his anger. Thats not good. Earlier this month, French utility firm EDF Group took a 50pc interest in the Codling Bank wind farm, 13km off the coast of Co Wicklow (stock photo) As Storm Ciara was bearing down menacingly on Ireland two weeks ago, not everyone on the island was cowering for safety. Ireland's wind energy sector was heading into a landmark few weeks and had good reason to celebrate the gales as a new record for the amount of power generated by wind across the island was set. At 5pm on a busy Friday evening, as the nation's lights began to switch on and with Met Eireann issuing storm warnings for the weekend ahead, wind farms around the island were pumping out 4,166MW of power, breaking the previous record set just three weeks earlier. It was just one of several important moments for the wind industry in recent weeks and has given further confidence to those in the sector who believe that the Irish electricity system will, by 2030, regularly operate with as much as 100pc renewable energy averaged out on an annual basis. Indeed, over the past number of weeks, windy weather has meant that at certain times, up to 70pc of electricity has been coming from renewable sources. And, over the past week alone, on average more than 50pc of Ireland's electricity came from renewables, according to Eirgrid figures. Not surprisingly, with this level of wind power coming on to the national grid, Ireland's big coal-fired station at Moneypoint on the Shannon estuary - long the dirty but reliable bedrock of the Irish electricity system - was not called on to produce any power for the past seven weeks. Success like this has turned the heads of investors and pushed the wind sector into the mainstream. Industry sources suggest that between investment and M&A over the past five years, Ireland's renewable energy market has seen over 10bn of capital spent. That, they say, is just for starters. The expected finalisation this week of the new Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS) for the sector has already seen a flood of interest and investment come into the market, according to sources. The RESS will establish a system of auctions to provide State support to renewable electricity projects in Ireland. The promise of this system has seen wind and solar projects proliferate on the planning lists of local authorities in recent months - as renewable energy investors and developers gear themselves up to get a slice of the action in future auctions that will look to back the cheapest power available from renewable projects. "The future for renewable electricity in general is really positive," said Noel Cunniffe, head of policy at the Irish Wind Energy Association (IWEA). "The Government's Climate Action Plan and now the RESS scheme have almost been like pressing a 'go' button on the development of a pipeline over the next 10 years. "There was a quiet time when there was ambiguity over what the support scheme would look like, what the target would look like, what grid connection policy would look like, but we have got really positive directions on all of those things in the last 12 months. "We are really seeing a thriving pipeline emerging from that. If you talk to people on the ground in the industry, they have never been as busy doing environmental analysis, surveys and grid connection studies." But there are concerns within the industry about potential problems too. Wind and solar farm developers that win out in the auctions - the first of which is scheduled for June - will also have to develop their projects under strict new rules. The new Wind Energy Development Guidelines are causing concern in the industry, not least with a tough new stance on noise limits and setback distances. A public consultation on these new guidelines closed last Thursday. The industry will anxiously wait to see if the Government backs down on a proposal that could push up the price of wind-generated electricity and, at a stroke, put 40pc of the land currently available to it for development out of bounds, according to Cunniffe. The IWEA insists that there are on average about 20 noise complaints a year, but it says the new guidelines will bring in strict limits that could push up the cost of wind-generated electricity by 11.4pc. This, says Cunniffe, would make many projects in the wind pipeline unfeasible. The Government's Climate Action Plan, which was announced last year, has driven the current wave of interest in Irish renewables from investors, not least because of its ambition to use renewables to generate 70pc of the country's electricity by 2030. To achieve this target, onshore wind farms will need to produce 8.2 gigawatts of electricity per annum, compared with the 4.1 gigawatts that are produced today. A further 3.5GW would need to come from offshore wind farms. Some of this increase will come from retooling the country's original wind farms with new, taller turbines. For example, the oldest wind farm in Ireland, Bellacorick in Co Donegal, has 22 turbines that are 50 metres tall and generate 0.3 megawatts. They will be replaced with just two 180-metre-tall turbines. "This improvement in technology is why we will be able to double wind capacity by 2030 without doubling the number of turbines," said Cunniffe. Nevertheless, according to figures from the IWEA, hitting the target requires a pipeline of wind projects equivalent to up to 12GW, with only a portion of that ultimately getting built. About a gigawatt of wind projects are already approved in the planning system, as well as having a grid connection approved, and so are ready to compete in the first RESS auction this summer. On top of that, there is another almost 500MW with planning permission but no grid access yet. There is a further 300MW to 400MW worth of wind farm projects seeking planning permission, with a further 2GW to 3GW estimated to be in the pre-planning and feasibility stages. "Overall, there is currently a pipeline of about 8GW at the moment. But there will be attrition in that because not all of those projects will come through environmental analysis or the planning system, for example, and some of those projects will fall away. With the auction system, you also need a competition element, so there have to be losers as well as winners." Now, with the RESS auctions approaching, and the introduction of industry guidelines, more investment is being earmarked for Irish renewables globally, according to numerous industry sources. Earlier this month, French utility firm EDF Group took a 50pc interest in the Codling Bank wind farm, 13km off the coast of Co Wicklow. The energy giant is rumoured to have paid 100m to acquire the stake from a company linked to property developer Johnny Ronan. Last week, Greencoat Renewables, a renewable energy investment company focused on Ireland, also got in on the action. It acquired a 14MW wind farm in Co Clare for 35.4m. Its UK subsidiary followed this investment up in Co Tyrone, purchasing a wind farm for nearly 61m from Scottish utility SSE. For Paul O'Donnell, investment manager at Greencoat, Ireland is a valuable investment destination for international capital looking to back renewable energy projects and acquire operational developments, such as his one in Clare. His group has been supported by both overseas institutional funds and Irish backers, aiming to deliver a 6pc dividend to its investors. "Ireland is very attractive," he said. "We've deployed over 1bn of capital over the past three years, acquiring 12pc of wind farms on the market. The reason it's attractive for us is it's a low-risk environment, a very stable regulatory environment. It obviously has a very good wind resource. "We have a supportive Government policy to build out renewables, and we have the skill sets here to build out the wind farms. "Ireland knows how to build wind farms. It's been a really good market and one we've been able to make stable returns on and grow out the business in the meantime." To get to the target, O'Donnell said that Ireland would need to invest a further 12bn into renewables. "That's an awful lot of investment that requires a lot of investment and a different kind of development," he said. "Up until now, we've obviously just had on or offshore wind farms. Almost 35pc of our renewable electricity is coming from onshore wind, but we won't get there with just onshore wind." O'Donnell said that the growing pace of interest coming from the big European utilities, such as EDF and Energia, is due to the realisation that the country will need to back offshore in a big way to hit its 2030 targets. He recognised that Greencoat would not only continue to plough investment into onshore wind, but in future would also look at solar and offshore. The pending RESS auctions, which will cover onshore and offshore wind and solar, will play a role in how Ireland hits its ambitious renewables targets. Up until now, however, the REFIT scheme, which guarantees a minimum price for power, has been attractive for investors buying into Irish projects. Brendan Slattery, head of the environmental and planning group at law firm McCann Fitzgerald, said that the attractiveness of Ireland was shown in market sentiment. "I joined McCann Fitzgerald to head up the unit in summer 2018," he said. "In the 22 months since then, renewable energy has been the busiest part of my practice. It has absolutely been the most important part of what I have been doing. "We've been tracking activity. There is blatantly a measure of confidence in Ireland's approach to renewables. "In between all that, I've literally lost track of the number of megawatts, turbines and wind farms transacting or refinanced [in Ireland]." He said there are a couple of things driving investor confidence in Ireland, particularly the route to market offered by both REFIT and the upcoming RESS auctions. Slattery said that three key things are vital to kicking off a renewable project anywhere in the world, including Ireland. The area of most concern in an Irish context is whether you can get planning approval and consents signed off. Slattery said the planning system, particularly for the more significant projects, can be troublesome. He feels the industry needs more explicit guidelines for these big projects to overcome the issues with concerned citizens and public representatives. After that, developers need to know whether the project can get a grid connection and then a route to market. He said there had been a gap in this area from 2015, following on from the closure of REFIT, as the industry awaited the next means of accessing the power market. With the RESS auctions slated for June, the competition is due to heat up. The news of auctions has caught the attention of utilities, significant pension funds and other investors eyeing up renewable opportunities in Ireland. The country is home to 3trn in funds under management, with a new report from Mazars suggesting that this gives the investment industry the opportunity to leverage its fire power to take a leading role in the transition to environmentally sustainable finance. "The most significant financial services businesses in banking, asset management and insurance are based here and positioned to support the European Green Deal objectives. This should be a key priority for our next government," said Mark Kennedy, managing partner at Mazars Ireland. The firm commissioned the report along with the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum - a think-tank for central banking, economic policy and public investment. Laurence O'Shaughnessy, a director of IBI Corporate Finance, an Irish investment bank, said that international fund investors and strategic investors were queuing up to get involved in the renewable industry - to its benefit. "From our own experience, most of the Europeans are looking at Ireland for trading in renewables, and a couple of them are doing so really aggressively," he said. "That's all really positive, and from our perspective, that's probably going to continue for the next period of time. "It's a great thing for M&A and the economy because when you have that level of appetite for inward investment, it is going to drive up competitiveness, drive down the price and drive up the quality of results." O'Shaugnessy said investors had been circling Ireland for the past 10 years, eyeing up renewable assets and opportunities. "Between investors on the buy side, the likes of Blackrock headquartering their business for renewables here, the Greencoat fund, etc have made Ireland their home. That's reflective of seeing real value in both the regulatory regime but also the fundamental characteristics of building renewable energy in this country. "For 10 years or more, people have been focused on Ireland. It probably is with RESS that you are seeing the big influx of [utilities like] the Statkraft's and Iberdrola's and all these guys, but they've been here a while. Our experience is that we have had dialogue with people on the financial and the strategic side over a number of years. "We are seeing the next wave of development getting unleashed now. Because of that, a lot of effort is coming to the fore. "Stuff is going to planning, changing hands, or packages of projects are being sold with planning in place. This is really a symptom of interest that has been building over a number of years." A day ahead of the Maharashtra assembly budget session, Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis said that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government led by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has failed to deliver on the promises made in the Common Minimum Programme (CMP). He also accused the government of halting the progress of public projects started during his tenure. Senior BJP leaders in Maharashtra on Sunday held a meeting here to discuss the plan and devise a strategy to corner the Shiv Sena-Congress-NCP government on various issues during the budget session. Speaking at a press conference here, Fadnavis said: "The MVA government has betrayed the people of Maharashtra and has not fulfilled the promises made in the CMP." "In the budget session, we will corner the government for betraying the farmers by not waiving their loans. The government has promised a full loan waiver to farmers but they did not do it after coming to power. Several farmers are still waiting for loan waivers. We will expose how this government has betrayed the farmers," the former Maharashtra Chief Minister said. The BJP leader further accused MVA of not providing security to the women in the state. "Several incidents of violence against women are witnessed. They are being burnt alive and gang-raped but the government is not sensitive towards these issues," he said. He accused the government of halting and postponing all the projects started by the previous government. "This government has stopped projects like Marathwada water grid project, drought-related projects and drinking water scheme. There were various projects for which tenders were issued already but MVA government has stopped such projects too," he said claiming that MVA government is spreading "wrong information" about Jalyukt Shivaar scheme of the previous government. "The Bombay High Court has accepted the reports about 'Jalyukt Shivaar', which were made by various experts. It is the best projects to tackle the drought situation in Maharashtra. However, this government does not seem interested in taking ahead this scheme. I am sure they will restart this scheme after changing its name," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) State-run Central Bank of India is looking to sell its entire 64.40 per cent stake in its housing finance subsidiary Cent Bank Home Finance (CBHFL), a top bank official said. The lender has floated a request for proposal (RFP) for appointing merchant bankers. The shortlisted bankers will help the lender scout for a potential investor to buy its stake in the mortgage financier. "We plan to exit from Cent Bank Home Finance. The bank already provides housing loans, and so, we feel that there is no need to have a housing finance subsidiary," Central Bank of India managing director and chief executive officer, Pallav Mohapatra, told PTI. The bank holds 64.40 per cent in the unlisted housing finance company, while the remaining stake is held by Housing & Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO), Unit Trust of India (UTI) and National Housing Bank (NHB). The bank is facing operational curbs under the Reserve Bank's (RBI) prompt corrective action (PCA) framework. Mohapatra said the process of determining the valuation of the Bhopal-headquartered home finance company will begin as soon as the merchant bankers are appointed. "Right now, it is difficult to say how much we will be able to realise through this disinvestment. Once the valuation is done, we will be in a better position to assess the amount we can raise. But, we expect a better valuation for CBHFL than its peers as it is a deposit-taking NBFC, he said. In 2016, the bank had tried to sell its entire stake in CBHFL, but the deal could not be concluded. PTI had then reported that another state-run Bank of Baroda had shown interest in buying a majority stake in the mortgage lender. In 2016, the 64 per cent stake sale by the bank in its housing finance subsidiary could have fetched nearly Rs 250 crore, experts had said. CBHFL's net owned fund stood at Rs 111.57 crore as on March 31, 2019. Its advances stood at Rs 1270.9 crore while deposits were at Rs 482.33 crore as of end March 2019. During FY19, it reported a net profit of Rs 16.28 crore, with earning per share of Rs 6.51. In the April-December 2019, it had reported a net profit of Rs 8.92 crore as against Rs 9.87 crore in the first nine months of FY19. Its total assets stood at Rs 1,390.90 crore in the first nine months of FY20. CBHFL was incorporated as 'Apna Ghar Vitta Nigam Ltd' and was subsequently renamed as 'Cent Bank Home Finance Ltd'. It commenced operation in June 1991. The home loan financier has presence in nine states through 18 branches. Besides the sale of this strategic investment, the city-based lender is also in the talks to sell its 20 per cent stake in Indo Zambia Bank from where it is looking to garner around Rs 60 crore. The other stakeholders in the bank include Bank of India (BoI) and Bank of Baroda (BoB) with 20 per cent stake each, and the Zambian government owning the balance. "We are in talks with BoB and BoI to buy our stake in the bank," Mohapatra had told reporters after the announcement of Q3 FY20 results. The bank is also targeting to raise Rs 200 crore in the current quarter by monetising its real estate properties. In the quarter ended December, the lender reported a net profit of Rs 155 crore as against a net loss of Rs 718 crore in the year-ago period. The profitability was achieved due to better recoveries, higher income and reduction in cost, Mohapatra had said. The bank's recovery, including sale to asset reconstruction companies stood at Rs 1,273 crore. Recovery in written off accounts was Rs 520 crore during Q3 of FY20. It is expecting a good recovery in some of the stressed accounts such as Religare Finvest, Coastal Energen Ltd and Flexi Tuff in the present quarter. Gross non-performing assets (NPAs) in the quarter ended December reduced to 19.99 per cent from 20.64 per cent, while net NPAs improved to 9.26 per cent from 10.32 per cent in the year-ago period. Mohapatra had said he expects net NPAs to come below 6 per cent by end this fiscal which will help the bank to come out of PCA. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) London, Feb 23 : People often resort to using hate speech when searching about terrorism on a community group social media platform, say researchers. According to Snehasish Banerjee, lecturer at the York Management School, University of York, it appears seems that people are really curious to know about terrorists, what terrorists think, their ideas, etc. "While portrayed as a threat to society and human civilisation by mainstream media, terrorists sell terrorism as freedom fighting via social networking sites and private messaging platforms," said Banerjee. "However, the actual workings of terrorism are largely shrouded in secrecy. For the curious, a convenient avenue to turn to is the community question answering sites". Community question answering sites (CQAs) are social media platforms where users ask questions, answer those submitted by others, and have the option to evaluate responses. Previous studies have mainly looked at terrorism-related data drawn from Facebook and Twitter, this was the first to examine trends on the CQA site, Yahoo! Answers. The University of York study explored the use of Yahoo! Answers on the topic of terrorism and looked at a dataset of 300 questions that attracted more than 2,000 answers. The questions reflected the community's information needs, ranging from the life of extremists to counter-terrorism policies. Sensitive questions outnumbered innocuous ones. A typical innocuous question was: Who exactly created ISIS?, while a more sensitive question was: Do you agree with Donald Trump that we should ban Muslims coming from countries seized by ISIS, Al Qaeda and other terrorists? According to the findings, sensitive questions were significantly more likely to be submitted anonymously than innocuous ones. While no significant difference arose with respect to answers, the paper found that identities were seldom recognisable. Using names non-traceable to themselves, the community group users become embolden to use provocative, inflammatory or uncivil language. "We found that answers were laden with negative emotions reflecting hate speech and Islamophobia, making claims that were rarely verifiable," said Banerjee. Users who posted sensitive questions and answers generally tended to remain anonymous. "This paper calls for governments and law enforcement agencies to collaborate with major social media companies, including CQAs, to develop a process for cross-platform blacklisting of users and content, as well as identifying those who are vulnerable," the authors noted in the Aslib Journal of Information Management. Irish Champ How to Make Irish Champ: First, peel and cut starchy potatoes such as russets or Yukon golds into 1 inch cubes. Next, bring the potatoes to a boil and cook until the potatoes are fork tender. My Top 10 Irish Food Recipes: If you are having a St. Patrick's Day party, here are some tasty Irish dishes. Easy St. Patrick's Day Recipes Beef Stew with Guinness by That Recipe Colcannon Hash with Fried Eggs by A Kitchen Hoors Adventures Irish Champ by Karen's Kitchen Stories Instant Pot Guinness Beef Stew by Cheese Curd In Paradise Low-Carb Reuben Soup by Art of Natural Living Salted Caramel Irish Coffee by Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks Irish Champ Irish Champ Print With Image Without Image Yield: 6 servings Author: Karen Kerr Champ is a delicious Irish side dish made with mashed potatoes. scallions, chives, and lots and lots of melted butter. You can't go wrong serving this traditional Irish dish on St. Patrick's Day. ingredients: 2 pounds starchy potatoes such as russets or Yukon golds, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks 1 1/2 bunches of scallions/green onions, chopped 1 1/2 cups whole milk 1/4 teaspoon white peppercorns 1/4 cup chopped chives 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup salted butter, melted instructions: How to cook Irish Champ Place the potatoes in salted water in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. Drain the potatoes, return them to the pan, and cook over low heat until the excess water has evaporated, about 2 to 3 minutes. Simmer the milk, scallions, and peppercorns in a saucepan for about five minutes. Strain the scallions from the milk, reserving both separately. Mash the potatoes with a potato masher. Add enough of the scallion infused milk until the potatoes are creamy. Add the scallions and chives and season with salt and pepper to taste. Place the potatoes in a serving bowl and create a well in the middle of the potatoes. Pour the melted butter into the well in the potatoes. Mix the butter into the potatoes at the table before serving. Calories 337.66 Fat (grams) 17.58 Sat. Fat (grams) 10.92 Carbs (grams) 40.38 Fiber (grams) 4.07 Net carbs 36.32 Sugar (grams) 5.33 Protein (grams) 6.62 Sodium (milligrams) 518.84 Cholesterol (grams) 46.77 https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2020/02/irish-champ.html Karen's Kitchen Stories potatoes, champ Side dish, potatoes Irish Did you make this recipe? Tag @KarensKitchenStories on instagram and hashtag it #KarensKitchenStories Created using The Recipes Generator How to stay up to date with Karen's Kitchen Stories? Facebook food photo sharing group (you don't have to be a blogger). While youre here please take a minute to Finally, please . Its a great way to stay up to date on all the latest and greatest blog recipes. Be sure to follow me on Facebook . Do you like taking photos of the food you make? You can also join my(you don't have to be a blogger).While youre here please take a minute to follow me on Pinterest . Im always pinning great recipes from fellow bloggers.Finally, please follow me on Instagram . Its a great way to stay up to date on all the latest and greatest blog recipes. Champ is a delicious Irish side dish made with mashed potatoes. scallions, chives, and lots and lots of melted butter. You can't go wrong serving this traditional Irish dish on St. Patrick's Day.Like colcannon , champ is a traditional Irish potato dish. It's an easy way to combine mashed potatoes with greens, in this case green onions and/or chives. Also like colcannon, champ was traditionally served on Halloween. You were supposed to leave a bowl under a bush for the fairies, according to The Complete Irish Pub Cookbook While colcannon includes kale or cabbage, champ is made by warming chopped green onions in milk and adding the mixture to mashed potatoes and topping the whole thing with lots of melted butter.In addition to green onions or scallions, variations include the addition of leeks or chives. In this version, I used 1 1/2 bunches of scallions along with a 1/4 cup of chives.According to Wikipedia, champ is more common in Ulster (Northern Ireland), while colcannon is more common in the rest of the island. In Irish, it's called bruitin, and in some areas, it's called "poundies."To make champ, instead of adding milk and butter to the mashed potatoes, you infuse the milk with green onions before mixing it into the potatoes, and then you top the hot mashed potatoes with butter and then mix it in at the table.While the potatoes are simmering, cook the scallions in some milk for five minutes to infuse the milk with the onion flavor.After that, mash the potatoes with the milk and then stir in the scallions and some chives.Finally, place the potatoes in a serving bowl and pour melted butter in the middle. At the table, mix the butter into the potatoes.This recipe for Irish champ also makes great leftovers that you can reheat in the microwave.This week, the group From Our Dinner Table is posting Irish recipes!We share Recipes From Our Dinner Table ! Join our group and share your recipes. While you're at it, join our Pinterest board , too!Make champ by mixing scallions or green onion infused milk with creamy mashed potatoes, and then add the green onions into the potatoes. Serve hot with lots of melted butter.Check out my recipe index for more amazing recipes. February 22, 2020 " Information Clearing House " - In recent years the British Labour party has grown rapidly to become one of the largest political movement in Europe, numbering more than half a million members, many of them young people who had previously turned their backs on national politics. The reason was simple: a new leader, Jeremy Corbyn, had shown that it was possible to rise to the top of a major party without being forced to sacrifice ones principles along the way and become just another machine politician. Politics of cynicism But as Corbyn prepares to step down after a devastating election defeat, statements by the three contenders, Lisa Nandy, Rebecca Long-Bailey and Keir Starmer, for his crown suggest that his efforts to reinvent Labour as a mass, grassroots movement are quickly unravelling. A politics of cynicism dressed only loosely in progressive garb - has returned to replace Corbyn's popular democratic socialism. Leadership candidates are once again carefully cultivating their image and opinions along with their hairstyles, clothes and accents to satisfy the orthodoxies they fear will be rigidly enforced by a billionaire-owned media and party bureaucrats. Labours lengthy voting procedure for a new leader begins this weekend, with the winner announced in early April. But whoever takes over the party reins, the most likely outcome will be a revival of deep disillusionment with British politics on the left. The low-point of the candidates' campaigning, and their betrayal of the movement that propelled Corbyn on to the national stage, came last week at a "hustings" jointly organised by the Jewish Labour Movement and Labour Friends of Israel. These two party organisations are cheerleaders for Israel, even as it prepares to annex much of the West Bank, supported by the Trump administration, in an attempt to crush any hope of a Palestinian state ever being established. Leadership candidates are once again carefully cultivating their image and opinions along with their hairstyles, clothes and accents to satisfy the orthodoxies they fear will be rigidly enforced by a billionaire-owned media and party bureaucrats. Labours lengthy voting procedure for a new leader begins this weekend, with the winner announced in early April. But whoever takes over the party reins, the most likely outcome will be a revival of deep disillusionment with British politics on the left. The low-point of the candidates' campaigning, and their betrayal of the movement that propelled Corbyn on to the national stage, came last week at a "hustings" jointly organised by the Jewish Labour Movement and Labour Friends of Israel. These two party organisations are cheerleaders for Israel, even as it prepares to annex much of the West Bank, supported by the Trump administration, in an attempt to crush any hope of a Palestinian state ever being established. Asked if they were Zionists, two of the candidates Nandy, the climate change secretary, and Long-Bailey, the shadow business secretary, who is widely touted as representing "continuity Corbynism" declared they indeed were. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter The third candidate Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, and the man favoured by the party machine stated only slightly less emphatically that he supported Zionism. Nandys response was particularly baffling. She is the current chair of Labour Friends of Palestine, while the other two are supporters of the group. It is exceedingly difficult to find a Palestinian Zionist. And yet the Palestinian cause is now officially represented in the Labour parliamentary party by someone who has declared herself a Zionist. Ethnic politics This is no small matter. For good reason, Zionism is rarely defined beyond the vaguest sentiment about creating a safe haven for Jews following the Nazi genocide committed in Europe. Zionisms political implications are little understood or analysed, even by many who subscribe to it. By the standards of modern politics, it is an extremist ideology. For decades western states have preferred to promote an inclusive, civic nationalism that embraces people for where they live, not who they are. Zionism, by contrast, is diametrically opposed to the civic nationalism that is the basis of modern liberal democracies. Rather, it is an ethnic nationalism that confers rights on people based on their blood ties or tribal identity. Such nationalisms were at the root of a divisive European racial politics in the first half of the last century that led to two cataclysmic world wars and the Holocaust. In the Middle East, Zionism has fuelled a racial politics that was once familiar across Europe. It has rationalised the mass dispossession of the Palestinians of their homeland through ethnic cleansing and illegal settlement-building. It has also conferred superior rights on Jews, turning Palestinians into an ethnic underclass segregated from Jews both inside Israel and in the occupied territories. 'Clash of civilisations' Progressive post-war politics of the kind one might assume the Labour party should uphold has sought to rid the West of the menace of ethnic nationalism. It is true that race politics is reviving at the moment in the US and parts of Europe, under figures such as Donald Trump, Boris Johnson and Hungarys Viktor Orban. But ethnic nationalism is and always has been the preserve of right-wing, authoritarian politicians. It should be an abhorrence to the left, which subscribes to universal rights, opposes racism and promotes principles of equality. But Labour politicians have long made an exception of Israel and Zionism. Originally, that blind spot was fuelled by a mix of Holocaust guilt and a starry-eyed excitement over Israels brief experiments with socialist-inspired though exclusively Jewish collectivist agricultural communities like the kibbutz, built on stolen Palestinian land. Then, as Labour fully abandoned socialism, culminating in its reinvention as New Labour under Tony Blair in the 1990s, the party began to champion Israel for additional, even more cynical reasons. Labour leaders dressed up colonial ideas of projecting western power into the oil-rich Middle East in modern attire, as a supposed Judeo-Christian "clash of civilisations" against Islam in which Israel was on "our" side. Pilloried by media Corbyn never accepted the exception made for Israel. Consistent with his universalist principles, he long championed the Palestinian cause as an enduring colonial injustice, instituted by the British government more than a century ago with the Balfour Declaration. It is worth recalling, after years of being pilloried by a hostile media, the wider reasons why Corbyn was unexpectedly and twice elected by an overwhelming majority of Labour members and why that provoked such a backlash. Decades on the backbenches choosing to represent the concerns of ordinary people had made it clear Corbyn would not pander to establishment interests. His track record on offering the right answers to the great questions of the day spoke for itself, from decrying South African apartheid in the early 1980s to opposing Britains leading role in the 2003 war of aggression against Iraq. He refused to bow to neoliberal orthodoxies, including the too big to fail rationalisations for the bank bailouts of 2008, that nearly bankrupted the global economy. He had long campaigned a more equitable society, and one accountable to working people rather than inherited wealth and a self-serving corporate elite. He was genuinely anti-racist, but not in the usual lip-service way. He cared about all oppressed people whatever their skin colour and wherever they lived on the planet, not just those that might vote for him or his party in a UK election. For that reason he was also fiercely against the legacy of western colonialism and its endless resource wars against the global south. He had long been a prominent figure in the Stop the War movement. But equally, though it did not fit the narrative that was being crafted against him and so was ignored, he had been a committed supporter of Jewish causes and his Jewish constituents throughout his career on the backbenches. Campaign of smears In declaring their support for Zionism or worse, saying they were Zionists Long-Bailey, Nandy and Starmer betrayed the left. They did so at a time when the foundations of the explicit racism of the resurgent right needs confronting and challenging, not accommodating. After all, the white supremacists who are the key to this resurgence are also among the biggest supporters of Israel and Zonism. Everyone understands why the three candidates signed up enthusiastically as Zionists at the Jewish Labour Movement and Labour Friends of Israels hustings. They have watched Corbyn slowly destroyed by a four-year campaign of smears promoted by these two groups and echoed by the corporate media claiming the party has become institutionally antisemitic on his watch. Each candidate has faced demands that they distance themselves from Corbyn. That culminated last month in an ultimatum from the Board of Deputies of British Jews that they sign "10 pledges" or face the same onslaught Corbyn was subjected to. The pledges The 10 commitments are designed to ensure that successful moves made in the Labour Party by the board and the Jewish Labour Movement to redefine antisemitism will become irreversible. That is because the pledges also make these two Israel advocacy groups judge and jury in Labours antisemitism cases. They have already foisted on the party a retrograde and ahistorical definition of antisemitism formulated by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance that is specifically designed to ring-fence Zionism from any debate about what it means as an ideology. It shifts the focus of antisemitism from a hatred of Jews to strong criticism of Israel. Seven of the IHRAs 11 examples of antisemitism refer to Israel, including this one: Claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavour". And yet the Zionist movement designed Israel to be a racist state one that privileged Jewish immigrants to Palestine over the native Palestinian population. And if that wasnt clear from its founding as an ethnic nationalist Jewish state on the Palestinians homeland, it was made explicit two years ago when those founding principles were set out in a Basic Law. That law defines Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people that is, all Jews around the world, rather than the people who live in its territory, including a fifth of the population who are Palestinian by heritage. Executioner-in-waiting The three leadership candidates all hurried to back the Board of Deputies pledges. But these 10 commitments do more than just make serious criticism of Israel off-limits. They create a self-rationalising system that stretches the idea of antisemitism well beyond what should be its breaking point. Under these new terms, anyone can be automatically denounced as an antisemite if they try to challenge the changed definition of antisemitism to include criticism of Israel, or if they acknowledge that a pro-Israel lobby exists. In fact, this was exactly why Chris Williamson, an MP close to Corbyn, was expelled from the party last year. How McCarthyite this has become was again illustrated this week when a candidate for Labours National Executive Committee (NEC) elections, Graham Durham, was suspended for antisemitism over comments in which he accused Long-Bailey of "cuddling up to the Jewish Labour Movement and the chief rabbi, a well-known Tory. "Keir has made clear that he understands the imperative for a fundamental redistribution of power as well as wealth." @ParkerCiccone https://t.co/sGWXtk9lDe Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) February 20, 2020 As explained here, Durhams "antisemitic" comment was barely more than a statement of fact. It included an additional reference to the efforts of Britains chief rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, a public supporter of Boris Johnson, to damage Corbyns chances in the run-up to Decembers general election by accusing the Labour leader of being an antisemite. The decision by Long-Bailey and the other two candidates to back the Boards pledges has effectively turned the pro-Israel lobby into an executioner-in-waiting. It empowers these groups to destroy any of one of them who becomes leader and tries to promote a Corbyn-style progressive platform. Two parties of capital Neither the Board nor the JLM could have imposed these demands on Labour in a vacuum. It would not have been possible without the support both of a corporate media that wishes Labour cowed and of the Labour bureaucracy, which wants the status quo-embracing, Blairite wing of the party back in charge, even if that means alienating a large section of the new membership. For all three the Israel lobby, the media and the party machine the goal is to have a Labour leader once again entirely beholden to the current western economic and imperialist order. A candidate who will once again commit to business as usual and ensure voters are offered a choice limited to two parties of capital. And the simplest and most double-dealing way to achieve that end is by holding the antisemitism sword over their heads. Corbyn could not be tamed so he had to be destroyed. His successors have already demonstrated how ready they are to be brought to heel as the price for being allowed near power. At another hustings, this time staged by the BBC, all three candidates agreed that their top priority, were they to become party leader, would be to tackle Labours supposed antisemitism crisis. Thats right the top priority. Not changing the public discourse on austerity, or exposing the Tory governments incompetence and its catastrophic version of a hard Brexit, or raising consciousness about an impending climate catastrophe. Or tackling the rising tide of racism in British society, most obviously targeting Muslims, that is being fomented by the right. No, the priority for all three is enforcing a so-called zero tolerance policy on antisemitism. In practice, that would mean a presumption of guilt and a fast-track expulsion of members accused of antisemitism as recently redefined to include anything but softball criticism of Israel. Approval of eugenics It hardly bears repeating so hard-set is the media narrative of an "institutionally antisemitic" Labour party that there is a complete absence of evidence, beyond the anecdotal, to support the so-called "crisis". Much less than 0.1 percent of members have been found guilty of antisemitism even given the new, much-expanded definition designed to entrap anti-racists who criticise Israel or question the good faith of the pro-Israel lobby. That is far less than the prevalence of old-school antisemitism the kind that targets Jews for being Jews found in the wider British population or in the Conservative Party, where all types of racism are publicly indulged. So confident is Boris Johnsons government that it wont suffer Corbyns fate, either from the media or from pro-Israel lobby groups, that this week it stood by an adviser who was revealed to have approved of eugenics and argued that black people have lower IQs. Notably, Andrew Sabisky was not sacked by the party after his views were outed. He stepped down to avoid becoming a "distraction". Nor were there headlines that his employment by Johnsons chief adviser, Dominic Cummings, proved the Conservative Party was "institutionally racist". In fact, Sabiskys worldview has become increasingly mainstream in the Tory party as it lurches rightwards. Subversion from within Conversely, though rarely mentioned by the media, several prominent incidents of antisemitism in Labour that caused problems for Corbyn relate to Jews and Jewish party members who are staunch critics of Israel or define themselves as anti-Zionists. There has been little attention paid to the prejudice faced by these Jews, who have set up a group inside the party called Jewish Voice for Labour to counter the disinformation. It has been maligned and ignored in almost equal measure. These Jewish party members who support Corbyn are regularly dismissed as the "wrong kind of Jews" paradoxically, an example of real antisemitism that those peddling the antisemitism smears against Labour have depended on to maintain the credibility of their claims. Also unreported by the British media is the documented role of the partys pro-Israel partisans in the Jewish Labour Movement and Labour Friends of Israel in seeking to foment a revolt against Corbyn filmed by an undercover reporter for Al-Jazeera over his strong support for the Palestinian cause. This incontrovertible evidence of efforts to subvert the party from within has been ignored by Labour Party bureaucrats too. The assumption of some who bought into the antisemitism crisis was that once the Labour party was rid of Corbyn the smears would fizzle out. They would become unnecessary. But that was to misunderstand what was at stake and what role the accusations served. The antisemitism allegations were never really about antisemitism, except presumably in the minds of some members of the Jewish community whose perceptions of events were inevitably skewed by the media coverage and the hostility from Jewish leadership organisations that have made Israel their chief cause. Weaponising antisemitism Antisemitism was a tool one for preventing Corbyn from reaching power and threatening the interests of the ruling elite. His opponents in the media, inside his own party and among pro-Israel groups chose antisemitism as the battlefield because it is much easier to defeat a principled opponent in a dirty war than in a fair fight. Antisemitism served a purpose and continues to do so. In Corbyns case, it tarnished him and his general policies by turning reality on its head and making him out to be a racist posing as an anti-racist. Now the same allegations can be used as a stick to tame his successor. Antisemitism can be wielded as threat to make sure none contemplates following his path into a principled, grassroots politics that champions the weak over the powerful, the poor over the fabulously wealthy. This week the antisemitism allegations surfaced again in a leadership TV debate staged by Channel 4. Perhaps aware of how craven they risk appearing by backing Israel and Zionism so enthusiastically, and of how many party members may conclude that the Palestinians are being thrown under the proverbial bus, all three stated that there was no contradiction between opposing antisemitism and standing up for Palestinian rights. In theory that is true. But it is no longer true in the case of Long-Bailey, Nandy and Starmer. They have accepted the ugly, false premises of the pro-Israel lobby, which require one to make just such a choice. The lobby requires that, like the candidates, one must declare ones support for Zionism, and Israel as a Jewish state, or be denounced as an antisemite. This is the flipside of the mischievous conflation of anti-Zionism opposition to a political ideology with antisemitism hatred of Jews. That conflation is based on the quite obviously false assertion that Israel represents all Jews, that it speaks for all Jews and that its actions including its war crimes against the Palestinians are the responsibility of all Jews. The pro-Israel lobbys intentional conflation is not only deeply problematic, it is deeply antisemitic. A choice must be made One cannot stand up for a Palestinian right to self-determination while also embracing a political ideology, Zionism, that over more than 70 years, and as shared by every shade of Israeli government, has worked tirelessly to deny the Palestinians that right. The fact that so many people in the West Jews and non-Jews alike have for so long evaded making that choice does not alter the fact that a choice has to be made. The lobby has made its choice. And now it has forced the Labour Partys leadership candidates as it tried to force Corbyn himself into making the same choice. The next leader of the Labour Party is already a prisoner to the institutional antisemitism narrative. That means their hands are chained not only to support for Israel, but to the reactionary politics in which Israel as a Jewish state makes sense a worldview that embraces its style of ethnic, chauvinist, militaristic, segregationist politics. A world, in fact, not so unlike the one we are being driven towards by the right-wing parties of Europe and the US. Jonathan Cook is a Nazareth- based journalist and winner of the Martha Gellhorn Special Prize for Journalism. No one pays him to write these blog posts. If you appreciated it, please consider visiting his website and make a donation to support his work. https://www.jonathan-cook.net/supporting-jonathan/ - Click here to support Jonathan's work. Recently, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has revealed a series of images of melting Antarctica snow during an early February week recording the 'hottest temperature of the year' in the continent. According to a report published by NASA, on February 6, Argentinas Esperanza Base, a research station on Antarcticas Trinity Peninsula, recorded a temperature of 18.3C (64.9F), which was equal to that of Los Angeles that day. NASA further noted that the second hottest temperature of 17.5 C (63.5 degrees Fahrenheit) was recorded five years back in March 2015. While the World Meteorological Department is still verifying the reading's accuracy, NASA released the shocking images of meting ponds melting during that week. According to the report, "The warm temperatures arrived on February 5 and continued until February 13, 2020. The images above show melting on the ice cap of Eagle Island and were acquired by the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 on February 4 and February 13, 2020." The second image released showed "about 20% of the islands seasonal snow accumulation had melted." As per a HuffPost report glaciologist Mauri Pelto of Massachusetts Nichols College explained that such an extensive melting is caused by 'a sustained period of temperatures above freezing'. NASA said that following warm spells in November 2019 and Januray 2020, this February heatwave was the third major melt event of the 2019-2020 summer. It added, If you think about this one event in February, it isnt that significant, said Pelto. Its more significant that these events are coming more frequently. HADDAM Boaters nurturing hopes for a second launch at Eagle Landing State Park on the banks of the Connecticut River near the East Haddam Swing Bridge may be disappointed to learn the state says its not happening any time soon. Theres also increasing concern among boaters who put their crafts in at Haddam Meadows, on Route 154 / Saybrook Road that the ramp leading to the water is filling in, as the extensive sandbar pushes south toward the shoreline. While some routine maintenance to address the issues associated with the expanding sandbar area may be considered over the next year or so, there is no plan for major rehabilitation of the launch at Haddam Meadows or a second boat launch at that site, according to state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Communications Director Kristina Rozek. Every once in a while, this rumor pops up, and people call and they talk about it, but I dont know where its coming from, said Capt. Mark Yuknat, who co-owns Haddam-based Connecticut River Expeditions with his wife Mindy. He pilots the eco-tour vessel RiverQuest. Sometimes it comes up to the forefront a little bit, then it gets knocked down again, he said. Yukmat said the area gets crowded once boating season gets underway. Many walk out on the sandbar to dip their toes into the water, enjoy refreshments, and take in the view with family and friends under the warm sun from summer to fall. The shoal is growing mostly toward Haddam Island State Park, he said. Years ago, the DEEP purchased Eagle Landing with an eye toward potentially using part of it as a boat launching facility, but, at this time, there have been no plans to conduct any improvements that would include a boat launch, Rozek said. Eagle Landing is named for Americas national bird, which gather in the area during the winter. It features 16 acres of Connecticut River frontage, and a dock that hosts scenic and bird watching tours, according to the DEEP. Yuknak is very familiar with the area. My big concern about Eagle Landing is the traffic issue: trying to get good-sized boats and trailers out of there with the bridge traffic that stops a lot when the bridge opens up. Then you have a train crossing right there and a busy store (Goodspeeds Station Country Store) right across the street, the captain said. In my opinion, it would be a whole lot cheaper just to occasionally dredge that out right near the launch area than it would be to build an entirely new one in a different park, Yukmat added. For information, visit the DEEP site at ct.gov/deep. He got a job in San Francisco in 2010. But five years later, as he and his wife were having a second son, they decided to move back to Lincoln. They have four kids now, all under 6, and his wife is a Lincoln Public Schools English teacher. Jones, Carlson and Lottman said a lot of remote workers are introverts, but even so, they don't necessarily love the isolation remote work can bring. In the beginning, it felt really liberating to not have someone over your shoulder all the time, Jones said. Over the years, its kind of become more of a burden in that I have to be way, way more deliberate in making sure Im socializing with people outside of my family, he said. It definitely can weigh you down over time. He recently joined Fuse, a Haymarket coworking site, in order to see other faces and different walls some days. Fuse has open office space with good internet service and really good coffee, Jones said. He goes there two to three times a week but can be at home when he needs it quiet to get specific things done. China on Monday hoped that India will review the situation arising out of the coronavirus epidemic in the country in an "objective and rational" manner and resume bilateral trade and movement of people. The remarks by Chinese Embassy Spokesperson Ji Rong came following claims by Chinese charity organisations and certain medical institutes that New Delhi has restricted export of medical products to China following the coronavirus epidemic in that country. Ji said the World Health Organisation has repeatedly opposed any travel and trade restrictions on China following the coronavirus outbreak and that all parties should follow the recommendations by the global body. The coronavirus death toll in China has gone up to over 2,442, while the confirmed cases rose to 76,936, according to Chinese health officials. "It is hoped that the Indian side could review the epidemic situation in an objective, rational and calm manner, handle with China's much-needed items in a cooperative and constructive way, and resume normal personnel exchanges and trade between our two countries as soon as possible," Ji said. There was no immediate reaction from the government. Last week, Chinese Ambassador Sun Weidong urged India to review restrictions on trade and movement of people. Almost all Indian airlines have stopped flights to China while the government has cancelled all e-visas as well as normal visas issued to Chinese citizens. On Saturday, government sources said that China was "deliberately delaying" permission for an Indian Air Force plane to coronavirus-hit Wuhan to supply relief materials and bring back more Indians from the city. They said though flights from Japan, Ukraine and France were allowed to operate from Wuhan, India's request was not heeded to so far. India has already evacuated around 640 Indians from Wuhan, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak, in two separate flights. According to estimates, over 100 Indians are still stuck in Wuhan. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Odisha government on Sunday handed over cheques of Rs 2 lakh each to the next of kin of the victims of the bus accident in Ganjam district in which 11 people had died. State Energy minister D S Mishra said a process was on to provide another Rs 4 lakh each to the affected families by the Energy Department. Ten passengers were electrocuted and burned alive and 22 passengers injured when the bus they were travelling came in contact with a sagging 33KV live wire at Dangalpadu village on February 9. One of the injured had died later. States Transport minister Padmanav Behera, Energy minister Diby Shankar Mishra, Science and Technology minister Ashok Panda, along with Berhampur MP Chandra Sekhar Sahu and MLAs Usha Devi, Pradeep Panigrahy, Bikram Panda, Subash Behera on Sunday visited Dankalpadu village, where nine of the 11 victims belonged to. "As per Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's announcement, we have handed over the cheques to the family members of the deceased," the transport minister said. Free treatment was also provided to the injured, as per the directives of the chief minister, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce says his airline's unmatched safety reputation positions it to negotiate a cut-price deal with Boeing for a new fleet of 737MAX aircraft when the grounded jet returns to the skies. The airline is preparing to make a multibillion-dollar aircraft order this year to replace its fleet of 75 older model 737s, and is weighing up Boeing's offering against Airbus' hugely popular A320neo family of jets. Qantas will decide this year which aircraft will replace its domestic fleet. Credit:Bloomberg Mr Joyce said Boeing remained a contender, despite the 737MAX now being grounded for almost a year following two deadly crashes and its "New Mid-market Aircraft" (NMA) concept going back to the drawing board. Qantas itself will put the [MAX] aircraft through its own lens to make sure were comfortable with it," Mr Joyce told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. WASHINGTON - Former astronaut Mark Kelly, the Democratic Party's hope for flipping a U.S. Senate seat in Arizona, tried to do no harm this month when he was asked about Sen. Bernie Sanders. "I will ultimately support who the nominee is of the Democratic Party," he said. That was enough for Kelly's Republican rival, Sen. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., who is trailing him in early polls, to go on the attack. The television spot she debuted days later spent nearly as much time talking about plans by the democratic socialist from Vermont to raise taxes and award new benefits to undocumented immigrants as it did about Kelly. As Sanders, a political independent, builds what could eventually be an insurmountable delegate lead, many Democratic House and Senate candidates are approaching a dramatic shift in their campaigns, as they recalibrate to include praise of capitalism and distance themselves from the national party. Top campaign strategists from both major parties view Sanders' success as a potentially tectonic event, which could narrow the party's already slim hopes of retaking the Senate majority and fuel GOP dreams of reclaiming the House, which it lost amid a Democratic romp in 2018. "I can tell you that there are a lot of down-ballot jitters based on my conversations with my former colleagues," said former Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., a longtime confidant of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who led congressional election efforts from 2011 to 2015. "Donald Trump is going to offer the American people this choice: Do you want to continue building the economy, or do you want to lurch toward socialism? And that is a real powerful argument in the Democratic districts that Trump won in 2016." With an emphatic victory in Saturday's Nevada caucuses, Sanders has won two of the first three contests, and lost the third - the Iowa caucuses - in a squeaker. He also holds leads in polls in many of the Super Tuesday states that vote March 3 - a point by which nearly 4 in 10 delegates nationally will have been chosen. 3 1 of 3 Washington Post photo by Salwan Georges Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Washington Post photo by Salwan Georges Show More Show Less 3 of 3 Internal polling and analytics completed last week by former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg's campaign projected that Sanders may be the only presidential candidate to win delegates in every state and district on March 3, delivering him a lead of 350 to 400 out of 1,357 delegates set to be awarded unless race dynamics change, according to a person familiar with the data who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak publicly. Because of Democratic rules that give no delegates to candidates who score less than 15% of the vote in a state or congressional district, Sanders could build a delegate lead far greater than his advantage in the popular vote. If Democrats are awakening to a recognition that Sanders could pull away from the rest of the field, there is far less consensus about whether his nomination will help President Donald Trump win reelection. Sanders' power to turn out young and blue-collar voters or suburbanites is not fully tested, the ceiling of Trump's support is poorly defined in a two-way race and the senator from Vermont has not yet been subjected to a negative paid advertising effort. "Our data shows that all of our potential nominees, including Sanders, have a pathway to victory, but it isn't guaranteed," said Guy Cecil, chairman of Priorities USA, a Democratic super PAC that has polled heavily in the key presidential swing states. "This election will be close regardless of who we nominate." But there is far less flexibility for candidates in smaller districts. That has prompted Republicans to celebrate as they look to reclaim ground they lost in 2018 when largely affluent suburbs rebelled against the GOP in a protest of Trump. "The Democrats' embrace of socialism is going to cost them their majority - I mean, it's as simple as that," said Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee. "Bernie is about as good a contrast as we could have ever hoped for." Democrats, particularly those representing swing districts, agree. "We flipped those seats [in 2018] because of Donald Trump," said one House Democrat who represents a suburban district, speaking on the condition of anonymity to reflect internal discussions. "And if Democrats want to hand most of those back, put Bernie at the top of the ticket. And that's how many of us feel." The House member added: "Our overarching priority [is] to replace the president, but to do so with someone who is going to be equally divisive does not serve the country's interests, and I think that's at the core of what is making so many so uncomfortable." Several of Sanders' rivals have begun to warn about a potential down-ballot rout. They have raised particular concern about Sanders' support for a Medicare-for-all plan, which would effectively eliminate private health insurance in the United States. The leading Democratic candidates running for the four most vulnerable Republican Senate seats - in Arizona, North Carolina, Maine and Colorado - have all come out against Sanders' signature health care plan, as have many House candidates. "With a divisive nominee like Bernie Sanders, we not only risk losing the race for the White House, we also risk losing the House of Representatives and allowing the courts to be further shaped by Trump's radical vision for our country," said Lis Smith, a top adviser to former South Bend, Indiana, mayor Pete Buttigieg. The issue is likely to move to the forefront of the presidential race in the coming days. At a Las Vegas middle school Friday night, swing-district Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., took a jab at Sanders by suggesting that any candidate other than former vice president Joe Biden would put the House majority at risk. "The greatest thing about Joe Biden, fighting for Nevada families, is he knows it's going to take a team," Horsford told hundreds of Biden supporters. "He is the best candidate positioned to help us keep the Democratic majority in the House and win the U.S. Senate." The moderate think tank Third Way has urged the presidential candidates to train their fire on Sanders at Tuesday's South Carolina debate, issuing a memo that cites a recent Gallup survey that found 51% of independents would not vote for a self-described socialist for president. "The suburbs are not looking for a revolution," said Matt Bennett, co-founder of Third Way. "They want change, for sure. Many of them loathe Trump with a burning passion, but they do not want somebody who is proposing to double the size of the federal government. They do not want somebody who is proposing to take away the health care of 180 million people." A Washington Post-ABC News Poll this week found that Sanders had the worst standing against Trump among college-educated white women, the group most responsible for powering Democrats to their 2018 House majority. Sanders had a statistically insignificant two percentage-point edge over Trump among women voters with college degrees in the poll, compared with Buttigieg, Biden, Bloomberg and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., who all beat Trump by 10 points or more among that the same group. Bennett said the past few weeks have seen an explosion of private conversations about how to reckon with - and potentially mitigate - a Sanders nomination. On Capitol Hill, Democrats have been circulating an unflattering private poll paid for by a rival presidential candidate that tests negative messages against Sanders among voters in six presidential swing states. "Bernie Sanders is a socialist who supports un-American, big government plans that will spend trillions of dollars, lead to higher taxes, and destroy our way of life," reads one line of the polling test. The poll does not test Sanders' rebuttal to such an attack. Dan Conston, executive director of the Congressional Leadership Fund, the largest GOP super PAC focused on House races, said Sanders' presence lends instant credibility to the GOP's long-standing efforts to tie any Democrat to the far left. Republicans frequently accused Democrats of being socialist in 2018, but the effect was muted in a field dominated by moderate candidates. "Part of making a message effective is that it has to be believable," Conston said. "You not only have now a series of actual votes and actual positions among members of Congress - not just candidates - you add on top of that, a presidential candidate whom we don't just accuse of being a socialist, he openly says he is. That creates a completely different reality for a voter than before." Down-ballot candidates will not be able to simply spurn Sanders if he is the nominee, prominent Democrats warn, lest they risk the ire of his base. Former Senate majority leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who presided over efforts to win the Senate back for Democrats in 2006 and expanded that majority to a filibuster-proof margin two years later, said in an interview Thursday that as the nominee, Sanders would have to personally assure Senate candidates such as Arizona's Kelly and former Colorado governor John Hickenlooper that they have a free hand to run their campaigns on their own terms - and distance themselves without fearing blowback. "He cannot be a distant leader of the party," Reid said, discussing the possibility of a Sanders nomination. "He's going to have to be personally involved with it, so they feel comfortable. If not, there's going to be a problem." Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., a co-chairman of the Sanders campaign, said the senator is "not going to have an iron fist" should he win the nomination. "He's going to build a coalition through persuasion and a grass-roots movement, and he's going to understand give people the ability to depart on issues if they are representing their districts," said Khanna, who represents Silicon Valley and does not share some Sanders positions critical of the tech industry. "You know how I know this? He's given me the ability to depart on issues as a co-chair where I may disagree with him. He's a person who recognizes the value of intellectual dissent." Sanders' backers - and some other Democratic Party strategists - believe the risk to down-ballot candidates is overstated, especially since so many of the Democratic candidates in competitive races are raising more money than their GOP opponents. In a polarized political atmosphere, they argue, the specifics of a presidential candidate's platform will ultimately matter little - leaving down-ballot candidates more room to forge their own identities. Ian Russell, a former national political director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee who is now consulting for multiple Democratic congressional campaigns, said that any challenges for swing-district Democrats will not be unique to Sanders. "If you are seen as simply a rubber stamp for your party, then you have problems," Russell said. "You need to already be working in your district to show that you're focused on solutions." Khanna said Sanders' leftist economic platform can have appeal in the suburbs - if packaged appropriately. "You can talk about these issues in a way that is pro-economic growth. You can talk about these policies in a way that is pro-business," he said. "What I believe is that he is going to get extraordinary turnout for our party at the top of the ticket. He is going to connect with working-class voters who Trump took from us last time, and then every candidate can tailor their message to their districts." Yet Republican strategists, who have often tried unsuccessfully to separate down-ballot candidates from their own unpopular president, say that task has become increasingly difficult in recent years. "It feels like we are moving to almost a parliamentary system where voters are voting straight ticket," said Republican pollster Neil Newhouse, who has found in recent polling that Trump is significantly more popular than Sanders in competitive House races. "Sitting back and watching the Democrats and their primary is an extraordinary experience, and I am glad it's not us." - - - The Washington Post's Paul Kane in Las Vegas contributed to this report. A politician who ignored a stop sign with her young daughter in the car allegedly begged to be let off with a warning before lobbying a minister in a desperate attempt to overturn the fine. Bankstown Labor MP Tania Mihailuk was pulled over by police in Revesby in Sydney's south-west just before 6pm on November 5 after she failed to stop at a stop sign. NSW Police confirmed police stopped the vehicle and spoke with the female driver. 'The woman was subsequently issued with a fine for 'not stop at stop line,' a spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia. The offence incurs a $344 fine and the loss of three demerit points. NSW MP Tania Mihailuk was pulled over by police after not stopping at stop sign late last year Police sources claim Ms Mihailuk begged officers to be let off because she was a 'politician and should be given a warning', The Sunday Telegraph reported. She initially denied claims she used her role to beg police to her let off with a warning but then admitted she couldn't remember. 'I accept the police's view and if that is what the police officer recalls me saying then I don't dispute that,' Ms Mihailuk said. Her daughter, 14, was in the car at the time. Fearing she may lose her licence due to previous blemishes on her driving record, she then appealed for leniency to NSW Finance Minister Damien Tudehope to overturn the decision. She supplied the publication with her written request, which was later rejected by the minister. 'My offences to date are not speed related and are sadly mostly poor judgments on my part,' her letter states. NSW Finance minister Damien Tudehope rejected the MP's written request for leniency Ms Mihailuk claims she needs her licence to transport a gravely-ill loved one for treatment She argued for leniency as she needs to drive a gravely ill loved one with a serious illness to hospital up to four times each week and doesn't live near public transport, making private transport 'our only option.' In the letter, she believes she came to a complete stop prior to reaching the stop line but then writes: 'I accept the police's view I didn't stop at the required distance from the line.' Ms Mihailuk admitted she's has done 'a few silly things' but has never been fined for drink driving or speeding. 'I've got a few things (offences) there,' she told The Sunday Telegraph. Daily Mail Australia has contacted Ms Mihailuk for further comment. A spokesman for Mr Tudehope said the minister was unable to comment on individual cases. 'My offences to date are not speed related and are sadly mostly poor judgments on my part,' the MP wrote to minister Damien Tudehope (pictured) IT giant names outside director as board chairman Samsung Electronics' appointment of an outside director as board chairman is a step in the right direction. The move is apparently designed to improve transparency and accountability of the global IT giant's corporate governance. At a meeting Friday, Samsung elected Bahk Jae-wan, an outside director and former economy and finance minister, as chairman of the board. This was the first time for the company to name an outside director to the top post. Bahk's election reflected Samsung's decision made in March 2018 to separate the roles of board chairman and chief executive officer. As Samsung stressed, installing an outside director as chairman is expected to cement the independence of the board from management. It will hopefully lead to an improvement in corporate transparency and accountability. In this regard, we welcome the tech giant's move. Yet the appointment cannot automatically guarantee success. The question is how the company will operate the board and to what extent the latter will make decisions independently. Samsung Electronics the flagship IT unit of Samsung Group, the nation's largest conglomerate or chaebol has a long history of using its board of directors as a rubber stamp for the owner family's decisions. Some critics are questioning whether Bahk can really make independent decisions without being influenced by top management. He has been an outside director since March 2016. He has also been chairman of Samsung Electronics' governance committee since 2019. He might have built ties with the company by taking advantage of his position as a professor at Sungkyunkwan University, which has a strategic alliance with Samsung Group. Samsung and its owner family have long been embroiled in controversy over illegal practices such as accounting fraud, creating slush funds, providing illegal campaign funds and illicitly transferring managerial rights from the chairman to his children. Lee Jae-yong, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics and de facto leader of Samsung Group, still faces court hearings for his involvement in a massive corruption case of the impeached former President Park Geun-hye. The Supreme Court sent his case back to the Seoul High Court for a second review after reversing the appeals court's ruling that sentenced Lee to 30 months in prison, suspended for four years. There is the likelihood of Lee getting a heavier punishment as the top court recognized additional money and assets provided by Samsung to Park's confidant as bribes. In January, the group established a compliance committee in an apparent attempt to help Lee get a reduced sentence. In this situation, Samsung is being criticized that it created the committee and appointed an outside director as board chairman in a bid to stop Lee being sent to prison. Now Samsung should bring about real change to re-emerge as one of the world's top corporations that follows global standards. Otherwise, it cannot shake off its tarnished image as a family-controlled chaebol with opaque and unaccountable management. President Donald Trumps visit will see the signing of an agreement between India Oil Corporation (IOC) and US energy firms ExxonMobil and Chart Industries to facilitate the Narendra Modi governments ambitious plan to supply clean fuel to remote areas without pipelines, people familiar with the plan said on Friday. The two sides are expected to sign at least five agreements in areas ranging from nuclear power to homeland security during Trumps two-day visit beginning on February 24. They are also expected to ink some defence deals, including a $2.6-billion contract for 24 MH-60R Seahawk helicopters for the Indian Navy. The agreement between the energy companies is aimed at improving the supply of gas to the doorstep in areas where the pipeline infrastructure is currently not developed, the people cited above said on condition of anonymity. Till the time that the gas pipeline network is developed, transportation of gas in containers is an efficient alternative. US companies like ExxonMobil and Chart have expertise in transporting gas in containers, said one of the people. This agreement will allow us to tap into the American expertise and facilitate clean and efficient access to gas in areas not yet connected to the pipeline network, the person added. A second person said IOC is expected to operationalise two separate memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with ExxonMobile and Chart and gain from their technical expertise in transporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) by road to implement the governments LNG at Doorstep scheme. LNG is short for liquified natural gas. The LNG at Doorstep initiative involves making LNG available to customers in areas not connected to gas pipeline infrastructure, an IOC executive said. The scheme is based on highly specialised technology to transport gas through a cryogenic system, store the gas in a cryogenic holding tank at the target location, and then regasify it on-site using vaporisers so that it can be used as fuel. The entire operation, being concealed, eliminates the possibility of adulteration and pilferage, the executive said, asking not to be named. IOC signed an MoU with the global energy giants affiliate, ExxonMobil India LNG Limited, last October to explore opportunities for cost-effective transportation of gas to remote areas not connected to pipeline networks. In March 2019, IOC also sighed an MoU with Chart Industries, a diversified global manufacturer of highly engineered equipment for industrial gas and energy, to promote development of the LNG market in India. India is also looking to collaboration with the US in the energy sector and increased oil and gas purchases as a means to reduce the trade deficit and ensure balanced trade. These moves are also in line with New Delhis plans to diversify sources of energy and reduce over-dependence on the volatile West Asian region. Over the past few years, the US has become Indias sixth largest source of crude oil and India is also the fourth largest customer for US hydrocarbons. In February 2019, IOC finalised term contracts for US crude oil imports - the first such deals by any Indian public sector unit. The total value of crude and LNG imports from the US is currently estimated at $6.7 billion. The US has emerged as a key partner for India in energy. India is an important market for US exports, and American energy resources are helping to provide the energy security and diversity required for Indias economic growth and ever-increasing energy demand, said the first person cited above. At the National Conclave on Emerging Opportunities in Natural Gas Sector, held in New Delhi on January 23, oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan said India would discuss long-term LNG deals with the US during Trumps visit. This, he said, was part of Indias strategy to promote a gas-based economy that can attract investments of about Rs 4 lakh crore in the next five years. Indias primary energy mix includes a 6.2% share of gas, while the global average is 24%. India plans to increase the share of gas to 15% by 2030. An India-US natural gas task force was created in 2018 to increase the share of gas in Indias energy mix. In 2018, the two sides finalised the Partnership to Advance Clean Energy-Deployment (PACE-D) programme to accelerate the use of renewable energy (RE) technologies in India through technical assistance. The Flexible Resources Initiative under the US-India Clean Energy Finance Task Force was also launched last October to advance high-impact areas of collaboration to improve Indias energy security and air quality. Former GAIL India chairman UD Chobey said: There is no doubt India is a gas-deficient market and there is huge demand for clean fuel. But success of any scheme [such as LNG at Doorstep] will depend on the affordability for the consumer, that is, the price of domestic gas at the burner tip. Political pundit James Carville said on MSNBC on Saturday that the media is not doing enough to educate voters on the risks involved should Bernie Sanders win the Democratic nomination. Carville said that Sanders had emerged as a clear frontrunner in the presidential race as early numbers came in from the Nevada caucuses. But he warned that as we rapidly approach the South Carolina primary and Super Tuesday, the media needs to let voters know whats going on. I dont know if us in the media are sufficiently telling people what are the risks that you are running by doing this. I think voters need to really be appraised of whats going on here. Hopefully, these candidates have the skill and are able to do this, Carville told MSNBCs Brian Williams. Also Read: Mike Bloomberg's Debut Hands NBC News the Most-Watched Democratic Debate Ever Carville added that he doesnt think the media has properly vetted Sanders as a candidate and that he gets any number of calls from panicked Congressional incumbents concerned about the state of the election. Its obvious hes the frontrunner. Its obvious these other candidates have not sufficiently talked about him. Its obvious that hes never been vetted in the press. Im not seeing the full-part series in The New York Times or The Washington Post or NBC News, Carville said. Were in a whole new ball game here, and this game could end a little after mid-March, and some candidates are going to have to make really hard decisions about who stays in and who gets out and where we go from here. Carville chided voters who believe that Sanders will win the general election by galvanizing a group of Americans who dont usually turn out to vote, saying that belief is akin to climate denial. Also Read: Bernie Sanders Picks Up Key Endorsement From Dick Van Dyke: 'Age ... It Really Doesn't Matter' The entire theory that by expanding the electorate and increasing the turnout that you can win the election is the equivalent of climate denial. When people say that, theyre as stupid to political science is as to a climate denier to an atmospheric science, he said. If youre voting for him because you think hell galvanize heretofore sleepy parts of the electorate, then politically youre a fool. And thats just a fact. Story continues Earlier in the day, Carville told MSNBCs Nicole Wallace that the big winner of Saturdays Nevada caucus is Vladimir Putin, referencing a report from earlier this week that Sanders was briefed by U.S. officials that Russia was trying to help his political campaign. Carville was careful to say he does not believe Sanders is colluding with Russia or is welcoming the interference from Putin, but that Putin is backing the Vermont senator in the hopes it could help Donald Trump win re-election. The happiest person right now, its about 1:15 AM Moscow time? This thing is going very well for Vladimir Putin, Carville said. But the story is a fact, and the reason that the story is a fact is Putin is doing everything he can to help Trump, including trying to get Bernie Sanders the nomination. Watch clips of Carvilles appearances below: James Carville: Putin is trying to help Sen. Sanders because Putin wants President Trump to win. It's a straight line. "I don't think Sanders wants Putin to help I think they don't like this story, but the story is a fact." pic.twitter.com/YxOLhSACtA MSNBC (@MSNBC) February 22, 2020 As @BernieSanders is primed 4 big #NevadaCaucus victory, @JamesCarville calls for media 2 interfere in 2020 election 2 warn Americans of the "risk" of Sanders. "I don't know if us in the media are sufficiently telling people what are the risks that you're running by doing this" pic.twitter.com/L9bVWrJJ1x Jordan (@JordanChariton) February 22, 2020 Carville also, with a straight face, claims @BernieSanders hasn't been vetted by the media. pic.twitter.com/fZQ80ubKFf Jordan (@JordanChariton) February 22, 2020 Read original story James Carville Says Media Isnt Telling Voters Risks of Bernie Sanders Victory (Video) At TheWrap Immigrants wait in line to become U.S. citizens at a naturalization ceremony in New York City, N.Y., on Feb. 2, 2018. (John Moore/Getty Images) Trump Administration to Implement Public Charge Rule After Supreme Court Removes Last Obstacle Trump administration will begin on Feb. 24 denying green cards to aliens who would be dependent on government welfare for extended periods, after the Supreme Court lifted a state injunction on its public charge rule in Illinois, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced Feb. 22. Based on the rule, which was first introduced on Aug. 14 last year, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will determine an alien as inadmissible to the country or ineligible for permanent residency if he or she is likely to become a public charge at any time in the future. At the same time, the rule will also give USCIS the authority to require a nonimmigrant who is seeking an extension of nonimmigrant stay or change of nonimmigrant status to demonstrate that they havent received public benefits over a designated threshold since obtaining the nonimmigrant status they seek to extend or change. A public charge refers to an individual who is likely to become primarily dependent on the government for subsistence, through assistance such as food stamps or Medicaid. The DHSs final rule on public charge ground of inadmissibility will consider a person a public charge if they receive at least one government benefit for more than 12 months in a three-year period. This final rule will protect hardworking American taxpayers, safeguard welfare programs for truly needy Americans, reduce the Federal deficit, and re-establish the fundamental legal principle that newcomers to our society should be financially self-reliant and not dependent on the largess of United States taxpayers, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said in a statement. The White House announced the new timeline after the Supreme Court lifted the last obstacle to the nationwide implementation of the public charge rule on Feb. 21. The top court justices voted 54 to grant the halting of an injunction issued by a lower court in Illinois against the rule, allowing the Trump administration to enforce its policy in the state while an appeal plays out in the 7th Circuit. The oral arguments for the Illinois appeals case are scheduled for Feb. 26. Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan, and Sonia Sotomayor voted to deny the governments request to lift the Illinois injunction. This comes after the Supreme Court lifted nationwide injunctions issued by a New York District Court that was upheld by the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals at the end of January. In January 2020, the court allowed the Trump administration to enforce its rule across the country, except for in Illinois, due to a separate injunction ordered by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois that applied to only that state. We are gratified by the Supreme Court ruling on Friday night lifting the final remaining injunction on the public charge regulation, Grisham said. As a result, the Department of Homeland Security will be able to implement its regulation on Monday. Janita Kan contributed to this report. TDT | Manama Bahrain Airport Company (BAC) and Zain Bahrain signed a five-year concession agreement for the operation of a retail outlet at Bahrain International Airports (BIA) new Passenger Terminal Building. BAC Chief Executive Officer, Mohamed Yousif Al Binfalah and Zain Bahrain Managing Director, Mohammed Abdulla Zainalabedin signed the deal. As per the deal, Zain Bahrain will offer a range of products and services at the new facility, ensuring international travellers stay connected while visiting the Kingdom. In attendance at the signing ceremony were Minister of Transportation & Telecommunications and BAC Chairman, Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed and Zain Bahrain Chairman of the Board of Directors, Shaikh Ahmed bin Ali Al Khalifa, Zain Bahrain Chief Executive Officer, Duncan Howard, Zain Bahrain Director of Communications & Investor Relations, Abdulla Khalid Al Khalifa and Zain Bahrain Director of Consumer Marketing & Sales Reporting, Ammar Al Ketbi, and members of the media team. Al Binfalah said: BAC has carefully chosen each of the new terminals service providers to ensure passengers benefit from the best Bahrain has to offer. We are confident that visitors will appreciate the wide selection available and the highest levels of service. Zainalabedin commented: The new terminal is the gateway to the Kingdom, and it is Zain Bahrains mandate to provide our guests and customers with the highest quality services. Upon landing, the first thing many passengers do is turn on their mobiles phones, which can result in costly roaming charges. Passengers can avoid such fees by purchasing a local pre-paid SIM card at the Arrivals Area, enabling them to enjoy swift and seamless coverage from the moment they arrive in the Kingdom. Alongside Zain Bahrain, stc Bahrain and Batelco will operate retail outlets and offer their services at the new terminal, ensuring broader and faster mobile coverage for travellers and tenants. In January an American and two Chinese were indicted for secretly providing China with U.S. technology. The American was Charles Lieber. Head of the Harvard Chemistry and Chemical Biology department. He was accused of secretly establishing a working relationship with a Chinese university at Wuhan. Lieber established research efforts at Harvard, recruiting top scientists to work on projects of interest to China and secretly passing research results to China. He also received millions of dollars from China to further this research. During the FBI investigation, Lieber repeatedly lied about these activities, which did not prevent the FBI from eventually gathering all they needed to arrest Lieber and indict him. It is rare for China to convince a senior American academic, like Harvard department head Charles Lieber to get involved in illegal research projects. Why Lieber got involved in such blatantly illegal activities was not disclosed and details probably wont emerge until his trial. Also indicted for Harvard related espionage was a Chinese citizen, Zheng Zaosong, who was studying at Harvard on a student visa and was accused of trying to smuggle 21 vials of biological material and research data back to China. The third defendant was Yanqing Yeh, a Chinese student at nearby Boston University. She was also an active-duty lieutenant in the Chinese Army who was supervised by a colonel at a Chinese military academy that was working on new technology for the Chinese military. This school was on an American list of Chinese educational institutions that were banned from working with anyone in the United States. Yeh was also caught trying to smuggle research data back to China. Yeh had lied about her military status when she applied for a student visa, asserting that she had been discharged from the army and left out her connections with the banned (in the U.S.) Chinese military academy she was working for as an army officer. She was also accused of being an unregistered foreign agent. Among the items uncovered by the FBI was that Yeh had been assigned to investigate one American academic at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School who was researching computer security. Given how active China has been using hackers to steal valuable data from the United States, that particular assignment was ominous. Yeah had presented herself as a student but further investigation showed she was a very active Chinese spy. It is unclear if Lieber, Yeh or Zheng were working together and it is likely they were not. A standard foreign espionage procedure is to have such individuals handled separately by their handlers back in China. These three indictments are the result of the United States imposing more restrictions on Chinese officials who come to the U.S. and have contact, for whatever reason, with American academics, researchers and local (city, state and country) government officials. These Chinese will have to notify the U.S. government of such contacts. Based on recent FBI investigations and prosecutions, this will make it more difficult to operate their massive espionage program that seeks details of how American patents are implemented as well as trade secrets (items that are not patented but are essential for operating a business or factory). It was already illegal for American academics and researchers to secretly work for the Chinese government or commercial firms. These restrictions wont trigger similar measures for Americans in China because China has long assigned police and intel specialists to closely observe who visiting Americans visit. This surveillance often involves MSS (secret police) agents advising Chinese to refuse such meetings or only do it with an MSS agent present, usually pretending to be an employee of the firm. Meanwhile, China has been making the most of their access. One recent FBI investigation documented the use of the Chinese Confucius Institute's cultural centers at American universities and how these programs were actually part of a widespread intelligence operation that employed visa fraud for Chinese visiting scholars who were actually MSS operatives. This program recruited Chinese-born businessmen, academics and others, often naturalized American citizens, to participate in IP (Intellectual property) theft. Further encouragement was that some of these operatives could sometimes profit from it personally. Not all these recruits knew they were participating in espionage but the Chinese could effectively pressure their citizens to cooperate. Worse, the FBI discovered that many of the Chinese in the U.S. on J-1 visas (for visiting scholars) spent most of their time on espionage and a bare minimum on actual research. As successful as this espionage effort was, most of the Chinese-Americans approached by recruiters were not interested and politely declined. More importantly, many of them quietly reported their encounters to the FBI or to friends they knew could do it for them. The Chinese knew these alerts to the FBI posed a risk but considered it an acceptable risk is given the amount of intellectual property that was being stolen and put to work back in China. In the last few years, the United States has been indicting, prosecuting and convicting a growing number of Chinese born men (and a few women) conspiring to commit or actually carrying out economic espionage in the United States. Some of these suspects are naturalized American citizens but a growing number are Chinese citizens here on legitimate visas. As more suspects were identified patterns began to appear which revealed the inner workings of known Chinese intellectual property espionage efforts. It was known that China had a state-sponsored program to make it easy for foreign-educated Chinese to return home and apply what they had learned in the West to start their own companies. China offered billions of dollars in venture capital for this program. This made it easier for Chinese moving back to China from the West to establish their own companies using what they learned in the West. This program helped create thousands of new firms. Many of these firms were using stolen trade secrets and patents that were being laundered. That is, changed sufficiently to make it difficult for the owners of the stolen intellectual property to easily prove theft. The FBI and CIA again noted several interesting patterns. While many of the returning Chinese students were operating legally, a large number of those new Chinese firms were operating illegally by depending on stolen intellectual property. There were other patterns as well. A lot of the stolen tech seemed to involve Chinese and Americans associated with various Chinese efforts that helped returning Chinese profit from what they had learned in the West. These programs involved establishing hundreds of Confucius Institutes associated with Western universities, including a hundred in the United States. That, plus the aggressive recruiting of Chinese and non-Chinese academics willing to help China mobilize the largest IP theft in history. Participating in this program has become riskier. The growing number of convictions are for conspiring to steal or actually stealing trade secrets. Many of the technologies involved are dual-use; for commercial and military applications. Many of these investigations begin when American companies provide the FBI with documentation showing how the Chinese obtained and applied the trade secrets. What the American firms usually lack is information about who was getting the information, often including detailed manufacturing techniques, to the Chinese. The U.S. is not the only victim here. Many other Western nations are experiencing the same losses. Even Chinese neighbor and ally Russia has suffered heavy losses due to this Chinese economic espionage. There have been a lot more court cases about this because Chinese firms have become bolder in how they exploit stolen software, trade secrets and other technology. In the past, the Chinese were careful in the use of stolen tech when exporting their own military equipment copied from Russian designs. The Chinese had started doing this during the Cold War, which sometimes got fairly hot (there were some deadly border skirmishes in the 1970s) because China and Russia developed some territorial and ideological disputes that did not settle down until the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991. The Russians are still angry about the continued Chinese theft of their tech and growing Russian threats over this caused the Chinese to sign agreements in the last decade that declared Chinese firms would stop stealing and reselling Russian tech. In practice this only slowed the Chinese down, but it placated the Russians for a while. Currently, the Americans are starting to sound like the Russians in the 1990s, but the Americans have more legal and economic clout to deploy and this situation is liable to get ugly before (if ever) it gets better. By 2012 most American officials had come to openly admit that a whole lot of American military and commercial technical data has been stolen via Chinese Internet (and more conventional) espionage efforts. Details of exactly all the evidence of this is unclear, but apparently, it was pretty convincing for many American politicians and senior officials who had previously been skeptical. The Chinese efforts have resulted in most major American weapons systems having tech details obtained by the Chinese, in addition to a lot of non-defense or dual-use technology. Its not just the United States that is being hit but most nations with anything worth stealing. Many of these nations are noticing that China is the source of most of this espionage and few are content to remain silent any longer. Its no secret that Chinese intelligence collecting efforts since the late 1990s have been spectacularly successful. As the rest of the world comes to realize the extent of this success, there is a growing desire for retaliation. What form that payback takes remains to be seen. Collecting information, both military and commercial, often means breaking laws and striking (or hacking) back at the suspected attackers will involve even more felonies. China has broken a lot of laws. Technically, China has committed acts of war because of the degree to which it penetrated military networks and carried away copies of highly secret material. The U.S. and many other victims have been warning China there will be consequences. As the extent of Chinese espionage becomes known and understood, the call for consequences becomes louder. China tries hard to conceal its espionage efforts. Not just denying anything and everything connected to its hacking and conventional spying but also taking precautions. But as their success continued year after year, some of the Chinese hackers became cocky and sloppy. At the same time, the victims became more adept at detecting Chinese efforts and tracing them back to specific Chinese government organizations or non-government hackers inside China. Undeterred, China has sought to keep its espionage effort going and has even expanded operations. For example, starting in 2008 China opened National Intelligence Colleges in many major universities. In effect, each of these is an "Espionage Department" where, each year, several hundred carefully selected applicants are accepted in each school, to be trained as spies and intelligence operatives. China has found that espionage is an enormously profitable way to obtain military and commercial secrets and now China trains and rewards those who have a talent for such things and make a career of it. The Internet-based operations, however, are only one part of Chinas espionage efforts. While Chinese Cyber War operations in this area get a lot of publicity, the more conventional spying brings in a lot of stuff that is not reachable on the Internet. One indicator of this effort is the fact that American counter-intelligence efforts are snagging more Chinese spies. This is partly due to increased spying efforts by China, which puts more of their people out there to get caught, as well as more success by the FBI and CIA. All this espionage, in all its forms, has played a large part in turning China into one of the mightiest industrial and military powers on the planet. China is having a hard time hiding the source of the new technologies they are incorporating into their weapons and commercial products. Many of the victims initially had a hard time accepting the fact that the oh-so-eager (to export) Chinese were robbing their best customers of intellectual property on a grand scale. Now Western firms are a lot more wary about dealing with the Chinese. China has been getting away with something the Soviet Union never accomplished, stealing Western technology and then using it to move ahead of the West. The Soviets lacked the many essential supporting industries found in the West. These firms were largely founded and run by entrepreneurs, which was illegal in the Soviet Union. Because of that, the Russians were never able to acquire all the many pieces needed to match Western technical accomplishments. Soviet copies of American computers, for example, were crude, less reliable, and less powerful. It was the same situation with their jet fighters, tanks, and warships. China got around this by making it seemingly profitable for Western firms to set up factories in China, where Chinese managers and workers were taught how to make things right. At the same time, China allows thousands of their best students to go to the United States to study. While many of these students will stay in America, where there are better jobs and more opportunities, a growing number are coming back to China and bringing American business and technical skills with them. Finally, China energetically uses the "thousand grains of sand" approach to espionage. This involves China trying to get all Chinese going overseas, and those of Chinese ancestry living outside the motherland, to spy for China, if only a tiny bit. This approach to espionage is nothing new. Other nations have used similar systems for centuries. What is unusual is the scale of the Chinese effort, and that makes a difference. Supporting it all is a Chinese intelligence bureaucracy back home that is huge, with nearly 100,000 people working just to keep track of the many Chinese overseas and what they could, or should, be trying to grab for the motherland. This is where many of the graduates of the National Intelligence College program will work. It begins when Chinese intelligence officials examine who is going overseas and for what purpose. Chinese citizens cannot leave the country legally without state security organizations being notified. The intel people are not being asked to give permission. They are being alerted in case they want to have a talk with students, tourists, or business people before leaving the country. Interviews are often held when these people come back as well. Those who might be coming in contact with useful information are asked to remember what they saw or bring back souvenirs (legal or otherwise). Over 100,000 Chinese students go off to foreign universities each year. Even more, go abroad as tourists or on business. Most of these people were not asked to actually act as spies but simply to share with Chinese government officials (who are not always identified as intelligence personnel) whatever information they obtained. The more ambitious of these people are getting caught and prosecuted. But the majority are quite casual, individually bring back relatively little and are almost impossible to catch, much less prosecute. Like the Russians, the Chinese are also employing the traditional methods, using people with diplomatic immunity to recruit spies and offering cash, or whatever, to get people to sell them information. This is still effective and when combined with the "thousand grains of sand" methods brings in a lot of secrets. Not getting caught is becoming more important because that can lead to increasingly dangerous diplomatic and legal problems. When the Chinese steal some technology and produce something that the Western victims can prove was stolen (via patents and prior use of the technology), legal action can make it impossible, or very difficult, to sell anything using the stolen tech outside of China. For that reason, the Chinese long preferred stealing military technology and tried to avoid using stolen commercial tech in a way that made it easy to determine the source of stolen data. This meant keeping stolen commercial tech inside China. And in some cases, like manufacturing technology, there's an advantage to not selling it outside of China. Because China is still a communist dictatorship, the courts do as they are told, and they are rarely told to honor foreign patent claims when stolen tech is discovered in China by its foreign owners. But increasingly Chinese firms are boldly using their stolen technology, daring foreign firms to try and use Chinese courts to get justice. Instead, the foreign firms are trying to muster support from their governments for lawsuits outside China. Naturally, the Chinese government will howl and insist that its all a plot to oppress China. This has worked for a long time, but many of the victims are now telling China that this conflict is being taken to a new, and more dangerous, level. SUTTER COUNTY, Calif. - One person was killed while trying to pass a commercial vehicle in Sutter County, crashing head-on with another vehicle. CHP officials say this happened Friday, Feb. 21 around 6:45 p.m. on Highway 113 near Knights Road. Officials say a 67-year-old man of Yuba County driving a Toyota Camry was driving northbound on Highway 113 just south of Knights Road at 60 miles per hour, following a commercial vehicle. A Nissan Sentra driven by an 18-year-old woman was heading southbound on Highway 99, at 55 miles per hour in a sweeping left curve. According to officials, while driving northbound, the man in the Toyota drove to the left into the southbound lane in order to pass the commercial vehicle in front of him. While he was passing, he failed to see the Nissan in the road ahead of him. As the driver of the Nissan was traversing the left curve in the roadway, she was unable to see the other vehicle passing. Once both vehicles noticed each other, both drivers turned towards the west shoulder where they collided head-on. The CHP said the 67-year-old driver of the Toyota Camry was killed in the accident. Alcohol and drugs are not considered to be factors to this collision. Anglo American considered offering Sirius Minerals investors shares in Anglo itself as part of its takeover bid, the MoS can reveal. The mining giant behind the controversial 405million takeover of Sirius Minerals looked at the plight of 85,000 small shareholders in the fertiliser miner who face big losses because they had bought into the Yorkshire firm at a higher price than the 5.5p per share being offered by Anglo American. The alternative idea would have allowed Sirius investors to own Anglo American shares, giving them a likely future return from Sirius's potentially lucrative mine. Anglo American chief executive Mark Cutifani has insisted his offer for Sirius is 'fair and reasonable' It could have softened the blow for the small shareholders in Sirius many of them locals who have ploughed life savings and pension pots into the company, which faces going bust after running out of money to complete the potash mine near Whitby. A City source said: 'Anglo did not want to be seen to be encouraging large numbers of not very well-informed shareholders to buy stock in a company that they know nothing about.' Anglo American chief executive Mark Cutifani has insisted his offer for Sirius is 'fair and reasonable'. He told the MoS: 'We do understand the issue where people may have bought in [to Sirius] at a higher price and we are sympathetic. But we believe the offer we put on the table is appropriate.' The mine needs a further 2.4billion to start producing its reserves of polyhalite, a form of potash, which will be transported to the coast via a 23-mile tunnel for processing and export. Cutifani said the project could become one of Anglo's most prized assets. But he added: 'There's still a long way to go on development. 'The key risk in our head is the marketing. Polyhalite is a new product in the market, so that would take time to sell to potential customers.' Sirius shareholders are furious that a project they were told could deliver them huge riches now looks like costing them a fortune. Anglo American were willing to sweeten their bid for Sirius which has so far proved unpopular with Sirius stakeholders However, shareholders have been warned by Sirius chief executive Chris Fraser that Anglo's bid is the only way to save the company. Attempts to raise money on the markets have fallen flat and the Government appears uninterested in bailing out the firm. Sirius shareholder Ian Martignetti said the Anglo offer is still 'wide of the mark'. He added: 'If Anglo had offered between 12 and 13p, plus shares, the bid wouldn't have felt so greedy.' Last week, hedge fund Odey Asset Management lent its support to Sirius's small investors, who are so angry they are threatening to block the takeover at next week's shareholder vote. In a joint letter to the boards of Sirius and Anglo, the Mayfair firm said Anglo's bid 'made a mockery' of the equity value of Sirius, which was valued in September at 893million 120 per cent higher than the Anglo offer. It added that the current bid 'does not reflect fair value' and said it would support an offer of 7p or higher. Odey Asset Management, run by Crispin Odey, has bought a 1.29 per cent stake in Sirius at an average of 4.9p per share and could derail the deal if it wins support from other institutional shareholders. Jupiter Asset Management, where Odey's wife Nichola Pease will become chairman next week, has a 7.8 per cent stake in Sirius. It has also spoken out against the Anglo American deal, calling on the Sirius board to pursue 'any alternative options' ahead of the takeover deadline. By Trend On February 21, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Assembly of Pakistan adopted a resolution on reaffirming the respect to territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Trend reports with reference to Azerbaijans Foreign Ministry. In the resolution the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa values the strategic partnership between Pakistan and Azerbaijan based on principles of respect, trust and mutual understanding and underlines the shared cultural values, common perceptions on global and regional issues and close cooperation in international arena between the two countries. The resolution states with appreciation Azerbaijans unequivocal support for the principled stance of Pakistan on Jammu and Kashmir issue based on norms and principles of international law and active membership of Azerbaijan in the OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir. The Assembly reaffirms the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan within its internationally recognized borders and condemns the occupation of the territories of Azerbaijan by Armenia and the genocide committed by Armenian armed forces in the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly on February 26 1992, against the civilian population and ignorance of the OIC and UN resolutions and supports the efforts of the Republic of Azerbaijan to resolve the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict by peaceful means. The Assembly reiterates that diplomatic relations will not be established with Armenia until it withdraws from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan and genuine peace between the two countries is achieved. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is one of the four administrative provinces of Pakistan and located in the northwestern region of the country and it is the third-largest province of Pakistan by the size of both population and economy. The Provincial Assembly is a unicameral legislative body consisting of 145 elected members. The relevant resolutions recognizing the Khojaly genocide and urging the immediate withdrawal of Armenian forces from the occupied Azerbaijani lands, supporting the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan were adopted by the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Senate of Pakistan in 2012 and the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Pakistani National Assembly in 2017. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz : The Puducherry unit of Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) on Sunday hit out at the V Narayanasamy-headed Congress government here for the current milk crisis in the union territory, causing hardship to the consumers. President of the BJP unit V Saminathan, an MLA, in a press release, said while the administration was concentrating on opening more liquor shops, it has ignored the milk shortage. As against a daily requirement of 1.2 lakh litre of milk, the union territory was now producing only 60,000 litres through the Cooperative Milk Producers Federation popularly known as PONLAIT. Saminathan said the private players were cashing in on the crisis by selling milk at exorbitant prices and the consumers were being exploited. He said the scheme to promote dairy development in Puducherry was implemented politically favouring only those belonging to the ruling party. Steps should be taken without delay to relieve the consumers, particularly those belonging to the below povertyline category, of the milk crisis, the BJP leader said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) T he family of teenage crash victim Harry Dunn has urged the Government to block Julian Assange's extradition as long as the suspect in his death remains in the US. Mr Dunn's parents have called for the Government to block any further extradition requests after Mike Pompeo, US Secretary of State, refused to return Anne Sacoolas to the UK. The 19-year-old was killed in August when his motorbike crashed into a car driven by Mrs Sacoolas, a wife of an intelligence official, outside a US military base in Northamptonshire. Mrs Sacoolas, 42, was granted diplomatic immunity after the crash and was charged with causing death by dangerous driving after returning to her home country. Harry Dunn died in a hit-and-run in August 2019 / PA Mr Dunn's family spokesman Radd Seiger has said the Foreign Affairs Committee has accepted their request for an inquiry into the extradition and diplomatic immunity granted. Earlier this month, the Foreign Office said they had "no plans" to launch an inquiry into the case, insisting the case had been dealt with "proprly and lawfully throughout". Mr Dunns mother, Charlotte Charles and father, Tim Dunn, said they were told by Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab that the Government was reviewing all our options after Mr Pompeos refusal to extradite Mrs Sacoolas. Dominic Raab / Getty Images Speaking about Mr Assanges potential extradition to the US, Mr Seiger said: Harry Dunns family understand and respect the importance of extradition procedures between nations and the huge public interest that attaches to extradition. No one is above the law and no one must be allowed to evade justice if they manage to flee a country, whether diplomat or not. That said, in refusing the UKs perfectly lawful request to extradite Anne Sacoolas, and not even following the legal and judicial process the US/UK Treaty calls for, the US has launched the single greatest attack on the so called special relationship between the countries in modern memory. Anne Sacoolas Mr Seiger continued: The US is not behaving like an ally and has effectively thumbed its nose up at the UK and ignored the clearly laid out provisions in the treaty, effectively tearing it up. The principle of reciprocity is at the core of any extradition treaty. Despite its disgraceful refusal to extradite Anne Sacoolas, the US continues to seek the extradition of people in the UK such as Julian Assange. In doing so, they are demonstrating an extraordinary amount of hypocrisy and the double standards on display are unprecedented. The US needs to be brought firmly back into line on the international stage and be made to understand that they are not going to have their way. Harry Dunn's family has urged the government to block Julian Assange's extradition / AFP/Getty Images Mr Seigers comments followed Saturdays protest in which hundreds of Assanges supporters marched through London ahead of next weeks full extradition hearing. Calling for the Government to block the extradition request, Mr Seiger said: In accordance with the principle of reciprocity which the US is failing to abide by, on behalf of Harry Dunns family and the millions of concerned citizens in the UK, I now demand that the UK authorities block any further extraditions to the US, including the one of Julian Assange, until such time as Anne Sacoolas is extradited and back on UK soil facing the justice system here. Dominic Raab told us when we met with him on January 27 that we are reviewing all our options following the refusal to extradite Anne Sacoolas. I now call him to exercise that option of refusing to extradite Julian Assange and others to the USA. It is high time that the UK Government comes out and shows us what they are made of if they are to instil any confidence that they really do have our backs, Harrys family having been so badly let down following his death last August. In UP, Nadda explains all the good PM has done for farmers Bihar has Modis blessings says Nadda India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Feb 23: Exhorting party workers in Bihar to spread the message that "BJP is synonymous with development", its national president J P Nadda on Saturday asked them to work towards ensuring the NDA's return to power in the assembly elections due later this year. Nadda inaugurated, through video conferencing, 11 new district offices of the BJP across the state. Speaking at the function, he called upon party workers to make use of technology at their disposal and explain to the people that "Bihar has the blessings of Narendra Modi, who has provided assistance worth billions to the state and these have been effectively utilised on the ground through Chief Minister Nitish Kumar". 'Baat Bihar Ki': Prashant Kishor set to launch new plan to mobilise 1 crore youth Nadda also asked workers to dispel "misinformation" about the Modi government's measures such as abrogation of Article 370 provisions and making triple talaq a punishable offence. He said they should explain to the people that these "decisive steps" had brought "happiness" to residents of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir who were previously deprived of many rights and women who were aggrieved by the practice of instant divorce. NEWS AT NOON FEB 23rd, 2020 Apparently mindful of the dissidence that comes to the fore ahead of the elections with many aspirants not being considered for tickets, Nadda said, "Always do remember, politics is a serious full-time job where there is an entry point but no exit." "Do not get swayed by concerns of individual benefits. Do remember that if the party thrives, the benefits will reach all," he added. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, February 23, 2020, 9:04 [IST] Over 350 police officers of the Xinjiang Division of the Chinese People's Armed Police voluntarily donate blood in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, Feb 22, 2020. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn] Over 350 police officers of the Xinjiang Division of the Chinese People's Armed Police voluntarily donated blood on Saturday as supplies fell in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. The coronavirus outbreak that keeps many people from going outside has strained local supplies in Urumqi, according to the regional Blood Center. "The number of donors has decreased. Before the government activated first-level emergency response, we had about 800 liters of stored blood. Now we have 350 liters left," said Zhang Hongbin, director of the center. In response, the Xinjiang Division took the lead and organized donations. After undergoing medical checkups, over 350 police officers in good health donated more than 70 liters of blood. "Although I did not go to the front line of the fight against the virus, I hope my blood donation will provide some help to society, and we are here to set an example for everyone," said Mardan Ainywar, a 26-year-old police officer. Over 350 police officers of the Xinjiang Division of the Chinese People's Armed Police voluntarily donate blood in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, Feb 22, 2020. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn] Meanwhile, the center has rolled out services allowing people to make appointments for donations. "Citizens can call for appointments and we will send cars to pick them and bring them to our center for donations, which allows them to avoid crowds and reduce possible cross-infection," said Zhang. In a circular issued on Feb 5, the National Health Commission and the military health department urged local authorities to make emergency plans in case of blood shortages and to step up inter-provincial allocations of blood. In cases of emergency, local authorities should first attempt to allocate blood within the province before seeking outside help, the circular said, adding that blood collectors should use more precautions against infection. Over 350 police officers of the Xinjiang Division of the Chinese People's Armed Police voluntarily donate blood in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, Feb 22, 2020. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn] RIDGEFIELD Fears of trucks piling up on Main Street to skirt around freeway tolls may have been premature. On Wednesday, Gov. Ned pulled a sharp u-turn on his signature plan to add tolls to Connecticut roadways, even as Democratic lawmakers insisted they could find support for tolls. The news was met with grim acceptance by some Ridgefielders, and relief by others. This has been a two-year fight. ... it was an uphill fight, said Joe Savino, a Republican who ran for a seat on the Board of Selectmen last November, but lost. He said he was relieved when he heard Lamont had hit the pause on his tolls plan. Among the concerns raised about tolls by Ridgefielders: that residents driving across the state line would be hit with tolls near the New York border, or that expressway tolling would push truck drivers down local roads, congesting the towns arteries of travel. Nearly a year ago, Savino was among the Ridgefielders picketing against tolls with No Tolls CT, a protest group that held similar rallies in other locations around the state. Several of the groups signs told drivers to honk if they were against tolls, and the sound of car horns could be heard up and down Danbury Road where the group was set up. I think Connecticut really stood up and said we dont want this, said Andrew Ziemba, a member of the Republican Town Committee who helped spearhead Ridgefield opposition to tolls. He believes tolls will be back on the agenda in the future. I dont think the issues going to be dead because last year they put it in and the vote failed, Ziemba said. First Selectman Rudy Marconi, an early backer of tolling as a source of state revenue, said Thursday he was disappointed by the news. I thought it represented a good source of revenue for the state of Connecticut, Marconi said. The Democratic first selectman said he is concerned revenue raised by the gas tax will steadily decline as more and more drivers switch over to electric vehicles, leaving a shortfall for funding improvements to roads and rails. Its an absolute must that we find a revenue stream to fund infrastructure improvements, he said. But at least one member of Marconis own party said the governors flip-flopping on whether toll revenue would go to road or rail improvements sealed its fate. My gut was I think we were pushing this thing too quick, said state Rep. Ken Gucker, a Democrat who represents part of the northern section of Ridgefield, as well as part of Danbury and New Fairfield. The largest or the hardest part has been to get the public behind this because it kept changing every couple weeks, Gucker said. The state representative said people in his district have consistently opposed tolls three-to-one when hes polled residents. Gucker said he originally supported a toll plan that would have given state residents a tax rebate on electronically-collected tolls. He said he changed his mind to opposing them, however, after he learned many poor and lower-middle income residents dont make enough to file their taxes and so would never get the money back. State Sen. Will Haskell, whose district includes Ridgefield, reacted to the news on Twitter. One day well fix our roads, bridges (and) trains, the Democratic senator said. In 2020, vote for pro-tolls folks if you want to split the cost of doing so. Vote for the filibuster crew if you want to pay for it all yourself. Whatever you do, vote for someone with an honest answer about how theyll get CT moving. State Rep. John Frey, whose district is wholly contained within Ridgefield, shared a link on Facebook to a News-Times story with the headline Lamont abandons tolls. There you go, the Republican lawmaker commented on the post. A celebrity makeup artist who paints the faces of Kendall Jenner and Shanina Shaik has revealed the trick to finding the perfect nude lipstick for every skin tone. Sofia Schwarzkopf-Tilbury, who is the niece of iconic British makeup mogul Charlotte Tilbury, said it's all about choosing a shade that matches the natural undertones of your skin. The best way to do this is to test lipstick directly on the lips, not in swatches across the wrist or the back of the hand as is often done at makeup counters, because the body is always a slight shade darker than the face. Sofia Schwarzkopf-Tilbury (pictured) is the niece of British makeup mogul Charlotte Tilbury and a skilled artist in her own right Cool pink or blue toned nudes work best for people with fair skin, who can also get away with beige or bright coral hues. Medium skin tones are lucky enough to suit both cool and warm tones, while those with dark complexions look best in rich browns. Warm brown lip liner is Sofia's secret weapon because it blends well with any lipstick colour without washing out the skin. Pillow Talk, a lipstick created by Sofia's aunt Charlotte which has become one of the most iconic nudes of all time, is her go-to shade for clients because it 'literally works on everyone'. 'It's the perfect nude-pink shade for a plump-looking, perfected, your-lips-but-better look,' she told Whimn. Medium skin tones (as seen on Irish model Kelly Horrigan, left) are lucky enough to suit both cool and warm tones, while those with dark complexions (like Victoria's Secret model Shanina Shaik, right) look best in rich browns The biggest mistake Sofia sees people make is choosing a shade too similar to their natural complexion. 'It gives a bit of a washed-out look, like you've got foundation on your lips,' she said. In terms of texture, Sofia suggested pairing a matte nude with a dark smoky eye to create a sultry evening look. Glossy finishes work best with minimal makeup for an effortless 'no makeup, makeup' effect. HONG KONG (Reuters) - A second plane with 82 Hong Kong residents who were quarantined on the Diamond Princess cruise in Japan for more than two weeks landed early on Saturday in the Asian financial hub, where they will face a further 14 days of quarantine. HONG KONG (Reuters) - A second plane with 82 Hong Kong residents who were quarantined on the Diamond Princess cruise in Japan for more than two weeks landed early on Saturday in the Asian financial hub, where they will face a further 14 days of quarantine. The first batch of 106 passengers arrived in the Chinese territory on Thursday. The British-flagged Diamond Princess, operated by Carnival Corp, arrived in Yokohama, near Tokyo, on Feb 3. with about 3,700 people onboard after the virus was diagnosed in a man who disembarked last month in Hong Kong. Japan reported the deaths of two elderly passengers on Thursday, the first fatalities from aboard the ship where more than 630 cases account for the biggest cluster of infection outside China. Authorities said 66 of the 364 Hong Kong residents on the ship were infected with the coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. They will remain in Japan along with other citizens who were in close contact with them. Hong Kong immigration authorities are in Japan and are arranging further flights, government officials said. Government-funded broadcaster RTHK reported delays and confusion over the latest flight, with Hong Kong officials saying Japanese authorities eventually barred some 17 people at the boarding gate, saying they had been in close contact with confirmed cases. Those passengers were later cleared and returned to Hong Kong on later flights. They will also placed under quarantine in Hong Kong, the broadcaster reported. Two Macau residents also returned on the flight, and were taken back to the city by road on arrival in Hong Kong. Aside for the passengers, Hong Kong has confirmed 68 cases and two deaths from the disease and dozens of police officers were quarantined after an officer tested positive on Tuesday following a banquet. (Reporting by Hong Kong newsroom; Editing by Greg Torode and Daniel Wallis) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Nonpartisan redistricting reform in the Commonwealth of Virginia, by way of an amendment to the state Constitution, is on life support thanks to the political cowardice and hypocrisy of Speaker of the House Eileen Filler-Corn and the Democratic majority in the House of Delegates. Thats a harsh assessment, but its the truth. House Democrats had a self-imposed deadline of this past Thursday to take action on the proposed constitution amendment. The chairman of the Privileges and Elections Committee just a week earlier had promised the body they would have the chance to vote on the amendment, but when push came to shove, Democrats failed. They failed because of cowardice. They failed because of hypocrisy on the part of their leaders. They failed because some members believed the good to be the mortal enemy of the perfect. They failed because some members of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, under the guise of protecting all communities of color, chose to protect their political power over advocating for needed reform of a broken process. And they failed because Speaker Filler-Corn didnt have the courage to put the best interests of the commonwealth and its 8.5 million residents over the narrow, parochial interests of the 55 members of her House Democratic caucus. In the 2019 Assembly session, overwhelming bipartisan majorities of the state Senate and House of Delegates approved a constitutional amendment that would create a 16-member, nonpartisan redistricting commission to draw legislative districts for the General Assembly and U.S. House of Representatives. Virginia law requires a constitutional amendment be re-approved, with no changes whatsoever, by the next Assembly session that convenes following an election for all 140 House and Senate seats, as occurred in November 2019, before it can go to voters for their approval. The Senate did its part earlier this month, approving the redistricting amendment on another overwhelming bipartisan vote. Sens. Louise Lucas, Mamie Locke and Jennifer McClellan, three of the most powerful Democrats in the chamber and all African Americans, pushed through strong enabling legislation that would explicitly ensure protection of communities of color and outlaw political gerrymanders. The House, though, was a different story from Day One of the 2020 session. Ever since the November elections when Democrats flipped control of the chamber for the first time in 20 years, relegating Republicans to the sidelines, there had been rumblings about the fate of the redistricting amendment coming from the black caucus. And notably, Speaker Filler-Corn, who owes her election to the post to support from the caucus, was silent on support for the amendment. And now, by whats known as a pocket veto, the all-powerful speaker has killed the House legislation simply by refusing to schedule a floor vote. Only the Senate bill, with the accompanying enabling legislation from Sens. Lucas, Locke and McClellan, remains alive in the House. The House has until March 7, the last day of the session, to take action on those bills. If the speaker and the black caucus stand in the way, all hope of meaningful redistricting reform is dead. Oh, they claim their non-amendment process is far superior to permanently rewriting the state Constitution, but the fact of the matter is that House Democrats now have tasted power and they dont want to give it up. But lets remind them and the residents of Virginia what past partisan redistrictings have wrought. In 2001, Republicans in charge of the House went to select Democrats and gave them three options: (1) retire and their districts would be untouched for a likely GOP pickup in the next election, (2) become an independent and caucus with Republicans or (3) stand firm as a Democrat and see their districts sliced and diced. Thats why then-Del. Watkins Abbitt of Appomattox County became an independent and then-Del. Ted Bennett of Halifax County retired. In 2011, Republicans went after Democrats with all their power, utilizing what courts later ruled to be an illegal racial gerrymander to create super-minority-majority districts for black delegates while creating neighboring districts super-safe for Republicans. A decade-long legal fight ensued, with 12 lawsuits filed and five trips to the U.S. Supreme Court. Taxpayers paid millions of dollars in legal fees defending the GOPs illegal racial gerrymander. Its overturning in 2017 by a federal court led to the redrawing of more than two dozen districts and the Democrats stunning wins in the 2017 House elections. In the intervening decade, Democrats ran as the party of reform, promising voters they would fix the hyper-partisan redistricting process and return power to the people. No longer would legislators get to pick their voters, Democrats promised. Just elect us, and not those bad Republicans, and well be there for you, they pledged. It was all a lie. The minute they regained power, any hope of meaningful, permanent change died. Party and payback mattered, not acting in the best interests of the commonwealth and its residents. All is not lost yet. There is still time to lobby Speaker Filler-Corn. Call her office at (804) 698-1041 or email her at DelEFiller-Corn@house.virginia.gov. Demand she put whats best for Virginia ahead of whats best for the Democratic Party. Imagine a pristine T&T where there are no more homeless people or animals. One where hunger has been eliminated as the relic of a bygone era. A world where pipe-borne water is delivered to every home every day, not wasted in an archaic system where significant leaks are either ignored or washed out to sea. Roger D. Carstens serves as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor at the U.S. Department of State. (State Department) Trump Announces Nomination of Roger Carstens as Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs President Donald Trump on Feb. 21 announced his nomination of Roger D. Carstens as the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs (SPEHA), according to a White House statement. Carstens currently serves as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor at the Department of State, where he oversees the Bureaus work in Near Eastern Affairs, Western Hemisphere Affairs, and the Office of Security and Human Rights. A graduate of the United States Military Academy, he has also worked overseas with international NGOs in Somalia and Jordan, where he provided humanitarian assistance and stability support to Syrian refugees and internally displaced persons. Carstens retired from the United States Army as a Lieutenant Colonel with 20 years of service, including in the Special Forces, 1st Ranger Battalion, and as Special Assistant for Legislative Affairs in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Following the announcement, National security adviser Robert OBrien said on Twitter that the appointment of Roger Carstens as Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs is an important signal reaffirming @realDonaldTrumps priority of bringing home as many of our wrongfully detained Americans and hostages as possible. It was my honor to serve as SPEHA from May 2018 to October 2019. I know Roger will do a great job implementing the Presidents priorities and bringing our fellow citizens home. OBrien also thanked Hugh Dugan for his role as acting SPEHA since last October, saying, He did great work bringing Americans home. Earlier this week, OBrien also responded to reports that Russia is interfering in the 2020 election in order to get President Donald Trump reelected. He said reports that intelligence officials were briefed that the Kremlin is trying to give Trump a helping hand in his 2020 bid were a non-story. So, look, who knows what happened over at the House and the Intelligence Committee, but I havent seen any evidence that Russia is doing anything to attempt to get President Trump reelected, he told ABC. I think its the same old story weve heard before, OBrien said, adding, Our message to the Russians is stay out of the U.S. elections. Weve been very tough on Russia and weve been great on election security. However, OBrien said that reports that Russia is also interfering to help Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders came as no surprise. There are these reports that they want Bernie Sanders to get elected president. Thats no surprise. He honeymooned in Moscow, he told ABC. Sanders, a 78-year-old self-described Democratic socialist from Vermont, has himself addressed the reports, saying in a statement that he does not consider Vladimir Putin a good friend. He [Putin] is an autocratic thug who is attempting to destroy democracy and crush dissent in Russia. Lets be clear; the Russians want to undermine American democracy by dividing us up I stand firmly against their efforts and any other foreign power that wants to interfere in our election. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Veeramalla Anjaiah (The Jakarta Post) Mon, February 24 2020 Landmark: Every day, thousands of tourists throng to Maiden Tower, the oldest structure in Bakus Old City. It was built in the 12th century. (Courtesy of salambaku.travel) Do you want to see both Europe and Asia in one place? Do you want to experience the different climates of the world in one country? Do you want to visit a land-locked country that has 650 kilometers of coasts and a thriving port? Then go to Azerbaijan, an amazing oil-rich country in the South Caucasus. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,000/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Beauty pageants are regarded as platforms that celebrate female beauty holistically, and rightfully so, the winners are indeed some of the worlds most beautiful women in their own right. However, beneath the veneer of sparkling gowns and thoughtful essays within one-minute windows lies a layer of reality entrenched in the rigours of compliance and the fine line that divides sisterhood from the trappings of competition, typically concealed from the global audience. As the content manager and social media manager of Face of Beauty Internationals 2019 iteration who had no prior experience with pageants, I initially thought that the girls were just there to look and sound beautiful, however, an event of that nature has much more depth than expected. As it turned out, a crown does not only signify that its wearer carries the most appealing visage or the most pleasing personality she has also survived a rigorous process in the most graceful manner possible. Every moment is part of the competition Pageant viewers would think that the only parts of the competition that count are those seen on television or social media, say, the coronation night, swimsuit competition, evening gown competition, and the like. The fact of the matter is the contest begins the moment a participant arrives at the venue regardless if a camera is present to document her arrival or not. Any action that violates the rules set by the pageant is addressed accordingly. And should that behaviour hurt any of the participants, staff, or the image of the organisation, a contestant could get disqualified or lose the chance of winning any award at the very least. Some of the prohibited acts include smoking, drinking, sabotaging other participants, showing attitude to the organisers, and not following instructions. From the rest periods to the moments beyond the days agenda, every legally observable action is placed within the watchful eye of the organisers. Like the members of the British Royal Family or actresses in films, they should show grace at all times. The punishing schedule The big question is what happens to the girls in between the major events. Smaller beauty pageants might afford them more time for rest and leisure, but in regard to Face of Beauty, much of the time spent was with sponsors and partners. Given the large number of sponsors that a pageant can have, its possible for non-publicised days to be a lot busier than those with official pageant events, which are gruelling, to say the least. A day in the life of a beauty queen if shes competing is waking up at around 4:30 am or earlier, which affords her enough time for putting on make-up and arranging her outfits for the day. By sunrise, the delegates are to grab a quick breakfast, then the rest of the day will be spent hopping from one venue to another, meeting and greeting people at the same showing seemingly boundless energy. And sometimes an important function like rehearsals or a charity-related activity is inserted late at night. For the biggest organisations, like Miss Universe and Miss World, the daily schedules are even more punishing considering their long list of sponsorship deals [VIDEO]. It might seem easy at first, but beauty pageants typically last for more than a week, so the daily rigours will eventually get to not just the girls but also everyone else involved with the organisation. Sisters or competitors? An often downplayed element in beauty pageants is how close these girls can get. In the case of the 2019 batch of Face of Beauty International, the ladies were total sweethearts to one another. They lifted each other up even in moments that can potentially cost them a place at the quarterfinals. Sure, there was friction, however, for the most part, they functioned as one loving unit whenever it counted. And some of them continue to correspond with each other to this day with the same fervor. No wonder Miss Universe 2015 winner Pia Wurtzbach is known to spend some of her birthdays with her pageant batchmates years apart from the competition. However, I was told by a pageant insider that there have been cases of sabotage in other pageants, in which candidates ripped the gowns of other participants or hid their footwear. Thus the competition can get rough depending on the mindsets of the participants. I was fortunate enough to not have experienced such behaviour as a member of the organising party. Furthermore, last years winner and the 2018 queen were in competition mode throughout their respective stints despite being generally friendly with a select part of the contingent during rest or transitory periods. They werent too warm, but whenever the cameras or the pageant bigwigs were present, they brought out their best selves, impressing the people who matter in the process. Interestingly, they remain good friends with the other participants as their once-competitive demeanours have shifted to ones that are friendly and caring, having been freed from the bullish nature of life-changing competitions like beauty pageants. All told, for the average viewer, a queen is crowned after proving herself worthy physically, emotionally, and mentally in front of a panel of judges. But for many of the ladies I met, they were already wearing crowns from the moment they started enjoying their interactions in the buses that ferried us from one location to another. Creed and colour didnt matter only the understanding that they were with sisters who were there to join them every step of the way throughout and perhaps beyond the competition. Those moments, to me, are more precious than any jewel-riddled crown. ITC Maurya, the hotel where United States President Donald Trump will check-in on Monday, has been brought under an unprecedented security cover with anti-sabotage teams involving the Army and paramilitary conducting checks on the routes to be taken by the visiting dignitary. IMAGE: UP Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) commandos patrol a street near Taj Mahal ahead of US President Donald Trumps maiden visit to India, in Agra, on Sunday. Photograph: Kamal Kishore/PTI Photo Security agencies are also working in close coordination with the US Secret Service, officials said. In Ahmedabad, over 10,000 policemen from different parts of Gujarat have been deployed at strategic locations as part of the elaborate security arrangements for Trump's visit on Monday, officials said. The massive police deployment is in addition to officials of the United States Secret Service, and India's elite National Security Guards (NSG) and Special Protection Group who would also be guarding the US president's visit. The Secret Service agents along with other US security personnel have already arrived in Ahmedabad with their equipment and vehicles in at least four cargo planes during the last one week. Anti-drone detachment of NSG, snipers, elite SWAT commandos, kite catchers, canine units, sharp shooters on high-rise buildings and Parakram vans have also been deployed along the routes and areas in and around the hotel where Trump will be staying, they said. Police personnel from six districts have been deployed for the security arrangements and nearly 40 companies of Central Armed Police Forces have been pressed into action. Hundreds of high-definition CCTV cameras with night vision have been installed across the Sardar Patel Marg where hotel ITC Maurya is located to monitor the situation round-the-clock, the officials said. Five years ago, when Trump's predecessor Barack Obama visited the national capital, the Delhi Police had rented 605 CCTV cameras and spent more than Rs one crore in hiring, installing and later removing them. In view of the spiralling tensions between Iran and the US, there is a higher security threat this time and the agencies are more 'cautious and alert' than ever, the sources said. A senior police officer said, "We have also requested the anti-sabotage checking teams from paramilitary and army. They have been regularly conducting anti-sabotage checks along every route to be taken by the US President during his visit here". Besides the multi-layer security cover, elaborate arrangements have been made by the Delhi Police, including placement of double barricading on all the roads where Trump's convoy is likely to pass, officials said, adding that aerial surveillance of the route will also be conducted as part of the security measures. Jersey barriers (modular concrete or plastic barriers placed to organise traffic into lanes) will also be put up on the route, a senior police official said. Delhi Police is also working in close coordination with civic bodies. The route leading to a Delhi government school where US first lady Melania Trump is scheduled to pay a visit will also be under a high security cover, according to officials. Trees have been trimmed according to the directions of the security agencies as part of the protocol. Meetings have also been held with US security agents on the elaborate security arrangements in place. IMAGE: Security Forces patrol the premises of Taj Mahal on Sunday. Photograph: Kamal Kishore/PTI Photo At the ITC Maurya, a three-layer security will be in place. The hotel, located in Diplomatic Enclave in Chanakyapuri, will have police personnel in plain clothes patrolling every floor. Delhi Police's security wing personnel will form part of the inner cordon that will work in close coordination with the United States Secret Service. The security wing of the Delhi Police is a specialised unit tasked with the security of VIPs and visiting foreign dignitaries. The second layer of security will be deployed around the hotel's lobby area, parking, lawn area and the pool area, while the third one will comprise police personnel from the district police. There is a large stretch of green ridge area opposite the hotel and security personnel will be deployed there as well. Even at the neighbouring Taj Palace hotel, security personnel are maintaining a tight vigil. The floor where the Grand Presidential Suite is located at the ITC Maurya is out of bounds for most hotel staff owing to the elaborate security arrangements. Sources said security arrangements at the hotel have been underway for the last two weeks with NSG commandos and Delhi Police personnel surveying every floor on a daily basis. Officials from the US embassy are also monitoring the preparations with all details being kept under wraps. The sources added that the hotel will be out of bounds for other guests during the time Trump and his entourage will be there, and all the 438 rooms of the five-star property have been booked. Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take part in a 22-km roadshow from the Ahmedabad international airport and then proceed for the 'Namaste Trump' event at the newly-built Sardar Patel Stadium in the city's Motera area, where over one lakh people are expected to be present. Police will be using the anti-drone technology to neutralise any suspicious drone on the route, officials said, adding that an anti-sniper team of the NSG will also be stationed along the roadshow route, starting from the airport till the Motera stadium via Indira bridge. With the help of sophisticated hand-held devices, the entire route has been scanned several times by the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad. Police and other security agencies have also conducted a rehearsal on the entire roadshow route using over 100 vehicles, they said. Along with police personnel, who will be led by 25 IPS officers, teams of the Rapid Action Force, State Reserve Police, Chetak Commando and Anti-Terrorist Squad are also deployed at strategic locations. Before the US president's arrival, at least four C17 Globemaster cargo planes of the US Air Force have landed at the Ahmedabad international airport with security and communication equipment, Trumps' official helicopter 'Marine One' and a mammoth SUV-like vehicle. The giant SUV, which would be part of Trump's cavalcade during his 22-km long roadshow on February 24, is known as WHCA Roadrunner. WHCA stands for White House Communications Agency. The Roadrunner vehicle, also known as the MC2V (mobile command and control vehicle), serves as a mobile communication hub for the presidential motorcade by encrypting duplex radio and streaming video, which in-turn is beamed to a military satellite that sends the data back to the ground. CHICAGO As disgraced ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich stood in front of TV cameras this week and declared himself a political prisoner finally home from eight years of exile, his former running mate watched in disbelief. Former Gov. Pat Quinn the lieutenant governor who became the states chief executive after Blagojevich was impeached and removed from office in 2009 had heard most of the routine before. The story of his immigrant parents, the poetry recitations and the historical references have been part of Blagojevichs repertoire since his earliest days in politics. But with Blagojevich fresh off his stint in federal prison, this time was different. What upset Quinn most, he said, was the pronounced self-pity, the lack of contrition and, perhaps more than anything, the audacity to discuss criminal justice reform. Quinn inherited a backlog of nearly 3,000 clemency petitions when he took over from Blagojevich, who largely shirked his responsibility to review requests for commutations and pardons. The situation became so dire at one point, Cabrini Green Legal Aid sued Blagojevich to get him to act on their requests. PODCAST: Rod Blagojevich and the history of Illinois' corruption On this episode of Capitol News Illinois podcast, Capitol Cast: Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is freed from prison during the same wee It is ironic that someone who didnt care about those people waiting for an answer, or the families waiting for them at home, was the beneficiary of a commutation, Quinn said. There was no remorse. There was no contrition. What we saw was disgraceful. In his winding "homecoming speech and various media interviews since having his sentence commuted Tuesday by President Donald Trump, Blagojevich has woven a web of half-truths and, to critics, hypocrisies around his newly found freedom. He has promoted unfounded conspiracy theories, attacked his former prosecutors and downplayed his own criminal behavior. And as he has been since the moment of his arrest, Blagojevich remains unrepentant. If anything, a lengthy incarceration has only strengthened his belief that he is the victim of political corruption and not the perpetrator. He also seems emboldened by Trumps bombastic style, which drastically changed the political and cultural landscape while Blagojevich was behind bars. That new reality allows for hurling allegations regardless of their veracity, excoriating perceived opponents in the media and often shouting down the truth. Some are more qualified than others to see through the former governors effort to rewrite the history books. Its strange, because if anyone knows about his guilt, its Rod Blagojevich," said James Matsumoto, the jury foreman at his first criminal trial. "He heard the evidence at two trials. He has to know what he did was criminal. A freed political prisoner Blagojevich was first tried in 2010, with the jury convicting him on one count of lying to the FBI and deadlocking on the rest. At his retrial in 2011, he was convicted of several shakedowns and sentenced to 14 years in prison. The punishment was more than double what his predecessor, ex-Gov. George Ryan, received after his corruption conviction in a licenses-for-bribes scandal, prompting many to question whether the judge acted too harshly. In Blagojevichs eyes, his tragicomic legal ordeal was more persecution than prosecution. Im returning home today from a long exile a freed political prisoner, he told the media Wednesday from the stoop of his Chicago house. I want to say again to the people of Illinois who twice elected me governor: I didnt let you down. I would have let you down if I gave in to this. But resistance to tyrants is obedience to God. Looking older and significantly grayer since his incarceration, Blagojevich spent his first days of freedom trying to restore a tarnished legacy. He showed no interest in a thoughtful debate about the appropriate punishment for his misdeeds, but rather he appeared determined to re-litigate his case. Blagojevichs argument begins with the incorrect assertion that the same people who took him down have also tried to unseat Trump. Its an easily disproved accusation that Trump also pushed when announcing Blagojevichs commutation Tuesday morning, and on Twitter the following day. He served 8 years in prison, with many remaining. He paid a big price. Another Comey and gang deal! the president tweeted Wednesday. Former FBI Director James Comey was U.S. deputy attorney general when the investigation into Blagojevichs administration began, but he moved to the private sector in 2005 and played no role in Blagojevichs arrest in 2008. Blagojevich had been in prison for more than a year when Comey assumed the FBIs top post. Blagojevichs prosecution was overseen by Patrick Fitzgerald, then U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. Fitzgerald did not have any role in the Mueller investigation, though he has been representing Comey, a longtime friend, since Trump fired him in May 2017. It is true that Robert Mueller was the FBI director at the time of Blagojevichs arrest by agents in the FBIs Chicago office. But then-U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey, a George W. Bush appointee and frequent Trump defender, made the decision to tap the governors phones. Blagojevich praises, endorses Trump as justice reformer CHICAGO Former Illinois Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich gushed about Donald Trump a day after the Republican president set him free from a f The facts, however, havent stopped Blagojevich from pushing the idea that he and Trump were targeted by mutual enemies. This is the larger fight that is before all of us as Americans, Blagojevich said on FOX News Wednesday. Some of these same people again have tried to do at the Major League-level to a Republican president what they were able successfully to do to a Democratic governor. And they are threatening to take away from all of us our rights to choose our own leaders through free and fair elections. The assertion defies both time and logic, said former federal prosecutor Jeffrey Cramer, who worked under Fitzgerald. Everyone is trying to morph those facts, Cramer said. These prosecutors who investigated and convicted Blagojevich have been out of the (U.S. Department of Justice) for about 10 years. And the president is making some sort of twisted connect-the-dots between Jim Comey and Rod Blagojevich? When you have to go through these legal gymnastics, maybe the best answer is the most simple one, which is Rod Blagojevich is the poster child for public corruption in Illinois. And that is a pretty high bar. Randall Samborn, a lawyer and former longtime spokesman for the U.S. attorneys office, including during the Blagojevich convictions, dismissed any suggestion that Fitzgerald or his prosecutors played any role in the Trump investigations. And while Mueller was leading the FBI during the time of the Blagojevich investigation and prosecution, the practice at the time was to allow local teams of federal agents and prosecutors much more control unlike what is transpiring today in Washington, Samborn added. Local FBI agents and prosecutors had some degree of independent autonomy in conducting investigations and prosecutions, unlike the more recent reaching across the transom by (Department of Justice) officials that weve seen in recent weeks, Samborn said. Claiming legal mistreatment The former governor complains that the uncontrolled prosecution team improperly applied federal law to railroad him, another claim that does not withstand scrutiny. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals called the evidence against Blagojevich overwhelming and upheld the conviction, while the U.S. Supreme Court twice refused to hear his arguments. The Illinois Senate voted unanimously to remove him from office for abusing his power. The Illinois House also had widespread bipartisan support for his impeachment, with only Blagojevichs sister-in-law, then-Rep. Deb Mell, D-Chicago, voting against it. For Rod Blagojevich to say somehow he is innocent is absurd," Cramer said. "And several courts and a jury thought it was absurd. As Blagojevich continues to disparage federal prosecutors, some worry about the damage his claims could cause. With several aldermen and state lawmakers currently under investigation or indictment for allegedly abusing their positions, the U.S. attorneys office is once again proving itself to be one of the most reliable weapons in the fight against public corruption, former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti said. The only constant in Illinois politics is that we rely upon federal prosecutors to fight corruption, said Mariotti, who also worked under Fitzgerald. You dont want that public trust undermined, especially at this moment in time." Blagojevich was convicted in 2011 on several corruption charges, including that he brazenly tried to sell President Barack Obamas old U.S. Senate seat in 2008. Trump has said he believed the 40th Illinois governor the fourth to go to prison since the 1970s was treated unfairly when U.S. Judge James Zagel sent him away for 14 years. The commutation thrilled Blagojevichs wife and two daughters, but drew strong rebukes from politicians in both parties. Illinois five-member Republican congressional delegation, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker derided Trumps decision to release him roughly four years early, saying it sent the wrong message about the consequences of political corruption and was unfair to his victims. Hospital shakedown Both Blagojevich and Trump shrugged off his actions as normal political talk, glossing over the fact he was convicted of trying to shake down the former Childrens Memorial Hospital for a $25,000 campaign donation in exchange for more state funding for pediatric specialists. The former governor did not mention that specific allegation during his public remarks Wednesday, though he did tout his efforts to provide more affordable health care for children in Illinois. On wiretaps played during his criminal trial, Blagojevich mentioned a Medicaid reimbursement rate increase worth up to $10 million and his desire to hit up hospital CEO Patrick Magoon for contributions in almost the same breath. The rate hike would have gone to pay doctors who were backlogged in treating children for asthma, diabetes, epilepsy and rheumatoid arthritis. Childrens Memorial, which has since changed its name to Lurie Childrens Hospital of Chicago, said in 2008 that no one at the hospital participated in the scheme. They also issued a statement expressing disappointment that money to care for Illinois neediest children has been tied to an alleged pay-for-play scheme. When asked about the scheme on FOX News, Blagojevich quickly retorted: I actually sent that hospital $8 million." The hospital received the state funding after Blagojevich was arrested. The former governor appeared to be parroting arguments he raised in his post-trial appeals none of which succeeded to persuade any court that he didnt try to extort Magoon. The hospital was pretty clear they were being shaken down, Cramer said. You have to laugh at the nerve. In the annals of public corruption, who shakes down a childrens hospital? Blagojevich had been scheduled to be released in March 2024. Instead, he finds himself back in Chicago and required to do community service until he finds a job. He has not said where he intends to seek employment, but he has expressed an interest in helping those who are wrongly incarcerated or serving unfair sentences. (Injustices) that not only destroyed their lives and steal from them their futures, but hurt their children and families, Blagojevich lamented. Blagojevich means it when he talks about reforming the system, a spokesman said in an email Friday. For the last 8 years, Gov. Blagojevich has seen firsthand how broken and racist the criminal justice system is especially towards African-Americans and Latinos, who have been so unfairly treated," wrote Mark Vargas. "There are a lot of people that are deserving of clemency, and he certainly wishes now that he had done more about it as governor. Historically, clemency is granted at the end of ones term in office, and Gov. Blagojevich never got that chance to act. During his tenure, Blagojevich ruled on 1,024 requests, granting clemency to 72 individuals. The suggestion raised some eyebrows among those familiar with Blagojevichs lackluster record on criminal justice reform, including his former lieutenant governor. When Quinn assumed office in 2009, the 2,838-petition backlog created under Blagojevichs administration was the largest in the nation. Some of the untouched requests dated back to January 2003, Blagojevichs first month in office. Given the law at the time, some petitioners were asking for pardons that would make it easier to have low-level crimes such as misdemeanor battery and felony retail theft erased from their records. Every year that their pleas went unheard made life more difficult, said Cynthia Cornelius, director of programs at Cabrini Green Legal Aid. It means your future is on hold, Cornelius said. People were seeking clemency in order to secure housing, employment, schooling or certifications. The years went by and they were still waiting. The group sued Blagojevich in 2006 for dodging his responsibilities, but he triumphed on appeal. Cornelius called his commutation a travesty," saying there are hundreds of thousands of prisoners more deserving of an early release. Still, she hopes Blagojevich keeps his promise to help them. Im willing to give anyone the benefit of the doubt, she said. I hold out hope that because of what he experienced, hell have empathy for people still serving. Quinn addressed 4,268 clemency cases, approving 1,777 of them during his six years in office, according to the Illinois Prisoner Review Board. He worked through the backlog during four-hour review sessions each weekend and said he always looked for contrition or an apology from the petitioner. He saw neither from Blagojevich this week. It makes him doubt whether the politician formerly known as Federal Inmate 40892-424 could usher in needed reforms. If he really cares about criminal justice reform, Quinn said, he has a lot of explaining to do starting today. PHOTOS: Former Gov. Blagojevich comes home after early prison release Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Italian archaeologists have discovered what they say could be a lost, millennia-old shrine dedicated to Romes fabled founding father Romulus. Excavations in the Roman Forum, in a chamber beneath the ancient senate house, have unearthed two objects that, while humble in appearance, may have been of great historical significance. The first resembles a washtub, which excavators believe is a sarcophagus or coffin. The other is a cylindrical stone block thought to be the partial remains of an altar. The recently excavated area represents a place, which in history and in the Roman imagination, speaks about the cult of Romulus, said archaeologist Patrizia Fortini. As the legend goes, Romulus and his twin Remus born to the god of war and daughter of a neighbouring citys deposed king were ordered to be thrown into the Tiber river by the new king, but were instead abandoned by its banks and rescued by a wolf, who suckled them until they were found by a shepherd. Top ten passions of Ancient Rome Show all 10 1 /10 Top ten passions of Ancient Rome Top ten passions of Ancient Rome 302130.bin Getty Images Top ten passions of Ancient Rome 302132.bin Getty Images Top ten passions of Ancient Rome 302133.bin Getty Images Top ten passions of Ancient Rome 302131.bin Getty Images Top ten passions of Ancient Rome 302135.bin Getty Images Top ten passions of Ancient Rome 302136.bin Photograph by Burc Ozkan Top ten passions of Ancient Rome 302137.bin Getty Images Top ten passions of Ancient Rome 302138.bin Getty Images Top ten passions of Ancient Rome 302140.bin Getty Images Top ten passions of Ancient Rome 302142.bin Getty Images After restoring their grandfather to the throne, they set out to build their own city, but a disagreement about which of Romes seven hills to build upon saw a rift appear between them. Romulus claimed to have won via divine approval, building upon Palatine Hill and becoming the citys first king circa 753 BC. Romulus later murdered his brother in a dispute. While Romes origin story is heavily disputed, some ancient sources claimed Romulus was buried in the area of the find. The sarcophagus likely dates to some 200 years after the twins time. It is not known even "whether Romulus physically existed the way he was described in legends, Ms Fortini said, adding that nobody is hypothesising the sarcophagus ever actually contained Romulus remains. Alfonsina Russo, the archaeologist in charge of the site, noted that according to some ancient traditions Romulus was killed and chopped to pieces, or ascended into heaven. Therefore, this cannot be his tomb, but it is very likely, we believe, that this is a memorial site, a cenotaph, Ms Russo added. Curiously, it is the second time the sarcophagus and cylindrical stone stub have been unearthed, but it is only now that archaeologists are deeming them important. In 1899, an Italian archaeologist, Giacomo Boni, was the first to systematically excavate the area. In his writings, he described finding the cylindrical stone and a rectangular, tub-shaped crate in tuff a rock out of which both objects are made, carved from the Capitoline Hill. Reporters wait to visit the underground chamber where the objects were discovered (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) Boni attributed no particular importance to his finds, and in the 1930s, during the regime of dictator Benito Mussolini, a monumental staircase to the senate house called the Curia Julia was built over the site. We thought it would have been destroyed," Ms Russo said. But Fortinis intuition told her that what Boni had found was likely a shrine to Romulus, since the area is one associated with the origins of Rome, and she sought to excavate there. Another crucial clue for where to dig was the close proximity of a black marble shrine called the Lapis Niger. One of the oldest relics in the Forum, the Lapis Niger was long believed by some Romans to mark either Romulus grave, or the spot where some claimed he was murdered by the senate. While excavations continue, authorities hope the public will be able to stroll underground to view the discovery by 2022. Additional reporting by agencies Fugitive gangster Ravi Pujari has been arrested in South Africa and being brought to India by a team of officials, including senior IPS officers from Karnataka, a top police official said on Sunday. Pujari, wanted in many cases including extortion and murder in different parts of the country, including Karnataka, and been on the run for over 15 years, was deported to Senegal in West Africa following his arrest and later extradited. He had jumped bail in Senegal last year after being arrested there. (We are) coming with him from Senegal. Now in Paris. (We are) coming by Air France and (would be) there (in India) by midnight, the police official, part of the team, told PTI. Pujari, who hails from Karnataka, was likely to be brought here by Monday morning, police sources said. The National Investigation Agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Research and Analysis Wing would join the investigation, the sources said. According to police, the gangster, facing over 200 cases including murder and extortion, was arrested in January last year by the Senegal authorities after remaining elusive. Despite efforts of Indian officials to get him extradited then, a local court had granted him bail and Pujari later fled to South Africa. Police sources on Sunday said the gangster was nabbed from a village in a joint operation by the South African and Senegal police. After he was brought to Senegal, the Indian team completed extradition formalities, they added. Pujari was initially associated with gangster Chhota Rajan, but he had also worked for fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Scottish Parliament announced in 2018 that all women, whether visiting or working at Holyrood, would have access to free towels or tampons (Jane Barlow/PA) Stormont is set to consider making sanitary products freely available at Parliament Buildings in a pilot scheme. It follows a request from West Tyrone Sinn Fein MLA Catherine Kelly to highlight the issue of period poverty. Ms Kelly asked the Assembly Commission to address the issue by making sanitary products freely available in visitors toilets at Parliament Buildings. Parliament Buildings hosts scores of visitors each week (PA) In response to Ms Kellys Assembly Question, she was told that the feasibility of a pilot scheme would be assessed. The Assembly Commission has not previously considered the free provision of sanitary products to students and other visitors to Parliament Buildings, the response read. However, the Assembly Commission will now assess the feasibility of the free provision of sanitary products on a pilot basis. Ms Kelly welcomed the move. I raised the issue of providing free sanitary products in the visitors toilets at Parliament Buildings given the number of schools and visitors that regularly visit Stormont, she told the PA news agency. Many women and girls are struggling with the rising costs of sanitary products and Stormont, as well as other public bodies, can play their part in reducing this pressureCatherine Kelly, Sinn Fein MLA I welcome news that the Assembly Commission are going to carry out a feasibility assessment with the view of providing them on a pilot basis. Many women and girls are struggling with the rising costs of sanitary products and Stormont, as well as other public bodies, can play their part in reducing this pressure. In 2018, the Scottish Parliament announced that all women, whether visiting or working at Holyrood, would have access to free towels or tampons. In the same year, Derry and Strabane District became the first local authority in Northern Ireland to offer products in some of its public buildings. Free sanitary products are also made available at schools in England, Scotland and Wales. Research published by the charity Plan International in 2017 indicated that one in 10 girls between the ages of 14 and 21 in the UK have been unable to afford sanitary products, while 49% have missed an entire day of school because of their period. ABC News Former President Donald Trump, his sister Maryanne Trump Barry and the estate of his late brother Robert Trump tried on Tuesday to convince a New York judge to dismiss a lawsuit by Mary Trump that accused her family of swindling her out of at least $10 million. Attorneys for the Trump siblings argued Mary Trump's claims are time-barred by a six-year statute of limitations and prohibited by legal releases she signed in 2001 when the family settled the estate of Fred Trump Sr., the former president's father. The Trumps also argued Mary Trump possessed "boxes and boxes of information" about the estate settlement that should have given rise to any claims at the time. SEOUL, South Korea (AP) Cases of a new virus swelled Friday in South Korea, making the country the newest front in a widening global outbreak centered in China and now reverberating elsewhere. South Korea said two people have died and 204 have been infected with the virus, quadruple the number of cases it had two days earlier. Schools were shuttered Friday, churches told worshipers to stay away and some mass gatherings were banned. The multiplying caseload in South Korea showed the ease with which the illness can spread. Initial infections were linked to China, but new cases in South Korea and Iran where there have been four deaths don't show a clear connection to travel there. In an emerging cluster of illnesses in northern Italy, the first to fall ill met with someone who had returned from China on Jan. 21 without experiencing any symptoms of the new virus, health authorities said. The World Health Organization warned that clusters not directly linked to travel, such as the ones in South Korea and Iran, suggest that time may be running out to contain the outbreak. The window of opportunity is still there. But our window of opportunity is narrowing, said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. We need to act quickly before it closes completely. Tedros singled out Irans discovery of 18 cases and four deaths in two days and that a traveler from Iran carried the virus to Lebanon, and another traveler from Iran to Canada. These dots are very concerning take them as dots or trends, he said. South Korea Prime Minister Chung Se-kyun started a government meeting on the health emergency by saying, We have entered an emergency phase." Our efforts until now had been focused on blocking the illness from entering the country," he said. "But we will now shift the focus on preventing the illness from spreading further in local communities. Daegu, a southeastern city of 2.5 million that is the countrys fourth largest, emerged as the focus of government efforts to contain the disease known as COVID-19, and Chung promised support to ease a shortage in hospital beds, medical personnel and equipment. Mayor Kwon Young-jin of Daegu has urged residents to stay inside, even wearing masks at home, to stem further infection. Story continues The first case in Daegu was reported on Tuesday. By Friday, the city and its surrounding areas had 152, including South Koreas first two fatalities from COVID-19. Nationwide, the numbers told of a ballooning problem. There were 20 new cases reported Wednesday, 53 on Thursday and 100 on Friday. The central government declared a special management zone around Daegu on Friday, which didnt restrict movement of residents or supersede local officials power but served as official recognition of the problem. Most of those cases have been linked to a single house of worship, a branch of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, where a woman in her 60s attended two services before testing positive for the virus. About 1,000 others who attended services with the woman have been isolated in their homes for screening, and health authorities say theyre trying to monitor thousands of other church members. All 74 sites operated by the Shincheonji Church have been closed and worshipers have been told to instead watch services online for a sect whose leader claims to be an angel of Christ, but who is dismissed by many outsiders as a cult leader. Its teachings revolve largely around the Book of Revelation, a chapter of the New Testament known mostly for its apocalyptic foreshadowing. Health and city officials say the woman eyed as a potential transmitter at the church had contact with some 1,160 people, both at the church and at a restaurant and a hospital where she was treated for injuries from a car accident. That raised fears that South Korea which before Wednesday had recorded just 31 cases of the virus should brace for a further surge. I hope South Korea will do everything to contain this outbreak at this early stage, Tedros said. Usually bustling downtown streets of Daegu were nearly deserted Friday as people wearing face masks lined up at clinics seeking testing. Crowds formed in supermarkets where shelves of ramen and curry were nearly bare. Eight hundred area schools, due to start a new academic year on March 2, delayed their openings by a week. Panic is taking hold," said Daegu resident Huh Mi-yeon. People are scared of any situation where they would run into another person. Elsewhere in the country, angst grew too. In the capital of Seoul, major downtown rallies were banned, and fears of the virus led many to avoid shops and restaurants and instead eat at home and order necessities online. Buses and subways were full of mask-clad commuters. The first three cases in the countrys 600,000-member military also sprung up on separate bases Friday, bringing added concern. A sailor on Jeju Island and an army officer in North Chungcheong province both tested positive. Both had made recent visits to Daegu, officials said. A third infection was reported in an air force officer who is based in Daegu but who had recently traveled to military headquarters in central South Korea, the defense ministry said, prompting the quarantine of 80 soldiers there. Even as new alarms were sounded elsewhere in Asia, in China, where the vast majority of cases have occurred, officials have expressed optimism over the number of new infections, which has been trending downward. China said Friday 889 new cases were recorded in the preceding 24 hours and 118 additional deaths. WHOs Dr. Sylvie Briand said theres no information yet that the virus itself is changing. But shes concerned that there are different patterns of transmission in different parts of the world, what she called a very different phase of this outbreak depending where you look. Globally, more than 76,000 people have been infected in 27 countries, and more than 2,200 have died. Italian authorities say the number of people infected has more than quadrupled due to an emerging cluster of cases in the country's north. Many of the new cases represented the first infections in Italy acquired through secondary contagion and brought the country's total to 14 on Friday. In the United States,35 people have tested positive for the virus, including 18 who returned home from a quarantined cruise ship in Japanand one new case reported Friday in California. The U.S. Department of State is advising citizens to reconsider cruises to or in East Asia and the Asia-Pacific Region. The spread of the virus is causing countries to implement strict screening procedures. The State Department warns that depending on local conditions, passengers could be unable to get off a ship or become subject to quarantine procedures. ___ Sedensky reported from Bangkok. Associated Press writer Tong-hyung Kim contributed to this report. - Matteo Guidicelli funnily mentioned in one of his past interviews that he wants 16 children with Sarah Geronimo - The reaction of the gorgeous showbiz personality upon hearing the statement of her partner was caught on the camera - The video of the said moment surfaced again after the secret wedding of the couple on February 20 - It once again became viral on social media and many people could not help but smile after seeing the reaction of the actress PAY ATTENTION: Click "See First" under the "Following" tab to see KAMI news on your News Feed Sarah Geronimo had an epic and funny reaction when her partner Matteo Guidicelli said he wants 16 children with the actress. KAMI learned that the video, which caught the reaction of the gorgeous celebrity, resurfaced after their much-talked-about private wedding on February 20. PAY ATTENTION: Enjoyed reading our story? Download KAMI's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Filipino news! The video was actually uploaded last year and it once again became the talk of the town recently because of the prominent couples marriage. It was Jojie Dingcong, the talent manager of the popular actor, who asked Matteo about the number of children that he wants to have with Sarah. Agreeing with his good friend Erwan Heussaff who was just standing beside him during the casual interview, the handsome celebrity suddenly uttered 16. The It Takes A Man and A Woman star could not believe what she heard, and her reaction could tell how surprised she was. Watch the viral video below: In a previous article by , Matteo finally responded to the accusation that he punched a bodyguard during his wedding with Sarah. Sarah Geronimo is a prominent showbiz personality in the Philippines. She gained popularity after winning the singing competition entitled Star for a Night. POPULAR: Read more news about Sarah Geronimo! Please like and share our Facebook posts to support KAMI team! Dont hesitate to comment and share your opinion about our stories either. We love reading about your thoughts! Tricky Questions: In this video, we have included some of the most tricky questions and interesting challenges! Do you enjoy watching street interviews and listening to different opinions? Try to answer these tricky questions yourself. on HumanMeter! Source: KAMI.com.gh Copyright 2020 Albuquerque Journal Unless you live there, its impossible to imagine what its like to look out of the windows of Taos Pueblo and watch the sun rise, reach its zenith, and then dissolve into twilight and finally darkness punctuated by shimmering starlight. You can come close though, thanks to a room that Taos Pueblo artist David Gary Suazo finished painting on the fifth floor of the Nativo Lodge in Albuquerque on Feb. 20. The inn, which is owned by Heritage Hotels and Resorts, has invited Native artists to decorate its rooms. Suazo is the first member of the Taos Pueblo to have an artist room at the Nativo, where about 60 of the 144 hotel rooms feature Native creations. Suazos daughter, DeAnna Autumn Leaf Suazo, finished a room in December at the Nativo, across the hall from her fathers room. She is half Navajo (Dine) and is a junior at the Institute of American Indian Arts. The trailblazer in the family, however, was DeAnnas mother, Geraldine Tso, who decorated a room called Blue Day, Visit to the Pueblo in 2016. Tso, who is Navajo, was born in Gallup, but moved to Taos after marrying Suazo. Her room has a striking mural about visiting the pueblo with family and friends. But it also incorporates the landscape of Tsos Navajo homeland in Coyote Canyon with a series of paintings that hang over the bed. Tso, who considers herself to be self-taught, has exhibited her work in many Indian markets around the country. She has won best of show in such juried events as the San Juan Bautista Art Show and the Parkview Fine Art Show in Aurora, Colorado. Suazo and Tso divorced 15 years ago, but they remain business partners. Both are keenly interested in the future of their children and the familys legacy. Suazo carries Tsos work in his Evening Snow Comes Gallery, located inside Taos Pueblo next to the visitor center. A native of Taos, Suazo was raised in Denver, where he attended high school. The family moved to Colorado because employment opportunities were more plentiful there than in New Mexico, he said. Suazo returned to Taos in 1987 and has lived and worked there ever since. Like his daughter and former wife, he studied at IAIA in Santa Fe. In fact, mutual friends from IAIA introduced Tso and Suazo a year after they graduated. Despite New Mexicos well-deserved reputation for nepotism, each member of the family won their commission to decorate a room at the Nativo independently. I had no idea they were related, said Maresa Thompson, proprietor of Constellation Creative LLC and curator for the Nativos artist rooms. Their styles are very different and no one mentioned the other. Its a happy accident that we have a family represented at the Nativo. Tsos room is the most traditional of the three rooms created by the family. It draws on personal experience and memories. As she notes in her artist statement for her room, her style is influenced by RC Gorman and the Taos Art Society. One painting on the wall in the Blue Day room features three pumpkins, representing her three children. In addition to DeAnna, she and Suazo have another daughter, Shindine Suazo, and a son, Dexter Suazo. All the children began drawing around the age of 2, according to their mother. However, Shundine and Dexter are currently involved in the food business rather than pursuing art full time. Dexter is head chef at Martyrs Steakhouse, just off the Plaza in Taos, while Shundine has taken an entrepreneurial route with the Shundine Fry Bread Stand on Pueblo Street in Taos. David Suazo said he and his ex-wife taught their children to have a fallback career for times when the art market is dormant. Geraldine and I both come from families who have been creating art for generations. But sometimes, its not possible to be a full-time artist. Thats why its good to have skills that can be used in the food industry. Although having an art gallery inside the Taos Pueblo is a seemingly enviable position, Suazo said the pueblos religious activities put restrictions on commerce. Thats why he travels a lot, offering his paintings for sale at art shows and displaying his work in such galleries as True West in Santa Fe. On his website, Suazo encourages potential visitors to his gallery to first call the Taos Pueblo Visitor Center at 575-758-1028 to make sure the pueblo is open to the public. Much of Sauzos work draws on the architecture of the Taos Pueblo, one of the oldest continuously inhabited communities in the United States and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. But there is a striking asymmetry to his structures. Its as if the pueblo met the classic German horror film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, where buildings and objects are tilted at unexpected angles. Still, theres nothing foreboding about Suazos cheerful paintings, which have attracted collectors from all over the world. His work has been honored by Eight Northern Pueblos (of which Taos Pueblo is one), the annual SWAIA Indian Market in Santa Fe, and other art markets and museums. Suazo is a master of trompe loeil. Windowsills, doors and other architectural elements appear three-dimensional, even though they are painted on a flat surface. In his artist room at the Nativo, which he has not yet named, he painted a door on the wall after being disappointed to find there wasnt one in the room. To make it look realistic, he went to the nearby Jackalope, a retailer that has a variety of folk art, and bought a rustic handle that he attached to the door. If Tso is the quiet traditionalist and Suazo the energetic marketer, their daughter DeAnna is the revolutionary in the family. Her eye-popping portraits of young women fuse Native imagery and an aesthetic straight out of Japanese anime. Shes been heavily influenced by graffiti and other street art. Her palette is out of this world. See that character on the wall? she asks. Ive been working on her for at least 13 years. I want my Native women to have sass, to have attitude. Im tired of obedient women. Tso said that when she and her daughter visited New York City for an exhibit of DeAnnas art at the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian, near Battery Park, they took time to wander around looking for graffiti and other outsider art. DeAnna is inspired by the streets, Tso said. Thompson, the former creative director of Heritage Hotels who came up with the concept of artist rooms at the Nativo, said, I have never seen anything like DeAnnas art. Its so fresh. Its so pop. Thompson said she got the idea for artist rooms in the Nativo after visiting the Hotel des Arts in San Francisco and seeing rooms decorated with the work of Shepard Fairey, best known for the Hope poster that he created for President Barack Obamas first presidential campaign. She was able to sell Jim Long, founder and CEO of Heritage Hotels, on the idea of making art a calling card for Albuquerques Nativo, an economy hotel where rooms rent for roughly $100 a night. Jim thought it was more interesting to have artist rooms in the Nativo than in some of the upscale hotels the company owns, like the El Monte in Taos or the Hotel Chimayo in Santa Fe, she said. Art should be for everybody, not just people with a lot of money. The end result? In 2018, the Nativo was named the Artsiest Hotel in America by the trade publication World Property Journal. The Sri Lankan government on Sunday appointed a six-member team to help police collect authentic information and expedite an ongoing presidential probe into the devastating Easter Sunday terror attack that killed over 250 people. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa decided to hasten the probe into the April 21 attack which had proved crucial in his decisive electoral victory last November. Rajapaksa used the Easter Sunday terrorist attack to portray himself as the leader who could stop terrorism. The voters gave him a big mandate and elected him as President in November last year. Rajapaksa stormed to victory, trouncing his nearest rival Sajith Premadasa by a margin of over 13 lakh votes - 52.25 per cent of votes polled against 41.99 per cent. The 6-member task force has been appointed to help police's CID to "speed up the ongoing investigations" and will submit weekly reports to the defense ministry on the progress of investigation, according to a statement. "The CID investigation into these attacks was not conducted in an effective way by the last regime," defense ministry secretary Kamal Gunaratne was quoted as saying in the statement. The team has been tasked to "collect authentic information and evidence to take legal action against all those involved in supporting the extremists". Nine suicide bombers belonging to local Islamist extremist group National Thawheed Jamaat (NTJ) linked to ISIS carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and three luxury hotels on the Easter Sunday, killing 258 people, including 11 Indians. The previous government was blamed for its inability to prevent the attacks in spite of the prior intelligence made available. The Muslim minority party leaders who were ministers in the previous government were alleged to have supported the Jihadis. Head of a local Catholic church Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith early this week said though the parliamentary panel of the previous government was a cover up, yet he was happy with the presidential probe appointed by Rajapaksa's predecessor Maithripala Sirisena. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Britain will mark the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day with a spectacular three-day programme of events that will mix nostalgia, thanksgiving and sombre remembrance. On May 8, 1945, the nation cheered as Prime Minister Winston Churchill announced that after six years of bitter conflict that had claimed millions of lives and demanded massive sacrifices from every family, the Second World War in Europe was finally over. Now, with 75 days to go until the historic 75th anniversary, the country is being urged to come together to pay its respects to all those who played their part and to recapture the spirit of unbridled joy that swept across Britain on VE Day. On May 8, 1945, the nation cheered as Prime Minister Winston Churchill (pictured) announced that after six years of bitter conflict, the Second World War in Europe was finally over As part of the celebrations on May 8, 2020, extracts from Churchill's famous victory speech will be broadcast at venues and public spaces up and down the land. The Red Arrows and the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight will perform a flypast over Buckingham Palace, while there will also be a procession down The Mall by veterans, remembrance services and parades in Cardiff and Edinburgh, and street parties. Friday, May 8, has been declared a Bank Holiday (instead of the usual Monday) and pub hours will be extended on that day and Saturday, May 9, to encourage a 'national outpouring of thanksgiving'. For many who remember VE Day, this year's anniversary represents a final, poignant opportunity to take part in a major commemoration of a defining moment in their own lives and in the history of the nation. The Red Arrows and the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight will perform a flypast over Buckingham Palace as part of the celebrations on May 8, 2020 There will also be a procession down The Mall by veterans, remembrance services and parades in Cardiff and Edinburgh, and street parties. Pictured: Spitfire P7350 (front) flying alongside Hurricane LF363 (back) Last night, Boris Johnson called for everyone across Britain to unite to remember the sacrifices made. He said: 'The 75th anniversary of VE Day marks a historic moment for our great country to come together and reflect on the heroes of the Second World War. 'No one will ever forget what they sacrificed in defending our freedom and securing peace across Europe, and we will continue to honour those who contributed at home and abroad. His victory speech rebroadcast The stirring words of Winston Churchill on VE Day will be broadcast in villages and towns during this year's celebrations. The Prime Minister spoke to the nation on the radio on May 8, 1945 announcing the end of the war in Europe and later that day addressed crowds from the balcony of the Ministry of Health in Whitehall 'God bless you all. This is your victory! It is the victory of the cause of freedom in every land. 'In all our long history, we have never seen a greater day than this. 'Everyone, man or woman, has done their best. Everyone has tried. 'Neither the long years, nor the dangers, nor the fierce attacks of the enemy, have in any way weakened the independent resolve of the British nation. 'God bless you all' Advertisement 'This programme of events gives the whole nation a chance to thank all those involved for everything they did both for those alive today, and for future generations. 'And by commemorating these moments, we can remember and remind ourselves of the fragility of peace, and the need for us all to collectively uphold this.' Last night, veterans pledged to take part. Now aged 94, former Royal Welsh Fusilier Doug Farrington vowed to make the journey from his home in Oldham, Greater Manchester, to London. Doug, who was wounded in the Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes, said: 'I wanted to be part of the fight against Hitler. 'My two brothers, Kenneth and Neville, were killed in the fighting. I was lucky enough to survive. I met my wife in 1947 and was married for 66 years. I'll be coming to London with a friend. It will be a very special day.' Bernard Morgan, 95, said he hoped for a 'repeat performance' of the party he still remembers from VE Day: 'I was stationed in Germany at the time when I received a telex telling me the war was ending and the German surrender was imminent. The drinks just appeared from nowhere.' Jubilant Britons poured on to the streets after Germany's surrender, including outside Buckingham Palace to cheer Churchill and the Royal Family. Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret later secretly joined the crowds to celebrate the future Queen described it as one of the most memorable nights of her life. All unite again... for celebrations By Oliver Dowden Winston Churchill stood on the balcony of the Ministry of Health in Whitehall on May 8, 1945, and announced that, after six long years, the most devastating conflict in history was over in Europe. He told the cheering crowd that 'this is your victory'. And it was. At a critical moment in our history, the nation had come together to do what was needed. Across the country, plans are being made to thank and celebrate the veterans' contributions within their own communities. Pictured: Soprano Katherine Jenkins to host an evening of patriotic celebration at the Royal Albert Hall Hundreds of thousands of British and Commonwealth troops left their homes to fight overseas. On the Home Front, families volunteered to take in children evacuated to the safety of the countryside or clear up the devastation of the Blitz. Bumper bank holiday weekend of events FRIDAY, MAY 8 - Bank Holiday A service of thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey to be attended by hundreds of veterans and representatives of the Second World War generation. 2.55pm: Buglers will sound the Last Post & Reveille on the highest points of each country in the UK Ben Nevis in Scotland; Scafell Pike in England; Snowdon in Wales; and Slieve Donard in Northern Ireland as well as every city. Also to be played at five of our farthest-flung locations Land's End, Cornwall; Lowestoft, Suffolk; St David's, Pembrokeshire; the Scottish island of Unst; Enniskillen Castle in Co Fermanagh; and Tan Hill Inn in Richmond, North Yorkshire. 3pm: Exactly 75 years after Churchill declared the war in Europe over, an extract of his speech (see left) will be broadcast in villages and town centres. 3pm: Thousands of pipers around the world will play Battle's O'er, a traditional bagpipe air, marking the end of battle. As well as on the UK's four highest peaks, pipers will play in Cape Town and in Moscow's Red Square. Another will play on the bridge over the River Kwai in Thailand in tribute to those who were killed in South East Asia, and others will play at the sites of concentration camps, including Auschwitz and Dachau. 3pm: In pubs and historic sites across the country, people are urged to raise a glass for The Nation's Toast to the heroes of the war, saying: 'To those who gave so much, we thank you.' Afterwards, veterans and those who contributed to the war effort take part in a procession down The Mall, ending with a flypast by the RAF's Red Arrows and the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, which includes Spitfires and a Lancaster bomber. 6.55pm: Town criers will call the Cry For Peace Around The World to 'remember men and women, old and young, who died to make us free'. If no crier is at hand, dignitaries, pub landlords or community leaders are encouraged to read it out. 7pm: Bells will ring out in cathedrals, churches and other locations in a celebration of peace. 7.30pm: Soprano Katherine Jenkins to host an evening of patriotic celebration at the Royal Albert Hall, featuring the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra and Military Wives Choirs. To be broadcast in 400 cinemas. SATURDAY, May 9 Parties and celebrations held in pubs, clubs, hotels, town and village halls and on village greens. SUNDAY, May 10 10.30am: Church services around the UK, including the reading of the Tribute To The Millions and Last Post. Advertisement Older men who had served in the First World War joined the Home Guard to protect their neighbours. Women, young and old, joined the war effort in factories and the Women's Land Army. Without this combined effort of millions of people, victory in Europe and the defeat of Nazism would not have been possible. I want those who lived through the war to be at the heart of the Government's programme of commemorative events across the country. So we are inviting the greatest generation to take centre stage. We want all those who served in the Forces, the Home Front and the Women's Land Army, or who were affected by the Second World War, to get in touch with the Royal British Legion so that we can roll out the red carpet for them in London and let the nation say thank you for their sacrifices. When Victory in Europe was announced, people in our towns, cities and villages strung up Union Flag bunting, lit bonfires and held street parties. A national holiday was declared and pubs opened late into the night. Now, 75 years later, I want people to again feel that sense of pride and celebration, so we are encouraging local communities to host street parties, memorial services and other events. To get everyone in the right spirit, the early May Bank Holiday has been moved to Friday, May 8, and we have passed legislation that will allow pubs to open until 1am. In London, hundreds of Forces veterans will take part in a parade down The Mall, Second World War aircraft will fly over Buckingham Palace, and Churchill's speech will be played to the crowds. Across the country, plans are being made to thank and celebrate the veterans' contributions within their own communities. I want to encourage you to mark this occasion however you see fit. That could be by hosting a street party with your neighbours, talking to a veteran who lives close by to learn about their experiences, or simply by raising a glass to say thank you to all those who served and sacrificed so much. Of course, VE Day didn't mark the end of the war for the many Servicemen and women stationed in the Pacific. For them, the fighting did end until August. We will shortly be announcing plans to mark Victory over Japan (VJ Day) on August 15. But for now, I hope you will join me in planning for how your community can show its thanks to the Second World War generation whatever role they played and wherever they served and bring the country together in celebration once again. Spam: Canned square of pork, salt, water, sugar, potato starch and sodium nitrite Spam's back on the menu! Lord Woolton pies, Spam, curried carrots, ginger beer and cheese and Marmite swirls are among the 1940s culinary delights that people are being encouraged to serve up. Spam a canned square of pork, salt, water, sugar, potato starch and sodium nitrite was invented in the US during the Great Depression of the 1930s as a way to sell the then unprofitable pork shoulder. Woolton pie (named after the war-time Food Minister, 1st Earl of Woolton) is made of vegetables and lard. Among those people arranging special events will be a couple in Pembrokeshire on their restored 1944 RAF Air Sea Rescue Launch. At Studley's Four Acres Care Home, Warwickshire, Jim Dyer, 103, who served as a baker in the Catering Corps, will undertake The Nation's Toast. Twenty young players from Biggleswade Rugby Club in Bedfordshire will go on a special VE celebration tour, while Stuart and Daphne King, from Great Yarmouth, will be at the Sandbostel memorial near Hamburg. It honours 300,000 PoWs and civilian prisoners from more than 55 countries who were in the Stalag XB camp. Stuart's father served on HMS Bedouin, which was torpedoed. He was rescued from the sea after eight hours and imprisoned for three years in several camps, including Stalag XB. Moving tribute to mark battle's end A poignant feature of the celebrations will be the piping of Battle's O'er 'I returned to the fields of glory, where the green grasses and flowers grow. 'And the wind softly tells the story, of the brave lads of long ago.' It was composed by Pipe Major William Robb in the late 19th Century as way to mark the end of conflict. Pipe Major William Robb (pictured) composed the piece Battle's O'er in the late 19th Century as way to mark the end of conflict Born in 1863, he joined the Army at 13 and served as the Pipe Major in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. He once marched 35 miles from Aldershot to Hyde Park Corner playing the bagpipes all the way. Pubs, clubs and churches across the country will host events and licensing hours will be extended by two hours to 1am on Saturday, May 9. English Heritage expects 'parties galore in streets, pubs, neighbourhoods, schools and village halls, perhaps with food and dress reflecting the 1940s'. An official 'pub toolkit' available at the website veday75.org advises patriotic drinkers on how to 'give a toast to the heroes of World War II at 3pm (on the dot) on May 8'. Inevitably, health and safety officials have become involved, too, warning people to make sure they 'have a suitable area to gather round and raise their glasses'. Most American travelers will need to apply for a new ID because two thirds of 276 million state driver's licenses do not comply with a security law, sparking fears that the measure could drastically dent tourism. In the U.S. there are 181 million people who still do not have a 'REAL ID' and more than half of Americans are unaware that they will need the ID to board a flight, according to research by the U.S. Travel Association (USTA) conducted last fall. The law, enforced after recommendations following 9/11, means that all travelers will need a REAL ID to fly domestically. REAL IDs are normally identifiable by a star in the upper-right corner and are so far issued by all states except Oregon and Oklahoma The Airports Council International-North America, which represents American airports, warned that passengers could be left stranded. The council's CEO Kevin Burke described the situation to NBC News as 'a crisis waiting to happen'. 'If the government doesn't make a definitive statement now that they're going to extend this, then we're going to have a real crisis on our hands come October 1,' he said. Fears have been raised that the tourism industry will suffer if millions of people find themselves suddenly unable to fly when the law goes into effect in October. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Acting Secretary Chad Wolf said that the department is trying to find ways to ease the process as the deadline fast approaches. ears have been raised that the tourism industry will suffer if millions of people find themselves suddenly unable to fly More than half of Americans are unaware that they will need a REAL ID to board a flight from October Tori Emerson Barnes of the USTA said: 'The challenge remains that tens of millions of Americans do not yet possess REAL ID-compliant identification'. Although 48 states issue the IDs, people who got their driver's licenses before their state implemented it will have to reapply. Oklahoma and Oregon still have not started issuing the IDs. State DMVs are likely to be overwhelmed by applicants as the October deadline approaches. The credentials are normally identifiable by a star in the upper-right corner. In a bid to cushion the impact, DHS announced on Wednesday that it would loosen the restrictions by letting state agencies accept identity pre-submission documents online in attempt to make the application process faster. However, even if states chose to implement a secure electronic system, an in-person trip to the DMV would still be required - and documents will still need to be taken to the appointment. Homeland Security Acting Secretary Chad Wolf said he is trying to find ways to ease the process The DHS said that waiting time would be cut at the appointment because documents would not need to be scanned. To get a new licenses, applicants need proof of residency, proof of identity and legal residence in the United States and a Social Security card. Wolf said: 'While progress has been made, the real work is still ahead because approximately two-thirds of all licenses are presently not compliant with REAL ID. 'Rest assured, our department will continue to examine other viable options to improve upon this process and continues doing everything it can to inform Americans of the requirement to obtain a REAL ID before the full enforcement deadline later this year.' The requirement for REAL IDs was recommended by the 9/11 Commission's that the federal government set standards for handing out ID. Aside from REAL ID-compliant state driver's licenses, travelers can use other forms of identification such as passports or DHS Trusted Traveler cards. Police swarmed a residential street in Salford after gunshots were fired at a car. Two roads in the city were cordoned off on Saturday night after neighbours heard 'four loud bangs'. Police were scrambled to the scene at around 8.25pm but the suspects had fled the scene. No one was injured and no arrests have been made. Forensic officers were also spotted scouring the scene for clues and taking pictures of the crime scene. Several police vehicles and a cordon is pictured in Salford, Greater Manchester, on Saturday night after a suspected shooting in the area A forensic officer is pictured in a protective suit taking pictures of the scene in Salford on Saturday One woman who lives close by said: 'I just sat down eating my Chinese I ordered. I heard three or four load bangs which sounded like gunshots.' She then added: 'I came outside about five minutes later to find police everywhere.' A Greater Manchester Police spokesman said: 'Shortly before 8.25pm on Saturday 23 February 2020, police were called to reports that shots had been fired at a car on Weaste Lane in Salford. 'Officers attended but the offenders had fled the scene prior to police arrival. There are no reported injuries. 'Officers found evidence that shots had been fired on Willows Road and a cordon was put in place whilst enquiries were carried out at the scene. No arrests have been made and enquiries are ongoing. 'Anyone with any information should call police on 0161 856 4592 or 101 quoting incident number 2943 of 22/02/2020, or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.' Clashes broke out Sunday evening between pro and anti-Citizenship Amendment Act groups near Jaffrabad in northeast Delhi where a large number of people had gathered to protest against the CAA. IMAGE: Protesters raise slogans during a demonstration against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR), at Jaffrabad, in East Delhi, on Sunday. Photograph: PTI Photo Police fired tear gas shells as members of the two groups pelted stones at each other in Maujpur. For security reasons, the entry and exit gates of the Maujpur-Babarpur metro station were closed. Gates of the Jaffrabad station were also closed earlier in the day as anti-CAA protests continued on Sunday after hundreds of demonstrators, mostly women, blocked a road near the metro station the previous evening. The 500-strong group dominated by women staged a sit-in on Saturday night near the Jaffrabad metro station demanding a rollback of the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act. IMAGE: Police personnel deployed outside Jaffrabad metro station during the protest. Photograph: PTI Photo There was heavy security deployment in the area. Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kapil Mishra had called a gathering near the Maujpur traffic signal in support of the amended citizenship law following which a second group had assembled in the area. Later in the afternoon, a clash erupted between the two groups. Taking to twitter, Mishra said, "We have given a three-day ultimatum to the Delhi Police to get the road cleared. Get the Jafrabad and Chandbagh road cleared." IMAGE: An anti-CAA protest by around 500 people, mostly women, near the Jaffrabad metro station in northeast Delhi continued on Sunday, prompting the Delhi Metro authorities to close the entry and exit gates of the station. Photograph: Arun Sharma/PTI Photo In a video tweeted by him where he can be seen addressing the gathering, Mishra said, "They (protesters) want to create trouble in Delhi. That's why they have closed the roads. That's why they have created a riot-like situation here. We have not pelted any stone." "Till US President is in India, we are leaving the area peacefully. After that we won't listen to you (police) if the roads are not vacated by then," he told the gathering. Aman Sharma, 22, a student and resident of Maujpur who was part of the group accompanying Mishra, said they were holding a protest against the closure of roads by those opposing the CAA. IMAGE: Anti-CAA protesters block the Seelampur-Jafrabad main road during a sit-in demonstration. Photograph: Arun Sharma/PTI Photo "At around 2.30 pm, they (anti-CAA protestors) started pelting stones and glass bottles," he claimed. Owing to security reasons, the entry and exit gates of the Maujpur-Babarpur metro station have been closed. 'Entry & exit gates of Maujpur-Babarpur are closed,' DMRC said in a tweet. SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics <005930.KS> said on Saturday that one coronavirus case had been confirmed at its mobile device factory complex in the southeastern city of Gumi, causing a shutdown of its entire facility there until Monday morning. Samsung Electronics, the world's top smartphone maker, said the floor where the infected employee worked would be shut down until the morning of Feb. 25. "The company has placed colleagues who came in contact with the infected employee in self-quarantine and taken steps to have them tested for possible infection," Samsung said in a news release. Samsung's factory in Gumi accounts for a small portion of its total smartphone production, and it makes high-end phones, mostly for the domestic market. Samsung produces most of its smartphones in Vietnam and India. Gumi is close to the city of Daegu, home to a church at the center of South Korea's largest coronavirus outbreak. South Korea said on Saturday that the number of people infected with the coronavirus in the country had more than doubled to 433. Samsung said production at its chip and display factories in other parts of South Korea would not be affected. (Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin. Editing by Gerry Doyle) They are two airports, in the same county, with the same holiday money company offering to change your pounds into foreign currency. But families jetting off from Southend Airport in Essex can get a whopping 150 more for every 500 they change than at Stansted Airport, just 30 miles away. Passengers at both airports are served by Moneycorp. And in both cases, the currency giant is the only bureau de change on site. Before you hand over your money to the bureau de change check your rates At Stansted, however, customers who walked up to the foreign exchange desk on February 14 received just 395 for 500. At Southend, customers at the Moneycorp desk received 545 for 500, according to currency firm Equals. To rub salt into the wounds, holidaymakers who use Moneycorp's online 'reserve and collect' service, which requires 24 hours' notice, get a far better deal than the 'walk-up' rates at both Southend and Stansted. Someone who ordered currency on February 13 for collection the next day would have received just under 590 for their 500 at both airports just for a few minutes of filling in forms on the internet. It is no secret that buying currency at the last minute is a cardinal sin of heading off on holiday. But while airports are notoriously poor value, the new figures on the two Essex airports, provided by Equals, shows just how much of a lottery it can be. Stansted, where Moneycorp has seven bureaux, handles 28 million passengers a year. Southend, where it has just two bureaux, handles 1.5 million passengers annually. Moneycorp didn't comment on the Equals figures, except to say that a week later on February 21 there was a 65 difference between the rates at Southend and Stansted. Pauline Maguire, head of retail at Moneycorp, said: 'The reason for higher airport rates is the significant cost associated with operating there, from ground rent and additional security, to the cost of staffing bureaux for early and late flights. 'An easy and more cost-effective way for customers to buy travel money is to pre-order online and collect at the airport. We always encourage our customers to do this. We are seeing up to 50 per cent of transactions coming from reserve and collect customers.' The discrepancies extend across the country. Airport rates are typically 17 per cent worse than the official exchange rate, the latest research shows. This is the margin that bureaux say they need to cover costs and still make a profit. But at Stansted the difference between the bureau de change rate and official rate is 34 per cent. This means you lose about 200 every time you change 500, according to Equals. Gatwick is the second worst airport for buying euros, offering 20 per cent less than the official rate. This is the same as losing 120 for every 500 converted. Birmingham is third, with rates 19 per cent less than the official rate, equivalent to a loss of 110. Southend airport offered the second best rate of the ten airports investigated at 9 per cent less than the official rate. Equals collated the walk-up rates at bureaux de change across Britain on the five Fridays from January 17 to February 14. It analysed one provider from each airport and spoke to a range of bureaux, as not all providers operate in every airport. It asked for the walk-up rate for changing pounds to euros based on changing 500, and checked what the official rate was at the time using rates given on currency website xe.com. It found most airports now offer less than one euro to the pound, even though sterling is currently trading at about 1.2 to the pound. Ian Strafford-Taylor, chief executive of Equals, said: 'Some of the rates we've seen on offer are sky-high and the difference between the market rate and the bureau de change rates is awful. 'Regardless of how the pound is performing, some airports are keeping the same margins and profiting from holidaymakers who have left it until the last minute.' West Indies have been fined 40 per cent of their match fee for maintaining a slow over-rate against Sri Lanka in the first ODI in Colombo on Saturday. Javagal Srinath of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees imposed the sanctions after Kieron Pollard's side was ruled to be two overs short of the target even after time allowances were taken into consideration. In accordance with Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to minimum over-rate offences, players are fined 20 per cent of their match fees for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time. Pollard pleaded guilty and accepted the proposed sanction, so there was no need for a formal hearing. On-field umpires Paul Wilson and Ruchira Palliyaguruge, third umpire Marais Erasmus and fourth official Lyndon Hannibal levelled the charges. In a thrilling encounter, Sri Lanka defeated West Indies by one run in the first ODI. Both the teams will now face each other on February 26. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Colleges and university campuses are facing higher rates than luxury hotels, supermarkets and football stadiums, Sunday Life can reveal. The potential increase in their annual bills may also hit Stormont's education budget, according to a department spokesperson. It comes after the Department of Finance's "rebalance" of non-domestic rates, which was revealed last month. Educational establishments now join pubs as being among the properties taking the biggest hit under the "Reval 2020" review. One college in Co Tyrone has seen its rateable value increase by over 54%, while another in Londonderry is estimated at being worth nearly 800,000 per year. By comparison, the new rateable value for the National Stadium at Windsor Park is 585,000, while both Cliftonville and Glentoran have seen their estimates go down. A spokesperson for the Department of Education told Sunday Life: "The department is currently assessing the impact of the revaluation process which will potentially create an additional resource pressure on the Education Authority's (EA's) budget. This is because, where there is a liability, the EA is responsible for paying the rates bills for the education estate. "We are seeking to see what measures can be explored to deal with the issue of the problems created by the rates revaluation." Though the newly released figures are estimates ahead of finalised bills in March, they are a close guide. The new rates system has been changed so it "reflects local economic changes and makes the system fairer by redistributing rate liability fairly across all sectors in line with changes in market rental values", says the Department of Finance. Lisburn's South East Regional College faces one of the biggest increases in rateable value, having gone up 54.6% to 656,500. The North West Regional College In Londonderry has been assessed at 788,500 per year, up 33.4%. But the value of the Tesco store at Lisnagelvin in the city has gone down by 7.8% to 575,500 per year. The Belfast Metropolitan College site at Millfield in the city centre is up by 41.9% to 679,000, while the Castlereagh campus in the east of the city is up by 47.69% to 399,000. The Hilton Hotel beside the Waterfront Hall is up by just over 7% to 455,000. The Ulster University campus in Coleraine has one of the highest rateable values, up by over seven per cent to 1,913,000. Its campus in Belfast city centre, known as the Art College, has been put at a new value of 891,500, an increase of 22.8%. In Newtownabbey, Northern Regional College is up 48% to 674,500 while Omagh's South West Regional College is 582,000, up 50.5%. The College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise at Greenmount in Co Antrim is up 28.5% to 604,000. Even the Education Authority HQ near St Anne's Cathedral in Belfast is going up in value to 352,000 per year. Other institutions to see a big rise include Northern Ireland's jails. HMP Maghaberry is estimated at 3.6m, up 44%, while Magilligan outside Derry is up by 15.2% to 765,000. Hydebank Wood College and Young Offenders Centre, Belfast, is up 6.4% to 979,000. A Land and Property Services (LPS) spokesperson told this newspaper: "LPS is required by legislation to assess a Net Annual Value (NAV) for every property in the Valuation List. "The Valuation List indicates whether a school, or any other property, is exempt from rates." On Sunday, a team of WHO experts visited the worst-affected Wuhan city in Hubei province Beijing: Ninety-seven more people died in China due to coronavirus, taking the death toll to 2,442, officials said on Sunday, as a team of WHO experts visited the worst-affected Wuhan city in Hubei province. By the end of Saturday, a total of 2,442 people had died of the disease and 76,936 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection had been reported in 31 provincial-level regions, China's National Health Commission (NHC) said in its daily update on Sunday. Ninety-six deaths were reported from Hubei province and one from Guangdong province on Saturday besides 648 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infections, it said. Hubei province, where the virus first emerged in December last, reported 630 new confirmed cases, taking the total confirmed cases in the hard-hit province to 64,084, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported. The NHC also said China's daily number of newly cured and discharged novel coronavirus patients has surpassed that of new confirmed infections for the fifth consecutive day, indicating that cases of infections are coming down. Saturday saw 2,230 people walk out of hospital after recovery, much higher than the number of the same day's new confirmed infections, which was 648, Xinhua reported. A total of 22,888 patients infected with the novel coronavirus had been discharged from hospital after recovery by the end of Saturday, NHC said. Meanwhile, a team of public health experts from the World Health Organisation (WHO) visited Wuhan on Saturday to conduct a detailed probe about the virus which reportedly originated from a seafood market in the city in December last year. The NHC said WHO experts along with their Chinese counterparts who formed a joint investigation team have held talks with the local health authority in Wuhan and visited relevant healthcare institutions. The UN team comprises specialists from the United States, Germany, Japan, Nigeria, Russia, Singapore and South Korea, Hong Kong based South China Morning Post reported. The 12-member team, which arrived in China on Monday, was initially designated to visit only Beijing, Guangdong and Sichuan provinces, while the worst-affected Hubei province and its capital Wuhan were missing from the list. However, the team was finally given permission to visit Wuhan by the Chinese government. Besides controlling the spread of the virus, a major task for the WHO team along with their Chinese counterparts was to come up with standard medicine to cure the disease. The NHC said on Saturday that the team had met top Chinese respiratory disease expert Zhong Nanshan in Guangdong, and visited the centre for disease control and prevention in Guangdong and the city of Shenzhen, and Sichuan. The specialists also discussed quarantine measures, the wild animal trade and community prevention measures with their Chinese counterparts, it said. (Bloomberg) -- Follow Bloomberg on LINE messenger for all the business news and analysis you need. A court in Thailand ordered the dissolution of Future Forward, a pro-democracy opposition party that became the highest-profile critic of the nations military-backed government. The Constitutional Court ruled Friday that loans of 191.2 million baht ($6 million) to the party from Future Forward leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, a 41-year-old former tycoon, breached financing rules. He and other party leaders were banned from politics for 10 years. The verdict may be a boon for Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ochas ruling coalition, which is expected to expand its slim parliamentary majority by poaching some of the 76 Future Forward lawmakers that must join new parties. While Thanathorn has said he expects most to switch to a planned Future Forward replacement, even a few defections would strengthen Prayuth. The government seems to be preparing a team to poach these lawmakers already, said Punchada Sirivunnabood, an associate professor in politics at Mahidol University near Bangkok. It would only need a few more seats to ensure its strength and stability. Demonstration Thanathorn said in a briefing after the verdict that our journey doesnt end here and its time for us to stand up. Co-founder Piyabutr Saengkanokkul, who was also banned, called for a demonstration at party headquarters to show support. In an interview Thursday, Thanathorn said a new party has already been set up in preparation for dissolution, adding that the majority of our lawmakers will stick with the ideology and move to our new home together. He also signaled Future Forwards break up could spark more demonstrations amid disgruntlement with the government. Protest might be the only thing left to do, though nobody wants to have to resort to that, he said. The Thai stock market dipped after the court ruling before recouping the losses and closing 0.3% higher. On Twitter, hash-tags expressing support for the party quickly became the most popular in the country, with over a 1 million tweets. Story continues Future Forward was less than two years old but became the second-largest opposition party after a disputed general election in March last year. It attracted younger voters to a reformist agenda that included rewriting the military-backed constitution, breaking up oligopolies and preventing coups in a country with a long history of military takeovers. Its the latest to be dissolved by Thailands royalist establishment, which disbanded multiple pro-democracy parties over the past two decades, stoking a cycle of protests and political destabilization that has hampered the economy. Rallies Thousands of people rallied in December and January either in support of Future Forward, or to protest against the government. But overall political tension remains lower than during Thailands past episodes of bloody street unrest. Thanathorn criticized Prayuths coalition for failing to heal divisions and being unresponsive to peoples needs. He rejected the string of legal cases against him and the party as an attempt to cow dissent. Prayuth, a former army chief, seized power in a coup in 2014, led the subsequent military government and returned as premier in July under electoral rules crafted during the juntas tenure. In a tweet after the verdict, he asked people to respect the courts decision. Future Forward was spared dissolution last month after being acquitted of trying to oust the monarchy, which sits at the summit of power in Thailand. Army Chief The partys savvy social media promotion of its agenda for change rattled the countrys power brokers. Last year, army chief Apirat Kongsompong attacked opposition parties, including Future Forward, for criticizing the military as being an obstacle to democracy, when in fact we work for every Thai citizen. In October, some 70 lawmakers from Future Forward voted against an emergency decree passed by parliament to transfer some army units to King Maha Vajiralongkorns command. Their opposition stunned a nation that treats top royals as semi-divine and edicts related to them as sacrosanct. Vajiralongkorn is head of state in Thailands constitutional monarchy and has repeatedly displayed his authority since taking the throne in 2016. The country has strict lese-majeste laws that criminalize insults against top members of the royal family. Future Forward said it was loyal to the monarchy. (Updates with comment from Future Forward in fifth paragraph.) --With assistance from Suttinee Yuvejwattana and Natnicha Chuwiruch. To contact the reporter on this story: Siraphob Thanthong-Knight in Bangkok at rthanthongkn@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Sunil Jagtiani at sjagtiani@bloomberg.net, Daniel Ten Kate For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. Government must operate with complete transparency for a democracy to work. When taxpayers money is involved, the public has a right to know exactly how it is spent. This right should not be compromised, even for worthwhile purposes. Yet when the nonprofit Partnership for Connecticut was formed last year that right was ignored. The General Assembly unwisely granted the organization exemption from state Freedom of Information laws. Now this can be, and must be, corrected. The Partnership for Connecticut is a novel private-public entity aimed at education. Its mission is to help Connecticuts disengaged and disconnected youth and young adults (ages 14 to 24) access the educational and career opportunities they need to succeed in life. It estimates that at least one out of every five high school students in Connecticut fit the category. The mission is laudable. It can make all the difference for disenfranchised young people to have the means to lead productive lives. And the result would be good for society as a whole. The partnership is possible thanks to the generous donation of $100 million by Greenwich resident Ray Dalio, a billionaire hedge fund leader, and his wife Barbara, the co-founder and director of Dalio Philanthropies. The state is fortunate that the Dalios are committed to improving education and training for young people at risk. The public part of the partnership is a matching pledge, at $20 million a year for five years, by the state. A third $100 million will be sought from private donations. The use of public funds no matter the purpose means the organization ought to operate with complete transparency under FOI rules. Five elected state officials Gov. Ned Lamont, Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney, Senate Minority Leader Len Fasano, House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz, and House Minority Leader Themis Klarides are on the 13-member board. At Klarides insistence, the public officials have to follow FOI rules and ethics guidelines in their participation. This is good, but awkward to the smooth functioning of the board. To be fair, the partnership states it is deeply committed to transparency. It pledges to provide information to the public through its website at connecticutpartnership.org, by posting meeting minutes, and delivering semiannual reports on progress, challenges, learnings, and priorities. We have no quarrel with that commitment except that decisions on what is public should be made in accordance with FOI, not decided by any group. Already questions are arising on how the first staff, a president and CEO with a salary above $300,000, will be selected, possibly as soon as next month. A remedy is within reach. The assemblys Government Administration and Elections Committee on Wednesday raised the concept of Subjecting the Partnership for CT, Inc. to Freedom of Information and Public Disclosure Laws. A hearing on that, and 34 other subjects, is scheduled for Feb. 28. An organization that takes on a question so clearly in the public interest as education needs to be fully accessible. Well, its not even St. Patricks Day yet, but you know me: I will seize any chance to write about or even mention something Irish. And this week, a Holyoke brewery, Loophole Brewing, provided me with a perfect opportunity. Jeffrey Goulet of Loophole wrote to me and said that the new brewery is collaborating with Baronscourt Brewing of Tyrone, Northern Ireland. The result of this meeting of the minds is a little concoction punnily named May the Road Rise to Meet Ewe, a stout that gives a nod to Baronscourts Black Sheep Stout. The collaboration resulted from the Ireland Northwest Trade & Investment Mission in 2018, during which John Wauchob, director and brewer for Baronscourt, got to meet Massachusetts brewers, including those from Loophole. Baronscourt Brewing is a family-run brewery that is also environmentally friendly, creating a zero carbon footprint. The name of the collaboration is a play on the Irish blessing. The label, designed by local artist Jesse Morgan, contains a description that speaks to the origins and inspiration of the Irish American Stout upon which the two breweries have collaborated: May the Road Rise to Meet Ewe is our contribution to that special friendship between Ireland and America. For Baronscourt and Loophole it all began, as many things do, gathered around a table sharing some great beer and stories. Together we offer a beer combining the distinctive dark malts of the great Irish stouts with an American influence that celebrates tradition, friendship, and the many adventures that lie ahead, the label notes. The two breweries announced a series of events for the collaboration coinciding with Mass Beer Week (March 7-14) including a special event at the John Boyle OReilly Club in Springfield on March 12, details to come soon. A very limited quantity of the collaboration has been produced and is currently being pre-sold, in anticipation that it will quickly sell out. Loophole products are distributed through Berkshire Brewing Company. Orders can be placed by contacting Berkshire or through Loophole by emailing contact@LoopholeBrewingServices.com. More information about Loophole Brewing can be found at loopholebrewingservices.com and more information about Baronscourt Brewing can be found at baronscourtbrewery.com. Slainte to both breweries! Beer note White Lion Brewing of Springfield will hold a second annual Spring(field) Equinox event on March 19 that will also serve as a sneak peek at the construction progress of its new brewery. The event will be a great way to shake off winter doldrums and will also feature food and samples of White Lions newest brews. The event will run from 4:30-8:30 p.m. The brewery entrance is in the center court of Tower Square, 1500 Main St. Several United Nations agencies have launched a new project to address the link between terrorism, arms and crime through enhancing national legislative, strategic and operational capacities to prevent, detect and counter the firearms trafficking and other illegal activities related to terrorism and organized crime. The UN has repeatedly warned that illicit flows of small arms and light weapons undermine security and the rule of law. Besides, they are often a factor behind the forced displacement of civilians and massive human rights violations. The new project came in compliance with several Security Council Resolutions, recommending to thwart small arms and light weapons trafficking and stressing the importance to prevent terrorists access to weapons. The project, in the pipeline since last year, was worked out in close cooperation between the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) and UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (ODA). During the launch, the projects sponsors introduced its activities, including missions to assess regional situations, relevant legislation and response capacities to the threat posed by firearms trafficking, terrorism and related crimes. The UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy underlines the connection between terrorism and the illicit small arms trafficking, conventional ammunitions and explosives, and calls on Member States to strengthen coordination and cooperation to address this challenge. Insufficient international response in countering the illicit trafficking of small arms and light weapons, the challenges that Member States face to detect and seize them, as well as porous borders, allow terrorists and criminals to move illicit weapons from one country or region to another, said Vladimir Voronkov, UN Under-Secretary-General for Counter-Terrorism. To illustrate the challenges, Mr. Voronkov, who is also Executive Director of the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), revealed estimates indicating that the African continent alone has one hundred million uncontrolled small arms and light weapons concentrated in crises zones and security-challenged environments. With an estimated population of 1.2 billion in Africa, this is an unfortunate and significant ratio of one to 12, he lamented. The UNOCT chief illustrated this through the example of the Libyan arsenal, pointing out that illicit weapons originating from Libya were finding their way into the Lake Chad Basin and the Sahel. WASHINGTON - Donald Trump's top security aide said he's seen no evidence that Russia is interfering in the 2020 U.S. election in an effort to support the president's reelection bid. On the other hand, National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien told ABC News that it would be "no surprise" if Moscow was trying to help Sen. Bernie Sanders win the election, as reported on Friday. "I haven't seen any intelligence that Russia is doing anything to attempt to get President Trump reelected," O'Brien said in an interview set for broadcast Sunday on "This Week." "So if it's out there, it hasn't been shared with me," he said, according to a transcript of the remarks posted by ABC. "And I get pretty good access." O'Brien's comments come after a senior intelligence official briefed House lawmakers recently that Russia is continuing to interfere in the U.S. election and that the Russian government favors Trump's reelection, according to people familiar with the matter. ADVERTISEMENT The president felt blindsided when he learned belatedly that intelligence official Shelby Pierson on Feb. 13, under questioning from Democrats, told lawmakers about Russia's preference for Trump, the people said. On Wednesday, the president announced that he was replacing acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire, a veteran intelligence official, with Richard Grenell, the U.S. ambassador to Germany and a staunch Trump supporter. O'Brien on ABC denied that the end of Maguire's service had anything to do with the briefing on Russian interference. "Admiral Maguire had to leave his acting position on March 11. And so that's why he left," said O'Brien. "All I know is that the Republicans on the side of the House hearing were unhappy with the hearing, and said that there was no intelligence to back up what was being said." "I mean, why would the Russians want the president, who's increased NATO spending $400 billion from non-American NATO member states over through 2024, who has spent $2.2 trillion in upgrading our military, which had been in a terrible state of readiness because of sequestration of the prior administration, and who's moving out of endless wars and moving American troops into Europe and Asia to confront the great powers," O'Brien said. "Why would they want him reelected? That doesn't make any sense to me." O'Brien said, however, that reports that Russia is trying to help Sanders, the Vermont senator win the election were credible. "Well, there are these reports that they want Bernie Sanders to get elected president. That's no surprise. He honeymooned in Moscow," he said. ADVERTISEMENT Sanders traveled to the Soviet Union in 1988 shortly after getting married. His long-ago trip has become regular fodder for Trump and his reelection campaign. --- (c)2020 Bloomberg News Visit Bloomberg News at www.bloomberg.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Tehran: Iranian hardliners won a majority in parliamentary elections, according to the semi-official Mehr news agency, sweeping Tehran and other cities in a repudiation of President Hassan Rouhani's engagement with outside powers. Mehr didn't give a final breakdown, saying that more than 220 out of 290 members of parliament would be hardliners and conservatives. The official turnout was 42.5 per cent, the lowest in the history of the Islamic Republic. At the 2016 elections, 62 per cent voted, and turnout has consistently been above 50 per cent since the Islamic Revolution some four decades ago. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, pictured at a meeting in Tehran, Iran, on Sunday, has blamed foreign forces for the low voter turnout. Credit:AP Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei accused enemy "propaganda" of trying to dissuade people from voting by amplifying the threat of the coronavirus. "Their media did not ignore the tiniest opportunity for discouraging people and resorting to the pretext of diseases and the virus," he said in remarks from his office in Tehran. Presbyterian church burned down by arsonists in civil war-ridden Cameroon Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A week after defense forces were accused of killing at least 32 people, including a pregnant woman and 14 children, in Cameroons civil war-ridden English-speaking region, a Presbyterian church was burned to ashes. We outrightly condemn the killing of children, women and the entire household in Ngarbuh Ntumbaw. We equally denounce the ungodly act of burning a PCC house of worship at Mbufung Bali, the Rt. Rev. Fonki Samuel Forba, moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon, said in a statement, according to Cameroon-Info.Net. A video of some church ministers weeping at the scene of the incident went viral in the country. The arson attack took place Monday. The website pointed to the role of Cameroons Defense and Security Forces behind the latest attack, saying that security forces have been battling rebel groups that are seeking independence of the countrys northwestern and southwestern parts, also known as the Anglophone region, to create a news country, Ambazonia. French is spoken in other parts of the country. Once more, it has proven to us that military might or violence is not the solution to this problem, Samuel Forba, who is also president of the Council of Protestant Churches in Cameroon, said in the statement. An insincere route to peace, half measures, lack of goodwill, a general insensitivity to the pain of Gods people, the hate speech and violence perpetrated by armed separatists, extremely poor governance and selfish politics continues to fuel this crisis. The church representative called for external mediators. We have failed as a people to protect Gods children. Surely God is vexed and we must repent as a nation. Armed separatist groups emerged in 2017 after the government cracked down on protests. Cameroons President Paul Biya has called the groups terrorists. More than 3,000 people have died and at least 70,000 people have been displaced due to the conflict, in which both the military and the opposition have been accused of violating the rights of civilians. In the last weeks attack, several victims were burned alive. The military officers responsible for these heinous crimes must be brought to justice, human rights lawyer Felix Agbor Nkongho told CNN at the time. Rignyu Solange, a resident of Ntumbo, told CNN that nine members of her family were killed when security forces searching for separatists burned many houses in his village. My sister and her family were killed in their sleep as the military torched houses because they suspected that separatist fighters were hiding in the village. I want the perpetrators of this act to be severely punished. Efi Tembon, a ministry leader who fled Cameroon in 2018 after he spoke to the U.S. Congress about rights violations committed by the Cameroonian military, also called for the military to be held accountable in a Facebook post. A military court in Cameroon is hearing a case against seven soldiers accused of killing women and children in a raid against insurgents from the Boko Haram terror group. Cameroon was added to Open Doors USAs World Watch List of countries where Christian persecution is most severe in 2020. In 2019, two Bible translators were killed in their homes during overnight attacks on separatist-supporting communities. Last November, President Trump stripped Cameroon of its trade benefits over accusations that the military has committed human rights abuses against civilians. 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. Chinese Canadians and others with family stuck in China's Hubei province are calling for the federal government to send a third plane to repatriate Canadians, visa holders and permanent residents alike. The city of Wuhan, China, was locked down in late January, leaving visitors with little or no opportunity to leave. A group that uses the messaging app WeChat to organize represents at least 50 families with loved ones trapped in Hubei province. A letter the group has sent to Global Affairs Canada, and plans to send to several Members of Parliament, states people still trapped either didn't have enough warning to prepare for the two Canadian flights, felt misinformed about who was allowed to board or didn't sign onto the government's registry quickly enough. "We strongly urge the Canadian government to repatriate these families promptly by deploying another chartered flight. The longer this ordeal carries on, and the longer the lockdown continues for these unfortunate individuals, the more danger it will impose on the Canadians stuck there," the letter reads. "We cannot bear the thought of losing our family members if something were to happen in the next few weeks." One Canadian citizen, Elaine Cheng, said she chose not to board either plane after learning her husband, who only has a Canadian visa, wouldn't be allowed to leave the country with her. She opted to stay in Wuhan, and thinks Canada can do better. "I think the way they treat my husband, or someone similar to my husband's situation in China, is totally inhumane," she said by phone Saturday. "Inhumane, uncompassionate and unfair." The B.C.-resident has been trapped in an apartment for the past month with her husband and limited food. Although she has no plans to abandon her husband, she'd like to return home. "That's why I do not choose to live just for my own sake, for humanity and compassion purpose," she said. "That's what we, Canadians, advocate in this country and in this world, to other people in other countries, including China. Story continues "We should not be abandoning anybody that has close ties to us in our life." Cheng said she had heard reports of confirmed coronavirus cases in her apartment building and that was making her nervous. "I do hope the government and embassy in China can do their best to move my family and I away from Wuhan," she wrote via WeChat. Global Affairs responds Global Affairs Canada didn't directly respond to questions about whether the department would send a third plane. But a spokesperson said those trapped in Hubei province can contact Canada's embassy in Beijing, call its 24/7 Emergency Watch and Response Centre in Ottawa or send a message to the federal government's SOS email account. "We remain in regular contact with Canadians in China and are continuing to provide assistance to those in need to the extent possible," the spokesperson said. Vancouver-resident Yaqi Huang says her 63-year-old father, a permanent resident of Canada, was visiting her grandfather over the Chinese New Year when the city's roads were shut down and planes were grounded. Not only were her father stuck inside the city, he also became separated from the 89-year-old grandfather. "Most people feel scared. They feel nervous. They feel trapped by the government," she said. While Huang initially heard only permanent residents accompanying Canadian minors were allowed to leave a decision made by Chinese officials she was surprised to hear stories of permanent residents without young children being allowed to leave Wuhan. After the second plane left, the 37-year-old emailed the Canadian government again. "To say, 'So what is the policy for letting people on the flight?'" Huang said. "I say, 'We just need to know the truth.'" Supplied by Yaqi Huang Earlier this month, China's deputy director of the Foreign Ministry Information Department said the country would loosen its grip and allow Chinese citizens to fly out of the city, accompanied by foreign family members. In an emailed response to Huang, however, Global Affairs Canada said the Chinese government maintained absolute authority over who could, and who couldn't, board the planes. "We advocated strongly for Canadians, [permanent residents] and their families to be eligible," the email dated Feb. 19 reads. The emailed response says that even if the Canadian government allowed Huang's father to travel to the airport, Chinese officials would have prevented him from boarding the flight. "We share your frustration as well. Your parents are, without a doubt, in a difficult situation right now." While Huang wants her father to be repatriated and supports the efforts for a third plane to be sent, she's not hopeful. "I know it's a fat chance for the Canadian government to go help, to send an airplane into Wuhan," she said. "It's really hard. We just want to be treated [fairly], like other families." Other reasons to stay Kristina Shramko, of Richmond, B.C., said she's been living in Wuhan for eight months. After graduating university, the 21-year-old decided to travel. She visited Wuhan and, after returning to Canada briefly, had been persuaded to return to China by a romantic partner she started dating. When the novel coronavirus epicentre was placed in lockdown, Shramko contacted the Canadian government, hoping to leave the city. When she heard about the strict no pets policy on both flights, however, she decided she couldn't go. Bethany Lindsay/CBC She had recently adopted a cat, named Kitya. "Even if I were to leave my cat with a friend, it's not certain when I would come back," Shramko said. "To me, it would be abandoning her." Elaine Cheng, likewise, has concerns about leaving her cat behind in Wuhan. Shramko would like to come home until the outbreak is over, but feels she can't as long as the pet policy is in place. She said outside of her residence "kind of feels like the zombie apocalypse." The Canadian citizen is currently raising money to pay for a plane ticket for her, and Kitya, when travel restrictions on the city are lifted. "It's really important for people to know that there are people who have decided to stay in Wuhan," she said. Wife is trapped Most of Simon Zheng's family is now stuck in Wuhan, including his wife. The Canadian citizen's partner, who has a work permit designed for spouses, was also visiting China over the holidays. Zheng, a resident of Surrey, B.C., planned to come to Wuhan later in January but was held back by work. Now his wife is stranded with his in-laws and parents, Chinese citizens who live in the city. Supplied by Simon Zheng The small business owner feels if he had been in Hubei province, his wife might have been able to board a plane, like some non-Canadian citizens who were permitted to leave. "I was not there, so she wasn't able to [be] included in those kinds of groups," he said. Zheng said he's uncertain how long the lockdown will last and fears his family's limited supplies could run out. But he hasn't given up hope. The WeChat group he is a part of started with fewer than 10 families, Zheng said, and continues to grow. He hopes the federal government takes the pleas of families with loved ones still trapped seriously. "I have good faith, because we're doing whatever we can," he said. The Phoenix Hill Sports Park in the capital of Southwest Chinas Sichuan province hosted the 2021 Chinese FA Cup final as its inaugural event Sunday. Covering an area of 128,000 square meters, the park consists of two world-class sports venues, a retail and hotel complex, and a public plaza. It will be one of the venues of the 31st Summer World University Games Jan 12, 2022 05:45 PM Congress leader Randeep Surjewala raised a number of relevant questions on national interest for Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, a day ahead of US president Donald Trumps two-day visit to India. India and the US are expected to finalise at least five memoranda of understanding (MoUs) on issues ranging from trade facilitation to homeland security during Trumps visit during February 24-25 alongside some defence deals. The two sides are also looking at the trip to strengthen the bilateral strategic partnership and ramp up cooperation in counter-terrorism, defence, security, trade and energy despite their inability to finalise a limited trade package before the stand-alone visit. Also Watch | Watch: US President Trump shares morphed Baahubali video of himself ahead of visit Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala raised the issues of H-1B visas, Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) scheme as well as the agreement between the United States and the Taliban in Afghanistan. He also posted short videos. Surjewalas first question was about the H-1B visas, a programme targeted by the Trump administration with a view to ensure American jobs do not go to foreigners in keeping with the presidents Buy America, Hire American vision and has subjected it to intense scrutiny ostensibly to prevent fraud and abuse. The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows the US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China. Trump Govts restrictive immigration policies have hit H-1B visas. Indians get 70% of 85000 H-1B Visas Now, Rejection Rate for India has increased from 6% in 2015 to 24% in 2019, esp. for IT professionals (sic), the Congress leader tweeted. Post 10 million ppl gala event,Will PM Modi ask for easing H-1B visas? (sic) he asked. He then went to ask Prime Minister Modi whether he will bring up issues of national security in view of the US deal with the Taliban. US prepares to sign deal with Taliban on 29Feb. What about Indias red lines! Have we forgotten IC814hijacking & release of terrorist Masood Azhar in Kandhar,whos JeM then attacked Parliament & Pulwama? (sic) Surjewala asked. As gala bash unfolds,Will Modiji raise our National Security concerns? (sic) he added. GSP, a preferential trade system, was Surjewalas next tweet. The US terminated Indias eligibility for GSP, last summer for not granting the US more access to its markets. The scheme allowed zero tariffs on exports to the US worth $5.6 billion. Continuing since 1974, US removed India from Duty Free Imports i.e GSP on 5 June,2019 It has affected the $5.6 billion Indian exports to the US, especially gems,jewellery,rice,leather (sic), he said. Post Howdy Modi & Namaste Trump gala events, Will PM ensure restoration of GSP status? he questioned. The Congress leader also had a question over oil prices. Uptill 2018, India imported 250Cr ton Crude Oil/month from Iran on payment, 90 days credit & doorstep delivery Modi govt stopped buying cheaper Iran oil as per US sanctions that raised oil prices in India (sic), the Congress leader tweeted. As fest continues in AMD, Will Modiji secure cheaper oil for India? he questioned. In all of his questions, Surjewala was talking about the Namaste Trump event in Ahmedabads newly-built Motera Stadium where the US president will address a public rally with Prime Minister Modi. He has already questioned the antecedents of the Donald Trump Nagrik Abhinandan Samiti that is organising the Namaste Trump event at the Motera Stadium on February 24. In a series of tweets, Surjewala had sought to know who heads the committee and when the invitation was extended to Trump. His party colleague, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, has also hit out at the government for spending crores of rupees to welcome Trump. Chowdhury on Saturday called the US president Mogambo, the villain played by late actor Amrish Puri in the Bollywood film Mr India and claimed the government is doing everything to make Mogambo happy. After Ahmedabad, he will visit the Taj Mahal in Agra and attend a cultural programme in the city. Trump will then travel to Delhi. He will be accorded a ceremonial welcome on Monday and he is then scheduled to hold delegation-level meetings with the Indian leader. The day will be capped by a state dinner at the Rashtrapati Bhavan and the Americans will leave for home the same night. Shilpa Shetty Says They Had Been Trying For Second Child For 5 Years, Always Wanted A Daughter Back in the Soviet days, a roll of toilet paper could have been considered a gift, given its scarcity at times. But that was then and this is now. And when a pensioner in Karelia handed a roll to local lawmakers it was an act not of kindness but of outrage. The parliament in Karelia, a northwestern region bordering Finland, on February 20 approved an indexation of a monthly pension benefit for a category of people who worked many years and are deemed to have excelled. The vote came after the regional Constitutional Court ruled in December 2019 that a failure to raise that benefit for more than 10 years amounted to a violation of the Russian constitution. The court was ruling in a lawsuit brought by a group in Karelia. Based on that ruling, the regional lawmakers voted in favor of raising the monthly pension benefit that is aimed at covering telephone and transport costs for so-called labor veterans by 21 rubles (33 cents), from 700 to 721 rubles. Sergei Andrunevich, a retired lieutenant colonel of the Federal Security Service (FSB), had made his displeasure with what he and others viewed as a miserly move clear earlier, when the legislation was approved in committee. On February 11, Andrunevich marched into the Karelian parliament building in Petrozavodsk, the regional capital, where he addressed the gathering before pulling a roll of toilet paper from a shopping bag and laying it before a perplexed lawmaker. I want to thank you on behalf of all labor veterans, Andrunevich told the assembly. With your indexation of veterans benefits, I was able to buy two rolls of toilet paper. I give them to you to be used as intended. The toilet paper incident occurred around the same time a TV news anchor in Russias Kamchatka region laughed uncontrollably explaining a paltry increase in government subsidies to underprivileged people. As the economy recovers from a recession -- brought on largely by a plunge in global oil prices and Western sanctions imposed in response to Moscows seizure of Crimea and other interference in Ukraine in 2014 -- many Russians are making do with less. Disposable increases are falling and personal bankruptcies are up. A survey last year by the state statistics agency Rosstat found that a third of households polled could not afford two pairs of shoes per person, per year. In many cases, the problems are magnified for pensioners, whose average monthly stipend amounted to about $200 in 2018. Russian retirees often work past retirement age to supplement their state pensions, and in 2018 Putin signed a law that is gradually raising the retirement age by five years despite widespread protests. Retirement-Age Increase For Andrunevich, the indexation of the pension benefit he receives is far from fair given the real increase in costs over the past 10 years. Here [in Petrozavodsk], over the past 11 years the cost of mass transit has risen from 4 rubles to 32 rubles, Andrunevich, a Communist Party member, told the North Desk of RFE/RL's Russian Service on February 20. He said that bureaucrats werent so parsimonious when it came to their own pay. I would also say that both officials and deputies in the republic [of Karelia] dont have their pay indexed by 21 rubles. There is always money for them in the budget, but not for veterans, said Andrunevich, who was stationed in Petrozavodsk in the 1970s as a border-guard pilot in what could have been a potential flash point in the Cold War showdown with the West. Andrunevich, who has no complaints about his pension, saying it meets his needs, said he was prompted to protest the 21-ruble indexation because it amounted to a collective slap in the face by local legislators to all labor veterans. They believe that theres nothing shameful about this amount, that something like this can be done -- raising the payment by 21 rubles -- and that is OK. Thats the problem, he said, adding that his decision to barge in on the legislative session to hand over the toilet paper was in line with his civil rights. Andrunevich was active in protests in Karelia against the retirement-age increase in 2018. His toilet paper stunt is the latest incident in just weeks to highlight the holes in Russias social safety net. Earlier this month, a state TV news presenter became a social-media sensation when she broke into laughter while trying to inform viewers of an increase in government subsidies to certain groups. Vesti Kamchatka's Aleksandra Novikova could not contain herself while reading the report on a benefits hike that would provide disabled people, war veterans, victims of radiation exposure, and others with an increase that would bring one category of social payments to 1,500 rubles ($23) -- of which 900 could be used for medicines, 137 toward a health resort, and the rest (363 rubles, or $5.60) for "international" transportation to such a resort. In the first half of 2019, the World Bank found that real disposable incomes fell by 1.3 percent from the previous year. Public opinion surveys from the independent polling agency Levada Center show that around 65 percent of Russian households have no savings whatsoever. State statistics also show that overall poverty has increased from the beginning of 2018, rising to 14.3 percent -- or about 20.3 million people. Written by RFE/RL correspondent Tony Wesolowsky based on material from RFE/RL Russian Service North Desk correspondent Anna Yarovaya Export ban on essential drugs like chloramphenicol, neomycin, metronidazole, azithromycin, vitamins B1, B2 and B6 and hormones like progesterone is being discussed. New Delhi: The Chinese government on Sunday urged India to review trade and travel restrictions on it amid reports that India is considering banning export of 12 essential medicines mainly antibiotics, vitamins and hormones to China. The Indian government is reportedly planning to invoke Essential Commodities Act to ensure steady supply of drugs in India in view of short supply of raw material from Hubei that is shut down due to novel coronavirus spread. Export ban on essential drugs like chloramphenicol, neomycin, metronidazole, azithromycin, vitamins B1, B2 and B6 and hormones like progesterone is being discussed. World Health Organisation has repeatedly not recommended, even opposed any travel and trade restrictions, which should be followed by all parties. It is hoped that the Indian side could review the epidemic situation in an objective, rational and calm manner, handle with Chinas much-needed items in a cooperative and constructive way, and resume normal personnel exchanges and trade between our two countries as soon as possible, Counselor Ji Rong, spokesperson of the Embassy of China in India, said on Sunday. India had earlier banned export of medical gear like masks and all kinds of gloves except NBR (nitrile butadiene rubber) to China but later lifted the restrictions. India had offered to send medical supplies to China to help it combat COVID19. However, the Indian side complained lack of support and delay in flying permissions due to which the medicines could not be sent. The plane carrying medicines is expected to bring back stranded Indians from China. For five years, Rasha Salama has taken her two children to Dr. Inas Wassef, a pediatrician a few blocks from her home in Bayonne. Salama likes the doctor because Wassef speaks her native language Arabic and has office hours at convenient times for children. She knows my kids, answers the phone, is open on Saturdays and is everything for me, she said. But UnitedHealthcare is dropping Wassef and hundreds of other doctors in its central and northern New Jersey Medicaid physician network. The move is forcing thousands of low-income patients such as Salama to forsake longtime physicians. Across the nation, business and contractual disputes are separating patients from longtime doctors. This often occurs when doctors dont want to accept the rates insurers are willing to pay. It sometimes occurs when insurers business plans require having a narrower network of doctors doctors whose practice patterns may be easier control. But in this case, the cause of the exclusion goes to even deeper business connections: The insurer appears to be trying to shift patients to Riverside Medical Group, a 20-office physicians practice owned by Optum, a sister company of UnitedHealthcare, both of which are subsidiaries of UnitedHealth Group, Wassef and other doctors say. UnitedHealthcare is essentially forcing patients to transfer to doctors it controls, the doctors allege. Indeed, several patients said the health plan directed them to Riverside when informing them their doctors were being dropped. Lawrence Downs, CEO of the Medical Society of New Jersey, said he estimates UnitedHealthcare is trying to remove hundreds of doctors in central and northern New Jersey from its network. That is the same area where Riverside Medical operates, he noted. It seems like they are steering patients away from small, community-based doctors to large groups that they own, he said. Dr. Alexander Salerno treats Velylia McIver at his East Orange, New Jersey, office on Jan. 22, 2020. Salerno has been fighting to keep his medical group in UnitedHealthcares Medicaid network. McIver switched to a new Medicaid health plan after Salerno was initially dropped by UnitedHealthcare in order to keep seeing him. (Phil Galewitz/KHN) Good for profits That raises questions about whether this type of vertical consolidation the term for a practice occurring in many regions across the country is a strategy that is good for profits but bad for patients. UnitedHealthcare said the changes are not part of a campaign to get as many patients as possible to the Riverside practice, but simply part of a larger cost controlling effort. It points out that it is retaining the community-based doctors, like Wassef, in its networks to treat its Medicare Advantage and commercial plan members. But, experts say, traumatic disruptions in doctor-patient relationships are an inevitable result of ongoing shifts in the complicated business of U.S. health care. Facing a rapid consolidation of doctors practices and hospital systems which have hefty negotiating power to demand high fees insurers have limited options to control costs and maintain a positive balance sheet, said Jacob Wallace, an assistant professor of public health at Yale University. Medicaid plans are especially affected because, unlike commercial plans or even Medicare, they cant increase premiums or demand copayments. Plans face a challenging landscape to keep costs down, Wallace said. As a result, health plans have taken other approaches, including narrowing provider networks and buying their own physician practices, he said. But further complicating matters, many Medicaid and Medicare managed-care programs are contracted out to private, for-profit insurers such as UnitedHealthcare. They are not looking to create returns for shareholders. With surging enrollment in government programs, UnitedHealthcare has enjoyed rising profits and a stock price that has soared tenfold since 2010. Wassef and about two dozen other physicians filed a federal lawsuit in September to get reinstated. Wassef, whose termination is scheduled in May, said the move could seriously affect her practice, since 80% of her patients are insured by UnitedHealthcare. UnitedHealthcare gained millions of new customers after the Affordable Care Act led New Jersey and 35 other states and the District of Columbia to expand Medicaid and states turned to private insurers to handle the business. Salama and some other UnitedHealthcare customers said they like their insurance plan because it offers richer benefits than other Medicaid options and covers the medications they use. The company operates New Jerseys second-largest Medicaid health plan, with 418,000 members. (The state Department of Human Services has blocked UnitedHealthcare from enrolling any additional Medicaid members, a severe and rare penalty. That move which is not related to the termination of doctors contracts stems from complaints related to care management and discharge planning, the health plans call center and other issues.) A company spokesperson acknowledged the health plan is dropping 2% of its Medicaid doctors, saying the move was designed to help control costs. As health care costs continue to rise, we are working to mitigate the impact on the customers, states and members we serve by negotiating with care providers on their behalf to keep reimbursement rates affordable, the company said in a statement. We understand that our members have personal relationships with their doctors and that network changes can be difficult. Dr. Diana Larrea, a family medicine doctor at Salerno Medical Associates in East Orange, New Jersey, treats Rosita Rivera, a Medicaid patient. Rivera recently had to change her Medicaid health plan after UnitedHealthcare sought to drop the medical group from its network. (Phil Galewitz/KHN) A practice destroyed New Jersey Medicaid officials refused to comment on whether they are concerned about UnitedHealthcares actions. But patients caught up in the standoff have reason to worry, said Linda Schwimmer, CEO of the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute, a coalition of health plans, providers and a variety of health trade groups. Once you have a trusted relationship with a provider, it means a lot and it goes to the quality [of your care] because if you are seeing the same providers and you trust them, you are more likely to take your medication and adhere to whatever care plan you have, she said. Dr. Alexander Salerno, an internist who runs a 17-doctor multispecialty practice in East Orange, New Jersey, another plaintiff in the lawsuit, is helping lead the court fight. Salernos main office is in a three-story, 19th-century house that his father used for his medical practice in the 1960s. About 40% of his patients are on Medicaid. Until the dispute began last year, Salerno advised his patients to sign up for UnitedHealthcare because of its broad array of benefits, including vision and dental care, and because of the ease in referring to specialists. And UnitedHealthcare never complained about this groups skill. In fact, the group received a $130,000 bonus last year for its good care to patients. Salerno said Riverside Medical offered to buy his group practice in 2018, but he declined. Since UnitedHealthcare announced it would drop his group from the network, more than 500 of his practices patients have already changed doctors to stay with the UnitedHealthcare plan, Salerno said. Its not a bad insurance company. It just seems like they have become greedy trying to control both ends of the pendulum wanting to be the payer and provider, Salerno said. A federal judge ordered the case to be heard by a neutral arbitrator, which in late November granted an emergency injunction that will keep Salerno from being removed from UnitedHealthcares network until an arbitrator makes a decision on a permanent injunction, which is expected in March. But that leaves patients in limbo. Glorida Rivera, 68, said UnitedHealthcares decision to drop Salerno was upsetting because she relied on him to care for her diabetes, thyroid and heart conditions. She credits Salerno for referring her to a cardiologist, who put stents in her heart to clear a blockage. He knows my whole story, so why do I have to change? wondered Rivera. Nonetheless, she is sticking with UnitedHealthcare. Velylia McIver, 83, decided in November to search for another plan so she could stay with Salerno. But it took her more than a month to get coverage for some medications. I feel caught in the middle of all this, and its the pits, McIver said. Clarification: A previous version of this post mischaracterized the relationship between Optium and UnitedHealthcare. They are sister companies, both owned by UnitedHealth Group. Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a nonprofit news service covering health issues. It is an editorially independent program of the Kaiser Family Foundation that is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente. TRAVERSE CITY, MI - Its that time of year again, where thoughts turn to summer days spent kayaking down the Boardman River, stopping a handful of times to step into breweries and sample some beers. The 16 event dates on the 2020 list were announced today, and reservations already are being accepted. Check here for more details. The waterfront brew trail event kicks off at the Filling Station Microbrewery, 642 Railroad Place in Traverse City, which is right next door to that citys expansive library and just steps from Boardman Lake. Up to five local breweries are included on each trip. Here are the details: Paddle for Pints will launch four waves of paddlers on all event dates; each wave is limited to the first 50 participants. All Paddle for Pints events begin with a check-in at The Filling Station Microbrewery, where we encourage participants to enjoy lunch and a beer, then proceed to launch from Hull Park, steps away. After launching from Hull Park, just a short walk from The Filling Station Microbrewery on Boardman Lake, the group will paddle to Right Brain Brewery, Rare Bird Brewpub, end up at Clinch Park then walk to The Workshop Brewery and MiddleCoast Brewing (formally Monkey Fist Brewing Co.) All the events are for people 21 and older. Parking directions and shuttle service are outlined on the event page. She recently filmed her last Coronation Street as she waved goodbye to the cobbles for good. And Lucy Fallon admitted that being on the soap 'straightened' her out, as she went through a period of being a 'teenage rebel' before landing the part of Bethany Platt. Speaking in a new interview, the actress, 24, told how her mother would get phone calls from teachers after she ditched class to hang around with her 'bad boyfriend'. Straight and narrow: Lucy Fallon admitted that being on Coronation Street 'straightened' her out, as she went through a period of being a 'teenage rebel' before landing the part of Bethany Platt After describing how she would often get jobs but quit before her next shift, Lucy was asked whether she was 'teenage rebel' ahead of becoming a soap star. She told The Sunday Mirror's Notebook magazine: 'My mum would say yes, definitely. I went through a stage at sixth form when I had a bit of a bad boyfriend and I just didnt turn up to class, my mum would get calls every day. 'When I got told about auditioning for Corrie I was like, "Im not going to get it, whats the point in even trying?" Crazy to think I might never have done it. Corrie straightened me out.' During her time on the cobbles, Lucy's character Bethany has had some huge plots, despite her tender years. Before Bethany: Speaking in a new interview, the actress, 24, told how her mother would get phone calls from teachers after she ditched class to hang around with her 'bad boyfriend' (pictured in character) One of the biggest storylines was the grooming and sexual exploitation of Bethany by her then older boyfriend Nathan Curtis (Christopher Harper). The hard-hitting plot saw Lucy scoop a number of awards including the 2018 National Television Award for Outstanding Serial Drama Performance. But despite her success, Lucy revealed that it's the 'right thing' for her to leave the soap, and admitted that she would be 'annoyed' with herself for not doing so. She explained: 'Ive been really comfortable here, I love it, but I hadnt done anything else before Corrie, so I feel like Ive got to try now, or Id stay here forever... 'As hard and sad as it is, its the right thing for me to do. If it doesnt work out, it doesnt work out, but Id be annoyed with myself if I didnt give it a go.' Drama: 'I went through a stage at sixth form when I had a bit of a bad boyfriend and I just didnt turn up to class, my mum would get calls every day' New start: 'When I got told about auditioning for Corrie I was like, "Im not going to get it, whats the point in even trying?" Crazy to think I might never have done it. Corrie straightened me out' With the comfort of Corrie now gone, the star also told how she's 'scared' about 'not being able to pay my mortgage' as she admitted she doesn't know 'what to expect from' from life beyond Weatherfield. Lucy also admitted that she's fearful of 'meeting new people' after five years of playing Bethany. Especially as it took the actress 'six months' to come out of her dressing room and interact with the rest of the cast and crew because she was 'too scared'. Meanwhile, Lucy has already filmed her final scenes as Bethany and they are expected to air sometime next month. It was previously hinted that Bethany will decide to leave Weatherfield for pastures new after being offered an internship at a magazine in London. Drama: During her time on the cobbles, Lucy's character Bethany has had some huge plots, despite her tender years Fears: With the comfort of Corrie now gone, the star also told how she's 'scared' about 'not being able to pay my mortgage' as she admitted she doesn't know 'what to expect from' from life beyond Weatherfield In the coming weeks, Bethany will be left conflicted about whether to leave the Street as she's started dating Daniel Osborne, which has already ruffled feathers as it comes just four months after the death of his wife Sinead. In January, Lucy bid an emotional farewell to the soap after filming her final scenes as Bethany with her colleagues. Taking to Instagram to post a gallery of snaps from her time on the soap, she paid tribute to her 'second family' on the show and thanked them for 'teaching her everything she knows.' In a lengthy post, Lucy, who originally landing the role straight out of sixth form, told her followers that she was struggling to contain her emotions after filming her final scenes, especially as her real-life family and boyfriend Tom Leech paid a visit. She's off! Earlier this week it was reported that Bethany will leave Corrie next month after being offered an internship for a magazine in London The blonde beauty admitted she had no idea which way her life would go after she finished sixth form five years ago, and landing the part of Bethany came as a huge shock. Admitting her disbelief at playing Bethany, Lucy added that she never expected to form such close friendships with her on-screen family, including Helen Worth (who plays Gail Platt) and Tina O'Brien (who plays her on-screen mum Sarah Platt). She wrote: 'I'm writing this with mascara all over my face and tears/snot dripping onto my clothes but that's a wrap... on what has been the most incredible 5 years of my life. 'It's so crazy to me that 5 years ago, I had just finished 6th form and had no idea what direction life was going to take me in. Goodbye: In January, Lucy bid an emotional farewell to the soap after filming her final scenes as Bethany with her colleagues and was even joined by her family on the Manchester set 'I never in a million years expected that I would be calling Gail Platt a friend. But here we are... and I'm grateful for every single second of it. It's such a cliche, but the Platt family really are a second family to me. And I will forever be in debt to them. 'They have taught me everything I know... who needs a degree and drama school when you have the PLATts???? To the cast, crew, and everyone in between, I will hold you all in my heart for the rest of my life. 'And to the viewers, thank you for the endless amount of support I have received over the years. And to you bethany... oh what fun we've had. But it's not goodbye, just see ya later.' A new poll has revealed that more than half of Brits want the BBC licence fee to be abolished. Data collected from 2,005 adults across the country also found that the majority of people (79 per cent) believe the corporation should pay for over-75s licences. It comes amidst debate over the future of the fee, with David Dimbleby launching a savage attack on 'lying' Boris Johnson's 'pernicious' attempt to curb it. Last Sunday the Prime Minister threatened to scrap the television licence fee and turn it into a subscription service. Data collected from 2,005 adults revealed that more than half of Brits want the BBC licence fee abolished and 79 per cent believe the corporation should pay for over-75s (file picture) Now new data from ComRes survey for the Sunday Express has revealed what people around the country think about the licence fee. The results showed that 63 per cent of people think the BBC is an 'important part of British culture' but 50 per cent do not think it gives values for money. Commenting on the poll, a BBC spokesperson said it didn't appear to have explained that scrapping the fee would mean losing services. They added: 'The reality is that the BBC represents very good value for money.' Last Sunday Downing Street signalled a new onslaught on the BBC - with a threat to scrap the television licence fee and turn it into a subscription service. A senior source said the broadcaster could be forced to sell off most of its radio stations in a 'massive pruning back' of its activities. The results showed that 63 per cent of people think the BBC is an 'important part of British culture' but 50 per cent do not think it gives values for money (file picture) The source told The Sunday Times that Prime Minister Boris Johnson was 'really strident' on the need for serious reform. They said there would be a consultation on replacing the licence fee with a subscription model, adding: 'We will whack it.' The paper said that the number of BBC television channels could also be reduced, the website scaled back and stars banned from cashing in on well-paid second jobs. However Mr Johnson soon faced a backlash from MPs, with one even calling for a referendum on whether to scrap the licence fee. Senior BBC figures also encouraged people to sign a petition demanding the PM stops trying to 'undermine' the broadcaster. And Tory backbenchers appealed for Mr Johnson not to 'pick a fight' with the corporation, saying it still plays a key role in national life. Last Sunday the Prime Minister (pictured) threatened to scrap the television licence fee and turn it into a subscription service Meanwhile, Conservative ex-minister Robert Halfon raised the prospect of a referendum on the future of the BBC, saying licence fee payers should be given 'control' of its fate. While on Friday David Dimbleby launched a savage attack on 'lying' Mr Johnson's 'pernicious' attempt to curb the BBC licence fee. The veteran broadcaster accused the Prime Minister of using the issue to undermine the corporation and avoid having his policies scrutinised. He said Mr Johnson 'doesn't give a damn' about fairness because his landslide election victory had made him 'arrogant with power'. His conduct towards the BBC was 'childish, peevish and unpleasant', he added during an interview for Germany's ARD TV channel. David Dimbleby launched an attack on 'lying' Mr Johnson's 'pernicious' attempt to curb the BBC licence fee, accusing him of using the issue to undermine the corporation and avoid having his policies scrutinised Dimbleby, 82, said the PM was 'apeing Donald Trump' by using the same 'political rulebook' to try to control the media. And he took a fierce sideswipe at Mr Johnson's chief adviser Dominic Cummings, seen as the driving force behind Downing St threats to cut the licence fee or scrap it altogether. 'Johnson's never governed anything, Cummings has never governed anything,' said the former Question Time host. 'They're ignorantfloundering. I don't think they have a strategy.' His comments were disclosed after Downing Street mooted a radical overhaul that could mean introducing a subscription model, forcing the sale of most BBC radio stations, cutting the number of TV stations and reducing the amount of online content. Wrexham Lager celebrated by National Assembly for Wales Beer and Pubs committee This article is old - Published: Sunday, Feb 23rd, 2020 Wrexham Lager been presented with a certificate in celebration of its excellent locally produced beers. Wrexham Assembly Member, Lesley Griffiths and Jack Sargeant AM, chair of the Cross Party Group on Beer and Pubs at the National Assembly for Wales, recently visited the company to learn more about their brewing process. The company was also presented with a certificate to mark the occasion from the Beer and Pubs group who celebrate the growing number of breweries and the contribution pubs make to our communities. The Wrexham brewing company is the oldest in Wales and produces a product that is loved across the world. Jack Sargeant AM said: It was a real pleasure to see first hand the brewing process and hear about the ambitious plans the company have to expand. Their beer was excellent and it is clear that they are passionate about what they produce. As chair of the CPG on Beer and Pubs, I am keen to celebrate and promote locally produced beers across Wales and I am extremely pleased that Wrexham Lager became only the second brewer to receive our certificate. Lesley Griffiths AM added: Jack is fronting an excellent initiative aimed at promoting and celebrating Wales wonderful breweries. Im delighted Wrexham Lager is part of the campaign. The iconic beverage is synonymous with the town and does a fantastic job representing Wrexham on both the national and international stage. The Ministry of Transport has directed the Cuu Long Corporation for Investment Development and Project Management of Infrastructure (CIPM) to conduct a pre-feasibility study for two expressway projects in the Mekong Delta. The Mekong Delta will have two new expressways connected to the North-South expressway. (Photo Tuoitre.vn) The two projects include the Chau Doc -Can Tho -Soc Trang expressway and Ha Tien- Rach Gia- Bac Lieu expressway with total estimated investment of more than 67.4 trillion VND (2.9 billion USD). The two expressways will be connected with the North-South expressway. Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that after the CIPM completes the pre-feasibility study, the ministry will submit it to the Prime Minister for approval and then submit it to the National Assembly under the public investment plan for the 2021-2026 period. The Ha Tien- Rach Gia- Bac Lieu expressway will pass through Ha Tien town in Kien Giang province, Long My commune in Hau Giang province, and Soc Trang and Bac Lieu provinces. The new expressway will have a total length of 225km and will be 17m in width with four lanes. The speed limit will be 80km per hour. Tran Van Thi, general director of CIPM, said the project would upgrade the transport infrastructure of the Mekong Delta and assist import and export activities with Cambodia. The total investment of the first phase is 33.2 trillion VND (1.4 billion USD) The first stage of the Chau Doc -Can Tho -Soc Trang expressway project will have a length of 154km and be 17m in width with four lanes. The speed limit will be 80km per hour. The expressway will be 24.75m wide with four lanes and have a speed limit of 100km to 120km per hour after the final stage is completed. The two new expressways are expected to promote socio-economic development in provinces./.VNA HCM City-Trung Luong Expressway in need of repair Nguyen Van Thanh, head of the Department of Road Management No 4, has asked the Ministry of Transport to approve supplementary capital for the repair of the HCM City-Trung Luong Expressway this year. Paramedics treat an injured Palestinian at a hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on February 23, 2020, after being wounded while reportedly trying to rescue bodies of people killed during a confrontation along the border with Israel. AFP Photo Jerusalem: Israeli forces on Sunday shot dead a Palestinian suspected of placing a bomb near the Gaza border, before extracting his body with a bulldozer, the army said. "Following the successful thwarting of the attack near the Gaza Strip fence earlier this morning, an IDF (Israeli army) bulldozer extracted the body of one of the attackers," a military spokeswoman told AFP. Earlier Sunday, the army had said it "spotted two terrorists approaching the security fence in the southern Gaza Strip and placing an explosive device adjacent to it". "The troops opened fire towards them. A hit was identified," a military statement said. Following the incident, a video from Gaza emerged showing a bulldozer approaching the body as young, apparently unarmed men, were trying to collect it. The sound of gunfire is heard and the men ultimately run away as the bulldozer collects the body. A tank can be seen positioned nearby. The Gaza health ministry said that two civilians were wounded by Israeli gunfire at the scene. Hawkish Israeli Defence Minister Naftali Bennett has pursued a policy of retaining the bodies of militants from Gaza as bargaining chips to pressure Hamas, the Islamist group that controls the Palestinian enclave, which has been holding the bodies of two Israeli soldiers since 2014. MSNBC's Chris Matthews was having a tough time coming to terms with Senator Bernie Sanders' win in Nevada on Saturday, likening his victory to Nazi Germany's conquest of France in 1940. While he did not inexplicably name Nazi Germany, it was clear that Matthews was equating the Democratic establishment to the French during World War II. 'I was reading last night about the fall of France in the summer of 1940,' he said. 'And the general, Reynaud, calls up Churchill and says, "It's over." And Churchill says, "How can that be? You've got the greatest army in Europe. How can it be over?" He said, "It's over." So I had that suppressed feeling.' Scroll down for video While he did not inexplicably name Nazi Germany, it was clear that Matthews was equating the Democratic establishment to the French during World War II MSNBCs Chris Matthews likens Sanders victory in Nevada to Nazi Germany overrunning France in 1940: Its too late to stop him its over pic.twitter.com/6GJetLoDkq Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) February 22, 2020 Matthews' comments followed similarly antagonistic remarks from Democratic strategist James Carville after Sanders dominated the Nevada caucuses Matthews' comments followed similarly antagonistic remarks from Democratic strategist James Carville after Sanders dominated the Nevada caucuses. 'It looks like Bernie Sanders is hard to beat right now,' the Hardball host said on Saturday. 'I'm with Carville all the way in terms of the dangers of what lies ahead in November. They're sitting on so much oppo research on Bernie.' The Hardball host claimed that Republicans would be able to release opposition research about things Sanders 'said in the past about world affairs, how far left he is,' adding that that would then 'kill him' by the time of the match-up against Trump in November. He then declared: 'But I think it's a little late to stop him.' The Hardball host claimed that Republicans would be able to release research about what Sanders 'said in the past about world affairs, how far left he is' Mike Casca, communications director for Sanders' campaign, took to Twitter to slam Matthews' remarks. 'Never thought part of my job would be pleading with a national news network to stop likening the campaign of a jewish presidential candidate whose family was wiped out by the nazis to the third reich,' he said. 'But here we are.' The sentiment was shared by other Sanders' supporters, along with several users on Twitter, who pointed out that MSNBC's Chuck Todd had made statements comparing supporters of the candidate to Nazis. 'A few days ago, @chucktodd read a passage likening Bernie voters to Nazi brown shirts,' said speechwriter and Sanders advisor David Sirota. 'Now Chris Matthews is likening Bernies campaign to a Nazi invasion. Bernie is Jewish and his family was killed by the Nazis. None of this is OK.' Mike Casca, communications director for Sanders' campaign, took to Twitter to slam Matthews' incendiary remarks 'A few days ago, @chucktodd read a passage likening Bernie voters to Nazi brown shirts,' said speechwriter and Sanders advisor David Sirota. 'Now Chris Matthews is likening Bernies campaign to a Nazi invasion. Bernie is Jewish and his family was killed by the Nazis. None of this is OK' Sara Nelson added: 'This is inexcusable, @MSNBC! Comparing the nomination of @BernieSanders to the fall of France to the Nazis??? @HardballChris needs to be taken off the air, go to confession, and immediately apologize to the candidate - who also happens to be Jewish - energizing the electorate.' 'Lets try to detangle this,' stated Jeremy Scahill. 'Bernie, a Jewish man whose family members were killed in the holocaust, wins the Nevada caucus, and Bernie and his unprecedented diverse coalition are the Nazis and Chris Matthews, the DNC and MSNBC are now occupied France?' Bernie Sanders was declared the winner of the Nevada caucuses Saturday despite only a fraction of the vote in. Sanders had a formidable lead, taking 54 per cent of the delegates with 4 per cent of precincts reporting. Trump went ahead and congratulated Sanders before most networks had called the race. The sentiment was shared by other Sanders' supporters, along with several users on Twitter 'Looks like Crazy Bernie is doing well in the Great State of Nevada. Biden & the rest look weak, & no way Mini Mike can restart his campaign after the worst debate performance in the history of Presidential Debates,' Trump said. 'Congratulations Bernie, & don't let them take it away from you!' the president wrote. Sanders is coming off a win in New Hampshire, with Pete Buttigieg coming in a close second in the Granite State. In Iowa, Buttigieg beat Sanders in the delegate count by a hair, while the Vermont senator won the popular vote. Biden finished in fourth place in Iowa and fifth place in New Hampshire. Reporting for Nevada started to filter in the early afternoon Saturday, though stayed at 3 per cent for more than an hour, as Democrats tried to avoid having reporting problems like they did in Iowa thanks to a malfunctioning app. CNN reported that some precinct chairs had trouble calling in and reporting the results. Despite the major momentum for the Vermont senator in the Silver State, the candidate had already left to campaign in Texas before the Nevada caucus sites adjourned. Sanders is holding two campaign rallies in the Lone Star State Saturday, where a more moderate Democratic electorate could spell trouble for the democratic socialist. He'll also hold a Houston rally Sunday. Texas votes on March 3, with 13 other 'Super Tuesday' states. The Great Hall was a sea of 1920s attire Saturday for the annual Midland Mom Prom themed the Roaring 20s, aiding Family and Children Services of Mid-Michigan. Returning attendee Emily Lyons, of Midland, said it is an empowering night where women can dress up, meet other women and theres no judgment. She said raising money for a worthy cause makes the event that much sweeter. Women were dressed for the 20s, many wearing flapper dresses and feather headbands. Some even sported 1920s dance moves to such songs as Big and Richs Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy. Grace Leis, of Midland, attended for the first time. She wanted to be a part of helping the charity and enjoyed that there were no men at the event. Lyons and Leis attended the event with friends Jessica Rausch and Camille Secor-Konkus, both of Midland. Rausch works in womens health and deemed the event a perfect blend. She said she gets to spend time with friends while supporting a cause she is passionate about. Family and Childrens Services of Mid-Michigan Fund Development Director Betty ONeill said the fifth annual event was the largest yet, citing that there were 438 women in 2019 and 530 on Saturday for the 2020 event. The event sold out mid December. Women love to get dressed up and go out, ONeill said. This is a safe place for them to kick up their heels. This is a real testament to the support women show others, she added. ONeill said one thing she would like to see is the change in mental health. We need to look at mental health care as health care, she added. People need access to treatment. All funds raised from the event support the mission of Family & Children's Services, including youth services, pregnancy and post-pregnancy programs. ONeill said the agency never turns anyone away, no matter their age or ability to pay. This fundraiser makes a big difference in so many peoples lives, she said. Saginaw resident Cathy LeFever said she loves the event because there was help for her when she needed mental health services. I want to be part of the solution for others that need it, LeFever said. This agency gets it and they are hard at work daily helping people in need. LeFever suffered a miscarriage a few years ago, leaving her devastated. It was through counseling that I was able to pick up the pieces and go on, LeFever said. Some will never know how much it helped and what a lifesaver it was. Therapist Amy McDonald noted a client who suffered postpartum depression and anxiety and is now a volunteer with the agency. She wanted to give back, McDonald said of the story that touched her. She said the agency is the only non-profit counseling agency in Midland. They also deal with substance abuse and LGBTQ support. McDonald, noting that everyone in attendance looked beautiful and dapper, deemed the event a positive shot for many women. It allows them to connect to one another, make friends and support each other. Dawn Couture, Saginaw, said she was happy she came to the event. Its a wonderful charity event, Couture said. Everyone looks fabulous. A group of 10 women from Owosso had never attended the event prior to Saturday, but they already are planning to return for the 2021 charity function. There are so many women telling each other how good they look, said Becky Wotring, of Owosso. Its really empowering to do something different and step out of our comfort zone. Jillian Martinson, of Midland, said she basically lives in workout clothing. But she traded such outfits in Saturday for a 1920s dress. This is the epitome of a party atmosphere without the negativity, Martinson said. All of us are here to have fun. Martinson attended with Amber Gall, of Gladwin, who was attending for the first year. You dont have to impress anyone here, everyone is so accepting of everyone else, Gall said. And it is for a great cause. Midlander Deb Seer said her two daughters, Jolene and Jennifer, and soon-to-be daughter-in-law Bekkka, kept telling her how fun the event was and urged her to attend with them. This was her second time attending. I like what it supports, said Seer, whose husband helped her shop for her 20's era outfit. Its a good event where women can support each other. Its an empowering event. I hope they continue having it, she added. To learn more about Family and Children Services of Mid-Michigan, visit https://www.fcs-midland.org BEIJING (AP) China's leadership sounded a cautious note Friday about the country's progress in halting the spread of the new virus that has now killed more than 2,200 people, after several days of upbeat messages. The Politburo, made up of the senior officials of the ruling Communist Party, said the situation in Hubei province and its capital, Wuhan, remains grave. We should clearly see that the turning point of the development of the epidemic across the country hasn't arrived yet," the Politburo said at a meeting led by President Xi Jinping and reported by state broadcaster CCTV. The 25-member body said the outbreak has been preliminarily contained" and urged party committees and governments at all levels to carry out prevention and control work without any relaxation to win the people's war against the epidemic. The National Heath Commission earlier reported 889 newly confirmed cases in the previous 24 hours, bringing the total in mainland China to 75,465. The death toll rose by 118 to 2,236. More than 1,000 cases and 14 deaths have been confirmed elsewhere, from Japan to France. Newly reported infections in China have trended downward in recent days, though changes in how health authorities have counted cases have muddied the true trajectory of the epidemic. The overall situation is trending towards the better, and the outbreak is under control with zero increase in some provinces," said Zeng Yixin, vice director of National Health Commission. In Hubei and Wuhan, however, newly reported deaths remain at a high level. We need to take that seriously. The outbreak began in Wuhan and has hit the city and the rest of Hubei province the hardest. Officials have been sacked in Hubei and other areas after more than 500 cases were diagnosed in prisons, Justice Ministry official He Ping told reporters at a daily briefing. He and other public security officials reiterated that legal measures would be brought against those defying demands to wear masks and take other containment measures. Story continues People in China mourned the death of another doctor who had succumbed to the disease Thursday, according to an announcement from the district in which he worked in Wuhan. Peng Yinhua, a respiratory and intensive care physician, was infected last month while treating patients with the illness. Chinese media reported that Peng was 29 years old, which would place him among the youngest to die from COVID-19, the name of the new illness. Most of the fatalities have been people aged 60 and over with underlying medical conditions, according to a report from China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention. A newspaper profile of Peng last month said he had postponed his wedding to help fight the epidemic, working day and night to accommodate the influx of patients. He is at least the third doctor to die in China from the illness. Hong Kong reported the first infection of a police officer in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory. The city has confirmed 69 cases of the virus, with two deaths. The 48-year-old officer had been at a dinner Tuesday with 59 other police officers, who have been placed in quarantine, the force said on its Facebook page. It urged officers to pay attention to hygiene to reduce the risk of transmission. ___ Associated Press writers Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Yanan Wang in Beijing contributed to this report. To facilitate faster clearance of consignments to and from China once coronavirus subsides, a 24x7 customs clearance facility will be available at all sea ports and airports till May 2020. The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has written to all Chief Commissioners (Customs and Central Tax) asking them to immediately workout the arrangement and deployment of sufficient number of officers on 247 basis at sea ports / Air Cargo Stations / Inland Container Depot (ICDs)/ Container Freight Station (CFSs) etc falling in their jurisdiction to tackle any incipient instance of congestion/surge. In the letter, it said due to ongoing shutdown in China on account of coronavirus outbreak, there is an apprehension of disruption in supply of raw materials/ inputs to our industrial units, which are dependent on these raw materials.There could also be a dip in offtake in exports to China. "On the contrary, there is a strong likelihood of an immediate surge in the imports from and export to China, once the spread of the virus is brought fully under control. "To handle such emergent situations, necessary steps need to be taken in advance. CBIC has, therefore, decided to introduce 247 clearance atall the Customs formations,so as to address any congestion or delay or surge on account of the prevailing conditions or cessation thereof," the CBIC said. Currently, 24x7 customs clearance facility is available at designated sea ports and airports. With the recent directive, all customs formations would remain operational 24x7 till May 2020. The CBIC said it expects thedisruptions in the supply chains to settle by May. "CRCL (Central Revenues Control Laboratory) labs would also function 247 so that test results could be made available at the earliest," it added. China is a key trading partner of India. The bilateral trade between India and China has dipped to USD 87 billion in 2018-19 from USD 89.71 billion in 2017-18. While India's exports stood at only USD 16.75 billion in 2018-19, imports aggregated at USD 70.31 billion. The trade deficit between the countries was USD 53.57 in 2018-19. India is pushing hard to boost exports to bridge this ballooning trade gap. The death toll from China's coronavirus epidemic rose over 2,200, with over 75,400 confirmed cases. The coronavirus outbreak originated in central China's Hubei province in December last year and has spread to several countries. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Great British Bake Off Judge Prue Leith has admitted she's an 'egotist' who enjoys the 'attention' she get from her fans. The restaurateur, 80, who lives in the Cotswolds and has presented the popular baking show for three years, confessed that she likes it when her fans approach her asking for selfies with them. Speaking to the Telegraph, she insisted that while she values her ability to go about her day-to-day life undisturbed, she feels that the show has given her the 'right degree of fame'. Great British Bake Off Judge Prue Leith (pictured) has admitted she's an 'egotist' who enjoys the 'attention' she get from her fans The restaurateur, 80, has presented the popular baking show with Paul Hollywood (left) for three years, confessed that she likes it when her fans approach her asking for selfies with them She said: 'I think I have the right degree of fame. I would hate it if I couldn't go to the supermarket but I like it when people want selfies. 'I'm such an egotist, I enjoy all the attention'. Prue went on to say she's looking forward stepping back into the Bake Off tent later this year, though it's not yet clear who exactly she'll be working with - following Sandi Toksvig's shock announcement she was leaving the show. The comedian, 61, who hosted the programme alongside Noel Fielding, revealed last month that she wants to leave the Bake Off tent to focus on other work projects. Prue explained that she and her co-stars are 'holding tight' for the time being, but insisted that the new addition to the team won't be anyone Noel, 46, 'doesn't approve of'. Remaining Great British Bake Off stars Paul Hollywood, Noel Fielding and Prue Leith have delighted fans by promising to stay until at least 2023, following Sandi Toksvig's departure. Pictured clockwise from left: Hollywood, Toksvig, Fielding and Leith Toksvig said in a statement that 'spending time with Prue, Paul and Noel has been one of the great pleasures of my life' 'Everybody is holding on tight because Sandi was so wonderful,' said Prue, 'All I know is it won't be anyone Noel doesn't approve of.' Despite sadness at her departure from her co-stars, remaining trio Prue, Noel and Paul Hollywood will stay for another three years at least, Channel 4 have said. Chef Leith previously said she wanted to stay until she equaled Mary Berry's stint of seven years. 'I want to equal Mary. She was on for seven years. Ive got four more to go,' she said in August. Prue explained that she and her co-stars are 'holding tight' for the time being, but insisted that the new addition to the team won't be anyone Noel, 46, 'doesn't approve of' She added: 'By which time I'll be 82, which is when she left.' Berry, 84, presented the show from when it started until it moved from the BBC to Channel 4. And judge Paul, 53, said he wanted to be a 'grumpy old git' on Bake Off. He said: 'I think I'll be getting wheeled on in a wheelchair and they're going to have to blitz all the bakes and feed me with a spoon.' News of the comebacks will delight fans of the show after Sandi announced her departure. She announced the news on Twitter, writing: 'When stepping down from a job it is quite common for people to say they are doing so in order to spend more time with their family. But despite sadness at her departure from her co-stars, remaining trio Fielding, Leith and Hollywood will stay for another three years at least, Channel 4 said Bake Off judge Leith tweeted: 'I have absolutely loved working with Sandi, she's been a brilliant host and enormous fun and I am in awe of how hard she works juggling so many different projects. We shall be lifelong friends' way beyond the tent. #GBBO #sanditoksvig' 'Unusually I am departing from the Great British Bake Off so I can spend more time with my other work. As my waistline will testify, Bake Off is an all-consuming show.' 'Spending time with Prue, Paul and Noel has been one of the great pleasures of my life. These are friendships which I know will continue beyond the confines of television. 'Bake Off is a wonderful programme which has already proved it can happily withstand a change of hosting personnel. 'The reason for that, of course, is that the true stars of the show are the bakers themselves. I wish everyone well,' she added. Prue lamented Sandi's departure, insisting that the pair will remain 'lifelong friends'. Leith wrote on Twitter: 'I have absolutely loved working with Sandi, she's been a brilliant host and enormous fun and I am in awe of how hard she works juggling so many different projects. We shall be lifelong friends'. Those tipped to replace Toksvig include comedians Jo Brand, 62, and Jennifer Saunders, 61, as well as plus 2015 winner Nadiya Hussain, 35. Without any proof, The New York Times and Washington Post run Russia helping Sanders stories, and Sanders responds by bashing Russia, writes Joe Lauria. By Joe Lauria February 22, 2020 " Information Clearing House " - With Democratic frontrunner Bernie Sanders spooking the Democratic establishment, The Washington Post Friday reported damaging information from intelligence sources against Sanders by saying that Russia is trying to help his campaign. If the story is true and if intelligence agencies are truly committed to protecting U.S. citizens, the Sanders campaign would have been quietly informed and shown evidence to back up the claims. Instead the story wound up on the front page of the Post, according to people familiar with the matter. Zero evidence was produced to back up the intelligence agencies assertion. It is not clear what form that Russian assistance has taken, the Post reported. That would tell any traditional news editor that there was no story until it is known. Instead major U.S. media are again playing the role of laundering totally unverified information just because it comes from an intelligence source. Reporting such assertions without proof amounts to an abdication of journalistic responsibility. It shows total trust in U.S. intelligence despite decades of deception and skullduggery from these agencies. Centrist Democratic Party leaders have expressed extreme unease with Sanders leading the Democratic pack. Politico reported Friday that former New York Mayor Mike Bloombergs entry into the race is explicitly to stop Sanders from winning on the first ballot at the party convention. A day after The New York Times reported , also without evidence, that Russia is again trying to help Donald Trump win in November, the Post reports Moscow is trying to help Sanders too, again without substance. Both candidates whom the establishment loathes were smeared on successive days. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter In a Tough Spot The Times followed the Post report Friday by making it appear that Sanders himself had chosen to make public the intelligence assessment about Russian interference in his campaign. But Sanders had known for a month about this assessment and only issued a statement after the Post asked him for comment before publishing its uncorroborated story based on anonymous sources. Sanders was put in a difficult spot. If he said, Show me the proof that Russia is trying to help me, he ran the risk of being attacked for disbelieving (even disloyalty to) U.S. intelligence, and, by default, defending the Kremlin. So politician that he is, and one who is trying to win the White House, Sanders told the Post: I dont care, frankly, who Putin wants to be president. My message to Putin is clear: Stay out of American elections, and as president I will make sure that you do. In 2016, Russia used Internet propaganda to sow division in our country, and my understanding is that they are doing it again in 2020. The Times quoted Sanders as calling Russian President Vladimir Putin an autocratic thug. The paper reported Sanders saying in a statement: Lets be clear, the Russians want to undermine American democracy by dividing us up and, unlike the current president, I stand firmly against their efforts and any other foreign power that wants to interfere in our election. Responding to a cacophony of criticism that Sanders supporters are especially vicious online, as opposed to the millions of other vicious people online, Sanders attempted to use Russia as a scapegoat, the way the Clinton campaign did in 2016. He said: Some of the ugly stuff on the Internet attributed to our campaign may well not be coming from real supporters. But no matter how strong Sanders denunciations of Russia, his opponents will now target him as being a tool of the Kremlin. Mission accomplished. Joe Lauria is editor-in-chief of Consortium News and a former correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, Sunday Times of London and numerous other newspapers. He can be reached at joelauria@consortiumnews.com and followed on Twitter @unjoe . This article was published by "Consortium News" Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday lauded the women of Purnia region in Bihar, who are engaged in silk saree weaving, for acting as an inspiration for people across the country. In his 62nd edition of Mann Ki Baat radio program, Prime Minister Modi said, "Our New India is not willing to tag along with old approach. In particular, our sisters, mothers of new India are grasping challenges thus setting a pace for a positive transformation in society. Purnia region in Bihar is an inspiration for people across the country." Giving the example, PM Modi said, "Earlier the women of Purnia used to cultivate cocoons from silkworms obtained from mulberry trees and received a very nominal price for their produce, while merchants who bought this raw silk made huge profits by spinning it into silk yarn." "But today, the women of Purnia formed mulberry-production co-operatives with assistance from the government. After that, they spun silk yarn from the cocoons and also started getting saris made with those threads," Modi said. "You will be surprised to know that the very cocoons were sold for a nominal amount earlier, saris made from them are fetching thousands of rupees now," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hundreds of people on Sunday gathered in Delhi's Chand Bagh area to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Population Register (NPR) and the proposed Register of Citizens (NRC). The protesters were holding placards and the flag. They were planning to march from Chand Bagh to Rajghat. This came after hundreds of people gathered in Jaffarbad, another Muslim-dominated locality closeby, on Saturday evening to protest against CAA and NRC. Peaceful protests against the CAA and the proposed NRC have been going on across the country ever since parliament passed the CAA in December last year. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) New Delhi: Ahead of US President Donald Trump's visit to India, Delhi police said that traffic in some parts of the national capital will be affected on Monday due to security measures put in place. Trump, who is scheduled to arrive on Monday for a less than 36-hour trip to India, will be accompanied by a high-level delegation including his family members. An advisory issued by the Delhi Police stated that owing to security reasons, during the evening hours on February 24 traffic in the areas of Delhi Cantonment, Delhi-Gurgaon Road (NH 48), Dhaula Kuan, Chanakyapuri, SP Marg, RML Roundabout, and the adjoining areas is likely to remain heavy. Necessary diversions as per the ground situation may also be put in place, it said. According to the advisory, from forenoon till around 4 pm on Tuesday, traffic is likely to remain heavy in the areas of Moti Bagh, Chanakyapuri, India Gate, areas around ITO, Delhi Gate and the adjoining areas of Central and New Delhi. During the evening hours on February 25, traffic is likely to remain heavy in the areas of Chanakyapuri, RML roundabout, Dhaula Kuan, Delhi Cantonment, Delhi-Gurgaon Road (NH 48) and the adjoining areas. The Delhi traffic police have urged motorists and commuters to keep these factors in mind while planning their travel in case they have to get to these areas. Commuters have also been asked to check the Delhi traffic police's website and its twitter handle for updates on necessary traffic diversions. Trump, accompanied by US First Lady Melania Trump, his daughter Ivanka Trump, son-in-law Jared Kushner and high-level US officials will arrive on Monday morning at Ahmedabad.He will reach the national capital on Monday evening for the main leg of his visit where he will stay till Tuesday night before leaving for the US. Women and children have been the worst victims of the Syrian war. (AFP or licensors) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says the man-made humanitarian nightmare of the Syrian people must stop now. By Robin Gomes The United Nations on Friday chief called for an immediate end to the man-made humanitarian nightmare currently unfolding in the northwest Syrian province of Idlib, where ongoing military operations in the north-west have displaced hundreds of thousands amid freezing winter temperatures. No military solution The message is clear. There is no military solution for the Syrian crisis, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told journalists at the UN Headquarters in New York. The only possible solution remains political. This manmade humanitarian nightmare for the long-suffering Syrian people must stop. It must stop now. Since December, nearly 900,000 people, have fled fighting in Idlib, where the Syrian government has launched a military assault in the last major stronghold of the rebel fighters and jihadists opposed to President Bashar al-Assad. Women and children The vast majority of those fleeing the latest Syrian offensive are women and children. Many young children who are freezing to death, Guterres said. Most are moving to increasingly crowded areas towards the border with Turkey. He said, the unfolding crisis in northwest Syria and the terrible human toll on civilians is now advancing into areas with the highest concentrations of people - many of them displaced - and threatening to strangle humanitarian lifelines. I have repeatedly called for an immediate ceasefire in Idlib to end the humanitarian catastrophe and now also to avoid an uncontrollable escalation, Guterres said. Appeal to donors Overall, nearly three million people in north-west Syria require humanitarian assistance. As needs rise, the UN is revising plans to assist the displaced, the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, said earlier on Friday. Guterres said earlier this month the UN thought it needed enough funds to reach 800,000 displaced people. However, he said the UN is now appealing for an additional $500 million from donors to cover the needs of the newly displaced people over the next six months. Ankara: Turkey on Sunday became one of the latest nations to close its border with neighbouring Iran, joining a list of Jordan and Pakistan. Afghanistan also announced it would suspend flight operations with Iran after several cases of infection of the novel coronavirus outbreak were reported from the country. While Ankara announced is temporary closing its border with Iran over the spread of the respiratory infection, Jordan barred travellers from Tehran as a preemptive measure. "We have decided to shut the land border temporarily after an increase in the number of cases in our neighbor Iran," said Turkeys Health Minister Fahrettin Koca, adding the country was "alarmed" by the growing number of cases and was forced to take the measures after speaking with Iranian authorities. The land and railway borders will be closed from 5pm local time (2pm GMT) on Sunday, said Koca. "Air traffic from Iran into Turkey would also be halted from 8pm local time (5pm GMT) on Sunday but departures to Iran could continue," he said. There is not yet any confirmed incident in Turkey, with Koca saying that five suspicious cases treated in the Van province on the Iran border were negative. Turkey's Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan, however, said exports from Turkey to Iran and transactions continued "in a controlled way". Jordans minister of state for media affairs, Amjad Adayleh, said the decision was part of preemptive measures, following the risk in cases of coronavirus in South Korea, Iran and China. Adayleh said the ban would be "temporary" and imposed on all non-Jordanians coming from the three nations among the worst affected by the illness. "Jordanians who come from those countries will be placed in quarantine for two weeks to ensure they have not contracted the coronavirus," he added. Afghanistan, on the other hand, has also taken a similar measure as it temporarily halted travel to and from Iran over the virus fears. "To prevent the spread of the novel #coronavirus and protect the public, Afghanistan suspends all passenger movement (air and ground) to and from Iran," the office of the National Security Council of Afghanistan said in a statement posted on Twitter. Earlier on Sunday, Iran reported eight deaths from the novel coronavirus, the highest toll of any country outside China, as the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, accused foreign media of trying to use the outbreak to sabotage a general election. Dusit Thani Abu Dhabi, a five-star luxury hotel and a leading venue for Mice events in the heart of the capital, has enhanced its already extensive offerings by investing Dh5 million ($1.3 million) in upgrades to its meetings, events and room facilities. Ideal for business travellers, the 527-key deluxe hotel is located a short drive from Abu Dhabi Exhibition Centre, the Eastern mangroves, Corniche, Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Embassies and the business district. Alongside a dedicated club lounge floor, the property offers award-winning dining and recreational facilities, and intuitively curated Mice spaces. With the recent investment and upgrades, Dusit Thani Abu Dhabi now offers cutting-edge audio visual technology in all guest rooms, meeting and conference rooms, and also in its 700-capacity Onyx Ballroom, which spans 785-sq-m and is divisible into three separate rooms. Highlights of the upgrades include: Each room has recently been installed with large screen Smart televisions with Google Chromecast displays that deliver premium interactive guest services, where guests can log into their personal Netflix/Amazon Prime etc. accounts and binge watch their favourite series in the comfort of their king size beds after a long day at the desk. The hotel has installed 4K resolution Laser projector and screens in the main Onyx Ballroom. One of the latest and largest Projector screens in Abu Dhabi, measuring 600cm(W) x 337cm(H) 3 HD Projectors with 10,000 Lumens Projection. Sapphire and Emerald meeting rooms now have 4K clarity, 98-inch large LED Screens. Each boardroom is equipped with 86-inch Interactive Smartboard TV with 30 W soundbar audio. Bose surround sound Line Array Speakers in each section of the ballroom. The venues can accommodate up to 1,200 concurrent wi-fi devices with 780 Mbps connectivity speed. The fastest hotel internet service in Abu Dhabi city across meeting rooms and guest rooms. Complimentary internet speed of 4 Mbps. All meeting rooms and pre-function areas offer 100 per cent coverage with wi-fi and 4G signals. Desmond Hatton, general manager Dusit Thani Abu Dhabi, said: In resonating with the vision of 2020: Towards the next 50, we aim to poise ourselves as industry leaders offering avant-garde innovative Mice and hi tech in room services, ensuring every visit to our hotel is convenient and everyone is always connected. With this Dh5 million investment, we seek to position ourselves as a preferred partner for corporate travellers, planners and agents across the globe. - TradeArabia News Service Today we'll look at Hays plc (LON:HAS) and reflect on its potential as an investment. Specifically, we'll consider its Return On Capital Employed (ROCE), since that will give us an insight into how efficiently the business can generate profits from the capital it requires. First, we'll go over how we calculate ROCE. Second, we'll look at its ROCE compared to similar companies. And finally, we'll look at how its current liabilities are impacting its ROCE. Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE) ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. Generally speaking a higher ROCE is better. 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? The formula for calculating the return on capital employed is: Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) (Total Assets - Current Liabilities) Or for Hays: 0.24 = UK224m (UK1.6b - UK659m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2019.) So, Hays has an ROCE of 24%. See our latest analysis for Hays Is Hays's ROCE Good? When making comparisons between similar businesses, investors may find ROCE useful. Using our data, we find that Hays's ROCE is meaningfully better than the 15% average in the Professional Services industry. I think that's good to see, since it implies the company is better than other companies at making the most of its capital. Setting aside the comparison to its industry for a moment, Hays's ROCE in absolute terms currently looks quite high. You can click on the image below to see (in greater detail) how Hays's past growth compares to other companies. LSE:HAS Past Revenue and Net Income, February 23rd 2020 It is important to remember that ROCE shows past performance, and is not necessarily predictive. Companies in cyclical industries can be difficult to understand using ROCE, as returns typically look high during boom times, and low during busts. ROCE is only a point-in-time measure. Future performance is what matters, and you can see analyst predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company. Story continues Do Hays's Current Liabilities Skew Its ROCE? Current liabilities include invoices, such as supplier payments, short-term debt, or a tax bill, that need to be paid within 12 months. The ROCE equation subtracts current liabilities from capital employed, so a company with a lot of current liabilities appears to have less capital employed, and a higher ROCE than otherwise. To counteract this, we check if a company has high current liabilities, relative to its total assets. Hays has total assets of UK1.6b and current liabilities of UK659m. Therefore its current liabilities are equivalent to approximately 42% of its total assets. Hays's ROCE is boosted somewhat by its middling amount of current liabilities. The Bottom Line On Hays's ROCE Despite this, it reports a high ROCE, and may be worth investigating further. There might be better investments than Hays out there, but you will have to work hard to find them . These promising businesses with rapidly growing earnings might be right up your alley. I will like Hays better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading. The pre-Nevada Democratic debate was a gift to Donald Trump. Instead of training their fire on the incumbent, or on the vulnerable front-runner, Bernie Sanders, the candidates tore Mike Bloomberg to shreds while saving plenty of darts for one another. That nice young man Pete Buttigieg became that supercilious egoist needling Amy Klobuchar over trifles. Elizabeth Warren the policy wonk became Elizabeth Warren the Terminator. Bottom line: A clear win for Sanders, which can be seen as an indirect win for Trump. Bloomberg had a dismal night. Coming out from behind the curtain of gauzy advertising was not kind to him. He was arrogant. Asked why he hasnt yet released his taxes he said, I cant go to TurboTax. His apology/explanation for stop-and-frisk was stiff and unconvincing, as Elizabeth Warren and others were quick to point out. He could have framed it in terms that a Democratic audience would view sympathetically that the point of stop-and-frisk was to get illegal guns off the streets. He could have elaborated on his longstanding anti-gun activism (which has the advantage of being true). And then he could have said that while the program was successful in reducing crime, specifically murders and other gun crimes almost entirely in minority neighborhoods, it went too far and needed to be scaled back. Also, in one of the worst word choices of this primary season, Bloomberg explained that he wouldnt release women from nondisclosure agreements because the contracts were consensual. Now might be a good time to reconsider the belief that money can buy the presidency. Remember Tom Steyer? I thought not. Hes a billionaire whos still in the race for the Democratic nomination. He had spent, as of last month, $123,803,204.00. And what did that get him? He finished seventh in Iowa and sixth in New Hampshire. Due to low poll numbers, he didnt make the cut for the debate stage in Nevada. Sure, Bloombergs billions make Steyer seem like a pauper, but money without message has a poor track record in American politics. Some wealthy candidates succeed. But many do not. Ask Michael Huffington or Meg Whitman. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, 263 millionaire candidates contributed at least half a million dollars to their own campaigns for Congress between 2002 and 2014. Eighty-four percent of them lost. Bloomberg has his virtues. Hes a centrist and a good administrator with relevant experience. His passions for climate action and gun control track well with the Democratic Party. But his downsides, as we discovered at the first debate, are potential anchors: A history of vulgar comments to and about women. His age (78). His lack of human warmth. If Mike Bloombergs pure aim were to deny Donald Trump reelection, he would withdraw from the race and put his vast resources in the service of Amy Klobuchar. Among all of the Democratic candidates, she is the most likely to defeat Trump. Every other candidate, including Bloomberg, is dragging a ton of baggage. Elizabeth Warren is vulnerable for her history of misrepresenting herself as a minority and for her embrace of hard-left policies. She claims to pay for her wish list of goodies by imposing a wealth tax that 1) might be unconstitutional; 2) would not remotely cover all her spending ideas; and 3) might dampen economic growth. Pete Buttigieg has run the fourth-largest city in the 17th-most populous state in the U.S. His record was spotty. Crime increased by 70 percent. He is a great talker. So bright. But he is also the first openly gay man to seek a major party nomination. According to a 2020 Gallup poll, 78 percent would vote for a gay or lesbian candidate, which is better than the 29 percent who said so in 1983, but nowhere near the 96 percent who say theyd vote for a black candidate. Joe Biden is older than Sanders and Bloomberg. His brain seems to have different ideas from his tongue about where his sentences should go. Also, he has to answer for 50 years of bad decisions. Bernie Sanders is a festival of weakness. His proposal to ban fracking alone could lose Pennsylvania, and thus, the November election. Like a reverse magnet, he repels every suburbanite who crossed over to vote blue in 2018. Even most Democrats oppose Medicare for All and the rest of his dorm-incubated agenda. His past admiration of leftist dictatorships (bread lines are good!) will haunt him. And that Gallup poll found that only 45 percent would vote for a socialist. Amy Klobuchar is rumored to be tough on her staff. Thats it. Shes a solid, Midwestern senator who wins in her home state by double-digit margins. Shes sane and centrist. And shes the Democratic Partys only hope. Mona Charen is a Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 NEW YORK, N.Y. -- The 97-year-old iconic upscale retailer, Barneys New York, will close its doors for good on Sunday. The retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year, which has resulted in the shuttering of its Manhattan flagship store at 660 Madison Ave., and others locations throughout the country, according to multiple reports. The high-end department store was once known as a trendsetter, and in its heyday was patronized by a wide array of music celebrities and movie stars. Cintra Wilson of the RobbReport wrote: To devoted fashionistas, the demise of Barneys has been a blow almost comparable to hearing that David Bowie died again, or watching someone chain saw a Steinway in half to use the wood for a bonfire." Fashion magazine WWD reported that Gene Pressman, one of stores founders and its creative director from 1972 to 1998, said, It felt like we were in the theatrical business, creating theater, because in those days fashion was the leaderit influenced music, motion pictures, it influenced artit was the impetus of everything. Many other fashionistas have taken to social media to mourn the end of an era in the fashion world. Barney's New York is closing their last retail location today. Growing up in the suburbs of NYC, "Barney's" was retail code for high-end, high-quality menswear that was worth the premium price. Nothing lasts forever. Robert Morro (@bmorro44) February 23, 2020 Said WWD on Instagram: Standing smack-dab in the middle of Barneys New Yorks subterranean beauty floor at its Madison Avenue flagship, the onetime beacon of luxury commerce now resembles a set from the depths of a Space-Age horror film. Violent and out-of-control students will continue to be removed from schools and placed in multi-million dollar alternative learning settings across Perth. Education Minister Sue Ellery this month confirmed three purpose-based centres introduced to tackle violence in schools would continue to operate beyond an initial 2019 pilot program. Violent WA students will continue to be sent to alternative learning centres to address unacceptable behaviour. Credit:Janie Barrett The $2.58 million ALS were established last year as part of the state governments action plan to help public school principals stamp out increasing violence by giving them alternate solutions. Principals can now expel the worst and most persistently violent students from mainstream schooling and place them in the designated ALS to address behavioural issues. The Indian Air Force (IAF) may review its promotion policy to allow group captains to become air commodores faster as part of an overarching plan to improve their career prospects and keep pilots from quitting service, two senior government officials said on condition of anonymity. A troubling trend of pilots leaving the air force during the last two years to join private airlines that offer better salary and perquisites has rung the alarms bells in the IAF, compelling it to take stock of the problem and devise ways to retain talent. More than 200 middle-rung IAF pilots took premature retirement, or what the air force calls premature separation from service (PSS), during 2018-19, said the first official cited above. He stressed that the figure was far higher than acceptable. The IAF received applications from more than 300 officers for early retirement over the last two years, of whom 200 were released. The number of officers who were allowed to leave is too high. According to our assessment, if more than 60 pilots quit every year, it can cause an imbalance in our functioning. We cannot allow the numbers to go beyond what is acceptable, said the second official cited above said. The IAF is handling the pilot retention problem by adopting a multi-pronged approach that includes reviewing the promotion policy to remove stagnation, tightening the eligibility criteria for granting PSS, giving officers greater clarity about career growth and fine-tuning the human resource policy to address issues related to postings, tenure and family requirements. Hindustan Times reported on February 15 that the IAF was working to tighten rules to prevent its pilots from leaving service and a raft of measures were being implemented to arrest the trend of officers quitting the air force to take up well-paying flying jobs outside. The promotion policy is being reviewed to remove stagnation at a critical career juncture the group captain level (equivalent to a colonel in the army). It can take up to 13 years for a group captain to be promoted as an air commodore (equivalent to a brigadier). We are examining the possibility of bringing it down to around 10 years to address the aspirations of officers, the first official said. A middle-rung IAF pilot earning up to 2 lakh a month could land up a salary that is four times higher as captain in a private airlines. Most pilots quit service after being overlooked for promotion and completing 20 years of service, which entitles them to a pension. We are not talking about a blanket ban on pilots leaving the air force. But some restrictions are being imposed so that the IAF does not suffer. Simultaneously, we are adopting a proactive approach to address issues that are bothering people, the first official said. The second official said pilots who had been overlooked for promotion would be given top priority for early release, followed by officers who make it to the next rank only in the last promotion board. While most pilots usually look at leaving after being overlooked for promotion, there have been cases of people putting in their papers before reaching that stage. The 200 pilots who quit during 2018-19 included officers who had not been superseded and were doing well. That cant be allowed to go on. We are looking at those issues very carefully, the second official added. Experts said it was critical for the IAF to ensure that it had adequate number of pilots for operational utilisation. It takes years to operationalise a pilot. And then comes a time when he needs to give back to the country the time and effort invested in him. People join the air force of their own free will. The IAF has to enforce policies that ensure minimum strength of pilots is maintained to carry out operational roles, said Air Vice Marshal Manmohan Bahadur (retd), additional director general, Centre for Air Power Studies. He added that the IAFs human resource policies looked at the human aspect and career progression of officers and there were in-built mechanisms to make sure that genuine cases for early discharge did not suffer. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Mr Fadnavis made the allegation while talking to reporters a day before the Budget session of the legislature commences. Mumbai: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday alleged that Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar was trying to implicate "Hindutvawadis" in the Koregaon Bhima violence case despite the absence of any concrete evidence. Mr Fadnavis made the allegation while talking to reporters a day before the Budget session of the legislature commences. During my tenure, the state home department had carried out a thorough probe into the Koregaon Bhima violence case, the former chief minister, who also held the home portfolio then, said. Pawar's first reaction on the violence was that Hindutvawadis were beh-ind it. But police did not find any evidence to back up his claims, he said. The entire investigation and its progress has not been objected either by the Bombay high court or by the Supreme Court. Still by setting up a separate SIT, Mr Pawar wants to implicate Hindutvawadis in the Koregaon Bhima violence incident, he alleged. Replying to a query over it, Mr Fadnavis said, The Maharashtra police have found a strong evidence that urban Naxal issue is not restricted to Maharashtra alone. It has spread in other parts of the country as well. Hence handing over its probe to the NIA is a welcome move of chief minister Uddhav Thackeray. Moreover, he attacked the NCP chief over his demand for creation of a trust for construction of a mosque in Ayodhya on the lines of a similar body for Ram temple. Speaking to reporters on the eve of the Budget session of the Maharashtra legislature, Fadnavis asked why Pawar wanted to build a mosque in the name of an invader like Babur. Babar (the first emperor of Mughal dynasty in Indian sub-continent) was an invader. Why on the earth did NCP chief Sharad Pawar want to erect a new mosque in the name of Babur? If Muslims want a place for prayer, they should have one but why in the name of Babar? asked Mr Fadnavis. Speaking in Lucknow on February 20, Mr Pawar demanded the Central government to form a trust for building a mosque in Ayodhya similar to the trust to oversee the construction of Ram temple. I also wonder why Mr Pawar demanded a trust for a mosque when he knows that a Waqf has to be formed for the same," the former chief minister said. Holidaymakers are stranded at airports in the Canary Islands after a Saharan sandstorm. Flights from Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, North and South Tenerife Airports have been grounded with disruptions to scheduled arrivals into Dublin, Cork and Shannon today and for the foreseeable future due to the weather conditions. The Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA) is advising holidaymakers traveling to or from the Canary Islands in the next 48 hours to check flight details with their travel agent, tour operator or airline. It said Storm Calima has reduced visibility to zero at times this weekend, preventing aircraft from leaving major airports on the islands, while a significant number of Aer Lingus and Ryanair flights have been cancelled. John Spollen, President of the ITAA, said: These flight cancellations are causing major disruption to Irish holiday makers on what is a busy travel period with the school mid-term break coming to a close. "Irish holidaymakers will be faced with the possibility of incurred additional accommodation costs. We have been assured that these costs will be covered by the airlines, within reason, and are advising all customers to claim under EU261. We have been advised that this weather disruption should not continue for more than a day or so. However, there will be a backlog to flying holiday makers back home. Customer service staff for the airports in the Canary Islands told the PA news agency that while no planes are flying, airports have remained open for passengers. One call centre worker said: People should contact their airline company to try and get accommodation for the night if their flight has been cancelled. Passengers have posted photographs of people sitting on the floor waiting for more information. Greg Horsman, 29, was on holiday with his girlfriend and his friends on a Tui cruise and was due to fly home to Manchester on Saturday evening. What a difference a day makes #tenerife Sahara sandstorm pic.twitter.com/wGn6Exuo0h linda cantelo (@lindacantelo) February 23, 2020 However, they have been forced to stay in Gran Canaria for another two nights due to the storm. He told PA: Its frustrating. Were just ready to be home. Last night we were in the airport for five hours and I was frustrated because Tui couldnt help us or do anything until the airport declared that they were closed which they did at 10.30pm. Tui reps did give us updates when we asked but unfortunately it didnt seem they were getting much information quickly. We then spent the night there, most of us in our original cabins, then came back to the airport at 12.30pm and have been here since. We are being sent to a hotel tonight but were not sure where were going to yet. Were frustrated because there should be contingency plans for when a weather event grounds flights. They all kept saying Oh weve never seen this happen before which I understand, its a freak of nature, but when weather grounds all flights there is surely a contingency plan that gets put into place so people can get accommodation sorted. Elsewhere, tourists have posted photographs of the orange sky on the islands as the wind continued to batter seaside towns. Michael Nixon, who is on holiday in Tenerife with his family to celebrate his 50th birthday and is due to fly home to Newcastle on Wednesday, said pink dust had covered his rented apartment balcony. He said: Its all a bit surreal. A heavy mist came in last night followed by very strong gusty winds during the night. This morning we awoke to yellowish haze and strong winds. The sandstorm outside a hotel in Tenerife on the Canary Islands today. Pic: Sophie Barley We ventured out but its difficult to see with all of the sand in the air. We are slightly concerned that our flight home on Wednesday could be affected. The sky is still yellow. Its around 29C (84F) but visibility is around 200m. Warren Buffett famously said, 'Volatility is far from synonymous with risk.' So it might be obvious that you need to consider debt, when you think about how risky any given stock is, because too much debt can sink a company. As with many other companies Want Want China Holdings Limited (HKG:151) makes use of debt. But the real question is whether this debt is making the company risky. When Is Debt Dangerous? Generally speaking, debt only becomes a real problem when a company can't easily pay it off, either by raising capital or with its own cash flow. Part and parcel of capitalism is the process of 'creative destruction' where failed businesses are mercilessly liquidated by their bankers. While that is not too common, we often do see indebted companies permanently diluting shareholders because lenders force them to raise capital at a distressed price. By replacing dilution, though, debt can be an extremely good tool for businesses that need capital to invest in growth at high rates of return. The first step when considering a company's debt levels is to consider its cash and debt together. View our latest analysis for Want Want China Holdings How Much Debt Does Want Want China Holdings Carry? As you can see below, at the end of September 2019, Want Want China Holdings had CN10.3b of debt, up from CN9.44b a year ago. Click the image for more detail. However, its balance sheet shows it holds CN16.6b in cash, so it actually has CN6.30b net cash. SEHK:151 Historical Debt, February 23rd 2020 A Look At Want Want China Holdings's Liabilities We can see from the most recent balance sheet that Want Want China Holdings had liabilities of CN6.31b falling due within a year, and liabilities of CN9.09b due beyond that. Offsetting this, it had CN16.6b in cash and CN939.1m in receivables that were due within 12 months. So it actually has CN2.18b more liquid assets than total liabilities. This short term liquidity is a sign that Want Want China Holdings could probably pay off its debt with ease, as its balance sheet is far from stretched. Succinctly put, Want Want China Holdings boasts net cash, so it's fair to say it does not have a heavy debt load! Story continues Also good is that Want Want China Holdings grew its EBIT at 16% over the last year, further increasing its ability to manage debt. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But ultimately the future profitability of the business will decide if Want Want China Holdings can strengthen its balance sheet over time. So if you're focused on the future you can check out this free report showing analyst profit forecasts. But our final consideration is also important, because a company cannot pay debt with paper profits; it needs cold hard cash. While Want Want China Holdings has net cash on its balance sheet, it's still worth taking a look at its ability to convert earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to free cash flow, to help us understand how quickly it is building (or eroding) that cash balance. Over the last three years, Want Want China Holdings recorded free cash flow worth a fulsome 91% of its EBIT, which is stronger than we'd usually expect. That positions it well to pay down debt if desirable to do so. Summing up While we empathize with investors who find debt concerning, you should keep in mind that Want Want China Holdings has net cash of CN6.30b, as well as more liquid assets than liabilities. And it impressed us with free cash flow of CN4.9b, being 91% of its EBIT. So is Want Want China Holdings's debt a risk? It doesn't seem so to us. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But ultimately, every company can contain risks that exist outside of the balance sheet. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Want Want China Holdings you should know about. At the end of the day, it's often better to focus on companies that are free from net debt. You can access our special list of such companies (all with a track record of profit growth). It's free. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading. NEW DELHI: Former Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah told the Supreme Court that the protest at Delhis Shaheen Bagh against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) was peaceful and inconvenience being caused to commuters was due to barricades unnecessarily put by police on roads far away from the site. The same stand has been taken by social activist Syed Bahadur Abbas Naqvi and Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Azad in their joint affidavit filed in the apex court. Habibullah, Mr Azad and Mr Naqvi have jointly filed an intervention application in the top court which is seized of the matter. Habibullah had visited the protest site at Shaheen Bagh pursuant to the direction by a bench of Justice S.K. Kaul and Justice K.M. Joseph. The bench is scheduled to hear the matter on Monday. The top court is hearing pleas seeking removal of protestors from Shaheen Bagh and ensuring smooth traffic flow in the area. The Supreme Court had earlier said that though people have a fundamental right to protest peacefully and lawfully, it was troubled by the blocking of a public road at Shaheen Bagh as it might lead to a "chaotic situation". Habbibullah said: I noticed that there are numerous number of roads that have no connection with the protest that have been barricaded by the police unnecessarily, abdicating their responsibilities and duties and wrongly laying the blame on the protest. It is this barricading of unconnected roads that has led to a chaotic situation. Former CIC Habbibullah also said the police should reveal the names of persons responsible for the decision to block the parallel and arterial roads in the area. The blockage of the road by protesters had become a key issue ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections, with the BJP blaming the protesters and accusing Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of encouraging them. Feeding biryani to Shaheen Bagh was how the BJPs star campaigner and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had put it. Habibullah said the protesters were not blocking school vans or ambulances as has been alleged by parties. I was informed that all ambulances and school vans that clear the police barricade after being found to be genuine by the police, are given immediate safe passage through the protest site, he said in the affidavit. Along with Habibullah, the court has also appointed senior advocates Sanjay Hegde and Sadhana Ramachandran as mediators. In his affidavit, Habibullah has contended that Shaheen Bagh stands tall as a firm example of peaceful dignified dissent, more so in the face of various instances of state-sponsored violence on similar dissents across India. We have been sad and mute witnesses to police brutality and negative typecasting of a particular community across the country. Crushing dissent instead of entering into a dialogue is the new norm, but it is alien to our Constitution, he has claimed. In their joint affidavit, Mr Naqvi and Mr Azad have alleged that "the pre-sent ruling dispensation, at the behest of its political masters, had devised a strategy of extinguishing these pro-tests by falsely attributing violence and acts of vandalism to peaceful protestors". They have also said that police has unnecessarily barricaded numerous roads that have no connection with the protest" and are at a great distance from the site, thereby, abdicating their responsibilities and duties and wrongly laying the blame on the protest. It is these barricading of unconnected roads that has led to a chaotic situation, Habibullah claimed. and added that if the barricades are removed from the 10 points he has mentioned in the affidavit, "the chaos complained of in the petition would cease". In a separate affidavit, Naqvi and Azad have claimed the issue of inconvenience to commuters has been "deliberately orchestrated by the police" by blocking all the surrounding roads as well as the arterial roads connecting Delhi, Noida and Faridabad. They have further alleged that one of the petitions has been filed by lawyer Amit Shani, who is an active member and supporter of BJP posing as a concerned citizen, as his place of residence, office and direct route of daily commute are nowhere near Shaheen Bagh. Habibullah, in his affidavit, has also stated that the protestors have asked him to convey to the apex court that their dissent "was out of desperation and compulsion" as they see the CAA, National Population Register (NPR) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) as a "death knell" for their and future generations' survival and existence. The other concerns voiced by the protesters were that CAA and the intention behind it, as publicly stated by those in power, "has struck a deep fear into the hearts of many poor and under-privileged citizens of India". He has said, "The assembly is peaceful. The question of their security is also crucial. Any attempt to forcibly shift them from the present site would compromise their safety." Restrictions have been imposed on the Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch and the Okhla underpass, which were closed on December 15 last year due to protests against CAA and NRC. The Supreme Court is hearing an appeal filed by Sahni, who had first approached the Delhi High Court seeking directions to Delhi Police to ensure smooth traffic flow on the Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch, which was blocked by anti-CAA protesters on December 15 last year. Separately, former BJP MLA Nand Kishore Garg has filed a plea in the apex court seeking directions to authorities to remove protesters from Shaheen Bagh. Palestinian factions in Gaza fire rockets towards Israel after army bulldozer removed body of dead Palestinian. A Palestinian has been killed by Israeli forces and two others were wounded as they tried to retrieve his body in the besieged Gaza Strip, according to local media reports. The incident took place near the separation fence east of Khan Younis in the southern part of the coastal territory, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported on Sunday. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) faction named the deceased as Mohammed Ali al-Naim, 27, and said he was a member of the organisation. The Israeli military said troops shot dead a Palestinian who was suspected of placing a bomb near the fence. In a statement, the army said it spotted two terrorists approaching the security fence in the southern Gaza Strip and placing an explosive device adjacent to it. The troops opened fire towards them. A hit was identified, it said. Widely shared video A video widely circulated on social media on Sunday appeared to show an Israeli military bulldozer scoop up and move the body of the Palestinian man towards the separation fence. In the clip, the sound of gunfire is heard and at least one man appears to be wounded. Other men then take away the wounded person, while the bulldozer lifts the body in its scoop after a number of apparent failed attempts. The body is seen hanging from the scoop, as the bulldozer reverses and moves towards the fence. The PIJ said in a statement the video showed a brutal crime. A spokesman for Hamas, the group which governs Gaza, told Al Jazeera that the incident was reflective of Israels occupation of the Palestinian territories and its treatment of Palestinian people. 200216111431104 There are hundreds of similar crimes that havent been documented by the camera. Israeli occupation continues its crime without any legal or ethical deterrence, Hazem Qassem told Al Jazeera. A military spokeswoman later told AFP news agency that an Israeli army bulldozer extracted the body of one of the attackers. According to Wafa, two men were shot and wounded in the foot while they were trying to retrieve the body of the dead man. Ashraf al-Qedra, a spokesman for the Ministry of Health in Gaza, told Al Jazeera that two Palestinians with leg wounds arrived at the European Hospital in southern Gaza on Sunday morning. Later on Sunday, 20 rockets were fired towards Israel from the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army said in a Twitter post. Approximately 10 were intercepted by its Iron Dome missile defence system, it added. Palestinian factions in Gaza fired the rockets in response to the killing of al-Naim, local media reported. The targeting of one of our own in the Gaza Strip in a brutal way is blatant aggression and the enemy must bear the consequences, Abu Hamza, a spokesman for the al-Quds Brigades, the PIJs armed wing, said on Twitter earlier on Sunday. A family from Colorado is fighting a medical bill for thousands of dollars for their teenage daughter which they say was never authorized. Ashley Gray, 16, of Park County, near Denver, was sent to hospital in January for a mental health evaluation after she spoke with the counselor at her high school. 'I was just having a bad day and I needed someone to talk to in the heat of the moment, so I went to our counselor,' Gray said to Q13Fox. Before she knew it, Gray was leaving Platte Canyon High School and was whisked away in a squad car on a 45 minute drive to the Children's Hospital South Campus in Highlands Ranch. The counselor at 16-year-old Ashley Gray's school decided to send her to the emergency room because she was 'having a bad day' Her family from say they are planning to fight a bill they received for $4,000 that their teenage daughter received from a local hospital The hospital has refused to release a breakdown of the $4,233 bill The family received a bill for $4,233 as a result of the time she spent at the hospital. It was the first time her parents were made aware of the costly charges. 'I couldn't believe it,' said dad, Maverick. 'They took it upon themselves to send my daughter to the hospital without my acknowledgement or permission, and then I get a $4,000 bill!' The Children's Hospital has so far refused to explain how they came up with the charges and won't publish an itemized bill. 'They don't give breakdowns,' said Maverick to KDVR. 'It's just an emergency room visit, and that's the price.' Dad, Maverick Gray said he was not told of the decision until his daughter was almost at the hospital and they were never told of the cost of the mental health evaluation until the bill came Gray says he is not going to pay the bill will take legal action if the school district refuses to pick up the tab on their behalf The family say they have no plans to settle the bill and plan to take legal action against the district. 'Platte Canyon School District needs to pay this bill,' said Maverick. 'That's obvious.' During her time at the medical facility, Ashley says she spoke with a nurse and another counselor over Skype. She was released a few hours later. 'I was just having a bad day and I needed someone to talk to in the heat of the moment, so I went to our counselor,' 16-year-old Ashley Gray said District Superintendent Mike Schmidt declined to comment on the bill, however a generic statement has been released: 'At Childrens Hospital Colorado, we take youth mental health very seriously. Suicide is the number one cause of death for youth ages 10 24 in Colorado. 'When patients present to the emergency department with verbal or behavioral indications that theyre a danger to themselves or others, we by law, must provide a comprehensive, safety-focused mental health assessment. These assessments, which are provided by mental health providers with special training in emergency pediatric psychiatry, are important to determine if the youth is in acute danger. The hospitals Financial Counseling department works closely with families to offer assistance in paying bills.' Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-24 01:47:17|Editor: yan Video Player Close MOSCOW, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Russian military thwarted major threats to the country by defeating terrorists in Syria, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday at a gala concert on the occasion of Defender of the Fatherland Day, according to the TASS news agency. "Today, Russia's security is in safe hands, as our officers and soldiers are persistently and consistently conducting combat training at a new level, building up their military skills during strategic exercises," Putin said. "They destroyed large well-equipped terrorist groups, prevented major threats to our country at a long range, and helped the Syrians to defend the sovereignty of the country," he added. The president also thanked all participants in the military operation in Syria for their service, saying that they showed their high professionalism and combat effectiveness during the operation. Defender of the Fatherland Day is a Russian national holiday on Feb. 23 that celebrates people who are and were serving in the armed forces. Unofficially, it is also marked as Men's Day in the country. You are here: China President Xi Jinping has encouraged medical students of Tibet University to build strong ability and serve the people at the primary level ahead of the Tibetan New Year. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks Friday when answering a letter from the students who are interning at Peking University Shougang Hospital in Beijing. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-23 00:04:21|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Together we are going to win! Foreign nationals express confidence in China's fight against #coronavirus. #StayStrongChina A federal judge blocked a Trump administration plan to send 30 to 50 American coronavirus patients to a Southern California town after local officials complained they were blindsided by the decision. The patients had been scheduled to arrive at a shuttered state facility in Costa Mesa on Sunday under a US Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for Disease Control plan that was blocked an by an injunction granted after concerns were raised. Costa Mesa Mayor Katrina Foley and other officials from surrounding Orange County are demanding more details on how the local community would be protected from the deadly outbreak. Officials in the city of Costa Mesa, California, hold a press conference after learning the Trump administration was planning to send 30 to 50 American coronavirus patients to a Southern California town after local officials complained they were blindsided by the decision Coronavirus patients had been scheduled to arrive at Fairview Developmental Center, a shuttered California state facility in Costa Mesa on Sunday under a US Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for Disease Control plan that was blocked an by an injunction Officials from Costa Mesa and surrounding Orange County are demanding more details on how the local community would be protected from the deadly outbreak if patients were housed at one of the residential facilities (pictured) at the Fairview Developmental Center William Hart, who lives in Santa Ana near Costa Mesa, where up to 50 coronavirus patients were to be relocated under a federal plan, said he and his wife were 'shocked to know this is happening' Residents in Costa Mesa and surrounding Ocean County appear holding signs of protest as local officials expressed concerns about the federal plan to relocate coronavirus patients to a shuttered state facility in their area The judge's order stopped the federal plan, which would have relocated patients to the city of 110,000 residents from Travis Air Force Base, where they were evacuated to from the coronavirus-hit Diamond Empress cruise ship in Japan. Three passengers have died and fears are mounting for hundreds of tourists left aboard. 'We were shocked to know this is happening. My wifes been crying all day,' William Hart, who lives in nearby Santa Ana told KCBS. U.S. District Judge Josephine L. Stanton has scheduled a hearing for Monday to address the issue brewing in Costa Mesa. City officials quickly sought court intervention after learning from the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services that US officials planned to start moving patients to the shuttered Fairview Developmental Center. They said in court documents that local officials were not included in the planning effort and wanted to know why the state facility was chosen for the continued quarantine. Fairview, a now-closed 118-acre property, originally opened in 1959 and housed about 2,700 people with developmental disabilities on a sprawling campus with 60 buildings. A judge's order stopped a federal plan to relocate patients to Costa Mesa from Travis Air Force Base (pictured), where they were evacuated to from the coronavirus-hit Diamond Empress cruise ship in Japan Three passengers have died and fears are mounting for hundreds of tourists left aboard An image of the coronavirus-hit Diamond Princess cruise ship at Yokohama Port near Tokyo, Japan, shows medical personnel and the quarantine measures that have been taken to seal off the disease-infested vessel Officials say they want to know how the facility is considered suitable for the quarantine and what kinds of safeguards would be in place to prevent the possible transmission of the virus that has spread worldwide. Globally, the virus has infected nearly 80,000 people, most in China, and more than 2,300 have died, also mostly in China. There are at least 35 confirmed cases in the US. Foley said Costa Mesa 'has not been part of any of the process that led to the consideration of the site, and it would be unfair to not include us in this kind of significant decision that has great impact on our community,' reports the Orange County Register. Costa Mesa Mayor Katrina Foley says the city 'has not been part of any of the process that led to the consideration of the site, and it would be unfair to not include us in this kind of significant decision that has great impact on our community' The California Health and Human Services Agency said in a statement Saturday that it was working with federal authorities to find a place for people who were evacuated from a quarantined cruise ship in Japan and taken to Travis Air Force Base in Northern California. Anyone who tested positive for the virus cannot stay at the base and must be sent either to the hospital or if they're not sick enough, isolated until the infection has cleared. The Fairview center in Costa Mesa had been considered as a place to send them. 'If Fairview were chosen, the federal government would be responsible for providing health care - easing the burden on our hospitals during flu season - and for providing robust security to ensure the public safety and public health of the surrounding community,' the state's statement said. A state lawmaker whose district includes Costa Mesa said he feared the virus could travel through the facility's air vents. 'The coronavirus patients should be treated humanely and with the best medical care available. But the first priority must be to contain the virus and make sure it doesn't jump into the local population,' Republican state Sen. John Moorlach said. RICHMOND, Va. - Gov. Ralph Northam's assault weapons bill was in trouble - not from Republicans in the newly blue legislature, but from a handful of fellow Democrats in the Senate. The day before the General Assembly gaveled into session last month, in a closed-door caucus meeting, Sen. Chap Petersen, D-Fairfax City, and a few rural lawmakers said they wouldn't support all eight pieces of Northam's gun-control agenda. Specific details of some measures worried the senators. For Petersen at least, the main concern was the sheer number of bills. His limit, he said that day, was four. "It's just piling on," he said in an interview last week, after he and three other Democrats joined with Republicans to kill the ban on future sales of assault weapons in committee. "You can't discount people that were raised and grew up in this state and have their own traditions. You can't just suddenly kick them to the curb." Virginia's Capitol is in the midst of a revolution, with the House, Senate and Executive Mansion under Democratic control for the first time in a quarter-century. Legislation that routinely died with Republicans in charge has flown out of both chambers, including measures to raise the minimum wage, shift to clean energy, decriminalize marijuana, ban anti-LGBT discrimination and let localities remove Confederate monuments. But there are limits to how far some Democrats want to go, even on gun control - the party's marquee issue in the November elections. The Senate - whose members are older, more tenured and less racially diverse - has taken less liberal positions than the House in many areas, including labor and immigration. Still, the defections on the assault weapons bill infuriated advocates and House Democrats given the issue's prominence in fall campaigns. "There's almost 30 years of pent-up policy waiting to get passed," fumed Lori Haas, who has been lobbying for tighter gun laws since her daughter was wounded in the Virginia Tech mass shooting in 2007. "And the notion that incremental is somehow the way to go ... it's ridiculous." Petersen said such complaints miss the big picture: Both chambers have passed a host of gun-control bills, including those that require background checks on all gun sales, cap handgun purchases at one per month and create a "red flag" law allowing authorities to temporarily seize weapons from people deemed a threat. "We've passed more bills on gun safety in the last 30 days than we've done in the last 30 years," he said. "And by the same token, I like to be able to say, 'You know, we did listen to the other side. We did dial a couple things back. We did say "no" to a couple people.' " The bill's failure could exacerbate House-Senate tensions - a day later, House Democrats killed Petersen's bill to allow part-time law enforcement officers to buy their service weapons when they retire. But Democrats in the two chambers will have to find a way to work together if they are to iron out differences in every bill that hasn't passed both chambers in identical form, gun measures included. Gun-control became a rallying cry for Democrats following May's mass shooting in Virginia Beach, especially after Republicans swiftly gaveled in and out of a special session on guns that Northam called in the aftermath, refusing to consider the governor's eight gun-control bills. All eight seemed headed for passage after Democrats won the House (55-45) and Senate (21-19). Gun owners were alarmed, particularly by the assault weapons bill. As originally proposed, it would have forced owners to give up certain legally purchased firearms. Even after Northam promised a grandfather clause - banning future sales but allowing people to keep assault weapons they already owned - the uproar swelled. More than 110 counties, cities and towns would eventually declare themselves Second Amendment "sanctuaries" where new gun laws would not be enforced. Tens of thousands, including militia groups from across the country, would flock to an annual gun rights rally that typically draws a few hundred to the Capitol. On the eve of the legislature's Jan. 8 opening day, Petersen and Democratic Sens. R. Creigh Deeds of Bath, John Edwards of Roanoke and Lynwood Lewis Jr. of Accomack told their caucus they would not support the assault weapons bill. Deeds and Edwards said the legislation's definition of "assault firearm" was imprecise. Lewis - who was not on the committee that ultimately killed the bill - said a ban on future sales would be ineffective given the "tens of thousands" already in private hands in Virginia. "The sanctuary nonsense kind of got people spooked," said Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton, who supported the measure. Northam had asked Sen. Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria, to introduce his proposed ban in the Senate. It never materialized. "I did spend a lot of time working on that," Ebbin said. "However, I can also count votes and ... I decided to focus on a few things that I thought might have a better chance." Senate Majority Leader Richard Saslaw, D-Fairfax, had submitted his own version in November but struck it a few days into session. That left the Senate with no assault weapons bill to consider - until the House version, proposed by Del. Mark Levine, D-Alexandria, squeaked out of that chamber hours ahead of the Feb. 11 "crossover" deadline. The Senate Judiciary Committee docketed the bill right away, even before Northam's seven other gun-control bills, which will be heard Monday. Northam, Public Safety Secretary Brian Moran and House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn of Fairfax spent the days ahead of last week's meeting asking for more time to address objections. "This was no surprise to anyone that we were going full steam ahead on these eight bills," Moran said. Last week, four of the nine Democrats on the Senate committee - Petersen, Deeds, Edwards and Scott Surovell of Fairfax - sided with Republicans to reject the assault weapons bill for the year, sending it to the state's Crime Commission for study. The vote was 10 to 5. The only real surprise was Surovell, who wrote on his blog afterward that he does not support civilian ownership of assault weapons as someone who "lived through the 2002 D.C. sniper attacks while crouching in my car getting gas to avoid being shot." But Surovell, like the others, had issues with how the bill defined the weapons. He was concerned by a provision forcing owners to give up large-capacity magazines. Without a buyback program, which the bill lacked, the mandate could constitute an unconstitutional "taking" of property, he said. Surovell said he believes those problems can eventually be worked out, but said doing so would take more time than legislators can spare amid this year's legislative avalanche. "In a part-time legislature, there's only so much oxygen in the room," he said. "I was just voting to continue the discussion." Update: Sen. Richard Shelby and Rep. Mike Rogers said the plan to bring coronavirus patients to Alabama has been cancelled. Here is AL.coms complete coverage of the plan to bring coronavirus patients to Alabama Shelby tweeted he had been informed by the president the evacuees from the Princess Cruise ship wont be coming to the Anniston-based Center for Domestic Preparedness. I just got off the phone with the President. He told me that his administration will not be sending any victims of the coronavirus from the Diamond Princess cruise ship to Anniston, Alabama. Thank you @POTUS. I just got off the phone with the President. He told me that his administration will not be sending any victims of the Coronavirus from the Diamond Princess cruise ship to Anniston, Alabama. Thank you, @POTUS, for working with us to ensure the safety of all Alabamians. Richard Shelby (@SenShelby) February 23, 2020 Rep. Mike Rogers, whose district includes Anniston, tweeted a similar message. In the past 24 hours, I have spoken to @realdonaldtrump twice and just spoke with Secretary Azar. The plan to house the Americans exposed to Coronavirus at the CDP in Anniston has thankfully been CANCELLED. Mike Rogers (@RepMikeRogersAL) February 23, 2020 Earlier: Coronavirus patients evacuated from a cruise ship may not be coming to a FEMA facility in Anniston, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said. The Department of Health and Human Services announced Saturday it was bringing American evacuees to the Center for Domestic Preparedness in Anniston. The patients coming to Alabama were evacuated from the Diamond Princess, a cruise ship docked in Japan during an outbreak of coronavirus. The evacuees tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, but are either asymptomatic or have mild flu-like symptoms. The announcement set off a wave of protests and threats of suits from local officials. Now, Ivey said the announcement patients were coming to Alabama was premature. Ivey said her office was notified of the plans late Friday night and contacted Sens. Richard Shelby and Doug Jones, Rep. Mike Rogers, whose district includes the Anniston area, and Dr. Scott Harris with the Alabama Department of Public Health. "Obviously concerned, there were a number of conversations between HHS, the White House, my staff and me, as well as two rounds of conference calls including the senior staff of the Congressional Delegation to try to clarify (Health and Human Services) intent and reasoning for selecting Alabama. On one of the calls, they informed us that the CDP in Anniston is only being considered as a back-up plan, in case they run out of alternative locations. They assured us on both calls that no decision had been made to send anyone to Anniston. The Saturday press release announcing the plans was sent inadvertently and perhaps prematurely, Ivey said. The Department of Defense has set aside military bases in California, Colorado and Texas to house evacuees. Ivey said her office is still working with federal officials in the event patients are brought to Alabama. "I made it abundantly clear that while the State of Alabama wants to work closely with the Trump administration to assist fellow Americans who may have tested positive for the coronavirus, there were some grave concerns about why the site in Anniston was chosen and how, logistically, this would play out in the event this back-up site were to be eventually activated. "First and foremost, my priority is to protect the people of Alabama. While locating these folks in Alabama is currently a backup plan, this is a serious issue and we need to be fully aware of the facts regarding the potential of housing them in Anniston, she said. Rogers says Trump opposed bringing patients to U.S. Rep. Rogers said earlier he had met with the president over concerns about bringing coronavirus patients to Alabama. In a series of Saturday night tweets sent just hours after the plan was announced, Rogers said he had spoken to the president about the use of Annistons Center for Domestic Preparedness to house an unknown number of coronavirus patients. Earlier this evening, I spoke with (President Donald Trump). He agreed with me that the decision by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to house those Americans exposed to Coronavirus (COVID-19) at the Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP) in Anniston is the wrong decision, he tweeted. President Trump had no advanced notice and these individuals were brought to the continental United States without his consent. I will continue to work with President Trump and HHS to find the best facilities that will meet the needs for those Americans who have been exposed to this dangerous virus. The CDP is not that place. President Trump had no advanced notice & these individuals were brought to the continental United States without his consent. Mike Rogers (@RepMikeRogersAL) February 23, 2020 The New York Times reported Trump was infuriated 14 coronavirus patients were transported to the U.S. last week without his consent. You can see the original HHS announcement below: HHS is taking precautions to protect the health of all Americans from Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). To that end, HHS and FEMA agreed to use a federal facility, the FEMA Center for Domestic Preparedness in Anniston, Alabama, as a place for some of the American passengers from the Diamond Princess to stay. These are passengers whom the federal government evacuated back to the U.S. from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan. The passengers who will stay at the Center tested positive for COVID-19, although at this time they either do not have symptoms or have mild flu-like symptoms. Any of the evacuees who become seriously ill will be transported to pre-identified hospitals for medical care. Under the HHS-FEMA agreement, the Center for Domestic Preparedness will provide the housing, and HHS will provide basic medical care and all other support services for these returning passengers. Passengers will stay in a separate area from the Centers training participants and will remain at the Center until they are medically cleared. The Center has unique facilities and routinely offers week-long, hands-on training for large groups of professionals from federal, state and local emergency management agencies, hospitals, public health agencies, and law enforcement agencies on disaster response. A broken septic tank at the 37 lorry station in Accra has spilled its content into portions of the station, creating an eyesore and posing a health risk to the travelling public and traders at the station. Apart from the stench emanating from the lorry station, the flowing sewage containing excreta is so unsightly and leaves a bad taste in ones mouth. The Daily Graphic visited the lorry station as part of its campaign on sanitation and found that the spilled sewage was proceeding from the main public lavatory at the station, close to which was parked some trotro vehicles. Structure As if that was not enough, the public lavatory itself had its exterior looking somewhat neater than the interior. Even though the facility was said to have been cleaned in the morning of the visit, some toilet seats were soiled with faeces. A sewage channel behind the toilet building leading to the septic tank was also broken, exposing the raw sewage in it. All the while, the main septic tank that was spilling refuse water was surrounded by traders who were busily going about their activities. When the Daily Graphic asked the traders if they were not concerned about contracting diseases, they said they were more concerned about their businesses than their health. In fact, one of them said: Madam, this is what we do to feed our families. We have nowhere to go, we take medicines to keep us healthy. A part of the septic tank that was broken and was, thus, letting out faecal matter had been covered with rags and a plastic bucket in an attempt to contain the solid and liquid waste. GPRTU Mr Yaw Amoako, the Vice Chairman of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) at the 37 lorry station, said the drivers paid daily tolls to the La Dadekotopon Municipal Assembly (LaDMA), yet sanitation at the station was not satisfactory. Our refuse dump was once full for several months and we could not stand the stench. It had to take UTV to do a story on it before the assembly was pushed to come and clear the refuse just a day after it was published. We pay 30 pesewas to use the urinal and 60 pesewas to use the toilet, but conditions are so bad. In case there is an outbreak of any disease, a lot of us will be affected, Mr Amoako said. Drainage According to him, besides the challenges they were facing with emptying rubbish bins and the septic tank, drainage facilities at the lorry station were also an issue as they had become choked. He said drains had been placed underground but they had become exposed with time and choked with rubbish such that there was flooding anytime it rained. Mr Amoako appealed to LaDMA to build a modern toilet facility for the lorry station since the facility they were using now was too old and not fit for use. He said any delay in constructing a new lavatory for the 37 lorry station could see the septic tank blasting and spraying its contents on passengers at the station. Municipal assembly reacts When reached for his comments, the Municipal Chief Executive for LaDMA, Mr Solomon Kotey Nikoi, said the assembly had begun renovating public toilets in the municipality and it would get to the 37 lorry park very soon. Source: Graphic.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 New Delhi: With the hype around Donald Trump's maiden visit to India as US President reaching a crescendo, here's a trip down the memory lane on tours by previous American presidents. It all began about 60 years ago when Dwight D Eisenhower became the first US President to visit India to give a fillip to bilateral relationship which has seen many ups and downs to finally settle down in the last few decades as a strategic partnership. Dwight D. Eisenhower -- December 9-14, 1959 A large photograph of President Dwight D. Eisenhower and his wife, Mamie, during their White House years. (Reuters) It was a landmark maiden visit by an American president and Eisenhower was greeted with a 21-gun salute when he landed in the national capital. He met the then President Rajendra Prasad and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. During his visit, Eisenhower delivered a public speech at Delhi's Ramlila ground and addressed members of both Houses of Parliament. He was also given a tour of the Taj Mahal in Agra with Prime Minister Nehru accompanying him to the iconic monument. Richard Nixon -- July 31-August 1, 1969 Former US President Richard Nixon (L), listened to by First lady Pat Nixon and daughter Tricia Nixon (R). (Reuters) Nixon's visit to India could not match the euphoria and excitement of Eisenhower's. He stayed in the country for less than a day and it achieved little with Nixon siding with Pakistan at the time of the 1971 Bangladesh War. Jimmy Carter -- January 1-3, 1978 Carter's visit came just months after the Janata Party's Morarji Desai succeeded Indira Gandhi as the country's prime minister. During his three-day visit, President Carter addressed Parliament and visited a village near Delhi which was later named after him. His visit was aimed at mending ties between India and the US against the backdrop of the 1971 Bangladesh War and the nuclear tests of 1974. Bill Clinton -- March 19-25, 2000 Former US President Bill Clinton meets former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee upon his arrival at Rashtrapathi Bhavan palace March 21, 2000. (Reuters) This was a presidential visit from America after over two decades and many regard it as a game-changing event during which Clinton and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee set the tone for deepening of bilateral ties. The visit also came at a tricky time in the backdrop of the US imposing sanctions on India following its 1999 nuclear test and the Kargil War. Clinton visited several popular tourist destinations like Agra, Jaipur, Hyderabad and Mumbai, besides Delhi. More importantly, the visit signified the beginning of the Indo-US strategic and economic partnership. During the visit, Clinton signed the Joint Statement on Energy and the Environment and also addressed Parliament. George W Bush -- March 1-3, 2006 Former US President George W Bush (2nd R) shakes hands with former President APJ Abdul Kalam (R) as former PM Manmohan Singh (L) watches during an arrival ceremony in New Delhi March 2, 2006. (Reuters) Bush and First Lady Laura Bush visited during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's first term in office. During his stay, Bush delivered a speech before a select audience at Delhi's Purana Qila. But the visit will be remembered for the finalisation of the nuclear deal which later allowed India to pursue nuclear commerce. Barack Obama -- November 69, 2010 It was a visit that sent all the right messages for deepening and strengthening of strategic Indo-US ties. In a break from the past, Obama landed in Mumbai. The message was not just for trade but a show of solidarity with the victims of the Mumbai attacks which had rocked India's financial capital just two years prior to the visit. During the visit, Obama also expressed support for India's bid for a permanent seat in a reformed and expanded UN Security Council. Michelle Obama, who had accompanied her husband on the trip, charmed Indians as she danced with underprivileged children at an event in Mumbai. During the visit Obama, who had come with a large business delegation, attended the U.S.-India Business and Entrepreneurship Summit in Mumbai and addressed the Indian Parliament. Barack Obama -- January 24-27, 2015 PM Narendra Modi and former US President Barack Obama watch India's Republic Day parade in New Delhi January 26, 2015. (Reuters) In 2015, when Obama again visited along with First Lady Michelle, he became the first US President to visit the country twice while in office. It was indeed a trip of many firsts, as Obama was also the first US President to be the chief guest at India's Republic Day Parade. He met President Pranab Mukherjee and held wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Deepening of strategic ties in sectors such as trade, defence and climate change were at the centre of deliberations during the visit, which also saw an emphasis on the Indo-Pacific strategy. The daughter-in-law of Singapore's former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew has been found guilty by a disciplinary tribunal here of grossly improper professional conduct in her handling of the last will of the late leader. Lee Suet Fern, who is also the sister-in-law of Singapore's current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, handled the will relating to the property that has become a bitter cause of dispute in the Lee family. Her actions were of sufficient gravity and the matter will be referred to the Court of Three Judges, the highest disciplinary body to deal with lawyers' misconduct, The Sunday Times reported. If found guilty, Mrs Lee, 61, who is a prominent advocate and the wife of the late leader's younger son Lee Hsien Yang, could face a fine, suspension or could be disbarred as a lawyer. The two-man tribunal appointed by Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon described Mrs Lee as a "deceitful witness, who tailored her evidence to portray herself as an innocent victim who had been maligned". This was a "facade", the tribunal said. "Before us, she lied or became evasive whenever she thought it was to her benefit to lie or evade," the Singaporean daily quoted the Tribunal as saying. The tribunal in its 206-page report released last week noted that Mr Lee Hsien Yang's conduct was "equally deceitful". "He tried to hide how he and his wife had misled his own father, Late Mr Lee, on the last will. He had no qualms about making up evidence as he went along. We found him to be cynical about telling the truth," the report said. The matter centres on the role Mrs Lee played in the preparation and execution of Mr Lee's last will signed on Dec 17, 2013. Mr Lee, architect of Singapore's development in Asian financial hub, died on March 23, 2015 at the age of 91. The tribunal said the facts exposed an "unsavoury tale" of how the couple persuaded Mr Lee - then 90 and in poor health having been recently hospitalised for serious medical conditions - to sign a new will without his usual lawyer to advise him. "They cut off that lawyer from communications with Mr Lee on the last will, and rushed through the execution of the last will, in her absence," the report said. Mrs Lee took over as the lawyer to prepare the last will and advise Mr Lee. She "misled Mr Lee on the terms of the last will", the tribunal said. Mr Lee was persuaded to sign the last will in a matter of 16 hours and Mrs Lee had sent a draft of it to him at 7.08pm on Dec 16, 2013. He signed it at 11.10 am the next day. The last will differed from the one before it, and from some changes that Mr Lee had wanted and discussed with his lawyer - Ms Kwa Kim Li - four days earlier. Mrs Lee, the tribunal said, "gave the briefest of advice to Mr Lee, and did not alert him to about all the differences between what the late leader earlier wanted and what the last will actually provided for". The tribunal also noted the fact that Mrs Lee denied she was Mr Lee's lawyer and said she was helping as a family member and Mr Lee's daughter-in-law. She also testified that she had followed her husband's instruction as she was an "obedient wife". The saga can be traced to the public row that broke out in 2017 between Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his siblings, Dr Lee Wei Ling and Mr Lee Hsien Yang, over the fate of their parents' home at 38 Oxley Road on the outskirt of Singapore's tourist belt of Orchard Road. The final will include a clause on the demolition of the house, which was in early versions of the will but subsequently deleted. It also reinstated equal shares of Mr Lee's estate to all three children. The penultimate will had given daughter Dr Lee an extra share. The last will also took out a gift-over clause, which provided for scenarios where any of Mr Lee's children pre-deceased him. In January last year, the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) made a complaint to the Law Society about possible professional misconduct by Mrs Lee, a lawyer of 37 years' standing, given that her husband was a beneficiary under the will. The Law Society then applied to the Chief Justice to appoint a disciplinary tribunal to look further into the matter. The tribunal, comprising Senior Counsel Sarjit Singh Gill and lawyer Leon Yee Kee Shian, found all charges against Mrs Lee "proven beyond reasonable doubt". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) (CNN) The Hubei health authority reported that 96 more people died of the coronavirus in China's Hubei province on Sunday, February 23, raising the death toll in the outbreak's epicenter to 2,346. Hubei authorities confirmed an additional 630 cases of the virus in Hubei on Sunday, including 32 cases in prison. The total number of cases in the epicenter of the outbreak is now 64,084. There are 40,127 patients hospitalized in Hubei, including 1,845 who are in critical condition, according to the health authority, and 15,299 patients have been discharged. The Hubei report brings the total number of deaths in mainland China to at least 2,441. The global death toll is at least 2,458, with 17 deaths outside of mainland China. Iran has reported five deaths from the coronavirus, while Japan has reported three deaths, and Hong Kong, Italy and South Korea reach reported two deaths. Taiwan, the Philippines, and France have each reported one death. The global number of confirmed coronavirus cases now exceeds 78,572, with the vast majority of cases in mainland China. Chinas National Health Commission is expected to release numbers for all of Chinas provinces later today. This story was first published on CNN.com A vest isnt bulletproof forever. It wears out. It breaks down. It needs to be replaced every five years. And just one bullet permanently damages a vest, making it unusable, according to the foundation. Chicago police officers are responsible for replacing their own vests. At $500 or more per vest, in addition to other equipment and uniform expenses, the costs can quickly add up. Boris Johnson has drawn up a 'hit list' of senior civil servants he wants turfed out of Whitehall so they cannot hamstring his Brexit agenda. A major shake-up of government departments puts three permanent secretaries in the firing line of Number 10, which feels emboldened to make swingeing defenestrations with the PM's huge mandate. The Treasury's Sir Tom Scholar is one of the mandarins at risk because he is judged in Downing Street to have frustrated Brexit, a Tory source told the Sunday Telegraph. He is joined on the list by Sir Philip Rutnam, who has repeatedly locked horns with Home Secretary Priti Patel. Boris Johnson has drawn up a 'hit list' of senior civil servants he wants turfed out of Whitehall so they cannot hamstring his Brexit agenda The Treasury's Sir Tom Scholar (right) is one of the mandarins at risk because he is judged in Downing Street have frustrated Brexit Simmering tensions at the top of the Home Office boiled over last week when it emerged Ms Patel tried to oust Sir Philip from his post, with her allies claiming he had long been 'obstructing' home secretaries. Sir Simon McDonald of the Foreign Office, who worked with the PM during his stint in the department, is also said to be facing the chopping block. Sir Tom, who assumed his role at the Treasury in 2016, is blamed for trying to trip up the Brexit process during his three-year tenure. A source said: 'Scholar is offside completely on Brexit. The Treasury has done nothing but dig their heels in.' The anticipated overhaul of top civil servants comes after the PM moved to consolidate power in Downing Street via a power-grabbing cabinet reshuffle. Sajid Javid quit as chancellor after refusing to sack his entire team of advisers, which would have been replaced by a joint economic unit working across Numbers 10 and 11. Sir Tom is joined on the list by Sir Philip Rutnam (pictured), who has repeatedly locked horns with Home Secretary Priti Patel Sir Simon McDonald of the Foreign Office, who worked with the PM during his stint in the department, is also said to be facing the chopping block This attempt to muscle in on economic policy-making suggests the Treasury will be forced to fall into line with Downing Street's legislative programme - and Sir Tom is viewed as an obstacle to this blueprint. But he is understood to get along with new Chancellor Rishi Sunak, which buoys his prospects of keeping his job, a source said. An insider responded to reports of Sir Tom's mooted sacking by lashing out at Mr Johnson for trying to impose 'ideological purity'. Sir Simon could be sacked as payback for embarrassing Mr Johnson in the wake of US ambassador Sir Kim Darroch's resignation, it is understood. Mr Johnson had declined to publicly support Sir Kim, but Sir Simon wrote a letter saying: 'The Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary and whole of the public service have stood with you: you were the target of a malicious leak; you were simply doing your job.' The third name on the list, Sir Philip, is reportedly hanging by a thread because of repeated clashes with Ms Patel. Ms Patel is said to have tried to move permanent secretary Sir Philip Rutnam out of the department. Sir Philip previously faced calls for him to resign in 2018 over the Home Office's handling of the Windrush scandal. Now former Home Office insiders have accused the mandarin of being 'nowhere to be seen' during the crisis despite being 'paid more than the prime minister'. Downing Street last night declined to comment. Australia Post is adamant that well-regarded chief operating officer Bob Black has taken a six-month career break. But that hasnt stopped senior ranks at the postal service from calling his extended leave the official end of the Ahmed Fahour era. Chief executive Christine Holgate wrote to staff about a month ago to let them know Black, who leads the posties parcel delivery business (better known as the ailing companys great white hope) would soon be leaving the office. One person embracing change this year is Bob Black, who is planning a six-month career break from 1 July 2020, Holgate wrote. To take six months away from work is a big decision and I commend Bob on making the call. Its a busy time inside the post office. Boston Consulting Group operatives Fahours old employers, mind are casing the joint as part of a review personally ordered by Communications Minister Paul Fletcher. 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Narek Zeynalyan, and MP from the majority My Step faction in the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia (RA), noted this on Facebook (FB). "In recent days, the cases of coronavirus infection and death in Iran are actively discussed FB," he wrote. I would like to inform that I have spoken with the RA Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan today and discussed the situation around the coronavirus. Information is being received on a daily basis, which is analyzed, the possible risks and all possible developments are assessed in all detail. All options for preventing the virus penetration [into Armenia], up to the matter of temporary closure of the Meghri border crossing, are on the agenda." Japanese TV report sparks speculations in China that COVID-19 may have originated in US Photo: Xinhua A report from a Japanese TV station that suspected some of the 14,000 Americans died of influenza may have unknowningly contracted the coronavirus has gone viral on Chinese social media, stoking fears and speculations in China that the novel coronavirus may have originated in the US. The report, by TV Asahi Corporation of Japan, suggested that the US government may have failed to grasp how rampant the virus have gone on the US soil. On February 14, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said they will begin to test individuals with influenza-like-illness for the novel coronavirus at public health labs in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, and New York City. However, it is unknown whether Americans who have already died of the influenza had contracted the coronavirus, as reported by TV Asahi. The story sparked various conspiracy theories on Chinese cyberspace. The Military World Games were held in Wuhan in October. "Perhaps the US delegates brought the coronavirus to Wuhan, and some mutation occurred to the virus, making it more deadly and contagious, and causing a widespread outbreak this year," a user posted on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo. Shen Yi, an international relations professor at the Shanghai-based Fudan University, noted that global virologists are working to track the origin of the virus, including the intelligence agencies. Netizens are encouraged to actively partake in discussions, but preferrably in a rational fashion. "The symptoms and the contagiosity of the COVID-19 are evident to all. It is impossible to conceal the origins of the disease," Shen said, urging the public to rely more on facts. The epidemic is a major test for many systems and media should report in a clear and accurate manner. Asahi's report is actually using ambiguous Japanese expressions to lead readers to think that the COVID-19 is more serious than it appeared to be in the US, he added. US officials have so far confirmed 35 cases of the novel coronavirus in the country. Media reported the US CDC has been working with the healthcare sector to heighten preparedness before the virus "take(s) a foothold in the US." Reuters quoted US health officials on Friday as saying, they are preparing for the possibility of the spread of the new coronavirus through US communities that would force closures of schools and businesses. The US is concerned that a larger spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus could overwhelm emergency rooms, and cause supply shortages of some crucial medical supplies, during an already busy time dealing with seasonal flu that has resulted in the illness of between 9 to 45 million annually, since 2010. All of the exciting news surrounding Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has kept fans guessing. Star Benedict Cumberbatch will, of course, return, as will a few others. But could the film acknowledge another Marvel actor, Robert Downey Jr.? Heres what we know. Benedict Cumberbatch and Robert Downey Jr. are MCU heroes Benedict Cumberbatch and Robert Downey Jr. | Todd Williamson/Getty Images for Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. Both actor are known for their roles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Downey Jr. began portraying Tony Stark in the first film of the massive franchise, Iron Man, back in 2008. He then starred in its two sequels as well as all of the Avengers films, Captain America: Civil War, and Spider-Man: Homecoming. As for Cumberbatch, he has made far fewer appearances in the MCU. His first occurrence came with 2016s Doctor Strange, in which he is introduced as the titular character, who learns about the mystic arts. Aside from a brief cameo in Thor: Ragnarok, he has only been in the last two Avengers movies. Iron Man left the franchise in Avengers: Endgame Since hes been there from the beginning, Downey Jr.s part in the MCU is very special to many people. The characters journeys ending begins with Avengers: Infinity War, when he first meets Doctor Strange. The two team up and are together for most of the movie, battling Thanos along with the Guardians of the Galaxy and Spider-Man. When they lose, Strange assures him it was the only way. In Endgame, Tony is distraught after arriving back on Earth when he realizes theres nothing they can do. But years later, he gets back together with the rest of the Avengers and they take on Thanos once more. This time, Strange arrives (along with many, many others) in time to again advise Tony as he makes the ultimate sacrifice: his own life. Who is Iron Strange? New images of Iron Strange from a deleted Avengers: Infinity War scene are here. https://t.co/ezerfAQsd9 pic.twitter.com/uSb51hyEvG Comicbook.com (@ComicBook) February 17, 2020 Infinity War and Endgame were massive undertakings. Both resulted in a lot of exciting character team-ups and brought us the epic conclusion to the Infinity Saga that fans had been dreaming of for years. Its no wonder that the latter broke box-office records. However, significant moments were naturally cut from the film for both time and plot. Among those was a scene in which Doctor Strange was able use an Iron Man suit to protect himself against the torture he endured from Thanos cohort Ebony Maw in Infinity War. Check out the concept art from this cut scene. Could Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness bring this character back? Now that Iron Man himself is gone, what of his suits? Despite the fact that the moment has passed for that particular Iron Strange shot, theres always the possibility that it could be resurrected in another form. And now that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is headed into production, were wondering if thats the plan. The idea of the multiverse opens up so many doors, both literally and figuratively. If they decided to pay tribute to Downey Jr.s character in the upcoming MCU film, due out in May 2021, we wouldnt be all that surprised. After all, the two characters did form quite a bond. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-23 23:03:56|Editor: yan Video Player Close CAIRO, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Egypt's top appeals court upheld on Sunday a 10-year jail sentence against the former head of the Customs Authority over bribery charges, state-run Ahram Online news website reported. Gamal Abdel-Azim was arrested by the Administrative Control Authority, Egypt's anti-corruption watchdog, in July 2018 and convicted in April of the following year of receiving bribes and using his position to allow the entry of goods into the country without the payment of the required customs duties. He was also found to have reduced customs fees and issued licenses for four warehouses in exchange for bribes. Abdel-Azim was fined 768,000 Egyptian pounds (50,000 U.S. dollars) and removed from office over the case, the report said, adding six other defendants were acquitted. Sunday's verdict is final and cannot be appealed. Egypt has been carrying out a massive anti-corruption campaign over the past few years, which has led to the arrest and imprisonment of several senior officials, including ministers and governors, and the retrieval of large amounts of public funds. Have you heard of the Sinnfluencer? A German term, the combination of sinn (purpose, meaning, even spirit) and the English word influencer' describes a growing phenomenon of online personas garnering a following around their commitment to social or political causes. While these YouTubers and Instagrammers tackle an array of issues ranging from government policy and feminism to self-care, lately their focus on sustainability has attracted attention. So has their ability to act as partners for brands and retailers looking to not only reach consumers, but also help them make more sustainable choices. Ant not without good reason: Research has shown that consumers want the help of the companies they buy with to live more environmentally friendly lives, looking to them as a resource. Could this be the next frontier for brands and retailers looking to encourage sustainable and otherwise ethical consumption beyond circular practices and add-ons, and instead actually influencing the mindsets and everyday behavior of consumers? Time will tell, and PSFK will continue to track. Already, YouTubers like Annie Jaffrey and Niomi Smart have cultivated and sustained massive followings, and feature as well as partner with smaller, up-and-coming and eco-friendly makers, which gives the latter exposure while also leading by example for their young viewers worldwideyet doing so in channels that were originally established around topics like beauty and fashion. Considering these online presences (as well as more strictly eco-focused ones like Greta Thunberg and glacier996girl), It seems there's some major potential for wide-ranging eco-influence and beyond from the guru guides people are already watching. Higher snowfall amounts are expected to the northwest. In Rockford and portions of McHenry County, there was more than a 90% chance that the snowfall will exceed 2 inches. There was only about a 30% chance that portions of Chicago will get more than 2 inches of snow, meteorologists said. Near Midway Airport, meteorologists said the chance for 2 inches of snow was only 19%. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 23) The Akiki trail, one of the most famous trails to the summit of Mt. Pulag, has been closed to trekkers Sunday due to a forest fire. In a public safety advisory, Mt. Pulag park management ordered trekkers to refrain from entering the area after a forest fire occurred at dawn time from Abucot, barangay Eddet in the municipality of Kabayan in Benguet. "The park management is hereby ushering Akiki trekkers to desist from entering the southern ingress or Akiki Trail for safety," the management said. It added that Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (DENR-CENRO) in Baguio; DENR-Cordillera Administrative Region; Mt. Pulag National Park workers; the Bureau of Fire Protection; the Philippine National Police; and local government units are already collaborating in monitoring and suppressing the forest fire. "The southern ingress or celebrity trail is open via Ambangeg ingress and Northern ingress or Mt. Pulag Northern mountain Lakes is also open," the management said. Photos of the forest fire in Benguet have been circulating on social media since Wednesday. Authorities are yet to provide further details about the blaze. Mt. Pulag was temporarily closed to the public for six months in 2018 after around 1.5 hectares of grassland was razed by fire, reportedly caused by a portable burner with butane canister. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) London, United Kingdom Sun, February 23, 2020 09:08 689 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad20660c28f 2 News virgin-voyages,richard-branson,travel,luxury-cruise,luxury,Britain Free British billionaire Richard Branson is launching luxury cruise company Virgin Voyages, at a time when the sector faces headwinds from the coronavirus epidemic. Virgin Group founder Branson was to unveil the group's new cruiseliner Scarlet Lady in Dover on the southeastern coast of England on Friday. "I have dreamed of starting my own cruise line since I was in my 20s and I'm thrilled that moment has arrived," said Branson. Read also: Richard Branson expects to fly passengers into space by 2020 The Genoa-built liner set sail from Italy earlier this month and will soon be traveling to resorts such as Costa Maya in Mexico, Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic, Key West and The Bahamas. The launch of Virgin Voyages comes amid turbulent times for the cruise industry owing to fallout from the deadly coronavirus outbreak. Branson's Virgin brand is used across numerous businesses -- from trains, holidays, television, broadband, banking and his space tourism project Virgin Galactic. Mr. Xi, already under scrutiny for the Chinese governments slow and erratic response to the coronavirus outbreak, now faces pressure to quell anger among low-income families and dispel broader fears of an economic downturn. The party has long staked its legitimacy on the idea that it can deliver prosperity and protect the working class. The Chinese Communist Party leadership does not like to be criticized for neglecting or abandoning workers, said Jane Duckett, the director of the Scottish Center for China Research at the University of Glasgow. Their ideological underpinnings Marxism-Leninism, socialism lie in being a party of the workers and peasants. Ms. Duckett said the party was probably wary of discontent among workers. Mr. Xi has said that the government should watch employment closely and that companies should avoid large-scale layoffs. The virus, which has killed at least 2,400 people and sickened nearly 77,000 in China alone, has brought parts of the Chinese economy, the worlds second largest, to a near standstill. While some factories have started up again in recent days, many are still closed or operating well below capacity, with parts in short supply and workers stranded hundreds of miles away. Businesses across a variety of sectors manufacturing, construction and transportation have ordered their employees to stay home, usually without pay. That has created strains for many migrants, who earn barely enough to keep up with the rising cost of living in Chinese cities and often hold little in savings. While wages are low, migrants can still earn more in the cities than they would in the countryside, where jobs are scarce. They are willing to go to cities for a shot at a better life, even if they must live in crowded workers dormitories or run-down apartments. A police shooting left one person injured Saturday evening in a southwest Deming neighborhood, according to New Mexico State Police. The shooting occurred near San Joaquin and San Acacia SW and the officer involved is OK, according to a statement on the State Police official Twitter. Details are limited, updates will be sent out with further information, the statement read. State Police did not give the suspects condition or any other details. Senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday attacked NCP chief Sharad Pawar over his demand for creation of a trust for construction of a mosque in Ayodhya on the lines of a similar body for Ram temple. Speaking to reporters here on the eve of the Budget session of the Maharashtra legislature, Fadnavis asked why Pawar wanted to build a mosque in the name of a invader like Babar. "Babar (the first emperor of Mughal dynasty in Indian sub-continent) was an invader. Why on the earth did NCP chief Sharad Pawar want to erect a new mosque in the name of Babar? If Muslims want a place for prayer, they should have one but why in the name of Babar?" asked Fadnavis, the Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. Speaking in Lucknow on February 20, Pawar demanded the Central government to form a trust for building a mosque in Ayodhya similar to the trust to oversee the construction of Ram temple. "I also wonder why Pawar demanded a trust for a mosque when he knows that a Waqf has to be formed for the same," Fadnavis said. A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court in November 2019 ruled unanimously in favor of Ram temple in Ayodhya. The court had said the whole disputed land spread over 2.7-acre will be handed over to a trust formed by the government, which will examine the construction of Ram temple at the place. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on February 5 the formation of 'Shri Ram Janambhoomi Tirath Kshetra' trust which would oversee the construction of Ram Temple. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-24 00:54:10|Editor: yan Video Player Close DAR ES SALAAM, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said on Sunday the country's mining sector was expected to contribute 10 percent to the gross domestic product (GDP) by 2025. Currently, the mining sector's contribution to GDP is estimated at 3.5 percent. Majaliwa, who also inaugurated a certificate of origin for tin that is mined in Tanzania, made the remarks at a mining investment conference in Dar es Salaam televised live by state-run Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation. Majaliwa said minerals will be able to contribute 10 percent of the GDP following reforms in the mining sector and after the Tanzania acquired the certificate of origin for tin and its base metals of tantalum and wolframite that allowed the country to export the metals currently mined in Kyerwa and Ngara districts in Kagera region. The acquisition of the certificate of origin came after the country met all export requirements to become the fourth eligible nation in the Great Lakes Region after Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Previously, the country produced tin and its base metals, but was not allowed to export them due to lack of certificates of origin, the necessary requirement for exports. Majaliwa said according to Tanzania's report on the state of the economy for 2019, minerals contribution to the economy grew by 13.7 percent. He said the government has established minerals trading centers across the country to control smuggling of the precious gems out of the country. By Express News Service BHOPAL: Two cases of violence in the name of moral policing have been reported in Madhya Pradesh. In one case, a 45-year-old private bank manager Amarjeet Singh has been arrested in Indores Bhawarkuan area for allegedly barging into a private girls' hostel premises and assaulting an MBA student over talking to male friends outside the hostel on Friday evening. The man and his family, including his 67-year-old mother, were repeatedly opposing the hostel inmate girls talking to male friends outside the hostel premises. The man who resides in a house adjacent to the private hostel alleged that girls from the hostel didnt just talk to their male friends, but also indulged in indecent acts with them which vitiated the atmosphere in the residential colony. On Friday evening, Amarjeet and his family again opposed the girls talking to male friends outside the hostel. The noisy brawl between both sides turned violent, as the bank manager first assaulted the male friends of the girls. Angered over this, the girls residing in the hostel indulged in a verbal spat with Amarjeet and his family, after which he barged into the hostel and assaulted a girl residing there. His act of pulling the girl through her hair and pushing her on the ground was caught on camera. According to Bhawarkuan police station in-charge Sanjay Shukla, Amarjeet has been arrested on Sunday morning and booked u/s 323, 294, 452, 506, 509 and 354D of IPC on the concerned girls complaint. A non-cognizable report (NCR) u/s 294 and 504 have also been filed against the girls living in the hostel for allegedly pushing Amarjeets aged mother on ground. Meanwhile, in Sehore, a video of a 19-year-old boy and a Class X student girl being assaulted by men over roaming with each other went viral on Saturday. The incident took place at Kotra village under Rehti police station area on February 10. But, the matter came to light after the video surfaced online. Taking cognisance of it, police have registered a case and detained a few suspects. Police revealed that the girl hailing from Kotra village was seen with her friend by some people of her village. Irked by it, a crowd of locals from Kotra caught both the teenagers and beat them. They also cut the boy's hair. As no complaint was by made by either of them, the police registered a case themselves. As the video went viral on Saturday, we immediately registered a case followed by detailed probe. Based on the video, few suspects have been detained for questioning, ASP-Sehore district Sameer Yadav said on Sunday. An illustration of the Mary Celeste. Credit: Unconfirmed, possibly Honore Pellegrin (1800-c.1870). The "one in a million" ghost ship Alta that washed up on the shores of Ballycotton in County Cork, Ireland, on Sunday amid Storm Dennis stirred up references to the unforgettable true story of the most famous maritime mystery of all time: the Mary Celeste and her missing crew. The ship's saga and the serpentine twists of fate before and after its discovery in December 1872 captivated both the people of that era and subsequent generations almost 150 years later as tales of giant sea creatures, aliens, a voodoo curse and more became a part of its lore. Acclaimed writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - before achieving fame as the creator of Sherlock Holmes - even contributed greatly to the myth and the confusion surrounding the Mary Celeste. No one knows exactly what happened to the captain, his wife and 2-year-old daughter, and the seven crew members who vanished mysteriously from a seaworthy, well-stocked 100-foot ship midjourney. That includes Brian Hicks, author of an exhaustive, captivating book called Ghost Ship - but he has a theory and it doesn't include a giant kraken. "It's a lot more entertaining to imagine that it was a giant squid or a UFO" that took those on board, Hicks told AccuWeather. "I just kept running across [those stories]." The lure of the sea At a time when high-speed travel was limited to horses and the Wright brothers' first flight was still more than 30 years into the future, the sea offered sailors access to far-away lands, unimaginable sights and adventure. The sea also offered enormous uncertainty, and shipwrecks were relatively common. But that's not what happened to the Mary Celeste, which set sail from New York destined for Genoa, Italy. Instead, it was found floating adrift by a passing ship on Dec. 2, 1872. The last log entry on Nov. 25 was at 8 a.m. when the ship was 6 miles from an island in the Azores and revealed no signs of trouble. Story continues The crew members of the Dei Gratia who boarded the Mary Celeste found a ship capable of sailing and a cargo hold full of alcohol - likely the industrial or medical variety, not suitable for drinking - and the crew decided to claim her for salvage, expecting a substantial payoff for their efforts. They got a trial instead, as rumors of murder and an insurance scam were pursued. Ultimately the captain and crew of the Dei Gratia were cleared of wrongdoing but their reputations were tarnished. The sailors of the Dei Gratia believed weather factored into the Mary Celeste's fate, but that was an argument that "garnered little publicity because it was so common and devoid of criminal activity, which would make it unattractive to editors trying to sell newspapers," Hicks wrote in Ghost Ship. But their theory was too simplistic and didn't explain why foul weather wasn't recorded in the log or why the captain and crew would leave a 100-foot ship for an 18-foot skiff in foul weather conditions. In the ensuing years, other possibilities about the Mary Celeste's fate were floated, including the possibility of mutiny and piracy. Also, a wide range of hoaxes popped up, with Conan Doyle sparking controversy and intrigue that never went away. Mary Celeste ghost ship 1872 This undated photograph of the Mary Celeste shows the ship in an unidentified harbor in the days after those aboard disappeared. (Cumberland County Museum, Amherst, N.S.) His short story, "J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement" appeared in the January 1884 edition of London's prestigious fiction publication Cornhill Magazine. It was based on the word of a supposed survivor of the Mary Celeste, who "claimed the ship's crew and passengers were systematically killed on the trip across the Atlantic," Hicks wrote. The story was fiction in a fiction journal, but it was taken as fact by many - "which is hysterical by today's standards, but that's how they took it," Hicks told AccuWeather - and governments in two countries launched separate investigations into the story. As Hicks writes, perhaps the story "spread so quickly through seaports on both sides of the Atlantic because it was the first thing resembling a clue to turn up in 11 years." Hicks, however, offers a theory that, while not as compelling as others' wild ideas, seems far more likely, and weather plays a role. "I think a lot of these things can be explained by the weather," Hicks told AccuWeather. "If you've ever been out on a ship, it can be pretty rough." Alcohol in the hold - "probably some sort of industrial chemical," he wrote in Ghost Ship - had leaked out from nine barrels during the trip. "If 450 gallons of methanol or formaldehyde were poured into the ship's hold, it could have had serious physiological effects on the crew," Hicks writes. Because of harsh weather, the hold had been closed for two weeks. The captain "was in a dilemma," Hicks writes. "He had the vapors of an industrial chemical seeping from the hold and no breeze to stir the air....There was little they could do for relief, but get off the ship until it passed." That would explain why every hatch, door and window was opened, and why key papers, valuables and the logbook were left behind: "Because they expected to come back," Hicks wrote. Hicks thinks everyone on the Mary Celeste piled into the 18-foot lifeboat, secured a towline to the ship and expected to wait for a short duration while the sea air worked its magic on the odious ship. But "two small mistakes, coupled with a tragic coincidence, led to their doom," Hicks writes. First, some of the sails were left unfurled and the ship's wheel was not secured hard to port or starboard. Then, at some point while they waited, "a new weather pattern stirred." Conditions changed "quickly and dramatically" as a gale blew in and "churned the Atlantic into a healthy storm....The crew of the Mary Celeste would have been in a tug of war to draw their lifeboat back to the ship." At some point, the towline broke. The crew of the Dei Gratia who discovered the Mary Celeste found the rope hanging over the gunwales, but had not realized it was a towline and figured it was just a snapped line that they then used to rig the mainsail. According to Hicks's theory in his book, those in the lifeboat "watched helplessly as the Ghost Ship sailed away without a soul on board." Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios. Northern Ireland looks set for more bad weather. Picture By: Arthur Allison. Pacemaker Press. A snow and sleet warning has been issued for Northern Ireland on Monday, with bad weather set to cause travel disruption. The Met Office has sent out a yellow weather warning and warned bus and train services will be affected, along with interruption to some power supplies and poor road conditions. Spray and flooding on roads are expected after an area of rain moving into Northern Ireland on Sunday night turns to sleet and snow in the early hours of Monday morning. There is a chance some areas may see five to 10 centimetres of snow in higher areas. Strong winds are also expected later on Monday afternoon. It comes after experts said rainfall in some western areas of Northern Ireland in February has been approximately 160% of the monthly average. The Department for Infrastructure said "significant" rainfall in recent weeks has left water levels higher than normal in lakes and watercourses. "Rainfall in February, so far, has been approximately 160% of the monthly average in some western areas," a spokesperson said. "As a result of these conditions localised flooding and disruption to travel is possible. "Upper Lough Erne has now exceeded the maximum winter guideline water level and could rise further over the next few days and the Department's rivers team is working closely with the Electricity Supply Board (ESB) in the south of Ireland to ensure that all practical steps are taken to reduce flood risk in the area," the spokesperson added. Large areas of South Wales and the English Midlands have battled extensive flooding in recent weeks and massive clear-up operations have started where water levels have fallen. Turkeys border with Iran would be closed from Sunday due to the number of coronavirus cases in its eastern neighbour, Turkeys health minister said. Flights from Iran would also cease from 5pm, with road and rail crossings between the two countries shut three hours earlier, Fahrettin Koca said. Another land crossing with the Azerbaijani autonomous region of Nakhchivan would also be closed. Irans health ministry raised the death toll from coronavirus to eight on Sunday, with 43 confirmed cases. Turkey has not recorded any cases of the virus. A bus driver and commuters wear masks to help protect against coronavirus in Tehran, Iran (Ebrahim Noroozi/AP) There is concern that coronavirus clusters in Iran as well as in Italy and South Korea could signal a serious new stage in global spread of the virus, which originated in China. Turkey introduced health checks on people arriving from Iran on Friday. Speaking in Istanbul, Mr Koca said eight travellers had been turned back since then. By effective early measures we have been able to keep this disease and epidemic away from our country up to now, Mr Koca added. However, the appearance of the disease in our neighbour Iran, the increase in cases and deaths, has alarmed us. Travel from Turkey to Iran would continue, he added. If you are fond of exotic cuisine, rich culture, turbulent history and some outstanding natural beauty, then Poland is your best bet. Poland, is probably the only place in Europe where the horrors of the Second World War juxtapose itself with high street fashion and modern glass facade. If you are fond of unique cuisine, rich culture, history and some outstanding natural beauty, then Poland is truly the place to be. It was viewed as the gateway to Eastern Europe for the longest time, but today more and more tourists are flocking to this European gem. It inexpensive and relatively a less commercial tourist hotspot compared to Western Europe. Not many know that Poland's capital, Warsaw has earned the title of the most destroyed city on the planet nearly 90 per cent of Warsaw was bombed and destroyed during the Second World War. But with sheer hard work and determination, the Poles rebuild the city brick-by-brick. In fact, the Museum of the History of Polish Jews takes one back in time. The reconstructed Old Town, which is on the UNESCO list, is always buzzing with street musicians, cafes and backpackers. But despite its mass appeal, Poland remains relatively crowd-free and inexpensive even in summer unlike the rest of Europe. The vintage tramps with their bells and whistles are chug straight from some bedtime stories. Marvellous Market Square When I landed in Krakow, I was most impressed with its magnificent architecture and beautiful churches. You will find buildings with Classical, Baroque and even Gothic style architecture. Krakow is no doubt Poland's cultural jewel. The medieval Old Town, with its cobbled streets, horse carriages and cute cafes still remains firmly intact to its original charm. The Stary Rynek (Old Market Square) is probably the best place to sit and do some people-watching. Not to forget, the bugle calls from the uneven towers of St Mary's Basilica that cut through the cool wind every hour. The setting is perfect to soak oneself in the afternoon sun and try some Polish vodkas (Zubrowka, Belvedere, Chopin to name a few) and gorge some Pierogi (Polish dumplings), chicken soup, cabbage roll, or breaded pork cutlet. You should also explore the Wawel Castle and stroll along the Kazimierz. Wherever you look in Poland, it's hard to escape the country's pristine beauty and turbulent history. Many a bloody battles were raged on its soil. Salted Splendours The Wieliczka Salt Mine that date back to the 13th century is located 15-km from Krakow. It is probably the only place in the world that has sculptures, statues, walls, floor tiles and even chandeliers that are intricately carved out of salt. Legend has it that the salt mine was founded because of Hungarian Princess Kinga. She dropped her ring on the ground and the locals dug a deep hole to find it, but instead found salt deposits. The miners with their bare hands dug up all the shafts and beautiful chambers. However, during World War II, the Nazi Germans used the salt chambers to stock their supplies. Wartime history For history aficionados, Poland is a treasure trove of mystery, betrayals, and the ultimate limits of human minds - both for destruction as well as the fight for survival. Even today, Jews from across the world come and pay tribute to Oskar Schindler at his Enamel Factory in Krakow. Schindler, a wealthy German businessman had saved the lives of over 1,000 Jews. The famous movie, Schindler's List (1993) was shot here. The concentration camp of Auschwitz and Birkenau is probably one of the saddest places to visit in Poland. Millions of Jews were killed in these camps. I was in two minds whether to visit them. You have hundreds of museums in the world, but there is only one Auschwitz, said my host, who had lost some of here relatives in the holocaust. I mustered the courage and visited both the Jewish extermination camps, only to come back and think about the horrors committed by the Nazis. I nursed myself to a stiff drink that night and slipped in bed, only to wake up the next day to the brighter side of Poland. It is this aspect of fascinating history, delicious food, great booze, medieval charm, friendly people and raw beauty that makes Poland a truly untapped European gem! Photo: DriveBC Winter is not done with area highways just yet. Environment Canada has issued a snowfall warning for the Coquihalla Highway from Hope to Merritt. Between 15-25 cm of snow is expected to fall Sunday. A frontal system will cross the BC interior on Sunday spreading heavy snow to parts of the southern highway passes. Heavy flurries will continue Sunday night as an unstable airmass will setup over the province in the wake of the front. Total snowfall accumulations of 15-25 cm are expected by Monday morning. Snow will ease on Monday as the the system weakens. Visibility may be suddenly reduced at times in heavy snow. Weather in the mountains can change suddenly resulting in hazardous driving conditions. 'State company Bord na Mona confirmed to the Sunday Independent that it is behind the latest big wind proposal that could benefit from this scheme, with plans to build a wind farm in Co Offaly.' (stock photo) New regulations for wind energy development will "significantly harm" the sector in Ireland at a time when a host of wind farm projects, potentially worth billions of euro, are in the planning system, the Government has been warned. The stark warning is contained in a letter written to the Government last week by the leading European industry body that represents most of the major manufacturers and developers in the sector, many of which are involved in planning a host of Irish wind projects. The warning comes at a critical time for the industry, with multiple projects lining up to win State support under a new auction scheme, the final terms and conditions of which were supposed to be announced by the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment last week. At the time of writing, these conditions had not been published. State company Bord na Mona confirmed to the Sunday Independent that it is behind the latest big wind proposal that could benefit from this scheme, with plans to build a wind farm in Co Offaly. Industry sources said the development could be worth more than 100m. Wind Europe, which represents companies such as Siemens, Iberdrola, GE and Vestas, last week wrote to both Planning Minister Eoghan Murphy and Environment Minister Richard Bruton, insisting that noise limits contained in new guidelines for the industry could jeopardise this type of investment. "The revision of the Wind Energy Development Guidelines and particularly the stringent new noise limit levels set out therein could significantly harm the development of wind power in your country," wrote Wind Europe chief executive Giles Dickson in a letter addressed to both Bruton and Murphy. "We urge Ireland to consider taking a pragmatic approach to setting the new noise limits and siting requirements, in view of the central role that wind power will play in decarbonising the Irish and the European economies towards 2030 and 2050," he wrote, adding that he was "very keen" to meet the two caretaker ministers. Rural communities have regularly opposed wind farms in the past. Public consultation on the industry guidelines closed last week, ahead of the formal announcement of the final terms and conditions for the new State subsidy scheme, which is aimed at encouraging a large number of new wind farms over the next decade. Representatives for the sector here have argued that the new maximum noise limit of 43 decibels - which they claim is one of the "lowest and harshest limits in Europe" - would force wind farms to shut down too often, drive up the price of power, and ultimately mean that many projects proposed would be unviable. The warning follows a flurry of activity in the sector ahead of the first Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS) auction in June. The RESS will establish a system of auctions to provide State support to renewable electricity projects. It has helped to bolster investor sentiment in the sector, with several new deals announced in recent weeks. French utility EDF was reported to have acquired a 50pc stake in the Codling Bank wind farm, off the coast of Co Wicklow, for 100m. Greencoat Renewables, a green energy fund, bought a wind farm in Co Clare for 35.4m. Industry sources have also suggested that between investment and M&A over the past five years, Ireland's renewable energy market has seen over 10bn of capital spent. Last Thursday, Bord Na Mona Powergen published a notice stating its intention to apply for planning permission to An Bord Pleanala for a new multi-million-euro wind farm in Co Offaly. An industry source said the development would be worth an investment of more than 100m. The proposed Derrinlough Wind Farm development will be built on cutaway peatlands on Clongawny and Drinagh bogs located in the west of the county. The site will consist of 21 wind turbines, with a proposed top of foundation to blade tip height of the turbines of up to 185 metres. Derrinlough Wind Farm forms part of the company's 1.5bn investment in the development of renewable energy assets. It will create an estimated 100 to 120 jobs at peak construction and support three to five long-term jobs in operations and maintenance. The proposed development will have an estimated installed capacity of 85MW. The company is seeking 10-year planning permission and 30-year operational life from the date of commissioning of the entire wind farm. Theres often a logical disconnect between stories and the world they purport to represent in the tabloids, and this weeks offerings are no exception. Billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein's former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell experiences that in the 'National Enquirer,' under the headline: "Epstein Lover Peddling Perv's Kinky Secrets. Ghislaine Maxwell Could Score $4m!" That's a high price to command, even if Maxwell was willing to reveal salacious details of Prince Andrew's alleged liaisons with Epstein's under-age sex slaves. But the story makes it clear that Maxwell is not trying to sell her story. There's only a "London high-society pal" speculating: "If someone offered her three to four million they might get a book deal." Further undermining the story's logic, a "longtime acquaintance" of Maxwelll not even close enough to be called a "friend," "pal" or "insider" claims: "Ghislaine would never sell out Prince Andrew. Those two have a mutual protection pact." But if Maxwell won't talk about Prince Andrew, then there's no way she's commanding anything close to $4 million for a kiss 'n' tell. And so the story's logic breaks down. Prince Charles' wife's alleged animosity toward disgraced and discarded ex-Royal Duchess Sarah is addressed by the 'Globe' in its logic-challenged story: "Cunning Camilla Vows Hell For Fergie! Fears grow of no-holds-barred spat at Princess Bea's wedding!" Branding Camilla a "revenge-bent . . . Queen wannabe," the tabloid claims that she has allegedly urged the Queen to ban Duchess Sarah Fergie, to her friends from using her Royal title to "market a line of soaps, home decor, jam, biscuits and other items under the Duchess Inc. brand." But as Camilla and any Royal watcher knows, Sarah was long ago stripped of her Royal Highness title and is now known simply as Sarah, Duchess of York the same Duchess who over the years has served as a spokeswoman for Weight Watchers and Wedgwood china, flogged her signature food blender, writes children's books and this month signed a deal for another seven titles. The time to stop Fergie cashing in on her Royal title passed years ago. Why would Camilla be the one urging the Queen to halt this exploitation? Only because "evil Camilla" is the tabloids' wicked step-mother in their Grimm world-view. Even f this story was true, why would it provoke a "no-holds barred spat at Princess Bea's wedding"? Are Camilla and Sarah going to be clawing at each other's hair as Princess Beatrice walks down the aisle in May? Don't hold your breath. It's said that photos never lie, but they can be untrustworthy little bastards, and the stories accompanying them don't always tell the truth.. "Hubby furious!" declares the 'Enquirer.' "Julia Roberts Caught Kissing Another Guy!" Two details worth noting here: Firstly, Roberts kissed a friend goodbye on the cheek in what was clearly not a romantic farewell; and secondly, her husband Danny Moder was standing right there at the time. So she wasn't exactly "caught" kissing. It was clearly an innocent farewell between friends, though the 'Enquirer' calls it "another blow to [their] rocky marriage." Even the 'Enquirer' knows that it has stretched credulity to its limits here, adding a "source close to the couple" saying: "It may have been innocent." You think? More egregious is the 'Globe' cover story about the recently deceased 'Wild, Wild West' star: "Robert Conrad Drank Himself Into Grave. Final Bender!" Conrad, who in recent years has struggled to walk unaided, is pictured on the cover being helped into a vehicle by a care-giver, but the 'Globe' makes it appear that he was too drunk to stand by himself, assassinating Conrad's character by claiming he "refused to quit booze after crippling DUI crash." As for those "final bender" photos they were snapped in 2017. 'Us' magazine continues its bait-and-switch tradition of running eye-catching cover headlines that are never addressed inside the magazine. "Meghan & Harry The Final Insult," screams the cover. "Why They'll Never Go Back." What was the "final insult"? Hard to tell, reading 'Us' mag. Was it Harry & Meghan supposedly insulting the Queen by rejecting her invitation to Prince Andrew's 60th birthday party? Harry rejecting Prince William's phone calls? Or Harry & Meghan insulting Britain by firing their 15 staff members at Buckingham Palace, signaling a prolonged departure from British shores? We'll never know, because the story doesn't bother explaining. Why they will "never go back"? It's never addressed or explained. But there's no lack of uninspired guesswork about what the future holds for the renegade Royal couple. "They're in touch with a number of L.A. power players and are looking forward to hosting dinner parties with the likes of George and Amal Clooney and big-time movie producer Jeffrey Katzenberg," says an unnamed insider, clearly lacking the imagination to think beyond Harry & Meghan's few celebrity friends. "Harry's even looking for an agent," says the source, adding helpfully: "He doesn't want to become an actor, but he'd love to make documentaries and things like that." Things like that. Heaven help us. The 'Enquirer' cover boast an "Exclusive!" above the headline: "$100 Billion Mormon Charity Scandal Exposed!" Which would have been a decent exclusive if they had run it two months ago, when the story first appeared in every other publication. A former accountant for the Church of Latter Day Saints has complained to the IRS claiming that the fast-growing religion's leaders stockpiled $100 billion and "didn't spend a dime of it doing good deeds." For the 'Enquirer,' this translates to: "What Church's Biggest Stars Didn't Know," which at this point is very little, since they would have read about it back in December. Coronavirus gets the front-page treatment in the 'Enquirer,' which reveals: "China created killer virus to destroy America!" According to the rag, "that's the world from intelligence sources." Right. Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton is quoted in the 'Enquirer' claiming that "China lied about virus starting in Wuhan food market," adding: "Super-lab is just a few miles from that market," referring to an alleged secret research lab in Wuhan. "The Chinese regime remains intent on waging a bio war on the West," the 'Enquirer' claims, perhaps because scaremongering sells papers. Fortunately we have the crack investigative team at 'Us' magazine to tell us that Lily James wore it best, that actress Maggie Q is "obsessed with donkeys" (aren't we all?) though "Otters make me scream with joy," that actress Jerrika Hinton carries gum, plum blossom incense and a pocketknife (perhaps in case of attack by donkeys and otters?) in her tote bag, and that the stars are just like us: they ride bicycles, walk the dog and go to the post office. This week's breaking news award goes to the 'Globe' for its story about 'Home Alone' child star Macaulay Culkin and alleged pop pedophile Michael Jackson: "Jacko Never Touched Me!" Considering that's precisely what Culkin said under oath in court during Jackson's child molestation trial in 2005, this counts as a fresh revelation in the 'Globe,' only coming 15 years after Culkin first said it. Onwards and downwards . . . The police watchdog has delayed its decision to investigate Boris Johnson's relationship with American businesswoman Jennifer Arcuri as it hunts witnesses. The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has been evaluating whether to investigate the Prime Minister for possible criminal offence of misconduct in public office since September. But the decision has been pushed back until after the general election in December. The watchdog confirmed it was doing a 'scoping exercise' to track down witnesses globally, and said that it had 'never put a timescale on how long this process would take', according to the Observer. The police watchdog has delayed its decision to investigate Boris Johnson's relationship with American businesswoman Jennifer Arcuri as it hunts witnesses This move means that possible damaging headlines won't come to light until after Mr Johnson's campaign. London assembly members said it 'beggars belief' that the watchdog would take this long to investigate after they were told it would be 'done and dusted' by November, the publication reports.. In a statement, the IPOC said that the allegation date back 'eight years' and they have to 'locate and speak with a number of potential witnesses both in the country and abroad'. Mr Johnson has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to his friendship with Ms Arcuri. This move - which could bring possibly damaging headlines - is likely to have an effect on Johnson's campaign Mr Johnson has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to his friendship with Ms Arcuri. Pictured: Ms Arcuri Ms Arcuri reportedly met Mr Johnson, some 21 years her senior, when she volunteered on his re-election campaign in 2013 and in turn, he supported her business venture, according to a source It follows a report by The Sunday Times that Ms Arcuri, an American who moved to London seven years ago, was given 126,000 in public money and was treated to privileged access to three foreign trade missions led by Mr Johnson while he was mayor. The Government has since frozen a 100,000 grant to Ms Arcuri's company, Hacker House, pending a review. It is facing embarrassing questions about the verification process carried out before awarding the money. Digital Minister Matt Warman told the Commons that his department had done the 'usual due diligence' and that the company had a British phone number. However, numerous reports said calls to the number were directed to an office in California, where Ms Arcuri, 34, is said to now be based. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-23 14:55:41|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close HONG KONG, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- The third chartered flight arranged by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government arrived in Hong Kong Sunday morning, bringing back five more residents from the COVID-19-inflicted Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan. The flight landed at the Hong Kong International Airport at around 6:10 a.m. local time. Those passengers will undergo the same 14-day quarantine as other 208 Hong Kong residents who took flights back home days ago. Diamond Princess, initially carrying around 3,700 passengers and crew from more than 50 countries and regions, had been quarantined at the Yokohama Port south of Tokyo since Feb. 5. Before the evacuation operation by the HKSAR government, there were altogether 364 Hong Kong residents on board the quarantined ship, including 68 tested positive for the COVID-19 and about 30 close contacts, according to the HKSAR government. The majority of the task force sent by the HKSAR government for evacuation operation took the third charted flight back to Hong Kong too. And there were a number of Immigration Department officers staying in Japan to continue to provide assistance to the Hong Kong residents who were receiving medical treatment there. Department of Homeland Security whistleblower Philip Haney, who spoke out against his own agency during the Obama administration, was found shot dead in California. The Amador County Sheriffs Office said that authorities responded to reports of a man lying on the ground with an apparent gunshot injury near Highway 124 and Highway 16 in Plymouth. Red State and Heavy said Haney had been missing since Wednesday, and that the gunshot wound was found in his chest. Upon their arrival, they located and identified 66-year-old Philip Haney, who was deceased and appeared to have suffered a single, self-inflicted gunshot wound, said authorities, according to the Washington Examiner. Sources said Haney, who formally retired in 2015, was recently in contact with top government officials about return to work with DHS. He was also engaged to be married. Haney gained national attention after he called out the DHS under the Obama administration, of which he criticized for its handling of radical Jihadists and Islamic extremists, in 2016. He would testify that DHS ordered him to delete hundreds of files pertaining to people with ties to Islamist terrorist groups and argued that several terrorist attacks in the U.S. could have been prevented if certain files were maintained. The U.S. gave in to pressure from Europeans over environmental concerns, allowing the word climate into a joint communique at a conference overshadowed by a viral outbreak thats shaken the global economy. Delegates at the G20 meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, spent much of their time talking about a global slowdown exacerbated by the coronavirus outbreak, but struggled to come up with a united response, according to people familiar with the deliberations. Countries such as Japan, and institutions including the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, have been pushing for those with surpluses to spend more. One of the main addressees of the calls for more spending is Germany. So far, the export-driven country has showed little interest in significantly boosting expenditures, arguing fiscal stimulus cant bolster foreign demand. On climate change, differences of opinion in the Saudi capital were more stark. The U.S., represented by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, objected to including a reference to the subject, according to four people familiar with the communique-drafting process. The Saudi delegation, which is hosting the event, didnt show much enthusiasm for it either, according to two of them. After several days of heated debate, including France finance chief Bruno Le Maire cornering Mnuchin late Saturday in Riyadh as the G20 economic leaders dined, the U.S. reluctantly agreed to a mention of climate change, according to two people familiar with the matter. A treasury spokeswoman didnt reply to a request for comment. Tax debate As of Sunday morning in Riyadh, it was also looking unlikely that representatives would leave Saudi Arabia with any breakthroughs on a global taxation system that would apply to multinational companies including tech giants like Alphabet Inc.s Google and Facebook Inc., according to the sources. Europeans have balked at a U.S. proposal that new global rules should be a safe harbour regime. Mnuchin sought to reassure his counterpart by insisting such a system would not mean the rules would be optional, but Europeans said they still needed to fully assess the proposal. If theres no agreement, several European nations will go ahead with taxes on revenues of multinational digital firms. That could spark a transatlantic trade war as the U.S. says such measures are discriminatory and has already threatened France with tariffs. France and the U.S. have held tense discussions on the subject since France introduced a 3 per cent levy last year on the digital revenue of companies that make their sales primarily online. The move was supposed to give impetus to international talks to redefine tax rules, and the government has pledged to abolish its national tax if there is agreement on such rules. In introducing a so-called global minimum tax a measure intended to prevent large companies from shifting profits to low-tax locales to avoid paying them at home the sides are closer to compromise as theres little difference among current corporate tax rates among major economies, and little concern that the minimum tax would be too low, one person said. With assistance from Saleha Mohsin. Read more about: Copyright 2020 Albuquerque Journal For guitar teacher extraordinaire Andrew Lovato, it all started at the library. When he was 12 years old, he was perusing the Santa Fe Public Librarys collection of vinyl when a name caught his eye: Howlin Wolf. He checked the album out of the library and took it home to play. It was a life-changing experience for Lovato, who became a devotee and, later, a practitioner of blues guitar. The Santa Fe Community College professor recently wrote The Big Book of Blues Guitar: The History, the Greats and How to Play, which was published in late 2019 by Terra Nova Books of Santa Fe. Along with Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf was one of the most famous Chicago bluesmen of his day. I had never heard anything like it before. It was intense guitar. I started checking out every blues album in the library and discovering all the different artists, he said. Lovato, 64, pays tribute to those artists with short profiles of what he calls the Legends of Blues Guitar, starting with Duane Allman and ending with T-Bone Walker. There are no fewer than three Kings in the lineup: Albert King, B.B. King and Freddie King. Imagine if Howlin Wolf had gone by his original name: Chester Arthur Burnett. The course of Lovatos life would certainly have been different, as would that of the 1,000 students he has taught to play guitar over the course of 35 years as a continuing education instructor at SFCC. He also teaches communication classes for matriculated students. Of course, it wasnt long after checking albums out of the library that Lovato had to try this blues stuff out for himself. He convinced his father to buy him a $30 Harmony steel guitar from a City Different store of yore called Music Via. Soon, he was trying to copy what he heard on the records. The old saying goes, When the student is ready, the teacher will appear, and so it was for Lovato. A man named Wally Graham lived nearby and became the future professors guitar instructor. Lovato dedicated his book to his mentor, who died last year at age 79, thanking Graham for teaching him the fine points of soul surfing. He didnt just teach me about the guitar, said Lovato of Graham. He would tell me what it means to be creative, what it means to be an artist. You have to do it 24 hours a day. Lovato used the money he made as a teenager bagging groceries at Kaunes neighborhood store to pay Graham for lessons. I wouldnt pay him for a while, but then he would give me a hint, and say, My kid needs milk and cereal,' he said. Growing up in Santa Fe in the 1960s was a wonderful experience, said Lovato, who attended a now-defunct school for ninth-graders called Mid-High before attending Santa Fe High School. The Plaza was my territory, Lovato said. I used to hang around there all the time. His memories of life as a Santa Fe teen during the heyday of rock n roll inspired Lovato, who now lives in Tesuque, to write a book called Elvis Romero and the Cosmic White Corvette, which he describes as a collection of vignettes. I like it a lot. Im not sure whats going to happen with it, Lovato said. As much as I tried, I couldnt write it in linear form like a typical book. At the beginning of each chapter, which is really a vignette, I do a little haiku to sum up the chapter. Loving music as much as he did, there was only one career path Lovato saw for himself after high school: being a disc jockey. He knocked on the door of KVSF 1260 AM, which was playing Top 40 music at the time, and talked himself into a job. One night, the radio station owners son asked him to take over the board. Pretty soon, Lovato was working the graveyard shift. Then he moved up, presiding over the night shift from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. It was a great time for radio. Things werent formatted they way they are today, he said. Lovato chose The Panda as his radio moniker because there was a comic strip at the time called Andy the Panda. But he then realized that, in order to make a living in radio, you have to go where the big markets are. I loved Santa Fe. I didnt want to leave, he said. He found himself studying at the College of Santa Fe after making a deal with his father, who was a teacher. He said, If you write this paper for me, Ill help you rebuild the engine in your VW van, Lovato recalled. Not a particularly auspicious start in academia, to be sure. But Lovato said that even though he hated high school, he loved college. I loved hearing about philosophy and economics, Shakespeare and poetry, he said. After graduating from the College of Santa Fe, Lovato ended up working there, helping students do career planning. Then it was on to the University of New Mexico, first for a masters degree in communications and then a Ph.D. in intercultural communications. Lovatos dissertation was published by the University of New Mexico Press as Santa Fe Hispanic Culture: Preserving Identity in a Tourist Town. Asked to describe in a nutshell how that can be done, Lovato responded,Authenticity. Lovato worked at the College of Santa Fe from 1983 until it closed in 2008, while teaching guitar on the side at SFCC. Although hes proven his academic bona fides with his doctorate and by being named a Fulbright scholar in 2008, Lovatos writing style isnt turgid in the least. So many guitar books are dry and inaccessible, he said. I wanted my book to be fun. Lovato said he tries to make his lessons fun, too. The approach Ive developed after teaching all these years is to get something good coming out of their fingers as soon as possible. Ive structured the book to reflect the way I teach. There are lots of diagrams and lots of narratives, he said. In addition to bluesmen such as John Lee Hooker and Lead Belly, Lovato is a fan of jazzman Miles Davis, the late Brazilian composer Antonio Carlos Jobim, The Beatles, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan and Marvin Gaye. While some who grew up in the golden age of rock n roll express disdain for rap and todays brand of pop music, which relies heavily on sampling, Lovatos musical tastes have expanded over the years. I love listening to bands like Incubus and Nirvana. Music has to change because kids arent going to listen to their parents music, he said. But if they want to learn about their great-grandparents music and how to play some blues licks, theyve got a good place to start in Lovatos book. This article originally appeared in the New York Times Even 14-Year-Olds Who Kill Are Not Adults Tessa Majors, an 18-year-old Barnard College freshman with green hair, loved music, especially punk rock, and singing with her band. On Dec. 11, while she was walking in Morningside Park in Manhattan, she was stabbed to death, apparently during a robbery. The three teenagers charged in Majors killing are just 13 and 14 years old, a second tragedy. The two 14-year-olds, Rashaun Weaver and Luchiano Lewis, have been charged with second-degree murder as adults. Prosecutors say Rashaun stabbed Majors as Luchiano restrained her. Lawyers at the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, which is representing Rashaun, offered an obvious, yet necessary, observation in a statement Wednesday: Our client is a 14-year-old child, they wrote. Under New York law, children as young as 13 are automatically tried as adults if charged with second-degree murder and certain felony sex crimes. So are 14- and 15-year-olds charged with a long list of other violent offenses, including rape, robbery, assault in the first degree and arson. That isnt unusual in the United States, where nearly all states have laws allowing minors under 18, some as young as 10, to be tried as adults in certain circumstances. The country has always allowed these prosecutions in some cases. But in the tough on crime era of the 1970s, 80s and early 90s, the practice exploded, with states adopting sweeping laws that made it easier to prosecute those under the age of 18 as adults. New York was a leader in the incarceration of children. It began prosecuting young adolescents as adults under a draconian law passed in 1978, in the aftermath of the Willie Bosket case. Bosket was a 15-year-old black boy who fatally shot two men and wounded a third on the subway. He was sentenced to five years in a juvenile facility under the law at time. The citys tabloids responded with outrage over the sentence. Under pressure and facing reelection, Gov. Hugh Carey, a Democrat who had once supported criminal justice reforms, reversed course, campaigning hard for legislation that would rebrand him as tough on crime. The result was the law, still on the books, mandating the prosecution as adults of children as young as 13 when theyre charged with certain violent crimes. (Bosket, now 57, has been incarcerated for all but two years since the age of 9. He will be eligible for parole in 2062, having been convicted of numerous charges including assaulting correction officers. In 2008, when he had been in solitary confinement for two decades, he told The Times, If somebody came to me with a lethal injection, Id take it.) Thousands of adolescents have been tried as adults in New York. From 2014 to 2018 alone, nearly 1,800 children ages 13 to 15 were charged as adults, according to data compiled by the states Division of Criminal Justice Services. Among the children prosecuted as adults in New York over the years was Korey Wise, one of the teenagers wrongfully convicted in the rape and assault of a woman jogging in Central Park in 1989. Wise, 16 at the time of his arrest, served about 13 years in prison before he was exonerated. Adolescents tried in adult court are without important protections offered to children in family court. Children tried as adults often receive longer sentences, farther from home, and face mandatory sentencing minimums that would not apply in family courts. Family court judges also have more resources at their disposal to address the complex needs of these children, and can focus on rehabilitation rather than just punishment. The problems with trying children as adults, let alone incarcerating them well into adulthood, are many. The research on the matter is overwhelming. It shows that adolescent brains are different from those of adults, making adolescents less likely to exercise impulse control, assess risk or consider long-term consequences. Younger offenders are more likely to suffer from mental illness than their peers. Many are readily capable of being rehabilitated. There is also evidence that trying children as adults may make society more dangerous. One study, for instance, found that adolescents tried in adult court were 34% more likely to be rearrested than those tried in the juvenile justice system. Another found that those incarcerated as adolescents had poorer physical and mental health as adults. This is why many countries approach justice for minors differently. Spain, Germany, Greece, Switzerland and Italy do not allow any adult prosecutions of children under 18, according to the Campaign for Youth Justice, which supports ending the adult prosecution of minors. It wasnt until 2005 that the U.S. Supreme Court banned the execution of young people who committed murder before they turned 18. In 2012, it banned mandatory life-without-parole sentences for those who committed crimes when they were 17 or younger. But the U.S. still has one of the highest juvenile incarceration rates in the industrialized world. Nearly 50,000 adolescents under 18 were in detention or correctional facilities in 2015. Black children made up 44% of those under 18 who were incarcerated that year, though they comprised 16% of the American population under 18. This bleak reality is grimly unsurprising in the U.S., a country that has relied on brutality and prison to control large portions of its citizens from the days of slavery to the era of mass incarceration. With the 1978 law, New York embraced this tradition, even before the War on Crime policies of the 1980s and 90s sent incarceration rates soaring. New York has come a long way since then. In 2008, the number of children 15 or under who served time in detention facilities was 9,269. By 2017, it had declined to 3,654. The trend tracks with steep declines in incarceration overall in New York. The citys jail population, for example, which peaked at roughly 22,000 in the early 1990s, is now 5,376. New Yorks Raise the Age legislation, signed into law in 2017, required that 16- and 17-year-olds charged with most misdemeanors be tried in family court. The reforms also gave prosecutors and judges the discretion to remove most felony cases against 16- and 17-year-olds to family court, where judges can place adolescents in custody for as long as six years in felony cases. Minors still serving a sentence at 21 serve the remainder in an adult facility. But the Raise the Age legislation didnt roll back the Willie Bosket Law and end the practice of charging 13-, 14- and 15-year-olds as adults for serious violent felony charges. If Rashaun Weaver and Luchiano Lewis are convicted, they could face a minimum sentence of seven and a half and five years in prison, respectively, and up to life in prison. New Yorks police commissioner, Dermot Shea, said of Rashaun Weavers arrest, Sadly, it cannot bring back this young woman, this student, this victim. Shea was right. Locking up Rashaun and Luchiano for life wont bring Tessa Majors back. This is one more area where New York can reimagine its criminal justice system, breaking with its past as a leader in locking Americans up and throwing away the key to instead become a national model of reform. Legislators should overturn the 1978 law and rethink what justice can look like for young people like Rashaun Weaver and Luchiano Lewis. The state can use family courts to base criminal justice for adolescents around rehabilitation instead of punishment, even in cases of murder. No one under the age of 18 should face charges as an adult. Crimes like the Tessa Majors killing test the limits of forgiveness and redemption. But charging adolescents as adults makes the state crueler, not safer. Syrias Drawn-Out Agony The Syrian civil war has entered its end game and it is as gruesome and fraught as any stretch in the hellish nine-year struggle. As the Syrian troops of Bashar Assad, backed by Russia, move to clear the last rebel-held enclave in northwestern Syria, some 900,000 civilian refugees more than half of them children have been pushed against the Turkish border in the freezing cold. More, the battle for the city of Idlib has embroiled Turkey, threatening a direct clash between a NATO power and Russia. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey has threatened to block the Syrian advance militarily, and Thursday two Turkish soldiers were killed in a Russian airstrike inside Syria. If the Syrian-Russian drive continues, it stands to send thousands more refugees toward the border. Turkey is already burdened by almost 4 million Syrian refugees, whose presence is increasingly becoming a political liability for Erdogan. The U.N. special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, has described a devastating scale of humanitarian suffering in Idlib in an anguished appeal for the U.N. Security Council to call a cease-fire. But with the Trump administration showing little appetite for any involvement in Middle Eastern conflicts, and Europe effectively sidelined, Russia, Syria and Turkey are calling the shots. And neither Syria nor Russia has demonstrated concern for human suffering in a war in which Assad has made little distinction between rebels and civilians. The United States actively supported rebel groups in the first years of the civil war and later focused on crushing the Islamic State group in Syria. But once the Islamic State group was effectively defeated, President Donald Trump began reducing American involvement. Last October, Trump ignited controversy when he pulled American forces out of the Kurdish-controlled zone in northeastern Syria, leaving the Kurds vulnerable to Turkish attacks. The president tweeted at the time that it was very smart not to be involved in the fighting. And while abandoning the Kurds was broadly criticized, the sentiment was evidently shared by many Americans as Syrian government troops, supported by Russian air power and Iranian militias, steadily routed the dizzying array of rebel and jihadi forces and their ever-shifting alliances. The battle for Idlib, the latest and possibly last battle of the Syrian civil war, has attracted little attention in the West, particularly in an America embroiled in domestic political struggles. Syria did not rate a mention in the latest Democratic debate, which almost entirely ignored the rest of the world. Though Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has issued statements in support of Turkey and might be happy to fan differences between Turkey and Russia, which have drawn close in recent years, there remains no viable resistance inside Syria for America to support, even if anyone in the administration had any interest in doing so. At this stage, there is little to stop Assads forces from restoring control overall Syria, save the territory in northeastern Syria still controlled by Kurdish-led forces, which are not now being challenged by Assad and his allies. But a cease-fire is essential, primarily to help the refugees and the civilians still in Idlib but also to prevent an escalation between Turkey and Russia and to facilitate the start of negotiations to put a formal end to the war. Russia and Turkey have cut deals before in Syria, and they are talking now, though without any results so far. Nudging them toward an agreement is where American, European and U.N. efforts should be focused. Erdogans main immediate interest in the Idlib fight is to prevent the mass of refugees from crossing into Turkey. But he is also apparently trying to gain some leverage for postwar negotiations to ensure that the Kurds in northeastern Syria are kept away from Turkey. Working all angles, Erdogan has tried to cultivate a close relationship with Vladimir Putin, including a purchase of Russian missile defense systems that angered the U.S., while threatening military action against Russian-backed Syrian forces. On Feb. 15, Erdogan called Trump to seek support, and his government suggested it might receive some Patriot missiles from the U.S. to deter Russia. It was after this disclosure that Russian airstrikes killed two Turkish soldiers and wounded five in Idlib, as if to underscore the risk of escalation. But it is dubious that a show of American support would make a difference; the dispute between Erdogan and Putin are over terms of their disengagement. Putin, however, has made clear that his priority is to end the Syrian war. The Syrian forces have already achieved their main objective in the Idlib area, regaining control over major highways, and the Russians are said to have proposed leaving a nine-mile-wide Turkish-controlled strip inside Syria along the Syrian-Turkish border for refugee camps, which would presumably be accessible to international aid organizations. Erdogan has demanded a broader area, but the Russians see no reason to negotiate. At this stage of this tragic war there is no good outcome, given the near certainty of Assads victory, and however he may maneuver and fulminate, Erdogan does not have a strong hand. His options are to try a counteroffensive, where Russias air power would be decisive; or do nothing, which would potentially drive 1 million more refugees into Turkey; or try to cut as good a deal as he can get. Given the horror of this war, just putting an end to the shooting and preventing another humanitarian disaster would be progress. Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav said the Nitish Kumar-led government had failed miserably to create jobs and the state needed fresh thinking to grow, while speaking at an event in Patna to flag off RJDs Berojgari Hatao Yatra (unemployment roadshow) on Sunday. Tejashwi threw Nitish a challenge at the Bihar Veterinary College ground- starting point for the two-month-long road campaign. Nitish ji has become tired. Either he (Kumar) offers jobs to 2 crore youth or supports our campaign, said Tejashwi, who is being projected as RJDs CM-face for the state assembly polls later this year. RJD patriarch Lalu Prasads elder son Tej Pratap Yadav was also present on the dais. Many senior leaders, including former Union minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, state party chief Jagadanand Singh, former state president Ram Chandra Purbe and several MLAs were also present. Beginning his speech in Bhojpuri, Tejashwi claimed the current unemployment situation was the worst during the past 45 years. The National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) data categorically states that joblessness is growing at 11.47%. While we are struggling to provide work to youth, Nitish Kumar is striving to save his job, said the opposition leader. He also sought an apology for the mistakes committed during RJDs 15-year tenure, described as jungle raj by critics. I am confident that the people would forgive us for whatever mistakes that the party had committed in its previous tenure, said Tejashwi, while assuring the mostly youthful crowd of 85% of posts even if it required invoking the domicile policy. BJP in-charge of Bihar, Bhupendra Yadav, however, took a dig and said he (Tejashwi) was under the reserved category and looking for a job for himself. People of Bihar are growing everywhere. Jobs have shot up in Bihar, said the BJP leader. JD(U) leader and minister Niraj Kumar said RJD leaders would have to go to jail for the alleged fraud committed in purchase of the luxury bus, which Tejashwi was using as his vehicle in the Yatra. The RJD leaders have embarked on cash collection drive. The Congress has understood the RJDs design and hence kept itself aloof, said the minister. While the Grand Alliance (GA) constituent Hindustani Awam Morcha-Secular (HAM-S) decided to participate in the RJDs programme, the Congress only offered its moral support to the trip, which would cover all 38 districts in the next two months. RLSP has said that it would support the RJDs programme if the party asked for it. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Mnuchin also told CNBC he did not believe the Chinese government was aware of the coronavirus danger when a delegation traveled to the White House for the signing of the Sino-U.S. "phase one" trade deal in January . "Although the rate the virus spreads at is quite significant, the mortality rate is quite small. It's something we're monitoring carefully, one of the discussions we're having here is that countries should be prepared, but I think we're at a point where it's too early to either say this is very concerning or it's not concerning." "I think we're going to need another three or four weeks to see how the virus reacts, until we really have good statistical data," he said. Speaking to CNBC's Hadley Gamble at the G-20 summit in Riyadh, Mnuchin said it was difficult to make strong predictions about the economic impact of the outbreak right now. U.S. officials will have a better idea of how the coronavirus outbreak will impact the economy in "three or four weeks," U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Sunday. "I think the Chinese government reacted much quicker than they have in previous situations," he said. "There's no question that China's major focus is now controlling the virus and the approach of phase two (of the trade deal) will definitely slow down a little bit." When asked if the U.S. had a backup plan in place in terms of a fiscal response to the virus outbreak, Mnuchin said there was "no question about it." However, he reiterated that it was too early to predict how the coronavirus formally named COVID-19 would affect the global economy. "I think based upon everything we see now this will be manageable, but the situation can change. As I said, the good news is in another three or four weeks we'll have much better data," he told CNBC. At a hearing before the Senate Finance Committee last week, Mnuchin insisted the coronavirus would not have an economic impact that lasted beyond 2020. Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said at the G-20 summit on Saturday that the virus will likely shave 0.1 percentage points off global growth in 2020. Meanwhile, she said, Chinese growth would fall to 5.6%, which is 0.4 percentage points lower from the IMF's January outlook. "I don't think people should be at the point where they're panicked on the other hand, it is concerning," Mnuchin told CNBC on Sunday. "The good news is that most people who get this will survive it, there's obviously an area of the population that's at high risk, but people should be less focused on just the number of cases since it will travel the real impact is how many people does this ultimately impact in terms of death rates?" In a major study on COVID-19 published this week, Chinese researchers estimated the death rate of the coronavirus was 2.3%, with the elderly and people who had pre-existing health conditions most at risk. According to the research, 81% of people who contracted COVID-19 only exhibited "mild" cold-like symptoms. However, some experts believe the total number of coronavirus cases could be much higher than the records show, which would make the mortality rate lower than currently estimated. U.S. health officials said Friday that they are preparing for the coronavirus to become a pandemic. China's National Health Commission on Saturday reported 97 new deaths from COVID-19 and 648 additional cases for Feb. 22, taking the total number of confirmed cases on the mainland up to 76,936. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-23 17:57:12|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Palestinians react after a Palestinian was killed during a confrontation along the border with Israel in east of the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, Feb. 23, 2020. A Palestinian was killed and others were injured Sunday by Israeli forces' gunfire in southern Gaza Strip, according to medical sources. Local sources said that the Israeli forces fired an artillery shell and opened fire towards two Palestinians who were seen approaching the fence of the border between southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Younis and Israel. Spokesperson for the Health Ministry in Gaza Ashraf al-Qedra said in a press statement that two others were injured in the legs and were hospitalized. Meanwhile, Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said in a statement that Israeli troops saw Palestinians approaching the fence in southern Gaza Strip and planted explosive devices. He added that the soldiers responded by opening fire. (Photo by Khaled Omar/Xinhua) GAZA, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- A Palestinian was killed and others were injured Sunday by Israeli forces' gunfire in southern Gaza Strip, according to medical sources. Local sources said that the Israeli forces fired an artillery shell and opened fire towards two Palestinians who were seen approaching the fence of the border between southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Younis and Israel. Video footage showed an Israeli army bulldozer is pulling the body of the Palestinian who was shot dead. Several young men in the area tried to pull the body back but failed due to the intense Israeli gunfire, according to the video. Spokesperson for the Health Ministry in Gaza Ashraf al-Qedra said in a press statement that two others were injured in the legs and were hospitalized. Meanwhile, Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said in a statement that Israeli troops saw Palestinians approaching the fence in southern Gaza Strip and planted explosive devices. He added that the soldiers responded by opening fire. Shannon Alvarez, 45, was arrested Friday for vehicular homicide and third-degree feticide A woman has been charged with murder and feticide after she was found to be under the influence of two substances when she crashed and caused the death of a 38-week pregnant woman and her son. Shannon Alvarez, 45, was arrested Friday for vehicular homicide and third-degree feticide after Jade Lewis, 22, and her unborn child were killed in a New Orleans road rage crash on January 30. Louisiana police believe that after one of the drivers would not let the other merge around Williams Boulevard and West Esplanade Avenue, both vehicles started speeding down the road trying to block each other around 12.30pm. But when Alvarez's 2008 Toyota 4Runner clipped the front of Lewis' 2008 Chevrolet Malibu, it caused the victim's car to go off road and strike a utility pole on the 2400 block of West Esplanade Avenue. 'Someone wanted to get in the other lane, they get too close, someone blows their horn and then it escalates form there,' Kenner Police Department spokesperson Lt. Michael Cunningham said. 'Then the other driver doesnt want to let somebody over. Witnesses are saying thats what happened here.' Afterwards Alvarez's SUV fishtailed and also went off-road before striking another pole. Alvarez was treated for her injuries. Jade Lewis, 22, and her unborn child, Mydas, were killed in a New Orleans road rage crash n January 30. Lewis' boyfriend Marcus Villavasso (pictured) said: 'My kid that I was supposed to meet next week would've been my second one with her' Police believe that after one of the drivers would not let the other merge then Alvarez's SUV clipped the front of Lewis' car and each struck different poles Lewis died at the scene and her unborn child didn't survive. Three weeks later Alvarez was arrested at her home in Kenner after toxicology tests shows dangerous substances were in her system. It's unclear what those substances were. It's reported she faces other moving violations charges too. Lewis was due to give birth February 5 and was mother to a two-year-old boy named Mars. Her boyfriend said their unborn child would've been named Mydas and opened up about how like his son, he too lost his mother at a young age. 'Devastation. My heart just broke. I feel like my soul was ripped out of my body,' boyfriend Marcus Villavasso told WDSU earlier this month. 'I lost my mother as a kid, as a teenager. I feel like she [Lewis] somewhat filled a void for me; my kid that I was supposed to meet next week would've been my second one with her.' Villavasso also warned against the dangers of road rage. Alvarez's SUV fishtailed and also went off-road before striking another pole. Alvarez was treated for her injuries Lewis was due to give birth February 5 and was mother to a two-year-old boy named Mars 'Road rage is never the answer. It's never safe. From here on out, I would ask not only people here in New Orleans, but people worldwide, to take it one day at a time,' Villavasso said. 'When you drive, drive with patience. When you drive, drive knowing there are others on the side of you, in front of you or behind you. Drive knowing there are other lives at stake.' Lewis was a pharmacy tech but wanted to get into her passion which was the beauty industry Lewis was a pharmacy tech but wanted to get into her passion which was the beauty industry. The 'angry' grandmother said the incident has made her question her faith in god. 'She loved her baby. She loved the baby she was carrying. She couldn't wait. I know things happen to good people, but I'm just like, I thought God and I were tighter than that,' Lewis' mom, Dorothy Lewis, previously told WDSU. 'Her main goal, after she had Mydas, was go back to school and obtain her cosmetology license.' Lewis was described as 'a beautiful soul. Smart, intelligent, loving' and someone who 'loved people'. 'She was our baby. She was everybody's baby. We loved her so much. She was just our baby, ' Lewis' sister Domonique Hutson cried to WDSU. 'I can't. That was my baby. I don't want to do anything without her. I just can't.' Anneka Rice was a teenage shoplifter who stole bras in a desperate bid to get attention from her parents. The startling confession comes in a forthcoming documentary about Anneka's life, in which the seemingly clean-cut TV presenter now 61 and a mother-of-three recalls the day she was arrested. 'In my teens I was so invisible to my parents that I reckoned the only way to get noticed was if I was sent to prison,' she tells the BBC Radio 4 programme to be broadcast later this year. The startling confession comes in a forthcoming documentary about Anneka's life, in which the seemingly clean-cut TV presenter now 61 and a mother-of-three recalls the day she was arrested. Pictured: Anneka as a teenager 'It does sound extreme, but I used to shoplift in a desperate attempt to be caught. 'I was stuffing bras ladies, I am talking size 46 into my school rucksack eventually I got caught. This was my chance to be taken home in a police car. 'Was this my first taste of fame? I gave the acting performance of my life to the Surrey constabulary that day.' Anneka also confesses to giving the arresting officers a fake name of another girl at her school. 'She made my life hell. After all that, the police let me go,' she says. Anneka began writing to the BBC while still a pupil at Croydon High School in Surrey. She studied English, French and history at A-level, earned two Bs and a C, and was expected to move on to university. But she hated her high school days. She was in a year group of more than 100 girls and has said that although she was academic she never felt like she 'belonged' there, and made few long-term friends. While her classmates were doing their Oxbridge exams, she had already set her sights on a TV career and says she got her break aged 17 thanks to a fib. 'When I was 16, I decided to write to the BBC and run away to London. 'I told a tiny white lie that I was older than I was and used my acting skills to get selected on the BBC training course,' she says. Anneka (pictured in January) also confessed to giving the arresting officers a fake name of another girl at her school She landed a job at the World Service, and while she was there got another lucky break. She says: 'I was not looking for it, but the fame thing soon tapped on my shoulder. 'One of the producers who I was typing scripts for decided I was wasted behind a typewriter. 'He thought I should be in front of the camera and decided to take me off to a farm in Wales to film me on a tractor.' Anneka became a TV pin-up in the 1980s, hosting hit shows including Treasure Hunt and Challenge Anneka. She was voted Rear of the Year in 1986 and at the height of her fame had fans from all over the world. She recalls: 'While Treasure Hunt was on the air, fan mail came pouring through the letter box just addressed to "Anneka England".' A good carpenter will always say, measure twice, cut once. Doing so avoids mistakes due to haste and lack of information. Wyomings political leadership, both executive and legislative, should listen to a good carpenter when it comes to the proposed purchase of Occidental Petroleums property. Heres some background: Occidental acquired another energy company, Anadarko, which had a significant amount of surface and subsurface property in Wyoming. The figure being tossed around is a million surface acres and 4 million subsurface all in the checkerboard along the Union Pacific main line in southern Wyoming as well as property outside the state. Occidental paid a reported $37 billion for the deal, and its shareholders are now a little nervous that they wont receive a dividend any time soon. So, Occidental decided to sell its Wyoming holdings to improve its balance sheet. Enter Wyomings governor and legislative leadership. Either they approached Occidental, or Occidental approached them, or an intermediary trying to broker a huge land deal acted as matchmaker and set the wheels in motion (the sequence of events seems to be shrouded in secrecy). The result is state government being positioned as a potential buyer for Occidentals Wyoming assets. The Governors Office has been working on this deal for six months. Again, in secrecy because it is unknown who has been at the table. The product of that effort (the first half of Governor Gordons first year in office) is a bundle of legislation authorizing Wyomings State Land and Investment Board (SLIB) to begin negotiating the purchase of Occidentals property, and using the states savings accounts to fund the deal. These pieces of legislation, Senate File 138 and House Bill 249, are being fast-tracked during a short, hectic budget session that is trying to deal with declining income to the states coffers. A companion bill, House Bill 222 would exempt the SLIB from Wyomings open meeting law so that aspects of the purchase negotiations could be kept secret from Wyomings citizens. So, it appears that the governor and legislature are not going to measure twice, cut once, and they are in a big hurry. How much is the Occidental property worth? Nobody knows. How much will it cost Wyoming? Nobody knows. How will this purchase affect Wyomings bottom line? Nobody knows. How will it be managed? Who will be able to use it and how? Who, if anyone, will buy it if we dont? Nobody knows. The only thing we have been told is that this opportunity is too big to pass up and we have to act now! Dont get me wrong, this deal could be the best thing for the Cowboy State since jackalope, or it could be a disaster of Teapot Dome proportions. We just dont know...yet. And we need to know before we crack open our Permanent Mineral Trust Fund and our other piggy banks to do the deal. A million surface acres and 4 million subsurface, how much will that cost? Nobodys saying, but my ballpark guess is that were talking about close to a billion dollars. I would suggest to the governor and the legislature that they slow down. Dont start pulling on a thread that could unravel Wyomings carefully crafted savings plan for something that only appears too good to pass up. Why not defer a decision on whether to raid our rainy day accounts until we know more a lot more, about what were buying? Since were all giving lip service to transparency in government these days, lets really practice it. Lets give an interim committee a few months or a year to answer some of the many, many questions about this deal, and lets invite our political leaders to bring those answers out into the fresh air and bright sunshine of day through hearings across the state. Without citizen buy-in, and plenty of transparency, the governor and legislature run the very real risk of making this transaction look and smell like a backroom handshake deal among poker-playing buddies. That can only lead to valid conjecture about what is motivating this move. Thats how conspiracy theories are born. If Wyoming taking its time to measure twice before cutting results in upsetting Occidentals time-frame, then thats really no skin off our noses. If another company steps in and buys what Occidental is offering, then I guess we all tip our hat and say, Thats how capitalism is supposed to work. Rod Miller is a retired working cowboy and bookseller living in Cheyenne. He is not now seeking, nor will he seek in the future, public office of any kind. Email rodsmillerwyo@yahoo.com Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 0 Turtles recovered by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission in 2019 after undercover Operation Donatello discovered an illegal turtle trafficking ring. [Provided by FWC] WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. Florida wildlife officials are increasingly concerned the states turtles are being scooped up by smugglers feeding an international demand for the freshwater and terrestrial reptiles. Turtle launderers, who wash wild-caught animals through illegal trafficking rings like ill-gotten cash, have been targeted by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission since a 2009 rule banned the commercial harvest and sale of natural-born turtles. Undercover investigations have since retrieved thousands of stolen turtles worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. But FWC commissioners were told Thursday to be prepared for an uptick in criminal activity that may require tighter oversight as some coveted species become literally worth more than gold. International prices will continue to go up, said Col. Curtis Brown, FWCs director of law enforcement. We have one of the most densely populated areas in the world for turtle diversity, which makes us a target for illegal trafficking. Smuggling: Passenger tried to sneak package of tiny dead birds into US airport Florida has 23 land and freshwater turtle species. The most sought after include box turtles, diamondback terrapins, mud and musk turtles, softshell turtles and snapping turtles. While fleshy softshell and snapping turtles are sold as food in Asian markets, box turtles and other varieties are popular pets that can fetch a Florida poacher up to $300 each. In Asia, the same turtle can sell for as much as $10,000 at glitzy auctions held near Shanghai, Brown said. Between 2016 through 2019, about 6.5 million live turtles were exported from the U.S., including 521,700 from Florida. Its a status symbol to have these in your home, said Chris Lechowicz, wildlife and habitat program director at the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation. Turtles are synonymous with long life. They are a big part of the traditions there (Asia). Despite 49 licensed Florida turtle farms and an unknown number of turtle breeders in Asia, Lechowicz said they cant keep up with demand. Story continues In the presentation to FWC commissioners, Brown noted a 2016 McKinsey & Company study that estimated 76% of Chinas urban population will be considered middle class by 2022. That translates into bigger buying power that will almost definitely increase demand for turtles, Brown said. It was 2005 when Florida noticed a significant increase in commercial turtle fishing. A rule passed four years later banned the sale of wild-caught turtles. Some species, such as the imperiled alligator snapping turtles and Suwannee cooters are illegal to take from the wild or possess. There are possession limits for other species such as box turtles and diamondback terrapins. Lechowicz said the commercial turtle market began to grow in the late 90s, but that land and freshwater turtles dont always garner the same attention as their sea-faring cousins. Although sea turtles are threatened worldwide there are many other turtle species that are more at risk of extinction in the next century, he said. The 4-inch, federally threatened bog turtle native to areas from New York to Virginia can cost as much as $13,000, Brown said. There are people who have whole rooms full of turtles. They collect them like postage stamps, said George Heinrich, executive director of the Florida Turtle Conservation Trust. Part of the concern about taking box turtles from the wild is they dont reach sexual maturity until about 10 years old and then lay only four to six eggs per year in two hatching seasons. Box turtles can live to 80 years old and the survivability of the species depends on the adults breeding in the wild for many years. In Operation Donatello, an undercover operation announced in October, FWC documented more than 4,000 turtles taken illegally and sold over a six-month period, including box turtles, Eastern box turtles, striped mud turtles, Florida mud turtles and chicken turtles. Two men were arrested as part of the operation with turtles valued at $200,000 on the black market. Brown said the poachers used FWCs own research to find areas with the highest turtle densities. They first targeted Edgmont Key south of St. Petersburg but reconsidered after a 2016 fire burned 80 acres of the island, killing some box turtles. The traffickers then descended on Sanibel Island. Hundreds of turtles were found during the August 2019 bust. Lechowicz brought 275 back to the island. Turtle farmers who spoke at the FWC commission meeting said more restrictions on turtle sales would only increase the black market demand. Retired turtle farmer Jim Watt of Jupiter said prohibitions on snapping turtles drew an X on that turtles back. You had out in the Everglades, in front of God and everyone, farmers, hunters, drug addicts, kids everyone was catching snappers, Watt said. FWC Executive Director Eric Sutton said that there are no plans for turtle restrictions or rule changes but that he wanted to give commissioners an idea of what the situation is and what they may be facing in the future. There are so many threats to our turtles, including development, that are working in synergy to have a negative impact on the population, Heinrich said. Illegal black market sales is one we can do something about. Follow Kimberly Miller on Twitter: @KMillerWeather This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Turtle smuggling; Florida officials crack down on illegal trade From: Serita Stevens, RN, LNC -- Forensic Nurse For Immediate Release: Dateline: Los Angeles , CA Sunday, February 23, 2020 How many People are Poisoned? Forensic Nurse/Author Serita Stevens Speaks Out. How many Americans are aware of the numbers of people who die from poisoning either intentionally or accidentally or to commit suicide or knock off someone, especially in politics? Many times, poisons are very hard to identify as a cause of death, so they are marked natural causes or suicides. Join ROSE COLOMBO when she welcomes SERITA STEVENS, author of Forensic Nurse, a dynamic returning guest who has written 40 books. Listen here >>> No enemy attacks were reported from 00:00 to 07:00 Kyiv time on February 23. The number of enemy attacks on Ukrainian positions in Donbas, eastern Ukraine, grew to 11 by the end of the day on Saturday, February 22, according to the press center of the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) Headquarters. Russia-led forces used proscribed 120mm and 82mm mortars, as well as grenade launchers of various systems, large-caliber machine guns and rifles to attack Ukrainian troops, the JFO HQ said on Facebook in a morning update on February 23. One Ukrainian soldier was injured in a booby-trap blast on February 22. Read alsoRussian-led forces try again to penetrate contact line in Donbas, get fitting rebuff No enemy attacks were reported from 00:00 to 07:00 Kyiv time on February 23. As UNIAN reported earlier, a sabotage and reconnaissance group of Russian-led forces tried again to advance across the contact line in Donbas in the early hours of February 22. "Under cover of fire from small arms, the enemy tried to take the Ukrainian positions near the village of Novotoshkivske," the JFO HQ said then. JFO members timely spotted the enemy troops and repelled the attack with firearms, making them retreat and suffer losses amid the skirmish. Fresh off of a win in Nevadas Democratic primary caucuses, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders came to Houston prepared. Speaking at the University of Houston, the presidential hopeful did not shy from a string of harrowing events still fresh in Texans minds, using the citys brush with devastating storms to shed light on climate change and the deadly shooting in El Paso to call for tougher gun control. This state, maybe more than any other state, has the possibility of transforming this country, said Sanders, speaking Sunday to more than 6,600 rally-goers in the Fertitta Center Sanders called on his signature campaign pitches, including a single-payer Medicare for All system, raising the U.S. minimum wage to $15 an hour and reforming a broken and racist criminal justice system. His renewed attention toward snagging Texas support ahead of the March 3 primary appeared to energize prospective voters, who last saw him in Houston in April 2019. A University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll showed Sanders as a narrowing front-runner, polling at 24 percent among self-identified Democratic voters. He cinched a major victory in Nevada on Saturday with 46 percent of the Democratic vote. Jamie Baccaro and her daughter, Maya, said they were pleased with Sanders efforts to appeal to Texans. Were really happy to see him here in Texas since it is a controversial state, Maya Baccaro said. It feels nice that hes educated on everything happening here. Over the ear-splitting roar of thousands of rally attendees, he also called for an overhaul of the countrys infrastructure, vowing to commit financial resources to rebuilding roads and water systems, along will building up to 10 million units of affordable and low-income housing. He took swings at his Democratic opponent, former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, and President Donald Trump, calling out the commander-in-chief as a hoax for his disregard of climate change and tax cuts which Sanders said were aimed at benefiting corporations and billionaires. We do not want a president who disrespects American democracy, he said. Sanders blasted Bloomberg for pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into political advertising since joining the contested race. Michael Bloomberg has the right to run for the presidency, but he does not have the right to buy the presidency, he said. The primary will be University of Houston student Yahya Yahyas first time voting in a presidential race. He attended the rally already with plans to vote for Sanders but had hoped to hear the senator address issues affecting younger voters. Student debt, its pretty important to students, Yahya said. Another supporter, William Salazar, said he had been keeping tabs on Sanders voting record since the early 2000s, when he was a congressman opposing the authorization to enter the Iraq War. Salazar, donning a leather bomber jacket and red Democratic Socialists for Bernie shirt, thought Sanders could clinch the Democratic presidential nomination. This guy is the candidate for the people, he said. Sanders was expected to speak again on Sunday in Austin. He made a campaign stop on Saturday in San Antonio, where more than 3,000 supporters came out to cheer the Vermont lawmaker. He vowed to win the Democratic primary. The president gets very upset easily, so dont tell him that were going to beat him here in Texas, he told the crowd. Staff writer Jeremy Wallace contributed to this story. gwendolyn.wu@chron.com People across North Wales urged to take up vaccinations in bid to prevent potentially deadly diseases This article is old - Published: Sunday, Feb 23rd, 2020 Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board is urging members of the public to take some simple steps to help prevent the spread of potentially deadly diseases across the region. Immunisations save millions of lives across the world every year. Many of the diseases that are preventable through vaccination, such as the flu or measles, can have devastating consequences for some individuals. Teresa Owen, Executive Director of Public Health at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, is leading a new strategic approach to ensure the uptake for immunisation is as high as possible. She said: Immunisations are one of our most cost effective public health interventions they help keep us healthy, and can save lives. There are a range of vaccination programmes across the whole life course that help to prevent a number of different diseases, many of which can be very harmful to our health. In recent years we have seen outbreaks of flu and measles across North Wales, many of which would have been prevented through higher uptake of the flu and MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) vaccines. Whilst we are doing relatively well with vaccine uptake in North Wales compared to other parts of Wales, there is more we can do together to increase the uptake and protect more people from these diseases. Vaccines are safe and effective for those who are eligible and I encourage everyone to have theirs when theyre offered. Dont worry if you think you might have missed a vaccination, just ask your GP Practice or Health Visitor as you can always catch up. Currently people are being urged to make sure they are protected against flu and vaccines will be offered until the end of March. If you havent had your flu vaccination or arent sure if youre eligible, please contact your GP Practice. If youre not sure if you or your child have had both doses of the MMR vaccine, please check with your GP Practice or Health Visitor and get up to date. For more information about the Health Boards Strategic Immunisations Plan (2019-2022), including further details on the flu and MMR vaccines, visit the Immunisation page of the BCUHB website. The governor and Legislature want to make Nebraska more attractive to people to work and live here. But more young people leave than stay, and the state is falling short in attracting a vibrant young workforce. One meaningful solution to this dilemma is for our federal legislators to enable citizenship for young people designated as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival, also known as Dreamers. Estimates show about 3,400 Dreamers in Nebraska and that they contribute more than $150 million to our state's economy. Because of attacks on the program from several fronts, the fate of these young people is in limbo. With population declines in 66 of 93 Nebraska counties in the last decade and forecasts for the trend continuing, legislation could allow citizenship to Dreamers with the proviso that they be employed for at least two of their first five years in counties or cities with populations of less than 10,000. The Nebraska economy needs Dreamers to be part of the solution to our workforce woes. Dreamers should be encouraged to live, stay and build their families in Nebraska because the fertility rates are below replacement levels in the state and U.S. WUHAN, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- An official of Wuhan, capital city of central China's Hubei Province, has been removed from public office and placed under criminal investigation for suspected bribe taking and malfeasance, the local discipline watchdog said Saturday. Cai Jie, a former standing committee member of the Wuhan municipal committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the committee's secretary-general, was also expelled from the CPC, the discipline inspection and supervisory commission of Hubei Province said, citing Cai's violations of Party disciplines and laws. An official statement said Cai took advantage of his position to seek benefits for others and illegally procured huge amounts of funds and property. He was also accused of abusing power to illegally allocate government funds to private companies, being dishonest, and defying investigations on him. The statement said Cai has been transferred to the procuratorate for further investigation and subsequent prosecution. New Delhi: In a big win for Indian Intelligence agencies, fugitive gangster Ravi Pujari is likely to be extradited to India soon. Reports said that the Indian government has been trying to get him back to the country and a team of Karnataka Police is in Senegal for completing the extradition process of Ravi Pujari. Other than the Karnataka Police team, RAW officers are also assisting the police team, sources in the know of the development told Zee News. The report further claimed that Pujari has exhausted a legal option. The Supreme Court of Senegal has rejected plea filed by Pujari against his extradition/deportation to India. There are 39 cases against Pujari in Bengaluru alone, including the murders of Shailaja and Ravi of Shabnam Developers on February 15, 2007, police said. He has 36 cases against him in Mangaluru, 11 in Udupi, and one each in Mysuru, Hubballi-Dharwad, Kolar and Shivamogga, police said. According to Karnataka Police, Pujari had been living with a new identity in Senegal, had got a Burkina Faso passport for himself and his family and ran a chain of restaurants in some West African nations. He had obtained a new identity as Antony Fernadez. Pujari, who had been on the run for more than 20 years, was arrested by the Senegal Police in Dakar in January 2019. On January 19, 2019, the Senegal Police had received a tip-off about Pujari's presence in a barbershop, following which they arrested him from the spot. However, after being granted bail by a local court, he jumped the bail and fled the west African nation. Last year, the Karnataka Police had said in a statement, "Being a dreaded criminal and always afraid of his identity getting exposed, he ran away from Burkina Faso in 2019 and his track was lost thereafter. Pujari had hired shooters to attack his targets to create a scare, police said, adding, people used to pay up out of fear." According to the police, Pujari, who hails from Karnataka, was initially associated with gangster Chhota Rajan, but he had also worked for fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. Pujari reportedly parted ways with Rajan following an attack on the latter in Bangkok, said to be carried out by the Dawood gang, and formed his own gang. Like Rajan, Pujari too tried to project himself as a 'Hindu don', and allegedly killed some of the accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case when they were out on bail. He was known for threatening builders and celebrities for extortion. Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt had told Mumbai Police that Pujari threatened him, following which some members of his gang were arrested for conspiring to kill Bhatt. Advocate Shahid Azmi, who was shot dead in 2010, had alleged that the Pujari gang had threatened him for representing terror accused. Jakarta: Almost from the moment Mahathir Mohamad claimed an extraordinary election win in May 2018, delivering the country's first change of government 61 years after Malaysia's independence, speculation swirled about when or if he would follow through on his promise to hand the prime ministership to Anwar Ibrahim. In the lead up to the poll, the plan was for Mahathir to hand over to Anwar after two years. Soon enough, though, the May 2020 handover date started to slip. And after Mahathir's sudden resignation on Monday, the deal may be off altogether. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. Credit:James Massola For months, there have been reports the governing Pakatan Harapan coalition of parties which holds 139 seats out of 222 in the Parliament and includes Anwar's PKR (50 seats), Mahathir's Bersatu (26 seats), the DAP (42 seats) and others was about to disintegrate. Multiple plans are being prepared to restore the local tourism sector when the Covid-19 threat is eradicated, including promotional programs to attract tourists. Tourists attend an animal show at a safari park in the island district of Phu Quoc, Kien Giang Province Many travel firms expect the domestic segment to be the key to the speedy recovery of the tourism industry. With attractive promotions, the industry could see a rebound within a few months as local tourists are forecast to be the first ones to travel at the end of the outbreak. All eyes on local tourists The substantial size of the domestic segment and the quick response of local visitors to promotional events are the two main reasons cited by travel firms for the plans focus on this segment to restore the industry. Data from the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism showed that the number of local tourists last year rose by 6% against that of 2018 to reach 85 million; this segment has been on an upward trend in recent years. Besides this, the average spending of an overnight visitor was VND5.8 million in 2019, while that of a day-trip visitor was VND1.92 million. Local tourists have also reacted positively and quickly to promotional and discount programs, according to hospitality operators. Most discount programs managed to attract local tourists right after being launched. The industry could make a full recovery in some three months, given special promotions, said Nguyen Ngoc An, vice general director of Fiditour travel company. If the epidemic is resolved soon, tourism operators will find it easier to roll out their plans, attracting tourists during the busy summer travel season, An added. Phan Dinh Hue, director of Viet Circle Travel Service Company, echoed Ans viewpoint, noting that it will take time to reinstate the industry by exploiting the international segment. Instead, fully tapping the dosmetic segment is the most feasible solution for now, he stated. To date, as many as 40 provinces and cities nationwide, coupled with many operators of aviation services, railways, roads and waterways agreed to jointly offer special deals to tourists after the outbreak, according to Nguyen Thi Khanh, vice chairwoman of the HCMC Travel Association. Some road transport operators have registered to offer discounts of up to 40%. Further, destinations in the Mekong Delta and the provinces of Phu Yen, Gia Lai and Kon Tum will be introduced first with attractive promotions, according to the association representative. Promotion measures suggested Tour prices should be considered the key point of the upcoming promotion campaign, many companies noted. To quickly woo local tourists, travel firms need to offer heavily discounted tours, with discounts on package tours reaching at least 30%. Operators could work out reasonable prices for non-package services for young travelers as they will be the first to hit the road when the disease ends. These tourists will also be viewed as effective marketing channels to encourage more people to start planning trips, according to the Fiditour vice general director. Meanwhile, the head of Viet Circle Company advised suspending tours for large groups given the fear that public gatherings may trigger further outbreaks. Accordingly, tours for small groups covering some three days are highly recommended to attract tourists during the post-disease period. In addition, the operators should exploit destinations that are free of Covid-19, he said. SGT Hundreds of tour boats in Ha Long Bay left idle More than 230 tour boats at Tuan Chau Port in Ha Long Bay have been left idle due to the coronavirus outbreak. 2 Christians executed in al-Shabaab bus attack for not reciting Islamic declaration of faith Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Two Christians are reported to be among three people killed after suspected al-Shabaab militants attacked a bus in Kenya on Wednesday morning. Haji Abass, the owner of the Kenya-based Moyale Raha bus company, told The Associated Press that fighters suspected to be aligned with the Somalia-based group attacked the bus while it was carrying passengers to the capital of Nairobi from a market town near the Ethiopian and Somalian borders. Abass said that the militants were in police uniform and tried to flag down the bus. However, the bus driver kept on going because he knew there were no police stops along the route. At that point, the militants shot at the bus, flattened the back tires and injured the driver. After the bus went into a ditch, militants allegedly pulled the passengers out and killed two non-Muslims and one Muslim. Two others were injured. International Christian Concern, a United States-based advocacy organization, reports that the two non-Muslims killed in the attack were Christian men named Peter Kilnozo Musili and Kevin Onyango. According to ICC, which confirmed the attack through a security officer based in northeast Kenya, the two men were executed because they could not recite the Islamic declaration of faith, the Shahada. The Muslim man who was killed was named by ICC as Abdi Abinoor. ICC reports that Abinoor was killed for trying to protect the Christians. The security officer told the nonprofit that the attack occurred in the town of Banisa in Mandera County, an area of Kenya near the Somali border with a large Somali ethnic population. The officer said that the bus was carrying 47 passengers. They sprayed it with bullets and deflated the tires in order to halt it and pick Christians from the bus, the security officer was quoted as saying. The efforts of the driver to escape from their trap did not bear fruit. He was also injured during the attack. Three people were killed and two others injured. Al-Shabaab (aligned with al-Qaeda) has a history of conducting attacks on buses in which militants separate non-Muslims for execution. On Dec. 6, 2019, al-Shabaab killed 11 Christians when militants attacked a bus traveling from Nairobi to Mandera in Wajir County. A source who spoke to Morning Star News about the attack explained that 56 people were on board when assailants separated 11 Kenyan Christian workers from the ethnic Somali passengers on the bus. Just last month, three Christian teachers were murdered when suspected al-Shabaab militants attacked a school and a police post in the town of Kamuthe in Garissa County. ICC reported at the time that the three deceased instructors were Caleb Mutua, Titus Ushindi, and Samuel Muthui Kyonzu. Kenya ranks as the 44th-worst country in the world when it comes to Christian persecution, according to Open Doors USAs 2020 World Watch List. Al-Shabaab has fought for years to overthrow the Somali government. The group has been responsible for attacks on both sides of the Somalia and Kenya border as it has long vowed to retaliate against Kenya for sending in troops to Somalia to fight the group. In April 2015, al-Shabaab carried out one of its deadliest attacks when it stormed the campus of Garissa University. On that occasion, militants were said to have separated Muslims from non-Muslims and proceeded to execute all non-Muslim students. At least 148 people were killed in the attack. Al-Shabaabs control over parts of Somalia has troubled government and international actors looking to exterminate locusts amid the infestation outbreak that has impacted several East African countries in recent months. Even if spraying is done by light aircraft and manually by people moving, that's not going to happen in those areas [controlled by Al-Shabaab], Joseph Kamara, the regional director for humanitarian and emergency affairs in East Africa for World Vision, told The Christian Post. This means those areas will continue breeding them. That is likely to remain a challenge for the rest of the region. Somalia ranks as the third-worst country in the world for Christian persecution on Open Doors USAs World Watch List due to civil war, al-Shabaabs militant insurgency and tribalism. The violent Islamic terrorist group, Al-Shabaab, advocates Shariah law as the basis for regulating all aspects of life in Somalia, an Open Doors fact sheet reads. This group has repeatedly expressed its desire to eradicate Christians from the country. She recently premiered her new flick My Salinger Year during the 70th Berlinale International Film Festival earlier this week. And Sigourney Weaver, 70, appeared in jovial spirits as she was spotted leaving her hotel in Milan during fashion week on Sunday. The Golden Globe winner looked chic in an aubergine-coloured trench coat over a white longline shirt. Getting chic done: Sigourney Weaver, 70, appeared in jovial spirits as she was spotted leaving her hotel in Milan during fashion week on Sunday The screen star accessorised her stylish daytime ensemble with a pair of oversized golden aviator shades and leather criss-cross black leather clutch. Keeping to her effortlessly chic theme, she worked her brunette tresses into a voluminous curly blowdry and sported a radiant beauty look. Sigourney has been making the most of her time in Europe having recently wowed in a plunging black gown as she hit the red carpet My Salinger Year premiere in Berlin. She happily posed for photos with her co-star Margaret Qualley, 25, who looked elegant in a white tulle dress. All smiles: The Golden Globe winner looked chic in an aubergine-coloured trench coat Style: She layered the coat over a white longline shirt The Avatar star attended the premiere with her stage director husband Jim Simpson and their daughter, Charlotte, 29. The Alien actress appear in the Philippe Falardeau's new drama which is based upon Joanna Smith Rakoff's 2014 memoir of the same name. The feature film follows the freshly graduated Joanna as she takes a clerical job working for the literary agent of the reclusive writer J.D. Salinger. Golden Globe winner Sigourney plays Margaret, Salinger's cantankerous and utterly formidable agent and friend. Wave: The screen star accessorised her stylish daytime ensemble with a pair of oversized golden aviator shades Mane attraction: Keeping to her effortlessly chic theme, she worked her brunette tresses into a voluminous curly blowdry Joanna is played by American actress, Margaret who was last seen hitching a lift with Brad Pitt in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Last year, the iconic actress has confirmed that she will reprise her role as cellist Dana Barrett, whose apartment was haunted by an evil spirit in the original 1984 film, in the new movie. Speaking of reuniting with co-stars Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney told Parade magazine in June: 'It's going to be crazy working with the guys again!' Posing up a storm: Earlier this week, she posed for photos with her My Salinger Year co-star Margaret Qualley, 25, during the 70th Berlinale International Film Festival Reflecting on the original Ghostbusters, she added: 'I knew it would be big. The script was so funny and full of heart. 'Ghostbusters' changed my life.' Ghostbusters 3 is being helmed by original director Ivan Reitman's son Jason and Dan previously praised Jason, 41, for the 'beautiful script' he has penned for the third film. Aykroyd starred as Dr. Ray Stantz alongside Bill Murray as Dr. Peter Venkman and Harold Ramis as Dr. Egon Spengler and Rick Moranis as Louis Tully in the first Ghostbusters film. Boris Johnson was last night urged to bury his doubts and press ahead with Heathrows third runaway amid fears he could use a potential legal setback this week to ditch the plan. London Mayor Sadiq Khan and other opponents of the airport expansion are expected to learn on Thursday whether they have won a High Court challenge against the Government over the 14 billion project. Mr Khan and five local authorities in the capital launched an appeal after judges gave the new runway the green light last year. Ready for take-off? Boris Johnson is pictured above with a new-style British passport. In the Commons earlier this month, the Prime Minister cast doubt over the development by warning that there was no immediate prospect of construction The Mail on Sunday understands the case could hang on claims that the impact of emissions from extra air traffic have been overlooked. If the High Court challenge is successful, the project would effectively be blocked until the Government responds. However, reports this weekend suggested Mr Johnson who as a local MP pledged to lie down in front of the bulldozers to prevent a third runway could use the potential legal setback to shelve the project entirely and stay faithful to his original opposition. London Mayor Sadiq Khan and other opponents of the airport expansion are expected to learn on Thursday whether they have won a High Court challenge against the Government over the 14 billion project Yesterday, Tory MPs and business leaders called on Mr Johnson to throw his weight behind the new runway. They said expanding Heathrow would deliver a vital post-Brexit economic boost. Former Justice Minister Crispin Blunt warned if the Government wobbled on this, it would cast a shadow over other major infrastructure projects. The Reigate MP also condemned the way a decision already made by MPs could be threatened by the courts. It would be appalling for the courts to overturn what Parliament has already agreed itself (based) on a detail and authoritative commission, he said. The third runway at Heathrow is essential and overdue national infrastructure, especially post-Brexit as we look to develop our global links. Our continental competitors will seize on any delay to the project to steal business away from our principal national airport. And Peter Hargreaves, the billionaire founder of investment firm Hargreaves Lansdown, said: I firmly believe the bulldozers should be there now. If we want to compete in the world we need the biggest and best airport in the world. The Heathrow expansion plan has already been given outline approval from MPs, with the Commons voting overwhelmingly in favour in June 2018. But in the Commons earlier this month, the Prime Minister cast doubt over the development by warning that there was no immediate prospect of construction. In a debate on the HS2 project, Liberal Democrat MP Munira Wilson urged Mr Johnson to make good his promise of lying down in front of the bulldozers, or far more simply, just cancel the third runway. Reports this weekend suggested Mr Johnson who as a local MP pledged to lie down in front of the bulldozers to prevent a third runway could use the potential legal setback to shelve the project entirely and stay faithful to his original opposition. Heathrow's Terminal Four is pictured above In reply, the Prime Minister suggested he was unlikely to have to fulfil his promise in the near future, saying: I see no bulldozers at present and no immediate prospect of them arriving. During the General Election campaign last year, Mr Johnson said that claims that he cannot be trusted make my blood boil. Last night, one Tory MP said privately that the Prime Minister would be agonising about not keeping his previous pledge over Heathrow. The MP said: Boris will not want to be seen as breaking his word or not being trusted by the electorate it will really matter to him. A spokesman for Mr Khan told The Mail on Sunday last night: Sadiq has serious concerns about the impact of a third runway on air quality, climate change, noise pollution and public transport. BROOK PARK, Ohio -- In light of the recent departures of Nickles Bakery Thrift Store, PNC Bank and Fifth Third Bank, questions arose about business retention during the Feb. 18 Brook Park City Council meeting. What are we doing to get businesses to stay in Brook Park? Councilman Jim Mencini asked Mayor Mike Gammella. I hope this isnt the tip of the iceberg. The mayor cited the closings as part of a national trend. E-commerce, where people arent going to stores anymore to buy products, is killing brick-and-mortar businesses in this country, Gammella said. This is just a casualty of the new economy. Were doing everything we can to deal with it. Economic Development Commissioner Scott Adams explained to cleveland.com what is being done to retain businesses, of which Brook Park has more than 500. He said its nearly impossible to prevent some businesses from leaving, because the decisions often dont come at the local level, such as with PNC, Nickles and Fifth Third. "They said it was a corporate decision for downsizing their operations," Adams said. "I offered incentives for them to stay, but they said the corporate decision was already made." While the city is losing three businesses, it will be gaining eight, he stressed. Our goal is not to lose business, but to invite and grow businesses in the city of Brook Park, Adams said. We work very diligently given the tools we have. Those tools include tax abatement, city grants and tax incentive financing options. His phone rings daily with calls from businesses, Adams said. "We have a great location here," he said. "It's just a matter of finding the right part of the puzzle to fit in here, put their businesses here and keep them here." Finance Director Greg Cingle also spoke to cleveland.com about business retention. We obviously dont want to see any business leave, Cingle said. Is this community-driven in that our residents arent supporting these businesses? From a demographic standpoint then, what type of businesses should we be looking to attract? And what tax dollars will be generated? He acknowledged that Adams has a difficult task. "Attracting, retaining and growing businesses sounds easy, but it's really difficult, especially when these decisions are being made at the corporate level," Cingle said. "It's a concern when businesses are moving out but I'm not panicking yet." Read more stories from the News Sun. The Taliban in Afghanistan are tired of fighting and want to make a peace deal with the US, President Donald Trump said on Sunday as he left for his maiden visit to India during which the two countries will significantly ramp up the defence and strategic ties. Just before his departure for India, Trump told reporters at the White House that the time had come for the US troops to come home. The President said he would sign a peace deal with the Taliban if it worked out over the next week. I want to see how this period of a week works out. If it works out over the next less-than-a-week, I would put my name on it, he said. Time to come home. The Taliban want to make a deal too. Theyre tired of fighting, he said. Trumps remarks came a day after the US and the Afghan Taliban started a seven-day partial truce ahead of a possible peace deal to end more than 18-year-long war, raising hopes for a resolution to Americas longest war. The agreement struck during negotiations between the US and the Taliban, if maintained, may secure a peace deal that would lead to a withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan. In November, Trump announced the resumption of peace talks with the Taliban, but refused to give a timeline for the drawdown of the US troops from Afghanistan, as he made an unannounced visit to American soldiers stationed in the war-torn country. After nine rounds of negotiations with the Taliban, Trump announced in September that he was calling the peace talks off after a US service member was killed in a suicide attack in Afghanistans capital, Kabul. The US currently has less than 14,000 troops in Afghanistan, but military officials would not confirm the exact number. Trump is accompanied by First Lady Melania, daughter Ivanka, son-in-law Jared Kushner and the top brass of his administration on his maiden visit to India. During his visit, the two countries are expect to significantly ramp up bilateral defence and strategic ties. The nearly 36-hour-long visit by Trump is also set to send across a clear message of growing congruence of interests on major geopolitical developments in the region and beyond, particularly when China has been expanding its military might and economic clout. She confirmed her split from businessman Theo Chambers in November. But according to Monday's The Daily Telegraph, Natasha Oakley has rekindled their romance. The 29-year-old bikini entrepreneur was said to have attended a friend's wedding in Sydney's eastern suburbs on Saturday, alongside a dapper Theo. Back on! Natasha Oakley, 29, has 'rekindled her romance' with ex-boyfriend Theo Chambers, according to Monday's The Daily Telegraph, as the pair attended a friend's wedding in Sydney. Pictured at the Australian Open in Melbourne on February 2 Natasha shared only solo shots of herself at the event venue to Instagram, where she showed off her figure in a plunging black silk frock with cut-out detail at the waist. The blonde beauty added a black Christian Dior handbag and strappy heels, and styled her locks in voluminous waves, framing an elegant makeup palette. Meanwhile, Natasha and Theo were previously seen together at the Australian Open in Melbourne on February 2. Gorgeous: Natasha shared only solo shots of herself at the wedding venue to Instagram (pictured), where she showed off her figure in a plunging black silk frock with cut-out detail The pair coordinated their attire and embraced one another as they posed for photos on the media wall. Despite their public sightings and closeness on the red carpet, Natasha has made no mention of their reunion - or even Theo's presence - on her Instagram. The blogger confirmed her split from Theo, the son of Chambers Cellar founder Steven Chambers, in November, telling The Daily Telegraph: 'We broke up,[but] we're still really good friends.' Public sighting: While at the Australian Open earlier this month, the pair coordinated their attire and embraced one another as they posed for photos on the media wall She added: 'I do travel a lot and have a very different lifestyle. We had an amazing relationship but these things happen in life.' Despite being newly single at the time, Natasha insisted she was 'really happy.' The pair had started dating in late 2018 and confirmed their romance on New Year's Eve that year. COLUMBUS Jane Bryan rolled out of bed at 5:45 Wednesday morning, even though shed been up til 2 a.m., reworking the speech she planned to deliver in a few hours at a hearing before a senate judiciary committee. Nothing was going to stop her from making it to the Statehouse by 9 a.m. to testify in support of Senate Bill 162, which would eliminate the statute of limitations for rape in Ohio. When her ride fell through, shed scrambled to find another one. Two coworkers one, a sexual assault nurse examiner like Jane came to the rescue, picking her up in her Akron driveway at 6:30 a.m. and hightailing it to Columbus like theyd robbed a bank. Jane had a story to tell. She arrived, just in time, to a meeting room filled with women clutching their own speeches asking lawmakers to smash the clock that starts ticking on Ohio rape cases from the moment theyre reported. There is no statute of limitations a window of time the state has to charge a perpetrator for murder Senator Nickie Antonio (D-Lakewood), one of the bills sponsors, told me. Why should there be for rape? When chairman John Eklund (R-Munson Township) called her name, Jane stood to represent both the Cleveland Clinic where she cares for rape survivors, collecting and preserving any evidence left behind in the assault in whats known as a rape kit and her mother. Mary Ellen Bryan was victimized twice: First by the man who slipped in through a kitchen window early one morning in June of 1991, raping her while 10-year-old Jane and her three other children slept; and again by Ohio lawmakers who decided that rape prosecutions should have an expiration date. Hed thrown a sheet over her head, so she never saw his face. Her body had provided police all the evidence they needed, but her rape kit sat, untouched, for decades. Unearthed in a fluke and finally tested in 2014, the rape kit revealed all: Mary Ellens attacker, identified using DNA, was a serial rapist. Too bad the statute of limitations in her case had run out. The man who violently raped my mother can never be held accountable, Jane told senators. Too much time had passed, Janes family was told. I cant help but think that the only person protected by the statute of limitations in this case was my mothers attacker, she said. Lawmakers listened and asked questions with more sure to come if the bill wins another hearing. How long should a rape prosecution take? Senator Eklund wanted to know. Best case scenario, six months to a year, answered Medina County prosecutor S. Forrest Thompson. But that assumes a burnt out detective wont shelve a rape case, or fail to run down all available leads or decide a woman asked for it, or let a rape kit collect dust, despite a law that requires all newly collected kits to be sent for testing within 30 days. The best case scenario was far from what Jeanette Crabb got. The military vet gave a lift to a polite, clean-cut young man looking for a ride home one August night in 1993. He rewarded her kindness by punching her, pulling her from her car by the hair and dragging her into a drainage ditch where he raped her and strangled her until she passed out. What can we do to get women to come forward sooner, Sen. Bill Coley (R-Liberty Township) asked? Jeanette reported her attack right away. Police found her clothes in that weedy ditch; they took photos of her injuries; she submitted to a forensic exam but her rape kit didnt make its way to the lab until 2013 almost four months after the SOL in her case had expired. A DNA hit lead police to her rapist, but they didnt arrest him. They closed her case. I had the difficult duty to meet with that victim and tell her that the rapist was identified but could not be prosecuted, Thompson said. He paused. . . . I dont ever want to have to do that again, he said, his voice tight with anger. My rapist is free, said Jeanette, in her short, devastating testimony that followed. I still bear the scars from the rocks embedded in my skin. And the scars no one can see that send her running for home every day before dark. We now have the technology to identify these criminals beyond the shadow of a doubt. What a shame not to use it. What a shame. I did all the right things, she told me later. The law dropped the ball. Can Senators Coley or Eklund or any legislator promise that wont happen again? The idea behind SOLs, at least before DNA testing became routine, is that memories fade over time. Witnesses die. The rights of the accused must be balanced with the rights of victims to seek justice, Sen. Coley told Jane during a lunch recess. Old cases, based not on DNA but on he-said/she-said, worried him the whole Brett Kavanaugh thing, he added. Jane had an answer: An accusation doesnt equal a prison term, she said. Were not saying that an accusation is an indictment were just saying, let it go to the grand jury. Under the existing Ohio law, the time limit for rape prosecutions is 25 years, with an additional five years with a DNA hit, pushing the SOL to a possible 30 years. This leaves plenty of time for testing, prosecution and justice, the argument goes. Its a pretty calloused and pretty cynical one, Camille Cooper of the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network told me. The group monitors SOLs from state to state eight states have done away with them for all felony sex crimes and has an eye on Ohio. We dont let murderers off if they can stay in hiding or move to another state or leave the country. We dont say, Oh well, enough time has passed. So what if they murdered that person? We dont have those exceptions for murder and we shouldnt have those exceptions for rape. Rape is a devastating crime. It stays with the survivor of that crime for their entire life. . . . The only thing that can bring those survivors some closure is prosecuting their offender and knowing that their offender is behind bars. That can provide some measure of relief from the ongoing trauma. Even cases without DNA 25, 30, 40-year old cases can still be prosecuted, she said, because after years of eluding capture, sometimes, offenders confess. Witness after witness called Ohios SOLs arbitrary and outdated. All the SOLs are arbitrary, Cooper said. Literally, some person sat down and said, Six years is enough, eight years is enough, 20 years is enough. It is 100 percent arbitrary. Theres absolutely no justice in that. What would justice look like? Running out the clock on Ohios SOLs, she said. Expiring them. If we dont? Ohio will be the state that continues to provide safe harbor to serial offenders. Listen to the Feb. 19 Ohio Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. Read the proponent testimony from the Feb. 19 Ohio Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. President Moon Jae-in speaks at an inter-agency meeting on COVID-19 at the Government Complex Seoul, Sunday, amid confirmation of hundreds of additional cases of the new coronavirus over the weekend. Moon said the government has decided to raise the alert level for the virus to its "highest" as the country is being "confronted by a grave watershed." / Yonhap Korea reports 169 new coronavirus cases, 6th death By Jun Ji-hye The government raised the country's alert level for COVID-19 (nCoV-2019) to its highest, Sunday, as the total number of infections here rose to 602, and the death tally from the coronavirus reached six as of 10 p.m. (Sunday) "We're facing a critical point in the fight against the coronavirus," President Moon Jae-in said Sunday, announcing the new alert. "The next several days will be an important watershed, and central and local governments, the quarantine authorities and medical sector, and all people must make all-out joint efforts." The last time Korea saw the highest public health alert was in 2009 when it was hit by the H1N1 influenza virus. Moon said the alert level was raised because the country has entered a full emergency situation following the snowballing infections involving members of the Shincheonji Church in Daegu. The government has set up a central disaster and safety countermeasures headquarters under the prime minister. The headquarters is set up in the event of natural disasters or other serious situations when pan-national efforts are required. This is the first time that a prime minister has taken charge, as usually the interior or safety minister takes the lead. As a preventive measure against the spread of the virus, the Ministry of Education ordered schools across the nation from kindergartens to high schools to postpone their spring semester openings by one week to March 9. When dealing with disruptive, potentially dangerous individuals or groups within society, the dilemma lies in differentiating between the sheep and the wolves. As Asharq Al-Awsat writes, This is what President Emmanuel Macron is trying to do in France. Muslim citizens in France are not the problem the extremists are. The same applies to the wider population of the country; there are extremist, hostile racist groups in other sections of the French society, but the peaceful majority of people from these communities are not subject to suspicion and persecution to the degree that Muslims are. Macron visited a mosque last week, where he addressed the Muslim community and made comments that did not appeal to some. He said he would not allow separatist movements to flourish in France, as the country is one republic and everyone should coexist and accept its laws. He denounced, for example, those who refuse to shake hands with women, who shun modern medical treatments or who will not allow their children to study in public schools, describing these acts as cultural separatism. The truth is that some behaviors are personal choices. The state cannot force any man to shake hands with women, for example, but it does have the right to take action against parents who try to limit their childrens education or keep them at home. The authorities can intervene in this type of cultural separation, backed by the force of law, and punish parents for it. Like many European politicians, Macron is in favor of respecting freedom of religion and worship as these rights are enshrined in the constitution. However, he complains that some groups are trying to mobilize the large Muslim community in France to achieve political goals. Some French Muslims have suffered from intellectual and religious extremism, in the same ways that Muslims in their countries of origin suffered. These are not merely extremist ideas that spread as people move from country to country, or are transferred through travel and contacting others; they are mostly organized activities directed by groups with political agendas and goals in mind. United States President Donald Trump will arrive on his maiden two-day visit to India on Monday, becoming the seventh American President to visit the country. He has a jam-packed schedule for around 36 hours which he will spend in India. Accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump, the US President will begin the nearly 36-hour-long trip with a visit to the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad at around 12:15 pm on Monday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced on Sunday. This will be followed by Trump's participation at the 'Namaste Trump' event at around 1:05 pm, where he will address a mammoth crowd of more than 100,000 people at the Motera Stadium in the city. The event will be based on the lines of 'Howdy Modi' function that was addressed by the US President and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Houston in September last year. From Ahmedabad, the US President and the First Lady will make a brief stop at Agra where they will visit the Taj Mahal at around 5:15 pm, before departing for the capital later in the day for the main leg of the 36-hour long trip. On the morning of February 25, the US President will first receive a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhawan at 10 am as per the protocol. From there, he will go to the Rajghat to pay homage at the samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi. This will be followed by both, restricted, and delegation-level talks between Trump and Modi at the Hyderabad House in the capital on Tuesday afternoon. The talks would be followed by the exchange of agreements and Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) between the two countries. Earlier this week, MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar had informed that New Delhi and Washington are eyeing around five MoUs in the areas of intellectual property, trade facilitation, and homeland security, among others. "We are also looking at a joint statement which will basically capture the essence of the partnership between the two countries. I will not go into the details of the MoUs, I will see if I can, maybe, give you some topics on which MoUs are expected, we are looking at MoUs in the areas of intellectual property, for example, in the area of trade facilitation, in the area of homeland security. These are works in progress and we will have a much clearer picture closer to the date," Kumar had said. Trump will meet President Ram Nath Kovind at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in the capital at 7:30 pm before leaving for the United States by his special flight on the night of February 25. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) From: Arthur Koch -- Management Consultant For Immediate Release: Dateline: Miami , FL Sunday, February 23, 2020 How that's Plan "B" for your China Supply Chain? Part 2 - Coronavirus (COVID-19) Volume 3 | Number 2 | February 2020 I started with, "Let's start with the realization that plan "A" to relocate operations to China had a major flaw. If you moved manufacturing to China, India or any other low-cost producing country with the intention of importing goods back to North America or Europe (half a world away), then your plan was unsound!" The primary focus was on inventory velocity, total cost of ownership and the ethics of investing. Now we are in the middle of a S^&% storm of COVID-19 with world-wide impact to supply chains and the global economy. Currently, many air carriers have stopped flying to China. Manufacturing and services in the impacted areas are closed or only starting to operate again, and many ports are still closed. Imagine your business not being able to receive product from China for months. How will this impact your customer's loyalty, profits and corporate valuations? Apple, GM and many others announced significant impacts to their supply chains that will delay manufacturing with the potential of shortages on retail selves. I don't want this to be about how to contain, and the triage of the current situation. All enterprises have created teams to minimize the impact of COVID-19 related supply disruptions. We are great at crisis management. Let's become great at preventing the inferior solution. So that being said... how is the Plan "B" for your China supply chain coming? Like many, you have been ignoring the warning signals: now there is a "burning" platform. Are you ready to take action? Use this event as your "All Hands on Deck", "Battle Cry", or Winston Churchill moment.What lessons can we learn? Don't ignore the warning signs. Focus on long-term and not quarterly profits. Avoid group think. Just because other organizations are "doing it" does not mean it's a good idea. As the guardian, of an enterprise there is a requirement to think beyond the current frame of focus. We need to think regionally. Focus on inventory velocity, part and process quality, and become a zealot for total cost of ownership. Software providers have done an excellent job of "selling" integrated supply chain solutions. However, how integrated can your enterprise be with 90 to 120 days of total pipe line inventory? Manufacture products regionally for regional customers. The stewardship of low cost country sourcing. Imagine customer loyalty when your enterprise keeps products and services flowing when others can't? We are in the early stages of this new global threat. I hope and pray for a quick recovery. Those of you who know me well, know I'm an optimist. However, if we don't take action now to protect our enterprises from the next threat, it could just be the BIG one. I would hate to have to say I told you so, again. What is your Plan "B"? Don't be afraid to ask for help! ************************************************************************************************************* Plan "B" for your China Supply Chain Volume 2 | Number 10 | October 2019 What's Plan "B" for your China Supply Chain? Let's start with the realization that plan "A" to relocate operations to China had a major flaw. If you moved manufacturing to China, India or any other low- cost producing country with the intention of importing goods back to North America or Europe (half a world away), then your plan was unsound! I was taught to do everything possible to reduce lead-times and increase inventory velocity! Why is this important? Longer lead-times increase inventory. More inventory equates to less profits. Why? Because inventory delays fixing problems. When I see corporations chasing the labor "ghost", I cringe! Labor typically accounts for 8-12% of the total cost of ownership. But too many leaders only have one play in their play book: to reduce labor costs by moving head count to low cost countries! They are missing 90% of the total cost of ownership! Why? Leaders view raw materials as a fixed cost. And inventory carrying cost incrementally at about 6% (Prime +1), and too often leaders believe the only variable they can control are labor costs. We have not injected Operational Excellence into our American DNA. Yes, we have innovation in our DNA: just look at Tesla, Apple, Facebook, Google, and Amazon. However, too often, corporations are looking to the silver bullet of innovation to resolve their lack of global competitiveness. Operational Excellence is the long-term game plan. It takes patience, tenacity and grit to achieve it.Operational Excellence, gains are typically more sustainable, enterprise empowering and greater long-term profits are the result. If the US is going to regain manufacturing leadership, we must establish and inject the Operational Excellence philosophy into all functions of our enterprises We cannot forget the total cost of ownership. Over the long-term, when lead-times are increased, so are total costs. Longer lead-times typically increase forecasting variance which necessitates more inventory. The longer lead-times and increased inventories negatively impact customer service with lost flexibility and responsiveness to change. Engineering changes take longer to implement and are more costly Cost increases to support a complex supply chain. Cost of quality increases due to the length of the supply chain. Cost of Inventory Increases. Obsolesce cost increases. Inventory shrink, loss and damage increases. Transportation cost increases. Over the past three decades Japanese, Korean and European manufacturers have invested heavily in US plants and infrastructure. During this same period, US automotive manufacturers have lost an estimated 40-50% of the domestic market share to both Japanese, Korean and European transplants who have provided better quality and more options for the same price. What do they know that we don't? They understand the total cost of ownership and how to drive costs down though operational excellence. Japanese automakers tout US-based jobs at all-time high as Trump ramps up trade war Japanese car makers in America - Twenty years down the road (From 2002) I believe that over the next few years, the inability to manage total cost improvements will be seen as an error in judgment and lack of foresight on the part of industrial leaders and US government economic policies. Additionally, the long-term impact to the US middle-class tradesman and industrial complex will be devastating. We can't afford to lose the middle-classes important contribution to our economy. They are the drivers of our economic stability! Not only should the enterprises total cost of ownership be top priority; but leaders need to uphold corporate values and ethics. Corporate leaders must be careful not to compromise the integrity of the company to which their guardianship has been entrusted. For example, the Chinese governments: Gross currency manipulations. Raw material subsidies. Anti- American policies. Intellectual property laws openly violated. Human rights violations. Unethical loans to third-world countries with the un-disclosed intention of controlling their natural resources. Finally, do we really think countries with anti-American policies are concerned with our long-term viability? One question. As the guardian for your enterprise, is this your legacy? Self-Ranking - Pick one of the four questions below and then fill in your comments in the space provided. Don't think this applies to your business or enterprise? (Write three to four reasons why it might not.) This is a new idea and strategy, its something we need to work toward. (Brainstorm the first steps.) We can do better, modify our strategy, and now we are moving in the right direction. (What are the next steps to ensure success?) Our team gets the necessary time to keep their minds fresh and we have plans to live our dreams. (Comment on how you're ready.) ____________________________________________. ____________________________________________. ____________________________________________. ____________________________________________. Art Koch's Profit Chain Dramatic improvements to inventory velocity, increased customer service and corporate profits Entropy Busters Stop letting the process manage you! Become the champion of your game plan and achieve sustainable profits. inventory / 'in-v?n-?t?r-e / noun Inventory is the term for the goods available for sale and raw materials used to produce goods available for sale. inventory is evil! / 'in-v?n-?t?r-e is 'e-v?l / phrase Left unchecked inventory has many negative unintended consequences to profitability. It hides problems; therefore, it delays fixing problems! Art Koch's Profit Chain Turning Operational Problems into Profits Thanks in advance for your time. As always, thanks for being a loyal client. Looking forward to helping you and your team again soon. Carpe diem, Art Koch Arthur Koch Management Consulting, LLC info@arthurkochmgt.com +1 (336) 260-9441 2020 Arthur Koch Management Consulting, LLC. All Rights Reserved Entropy Busters and Art Koch's Profit Chain are registered trademarks of Arthur Koch Management Consulting, LLC. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-24 05:09:39|Editor: yan Video Player Close HELSINKI, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- A long strike in the Finnish mechanical wood industries ended on Sunday, as the proposals by National Conciliator Vuokko Piekkala were accepted by both the Finnish Forest Industries Federation and the Finnish Industrial Union. The strike by nearly 10,000 workers mainly in the sawmills and plywood plants had begun in late January. According to Piekkala, the salary increases for mechanical wood industry workers in the contracts follow the same level as in previous contracts initially reached in the technological sector, about 3.3 percent in just over two years. The 24 unpaid hours per year agreed in the 2016 competitive edge package will be dropped. In return, the employers will be allowed to increase paid working time for three days in a year. Jyrki Hollmen, labour market director of the Finnish Forest Industries Federation, welcomed the agreement. He said the fixed hours will be replaced by more flexible working time solutions. "The contract is in line with our goals: uptime, increased productivity and flexibility," he was quoted by Finnish media Yle as saying. Increasing the production of sawmills and plywood mills may mean providing more work, or employment, the Finnish Forest Industries Federation announced a moment later, according to Yle. "The agreement now reached is the best that could be achieved under these conditions." Turja Lehtonen, first vice president of the Industrial Union, was quoted by Yle as saying. According to Lehtonen, work will begin on Monday morning at the latest. On Monday Apple lowered its revenue guidance for this quarter, citing the impact of the coronavirus outbreak in China. The move caught Wall Street investors off guard and wiped out US$43 billion of Apples market value in less than three hours. The companys fears for the effects of the virus and the accompanying uncertainty are widely shared among American businesses, particularly those that have significant exposure to the huge Chinese market. Apple is considered something of a bellwether because of its dependence on China for sales as well as the supply chain for parts and manufacturing. We believe Apple [scaling back its earnings outlook] is the tip of the iceberg. We expect an avalanche of companies to follow suit, said Dan Ives, a New York-based analyst at brokerage firm Wedbush Securities. Still, he added, its too early for many other tech food chain and semiconductor players to warn about guidance midway through the quarter. More than a third of S&P 500 companies that have reported results this year have discussed the coronavirus on their earnings calls, according to the data analytics firm FactSet. But few can pinpoint the impact it might have other than citing a great deal of uncertainty. Walmart, the worlds largest retailer, operates some 430 stores in China. It said on Tuesday that it would continue to monitor the outbreak but was not adjusting its outlook for the year. It added that Chinese sales had not slowed despite the quarantine, as shoppers continued to patronise Walmart outlets for food and other goods. Foreign investors have long known that doing business in China means grappling with an outsize level of ambiguity in a country where transparency is lacking. The countrys capital controls that restrict the flow of money in and out of the country, as well as the opaqueness of the bidding processes involving local governments, are long-standing concerns. Story continues Chinese companies that are listed in the US have also had decade-long conflicts with securities regulators over the paucity of information they are willing to disclose. While Beijing showed its ability to control the daily movement of its tens of millions of people by locking down cities as the scale of the epidemic was becoming apparent, questions remain about whether initial reports on the contagion were prompt and whether official data is authentic. Just in the past few weeks, the official counting method to determine new infections has changed three times, leading to wide swings in numbers and making the charting of data and trends nearly impossible. The disease, which has been officially named Covid-19, was first reported in December and has killed more than 2,200 people and infected nearly 77,000 others worldwide. Tech companies are among those weighing the potential effects of the outbreak. There is significant uncertainty around the impact from the coronavirus on handset demand and supply chain, Akash Palkhiwala, Qualcomms chief financial officer, said this month. Qualcomm, the biggest supplier of chips for mobile phones, is based in San Diego, California, but generates more than 46 per cent of its revenue in China. On February 5, the company said it had limited information to have a comprehensive analysis on the viruss impact. The chief executive of Arizona-based chip maker Microchip Technology, Steve Sanghi, said we are still in the early days of how this situation is playing out. We have no way to model how the rest of the quarter will play out for the coronavirus situation and what the consequent business impact may be, he said on February 4. A Royal Caribbean cruise ship sits docked in Bayonne, New Jersey, on February 7 after more than two dozen passengers were screened for coronavirus. Photo: Christopher Occhicone/Bloomberg Another major company with its supply chain affected by the virus is Amazon, with more than 40 per cent of its sellers estimated to be based in China. The company has asked some suppliers to stockpile on certain products shipped from China, in anticipation of potential supply chain slowdowns caused by the coronavirus outbreak in the region, according to a Business Insider report. The travel industry has been particularly hard hit by the global outbreak. Although cruise-line companies are reluctant to release booking data, some have pointed to a double-digit drop in bookings, according to the American Society of Travel Advisors, an industry group. Norwegian Cruise Lines and Carnival Corporation owner of the Diamond Princess, which was quarantined in Japan amid a ship-wide Covid-19 epidemic have acknowledged the negative impact the coronavirus is likely to have on their businesses in upcoming quarters. Royal Caribbean, which has barred anyone, regardless of nationality, who has been to China, Hong Kong or Macau in the past 15 days from boarding its ships, said: There remains too many variables and uncertainties to reasonably estimate the overall financial impact relating to the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak. Asian carriers including Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines and Qantas are poised to lose about US$27.8 billion in revenue as regional air travel is on course to shrink by 13 per cent, the first downturn since 2003, the International Air Transport Association said on Thursday. As the worlds second-largest economy, however, China will continue to be a key market that major global conglomerates cant afford to ignore. A customer wearing a protective mask leaves a Walmart grocery store in Beijing on February 1. Photo: AP For Apple which earned US$44 billion in revenue in Greater China during the 2019 financial year, mostly from selling iPhones leaving the market is not an option. Lynnette Luna, principal analyst at GlobalData, said that while China was home to much of Apples manufacturing, and Chinese consumers were big buyers of Apple products, the current situation was not a long-term threat. That is not a reason to panic about the worlds supply of Apple products, she said. The slowdown should be a temporary glitch. She added: This slowdown does not mean less demand for Apple products inside of China. It simply delays that demand to later in 2020. Purchase the China AI Report 2020 brought to you by SCMP Research and enjoy a 20% discount (original price US$400). This 60-page all new intelligence report gives you first-hand insights and analysis into the latest industry developments and intelligence about China AI. Get exclusive access to our webinars for continuous learning, and interact with China AI executives in live Q&A. Offer valid until 31 March 2020. More from South China Morning Post: This article Coronavirus compounds the hurdles and uncertainties for global companies doing business in China, as Apple loses US$43 billion in market value first appeared on South China Morning Post For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2020. A three-day session of the Delhi Assembly will begin on Monday, during which newly elected MLAs will take oath and the Speaker will be chosen. According to the schedule, Lt Governor Anil Baijal will address the House on February 25. Sources said Ram Niwas Goel, who was the speaker in the previous assembly, is likely to retain the post. Once the newly-elected legislators take oath, an election to chose the Speaker will take place in the House on Monday. The 7th Delhi Legislative Assembly was recently constituted after the Aam Aadmi Party won 62 seats in the 70-member House. This will be the first session of newly-constituted Delhi Assembly. The BJP won eight seats while the Congress drew a blank in the city polls. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) HENDERSON, Nev. It took four hours on Saturday afternoon to count just 4 percent of the results from the Nevada caucuses. That didnt stop The Associated Press from calling the state for Senator Bernie Sanders, but it did cause a lot of confusion and continued to do so late into the night about why counting caucus results takes so long. Officials with the Nevada Democratic Party and the Democratic National Committee stressed all week that they had gone to school on lessons learned from the bungled Iowa caucuses, when a smartphone app for reporting results crashed and phone lines to report results were jammed for hours. But by 8:30 a.m. Eastern time on Sunday more than 17 hours after Nevadas caucuses began, and 14 hours after most of them closed Nevada Democrats still have only reported results from about half of the states precincts. Here are todays top news, analysis and opinion curated for you at this hour. Know all about the latest news and other news updates from Hindustan Times. As protesters rage in Delhis Jaffrabad over CAA, BJP leader recounts PMs words As the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) Sunday morning shut down the entry and exit of the Jaffrabad station in Northeast Delhi after protesters against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) gathered around the station, BJP leader Kapil Mishra said that PM Modi was right in calling the Shaheen Bagh protest an experiment. Read more From H-1B visas to trade, Congress throws questions at PM Modi ahead of Trump visit India and the US are expected to finalise at least five memoranda of understanding (MoUs) on issues ranging from trade facilitation to homeland security during Trumps visit during February 24-25 alongside some defence deals. Read more MiG 29K aircraft on training sortie crashes near Goa, pilot ejects safely The Navys MiG-29K aircraft, which was on a routine sortie, crashed off the coast of Goa at around 10:30 on Sunday morning. The pilot was able to eject safely. Read more India vs New Zealand: Key man for India - Former New Zealand all-rounder earmarks player for Day 4 Indias ship was steadied by Hanuma Vihari and Ajinkya Rahane after they lost Mayank Agarwal and Virat Kohli in quick succession after Tea. Rahane, who took a blow to his head, looked solid and showed great intent in keeping the scoreboard moving. Read more Kapur wonders how Mogambo would react to Mr India 2, Twitter says Crime Master Gogo can take his legacy forward A day after Sonam Kapoor called out filmmaker Ali Abbas Zafar for not informing Anil Kapoor about his plans to make a Mr India trilogy, the director of the original, Shekhar Kapur, is wondering if there can ever be another Mogambo. Read more No coronavirus has been registered in Morocco since the outbreak of the pandemic in Chinas Wuhan in December. All the Moroccans who were repatriated from the infected area in China left the hospital following a 20 day-quarantine all in good health. They were 167 Moroccans who had to stay in quarantine at hospitals in Meknes and Rabat where their health was closely monitored by specialized medical teams. King Mohammed VI had ordered their repatriation to Morocco and the setting up of measures to prevent the spread of the virus in the country. Moroccos flag carrier RAM suspended its direct flights to Beijing until Feb. 29 because of low demand under the impact of the pandemic. Globally, coronavirus cases are spiking and the World Health Organization warned that the window of opportunity is narrowing to contain the deadly coronavirus. The virus has so far killed at least 2,360 people and infected more than 77,700 people around the world. Most cases have been registered in China where authorities locked down millions of people by imposing quarantine measures on cities, and imposed travel restrictions on more than 700 million people in its bid to stop the virus spread. Two sides have claimed victory in Togo's presidential election as the main challenger to incumbent Faure Gnassingbe cried foul, citing "revelations of fraud". The national electoral commission Ceni has yet to announce results from Saturday's election, which passed off peacefully in the West African nation. But Gilbert Bawara, minister of public functions and a strong supporter of the president, told AFP Sunday: "The lead of President Faure Gnassingbe is well above 50 percent, and even more than 60 percent. "Victory is assured but it is up to the Ceni to independently proclaim the results," he added. "We are optimistic and anticipate a clear victory in the first round" of voting. A source in the president's office added that "UNIR (the ruling party) has held on to all its traditional strongholds and has even done better everywhere, including in difficult areas in the south and in Lome." A widely expected win by the incumbent would extend more than a half century of dynastic rule over the former French colony by Gnassingbe's family despite broad disillusionment over its failure to drag many out of poverty. Agbeyome Kodjo, who was prime minister under Gnassingbe's father, had emerged as a dark horse challenger looking to stop Gnassingbe's bid for a fourth term in office, after winning the backing of an influential former Catholic archbishop. He invited journalists to his home late Saturday to claim a thumping victory for himself while alleging fraud. "Considering the revelations of fraud which marked this ballot, it is impossible for the outgoing candidate to be elected in the first round," Kodjo said, adding that he based his assertion on 60 percent of the results. "I have the conviction that in the coming week, I will lead this country," he said, describing the vote as a "veritable tsunami" in his favour. After voting ended on Saturday, troops briefly surrounded Kodjo's home and that of the former Lome archbishop, Monsignor Philippe Kpodzro, a move the authorities said was for their "own safety". Bawara played down Internet cuts and disruption to social media networks since vote counting began on Saturday, laying blame on mobile telephone operators Togocel and Moov and remarking: "These things happen." Last May, Gnassingbe oversaw an overhaul of the constitution that allowed him to run this year -- and potentially remain in office until 2030. By PIUS UTOMI EKPEI (AFP) Kodjo claimed the authorities had used ballot stuffing to skew the results in the incumbent's favour. He said figures from various polling stations showed he was in the lead in the capital Lome and the coastal region and had "good scores" in other areas. The election commission has promised to release the official results on Monday. Situation calm Gnassingbe has led the country of eight million people since taking over in 2005 following the death of his father Gnassingbe Eyadema, who ruled with an iron fist for 38 years. The situation around Lome was calm Sunday morning, an AFP journalist reported. Internet connections appeared to be sporadically interrupted however. The authorities banned hundreds of local observers from monitoring the election and cancelled the system of electronic security at the last moment. If President Gnassingbe fails to win an outright majority, the vote will go to a second round. By PIUS UTOMI EKPEI (AFP) Some 300 international observers were deployed, mainly from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union, with many African states supporting the incumbent. Six opposition challengers have suggested they will unite against Gnassingbe if he fails to win an outright majority and the election goes to a second round. In 2017 and 2018, Togolese authorities faced major protests demanding an end to the family's five-decade rule. Despite economic growth of around five percent, around half of Togo lives on less than $1.90 per day. But the demonstrations faded in the face of government repression and squabbles among the opposition. In May, Gnassingbe oversaw an overhaul of the constitution that allowed him to run this year -- and potentially remain in office until 2030. Stability and security are central to the president's message as jihadist violence rocks northern neighbour Burkina Faso. Togo has so far managed to prevent the bloodshed spilling over and its army and intelligence service are considered to be among the most effective in the region. Washington: Bernie Sanders is on the verge of running away with the Democratic Party's presidential nomination after the self-declared democratic socialist crushed his opponents in the Nevada caucuses. Sanders' victory in Nevada followed a win in New Hampshire primary and virtual tie in Iowa earlier this month, confirming his status as the clear frontrunner in the race. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders celebrates his Nevada result with his wife Jane, at a campaign event in San Antonio. Credit:AP With polls showing the 78-year-old ahead in electorally-powerful states such as California and Texas, it is becoming increasingly possible he will have the nomination locked down by Super Tuesday on March 3. NBC News declared Sanders the winner in Nevada early on Saturday night (Sunday AEDT) with just 4 per cent of the results counted, projecting that he would win twice as many votes as his nearest rival. Two men have been shot, one of them fatally, at an alleged illegal cockfighting event. The incident occurred early in the morning on Feb. 22 at approximately 12:30 a.m. when police responded to a reported shooting in a residential area in Pacoima, a neighborhood in northern Los Angeles, California, according to ABC News' Los Angeles station KABC. When police arrived to the scene they found a man in his 20s, who currently remains unidentified, had been shot and killed. MORE: Pit bull attack on elderly woman may have uncovered illegal dog fighting ring PHOTO: One man was shot and another killed at approximately 12:30 a.m. on Feb. 22 in the Pacoima neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, where police suspect the shooting took place at an illegal cockfighting event. (ABC News/KABC) MORE: 88-year-old veteran rescues girl from pit bull attack using lawn ornament Authorities also discovered another man had been shot and he was transported to a local area hospital in stable condition. His identity was not immediately disclosed. Police were not able to locate the suspected shooter and that individual is currently at large. Authorities did not immediately release a description of the suspect. It is unclear if the shooting happened at a residence but evidence at the scene of the crime indicate that an illegal cockfighting event may have been taking place. The motive for the shooting still remains unknown. The police investigation is currently ongoing. 1 man shot, another killed at suspected illegal cockfighting event originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Express News Service By NEW DELHI: Days ahead of US President Donald Trumps visit to India, the White House on Friday said that the president is encouraging cooling of tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad and that dialogue was possible between the two countries only Pakistan acts on terrorists and extremists on its soil. I think what you will hear from the President is very much encouraging a reduction in tensions between India and Pakistan, encouraging the two countries to engage in bilateral dialogue with each other to resolve their differences, a senior White House administration official said. Police at Sardar Patel Stadium that will host Namaste Trump event. (Photo | PTI) Trump, accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump and 12-member delegation will be visiting India for a two-day trip from Monday. Stating that the core foundation of a successful dialogue between India and Pakistan is based on Islamabads efforts against terrorists, the senior official said, I think the president will urge both countries to seek to maintain peace and stability along the Line of Control (LoC) and refrain from actions or statements that could increase tensions in the region. Responding to a question on the Afghanistan peace process, the official said the United States would just encourage India, as it does with regional countries, to do whatever it can to support this peace process so that it can be successful and can potentially end 19 years of military, diplomatic, economic engagement. You know, that we can end the military engagement. We will be continuing our diplomatic and economic engagement, which has been there over the last 19 years. But we certainly would look to India to support this peace process - an important country in the region, important to the overall stability of the region. So I think if the issue comes up, that is what would be the request from the president, the official said. Indo-US contentious points H1-B visa regulation changes No finalization of trade deal after three years of negotiations Higher import tariffs Washington unhappy about purchase of Russian missile system by India Where they see eye-to-eye US calls India as the pillar of the Indo-Pacific concept. Cooperation in fields of space technology. Civil nuclear cooperation. Common viewpoints on global and regional issues like terror. T he Royal British Legion and the Government are calling for all those who contributed to the Second World War effort to take part in events celebrating the 75th anniversary of VE Day. A raft of plans have been drawn up to mark the occasion, including a display by the Red Arrows and a Battle of Britain memorial flight above Buckingham Palace. The Government had already announced that the traditional early May bank holiday will be moved from Monday May 4 to Friday May 8 to celebrate the anniversary. The RBL is looking for all members of the Second World War generation, including those who served on the Home Front and in the emergency services, to take part in the events that will celebrate their role. 1944 D-Day Landings - In pictures 1 /86 1944 D-Day Landings - In pictures 6th June 1944 Canadian soldiers land on Courseulles beach in Normandy, as Allied forces storm the Normandy beaches AFP/Getty Images 6th June 1944 Paratroopers of the Allied land on La Manche coast after Allied forces stormed the Normandy beaches during D-Day AFP/Getty Images 6th June 1944 US Army troops wading ashore at Omaha Beach in north-western France during the D-Day invasion AFP/Getty Images 6th June 1944 Troops from the 48th Royal Marines at Saint-Aubin-sur-mer on Juno Beach, Normandy, France, during the D-Day landings Getty Images 6th June 1944 Soldiers of the Allied Expeditionnary Corps arrive on a beach after Allied forces stormed the Normandy beaches during D-Day AFP/Getty Images 6th June 1944 US troops landing in northern France on D-Day Getty Images 6th June 1944 The first tanks entering the Sword Beach, near Ouistreham during the Normandy landing, France AFP/Getty Images 6th June 1944 Soldiers of a French commando arrive after Allied forces stormed the Normandy beaches AFP/Getty Images 6th June 1944 US Army troops seen marching through the streets of an embarkation port on the coast of England on their way over to Normandy, France Getty Images 6th June 1944 British soldiers of the RAMC (Royal Army Medical Corps) in France on D-Day Getty Images 6th June 1944 British troops on their way to Normandy to take part in the D-Day landings Getty Images 6th June 1944 American assault troops wading ashore on Omaha beachhead in Normandy Getty Images 6th June 1944 A 'Rhino' barge unloads its cargo onto a French beach Getty Images 6th June 1944 One of the first pictures of the D-Day landings in Normandy, showing US jeeps and men landing on the French coast Getty Images 6th June 1944 Allied troops disembark from landing crafts during D-Day after Allied forces stormed the Normandy beaches AFP/Getty Images 6th June 1944 American troops with their equipment boarding a landing craft ready for embarkation to France Getty Images 6th June 1944 American troops landed on Normandy beaches (north-west of France), to come as reinforcements during the historic D-Day AFP/Getty Images 6th June 1944 Troops of the Canadian 3rd Division, leaving their ship with their bicycles, at Juno beach along the coast of Normandy, France on D-Day Getty Images 6th June 1944 American soldiers on an invasion craft during the D-Day landings Getty Images 6th June 1944 Survivors from a landing craft which sank off Omaha Beach, Normandy, come safely ashore on a life raft Getty Images 6th June 1944 American soldiers on a landing craft on their way to the Normandy beaches, during the invasion of Europe Getty Images 6th June 1944 A convoy of Allied landing craft, protected by barrage balloons, crosses the English Channel on its way to France during the Normandy Landings, World War II Getty Images 6th June 1944 American troops, who have just landed in France, take a breather before moving further inland Getty Images 6th June 1944 US troops in landing craft, during the D-Day landings Getty Images 6th June 1944 Bombs are unloaded from a Norwegian merchant ship onto an American amphibious landing craft during the Invasion of Normandy by allied forces Getty Images 6th June 1944 A landing craft bound for Normandy Getty Images 6th June 1944 British commandos who landed in Normandy on 6th June set out to capture a Nazi gun site, which is protected by enemy snipers Getty Images 6th June 1944 Canadian soldiers from 9th Brigade land with their bicycles at Juno Beach in Bernieres-sur-Mer during D-Day while Allied forces are storming the Normandy beaches. AFP/Getty Images June 1944 Troops passing by the Cafe Gondree, in Benouville, Calvados during the Normandy landing, France AFP/Getty Images June 1944 In France, British soldiers inspect three German 'Doodlebugs' (known as 'Goliath' in Germany) - remote controlled tanks, loaded with high explosives Getty Images June 1944 American troop reinforcements embarking from a British port for the US beach heads in Normandy include Ernest Barker of Texas who carries his guitar into battle Getty Images June 1944 German soldiers are seen here being marched through the streets of Cherbourg, France, after the city was liberated by the Americans Getty Images 7th June 1944 A landing craft approaching the Northern Coast of France with American soldiers on board ready to join the fighting during the Allied invasion of France Getty Images 7th June 1944 American assault troops and equipment landing on Omaha beach on the Northern coast of France, the smoke in the background is from naval gunfire supporting the attack Getty Images 7th June 1944 Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, General Dwight D. Eisenhower (L) shows the strain of his command as he and Britain's Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery (R), his deputy commander, confer on the invasion plans of Normandy in an unknown location in June 1944 after Allied forces stormed the Normandy beaches on D-Day. D-Day AFP/Getty Images 7th June 1944 Soldiers try to flush out a German sniper located in a church in the centre of Sainte Mere Eglise, after the Normandy town's liberation Getty Images 7th June 1944 Bomber crews of the US Ninth Airforce leave their B26 Marauder aircraft after returning from a mission to support the D-Day landings in Normandy by disrupting German lines of communication and supply Getty Images 8th June 1944 British soldiers cross the village of Douet, after the town of Bayeux fell, after Allied forces stormed the Normandy beaches AFP/Getty Images 8th June 1944 American paratroopers moving cautiously through a churchyard at St Marcouf, after successfully landing in France, during the Allied invasion Getty Images An American GI asleep in a trench in Normandy Getty Images 8th June 1944 Allied soldiers meet a herd of cows, as they make their way through the Normandy country in June 1944, a few days after the allied troops landed on Normandy beaches (north-west of France), to come as reinforcements during the historic D-Day, 06 June 1944, during WWII. AFP/Getty Images 9th June 1944 American troops advance over the crest of a concrete sea wall after the successful landings on Utah Beach in Normandy, France, whilst comrades shelter below. Getty Images 10th June 1944 A man lights British Prime minister Winston Churchill's cigar (2dR) when he arrived in Cherbourg 10 June 1944, a few days before the allied troops landing on Normandy beaches (north-west of France), to come as reinforcements during the historic D-Day, 06 June 1944, during WW2. Right is American general Cecil Moore. AFP/Getty Images 13th June 1944 Americans pass through devastated Valognes, on their way towards Cherbourg Getty Images 14th June 1944 British army reinforcements enjoying a cup of tea before leaving for France Getty Images 14th June 1944 American soldiers waist deep in water with a lifeline helping to rescue other Americans from a sinking landing craft which was hit by enemy fire during the landings of the North Coast in France Getty Images 14th June 1944 Reinforcements disembark from a landing craft, aboard a Bren Gun Carrier newly arrived in Normandy from Britain Getty Images 14th June 1944 Members of the Allied Invasion Force keeping watch from fox holes dug in the beachhead, while fresh troops and equipment continue to be landed Getty Images 22nd June 1944 Mrs M Hale, whose husband is fighting in France, spends the day giving troops tea and refreshments in the road before her house, and entertaining them with accordion music Getty Images July 1944 War correspondents being briefed on board ship, during the US 3rd Army landing in France Getty Images July 1944 Winston Churchill (L) looking at a map with field Marshal Montgomery (R), as general Brooke looks on, after the success of the Overlord operation in Normandy AFP/Getty Images July 1944 Flt. Lieut. R.G. GENT and FO. R. Kemp being interrogated on their return from a flight over enemy held territory. Getty Images 14th July 1944 A little French girl lays a wreath on the grave of a British soldier who fell on D-Day, during the Bastille celebrations in liberated Courseulles, France Getty Images 14th July 1944 Fleets of US transport and landing craft disgorge reinforcements and supplies for the US troops who liberated the Contentin peninsula, the deep-water port of Cherbourg and the communication centre of La Haye du Puits. Barrage balloons float overhead as protection against German strafing aeroplanes, which did not appear Getty Images 23rd July 1944 Winston Churchill, Sir Miles Dempsey, British 2nd Army commandant, and British general Marshal Bernard Montgomery visit destroyed city of Caen, after Allied forces stormed the Normandy beaches on D-Day. AFP/Getty Images American howitzers shell German forces retreating near Carentan Getty Images Parachutes fill the sky after the 12th Air Force Troop Carrier Air Division C-47s drop Allied soldiers and supplies over the beachhead between Marseilles and Nice, during the Allied Invasion of France Getty Images 9th August 1944 US infantrymen make their way past a wrecked German truck on the way to Avranches during the Allied invasion of Normandy Getty Images 9th August 1944 American infantrymen take aim at sniper positionsduring the house-to-house fighting in Saint-Malo, two months after the allied troops landed on Normandy beaches (north-west of France) AFP/Getty Images 21st August 1944 Members of the French Forces of the Interior are given rifles from a salvage pile of equipment Getty Images 26th August 1944 An American GI scouts the streets of newly-liberated Paris for enemy snipers, while two red cross nurses pass in front of him with a flag Getty Images August 1944 A soldier of the Second French Armoured Division marches a group of German soldiers, captured in Paris, past the Arc de Triomphe. The French Tricolour flies overhead Getty Images August 1944 Guarded by the French police, German prisoners march through the streets of liberated Paris on their way to a POW camp. Paris was liberated on 25th August 1944 Getty Images August 1944 Parisians parading through the streets with banners, in celebration after the liberation of the French capital by the Allies. Getty Images August 1944 American soldiers kneel in homage at the graves of their dead comrades near Sainte Mere Eglise Getty Images Applications are also open for Allied Forces, the Commonwealth, descendants and child evacuees to take centre stage at the commemorations in London, including a procession down The Mall. Veterans are also invited to a service of thanksgiving held at Westminster Abbey while street parties are expected to be held across the country. Meanwhile St Jamess Park will be turned into Victory Park, featuring examples of what life in Britain was like during the war. It has been also confirmed Winston Churchills famous victory speech announcing the end of war will be broadcast in public spaces across the country at 3pm. Victory in Europe (VE) Day on May 8 1945 marked the formal acceptance of Nazi Germanys unconditional surrender by Britain and its Allies following almost six years of brutal warfare during the Second World War. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the anniversary marks a historic moment for our great country to come together and reflect on the heroes of the Second World War. Other events include a Service of Remembrance and parade in Cardiff and a veterans parade and concert in Edinburgh. Bernie Sanders has won Nevada's presidential primary election and pulled further away from his moderate rivals after strong showings in Iowa and New Hampshire. The 78-year-old, a self-described socialist, cemented his position as the Democratic frontrunner with support from the state's large Latino community. Mr Sanders left Nevada earlier on Saturday to rally supporters in El Paso, Texas, where he told the crowd US President Donald Trump was "a pathological liar running a corrupt administration". "When we come together there is nothing we can't accomplish," Mr Sanders added. The win builds on the Vermont senator's triumph in New Hampshire's primary earlier this month, which followed his provisional tie for first with Pete Buttigieg in Iowa. Nevada's population, which aligns more with the US as a whole than the opening elections in Iowa and New Hampshire, is 29 per cent Latino, 10pc black and 9pc Asian American and Pacific Islander. The vote comes at a critical moment for the Democratic Party as half dozen more moderate candidates savage one another for the chance to emerge as the preferred alternative to Mr Sanders. Those battling it out are searching for the momentum that will come with being one of the top candidates heading into South Carolina next and then Super Tuesday on March 3, though Mr Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden trail far behind Mr Sanders. The ultimate winner will represent Democrats on the ballot against Mr Trump in November with the White House incumbent not facing a contest in Nevada for his party's nomination. The Uttar Pradesh Police on Sunday said the anti-noise pollution helpline -- 112 -- received over 4,000 calls in a week. "490 calls were received for noise pollution where the police had to visit more than one time while a total of 4,669 calls were received by the headquarters of anti-noise pollution helpline -- 112 in a week," said the state police in a press note. The state police had launched a helpline on February 15 for the students on which they can lodge a complaint if they are disturbed by unwanted noise such as loud music during their examinations. According to the press note, Ghaziabad topped the list in the NCR areas where the police had to visit more than one time to stop the noise. The police received 23 calls from Ghaziabad and 16 calls from Gautam Budh Nagar regarding the noise and had to visit the site many times. While 17 calls were received from Kanpur and 14 calls from Agra where the police had to visit two times at 10 places, three times at two places and four times at one place to stop the noise. Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Asim Arun has thanked the residents for supporting the anti-noise pollution drive in the state. "I thank all the people who helped us in anti-noise pollution drive," said Arun. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Photo: The Canadian Press A man wears a face mask as he rides a bicycle along a mostly empty street in Beijing, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020. South Korea on Saturday reported an eight-fold jump in viral infections in four days to 433, most of them linked to a church and a hospital in and around the country's fourth-largest city, where health workers scrambled to screen thousands of worshipers. South Korea and China both reported a rise in new virus cases on Sunday, as the South Korean prime minister warned that the fast-spreading outbreak linked to a local church and a hospital in the country's southeast had entered a more grave stage." Some virus clusters have shown no direct link to travel to China. The death toll in Iran climbed to six, the highest outside China, and a dozen towns in northern Italy effectively went into lockdown as authorities tested hundreds of people who came into contact with an estimated 79 confirmed cases there. Two people have died in Italy. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that 113 of the 120 new cases were reported in the fourth-largest city of Daegu and surrounding areas. The agency said 70 of them are linked to a branch of the Shincheonji church in Daegu, which has become the biggest cluster of viral infections in the country, which now has a total of 556 cases. Daegu Mayor Kwon Yong-jin told reporters that 247 residents had tested positive for the virus since the city confirmed its first case on Feb. 18. That first patient is a Shincheonji church member in Daegu who has no recent record of overseas travel. Officials said she attended church services and visited other places before being diagnosed with the disease, but they still believe its unlikely that the woman set off the chain of infections. Kwon said there are concerns that the number of those infected in Daegu could see yet another massive increase because authorities were launching intensive examinations of church members with virus-related symptoms. More than 9,000 worshipers were being tested. Downtown Daegu was mostly deserted with shelves at some supermarkets and stores empty. Many restaurants, bars, real-estate offices and tour agencies have shut down as traffic nosedived and people stayed home, ordering food and supplies online. Mainland China reported 648 new infections for a total of 76,936. The daily death toll fell slightly to 97. In all, 2,442 people have died in the country from COVID-19. The number of new Chinese cases has seesawed daily but remained under 1,000 for the past four days. Several changes to how the infections are counted, however, have made it difficult to draw conclusions from the figures. The central Chinese city of Wuhan and other parts of Hubei province, where the outbreak first emerged in December, remain under lockdown. More than 80% of the country's cases are in Hubei, where the death toll has also been higher than in the rest of the nation. China's Politburo, made up of senior officials of the ruling Communist Party, cautioned Friday that while the epidemic has been "preliminarily contained," the country has yet to see a turning point. Officials signalled that regular activities should gradually resume after the virus prompted an extension of last month's Lunar New Year holiday. Many workplaces have opted to have their employees work remotely, and schools are conducting online classes. In Beijing, most residential communities have implemented "closed management," limiting the number of people per household who can go in and out using exit-entry cards and requiring those just returning to the Chinese capital to isolate themselves at home for 14 days. A cluster of infections was reported out of Beijing's Fuxing Hospital. The facility, which has 34 confirmed cases, has been closed off to protect the surrounding community, said a statement from Xicheng district authorities. More than 500 cases also have been found in prisons across the country. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said a male patient hospitalized at Cheongdo city, near Daegu, died on Sunday, the country's fourth fatality. He was believed to be 57 years old but no other details on him were made available. On Saturday night, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said in a nationally televised address that the virus outbreak had entered a more grave stage and repeated the government is making all-out efforts to contain the further spread of the disease. Chung also said his government will sternly deal with any acts that hamper national quarantine efforts. Globally, more than 78,000 people have been infected in 29 countries. Israel, which has reported one case, turned back a South Korean airliner with most of its passengers after it landed at the countrys Ben Gurion airport Saturday evening. Twelve Israelis on board were evacuated and quarantined while the plane was taxied away from the allotted terminal, Israeli media reported. At least five people, including a Class X student and an elderly woman, were injured after being attacked by a wild boar in a village here, police said. The incident happened in Tandeda village under Kakroli police station limits of the district on Saturday, they said. The boar is said to have entered the village from a nearby jungle and attacked several people. The injured were identified as Manish (16), Jumerati (55), Indervir Singh, Shahnawaz and Nyaju. All of them received treatment. Later, the boar returned to the jungle. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Among the thousands of American Indians who served in World War II, two deserve special recognition for their shared exploits atop Mount Suribachi during the battle to capture Iwo Jima, the Japanese stronghold in the South Pacific. Both were 18-year-old Marines. One Ira Hamilton Hayes, applauded as a hero, achieved fame; the other Louis Charles Charlo, a true hero, became lost to history. Ira Hayes is known thanks to his role in helping raise the American flag atop Mount Suribachi, the dramatic moment captured in Joe Rosenthals celebrated photograph. Although acclaimed a hero, the Pima Marine felt he had done nothing heroic. "How could I feel like a hero, he lamented, when only five men in my platoon of 45 survived, when only 27 men in my company of 250 managed to escape death or injury?" After the war, Hayes attempted to lead an anonymous life on the Pima reservation, but it was impossible. Suffering from PTSD, alcohol became his only escape. He died of exposure in January 1955 at the age of 33, just 10 weeks after attending the dedication ceremony in Washington, D.C., for the Iwo Jima Memorial, the bronze cast replica of the photograph that had caused him so much torment. In truth, the stirring Rosenthal photograph documents what was the second flag raising atop Mount Suribachi on Feb. 23, 1945. Marine Private Louis Charlo, a member of the Bitterroot Salish Tribe of Montana, had a key role in the first flag-raising. Iwo Jima, one of the Japanese home islands, witnessed some of the fiercest fighting in the Pacific campaign. On the fourth day of the campaign, the Marines sent two patrols to the summit of 546-foot-high Mount Suribachi in an effort to determine how many Japanese still held out in the islands maze of caves and tunnels. Private Charlo, a BAR man with F Company of the 28th Regiment of the 5th Marine Division, accompanied one of the patrols. After encountering no resistance, his patrol returned to their platoon and then led the group of about 40 Marines back up the mountain, where a 20-foot piece of pipe was found. To it they lashed a flag taken from the USS Missoula. As they raised the flag, Louis R. Lowery of Leatherneck Magazine snapped a photograph. According to the official Marine Corps account of this first flag-raising, Louis Charlo was one of the men in the photo. Decades later, another Marine disputed the claim and the Marine Corps accepted the challenge. Nonetheless, as other photos of the event document, Private Charlo was with the first flag-raisers. The day of the flag-raising Chaplain Charles Suver of the Society of Jesus, held a mass atop Suribachi. In a photo taken during the mass, Private Charlo is seen kneeling near the priest. On March 2, less than a week later, he was killed attempting to rescue Private Ed McLaughlin, a wounded comrade stranded in an area of the Iwo Jima battlefield known as the Meat Grinder. According to his platoon leader, Chuck was carrying McLaughlin on his back when Japanese snipers killed them both just a few feet from safety. Although Charlo deserved a medal for heroism, the only award he received was the Purple Heart. According to General Robert Neller, commandant of the Marine Corps, writing on Aug. 21, 2016, There is no record of any medal being submitted or awarded, ... [but] I cant emphasize enough that our Corps considers him a hero. He was part of one of the most brutal battles of World War II and gave everything for his Corps and country. Dr. Herman J. Viola is a curator emeritus at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 In the 1860s, British writer Lewis Carroll wrote a famous book based on a story he told to Alice Liddell, the little daughter of his friends, about a fantastical underground world. While the booklet Melbirds is not Alices Adventures in Wonderland, it does document some weird and wonderful real-life creatures birds commonly seen around Melbourne. What's that bird? Audra Coxhill, 7, with Melbirds authors Cindy Hauser and Michael Livingston at Trin Warren Tam-boore wetland in Royal Park. Credit:Luis Enrique Ascui And it was also inspired by a little girl, Audra Coxhill, of Brunswick East. In May 2018, Audra wanted a book on local birds for her sixth birthday so family friends, academic Michael Livingston and his scientist wife Cindy Hauser, made her one. MEDINA, Ohio -- This years Black History Month celebration in Medina saluted African-American veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces. On Thursday (Feb. 20), the American Association of University Women-Medina County Branch, Second Baptist Church and Fellowship Baptist Church celebrated black history at Second Baptist Church, 451 Bronson St. A Salute to Black Veterans, The Fight For Freedom began with a welcome by Kimberly Oliver, AAUW Diversity Chair and Mistress of Ceremony. After an invocation by the Rev. John Peterson of Fellowship Baptist Church, the Honor Guard of Medina VFW Post 5137 presented the colors, followed by Lift Evry Voice and Sing sung by the Medina Black History Community Choir. A poem titled Obituary, written by a black soldier, was read by Senesa Peterson. AAUW member Kathy Kraus, dressed in a Union Army uniform, dramatically recited a vignette from the movie Glory. The McAfee family of Medina shared paintings of black soldiers by artist William Henry Johnson. (Mary Jane Brewer, special to cleveland.com) Various members of the audience, some of them veterans, read short prayers before battle, while the audience clapped and chanted Lord, Lord, Lord. The next speaker, Allison Lee, told the story of the 6888th Battalion, an all-African-American, all-female unit sent overseas during World War II, where they kept mail flowing to 7 million soldiers. When they arrived in England in February 1945, they found warehouses crammed with two years worth of undelivered mail and packages. They worked seven days a week in unheated warehouses, and sorted and delivered the backlog in just three months. The choir from Claggett Middle School sang two songs America and a delightful medley of patriotic pieces. They were followed by a salute to the Tuskegee Airmen by Alanna Arnold, AAUW president. The Medina Black History Community Choir then sang the verses of The Battle Hymn of the Republic, while the congregation joined in with the chorus. The walls of the church were lined with posters featuring pictures of black Medina County veterans from World War II to the present. One poster showed paintings by William Henry Johnson, a black artist who sometimes painted African-American soldiers; more than 1,000 of his paintings are owned by the Smithsonian Institute. The McAfee family of Medina is related to the artist. Mayor Dennis Hanwell spoke briefly to thank the presenters and the 150 guests. The Rev. Arthur Ruffin of Second Baptist Church offered a closing prayer, after which many of the guests enjoyed refreshments. Read more from the Medina Sun. Eighteen South Koreans who recently made a group pilgrimage to Israel have been confirmed to be infected with the new coronavirus, the health authorities said Sunday. According to the authorities, 18 out of the 39 Catholic pilgrims tested positive for the COVID-19 virus the previous day. Most of the pilgrims are from North Gyeongsang Province, the southeastern region of the country that has reported the most new cases. They went to Israel on Feb. 8 and returned home on Feb. 16, while their tour guide is living in the capital city of Seoul. The health authorities said they are closely examining the transmission route of the patients and strengthening the monitoring of all the members to prevent further infections. Moreover, 37 people from Jeju Island made a separate pilgrimage to Israel from Feb. 11-21, according to the authorities. One of them is being checked for the virus after complaining of symptoms of the coronavirus. Consequently, the Catholic Times, the Daegu-based religious newspaper that arranged the pilgrimage tour, said it has shut down its offices in Seoul and Daegu and put all its employees under quarantine. Also, the Catholic diocese of Andong that covers more than half of North Gyeongsang Province has decided to shut down 40 churches under its jurisdiction and suspend all masses, meetings and events for three weeks. Meanwhile, the Israeli government has banned South Koreans from entering the country out of fear over the spread of the highly contagious virus. So far, South Korea has reported a total of 556 coronavirus infections, with four deaths from the novel virus. (Yonhap) Whether it be private chats leaked, or mass lynchings in India or Telegram founder Pavel Durovs statement on its end-to-end encryption, the Facebook-owned messaging app has seen it all. WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging apps in the world. It has a user base of 2 billion worldwide and it is likely by people from across age groups for its ever growing set of features and its ease of use. In the past couple of years, this popular messaging app has been at the centre of many controversies. Whether it be private chats leaked, or mass lynchings in India or Telegram founder Pavel Durov's statement on its end-to-end encryption, the Facebook-owned messaging app has seen it all. So, here are top controversies that WhatsApp has been a part of recently: Jeff Bezos account hack Perhaps one the biggest controversy ever faced by WhatsApp is the hacking of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' account allegedly by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. In May 2018, Bezos got a video on WhatsApp. The Amazon CEO has said that the MP4 clip allegedly contained malware that began siphoning off data from his iPhone. According to reports, the clip was sent from an account allegedly belonging to the Saudi Crown Prince. The Saudi government has denied all the allegations as falsehood though. The malware then proceeded to exfiltrate the data from his device. This was brought to light when journalist Jamal Khassogi's murder case was being presented in the United Nations. ALSO READ: Your private WhatsApp group chats are on Google search and Facebook knows about it Telegram founder calls WhatsApp dangerous Telegram's founder Pavel Durov in a blog post titled 'Why Using WhatsApp is Dangerous' said backdoor bugs leave any and all data on smartphones exposed and accessible to hackers, and in such a case there is no use of end-to-end encryption. In the post, he had also written that a WhatsApp backdoor allowed hackers to access all data on any phone that had the app installed and running. ALSO READ: What to do if your WhatsApp account gets temporarily blocked WhatsApp group chats data on Google This is the most recent controversy in which the messaging app has landed itself in. According to a report published by Vice, Google is apparently indexing invite links to WhatsApp group chats whose admins would choose to be private. This basically means that anybody with a basic search on Google can find and join a good range of chats on WhatsApp groups. A WhatsApp spokesperson in a statement said that group invite links that are posted publicly can be found by other WhatsApp users. "Group admins in WhatsApp groups are able to invite any WhatsApp user to join that group by sharing a link that they have generated. Like all content that is shared in searchable, public channels, invite links that are posted publicly on the internet can be found by other WhatsApp users. Links that users wish to share privately with people they know and trust should not be posted on a publicly accessible website." a WhatsApp spokesperson said in a statement. Gods Glory-Power: Our Righteous Boast By Margaret D. Mitchell "Your right hand, O Lord, is glorious in power; Your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy (Ex 15:6 AMPC). "You crushed the strongholds of Egypt and all your enemies were scattered at the mighty display of your glory-power (Ps 89:10 TPT). "You ask, 'Who is this King of Glory?' He is the Lord of Victory, armed and ready for battle, the Mighty One, the invincible commander of heavens hosts! Yes, he is the King of Glory (Ps 24:10 TPT)! 1 Chronicles 29:11 NLT declares, "Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yoursand this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things." Psalm 93:1 TPT says, Look! Yahweh now reigns as King! He has covered himself with majesty and strength, wearing them as his splendor-garments. Regal power surrounds him as he sits securely on his throne. Hes in charge of it all, the entire world, and he knows what hes doing! Friends, arent you glad that mighty God is head over all, that He knows what Hes doing and that Hes for us? We can trust our Lord, Adonai, Sovereign and Master over the universe as He works His master plan of fulfillment. As His masterpieces, God has "delegated to [us] mastery over all [He has] made, everything subservient to [our] authority, placing earth itself under the feet of [His] image-bearers" (Ps 8:6). Mastery is a type of Godly power. With this comes reverential responsibility. First to Glorious God. To His important Presence and mighty acts. We are to consult Him and give thanks for who He is and what He does. He is the "Commander of Angel Armiesour "crown of glory and a diadem of beauty for the remnant of his people" (Is 28:5). He empowers us by giving us everything we need. He deserves all the credit (credit being a type of glory), as well as honor and praise, lest we think we accomplished great exploits all on our own (Eph 2:9, 3:7). 1 Corinthians 10:31 TPT instructs us to "...live your life in a way that glorifies and honors God." To do this, we must acknowledge our Hope of Glory, which is Jesus. "Living within you is the Christ who floods you with the expectation of glory! This mystery of Christ, embedded within us, becomes a heavenly treasure chest of hope filled with the riches of glory for his people, and God wants everyone to know it" (Col 1:27)! Strongs Concordance defines glory in Colossians 1:27 as the unspoken manifestation of God. This divine glory in us also encompasses Gods approval, which determines our value, as well as His excellence, dignity, splendor, honor, and brightness. We can trust and be confident in this, according to Gods Word. 2 Corinthians 3:18 TPT reveals, "We can all draw close to him with the veil removed from our faces. And with no veil, we all become like mirrors who brightly reflect the glory of the Lord Jesus. We are being transfigured into his very image, as we move from one brighter level of glory to another. And this glorious transfiguration comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." As God leads and grows us from glory to glory, we realize Gods beauty and strength increases in our soul. In this way, there is a completion element in glory. Completion means: integration, perfection, fruition, and fulfillment. So, when we master one level or area of growth, by submission to the Master (Adonai), weve completed that portion. Then God moves us onward to the next glory, until we complete our race on earth and receive our glorified bodies for Heaven. If youve been suffering through tests and trials, know that Gods glory will be with you throughout, and that His glory will also be your completion. In other words, your story will end in glory. So, dont give up. Walk closely with God, who is never defeated. Remain in His glory. God will help you finish your race victoriously. Proverbs 4:9 TPT assures us that, "You will be adorned with beauty and grace, and wisdoms glory will wrap itself around you, making you victorious in the race." When we put on Christ, who is our royal diadem, our crown of glory, we put on His victory of life, the finished work of the cross (Gal 3:27). Remember, too, that God glorifies us to bring Himself glory. Isaiah 55:5 TPT affirms this by saying, "Look! You will summon nations you've never heard of. Nations, who have never heard of you, will come running to follow you because Yahweh, your God, the Holy One of Israel, has glorified you!" Never forget that Gods glory is in and around youHis redeemed and beloved. Psalms 62:7 TPT declares, "Gods glory is all around me! His wrap-around presence is all I need, for the Lord is my Savior, my hero, and my life-giving strength." Zechariah 2:5 AMP confirms this by saying, "'For I,' declares the Lord, 'will be a wall of fire around her [protecting her from enemies], and I will be the glory in her midst.'" Proverbs 31:25 TPT says, "Bold power and glorious majesty are wrapped around her, as she laughs with joy over the latter days." Bible characters like Esther, Joseph and David understood Gods glory-power, as protective armor and influence. They glorified God by acknowledging who He is, by seeking Him, by depending upon Him, and magnifying Him above their life-or-death circumstances, even beyond themselves. Each had a nation to consider. Each endured suffering to discover a glorious, new life with a noble promotion. We can do the same when we lean into the nobility of trustworthy God, to live lives that bring Him glory (Ps 29:1). Song of Songs 5:14 TPT invites us to, "See how his hands hold unlimited powerdisplaying his glory. His innermost place is a work of artso beautiful and bright. How magnificent and noble is this onecovered in majesty!" Pray with me if you will Dear Lord, your power and presence shines on all your lovers. Your glory always hovers over all who bow low before you (Ps 85:9). Thank You for giving me moral power, and excellence in my soul. Thank You for enabling me to carry this glorious treasure within me, so that the extraordinary overflow of power, will be seen as Yours, not mine (2 Cor 4:7). I repent of every time I misused Your glory, and boasted about myself or others, in an ungodly way (Jer 9:23). Please forgive me. I choose to forgive myself. I renounce this wrong behavior. And, I command evil to go. I close the door on evil. Show me a higher way, Lord. Help me to bring You glory in everything I do (2 Cor 10:17). Help me to know and understand You [personally and practically, directly discerning and recognizing Your character], that You are the Lord, Who practices loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things, You delight (Jer 9:24). "Thank You for letting me share in the wealth and beauty of all your lovers, rejoicing with Your nation in all their joys, and for letting me share in the glory You give to Your chosen ones" (Ps 106:5). I look forward to seeing the Son of Man, appearing in the midst of clouds, and revealed with mighty power, and great glory" (Mk 13:26). In Jesus Mighty Name. Amen. And now I pray that God would unveil within you the unlimited riches of his glory and favor until supernatural strength floods your innermost being with his divine might and explosive power (Eph 3:16 TPT). "[so that you can know and understand] what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for you who believe as demonstrated in the working of His mighty strength, which God exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His [own] right hand in the heavenly [places]. (Eph 1:19-20 AMPC). I pray that you would be energized with all his explosive power from the realm of his magnificent glory, filling you with great hope" (Col 1:11 TPT). I pray that He will "rescue you every time you face tribulation and set you free from evil. For God is the King, who rules with power and glory forever (Matt 6:13 TPT). I pray that you will "proclaim his majesty, all you mighty champions, you daughters of Almighty God, giving all the glory and strength back to him" (Ps 29:1, Is 24:16)! In Jesus Glorious and Powerful Name. Amen. Margaret D. Mitchell is the Founder of God's Love at Work, a marketplace outreach purposed to share God's greatest power source - the love of Christ. Two police personnel were injured as violent protests broke out in the Uparkot area of Aligarh on Sunday, as efforts by the Aligarh Police to remove women protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) was met with violent backlash. Kiosks were burnt and the police had to resort to lathi charge and fire tear gas shells to control the unruly mob. There were also reports of firing and burning of vehicles as violence spread to other areas of the city by evening. Sources revealed that a group of women were protesting against the CAA in Uparkot area for the last two days. The police along with the Rapid Action Force reached the spot to remove the agitating women but were met with violent reaction. Amid stone pelting, the van of the Rapid Action Force was damaged and police barricades were set on fire. The police fired tear gas shells to control the mob but violence rapidly spread to other areas, including Babri Mandi, Ghas Ki Mandi and Shaheed Chandan Road. Markets were closed in Uparkot and other minority dominated areas in response to a call given by the Bhim Army earlier on Sunday. There were reports of firing too but no official confirmation was available. Internet services have been suspended in Aligarh from 6 pm to midnight on Sunday, an intimation from the office of the DM Aligarh, Chandra Bhushan Singh said. The West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary has set a deadline for candidates, who have been allowed to inspect their class 12 board exams answer scripts, and asked them to appear at the council by February 28. Earlier, students could get their answer sheets reviewed after due appeal but there was no scope for self- inspection. In a notification dated February 20, WBCHSE president Mahua Das asked all the applicants, who have been asked to inspect their answer scripts, to come for self-inspection at Vidyasagar Bhavan, the venue chosen by the council. "It is hereby notified that all valid applicants who have been communicated to inspect their answer scripts, have to visit Vidyasagar Bhavan to inspect their answer scripts within 28th of February, 2020," the notification, a copy of which was made available on Saturday, said. No request for self-inspection will be entertained after the mentioned date, it said. In July 2019, in the wake of many candidates complaining of getting marks below expectations, the council had announced that class 12 students, who had appeared for their board exams that year, would be able to apply for self- inspection of their answer scripts. The move was necessitated to ensure transparency in the process and enable students to know the correct answers and how their answers were evaluated, Das had said at that time. "This will also dispel misgivings among the disgruntled students," she had said. An online interface was available at the council's website from July 5, 2019, and it enabled the students to apply for inspection of their answer scripts. After submitting an online application on a prescribed format, within six months after declaration of the examination results, the students were asked to visit the council's office on a specific date. The results of 2019 Higher Secondary examinations were declared on May 27. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) From identifying challenges in the vineyard to improving winemaking and marketing efforts, the sixth annual conference for the Montana Grape and Winery Association (MGWA) offers something for everyone again this year. The group will convene at the Bitterroot River Inn at Hamilton for a three-day session, March 5-6, and kicks off with a wine tasting event Thursday evening where attendees can sample and rank Montana wines produced by members. Awards will be presented for the top entries at a banquet Friday evening. The main sessions of the gathering kick off Friday morning with five presentations ranging from troubleshooting grapes to an update from the MSU Western Agricultural Research Center (WARC) in Corvallis on the health and vitality of Montana vineyards. Speakers include Ben Banks, winemaker at Sovereign Estate, who will address winemaking techniques specific to Montanas cold climate grape varietals. Darrin Michaels of Scott Labs will address managing oxygen in the winery and then Annie Clodd, an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota, will talk on best practices for cold climate grape production. Dan Vogel, a sommelier at Glacier National Park will address capitalizing on the wine styles of Montana and Dr. Zach Miller, WARC, will provide an update on Montanas cold climate grape research in viticulture and vineyard practices. Rich Torquemada, president of the association, said this years convention will again be the highlight of the year for many members, as it broadens their knowledge and understanding of the Montana grape and wine industry. The event is open to the public through a registration system, said Torquemada. We encourage anyone interested in growing grapes, making wine or the Montana industry in general to look into attending. Our members are always anxious to share information and knowledge theyve gained from years of growing grapes and making wine. Saturdays events include the MGWA annual meeting and an afternoon field tour to area vineyards and wineries. To register or learn more about the event, or to talk to members, go to MTGWA.com. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A mother-of-two has told how she quit her job and launched a 'baby spa' - after noisy playgroups full of other parents left her feeling anxious and overwhelmed. Former estate agent Lisa Ryan, 38, from Birmingham, launched Spa Babies in June last year and it's proved a big hit - turning over 24,000 in eight months. During their sessions, newborns are treated to a jacuzzi-style bubble bath, facials and 'positive touch'. Lisa claims the zen, calming environment helps mums to bond with their babies without the 'pressure' of having to speak to other parents. Lisa Ryan, 38, from Birmingham, launched Spa Babies in June last year and it's proved a big hit - turning over 24,000 in eight months Lisa, pictured with spa 'regular' Mali, claims the zen, calming environment helps mums to bond with their babies without the 'pressure' of having to speak to other parents While on maternity leave with her second son Jax, now 17 months, Lisa struggled to attend regular playgroups as they triggered her anxiety. She said: 'After two caesareans, I was house-bound for six weeks and quickly began feeling nervous about going out. 'I am a confident person, but playgroups were very overwhelming, and I struggled with socialising with the other mums. 'I found myself avoiding them and eventually stopped going to playgroups as they stressed me out. During their sessions, newborns are treated to a jacuzzi-style bubble bath, facials and 'positive touch'. Pictured: Mali, a regular at the spa 'When my maternity leave was coming to an end I realised I wanted to do something to cater for other mums who suffered with anxiety too. 'The baby spa allows mums to bond with their newborn without the pressure of having to speak to other mums and dozens of other loud children. It is a full sensory experience with the lights out and lavender in the air.' Spa Babies is for little ones aged zero to nine months. Lisa added: 'I absolutely love my job; it has organically grown through word of mouth - I started with one session a week and now I host seven. 'The babies have a relaxing bath which has whirlpool, bubble features like a jacuzzi and shower functionality. Former estate agent Lisa struggled to attend regular playgroups as they triggered her anxiety, so she set up Spa Babies for similar mothers 'Then the mums have half an hour of communicating with their baby which includes a facial and lots of kisses and cuddles. 'They participate in positive touch, which is a gentle touch or stroking their baby's face. 'It has a positive effect on newborns such as more regulated sleep, de-stress and activity and the touch stimulates tactile nerve endings in the skin, which leads to a release of endorphins and the babies produce pleasant sensations and feelings. 'It is all about bonding with their baby. I have many regular customers who say their baby sleeps for three to four hours after.' One mum from Birmingham who attends the spa every two weeks praises the sessions for teaching her calming techniques for five-month old Mali Mumford. The baby spa allows mums to bond with their newborn without the pressure of having to speak to other mums and dozens of other loud children. Pictured: baby Mali having a facial Lisa says she has many regular customers who say their baby sleeps for three to four hours after a session Spa Babies is for little ones aged zero to nine months. While there they have a bath with jacuzzi jets, a facial and plenty of cuddles Samantha Whitehouse, 28, said: 'Mali was in the special care baby unit for one week when he was first born so I didn't get to cuddle him until he was let out. 'It was important for me to find something special for us to do together. We have been going since he was seven weeks old and he is much calmer than my first born Max, two. 'It is an amazing place for us both to relax as the warmth and calmness of the room makes it impossible for you to feel stressed. 'Mali loves it and usually sleeps for four hours rather than his usual hour nap after, so it is heaven for me. Mum Samantha Whitehouse, pictured with Mali, attends the spa every two weeks praises the sessions for teaching her calming techniques for her five-month old 'I plan ahead and run errands on spa days as I know he will be asleep. 'The first week of his life was missed but we have definitely made up for it with the help of Spa Babies. 'I have learnt how to positively talk to him and calm him down by stroking his face along with massaging him and max after every bath with organic oils. 'I will be gutted when he is too old to attend - perhaps I will have another baby so I can keep going!' For more information visit the Spa Babies Facebook page. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Vina del Mar, Chile Sun, February 23, 2020 07:02 689 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad206609ce6 2 Entertainment Chile,Vina-del-Mar,music-festival,ricky-martin,music,Latin-America,maroon-5 Free Protest-hit Chile takes a tentative step back to normality on Sunday when Latin America's biggest music festival gets underway at Vina del Mar amid heightened security. Protests that flared up in October -- initially over a rise in metro fares -- abated during the summer holidays before breaking out anew in recent weeks, raising authorities' concerns over mass gatherings. Ricky Martin, Maroon 5 and Puerto Rican star Ozuna are the headline acts as the annual festival in the Pacific Coast resort city begins amid threats of protests. Calls to disrupt the festival have circulated on social networks, with protests to center on the Quinta Vergara amphitheater where the festival has been held for more than six decades. Organizers have installed metal detectors at entrances and brought festival opening times forward for the duration of the six-day festival. In another sign of official nervousness, the festival's traditional Hollywood-style red carpet opening, one of Chile's most watched televised events, has been canceled. Read also: Latin pride on display during J-Lo, Shakira Super Bowl show Ricky Martin's message Ricky Martin, who supported the social protests, will open the festival on Sunday with a performance from his Movimento Tour. At the height of the protests, Martin addressed a message to Chile's President Sebastian Pinera on social media: "You have to know that the will of a people is respected, is obeyed, is fulfilled. Listen to your people." Outspoken Chilean star Mon Laferte's performance will be closely watched. She bared her breasts in a message of support for protesters at the Latin Grammy Awards in Las Vegas in November. Stand-up comedians have been warned to refrain from making jibes at the authorities during the festival, which runs through February 28. Since authorities announced a modest hike in metro fares in the capital Santiago on October 18, more than 30 people have died in protests. They quickly mushroomed into wider discontent over inequality and the rejection of conservative billionaire Pinera and his government. A nationwide referendum on changing the dictatorship-era constitution is set for April. OUR time has got to be the zenith of the information age. Of course, its difficult to tell for sure, because it seems that the bar for access to more and more information keeps getting raised. But now, compared to any other time in our history as a specie, we have information that is literally flooding our brains, and everything. I mean every piece of information imaginable is at our fingertips. For this very reason, we can also say that our time is the nadir of the information age. Because with the increased access comes the dumbing of the generation having this access. Critical thinking, a skill that has brought humankind to our current level of civilization and prosperity, is a skill that is increasingly getting scarcer and scarcer to find. Vocabulary has been reduced to the level of emoticons, and reasoned argument gone the way of the inane meme. As the sailor in Samuel Taylor Coleridges The Rime of the Ancient Mariner laments: Water, water, everywhere, And all the boards did shrink: Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink. He seems to be foreshadowing our contemporary information age, where in the midst of so much information, there is very little that is useful to advance society, and to inform leaders and decision makers to make the right choices for their publics and constituencies. Such is the paradox of information availability, that it seems the more we have, the less of it we can make use of. The election of President Rodrigo Duterte is a good case study in the dumbing of the Filipino public. And in the United States, the rise of President Donald Trump to power is a parallel example of how voters, with so much information at their disposal to make reasoned and reasonable choices in the end, threw away all semblance of intelligence, to vote for leaders who arguably, in times less informed, would never probably have contemplated running for office. It seems that both Duterte and Trump simply took their voters for a ride, and they were none the wiser for it. Truth be told, despite the glaring inadequacies of both men to lead their countries, notwithstanding the countless character flaws that should have disqualified them from even seeking office in the first place, their supporters today still continue to laud their illusory accomplishments, ignore their serious transgressions, and overlook the fact that even by the test of simple intelligence and basic civility, they simply should not even be town mayors, let alone national presidents. Story continues The phenomenon of fake news is a convenient excuse that we can blame for their success. There is simply too much misinformation out there that the average voter is simply overwhelmed by it all. Thus, grossly blatant propaganda material that even Joseph Goebbels would have found too fanciful to use end up becoming standard fare for gullible voters. For example, Dutertes rewriting of the Marcos legacy has barely been challenged by his millennial supporters, this despite the fact that legitimate historical information to the country are as easy to find in the Internet, as the lies being peddled. There is simply too much to process, that each piece of informationthe gold and the garbageare now equally credible in the eyes of the gullible. The only consolation for the Philippines is that even in the United Stateswhere voters should reasonably be more intelligent than oursTrumps tall tales are also easily passing for gospel truth. Could this trend be reversed? Perhaps. Already in the United States, more and more of the electorate are waking up to Trumps gross failings. And over here, Dutertes increasingly asinine remarks are making some of his supporters rethink their loyalties. Perhaps, the tide is turning. Perhaps, an island of hope amidst the waters of despair may just lie beyond the horizon. WERK empowers warriors of change By Duruthu Edirimuni Chandrasekera View(s): View(s): Being a woman in the now means being a warrior for change. WERK (Women Entrepreneurs Resource Kit), Sri Lankas first online woman-centric professional network, which was launched last Saturday, at Hatch in Colombo amply testifies to this. Amongst the gathering, mothers, sisters, daughters, wives, leaders, entrepreneurs and Angels, of which they were at least one, and some of them all of these and more, were seen mingling with each other. The common denominator amongst these women was that they believed in the need to support each other, share stories, and find strength in numbers. Committed to tackling this disparity by accelerating the career ambitions of women in Sri Lanka, Yusra Aziz-Eliyas and Amrit Rupasinghe set up WERK to do just that. Amrit and I had a conversation on why females had no proper movement in Sri Lanka to discuss issues which were faced by women. He was very taken up by the Me too Movement and inquired as to why women were ignored in many circumstances. I did point out that we face discrimination be it in the boardroom or a pitch meeting, literally on a daily basis but had got used to it and although tough, we as women weathered through it, she told the Business Times on the sidelines of the event, reminiscing the beginning of this platform. Amazing women She had met amazing ladies through her start-up journey and was completely inspired by them, so she thought it would be nice to have a forum to voice off these issues. The other point I raised was how we as women, had no clue as to what other ladies were achieving in their respective fields to collaborate, partner or even just to educate ourselves. Amrit then asked wouldnt it be interesting to have a community you could reach out to and I replied yes almost instantly. After much research, thought and many ups and downs WERK was born, she added. In a bid to unlocking the combined power of female entrepreneurs and corporate women in Sri Lanka to create massive economic and social progress- the platform will provide networking, advice, resources and opportunities for women to take their careers forward. Yusra wants WERK to be an online home for all women to visit, to lend support, to pick up some guidance, to be mentors, to laugh together, to know that they are not alone in this journey, to share stories, learnings and create a community in their sisterhood. The well-attended event brought together invitees from various stages in their respective professional lives, paving the way for a promising line-up of projects from the new online platform. The dynamics of the work environment has exerted enormous pressure on working women as they need to cope with virtually two full time jobs one at the office and the other at home. Its a tricky juggling act. However, they also come up with proactive ideas about how to make things better. IMF stats In its 2018 Country Report on Sri Lanka, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that Sri Lanka could raise its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by as much as 20 per cent in the long run, just by closing the gender gap in its workforce. The platform has resources in the form of a host of online tools to automate and/or simplify everyday business tasks will be made available, as well as a constantly updated knowledge base of helpful information through inspiring interviews, non-fiction book summaries, and useful articles and tips. Testament to the underlying need for such a service, at the end of the official launch event membership stood at over 400 members representing over 380 small and large businesses, all looking to connect, learn, and rise professionally. While WERK already stands out from other community networks in the wealth of corporate partnerships it is seeking to further enhance its offering through collaborating with more companies that align with its values. Yusra also noted that in keeping with the ethos of WERK, 10 per cent from all corporate membership subscriptions will be donated towards upskilling women from underprivileged backgrounds and charities that provide support services to victims of violence against women. Along with varying discounts and offers these alliances provide for the WERK community from book keeping to office attire, website building tools to software- WERK currently partners with a range of professional associations and organisations which also provide great resources for its members looking to advance their careers through educational workshops, networking events, mentoring programmes, volunteer and employment opportunities, career services and support, and much more. An online marketplace is also in the works, where corporates can post collaboration opportunities with start-ups and freelancers. WERK is currently a mobile app, but the team has plans of taking the experience beyond the confines of the online sphere. Upskilling workshops, mentoring sessions, talk shows and even a #WERKOUT conference are also being scheduled for the years agenda. Interested professionals looking to further their careers can sign up at www.werk.community. For sponsorships and corporate collaborations, click on the Partnerships tab on the website. Clashes broke out between anti-CAA protesters and police in the old city area here following incidents of arson and stone pelting on late Sunday afternoon. The police had fired teargas shells to disperse the mob indulging in vandalisation of property and throwing stones at security personnel in upper Kot area of the Kotwali police station, said police sources. There were reports of injuries to some people but the exact number of those injured in clashes is yet to ascertained, they said. Reports of brick-batting, arson were still coming in from a spot where some women protestors were holding a dharna since Saturday on the Mohamed Ali Road leading to the Kotwali police station with police trying to evict the protesters from there, they said. The clashes broke out shortly after a Bhim Army-led march by hundreds of anti-CAA protesters heading to the district collectorate earlier were stopped midway by police and Rapid Action Force jawans. Stopped by police, the protesters, however, had headed towards the Eidgah area in the city where another group of anti-CAA women protestors had been holding an indefinite dharna for the past three weeks. As the Bhim Army-led protestors, including women, were stopped by police from moving ahead after they crossed over the Katpula Bridge from the old city, they decided to join the women protesters sitting in Eidgah area. The protesters had taken out the march on a call by Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar. Shops in some areas near Kotwali had downed their shutters. Aligarh SSP Rajmuni, who took over the charge as the district police only last night, had earlier told mediapersons that following the abortive march, an FIR has been lodged against three persons at the Delhi Gate police station for trying to violate prohibitory orders and breach peace in the city. The new SSP said he was monitoring the situation arising out of the anti-CAA protests, going on both at the AMU and the old city area. He had said our "channels of communications with protesters are going to remain open but it does not mean we will allow anybody disturb the city's law and order". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Joe Biden did not fare well in Nevada. As of this writing, with 27% of the votes counted, Biden was second to Bernie but had just slightly over half the votes that went to Bernie, leaving him without any delegates at all. Thats bad. Whats even worse is that Biden seems to be decompensating on the campaign trail. With South Carolina next on the primary menu, Biden has to look strong if he wants to stay in the race. Eugene Robinson, a Washington Post columnist, had already stated the harsh truth on last Sundays Meet the Press. ICYMI: South Carolina is a "do or die state for Joe Biden." #MTP #IfItsSunday@Eugene_Robinson: "He's got to win ... If Bloomberg actually makes inroads there ... I think that would be a disaster for Biden." pic.twitter.com/ZdE9A9wyMg Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) February 17, 2020 EUGENE ROBINSON: I certainly believe [South Carolina is] a do or die state for Joe Biden. He has to do well there. CHUCK TODD: Whats well? EUGENE ROBINSON: Hes got to win. Hes got to win. Unfortunately for Joe, South Carolina, which once looked like a Biden stronghold, has been catching Bernie mania. Even before Bernies victory in Nevada, Biden was failing to keep his lead: HUGE NEWS: New Change Poll for South Carolina has Bernie Sanders Tied with Biden for 1st in the state. TOP CANDIDATES % SUPPORT: - Bernie Sanders 23% - Joe Biden 23% - Tom Steyer 20% - Pete Buttigieg 15% - Liz Warren 9% AFTER BERNIE WINS NEVADA HE WILL BE THE CLEAR SC WINNER! kyle jones (@KyleLovesBernie) February 19, 2020 If all that wasnt bad enough, Biden is doing what he always does when the going gets tough: Telling tall tales. This knocked him out in 1988, but hes doing it again. (Well concede that the following tale might be true, but its not likely.) In the past two weeks, Biden has suddenly started claiming he was arrested in South Africa while on his way to visit Nelson Mandela. As The New York Times reported, Biden didnt include this information in his 2007 memoir and had not spoken about it prominently while campaigning for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. [snip] Former congressman Andrew Young, the U.N. ambassador at the time of Bidens arrest, said he had traveled to South Africa with Biden but was never arrested and was skeptical that members of the U.S. congress would have been at risk in the country. No, I was never arrested and I dont think he was, either, Young told the Times. Now, people were being arrested in Washington. I dont think there was ever a situation where congressmen were arrested in South Africa. Donald Trump, Jr. hit Biden hard for that fable: In all fairness Biden has no idea what hes saying or where he is most of the time. When will someone close to him finally say enough is enough? Its not right anymore. https://t.co/rwxzR7AbvZ Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) February 22, 2020 Even worse, Biden is once again showing those hints of dementia that have dogged him on the campaign trail. At a town hall event on Thursday, in an embarrassing and also quite sad gaffe, Biden referred to his late son Beau as the U.S. Attorney General, rather than the Attorney General of Delaware. When an audience member asked Biden about restoring barriers between the Department of Justice and the White House, Biden had this to say: 'Never direct the Justice Department as to who they should or should not indict and under what circumstances they should or should not,' Biden began. 'That is an independent judgment to be made. 'My son, the one who, my deceased son, was the Attorney General of the United States,' he continued, without realizing his mistake, 'and before that, he was a federal prosecutor in one of the largest offices in the country in Philadelphia. 'And I'll tell you what, he wouldn't even talk to me about anything he was doing, his father, and he shouldn't have, and I didn't have any control over either one of those things.' This was not a slip of the tongue as demonstrated by Bidens assurance to the questioner he had no control over Beaus work, something that would matter only if Beau was Attorney General when Biden was Vice President. Joe Biden, by virtue of his politics, his unprincipled conduct, his corruption, and his rare ability always to make the wrong decisions, is not fit to be president. The fact that he lies and struggles with memory and confusion issues only makes that more obvious. Advertisement Two grooms have won 'wedding of the year' for 2019 after putting on a spectacular display of waterfall fireworks, a costume change and guest appearance from Real Housewives of Melbourne star Gina Liano in a celebration that was 'uniquely them'. Daniel, 36 and Michael Montgomery-Morgan, 34, from Melbourne, tied the knot on April 5, 2019, eight years after meeting through their mutual hairdresser in 2011. The special day, which saw the reception congregate at the luxurious Metropolis Events in Southbank, cost the couple $120,000 because they didn't want their friends and family to shell out anything on travel, accommodation or clothing. 'The original budget we had in mind was $45,000 but things add up very quickly. Hiring one strip of carpet costs $1,000 for a wedding. We paid for all the wedding party's clothes, our parents and my aunt flew over from London,' Michael told FEMAIL. Daniel, 36 and Michael Montgomery-Morgan, 34, who are based in Melbourne, tied the knot on April 5, 2019 eight years after meeting through their mutual hairdresser in 2011 The couple had a mixed-gender wedding party filled with their closest friends and siblings (pictured) 'We didn't want them to spend anything extra. Both Daniel and I work really hard and save really hard. We've wanted this for a long time and did it all on our own.' That family-orientated sentiment harks back to the couple's original meeting, when Daniel was taking care of a terminally ill grandparent. It was Michael's patience with Daniel during this time, and deep understanding, that turned four months of casual dating into a full-blown relationship. Their courtship culminated in a proposal on Daniel's 30th birthday - 'Michael stole the limelight that day' - with Daniel giving him an identical ring back on his partner's birthday. But when same-sex marriage was legalised in Australia in December 2017 the men were in no rush to walk down the aisle, somewhat hesitant to share their nuptials given 'there were a number of people who voted no'. It was Michael's patience with Daniel during this time, and deep understand, that turned four months of casual dating into a full-blown relationship (pictured getting ready) But when same-sex marriage was legalised in Australia in December 2017 the men were in no rush to walk down the aisle, somewhat hesitant to share their nuptials given 'there were a number of people who voted no' They needn't have worried, with 12 months of planning leading to the most 'positive' experience with everyone from the vendors to the public who witnessed their wedding photos being taken on the streets of Melbourne cheering them on. 'People actually clapped and congratulated us when we were posing for photos in public. It was a really memorable moment from the day,' Daniel said. The pair wanted to follow 'some traditions' but also wanted it to feel like 'their day' and the ceremony was a reflection of both of their personalities. So they got ready together, reading letters they had written to each other, had a mixed-gender wedding party and both of their 'very supportive' parents walked them down the aisle. As the 'master organiser', Michael was tasked with the spreadsheet and budgets, allowing for them to wear both a tux and a glitter suit each for the formal aspects and the reception, with a bit of 'drama' in pyrotechnics and confetti for the latter part of the evening. As the 'master organiser' Michael was tasked with the spreadsheet and budgets, allowing for them to wear both a tux and a glitter suit each for the formal aspects and the reception, with a bit of 'drama' in pyrotechnics and confetti for the latter part of the evening They had the most 'epic' amount of flowers on the tables and around the outskirts of the setting, knowing they wanted to decorate their hugely popular venue to the 'extreme' They had the most 'epic' amount of flowers on the tables and around the outskirts of the setting, knowing they wanted to decorate their hugely popular venue to the 'extreme'. 'When you walk into the space it's just mind-blowing,' Daniel said. Gina Liano's surprise entrance as their celebrant was a huge part of the day, with both men wanting to 'treat' their guests to her fabulous charms. 'We have a great friendship with her and she had recently become a civil celebrant. She was so down-to-earth,' Daniel said. One piece of advice they received before the wedding was to take a moment together, step back and take it all in before the night was over. 'Those were good words of wisdom because we did that and it was one of my favourite parts of the day,' Michael said. One piece of advice they received before the wedding was to take a moment together, step back and take it all in before the night was over The space they rented overlooked Melbourne's Southbank region, and it was a stunning backdrop They went on a seven-week trip around Europe to celebrate before returning to a nomination for 'wedding of the month' from Easy Weddings. Their celebration - which had won for April - was featured on the website as a blog, before they came up against the 12 other winners in the year for 'wedding of the year for 2019'. The public voted their three favourite when Easy Weddings chose their overall favourite on Valentine's Day 2020, and it turned out to be the Montgomery-Morgans that took the crown. They won six nights in an Ocean Villa at Heritance Aarah with their own private butler, all meals and beverages included - as well as $2,500 in spending money. 'It was such a shock - and honour - to win. We're the first gay people to ever win a big wedding competition. We're planning on going in April to celebrate our first year anniversary,' Daniel said 'It was such a shock - and honour - to win. We're the first gay people to ever win a big wedding competition. We're planning on going in April to celebrate our first year anniversary,' Daniel said. They hoped by sharing their wedding - and the story behind them as a couple - it would promote another side to the gay community. 'Michael and I are very non-typical gay people. People see gay people at marches and rallying but you'd never see us there, we live a very normal life,' Daniel said. 'We live in the suburbs with three French Bulldogs. Sharing our story comes with some risk but it wasn't just Michael and I who won this award in the end, it's our entire community. We as a whole are progressing and challenging people's perceptions. 'And we are so honoured to be able to do that.' SEOUL: South Korea raised its infectious disease alert to its highest level on Sunday as confirmed coronavirus cases in the country jumped to 602 and the death toll rose to six. More than half the new cases are linked to a church in the southeastern city of Daegu after a 61-year-old woman known as "Patient 31" who attended services there tested positive for the virus last week. The woman had no recent record of overseas travel. South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Sunday that the government had raised the country's disease alert by one notch to the fourth and highest level in a bid to contain a surge in new cases. The Korea Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention (KCDC) said the number of infections had jumped by 169. Of the total confirmed cases, more than 300 were linked to the Shincheonji Church of Jesus congregation in Daegu. The escalation in the alert level allows the government to send extra resources to Daegu city and Cheongdo county, which were designated "special care zones" on Friday. The alert level also enables the government to forcibly prevent public activities and order the temporary closure of schools, the health ministry said. The ministry also said Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun will take charge of policy decisions related to the virus outbreak, which is the first time the country`s prime minister has intervened to take over from a minister in this way. "The coronavirus virus is more contagious and spreads quickly during the early stage of the outbreak, and therefore preemptive measures are needed considering a possibility that the virus could develop to a nationwide spread from a community spread, health minister Park Neung-hoo told a news conference. "We believe a week to 10 days will be crucial to determine the spread of the coronavirus." Education minister Yoo Eun-hae told the news conference that kindergartens, elementary and secondary schools will start the new semester one week later on March 9, from March 2. The last time South Korea raised the alert level to "red" was 11 years ago during the Influenza A or H1N1 outbreak, South Korea`s Yonhap News Agency said. Earlier on Sunday, the ruling Democratic Party asked the government for an extra budget and also to free up emergency funds from the existing budget worth 3.4 trillion won ($2.82 billion) to tackle the outbreak. Parliament would hold a plenary session on Monday to discuss further measures, according to Yonhap. South Korea`s earlier cases were linked to China but the new infections centre on Daegu, a city of about 2.5 million, and a hospital in Cheongdo, a county with about 43,000 people. Kim Simon, a spokesman from the Shincheonji Church, said on Youtube on Sunday that the church would make all-out efforts to curb the virus` spread and closely cooperate with health authorities. Since the first confirmed case on January 20, six people have died from the virus in South Korea, with three deaths reported on Sunday. TRAVEL ADVISORY The US State Department on Saturday raised its travel advisory level for South Korea from 1 to 2, the second of four ratings, which asks travelers to avoid contact with sick people. Seventeen South Korean Catholics from North Gyeongsang Province and their tour guide in Seoul who had gone on a pilgrimage to Israel earlier this month were confirmed to have been infected with the virus, KCDC said. Israeli and Palestinian authorities sought to allay fears of a potential local outbreak after learning that South Korean pilgrims who had toured some of the holy land`s most popular sites were later found to be carrying the virus. South Koreans on board a Korean Air flight were refused entry at Tel Aviv`s Ben Gurion International airport on Saturday evening due to concerns over the virus, South Korea`s foreign ministry said on Sunday. "As the measure was taken without notice in advance by Israel, we have lodged a complaint for causing inconveniences to our travelers and asked to prevent a recurrence," the ministry said, adding Israeli counterparts had promised to cooperate with South Korea. Meanwhile, Catholic churches in the cities of Daegu, Gwangju and elsewhere have suspended mass and other gatherings. The coronavirus originated in China and has spread to more than two dozen countries. China has reported 76,936 cases and 2,442 deaths so far. Jasmine Tookes joined a star-studded guest list at the NAACP Image Awards in Pasadena this Saturday. The 29-year-old Victoria's Secret Angel showed off her supermodel figure in a skintight off-the-shoulder silver mini under a black net dress. She wound a black sash around her waist and tied it into a neat bow, accentuating her svelte waistline as she posed on the red carpet. Radiant: Jasmine Tookes joined a star-studded guest list at the NAACP Image Awards in Pasadena this Saturday She topped off the look with some chic Stella Luna heels. Her luxurious hair got a blowout by Ruslan Nureev, whose celebrity clients include Olivia Culpo and Kylie Jenner as well as Jasmine's fellow Angel Josephine Skriver. Jasmine's screen siren features were accentuated with makeup applied by Leah Pike, who also did her look for the Vanity Fair Oscar Party earlier this month. Her outfit for the NAACP Image Awards was put together by Cary Robinson, a stylist whom she has frequently worked with in the past. Posing up a storm: The 29-year-old Victoria's Secret Angel showed off her supermodel figure in a skintight off-the-shoulder silver mini under a black net dress Place to be: She wound a black sash around her waist and tied it into a neat bow, accentuating her svelte waistline as she posed on the red carpet The native California girl, who hails from Huntington Beach, balanced on a sky-high pair of ankle-strap stilettos as she hit the red carpet. She added a touch of dazzle to the ensemble with a pair of glittering drop earrings, shooting her best smoldering stare at the shutterbugs. The star-studded red carpet included such names as Angela Bassett and Lizzo, who are both nominated for Entertainer Of The Year. Only the best: Her luxurious hair got a blowout by Ruslan Nureev, whose celebrity clients include Olivia Culpo and Kylie Jenner as well as Jasmine's fellow Angel Josephine Skriver Returning talent: Jasmine's screen siren features were accentuated with makeup applied by Leah Pike, who also did her look for the Vanity Fair Oscar Party earlier this month Also on the red carpet was Cynthia Erivo, a Broadway star who made a splash playing Harriet Tubman in last year's biopic Harriet. Although she was nominated for outstanding actress in a motion picture for Harriet, Cynthia lost to Lupita Nyong'o for the latest Jordan Peele horror movie Us. Us and Harriet are both competing in the outstanding motion picture category against Dolemite Is My Name, Just Mercy and Queen & Slim. Prove talent: Her outfit for the NAACP Image Awards was put together by Cary Robinson, a stylist whom she has frequently worked with in the past Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday maintained his stance on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) that the law did not take away any ones citizenship and there was no need to fear it. I have made my stand clear on these issues and I have also discussed it with the alliance partners Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Thackeray said while talking to reporters on the eve of the Budget session of the state legislature. Replying to a query on Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis statement that a state government cannot change the questionnaire of the NPR, Thackeray said, Senior members of the three parties (Sena, NCP and Congress) can sit together and discuss about the possible complications in its implementation in the state. Thackeray also taunted the BJP for the violence during the anti-CAA protests in the states like Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. The protests against the CAA have been staged in Maharashtra very peacefully unlike the states where the law and order is the responsibility of the BJP. The attack on the JNU students in Delhi was not less than a terror attack, he said. Meanwhile, just a couple of days after he backed the National Population Register (NPR), Thackeray announced that a high-power committee comprising members from all three ruling parties would study it before any decision was made on its implementation in the state. I do not see any objectionable content in the NPR, but we will check if there is anything objectionable and whether only relevant information has been sought in the NPR. The committee of the three senior members will study it, said the chief minister, speaking to media persons on the eve of the budget session of the state legislature that begins Monday. Thackeray softened his stand on NPR reportedly after Congress and the NCP expressed their unhappiness over the his support to it. Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, deputy chief minister and NCP leader Ajit Pawar met Thackeray and reportedly asserted their opinion on the issue. Congress leader Manish Tewari had tweeted on Friday that Thackeray needs to be briefed about the CAA and NPR. Thackeray needed to understand how NPR was the basis of NRC. Once you do NPR, you cannot stop NRC, he tweeted. So Thackerays statements are seen as a bid to balance out the differences on contentious issues to avoid embarrassment in the session. He said even though the law was passed by the Centre and the contents of the NPR were decided by it, the citizens have the right to decide how to live. The chief minister said that the three ruling parties were on the same page as far as the implementation the NPR goes and there was no discord among them. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Congress leader Shatrughan Sinha on Sunday rejected Pakistan President Rashid Alvi's claim that the actor-turned-politician "endorsed" his concerns over the restrictions in Jammu and Kashmir imposed after India revoked its special status. Sinha, 74, who was on a "personal" visit to Pakistan to attend a wedding there, met President Alvi after receiving a "surprise" invitation from him at the Governor's House in Lahore on Saturday. "We were very touched by this gesture of the President of Pakistan and we reciprocated it with love, warmth, thanksgiving and an attitude of gratitude. I had attended the Honorable President's son's wedding a few years back in Karachi, so I have known the family very well," Sinha said in a tweet. Terming it a "great meeting of minds", Sinha said they discussed social and cultural issues but not "...Though the meeting lasted for quite some time, it was purely social, personal and purely a courtesy call to give profound regards. We discussed so many things on social and cultural issues but no was discussed," he said. "Nothing political or official about it. My friends, well-wishers and supporters and of course the media should realise that one shouldn't discuss the or policies of countries on foreign soil when one isn't competent, qualified & authorised by the Govt," he said. Sinha's remarks came after Alvi's office said in a tweet that Sinha had "endorsed" concern of the Pakistan President over the "lockdown" in Kashmir, following the Indian government's August 5 decision to abrogate Article 370 of the Constitution and bifurcate the state into two union territories. Sinha has visited Pakistan on several occasions in the past owing to his closeness to the country's former president Zia-ul-Haq. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) To the Editor: Re Whos Behind Your Outrageous Medical Bills? (Sunday Review, Feb. 16): Dr. Elisabeth Rosenthal correctly explains the reasons surprise medical bills exist. But a majority of physicians have had little to do with negotiating prices. Instead, the insurers, the government and employers have decided what is best. It is no wonder that administrative costs have gone up drastically while physician reimbursements have remained flat or declined. The truth is that this giant system of bureaucracy is no longer necessary, as technology has allowed us to streamline not just medical care but payment as well. Price transparency may not fit well with the current system, but it doesnt have to. Just create an alternative that is practical, fair and affordable and the patients can decide. China: China had wanted a nine-month pregnant nurse engaged in coronavirus operations, to be looked at as a hero. However, the video which features the heavily pregnant nurse 'as doing her job' has invited ire and backlash from around the world. One user has said that the woman, Zhao Yu, is being used as a "propoganda tool", reports the BBC. People are criticising the hospital for letting an at-risk person work in a highly contagious environment. However, that's not the entire story. As the country battles with COVID-19, which originated in Wuhan, it struggles to maintain a public face of being strong against this new coronavirus epidemic, which has killed 2,400 people and infected about 77,000. So how does China do that? Videos are emerging on the internet through state-run media agencies, which attempt to portray the heroic nature of many female nurses in China; even weeping while getting their hair shaved to aid the efforts against the disease. One video circulating on Twitter also shows a bald nurse making a motion of trying to tuck a lock of hair behind her, until she realises she cannot do that anymore. Many users on Weibo -- China's version of Twitter -- are criticising the Chinese government for using such videos for propoganda. An associate professor in sociology at Fudan University, Shen Yifei, said that earlier, several nurses had cut their hair short and were looking pleased in photos. However, people became angry when women had their heads shaved in front of camera in hospitals, reports the South China Morning Post. Shen said the authorities had their own agenda, and could lead to pressure on others. Medical workers should be praised for their performance at work, not something related to their female features, she added. Times Insider explains who we are and what we do, and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together. When accounts of a coronavirus in China first emerged in late December, editors and reporters on the International desk at The New York Times relayed developments as they would with any other story. But on Jan. 23, after hundreds of people across several countries became infected and China decided to lock down the city of Wuhan, where the outbreak originated, Michael Slackman, an assistant managing editor who oversees the International desk, felt the story required more aggressive coverage. He called for a daily live briefing a single, continually updated article online that serves as a guide through a deep and wide-ranging report. The Times has used live briefings to cover other momentous events, like the terrorist bombings in Sri Lanka or President Trumps impeachment trial. But the coronavirus version is the longest-running 24-hour news briefing The Times has ever done. With multiple departments contributing, the live briefing extended to 31 days on Saturday and has received more than 50 million page views, with half of those coming from an international audience. In a radical move for the fashion industry, the Italian super brand Prada has appointed a co-creative director. In what is undoubtedly the chicest job share in history, Belgian designer Raf Simons will join the fashion house's long standing leader Miuccia Prada at the Milanse label and will collaborate on all creative decisions. The first results of this partnership, which officially commences in April but has been in the pipeline for some time, will be showcased in September when Prada unveils its first co-created womenswear show. But the duo will work together on all aspects of the Prada business which spans menswear, fragrance and accessories. Today Prada said the partnership is born from a deep reciprocal respect and from an open conversation. Where Miuccia Prada leads the rest of the fashion world follows. This modern approach to running a fashion house is a reflection of her determination to innovate. As times change so should creativity noted Prada, in an announcement made at Milan Fashion Week. Its is a reaction to the era in which we live - an epoch with fresh possibilities, permitting a different point of view. Simons began his career in furniture design before beginning his menswear label in 1995. After a stint at Jil Sander he was announced as the creative director of Dior in 2012. Since departing from the Parisian house in 2015 to focus on his own projects, fans of his intellectual and pared-back approach to design have been eagerly awaiting news of his next move. Prada, whose work is considered a litmus test for culture and politics, has long noticed a synergy between her vision and that of her new partner. (Newser) New York state is reeling Sunday after bomb threats were made against 18 Jewish community centers, USA Today reports. Over 100 people were evacuated from Albany's JCC as police officers swept the building with K-9 teams, but found no bomb. Michael Kopy, the state's director of emergency management, said the emailed threats were sent to invididuals, but it's unclear whether they were specifically being targeted. Gov. Andrew Cuomo appeared at the Albany JCC and pointed out that New York has looked into 42 incidents of anti-Semitism over the past couple of months. "It's not just anti-Semitism, right?" he said, per the Times Union. "There's a contagion of hate all across this country." story continues below "The number of anti-African American attacks is up," he added. "The number of KKK groups and activity is up. The number of incidents against the LGBTQ community is up. So its a virus all across this nation. People are worried about the coronavirus...theres also a virus of hate that's spreading and its spreading quickly." The Daily News quotes him as saying that roughly 100 people, children among them, were in the Albany center when the threat was made. A spokesman for his office says the threats are likely part of a larger threat against JCCs nationwide. (Nearby attacks against Jewish communities include a stabbing attack at a rabbi's home and a shooting spree in a kosher market.) For some U.S. Air Force leaders, retiring the A-10 Warthog close-air support aircraft was a simple decision. Like many of the service's aircraft, the A-10, best known for its iconic Gatling gun designed to shred tanks, was wearing out in 2014 after years of providing cover for ground troops in places like Afghanistan and Iraq. So the service devised a plan to begin phasing it out in 2015. Retiring the A-10 would have lowered the average age of the service's plane inventory, which was climbing toward 27 years. It would also have freed up funds to invest in new aviation platforms, such as the F-35A Joint Strike Fighter, and allowed service maintainers to turn their attention to other planes with a longer expected service life. But the seemingly logical proposal launched a years-long firestorm when lawmakers, led by former Air Force Col. Martha McSally, rushed to save the beloved plane from mothballs. Years later, the fleet is being refurbished with new wings instead of being sent to the boneyard. The dramatic A-10 turnaround illustrates how Air Force plans can fail to survive first contact with a Congress with other ideas. And, former officials and experts who spoke with Military.com said, that may be about to happen again. Related: Air Force to Send More than 100 Planes to Boneyard as it Invests in Future Fighters The Defense Department's fiscal 2021 budget request calls for the retirement of more than 100 aircraft across a number of platforms, including B-1B Lancer bombers; older-model KC-135 Stratotanker and KC-10 Extender refuelers; RQ-4 Global Hawk drones; and more than three dozen A-10s. That would free up some $4.1 billion over the next five years to spend on future technologies and networking the existing fleet to make it more agile and capable. If, that is, Air Force leaders can somehow sell the plan to Congress. "I feel like I've been to that movie before. And now this is going to be the sequel," said Deborah Lee James, the 23rd secretary of the Air Force. James, who spoke with Military.com this month, led the service between 2013 and 2017, during the A-10 fight. "The question is, will the sequel have a different outcome? Different end to the story?" she said. "What I don't know is, if behind the scenes as they're preparing to retire aircraft from certain bases, do they have a backfill prepared to go in?" The Trade-Offs The Air Force isn't the only service asking Congress to let it dump old platforms. The Navy failed to convince lawmakers last year that it should retire a carrier, the Harry S. Truman, halfway through its service life. The ship is now headed to the years-long midlife refueling process instead. Army and Marine Corps leaders are also talking about the need to ditch some legacy systems to pay for newer equipment they can use to fight Russia and China. During the A-10 fight, McSally, an Arizona Republican who was then a U.S. Representative, was joined in her support of the platform by the late Sen. John McCain, also of Arizona; and then-Sen. Kelly Ayotte, whose husband, Joseph Daley, flew A-10s while in the Air National Guard. With multiple aircraft platforms now facing at least partial retirement, the number of lawmakers with an interest in keeping the planes on the flightline could grow, the analyst said. Plus, it's not explicitly clear which -- and how many -- lawmakers might oppose the Air Force's plan. "No member of Congress wants to lose, or stand by and silently lose, a fleet of aircraft or a capability from their state or district, which, of course, translates to jobs," James said. "And just like a defense attorney or a prosecutor, a congressman or senator is going to make his case: to keep what they've got. And boy, it'll sound like, 'How in the world, Air Force, could you be so stupid?'" James said. FILE -- In this file photo from Dec. 6, 2017, Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James speaks to attendees at the Air Force Association's Breakfast Series in Arlington, Virginia. (Joshua L. DeMotts/U.S. Air Force) Another challenge is selling what the Air Force wants in place of its aging planes: next-generation systems of technology, such as the Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS), which isn't "iron on the ramp" -- a visible show of warfighting strength. Air Force leaders want to spend more than $300 million -- more than double last year's enacted funding of $144 million -- on the new ABMS, a state-of-the-art program that focuses on fusing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance sensor data from around the globe. The service also has to fund ongoing buys of the F-35 Lightning II and KC-46 Pegasus tanker, as well as research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E) spending for the upcoming B-21 Long Range Stealth bomber. The more access lawmakers can get to the rationale behind the Air Force's tough choices, the more likely they may be to compromise, said Heather Wilson, the 24th secretary of the Air Force. "Be accessible, try to be responsive," she said, adding that transparency matters. "I understood the frustration of being a member of Congress where you have to wait an hour-and-a-half to ask five minutes of questions. You never get all the stuff you want answered, answered. It can be frustrating. So the best thing that the services can do is meet with those members in advance," she said. When she arrived at the Pentagon just after James in 2017, Wilson found that, when lawmakers called, her staff would stick to protocols that dictated setting up a meeting, getting the correct documentation in order and observing other bureaucratic procedures. "Just relax, folks," said Wilson, who served as a U.S. representative for New Mexico between 1998 and 2009. She resigned from her post and departed the Pentagon in May 2019 to take her new position as president of the University of Texas El Paso. "The member is calling me. How about, if a member of Congress calls, put the call through?" she said in an interview Wednesday. "They know I may not know the answer. They may not [get] the answer they wanted to hear, but at least they deserve an answer." No Surprises, Less Emotion James said she now grasps why lawmakers got defensive about the A-10, though she didn't understand the passion surrounding it right away. "I think the emotion associated with the A-10 did end up surprising a lot of people," she said. "Think about it: You drove whatever your first car was, and you probably don't still have that first car, but I was ready to go onto my next car after I'd had that first car for a certain amount of time. "Now, I know a car is not a fighter aircraft, but still the emotion associated with the machine surprised me. ... I don't get emotional about equipment. I'm all for going for a better piece of equipment and doubling down on [advocating for] people [instead]." Of course, more money helps. Military spending has risen each year for the last five years -- from $586 billion in 2015 to $716 billion in 2019, according to The Washington Post. The fiscal 2020 bill, passed in December, gives the military $738 billion. The Air Force makes up 24% of the overall defense budget, Wilson said. But with the Pentagon and military services cutting billions in "night court" budget sessions, the Air Force still can't afford to get sentimental this time. "There's been a lot more signaling; the Air Force wasn't allowed to say anything explicit, but Air Force leaders for a couple of months now have been going around warning that they were going to be trading existing systems for future systems -- that there were going to be some significant retirements proposed," said a longtime defense analyst in Washington, D.C. Officials had been communicating that informally to Capitol Hill well ahead of the budget request, the analyst told Military.com. "Congress does not react well to surprises." The Last Successful Fleet Retirement Aircraft retirement has never been an easy task, especially since the Air Force has much to choose from. It's a byproduct of the service's gilded age of procurement, which came right after the Vietnam War, said Brian Laslie, an Air Force historian who has written two books: "The Air Force Way of War" and "Architect of Air Power." "[It stems] from the 'We'll never let that happen again' mindset," Laslie said, referencing the devastating losses in airpower over the course of the war, which saw more than 2,000 aircraft destroyed. After those losses, the Air Force was able to increase its training funding and expedite funds for the F-15 Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon, A-10, KC-10 and F-117 Nighthawk, Laslie said. So when the service's F-4 Phantom fighter-bomber fleet slowly began to wind down from manned operations following one of its last missions in Desert Storm in 1991, there was a natural backfill of aircraft to take its place, he said. It may be the last successful retirement of a single, full fleet that the Air Force was able to accomplish, both the analyst and Laslie said. Perhaps unintentionally, the F-117 became the face of Desert Storm. It then made it easy to pitch the service's next big endeavor: stealth technology. "The Air Force treated the procurement of its desired force structure after Desert Storm like a roulette table in Las Vegas, and the Air Force bet it all on black," Laslie said. "Meaning, the Air Force put all their money into the concept of low-observable stealth technology, because that was the future of warfare." As the F-117 -- and later the F-22 Raptor and B-2 Spirit bomber -- became flying demonstrators of stealth technology, lawmakers could appreciate their benefits. ABMS -- and connected intelligence networks, or a "family of systems" overall -- will not be as easy to sell, argued the analyst. The U.S. is "going to do something that isn't headquartered in a particular place, that doesn't employ maintainers in a particular place; it's a distributed system. That's a hard sell from a constituent point of view," the analyst said. "But also, it's a hard sell from a concept point of view. ABMS is still unformed inside the Air Force -- there isn't the final picture of what it looks like," the analyst said. "Parts of it are going to wind up being classified, and it's inherently difficult to make a public argument for a classified system." Pushing the Story During her tenure as Air Force secretary, Wilson too was tasked with pitching new ideas, such as interconnected networks, data computing and artificial intelligence. She admitted being a former lawmaker did help her advance the dialogue between the Air Force and Congress, and said she took frequent trips to speak to members. In one case, she was successful. FILE -- In this April 9, 2019 file photo, Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson speaks to the 35th Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colorado. (Dalton Williams/U.S. Air Force) Wilson and Goldfein got lawmakers to think beyond the E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System aircraft, capable of developing, detecting, locating and tracking moving targets on the ground. Through the fiscal 2019 defense budget, the service officially put to bed the JSTARS recapitalization effort. Instead, the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act granted additional funding for the next-generation ABMS in lieu of a new fleet; as a compromise, the current fleet -- which dates back to the 1990s -- will stick around into the mid-2020s. Like JSTARS, the other aircraft slated to be cut in the upcoming budget have already been pushed to their limit, hindering how effective they can be. "It's not really the question of having equipment and using that old equipment," Wilson said. "It's [about], 'Is it really worth what we're going to have to do to this over old equipment to keep it flying safely?'" she said. That's also part of the Air Force story, she said. "And that story will be told in dozens and dozens of meetings over the coming months of what the choices were and what they're trying to accomplish." -- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214. Read more: Sikorsky-Boeing's SB-1 Defiant Helicopter Prototype Impresses Leaders in Flight Demo Longford County Council hosted a civic reception recently as it paid homage to the rising stars and mainstays behind the ongoing success of the county's Community Games organisation. Local politicians, led by Cathaoirleach Cllr Micheal Carrigy, handed out a number of awards to those who had excelled in their chosen disciplines over the past number of months. Presentations were given to those who secured gold medal awards at the 2019 National Community Games Finals. Similar accolades were also handed out to a small handful of organisers and spearheads who have ensured the community games mantra has remained steadfast countywide since its foundation more than five decades ago. Over the course of its lifetime, Longford Community Games have been so lucky with the great dedication and commitment shown by all its different committees, all of whom are volunteers giving freely of their time to support our youth, said Cathoirleach Cllr Micheal Carrigy. The Community Games provide young people with the means and opportunities to utilise their leisure time in a healtht and productive way and develop life long skills and friendships which are so important in the times our young people are living in. Also read: Failte Ireland seeks festival ideas for Irelands Hidden Heartlands BHUBANESWAR: Despite advancement of science, the hold of superstitions on human society is seen when parents get their children married to animals to protect their families from evil and brand them with hot iron to cure them from diseases. One such incident was reported on Sunday from Baria village under Sukruli block in tribal dominated Mayurbhanj district. According to reports, a one-and-a-half-year-old girl, the daughter of Bibhishana Chatar, had two crooked teeth, which is very common these days. Considering it as a bad omen, her family got her married to a dog on the final day of Mage, a tribal festival, as per their tribal traditions. Without opposing the act, the villagers attended the wedding and blessed the newly wed bride. In tribal dominated districts of Koraput, Nabar-angpur, Malkangiri, Kala-handi, people in interior areas often brand their children with hot iron and bangles under the belief that such an exercise would cure them (children) of their diseases. French President Emmanuel Macron has promised to defend European farm subsidies and protect French fishermen concerned over Brexit, as well as secure compensation for wine producers hit by US tariffs, at the Paris International Agricultural Fair. Opening the 57th edition of the Paris farm show, Macron said he would continue to oppose cuts to agricultural subsidies, a day after discussions broke down on a new European Union budget without Britain. Like his predecessors, Macron vowed to maintain a large budget for the blocs Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), of which France is the main beneficiary. On the CAP we defend an ambitious budget. CAP cannot be the adjustment variable of Brexit. We need to support our farmers, Macron told farmers. We did not yield to those who wanted to reduce the (CAP) budget, he added. Meeting wine industry representatives, the president pledged to get compensation for U.S. tariffs in place by the spring, Jerome Despey, a wine grower and secretary general of Frances main farmer union, the FNSEA, said afterwards. Macron has previously backed tariff relief for wine producers and said he has raised the issue with the European Commission. The sector fears it could lose 300-400 million euros in annual sales in its main export market if the 25% tariff imposed by Washington in October remains in place, Despey said. French wine is among EU products subject to the U.S. tariffs as part of an aircraft subsidy dispute. French wine exporters estimate the duties led to a 40 million euro drop in sales to the United States in the last quarter. Murky waters Macron also voiced support for the fishing sector, which risks losing current access to British waters as the EU negotiates a new relationship with Britain. Boris Johnson has a card in his hand and it is fishing, he told representatives of the French fishing industry, warning it was unclear if the EU and Britain could reach an overall trade agreement before a transition period expires at the end of the year. Story continues He reiterated that he would seek compensation for French fishermen for any losses they suffered. Macron spent over 12 hours at the Paris farm show, a major event for politicians in the EUs biggest agricultural economy. During the customary presidential visit to the week-long event, which attracts 600,000 visitors, he tasted French specialties like Charolais beef and Cotes de Provence rose wine, and served draft beer at the French brewers stand. He also faced stern questioning from farmers, with whom he has had an uneasy relationship, particularly over pesticide policy. Macron told farmers that common weedkiller glyphosate would not be scrapped where there were no alternatives, while safety rules on pesticide spraying would be adopted progressively. There were glimpses of wider tensions in France, with a heated exchange with a woman about pension reform and police violence in street protests. Eric Drouet, a leading figure in the so-called Yellow Vest protest movement that rocked Macrons government a year ago, was expelled from the show when he tried to approach the president. Announcement reported by SITE Intelligence Group comes weeks after US said it killed al-Rimi in Yemen. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has confirmed the death of its leader Qassim al-Rimi, according to a monitor, weeks after the United States said it had killed him in Yemen. SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors armed group networks worldwide, said on Sunday that the announcement was made in an audio speech delivered by AQAP religious official Hamid bin Hamoud al-Tamimi. In his speech, al-Tamimi also said that Khalid bin Umar Batarfi was AQAPs new leader, the monitor added. SITE said that Batarfi has appeared in many AQAP videos over the last several years and appeared to be al-Rimis deputy and the groups spokesman. US President Donald Trump announced earlier this month that his country had killed al-Rimi in an operation inside 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 at the time. 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. At the time of Trumps announcement, Al Jazeeras Andy Gallacher, reporting from Washington, DC, had 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 [2001]. AQAP claimed responsibility for last years deadly shooting at US Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida, in which a Saudi aviation trainee killed three US sailors. Yemens war broke out in late 2014 when the Houthis, allied with forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, seized much of the country, including Sanaa. The war escalated in March 2015 when a Saudi-UAE led coalition intervened against the rebels in a bid to restore the internationally-recognised government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. The Yemen-based AQAP, as well as other armed groups and fighters, have taken advantage of the chaos of the war between the pro-government forces and the Houthis to expand their footprint. -A video of a nine-year-old boy crying after he was bullied in school went viral after his mom shared it -This was after the little boy who was born with dwarfism was repeatedly bullied at school -Touched by his story, Cardi B took to her Instagram stories to defend the little man from trolls US rapper, Cardi B, has come to the defence of a 9-year-old Australian boy, Quaden Bayles after trolls branded him an adult. Quadens mother had shared a heartbreaking video on social media on Tuesday, February 18, calling on schools and parents to teach their children to accommodate counterparts living with disability. READ ALSO: Kate Actress celebrates hubby in sweet birthday message READ ALSO: Children buy new house to mother who sold fruits to raise them, other top stories The young boy who has dwarfism won netizens' hearts after a video of him threatening to take away his life went viral. Taking to her gram page, Cardi defended the young boy from trolls saying she did not think he was lying about his age. "I really do not think he is lying about his age. Just because there are videos of him flossing with money and acting all gangster does not mean he is not bullied," said the rapper. READ ALSO: Kitui: Mganga apoteza fahamu mke alipookoka According to Cardi, the boy could be acting all cool because his parents are trying to boost his ego. She picked on her followers saying they are also all over Instagram trying to show they have money whereas they are all broke. "You all be acting up for Instagram every day. You all be acting like you got money all day and you are all broke," added the rapper. Quadens mother had shared a heartbreaking video on social media on Tuesday, February 18, calling on schools and parents to teach children disability awareness. Photo: UGC Source: UGC The rapper is among the few high profile celebrities who have come out in defence of Quaden. His mom, Yarraka Bayles, said she witnessed a classmate patting him on the head and making references to his height. According to an earlier report by TUKO.co.ke, the boy's story touched many among them comedian Brad Williams who offered to raise money and send Quaden and his mother from Australia to an all-expense-paid trip to Disneyland in California. The fundraiser, which had a goal KSh 1.1 million has raised over KSh 15.1 million in less than a day. Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish, please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690 and Telegram: Tuko news. My 21 years in America were useless | Tuko TV Source: TUKO.co.ke Unani doctors and students write slogans during their protest against CAA, NRC and NPR at the Government Unani Hospital in the Old City on Saturday. Style Photo service Hyderabad: Activists campaigning against the Citizenship Amendment Act, NPR and NRC have alleged that their movements are being watched by Hyderabad City police in order to refrain them from participating in protests. Convener Telangana-AP Joint Action Committee against CAA & NPR, Mr Mohammed Mushtaq Malik alleged that police personnel were posted near his office and a shadow team is following him. Mr Mushtaq Malik said that wherever protests erupt in the city, police teams reach his office while cops in mufti are inquiring about his whereabouts. Though the JAC neither organised the protest by women at Barkas on Friday nor had they announced solidarity, a team of cops was posted at his office, he alleged. When he was returning home late in the night, cops on a two-wheeler and a van followed him the entire way. The JAC convenor said it may be a tactic of police to intimidate him, but we are not likely to be cowed down by such highhanded tactics. He also said that whenever protests surface in the city, Moulana Naseeruddin, organiser of Wahdat-e-Islami is kept under an unofficial house arrest. Constables bear his house prevent him from attending even personal engagements. The only saving grace is that he is allowed to visit the nearby Masjid his prayers, he said. Family members of activists Ms Khalida Parveen and Ms Shiba Minai also complained that police frequently call them and ask about their participation in protest meetings. In case their phones get switched-off due to low battery, within an hour cops reach their homes and ask about their whereabouts. Many students from the Old City complained that police officials were counselling their parents to keep them away them from protests, lest they spoil their career prospects. A youth from Tolichowki said they realised that convincing us is not possible. Victorians are being warned to brace for road delays and cancelled train and tram services as construction on more than 120 major projects and level crossing removals enters an "intensive phase". From March 23, trams along Flinders Street will be disrupted for almost a week due to works connected to the new Town Hall Station construction. Premier Daniel Andrews inspects the first completed section of the Metro Tunnel on Sunday. Toorak Road will be closed for nine days across April while a rail bridge is built in Kooyong to remove a level crossing. Parts of the Frankston train line will be closed for a week for work on the Cheltenham and Mentone stations, before line closures for two an a half months from the end of April. Three level crossings will also be removed as part of the works. Police have shot a knife-wielding man dead in Brisbane's CBD, with one witness saying she heard "six gunshots" in "rapid succession" and saw officers trying to resuscitate him. The armed attacker, believed to be 24 years' old and known to police, punched and stabbed a random 26-year-old male tourist nearby before patrolling police confronted him soon after. Forensic officers examine the scene near Quest apartments and the Westin Hotel. Credit:Tony Moore Emergency services were called to Mary and Edwards streets about 10am on Sunday and police said the man "charged" at officers with the knife. The man died in the middle of a busy Mary Street. The shooting took place near Quest River Park Central apartments and directly opposite the Westin Hotel. The Kerala Police has sought service of central agencies to locate the sources of 14 bullets with suspected Pakistan links found abandoned at rural parts of Kollam district in south Kerala on Saturday. Officials of the Military Intelligence and IB are learnt to have examined the bullets on Sunday, while a NIA team is also likely to examine the pellets soon. The Kerala Police's anti-terrorist squad led by DIG Anup Kuruvilla John already launched a probe into the matter. Kerala state police chief Loknath Behera said that since the bullets were suspected to be foreign made, the service of central agencies was sought to locate the actual sources. The 'POF' mark on the pellets triggered suspicions that it was manufactured at Pakistan Ordinance Factories. Since Kulathupazha area in Kollam, where the bullets were found abandoned were adjacent to forest, the police are also carrying out checks in the forest areas. The area is also close to Tamil Nadu border. A police source said that the police were having couple of suspicions. It could be either misplaced by those associated by extremist outfits or left-wing extremists or could be illegally obtained by poachers. Some times the pellets are even abandoned there by some one who accidentally got it, he said. NEWSALERT-TN-PM Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates 11 medical colleges in Tamil Nadu.Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates 11 medical colleges in Tamil Nadu. Infosys raises FY22 revenue growth outlook to 19.5-20 per cent from previous guidance of 16.5-17.5 per cent: Filing. The DGCA has also asked all airlines to make in-flight announcement in flights coming from these countries and ensure strict compliance. New Delhi: In a bid to prevent spread of Covid19 in India, the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Sunday ordered to expand the universal screening of passengers to those arriving in flights from Vietnam, Nepal, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Screening of passengers coming from these four countries will be in addition to the existing screening of flights coming from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, and Singapore. Universal screening of passengers coming from Vietnam, Nepal, Indonesia, and Malaysia besides the flight from coming from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, and Singapore shall be ensured immediately once they step out of the specific locations at all the airports and getting the self-declaration form filled by the passengers as per the instructions of the health and family welfare ministry, the DGCA notification said. The DGCA has also asked all airlines to make in-flight announcement in flights coming from these countries and ensure strict compliance. The death toll due to the Covid19 in China has touched 2,345 with 109 more fatalities reported. The U.S. government and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will face off on Monday in a high-security London courthouse, a decade after WikiLeaks infuriated American officials by publishing a trove of classified military documents. A judge at Woolwich Crown Court will begin hearing arguments from lawyers for U.S. authorities, who want to try Assange on espionage charges that carry a maximum sentence of 175 years in prison. The extradition hearing follows years of subterfuge, diplomatic dispute and legal drama that have led the 48-year-old Australian from fame as an international secret-spiller through self-imposed exile inside the EcuadoreanEmbassy in s Londsy to incarceration in a maximum-security British prison. Assange has been indicted in the U.S. on 18 charges over the publication of classified documents. Prosecutors say he conspired with U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to hack into a Pentagon computer and release hundreds of thousands of secret diplomatic cables and military files on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. U.S. authorities say WikiLeaks activities put American lives in danger. Assange argues he was acting as a journalist entitled to First Amendment protection and says the leaked documents exposed U.S. military wrongdoing. Among the files published by WikiLeaks was a video of a 2007 Apache helicopter attack by American forces in Baghdad that killed 11 people, including two Reuters journalists. READ| Julian Assange 'could die in jail', 60 doctors write open letter Journalism organizations and civil liberties groups including Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders say the charges against Assange set a chilling precedent for freedom of the press. What we have is an assault on journalism, left-wing Greek lawmaker Yanis Varoufakis said at an Assange support march in London on Saturday. The only charge against Julian, hiding behind the nonsense of espionage, is a charge of journalism. Assanges legal saga began in 2010 when he was arrested in London at the request of Sweden, which wanted to question him about allegations of rape and sexual assault made by two women. He refused to go to Stockholm, saying he feared extradition or illegal rendition to the United States or the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In 2012, Assange sought refuge inside the Ecuadorean Embassy, where he was beyond the reach of U.K. and Swedish authorities. For seven years Assange led an isolated and increasingly surreal existence in the tiny embassy, which occupies an apartment in an upscale block near the ritzy Harrods department store. Confined to the building, he occasionally emerged onto a small balcony to address supporters and received visits from celebrity allies including Lady Gaga and Baywatch actress Pamela Anderson. READ| WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange to seek asylum in France amid extradition case The relationship between Assange and his hosts eventually soured, and he was evicted in April 2019. British police immediately arrested him for jumping bail in 2012. Sweden dropped the sex crime investigations in November because so much time had elapsed, but Assange remains in Londons Belmarsh Prison as he awaits a decision on the U.S. extradition request. Supporters say the ordeal has harmed Assanges physical and mental health, leaving him with depression, dental problems, and a serious shoulder ailment. For his supporters around the world, Assange remains a hero. But many others are critical of the way WikiLeaks has published classified documents without redacting details that could endanger individuals. WikiLeaks has also been accused of serving as a conduit for Russian misinformation, and Assange has alienated some supporters by dallying with populist politicians including Brexit-promoter Nigel Farage. Assanges legal team insists the American case against him is politically motivated. His lawyers say they will present evidence that the Australian was offered a pardon by the Trump administration if he agreed to say Russia wasnt involved in leaking Democratic National Committee emails that were published by WikiLeaks during the 2016 U.S. election campaign. Assanges lawyers say the offer was made in August 2017 by then-Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, who claimed to be acting on behalf of President Donald Trump. The White House has called the claim a complete fabrication and a total lie. Rohrabacher acknowledges discussing the Democrat leak with Assange but denies offering a pardon from the president. An end to the saga could still be years away. After a week of opening arguments, the extradition case is due to break until May, when the two sides will lay out their evidence. The judge is not expected to rule until several months after that, with the losing side likely to appeal. If the courts approve extradition, the British government will have the final say. The case comes at a delicate time for trans-Atlantic relations. The U.K. has left the European Union and is keen to strike a trade deal with the U.S. But relations between Prime Minister Boris Johnsons Conservative government and the Trump administration have been strained by Britains decision to defy Washington and grant Chinese firm Huawei a role in building the U.K.s telecoms infrastructure. READ| Julian Assange, looking pale & sickly, caught on camera leaving London Court in Police van Anand Doobay, an extradition lawyer at the firm Boutique Law, said the Assange saga was an unusual, hard-to-predict case. Very few cases raise this range of issues, where there are likely to be arguments about the actual offenses hes accused of committing and whether they amount to a crime in both countries, he said. There are arguments about his treatment in terms of the fairness of his trial, the conditions hes going to be detained in, the reasons why he is being prosecuted, his activities as a journalist. Julian Assange Case The 48-year-old whistleblower currently imprisoned in Belmarsh is slapped with 18 charges in the United States including the Espionage Act, for conspiring to gain access into US military secrets between January and May 2010. If convicted, he will face up to 175 years in the US prison. Wikileaks, an anti-secrecy organisation, was founded in 2006 as a platform for whistleblowers to release classified information anonymously. By 2015, Wikileaks became a portal to publish over 10 million documents, including top-secret documents. Ever since its launch in 2006, Wikileaks has published thousands of classified documents, disclosing the details from national security, war, politics to the film industry. In 2010, as per published files of WikiLeaks, Congress' Rahul Gandhi told the then US Ambassador at lunch that Hindu extremists groups post a greater threat to his country than the Muslim terrorists. READ| Julian Assange struggles to say his own name, as he fights extradition (With AP inputs) The Nigerian Army says its troops of 232 Battalion of 23 Armoured Brigade under Operation Lafiya Dole deployed in Garkida, Gombi Local Government Area of Adamawa successfully thwarted planned attacks by the Boko Haram terrorists on Friday. The Assistant Director, Army Public Relations for 23 Brigade, Haruna Sani, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday. Mr Sani, a major, disclosed that the terrorists besieged the town in about seven gun trucks and a number of motorcycles setting some buildings ablaze and causing unrest within the community. He said the gallant troops mobilised and intercepted the criminals advance and engaged them with a high volume of firepower. According to him, the encounter led to the elimination of several of the criminals while others withdrew in disarray, many of them with gunshot wounds as evident in the trails of blood along their withdrawal route. Regrettably, one gallant soldier paid the Supreme price while another soldier was wounded in action. The wounded soldier has since been evacuated to a military medical facility and is positively responding to treatment, he said. Mr Sani said that the Commander 23 Armoured Brigade, Sani Mohammed, on Saturday visited the troops in Garkida and toured the locations of the attack. According to him, the Brigade Commander congratulated the troops for their doggedness, vigilance and uncommon fighting spirit that led to the victory against the enemy. He, however, admonished them to be more vigilant as the criminal elements may plan a reprisal attack due to the casualties they suffered. The Brigade Commander also solicits the citizens continuous cooperation in reporting to security agencies any suspicious persons or movement within and adjourning communities. He further reassured the good people of Garkida and indeed Adamawa State of the Brigades total commitment to protecting lives and properties within its Area of Responsibility, he said. (NAN) The Assam government put forward the idea of a socio-economic census of indigenous Muslims of Assam, except that it decided to drop the term Khilonjiya (indigenous) from the census. On the morning of 7 April, 2019, 68-year-old Shaukat Ali was at his small eatery near Tezpur. The hotel was known for its home-cooked beef, as well as fish and poultry. This was an inherited family business which had been running successfully for forty-odd years. By the end of that afternoon, Shaukat was left half-dead by a mob for selling beef; on a day he hadnt even sold any meat. Mobile phones captured the assault on Shaukat. No one intervened. He was seen kneeling down in the mud, petrified, surrounded by a mob that thought or believed it had the right to attack him because he sold beef. Who gave you the permission to sell beef in Biswanath Chariali? Are you a Bangladeshi? Do you have your name in the NRC (National Register of Citizens)? While he was kneeling down, the mob forced Shaukat to eat pork. Four months after the assault on Shaukat, a final list of Assams NRC was published: 1.9 million people had been left out and made potentially stateless. Within a few months, details emerged that a large majority of those excluded were Hindus. Not Muslims. In a petition to the Supreme Court of India, the Assam government sought a 20 percent reverification of the names in the bordering districts. The process and motive of the reverification of who is a legal citizen and who is not in the bordering areas with a predominantly Muslim population is self-explanatory. Goriya-Moriya-Jhula-Deshi Census Almost a year after the attack on Shaukat, on 11 February, 2020, the Assam government put forward the idea of a socio-economic census of indigenous Muslims of Assam, except that it decided to drop the term Khilonjiya (indigenous) from the census. It is now called the Goriya, Moriya, Deshi and Julha census. It includes just four Muslim communities and leaves out others. The Muslims from Barak Valley are not there. The Miyah Muslims, who have been fighting against their marginalisation through poetry and mobilisation, are also absent. Thats where the fear of being marked starts. Its an exercise that will separate ethnic Assamese Muslims from settler Muslims. This process will put under the scanner the ancestry of Muslims who are outside the four declared communities. Those Muslims left out live in the fear of being branded lesser citizens. This revealed itself to be a targeted survey and less of a census that by definition should include everyone. According to Edward Gaits History of Assam (1905), Garias (Gorias) are Muslims from the Gaur province of Bengal. According to A Statistical Account of Assam (1879)another colonial account by WW Hunter, Garias are tailors and Marias are braziers who specialised in bell-metal work. Bell-metal occupies an important place in Assamese culture. Some accounts say that Goria-Morias are Muslims who lived in Assam during the Ahom Period. Deshis are descendants of people who were residing in Dhubri-Goalpara-Cooch Behar area of Lower Assam that were part of the Bengal Presidency at the time of annexation of Assam through the treaty of Yandabo in 1826. Julhas are Muslims within Assams tea tribes and also weavers. Subir Dey, history scholar from Jawaharlal Nehru University, underlines the fact that Goria-Moria-Deshi-Jhula are just a few strands of migration of Muslims in the Brahmaputra valley and over the course of the last century have hardly remained static. During the same period there are complex histories of circulation, intermarriage, wilful conversions, he adds. " The intermingling has not been confined within these ethnicities but has also extended to the more recent and controversial migrants from East Bengal in late colonial Assam. The old district of Nagaon is a huge melting pot of such complex histories of migration and cohabitation. The presence and participation of Muslims in Assam can be found in some of the most iconic historic moments of its past. During the battle of Saraighat against Mughals in 1671, the Ahom commander Lachit Borphukan was flanked by lsmail Siddique, more popularly known as Bagh Hazarika. The legendary tiger slayer played a key role in the army in inflicting a crushing defeat on the Mughal army. Thus, this census which is premised on ahistorical assumptions seeks to reverse the course and flow of pluralistic history of Assam. Monirul Hussain from the Centre for Northeast Studies and Policy Research, Jamia Milia Islamia also doesnt agree with the proposed census. It is a very divisive kind of move. Bangladesh is only recent history. Prior to that Assam and Bengal have had a long history. This is a land of migrants. There has been migration and intermixing for years. We cannot have watertight compartments, he said. I spoke to Oliullah Lashkar, a lawyer at the Gauhati High Court. Oliullah is a Bengali Muslim from Silchar. His wife is an Assamese Muslim. The protection extended by this policy is clearly meant for the Assamese people. The Assamese people are the most dominant community in Assam. But at the same time, they claim to be indigenous people. He said that the term indigenous people is used in international law and in many domestic jurisdiction for providing protection to the most marginalised and vulnerable communities. It is obvious, according to Oliullah, that this claim is made to get legitimacy to their demand to maintain their supremacy over all other communities including the real indigenous people. Given the arbitrary and racist nature of the exercise, I will not count myself as an indigenous Muslim, even if I qualify. But it is highly unlikely, for I am Bengali. However, my partner is Assamese speaking and they identify themselves as Assamese people. She might get counted as indigenous. It is another matter, if a choice is given, I am not sure, how she would exercise it. But we have a son. How would they count him? Is he Assamese or Bengali? Is he indigenous or a settler? His apprehension probably echoes the views many Muslims in Assam hold. There could be answers that settle such queries on the surface. But this is about what lies beneath: The ruptures that the NRC has set in motion are widening every day. The ruptures arent new ones either. Clause 6 of Assam Accord: Extending Safeguards to those who belong This anxiety dates back to pre-Partition times and more recently to the violent anti-foreigner Assam agitation between 1979 and 1985, which led to the Assam Accord being signed in 1985 and a new government being sworn in. However, there were several rounds of talks before the final shape of the Accord was arrived at. Going through the initial rounds of talks, one gets a sense of predisposed notions and mutual suspicion with which communities held each other. On the receiving end were the Bengalis. In the spotlight was their migration within an undivided India physical movement within one country and being branded as illegals. In one such meeting before the Accord was signed, a proposal was given to control migration by building a wall and keeping the area around the wall clear of forest land and houses. The specific idea was that if a migrant managed to escape the wall, he or she could be easily spotted and shot at. The Accord formalised extension of preemptive steps to check migration and to protect the cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people. Clause 6 of the Accord promises constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards to do so. From July 2019, this is what a 13-member committee appointed by the home ministry and headed by Justice (retd) Biplab Kumar Sharma was entrusted to carry out. Assams chief minister is supposed to receive the report on behalf of the home ministry. What is important to note is that not one of those in the committee is from the Barak Valley region of Assam. This entire classification is undemocratic and outside the Constitutional mandate. It doesnt extend protection to all minorities. Where are the Sylheti Muslims from Barak Valley in this? This is happening by design and in a calculated manner, Taniya Lashkar, a lawyer who comes from Barak Valley, told me. According to some reports, the Sharma committee wants to use 1951 as a cut-off year to determine indigenous people of Assam. It also wants implementation of an Inner Line Permit to control movement of outsiders into Assam. Extension of safeguards under Clause 6 will divide people between settlers and indigenous communities. Indigenous people will be given first claim over natural resources and government employment. They will also be favoured in many other ways. It also suggests a reservation of 67 percent of seats in Assembly for indigenous people. Safeguards will translate into jobs, land and other benefits. Three members were of the opinion that there should be 100 percent reservation. So while the Indian Constitution says all Indians are equal, some are more equal than others. It reminds one of Myanmers 1982 Citizenship Law that provides a hierarchical structure of citizenship where only some ethnic communities have full citizenship. In fact it brings into sharp focus the domicile requirements that are constitutionally allowed. Individuals holding land for twenty years with their parents or forefathers being residents of Assam for a minimum of fifty years are eligible for domicile certificate. Clause 6, gets into the picture and creates categories between groups that fulfil domicile requirements. It leaves no stone unturned to spell out who is undesired in Assam. Earlier, on Republic Day this year, Assam governor Jagdish Mukhi showered praise on the Sharma Committee. He shared a vision for Assam with this group leading the charge. The governor stated that the Assam government has requested New Delhi to declare Assamese as the permanent state language. There is also a new land policy on the anvil. It is important to note that land has historically been at the centre of many conflicts in Assam. According to Mukhi, The land rights of indigenous people will be secured. In the same breath, he said, The government is determined to make Assam extremist-free. When I spoke to Suhas Chakma, the director of Rights and Risks Analysis Group, he unequivocally termed the socio-economic census of Muslims as intellectual hogwash. In addition, Chakma claims, To term every original inhabitant group or Bhumiputra of an area as indigenous is nothing but the perversion of the term indigenous peoples. By this logic, Englishmen would be indigenous peoples of England and Germans would be indigenous peoples of Germany. This is not what is the meaning and purpose of defining the indigenous peoples including under the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as well as the ILO Conventions No.107 and No 169 relating to indigenous and tribal peoples. Assams fear of land-hungry migrants These policies make a cultural, racial and linguistic distinction between Assamese and non-Assamese. Naturally it throws up some questions. Who is the original Bhumiputra or son of the soil in Assam? Are East Bengali Muslims not original inhabitants? Is there a bias acting against such Muslims? Most of these migrants are treated as land hungry migrants even if historically they were part of the same country when they moved from East Bengal of undivided India to Assam. In the judgment in Assam Sanhmilita Mahasangha v Union of India, where the Supreme Court decides the supervision of an NRC update, the Court reproduced census superintendent CS Mullans voice from 1931: "Probably the most important event in the province during the last 25 years an event, moreover, which seems likely to alter permanently the whole feature of Assam and to destroy the whole structure of Assamese culture and civilization has been the invasion of a vast horde of land-hungry immigrants mostly Muslims, from the districts of East Bengal. [...] Wheresoever the carcass, there the vultures will gathered together " Mullans voice re-emerged in 1998 in the words of Lt Gen SK Sinha, the then Governor of Assam who sounded alarm bells about a changing Assam: The silent and invidious demographic invasion of Assam may result in the loss of the geo-strategically vital districts of lower Assam. The influx of illegal migrants is turning these districts into Muslim majority regions. It will then only be a matter of time when a demand for their merger with Bangladesh may be made. The rapid growth of international Islamic fundamentalism may provide the driving force for this demand. In this context, it is pertinent that Bangladesh has long discarded secularism and has chosen to become an Islamic State. Loss of lower Assam will severe the entire land mass of the North East, from the rest of India and the rich natural resources of that region will be lost to the Nation (sic)." That Sinhas report is a biased document and is riddled with inaccuracies is well-known. It finds mention in the 2014 Supreme Court judgment on NRC. As Amnesty International mentions in its report on Foreigners Tribunals, the highest court in India legitimised the one-dimensional equation of migration with national security as endorsed by the report and justified the use of repressive laws. Land Rights Committee Things dont end with the formation of the committee to look into Clause 6 of Assam Accord or with the selective census of just four communities of Muslims. A day before the first draft of the NRC was published in December 2017, another report was submitted. It was the Final Report of the Committee for Protection of Land Rights of Indigenous People of Assam. The Bramha Committee at the very outset underlined that the pristine people of this beautiful land called Assam have reached a turning point in history at which they shockingly discovered that they have reached a crisis of their identity. That crisis, according to the report, is because of perennial infiltration and organised encroachment of their land by ceaseless swarms of a land-hungry people from across the Indo-Bangladesh borders. The report used Mullan and similar voices to justify anti-immigration policies. It wants strict measures to reverse the situation. The report also expressed fears that it is mostly in the border districts the demographic pattern has changed. These are the same districts where the Assam government wants a reverification of NRC process in the absence of a pan-India NRC. Illegal migrants must be detained and deported and the borders sealed off to prevent indigenous people being reduced to a landless class of people and foreigners in their home, the report warned. There is an uncanny similarity in the language used in various reports, all of which try and hammer home the point about illegal migration. The NRC, the land policy, and now the selective censusthey feed off each other. The socio-economic census that excludes many Muslim communities increases fears of isolation. It is also not a question of how easy or difficult it would be to implement this survey (not census). The issue is how it adds another layer to an ecosystem that is biased against a certain group of Muslims or ones who might have roots in pre-partition East Bengal. For many Indians, the many layers in such a system hold the dangerous promise of a free fall into statelessness. It also steadily pushes towards the idea of a so-called purely Assamese, hermetically-sealed Assam, often at odds with basic constitutional guarantees. Arijit Sen is an independent journalist. His Twitter handle is @senarijit A yoga teacher has told how her cheating fiance threw a radiator at her before threatening her with a meat cleaver which he kept under his pillow. Sophie Eyers, 28, from St Ives, Cambridgeshire, was left isolated and terrified after 28-year-old Samuel James refused to let her leave the house to see family and friends. When Miss Eyres discovered James had cheated on her, he threw a radiator at her before threatening her with the lethal blade. Sophie Eyers (pictured), 28, from St Ives, Cambridgeshire, was left isolated and terrified after 28-year-old Samuel James (pictured) refused to let her leave the house to see family and friends She was only saved when police, who had been tipped off by a neighbour, burst in to rescue her during his attack on February 2 2019. James pleaded guilty to coercive and controlling behaviour and assault at Cambridge Crown Court and is now serving a 34-month prison sentence. Miss Eyres, who has been forced to give up teaching yoga because of her ordeal, said: 'There was a constant threatening undertone from him 24 hours a day. Miss Eyres was saved by police who were tipped off by a neighbour and rescued her during his attack on February 2 2019 Miss Eyres had been forced to give up teaching yoga because of her ordeal which left her feeling 'very very low' 'To say I walked on egg shells is a massive understatement. He threatened to kill me most days and I was so scared that I could barely sleep.' She added: 'There were so many violent incidents that I can barely recall them all now. 'If I tried to leave the house without his permission he'd attack me, once he dragged me back in the house by my hair and beat me up. She continued: 'But afterwards he'd be so sorry and would gather me up in his arms and tell me he loved me. A bruise on Miss Eyre's arm caused by James during one of his attacks. She said his behaviour quickly deteriorated and he became volatile and controlling 'It messed with my head and I wasn't strong enough to leave. 'I was so thankful when the police finally came to rescue me, I think one of the neighbours called the police and they burst in just as he was holding the meat cleaver to my throat. 'I know for a fact I'd be dead now had they not intervened.' Miss Eyres first met James through friends in March 2018 and their romance quickly blossomed. James moved himself into Miss Eyre's house and proposed after eight months in November 2018 He even moved himself into her house and proposed after eight months in November 2018. But his behaviour quickly deteriorated and he became volatile and controlling. She said: 'Even when I was trying to do something nice, like booking a weekend away, he could just flip out for no reason. 'He'd accuse me of wasting money. 'But afterwards he'd pretend nothing had happened - it made me feel like I was going mad. That's how he broke me down. 'I was even scared of him before we got engaged, but I knew that if I said 'no' he'd flip out so I just pretended to be happy about it all. 'I was in love with him but I knew things weren't right, I just didn't know how to break free. I felt helpless.' The yoga teacher said: 'Even when I was trying to do something nice, like booking a weekend away, he could just flip out for no reason' James repeatedly threatened her an said he would lock her in the boot of his car and that he would 'smash her teeth in'. In another assault James threatened Miss Eyres with a knife after he pulled up in his car as she was leaving the gym. She refused to get in the vehicle, but when James produced the knife she went with him. James then admitted having sex with other women but blamed this on Miss Eyres and the incident eventually led to his arrest. In another assault James threatened Miss Eyres with a knife after he pulled up in his car as she was leaving the gym She said: 'I'd had no idea he was cheating on me but he was always asking odd questions and seemed obsessed with finding out if I knew about the other women. 'I denied knowing anything, but he looked livid and just didn't believe me. 'He took me upstairs to our bedroom - he was raging. She continued: 'He kicked a radiator off the wall it fell on my legs. 'While I was down he went over to the bed and under the pillow where he kept his meat cleaver and said 'you're going to cause a murder scene'. The yoga teacher added: 'At that point I really thought I'd had it, he was going to kill me. 'His eyes were not human. 'But just as he was leaning over me with the knife to my throat, the police burst in the door. 'One of the neighbours called them - they basically caught him red-handed. 'He was dragged away by the officers and one female officer stayed with me, I was in shock and I could barely speak to her. Miss Eyres said: 'I've started yoga again and I hope to be teaching again soon, getting back into it has really helped' 'I decided in that moment that I couldn't lie for him or cover up his mistakes anymore. 'I showed the officer with my eyes where my phone was and they look it away as evidence. 'I felt that it was now or never and I think the decision I made then, to come clean about it all, saved my life. 'I was placed in a women's refuge after I'd given my statement but I hated it so I moved back home. 'Thankfully he eventually pleaded guilty, I was terrified I'd have to give evidence in court. 'After the case I had a bit of a breakdown and felt very very low but I've progressed now and I'm rebuilding my life. 'I've started yoga again and I hope to be teaching again soon, getting back into it has really helped. 'I've got PTSD and really bad anxiety, but I suppose that's to be expected after the way I was living and what he put me through.' James pleaded guilty to one charge of coercive and controlling behaviour, three charges of assault by beating and one charge of common assault at Cambridge Crown Court in July 2019 and was sentenced to 34 months in prison. James was also handed a restraining order for 10 years, with conditions not to contact Miss Eyres or four others. The order prevents him from visiting St Ives and other areas. Miss Eyres said: 'I know I'd be dead now if the police hadn't found me that day. 'I wasn't able to break free from his spell, despite how scared I was and how much I wanted to escape. She added: 'I want other women to know that there is a way out, that you can talk to people and that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. 'It's hard to breakaway from a controlling or violent relationship but it's worth it.' But Border remains the single-most-important war epic of Indian cinema. Recalling the films success, Dutta says, There was a lot of junoon and passion behind that film. Although we didnt have the financial resources of Dunkirk or 1917, we made it exactly the way we wanted to without compromise. All the actors Sunny Deol, Suniel Shetty, Akshaye Khanna, Tabu, Pooja Bhatt etc. were fiercely dedicated. They spent months on locations where there were no amenities, forget luxury hotels. The success of Sam Mendes war epic 1917 reminds us of how much J P Dutta contributed to making the genre in India globally respectable with Border and LOC Kargil, especially the former. The latter, in spite of its stellar cast that read like the whos who of Bollywood as well as the stunning war sequences, suffered due to its inordinate length. But Border remains the single-most-important war epic of Indian cinema. Recalling the films success, Dutta says, There was a lot of junoon and passion behind that film. Although we didnt have the financial resources of Dunkirk or 1917, we made it exactly the way we wanted to without compromise. All the actors Sunny Deol, Suniel Shetty, Akshaye Khanna, Tabu, Pooja Bhatt etc. were fiercely dedicated. They spent months on locations where there were no amenities, forget luxury hotels. Dutta, whose last war film Paltan turned out to a damp squib, says he wants the same level of commitment from his actors and technicians that he got in Border. And for that, I need to collect my team carefully. I want to work with the bright talent around me. I am confident we can do another war film like Border, he asserts. The filmmakers older daughter Nidhi continues to be a pillar of strength. She has put her own acting career on hold to look after our production house, he says in conclusion. (Natural News) While the communist-infiltrated World Health Organization still refuses to declare the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic absurdly claiming there are no sustained local outbreaks outside of China the truth about this accelerating infectious disease outbreak is rapidly starting to emerge from nations that arent fudging their numbers. Confirmed infections in South Korea have exploded over the last 96 hours from just 30 cases to 602 confirmed cases. Local residents there are scrambling to purchase preparedness supplies, stripping shelves bare and leading to a sense of urgency. Some cities in South Korea have already taken on a ghost town vibe, with streets emptied and nearly all community functions shut down. In Italy, confirmed cases have skyrocketed to 155 as an outbreak continues its exponential spread there, threatening all of Western Europe. A third death has been confirmed in Italy, and the Italian government has declared a national emergency. Italian officials, notably, are far more honest than U.S. officials in reporting these cases, even though they have so far failed to identify patient zero there, who may never be found. Confirmed cases are exploding in Japan, too, which is no surprise given Japans criminally negligent handling of the Diamond Princess fiasco that ultimately led to thousands of potentially infected cruise passengers being released onto the streets of Tokyo. Iran is also experiencing an explosion in deaths (now 8), and if the mainstream medias 2% mortality rate is to be believed, that would indicate there must be over 400 infected people in Iran, most of whom havent yet been identified (meaning they are spreading it to others). Around the world, non-China infections are now doubling every 4 days or so, soaring to nearly 2,000 infections outside of China. Heres the current official count as of Feb. 23rd: If this rate is sustained, there will be over 40,000 infections across the globe by the end of March. The CDC appears to be covering up over 1,000 infections in the USA As we documented 12 hours ago in this bombshell Natural News story, this is all taking place while the U.S. CDC appears to be actively engaged in a coordinated cover-up to withhold testing kits from U.S. hospitals and clinics, resulting in a situation where only 3 U.S. states are conducting any testing at all. That means 47 states are carrying out zero coronavirus testing, and the CDC itself has only tested 414 people in the entire nation. This, despite the fact that over 250,000 Chinese students attend U.S. universities, and unknown thousands traveled back to the United States after the recent Chinese New Year lockdown in Wuhan. The CDCs new strategy is to avoid testing anyone as a way to avoid reporting confirmed infections. In fact, the CDC has released a coronavirus testing flow chart that quite literally prohibits any testing of Americans who have been infected in the United States: As you can see from the chart, any American showing symptoms but who didnt travel from China and who doesnt realize theyve had any close contact with an infected person will NOT be tested for the coronavirus. By definition, then, America will see zero community outbreaks since no testing is allowed for those who have been infected from community outbreaks. This is what has allowed the CDC to continue claiming they see no evidence of community outbreaks. Of course they dont. Theyve ruled out any testing that would reveal community outbreaks. The actions of the CDC now border on criminal negligence, potentially costing the lives of tens of millions of Americans if the outbreaks which are already taking place in the United States are not honestly disclosed and dealt with. U.S. government seems to be trying to seed coronavirus infections into Los Angeles Meanwhile, the U.S. government just tried to transfer up to 50 confirmed infected patients to the Fairview Development Center in Costa Mesa, California, a kind of residential community with zero controls for level-4 bioweapons or infectious diseases. This center is right next to Huntington Beach / Newport Beach in California, just south of Los Angeles where over 10 million people could spread the disease if containment fails. See this map: If the U.S. government were literally trying to cause a nationwide outbreak, they couldnt have picked a better place to release the virus and watch it spread across Los Angeles, then the entire nation. We are either dealing with unprecedented criminal negligence here or a deliberate campaign to spread the virus across America. Either way, the infections are mounting across America but the CDC refuses to test anyone who got infected in America. As a result, this epidemic is exploding across the USA entirely unseen and unreported by the disastrously dishonest fake news media and the criminally-run Big Tech speech police that protect the official narrative. If you want to live, follow Pandemic.news which features downloadable mp3 podcast files, videos, articles, science paper links and much more. Listen to one of my podcasts from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com, describing how the CDC is warning U.S. hospitals to prepare for a surge in coronavirus patients: New Delhi, Feb 23 : The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) on Sunday sent a memorandum to US President Donald Trump asking him to advise e-commerce majors to carry out their operations in India in line with the rules and laws. "The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) today sent a memorandum on current position of e commerce in India which is greatly vitiated by e-commerce companies, majorly by US based e-commerce companies," a statement from the traders' body said. The memorandum was sent through the US Ambassador to India, Kenneth Iyan Juster. The move comes a day ahead of Trump's first official visit to India. His two-day visit starts on Monday as his Air Force One flight will land at Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport around noon on Monday. While calling for more closer bilateral trade between India and USA, CAIT, in its memorandum, said that the Indian government, adopting a liberal approach in facilitating global e-commerce companies to conduct their business in India, formulated a well-defined FDI policy for making investments in India which also includes the e-commerce sector but this was being violated. "... various e-commerce companies including US based e-commerce companies have made it a habit to flout and violate the FDI policy by adopting predatory pricing, deep discounting, exclusive sale of goods, having preferential seller system and influencing the prices and thus creating an uneven level playing field which is most disadvantageous to small businesses of India," CAIT said. Such companies have found ways to avoid explicit provisions of FDI policy thereby creating massive distortion and disruption not only in e-commerce but also in retail trade of India, it added. The organisation has time and again written to and met Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, among others, to register their protest against what it describes as deep discounting and unfair means by both the online platforms, which has impacted the offline traders. The traders body had staged protests across India during the visit of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to India last month. Following appeals by the traders' body, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in January ordered an enquiry into the operations of both Amazon and Flipkart on multiple counts, including deep discounts and exclusive tie-ups with preferred sellers. However, following a writ petition by Amazon at the Karnataka High Court, the court on February 14 ordered a stay on the anti-trust probe. The High Court was of the view that the ongoing investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) should be completed first. Last year, the ED initiated insvestigation against both Amazon and Flipkart for alleged violation of the foreign exchange law. Further, days after the stay order, Walmart-backed Flipkart on Friday also moved the Karnataka High Court urging it to set aside the probe. In its writ petition, Flipkart Internet Private Ltd said that although the High Court has ordered a stay on the investigation, the probe order of the CCI "deserves to be set aside". CAIT is likely to file a petition against stay order in the coming week at the Supreme Court, a CAIT office-bearer told IANS. A new paper by Chinese researchers claims to provide further evidence that the deadly new coronavirus may not have originated in a seafood market in the city of Wuhan. Health officials generally believe the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes the disease known as Covid-19, initially passed to humans at the now-dismantled Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in the 11 million-strong central Chinese city. But the new paper, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, is the latest to challenge that assumption. Co-authored by researchers from three Chinese institutions including the Chinese Academy of Sciences and published Friday on the distribution platform ChinaXiv, the study attempts to trace how the virus emerged and evolved. The data suggest that the SARS-CoV-2 source at the market was imported from elsewhere, researchers say. Scientists used gene sequencing technology from 93 virus samples and analyzed their haplotypes groups of genes inherited together from a single parent organism. They found that all the samples with a reported link to the market contained the same haplotype, which they called H1. But when the scientists dug deeper, they found that three more-ancestral haplotypes H3, H13 and H38 appeared in several cases with no reported ties to the market, including one in the southern city of Shenzhen and another in the United States. That makes it relatively likely that the virus was introduced into the market from outside and began passing between people earlier than previously thought, according to the study. SARS-CoV-2 may have already circulated widely among humans in Wuhan before December 2019, probably beginning in mid to late November, the paper says. Some infected patients may have been overlooked because they had mild symptoms. The paper follows on the heels of research published last month in the well-known medical journal The Lancet challenging the hypothesis that the virus emerged at the Wuhan market. That paper analyzed 41 infected patients whose cases dated as far back as Dec. 1 and concluded that 13 of them had no links to the marketplace. Since erupting in Wuhan in December, the Covid-19 epidemic has gone on to sicken more than 77,000 people in China and kill nearly 2,500. Chinese authorities confirmed the disease can pass from person to person in late January. Contact reporter Mo Yelin (yelinmo@caixin.com) Tsingtao Brewery Company Limited (HKG:168), which is in the beverage business, and is based in China, saw significant share price movement during recent months on the SEHK, rising to highs of HK$52.60 and falling to the lows of HK$43.15. Some share price movements can give investors a better opportunity to enter into the stock, and potentially buy at a lower price. A question to answer is whether Tsingtao Brewery's current trading price of HK$43.85 reflective of the actual value of the mid-cap? Or is it currently undervalued, providing us with the opportunity to buy? Lets take a look at Tsingtao Brewerys outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if there are any catalysts for a price change. Check out our latest analysis for Tsingtao Brewery What is Tsingtao Brewery worth? According to my valuation model, Tsingtao Brewery seems to be fairly priced at around 13% below my intrinsic value, which means if you buy Tsingtao Brewery today, youd be paying a fair price for it. And if you believe that the stock is really worth HK$50.59, then there isnt much room for the share price grow beyond what its currently trading. So, is there another chance to buy low in the future? Given that Tsingtao Brewerys share is fairly volatile (i.e. its price movements are magnified relative to the rest of the market) this could mean the price can sink lower, giving us an opportunity to buy later on. This is based on its high beta, which is a good indicator for share price volatility. What does the future of Tsingtao Brewery look like? SEHK:168 Past and Future Earnings, February 23rd 2020 Future outlook is an important aspect when youre looking at buying a stock, especially if you are an investor looking for growth in your portfolio. Although value investors would argue that its the intrinsic value relative to the price that matter the most, a more compelling investment thesis would be high growth potential at a cheap price. With profit expected to grow by a double-digit 18% over the next couple of years, the outlook is positive for Tsingtao Brewery. It looks like higher cash flow is on the cards for the stock, which should feed into a higher share valuation. Story continues What this means for you: Are you a shareholder? 168s optimistic future growth appears to have been factored into the current share price, with shares trading around its fair value. However, there are also other important factors which we havent considered today, such as the track record of its management team. Have these factors changed since the last time you looked at the stock? Will you have enough confidence to invest in the company should the price drop below its fair value? Are you a potential investor? If youve been keeping an eye on 168, now may not be the most optimal time to buy, given it is trading around its fair value. However, the positive outlook is encouraging for the company, which means its worth further examining other factors such as the strength of its balance sheet, in order to take advantage of the next price drop. Price is just the tip of the iceberg. Dig deeper into what truly matters the fundamentals before you make a decision on Tsingtao Brewery. You can find everything you need to know about Tsingtao Brewery in the latest infographic research report. If you are no longer interested in Tsingtao Brewery, you can use our free platform to see my list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading. Washington: US President Donald Trump became enraged with senior advisers this week when 14 Americans who tested positive for the coronavirus were brought back to the US from Japan after he had been told they would remain quarantined overseas, administration officials told The Washington Post. The President was first told that Americans who were aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship, where the coronavirus has spread, would be flown back to the US on two planes but that patients with the infection or with symptoms would stay in Japan, where the ship is anchored, the newspaper reported. However, the State Department and a US health official decided to bring back the infected Americans on the planes and place them in isolation without telling the President, the Post said. Administration officials told the Post that Trump learned of the reversal only after the fact and complained that the decision might damage his administration's handling of the outbreak. The Post previously reported there had been tensions between the State Department and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding the decision to allow asymptomatic Americans who had tested positive for the coronavirus to travel back to the US along with other passengers who had not. A State Department official told reporters Friday that an execution plan was already underway when Japanese lab results became available. "I think the folks on the ground did just the right thing, by -- out of an abundance of caution moving those 14 people into an isolation area where they pose no threat to themselves or anyone else, to provide room for a robust inter-agency discussion between not just CDC and state, but really the operational elements of HHS," said Dr. William Walters, executive director and managing director for operational medicine at the State Department's Bureau of Medical Services. "At the end of the day, the State Department had a decision to make, informed by our inter-agency partners, and we went ahead and made that decision," Walters said. "And the decision, I think, was the right one in bringing those people home." US officials have now confirmed at least 35 cases of the coronavirus in the country, the CDC said Friday. Shots were fired at the vehicle of Punjab Shiv Sena vice president Amit Arora and state chief of the youth wing Shiv Sena Hindustan Mani Shera in Ludhiana on Saturday. "We got the information that Amit Arora was in the office when his workers heard shots. We have called the forensics expert team from Mohali for investigation. We have provided them security on the basis of previous incidents. We are looking to CCTV footage," Ludhiana Police Commissioner Rakesh Agarwal told reporters here. However, no injuries were reported in the incident. 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.) Over 10,000 policemen from different parts of Gujarat have been deployed at strategic locations in Ahmedabad as part of the elaborate security arrangements for US President Donald Trump's visit here on Monday, officials said. The massive police deployment is in addition to officials of the United States Secret Service, and India's elite National Security Guards (NSG) and Special Protection Group who would also be guarding the US president's visit. The Secret Service agents along with other US security personnel have already arrived with their equipment and vehicles in at least four cargo planes during the last one week. Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take part in a 22-km roadshow from the Ahmedabad international airport and then proceed for the 'Namaste Trump' event at the newly- built Sardar Patel Stadium in the city's Motera area, where over one lakh people are expected to be present. Police will be using the anti-drone technology to neutralise any suspicious drone on the route, officials said, adding that an anti-sniper team of the NSG will also be stationed along the roadshow route, starting from the airport till the Motera stadium via Indira bridge. With the help of sophisticated hand-held devices, the entire route has been scanned several times by the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad. Police and other security agencies have also conducted a rehearsal on the entire roadshow route using over 100 vehicles, they said. Along with police personnel, who will be led by 25 IPS officers, teams of the Rapid Action Force, State Reserve Police, Chetak Commando and Anti-Terrorist Squad are also deployed at strategic locations. Before the US president's arrival, at least four C17 Globemaster cargo planes of the US Air Force have landed at the Ahmedabad international airport with security and communication equipment, Trumps' official helicopter 'Marine One' and a mammoth SUV-like vehicle. The giant SUV, which would be part of Trump's cavalcade during his 22-km long roadshow on February 24, is known as WHCA Roadrunner. WHCA stands for White House Communications Agency. The Roadrunner vehicle, also known as the MC2V (mobile command and control vehicle), serves as a mobile communication hub for the presidential motorcade by encrypting duplex radio and streaming video, which in-turn is beamed to a military satellite that sends the data back to the ground. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Maharashtra government on Sunday said that 81 out of 83 people admitted in isolation wards for suspected exposure to the novel coronavirus have tested negative. While 80 of them have been discharged, three others continue to be hospitalised. The outbreak of the virus, officially called Covid-19, was first detected in Wuhan in China in December and has since affected thousands of people across the globe. "Out of the 83 persons, 81 have tested negative for the coronavirus infection. Of these 80 have been discharged. Three persons are under observation in Mumbai's Kasturba Hospital," a state health department official said on Sunday. People coming from notified nations including China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, Nepal, Indonesia and Vietnam are being monitored as part of the protocol in place to tackle the outbreak, he added. Since the outbreak of the virus in China and its spread across the globe through travellers, the Maharashtra government, acting on the guidelines issued by the Centre, has been placing people in isolation wards and screening those arriving at the Mumbai international airport from places affected by the outbreak. Since January 18, a total of 48,295 passengers have been screen at Mumbai airport. Officials said a 14-day follow-up of 207 of 291 people who arrived in the state from covid-19 affected areas had been completed. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) MUSKEGON COUNTY A 35-year-old Newaygo County man died after the vehicle he was driving left the roadway, stroke a utility pole, overturned and hit a tree. Troopers from the Michigan State Police Rockford Post, along with Muskegon Charter Township firefighters, responded to the fatal crash on River Road near the intersection of Betty Lane at approximately 12:40 a.m. Feb. 23, according to a news release by the Michigan State Police. The driver, a Grant resident, was determined to have been eastbound on River Road when his 2006 Jeep Commander left the roadway while he was navigating a curve just west of Betty Lane, the release says. After leaving the roadway, it was determined the Jeep struck a utility pole, overturned and struck a tree, the release says. The driver, who was pronounced dead on the scene, was the only occupant in the Jeep. Authorities are yet to release his name. No other vehicles were in the accident and alcohol is believed to be a factor in the crash, police say. Also on MLive: Shooting victim, 37, shot in neck while walking home Small plane crashes at Branch County airport during training flight Pickup with flaming tire keeps driving during multi-county pursuit Obinwanne Okeke, the 32-year-old Nigerian arrested in the United States last August, has accused the Federal Bureau of Investigation of accessing his mobile phones and laptops illegally, a development he said was enough ground for the charges against him to be dismissed. Mr Okeke, through his lawyers, said in a preliminary objection filed in the U.S. court in December that his phones were seized by the F.B.I. agents that arrested him and searched without proper procedure. The lawyers said when Mr Okeke was arrested at the airport while waiting to depart for Nigeria in August 2019, federal agents asked him to unlock his iPhone and Macbook Pro without first reading him his Miranda rights. The rights involve telling a suspect under arrest they have the right to remain silent and not cooperate with authorities, especially when the suspect has not contacted a lawyer. Mr Okekes lawyers, The Iweanoges Firm, said the Nigerian businessman was not told he had a right not to provide passwords to his devices to F.B.I. or other American authorities, which made him assume he had no choice but to give them the codes. In the preliminary objection, the lawyers further argued that all evidence obtained from Mr Okekes phones and laptops should fall under the fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine and subsequently removed from admissible evidence in court during trial. In the December 15, 2019 filing, the Iweanoges Firm said the F.B.I. held on to Mr Okekes devices for more than two weeks after they arrested him and allegedly coerced him to release their passwords before obtaining a court warrant to search them. This procedural mishap should render any evidence obtained from the devices useless, they said. In their response, filed on January 24 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, where Mr Okeke is facing two counts of computer and wire fraud, the prosecutors said the defence lawyers were being frivolous with their allegations. They said Mr Okeke was read his Miranda rights at about 11:35 p.m. on August 6, 2016, moments after he was taken into custody at the Washington Dulles International Airport and handed over to the F.B.I. airport command. The prosecutors said Mr Okeke was informed he could remain silent, but he willingly agreed to let authorities search his devices by providing passwords to them. The prosecutors further argued that even if it were true that Mr Okeke was not read his Miranda rights as his lawyers claimed, the evidence collected from his phone cannot be dismissed because they only corroborated evidence already collected in the year-long investigation into his alleged involvement in the $11 million fraud. They also said since Mr Okeke is an educated adult with both undergraduate and graduate degrees, who has travelled extensively across the world over the years, then it cannot be argued that he did not know the implication of submitting his passwords for federal agents to collect information. READ ALSO: Mr Okeke became a prime person of interest after F.B.I. received complaints from Caterpillar, an American heavy equipment manufacturer, that some unscrupulous individuals had swindled its U.K. subsidiary, Unatrac, of $11 million. The fraud was allegedly committed through business email compromise, a trending fraudulent scheme involving the use of a company email to spoof other officials in the same organisation. The F.B.I. said months of investigation exposed Mr Okeke as the principal suspect that executed the fraud. The agency later obtained a warrant for his arrest when he visited the U.S. and was about to return to Nigeria on August 6, 2019. A few days after his arrest, Mr Okeke was indicted by a grand jury of committing the fraud based on preliminary evidence submitted by the F.B.I. But he later argued that he was not guilty, dragging the matter to trial. A judge had previously fixed February 18 for the commencement of trial in the matter, but it was adjourned after preliminary objections from the defence team forced both parties to seek another date. Mr Okeke, however, remained in custody. Ahead of the February 18 date initially scheduled for commencement of trial, the defence team began raising preliminary objections to get the matter dismissed and for Mr Okeke to return to Nigeria. In the first objection, they argued that the F.B.I. had no powers to arrest Mr Okeke because he did not commit the offence on American soil. They also said no American victim, either as individuals or groups, was identified by authorities. But prosecutors dismissed the lack of jurisdiction argument as frivolous because Mr Okeke visited the U.S. and stayed in Virginia during the period he allegedly committed the $11 million fraud, which spanned several months. They also said more victims who are Americans may still be introduced during trial, saying their indictment filing was only to show enough grounds for a judge to issue a warrant for Mr Okeke to be arrested. The second defence argument bordering on coercion of Mr Okeke was also rejected by the prosecutor. But both parties agreed that the court should approve additional time for preliminary matters to be resolved and Mr Okeke to remain in custody until trial evential begins. Music and road trips go hand-in-hand, right? When you are enjoying a great view somewhere up in the mountains, trying to retrace your journey to find some solace, great music playing in the background just adds to the feel and the good vibe. In one such moment, I discovered The Yellow Diary, a Mumbai-based band thats trying to build its own alt-rock legacy. In the time when the trend of remixes and remakes have taken over Bollywood, The Yellow Diarys rendition of legendary Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khans Tere Jeya Hor Disda, the song that introduced me to the band, oddly felt like a breath of fresh air. This, however, isnt their first track. The first song that they released is Marz, in no time became a sensation. So much so, that musicians like Vishal Dadlani, Papon, Warren Mendonsa and Raghu Dixit among others took notice of them and showered praises upon the band that consists of five boys -- Himonshu Parikh (music producer), Rajan Batra (vocals), Stuart Da Costa (bass), Vaibhav Pani (guitar) and Sahil Shah (drummer). @Raghu_Dixit @VishalDadlani , The support and appreciation you gave us when we were starting our journey as a band, gave us the self confidence and motivation to push ourselves to the next level. Thank you for everything! Here's "Marz": https://t.co/Cr0z0jJ4Wv#TYDLive pic.twitter.com/00BNOljK3m The Yellow Diary (@tydtheband) May 14, 2018 Their music has such a soothing effect that it fills their fans with so many emotions that are a little hard to hold within. Thats perhaps what great music does to you, isnt it? The beginning of the band: How five boys from different walks of lives quit their jobs to follow their passion! Rajan and I (Himonshu Parikh ) met in 2015 through a common friend, and started working on a track together. That track was Marz. Rajan was working in the merchant navy before he came to Mumbai to pursue music. As we started working together, we realised that we want to make this a full-time collaboration between both of us. As we completed the song, we realised we need a slamming guitarist for the song. Thats how Pani came onboard. I and Pani had worked with a band before. Pani was working as an IT consultant, who left his eventually job for music. We told him about The Yellow Diary, the band we wanted to start. He happily joined us. We created the song and uploaded it on YouTube. Pani went on a tweeting spree. He tweeted to all the musicians, like Vishal Dadlani and Raghu Dixit, we listen to a lot. Surprisingly, they all responded and applauded Marz. That gave us a lot of motivation and validation. Thats when it struck us that we can actually form a band and play live music to entertain people. Thats when I reached out to Sahil, a friend of mine who was working for his family business. He was all game for it. He then introduced us to Stuart, who was working with an advertising agency. Stuart loved the song, and he came on board too. By Feb 2016, we formed a band consisting of five people. I was doing a stable job after completing mechanical engineering, but I took a leap of faith and got into music. The fact that our parents were supportive, boasted our morale. The name The Yellow Diary has a deeper meaning than what you expect! The Yellow Diary, as Stuart explains, is an amalgamation of five independent musicians who have their own influences that produce a beautiful sound. Every person in the band, he says, has a unique perspective that interestingly resonates with one another. They have a unique name too. When asked why they chose The Yellow Diary as the name that defines their band. Its a different day, different emotion and a different page from the diary, they say. Our songs are written in such a way they come from personal experiences or experiences of people around us or philosophies or thoughts or the stuff that you usually go home and jot down in your personal diary, says Himonshu. But why is their dairy yellow in colour? Yellow is a bright and happy colour, but it also has a dark side to it like cynicism or physical illness. It is often used cinematically in an eerie context. Just like how the colour has a meaning varying from dark to light, our songs also emotionally range from dark to bright. There are some songs that are sad and dark, while others have a happy vibe, he adds. The Indian version of Linkin Park! If you go through the comment section of their YouTube videos, some fans have called them Indian Linkin Park, while some have compared them to Jal from Pakistan. They all, on the other hand, say that they dont follow one particular musician or a genre. At core, we are an alternative-rock band, says Sahil and he adds, We follow a very experimental process and we end up doing what is right for the song. From Anderson .Paak to Coldplay, Alter Bridge and Dave Matthews Band, they all have different choices when it comes to their favourite band or musician, but what keeps them together is the passion of creating good music, they say. A live performance that brought tears in their eyes! TOI The thing about good music is that you enjoy it more when you enjoy it with other people, and you create music and a large group of audience enjoys the music, its a feeling out of this world. The first time they all realised that their music is really casting a big impact was they performed live at NH7. It was also the first time when they were playing at such a big stage. They were performing the song Marz with most of them having their eyes closed as they were enjoying their own music. In such a deep-felt moment, Rajan, the vocalist, missed his cue. It took a moment for them to realise that he had broken into tears. As the audiences started to sing the chorus along with them, he had a couple of tears rolling down his eyes too. To see thousands of people singing your song back to you, made the moment so much more real. Thats when the band knew it was the beginning of something beautiful! For a small indie band like The Yellow Diary, it was indeed a big deal. At the time when our country's music scene has been majorly monopolized by Bollywood, heres what they all think about the kind of music Honey Singh and Badshah are making. rollingstoneindia.com It does not matter if youre Honey Singh or Badshah, what matters is if your music is good or bad, and that is a very subjective topic. We respect artists that have the guts to put out their own songs and make a mark for themselves. We believe even Indie bands can make a mark in the Bollywood dominated industry. In the times of ongoing unrest, music can definitely bring about a change. Considering the current political situation and unrest in the country, where in a lot of romantic songs have been converted into revolutionary ones. People are singing to express their dissent during protests. Vishal Bhardwaj also recited a poem during one of the rallies. Many others including Ankur Tewari raised their voice with the help of music. When asked about their thoughts on protesters taking music to rallies to express dissent, they say music can indeed bring about a change. Since the historical times, music has always acted as an instrumental tool - be it from the likes of Bob Marley, John Lennon and Rage Against the Machine among others, all artists have definitely been instrumental in defining peoples opinions. We live in testing times, where music can act as a positive influence on society and making the world a better place to live, says Rajan. A simple yet quite useful suggestion for budding bands. You got to be patient. You got to be true to the music. It does take a while before the money starts kicking in. You will have to find something to support you financially, while you work on your music, says Himonshu. Sahil suggests bands to put all their songs out without a doubt. The only way you know if the song is good or bad is to finish it and put it out there. There is no point of having a bank of three songs on your hard drive and not being out to the world. Put out more songs. London: Friends insist they have no misgivings over the controversial decision to step down as senior members of the royal family. Yet the latest outpouring from the Sussexes more than hints at an undercurrent of bitterness. The couple have announced they are giving up their plans to build a personal foundation. Credit:Chris Jackson Collection If Harry and Meghan were truly content with how things have turned out, they surely would not have felt the need to publish a 1033-word "update" on their website, laced with thinly veiled barbs at "The Firm". No regrets? The couple's markedly pointed reaction to being stripped of their royal status smacks of that infamous celebrity catchphrase: "Don't you know who I am?" Five alleged drug peddlers, including a woman, were arrested in separate incidents in Jammu and Kashmir and huge quantities of contraband were recovered from them, police said on Sunday. Four drug peddlers were arrested in two separate instances in Kulgam district of south Kashmir and about 137 kg of drugs were seized, a police spokesman said. Officers at a checkpoint in the jurisdiction of Qazigund police station intercepted an oil tanker bearing Punjab registration number with two persons on board. Upon checking, the officers were able to recover 125 kg of poppy straw concealed inside 10 bags from the oil tanker, the spokesman said. In another action against drug dealings, the spokesman said, police officers intercepted a vehicle bearing J and K registration at Jawahar Tunnel with two persons on board. When they searched the vehicle, 12 kg of poppy straw was recovered from the vehicle, he said. All four men have been kept in custody in Qazigund police station and both the vehicles have also been seized, the spokesman said. In a separate incident in Ganderbal district in central Kashmir, police arrested a woman who was allegedly peddling drugs. The spokesman said officers from Kangan police station acted on specific information and raided a shop run by a lady in Bonibagh area where they recovered 400 grams of charas and around Rs 4.2 lakh cash believed to be the proceeds of narcotic crime. The accused woman has been arrested for drug related offences, he said, adding that a case has been registered following which she was shifted to Women Police Cell in Ganderbal where she remains in custody. Initial investigation into the case revealed that the woman was peddling drugs to the youth of the area under the garb of running a local shop, the spokesman said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Flash The United States and the Afghan Taliban said on Friday that they are set to sign an agreement on Feb. 29 after the implementation of a week-long violence reduction in Afghanistan. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement that on the condition of a successful implementation of the reduction in violence across Afghanistan, the United States and the Taliban are expected to sign an agreement on Feb. 29, but he did not announce the location of the signing. Zabiullah Mujahid, a purported Taliban spokesman, wrote on Twitter that following lengthy negotiations, "both parties agreed to sign the finalized accord in the presence of international observers." "Both parties will now create a suitable security situation in advance of agreement signing date ... make arrangements for the release of prisoners, structure a path for intra-Afghan negotiations with various political parties of the country and finally lay the groundwork for peace across the country with the withdrawal of all foreign forces and not allowing the land of Afghanistan to be used against security of others ...," Mujahid added. The agreement between the United States and the Taliban is also expected to include a timeline for the reduction and eventual withdrawal of foreign troops, assurances by the Taliban that they will prevent terrorist groups from operating in Afghanistan, and a permanent ceasefire. "Challenges remain, but the progress made in Doha provides hope and represents a real opportunity. The United States calls on all Afghans to seize this moment," Pompeo said. According to the U.S. statement, intra-Afghan negotiations will start soon after the signing of the agreement. Jawid Faisal, a spokesman for the Afghan National Security Council, told local media that the seven-day reduction of violence across the country started at 12:00 a.m. local time (0730 GMT) on Feb. 29, adding that "the government promises to abide by all the rules of the seven-day violence reduction term to bring peace and stability to the country." A senior U.S. official told media last week at Munich that the reduction of violence would cover the entire country, including Afghan government forces, and the Taliban had committed to a halt in roadside and suicide bombings as well as rocket attacks. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in a tweet on Friday that the reduction of violence across Afghanistan could pave the way for sustainable peace and prevent the country from a safe-haven for terrorists. Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah described the deal as a necessary stepping stone toward intra-Afghan negotiations, a permanent ceasefire and a durable settlement acceptable to Afghan citizens. "As a responsible side, we will do our utmost to facilitate, cooperate and justly resolve all outstanding issues to build consensus that engages Afghans in peace making," he tweeted. Some U.S. experts, however, are skeptical that any real peace deal will ensue. "The Afghan government and the Taliban haven't even proven they can talk to each other and much less find a meaningful power-sharing compromise," Michael O'Hanlon, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, told Xinhua. The war in Afghanistan is the longest one in U.S. history. The death toll of U.S. service members has surpassed 2,400 since the country invaded Afghanistan in 2001. U.S. President Donald Trump has long grumbled about the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan that started in 2001, calling it "ridiculous." Peace talks between the United States and the Taliban began in 2018 but have been interrupted at least twice after Taliban attacks on U.S. military personnel in September and December last year. The United States maintains roughly 13,000 troops in Afghanistan, which mostly provide training missions to local Afghan forces while conducting counterterrorism operations. (UPDATE: CMU student charged in triple stabbing at Wayside bar) (UPDATE: CMU student arrested in stabbing at Wayside bar, 2 students injured) (UPDATE: Wayside bar issues statement on stabbing incident near CMU campus) MOUNT PLEASANT, MI -- Three people were stabbed and one person is in custody after police responded to a popular bar late Saturday night near the campus of Central Michigan University. Officers from the Mount Pleasant Police Department were called out shortly before midnight Saturday, Feb. 22 for a report of a fight at the Wayside Central, 2000 S. Mission St. A Central Alert sent out by the university noted a stabbing had taken place at the bar, with multiple injuries reported. Mount Pleasant police have confirmed three people were injured and transported to local hospitals. No information was immediately available on their conditions. A suspect was identified and arrested after interviews with multiple witnesses and a review of video footage, police said. Central Michigan University released a statement early Sunday morning that called the situation an isolated off-campus incident. There is no longer an ongoing threat to the public. The community is safe, per the CMU statement. Central Michigan University Police, Michigan State Police, Isabella County Sheriffs Department, Mobile Medical Response, and the Mount Pleasant Fire Department assisted the Mount Pleasant Police Department at the scene. Anyone with information about the stabbing incident is asked to contact the Mount Pleasant Police Departments Anonymous Tip Line at 989-779-9111. Uttar Pradesh DGP HC Awasthi on Sunday said that all security measures, including deployment of sniper teams, bomb disposal squads, commando units are in place in view of US President Donald Trump's visit to India. "We have put all security measures in place including the deployment of sniper teams, bomb disposal squads, commando units and others," said Awasthi in a video message. He assured that Uttar Pradesh Police is determined to provide best security arrangements to dignitaries. Along the entire route, NSG Commandos and sniper teams, along with ATS teams for counter-attack have been deployed, he said. An outer diversion route has also been planned for vehicles which have to pass Agra to cross over to other cities. This will decrease the burden on traffic in the city. As many as 10 paramilitary companies and 5,000 security personnel have been deployed. Around 30 CCTV cameras have been placed at 18 locations on the scheduled route of Trump from Kheria airport to the Taj Mahal. Trump will arrive in India on Monday for the two-day visit at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The US President, accompanied by wife Melania, daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner along with the US delegation will visit Agra on February 24. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Representatives for Berkshire Kind go over plans for the company's marijuana cultivation facility at Tuesday's Community Development Board meeting. Pittsfield Approves Industrial Park Pot Cultivator's Site Plan PITTSFIELD, Mass. The Community Development Board approved a site plan from Berkshire Kind, which plans to cultivate marijuana in the William Stanley Business Park. The board was happy Tuesday with some of the changes Berkshire Kind made to its proposed 20,000 square foot indoor cultivation building and blessed the site plan. "This is a big step forward because in the beginning it looked like a big garage," Chairwoman Sheila Irvin said. "We look forward to a little more detail." Brothers Philip and Jeremy Silverman, owners of Berkshire Kind, executed an agreement with the Pittsfield Economic Development Authority (PEDA) in the fall of 2019. They plan to occupy site 4 in the park, right across the street from the Berkshire Innovation Center. The brothers plan to invest $2.8 million to $2.9 million in the 1.5 acre site that would accommodate 5,000 to 6,000 square feet of canopy in the 20,000 square-foot building that would double in later phases of the project. The design that Darrin Harris of Hill Engineering presented to the board was altered from the original to make the building look less boxy. "We submitted some plans and we got some feedback so we dressed up the building a little bit," Harris said. "We will say the site is very difficult to see ... but it was still a pretty plain building." Harris said false windows, brick, and canopies were added. The board felt the changes were a huge improvement. There was some discussion over the color of the building with board members advocating for a darker tone that would help the building blend in perhaps matching the Berkshire Innovation Center. "It is much better than what was in the plan," board member Elizabeth Herland said. "It is a long building and I understand a lot won't be visible but you still will be able to see it. When you drive north on Woodlawn [Avenue] you are going to see this big long building." Jeremy Silverman, who plans to move to the area to oversee the business, said they are willing to use any color the city wants as long as it complies with the William Stanley Park standards. "We are open to whatever," he said. "Color to us is irrelevant." Other than the aesthetics, Harris said they meet all other zoning standards and have met with the building department and Fire Department. Hill Engineer Jeff Randall added that there will be 12 parking spaces and the parking lot and facility entrance will be relined and cleaned up. "We will do it because it is kind of all over the place with all of these lines that don't go anywhere," he said. CHARLESTON, W.Va. - The net assets of West Virginias Roman Catholic Diocese dropped by $4.8 million during a fiscal year that coincided with the resignation of its bishop amid allegations of sexual and financial misconduct, an audit shows. The Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston released the audit last week spanning the period from June 30, 2018, to June 30, 2019. Net assets totalled $352.3 million, down from $357 million a year earlier, according to the findings made public by current Bishop Mark E. Brennan. Liabilities totalled $70.3 million, up from $65.2 million. Brennans predecessor, Bishop Michael Bransfield, resigned in September 2018 and has denied wrongdoing. A church investigation last year found Bransfield misused diocese funds for lavish spending on dining out, liquor, vacations, luxury items and church-funded personal gifts to fellow bishops and cardinals in the U.S. and the Vatican. The investigation also found sexual misconduct allegations against Bransfield to be credible. Brennan said the diocese incurred significant expenses arising from the investigation of Bransfield and various legal issues involving the diocese. The audit listed spending on investigations and lawsuits at $1.5 million. The diocese announced in August it had confidentially settled a lawsuit filed by a former personal altar server accusing Bransfield of molesting boys and men. The filing asserted Bransfield would consume at least half a bottle of liqueur nightly and had drunkenly assaulted or harassed seminarians. West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey accused the diocese and Bransfield in a lawsuit of knowingly employing pedophiles and failing to conduct adequate background checks on camp and school workers. A circuit judge dismissed the suit until the state Supreme Court decides whether it violates rules about the separation of church and state. In November, Brennan released a plan that was presented to Bransfield at the request of Pope Francis. It seeks to have Bransfield pay the church $792,638 in financial restitution and apologize to those he was accused of sexually harassing and intimidating. The money would be placed in a fund to pay for counselling victims of sexual abuse, Brennan said. Brennan said Bransfield has consistently declined to come up with his own plan for making amends. Brennan, who was named West Virginias bishop in July, said its the first time in dioceses history that such a financial report has been released. Last fiscal year the diocese reported $25.3 million in investment income and royalties from mineral rights. The diocese receives oil profits from land in Texas donated to it more than a century ago. Overall, financial support to parishes, schools, pastoral centres and vocational and other programs, along with health and property insurance, results in the Diocese running deficits each year as expenditures surpass ordinary income by several millions of dollars, Brennan said in a letter accompanying the audit. Brennan said the deficits are offset by selling off investments, which, if this pattern continues unchecked, will eventually eliminate any benefit to future West Virginia Catholics from the legacy which the mineral rights have provided. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, filed for federal bankruptcy last week, six months after disclosing it had paid millions of dollars to people sexually abused as children by its clerics. The diocese joined at least 20 others across the United States in seeking protection from creditors. ___ Online: www.dwc.org Click here to read the full article. Theres a hint of John Ford to High Ground, a sinewy, sun-baked faceoff between indigenous and invading armies in the Arnhem Land wilderness of Australia, though by now we probably need a better word than western for films that situate the tensions and tropes of Hollywood operas in their own distinct geographical context. Handsomely mounted and absorbing, even if its action never quite ascends from a canter to a gallop, Stephen Maxwell Johnsons long-brewing sophomore feature arrives nearly two decades after 2001s Yolngu Boy, and continues that films mission to elevate the stories and voices of the Aboriginal population in the countrys Northern Territory. Given how High Ground fits into Australias ongoing cultural reckoning with its violent colonial legacy, this Berlinale premiere is guaranteed a high domestic profile though its mostly classical genre adherence, plus the presence of Simon Baker as the most morally upright of the storys white settlers, ensures it will play universally. (Sure enough, Samuel Goldwyn Films has already picked up U.S. distribution rights.) Chris Anastassiades script is evidently at pains to give its Aboriginal characters a greater share of its perspective than in certain past portrayals of this historical era, though its less bracingly revisionist than such films as Warwick Thorntons Sweet Country. More from Variety The Northern Territory tourist board will certainly be pleased with a film that doesnt dim the regions ravishing natural beauty at any turn, even when its lavish greenery is sprayed with the blood of conflict. Johnson and cinematographer Andrew Commis (fresh from more intimately original work on Shannon Murphys upcoming Babyteeth) open the film on a vast, swirling shot around a towering rock formation in the thick of what is now the Kakadu National Park. Accompanied by a soundtrack of feverishly layered birdsong and insect hum theres no score, just natures bustling soundtrack it may seem an almost blandly picturesque opening shot, thought it aptly foregrounds a landscape that will outlast the ensuing fights over it. Story continues A 1919-set prologue introduces Travis (Baker), an independent-minded policeman more sympathetic than most of colleagues to the rights of the Aboriginal population, led by tribe elder Dharrpa (real-life Yolngu ceremonial leader Witiyana Marika), with whom they tensely share the land. When a security operation overseen by Travis goes bloodily awry, leading to the massacre of most of Dharrpas tribe, orphaned child Gutjuk (Guruwuk Mununggurr) is taken into care by a local mission, while Travis leaves the force in protest at his superiors intent to cover up the atrocity. After the lulling beauty of the opening minutes, the shootout sequence is genuinely jolting, shot and cut with its own kind of frank, relentless brutality: Its effective, though not the last time High Ground will stage such a scene of horror in impassively bright, clear daylight. Needless to say, the white men can bury such a crime, but it wont lie down: 12 years later, the region is rocked by a spate of vengeful attacks on settlers by much-feared Baywarra (Sean Mununggurr), a descendant of Dharrpa. When Travis, now a lone-wolf bounty hunter, is enlisted by his former police chief (Jack Thompson) to hunt down Baywarra, he in turn recruits the now-grown Gutjuk (now played by Jacob Junior Nayinggul) as his tracker. Cue a tangled reevaluation of tribal loyalties on all sides, unpicked with minimal chatter by Anastassiades script, which largely prefers to let the triggers do the talking. The fallout is urgent and stinging, if not exactly unexpected. This may be fictionalized narrative, but it honors its ugly patch of history by refusing to treat it with much in the way of twisting sensationalism. Indeed, whats most surprising about High Ground is how sturdily low-key it remains for a film with such a rampingly high body count, while even star attraction Baker in a nominally heroic role keeps things quietly stoic. As the film proceeds sternly into its third act, it may feel as if certain violent setpieces have been more or less restaged several times, perhaps at some cost to standard notions of mounting tension. Thats not inappropriate, however, for a tale of carnage that would be repeated many times over before white Australians were forced to acknowledge their lands original ownership. Your anger is all you have, a Yolngu tribeswoman counsels Gutjuk; conscientious if cautious, Johnsons film seems aware that for many Indigenous folk, this remains the case. Best of Variety Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Editors note: Welcome to Inside Out, our weekly roundup of stories about Staten Islanders of all ages who are making waves, being seen, supporting our community and just making our borough a special place to live. Have a story for Inside Out? Email Carol Ann Benanti at benanti@siadvance.com. Its a given: the borough of Staten Island is home to dozens of not-for-profit organizations comprised of dedicated individuals who all share a passion for community service and friendship. The five Rotary Clubs on Staten Island are a perfect case in point. The Rotary Club of Staten Island along with the four other Rotary Clubs often gather for social events and fundraisers that benefit the community every season of the year. They fundraise, assemble and deliver up to 1,000 baskets to community residents in need at Thanksgiving and in recent years the Clubs have joined forces to advocate for and donate to veterans at their Annual Oktoberfest. In fact, during a recent gathering of the Rotary Club of Staten Island, members lauded past and current members and past presidents, shared their favorite Rotary story and celebrated the birthday of past president Walter Parks (2001) whose dad, the late Bill Parks was president in 1980 following Dr. Larry Arann. And according to former president, Marylee Montalvo, they took the opportunity to present longtime LiGrecis Staaten maitred and server, Bekim Rekhawith with the Paul Harris Fellow Award Rotarys highest honor for his dedicated service throughout the years. FYI: The Rotary Club of Staten Island, organized under the sponsorship of the New York Club in 1921, is the 916th Club of Rotary International and the first on Staten Island. In 1962 the Club became incorporated and established its own charitable foundation known as the Staten Island Rotary Foundation. Whats more, the club has assisted numerous social service and community initiatives that serve to better the community locally and worldwide. And through its giving arm, the Staten Island Rotary Foundation, its funded hospitals, foster care agencies, agencies that assist the aged, the homeless and those living with cancer, HIV/AIDS and other diseases, and has furthered youth education. Internationally, through its fundraising efforts, the club assists when disaster hits both near and far. In the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001 and Superstorm Sandy members collected and delivered water, food and supplies and helped with clean up efforts. Theyve responded to those impacted by hurricanes, tsunamis and other disasters including Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Maria and assisted refugees of war-torn countries with housing and medical care. Each year the Club hosts events that serve to improve the lives of the less fortunate and to assist those trying to enrich their world with education and presents scholarships to schools and students who demonstrate community service and Service above Self. Since its inception in 1962, Staten Island Rotary Foundation has distributed nearly $2 million in either grants to Staten Island organizations, disaster and hardship relief in both the United States and overseas and in scholarships. The Rotary Club of Staten Island sponsors an Interact Club at New Dorp High School, a service and social club for your people ages 14 to 18, guiding the interactors in developing local and international service projects. The current president of the Rotary Club of Staten Island is MaryJane O'Connell. Memorial scholarship The logo for Sundog Theatre's Christopher Dillon Micha Memorial Scholarship. (Courtesy/Karen O'Donnell)Staten Island Advance Borough President James Oddo has partnered with Sundog Theatre and the family of Christopher Dillon Micha, a local artist who was a songwriter/arranger, guitarist, and lead vocalist, to offer scholarships to a Sundog Musical Theatre acting class in Christophers memory. The scholarship was instituted by Christophers mom, his dad, his stepdad and his siblings, to honor the artist who admired the creative minds of children and loved music. The scholarship will offer access to the spring 2020 session of Musical Theatre Kids, where children will be rehearsing and performing Rock of Ages. The classes will be at Monsignor Farrell High School, beginning Feb. 22nd, with a final performance set for May 30th at the Staten Island Zoo Auditorium. The program and scholarships are open to boys and girls, ages 9 through 17, who otherwise wouldnt be able to afford the $250 class. For a scholarship application, contact Sundog Theatre at info@sundogtheatre.org. This program allows young people to be active, engage their imaginations, and learn life-long skills and abilities to help them grow. I am grateful to be able to support a fitting tribute to Staten Islander Christopher Micha and offer this opportunity to children who otherwise would not be able to participate in the Sundog musical theatre program, noted Borough President Oddo. Supporting young people in reaching their artistic potential is a heartwarming and satisfying way to honor Christopher and his passion for music and the arts, said Karen ODonnell Tennenbaum, Christophers mom. Housed at the Staten Island Zoo, Sundogs Musical Theatre Kids classes provide children an opportunity to collaborate with other young people of diverse ages and backgrounds, expanding their imaginations, and learning how to perform. Sundog Theatre has been presenting original, contemporary, and thought provoking theatre for 18 years. The arts company is unique on Staten Island in that it presents in-school arts programming rooted in theatre, visual arts, dance, and music. Getting up and speaking in front of people has been documented to be the number one adult fear. If children do this at a young age, they have an easier time talking to people and expressing themselves throughout life, explains Sundogs Executive Director, Susan Fenley. Most of these kids find a second family in theatre. They love participating and in addition to learning career and life skills, they are having fun. MIGHTY STRING DEMONS Sanchie Bobrow, right and members of the Mighty String Demons. (Courtesy/Joe Ruggirello)Staten Island Advance Young Staten Island violinists, The Mighty String Demons, directed by Sanchie Bobrow, presented a fun and historical Presidents'/Valentines weekend concert Feb. 15 at the New York Public Library Stapleton Branch an event was warmly received by the standing room only crowd. The String Demons performed American "pop" music beginning when George Washington was elected president and spanning through a historical timeline of various presidents and the music that was current during their tenures in office. Guest musicians were Wenyi Lo on piano, Kazuo Nakamura on concert bass and Nicole Azzarelli on acoustic guitar. The young violinists performed American patriotic songs, Shaker hymns and love songs, accompanying each piece with historical details and little known facts about each president who was in office when that song was popular. Highlights of the concert were a performance of Im In the Mood for Love, performed by virtuoso whistler, Anna Rose Maj, accompanied by the ensemble on violins, bass and guitar. Also, a performance of Scott Joplins The Entertainer, Kansass song Dust in the Wind sung by Elizabeth Azzarelli and a heartfelt finale of Jay Ungar and Molly Masons Ashokan Farewell, featuring the entire ensemble of musicians. ITS GOOD NEWS The Northfield Bank Foundation awarded $412,780 to various Staten Island nonprofit organizations in 2019. (Courtesy/Northfield Bank Foundation)Staten Island Advance The Northfield Bank Foundation has awarded $412,780 to various Staten Island non-for-profit organizations in 2019, bringing NBFs total giving to Staten Island organizations to $5.6 million and a grand total of $8.2 million throughout Brooklyn, Staten Island, and Central New Jersey. This years major recipients were: Richmond University Medical Center, $80,000 (Emergency Room), SIUH $30,000 (Emergency Room), Carmel Richmond Health Care & Rehabilitation Center, $25,000, Community Resources - $25,000, Eger Health Care & Rehabilitation Center, $25,000, Project Hospitality, $25,000, Wagner College Port Richmond Leadership Academy, $25,000, YMCA Friday Night Teens Night & Too Good For Drugs, $25,000, ArchCare at St. Teresas, $20,000, Integration Charter School, $20,000, Moore Catholic High School, $20,000 (Technology), GRACE Foundation, $18,000 (Sensory Playground), Friends of Alice Austen House, $15,000, Literacy Inc.,$15,000 (North Shore Reads), Partnership With Children, $15,000, Camp Good Grief, $7,500 and the Staten Island Shakespearean Theatre, $7,000. Australians can fly from Melbourne to Los Angeles return for just $662 on United Airlines' flash sale. Flights from Sydney to LA will set passengers back a few extra dollars, with return fares costing $678. The airline is also offering budget tickets to San Francisco, for just $670 from Melbourne or $687 from Sydney, with a short stopover in LA. United Airlines is offering return flights from Melbourne to LA for $662, and from Sydney to LA return for $678 Travellers wanting to escape Australian winter can take advantage of the cheap flights available between March and November 2020. I Know The Pilot founder Garth Adams urged customers to book as soon as possible, predicting the prices will only last a few days. 'I think this is the cheapest I have ever seen for flights to LA,' he told Escape. Customers can check out the dirt cheap deals at I Know The Pilot. The cheap flights are available from between March and November 2020 The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs has stated that it will suspend the granting of new working licenses to foreign labourers who come from areas hit by coronavirus during the epidemic time announced by Vietnam. browser not support iframe. A representative of the ministry further said besides serious measures to fight the disease, the ministry is also attaching importance to the communications work and asking localities to continue reviewing, controlling the number of Chinese labourers, and advising those who came back to their country to not return to Vietnam to work. If they return for work, they must be quarantined for 14 days as prescribed by medical authorities. The exit by Vietnamese labourers working abroad should also be postponed if needed, the representative added. Updates by the 63 provinces and cities show that as of 4:00pm of February 20, there were 34,423 Chinese labourers who worked in Vietnam, 26,904 of them came back to China for the traditional lunar New Year which fell in late January./. Foreign investors look forward to Vietnams imminent IPOs in 2020 Nearly 100 Vietnamese companies will need to hit the road for share auctions by the end of 2020 to meet the governments target of privatizing state firms. Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia said the Delhi government respects the reasons cited by the US embassy for not including him and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal among dignitaries to welcome US first lady Melania Trump at a government school on Tuesday and added that it wholeheartedly welcomes her visit. Sisodias statement, quoted by ANI, follows a reported clarification from the US embassy a little while ago over Sisodia and Kejriwals omission from the list of invited dignitaries. However, certain concerns were expressed by the US embassy regarding CM & Deputy CM accompanying the First Lady during the school visit. We respect the same. We welcome the First Lady wholeheartedly and will do our best to facilitate the tour Sisodia was quoted as saying. The US Embassy had moments earlier said, Melania Trumps school visit was not a political event, explaining the omission. While the US Embassy had no objection to the presence of CM & Deputy CM, we appreciate their recognition that this isnt a political event & that its best to ensure focus is on education, school, & students, ANI quoted US embassy as saying. Sisodia said that he along with the chief minister would have loved to have personally received the first lady at the school. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal & Education Minister Manish Sisodia would have loved to personally receive First Lady in Delhi Govt school & brief her about the concept of Happiness Classes & positive impact that it has on students, during her visit to classrooms, Sisodia was quoted as saying by ANI. He termed the visit a matter of great pride for all stakeholders including the Delhi government, school teachers and students among others. Its a matter of great pride for Delhi Govt, teachers & students that US First Lady is visiting a Delhi Govt school. Its a big appreciation for us that the work of AAP govt in the education sector, especially Happiness Classes, is being recognised in the world, he said. Embassys clarification and Sisodias response caps the political war that pitched the BJP against the opposition parties, including the AAP, which runs the Delhi government, credited with the much publicized and acclaimed educational reforms at the centre of the VVIP visit. AAP had accused BJP ruled Central government of a hand behind the omissions and the latter had accused Kejriwals party of petty politics over issues of national importance. The BJP said it didnt pick the names and that it was a prerogative of the American embassy as per the protocol. The clarification by the embassy could be viewed by some as a validation of BJPs stance. Before their names were dropped, it was believed that Kejriwal and Sisodia will welcome Melania Trump at the school and brief her on the Happiness curriculum, which was introduced by the Delhi government in all its schools in July 2018 and includes meditation, storytelling, other activities aimed at de-stressing students and question-answer sessions. Since that briefing, Trump has ousted the acting intelligence chief, replacing him with a political loyalist in an abrupt move as Democrats and former US officials raised the alarm over national security concerns. Washington: US president Donald Trumps national security adviser denied that US intelligence officials have warned that Russia has been interfering in the US presidential campaign to boost Trumps re-election chances. "I havent seen any intelligence that Russia is doing anything to attempt to get president Donald Trump reelected," Robert OBrien, who was appointed by Trump to the post in September, 2019, said in an ABC News interview to be broadcast on Sunday. "I have not seen that, and I get pretty good access," O'brien said, according to excerpts released on Saturday. US intelligence officials told members of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee in a classified briefing that Russia was again interfering in American politics ahead of 2020 November's presidential election, as it did in 2016, a person familiar with the discussion told Reuters on Thursday. Since that briefing, Trump has ousted the acting intelligence chief, replacing him with a political loyalist in an abrupt move as Democrats and former US officials raised the alarm over national security concerns. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders also said on Friday he had been told by US intelligence officials about a month ago that Russia appeared to be engaging in disinformation and propaganda campaigns to boost his 2020 campaign. 620 kg of used face masks found by the police in Soc Son District, Hanoi on February 19, 2020. Photo courtesy of Hanoi Police. Police in Hanoi have found 620 kg of used face masks in a mans house in the rural district of Soc Son and are investigating further. They raided the house of Nguyen Minh Nguyen, 24, last Wednesday and found dozens of sacks of used masks. Nguyen told the police he had got them from Phuc Yen Town in Vinh Phuc Province, 40 km from Hanoi, and stored the masks in his house. Vinh Phuc is home to Son Loi Commune which has been in lockdown since Thursday last week as eight residents had contracted the new coronavirus. The demand for masks has been rising since the government declared the Covid-19 outbreak an epidemic on February 1. Many drugstores were fined for hiking the face mask prices amidst the situation. Vietnam has recorded 16 Covid-19 infection cases so far, of whom 15 have recovered and been discharged. Vinh Phuc, which accounted for most of the 16 cases, announced its last infection on February 13, the 50-year-old father of a 23-year-old female worker returning from Wuhan. Her mother, sister, cousin, and neighbor were also infected. The man is the last patient in the country still in hospital with Covid-19. The Ministry of Health can declare a locality free of the epidemic if there are no new cases for 28 days and preventive measures against its spread have been properly deployed. The global death toll has hit 2,400, and the number of infection cases topped 78,000, mostly in China. Two local law enforcement agencies are rolling out body cameras for their officers this year. Lincoln Police Chief Robyn Krile said her department's officers began wearing body cameras last weekend. Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier hopes to implement cameras this summer for some deputies after testing devices in late 2018 and later budgeting for the equipment. Both Krile and Kirchmeier say body cameras are a useful tool and that they plan to approve policies for camera use and the release of footage. 'A phenomenal tool' Lincoln's police department began researching body cameras earlier in 2019 and then reallocated money in November to make the purchase, Krile said. Three cameras are shared among the department's six officers, to be worn whenever the officers are on duty and used whenever police interact with the public. The cameras and related operational tools cost about $12,000, according to Krile. "Really it comes down to our department believes very highly in having transparency and accountability," she said, calling the cameras "a phenomenal tool" for revealing information and actions. Lincoln Mayor Gerarld Wise called the body cameras "a great thing" and "a long time coming." He said Krile has been diligent and cautious in her budget. "What's the price on safety? You can't put a price on safety," he said. Moving along After deputies' testing in 2018, Kirchmeier requested cameras last summer in his 2020 budget blueprint to the county commission. The board budgeted six cameras and video storage equipment for courthouse security, costing $7,290. Kirchmeier also would like to add more cameras for investigations and warrants with a $6,000 donation fundraised by Premier Homes of Mandan. Kirchmeier said he is reviewing vendors and hopes to have the cameras implemented "at least by this summer sometime." Premier Homes owner Wade Vogel said the company typically donates Christmas trees or other items to needy families at Christmastime, but opted for the cameras after seeing Kirchmeier discuss the related costs in the news. "I thought that'd be something that I'd be willing to get behind," Vogel said. Dakota Community Bank has an account accepting donations, called "Premier Homes Pay It Forward." Vogel expects to transfer the money to the sheriff this week. Morton County Commissioner Bruce Strinden, who holds the law enforcement and emergency management portfolios, said the sheriff notified the county commission of Premier Homes' donation, which he called "somewhat unusual" but "very much appreciated." Plans ahead Kirchmeier said the cameras are "another good tool for the officers to use." He has previously said the cameras would have been handy for officers policing protests of the Dakota Access Pipeline in southern Morton County in 2016 and 2017. The sheriff's office has 36 sworn officers, but not all would receive cameras right away. Patrol deputies have in-car cameras, though Kirchmeier said the goal would be to eventually outfit them with body cameras, too. The camera could be worn on the shoulder or midchest of the uniform, depending on the mount. Kirchmeier's office will adopt a policy for camera use and public records, "for when it's used and for medical, when you can turn it off, turn it on, what's released, what type of video is released, what isn't, that type of thing," he said. That policy will come before the cameras are implemented, he said. Krile is working on a new Lincoln Police Department policy manual, with provisions for body camera use, and records maintenance and release. On Monday she expected to soon complete and approve the manual. The 2015 Legislature passed a law making "an image taken by a law enforcement officer or a firefighter with a body camera or similar device and which is taken in a private place" an exempt record. State law allows an exempt record "may be open in the discretion of the public entity." North Dakota Newspaper Association attorney Jack McDonald said body cameras in other places have raised questions about police recordkeeping practices and related costs. Footage potentially could be withheld in the course of an investigation, he added. State law makes "active criminal intelligence information and active criminal investigative information" not subject to access as public records. "I would suspect that the investigatory thing will be used for body cameras as well as it's used for other records," McDonald said. "I think the issue is going to be what's public and when is it public," he added. Drawbacks? Bismarck and Mandan police do not use body cameras. Neither does the Burleigh County Sheriff's Department. "At this point we think ... for lack of a better term, we've got the equipment we think can document what we want to document, and with some of the downfalls of them, we just don't think this is the time to consider them," Burleigh County Sheriff Kelly Leben said. He pointed to privacy concerns, video storage costs and the difficulty of capturing a full video recording of a police encounter. "Theres a lot of benefit to them but theres also a lot of drawbacks and limitation," Leben said. Kirchmeier said the cameras are a benefit to officers and the public. "I think it's something that's going to be, as we move into the future with technology, it's going to become a more prominent item that officers use as a tool, everyday tool," he said. Reach Jack Dura at 701-250-8225 or jack.dura@bismarcktribune.com. Love 3 Funny 1 Wow 2 Sad 1 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Colon cancer is more likely to be lethal in children and young adults than middle-aged adults. In a single-institution study, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Tex., found that differences in mortality rates persist regardless of whether pediatric, adolescent, and young adult patients (aged 24 and younger) were born with a predisposition for colon abnormalities or disease and for the first time conclude that young people are more likely to have metastases outside the colon, into the abdominal cavity, when they are diagnosed. Their findings put families, clinicians, and surgeons on alert to be sure abdominal complaints in young people are thoroughly and carefully evaluated when first reported, and aggressively treated if cancer is discovered. Study findings appears in an "article in press" on the Journal of the American College of Surgeons website in advance of print. Colon cancer is rare in individuals under age 25. Prevalence of the disease in patients under age 20 is 0.2 percent. While the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program (SEER) estimates more than 145,000 new cases of colon cancer for 2019, only about 290 cases are expected in children and young adult people. The diagnosis of colon cancer in children, and young adults is often delayed. Most (70 percent) children and young adult patients in a 2019 survey by Colorectal Cancer Alliance were diagnosed with stage 3 or stage 4 disease. In contrast, older patients are more likely to be diagnosed with stage 1 or 2 disease. Children with colon cancer can fall through the cracks. They may be seen by an oncologist who treats adults but who doesn't know how to treat children. Or they may be seen by a pediatrician who knows all about treating children but nothing about colon cancer." Andrea Hayes-Jordan, MD, FACS, lead author of the paper, and Surgeon-in-Chief of the North Carolina Children's Hospital, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill She was a professor and section chief of pediatric surgery at MD Anderson at the time the study was conducted. The result is no clear path for treating children with colon cancer, other than providing the same treatment as adults. Furthermore, study findings clearly show that these types of interventions are not effective. "Stage for stage, children fare 5 to 6 times worse with treatment. So a child with Stage 4 disease has a 6 times higher chance of dying than an adult with the same stage of cancer," Dr. Hayes-Jordan said. For the study, researchers compared retrospective outcomes for 94 pediatric patients treated at MD Anderson between 1991 and 2017 with a prospectively maintained database of outcomes for adult patients who were treated for colon cancer. Three-year overall and relapse-free survival differed markedly: 90 percent and 78 percent for adults versus 42 percent and 32 percent for children. Except for patients with stage 1 disease, a stage-for-stage comparison showed much lower survival rates for children. Five-year overall survival at stage 2 was 90 percent for adults versus 64 percent for children, at stage 3, 85 percent for adults versus 58 percent for children, and at stage 4, 55 percent for adults and 16 percent for children. Relapse-free survival by stage were: 85 percent for adults versus 55 percent for children with stage 2 disease, 73 percent for adults and 31percent for children with stage 3 cancer, and 27 percent for adults versus 5 percent for children with stage 4. Although some congenital abnormalities have been associated with colon cancer in young people, 71 percent of the patients in this study had no predisposing syndrome. This study also is the first to show that peritoneal (inside the abdomen but outside of the colon) metastasis is significantly higher (p=0.00001) in pediatric patients, the authors report. "Although some may think the study raises more questions than it answers, it at least illuminates the problem so we can start working on it," Dr. Hayes-Jordan said. In fact, Dr. Hayes-Jordan will soon be co-leading a clinical trial that will gather tissue from adults and children with peritoneal disease and conduct genetic analyses to try to identify differences in tumors in children and investigate treatment alternatives that will benefit these patients. Until more is known about pediatric colon cancer, Dr, Hayes-Jordan advises parents and clinicians to be vigilant. "Early symptoms, such as bloating, abdominal fullness, general abdominal discomfort need to be taken seriously. They need to be evaluated with computed tomography scans or other imaging technologies to identify the specific problem, and not dismissed as the stomach flu or a simple tummy ache after eating bad food," she said. Dr. Hayes-Jordan also recommends a surgical procedure up front and surgical excision that removes as much of the tumor as possible. "Children are not small adults. They should be treated with independent thought and careful evaluation," she concluded. Dowling recovering at home after long hospital stay State Rep. Matthew Dowling has returned home after suffering a one-vehicle crash in October. Dowling represents parts of Somerset County. LAS VEGAS (AP) The Nevada caucus, the third contest in the Democratic presidential race, is Saturday. Here are six questions going into that fateful vote. HOW WELL DOES SANDERS DO? Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont has high expectations going into the caucus. He is leading national polls and his campaign has a huge footprint in Nevada, a state he narrowly lost to Hillary Clinton in 2016. But Sanders also had lofty prospects going into New Hampshire last week because he won that state by 22 points in the 2016 primary, and he only eked out a narrow victory over former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg. Nothing's guaranteed Saturday, especially in Nevada, whose young caucuses (this is only their fourth iteration) are unpredictable. If Sanders wins, he solidifies front-runner status heading into South Carolina next week and, more important, into critical Super Tuesday primaries on March 3. But if something goes wrong, or he only barely pulls out a win, it will intensify questions about whether the self-declared democratic socialist can extend his support beyond his fervent base. HOW WILL LABOR FLEX ITS MUSCLE? Sanders and Joe Biden have long held themselves out as the champions of organized labor. Nevada will offer a fresh test of their appeal. The Culinary Union, which represents many of the workers in the casino and hotel industry, is one of the most powerful political forces in the state. Its endorsement was coveted by all of the candidates, but the union decided to not endorse. In 2008, the union's decision to back Barack Obama was critical to his success in the state. Though Sanders would seem a natural ally, many union members prize the health care that comes with their jobs as a result of their membership and do not embrace Sanders' plan for Medicare for All. Biden has hammered on this point, as he critically needs union members' backing. HOW HIGH IS TURNOUT? Nevada Democrats have been heartened that their experiment with early caucus voting led to nearly 75,000 people marking preference cards in four days of initial balloting before the main event Saturday. That's close to the 84,000 who voted in 2016. After a disappointing turnout in Iowa, Democrats hope Nevada shows their voters are enthusiastic enough about the election to defeat President Donald Trump in November. Story continues Some Democrats hope Nevada surpasses the 118,000 who showed up at the 2008 caucuses when Obama faced Clinton. But Democrats should be careful about declaring victory based on raw numbers. There are more Democrats in fast-growing Nevada now than in 2008, when more than one-quarter of all Democrats participated in the caucus. The number of caucus participants needed for 2020 to surpass that 2008 rate would be above 150,000. WILL NEVADA WINNOW THE FIELD? This is the musical chairs portion of the primary. Normally, at the end of each contest, at least some candidates have to drop out due to poor performance and lack of funds. It hasn't worked that way so far because the field has been so evenly split, but that can't last forever. Will Nevada be the end of one of the six main candidates? If not, will a disappointing finish in the state hasten an eventual exit? Even if someone drops out, there's another Democrat, billionaire former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg, waiting on the ballot on Super Tuesday states, making it likely Democratic voters will still have numerous choices going into the busiest stretch of primary season. This is not necessarily a good thing. WHAT DO MINORITY VOTERS DO? After two early states that are overwhelmingly white Iowa and New Hampshire Nevada may change the picture. The state is among the most diverse in the nation. And even though caucuses require a greater investment of time, which can make it harder for minorities to participate, the event will feature a far more diverse electorate. The problem is there is no reliable polling or data that will tell us how different demographic groups split. That's because highly transient Nevada is notoriously difficult to survey. Still, by studying precinct level data, analysts and campaigns will glean indications of how candidates did. Will Buttigieg and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar be able to broaden their appeal to Latinos, African Americans and Asians? Will Sanders, as he has been hoping, assemble a multi-ethnic coalition? Will Biden hold onto the minority voters that were once presumed to propel him to the nomination? Nevada demographically resembles the diverse array of states scheduled to vote on Super Tuesday, when nearly one-third of the total delegates in the contest are up for grabs. It may hint at what lies ahead in the race. DID THE DEBATE HAPPEN IN TIME FOR WARREN? Many months ago, Nevada politicos viewed Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren as the Democrat to beat in their state. She assembled a team of operatives to push her populist message of structural change that was expected to resonate with Nevada's working-class Democrats. But then Warren's national position began to erode, and she limped into Nevada a political afterthought. That changed on Wednesday night when Warren delivered a powerful debate performance highlighted by her skewering of Bloomberg. She saw an avalanche of money and attention. But a huge share of Nevada had already voted by then. After weathering a disappointing fourth-place showing in New Hampshire, which borders her home state, Warren desperately needs a win. Will Nevada make her the next comeback kid? He's one of the fashion industry's leading male models, known for his frequent collaborations with Dolce & Gabbana. And David Gandy looked dapper as he posed alongside Italian model Bianca Balti at the Dolce & Gabbana fashion show in Milan on Sunday. David, 40, cut a suave figure for the show, donning a black pinstripe blazer with matching trousers along with a crisp open-buttoned white shirt. Suave: David Gandy, 40, looked dapper as he posed alongside Italian model Bianca Balti, 35, at the Dolce & Gabbana fashion show in Milan on Sunday At one point, the model also sported a pair of designer sunglasses as he posed for the cameras at the swanky event. Bianca, 35, looked glamorous as ever as she posed alongside David, donning a black long-sleeved crop top with a scoop neckline. Displaying her lithe physique, the style maven also wore a matching black miniskirt while she added height to her frame with a pair of heels. Event: David cut a suave figure for the show, donning a black pinstripe blazer with matching trousers along with a crisp open-buttoned white shirt Dapper: At one point, the model also sported a pair of designer sunglasses as he posed for the cameras at the swanky event Stunning: Bianca looked glamorous as ever as she posed alongside David, donning a black long-sleeved crop top with a scoop neckline Styling her brunette locks into an elegant updo, Bianca completed her look for the day with a pair of gold earrings. David entered the modelling industry when his friend, unbeknownst to him, entered him into a modelling competition on ITV's This Morning. The Essex native, who was 21 at the time, won the competition and a prize with Select Model Management in London. David became the industry's most successful male model and previously pinned his success down to his business mindedness. Beginnings: David entered the modelling industry when his friend, unbeknownst to him, entered him into a modelling competition on ITV's This Morning when he was 21 Fashion: There were a variety of dramatic looks on display during the Dolce & Gabbana show Style: One model donned a white sheer garment over a black bralet and matching bottoms along with a woolly coat Show: Another model donned a headturning all-white ensemble while one donned a red minidress with a matching cardigan Crowding the runway: The models crowded the runway as they stepped out before attendees Covered: Some spectators wore sanitary masks, after Giorgio Armani's last-minute decision to show his latest collection in an empty theatre due to concerns about the new virus While other male models used the industry as a 'stepping stone' to another career in the public eye, David told how he learned how to achieve success from seeking advice from female supermodels. He told YOU magazine: 'I spoke to Gisele, I looked at the platforms of Christy Turlington, Cindy Crawford and I went, "How have you done this? How have you got to where you are?" ' David added that being a model sometimes makes him feel like he has something to prove when he walks into a room. He said: 'It's tough, sometimes, to walk into a meeting and feel you have to get past some barriers because you're a model you have to constantly prove yourself. Then again, in life, when do you not have to prove yourself?' Layered display: The models also took to the runway sporting a range of stunning outerwear Chic: While most of the designs celebrated femininity, androgynous silhouettes were included Wide range: Corsets, fishnets, and underwear sets were also included in the designs on display Haunting images: A range of of haunting images were displayed in the background at the show Sensational: The leggy models took to the runway in a wide variety of eye-catching ensembles The foray into federal superannuation policy prompted reminders of Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas refusing a request from his own public servants last year for a bump in their super. First, there was the call for the federal government to put workers superannuation all the way up to 15 per cent, now it's a new federal tax to pay for the sweeping reforms to mental health care in Australia. And Sundays intervention will have people pointing out that the state still hasnt gone public on how exactly it intends to raise the billion dollars a year it is going to need to fund its own lofty ambitions for mental health. Loading But the state does reckon it speaks with some authority on this issue as the only Australian government to have held a royal commission into what is undeniably a public health crisis and having the political guts to float a new tax to pay for expensive but vital reform. So, whether all that will count as genuine runs on the board for Daniel Andrews and his government remains to be seen, but hoisting aloft the idea of a new federal tax, or even a hike in the Medicare levy, should do what its designed to; get people talking. Victorias gambit wont lead a to a row between Melbourne and Canberra like the furious blue raging between the state and the Commonwealth over National Disability Insurance Scheme funding but it does highlight a clash of political philosophies. Dozens of Pakistani demonstrators blocked a highway to Afghanistan on February 23 in a sit-in protest against the killing of a young man by security forces. The blockade has been held intermittently near the town of Landi Kotal, in northwestern Pakistan, since February 22. Adnan Shinwari, 22, was killed in a counterterrorism crackdown near the city of Peshawar on February 21. Current affairs show Sunday Night was axed by Channel Seven as part of a cost-cutting measure in October. And now a Seven insider has reportedly told The Sunday Telegraph that its host Melissa Doyle 'is yet to land another gig' at the network. The publication also said that the 50-year-old's contract is up at the end of the year. Reports: According to The Sunday Telegraph, Melissa Doyle, 50, (pictured) is yet to land another gig at Channel Seven, four months after the axing of Sunday Night Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Channel Seven for comment. While her career may be uncertain, Melissa told The Australian Women's Weekly in December that she's looking forward to spending more time with her family in 2020. Melissa is married to John Dunlop and they share children Nick, 18, and Natalia, 16. Axed: Current affairs show Sunday Night, which Melissa hosted, was axed by Channel Seven as part of a cost-cutting measure in October Nick has finished high school and Natalia recently earned her driver's licence and has commenced Year 11. 'When they're little, you know that they need you,' she told the magazine. 'But I wish someone had told me that the older they get, the more they need you. It's a patch where they really need us to get them through those next couple of years.' Family first: While her career may be uncertain, Melissa told The Australian Women's Weekly in December that she's looking forward to spending more time with her family in 2020. Nick (pictured), 18, recently finished high school While she admitted to feeling 'disappointed' by Seven's decision, she still believes that change can be 'healthy'. She also hopes that exploring new opportunities will keep her feeling 'fresh' and 'invigorated'. Despite previous rumours that she will host 'a revamped version' of Midday on Seven, Melissa insisted that she doesn't know what the future looks like work-wise. No-frills carrier Vietjet has announced a special offer of 50 percent off fares on all routes from February 20 to February 29, giving passengers opportunities to experience new things and refresh emotions with its green flights. The fares are exclusive of taxes and fees, the private airline noted in a statement on Friday. Passengers can book Vietjet tickets with the promotion code BOOKNOW50 to get the 50-percent discount for flights across Vietnam and international destinations such as India, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Myanmar, Cambodia, and more, with the flight period from February 20 to April 27. National holidays are not included in the period, the carrier said. Those promotional tickets are available via all of Vietjets channels, including its website, mobile app, Facebook account, hotline, and ticket offices. Offering the discount, Vietjet welcomes all passengers to participate in the Protect Our Planet - Fly with Vietjet program, embarking on a new journey to conquer novel destinations, inspire and call on people from around the world to join hands to protect the green future, awaken the green dream of beautiful nature, protect Mother Earth, create civilized values, and repel natural disasters as well as epidemics. Continuing to expand [our] international flight network, Vietjet brings [passengers to] many new, attractive and safe destinations with unique and beautiful cultures such as Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka (Japan), Bali (Indonesia) and especially New Delhi and Mumbai two cities of India, Vietjet vice-president Nguyen Thanh Son was quoted as saying in the statement. With a modern, fuel-efficient fleet, Vietjet's eco-friendly flights will bring new and emotional experiences to people and visitors at an altitude of 10,000 meters. The airline operates around over 400 flights daily and has carried nearly 100 million passengers to date across an expansive network that includes destinations throughout Vietnam and India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar, Cambodia, and others. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! At Berkshire Hathaway, 2019 was another good year and an opportunity for its leader, Warren Buffett, to prepare his company for life without him. Berkshire spent $5 billion buying back its own stock last year. Credit:Photo AFP In his latest letter to investors, published Saturday morning, the billionaire largely praised the performance of his $566-billion conglomerate, whose portfolio includes the insurer Geico, the chemical-maker Lubrizol, Fruit of the Loom underwear and more. "Our unrivaled mountain of capital, abundance of cash, and a huge and diverse stream of noninsurance earnings allow us far more investment flexibility than is generally available to other companies in the industry," he wrote. The annual report was accompanied by the latest assessment of Berkshire's financial health: The company reported $29 billion in net income for the fourth quarter of 2019 and $81.4 billion for last year overall. Operating earnings, Buffett's preferred measure of financial performance, declined slightly last year from 2018, to $24 billion. The Kolkata Police on Saturday night foiled a youths suicide bid after his friends alerted the police that the man in his early 20s had gone live on Facebook, looked mentally unstable and was going to kill himself. While his friends kept him busy, trying to engage in conversations by commenting on the live video, the police tracked down his location with the help of his friends and reached his home while he was still answering friends who were trying to dissuade him. Past midnight on Saturday, a person dialled the emergency number 100 and informed the police that a friend of his had gone live on Facebook, and was threatening to kill himself. Sub-inspector Souvik Das of Garfa police station, with help from the police control room, managed to locate his residence and was quick enough to reach his home in about 20 minutes from receiving the information, said a senior officer of Kolkata Police southeast division. The youth was found on the roof of the house. His parents were at home but had no idea about what their son was upto. He was taken to Garfa police station, where officers spoke to him for a long time to calm him down and advised his parents to seek medical help for him. He seemed to be suffering from depression, a police officer who spoke to the youth said, requesting anonymity. The youth later deactivated all his social media accounts. - The farmers have put into action scientific research that shows music has the same effects on animals as it does in human beings - They play reggae music to the cows to help them relax hence increase their milk production - Besides the good music farmers also ensure the cows have good sleeping conditions - This comes days after President Uhuru launched the construction of a KSh 250 million milk cooling plant in Meru County On the molecular level, research shows that listening to music improves our mental well-being and physical health by buoying our mood and fend off depression. Music also improves blood flow in ways similar to statins, lower levels of stress-related hormones like cortisol and ease pain. READ ALSO: Mama Lucy Hospital nurse on the spot for threatening to end patient's life According to the Meru Highlands Dairy CEO Justus Nguu, the farmers use reggae music to get the cows to relax and yield more milk. Photo: Farmers Trend Source: UGC READ ALSO: Kenyan CEO teaching school children to adopt trees nominated for prestigious Commonwealth Youth Awards Listening to music before an operation can even improve post-surgery outcomes and research has shown all these apply to animals too. Days after President Uhuru Kenyatta launched the construction of a KSh 250 million milk cooling plant in Meru County, dairy farmers are now playing music to cows to increase milk production. According to the Meru Highlands Dairy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Justus Nguu, the farmers use reggae music to get the cows to relax and yield more milk. READ ALSO: Class 8 leaver working as jua kali artisan urges unemployed youth to venture into lucrative sector A cow must be comfortable and must be relaxed. When it is relaxed and that music playing in the background that is when you get maximum out of it, he said. Besides the good music, Nguu said a god sleeping condition of the cows also contributes to the high production of milk. This has forced the farmers to learn, through the Meru Dairy, how put up modern cow sheds with automated milking facilities READ ALSO: Patient plays violin during brain surgery so doctors don't damage her motor skills The construction of the New KCC facility with a holding capacity of 100,000 litres in Nyambene will be completed in October 2020. Photo: PSCU Source: Facebook This follows the assurance that the government will not hesitate in its efforts to improve the welfare of the farmers who rely on milk production to provide for the family. The construction of the New Kenya Co-operative Creameries (KCC) facility with a holding capacity of 100,000 litres in Nyambene will be completed in October 2020. The President advised dairy farmers in the area to take advantage of the facility once its construction is completed to increase their milk production. READ ALSO: TSC to promote 100k P1 teachers, increase salaries for tutor Unlike other New KCC cooling facilities, the plant will, in addition to bulking and chilling, pasteurize the raw milk before it is transported to processing facilities. The plant will serve dairy farmers from five of the nine sub-counties in Meru County. They include Tigania East, Tigania West, Tigania Central, Igembe North and Igembe South which are currently served by smallholder farmers cooperatives and self-help groups. 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 Source: TUKO.co.ke President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday hailed the efforts of the Indian judiciary in pursuing the "cherished goal of gender justice" and said that the Supreme Court has always been "pro-active and progressive". Speaking at the International Judicial Conference 2020 - 'Judiciary and the Changing World', the president said the apex court has led "progressive social transformation" and referred to the over two decades old Vishaka guidelines for preventing sexual harassment of women at workplace. "In pursuing the cherished goal of gender justice, to mention one example, the Supreme Court of India has always been pro-active and progressive," Kovind said. "From issuing guidelines on preventing sexual harassment in the workplace two decades ago to providing directives for granting equal status to women in the Army this month, the Supreme Court of India has led progressive social transformation," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Western Australia RSL has reversed its decision to ban the flying of the Aboriginal flag and the performance of the Welcome to Country ritual at Anzac ceremonies, after being labelled 'ignorant' and 'racist'. The state branch announced the new policy on Friday saying all performances during Anzac and Remembrance Day events, apart from the New Zealand national anthem, must be in English. 'While having utmost respect for the traditional owners of land upon which such sites and memorials are located, RSLWA does not view it appropriate that a Welcome to Country is used at sites that were specifically established to pay homage to those who died and who came from a wide range of cultural backgrounds,' the policy said. The move was fiercely critcised by members of the public, including Aboriginal Affairs Minister Ben Wyatt, who called it 'regrettable and divisive.' RSLWA has reversed its decision to ban the flying of the Aboriginal flag and performance of the Welcome to Country rite at Anzac and Remembrance Day ceremonies following widespread backlash An Anzac Day service in Fremantle, WA. Some RSLWA members complained that an Aboriginal elder read the the Ode of Remembrance in the Noongar language at the Fremantle service last year THE NEW RSLWA POLICIES All content, bar the New Zealand national anthem, is to be presented or sung in English Only the Australian, New Zealand and WA flags may be flown No Welcome to Country and/or Acknowledgement of Country ceremonies Respecting the right of regal, vice-regal and government representatives to use the Acknowledgement of Country but not at the dawn service or services at recognised war memorials *RSLWA CEO John McCourt withdrew the new police on Sunday due to the widespread backlash Advertisement 'I suggest they reconsider. Immediately,' he tweeted. 'It is worth noting that our New Zealand partners embrace the language of their indigenous peoples at Anzac Day ceremonies. We should do the same.' RSLWA CEO John McCourt released a statement on Sunday saying the policy has been overturned due to the widespread backlash. 'Given the level of community reaction to RSLWA's advisory policy on cultural matters relating to commemoration, this policy has now been withdrawn,' a statement read, according to the ABC. 'RSLWA is concerned that its position on the matter had unfortunately drawn misunderstandings of its intent. Outraged Australians have slammed the decision as 'disgustingly racist' on the RSLWA's Facebook page 'RSLWA values and respects the Australian Indigenous community and, in particular, Indigenous veterans. 'RSLWA accepts the policy may have been open to misinterpretation.' 'Its advisory policy will be reviewed and relaunched in the near future following further dialogue with interested parties.' Earlier Mr McCourt explained that the new policy was in response to complaints from RSLWA members. Aboriginal elder Professor Len Collard read the Ode of Remembrance in the Noongar language during an Anzac Day dawn service in Fremantle last year. Some RSLWA members complained to the board that Professor Collard did not perform the ritual in English, which resulted in the controversial new policy. Veterans Issues Minister Peter Tinley, who is a veteran, had said Aboriginal people wore the uniform for 87 years before they were even counted as Australians. : People gather at Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance to pay their respects during the dawn service of the ANZAC day in Melbourne in 2018 'The RSL has got it wrong and I'm appalled that in this day and age that they would be so prescriptive,' he told reporters. 'This really hurts, this really strikes at the heart of reconciliation. 'I don't accept the concept that First Nation Australians, who have continuous occupation of this land for 50,000 years, are tagged into a multicultural bucket ... they have a very special part of our story.' Premier Mark McGowan also strongly urged RSLWA to reconsider. The outrage continued on social media where Australians had slammed the decision as 'disgustingly racist' on the RSLWA's Facebook page. 'How disgustingly racist of you! You should be absolutely ashamed of yourselves,' a Perth man wrote. Another man said: 'We gather on Aboriginal land. Always has been, Always will be.' The outrage continued on Twitter, where people were equally upset by the 'step backwards' from RSLWA. 'As an Australian veteran I can firmly say that the RSLWA does not represent me. This is disgraceful racism and contrary to ADF values and practices,' one man said. An Aboriginal education consultant wrote: 'Another day in WA as RSLWA bans the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags at ANZAC and Remembrance Day services. You refused to acknowledge when mob served, and now you continue to refuse to acknowledge us.' French President Emmanuel Macron verifies the quality of a Charolais animal during the 57th International Agriculture Fair (Salon international de l'Agriculture) at the Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris, France February 22, 2020. Ludovic Marin/Pool via REUTERS French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday promised to safeguard European farm subsidies, secure compensation for wine producers hit by U.S. tariffs and defend fishermen in talks with Britain, as Frances farming world faces an uncertain year. Opening the annual Paris farm show, Macron said France would continue to oppose cuts to agricultural subsidies, a day after discussions broke down on a new European Union budget without Britain. Like his predecessors, Macron vowed to maintain a large budget for the blocs Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), of which France is the main beneficiary. On the CAP we defend an ambitious budget. CAP cannot be the adjustment variable of Brexit. We need to support our farmers, Macron told farmers. We did not yield to those who wanted to reduce the (CAP) budget, he added. Meeting wine industry representatives, the president pledged to get compensation for U.S. tariffs in place by the spring, Jerome Despey, a wine grower and secretary general of Frances main farmer union, the FNSEA, said afterwards. Macron has previously backed tariff relief for wine producers and said he has raised the issue with the European Commission. The sector fears it could lose 300-400m in annual sales in its main export market if the 25% tariff imposed by Washington in October remains in place, Despey said. Macron spent over 12 hours at the Paris farm show, a major event for politicians in the EUs biggest agricultural economy. During the customary presidential visit to the week-long event, which attracts 600,000 visitors, he tasted French specialties like Charolais beef and Cotes de Provence rose wine, and served draft beer at the French brewers stand. He also faced stern questioning from farmers, with whom he has had an uneasy relationship, particularly over pesticide policy. Macron told farmers that common weedkiller glyphosate would not be scrapped where there were no alternatives, while safety rules on pesticide spraying would be adopted progressively. There were glimpses of wider tensions in France, with a heated exchange with a woman about pension reform and police violence in street protests. Eric Drouet, a leading figure in the so-called Yellow Vest protest movement that rocked Macrons government a year ago, was expelled from the show when he tried to approach the president. WASHINGTON In some of the most critical corners of the Trump administration, officials show up for work now never entirely sure who will be there by the end of the evening themselves included. Even for an administration that has been a revolving door since Day 1, this has become a season of turmoil. At a moment when first-term presidents are typically seeking a stable team to focus on their reelection, President Donald Trump has embarked on a systematic attempt to sweep out officials perceived to be disloyal. The headquarters of the nations intelligence apparatus roiled with the ouster of acting director Joseph Maguire and his replacement by a sharp partisan amid a dispute over Russian election interference. The Justice Department remained on edge with whispers of further resignations, including perhaps even that of Attorney General William Barr, after the presidents intervention in a case involving one of his friends. Witnesses from the impeachment inquiry into Trump have been summarily dismissed. Dozens of policy experts have been cleared out of the National Security Council staff as part of a restructuring that will mean fewer career professionals in range of the president. A deputy national security adviser dogged by innuendo about disloyalty was exiled to the Energy Department. A Trump appointees nomination for a top Treasury Department post was pulled. The No. 3 official at the Defense Department was shown the door. And Johnny McEntee, a 29-year-old loyalist just installed to take over the Office of Presidential Personnel, reporting directly to Trump, has ordered a freeze on all political appointments across the government. He also convened a meeting to instruct departments to search for people not devoted to the president so they can be removed, according to people briefed about the session, and informed colleagues that he planned to tell Cabinet secretaries that the White House would be choosing their deputies from now on. Trump appears to be launching the biggest assault on the nations civil service system since the 1883 Pendleton Act ended the spoils system, said Paul Light, a New York University professor who has studied presidential personnel. But career professionals are not the only ones in the crosshairs. Also facing scrutiny are Republican political appointees considered insufficiently committed to the president or suspected of not aggressively advancing his agenda. Allies of the president said he should be free to make personnel changes, even if it amounts to shedding people who are not seen as loyal to Trump. It is not unusual at all that these types of assessments are done, and thereafter changes are made, said Bradley Blakeman, a Republican strategist and former White House official under President George W. Bush. Nonetheless, the tumult and anxiety come at a time when the Trump administration confronts enormous challenges, including the coronavirus outbreak, Iranian and North Korean nuclear development and Russian determination to play a role again in the U.S. next election. Democrats, for example, have expressed concerns about the administrations ability to respond if there were a severe coronavirus outbreak in the United States, noting that a global health security expert position on the National Security Council has been left vacant for almost two years. Trump has long been obsessed with loyalty, a view only exacerbated by his impeachment and the various investigations over the last three years that have convinced him that he is surrounded by a deep-state enemy within that is leaking, lying and sabotaging his presidency. He has also been frustrated by the decision-making process of government, aggravated at competing centers of power that have shaped the modern presidency but have, in his view, hindered his ability to enact policies. With a more loyal team in place, he hopes to make more progress on initiatives that have been slow-walked by institutional inertia or resistance, like tougher rules on trade and immigration. But it could mean less dissent and less open debate, with surviving officials fearing the loss of their jobs if they are seen as stepping out of line. From the beginning, his administration has been a turnstile of people who fall in and out of favor with the president. Including those with acting designations, he is on his third chief of staff, his fourth national security adviser, his fourth defense secretary, his fifth secretary of homeland security, his sixth deputy national security adviser and his seventh communications director. According to data compiled by Kathryn Dunn Tenpas, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, turnover among what she calls Trumps A team, meaning his senior staff, has hit 82% more in three years than any of the previous five presidents saw in their first four years. Moreover, the Trump administration has been notable for a high level of serial turnover, with 38% of the top positions replaced more than once. Many key departments and White House entities have been hollowed out, Tenpas said. The president has thus been left with acting officials in many key areas. He seems completely unbothered, she said. He claims that actings give him flexibility but fails to see that temporary leaders cannot advance his policies nearly as well as a Senate-confirmed appointee who has the stature and all the powers to do so. While some of the reliance on acting officials owes to a dysfunctional Senate confirmation process, Trump seems to prefer to keep senior advisers on edge as to whether they will keep their job. Mick Mulvaney, his acting White House chief of staff, a position that does not require Senate confirmation, is finishing his 14th month with an acting in front of his title for no reason that has ever been publicly articulated, and he may be forced out without ever having been granted the full title. Mulvaney has shrugged it off, saying that anyone who works for Trump is by definition an acting official who could be dismissed at any time. But the presidents refusal to bestow the full title strikes many as a form of ritual humiliation depriving him of stature, influence or job security. Just a few days ago, Mulvaney seemed to speak out in a way that caused many to wonder whether he may leave soon, voluntarily or not. During session with the Oxford Union in England, he said that the United States was desperate for more immigrants and that Republicans seemed to stop caring about rising deficits when Trump took office. He added that I disagree with the president every single day but did not talk about it publicly. The newest power center at the White House is McEntee, a former assistant to the president who was fired by the previous chief of staff, John Kelly, but has been brought back as presidential personnel director. McEntee has made clear that his mission is to establish a more loyal team around the president. His meeting last Thursday with Cabinet liaisons in which he called for rooting out disloyal officials was first reported by Axios. The ousters have extended beyond impeachment witnesses like Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman and Ambassador Gordon Sondland. John Rood, who was removed as undersecretary of defense for policy, did not speak out publicly but had written internal emails skeptical of the freeze on security aid to Ukraine that was at the center of the impeachment inquiry. In National Security Council staff meetings, however, Rood was a constant voice of skepticism over the administrations troop reductions in Syria, its pending peace deal with the Taliban and other issues. With McEntees arrival, that dissenting voice was no longer welcome, said a person familiar with the matter. Supporters of Jessie Liu, a Trump backer who served as the U.S. attorney in Washington, suspect her nomination for undersecretary of Treasury was pulled because of dissatisfaction with her prosecution of Roger Stone, the presidents adviser convicted of obstruction and witness intimidation to protect Trump. Victoria Coates, a deputy national security adviser, was dispatched to the Energy Department despite denials that she was the anonymous official who wrote an op-ed and book critical of the administration. Maguire, the acting director of national intelligence who angered the president by allowing intelligence officials to tell House lawmakers that Russia was already intervening in the 2020 election on Trumps behalf, was replaced by Richard Grenell, the ambassador to Germany and a vocal conservative with no background in intelligence. One of Grenells first moves was to push out Andrew Hallman, the popular principal executive who had been acting as the top deputy. Arriving with Grenell was Kashyap Patel, a senior National Security Council staff member and former key aide to Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif. and a former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. Patel has been viewed warily by intelligence officers, especially since news reports that his mandate was to clean house. Some top civil servants told colleagues they were contemplating quitting or feared being fired. But Grenell also began a charm offensive with senior officials, and his initial meetings have put some at ease while making others think they should give the new boss a chance. It is also not clear who placed Patel in the office, with one official saying it was not Grenells idea. Some allies of the administration cautioned against overanalyzing the developments in the intelligence office. Maguire was scheduled to leave next month anyway under a vacancies law, although administration officials had been looking for ways to extend him, and Grenell is only temporary while the president comes up with a nominee to send to the Senate. The ODNI, I think, is less than meets the eye, said James Jay Carafano, a national security scholar at the Heritage Foundation, using the initials for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Even so, it has added to the wave of concern across the administration, even among Trump appointees. And that may be part of the point. Convinced that so many officials in government have been working against him, Trump does not mind if they are more than a little unsettled. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. A man has been charged after a 20-year-old woman was killed by a hit-and-run driver when they fled from police in south London. Quincy Anyiam, 26, from Surrey, has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving, failing to stop at the scene of a road traffic collision, and dangerous driving. Anyiam went to a south London police station on Friday, was charged on Saturday night and will appear in custody at Croydon Magistrates' Court on Monday. Anisha Vidal-Garner, 20, died at the scene on Brixton Hill on Wednesday. Her family have paid tribute to a 'loving, caring and intelligent woman'. Quincy Anyiam, 26, from Surrey, has been charged with with causing death by dangerous driving after Anisha Vidal-Garner, 20, (pictured) was killed in Brixton on Wednesday night Police said a car sped away from officers after being signalled to stop and was then involved in a collision with a pedestrian. The car did not stop and was found abandoned nearby. It is thought that the vehicle was driving at 60 or 70mph at the time of the incident. The police force's Directorate of Professional Standards and the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) have been informed, as is routine, and the IOPC will independently investigate the incident, Scotland Yard said. Ms Vidal-Garner's heartbroken family said their loved one had a 'constant sweet smile and happy nature' in a note attached to flowers left at the scene. Police a car sped away from officers after being signalled to stop and was then involved in a collision with a pedestrian (pictured the scene on Wednesday) A tenderly-written note said: 'I remember when you were first born so small and beautiful with your very tired mother. 'I remember your constant sweet smile and happy nature. I remember you being shy but strong, quiet but confident, beautiful but unaware. 'I remember watching you as you grew up to be a loving, caring and intelligent woman. I remember drinking a glass of wine with you and talking of your future hopes and dreams. Anyiam went to a south London police station on Friday, was charged on Saturday night and will appear in custody at Croydon Magistrates' Court on Monday (pictured is the scene) 'I remember your loving family who adored you and you adored back. 'You were such a wonderful daughter, sister, niece and friend to so many. I know you will be desperately missed by all whose lives you have touched. Words escape me for my sorrow.' The note is signed off with: 'Love as always, Dave, Charlotte, Albie and Freddie.' Witnesses said Ms Vidal-Garner had been with her boyfriend and a friend when she was struck by the car outside a Nisa Local supermarket. IF you produce a knife in the course of a dispute, you should go to jail, Judge Mary Larkin said at Newcastle West court in the case of John Lane, Clounties, Shanagolden. Mr Lane was pleading to a charge of producing a knife and threatening to kill another man at his workplace in Foynes last May 9. Inspector Andrew Lacey said that on that date, at Estuary Fuels, Main St, Foynes Mr Lane stole the driving licence and a bank card belonging to Tadhg OConnor from Mr OConnors car. Mr Lane then entered the premises, produced a knife and made threats to kill or stab Mr OConnor with whom he was in dispute. Pleading for his client, solicitor Enda OConnor said it was a situation that had escalated out of control. Money was owed to Mr Lane by Tadhg OConnor, he said. Mr Lane had arrived, by tractor, at Tadhg OConnors place of work where he had left his car unlocked. Mr Lane took Tadhg OConnors wallet from the car, took the licence and bank card but returned the wallet a short time after. It was done, the solicitor argued, out of heightened frustration. Mr Lane had gone there on payday in the hope he would recover the money he was owed. The knife, used for baling, was in the tractor, Enda OConnor explained. He did make threats but made a full and frank admission to gardai, he continued and he quoted Mr Lane saying in his garda statement: I did do it. Afterwards, I thought I shouldnt have done it. I want to say I am sorry for pulling the knife. I take a view about carrying knives, Judge Larkin said. All the stabbings and murder occur because young people carry knives and when things dont go their way or they lose their temper, they hit out. When I hit you with a knife I can kill you. I have serious difficulties with the matter here. She remanded Mr Lane on continuing bail to April 16 for a probation report to be prepared. She was considering 100 hours community service or three months imprisonment in lieu for producing the knife. She imposed a one month sentence, suspended for two years, on the charge of threatening to kill and she fined Mr Lane 250 for trespass. The theft of the licence and card were taken into consideration. Getty LAS VEGASIn 2016, Sen. Bernie Sanders came within five points of beating Hillary Clinton in the Nevada caucuses, a stunning near-upset that, after a similar near-miss in Iowa, helped kickstart the progressive movement that has made him one of the most influential politicians in the country. Four years laterand mere weeks after another hairs-breadth loss in a caucus state hed been favored to winSanders has won the Nevada caucuses outright, with a huge lead over his nearest competitor, Joe Biden. It cements his status as the undisputed frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination and positions him for a Super Tuesday performance that, his campaign says, could transform him from frontrunner to presumptive nominee. In other words: Bernies got heat. The odds were in Sanders favor in the weeks leading up to Saturdays caucuses, after a closer-than-anticipated win in the New Hampshire primary and a debate in Sin City where insurgent billionaire Michael Bloomberg drew most of the fire that, under normal circumstances, would have been trained on the frontrunner. Although the Nevada caucuses were far from smooththousands of early ballots were tossed out due to a lack of signaturesthe states Democratic Party avoided the national humiliation endured by Iowa after that states untested reporting process fell apart on caucus night. But despite those hiccups, the Vermont independents lead was almost never in dispute on Saturday. Sanders, like several of his fellow candidates, wasnt even in Nevada when he gave his victory speech. Instead he spoke from Texasa critical, delegate-rich Super Tuesday state. No campaign has a grassroots movement like we do, which is another reason we are going to win the election, Sanders said at a packed rally in San Antonio. In Nevada, I want to thank our rank and file union members. The rank and file reference was no accident. Sanders win amounts to a strong rebuke of criticsboth within the Democratic field and Nevadas union-based political firmamentwho said that his signature Medicare for All proposal would alienate members of the states powerful organized labor force, many of whom enjoy the spoils of decades of hard-fought contract negotiations that have won gold-plated healthcare plans for union members. Story continues Although the influential Culinary Workers Union passed on formally endorsing a primary candidate in this cycleand had implicitly criticized Medicare for All as a threat to its health care victoriesSanders appeared to be the favorite of rank-and-file union workers in Las Vegas. Since 2016 to here, Ive followed Bernie, said Hawi Baker, who works as a cleaner at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino and is a member of the Culinary Workers Union. Originally from Ethiopia, Baker said that she has been drawn to support Sanders because of his stance on universal health care, rather than in spite of it. For example, my husband, my kids dad, he dont have insurancehes a truck driver, Baker said. But when he tried to get the insurance, its very expensive. Supporting Sanders, she said, was her way of supporting people whose employers do not have such robust health care programs. They need to support universal health care, Baker said of the Culinary Workers Union. They push hard for Biden, but I dont know about BidenI support Sanders. At a caucus precinct in the Bellagios Grand Ballroom for shift workers employed on the Las Vegas Strip, enthusiasm was stratospherically high for Sanders. Within the first few minutes of the first alignment period, wherein caucus-goers clump with fellow supporters of their chosen candidate in the hopes of hitting the 15-percent threshold for viability to obtain delegates, nearly two-thirds of the assembled voters had lined up on the ballrooms right wall, chanting BER-NIE! BER-NIE! BER-NIE! at the supporters of the sole other candidate to reach viability: former Vice President Joe Biden. Sanders won an outright majority of the precincts caucus-goers on the first alignment, and was awarded 32 delegates to Bidens 19. The former vice president finished in second place in Nevada, where a fleet of out-of-state precinct captains oversaw a weak realignment game. The night before, Bidens final Get Out the Caucus event in a middle school gym drew a half-full crowd numbering around 350. Bidens campaign had been desperately hoping for a strong finish in the Silver State to springboard them to friendlier territory next weekend, and has emphasized that the former vice president would perform better as the primary calendar moved on to states with more diverse voting populations. But unlike his devastating finish in New Hampshire, Biden stuck around Nevada long enough to see the results come in with his feet still in the state. Hours before the final results revealed the actual results, Biden came out to address his fans at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 357 northeast of the Vegas Strip, pointing to his distantand potentially temporarysecond place showing in Nevada as a win. Biden, welcomed onstage by precinct captains chanting LETS GO JOE! and FIRED UP AND READY TO JOE! and, bewilderingly, JoooooOOOoooo-oooo-OOOEEE to the tune of Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes at a semi-engaged crowd, credited union workers with his strong-ish showing in Nevada. Yall did it for me! Biden said, with roughly 10 percent of precincts reporting, vowing to win in South Carolina one week from Saturday. I think were in a position now to move on in a way that we havent been until this moment. Next time Ill come back to win this state outright Biden added, without mentioning, even at that early hour, he was a distant second to Sanders. We are alive and we are coming back and we are going to win. But in politics, as in Vegas, there is always someone younger and hungrier coming down the stairs after youwhich means that Bidens slide, mitigated by the Nevada caucus results or not, has provided an opening for the rest of the field to jockey for position. The apparently foregone conclusion of Sanders victory meant that victory in Nevada was more about exiting the state with a respectable level of support and delegates. Former Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who has struggled with nonwhite voters, appeared to finish third in Nevada, but successfully replicated his Iowa caucus strategy of strong organizing in more rural, conservative areas of the state, where he successfully stripped away potential delegates from Biden and resurgent fellow Midwesterner Sen. Amy Klobuchar. Still, he used his speech Saturday evening to take a swipe at Sanders. Senator Sanders believes in an inflexible, ideological revolution that leaves out most Democrats, not to mention, most Americans, he said. I believe we can defeat Trump and deliver for the American people by empowering the American people to make their own health care choices with Medicare for All who want it. Senator Sanders believes in taking away that choice. Klobuchar, meanwhile, failed to translate a twin pair of well-regarded debate performances into a successful caucus performancean unsurprising result considering that until her surprise third-place finish in New Hampshire, the senator had a mere two staffers in the entire state. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, whose successful vivisection of Bloomberg on the debate stage earlier in the week provided a crucial lifeline of donations and earned media coverage, appeared to be in fourth. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now! Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more. A firefighter was injured after falling through the floor while fighting a blaze in Lancaster County overnight, but the day after that house fire in West Hempfield Township, the community is mourning the deaths of two adults who were found still inside. According to West Hempfield Fire and Rescue, the fire broke out just before midnight Saturday at a house on the 3100 block of Marietta Avenue, West Hempfield Township. Firefighters came across a scene of heavy fire through the home, prompting multiple departments to be called in to help. The first crews there were told two adults were still inside. The two did not make it out. The American Red Cross of Greater Pennsylvania is assisting one adult and two children. Volunteers are assisiting 1 adult and 2 children after a fire on the 3100 block of Marietta Ave, Lancaster , Lancaster County Red Cross Greater PA (@RedCrossGPA) February 23, 2020 The firefighter who was injured was treated and released. Please keep everyone in your thoughts and prayers as they deal with this difficult tragedy, fire department officials said in a statement on the departments Facebook page. There is no word yet on what caused the fire. The names of the deceased have not yet been released. 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. An elderly couple who mysteriously vanished during a getaway at a California cottage was found alive in a drainage ditch after surviving off of water from a puddle for a week. Carol Kiparsky, 77, and Ian Irwin, 72, were airlifted out of a severely wooded area of Inverness, on Saturday by a rescue helicopter. Authorities say the couple, whove been missing for seven days, is lucky to be alive. The couple was first reported missing on February 14 after they failed to checkout of their Air bnb in time and were nowhere to be found. Carol Kiparsky, 77, (left) and Ian Irwin, 72, (right), survived by drinking water from a puddle they found after going missing for a week Irwin (left) and Kiparsky (right) are said to be in high spirits after being rescued Housekeepers who arrived at the home found the pair's wallets, phones and car still parked outside. Rescue teams immediately set to work to find Kiparsky and Irwin after believing the two had gotten lost while hiking on a nearby trail. In the following days, hundreds of volunteers joined the Marin County Sheriff's Office in the rescue effort to seemingly no avail. Authorities had combed through several miles of tough terrain and vegetation with on sign of the couple. Rescue searches were done on foot, boats, overhead drones who swept the area and K9 teams who tried to track the couples scent. Kiparsky and Irwin were located by authorities on Saturday afternoon in a drainage ditch overrun with foliage and vegetation Kiparsky and Irwin were airlifted out of the area with a helicopter and transported to a nearby hospital to treat light hypothermia A big shout out to @sonomasheriff for the amazingly quick response, professionalism, and their ability to get Carol and Ian to the medics the fastest way possible. pic.twitter.com/jr7RwuiPII Marin County Sheriff (@MarinSheriff) February 22, 2020 But optimism to find the couple alive began to dwindle as the days passed and efforts brought no new leads. Even their son, Jonas Irwin, was beginning to feel the daunting fear. He told Mercury News: Theres no way theyre going to reappear at this point.' I mean, you dont know until you have them physically. But the prospect of us never getting that closure is really going to be bad. The rescue mission was eventually turned into a recovery mission after four cadaver dogs issued alerts around two miles from the couples vacation cottage. Meanwhile, authorities say Kiparsky and Irwin had fallen at one point during their walk and found themselves lost in the woods. The rescue mission for Kiparsky and Irwin was eventually turned into a recovery mission after authorities began to lose hope of finding them alive Hundreds of volunteers set out to find Kiparsky and Irwin throughout the seven days the couple was missing Authorities exhausted several search methods during the week, including searching on foot, K9 teams, boats and drones They miraculously survived by drinking water from a puddle as they waited for help in the cool weather. Neither person's clothes warm enough to combat the night time chill, which reached as low as 30 degrees some nights, and Kiparsky somehow lost her shoes. At one point, Kiparsky tried to search for help and tied torn pieces of her scarf to different foliage so she could find her way back to Irwin. Fortunately, rescuers Rich Cassens and Quincy Webster, along with their three-year-old rescue dog Groot, discovered the couple. Authorities were surprised at how far into the foliage the couple was after assuming they could not have trekked so far out. Thank God you found us, were so happy, the couple said, according to Brenton Schneider, spokesman for the Marin County Sheriffs Office. Schneider said Kiparsky and Irwin were given rescue supplies while waiting for backup to arrive at the scene. Irwin reportedly started to sing. (Irwin) started singing a song when the helicopter came, and he still had a little sarcasm behind his voice, even then, said Schneider. Because of the staggering amount of foliage, rescue teams relied on a helicopter to airlift the couple out of the woods and to a local hospital. Schneider says the vegetation in the area was so dense that one team spent nearly two hours trying to crawl through it during the search. He credits the successful rescue to the 70 personnel and other volunteers who were on the ground when news of the found couple reached the control base. Kiparsky and Irwin suffered from light hypothermia, but are grateful that they survived the ordeal. In a picture shared on Twitter, authorities say the two are in great spirits and want to thank every single person who has kept them in their thoughts. Irwin is a leading Parkinsons disease researcher. He was a chemist on the team that originally identified an agent responsible for the outbreak of Parkinsonism among heroin addicts in 1982, according to the Marin Independent Journal. Kiparsky is a prominent linguist and author of several books on language, including 1975's "The Gooficon: A Repair Manual for English." Hours before he departs for his much-anticipated visit to India, US President Donald Trump on Saturday (local time) said he is looking forward to being with his great friends in the country. Look so forward to being with my great friends in INDIA!, Trump remarked while retweeting a morphed clip of an Indian movie--Baahubali. In the clip shared by unverified Twitter account Sol, POTUS face was superimposed on that of the protagonist of the movie played by actor Prabhas. Watch | US President Trump shares morphed Baahubali video of himself ahead of visit The clip also featured Ivanka Trump, Melania Trump, and Trump Jr. Look so forward to being with my great friends in INDIA! https://t.co/1jdk3AW6fG Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 22, 2020 A few days back, Trump lauded the release of Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan -- Bollywood film that features a gay male lead character. Great! the US president wrote as he retweeted a post by British LGBT activist Peter Tatchell, who celebrated the Bollywood movie with a Hurrah! The US President will reach Gujarats Ahmedabad by noon on Monday and is slated to address a mammoth crowd of more than 100,000 people which is expected to turn up for an event at the Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad on the lines of the Howdy Modi function that was addressed by the US President and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Houston in September last year. Also read | Indo-Pacific ties, Afghanistan focus of Modi, Trump meeting The President is also likely to visit the Gandhi Ashram in Sabarmati. Later in the day he will arrive in New Delhi and is expected to hold talks. On Tuesday morning, the US President will first receive a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhawan as per protocol. Prime minister Modi could then accompany the US leader to the Gandhi Ashram in Delhi (subjected to time availability if the Sabarmati ashram cannot be visited). The two leaders will then meet at the Hyderabad House and will lead official state meetings. On Tuesday, President Trump will meet with executives of Indian companies -- with business interests in the United States during his visit to the capital -- at an event organized by the US embassy in New Delhi. The companies expected to be represented at the meeting include the Indian oil and gas company Reliance Industries, Tata Sons, Bharat Forge, Mahindra and Mahindra. POTUSs visit will conclude with an early banquet dinner, following which he will depart for Washington. When then US President Richard Nixon landed in New Delhi at the height of a boiling Indian summer in 1969, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi received him with the far from welcoming remark: You came at the wrong time of day and the wrong time of the year. That comment could be made on Monday to President Donald Trump, not because the mercury is bubbling or Prime Minister Narendra Modi is an ungracious host, but because of the political and economic pressures behind the current unrest. India is at sixes and sevens. Which makes it all the more gratifying that Mr Trumps is the first standalone visit in 75 years of diplomatic relations even if it is a hard-sell salesmans 36-hour whistlestop trip. India needs the United States for trade, investment, security and sophisticated dual-purpose technology. However, although weapons are important, they cannot be the main prop of a partnership that goes far beyond defence problems with two of Indias neighbours. Nor can H-1B visas and Green Cards, although for many Indians the US is their escape to the good life. That is a measure of the poverty that characterises this country far more than a small coterie of billionaires waxing rich under official patronage. Whether or not the ebullient US President acknowledges it, far from being another Asian hegemon, India is not only poor but backward and lagging far behind developed nations in all the globally recognised indices of growth. There is little question, therefore, of India pressuring an assertive and expansionist China either to do business on American terms or adjust its traditional geopolitical thinking to a new concert of Asia. Yet, this is what the US seeks. It is the ultimate objective of moves like reviving the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue which the Chinese view with deep suspicion, and renaming the oldest and largest US command which includes 36 nations as well as both the Pacific and Indian Oceans the Indo-Pacific Command. But despite these marks of approbation for a nation in which he, as a businessman, has invested his name and reputation if not his money, Mr Trump will find India in some disarray if he looks beyond Mr Modis brave rhetoric. The Aam Aadmi Partys victory in the recent Delhi Assembly elections warned the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party that there is always an alternative to the ruling party in a democracy. (In fact, one reason for Mr Trumps visit is that he himself faces the democratic test in November.) The tumult in so many cities over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, the National Population Register and the National Register of Citizens may be illogical and emotion-driven, but does show up the governments helplessness in the face of a popular upsurge that the Opposition parties might yet harness to electoral purpose as Jayaprakash Narayan was able to do in 1977. What might further encourage such Opposition aspirants as Rahul Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee is that the economy is in the doldrums. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharamans refusal to admit this explained the irrelevance of her recent lacklustre Budget. Unemployment is the highest in 50 years, exports are stagnating, foreign direct investment has not lived up to expectations, a sluggish 4.5 per cent growth is dragging down the global average (as Gita Gopinath, the IMFs chief economist, pointed out much to New Delhis chagrin), only 15 million Indians pay income-tax, and the government is trying to sell nationalised assets worth $30 billion to meet its fiscal deficit. Mr Trump and his high-powered team must already have some inkling of the straits in which India finds itself. They dont need to peer behind Ahmedabads newly-built wall and gaze on a shantytown of 500 huts housing nearly 3,000 slum dwellers to understand the level of destitution. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services would not have reported that nearly 7,000 Green Card applications by Indians almost 35 times the number in 2018 are pending if conditions were hunky-dory at home. New Delhi cannot but be evasive on this point because one cause of high unemployment is its own abrupt and arbitrary decision to demonetise high-denomination currency notes and the devastating impact it had on the informal sector. None of this will come as a surprise to the Americans who must know that the growth rate of Indo-US trade fell from 8.4 per cent in last years first two quarters to a mere 4.5 per cent in the last quarter because of the economic slowdown. Trade in goods and services stood at a miserable minus 2.3 per cent, in contrast with the 9.6 per cent growth recorded for the years first two quarters. The old Make in India slogan associated with the Congress Party and its swadeshi commitment that Mr Modi discovered and reiterates as if it is his own coinage cant by itself boost manufacturing. Indias relations with the United States depend to some extent on the party that occupies the White House. There may be a philosophical commonality with the Democrats like John F. Kennedy or Jimmy Carter, but their own programmes have allowed Republican Presidents like Dwight D. Eisenhower and George W. Bush to cooperate more closely on a practical plane. There are limits, however, to such engagement, and it might not be in Indias interest to play an active role in the Honolulu-based Indo-Pacific Command, which covers over half of the earths surface and its diverse populations, from Hollywood to Bollywood, from polar bears to penguins, as former US defence secretary Jim Mattis once put it. Indias priorities are nearer home and more economic than military. It is to be hoped that swept off his feet by Mr Trumps heady flattery, Mr Modi will not commit India either to massive weapons purchases to counter the ever-present terrorism bogey, or to policing duties that do not directly benefit our impoverished millions. The writer is a senior journalist, columnist and author The exchange came after a Palestinian news agency posted graphic footage of an Israeli army bulldozer dragging the body of a Palestinian man who Israel said was part of a terror squad and was killed as he placed an explosive device along the Israel-Gaza border fence. One of the rockets launched from Gaza on Monday damaged playground equipment in the town of Sderot. There were no reports of injuries on the Israeli side. Four Palestinians were injured by Israeli strikes in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. A man was struck and killed Saturday by a parade float after slipping on a pair of beads during the annual Mardi Gras festival in New Orleans, a witness said. This is the second float-related death in four days after a woman was killed on Wednesday in a similar fashion. Authorities have not released the identity of the man, but the shocking incident happened during the Krewe of Endymion's parade as they rolled down Canal Street. Krewe of Endymion, a Mardi Gras 'superkrewe' that hosts a popular parade every year, was en route to the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center when the man was struck around 8pm. A witness told NOLA.com that the man tried to catch a thrown object when he landed on discarded beads and slipped underneath the 14th tandem float, dubbed 'Captain S.S. Eddie.' An man died Saturday evening after witnesses say he slipped on discarded beads on the ground and fell underneath a parade float in New Orleans. Louisiana It's reported that his body somehow got stuck between two connected floats and he was unable to get out. The witness said the man's friend tried to drag him out from underneath the float, but did not succeed. Other people frantically tried to alert the driver and float riders of the incident, but it was difficult to hear over the noise. Emergency personnel rushed to the scene and transported him to the nearby University Medical Center for treatment. The man was pronounced dead and was unable to be revived. The man was struck by the 13th float in a parade float with the Krewe of Endymion (pictured), a Mardi Gras 'superkrewe' that hosts a popular parade every year Authorities rushed the man to a nearby medical center after attempting CPR, but he was pronounced dead Several witnesses said the man was part of group from the city's 9th Ward. Journalist Jonah Gilmore was at the parade when the man was killed and described first responders attempting CPR before placing a sheet over the corpse. He wrote on Twitter: 'I can't wrap my head around witnessing this. Like man, the screams and seeing them finally drape that sheet.' 'I never imagined I would witness something so horrific.' Krewe of Endymion's parade was cancelled after their 13th float and the remaining floats did not finish the run. The second half of Krewe of Endymion's parade was cancelled and disbanded after the tragic incident 'We were just out here trying to enjoy the parade and someone was hit by a float again,' a person told 4WWL. 'It makes you not want to go to the parades. All of this, over some beads.' In light of this second parade death, New Orleans city officials announced they are cancelling all tandem floats for the remainder of the 2020 Mardi Gras season. 'Tandem floatsmultiple floats connected together and pulled by one tractorwill not be allowed,' they wrote. Each float will now require its own tractor. The City of New Orleans has officially banned any tandem floats from participating in 2020 Mardi Gras season ac On Wednesday night, 58-year-old Geraldine Carmouche was killed after she was run over by a float during the a parade by Mystic Krewe of Nyx, an an all-female Carnival group. Carmouche is said to be the relative of two Nyx sisters. Witnesses say Carmouche had tried to cross between two parts of a tandem float when she accidentally tripped over the hitch connecting the two sections. Nyx Captain Julie spoke out about the tragic accident through a spokesperson. Geraldine Carmouche, 58, was the first person killed due to a float-related accident this 2020 Mardi Gras season on Wednesday 'On such a joyous night, this is obviously a tragic occurrence,' she said. 'The parade takes a back seat when something like this happens on the route. On behalf of the entire Krewe of Nyx, along with the city of New Orleans, we offer our most sincere condolences to the family and friends of the individual involved.' Although parade-related deaths are rare, they do happen in New Orleans and other parts of the country. The most recent Carnival death happened in 2009, when a 23-year-old rider fell from a float and in the path of its wheels. One year earlier, a rider getting off a three-part flat after the Krewe of Endymion parade died after the float lurched forward and a section ran him over. The Mardi Gras season will end with the upcoming Fat Tuesday celebration on Tuesday. Ahead of US President Donald Trump's maiden visit to India, former Union minister and Congress leader Anand Sharma on Sunday said so far there are no positive indications that the high profile visit would yield any major outcomes. The US president and First Lady Melania Trump will be in India from February 24 to 25. The visit is important in relation to the fact that the US is a major power, but that is all, Sharma said. "So far I do not have any positive indication of any major outcome. It will be a continuation of defence and security cooperation, and a reaffirmation of our cooperation in space and nuclear sciences. It is ongoing and it will not be a new thing," the former minister who handled external affairs under the Congress-led UPA 1 told PTI. He claimed that during the visit, there would neither be any trade agreement nor restoration of India's status under the Generalized System of Preference (GSP) bracket which the country previously had. "There won't be any trade agreement. There won't be restoration of the GSP with all indications and the US making negative statements," he said. "By putting India in the bracket of developed countries list, the US would drastically cut down any of the access and even the H1B visas which were available to India as a developing country because the US has quotas. So let us see. Except for a helicopter deal, there appears nothing in the offing," Sharma said. He said "we would have to wait and see if there will be outcomes". On whether Trump's visit would mean anything with regard to Pakistan, he said it was unlikely. "US President Trump will give one message today and he will give another message tomorrow. He has done this in the past. Do not forget after the 'Howdy, Modi' event in Houston how he met Pakistan PM Imran Khan. So let us wait. They will not take an extreme position. "They need Pakistan also for what they are doing in Afghanistan," said the deputy leader of the Congress in Rajya Sabha. Sharma said the Trump visit should also not be seen as an attempt to balance the rise of China. "China is five times bigger than us. India is in no position to balance. The US has its own equations with China (which) one should not forget. They make noises but they reach agreements quickly. They have a trade agreement. Let us wait," the Congress leader said said. 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. Todays Caitlin Johnstone essay has been replaced by this breaking report by the National News Conglomerate. NNC: Obey. Following shocking reports from The New York Times and The Washington Post that Moscow is simultaneously working to both re-elect Donald Trump and ensure the nomination of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders in the Democratic presidential primary race, NNC has obtained further information confirming that nearly all candidates currently running for president are in fact covert agents of the Russian government. According to sources familiar with the matter, the lone candidate not literally conducting espionage on behalf of the Russian government is Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana. Intelligence has revealed that Mr. Buttigieg is at this time the only candidate who we can count on not to place our nations interests square in the hands of Vladimir Putin, an anonymous source in the Central Intelligence Agency told NNC on Saturday. In fact Mr. Buttigieg is the only candidate running with the skill, the experience and the multilingual relatability needed to bridge our nations deep divisions and bring Americans together in this time of uncontrolled hostility, the CIA source continued. Because in truth, the unity of our togetherness is in the freedom of our democracy, added the source. The long and winding road to the American flag was built upon the steps of our founding fathers. You dont have to be a big shot Washington insider to see that the problems our nation faces are tearing us apart at our own peril with radical divisive rhetoric saying you need to burn down the establishment and voice a concrete foreign policy position. And thats why I for one believe we dont have to choose between revolution and the status quo: we can come together and find solutions that help the working class and billionaires. Experts say these new revelations on Russian election interference should consume one hundred percent of all news coverage for the entirety of 2020, and that Democrats should definitely spend all their time from now until November focusing solely on President Trumps suspicious ties to the Russian government. I cant think of a single thing that could possibly go wrong if Democrats focused exclusively on the possibility that the president conspired with Vladimir Putin in the lead-up to the election in November, said Les Overton of the influential think tank Americans for an American America. If Democrats want to prevent another four years of Trump they should hit him where they know it hurts: nonstop 24/7 Russia conspiracy theories. Thats what Americans really care about. Asked if its possible that undue emphasis on Russian collusion could prove a fruitless endeavor given Trumps soaring approval rating after impeachment resulted in his acquittal and the Mueller report failed to indict a single American for conspiring with the Russian government, Overton disagreed and said this time will be like, totally different. Democrats should definitely invest all of their mental and emotional energy in this Trump-Russia scandal, because this time its a sure thing, Overton said. Put all your eggs in this basket and get your hopes up very, very high. The big BOOM is coming any minute now, I promise. Overton then departed with an envelope full of cash which he said was his life savings, reportedly to invest in lottery tickets. __________________________________ Thanks for reading! The best way to get around the internet censors and make sure you see the stuff I publish is to subscribe to the mailing list for my website, which will get you an email notification for everything I publish. My work is entirely reader-supported, so if you enjoyed this piece please consider sharing it around, liking me on Facebook, following my antics on Twitter, checking out my podcast on either Youtube, soundcloud, Apple podcasts or Spotify, following me on Steemit, throwing some money into my hat on Patreon or Paypal, purchasing some of my sweet merchandise, buying my new book Rogue Nation: Psychonautical Adventures With Caitlin Johnstone, or my previous book Woke: A Field Guide for Utopia Preppers. For more info on who I am, where I stand, and what Im trying to do with this platform, click here. Everyone, racist platforms excluded, has my permission to republish or use any part of this work (or anything else Ive written) in any way they like free of charge. Black Shark 3 5G smartphone might come with huge 5,000mAh battery and 65W fast charging support along with other features New Delhi, Sun, 23 Feb 2020 Sangita Roy Chinese gaming company Black Shark is coming with the Black Shark 2 successor very soon. The new device rumored to be given Black Shark 3 as its brand name. As per the reports the new smartphone Black Shark 3 of the company is expected to come with a huge 5,000mAh battery capacity with 65W fast charging feature. The successor of Black Shark 2 launched back in India in 2109 will be launched soon with the brand name Black Shark 3, which will come with decent specification. The Black Shark 3 rumored to come with fast charging of 65W and with 5,000mAh battery. This phone could come with Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 chipset. This phone is going to be the 5G phone in the Indian market. Black Shark launched its first gaming phone called Black Shark 2 in the year 2019, now the company is coming up with its successor named Black Shark 3 very soon. The Black Shark 2 is the rumored name for this upcoming smartphone and still company did not reveal any name. The Black Shark 3 is expected to come with the top-end specification and many features necessary to play todays demanding games. As this phone is gaming phone, the hardware will be best and latest in mobile technology. According to the rumors, this phone could be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 chipset and the screen of this might come with 120Hz refresh rates. The screen will come with the QHD resolution, which is good for playing games with heavy graphics. One of the very important features of this phone is 5,000mAh battery with fast charging support. This charge is capable of charging Black Shark 3 5G smartphone in just 38 minutes. As per reports Black Shark 3 5G can be charged from 0% to 100% in just 38 minutes. Other mobile phone manufacturers also come up with the smartphones with fast charging. For example, Huawei Mate X comes with 4,500mAh and 55W fast charging system. Oppo Reno Ace comes with a 4,000mAh battery at a charging power of 65W. While the upcoming smartphone IQOO 3, which will be launched on February 25, will come with 4,400mAh battery and 55W fast charging. As per the reports, the unofficial launch date of Black Shark 3 5G smartphone is March 19, 2020. Still, there is no official word about the detailed specification or launch date of this phone. Getty Images Buoyed by popular-vote wins in Iowa and New Hampshire and small donations from millions of supporters, Bernie Sanders enters the Nevada caucus with the lead in 10 national polls, with forecasters predicting his victory with as much as 32 per cent of the vote. But the Democratic frontrunner is facing a fresh round of attacks on his vision of Medicare for All, which would expand the program by enrolling every American into a comprehensive "single-payer" healthcare plan, free at the point of service, without monthly enrollment costs, co-pays and costly deductibles. Donald Trump and Mike Bloomberg have raised red-scare flags. Pete Buttigieg warns that the senator's ambitious plan would explode the growing deficit. But it's the health lobby that has spent millions on advertisements as well as candidates' campaigns, stoking fears about Americans' health insurance disappearing overnight and hoping to drown out support for his signature proposal. "My former employers see this as an existential threat", says Wendell Potter, a former health insurance executive who has emerged as a vocal Medicare for All advocate. "It's the quest for profits that has led to the spiraling spending on health care, and has developed to a situation where we don't have a health care system but a sickness industry." As the US prepares for an election at which the future of medical care is at stake, Mr Potter is sounding the alarm for the "mother of all propaganda campaigns" while Medicare for All is attacked from all sides. His exodus from his 20-year career with health insurance giants Cigna and Humana has manifested into his ongoing whistle-blowing effort to expose the industry's political and media manipulations to combat a plan that could make the multi-billion dollar business obsolete. The US currently relies on a multiple-payer system, with insurance companies, government programmes or other services covering care for millions of Americans. Medicare for All would consolidate Americans into one government "plan", giving the US leverage to drive down costs. Story continues Just as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) invoked the wrath of conservative lawmakers a decade ago, the renewed fight over future American healthcare is shaping together "right out of the industry playbook", one Mr Potter helped write to push back against the ACA's reforms. "I saw that campaign being implemented", he says. "I was getting pissed off, quite frankly ... I saw the work I was doing showing up in the media ... I couldn't stay on the sidelines." 'It's finally not working for most people' While the field begins to reshape after losses in the first two primary states, the Vermont senator's ground game in Nevada is stronger than his opponents' with 10 offices and 200 staffers, a quarter of whom are Latino, campaigning in the Silver State. Mr Sanders also has the most union support among candidates, counting more than a dozen in all that support his Medicare for All plan, including National Nurses United, the largest union of registered nurses in the US. But Nevada's largest and most politically powerful union has refused to endorse a candidate. The Culinary Union, representing 60,000 hospitality workers, released a flyer on the night of the New Hampshire primary singling out Mr Sanders' health plan, which would "end Culinary healthcare". Culinary 226 Secretary-Treasurer Geoconda Arguello-Kline announced "we're not going to endorse a candidate" but instead will "endorse our goals". The union also didn't endorse in 2016. A one-page flyer summarising several candidates' positions posits that Mr Sanders will "end Culinary healthcare" while it says that Elizabeth Warren will "replace Culinary healthcare" with a three-year transition plan or at the end of existing collective bargaining agreements. Both candidates endorse Medicare for All. Culinary Union's healthcare plan, administered through a nonprofit trust, provides care for 130,000 people, including union members and their families. The union didn't explain to its members that Mr Sanders' plan would guarantee healthcare for all union members, and all Americans, regardless of their employment. Striking workers wouldn't lose their care, for example, and supporters argue that a guaranteed medical plan would allow unions to organise around other crucial benefits, like higher wages, once employers are no longer on the hook for paying partial costs of their employees' healthcare. The flyer drew swift condemnation from Mr Sanders' supporters while his opponents seized the moment to express their support for the union and pitch their health plans. Mr Sanders' chief opponent among the Democrats former South Bend, Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg, who paced neck-and-neck with Mr Sanders for delegate votes in Iowa and New Hampshire shared on Twitter: "There are 14 million union workers in America who have fought hard for strong, employer-provided health benefits. Medicare for All Who Want It protects their plans and union members' freedom to choose the coverage that's best for them." Mr Potter, in response, said that Mr Buttigieg's attack on Medicare for All "will thrill my old pals in the insurance industry, as Pete's plan preserves the very system that makes them huge profits while bankrupting [and] killing millions." He told The Independent that candidates leaving room for private insurers like Mr Buttigieg's "Medicare for All Who Want It" and the introduction of a "public option" alongside the preservation of private insurance companies "is still leaving in place the foundation of a system that is absolutely dismal and overly expensive". "If you just add the public option you're leaving in place the very reason why our system is so darn expensive", he says. Mr Buttigieg's campaign also is supported by significant donations from the health industry, which spent more than $3m on the candidate in 2019. But that support is dwarfed by the army of insurers, drug companies hospitals and other groups that have waged a war against Medicare for All and to protect the Affordable Care Act, the last major Democratic victory on healthcare. Partnership for America's Health Care Future and other groups have lobbied to suppress Medicare for All and legislation that would expand the government's role in administering healthcare. The organisation is an alliance of hospital and insurance groups, including the Federation of American Hospitals, America's Health Insurance Plans, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the American Hospital Association and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. Its latest campaign includes ads airing on MSNBC and NBC websites, including a Spanish-language version, features actors worrying about their families losing private insurance care and higher taxes, claiming that "government-controlled proposals could double" their income taxes. The group argues that Americans would be "forced to pay more" to "wait longer for worse care" under a system "run by politicians" which Mr Potter says are among the talking points he assembled while working for insurance companies. Timothy Faust, a single-payer advocate and author of Health Justice Now: Single Payer and What Comes Next, says decades of "fraud and inefficiencies" have proved too lucrative for the industry to give up. "If you're a big hospital corporation or private equity firm that owns a hospital, a benefits manager, an insurance company all of this fraud and all of this waste is how you line your pockets," he tells The Independent. With the average insurance deductible tipping over $4,000 while 40 per cent of Americans don't have $400 for a medical emergency, "the contradictions are too great" to preserve the status quo, he says. "It's finally not working for most people." 'Fear, uncertainty and doubt' Mr Buttigieg has attacked Mr Sanders for the high cost of enacting a Medicare for All plan estimates are as high as several trillion dollars over 10 years. Rather than pay into deductibles, co-payments and other costs, Americans would pay into the programme through higher taxes. But at least five analyses from the last decade have argued that a single-payer programme would significantly drive down current costs. The most recent study from Yale University found that a single-payer plan could save Americans more than $450bn in health costs and prevent 68,000 unnecessary deaths every year. Families would see an average of $2,400 in annual health savings. "In this case single payer is the financially prudent choice," Mr Faust says. "Plans like Buttigieg's kind of continue that grovelling to insurance companies ... to keep this stupid thing afloat." Many Americans are currently insured through plans provided by their employer, which ultimately negotiates a plan for its employees. If an employee leaves the job, changes jobs or is fired, they lose that insurance, unless they elect to continue to pay for it for a brief period, often at a higher rate than when they were employed. But there remain 37 million uninsured people in the US, while more than 40 million others are under-insured, paying overwhelming out-of-pocket costs or, in some cases, facing bankruptcy to pay for their medical bills. Insured Americans still are paying thousands of dollars in monthly premiums, annual deductibles, co-pays and other out-of-pocket expenses for treatment even when covered within an insurance network. Costs for seeing providers that aren't covered by the insurer outside the network can skyrocket those costs. Insurance companies are engaged in messaging campaigns around "fear, uncertainty and doubt" - also known as "FUD", Mr Potter says. "They're very skilled at that, they know there's little accountability, and few people know what they're up to," he says. A disinformation campaign targeting the importance of "choice" and "competition" in healthcare obfuscates the lack of choice in private insurance carriers, as Americans are limited by in-network doctors and the often-prohibitively expensive cost of seeing providers out of network. Employers ultimately choose what their employees get, and that freedom to "choose" goes both ways at-will employment gives companies the freedom to sack their staff, leaving them without insurance. "Single payer represents an emancipatory movement for people in America," says Mr Faust, who argues that guaranteeing insurance for all Americans could relieve workers from poor quality jobs or help people escape abusive relationships that rely on partners' insurance coverage. Mr Potter also warns against the opposition's message that eliminating private insurance will "stifle innovation", despite massive investments from government programs like the National Institutes of Health into private companies at taxpayers' expense. He says fear over the "government takeover of healthcare" is "one of those messages that has been tested in focus groups" while conservatives have sowed distrust about the role of government to boost support for the private sector. Claims that a nationalised health plan is "out of step with American values" also send him back to the fight over the Affordable Care Act, as one group the health lobby determined mattered most to Americans. "We take care of each other", he says. "This is something we have to emphasize and push back on." Read more Sanders shares stage with Medicare for All bill co-author Bernie Sanders vows to transform America on eve on Nevada caucus Bernie Sanders told Russia is trying to help his campaign, reports say Biden attacks Sanders over 'immoral' gun immunity in Las Vegas Democrats made a grave error by ignoring Sanders at the debate Sanders campaign says demand for medical records similar to birtherism Warren insists ordinary people won't pay higher taxes for healthcare If you don't support Medicare-for-All, you support the opioid crisis Republicans say Trump may cut Medicare if he wins in 2020 Meet the woman taking on Americas private healthcare industry Dying ALS patient delivers passionate Medicade-for-All speech Trump supporters reveal who would be toughest Democrat challenger My brother is a soldier. Democrats' foreign policy leaves me concerned Trump rejects intel warning on Russia meddling as 'disinformation' Why this Louisiana voter thinks Democrats are doomed in November Trump accused of trying to steal Democrats' thunder in Las Vegas Russias foreign ministry on Saturday denied a claim by US officials that Russian-linked social media accounts were making a coordinated effort to spread alarm about the new coronavirus, branding the accusation intentionally misleading. This is a deliberately false story, spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told the TASS state news agency in Russias first official reaction to the claims by US officials to AFP. State Department officials tasked with combating Russian disinformation said that thousands of false personas were being used on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to promote unfounded conspiracy theories that the US was behind the COVID-19 outbreak, writing in multiple languages. Russias intent is to sow discord and undermine US institutions and alliances from within, including through covert and coercive malign influence campaigns, said Philip Reeker, the acting Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia. By spreading disinformation about coronavirus, Russian malign actors are once again choosing to threaten public safety by distracting from the global health response. am/har FACEBOOK Twitter New Delhi, Feb 23 : Supreme Court's Justice D.Y. Chandrachud on Sunday praised President Ram Nath Kovind for his vast experience in matters of law and statecraft. During his welcome address at the International Judicial Conference, organised by the apex court, he said: "Presence of President of India in our midst today is of special significance. Before assuming the highest constitutional office the President was a senior member of the Supreme Court Bar until the call of the nation carved out a course for the future. Role of a judge requires legal and constitutional statesmanship. The President's vast experience in matters of law and state imparts to his presence a unique significance for us." Justice Chandrachud also said that privacy, in this digital age, is facing a crucial challenge from hackers, private firms and government. Citing the role of judiciary in this scenario, he stressed that it is tasked to balance the right to privacy with other rights, and then supplement existing legislative frameworks. He also cited the critical issues connected with the possibility of serious data breach, which involves the misuse of personal information. "Vast silos of data may be used to profile people and to discriminate against vulnerable groups... there is a chilling effect on free speech and disclosure of information," he said. He emphasised that this imposes a new challenge on the judiciary as, in an age where technology governs many aspects of our lives, is privacy an illusion. "The digital world has been ushered in at a pace which the incremental change of judicial decisions can scarcely match. Our Constitution protects the right to personal freedom, human dignity and liberty. "This has the potential to seriously threaten the rights of individuals to keep their personal and sensitive information private and to control how their information is used," he said. Justice Chandrachud also spoke on the significance of artificial intelligence. "....How comfortable are we with artificial intelligence telling us whether an offender who seeks bail is likely to be a repeat offender?" he said. Justice Chandrachud, who is in line to become the Chief Justice in 2022, said that the judges needs to see how to apply the standard of proportionality, created in pre-digital age, in the backdrop of complexities of the digital age. Explaining the significance of this conference, he said in many jurisdictions worldwide, judges are drawn from Bar or upon a career progression. "Lawyering gives to the individual a steady stream of new information on which new thoughts and ideas can evolve. Crowded court house corridors are a vibrant space for dialogue and social contacts. In contrast, judges lead a staid and some would say an isolated life. The lively bustle of court corridors is replaced almost overnight by the calm and quiet of judicial chambers. Hence experiences such as those gained by such conferences rekindle the joy of being surrounded by ideas, opinion and open the windows of our chambers and our mind to jurisdictions across the world." Sen. Bernie Sanders won so big in the Nevada caucuses that Democrats are hard-pressed to sketch a way he's not their nominee. Driving the news: With 60% of precincts counted (slow, but better than Iowa!), Sanders is running away with 46% of delegates crushing Joe Biden's 20%, Pete Buttigieg's 15%, Sen. Elizabeth Warren's 10% and Sen. Amy Klobuchar's 5%. Why it matters: This thing could be effectively over 10 nights from now, after Super Tuesday. The Bloomberg campaign's Kevin Sheekey tells me that according to his models, if the current field remains on Super Tuesday (March 3), Sanders would win about 30% of the vote and 45% of the delegates. Kevin Sheekey tells me that according to his models, if the current field remains on Super Tuesday (March 3), Sanders would win about 30% of the vote and 45% of the delegates. "The next candidate would have less than half that number and little or no ability to catch up before the convention," Sheekey said. Two other takeaways from the Silver State: 1. Sanders whose campaign brags of a multi-ethnic, multi-generational movement is competitive in almost every demographic, as entrance polling shows (via Washington Post): He leads among white voters, has a massive edge among Latinos, dominates with both women and men, does best among both college and non-college graduates and even did best of the field among moderates/conservatives. among white voters, has a massive edge among Latinos, dominates with both women and men, does best among both college and non-college graduates and even did best of the field among moderates/conservatives. The only places where he's not dominating, Axios' Justin Green points out, are old people (Biden has an edge), African Americans (but he's narrowed Biden's edge) and among voters who prioritize foreign policy. 2. A big factor in Sanders' blowout was strong caucus-goer support for his Medicare for All plan. Six of 10 supported single-payer health care, according to the Washington Post rundown of entrance polls more than the general public. supported single-payer health care, according to the Washington Post rundown of entrance polls more than the general public. Sanders easily won that group. Voters who oppose switching to a government health plan split between Biden, Buttigieg and Klobuchar. Before you conclude that we're seeing a groundswell for Medicare for All, check out this Kaiser Family Foundation polling, narrated by Axios managing editor David Nather: 67% of Medicare for All supporters think they'll be able to keep their current health insurance. Sanders' plan would get rid of private health insurance. That's going to matter a lot, given that health care was the most important issue for more than 4 of 10 caucus-goers by far the biggest issue for these Democrats. The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) has awarded new grants totaling $1.8 million to two University of Texas at Dallas scientists for their research related to lung and kidney cancers. The Individual Investigator Awards are among 55 new grants totaling more than $78 million that the institute announced Feb. 19. To date, CPRIT has awarded $2.49 billion in grants to Texas research institutions and organizations through its academic research, prevention and product development research programs. With the latest grants to the researchers in the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, UT Dallas has received nearly $18.5 million from CPRIT to support cancer studies. CPRIT continues to be an important source of funding for efforts aimed at the prevention and treatment of cancer. The institute's ongoing support of basic research allows UT Dallas scientists to make important contributions toward the fundamental understanding of disease and the improvement of outcomes for cancer patients." Dr. Joseph Pancrazio, vice president for research and professor of bioengineering at UT Dallas Dr. Li Zhang, professor of biological sciences and the Cecil H. and Ida Green Distinguished Chair in Systems Biology Science, received $900,000 for lung cancer research. In previous studies, Zhang and her colleagues discovered that cells of the most common type of lung cancer -- non-small cell lung cancer -- consume substantially more oxygen than normal cells. The lung cancer cells also outpace their normal counterparts in synthesizing a critical chemical called heme, which helps transport and store oxygen. These elevated levels of oxygen and heme fuel tumor growth and progression. With the new CPRIT grant, Zhang will use advanced imaging techniques in animal models to investigate whether drugs that target heme synthesis and uptake can be a successful strategy for suppressing lung tumors and improving the effectiveness of chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy. Zhang previously received a CPRIT grant of $900,000 in 2015. Dr. Jie Zheng, professor of chemistry and biochemistry and the Cecil H. and Ida Green Professor in Systems Biology Science, also received $900,000 for his research, which is aimed at improving the accuracy of computerized tomography (CT)- and fluorescence-guided kidney cancer surgery. With more kidney cancers being diagnosed in the early stage, partial kidney removal is becoming an increasingly important treatment, in particular for those patients who have poor kidney function or cancer in both kidneys. In current clinical settings, CT is used first to noninvasively localize and stage kidney cancers, followed by fluorescence imaging of normal renal tissue to guide surgery. However, due to the limitations of current contrast agents, no significant improvement in reducing positive margin rates in kidney cancer surgery has been achieved, Zheng said. Zheng's project will focus on developing a single material, based on gold nanoparticles, that can achieve high contrast in both CT and fluorescence imaging of kidney cancers. His approach takes advantage of the unique physiological microenvironment associated with kidney cancer in a way that allows the tumor margins to be more accurately differentiated during surgical removal. His nanoparticles also have the potential to effectively and selectively deliver anti-cancer drugs to tumors that cannot be treated surgically. Zheng received three previous CPRIT grants in 2011, 2014 and 2016 totaling nearly $2.4 million. London: Boris Johnson is being warned by one of his former cabinet colleagues that he will go down in history as the prime minister who oversaw a moral failure and put the nation's security at risk by greenlighting Huawei for Britain's 5G network. The stark warning was made by David Davis, the former Brexit secretary, one of several former cabinet ministers mounting a rebellion over the government's January approval for Huawei. Former Brexit Secretary David Davis says Boris Johnson's Huawei approval will go down as "worst decision a British Prime Minister has made." Credit:The Andrew Marr Show/BBC The MPs are urging Johnson to commit to an Australia-style Huawei ban because they agree with Australia and the US that China could force the company to spy on Beijing's behalf. Writing in the Mail on Sunday, Davis said the Australians understood China better than the British. Mr Davis used the lead spot on the BBC's Sunday political television program, The Andrew Marr Show, to sound the warning to Johnson. : One person was gored to death while 17 others were injured, one of them seriously, during jallikattu (bull-taming) here on Sunday. Subash Chandra Bose (24) of Pudukkottai died after the horn of a bull went to his chest while another Murugan (37) of Madurai district got critically hurt when another bull gored him in his throat. About 1,000 bulls and 820 tamers took part in the event flagged off by Tamil Nadu Minister of Municipal Administration S P Velumani. Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundarajan was the guest of honour at the event organised by the district administration and Coimbatore Jallikattu Association. Isha Foundation founder Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, who was present, told reporters that there was a need to develop the traditional sport further and asked the stakeholders to improve the sport to make it safe, both for bulls and tamers. Ajay of Madurai was adjudged as the best tamer as he was successful in taming 20 bulls. He received a Maruti Alto car and a three-cent land as a prize. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-23 15:04:19|Editor: mingmei Video Player Close Staff members pack products at the production line of ethanol disinfectant of Good-Letter Group in Nanchuan District of southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, Feb. 22, 2020. To address the shortage of disinfectation products, a production line with daily output of 60 tons of ethanol disinfectants has been set up in the Chinese Medicine Science and Technology Industrial Park in Nanchuan District of Chongqing. (Xinhua/Liu Chan) The Congress government in might bring a resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in the budget session of the state Legislative Assembly beginning on February 24. In a cabinet meeting held on January 30 here, the state government decided to request the Centre to repeal the CAA in view of protests to the new citizenship law. Chief Minister had even written a letter to this effect to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. During the budget session of the Assembly, the state government is likely to table an anti-CAA resolution, parliamentary affairs minister Ravindra Choubey had said. Governments of Kerala, Punjab, West Bengal and Rajasthan had already adopted resolutions against the CAA, which provides Indian citizenship to non-Muslim migrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Meanwhile, the opposition BJP on Sunday said that it would raise issues concerning farmers as well as the "failure" of the state government in fulfilling the poll promises during the session. Governor Anusuiya Uikey will address the House on the first day of the session. The session will conclude on April 1 and will have 22 sittings. "The BJP would raise issues like the alleged irregularities in procurement of paddy from farmers and alleged lathicharge on farmers by police early this week in Kondagaon district," a BJP leader said. He said the opposition party would also highlight the ruling Congress' "failure" to fulfill electoral promises like providing employment to youths and ban liquor. "Farmers are bearing the brunt of the poor paddy procurement policy of the state government. Due to the loopholes in the entire process, several farmers could not sell their produce before the procurement date on February 20," he said, adding that the issue of deteriorating law and order would also be raised. The exact date for tabling the state Budget for FY 2020-21 is yet to be officially announced. However, official sources have informed that the budget is likely to be presented by chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, who also holds Finance portfolio, either on February 28 or 29. In the 90-member House, the Congress has 69 MLAs, followed by the BJP (14), the Janata Congress (J) 5, and the BSP (2). The number of coronavirus cases in Italy has risen to over 100, the president of the northern Lombardy region said on Sunday. Attilio Fontana told SkyTG24 television there were "more than 100 cases" in the country overall and 89 cases in Lombardy alone, the capital of which is Milan. On Saturday, authorities had said there were 79 cases in Italy, but that number has continued to grow. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Q: While I know it is illegal to pass vehicles on the right-hand side, what is the proper protocol when a slow-moving vehicle will not vacate the left lane to allow faster moving traffic to pass? It seems the only options are to have a string of cars all stuck behind a slow-moving bonehead that wont get out of the way. Or likewise, break the law and pass them in the right lane to get on down the road. Chance A: I guess you must have missed the column I wrote about exceptions to passing on the right and the times that it is legal. With that being said, though, passing a moving vehicle on the right where there is no lane is illegal (I know you just said that). There are many of us drivers out there who understand, completely, what your frustration is with bonehead drivers. Theses drivers often cause more near-crashes because not only do they drive slowly but many times they are not considerate enough to just pull over when many drivers are behind them. Though these violators seem to never get stopped, they are nonetheless guilty of violating Idaho code 49-655 which reads: No person shall drive a motor vehicle at such a slow speed as to impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic except when reduced speed is necessary for safe operation or in compliance with the law. Just so you get caught back up with the exceptions for passing on the right, here is what Idaho code 49-633 reads: The driver of a vehicle may overtake and pass upon the right of another vehicle only under the following conditions: (a) When the vehicle overtaken is making or about to make a left turn; (b) Upon a highway with unobstructed pavement of sufficient width for two (2) or more lines of vehicles moving lawfully in the direction being traveled by the overtaking vehicle. (2) The driver of a vehicle may overtake and pass another vehicle upon the right only under conditions permitting such movement in safety. That movement shall not be made by driving off the roadway. See, even though you were right about passing a slow driver on the right, you now know that there are times when you can pass on the right without it being illegal. Officer down Please put these officers, killed in the line of duty, and their families in your prayers. They fought the good fight, now may they rest in peace. God bless these heroes. Deputy Sheriff Donna Richardson-Below, DeSoto Parish Sheriff, Louisiana Lieutenant Shirley Lanning, Canadian County Sheriff, Oklahoma K9 Hondo, Herriman City Police, Utah Have a question for Policeman Dan? Email your question(s) to policemandan@cableone.net or look for Ask Policemandan on Facebook and click the like button. Mail to: Box 147, Heyburn, Idaho 83336. Dan Bristol is the City of Heyburn Chief of Police. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 An Alabama inmate serving a life sentence for murder has escaped from a work release center, the Alabama Department of Corrections reports. The prison system issued a report late Saturday night that Daniel Miner, 43, had missed a roster count at the Childersburg Work Release Center and was reported as having escaped. Miner was wearing white prison clothing and has white power, iron cross, and dragon tattoos on his body, according to the prison escape report. Miner was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole on July 25, 1994. WAAY TV reports Miner was convicted for his role in the shooting death of Edward Lee Williams during a 1993 robbery in Marshall County. If you see the inmate or have information that may lead to his recapture, please contact the Alabama Department of Corrections at (800) 831-8825 or local law enforcement. Miner was categorized by the Alabama Department of Corrections as being Minimum-out, which is described by the prison system as Appropriate for inmates that do not pose a significant risk to self or others and suitable to be assigned off-property work details without the direct supervision of correctional officers. Inmates must remain in prison clothing at all times and work is generally assigned to only government positions (i.e. city, county, ADOC, ADOT, etc.).Inmates in this custody are generally assigned to Community Work Centers (CWC) with higher security facilities only maintain a small number of job assignments requiring minimal supervision. When she moved to Mumbai, Salman spoke to T Series for her Bollywood launch in Time To Dance alongside another of Salman's proteges Sooraj Panchali. There is no doubt that the woman who matters the most for Salman besides his mothers (Salma and Helen) and sisters is Katrina Kaif. She has been an integral part of the Khan parivar for more than two decades. Hence it was only natural that Isabelle Kaif, Katrina's sister, be launched by none other than Salman. Salman dutifully designated himself to be the presenter of Isabelles debut film Dr Cabbie, an Indo-Canadian production starring the talented young actor Vinay Virmani. Isabelle had a supporting part in the film. When she moved to Mumbai, Salman spoke to T Series for her Bollywood launch in Time To Dance alongside another of Salman's proteges Sooraj Panchali. Almost complete, Time To Dance has been more-or-less shelved. Not the one to give up, Salman has now roped in his brother-in-law Aayush Sharma(who made his unsuccessful debut in 2017s Loveratri produced by Salman) to co-star with Isabelle in the war drama Kwatha. Karan Lalit Bhutani directs this film which is officially not produced by Salman. But for all practical purposes this is a family film, another attempt by Salman to launch the so-far failed careers of his brother-in-law and Katrinas sister, says a source close to the Kwatha project. He's been dubbed Gen Z's It Boy. And Luka Sabbat showed off his impeccable style sense Saturday as he put on a chic display in a black tuxedo at the 2020 Image Awards in Pasadena, California. The 22-year-old model was on his own at the award show, which occurred shortly after friends told Us Weekly he was 'purely friends' with fellow model Kendall Jenner, 24. Cool and collected: Luka Sabbat, 22, showed off his impeccable style sense Saturday as he put on a chic display in a black tuxedo at the 2020 Image Awards in Pasadena, California Luka hit the red carpet in a well-tailored black tuxedo, which he paired with an eye-catching white shirt with vertical black stripes. He dressed the outfit down by leaving it unbuttoned and adding a slim black tie that was loosely hung around his neck, and he rounded out the look with a shiny pair of black cowboy boots. Luka wasn't nominated for anything at the Image Awards, the multicultural awards show. Suited up: Luka hit the red carpet in a well-tailored black tuxedo, which he paired with an eye-catching white shirt with vertical black stripes Low key: He dressed the outfit down by leaving it unbuttoned and adding a slim black tie that was loosely hung around his neck Signature style: The male model sported his trademark dreadlocks and mustache Luka is a rising star in the world of male fashion, and he's a regular fixture at social functions with models including Gigi and Bella Hadid. Lately, he's been seen spending time with Kendall Jenner, sparking speculation that the two might be dating, though a source tamped down those rumors Saturday in Us Weekly. 'There's nothing romantic going on with Kendall and Luka,' they said. 'They are purely friends and have been forever. Luka is still so close with Kendall and her family, even after his fling with Kourtney, and it's because he's such a fun, down to earth, cool guy.' Coupled up? Lately, he's been seen spending time with Kendall Jenner, sparking speculation that the two might be dating, though a source tamped down the rumors; shown in September The source referenced Luka's brief relationship with Kendall's older half-sister Kourtney Kardashian, 40. The two became an item in September 2018, shortly after she split from the Algerian-born boxer Younes Bendjima. In October of that year, Luka sounded rather nonchalant about the relationship while speaking with Us Weekly. 'It's all public,' he said. 'It doesn't even matter. There's no such thing as privacy in 2018. I'm chilling. I just mind my own business.' Kourtney made it clear by February 2019 that the two were no longer dating. Blink and you'll miss it: Luka had a brief relationship with Kendall's sister Kourtney Kardashian, 40. They were together from Septembe 2018 until early 2019; shown November 2018 Close quarters: Kendall sparked relationship rumors on Monday when she posted an image of the two learning in over a candle-lit table as if they were about to kiss after the Burberry show in London Kendall sparked relationship rumors on Monday when she posted a series of photos after the Burberry fashion show in London featuring Luka. One image showed the two learning in over a candle-lit table as if they were about to kiss, while he gazed at the camera. They were previously spotted at the Longchamp show during New York Fashion Week, though they didn't attend sit together. The two models also enjoyed a lovely vacation in Monaco in May 2019. The UK is on a collision course with the EU as post-Brexit trade negotiations begin, As trade talks open between post-Brexit Britain and the European Union, Boris Johnsons government has ruled out sticking to EU rules, regulations and laws, emphasising to the 27-nation bloc that the UK is prepared to walk away if offered an unfair deal. The UKs tough talk is the clearest sign yet of the magnitude of the challenges to reaching a trade agreement between London and Brussels. The EU has said that to maintain close trade relations the UK will need to adhere to EU rules, while London made it clear that setting its own rules clearly outweighs a deal. The UK top negotiator David Frost said that the EU has totally missed the point of Brexit if it thinks it will retain some supervision over British actions and decisions. To think that we might accept EU supervision on so-called level playing field issues simply fails to see the point of what we are doing, underlined Frost in a speech he gave during a visit to Brussels this week. It is central to our vision that we must have the ability to set laws that suit us to claim the right that every other non-EU country in the world has, he added. THE POINT OF BREXIT The EU has said it wants the best possible trade relationship with the UK, but only if there is a level playing field for businesses on anything from state subsidies to environmental standards, and is insisting on clear checks to enforce it. The point of the whole project of Brexit is to reject any EU meddling on rules and regulations, Frost said during his speech, given at Universite Libre de Bruxelles. He added that there was no way that Britain would seek a longer transition period than 11 months to reach a deal, despite this timespan being considered next to impossible for a trade agreement between the UK and the EU. On 1 January 2021, he said, the UK will recover [its] political and economic independence in full. Why would we want to postpone it? he asked. Frost revived the threat of a no-deal crash-out at the end of the Brexit transition period, saying that the UK wants a Canada-type free trade agreement with the EU and if this cannot be agreed, then Britain will trade on the basic international terms it currently follows with Australia if Brussels continues to insist on level playing field rules. He said the UK will set out more details of its vision for the future relationship with the EU next week. Frosts comments indicate that the UK is considering a no-deal Brexit outcome, in which the country reaches the end of the transition and leaves the bloc without a trade deal, rather than compromise on key issues. Cabinet Minister Michael Gove also raised concerns among manufacturers and retailers, warning that a new EU trade relationship would involve increased costs and extra bureaucracy at borders. He admitted that a new smart border to cut trade friction would not be ready until 2025. Boris Johnsons government maintains that it will accede only to loose demands on alignment with EU rules and standards in areas such as workers rights and the environment, and yet will benefit from virtual tariff-free access to Europe. Closer alignment would be tantamount to Brexit in name only, it says. But Brussels is going to take a tough stance on interpreting the commitment to maintain a level playing field over future competition. It argues that the UKs proximity and degree of integration to Europe means special circumstances apply, meaning alignment will be necessary in return for a zero-tariff, zero-quotas deal. The prospect of leaving by the end of 2020 with no deal is worrying to many sectors in the UK. The British Retail Consortium warned consumers will face higher costs and fewer goods without efforts to reduce the burden at borders. Almost 80 per cent of food that British retailers import comes from the EU, mostly through the ports of Dover and Folkestone, which handle almost 7,000 lorries every day. The British retail industry body renewed its call for Britain to strike a deal with the bloc which cuts red tape and border friction. London will suffer more than any other part in the UK. As the heart of the service economy in Britain, the capital needs access to the EU financial sector and the flow of the European workforce. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said Londoners who are heartbroken over Brexit should be allowed to keep their EU citizenship, claiming associate citizenship could give them the right to move freely between EU member states. BRACING FOR DIFFICULT TIMES The European Union has been bracing for difficult times ahead. Over the weekend, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian warned that the EU and the UK will be seriously at each others throats during the negotiations. I think that on trade matters or on the measures for future relations, which were going to engage in, were going to rip ourselves apart pretty badly, he told the annual Munich Security Conference. But thats part of the negotiations; each side is going to defend its interests, he added. Frances chief diplomat singled out the issue of fishing, a subject on which he warned recently that the French will not compromise. The EU wants to keep access to British waters for European fishing boats, and leaders have suggested the issue will be linked to other matters, such as financial services, in upcoming talks. The EUs Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier has insisted that the bloc will not agree to any British trade deal just to avoid a costly, chaotic no-deal at the start of 2021. Both sides have indicated that they are willing to walk away from the talks if the gap cannot be bridged. The United Kingdom left the European Union on 31 January. Both sides face a race against the clock to seal a trade deal and agreement on future relations before the end of the transition period 31 December. ANOTHER NO-DEAL SCENARIO? Throughout 2019, the fear for many on both sides of the English Channel was that the UK could crash out of the EU without an agreed deal on either the terms of the divorce or the future relationship. Had that happened, legal arrangements covering many aspects of everyday life would have abruptly ceased to apply. The formidable challenge of securing a trade deal with the EU in a few months during the transition period a task that usually takes the bloc several years means the UK could be staring at another economic cliff-edge in 2020. Failure to secure a trade deal would hit the UKs economy but also those of its closest continental neighbours, including Ireland. It would bring an immediate change in the trading relationship between the UK and the EU. But the economic implications of Britain leaving without a trade deal are not the most serious threat to the United Kingdom. Leaving without a deal will open a Pandoras Box regarding the future of the UK. Nationalism in Scotland and Northern Ireland is on the rise. For Johnsons government, political and security, rather than economic risks, are what may ultimately drive him to accept some EU rules and regulations. *A version of this article appears in print in the 20 February, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly. Search Keywords: Short link: A 36-year-old sub-inspector has been bookedfor allegedly beating a man who accompanied a complainant in a kidnapping case to Mahim police station here, an official said on Sunday. The incident took place on Friday when sub-inspector Gahininath Satav was on night duty. Ganesh Jalgaonkar (55), a Western Railway employee residing in Mahim Causeway area, went to Mahim police station along with his neighbour Nadeem Sheikh to find out about the progress made in Sheikh's complaint of his two minor children going missing, the police official said. Sheikh had filed a police complaint after his children went missing from home on Wednesday. When Sheikh and Jalgaonkar went to the police station on Friday around 3 am, Satav asked them why they were sitting there. The two men told him they had come to enquire about Sheikh's missing children, the official said. Jalgaonkar then allegedly abused Satav, following which the latter slapped him, he said. Satav also asked a constable to lock Jalgaonkar in a room where he again allegedly slapped him. In the process, Jalgaonkar's head hit a table, causing bleeding, the official said quoting the man's complaint. Jalgaonkar was later shifted to Bhabha Hospital in Bandra where a medical examination revealed a head injury and swelling on his ears and cheeks, he said. A report about the incident was sent to senior Mumbai Police officials, following which an FIR was registered against Satav under Indian Penal Code Section 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others), he said. Besides, Jalgaonkar was also bookedunder IPC Sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 309 (attempt to commit suicide), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), 506 (criminal intimidation) and provisions of the Maharashtra Police Act, the official said. "Further action will be taken after a proper investigation in the case. No arrest has been made so far. A report about the incident has been sent to senior police officials. Satav is still continuing his duty at the Mahim police station," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A case study by Philip Kotler Cinnamons innovative marketing recognised as View(s): View(s): Philip Kotler, world renowned marketing guru released his newest publication, Asian Competitiveness: Marketing for competitiveness in the Age of Digital Consumers and has included Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts as a case study in the hospitality sector. The book is collaboration with Hermawan Kartajaya, the co-founder of the Asia Marketing Federation, as well as Hooi Den Huan, an Associate Professor at the Nanyan Business School in Singapores Nanyan Technological University. The publication cited examples of innovation by 36 leading enterprises in 18 countries in Asia of which Cinnamon Hotels is the only hospitality brand from South Asia to be featured. Air Asia, Alibaba, Axiata, Banyan Tree and Hyundai are some of the other dynamic Asian brands to be featured in the book. The book highlights Cinnamons effective use of social media and its various creative digital initiatives that have led to the brand winning the hearts of digital travellers in the forever connected, mobile-first world of today. These included Travel Blogger Conference Asia (TBC Asia), Cinnamon Immersive Video, a specialised Online Travel Agent Training Module, and Treasure Hunt which was a familiarisation drive planned for travel agents. In the book, Kotler recommends successful brand strategies backed by innovation as a response to the growing dominance of various global hospitality brands. Sealing Cinnamons place as a dynamic marketing brand, the book states the unique experiences that the target audiences earned during the events promoting Sri Lanka and Cinnamon Hotels are expected to be spread through word of mouth, as well as online reviews and recommendation. Elaborating on the Travel Blogger Conference Asia (TBC Asia) that took place earlier in the year, the book recognises the fact that travel bloggers are major influencers in the tourism and hospitality industry by dint of sharing their journeys and experiences with aspiring travellers. Kotler also observed that Cinnamons usage of innovative videos at the World Travel Mart in London, launch of a specialised online travel agent training module in 2015 which linked over 97,000 travel agents as well as its large e-learning library offering 200 educational programmes were all features that actively targeted tech-savvy travellers and online travel agents. Cinnamon being used as a case study for the global marketing stalwarts book is significant as Kotler chose to focus on brands considered to be disruptive across the continent, truthful, sincere, authentic, more socially and environmentally responsible, and believe and work towards their missions, visions and values. The book iterates that in addition to building hotels and resorts at picturesque locations and with excellent facilities, Cinnamon realises the importance of providing an experience that suits customers needs. The UKs Financial Times ranked him as one of its top 10 business thinkers. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-23 17:53:11|Editor: yhy Video Player Close General Secretary of the Communist Party of Sri Lanka D.E.W. Gunasekara receives an interview with Xinhua in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Feb. 18, 2020. China has taken swift and decisive measures to contain the COVID-19 outbreak, and the country's "herculean" efforts should be highly commended, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Sri Lanka D.E.W. Gunasekara has said. TO GO WITH " (Xinhua/Tang Lu) by Shiran Illanperuma COLOMBO, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- China has taken swift and decisive measures to contain the COVID-19 outbreak, and the country's "herculean" efforts should be highly commended, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Sri Lanka D.E.W. Gunasekara has said. "Within a short period since the start of the outbreak, the infection rate and death rate are both coming down. In that context, this is an achievement," the 84-year-old party leader told Xinhua recently. Noting that some measures, including the lockdown of Hubei Province, the epicenter of the outbreak, might have caused inconvenience to residents, he said such steps are necessary for the greater good. Calling China a "strong, sovereign and independent state that can act to protect its people," he expressed his belief that under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the country will soon overcome the epidemic and recover its economy. He also said that the bravery and self-sacrifice of the Chinese people, the People's Liberation Army and Chinese medical workers was exemplary. Medha Dutta Yadav By Once upon a time in London, there lived an enfant terrible. A self-proclaimed Devil in the Kitchen, he would famously make a budding chef named Gordon Ramsay break down in his kitchen; would not suffer a qualm for throwing out patrons if he thought they were being disrespectful to his staff, orhorror of horrorsto his food by asking for something as insipid as fries to go with his heavenly creations. This was in the late 1980s and not much had changed in the 2000s. The politically incorrect star chef landed in hot water last year for suggesting that women chefs were too emotional and not strong enough to carry heavy pans in the kitchen. Are appearances deceptive? Marco Pierre White is anything but the devil. On the other hand, the original rockstar chef is charming and affable. There never was a devil. Of course, I have done my share of naughty things when I was a young man, but at the end its all about heaven up there and us here below, says the once-fiery chef in an almost Zen-like statement. A glimpse of the two-day World on a Plate event. There was a time not too far in the past when Marco would charge a patron an astronomical amount if he dared ask for potatoes on the side with a dish that absolutely did not require the tuber. Today, the 58-year-old champions the cause for price moderation. Im not political, but I cannot close my eyes to what is around me. There are scores of people going hungry, especially in a place like India. I would want proper skill management and job creation that would help the hungry of the world to earn a living and have a full meal every day, he says, on the sidelines of the World on a Plate and the DLF Food Excellence Awards in Delhi. His recent travels in India have reaffirmed his love for the country and its cuisines; he says that it has always been inexplicably there. His cult-like status guaranteed that chefs at the hotels where he stayed pampered him royally. After all, it is not every day that you get to cook for Marco Pierre White. A chef-turned-restaurateur, today he is a consultant with countless fine dining places globally. Will we ever see his imprint in India? I dont know. I would surely love to do it some day, but then I would have to work around the prices as I would want more people to taste what I offer. The masterchef who owes his desi fame to reruns of Masterchef on telly has a mixed take on Indian food. Its delicious. The smells, the colours, the flavours, the mix of spices, it is all such a perfect blend. I believe Indian food is yet to reach its true potential. There is so much that can be done, says the chef who confesses to looking forward to eating desi khana someday. One wishes that this chef who inspired a generation is treated beyond the typical butter chicken and biryani and is taken on a true Indian gastronomical adventure. It would be a crying shame if Marco Pierre White goes back without getting a taste of the culinary magic that India can churn outside its fine dining places. What does the Godfather of Modern Cooking have to say about the evolution of the professional kitchen since his days? Cooking has been made a lot more easy today. With every kind of gadget around, chefs hardly have to use the knife, says the original Masterchef who hung up his apron and walked away from the stove at the age of 37, returning his three Michelin stars because they are my past now. My future is somewhere else. Looks like the devil has indeed achieved Nirvana. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Saturday termed US President Donald Trump's upcoming visit to India as a "campaign" for the presidential polls in that country. He said Trump is seeking votes of Indians settled in the US by visiting India. Replying to a query on preparations for the US President's visit to Ahmedabad and Delhi on February 24-25, Baghel said, "I think he (Trump) is coming (to India) for election campaign. A large number of Indian (origin) people live there (in America) and (he is coming) to get their votes. Otherwise, what does it mean to visit (India) in the midst of (US Presidential) elections". Baghel, who has returned from the US tour, said he invited industrialists and investors to visit Chhattisgarh. He slammed opposition BJP's protests against alleged irregularities in procurement of paddy and the saffron party's demand for extending the date of the process, which concluded on February 20. "The main opposition party is not agitating for farmers but for the middlemen who failed to dispose of their paddy. The BJP has been making a hue and cry for the middlemen and not for farmers. The state has set a record of the highest paddy procurement this year, as about 83 lakh tonnes of paddy has been procured," the CM told reporters at the airport here. Baghel claimed agriculture has become a "profitable business" in the Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh now. "In comparison to the previous year, 2.50 lakh more farmers have sold paddy in the state which indicates that people are turning towards agriculture as it has become a profitable business," he added. The Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale North, Alhassan Suhuyini says some of the 2016 manifesto promises said to have been fulfilled by the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) are impactless. He argues that some of the promises even pose as threats to the future of the country. I am saying that the President is inaccurate when he suggests that people are not fact-checking and refuting some of the claims that they have made. And Im also saying that even some of the boxes that they claim they have ticked which you can say yes, they have ticked, the impact that we expect to have is almost non-existent, and in some cases, is rather a threat to the future growth of this country, he said on The Big Issue on Saturday. Akufo-Addo in Parliament. President Nana Akufo-Addo, while delivering the State of the Nation Address in Parliament last week indicated that no one has been able to dispute claims that his government has fulfilled more than half of its 2016 manifesto promises. This came after the Vice President Dr. Mamamudu Bawumia, at a town hall meeting held at Kumasi, insisted that the Akufo-Addo administration had fulfilled 78% of its promises. According to Akufo-Addo, no one had been able to counter the claim because it was factual. I do not intend to go through all over again the meticulous accounting that was done in Kumasi 10 days ago. It is enough to say that once it is Dr. Bawumia, everything he said was backed by data and his customary fact-checking. He ended by asserting that 78% of the promises we've made solemnly to the people of Ghana have been or are in the process of being fulfilled. There has so far been no factual challenge to his compelling testimony, he noted. Suhuyini replies Akufo-Addo But referring to the infrastructural challenges that the implementation of the Free Senior High School policy has been faced with, the Tamale North MP insisted that some of the supposedly fulfilled promises were not well thought through. What is worth doing, which is and in the case of getting people to schoolis worth doing well. And because it is worth doing well, you dont just start from anywhere, you start from somewhere that is well. That is why the NDC with careful and meticulous planning thought that there was a need to improve access and then begin somewhere well by making it free for day students as you improve on the infrastructure and others so that you will not have these challenges, he added. Suhuyinis response to Bawumia Alhassan Suhuyini further described as dishonest, Dr. Bawumia's assessment of promises delivered by the NPP government. He pointed out that the Vice President failed to give a true representation of promises delivered by the government. He indicated that the Vice President had given the impression that the government had delivered 78 percent of its promises when it had actually delivered just about 30 percent. ---citinewsroom General elections on April 25, dissolution on March 2 View(s): Parliamentary elections are to be held on April 25 after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa dissolves Parliament at midnight on March 2. Nominations will be called by the Elections Commission between March 12 and 19. These dates emerged as the ruling alliance led by the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) registered it for a second time with the National Election Commission. If the previous one was the SLPP as a political party, the second registration is together with a list of political parties that will form the Sri Lanka Nidhahas Podujana Sandanaya, that too with the Pohottuwa (budding lotus flower) as its symbol. With this new arrangement, the SLPP-led alliance is now set for the polls. The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), this week agreed, that it would also contest under the Pohottuwa symbol. SLFP leader and former President Maithripala Sirisena has consequently accepted the leadership of Mahinda Rajapaksa. He has been given the titular position of chairman of the new alliance. The Natioal Election Commission members headed by Mahinda Deshapriya met officials who will function as Returning Officers, thus launching one of the major moves for the polls. A government source said yesterday that April 25 was the earliest date in view of the Muslim month of Ramadan and the Vesak festival thereafter. We are disturbed by the misinformation about the Mariner East pipeline system in Earl Bakers guest editorial in the Daily Times on February 12. Mr. Baker needs to look more carefully at Sunocos claims before repeating them as accurate. Unfortunately, Mr. Baker has bought Sunocos PR pitch that Mariner East is part of our energy industry infrastructure. In fact, Mariner East has almost nothing to do with energy. It carries explosive, highly volatile compressed gasses that are byproducts of fracking. Over 90% of the material it carries is shipped overseas to make single-use plastic. He repeats this mistake when he writes that pipelines are the safest natural gas delivery system. That might or might not be true, but it has nothing to do with Mariner East, which carries no natural gas at all and operates at pressures far higher than those of natural gas pipelines. Similarly, he writes, it is beyond time to move the natural gas that Pennsylvania has been blessed with from the Marcellus Shale to those who need it, whether in our own state, in the U.S., or abroad. Whatever opinion Baker has concerning natural gas, it is irrelevant to Mariner East. Similarly, he writes that large scale energy infrastructure projects like the CPV Fairview Energy Center in Cambria County relies on offtake from the Mariner East system for electric generation. This is one of Sunocos favorite untruths. If you Google the Fairview Center, you will see that it is clearly described as a natural-gas-fueled generation facility that started operations in December. It could potentially use ethane from Mariner East, but ethane continues to be far more expensive than natural gas, so in practice the Fairview operation will never actually use it. The real issue with Mariner East is not natural gas, it is risk to the public. Baker dismisses the issues of risk surrounding Mariner East, saying the industry has a proven track record of safety. Did he fail to notice that Sunocos Revolution pipeline in Beaver County exploded a few days after it went into operation? And the Beaver County explosion was nothing compared to what could happen here. The highly volatile liquified gases carried by Mariner East are far more dangerous than the natural gas carried by the Revolution pipeline. These materials present the risk of a rupture and explosion that could kill hundreds of people in Delaware and Chester counties, as multiple studies of Mariner East risk have shown. The focus now should be taking steps to prevent that disaster, not promoting the natural gas industry. Eight months after giant US investment bank Jefferies opened its cheque book to mount an audacious staff raid on broker CLSA, the firm has this month fully opened its doors. Its mission: To be a disrupter to Australia's arguably already overpopulated investment banking and broking industry. Under the stewardship of ex-CLSA executives - investment bank rainmaker and Australian chief Michael Stock and Andrew Norman, who heads up the local equities division - Jefferies will test the appetite for a new firm in the market. One with a slightly different DNA, facing an industry already under pressure. Andrew Norman, head of equities at Jefferies Australia, says its equities line-up is almost complete after hiring 80 people across the Asia region. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer Having last week ticked off all approvals needed for trading, the financial house offering services from equity sales and research to investment banking will be the first new firm to join the Australian landscape in nine years. SEOUL, South Korea As South Korea struggles to contain a snowballing coronavirus outbreak, its president on Sunday raised the countrys alert level to the highest for the first time in a decade, which empowered the government to lock down cities, bar visitors from China and unilaterally restrict the movement of people. In raising the alert level, President Moon Jae-in is effectively acknowledging that the virus is threatening to spin out of control, after the number of cases has jumped to 763 in a few days and the death toll has risen to six. The world is closely watching South Korea, concerned that it has become another hot spot of infection outside China. Emerging outbreaks in South Korea, Iran and Italy have provoked fear that the epidemic could turn into a global pandemic, as countries impose more travel restrictions and containment measures. CASSIUS CARTLAND may not look as though hes about to celebrate his second birthday but, technically speaking, hes the youngest year three pupil at his school by some way. Thats because Cassius, who attends St Marys School in Henley, was born on February 29, 2012, a leap year. Most years, he celebrates his big day on March 1. But as 2020 is another leap year, Cassius will have a special celebration on the correct date with his parents Andy and Kate, sister Marcie, four, and brother Max, six, at their home in Bolney Road, Shiplake. Mrs Cartland said: When we found out that we were expecting Cassius the due date was something like March 3 and my mother-in-law said, Im pretty sure youll end up having the baby on leap day. By celebrating on March 1 we feel like he is actually the age he is. When hes 18 if he was celebrating on the 28th he would only be 17 and wouldnt be able to get into a bar. Because we have always made a big deal of each birthday and had a party, I dont think he feels like he has missed out. When it is a leap year we make sure the partys extra special. The last one in 2016, I dont think he really realised, but this year he gets it that it is a really exciting birthday. He started asking about his party the day after his last birthday. Cassius will celebrate with his friends on a gaming bus as well as trying karaoke. He said: If you say Im two Im the youngest in my class but if you say Im seven there are two who are younger than me. Unusual birthdays run in the Cartland family. Cassiuss great uncle Steve Cartland, who lives in Sydney, was also born in a leap year and will celebrate his 18th birthday (actually his 72nd) this year while his late grandfather was born on Christmas Day. We have got a number of special birthdays in the family and we email his great uncle, said Mrs Cartland. Meanwhile, the independent school in St Andrews Road invited scientist Stephen Ringler, the founder and chief executive of the Space Store in Didcot, to speak to the children about the phenomenon of leap years while wearing an astronauts suit. The kindergarten children visited the shop last month and were able to try on space suits and sample the food eaten by astronauts in space. Mr Ringler, who worked on the Juno satellite, told the children there were about 66 people in Henley born on February 29. The time it takes for the earth to rotate around the sun is 365 and a quarter days but a calendar year is 365 days. Therefore, once every four years we have a leap year and an extra day to balance this and ensure the months consistently match up with the four seasons. If leap years didnt exist in 700 years the months of December, January and February would become summer, March, April and May would be autumn, June, July and August would be winter and September, October and November would be spring. Many happy returns, Cassius. Flash The locust outbreak plaguing East Africa calls for a concerted international response as the most dreaded insects devour millions of hectares of vegetation in their cross-border migration, exacerbating the already fragile food security situation in the region. The desert locust, which can travel 150 km in a single day, is deemed the most devastating of locusts. A small swarm covering one square km can eat the same amount of food as 35,000 people in a day, said the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). "The situation remains extremely alarming in Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia where widespread desert locust infestations and a new generation of breeding threaten food security and livelihoods in the region," it noted Tuesday. The locusts most recently invaded South Sudan from Uganda, and the South Sudan government is seeking funds worth 20 million U.S. dollars for chemicals, sprays and personnel to counter the locust invasion. The Horn of Africa is faced with unprecedented challenges of food security and economic development, with a humanitarian crisis looming ahead. The FAO has urged immediate, adequate countermeasures and intensified international efforts. Eat away hope The locust outbreak is the worst in 70 years in Kenya, and the worst in 25 years in Somalia and Ethiopia, where the insects bred before spreading to Kenya and other countries. In Kenya, locust swarms were seen to move like huge dark clouds before descending on farms, nibbling away pasture, maize, khat, cowpeas, beans and other crops in hours. Areas like Mandera and Isiolo in the north, and Tharaka Nithi in central Kenya, were attacked again after aerial chemical pesticides spraying. Although the government has sprayed pesticide and other chemicals on a wide range of areas in order to curb the locust outbreak, at least 18 of Kenya's 47 counties were affected. Kello Harsama, the administrative secretary heading the State Department for Crop Development under Kenya's Ministry of Agriculture, said the government will work with the FAO to train 600 chemical spraying personnel. "Aerial spraying of the pesticide in the last two months is yet to achieve desired results, thus we need to devise innovative strategies like the use of the trainees, farmers and extension workers to conduct ground spraying starting with northern counties of Isiolo, Marsabit, Turkana and Wajir," he said. "My crops had done well following the heavy rains and I was looking forward to a bumper harvest but then the locusts came and ate away my hope," Beatrice Ngari, a farmer in Embu, central Kenya, told Xinhua. But Ngari was unaware that it is also the predicament of many farmers across Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, Tanzania, South Sudan and Uganda. The rains between October and January served to provide a favorable environment for locusts to breed and thrive, including properly moist soils for them to lay eggs in millions before migration and the consequent lush vegetation to eat, according to the FAO. Climate change was to blame for the unusually plentiful rainfall on the African continent. Keith Cressman, the FAO's senior locust forecasting officer, further identified the recent cyclones as another factor behind the locust crisis, saying the past 10 years saw increased frequency of cyclones in the Indian Ocean. Aggravating food insecurity FAO officials said the locust outbreak has worsened the food insecurity in Africa, citing some 239 million people in sub-Saharan Africa suffering from hunger and malnutrition, and over 20 million having already been in food crisis in Horn of Africa countries. UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mark Lowcock, said the current situation "is really, really challenging." "There are currently over 30 million people in the affected countries, who are severely food insecure now. Ten million of those people are in the places affected by the locusts. Unless we get a grip of this in the next two or three or four weeks, we would have a serious problem," he stressed. To avoid a famine, University of Nairobi professor Evaristus Irandu said the government may have to use the scarce foreign currency to import food products, adding that poverty will increase in the country. "All our investment is going down the drain. The sorghum and millet crops were about to mature and we would have harvested next month," said Nathan Njiru, a farmer in Tharaka Nithi, whose livelihood largely depends on selling sorghum to Nairobi's beer brewers. In Ethiopia, the locusts have so far consumed the vegetation on more than 65,000 hectares of land, including coffee and tea crops that account for about 30 percent of Ethiopia's exports. A Moody's Investors Service report issued in early February showed that agriculture contributes about one-third of the gross domestic product in East Africa and more than 65 percent of jobs in all regional countries except for Kenya. International cooperation urged The desert locust swarms have travelled from Africa to Asia. India is suffering the worst hit in 60 years. "Today locust swarms are as big as major cities and it's getting worse by the day," said UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, urging the international community to take immediate counteractions. Sacko Josefa, AU Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, said earlier this month that the 55-member pan-African bloc is working directly with the FAO to make sure that there is no spread to other countries. Antonio Querido, UN FAO representative in Uganda, said international organizations are providing technical support and mobilizing resources for Uganda as it strives to fight the locusts. In order to get more international help, Somalia on Feb. 2 declared the locust infestation a national emergency. Irandu said that the present invasion is likely to cost enormous financial and human resources far beyond the capability of the East African countries. Hence there is a need for a concerted effort by regional and other international organizations to offer money, expertise and equipment such as planes. Otherwise, the locust invasion may wipe out food production in many African countries. The FAO recently launched a 76 million U.S. dollars appeal to control the locusts' spread. Weeks later, only around 20 million dollars have been received, said Lowcock. Irandu suggested that intensified international efforts should be made to coordinate aerial sprays, share scientific knowledge on breeding and migratory habits of locusts, and raise funds from partners. In the long run, experts have called for the investment in research to contain the impacts of climate change, including the locusts invasion. "People must be sensitized adequately on their roles in adaptation and mitigation programs to ensure uniformity in progress," said Edward Mungai, chief executive officer of Kenya Climate Innovation Center. BRIDGEPORT A third man involved in a conspiracy to defraud a company of millions of dollars has pleaded guilty, according to federal officials. The case is the one in which onetime East Haven Board of Education Chairman John T. Finkle III was sentenced in November to 2 years in federal prison. Steven C. Gold, 47, of Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, the third man to enter a plea in connection with the case, pleaded guilty in Bridgeport federal court to fraud and conspiracy offenses stemming from his participation in two separate schemes that defrauded his Illinois-based company of more than $9 million, according to federal officials. Gold and Finkle were employed by JST, a supplier of electronic components based in Waukegan, Illinois, according to the release from the office of Connecticut U.S. Attorney John H. Durham, which attributed the information to court documents and statements made in court. Finkle, of East Haven, was primarily employed in sales for JST and Gold operated the accounting and billing systems for the company, according to federal officials. Between approximately February 2015 and December 2018, Finkle conspired with Kenneth Pedroli, and Gold, to defraud JST through a scheme involving purchases of electronic components that Pedroli made from JST for a business he operated in Islandia, N.Y. As part of the scheme, Finkle instructed Pedroli to place his orders and list prices at a fraction of JSTs published prices, according to federal officials. After Pedrolis orders were submitted to JST at the discounted prices, the products were shipped from JST to Pedroli. Finkle instructed Pedroli to pay only a portion of the invoiced price and to make the payments directly to Finkle, which Pedroli did, according to federal officials. Finkle deposited the payments into his personal checking account, and provided a portion of the funds to Gold, who manipulated the accounting records of JST to make it appear that Pedroli had paid JST for the products he received. JST was defrauded of $3.5 million through this scheme, according to federal officials. During the investigation of the scheme involving Finkle and Pedroli, investigators uncovered an additional $6,060,151 that Gold had stolen from JST by accessing and manipulating JSTs accounting system. Finkle was sentenced to 2 years in prison on Nov. 22, 2019 and Pedroli was sentenced to three years of probation on Dec. 12, 2019. Finkle and Pedroli had previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Gold used the stolen funds to pay for personal expenses that included vacations, online gambling, home improvement costs, furniture, clothes, restaurants, college tuition, and car payments. He also unlawfully transferred hundreds of thousands of dollars in JST funds to his wifes company, according to federal officials. Gold pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and one count of wire fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall on May 20, 2020, according to federal officials. Gold is free on a $500,000 bond pending sentencing. The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In a recent development, naval forces from Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen on Sunday foiled an imminent terrorist attack by the Houthi rebels in Southern Red sea, the news agency reported. The ongoing civil war in Yemen first started in 2015 between two factions, the Yemeni government led by Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi and the Houthi armed movement which is aligned with Iran for control of the territory. No targets identified According to international media reports, the Saudi led forces destroyed an unmanned boat which was laden with explosive material, coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Malki said while talking on a Saudi state news agency. He revealed that the boat was launched from Hodeidah province in Western Yemen though he did not identify where the boat was targetted for. There wasnt any confirmation from Houthi movement rebels who have beeen battling the Sunni Muslim military coalition in a proxy war for 5 years now. Read: Pompeo Meets Saudi King In Talks Focused On Iranian Threats Read: Devices Found In Missiles, Yemen Drones Link Iran To Attacks At least three dozen people, including 26 children and six women, were killed in airstrikes by Saudi-led forces in Yemen which started on February 15 and continued over the weekend, Yemen's Houthi rebels told media reporters, raising the death toll. The Iranian-backed rebels have said the Saudi-led coalition carried out retaliatory airstrikes early on Saturday in the mountainous northern province of Jawf after their fighters shot down a coalition warplane there the previous day. Read: Yediyurappa Received Threat Calls From Saudi Arabia, Dubai Following Police Firing In Mangaluru: Minister Basavaraj Bommai Read: UN: Houthi Rebels Impeding Aid Flow In Yemen The coalition said it was investigating possible collateral damage following an operation to rescue the Tornado fighter jet's two-man crew. It said that the whereabouts of the two pilots remains unknown, international media reported. Meanwhile, local residents said the coalition was targeting Houthi fighters, who had taken cover in a residential area near the crash site. At least three houses were destroyed in the coalition airstrikes, killing all people inside, they said. (With inputs from agencies ) Mumbai, Feb 23 : "Sony Ke Titu Ki Sweety" on Sunday completed two years since its release, and the film's lead actress Nushrat Bharucha is grateful to the audience for making the film a Rs 100-crore grosser. "The film crossing the Rs 100-crore mark was a big thing... It meant that too many people have watched and liked the film... It really changed things for me. It put me on a path where I am more confident about what I am doing and what kind of films I have to do. It's been a great journey. I thank to all the people who supported and helped make 'Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety' a success," Nushrat said. Directed by Luv Ranjan, "Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety" also featured Kartik Aaryan and Sunny Singh. It revolved around a concept of 'romance vs bromance'. Reminiscing the film's journey, Kartik took to social media and shared the video of the hit song "Tera Yaar Hoon Main" from "Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety". "My Turning Point! SKTKS changed everything. Made me dream bigger. Made my belief stronger. Will forever be extra special. Thank you Luv Sir for giving me Sonu And Thank you to the audiences for embracing him so much... Aap Sabka Yaar Hoon Main," Kartik wrote. Preparations for the highly anticipated visit of US President Donald Trump to India are in full swing in the capital. The roads leading to India Gate and Rashtrapati Bhawan have been decked with the Indian Tricolour and American flags. Preparations were also on for the visit of First Lady of the United States (FLOTUS), Melania Trump, to a school in Moti Bagh area in the capital, to attend a happiness class. Trump will arrive in India on Monday for the two-day visit at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-23 21:57:45|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close RIYADH, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Saudi-led coalition announced on Sunday a military operation against Houthi targets in Yemen's capital Sanaa, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The operation targeted the Houthi rebels' capabilities of assembling, storing and launching missiles and drones, according to Turki Al Maliki, the coalition spokesman, in a statement. The operation was a response to Houthis' missile launch toward the Saudi border cities on Friday, Maliki said. The missiles were intercepted by the Saudi Air Force, he added. The spokesman accused the Houthis of transforming Sanaa into a ballistic missile and drone assembly, storage and launch hub. The operation was conducted in compliance with the Customary International Humanitarian Law and the Saudi-led coalition has undertaken all preventive measures to protect civilians and spare them from collateral damage, he noted. Earlier in the day, the Saudi-led coalition foiled an attempted attack by the Houthi rebels using a remote-controlled exploding boat in the southern Red Sea, according to Maliki. Gov. Noem lauds state economy, but big legislative fights are coming Noems speech flowed between business and economic development, lifestyle issues and social issues that were united by their conservative themes. A soldier has won a 2.5m payout from the Ministry of Defence after getting shot in the foot during a training exercise. The MoD also handed out 3.7m for crush injuries suffered by another member of the military, and 3.3m to settle an action by a claimant who suffered road traffic accident injuries. In total, the military chiefs spent a record 129.7m in payouts last year after being sued by military personnel, staff and the public. The Ministry of Defence paid compensation worth 129.7m to civilians and soldiers, last year. In one case, a member of the military was given 2.5m after he injured his foot during a training exercise (file image) There were nearly 3,000 claims lodged against the MoD and marked a staggering 55 per cent increase on the 83.7m figure paid five years ago. Compensation worth 1.7m was used to settle a claim brought by an individual who suffered a brain injury on an adventure training course, according to stats seen by the Sun. But the full cash isn't guaranteed as legal fees are included in the settlements. Compensation worth 1.7m was used to settle a claim brought by an individual who suffered a brain injury on an adventure training course. It comes just days after three former servicemen (pictured, soldiers at a training area in Salisbury) were awarded more than 10m each after 'inadequate' MoD vehicles failed Under the MoD's Armed Forces Compensation scheme, soldiers get just 27,000 if they lose both fingers in battle. They are paid 10,000 if they get shot in the chest and 6,000 for low-level PTSD. Ex-commander Colonel Richard Kemp said: 'It is hard to understand how there can be such a dramatic a dramatic increase in compensation compared to five years ago when the forces were bigger than they are today.' Meanwhile soldier get just 27,000 if they lose both fingers in battle, under the MoD's Armed Forces Compensation scheme. Pictured: Soldiers demonstrate the latest and future technology used on operations, in Salisbury It comes just days after three former servicemen were awarded more than 10m each after 'inadequate' MoD vehicles failed to protect them from improvised explosives. The veterans suffered serious injuries when roadside improvised explosive devices (IEDs) hit their 'inadequately armoured' vehicles in Afghanistan between 2008 and 2009. The MoD has been approached for comment. Voices like these from Chinese citizens are very rare. People who are willing to speak out about the governments attempts to control news about the deadly coronavirus. They asked to remain anonymous, because what theyre doing could put them and their families at great risk. But these people are part of a new wave of Chinese citizens, fighting to get the message out in a country that aggressively censors information. Accounts or messages like these calling for free speech are quickly scrubbed from the internet. Or videos like this, showing people frustrated about life under lockdown. [clanging] Posted online one day, but gone the next. But the crisis over the coronavirus is changing the landscape, for now at least. Everyday citizens are preserving and reposting information the government doesnt want out there. Experts say this kind of digital resistance is happening at a scale theyve never seen before. Social media networks like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter are blocked in China. But internet savvy people use techniques that allow them to repost censored content to these platforms, while staying under the radar of authorities. Theyre creating a visual archive by preserving videos like this one, showing overwhelmed hospitals. [screaming] And theyre reposting peoples personal stories. Some are also turning to less obvious platforms, including GitHub, which is a site mostly used by coders. Another taboo Chinese citizens are pushing back on? Theyre making open and widespread calls for freedom of speech. These were triggered by the death of Dr. Li Wenliang. He was an early whistleblower who warned about the virus, and was punished by officials for speaking out. He died in early February from the coronavirus. Right after his death, the hashtag I want freedom of speech started to trend on Weibo, a Chinese social media site. Then, it was quickly censored by the government. Dr. Lis become an icon in the online fight for freedom of speech between censors and citizens. So, whos winning? For now, citizens are staying a step ahead of the authorities. But a renewed government crackdown could test the strength of this digital resistance. It is replete with a naturally woman-friendly spirit that softens the stark realities of gender relations in our society. It is said behind every great man there is a woman, in the case of Mahatma Gandhi by his own admission it was his wife Kasturba. Way back in the early twenties of the last century the world learnt of a son and a husband who poured his heart out in the pages of his autobiography, which he called The Story of My Experiments with Truth, regarded as one of the most outstanding book of all times. It is replete with a naturally woman-friendly spirit that softens the stark realities of gender relations in our society. Gandhi has acknowledged the debt of his mother, wife, the black women in South Africa and the suffragette struggle of British women in 1906-1907 as influences on the evolution of his concept of satyagraha for which he is revered across the world. In his writings and outpourings, Gandhi transcends the boundaries that hide private from public and emerges as the foremost name on the small list of those illustrious and sensitive men of the 20th century who have spontaneously empathised with the womens cause. Gandhi made his inner sentiments public in an age when such confessions were frowned upon. Kasturba entered his life at a very tender and impressionable age. She was his adolescent bride to whom he was passionately attached. In his later life he was ashamed for this attachment. Through the pages of his autobiography, we see the blossoming of a teenage girl into a woman with a mind of her own. While putting up with an obstinate tyrant of a husband, she tenders him love and care and goes on to earn his admiration and appreciation. Neither of them realised when and how their private and public concerns converged at a point from where they both set on a journey which would only take them on to the highest level of conjugal love which is the preserve of only the enlightened few. Gandhis autobiography also reveals the steel hidden in that soft and self-effacing facade that Kasturaba projected so effectively in later years. If she did ultimately acquiesce to Gandhis ideals and endeavours, it was only after careful appraisal and self-examination. And if Gandhi managed, in the initial years of marriage, to fit the stereotype of the tyrannical husband, during the thirties and after, he looked up to Kasturba as a strong life-partner, without whose constant support, his mission would have been left unaccomplished. An important frame in Gandhis autobiography is the picture of Kasturba as bewildered and unable to comprehend the change that was going over this barrister so much dressed like a European and living a similar life, with a governess for his children. He now changes his style of living, dispenses with servants, engages himself in public activities, undertakes protests, suffers police brutality but does not retaliate, goes to jail and has all sorts of visitors. The duty to provide them with hospitality taxes Kasturbas fortitude and health. At one point when the reformist husband forces her to clean the toilet of his visitor, Kasturba says enough is enough. Then there follows a violent conflict between the two. The quarrel reaches its peak with Gandhi asking his wife to quit the marriage. Then she retaliates and a repentant Mahatma goes over the entire politics of the man-woman relationship. He sees his conduct as wrong, which leads him to think of the general condition of women, and the subordinate position to which women are forced into in Indian society. It is here that we find changes in his attitude towards women. The incident provides him with a reformist impulse as strong as the one that accompanied his ejection from the first class compartment of a train in South Africa. Gandhis recollections in his book is no superbole, it is factual, almost devoid of emotion. Kasturba had shaken him to his core by her words. He describes this incident thus: The tears were running down her cheeks in torrents and she cried, have you no sense of shame? Must you so far forget yourself? Where am I to go? I have no parents or relatives here to harbour me. Being your wife, you think I must put up with your cuffs and kicks? For heavens sake, behave yourself, and shut the gate. Let us not be found making scenes like this! I put on a brave face, but was really ashamed and shut the gate. If my wife could not leave me, neither could I leave her. We have had numerous bickerings, but the end has always been peace between us. The wife, with her matchless power of endurance and tolerance, has always been the victor. It is significant to note that the Mahatma himself terms this recollection as sacred which reveals how much he values it. Gandhi is said to have admitted to John S. Hoyland that he learnt the lesson of non-violence from Kasturba when he tried to bend her to his will. Her determined submission to my will, on the one hand, and her quiet submission to suffering my stupidity, on the other, ultimately made me ashamed of myself and cured me of my stupidity in thinking that I was born to rule over her; and in the end she became my teacher in non-violence. In Gandhis evolution as the upholder of the womens cause, his sojourn in South Africa was his nursery where seeds of many of his ideas were sown and it was also his laboratory where they were put to test. Above all, South Africa brought Kasturba to the forefront. It was as though Gandhi rediscovered her. Her active participation along with hundreds of other women of the Phoenix and Tolstoy farms who joined the men in a satyagraha to protest against the immigration regulation bill and the three pound tax enthused Gandhi no end. Gandhi was overwhelmed at the grit and determination displayed by women in their fight for rights in South Africa. Hailing the womens resolution to oppose the South African governments move to declare all marriages not performed under Christian law null and void, he wrote in Indian Opinion: The remarkable resolution of the Indian women of Johannesburg on the marriage question that has been agitating our countrymen for the past few weeks marks an interesting development of the passi ve resistance campaign. We congratulate our plucky sisters who have dared to fight the government rather than submit to the insult offered by the judgment. In more sense than one, Kasturba was the Mahatmas first disciple. She adjusted herself to a routine that went against her own orthodoxy. Reginald Reynolds in his The True Book about Mahatma Gandhi acknowledges Kasturbas contribution in the making of the Mahatma in no uncertain terms. In spite of his having been such a little tyrant with his wife as a boy and as a young man, he had also come to have a great respect for women. But ultimately, it was Kasturba who was the unsung heroine. She was the staff without whose support the metamorphosis of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi into the Mahatma would have remained an abortive endeavour. She was the silent but strong presence who helped him forge his unique, unconventional ammunition for the attainment of swaraj both personal and political. It is amazing how some deep-rooted misconceptions about the personal relationship between Mahatma Gandhi and Kasturba have prevailed and survived from the very beginning of their public life. I often hear from young people they do not like Gandhi because he was very cruel to his wife. How did they get to know about it? They have no answer. We all learnt about it only because M.K. Gandhi made an honest breast of his wrong doings. Way back in 1929, Horace G. Alexander in a letter to Gandhi drew his attention to a book which gave him an impression that Kasturba and Gandhi were not always of one mind. Horace Alexander, among other things, wrote: The biggest stumbling block of appreciation of the East comes from the belief that Eastern people have not learnt the same reverence for women as we have now begun to learn in the West. In his reply, Gandhi wrote: I can tell you that the relations between us are of the happiest kind. It is quite true if the writings gave you the impression that I do not carry my wife with me through all the transformations that my life has undergone. During their last imprisonment, Kasturba and Gandhi were interned in the Aga Khan Palace in Pune, where Gandhi, the guru (teacher) and loving husband, come in for a most harmonious fusion. The guru does not lead nor set the pace; he is submerged in the caring husband. The confluence of dynamic and dedicated women at Gandhis ashrams, presided over by Ba, made them develop into centres for rural regeneration and self-reliance. It is this legacy bequeathed by Ba, which the Kasturba Memorial Trust founded by Mahatma Gandhi in 1945 in the memory of Kasturba who passed away on February 22, 1944, while still in prison. In this series the one built on the Sarania Hills in Guwahati deserves special mention, as it was inaugurated by Gandhi himself on January 9, 1946. Bapu lit a lamp and blessed the seven young gram sevikas: For this you have to be bold, self-reliant and would have the guidance of Amol Prova In 1946, Mahatma Gandhi visited Assam for the last time. A small cottage made of bamboo and mud was erected for him. It still stands there at the Sarania Ashram and is called Gandhi Ghar. The story of Ba and Bapu needs to be told and retold, as they are important in our long history of misogyny, significant as a ray of hope in an otherwise irredeemable scenario. Mahatma Gandhis leadership was his own but would not have been possible but for his wife, and he was man enough to acknowledge the debt he owed to her. Eventually, Kasturba, the wife and individual woman, was subsumed for him in the personae of the women of India. The writer is a former director of the Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti, New Delhi BJP West Bengal unit president Dilip Ghosh on Sunday claimed that in order to avoid submitting accounts of funds provided by the Centre, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee sent a letter demanding release of the state's share of money instead of attending meetings in Delhi for the purpose. Holding that the Centre gives the state adequate funds, Ghosh claimed that funds get returned to the Centre owing to lack of utilisation by the Trinamool Congress government. "The Centre is ready to give money but funds given by it are not utilised and goes back. Let them spend the funds given and submit accounts of utilisation," Ghosh, also a Lok Sabha MP, said. He was replying to queries from reporters on Banerjee's letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking release of funds for the state. Expressing concern over "steady reduction" of central funds to the state and "inordinate delay" in their release, the chief minister said in the letter sent on Thursday that the state is yet to receive its share of central funds totalling Rs 50,000 crore till January 2020. Reacting to Ghosh's comments, state minister Firhad Hakim said Banerjee had met the prime minister in Kolkata and also in New Delhi over the demands. "The chief minister will certainly reiterate the demands when she meets the prime minister again," Hakim said. On Ghosh's claim that Banerjee sent the letter to the PM to avoid submitting accounts of funds used, Hakim said a government does its work in writing so that it is documented. Asked whether the ruling Trinamool Congress was in a hurry to hold municipal elections in around 100 civic bodies across the state, the BJP state president said, "What they are attempting is to deprive opposition candidates of opportunity to campaign or get a level playing field in fighting the polls." He said the BJP wants the elections to be held as per rules and asserted that the saffron party will fight the polls with all its might whenever it is held. Hakim said despite being the state's municipal affairs minister, he himself does not know when the civic body polls would be held. "How could then Dilip Ghosh know when the polls will be held? Does he have a spy in the commission?" he said. "The date will be finalised only after the State Election Commission sends its recommendation on it to the government," Hakim, who is also the Mayor of Kolkata, said. Municipal corporations of Kolkata and Howrah are among the 100 odd civic bodies where polls will be held in a few months. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Theyre just not used to writing checks, said John Breyault, vice president of policy at the National Consumer League, an advocacy group. He added that this meant they were even less familiar than most Americans with the mechanics of check processing. The Federal Reserve has reported that the number of checks written in general has declined greatly since 2000. And Breyault cited a study that found about a third of Generation Z, whose oldest members are in their mid-20s, had never used a paper check. In recent years, the number of people with visual impairment is on a rise due to age-related issues which has led to the onset of eye disease such as glaucoma. People with such impairment face a number of challenges; among these, one of the largest hurdles that prevent social participation is the inability to move around freely. Shimizu Corporation Institute of Technology in Tokyo hosted a press conference to announce the establishment of Consortium for Advanced Assistive Mobility Platform. It aims to improve accessibility in society and quality of life for the visually impaired. The consortium will develop an integrated technological solution Artificial Intelligence (AI) suitcase that will support people's transport and communication with AI and will conduct a pilot experiment and demonstration towards ultimate implementation in society. The consortium was inspired by the research that IBM fellow Chieko Asakawa conducted at Carnegie Mellon University in the United States on navigation for the visually impaired. "This AI suitcase is a wearable device and suitcase-shaped navigation robot designed for the visually impaired; it can be carried around easily without stress in one's daily life," noted Chieko Asakawa, a fellow student at IBM. Multiple companies in various fields of business will bring together their technologies and expertise to develop an AI suitcase. Shimizu Corporation is offering advice and technology based on their know-how regarding public space, indoor and outdoor navigation, and robotics as well as the administrative and accounting feature required for running the association. "The suitcase is equipped with a camera, visual sensor, battery, motor, and others and will be able to identify its location then will analyse destination and the best route to use. After this information is processed, the onboard program will transmit information to the visually impaired person by technology such as vibration through the handle of the suitcase or another way like a sound command," said Yutaka Ishikawa from Shimizu Institute of Technology. Through a pilot experiment, the companies will identify the requirement for social implementation and aim to achieve a solution that resolves transport and communication issues for the visually impaired. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald has said her party will hold a series of public rallies over the next fortnight in a bid to to bring the conversation about a government for change to the people. Ms McDonald said Sinn Fein is determined to step up its efforts in the coming weeks to deliver "the desire of the people" for a government for change. She has hit out at Fianna Fail and Fine Gael for what she described as their plan to "carve-up political power and to block change is a rejection of what people voted for". Last night, Leo Varadkar told the Sunday Independent: "Sinn Fein seems to think it won the election even though 75% of people didn't vote for them. "Rallies and marches designed to force your way into government is not what a normal democratic party does." Meanwhile, Green Party leader Eamon Ryan has signalled that a coalition with Fianna Fail and Fine Gael is on the cards after admitting it would be "difficult" to form a government involving Sinn Fein. He said the next government would likely involve two of the three main parties and that Fianna Fail and Fine Gael's opposition to working with Sinn Fein would pose problems if they were to be involved. Sinn Fein's planned rallies will take place in Cork, Dublin, Newry, Cavan and Galway. New Delhi, Feb 23 : Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Sunday renewed his pitch for fresh election for the party organisation (CWC) and the presidential post. "I believe a revived @INCIndia is indispensable to provide a national alternative to the divisive policies of the BJP. This is why the current perception of drift must be ended" Tharoor tweeted. The Congress, responding to former Union minister had said: "The Congress Working Committee (CWC) is the highest decision making body in the party and it has appointed Sonia Gandhi as interim President." "The party will decide on fresh elections. I don't think there is a 'leadership crisis'. Sonia Gandhi is the party's interim President and the decisions are being taken in the party," senior party leader Anand Sharma had said on Friday. Party sources said that Rahul Gandhi is likely to return as Congress president in April. Meanwhile, a party leader said that the Delhi Assembly elections -- wherein the party again failed to win even a single seat -- should not be seen as a parameter for the Congress as the party has won many state elections after the Lok Sabha polls. Many party leaders including Tharoor have been demanding the appointment of the new party President. "I renew my appeal to the CWC to hold leadership elections to energise workers and inspire voters," he had said on February 20. Tharoor also advocated elections for the CWC which are not being held for many years with the Congress President appointing the members. "Some have asked who should vote for what. I was referring to my earlier call -- eight months ago -- for elections among the 10,000 party workers who constitute the 'AICC plus PCC delegates' list. These should be for the elected seats in the CWC as well as for the party's presidency," he said. Many Congress leaders have suggested that the party should look beyond the Gandhi family and move on as there is no dearth of leadership in the party. Latest updates on Gandhi Jayanti 2019 Lady Kitty Spencer cut a casual figure today as she left a hotel in Milan with her multi-millionaire fiance Michael Lewis. Princess Diana's niece, 29, looked chic in a pair of denim jeans, a tartan camel coat and white trainers, teamed with her 30 carat diamond engagement ring worth an estimated 300,000. The society model reportedly got engaged to fashion tycoon Lewis, 61, who is 32 years her senior and five years older than her father Earl Spencer, after Michael proposed in Cape Town over Christmas. London-born Kitty has been in the Italian city for Milan Fashion Week. She left the hotel carrying two shoulder bags and accessorised her look with oversized black sunglasses and a pair of dainty gold hoop earrings. Lady Kitty Spencer was spotted today donning her 30 carat diamond engagement ring worth an estimated 300,000 as she left a Milan hotel with her multi-millionaire fiance Michael Lewis Michael, who is worth an estimated 80 million, donned a pair of blue denim jeans paired with a smart blazer and pale blue shirt. Their visit to Milan comes after a string of appearances at Milan Fashion Week, where Lady Kitty graced the FROW at Bulgari and Tod's events. A regular at the most glamorous shows during Fashion Month, yesterday she put on a showstopping turn at the Bulgari FW 20 Leather Goods and Accessories Collection Party in Milan. Kitty oozed glamour in a black sequin midi dress as she posed up a storm at the swanky bash and looked sensational in the plunging gown, which cinched her in at the waist, highlighting her hourglass figure. Kitty looked chic in a pair of denim jeans, a tartan camel coat and a pair of white trainers while Lewis, who is worth an estimated 80 million, donned a pair of blue denim jeans paired with a smart grey blazer and pale blue shirt The beauty has been making quite the style statement during fashion week in the Italian city, having wowed in a ravishing scarlet gown at the Alberta Ferretti bash last Wednesday. She looked chic in a black and cream pleated midi-skirt teamed with a colour-coordinated collared shirt as she appeared for Tod's autumn/winter collection the day before. Her shirt featured a ruched cord to cinch in her svelte waist, and she teamed the ensemble with an eye-catching pair of red slip-on mules with a miniature heel. Kitty oozed glamour in a black sequin midi dress as she posed up a storm at the Bulgari FW 20 Leather Goods and Accessories Collection Party in Milan Kitty wore her blonde tresses in flowing curls and accessorised with an elegant pair of diamond earrings, with a a neutral palette of makeup and her locks back behind her ears. Lady Kitty and Michael went public with their relationship during a stroll through New York in May and were seen kissing after leaving Club 55 in St Tropez in August. An expert previously revealed that the society model was wearing an emerald cut diamond engagement ring with an estimated 30 carats of flawless diamonds. Speaking to MailOnline, appraiser Oliver Horner from Prestige Pawnbrokers of Channel 4's Posh Paw, said: 'This gorgeous full hoop diamond full band engagement ring is of extremely high quality. The beauty had been making quite the style statement during fashion week in the Italian city, having wowed in a ravishing scarlet gown at the Alberta Ferretti bash on Wednesday 'The full band is set with large emerald cut diamonds, each stone looks to be approximately one and a half carats and I would estimate the total diamond weight of the ring to be between 25 and 30 carats. 'Judging from the image the diamonds look to be of exceptional quality and I estimate a clarity grade to be between flawless and VVS1 and to be of D to F colour which is the very best. 'I believe a ring of this exceptional quality would have an would cost between 200,000 - 300,000 maybe even more given the provenance of such a piece.' Kitty grew up in Cape Town and spent Christmas, her birthday and New Year's Eve in South Africa, where Michael is also based. Kitty is pictured in the front row of the Alberta Ferretti fashion show on Wednesday, looking chic in a blue suit Michael has three adult children and was previously married to a woman named Leola in 1985. Kitty, who was spotted at the tycoons 19 million mansion in central London last summer, told the Mail at the time that she didnt feel 'in any rush' to start a family. 'I can see myself having children at some point... but I'm only in my twenties. I do have friends my age who are having children, and they are so, so, sweet, but I think everyone should do things in their own time.' Lewis' previous wife, Leola, 59, signed a prenuptial agreement but it's not yet known whether Lady Kitty will do the same. Kitty sported a denim-look blue suit at the the Alberta Ferretti fashion show - but unfortunately the bright light of the camera flash caused her underwear to show through The model looked chic in a black and cream pleated midi-skirt teamed with a colour-coordinated collared shirt as she appeared for Tod's autumn/winter collection on Tuesday in Milan It was revealed last week that Kitty is converting to Judaism to demonstrate her commitment to the father-of-three, who is chair of the Foschini Group. Kitty is already 'taking religious instruction' in preparation for their marriage according to a friend of the couple. Her cousin, future king Prince William, 37, is a future Supreme Governor of the Church of England. It is not yet known which branch of Judaism Kitty will convert to. She has previously been seen attending synagogue with Lewis in London. Up until relatively recently, non-alcoholic cocktails seemed like merely an afterthought for most bars. As a result, teetotalers were often left with little choice but to guzzle juice, soda or water all night. Those booze-free cocktails that did feature on drinks menus tended to be made up of popular cocktails minus the alcohol, which often left those buying them feeling shortchanged. But the demand for non-alcoholic drinks has risen rapidly since then, as has the amount of high quality low and zero proof alcohol products available. Now it seems mixologists are finally devoting as much time and effort into creating booze-free cocktails as alcoholic ones. The spirit is usually replaced with something like Seedlip, a non-alcoholic botanical spirit, or Everleaf, an alcohol-free aperitif drink, although some bars have gone as far as to make their own hydrosols, or "flower waters," using a rotovap, a device used for distilling. Hamish Smith, Bars Editor of Drinks International, a revered global drinks journal, says this is a much welcome change. "[It's] not an apologetic few lines at the back," says Smith. "We're talking crafted cocktails that just so happen to not contain alcohol." Burgeoning market The success of Dry January, which encourages participants to forgo alcohol for the first month of the year, has also had an impact 21% of US drinkers took part last year according to market research firm Nielsen. Unsurprisingly, non-alcoholic cocktail sales are usually at their highest during this time, which means bars are having to up their game to ensure they can attract and cater for every type of customer. "I definitely think we're moving away from a world where syrup topped up with a soft drink constitutes a non-alcoholic cocktail," says Will Meredith, head bartender for Lyaness, a popular London cocktail bar. At Lyaness, the reincarnation of World's Best Bar 2018 winner Dandelyan, the commitment to non-alcoholic cocktails is clear. When dreaming up their drinks menu, the team went to great pains to ensure there was a booze-free version of as many cocktails as possible. "Non-alcoholic drinks are massively important to us. It's something we've always put a lot of love and time into," adds Meredith. "Consumers who come into this bar, come for the whole experience. The experience isn't [and shouldn't be] dependent on what they're consuming." While the numbers vary from country to country, alcohol consumption is declining globally on the whole. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported a nearly 5% point decrease, from 47.6% to 43%, in the number of drinkers across the world since 2000. Inclusivity factor Although there doesn't seem to be a definitive explanation for this health consciousness is thought to among the contributing factors it's clear there's been a shift in attitudes towards alcohol. According to Meredith, the customers who opt for non-alcoholic cocktails at Lyaness range from bankers to new mothers, while some choose to switch between booze-free cocktails and alcoholic ones. "Non-alcoholic serves aren't anything new, but what is new is that they are taken seriously by bartenders and their customers," says Smith. "Millennials and (drinking age) Generation Zs are drinking less, but don't want to be left out they want to experience cocktail bars in the same way drinkers do. "The bar world has reacted it has to. After all, bartenders' raw material is liquid it doesn't always have to be alcoholic." The cocktails at Lyaness consist of seven core ingredients infinite banana, purple pineapple, king monkey nut, ONYX, aromatized milk wine, old fashioned whiskey and ultra raspberry. Meredith says the mixologists always have a non-alcoholic version in mind when choosing a base spirit to compliment the main ingredient, and will keep looking for a suitable booze-free option until they've exhausted all avenues. He makes a point of referring to the drinks as non-alcoholic cocktails rather than "mocktails," as they're often called, explaining the label has negative connotations. "The word 'mock' in itself means a bit of a lighthearted joke," Meredith points out. Of the 20-plus cocktails on the menu here, there are seven non-alcoholic versions. Among the most popular is Tattie Milk Punch, made up of vegan honey, "potato cream" and Aecorn (a non-alcoholic aperitif) and Seedlip Spice. Pina Leaf High Ball, consisting of purple pineapple, gooseberry, salted pineapple leaf, soda and Seedlip Grove is also a favorite. Costly experience? One of the most surprising elements about the rise in non-alcoholic cocktails is the amount customers are prepared to pay for them although some may argue waking up without a hangover after a night out drinking is utterly priceless. A standard cocktail at Lyaness, costs between 10 to 15 ($13 to $19) while a non-alcoholic cocktail is priced at around 7 (around $10). Although the booze-free versions are significantly cheaper, $10 still feels like a sizable amount for a non-alcoholic drink. So why are customers seemingly happy to splash the cash? "I think the driving force has been this transition away from putting the value of a drink on the alcoholic content," says Meredith, stressing that bartenders have to put a lot of effort into crafting great tasting non-alcoholic cocktails "without the luxury of booze." He also emphasizes Lyaness' non-alcoholic cocktails are made with high end products such as vegan honey and homemade cordials, which are factors in the total cost. "Non-alcoholic cocktails are becoming so much more in depth, intricate and balanced than they've ever been," he adds. "So the people who weren't drinking [before] now finally see something of value they can consume, and they're willing to pay the money that's required to enjoy it." The ever-growing number of non-alcohol products entering the drinks market has allowed bars like Lyaness to be even more creative with its non-alcoholic additions. These include Stryyk, a non-alcoholic rum made of cane sugar, vanilla and oak and Caleno, a distilled spirit with botanicals, as well as Seedlip and Everclear. And with more and more similar products launching every year, as well as the emergence of new alcohol-free bars such as New York's Getaway bar and Redemption Bar in London, it's likely demand will continue to grow. "There are a lot of people who are doing amazing things in the non-alcoholic industry at the moment," says Meredith. "As long as we put our foot on the gas and don't let up, it's only going to get better." In fact, the non-alcoholic beverage market is expected to reach a record value of $1,650.28 billion globally by 2024, according to a report by Zion Market Research. "This isn't a trend," says Smith. "It's how things will be from now on in." Lyaness, 20 Upper Ground, South Bank, London SE1 9PD The-CNN-Wire & 2020 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 It is unclear whether the GIC-led consortium has fully withdrawn from VCM or transferred its stake to other investors. The respective amounts of holding of Singapores sovereign wealth fund GIC and Credit Suisse Singapore Branch at VCM Services and Trading Development Company (VCM), the operator of the Vinmart chain, have been reported at 0%, according to data at the Vietnam National Business Registration Portal. Illustrative photo. VCMs registered capital, however, remains unchanged at VND6.43 trillion (US$277.04 million). Last September, the GIC-led consortium collectively invested US$500 million to buy a 16.26% stake in VCM, in which Credit Suisse Singapore Branch held 6.5% and Ardolis Investment Pte, a subsidiary of GIC, 9.76%. The deal valued VCM at US$3.08 billion. On January 1, Masan announced its acquisition of 540 million shares or a 83.74% stake in VCM from Vingroup as a final step to take over the latters retail business. It is unclear whether the GIC-led consortium has fully withdrawn from VCM or transferred its stake to other investors. VCM was established last August with registered capital of VND1 billion (US$43,121), in which Vingroup held a 64.3% stake and Deputy General Director of Vingroup Mai Huong Noi served as VCMs chairwoman. By mid-September 2019, VCM raised its registered capital to VND6.43 trillion (US$277.19 million) and owned a 100% stake at Vingroups retail arm VinCommerce, the operator of super markets and convenience stores VinMart and VinMart+. On December 3, Vietnams leading privately-run conglomerates Vingroup and Masan annouced their agreement to merge some of their businesses to create the largest retail group in Vietnam, said Vingroup. As a result, Vingroups VinCommerce and its farming subsidiary VinEco would merge into Masan Consumer Holdings, the consumer business of Masan. The latter would take charge of the new company. Vingroup would swap its stake in VinCommerce for that of the new company and become a stakeholder. The agreement with Masan allows Vingroup to focus on its emerging businesses namely manufacturing and technology, while Masan obtains its last piece of a puzzle to build an empire of consumer retail, with the ultimate aim of expanding to international markets. The new company would own VinCommerces network of 2,600 VinMart and VinMart+ outlets across 50 provinces and cities in Vietnam, along with a customer base of millions. In a latest move, Mai Huong Noi is no longer the chairwoman of VCM and replaced by Truong Cong Thang, chairman of board of Masan Consumer Holdings. The current chairman of VCM is Nguyen Dang Quang, who is also chairman of Masan Group. Notably, Ardolis Investment is currently holding a 5.64% stake in Masan Group. VinMart and VinMart+ are Vietnams largest retail network in terms of the number of stores, accounting for 25% of Vietnams retail market share, according to Masan. Hanoitimes Ngoc Thuy VinMart closes numerous stores to reach break even point sooner The profit margin of VinMart+ has been improving over the last three years, and despite current losses, the retailer expects to turn a profit next year. A 33-year old man, Ojo Adeyinka, has been arrested in Lagos for producing fake riders identity cards which he sells to unsuspecting motorcycle owners. Bala Elkana, the Lagos police spokesperson, said on Sunday that the suspect was arrested by operatives from Ikorodu Police Station and the Lagos State Taskforce on Friday. The suspect is a graduate of Mass Communications and a resident of No. 1 Miracle Villa Street Abafo Ogijo, Ogun State. The riders identity card is issued to owners of motorcycles in Lagos State by Motor Vehicle Administration Agency (MVAA), a government agency. MVAA has eight stations spread across the state. Mr Elkana, a deputy superintendent of police, said Mr Adeyinka was arrested following a complaint received by the station manager of Riders Card, Ikorodu division. In the complaint, one Ibrahim Audu said he got a copy of the riders identity card from the arrested suspect. Police investigation revealed that the suspect was selling the forged Identification card which serves as permits to unsuspecting motorcycle owners between N2,500 and N3,400 each. In his statement, he stated that, he started forging riders permits in January 2020. He used the advantage of the proximity of his shop to the licensing office at Odogunyan area to lure his victims, under the guise of being an agent of the VIO, the police said. Items recovered from the suspect include machines used in printing the fake documents and large quantity of the printed materials. Hakeem Odumosu, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, has ordered the transfer of the case to the State Criminal Investigation Department for in depth investigation and diligent prosecution, Mr Elkana said. Actor Rajpal Yadav, who was last seen in 'Judwaa 2' alongside Varun Dhawan, has been roped in for the much-anticipated sequel to 'Bhool Bhulaiya'. (Photo: File) New Delhi: Actor Rajpal Yadav, who was last seen in 'Judwaa 2' alongside Varun Dhawan, has been roped in for the much-anticipated sequel to 'Bhool Bhulaiya'. The 48-year-old actor expressed his excitement over bagging the role and stated, "I'm very grateful to be the part of this franchise. At the same time thankful to audiences as they loved my role in part one and still remember it. Special thanks to Anees Bazmee and Bhushan Kumar. I'm starting my shoot for the same and am very excited for it." The shooting schedule for the comedy-thriller will start from February 21 in Jaipur. In the first installment, Rajpal played a significant part, leaving the audience in splits with his perfect comic timing. He will be seen playing a similar role in the sequel as well. Helmed by Anees Bazmee, 'Bhool Bhulaiya 2' also features Kartik Aaryan, Tabu, and Kiara Advani in pivotal roles. Rajpal Yadav has many projects pipelined for this year including 'Bole Chudiyan', 'Coolie No 1', and 'Hungama 2'. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-23 20:06:29|Editor: yhy Video Player Close BANGKOK, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- A former Thai cabinet member and veteran Member of Parliament (MP) was arrested on Sunday for allegedly kidnapping and murdering a brother of a senior judge of the Criminal Court. Banyin Tangpakorn was arrested by police in Nakhon Sawan province where he had represented as MP in parliament and brought to the Crime Suppression Division headquarters in Bangkok for interrogation. Banyin, who was arrested alongside two other suspects, was a deputy commerce minister in 2008. Police chief Pol Gen Chakthip Chaijinda led Sunday's police raid on the suspects. The former deputy minister and former MP has been charged with involvement in the kidnapping and killing of Veerachai Sakuntaprasert, the elder brother of Phanida Sakuntaprasert, the senior judge attached to the Bangkok South Criminal Court, after he had allegedly failed to have the judge lift a fraud lawsuit pertaining to a transfer of 300 million baht (about 9.5 million U.S. dollars) in a firm's shares from construction tycoon Chuwong sae Tang to his own account years ago. Banyin was seen among four people who had allegedly kidnapped the judge's brother in the promises of the Bangkok South Criminal Court earlier this month. Thousands of terrorists might have been airlifted out of Kabul: Trump slams Biden Never in history has withdrawal from war been handled so badly: Trump 'Not a political event': US clarification on Melania Trump school event snub to AAP leaders India oi-Deepika S New Delhi, Feb 23: A day after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia were dropped from Melania Trump's school event, the United States embassy on Sunday issued a clarification saying that they didn't want to politicise the event. "While US Embassy had no objection to the presence of CM and Deputy CM, we appreciate their recognition that this isn't a political event and that it's best to ensure focus is on education, school, and students," a spokesperson in the US embassy said following a media query on the issue. This is the first time that the US First Lady will be visiting schools of the Delhi government and preparations are in full swing ahead of the high-profile visit. Melania Trump will be attending a "happiness class" in one of the Delhi government schools in which she will be shown how students are taught to co-exist with each other in a harmonious way. Melania Trump is expected to spend around an hour at the state government school. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump will have a packed schedule during his India visit next week. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, February 23, 2020, 22:09 [IST] BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng has asked to take differentiated and targeted measures to gradually normalize nationwide transportation disrupted amid the fight against the COVID-19 epidemic. He made the remarks at the Ministry of Public Security on Friday, while attending a national teleconference on restoring traffic and transportation order. The central authorities attached great importance to restoring transportation order, which is vital to facilitating the resumption of work and production, Han said. He said in areas with low risk of epidemic situation, road traffic restrictions should be completely lifted and normal transportation order should be restored. In areas with medium risks or high risks, traffic control measures should be optimized and refined in accordance with actual epidemic situations, he said. However, Hubei Province, the center of the COVID-19 epidemic, must continue to prevent the epidemic from spreading out of the province by resolutely cutting off the transmission channels, while Beijing should focus on guarding against the "inflow" of infection cases, he said. The restrictions on freight logistics should be lifted in a scientific way, while in non-epidemic key areas, traffic restrictions on freight vehicles and ships should be completely lifted to ensure that raw materials can come in and products can go out, he said. More work should be done to resume road passenger transport gradually and provide "point-to-point" services to ensure rural migrant workers can return to work safely and orderly, he said. Jordan said on Sunday it would bar entry to citizens of China, Iran and South Korea and other foreigners travelling from those countries in response to the deadly coronavirus outbreak. The minister of state for media affairs, Amjad Adayleh, said the decision was part of "preemptive measures... following the rise in cases of coronavirus in South Korea, Iran" and China. Adayleh said the ban would be "temporary" and imposed on all non-Jordanians coming from the three nations among the worst affected by the illness. "Jordanians who come from those countries will be placed in quarantine for two weeks to ensure they have not contracted the coronavirus," he said. His comments came as South Korea on Sunday raised its alert on the new coronavirus to the highest level after reporting three more deaths and 169 new infections. Iran reported three more novel coronavirus deaths among 15 new cases in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of fatalities in the Islamic republic to eight and infections to 43. Jordan has so far not reported any cases of coronavirus in the kingdom. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A man wearing a face mask walks past the Catholic Times headquarters in Seoul on Sunday. The newspaper shut down its headquarters and Daegu regional office as some staff, who returned to Korea after a group tour to Israel to visit holy sites, were infected with the coronavirus. / Yonhap By Kang Hyun-kyung Actress Lee Young-ae is being lauded in China for her comforting message to the virus-hit country, but some fellow Koreans are raising their eyebrows at the celebrity's actions. A video featuring actress Lee has gone viral on the internet in China. In the video produced by the Chinese Embassy in Seoul, Lee conveyed her heart-felt message in an effort to boost the morale of the Chinese public who are now in the midst of a deadly fight for life due to the coronavirus outbreak. "Hello. I am Lee Young-ae who played Dae Jang Geum in the Korean TV series (of the same name)," she said in her message to the Chinese public. Dae Jang Geum, better known by its English title "Jewel in the Palace," is a 2003 mega hit TV series. It initially aired on MBC and was then exported to many countries, including China and Iran. The drama, which tells the dramatic rise of a girl (played by Lee) with a humble beginning to become the King's first female physician, was hugely popular among Chinese viewers, creating a "Lee Young-ae phenomenon" there. This capture shows actress Lee Young-ae delivers her heart-felt message to boost the morale of the virus-hit Chinese public in a video made by the Chinese Embassy in Seoul. / Yonhap We are not done looking for those responsible. This was the warning given by the Head of the Special Operations Response Team (SORT) Supt Roger Alexander yesterday during the Beyond the Tape TV programme on TV6. Earlier in the day, Alexander was part of several units which went searching for kidnap victim Mattie Maraj in the eastern division. Its not a pleasant thing to think about, but considering the royal familys track record with divorce, its at least worth mentioning. With Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex making major life decisions like exiting the royal family as senior working royals, its causing some fans to question what would happen if they split. The couple seems more in love and happier than ever right now. But the year is young, and since both Harry and Meghan have divorced parents, they are statistically more likely to get divorced themselves. Plus, Meghan was married and divorced once already. If the Duke and Duchess of Sussex did call it quits, theyd have a lot of arrangements to work out, including a mutually approved custody agreement. But one thing the royal family wont have to worry about is Meghan getting away with any of the royal fortune even though this couple never signed a prenup. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle | VICTORIA JONES/AFP via Getty Images Prince Harry said no to a prenup because he didnt believe his marriage could end Prenups especially ones with wild clauses are a mainstay in Hollywood. But the royal family plays by different rules and therefore doesnt bother with prenups most of the time. Rumor has it that royal courtiers did urge Prince Harry to sign a prenup before marrying Meghan, but he refused because he figured there was no chance of getting divorced. Hes determined that his marriage will be a lasting one, so theres no need for him to sign anything, a friend of his told Daily Mail. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle | Phil Noble Pool/Getty Images Most royal family members dont bother with prenuptial agreements It turns out the Duke of Sussexs decision to skip the prenup wasnt too strange. In fact, most royals dont bother with prenuptial agreements because even if they did get divorced, theres no way of their former spouses accessing the royal fortune. According to Forbes, the British royal family is worth around $88 billion, with the queens net worth at right around $500 million of that. But even though royal spouses enjoy the benefits of being married to such a wealthy family, it doesnt mean the money ever belongs to them. For example, Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex currently reside at Frogmore Cottage though they did say theyll be splitting their time between there and North America. If the couple divorces, they wouldnt get to sell the property and split the profits because it never technically belonged to them in the first place. The property is owned by the Crown Estate, which is overseen by Queen Elizabeth. British royal family | Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images Prenups arent enforced in the United Kingdom American royal fans might be surprised to find that prenuptial agreements arent legally binding in the United Kingdom anyway, so getting one is more of a formality than anything. However, when a huge difference of assets exists between a couple, it can be a wise decision to draw up paperwork that may be used during divorce proceedings. The royal family knows there is no way for Meghan to get a chunk of their money if she and Prince Harry divorce. But she could be entitled to some of Harrys personal fortune, which comes from his inheritance and other personal assets. Its all going to depend on how good her lawyer is at arguing the case. Or, they might stay together forever, which would make this entire speculation moot. We can only hope! Flag carrier Kuwait Airways has suspended all flights to Iran after five infection cases with, and two deaths from, the Coronavirus were confirmed there, said a report. The move comes following a decision by the Kuwait civil aviation authority, which has also decided to ban residents or those with entry permission who were in Iran during the past two weeks adding that any Kuwaiti national arriving from Iran will be directed to isolation. Moreover, it has been decided to ban entry for travellers coming from Iran, reported state news agency KUNA. The Ministry of Health has cautioned against travel to the Iranian city of Qom, some 140km south of Tehran, where two deaths were confirmed, the report said. By Express News Service CHENNAI: Air Intelligence Unit sleuths of the Air Customs department foiled bids to smuggle 1 kg gold worth Rs 44.1 lakh at Chennai airport on Saturday. The officers intercepted Kalander Abbas (36) of Chennai after he arrived from Colombo in a Srilankan Airlines flight, and Asikdeen (24) also of Chennai, who arrived from Dubai in an Indigo Flight. Five packets containing gold paste were found concealed in their rectum. On extraction, 681 grams of gold worth `29.3 lakh was recovered and seized. In another incident, Mohamed Sadusha (22) of Tiruchirappalli, who arrived from Singapore, was intercepted at exit. On personal search, two pouches of gold paste weighing 407 grams was found concealed inside specially stitched pockets on the bottom of his jeans. 344 gms valued at Rs 14.8 lakh was recovered. In total 1.025 kg gold worth Rs 44.1 lakh was recovered and seized. Over the long run, the cannabis industry could provide a smorgasbord of growth for investors. Having already tripled global sales between 2014 and 2018, Wall Street has weighed in and expects worldwide weed sales to catapult by another 400% to 1,800% by 2030. The wide margin in Wall Street's forecast reflects the uncertainties associated with launching a high-growth yet still-nascent industry. Yet at the same time, near-term prospects for the industry aren't as bright. It was long suspected that not every pot stock was going to be a winner, and we've begun to see a shakeout taking place throughout North America. In particular, financing has become a front-and-center concern, with quite a few marijuana companies scrambling to cut costs and conserve their capital. How are cannabis stocks going to reduce their expenses after a two-year period of frivolous expansion and spending? Here you'll find five ways they'll make it happen. 1. Halt construction projects and/or idle cultivation facilities Beginning last October, we began to see a number of Canadian growers halting construction projects or idling completed projects to not only better align production with consumer demand but also reduce their operating expenses. The poster child for this is the most popular pot stock, Aurora Cannabis (NASDAQ:ACB). Aurora announced in November that it would halt construction on Aurora Sun in Alberta and Aurora Nordic 2 in Denmark to save up to a combined $190 million Canadian. It's also putting its 1 million-square-foot Exeter greenhouse up for sale, which was acquired during the MedReleaf acquisition. While these construction halts aren't necessarily permanent, the aggregate loss of peak annual run-rate output from these halts and the Exeter sale is around 430,000 kilos. Aurora Cannabis' management has made it abundantly clear to its shareholders that positive EBITDA and profitability matter. But at the same time, Aurora has probably lost its spot as Canada's top grower. 2. Reduce headcount Another way cannabis stocks will be looking to reduce expenditures is by laying off workers. With a number of growers cutting back on projects or idling cultivation space, job eliminations are an expected result. For instance, Quebec-based HEXO (NASDAQ:HEXO) announced in October that it would be idling cultivation at the 240,000-square-foot Niagara facility (acquired when it purchased Newstrike Brands), as well as halt cultivation for 200,000 square feet of completed space at its flagship Gatineau campus. In addition, HEXO would be eliminating 200 jobs throughout various departments. Until Aurora's very recent announcement that it was eliminating 500 jobs, HEXO's 200 layoffs were the highest in the cannabis industry. While it is possible that some of these layoffs could prove temporary, they're very much needed in the short run to help push cannabis stocks toward profitability. 3. Scale back share-based compensation A third way pot stocks will be cutting back on expenses is by being more careful with stock-based compensation, which shows up in the expense column on income statements. For example, former Canopy Growth (NASDAQ:CGC) co-CEO Bruce Linton believed that offering long-term-vesting stock to employees would be a way to improve loyalty and align their interests with that of the company. In other words, if employees did their job well and everyone executed as planned, their stock would be worth a lot of money down the line. This sounds great on paper, but share-based compensation had grown into Canopy's largest expense by the fiscal second quarter. In fact, share-based compensation topped net sales in Q2 2020. In Canopy Growth's recently reported fiscal third-quarter results, aggregate share-based compensation was down CA$31 million from the sequential quarter, and it's expected to fall even further. With Constellation Brands' former CFO, David Klein, now at the reins, some serious belt-tightening is in order. 4. Make fewer acquisitions Investors should also expect marijuana stocks to significantly scale back their acquisition activity in 2020. Although buying other businesses can result in cost synergies (i.e., redundant operations are eliminated), it can be financially burdensome for one company to buy another, especially when we're talking about the cash-strapped pot industry. Aurora Cannabis, for instance, has bet the farm on acquisitions. It's made more than one dozen purchases since August 2016 -- and the huge amount of goodwill on its balance sheet suggests it grossly overpaid for most of those deals. Moving forward, Aurora has to focus on existing revenue-producing assets, and there's little doubt that it'll be shying away from acquisitions. The same can be said for Canopy Growth. With Canopy's cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities shrinking from north of CA$4.9 billion to CA$2.27 billion in just one year, the company's management team has made clear that organic opportunities are what they're now focused on. 5. Raise capital by issuing stock, rather than taking on debt Last, but not least, don't be surprised if marijuana companies issue their own stock to raise capital, rather than going the route of issuing convertible debt or taking on traditional secured loans. The problem is that secured loans in the highly uncertain cannabis industry are going to require repayment within two to four years (most likely). They're also going to accrue interest each year, which further hampers the ability of pot stocks to reduce their expenditures. Issuing stock, while dilutive to existing shareholders, offers a relatively fast way to raise capital. Not to continually pick on Aurora Cannabis, but no marijuana stock has leaned more on share issuances to raise capital. Over the past 5.5 years, Aurora's share count has ballooned from 16 million shares to 1.17 billion! This share expansion has helped fuel its acquisitive activity, but it's also contributed to the company's share price hitting a three-year low. SEBEWAING If you want a custom logo on a shirt or a coffee mug Great Lakes Custom Apparel Company LLC can do that, and much more. Sarah and Kyle Mowry bought the former Jackies Windows and Sew On store at 111 E., Main St., Sebewaing. The couple kept most aspects of the former business, which did window treatments and embroidery, and custom heat transfers on apparel. We are not doing the windows," Sara said. "We are going to keep doing custom embroidery, doing digitized embroidery, vinyl heat transfers, and dye-sublimation, which is print using special ink on special paper to migrate dye into the material." Great Lakes Custom Apparel can do printing on clothing, mugs, mouse pads, caps, wall art, coasters, phone covers, keychains, towels just about anything because it is a different kind of heat transfer. I can do a lot of different kinds of design work," she said. "I put a photo of a ladys dog on a mug. It looked just like the doggie. It was so cute." Although she has always enjoyed crafts, she has taken some graphic art classes and transfer classes, and will be taking more classes to enhance her skills. I enjoy being able to create stuff," she said. "I like doing different designs and crafting." The business gives me the freedom to work around my kids schedules, and they can be here with me, she added. It was a long and difficult road for the couple to be able to buy the business from Jackie Freiburger. They looked a buying the business two years ago and ran into several obstacles because the shop was next door to a former dry-cleaning business. Because of its location, there were concerns about contamination so we had to work with (the Department of Environmental Quality) and the company who was cleaning up the property next door, Mowry said. Carl at the Huron (Economic Develop Corporation) was very helpful with everything. After that, the transition to new ownership was easy. We have known Jackie and her husband, Paul, since we were kids," Sara said. "She was happy we wanted the business she started and that we would keep going. That was a draw for us. We want to keep providing the local community a business and a service. We take pride in our work and in the store," she continued. "My husband does custom wood working we will be carrying some of his work in the store. While Great Lakes Custom Apparel Company has the equipment and ability to create or reproduce nearly every design, there are some that cannot be done. I can do any design as long it is not a trademarked one, like Disney, the Nike swoosh, and such like that, she noted. The company uses top-of-the line brandname clothing like Nike, Champion, Sport-Tek, Jerzees, and Bella to put transfers on. The store is open Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday by appointment. When not at her store, she teaches dance at the Sparkle Studio in the downtown, and Kyle works for Michigan Sugar. The couple are locals. They both graduated from the Unionville-Sebewaing Area School District. For more information about Great Lakes Custom Apparel Company go to https://www.facebook.com/pg/Great-Lakes-Custom-Apparel-Co-LLC-111659427034880/community/ or call 989-883-3015, which is the same phone number as the previous business. A grand opening will be announced later when all of the renovations are done. A woman wearing a face mask walks at the Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020. AP The United States on Saturday raised its travel advisory for South Korea, urging travelers to exercise increased caution amid the spread of the new coronavirus in the country. The State Department said its on website that the travel advisory has been raised from Level 1 to Level 2, which calls for exercising "increased caution" as opposed to "normal precautions." Level 3 means "reconsider travel," while the highest Level 4 means "do not travel." The measure comes after South Korea has reported 433 confirmed cases of the COVID-19 virus, including two deaths. Congress leader and veteran actor Shatrughan Sinha on Saturday called on Pakistan President Arif Alvi during which the two leaders agreed that there was a strong need to work for promotion of peace in the subcontinent. Sinha, who is in Pakistan on a personal visit, called on President Alvi at the Governor House in Lahore and the two discussed Kashmir among other matters of interest, according to a statement by Alvis office. Both Alvi and Sinha agreed that there was a strong need to work for promotion of peace in the subcontinent. By Gus Trompiz and Dominique Vidalon PARIS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday promised to safeguard European farm subsidies, secure compensation for wine producers hit by U.S. tariffs and defend fishermen in talks with Britain, as France's farming world faces an uncertain year. Opening the annual Paris farm show, Macron said France would continue to oppose cuts to agricultural subsidies, a day after discussions broke down on a new European Union budget without Britain. Like his predecessors, Macron vowed to maintain a large budget for the bloc's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), of which France is the main beneficiary. "On the CAP we defend an ambitious budget. CAP cannot be the adjustment variable of Brexit. We need to support our farmers," Macron told farmers. "We did not yield to those who wanted to reduce the (CAP) budget," he added. Meeting wine industry representatives, the president pledged to get compensation for U.S. tariffs in place by the spring, Jerome Despey, a wine grower and secretary general of France's main farmer union, the FNSEA, said afterwards. Macron has previously backed tariff relief for wine producers and said he has raised the issue with the European Commission. The sector fears it could lose 300-400 million euros in annual sales in its main export market if the 25% tariff imposed by Washington in October remains in place, Despey said. French wine is among EU products subject to the U.S. tariffs as part of an aircraft subsidy dispute. French wine exporters estimate the duties led to a 40 million euro drop in sales to the United States in the last quarter. FISHING TENSIONS Macron also voiced support for the fishing sector, which risks losing current access to British waters as the EU negotiates a new relationship with Britain. "Boris Johnson has a card in his hand and it is fishing," he told representatives of the French fishing industry, warning it was unclear if the EU and Britain could reach an overall trade agreement before a transition period expires at the end of the year. Story continues He reiterated that he would seek compensation for French fishermen for any losses they suffered. Macron spent over 12 hours at the Paris farm show, a major event for politicians in the EU's biggest agricultural economy. During the customary presidential visit to the week-long event, which attracts 600,000 visitors, he tasted French specialities like Charolais beef and Cotes de Provence rose wine, and served draft beer at the French brewers' stand. He also faced stern questioning from farmers, with whom he has had an uneasy relationship, particularly over pesticide policy. Macron told farmers that common weedkiller glyphosate would not be scrapped where there were no alternatives, while safety rules on pesticide spraying would be adopted progressively. There were glimpses of wider tensions in France, with a heated exchange with a woman about pension reform and police violence in street protests. Eric Drouet, a leading figure in the so-called Yellow Vest protest movement that rocked Macron's government a year ago, was expelled from the show when he tried to approach the president. (Reporting by Gus Trompiz, Dominique Vidalon and Michaela Cabrera; Editing by Ros Russell, Giles Elgood and Sandra Maler) Victory In The Kitchen: The Life Of Churchills Cook Annie Gray Profile Books 16.99 Rating: If armies march on their stomachs, the same is true of the politicians who send them into war. Winston Churchill wouldnt have been half the man he was without the jugged hare, cherry tart and chicken soup made for him by his resident cook, Mrs Georgina Landemare. In this delicious book, food historian Dr Annie Gray tells the story of two 20th-century Britons from very different backgrounds, one an aristocrat, the other a working-class servant, who bonded over their love of grub. Georgina started her life as a domestic servant in the usual way, working as a scullery maid in the kitchens of a grand Kensington household. The 15-year-old was paid a pittance to get up at 5am, fall in bed by 10pm and spend the hours in between peeling veg, scouring copper pans and picking up tips from the resident cook. In this delicious book, food historian Annie Gray tells the story of Churchill and Georgina Landemare, two Britons from very different backgrounds who bonded over their love of grub This last bit was important: Georgina knew that her future career would depend on being able to turn out the elaborate French-style dishes so beloved of the Edwardian upper classes. By the age of 25, she was a dab hand at everything from elaborate ice creams to such delights as Cervelles a la Connaught, a very rich, mildly spiced and fruity brain stew. What really gave Georgina a leg up in the competitive world of professional cookery, though, was her marriage in 1909 to Paul Landemare, a much older and more experienced French chef. From him she learned how to turn out authentic haute cuisine, rather than the watered-down English versions. Their joint expertise meant that the Landemares were no longer required to take live-in positions as servants. Instead they could pick and choose their employment, hiring themselves out as independent caterers and setting their own fees. It was a world away from sleeping in someone elses attic and getting up to light the kitchen fire at dawn. It was the year after Pauls death in 1932 that Georgina went to work for the Churchills. At first she was simply drafted in for big occasions Winston was a great believer in doing important political business over a well-furnished dinner table and Georginas duck a la presse and truite reine Marie (Queen Mary trout) went a long way to ensuring that complicated matters proceeded smoothly. IT'S A FACT Churchill trained his pet budgie, which he called Toby, to parade up and down the dining table, carrying a spoon of salt in his beak. Advertisement But by the time war broke out, Georgina was looking for a permanent job and suggested to a delighted Clementine Churchill that she become the familys resident cook. Annie Gray, a panellist on Radio 4s The Kitchen Cabinet, has unearthed wonderful details about Georginas wartime kitchen. While the Churchills were subject to rationing like everyone else, their aristocratic connections meant there were plenty of extras: exotic food parcels arrived from America, and the King routinely sent game from his estates. The fact that the Germans might single out 10 Downing Street for a bombing raid while Georgina was in the middle of knocking up a Mousse de Maple only added to the sense of adventure. We get fascinating glimpses, too, of the Prime Minister: Winston had the unnerving habit of wandering around with no clothes on. This is popular history at its very best. When I heard last week that Derry and Sallyanne Clarke were closing their Michelin-starred restaurant L'Ecrivain in July, it brought me straight back to 1989. I immediately remembered a friend, who'd worked in the enormous former Bank of Ireland headquarters on Baggot Street, excitedly ringing myself and another girlfriend telling us of this fabulous new restaurant across the road from her office called L'Ecrivain, where she'd had, for the first time, confit of duck leg. It was "melt in the mouth divine", she extolled. So, an outing was arranged tout suite, and she was right, the food was fabulous. We were hooked. Of course, one must remember that 31 years ago, although Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud had already opened in 1981 not far away in James Place East, before moving to its present location at the Merrion Hotel, there weren't very many high-end restaurants in Dublin, never mind around the country. So the advent of this new one was a source of great excitement. L'Ecrivain was, and is, Derry and Sallyanne Clarke's whole life, their first "baby". Derry was in the kitchen, while the glamorous Sallyanne was out front at all times meeting and greeting their affluent and celebrity clientele. They were totally hands on, with a huge work ethic, which has never changed down the years. An instant success, it was the place to be and be seen. People would gather around the baby grand piano downstairs for aperitifs and advice from their former long-time sommelier, Martina Delaney, before embarking upstairs and scanning the room for well-known faces - the who's who of Irish society. I remember being there one night with the late Terry Keane, gossip columnist of this newspaper, who it has to be said was great fun. She'd been drinking Champagne with her long-time paramour, former Taoiseach Charlie Haughey, before she arrived to meet me and she was in bubbly form. We spotted the former US ambassador to Ireland Jean Kennedy Smith, sister of the late US president, having dinner at nearby table with Tim Pat Coogan, the brilliant writer and former editor of The Irish Press. Hoping for a story, nothing would dissuade Terry from approaching and asking Mrs Smith what she thought of the controversial musical about her brother called JFK - which was then running in the Olympia theatre. Both the approach, and the musical, were a disaster, for Terry retreated towards me mouthing "get me out of here fast", while the musical died a death. I steered her towards the steep staircase down, where a smiling Derry and Sallyanne, the perfect hosts, were waiting to bid us farewell. Terry sailed past them magnificently, as only she could do, only to slip backwards in the doorway and fall flat on her back. Undaunted, she recovered herself elegantly and we departed hastily. Derry never lost the plot with his success and TV fame as a chef. He'd trained under the late Peter Barry of Man Friday Restaurant in Kinsale, before returning to Dublin to work under John Howard at Le Coq Hardi (Charlie Haughey's favourite restaurant). He's seen it all in the business but always remained natural, kind and good fun. As a couple, they are among the most-liked and respected people in the industry with chefs tweeting all week of how well they were treated when training in the kitchen at L'Ecrivain. As well as great times, they've had tough times too. They'd enjoyed a huge corporate business down the years, which was turned off like a tap with the advent of the recession in 2008, but they soldiered through that with wonderful food and great value menus. Indeed, I remember reviewing a stunning value three-course set lunch menu that stinted on nothing when it came to elegance and style, and wondering how they could do it. Derry had heart-bypass surgery in 2013 but went on to do a charity cycle to the South of France, while Sallyanne had knee replacement surgery in 2015 - probably due to all that running up and down those stairs. But by far the most devastating tragedy for them and their daughter Sarah May was the death of their adored teenage son, Andrew, by suicide seven years ago. I don't think the decision to close L'Ecrivain is at all sudden. It must be at least five years since Derry asked me what I thought of the idea of changing the restaurant into a more casual format, perhaps with a shop, showcasing Irish produce. He has since started his own Derry Clarke at Home range of free-range sausages, pudding, rashers and relish - which are delicious. Running a restaurant is a gruelling business which leaves no room for much else in one's life. There are also the many problems of dealing with staff and the shortage of chefs, the many new restaurants now opening in Dublin, the popularity of street food places, the appalling number of no shows, high rents and outrageous insurance premiums, plus the VAT increase. On top of that, there's always the worry that the ever fickle Michelin might take away your star, no matter how good you are, just as they did with Kevin Thornton. ''Just why would you close a Michelin restaurant?'' some are asking. ''Just why would you want to open a Michelin restaurant?'' I say. The Maharashtra government will on Monday release the first list of 20,000 farmers benefited under the state crop loan waiver scheme, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said here on Sunday. He said two villages from each district have been selected in the first list of the potential beneficiaries. "A list of some 20,000 accounts will be released tomorrow which are potential beneficiaries of the Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Shetkari Karjamukti Yojana. Two villages from each district has been selected in the first list," the chief minister told reporters on the eve of the Budget session of the state legislature. The chief minister had last December announced the scheme writing off the loans of farmers whose crop loan outstanding is up to Rs 2 lakh upto September 30, 2019. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who holds Finance portfolio, said, "The selection of two villages from every district is aimed at testing the efficiency of our system that is going to implement the crop loan waiver scheme. The money will be transferred directly into the loan accounts of farmers". Earlier, the money used to go the state cooperation commissioner who used to route it to the loan accounts of farmers via district deputy registrar department. "Bypassing this time-consuming exercise, the state government will now transfer the money directly into the loan accounts of farmers," Pawar said. He said the second list of beneficiaries will be out by February 28 and that the entire scheme will conclude by April this year. "We have so far prepared a list of 35 lakh bank accounts which are likely to become eligible for the loan waiver scheme. Once few details are available, those accounts will be filtered further and finalised for the transfer of money," he said. Pawar also hit back at the erstwhile BJP government for claiming that 89 lakh farmers had benefited under their loan waiver scheme. "(Contrary to their claim) The final number of the actual beneficiaries turned out to be quite less. We have avoided that (mess). Our Cooperation and Information and Technology departments worked together to come up with some filters to prepare a list of deserving beneficiaries," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) PharmaNXT is a platform for pharmacists in which they can get information about any drug New Delhi based Marg ERP Limited, a leader in inventory and accounting software in India, has recently launched PharmaNXT, a platform for pharmacists in which they can get information about any drug or an item, its salt, the substitutes, HSN code etc. Chemists can also check the information of tax percentage, MRP, manufacturing company and many other details. The company is hoping to generate Rs. 250 crore revenue in the next three years. This unique platform will empower the chemists to find the nearest distributors according to their location, who are dealing in a specific item or a company. Since the competition is evolving every day even the small companies are manufacturing and distributing medicines at a local level. There are few items which even chemists are not aware of as a result, they have to lose the customers. With the help of PharmaNxt App or Marg ERP, the chemist will be able to locate the nearest suppliers dealing in the specific medicine as soon as they enter the medicine name in the search panel. This kind of platform was required by chemists & Pharma industry for years. Before this, there was no such platform available with the complete information about an item. Marg ERP became the first one to introduce such kind of platform to ease out the difficulties faced by pharma retailers or distributors. With this new invention all the information necessary for Pharma supply chain network will be easily accessible to the pharmacist in a single click. The chemist can use the platform in two ways, one is by downloading PharmaNxt mobile app from Google Play Store, second it is given in Marg ERP itself, this feature can be availed easily inside Marg ERP 9+ by clicking a button while billing. The company believes that within the next three months stockists, distributors, small manufacturers will unite on the platform to cross one lakh registered users. Currently, more than 2.5 lakh retailers and distributors use Marg software, so the company is hoping to benefit the industry immensely and the distributors & retailers will come close to each other. Sharing his views Thakur Anup Singh, Group CMD, Marg ERP said, Today more than 1 lakh searches are being done on this platform every day and we hope that when a large number of distributors will get registered on the platform the search will increase to 4 to 5 lakhs, which will not only benefit chemists, but will help in the distributors business to grow. This is one of the reasons that distributors are registering themselves on this platform and so far 25,000 distributors have already joined Marg PharmaNxt. He further added, The facility of distributor registration has been offered only for the users of Marg ERP as more than 1.5 lakh distributors, stockists and propaganda companies (small manufacturers) are associated with Marg. Our first target is to bridge the gap between retailers and distributors associated with us, to facilitate the retailers as well as the manufacturers. This platform will work to connect smaller distributors and retailers in future. Lakvijaya extension: No bids, Chinese company gets project on a platter By Namini Wijedasa View(s): View(s): The Cabinet has approved a 300 megawatt extension to the Lakvijaya coal power plant to be constructed by China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC)without calling for bids, even before the mandated feasibility study has been done. The Cabinet paper, sanctioned on February 12 and sent to line ministries, recognises that CMEC is a nominated business of the Government of China. It states that a joint venture will be formed between the contractor and the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) purely for the purpose of building the extension in strict adherence to statutory environmental provisions and guidelines. CMEC must also secure its own capital and finances to build the 300mw extension to Lakvijayawith no contribution from the Government of Sri Lankaindicating that this would be an independent power purchase (IPP) agreement on build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT) terms. There is no mention in the Cabinet decision of an estimated project cost, tariff or profit margin for CMEC. Days before the Presidential election in November 2019, the CEB issued a letter expressing its intention to engage CMEC for a detailed feasibility study for a fourth unit at the 900mw power plant using the existing infrastructure and the same or advanced systems and facilities. But the feasibility, which was in progress at the time, was stopped owing to the Chinese New Year holidays and, now, the coronavirus. Cabinet approval has, therefore, been granted without knowing whether the project is viable. The Cabinet paper also approves the rescinding of an earlier decision awarding a 300mw combined cycle natural gas plant in Kerawalapitiya to Windforce (subject to the Attorney Generals approval) and agrees to award it to Lakdhanavi Ltd. The matter is now in court. Another 300mw natural gas power plant by an identified Japanese contractor where work has already begun in Kerawalapitiya can continue, the Cabinet says. A further 500mw liquefied natural gas combined cycle power plant is to be implemented as a joint venture between NTPC Ltd, Indias largest power conglomerate, and the CEB. All will be IPPs with their profit structures inbuilt and nominal shares for the local utility. Separately, the Cabinet has consented to implement a 300mw natural gas plant in Kerawalapitiya with the financial support of Asian Development Bank (ADB). It was not immediately clear where the proposal for an ADB-funded natural gas plant emerged from. The regional funding agency only helped the CEB draft a request for proposals (RFP) for a floating storage regasification unit and pipeline. There is also a question of whether the Lakvijaya extension qualifies as a Government-to-Government project. The Sri Lanka Electricity (Amendment) Act refers to an offer received from a foreign sovereign Government to the Government of Sri Lanka, for which the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers has been obtained The project, however, was not offered by China to Sri Lanka. The Cabinet has also approved the extension of costly emergency power agreements by another six months. It is not clear what will happen after this ends because all gas and coal plants will take more than four years to build. FRANKFORT, Ind. (WLFI) - The City of Frankfort has a new Mayor-Elect. Former City Clerk Treasurer Judy Sheets won the mayoral caucus vote held on Saturday. As we previously reported, current Mayor Chris McBarnes announced he is stepping down from his position at the end of January to pursue his dream of working as the executive director of a wilderness group in Wyoming. Sheets went up against Frankfort Board of Works member Kenny Estes and Frankfort City Councilman Eric Woods. She won on the third precinct committee vote with 12 out of 18 votes. She is the second female mayor in Frankfort's history. Sheets officially becomes the mayor at 12:01pm on Monday March 2nd. McBarnes said he supports Sheets 100% and will work with her over the next week to ensure a smooth transition. Photo courtesy of the City of Frankfort website. Visitors wearing face masks walk near the Gwanghwamun in central Seou, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020. AP South Korea reported its fourth death from the new coronavirus on Sunday and added 123 new cases to bring the total confirmed cases to 556. Three of the four coronavirus deaths were from Daenam Hospital in the southeastern city of Cheongdo, where the country's first COVID-19 fatality took place and more than 110 people, including nine medical staff, were found to be infected. The fourth victim of the novel virus was confirmed to be infected on Wednesday. The patient in his late 50s suffered from serious pneumonia before being infected with the novel coronavirus. The number of COVID-19 infections more than doubled in a single day on Saturday, with most cases centered around a religious organization in the country's fourth-largest city of Daegu and the neighboring Daenam Hospital. Of the 123 new cases, 75 are related to worship services of the Shincheonji church in the southeastern city of Daegu, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). The number of cases that can be traced to the church services reached 309 as of Sunday morning, accounting for more than half of the total cases here. Some 90 new cases were in Daegu, which has a population of roughly 2.5 million, with 20 new virus incidents reported in the surrounding North Gyeongsang Province, it added. Authorities said they have acquired a list of members from the Daegu-based Shincheonji church and are closely monitoring them. The KCDC earlier said it has placed more than 9,334 Shincheonji members in self-quarantine. Of them, 1,248 have shown COVID-19-related symptoms. Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has said that like Imran Khan, PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif was also "selected" for the post of premier, in a U-turn from his earlier comments that opposition parties are united. Before Imran Khan, Nawaz Sharif was a selected premier," he was quoted as saying by the Dawn Not sparing Sharif's younger brother Shahbaz Sharif, the PPP leader said: Like the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) also does not give importance to parliament. The role of opposition leader in the National Assembly is important but he (Shahbaz) is in London. We hope that he will return soon and play his role as opposition leader. Taking on the Sharif brothers further, Bilawal said when the people of Punjab needed their leaders they disappear. Former premier Sharif has been undergoing medical treatment in London since November last while Shahbaz Sharif is there to look after him. Reacting to Bilawal's comments, PML-N parliamentarians told the daily that they could give a befitting reply to the PPP chairman's tirade against the Sharif brothers but this was not an appropriate time. Bilawal is a child and responding to his anti-Sharifs remarks may not reflect well on the of the opposition. The PTI is looking for a divide among the opposition parties desperately, a PML-N lawmaker was quoted as saying by the daily. He said that "had the PPP leader been politically mature, he would not have passed such comments to the amusement of the PTI government. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Obinwanne Okeke, the 32-year-old Nigerian arrested in the United States last August, has argued that American authorities lacked jurisdiction to charge him for fraud, court documents show. Mr Okeke, through his lawyers, said in a preliminary objection filed in the U.S. court that he did not commit the offence he was being accused of in America, and no American companies or individuals were swindled at the material time of his indictment. Mr Okekes argument was filed in December 2019, four months after he was arrested at the airport by federal agents while trying to board a flight back to Nigeria following a visit on August 6. He was later indicted by a federal grand jury on two counts of wire and computer fraud that contravened American laws. A judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, where Mr Okeke was charged, had fixed trial for February 18, but his lawyers, The Iweanoges Firm, argued that the case should be dismissed on jurisdiction grounds. The lawyers argued that Mr Okekes arrest should not have happened because he did not commit the offence on American soil and nothing in the indictment prepared by the prosecutors indicated that any American was defrauded by Mr Okeke. The lawyers said the prosecutors only stated in the indictment that Mr Okeke swindled Unatrac, a subsidiary of American equipment manufacturer, Caterpillar, of $11 million dollars. READ ALSO: But since the alleged offence was not committed in the U.S. or against any American company or individual, then the F.B.I. should not have gotten involved, the lawyers argued citing multiple previous authorities to back their argument. Allegedly through a fraudulent scheme tagged business email compromise, Mr Okeke defrauded the United Kingdom office of Unatrac in a series of spoof emails over several months. Unatrac headquarters is in the United Arab Emirates, but the company, through Caterpillar, filed complaints with the F.B.I., alleging a loss of over $11 million to online scammers. The F.B.I. then began investigating the case, eventually linking it to Mr Okeke, a 32-year-old Nigerian entrepreneur widely known as Invictus Obi in Abuja and other parts of Nigeria, court documents said. In their response, the prosecutors asked the judge to dismiss the defence lawyers argument, saying Mr Okeke had travelled to the U.S. in the course of the fraud. The prosecutors also said Mr Okekes lawyers were wrong to argue that no American companies or individuals were scammed on the basis of the indictment, saying the indictment was only to show probable cause to secure an arrest warrant for Mr Okeke. They said additional evidence would be introduced in the course of the trial, which may include more victims of American citizenship and residency. The defence and prosecution later agreed to adjourn commencement of trial from February 18 until a date that would later be determined by both parties. The court granted the request, but said Mr Okeke, who had been on remand since his arrest on August 6, would remain in detention until the commencement of trial when his lawyers would be able to apply for his bail. The following events are planned for the upcoming week throughout the region: Jurassic Quest, featuring more than 100 life-like dinosaurs, dinosaur themed rides, live dinosaur shows and more, opens Saturday and runs through Jan. 23 at the Pennsylvania Convention... A Bangladeshi family is facing deportation next month after their petition for permanent residency was denied due to their six-year-old son's mild disability. Adyan bin Hasan and parents Dr Mahedi Hasan Bhuiyan and Dr Rebaka Sultana, were refused residency in 2015 after the government said their son did not meet the necessary health criteria to remain in Australia. Adyan, who was born in the country, suffered a stroke at birth and now lives with a very mild form of cerebral palsy which prevents him from picking up heavy things or climbing. The Department of Home Affairs ruled against the family's plea to stay in country, saying the boy would require 'ongoing therapy support' and therefore be considered a burden on the country's health system. Six-year-old Adyan bin Hasan (pictured) and parents Dr Mahedi Hasan Bhuiyan and Dr Rebaka Sultana, were refused permanent residency in 2015 after the boy's health condition was considered a burden on the country's health system Adyan, who was born in Geelong, suffered a stroke at birth and now lives with a very mild form of cerebral palsy. His parents say despite the diagnosis, he is developing like any other normal child A subsequent appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal was unsuccessful as the governing body said they could not overturn the little boy's health assessment. The family's only hope now is for Immigration Minister David Coleman to intervene in their case and appeal the decision - otherwise they'll be given two weeks to pack up and go to back to Bangladesh. Dr Bhuiyan told the Geelong Advertiser the family has been living 'in limbo' and he has been struggling to concentrate at work with their potential deportation looming. Their temporary visas have been extended until March 24 as they wait for a final decision, he said. Despite Adyan's diagnosis, the boy's father said medical reports show he is cognitively developing like any other normal child. His parents say Adyan, who loves going to the library in his hometown of Geelong, Victoria, requires limited physiotherapy and help from an occupational therapist. 'He is independent in his physical movement - Adyan loves to run, jump and play like any other [6] year old, carefree kid,' they wrote in a Change.org petition that has gained more than 26,00 signatures so far. Dr Bhuiyan migrated to Australia from Bangladesh in 2011 and married Dr Sultana, who came from the same country, in 2012. Adyan, who was born in Geelong, suffered a stroke at birth and now lives with a very mild form of cerebral palsy. His parents say despite the diagnosis, he is developing like any other normal child Dr Bhuiyan, a university researcher, said his son would face social discrimination if he was forced to live in Bangladesh Dr Bhuiyan, a university researcher, said his son would face social discrimination if he was forced to live in Bangladesh. 'No-one (would) want to socialise with him,' Dr Mahedi told ABC News in November. 'They think if the other child meets with him it will be contagious.' Dr Mahedi had been offered a job at Melbourne's Deakin University, while her mother is hoping to take an exam enabling her to be a qualified GP in Australia. The government have already warned the family though the minister only overturns decisions in the case of compelling compassionate or humanitarian factors. 'It is so important to us Adyan continues to develop as a normal kid in Australia, the only home he has ever known,' Dr Mahedi wrote in an online petition to Mr Coleman. 'We are afraid that if Adyan is deported to my old home of Bangladesh, his development-related therapy will stop,' he said. Dr Mahedi added that despite the Department of Home Affairs finding his son's health issues would be a burden on the taxpayer, his family paid the costs of Adyan's treatment themselves. 'We are hardworking, self-sufficient parents who have built a life for our son in this beautiful country. 'Now we are under immense stress and are counting each day that passes, fearing possible deportation.' Your tax-deductible gift today powers our reporters and keeps us independent. We rely on you, our reader, not paywalls to stay funded because we believe important news and information should be freely accessible to all. Start your day with LAist Sign up for the Morning Brief, delivered weekdays. Subscribe The day got off to a rocky start, but a new era of in-person voting has officially begun in L.A. County. Welcome to voting in 2020: Traditional neighborhood polling places are no more Instead, to vote in person you must use new "vote centers" 232 of them opened their doors today, Feb. 22 More than 700 more will open Feb. 29 The L.A. centers are open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. until Tuesday, March 3rd -- still the official Election Day -- when the hours are extended from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Another new feature: Yellow booths with touch-screen ballot marking devices greeted voters who ventured into the new Los Angeles centers on Saturday. VOTER GAME PLAN: Get everything you need to research the candidates and issues >> VOTE CENTERS: Where To Go To Vote In The 2020 Primary in LA and OC Counties >> VOTER GUIDES: Judges, District Attorney, Prop. 13 (the new one) and more >> So how did it go? The system stumbled a bit early on opening day. Our staff visited seven vote centers on Saturday. At five of them -- Union Station and Bob Hope Patriotic Hall in Downtown L.A., the Greater Los Angeles Agency on Deafness in Eagle Rock, Robinson Recreation Center in Pasadena, and Centro Estrella in East L.A. -- election workers had early problems. Staff couldn't log into new ballot marking machines to get voting started because they lacked the necessary barcodes. On social media, reporters and the public shared glitches they were seeing or hearing about: But it turns out that technology is posing some issues. The machines are facing technical difficulties and poll workers cant get them ready for voters. pic.twitter.com/DkWQ3KJj66 pierce singgih (@piercesinggih) February 22, 2020 Its Election Day ... in Los Angeles. I was the 25th voter at the Greater Los Angeles Agency on Deafness in #EagleRock. Poll workers said that the morning was rocky, and they lacked a needed barcode to turn the machines on. All was working by the time I arrived. pic.twitter.com/XBMIHeV6py Aaron Mendelson (@a_mendelson) February 22, 2020 11 days of voting supposed to start in LA County today with new touch screen machines but at a vote center in Silver Lake workers are having equipment problems and say they arent ready to open at 8:00. Maybe 9:00. One voter has left. #KQED #KCRW #LAVoting pic.twitter.com/k18AdxHMY7 Saul Gonzalez (@SaulKQED) February 22, 2020 As of mid-morning, county inspectors were making the rounds and troubleshooting. Many of the problems appeared to be resolved by noon. "There are a lot of sites that opened properly and have been serving voters," Mike Sanchez, spokesperson for the L.A. County Registrar-Recorder's office said in an email. He added there were "first day coordination issues" having to do with equipment, supplies and facility access. "We are working through those, getting every site operational and ready for the full run up to March 3rd." Those who used the new L.A. County machines mostly reported good experiences. "I was able to vote pretty much instantly from my phone," said Jonathan Garzon, who was in the lobby of Centro Estrella in East L.A. He used the new interactive sample ballot that lets voters pre-select their choices at home, then scan a QR code at the voting machine to instantly populate their ballot at a vote center. "It was very fast." Orange County also opened the doors to 38 vote centers with more than 150 other locations scheduled to open next Saturday. OC Registrar Neal Kelley in an email sent Saturday evening said it was a "successful first day." "As of right now we have had 1,314 voters vote!" Kelley wrote. "We had a very smooth opening (honestly I have been very pleased with the operations today)." Elections have begun! Today 38 Vote Centers have opened across #OC, & registered voters may vote at any Vote Center. If you havent voted, go to one of the 38 Vote Center locations. A complete list can be found at: https://t.co/zymUIKmnIS.#OCVoteCenters2020 #OCVote2020 pic.twitter.com/myP3nC5XjW O.C. Supervisor Chaffee (@SupChaffee4) February 22, 2020 In contrast to L.A., most in-person voters in Orange County will be hand-marking their paper ballots at vote centers. Ballot marking machines are available for people with language or physical barriers. Orange County also sent every registered voter a mail-in ballot, per the requirements of the 2016 Voter's Choice Act that outlined the new vote center model. Los Angeles County has a one-time exemption built into the law and is not mailing ballots to all 5.4 million registered voters. UPDATES: 5:30 p.m. This article was updated with a comment from OC Registrar Neal Kelley. This article was originally published at 3:55 p.m.. Trump: Apparent Russia Leak Meant to Hurt Sanders, Calls for Investigation President Donald Trump said an apparent leak on Russian interference in the 2020 election was designed to hurt Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) before calling for an investigation. Before leaving on a trip to India, the president told reporters at the White House that nobody briefed [him] about that at all when he was asked about the alleged Kremlin interference to bolster Sanderss campaign. Trump then offered critical words to a longtime congressional foe. They leaked it, Adam Schiff and his group, they leaked it to the papers. They ought to investigate Adam Schiff for leaking that information, Trump said, referring to House Intelligence Chairman Schiff, a Democrat from California. He should not be leaking information out of Intelligence. Schiff served as the lead architect during Trumps impeachment inquiry and lead prosecutor during the subsequent trial in the Senate, which resulted in the presidents acquittal. Schiffs panel also held a public hearing with former special counsel Robert Mueller, who led a two-year investigation into whether Russia helped Trump win the election in 2016, but Muellers report ultimately concluded that Moscow didnt collude with Trumps campaign at all. I think what it could be is, you know, the Democrats are treating Bernie Sanders very unfairly and it sounds to me like a leak from Adam Schiff because they dont want Bernie Sanders to represent them. It sounds like its [2016] all over again for Bernie Sanders, Trump told reporters on Sunday. Following his 2016 victory, Trump accused the Democratic Party of favoring former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over Sanders. House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) listens as Ranking Member Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) speaks at the open impeachment hearing in Washington on Nov. 19, 2019. (Shawn Thew Pool/Getty Images) In response to Trumps accusation, Schiff accused the president of deflection. He wrote, You welcomed Russian help in 2016, tried to coerce Ukraines help in 2019, and wont protect our elections in 2020. Now you fired your intel chief for briefing Congress about it. Youve betrayed America. Again. Sanders, meanwhile, netted a significant victory in Nevada, meaning that he now has the most delegates of any Democratic candidates. After Nevada is the South Carolina primary, and days later, its the ever-important Super Tuesday vote, where the greatest number of states are set to cast their ballots. Trumps comments came after Robert OBrien, the White House national security adviser, dismissed claims that the Russians are interfering in the 2020 election. I havent seen any intelligence to support the reports that were leaked out of the House. But its just hard to comment on that because, again, I wasnt there, Robert OBrien told CBS Newss Face the Nation on Sunday morning. I think this is the same old story that weve heard before. Weve been very tough on Russia, and weve been great on election security. So I think its a nonstory, he also told ABCs This Week on Sunday. Schiffs office hasnt responded to a request for comment. Sydney Airport Limited (ASX:SYD) shares fell 2.2% to AU$8.39 in the week since its latest full-year results. Sydney Airport reported AU$1.6b in revenue, roughly in line with analyst forecasts, although statutory earnings per share (EPS) of AU$0.18 beat expectations, being 3.7% higher than what analysts expected. 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. With this in mind, we've gathered the latest statutory forecasts to see what analysts are expecting for next year. Check out our latest analysis for Sydney Airport ASX:SYD Past and Future Earnings, February 23rd 2020 Following last week's earnings report, Sydney Airport's 13 analysts are forecasting 2020 revenues to be AU$1.65b, approximately in line with the last 12 months. Statutory per share are forecast to be AU$0.18, approximately in line with the last 12 months. In the lead-up to this report, analysts had been modelling revenues of AU$1.69b and earnings per share (EPS) of AU$0.18 in 2020. Analysts are less bullish than they were before these results, given the reduced revenue forecasts and the minor downgrade to earnings per share expectations. Despite the cuts to forecast earnings, there was no real change to the AU$8.22 price target, showing that analysts don't think the changes have a meaningful impact on the stock's intrinsic value. It could also be instructive to look at the range of analyst estimates, to evaluate how different the outlier opinions are from the mean. Currently, the most bullish analyst values Sydney Airport at AU$9.11 per share, while the most bearish prices it at AU$6.90. Still, with such a tight range of estimates, it suggests analysts have a pretty good idea of what they think the company is worth. In addition, we can look to Sydney Airport's past performance and see whether business is expected to improve, and if the company is expected to perform better than wider market. It's pretty clear that analysts expect Sydney Airport's revenue growth will slow down substantially, with revenues next year expected to grow 0.9%, compared to a historical growth rate of 7.5% over the past five years. By way of comparison, other companies in this market with analyst coverage, are forecast to grow their revenue at 3.6% per year. So it's pretty clear that, while revenue growth is expected to slow down, analysts still expect the wider market to grow faster than Sydney Airport. Story continues The Bottom Line The biggest concern with the new estimates is that analysts have reduced their earnings per share estimates, suggesting business headwinds could lay ahead for Sydney Airport. On the negative side, they also downgraded their revenue estimates, and 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. Still, the long-term prospects of the business are much more relevant than next year's earnings. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for Sydney Airport going out to 2024, and you can see them free on our platform here.. You can also see whether Sydney Airport is carrying too much debt, and whether its balance sheet is healthy, 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. Its only been a few weeks since Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex shocked the world by announcing they were essentially quitting the British royal family. Royal followers wondered first if that was even allowed. Next, they pondered the practicalities of what their split would mean for the royal dynasty. And finally, fans were left with just one question: Would Harry and Meghan ever consider coming back? We have to assume that the Duke and Duchess thought long and hard about leaving before making the unprecedented choice to do so. Still, people change their minds all the time. One thing almost everyone agrees on? The press would positively eviscerate this royal couple if they ever rejoined the royal family. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle | Chris Jackson Pool/Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will reassess their decision in one year Harry and Meghan made it quite clear that they saw the split as permanent. But Queen Elizabeth was not so hasty to cut them out permanently. During a statement following their announcement, Her Majesty seemed to leave the door open for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to come back in one year. Harry and Meghans choice of independence seems completely clear at the moment, royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams explained to Insider. However, no one can predict the future with any certainty and the Queen, having released a statement after the Sandringham Summit confirming that they will not use their royal titles and will step down from royal duties but remain members of the royal family, wisely allowed for a reassessment of the situation after a year. The media may be the reason they never return Theres more than one thing that forced Prince Harry and Meghan to leave the royal family. However, the biggest culprit is the stress that media attention put on their lives, plus unfair treatment in the press. The couple even went as far as suing certain publications. And if they come back, things are all but guaranteed to go from bad to worse. If Harry and Meghan did decide to return, the royal family would certainly welcome them back with open arms, royal Expert Marlene Koenig told Insider. But the media would be without mercy, she continued. I would expect comments about tails between their legs. Something major would have to happen to bring Harry and Meghan back Prince Harry wasnt thrilled with the media before Meghan came along. And after, he began to truly despise them. It would take a major event to make him change his mind about becoming a private citizen, therefore shielding himself and his family from the royal rota (the system which allows certain photographers to attend all royal events). Fans predict that Harry would rejoin the royal family if he and Meghan ever got divorced. However, based on how much hes willing to sacrifice to ensure his wifes happiness, this seems like an unlikely conclusion. The only way the Duke and Duchess of Sussex might consider returning to the royal life otherwise is if they had some kind of guarantee that theyd receive fair treatment going forward. Unfortunately, thats not ever going to happen. The engine for Blue Origin's lunar lander , which has been in development for several years, will be tested at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center among a crop of engines coming from the company's brand-new engine factory in Huntsville, Alabama. The engine manufacturing facility opened in Huntsville, also known as "The Rocket City," on Feb. 17. In addition to the BE-7 engines that will be used in Blue Origin's lunar lander, the factory will produce BE-4 and BE-3U engines, all of which will go on to be tested at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, also in Huntsville. Blue Origin is excited by how this new facility and new testing will advance their spaceflight capabilities. "At the core of every successful launch vehicle program are the engines that power those vehicles to space," Blue Origin CEO Bob Smith said in a statement . He continued, "it's an exciting time for Blue, our partners and this country we are on the path to deliver on our promise to end the reliance on Russian-made engines." Related: Blue Origin's Blue Moon Lander: A Photo Tour The engines from this facility, along with the BE-7, will make their way to Marshall Space Flight Center. But, while the engines from the new facility will be tested at Marshall on test stand 4670, the BE-7 will be tested at an Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) facility at Edwards Air Force Base in California. The "AFRL facility was chosen as a perfect fit for the BE-7 engine thrust rating, physical size and existing capability to test a space engine in vacuum," Eric Blumer, senior director for the BE-7 engine at Blue Origin, told Space.com in an email. Pictured left to right: Huntsville Chamber Board Chair Kevin Byrnes, Clayco CEO Bob Clark, Madison County Commission Chairman Dale Strong, U.S. Congressman Mo Brooks, Blue Origin CEO Bob Smith, U.S. Senator Doug Jones, U.S. Congressman Robert Aderholt, Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, Alabama Secretary of Commerce Greg Canfield, and Executive Director of Cummings Research Park Erin Koshut. (Image credit: Blue Origin) The facility already has some capabilities to create a "space-like" environment for testing. "The test site 1-42 at Edwards AFB [Air Force Base] can already test small engines in a "space-like" vacuum environment," Blumer said. But the facility is also being modified to test the BE-7. "The major facility modification being funded by Blue Origin is to add liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellant capabilities," he added. Though testing the BE-7 is the primary purpose of these upgrades, the newly improved facility also will be used to test other pieces of hardware and engines. "Blue Origin does plan to 'piggyback' parts of the lander that interface to the BE-7 engine to reduce vehicle integration risks and mature the vehicle parts with engine interfaces along with the engine," he said. In other words, some of the pieces that will be tested at this facility, other than the BE-7, will be parts of the lander itself that will join with the lander's engine. TORRINGTON Residential and commercial property owners are expected to keep their land and buildings neat. The citys regulations dont allow unregistered cars to languish in the yard; if a storage sheds roof falls in, it must be repaired. If a rental propertys yard is a mess, its the owners responsibility to clean it up. These rules all fall under the citys blight ordinances. If a person violates the rules, the fines are stiff $100 per day if the property owner doesnt respond to written warnings and visits from the enforcement officer. But there are many reasons why a property becomes blighted. An elderly homeowner might not be able to handle the responsibility of property ownership, and is in need of help. A business may have gone under, and the owner needs guidance on what to do with all the stuff. Or a house has been abandoned, and a responsible party must be found. How many are there? Part of city Blight Enforcement Officer Ashley Clements job is to keep a detailed list of properties, and the progress or lack of progress shown by the property owner. Since Dec. 10, there are around 118 blighted properties in Torrington, she said. Out of those, 53 are active, six are being handled by corporation counsel, and 59 are in compliance and were working with the owners. Its an ongoing process. Along with Torringtons aging residential housing, the city is home to a number of empty factory buildings, the remains of its manufacturing history. Some, like the Torrington Co. buildings on Field Street, have been renovated into spaces for various tyupes of businesses: a health club, job agencies, probation offices and small manufacturing companies. But many more stand empty, and the owners still are waiting for the right buyer to come along, or simply doesnt know what to do. Some of our industrial sites are adjacent to residential homes, and we have to come to a consensus on how to handle them, Mayor Elinor Carbone said. Theyre a little lower on the priority list. The building department might become involved in getting them into compliance. ... Each sitaution is very different. The citys blight ordinance states that blighted premises ... (are) harmful to the public health, safety and welfare. Officials also say that the existence of blight adversely affects the economic well-being of the city, and has a deleterious effect upon residential and commercial properties. In other words, a messy yard full of junk might hamper a neighbors effort to sell their own home. The ordinance establishes minimum standards for owners to follow, for the land, structures and accessories such as sheds and garages. The ordinance also defines whats not allowed ranging from automobiles to windows, exposed and damaged walls or doors, fallen fences or walls, dead trees, unmaintained swimming pools, unrepaired fire or water damage, visible vandalism, and grass or weeds more than 10 inches high. The blight task force Whatever problems a property owner is having, the city is ready and willing to help resolve them. All properties are addressed individually. In this municipality, we have a large inventory of older homes and properties, houses that pre-date the 1970s, even the 1950s, said Carbone. That inventory is growing old and tired, and needs more significant repairs. Sometimes it just gets away from people. Its something weve tried to address in a proactive manner. After she took office in 2013, Carbone said, she and her administration established what she called a stellar team to deal with blight. The blight task force includes the mayor, the enforcement officer, Assistant City Planner Jeremy Leifert, the Torrington Area Health District, City Counsel Victor Muschell and members of the building department, public works, police and fire departments. Its critical to have all those resources, to solve the problem, Carbone said. We bring each propertys situation individually to the task force to brainstorm how to solve it. Letters and fines Dealing with a blight problem begins when Clement receives a complaint, and visits the address to investigate. We dont take anonymous complaints anymore, she said. We also dont get involved in neighbor disputes. We tell them to contact the police. Clement visits the property, does an inspection and, if she feels its warranted, sends a letter of non-compliance to the owner, who has 14 days from the date they receive the letter to contact her. The letter is certified, and all correspondence is documented. Some people comply very quickly, Clement said. Others might need legal help. We look at each one individually and bring it (the case) to the blight task force to discuss it. That approach also applies to property owners and landlords. We notify the tenants and the property owners, Leifert said. Absentee landlords dont always know whats going on, Carbone said. If a property is abandoned, people will start dumping on it. But its still the owners responsibility to clean it up. Our approach is holistic, she said. We want to help. We dont want to get into a legal proceeding with the owner, its expensive for everyone. The $100-per-day fine can add up, but the city isnt levying the fines to make money, Leifert said. The ultimate goal is to get them into compliance, he said. If the resident doesnt sign the notice issued by Clement, a second letter is delivered by a state marshal. Types of blight vary, and much of it is viewed as a hazard to public safety. Unkempt yards with tall grass, broken windows, debris in the yard, a roof covered with tarps indicating leaks and other damage, unregistered car out in the open, or a stockpile of car parts, all are considered blight. If this is a personal home, and somebodys closed their business, and brought all of it home, you cant just leave it lying around, Leifert said. Those who dont comply receive an official citation from Clement. Residents can appeal the citation and fines with a hearing with the land use office, but if the owner doesnt make an effort to clean it up, the case is turned over to Muschell, the citys corporation counsel. If the situation is dire, meaning the files are adding up to hundreds or thousands of dollars, the city will take the property owner to court. But we let it sit for a little while, to see if we can get them into compliance, and then the fines can be waived, Muschell said. If not, it goes to the blight task force again, and its discussed again to decide the next step. There could be a tax lein placed on the property to collect those fees. But thats a worst-case scenario, Leifert said. We can put the property owner on a six-month hold, to give them a chance to take care of it. Six months gives you a good idea of how willing we are to work with people. Were not going to take anything away from them if we dont have to. Muschell recalled a property owner who amassed $18,000 in fines and had a tax lein placed on the property, issued by the city. The bank was selling the property, and the city collected the fines that way, he said. The city can help If the owner doesnt have the financial resources to clean up, the city will get involved. Residents can apply for a small cities loan, based on their financial eligibility, and use the money on the property, Clement said. If we know the owner is making an effort, we will grant extensions so they can get it done, Leifert added. Keeping the city informed helps. Dont just ignore it. Its not going to go away. Extensions are the rule, rather than the exception, Muschell said. CoronaVirus Pandemic Day 76 Trend Forecast Update - Infected 540k, Minus China 1715, Deaths 4920 The latest Coronavirus / COVID19 pandemic news has South Korea effectively declaring a national emergency as the nations Coronavirus cases continue to rocket higher, now totaling over 600 infected and 6 deaths. Meanwhile the basket case north of the border with far greater cross border travel with China apparently has zero cases! This whilst reports of mass cremations taking place. Meanwhile in Europe, Italy has an outbreak under way with over 100 testing positive and 2 deaths with several hundred thousands of people put under quarantine, a taste of what is to come to Europe as the virus is clearly not being contained. This whilst western health care institutions such as the NHS following the Chinese playbook of painting a picture of being fully prepared to cope with outbreaks. Despite the fact that the NHS can barely cope with regular flu let alone a virus that is 15X more deadly resulting in 100X as many seriously ill patients than influenza. Whilst Iran's tally of infected has jumped from 5 to 43, and deaths from 2 to 8 that likely is just the tip of the Coronavirus iceberg which given the rate of growth could soon number in the thousands, that's if Iran has the capacity to test suspected cases in any significant number. Coronavirus Pandemic Day 76 - 22nd Feb 2020 Update My forecast for the total number of infections and deaths by 22nd of Feb 2020 vs reported and estimated: Infections Deaths Forecast 507081 16480 Reported Actual 78651 2460 Probable 540267 4920 % Diff 107% 30% Were this trend to continue into the end of February 2020 then the number of infected would total 1.06 million, whilst the number of deaths would total 9,702. So the latest data implies a wider spread but a lower mortality rate of about 0.91%. The trend trajectory remains for the number of infections to reach at least 1 million by the end of February, though with a lower case fatality rate than the reported 3%. So less people will die from the virus but it will still be about 15 times more deadly than seasonal flu, so definitely nothing to get complacent about. For methodology behind the estimated probable number of infections and deaths see my recent video - Coronavirus Pandemic Outside China Update - 22nd Feb 2020 Whilst China's infection numbers cannot be trusted, meanwhile the developed worlds numbers should prove more accurate, at least in the early stages of the pandemic. Though we still have two gaping holes ont he world Map Africa and Central & South America, to imagine that there is just 1 infection in Egypt given the comings and goings of upwards of 1 million chinese workers across the continent, busy forging the backbone for their emerging Chinese empire, implies that the number infected in Africa and South America already runs into the several hundreds, that as of yet remain unrecorded. Nevertheless, the number of infections outside of China overnight has leapt by 330 to 1715 showing convergence towards my trend forecast that expects a total of 129,250 infections by the end of March 2020. UK Coronavirus Trend Forecast Day 26 - 22nd Feb 2020 Update The total number of infections recorded in the UK continues to hold steady at 9, which in my opinion is just the calm before the coronavirus storm as my forecast as of 14th Feb 2020 concluded in infected to trend to 5000 by the end of March resulting in 90 deaths. Today's news is one of 100 travelers from Wuhan being let out of quarantine after 14 days despite the fact some chinese patients have been found to go for 28 days before showing symptoms. Worse still are the 32 flown back from the Diamond Princess cruise ship a number of whom are likely to be infected. The bottom line is that China through it's draconian measures to control the spread has succeeded in buying the world time, maybe 2 to 3 weeks, which has slowed the progress of the virus across the wider world, however the failure of the virus to spread appears to have lulled many into a false sense of security especially if one focuses just on the official Chinese statistics, Therefore I still expect widespread outbreaks across the world. Where if the virus spread is inline with seasonal flu i.e. to infect around 15% of the worlds population then at a case fatality rate of 0.64% could result in as many as 7.5 million deaths. So we are still definitely in the calm before the Coronavirus storm stage. Will CoronaVirus Pandemic Trigger a Stocks Bear Market 2020? This analysis that concludes in a detailed trend forecast for the Dow stocks index has first been made available to Patrons who support my work (Will CoronaVirus Pandemic Trigger a Stocks Bear Market 2020?). Stock Market Deviation from Overall Outlook for 2020 QE4EVER As Goes January So Goes the Year Short-term Trend Analysis Long-term Trend Analysis ELLIOTT WAVES Formulating a Stock Market Trend Forecast Dow Stock Market Forecast Conclusion TRADING THE DOW Will Trump Win US Presidential Election 2020? Sothen do consider becoming a Patron by supporting my work for just $3 per month. https://www.patreon.com/Nadeem_Walayat Recent analysis includes : Scheduled Analysis Includes: UK Housing market series Machine Intelligence Investing stocks sub sector analysis Bitcoin trend forecast Euro Dollar Futures EUR/RUB US House Prices trend forecast update And ensure you are subscribed to my ALWAYS FREE newsletter for my next in-depth analysis. Your Analyst Nadeem Walayat http://www.marketoracle.co.uk Copyright 2005-2020 Marketoracle.co.uk (Market Oracle Ltd). All rights reserved. Nadeem Walayat has over 30 years experience of trading derivatives, portfolio management and analysing the financial markets, including one of few who both anticipated and Beat the 1987 Crash. Nadeem's forward looking analysis focuses on UK inflation, economy, interest rates and housing market. He is the author of five ebook's in the The Inflation Mega-Trend and Stocks Stealth Bull Market series that can be downloaded for Free. Nadeem is the Editor of The Market Oracle, a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication that presents in-depth analysis from over 1000 experienced analysts on a range of views of the probable direction of the financial markets, thus enabling our readers to arrive at an informed opinion on future market direction. http://www.marketoracle.co.uk Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any trading losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors before engaging in any trading activities. Nadeem Walayat Archive 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication. Phnom Penh: Australian missionary Martin Chan hopes Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen will intervene to resolve charges of "criminal fraud" that have led to a three-month stint behind bars. Access to Hun Sen was offered after Chan won the support of Sok Sovann Vathana Sabung, a key member of the Supreme Consultation Forum (SCF) and president of the Khmer Rise Party (KRP). Australian missionary Martin Chan, with his wife Deborah Kim, is released on bail in Phnom Penh, Cambodia earlier this month. Credit:AAP "I hope that Hun Sen or his cabinet will take a look at this case and see if there's anything unusual," 49-year-old Chan said. His case has won widespread support among Khmers and is being closely watched by NGOs, charities and business groups concerned with Cambodia's court system. BJP president J P Nadda on Sunday hailed the central government for India becoming the fifth largest economy in the world due to its "progressive" economic schemes and measures. India has shown tremendous growth in all sectors, with a rise in purchasing power parity, reflecting the positive impact of visionary steps and futuristic budget of the government, Nadda tweeted. "India is now the 5th largest economy in the world with a GDP of USD 2.94 trillion. Under the visionary leadership of Hon PM @narendramodi ji, country is moving steadily towards USD 5 trillion economy goal. This is the impact of the progressive economic schemes and measures of the government," he said. India became the world's fifth largest economy last year, according to data from International Monetary Fund's October World Economic Outlook. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) It has been announced that Helen Chodash passed away on Saturday, February 22 in Boca Raton, Florida at age 81. Helene is the mother of ongait.com co-founder Maurice Chodash. Helen, who was born in Poland, arrived in New York via Paris in 1954 and worked in her familys handbag company. She raised three boys with husband Charles, who passed away in 2019. I was too young to drive a car when my mother offered to take me for the first time to the Meadowlands in 1977, said Maurice. Needless to say, I had an amazing time, seeing horses I only read about in Harness Horse Magazine, which she subscribed for me. She would always encourage my love of the sport, and Im grateful she did." Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the family and friends of Helen Chodash. Now, fly 5 days a week from Hindon airport to Hubli in Karnataka at affordable prices! India oi-Madhuri Adnal Ghaziabad, Feb 23: The frequency of flights from the Hindon airport in Ghaziabad to the Hubli city of Karnataka has been increased from three to five days a week, an official said on Saturday. The newly-built Hindon airport has a terminal area of 5425 sqm. It has a peak hour handling capacity of 300 passengers. The civil enclave has eight check-in counters. Car parking can accommodate 90 cars. The total cost of the project was Rs 40 crore. A meeting has been called with firms providing air service on March 5 with regard to initiating flights to Allahabad and Lucknow, District Magistrate Ajay Shankar Pandey told PTI. GMR signs pact to run Bidar airport in Karnataka Connectivity by road from various points of Ghaziabad to the terminal would be provided from the second week of March, he said. NEWS AT NOON FEB 23rd, 2020 Besides, the BSNL has also been instructed to provide mobile network at the terminal so that employees and passengers do not face connectivity problems, Pandey said For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, February 23, 2020, 10:45 [IST] Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment I've always been a student of revival. Since I was a teenager I have studied revivals and spiritual awakenings with a voracious appetite. I have scoured books about them and have listened to sermons on them, looking for the keys to revival, longing to be a part of the next great move of God on earth. Books like George Whitfield...Life and Times of the Great Evangelist of the 18th Century Revival (Volumes 1 & 2), Lectures to my Students by Charles Spurgeon, Movements that Change the World by Steve Addison, Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret by J. Hudson Taylor, The Life of Dwight L. Moody by William R. Moody and so many more...have been on my reading and re-reading list for decades. But, as much as I've loved reading these books and others like them, I'm tired of just reading about revival and awakening. I want to be a part of one. Just a few weeks ago I was invited to speak at an event called Go2020 USA. My good friend Dave Gibson is the North American Executive Director of Go2020 and he asked me to do the closing challenge to 110 key national ministry leaders attending this catalytic meeting. Go2020 is a global Gospel advancing movement that is mobilizing 100 million believers worldwide to share the Gospel with one billion people in the year 2020. Of course, this is a movement that everyone at Dare 2 Share, the ministry I lead, is excited about! After all our vision at Dare 2 Share is "every teen everywhere hearing the Gospel from a friend!" Speaking to these leaders was a great privilege that I did not take lightly. By the time I boarded the plane from Denver to Orlando my sermon was complete. I was going to preach on the 5 characteristics of a movement based on Steve Addison's book, Movements that Change the World. But once on the plane, the Spirit of God convicted me that this was not the sermon He wanted me to preach. After praying, He guided me to my new sermon. It was entitled, 3 ways to kickstart a movement based on Acts 4:31-33. I was ready to preach it...or so I thought. After a day full of strategic meetings at the Go2020 meeting and just moments before I walked to the stage to preach, I suddenly realized that the 3 points to my sermon were already in full play, not just nationally, but globally. There was no kickstarting a movement, the movement had already begun, long before I boarded any plane. As I scanned my sermon and looked at the 3 keys to kickstarting a movement, and thought back to all that had been shared that day, it struck me, these 3 keys were starting to happen nationally and were in full swing globally. Right there I changed my sermon title to "3 Signs a Spiritual Awakening has begun" based on Acts 4:31-33. If there ever was an example of spiritual awakening its the book of Acts and this passage contains all the elements that reflect a true and sweeping spiritual move of God. Here is the passage and the 3 points I preached that day to these ministry leaders. After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And Gods grace was so powerfully at work in them all. Acts 4:31-33 The first sign a spiritual movement has begun is that... 1. Prayer is being prioritized. After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Acts 4:31 Just like the early church prioritized prayer, more and more believers are prioritizing prayer like never before in the US and around the world. Prayer movements are starting to sweep the nation and are sweeping the planet. There's the National Day of Prayer, 24/7 houses of prayer and student led prayer movements like See You at the Pole that prove this is true. In addition you have vibrant ministries like IHOP (prayer, not pancakes), Moms in Prayer and so many more that are praying for and pushing for revival! Do we need more prayer movements? Yes! Are we heading in the right direction? Yes! As the old revival quote goes, "Satan laughs at our strategies, mocks all our labor but trembles when we pray." The first sign that a movement has begun is that prayer is being prioritized. If it's not currently prioritized in your life, youth group or church, it's time to start! 2. Believers are being mobilized. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. Acts 4:31 What does that word mobilize mean? It means to prepare for action. It includes the idea of inspiration, equipping and unleashing. This is also happening. Just last week The Send 2020 Brazil, inspired 140,000 young people to advance the Gospel across Brazil and the world! I watched some videos from this event and, suffice it to say, an army of Brazilians have been set on fire to preach the Good News of Jesus! There's a national movement called Whose Your One led by Pastor Johnny Hunt and Shane Pruitt that is inspiring tens of thousands of believers to share the Gospel with others, starting with the one person God is putting on their hearts. This campaign is gaining tremendous traction in Southern Baptist churches and re-igniting this denomination's passion to lead the way in spreading the Gospel. But inspiration is just the first step toward mobilization. Next comes equipping. At Dare 2 Share, we are seeing thousands download our Life in 6 Words app and using it to spread the Gospel. This super-interactive digital tract is very effective as an outreach tool and shockingly simple to use. As we tell teenagers, "If you can swipe and read you can share the Gospel." Of course there are many other methods for sharing the Gospel. But what matters, more than the method you use, is the Gospel message. After all, you dont go into a steak house for the plate, but for the steak. The method/app/tract is merely the plate upon which you serve the Gospel steak. But mobilization is more than just inspiration and equipping. Its also unleashing believers to do it. Its creating space for story telling in our services. Its giving our people both opportunity and accountability. And this brand of mobilizing is happening at unprecedented rates. Thousands of churches and youth groups have adopted the Gospel Advancing values. At Dare 2 Share we get a constant stream of stories from youth groups that unleashing their teens to spread the Gospel friend to friend and classmate to classmate. Mobilization is also happening through events. This summer Claim Your Campus is doing a huge event in Kansas City to mobilize young people to pray for, care for and share Jesus with their peers at school. Also this summer, I'll be training 80,000+ men at Promise Keepers (July 31st - August 1st) to share the Gospel with one person before the stroke of midnight. In addition, Dare 2 Share will be doing a live simulcast training called Dare 2 Share Live in potentially hundreds of cities across the nation this October. Teens from the inner city to the suburbs to the farmlands to the reservation will be inspired, equipped and unleashed to share the Gospel on 10/10/2020 at Dare 2 Share Live. And, of course, Go2020, although not an event, is a Gospel advancing mobilization movement that is currently in 140 countries and rapidly gaining momentum! More than any other example we are witnessing the rapid expansion of the Gospel in places like Iran, China, Pakistan, Vietnam and other places, typically closed to the Gospel. Churches are being planted like never before. People are dying for their faith like never before. And the blood of the martyrs makes fertile ground for unprecedented Gospel expansion. The 3rd and final sign that a spiritual awakening has begun is that... 3. Unity is being maximized. What was the result of the early believers praying and proclaiming? The answer is in verses 32 and 33 of Acts 4. "No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And Gods grace was so powerfully at work in them all. Just like the early Christians shared their resources with each other, more and more churches, ministries and denominations are sharing ideas, strategies and resources with each other to get the job done. In a sense this is the answer to Christs high priestly prayer in John 17, that we may be one as he and the Father are one! This is the same Trinitarian brand of unity that, more and more, is binding the Church together, not in some gooey ecumenical way, but in a deeply missional and unwaveringly Biblical way. This doesn't mean that we all agree on the sub-points of every area of theology. But it does mean that we are all together on the main points of what I call 5 G Theology (God, God's Son, God's Spirit, God's Word and Gospel.) As it has been said, "In major things unity, in minor things diversity, in all things charity." This kind of Biblically based, Gospel Advancing unity is happening like never before in the United States. The National Network of Youth Ministries is helping to launch networks of youth leaders committed to advancing the Gospel in every community. There theme is "Better Together." And we are! City Gospel Movements is exponentially expanding to cities across the nation and around the world. This ministry is a platform to unite and ignite networks of churches and youth groups in every city to pray for their cities, care for their cities and share the Gospel of Jesus to everyone in their cities. Together 2020 is another exciting example of Biblical unity. On June 20th hundreds of thousands of young believers will unite in Washington DC together to worship Jesus, honor his Word and spread his Gospel to the ends of the earth. The countless examples of prayer, mobilization and unity are more impressive and encouraging than ever before! When I preached at Go2020 in Orlando I saw this level of unity happening right before my eyes, Leaders from various denominations united for Christ and his Cause. And then I preached these three points passionately. I made my case that the next spiritual movement of God had already begun. When I was finished with my sermon and was about to sit down, the President of Cru, Steve Douglass, came to the front of the room. I knew that this was unscripted. When he took the microphone from Dave Gibson while whispering something to him, I got a little nervous. I honestly thought that he may have had a problem with something I said and felt compelled to deal with it publicly. Instead, he addressed the audience by saying that he had a scripted message that he had prepared to share in closing, but he felt compelled by the Spirit not to share it. He was so overwhelmed by the day and the realization that a spiritual move of God may have already begun, he said that the only response was for us to get on our knees in prayer. That's exactly what this room full of national ministry leaders did. We got on our knees and prayed. And, just like in the book of Acts, the place where we were meeting was shaken in prayer. They were tear-filled prayers as we called out to God to enable us to steward this awakening well in our individual ministries. That day in that room we all realized that a great move of God had already begun and that we had the great privilege of playing a part in it. And so do you. I'm convinced that we are at the beginning of the next Great Awakening. Let's keep prioritizing prayer, mobilizing believers to share the good news of Jesus and centralizing unity with our brothers and sisters in Christ. As I shared with the leaders at Go2020 in closing, "A movement of God has begun. Let's not screw it up." And all God's children said... Originally posted at dare2share.org NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Through Cogent, Louis Bacon released the following statement regarding the February 22, 2020, New York Times story headlined, "How a Neighbors' Feud in Paradise Launched an International Rape Case," about Canadian clothing manufacturer Peter Nygard and his alleged mistreatment of young women. "I admire the brave women who had the courage to share their stories with The New York Times. I was not looking for this fight, but once I heard repeated, credible reports from disgusted whistleblowers that Mr. Nygard was abusing young, vulnerable women, I could not ignore this disturbing information. I sought to help and empower the alleged victims by connecting them with appropriate law enforcement authorities. That is where this matter belongs." SOURCE Cogent The new flights come against the backdrop of the Indian government's move to boost air connectivity with Central Asia and tap the interest of Russian investors in India. IMAGE: Goa, with its sun-kissed beaches, remains a chief lure for tourists from Russia. Goa's beaches and warm weather has lured Russian tourists for years. Each winter thousands of Russians come to Goa in chartered flights for sun and surf. However, regular air connectivity between two countries is limited to Aeroflot's double daily flight to Delhi. This will change this year as Indian and Russian carriers introduce new services from Mumbai and Delhi to Moscow. Indian and Russian carriers plan to introduce new flight services from Mumbai and Delhi to Moscow. Aeroflot and Ural Airlines plan to launch Moscow-Mumbai services in summer schedule. Kazakhstan's Air Astana will begin four weekly flights between Almaty and Mumbai increasing connectivity to Central Asia as well. Currently Uzbekistan Airlines has two flights weekly to Mumbai. By July, Mumbai airport will have 18 weekly flights to Russia and Central Asian countries. IndiGo and Vistara, too, are planning flights between Delhi and Moscow to tap growth in trade and tourism. "We do plan to start flights to Russia sometime during the course of this year. The exact timelines are yet to be finalised," IndiGo said in a statement. "We will be sharing details about our new international destinations at an appropriate time," a Vistara spokesperson said. The new flights come against the backdrop of the Indian government's move to boost air connectivity with Central Asia and tap the interest of Russian investors in India. Russian companies and government-backed funds have showed interest in the high speed rail projects in Gujarat and revival of Jet Airways. Around 450,000 people flew between India and Russia in 12 months ending December 2019, a growth of around 10 per cent over the previous year. Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan have seen 24 and 50 per cent year on year growth in passengers to/from India, respectively. Tajikistan's Somon Air which launched two weekly flights to Delhi last December sees a lot of tourist and student traffic from India. "Around 80 per cent of Russian tourists visit Goa and the rest visit Kerala, Delhi and Agra. The new flights will bring more tourists to Mumbai but will largely benefit outbound travel as Indians are now exploring new destinations," said H S Duggal, managing director of Minar Travels which specialises in inbound tourism. "Traveller interest to Russia and some of the CIS countries has been growing steadily. In fact Russia is among top 10 countries booked by travellers from India on Cleartrip. The Russian government has also made visiting some key destinations in the country easier for Indian citizens by extending the e-visa facility. Azerbaijan, Armenia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan are some of the other destinations in the region gaining popularity among tourists from India," said Balu Ramachandran, senior vice president, Cleartrip.com Around 450,000 people flew between India and Russia in 12 months ending December 2019 which is nearly half of all traffic between India-Russia and the CIS countries. The Nigerian Senate on Wednesday held a public hearing on a new bill to protect persons with mental health and substance abuse problems. For more than a decade, the lawmakers have tried but failed to put a mental health law in place. One in four Nigerians about 50 million people are suffering from mental illness, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). Yet, there is no mental health law in place in Nigeria other than the Regional Lunacy Law of 1958. The law in content and context violates the fundamental human rights of persons with mental health and psychosocial disabilities, Ibrahim Oloriegbe, a senator and sponsor of the new bill said. Medical experts have long described the old law enacted during the British colonial times as outdated and inconsistent with current realities, prompting an age-long movement for its repeal. They said the over half a century-old law looks at mental health challenges from a wrong perspective. The Lunacy law perceives all mental health issues as madness. There is no mention of prevention; promotion; and treatment, the President, Association of Psychiatrists in Nigeria (APN), Taiwo Sheikh, said. Long road to new bill The quest to repeal the lunacy law began in 2003 when a bill for the establishment of Mental Health Act was introduced by lawmakers Ibiabuye Martyns-Yellowe and Dalhatu Tafida. The bill was later withdrawn in April 2009. Four years later on March 20, 2013, the bill was re-introduced but was not passed. Last October, a new mental health bill was introduced. This time, it passed second reading a month later, after the lawmakers debated the provisions of the bill. Entitled, A Bill for an Act to provide for the establishment and regulation of mental health and substance abuse services, protect persons with mental health needs and establishment of National Commission for Mental and Substance Abuse Services, for the effective management of mental health in Nigeria and for other related matters, 2019, the bill was sponsored by Mr Oloriegbe (APC, Kwara Central). It seeks to provide direction for a coherent response to mental health and substance abuse victims. Public hearing The Senate Committee on Health on Wednesday began public hearing and presentation of memoranda on the new bill for effective passage and implementation. Hosted by Mr Oloriegbe, the committee chairman, the hearing saw the minister of state for health, Olorunnimbe Mamora, pitted against promoters of the bill. The minister had asked the panel to stand down the bill because it is a private member bill. He said the health ministry should be allowed to come up with a more comprehensive executive bill. Mr Oloriegbe, however, disagreed with his position. We understand your concern sir, but the issue of mental health has become an emergency and should be treated as such, the senator argued. If you check everybody here, you will see that most of us have an underlying mental health issue. The bill has passed second reading and is now in public hearing. To avoid delays, I would suggest that the ministry should bring their own inputs so it would be added to it. Mr Mamora would eventual yield after Mr Oloriegbes comment drew unanimous support from advocates of the bill. Why Mental Health Bill Should Be Passed Mental health has historically been neglected on Nigerias health and development policy agenda. Faced with many challenges, including intractable poverty, infectious diseases, maternal and child mortality, as well as insurgency, Nigerian leaders often overlook the importance of mental health. WHO estimates that fewer than 10 per cent of mentally ill Nigerians have access to the care they need. The absence of treatment is fueled by poor funding, stigma and poor knowledge of the disease. READ ALSO: After the hearing, a number of medical professionals spoke on the urgent need for the passage of the mental health bill. Owoyemi Emmanuel, the Chief Executive Officer, Mental Health Foundation, said the bill will provide a legal framework that will protect people who are mentally challenged at their workplaces. He said if the bill becomes law, it would make provision for adequate budgetary allocations for mental health facilities and service providers. The budgetary allocation for mental health, this year is just N30 million but with a new act and a mental health commission, the money will be adequately disbursed, he noted, urging the National Assembly to accentuate efforts for a quick passage and signing of the bill. Advertisements Ajeigbe Ayo, a clinical psychologist, wants the law to also tackle quackery in the psychiatric and psychology profession. On a recent episode of Man Up, Aymann Ismail grappled with a tradition in his faith: the segregation of men and women in Muslim prayer rooms and mosques. For years he and his wife, Mira, have entered these spaces through different entrancesand, as a result, had very different experiences. Ismail spoke to Khalid Latif, executive director and imam for the Islamic Center at New York University, about the origins of the practice. In Latifs prayer room, men and women sit side by side, not one in front of the other. This transcript of their conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity. Advertisement Khalid Latif: If you come to our Islamic Center in New York University, we definitely have space thats reflective of needs of both men and women in the community, and I think thats a product of a lot of different things, inclusive of the fact that we have women who are in very prominent leadership roles. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement My wife and I have gone to some spaces where the mens entrance to the mosque is very vibrant, decorated, illuminated, and when weve tried to find where the women go in from, its literally this back alleyway with no lighting, theres bags of garbage all around the door. Weve been to places, when she was pregnant with one of our kids, [where] the womens area is on a stairwell that goes up three flights, and shell come to me after and be like, Nobody ever thought a pregnant woman would be in this mosque, because shes got one of our kids in her hand, taking the child up and down the stairs to use the restroom, let alone as a very pregnant woman having to go to the restroom quite often. And so theres an absence of thoughtfulness thats there. And I dont go to those mosques anymore. Advertisement Advertisement Whereas you can go also all over the world and find spaces that are just remarkable in terms of how they connect at a very deep level. I just took a group of about 65 people to Jerusalem. So the Prophet Mohammed tells people to go to Mecca, to go to his mosque in Medina, but to also go to Masjid al-Aqsa in Jerusalem. And when you go to Masjid al-Aqsa, men and women are sitting next to each other in the main part of the prayer hall. After the prayer is done, women are going all the way to the front of the mosque where the imam leads from, and theyre taking photographs and pictures from the pulpit, and theres an interaction thats rooted in a sense of discourse, that isnt what you find in other places. And theyre doing it with, in my opinion, a real embrace of what Islam as a religion calls for. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Aymann Ismail: If I were to talk to my mom about thisand I haveshe justifies it in a way. Shes like, Well, you want to protect the women from the male gaze. She comes up with all of these different reasons as to why institutions exist in that way. And I wonder, because Ive prayed at the NYU space many times, and I think I went for one of those evening halaqas during Ramadan, and it was in one of those overflow spaces, and it was really beautiful, because this was the first time Ive ever prayed in a congregation where there was men on the right side and women on the left side, instead of in front of each other. I wonder what it takes to produce a space like this. Is it that women have to be in leadership roles, or at some point in your journey as a Muslim, did you learn and figure this out yourself? Advertisement Advertisement Latif: The challenge is not in adopting a mindset like that, but to be able to understand [that] we quite often take what we experience to then define what text says. Islam is a very inward-out religion that says you can, at the end of the day, pray the way someone prays or dress the way someone dresses, but you cant believe something just because somebody else believes it. That has to come from within you. I would say the challenge in saying that your mother has to be wrong for you to be right just adds continuity to that perspectivethat what Islam says is that she can be right and you can be right, without either one of you having to be wrong. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A lot of my journey with religion was about finding a sense of ownership to it. Khalid Latif, executive director of the Islamic Center at New York University Ismail: It sounds like within the framework of Islam there are absolute truths like Tawhid, the belief in the oneness of God, but there are a spectrum of ranges of belief within these practices that allow for two Muslims to disagree with each other, but also still be right. Advertisement Latif: The diversity is necessary because Islam is for people in all backgrounds, right. Ismail: So my crisis of faith came when I was about to be engaged and everything that Id heard about what a Muslim marriage constitutes up until that point was pretty negative, right? Theres supposed to be this strong, patriarchal figure whos overprotective, who is very careful about how his wife looks and behaves. So the first thing I did was I skipped ahead to Surat An-Nisa, which is like the chapter of women, that goes through all the legal matters of inheritance and a little bit of how men should behave around their wives and what their wives responsibilities are back to them. And for the most part, I was like, this is cool. This is fair. Theres a lot in there about respect and love and trust, and things to do if theres some kind of dispute, heres some options. Advertisement Advertisement But theres this one particular verse that tripped me up, and this is where the crisis of faith happened. It was, well, if you sense disobedience from your wife, the first thing you should do is you should try and correct it with your words, and then if that doesnt work, leave her alone. Abstain from sexual intimacy. And the third thing, and the word they use was daraba, which I guess usually is translated into hit, and then that tripped me up. I was like, I would never dream in a million years of ever being that man ever. Ive never seen my dad do it. Ive never seen any of the men in my community do it. It just doesnt make sense to me why this is in the voice of God. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And then I found that on the internet theres sheikhs from all over the world who are saying, Well, no. Daraba in this case means leave or leave entirely or divorce. And there are other parts of the Quran where daraba is translated as like a veil, like in Surat Qaf, the cavedaraba is used to describe a cloak that covered the cave. And a part of me felt guilty, like maybe I was changing the religion to accommodate my own personal beliefs. I wonder what you make of that. Is it OK for Muslims who want to be feminists to come in and say, Well, that verse doesnt mean that, it may actually means this? Advertisement Advertisement Latif: Theres a verse that says that all of the children of Adam are given dignity and theyre elevated. I was 18 the first time I met somebody who was a survivor of domestic violence. And to think out now what were saying, when we say that you believe in a God that would advocate and allow for something like thatto me, in my initial journey on trying to understand this, I said, Even if I dont know what this means, I know that theres no way that it means that thats something that can be allowed. Its just not possible. A lot of my journey with religion was about finding a sense of ownership to it. And it took me a long time to get to a place where I realized that so much of my appeal personally for religion was around identity, and not necessarily conviction and values. Advertisement But the challenge comes in highlighting the issue, but then not seeing also where you might be a part of the remedy, in ensuring that it doesnt take place anymore. So if some idiot, who has no idea what it means to be a man, thinks its OK for him to strike a woman, or a child, or anybody, that still doesnt give me a justification for not doing what I can do to build a shelter, to ensure that theres a fund set up to help women break out of these houses that are anything other than homes. And that deepening of understanding, of what religion really calls you to, becomes important. But I want to be able to see things and experience things with a sense of courage that says, I dont have to wait for somebody else. I can utilize my platforms, my skills, my credentials, talk to people who are like-minded, and go build out things that I have a certain passion for. And you see a lot more people doing that these days. To hear the entire episode, subscribe to Man Up on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Look for the episode Why Cant My Wife and I Pray Together? Woodland Mayor Will Finn announced Saturday he will run as a Republican against incumbent Cowlitz County District 1 Commissioner Arne Mortensen, campaigning against a perceived lack of collaboration from the current board. Finn was elected Woodland Mayor in 2015 and re-elected last year, running unopposed both times. He has sparred with county leadership over issues from the county lodging tax to Woodlands growing pains. He isnt shy about crusading on behalf of Woodland: I get emotional about it. But the commissioner position also represents Kelso, Kalama and most of the south county. Finn said hes spoken with officials in other cities who feel the county sometimes runs roughshod over city wishes. We have been struggling, challenged, by our relationship with Cowlitz County, Finn said. We know that what we do inside our city is going to impact other people. ... I think that at the county level, they dont see it that way. They see: You cant tell us what to do. Well do what we want, and we dont care about the impact it creates. Finn said hed already been thinking about entering the race for months before Mortensen announced hed seek a second four-year term earlier in February. In a 2015 interview, Finn said he wanted to crack down on unprofessional conduct from city employees and fix a disconnect between Woodland, its council and its citizens. From the outside looking in, theres a lot of similarities Im seeing at the county level that I saw going into the mayor position, Finn said Saturday. He said hes perceived a lack of professionalism and somewhat of a bully mentality from the current board. He didnt name names and said he wanted to avoid mudslinging: Without getting too personal, I would say we can do better. Finn, 42, said he would keep his job as public information officer at the Washington State Patrol if elected. He doesnt want to appear as if hes making a career out of politics. The goal is to get in, make a difference, leave it better than you found it, and then get out, Finn said. Finn and his wife have three children, ages 9, 16 and 16. Born and raised in Vancouver, hes lived in Woodland since 2005 and worked at the state patrol since 2007. Mortensen, also a Republican, has developed a reputation as a small government advocate loath to spend public money on non-essential functions. But Finn said hes not the guy thats going to come in and raise your taxes, absolutely not. He pointed to the four balanced budgets hes delivered as mayor, and said he plans to deliver a fifth. Woodland has made tremendous cuts across the board in that time, he said. Cowlitz County is top-heavy and its administration needs a financial evaluation, Finn said. And he said hed willingly take a pay cut upon assuming office. Finn on the issues The Headquarters landfill: I dont support selling that piece of property off to a private company. ... I think the ratepayers (would be) burdened. I also have a fear that outside product is going to be dumped there from outside the county. The proposed Kalama methanol plant: The project should be built. ... The process was put in place for a reason. (Northwest Innovation Works) followed it to the letter, and now theyre being told no. That, to me, is wrong. Our county leadership needs to be standing up against that. If they are being vocal, they arent being loud enough. Gun control Initiative 1639: I am not a fan, and I do not support any legislation that takes rights way from American citizens. Retail marijuana: I dont support retail marijuana sales. It is not a federally legal drug. ... Personally, I see on a daily basis the effects that not only marijuana, but alcohol and any other drugs ... has on a person behind the wheel of a vehicle (and their passengers, families and first responders). ... However, if it came to a vote of the people, and they said Hey, we want retail marijuana (in Woodland or Cowlitz County) ... of course I would support that. Its the will of the people. Funding for Lower Columbia CAPs Rural Senior Meals Program: Meals on Wheels is a valid, necessary program. ... These are the folks that are falling through the cracks, that honestly need help. These people built our country, our county... Theyve helped us to get to where we are, and now its time for us to help them where they are. The state hotel/motel lodging tourism tax: I am advocating to get those dollars back into the cities. ... The cities within Cowlitz County are being tremendously affected by these dollars being transferred to the county level. Love 13 Funny 4 Wow 3 Sad 1 Angry 3 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. People wear masks to prevent the novel coronavirus walks along the street in Seoul, South Korea, on Feb. 22, 2020. (Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images) South Korea Reports 4th Death, Sees Confirmed Cases Surpass 500 South Korea on Sunday morning reported 123 new cases of the novel coronavirus and one additional death. Four people have now died in the country as at least 556 cases have been confirmed. The latest fatality involves a 57-year-old patient at Daenam Hospital at Cheongdo, a county in North Gyeongsang Province, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). The countrys first two deaths were also reported from the same hospital, including a 63-year-old man who tested positive posthumously. On Friday, a 54-year-old woman died from COVID-19 at a hospital in the Korean port city of Busan after she was transferred from Daenam Hospital, according to KCDC. Also on Friday, the KCDC reported that a man in his 40s had died from the virus at his home in the coastal city of Gyeongju. Of the 123 new cases reported on Sunday, 75 are related to the super-spreader from Shincheonji Church in the Daeguthe fourth-largest city in South Korea with a population of 2.5 million. Over 300 cases have since been traced to the church after the 61-year-old female super-spreader who attended the church tested positive on Feb. 18. She was South Koreas 31st confirmed case. According to the KCDC, more than 9,000 church members are now under self-quarantine. On Friday, Daegu and Cheongdo were declared special management zones by South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun due to a large number of confirmed cases in the two locations. By late Saturday, Chung said in a nationally televised address that the virus outbreak had entered a more grave stage while reassuring South Koreans that the government was making all-out efforts to contain further spread of the disease. Chung added that any acts that hamper national quarantine efforts will be dealt with sternly. Sunday also marked the third consecutive day the South Korean government reported triple-digits in new cases. 100 new cases were reported on Friday and 229 on Saturday. On Saturday, U.S. Force Korea said that there remain zero confirmed cases of the virus among U.S. military personnel despite the rise in known cases in the country. Three South Korean soldiers are among those infected with the virus. Governments around the world have now taken preventive measures toward travelers from both South Korea and Japan. Japan has 135 known cases of coronavirus and three deaths. The U.S. CDC has raised the travel advisories for Japan and South Korea to Alert Level 2, calling for exercising increased caution as opposed to usual precautions when traveling to the two countries. The CDC states that the two countries are experiencing sustained community transmission of respiratory illness caused by COVID-19. Taiwan has also raised its travel advisories to level 2 alerts for both South Korea and Japan, telling travelers to take preventive action against infection when visiting the two neighboring countries, local newspaper Taiwan News reported on Saturday. The island has a three-level system: watch, alert, and warning. So far, Taiwan is aware of at least 26 known cases of the virus on the island. One local man in his 60s was the islands first death. On Saturday evening, Israeli authorities ordered a Korean flight landing at Tel Aviss Ben-Gurion Airport to return to South Korea with about 200 foreigners aboard, after allowing 12 Israel nationals to disembark, according to local newspaper The Jerusalem Post. The denial of entry came as Israels Health Ministry announced that nine South Korean, who had been in Israel as part of a 77-member travel group, had tested positive for the virus after returning home, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported. According to the ministrys published itinerary, the Korean travel group was in Israel from Feb. 8 to 15, visiting places such as West Bank and Masada National Park. All travelers returning to Israel from South Korea and Japan are now required to remain in isolation for two weeks after their arrival, according to the ministry. About 1,000 tourists from South Korea currently in Israel have been told to avoid public places, and to isolate themselves in their hotels, the Post reported. With reporting from The Associated Press. Two grants will fund interdisciplinary research at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, including a look at how neurons and muscle cells communicate with each other and also to develop a drug delivery system for treatment of Alzheimer's disease. The grant from the National Science Foundation will facilitate the study of how neurons and muscle cells communicate with each other. My group is interested in engineering functional muscle and using it to assemble autonomous bioactuator systems. The muscle engineered in vitro is not the same as the muscles in our body because the system does not have any innervating motor neurons. This project is to understand how we can facilitate the innervation of the neurons into the muscle." Hyunjoon Kong, a Robert W. Schafer professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering Kong's lab will collaborate with Gabriel Popescu, a professor of electrical and computer engineering, and Martha Gillette, a professor of cell and developmental biology. All are affiliated with the Beckman Institute. In addition to studying how the neurons and muscle cells communicate, the Kong group will also look at the interaction between neurons and glial cells, which influence neuronal activity. "Although glial cells are not well characterized, they are known to provide certain signals that make the neurons transmit their electrical signals," Kong said. "I will be working with Martha Gillette's group, who are experts in neurobiology and can guide us in what type of neural cells to look at," Kong said. "Popescu group members are experts at imaging intracellular events and we want to use their imaging techniques to demonstrate the interaction between the neurons and the muscle cells." Members of the Kong group hope that the study will enable them to understand how neurons can be reactivated in injured muscle, which can help improve the treatment of various neuromuscular disorders and acute muscle injuries. The second grant, from the Alzheimer's Foundation, will fund research by the Kong group in collaboration with Hee Jung Chung, an associate professor of molecular and integrative physiology and Beckman Institute faculty member. The grant will study how a drug that has the potential to treat Alzheimer's disease can be delivered into the body. The drug was developed to target tau proteins that, along with -amyloid proteins, cause the disease. "Historically, researchers have been focused on treatments that reduce the -amyloid proteins. However, a large group of patients do not respond to those treatments because the tau proteins are also responsible," Kong said. The Kong group hopes to join the research effort that is now focusing on synthesizing nano-sized drug carriers that can target the tau protein. "The drug that targets tau proteins cannot be currently used because it is hydrophobic and therefore cannot dissolve in water," Kong said. "As a result, you cannot deliver it orally or through injection." The group will try to solve the problem by encapsulating the drug in a nanoparticle system that can be used to target the diseased regions of the brain. Chip Somodevilla/Getty President Trumps national security adviser has expressed bewilderment at the idea of Russia wanting to boost Trump in the 2020 electionapparently forgetting entirely about the Kremlins effort to sway the vote in 2016 and the presidents penchant for echoing Russian propaganda. Instead, he dredged up a decades-old trip that Bernie Sanders took to Moscow. Well, there are these reports that they want Bernie Sanders to get elected president, Robert OBrien told ABC News This Week, according to a transcript. That's no surprise. He honeymooned in Moscow. I haven't seen any intelligence that Russia is doing anything to attempt to get President Trump reelected, OBrien told George Stephanopoulos in the interview set to air Sunday. He said reports of an intelligence briefing where officials were told the Kremlin is trying to give Trump a helping hand in 2020 were a non-story and that hed heard from the briefers that thats not what they intended the story to be. So, look, who knows what happened over at the House and the Intelligence Committee, but I haven't seen any evidence that Russia is doing anything to attempt to get President Trump reelected, he said. OBrien declined to respond directly when Stephanopoulos reminded him of recent reports that Russia tried to hack the Ukrainian gas company where Trump and his allies have claimed former vice president Joe Bidenthe presidents potential opponent in the 2020 raceabused his power to cover up corruption implicating his son. Well, look, I'm not going to get into specific intelligence issues, butwith respect to Ukraine, OBrien said, going on to note that the Russians and the Chinese and others like to sow disruption in American politics. As for Trump, OBrien said hed seen zero intelligence that Moscow has been trying to help him, insisting that it doesnt make any sense that they would. Why would Russia want the president who has rebuilt the American military, who has given the Ukrainians lethal arms, javelin missiles and has sanctioned the Russians far more than any president in recent history, why would they want him reelected? I mean, that just doesnt make common sense, he said. Story continues While distancing Trump from Russia, OBrien made no mention of the 2016 election, after which more than a dozen Russian nationals and companies were indicted for a social-media effort to sway the vote towards Trump. Trump himself has continued to defy the U.S. intelligence community and cast doubt on Russias involvement in 2016 election interference, choosing instead to chase Kremlin-peddled conspiracy theories that Ukraine was actually to blame for election meddling. OBriens remarks come after reports surfaced this week that officials had been briefed on Russia continuing to try and help Trump by interfering in the 2020 election. One day after reports on that briefing broke, The Washington Post reported that Sanders campaign had also been warned about Russia trying to aid his presidential campaign. Trump and lawmakers on Capitol Hill were also said to be notified of Russias efforts to help the Democratic frontrunner. The Sanders campaign has since tried to point the finger at the administration for the reports on the Russia briefing, specifically at Trumps new acting intelligence chief, Richard Grenell. Grenell, a Trump loyalist and the U.S. Ambassador to Germany, was tapped to take over the position after Trump reportedly blew up at then-Acting Director of Intelligence Joseph Maguire for allowing the briefing where an official said Russia was once again trying to help his campaign. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now! Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more. Education Corner: A less specialised curriculum can better equip students for the future Sunday 23 February 2020, 10:00AM BISP graduating class asks As counsellors, we always receive questions from students on how to prepare for university and a career. In spite of compelling pitches to be the explorer, students are choosing to narrow their focus and to place emphasis on a possible career. While accurate vocabulary for the next generation of jobs is always evolving, employers are precise: employees who are the most agile are also the most valuable. The global workforce values people who can write and solve problems, who are creative, flexible and critical thinkers, who are multicultural, adaptable, technologically able and ethical, all in one. Our observations, from many career fairs, is that success is rarely the result of a consistent trajectory or focus. Therefore, we suggest to study broadly, choose subjects that challenge and require different skills. Resist the temptation to skip the arts or the traditional humanities. Modern executives and engineers will approach problems by integrating domains and they will weather uncomfortable challenges to find new solutions. Creative innovators, able to draw from a wide array of knowledge and experience, will be the small and great leaders of our time. Its not just us! Recently, the McKinsey and Financial Times Book of the Year, Range by British author, David Epstein, argues persuasively for breadth, and cautions against early, single-minded specialisation. Specialisation, he argues, is useful in rigid situations where learners must master a narrow set of patterns, and feedback is quick and accurate. Generalists, research suggests, are better suited to work in more challenging environments where trends are more difficult to discern, and the feedback is unreliable or inaccurate. Many professionals credit a broad range of subjects in school and unusual life experiences for their ability to persist through challenges. How does a student prepare for a dynamic future that requires agility? Possibly, by not doing the obvious. Doubling-down on a single preparation at the expense of Arts and Humanities is a missed opportunity to create a treasure chest of knowledge. Students in Phuket are fortunate. The location offers impressive, unique life experiences. Society needs people who can combine expertise, doctors of the ocean or physicians for social-justice. Tourism, too, searches for new combinations. Soon, the carbon footprints of every traveller might be mapped and stored in databases. The conscientious vacationer might use a data engineer of geography to ask, Where shall I go next? The most respected schools in the world aggregate the disciplines, requiring students to study multiple disciplines; science, language, literature, technology, the arts, the humanities, and maths. School curriculums, like the IGCSE, and the IB, provide for students to take advantage of this philosophy. Our advice is to explore and dont leave anything out! Casey Nolen Jackson and Jacqui Brelsford are the two University Counsellors at British International School, Phuket - BISP. For more information, visit them at www.bisphuket.ac.th Aviation regulator DGCA has ordered screening of passengers from four more countries -- Nepal, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia, as part of efforts to prevent spreading of coronavirus. Now, fliers from as many as 10 countries would be screened at Indian airports. Already, passengers travelling in flights from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Singapore are being screened at Indian airports in the wake of the Novel Coronavirus 2019 (CONVID 19). Cases of the virus infection have been reported in many countries, including India. In a communication issued on Sunday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said it has been decided to expand universal screening of all passengers arriving in flights from Nepal, Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia. The screening must be ensured immediately "once they step out of the specific locations at all the airports and getting the self-declaration form filled by the passengers as per the instructions of the health and family welfare ministry, it said. In this regard, the watchdog said all airlines should make in-flight announcement in flights coming from these countries. Meanwhile, the Mumbai airport on Saturday said it has started screening passengers arriving from Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Nepal for coronavirus in compliance with the central government's directives. The Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL), which is the joint venture company managing and operating the city airport, said it is already screening passengers from China, Honk Kong, Singapore, Thailand and South Korea. The death toll due to the epidemic climbed to 2,345 with 109 more fatalities reported, while the confirmed cases of infection rose to 76,288, according to Chinese health officials. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A medical worker sanitizes an ambulance in a drill on quarantining suspected Covid-19 patients in north-central Quang Tri Province, February 6, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Hoang Tao. Thanh Hoa Province, one of three Vietnamese provinces officially identified as carrying the novel coronavirus epidemic, is considering an application to the Health Ministry for ending its epidemic status. The Thanh Hoa People's Committee has received a proposal to this effect from the provincial health department and is "rechecking current regulations and considering the current situation" to decide on it next week, Deputy Chairman Pham Dang Quyen said Saturday. Thanh Hoa, in north-central Vietnam, is one of three provinces officially labeled as carrying the Covid-19 epidemic on February 1. The other two are the northern province of Vinh Phuc and the south-central province of Khanh Hoa. Khanh Hoa, home to beach tourism hotspot Nha Trang, could be declared free of Covid-19 after recording no new patient for 30 days, the health ministry said Monday. The province recorded only one patient, a 25-year-old hotel receptionist in Nha Trang whod interacted with two infected Chinese persons, on January 17. She was discharged from the local hospital on February 4. Thanh Hoa has also recorded only one patient, another 25-year-old woman who was one of eight employees of Japanese-invested Nihon Plast Company Limited returning from China's Wuhan City, ground zero of the epidemic, on January 17. She was discharged from the local hospital on February 3. As of Sunday, Thanh Hoa had gone 29 days without recording a new Covid-19 patient. The health ministry can declare a locality free of the novel coronavirus epidemic if there are no new cases for 28 days and preventative measures against the spread of the virus have been properly deployed. In Vinh Phuc Province, where most of the nations 16 infections to date have been recorded, announced its last infection on February 13, the 50-year-old father of one of the eight returnees from Wuhan. The employees mother, sister, cousin and neighbor had earlier been infected, quarantined and treated. The father is Vietnam's last patient still being treated for Covid-19. Vietnam officially declared the coronavirus outbreak an epidemic on February 1. Of the 16 infections recorded so far, 15 have recovered and been discharged. The global death toll of the Covid-19 outbreak has reached more than 2,400 and infections topped over 78,000, mainly in China. Judge rules in favor of Wheaton College students barred from evangelizing at park Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A federal judge ruled Thursday that Wheaton College students who were barred from evangelizing in a downtown Chicago park must be allowed to exercise their First Amendment rights until the legal dispute is resolved. Judge John Robert Blakey, an Obama appointee, ruled in favor of four students who attend the evangelical higher education institution. Blakey granted a preliminary injunction against a set of rules that govern the citys 24-acre Millenium Park. The student plaintiffs are part of the Chicago Evangelism Team sponsored by the Wheaton College Office of Christian Outreach with the mission of proclaiming the Gospel in the city of Chicago to whomever we find there. The group often meets on Friday nights to travel downtown to share the Gospel. In September, the students filed a lawsuit, stating that they were barred by security from evangelizing at Millennium Park, which hosts a range of activities from concerts, dance performances, theater and other shows throughout the year. The students sought an injunction against the parks stated rules. Among other things, the park bans disruptive conduct and passing out of written communications. In his order, Blakey argued that the city prohibits reasonable forms of expression in large areas of the park and that the citys defense of the park policy rests upon its misapplication of the government speech doctrine. The City contends that, by curating art and programming, it exercises permissible government speech making its restrictions immune to First Amendment attack because the rules further such government speech, the judge wrote. This Court rejects the Citys flawed reading of this important doctrine. According to the judge, the government speech doctrine recognizes that the government may also engage in speech and that the First Amendment does not regulate government speech as it does private speech. Blakey explained that courts apply the government speech doctrine in two limited contexts. One context, the judge wrote, is when the government itself speaks. The second, he added, is when the government appropriates public funds to transmit a message through private speakers. Neither of those situations are present here, the judge noted in the order. This case does not involve the appropriation of public funds to transmit a message through private speakers. Nor do movants challenge the governments own speech. The plaintiffs argued that the governments ban limits their ability to engage in protected activity. The government speech doctrine is inapplicable where, as here, the relevant question concerns whether the Citys rules unconstitutionally restrict private speech on public property, Blakey wrote. He set a status hearing for March 4. Plaintiff Gabriel Emerson said the Wheaton student group is thankful to have their speech protected at Millennium Park. [We] look forward to preaching the Gospel there in the days to come, Emerson stated. John Mauck, an attorney representing the students, said in a statement that the ruling benefits anyone who wishes to exercise their First Amendment rights in a traditional public forum, regardless of the political, religious, or ideological content of their message. We are thankful to God for this legal protection and our request to Mayor [Lori] Lightfoot is to desist the Citys misguided efforts to prevent people from freely expressing and exchanging ideas in Millennium Park, Mauck said. Maucks firm, Mauck & Baker, LLC, defends churches, religious institutions, businesses and individuals. A hearing for the case was held on Nov. 8 in which the executive director of the organization that runs Millennium Park agreed that behaviors such as taking a selfie, wearing a funny hat and even talking too loud might be considered violations of the parks disruptive conduct rule. The parks executive director stated in court that even handing a book to a friend could be a violation of the parks rules barring the passing out of written communications, according to Mauck & Baker. While the lawsuit was originally filed on behalf of the four students Matt Swart, Jeremy Chong, Caeden Hood and Emerson former Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, a Democrat, intervened in the lawsuit on behalf of clients prevented from circulating referendum petitions to park visitors. After Quinn intervened, the American Civil Liberties Union sent a cease and desist letter to the citys Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events Commissioner Mark Kelly after anti-Trump activists were barred from protesting in the park. A spokesperson for the citys Law Department declined to comment on Blakeys ruling when contacted by the Chicago Sun-Times. Final results from the Nevada Democratic caucuses are still coming in, but one thing is clear: Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont had a big win. These charts and maps show how he pulled it off. Mr. Sanderss victory was built on support from a broad array of groups. Entrance polls of Nevada caucusgoers show that he won among both white and Latino voters ... Sanders Buttigieg Warren Klobuchar Biden Others and all voters under age 65 ... Sanders Buttigieg Warren Klobuchar Biden Others and did well among both liberals and moderates ... Sanders Buttigieg Warren Klobuchar Biden Others as well as voters whose most important issues were health care, climate change and income inequality. Sanders Buttigieg Warren Klobuchar Biden Others Source: The poll was conducted by Edison Research for the National Election Pool. Mr. Sanders won at least 10 of Nevadas 16 counties, including the most populous ones. Based on results reported so far, he carried Clark and Washoe counties home to more than 85 percent of the states residents. Former Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., won five counties and is currently tied with Mr. Sanders in one. Note: Nevada data is based on 60 percent of precincts reporting. | Sources: Election results and race calls from The Associated Press. Partial precinct-level data shows how Mr. Sanders performed well in predominantly Hispanic neighborhoods in the eastern part of the Las Vegas area. Mr. Sanders was voters first choice in each of the first three states and solidified his front-runner status in the Democratic primary race. Dehra Dun, Feb 23 : Three American tourists, who were lost in the forests of the Rajaji National Park near here after an impulsive decision to see it, were rescued by the police on Sunday after an over seven-hour-long search operation, police said. According to police, the three were on their way on Saturday from Mussoorie, where they were staying in a guest house with their families, to Rishikesh when they passed by the park and suddenly decided to go into it. However, they lost their way in the forest as it was getting dark. When villagers and forest officials saw their empty car standing there on the Doiwala-Dudhli road, the local police were informed on Sunday morning. Clement Town SHO Narottam Bisht said that senior officers were alerted and directed that a search be immediately launched. A police team successfully found the trio, who were in the jungle overnight, and brought them out. Timely intervention by the Kolkata Police and a friend saved the life of a city man who went live on Facebook to give updates of his suicide attempt early on Sunday. Sources in the Kolkata Police said the 30-year-old man, a resident of Garfa area, had announced his decision to commit suicide around 1.30 am. One of his friends alerted the police, following which a team of officers rushed to his residence within 30 minutes. A police officer said the team was constantly monitoring the youth's activity with help from his mutual friends, while on the way to his residence. The officers, on reaching his house, woke up his mother who then persuaded him to come out of his room which has been bolted from inside, he said. Counsellors in the presence of policemen talked to the man and others to know the reason behind his decision, the officer added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A priest told me recently that he believes the Catholic church has lost the telling of its own narrative. Its now abusive priests, scheming bishops and billions of dollars of settlements and court awards. So, how does the church retrieve it? Who will shape the next narrative? Young priests. There are fewer priests being ordained, but they are accepting the call to serve and they do so with joy. Their ministering in hard times may help people see the value of priestly ministry and focus on the good the church does every day. I try to live my vocation with generosity in my desire to serve the people of God, the Rev. Philip Micele Jr., my parochial vicar in Hoboken who was ordained in 2017, said. Growing up in Westfield, the Jersey City native whose dad came from Bayonne never thought of becoming a priest. He went to CCD and Mass regularly, but not much beyond that. I was never super involved, he recalled. It wasnt until he met some Jesuit priests when he attended Boston College that the desire to enter the seminary was sparked. They gave me a glimpse of priestly life that was not lonely or depressing, he said. Well, its good that they did not snag him for the Society of Jesus. Micele, 30, is very bright. In fact, a seminary professor for decades boasted that he was the brightest student he ever taught. And he taught the most obtuse courses. Micele taught himself to write, read and speak Spanish fluently. The two Hoboken Spanish communities at Our Lady of Grace and St. Joseph love him. He can also speak Italian. He is a minority as a Caucasian priest among those ordained in the last two decades in the Archdiocese of Newark where most of the younger priests were either born elsewhere or are from minority families. Like the Rev. Juan Rojas, 29, who was ordained last year and serves as parochial vicar at St. Stephens, Kearny. Rojas grew up in Our Lady of Mercy, Yarumal, Antioquia, Colombia, where he was fully engaged in the life of my home parish, he said. He started as an altar server, then became a lector at Mass and was an active member of the youth group. He entered the Minor Seminary in Colombia back in 2009. Growing up, he said, he was blessed to have great role models of faith. His uncle, Jose, is a priest back in Colombia. His brother Luis Mario, a priest of the Archdiocese of Newark, is Vice Rector of the Minor Seminary, St. Andrews, at Seton Hall. His older sister, Liliana, is a missionary nun in Colombia. Rojas loves parish work. St. Stephens is a large urban parish with 80 funerals annually and about 30 weddings. He appreciates the support of his pastor, the Rev. Joseph Mancini. He is always willingly to be there if I have any questions, which I think is key for a newly ordained priest,'' he said. The Rev. Eugenio de la Rama, 38, may have the toughest job in the Archdiocese of Newark: vocation director. He meets with young men and looks to inspire them to consider becoming priests. It is a deeply personal invitation from Christ to give their lives away to espouse His Church, said the Queens native, a Filipino-American who moved to St. Paul the Apostle Church in Jersey Citys Greenville section. His family then moved below the Boulevard and he said his first Mass at Our Lady of Mercy in 2014. After college, de la Rama spent five years doing mission work in Central and South America and met several heroic priests. Through these encounters, he said, he discerned his priestly vocation. Now, he uses that experience to walk alongside (men) as they learn how to train their hearts to hear Gods voice, he said. De la Rama spent two years as a parochial vicar in Ridgewood and has been in vocation work for two years. He resides at Seton Hall University; his office is at the seminary on campus. He believes that every generation of the church had challenges. Faced with dark times today, his advice: If ours is to renew the priesthood, then it will only come by way of men choosing sacrifice and sanctity. The Rev. Alexander Santora is the pastor of Our Lady of Grace and St. Joseph, 400 Willow Ave., Hoboken, NJ 07030. Email: padrealex@yahoo.com; Twitter: @padrehoboken. Within days of his arrest on federal corruption charges, former San Francisco Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru began a series of interviews with investigators from the city attorneys office. He spent two days telling all, said one source familiar with the investigation. Nurus interviews, combined with information the investigators had already dug up, led to 10 subpoenas being issued a few days later. Subpoenas were served on companies and nonprofits that City Attorney Dennis Herrera believes were involved in funneling donations through charities to help fund city programs and events, such as the Department of Public Works Christmas party and Public Works Week, a celebration of the department. Those subpoenaed include Pacific Gas and Electric Co., builders Webcor, Pankow and Clark Construction; waste hauler Recology; and three nonprofits: Lefty ODouls Foundation for Kids, the San Francisco Parks Alliance and the San Francisco Clean City Coalition. Were following the facts, and were following the money. We are going to follow the evidence wherever it leads, Herrera said in a statement after the first batch of subpoenas was issued Feb. 12. In addition to identifying city employees or officials involved in potential violations of local law, Herrera said the investigation will also look into contracts, grants and other government decisions possibly tainted by conflicts of interest. We will get to the bottom of this. San Franciscans deserve no less, Herrera said in the statement. Gaining Nurus cooperation was a key reason city officials resisted calls for his immediate firing after federal prosecutors announced his arrest on charges of corruption and fraud. The charges involve an alleged scheme by Nuru and a friend, restaurateur Nick Bovis, to bribe an airport commissioner with $5,000 cash to help Bovis and two other men, who turned out to be FBI undercover informants, to win a restaurant lease at San Francisco International Airport. They never actually offered the bribe, but the FBI sources caught the conversations on tape. Other schemes alleged by the feds but not charged included Nuru supplying Bovis inside information on a city contract for portable toilets and Nuru accepting improper travel and lodging gifts from a Chinese developer who was seeking help resolving a problem he had at the Department of Building Inspection. Nuru also allegedly had city contractors do work on his vacation home in Colusa County. The feds also alleged that Nuru used city money to reimburse Bovis for free meals at Bovis Fishermans Wharf restaurant for Public Works employees assigned to work holidays. When confronted with the allegations and evidence, Nuru agreed to cooperate with the FBI as part of its investigation into corruption at City Hall. Within days, however, he violated the agreement to keep mum about his cooperation and called his boss, City Administrator Naomi Kelly, telling her the FBI was looking at Public Works. After informing Mayor London Breed and Herrera, Kelly contacted federal officials. As a result, Nuru was rearrested for breaking his cooperation agreement and now faces up to 20 years in federal prison for bribery, conspiracy and breaking the agreement to stay mum about the investigation. Shortly after Nurus arrest, the city attorney called him for questioning. Those interviews were conducted while Nuru was still on the payroll. As long as Mohammed was working for the city, he was compelled to come in and answer questions, the source said. He has to answer them all. He cant take the Fifth. At the same time, whatever Nuru told city investigators went under seal and cannot be used against him in a criminal prosecution. Coming clean and showing a willingness to cooperate with the local investigation may also help Nuru with the judge when it comes to sentencing on the federal charges if he is convicted. He was told to be at the city attorneys office at 10 in the morning, and he was there at 9:45 with his lawyer and ready to go, one source said. He was in for two and possibly three separate interviews. Herreras office is mum on what transpired. This investigation is ongoing, and were not going to comment beyond our earlier public statements, city attorney spokesman John Cote said. Where the investigation goes from here remains to be seen, but sources say some people at the Department of Building Inspection should be nervous as well and may be asked to sit down with city investigators in the coming weeks. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Its all about pulling the string and seeing what unfolds, the source said. Gift fallout: Mayor London Breeds admission that she accepted $5,600 in assistance from then-Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru was a major lapse in judgment and probably a violation of city rules barring the acceptance of gifts from subordinates as well. But it wont result in her being removed from office. There is an ethical violation, and I think the Ethics Commission could move on that, but I dont see any kind of criminal violation, former Ethics Commission President Peter Keane said. Breed is in hot water for having Nuru whom she once dated take care of repairing her car last year and providing her with a rental car while the work was being done. In most cases, a fine issued by the city Ethics Commission or the state Fair Political Practices Commission for such a violation is three times the amount in question. So Breeds decision to let Nuru put up the $5,600 would cost her about $16,800. But given the local commissions track record, it will also take months or even years before a final determination is made. Although with something this high profile, I would think there would be pressure to move faster, Keane said. Whatever the two commissions might decide, it wont lead to Breeds removal from office. I dont think it rises to that level, Keane said. Besides, under the City Charter, the only person who can remove or suspend a local official from office is the mayor. And chances are Breed isnt going to remove herself. The only way to remove a mayor is by voter recall. San Francisco Chronicle columnist Phil Matier appears Sundays and Wednesdays. Matier can be seen on the KGO-TV morning and evening news and can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call 415-777-8815, or email pmatier@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @philmatier After a West Oakland high school was closed because of a cancer-causing chemical found in groundwater, early testing Saturday showed no indication of the chemical in the air. Preliminary results of about 50 air tests at McClymonds High School found no presence of the carcinogen trichloroethylene, also known as TCE. There is no indication of TCE in any of the areas we have tested so far, Cheryl Prowell of the California Department of Toxic Substances Control said in a statement. Based on the groundwater results, high concentrations in indoor air would be unlikely but we wanted to use caution and check. The tests spanned every classroom in the school and the boiler room, which was closest to the groundwater where the chemical was found, 10 to 15 feet below ground. The chemical was not found in drinking water. The school district made a very conservative choice to shut down the school, until they knew there was no risk. That was an abundance of caution, and I really appreciate the school districts proactivity, Prowell said. The chemical was previously found at nearby industrial businesses, including two metal plating shops. 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. More air and soil testing will occur over the next week, and the school will remain closed Monday. Classes could be held Tuesday or Wednesday at an undetermined location. TCE can irritate the respiratory system and skin and lead to lightheadedness, drowsiness and headaches, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Prolonged exposure can damage the liver, kidneys, immune system and central nervous system. Roland Li is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: roland.li@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rolandlisf A 26-year-old Orangeburg woman wont serve any jail time for assaulting an officer. Kayla Shakira Glover of 1190 Fairfield Street pleaded guilty last month to assault/beat/wound a police officer serving process or while resisting arrest. Circuit Judge Diane Goodstein sentenced her to five years in prison, suspended to 18 months of probation. Goodstein ordered her to successfully complete anger management and stipulated that her probation term may end early when Glover finishes the program. She also ordered Glover to receive a drug assessment and undergo treatment, if necessary. As part of her plea agreement, prosecutors dismissed the charge of public disorderly conduct. In other pleas: George Gregory Oneal Seabrooks, 39, of 1912 Atlas Road, Columbia, pleaded guilty to first-offense possession of 15 dosage units of ecstasy and possession of a stolen pistol. Goodstein sentenced him to time served of two days at the Orangeburg County Detention Center. At Seabrooks preliminary hearing on Dec. 20, 2019, Orangeburg County Magistrate Rob Clariday dismissed the charge of first-offense possession with intent to distribute a scheduled drug. Kaile Laubua Stevens, 37, no address provided, pleaded guilty to use of vehicle without permission. Goodstein sentenced her to time served of 57 days in jail. A grand jury indicted Stevens on the original charge of breach of trust with fraudulent intent valued more than $2,000 but less than $10,000. Albert Loller Jr., 58, 147 Big Oaks Drive, Holly Hill, pleaded guilty to first-offense failure to stop for a blue light. Goodstein sentenced him to 90 days in jail and gave him credit for having already served two days there. Shes allowing Loller to serve his jail time on weekends. A grand jury indicted him on the original charge of second or subsequent offense failure to stop for a blue light. As part of his plea agreement, prosecutors dismissed the charges of third or subsequent driving under suspension and resisting arrest. Tyrone Davis, 43, of 1120 Wolfe Trail Apt. 291, Orangeburg, pleaded guilty to second-degree domestic violence. Goodstein sentenced him to three years in prison, suspended to five years of probation. Hes not allowed to have any direct or indirect contact with the victim. She also ordered him to stay in mental health treatment, take medications as prescribed and follow all recommendations. Davis is not allowed to possess any firearm or ammunition for the next three years. Gregory Thomas Jr., 35, of 725 Blewer Street, Cordova, pleaded guilty to first-offense possession with intent to distribute eutylone, which is also known as bath salts. Goodstein sentenced him to 18 months in prison and gave him credit for having already served 223 days in jail. Christopher Jamar Simmons, 25, of 775 Manning Street, Orangeburg, pleaded guilty to shoplifting valued at $2,000 or less. Circuit Judge Ed Dickson sentenced him to 30 days in jail and gave him credit for having already served 84 days there. A grand jury indicted him on a charge of enhanced shoplifting third or subsequent offense valued at $2,000 or less. Contact the writer: mbrown@timesanddemocrat.com or 803-533-5545. Follow on Twitter: @MRBrownTandD Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. PRAYAGRAJ: This year, over 5.6 million (56,07,118) students have registered for UP Boards high school and intermediate examinations, which is more than the population of around 117 countries of the world, individually, including New Zealand, Kuwait, Norway, Finland and Ireland (each having a population of below 56 lakh). The Board, which was set up in 1921 at Allahabad by an act of United Provinces Legislative Council, conducted its first examination in 1923. In 97 years, the examinee strength in its high school and intermediate exams has increased 976 times. As per records, 5,744 students appeared in the first Board examinations held at 179 centres in 1923 (5,655 in high school and 89 in Intermediate). In a span of 97 years, the count of examinees swelled from 5,744 in 1923 to 56,07,118 in 2020 (including 25,14,827 in high School and 25,84,511 in Intermediate). Records of the Board revealed, in 1947, the year India achieved independence the examinee count swelled to 48,519 for which 224 examination centres were made. Similarly, the count further increased to 1,72,246 in 1952. To ensure proper management, the UP Board gradually opened its five regional offices in Meerut (1973), Varanasi (1978), Bareilly (1981), Prayagraj (1987) and Gorakhpur (2017), which are under the control of regional secretaries appointed by the Board. According to UP Board secretary Nina Srivastava, the regular rise in number of examinees in high school and intermediate examinations had increased work load of the Board. The Board has also gradually adopted ways to ensure smooth routine functioning by way of creation of five regional offices over the years besides adopting various anti-copying measures for holding fair examinations, she said. CAPTION : UP Board headquarter in Prayagraj. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Violent clashes erupted between police and anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protesters in Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh on Sunday following incidents of arson and stone-pelting. Sources said that police fired tear gas shells and resorted to lathicharge to disperse the protesters. According to police, the protesters vandalised public properties and pelted stones at cops in upper Kot area of the Kotwali police station. The incidences of stone-pelting were also reported from a spot where some women protestors were holding a sit-in against the CAA since Saturday (February 22) on the Mohamed Ali Road leading to the Kotwali police station. Live TV It is learnt that the violence erupted after a march led by supporters of Bhim Army and anti-CAA protesters heading to the district collectorate was stopped by security personnel. The protesters, however, started marching towards the Eidgah area in the city where hundreds of anti-CAA protestors, mostly women, had been holding a round-the-clock protest for the past three weeks. Talking to media, Aligarh SSP Rajmuni said that an FIR has been registered against three persons at the Delhi Gate police station for trying to violate prohibitory orders. The SSP added that the police is on high alert to prevent any untoward incident. "Our channels of communications with protesters are going to remain open but it does not mean we will allow anybody disturb the city's law and orders," remarked SSP Rajmuni. Talking to ANI, Aligarh District Magistrate Chandrabhushan Singh said that some women students from Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) were involved in instigating the women protesters and the police was trying to identify them. CLEVELAND, Ohio Franmil Reyes flexed his muscle and James Karinchak impressed with his curveball as the Cleveland Indians earned a 9-5 victory against Kansas City in their 2020 spring training opener Sunday in Surprise, Ariz. Reyes, who spent the offseason getting leaner and stronger at the Tribes development complex in the Dominican Republic, blasted a solo home run in the sixth inning off Royals righty Jesse Hahn to give Cleveland a 4-1 lead. Karinchak (W, 1-0), who struck out 74 batters in 30 1/3 minor-league innings last year, featured a sharp curveball in striking out 2019 American League home run champ Jorge Soler during his spotless appearance in the fourth. Cleveland Indians pitcher James Karinchak throws during the fourth inning of a spring training baseball game against the Kansas City Royals Sunday, Feb. 23.AP Indians right-hander Jefry Rodriguez started and worked two strong innings, walking one and striking out a pair while allowing a solo home run to KCs Bubba Starling on 19 pitches. Tribe catcher Kungkuan Giljegiljaw tied things at 1-1 with an RBI double in the third for Clevelands first run in the Cactus League play. The Indians added three runs in the seventh on a solo home run by Gavin Collins, an RBI single by Wilson Garcia and a Kansas City error. Relievers Adam Cimber, Phil Maton and Kyle Dowdy worked scoreless innings for the Tribe, while Dominic Leon allowed a pair of runs on a Kelvin Gutierrez single in the sixth. Cleveland shortstop Yu Chang collected a pair of hits and scored twice, while second baseman Mike Freeman added a two-run single in the fifth. Outfielder Kaai Toms two-run base hit in the eighth gave the Indians a six-run advantage. Cleveland Indians' Yu Chang runs home to score on a double by Kungkuan Giljegijaw during the third inning of a spring training baseball against the Kansas City Royals game Sunday, Feb. 23.AP Kansas City added two more runs on a sacrifice fly by MJ Melendez and a throwing error by Cleveland third baseman Andruw Monasterio. Next: Cactus League play continues for the Indians on Monday when the Indians travel to Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in Scottsdale, Ariz., to face the Colorado Rockies. Zach Plesac is scheduled to start for Cleveland. First pitch is slated for 3:05 p.m. Get Tribe Insider texts in your phone from Paul Hoynes: Cut through the clutter of social media and communicate directly with the award-winning Indians reporter, just like you would with your friends. Its just $3.99 a month, which works out to about 13 cents a day. Sign up below. Opening Day breakfast discounted tickets: Join cleveland.com beat writers Paul Hoynes and Joe Noga, columnist Doug Lesmerises, Plain Dealer columnist Terry Pluto and moderator Mike McIntyre for the 2020 Opening Day breakfast Thursday, March 26 at 7:30 a.m. before the home opener. This year's event, including parking, a hot buffet, raffles and a Q and A, will be held at the Music Box Supper Club, 1148 Main Ave. in the Flats. Use the code EARLYBIRD for a $5 discount on each $39.95 ticket. Sign up here. Buy Indians gear: Fanatics, Nike, Amazon, Lids Buy Indians tickets: StubHub, SeatGeek, Ticketmaster MORE TRIBE COVERAGE Editors note: The Journal-Courier has been working with a group of business and community leaders to shine a light on the importance of the sometimes behind-the-scenes work taking place to improve the present and build for the future of our hometown. I had the honor and pleasure Wednesday of welcoming Illinois Lt. Gov. Julianna Stratton to Woodlawn Farm. Stratton was seeking Underground Railroad landmarks to visit and came to see Woodlawn Farm in observation of Black History Month. Stratton is the first African-American female lieutenant governor to serve Illinois in more than 200 years of statehood. She also was welcomed to Woodlawn Farm by Jacksonville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau Executive Director Brittany Henry, the bureaus board of directors, the Woodlawn Farm committee, and students from Eisenhower Elementary School, Lincoln Elementary School, Our Saviour School, Washington Elementary School, South Elementary School and Murrayville Elementary School. Before discussing our afternoon at Woodlawn Farm, Id like to talk about the history of Woodlawn Farm. I was shocked to hear how many people in the Jacksonville area have never toured Woodlawn Farm. Woodlawn Farm is east of Jacksonville on Gierke Road and can be seen from Interstate 72. The farm was settled in 1824 by Michael Huffaker and his wife, both from Kentucky. Mr. Huffaker employed four free African-American families for whom he provided cabins. In 1840 he built the home that today is known as Woodlawn Farm. People were used to seeing black workers on the farm and did not suspect that this was a safe house for freedom seekers. People who came to Woodlawn Farm wanted a better life. Stratton toured Woodlawn Farm with the 11 students. She was very keen for them to know how important it is to know history, especially places like Woodlawn Farm. At the end of the tour, Stratton read to the students the book Henrys Freedom Box, which tells the true story of a slave who mailed himself to freedom. At Woodlawn Farm, there is a replica of the box in which Henry mailed himself. Stratton and the students each had a chance to sit in the box and, while some students fit perfectly, others could not imagine sitting in a box for days. Woodlawn Farm was not the only stop in Jacksonville for Stratton. She also toured Illinois Colleges Beecher Hall, which was built in 1829-1830. Illinois College was founded by a group of Yale theology graduates, and all of these young men were opposed to slavery. The Rev. Edward Beecher, brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe, was named the first president of Illinois College. He was a good friend of the Rev. Elijah Lovejoy and together they founded the first Illinois Antislavery Society in Alton. We enjoyed our visit with Stratton and hope she returns to visit Jacksonville in the future. I cannot stress how vital history is to our community. I echo Strattons words to the students that history doesnt just need to be in the past. People always think history is just in the books, she said. Its more. Were still making history. Please dont forget to buy your tickets for the Underground Railroad Spring Bus Tour on April 26. The tour begins at 1 p.m. with a walk to Beecher Hall, where you will hear a brief lecture on the Underground Railroad and Illinois College. At 1:15 p.m., you will board buses to the other eight sites. The bus will return to Illinois College at 5 p.m. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for children 10 and under. Call the Convention and Visitors Bureau at 217-243-5678 and tell them the mayor sent you. . Andy Ezard is mayor of Jacksonville. Kate Middleton recently opened up about giving birth to her first-born son, Prince George. The Duchess of Cambridge described what it was like watching Prince William express pure joy when he found out that his first child was a boy. The interview was a part of Kates new initiative, 5 Big Questions on the Under Fives, which promotes early childhood development. Kate Middleton, with Prince William and Prince George | Oli Scarff/Getty Images Kate Middleton shares her thoughts on being a parent Middleton has been very busy with her new child development program, which asks parents in the UK about the values they are passing on to their kids. The goal of the initiative is to start a conversation and ultimately change the way people understand their roles as parents. As part of the program, Middleton took part in a very personal interview on Giovanna Fletchers podcast, called Happy Mum, Happy Baby. During their chat, she discussed a variety of topics, including how she felt about becoming a mother for the first time. Kate Middleton revealed that she had a lot of questions throughout her first pregnancy, and, like most people, was unsure if she was rightly equipped to raise a child. Kate also talked about the moment she held Prince George for the first time and admitted that she was in awe about the miracle of childbirth. It is extraordinaryhow can the human body do that? Kate shared. It is utterly extraordinary, actually. [George] was very sweet, and [I was] sort of relieved that he was a happy, healthy boy. How did Prince William react to becoming a father? Middleton wasnt the only one who was overwhelmed with emotion during Georges birth. According to Town and Country, the Duchess of Cambridge revealed that William was practically glowing when he learned that George was a boy. It was a surprise. But also seeing you know, your husband, William seeing the pure joy of his face, it was really special, she stated. Kate Middleton went on to talk about what it was like holding George outside of the hospitals Lindo Wing shortly after the birth. Although she looked very composed at the time of the photo, she admitted that the entire experience was terrifying. This is probably why Meghan Markle decided against taking a photo after she welcomed her first child, Archie Harrison, last spring. As royal watchers will recall, Meghan opted for a private birth and later shared photos of her newborn on social media. Although Middleton wasnt too thrilled about the photo opportunity, she did say she understood that fans were excited about seeing George for the first time. At the end of the day, she felt like it was very important to give the public a look at George and share the experience with them. Why is the Duchess of Cambridge being so candid about motherhood? Middleton has been married to William for close to a decade. While the two now share three children, she rarely gives interviews about her personal life. A source close to the family says that Kate Middleton is opening up about being a mother because she genuinely wants to share her experiences with the public. The source says that she is not taking part in an exercise of vanity and is serious about her work in early childhood development. She is exposing herself, the insider dished. This is not a vanity exercise. This is her talking about her work and what she has learned as a mother because of her work. Middleton, of course, chatted about her own childhood during the podcast and revealed that her family was very tight-knit. She also stated that her grandmother was a huge influence on her life and was never hesitant about spending time with her and her siblings. Kate Middleton talks about juggling family and her royal duties As a senior member of the royal family, Middleton has a score of royal engagements to complete every year. Just like a normal working mother, the Duchess of Cambridge often finds it hard to balance her time between work and home. Its a constant challenge you hear it time and time again from moms, even moms who arent necessarily working and arent pulled in the directions of having to juggle work life and family life, she explained. Middleton also confessed that she often feels guilty when she has to leave her children at home to perform her royal duties. The interview all but confirms that she is very hands-on when it comes to raising her children. Prince William and Kate Middleton share three children George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. She gave birth to Louis in the spring of 2018 and is rumored to be thinking about adding another child to the mix. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 23 Trend: Azerbaijans Foreign Ministry has expressed condolences to Turkey over the death of nine people in Van province after an earthquake hit neighboring Iran, Trend reports citing MFA press service. We express our deepest condolences to the relatives of those who were killed as a result of the earthquake in Van city and wish speedy recovery to the injured, reads the message. Earlier in the day, the European Mediterranean Seismological Center registered a 5.7 magnitude earthquake in a Turkish-Iranian border region, affecting Turkey's province of Van. The earthquake was registered at 05:52 GMT with its epicentre located 141 kilometres (87.6 miles) to the west of the Iranian city of Tabriz and 71 kilometres to the southeast of the Turkish city of Ozalp. As a result of the earthquake nine people were killed, 50 people were injured. By IANS NEW YORK: Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has beat back a last-minute attack attempting to link him to Russia and won the Democratic Party's internal election in Nevada for the party's nomination in November's presidential election by a large margin. Early results showed Sanders leading in the Saturday poll with about 40 per cent of the votes, far ahead of former Vice President Joe Biden trailing with about 22 per cent, and media tracking the polls declared him the winner. The vote margin of victory now clearly marks him for now as the front-runner to challenge President Donald Trump, although 47 more states have yet to hold the intra-party elections his status could change. The Washington Post reported on Friday that according to US intelligence officials Russia was trying to help the Sanders presidential campaign, and that the officials had briefed him about it a month ago. The leak on the eve of the Nevada poll about a briefing from a month ago did not appear to impact the self-described democratic socialist Sanders, who had the support of a large number of minorities forming the party's steadfast base. The Democratic Party establishment is obsessed with the Russian factor having blamed Moscow for the 2016 victory of Trump over Hillary Clinton and any mention of Moscow could turn off some voters. Sanders disavowed Russian aid and said: "My message to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is clear: Stay out of American elections, and as president I will make sure that you do." Clinton had smeared Tulsi Gabbard, a Hindu-American seeking the party's presidential nomination, by calling her a Russian asset, and the latter has filed a $50 million defamation case against her. The rise of Sanders has made the Democratic Party's establishment uneasy because they fear that his identification as a socialist will turn off moderate voters and lead to his defeat by Trump in a general election while dragging down party members of Congress. Sanders, who is 78, has great appeal for younger voters because of his radical policies that include raising taxes on the rich and the minimum wage, and providing medical insurance, free college and free school meals for all. Meanwhile, billionaire and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has shot up in the national opinion polls, although as a late entrant he hasn't run in the three party elections so far. He has made several racist and sexist comments and under his mayorship police followed a policy of stopping and searching young minority men randomly without case until a court banned it as unconstitutional, and could turn off many minorities and liberals. The veteran politician has spent nearly $400 million from his estimated personal wealth of $62 billion in a media campaign using television ads and paid posters on social media and that has helped him get the third spot in the latest RealClear Politics (RCP) aggregation of national opinion polls with 15.2 per cent, while on one poll he came in second with 19 per cent. Sanders leads in the RCP aggregation with 28.7 per cent and Biden has 17.3 per cent support. He was initially considered the front-runner but has steadily slid in the polls, possibly damaged by revelations about his son's and his questionable actions in Ukraine that surfaced ironically during the Trump impeachment instigated by the Democrats to protect him. A clearer picture of the candidates standing will emerge on March 3 when 14 states, including the big ones like California, Texas and Virginia, will hold the intra-party elections. Bloomberg, who has been rising in the opinion polls, will be on the ballots for the first time. Nevada was the first real test for the candidates because it is racially diverse, with whites constituting only 49 per cent of the population, unlike Iowa, where whites are 85 per cent, and Iowa that is 90 per cent white. In those two states, former Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg ran neck and neck with Sanders having an edge of a little over 1 per cent. Buttigieg fell behind with only 18 per cent in the early results in Nevada. Under the US system, party members or supporters elect the party's nominee for the general election. The poll in Nevada was an open election, known as a caucus, in which party members go to the polling places and gather at designated spots for the candidate they support. After an initial count, they are allowed to switch to other candidates and the final vote tally is made. The caucuses there went smoothly, unlike in Iowa where a glitch in the phone app used to report the caucus results failed, delaying the announcement of the final tally and raising questions about its accuracy. TROY Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute student Yeming Shen made a garbled 911 call six hours before his roommate found him dead from the flu, but the system used to track emergency calls from cellphones could not pinpoint his location. Troy police and firefighters were able to track the call to the City Station apartment complex where the 28-year-old lived, and spent 45 minutes searching in vain for the apartment from which the call originated. Defeated, Shens would-be rescuers left without finding the person who placed the 911 call at 11:05 a.m. on Feb. 10. By the time Shens roommate came home at 5:45 p.m., the graduate student was dead and the investigation into his cause of death which briefly triggered unfounded fears of the new coronavirus was about to get under way. In the time since, Troy police and firefighters have learned the fruitless search for the 911 caller could have led them to Shen. But a number of factors kept them from potentially saving him. A quarter-century after the use of cellphones became commonplace in the United States, 911 dispatch systems still have trouble fixing onto the exact locations from which cell users make emergency calls. Land lines usually allow dispatchers to see who is calling, or at least the exact address from which 911 calls are being made, even when the caller immediately hangs up. Authorities can trace 911 calls from cellphones but such calls are often answered in centralized call centers; dispatchers need to get more information about the location from the person on the other end of the phone. Rescuers can use data from cell towers to refine their searches, but even that data often cannot reveal a callers exact location. Shens 911 call was hard to decipher, though authorities couldn't say if that was due to a language barrier, his deteriorating condition or a bad connection. The line went dead before they could learn the caller's identity. The dispatcher was left with few clues to assist the rescuers: Difficult to understand. Caller is a male, is how the Rensselaer County 911 center described the call to police. The dispatch system was only able to give police and firefighters a general location on Sixth Avenue, where two five-story apartment buildings City Station East and West face each other from either side of the street. It was just mapped in that area, Capt. Steve Barker, a police department spokesman, said Wednesday. Five police officers, three firefighters and a police dog searched the common areas of each floor. But with nothing more than Shens telephone number to go on, they couldnt find his apartment. They called RPI and went to the front desk in City Station West, which is a popular spot for college students to live, but could not learn where in the complex the caller might live. Another complication involved Shens China-based cellphone carrier, police said: U.S. carriers are far more accessible in a fast-moving search for a 911 caller. While Shens phone had a 518 area code, there was no way to identify him by name through the phone, Barker said. An autopsy determined that the graduate student had influenza A a type of flu that comes on very sudden and severe, Rensselaer County Public Health Director Mary Fran Wachunas said. RPI and county health officials had to work immediately to quell concerns that Shen, a student from China, may have died of the coronavirus discovered in Wuhan, China, in December even though he had not traveled outside the U.S. for at least 13 months. The safety of our students is a top priority at Rensselaer," RPI's administration said in a statement. "As always, following an incident, we review all potentially relevant policies and procedures, and we are currently engaged in that process." Representatives from Lufthansa Technic, Rolls-Royce, Etihad Airways Engineering and Joramco will be among the industry leading experts discussing the industry landscape at the upcoming MRO Middle East Summit in Dubai, UAE. The one-day conference at the Conrad Hotel on February 24 will focus on topics including 2020 MRO Forecast and Key Trends: Identifying New Opportunities; Strategies to Manage and Reduce Costs and An Ever-Changing Aftermarket Landscape; while case studies will include Predictive Maintenance & Engine Health Monitoring from Rolls-Royce and Engineering: A Case Study About a Successful Partnership in the Region with representatives from Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and Applied Database Technology (ADT). Attendees to the event can benefit from insights and experience from the speakers while learning about technologies that can be applied to add value to their own operations. Jason Sutcliffe, Rolls-Royces regional marketing director said: To Rolls-Royce, availability means ensuring that every time an airline wants to use their aircraft and fly their passengers, it can. Our priorities are influenced by a customer-centric approach and a commitment to aircraft availability. This requires us to go way beyond a reactive approach to maintenance and traditional ideas of predicting when engines need servicing. To do this weve innovated proprietary technologies embraced in the pioneering spirit of the IntelligentEngine vision. Sensors assess the real-time health of Rolls-Royce Trent engines, anticipate and inform their maintenance needs to eliminate and mitigate any technical disruptions. The Tech Talks panel will examine success stories and pitfalls of innovation. Pushing past the already talked about topic of what new tech has emerged, this session will explore how aftermarket businesses have successfully implemented tech and will share their successes and pitfalls along the journey. Speakers will examine how day to day disruption can be minimised while implementing new technology, the effective implementation of virtual reality and other technology in to training programmes, what worked and what didnt when deploying robots into MRO processes, the challenges and opportunities of going paperless, and cybersecurity. Other sessions will take place throughout the day including a 2020 MRO forecast and a session of nine roundtables led by thought leaders and industry experts. Frederic Dupont, VP Technical Sales & Customer Service, Etihad Engineering, said: MRO Middle East is one of the key industry events that is a major milestone in our annual event calendar. It provides a platform for us to engage with our customers and peers, meet our partners and keep up-to-date with the latest technologies in the MRO world. The event allows us to engage in discussions and agreements that will enhance our performance for the years ahead and we look forward to it every year. Lydia Janow, managing director/Events, Aviation Week Network said: MRO Middle East goes from strength to strength each year, with new companies taking part in both the exhibition and the Summit. This year on year growth is testament to the growing MRO market in the region and many companies are keen to be part of it. The networking opportunities at MRO Middle East are the ideal way for them to grow their businesses in the region. Aviation Week Network and Tarsus F&E LLC Middle Easts MRO Middle East exhibition will take place following the Summit, February 25-26 at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) co-located with Aircraft Interiors Middle East (AIME). MRO Middle East event brings together the MRO industry offering them access to the regions growing marketplace of airlines, suppliers, OEMs and B2B buyers. The co-located events expect to host 330 exhibitors showcasing the latest technologies and products across both aircraft interiors and MRO. TradeArabia News Service New Delhi, Feb 23 : Wajahat Habibullah, who is involved in the ongoing efforts to lift the blockade at Shaheen Bagh, has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court, spelling out a solution to clear the road at the anti-CAA protest site here. The affidavit states that removing the barricades on some of the adjoining roads can immediately relieve the situation. Technically, the apex court has appointed main interlocutor senior advocate Sanjay Hedge, who will be assisted by Sadhna Ramachandran. The Supreme Court had also asked the interlocutor to talk to Habibullah, who can also speak to the protesters to resolve the issue. As per the court order, Habibullah visited the protest site at Shaheen Bagh and filed his affidavit. In his affidavit, Habibullah states that the protest is peaceful. Pointing out that the police have blocked five points around Shaheen Bagh, he observed that traffic flow will be normalised if these blockades are removed. The affidavit also notes that police have unnecessarily blocked the roads causing problems to the people. School vans and ambulances are allowed to pass through the roads after checking by police. Habibullah also states that the government should speak to the protesters regarding the Citizenship Amendment Act, National Population Register and National Register of Citizens. Habibullah is a former IAS officer and former Chief Information Commissioner and former chairman of National Commission for Minorities. The Supreme Court is on Monday hearing a petition seeking opening up of the roadblock caused by anti-CAA protesters at Shaheen Bagh. Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik filed his nomination papers for Biju Janata Dal (BJD) President's post at the party's headquarters here on Sunday (February 23). Patnaik went to the party's head office and submitted his papers with the returning officer Pratap Dev. It is a foregone conclusion that Naveen Patnaik would be elected as BJD President for the eighth consecutive time. BJD leader Sanjay Das Burma said, "Patnaik, a five-time Chief Minister of Odisha, filed the nomination for the eighth time for the BJD President post with 10 proposers." The formal announcement of state executive committee members and state chief will be held on February 26, said Das Burma. On February 21, the party had declared the names of the President of all 33 organisational districts of the party. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-22 04:50:38|Editor: yhy Video Player Close Riek Machar (2nd R, front) takes oath as the first vice president of the new transitional unity government in Juba, capital of South Sudan, Feb. 22, 2020. South Sudan formed a transitional unity government on Saturday after the youngest country in Africa had been ravaged by years of civil war. Machar was sworn in along with three other new vice presidents -- Taban Deng Gai, James Wani Igga and Rebecca Nyandeng De Mabior, at a ceremony attended by some regional leaders in Juba. (Photo by Daniel Majack/Xinhua) JUBA, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan President Salva Kiir on Friday reappointed opposition leader Riek Machar as his first vice president, paving the way for the formation of a much-awaited transitional unity government on Saturday. Kiir in a presidential decree aired on state television South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC) appointed Machar, leader of main opposition group Sudan People's Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO), and three deputy presidents, namely Taban Deng Gai, James Wani Igga and Rebecca Nyandeng Garang de Mabior, widow of late John Garang de Mabior, founder of the ruling SPLM party. It further noted that the rest of the cabinet will be appointed on Saturday, which is the deadline set for the formation of the unity government. The latest development came in the wake of Kiir compromising on the number of states, which had been a major source of disagreement with the opposition group led by Machar. Kiir last week cut the number of states from the former 32 states to the current 10 states, in what political analysts hailed as a significant move to speed up the conclusion of the peace process. Both Kiir and Machar recently assured the country that they will form the transitional unity government on Feb. 22. They added that they will continue to implement some of the pending tasks such as security arrangement, which include screening, cantonment and training of the unified forces. Augostino Njoroge, head of the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission, disclosed on Thursday that over 38,000 troops from both the government and opposition are currently undergoing training, which will see this group take charge of security during the three-year transitional period. The parties are expected to form a unified force of 83,000, according to the 2018 revitalized peace deal they signed in Addis Ababa. The government and SPLM-IO had been in disagreement over the number of states and boundaries, which eventually forced President Kiir to reduce the former 32 states he decreed in 2015 to the current 10 states favored by the opposition. Machar's group, despite welcoming Kiir's gesture on the states, protested the creation of three additional administrative units which include Abyei, Ruweng and Pibor areas. The parties failed to form a unity government in May 2019, prompting an extension until Nov. 12, which also passed without progress, and they later on agreed to the Feb. 22, 2020 deadline. South Sudan descended into conflict in December 2013, after President Kiir sacked his deputy Machar, leading to fighting between soldiers loyal to the respective leader. A peace agreement signed in 2015 collapsed following renewed violence in July 2016, which forced Machar to flee the capital. A 20-year-old man found selling drugs three times in a month has been jailed for 10 months. Andrew Hyland, with an address at Donaghmede, Dublin 13, was caught with cocaine on three occasions in June 2019 in Blessington. He told the court he was being manipulated. Part of the operation was carried out by the Garda National Drug Unit during its Operation Clean Street campaign. At Naas District Court on February 13, Judge Desmond Zaidan was told that on June 7, the defendant was found with 40 of cocaine at the West Wicklow pub, Main Street, Blessington. On June 21, he was found with 100 worth of cocaine in another pub, Murphys. On June 28, gardai located him again, this time in Main Street, with 6.4 grammes of cocaine in his possion, valued at 448. Judge Zaidan jailed him for 10 months for the charges of selling and suppling the drug on June 28. The court heard he had been fined 300 for possession of cocaine at another court on April 11 last for an offence committed in September 2019. David Powderly, solicitor, said the defendant was getting treatment for drug use and asked for an alternative to jail as Mr Hyland had no previous convictions for selling illegal drugs. Judge Zaidan said that others were using people like Mr Hyland to do their dirty work and you cooperate because you fear what they do to your family if you dont. If you were caught once, it should have scared you off. Mr Hyland said: I thought I was a big man. I was being manipulated. Caseys Furniture and Cork English College were the big winners at the Cork Business Associations Cork Business of the Year Awards, which were held at their annual Presidents Dinner at Corks Vienna Woods yesterday. A further 10 industry awards were presented on the evening. The awards, which are run in partnership with JCD and The Irish Examiner, recognise the outstanding contribution of businesses and individuals working diligently across varied sectors of business in Cork City and its environs. "Our awards night is a celebration of the Cork business community who are driving our local economy. Its a celebration of businesses who go above and beyond, and its a celebration of employers, proud employees and ambassadors of our community," said President of Cork Business Association Philip Gillivan. This year, we received a record number of entrants and I would like to congratulate each of our very deserving finalists and winners. To be a finalist for these awards is a wonderful achievement in itself. "I would also like to sincerely thank all of our sponsors, in particular our award sponsor JCD, event partner AIB, and media partner The Irish Examiner, and our independent panel of judges." The awards were presented at a glittering black-tie Presidents Dinner in Corks Vienna Woods Hotel attended by more than 400 business people. This year, the menu was extra special as some of Corks finest hotel chefs joined forces with the hotel to create a culinary feast. They presented daring and delicate dishes that not only showcased their individual creativity but also used the best local produce found in and around Cork. This was the first time that such a collaboration has taken place in Cork. The CBAs aim is to recognise the value and achievement of Cork businesses who have contributed to or promoted the enhancement of the commercial, cultural or civic life of Cork, and to encourage business excellence in the city. The winners were Best in Retail (sponsored by Cork City Council): Cork Art Supplies Cork Art Supplies, located at 28 Princes Street, is a family-run business which was founded in 1986 by Lia and Barry Walsh. It has remained at the forefront of artist supplies & materials in Ireland and has developed Irelands first online art & craft webstore. Best Hotel (sponsored by Kings Laundry): Clayton Hotel Cork City Clayton Hotel Cork City is a premier 4-star hotel located in Lapps Quay. Recent investment of $5.8M has seen 201 newly refurbished bedrooms plus upgraded Conference Centre & Spa. Significant investment has also been put into staff training and development, which has yielded greater staff and guest satisfaction ratings. Best in Arts, Events and Tourism (sponsored by Irish Hotels Federation): CADA Performing Arts Founded over 30 years ago by Catherine Mahon-Buckley, Cada Performing Arts is an academy for all ages. Widely recognised as one of the top-performing arts academies in Ireland it has now over 600 pupils with their own purpose-built studios in Pine Street Cork and with branches in Glanmire & Youghal. Best New Business (sponsored by the Local Enterprise Office): Workvivo Workvivo is a Cork-based technology company that provides an internal communications platform designed to increase employee engagement. Founded in 2017 by John Goulding & Joe Lennon, Workvivo have grown their user base to over 100,000 in 38 countries and currently employs 13 people in their Douglas offices. Best Family Business (sponsored by Musgrave): The Courtyard on Sober Lane The Courtyard on Sober Lane is part of the Flying Enterprise complex, located by the South Gate Bridge on Sullivan's Quay. This family-run business was founded by Finbarr O Shea in 1979. Ongoing investment in the business has seen indoor and outdoor facilities developed to allow them to host large scale corporate events in an enjoyable environment. Best in Digital: (sponsored by B2B Signs and B2B Print): Red FM Red FM is selected for its highly innovative and focused Digital presence boasting over 37000 followers on Instagram alone making it the most followed Cork Media brand. By actively embracing the growth of Podcasts they now have a wide range of series on their new website RedExtra which hosts their own audio and video content Best Restaurant (sponsored by The English Market): The Cornstore Located in Cornmarket Street, The Cornstore is now in its 12th year of trading and offers a casual and lively dining experience, complete with a unique wine and cocktail bar. Significant investment has provided a newly refurbished interior of vibrant new colours and cosy booths, making it the ideal location to enjoy their fine steaks or quality locally sourced seafood. Best Cafe (sponsored by The English Market): Cafe Gusto Cafe Gusto was established in 1999 and has become an institution on Washington Street. It opens at 7 am each day from Monday to Friday and 8 pm to 4 pm on Saturday. Using only the best of local ingredients from Cork suppliers they make everything fresh in house each morning in their welcoming Washington St Cafe. Best VFI Pub (sponsored by the VFI): The Franciscan Well Founded by Shane Long in 1998, The Franciscan Well is now Irelands no 1 Craft Brewery. Located in the North Mall, it is built on the site of an old Franciscan Monastery dating back to 1219. The Brewery has combined modern technology with an age-old tradition brewing classic beer, including lager, ale, stout, and wheat beer. Best in Professional Business Services (sponsored by Peninsula): Lisney Lisney located at No 1 South Mall is one of Irelands largest independently owned full service property advisors with offices in Cork, Dublin & Belfast. Employing 120 staff nationwide their business involves residential, commercial, licensed and investment sectors. In 2019 Lisney celebrated 50 years in business in Cork. Champion of Cork: Moss and Will Finn, Finns Corner The CBA presented the Champion of Cork Award to two prominent business people in Cork Moss and Will Finn, in recognition of this family's incredible contribution to the commercial and sporting life of Cork city. This business, which was founded in 1878, has traded through a civil war, two world wars, and too many recessions to mention. Whilst sadly they have recently chosen to close their doors and enjoy their retirement, this business will always retain a spot in the heart of every Corkonian and the Corner where it is located will always be known as Finns Corner. Cork Business of the Year Award, Medium Business: Cork English College Cork English College is an award-winning business that was founded in 1978 by Valerie Cullen and to this day it is still a family business. Located in the heart of the Victorian Quarter with three prominent buildings all within a short walking distance of each other, it is now firmly established as one of Ireland's leading English language Colleges. This business has for over 42 years contributed hugely to the educational, cultural & commercial life of Cork city. Cork Business of the Year Award, Large Business: Caseys Furniture Caseys Furniture was founded in 1921 and is due to celebrate its 100 th year in business next year 2021. This is a truly remarkable achievement especially considering the products they deal in, which are seldom available nowadays in the centre of a city. This business is an institution in Cork and a business that Corkonians are rightly proud of. This company continues to invest in their premises and develop their offer and 2011 saw them launch an e-Commerce website, allowing for customers living nationwide to shop from the comfort of their homes. Peter and David Casey are now part of the third generation of Caseys to run the family business that was opened by John Casey himself in 1921. Missouri Republicans Say Socialism Threatens Democracy SPRINGFIELD - The word "socialism" kept coming up at Missouri's largest annual gathering of Republicans, called Lincoln Days, ahead of the 2020 election. GOP speakers repeatedly warned the crowd of party activists and elected officials gathered in a Springfield convention center Friday and Saturday that Democrats were threatening American democracy as their party grows more comfortable with socialism. Bernie and his "bros" are about to bring a real conversation about socialism to the national forefront.Whilst we routinely hear stern disagreement from many Conservatives about subsidy for the poor, they aren't very savvy about explaining so much Show-Me State corporate welfare shared generously with corporate political donors.Fact is, there is no "pure" economic model in this world and we shouldn't forget thatHere's a more measured consideration: This article, Coronavirus prompts Verizon to pull out of RSA sponsorship, originally appeared on CNET.com. Concerns over a novel coronavirus, now called SARS-CoV-2, have led more corporate sponsors and attendees to pull out of the RSA Conference, event organizers said on Friday. Verizon has now joined AT&T Cybersecurity and IBM in ending its participation in the security-focused event, scheduled to kick off Monday evening in San Francisco. Conference organizers said in a statement that the event is still expected to draw more than 40,000 attendees. When organizers announced AT&T Cybersecurity's cancellation on Thursday, they added that 1.2% of individuals who registered for the event have canceled. At that time, a total of 13 companies had pulled out as sponsors or exhibitors; six of those were from China and canceled due to travel restrictions. "We understand and respect their decision," the event organizers said about Verizon's cancellation. Verizon didn't immediately provide a comment. Its decision also follows Facebook calling off a March marketing summit in San Francisco that was expected to draw 4,000 people, also over coronavirus fears. In Barcelona, the Mobile World Conference scheduled for earlier in February was also cancelled. The virus has infected about 77,000 people, causing a disease now called COVID-19. The vast majority of infections have occurred in mainland China, one of the most visited countries in the world. The annual RSA Conference is one of the largest events in cybersecurity and turns the area surrounding San Francisco's Moscone Center convention venue into a nexus of hacking experts, corporate executives and salespeople looking to cut deals and share insights. Conference organizers pointed to a letter to RSA Conference attendees from San Francisco Mayor London Breed, who provided assurances that the city is working with health officials to monitor the virus. "Risk of becoming infected with COVID-19 in San Francisco is low, as the virus is not circulating in our community," Breed said. Houston is fighting to keep an obscure, rarely enforced law to restrict where musicians can play for tips. Lawyers argued in a motion to dismiss a federal lawsuit Friday that the city is beholden to keeping its streets and sidewalks safe, and that striking down the decades-old ordinance limiting where buskers musicians who play in public places can set up shop is not in its best interest. The law became the target of a lawsuit in January when Houston musician Anthony Barilla contended it violates the First Amendment. While busking the performing of music in public places is mostly unrestricted in cities, such as Seattle, New York City, lawyers argue Houston is not that kind of town. Houstonians have a noted tendency to congregate in areas indoors, or even underground, to avoid the heat of the summer, traffic, and inclement weather, the motion states. Another worry to Houston is that loosening the ordinance would condone unregulated competitors, obstructions of access, or objectionable noise. The ordinance, signed into law in 1991, requires tip-collecting musicians to obtain a permit that restricts them to the Theater District, an eight-block boundary that Barilla argued was far from lucrative because of the limited hours people walk the streets to go to shows. He panned the law as archaic and said sections of Main Street, along Westheimer Road in Montrose and the Heights were better suited for busking. Street performers caught playing outside the district, while soliciting tips, can be cited though city officials could find no record of that ever happening. Inspectors have not issued any citations for people performing without a permit, Houston Public Works spokeswoman Erin Jones said last month in an email. The citys lengthy response to Barillas lawsuit goes as far to suggest how he could make money outside the Theater District without soliciting tips, such as encouraginh pedestrians to subscribe to his podcast or YouTube channel, asking them to purchase his music online, or asking them to attend upcoming concerts for which he will be compensated. The lawsuit followed Barillas year-long experiment in obtaining a street performing permit and seeing what it was like to serenade Houstonians with his accordion. He opted not to renew his $50 permit approved in 2018 because it required him to obtain written permission from the abutting property owners where he wished to play. Barilla was the sole person to request a street performing permit in 2018, city officials said. Musicians have been barred from public street performances in Houston for most of the 20th century, but city officials began changing their tune when the G-7 Summit was scheduled in 1990 to come to town. A pilot program was approved that year to allow street performers in the Theater District only and the city council then made it a law. Then-Mayor Kathy Whitmire hoped the ordinance would lure more people downtown. The citys motion also argues Barilla waited too long to tackle the ordinance in court and that he should have done so before 1994, when the statute of limitations are said to have expired, according to the document. nicole.hensley@chron.com By Cha Hyeon-jin Cha Hyeon-jin, professor at Bank of Korea Academy Prada SpA named the Belgian designer Raf Simons as its co-creative director, adding an industry star to its ranks in an unprecedented shakeup for the Milanese fashion giant. Simons, who was previously head designer at PVH Corp.s Calvin Klein brand and LVMHs Christian Dior, will work side-by-side with Miuccia Prada, the brands iconic designer and co-chief executive officer. Her signature mix of sporty and bourgeois looks has long driven success at the brand. I am committed and excited, Prada told reporters in a press conference in Milan. The 70-year-old designer insisted that the move was not a signal she was preparing to step down. This is not a succession. This is a way to boost creativity. Prada returned to growth in 2018 after several years of slumping sales, but the recovery has been facing fresh challenges in recent months in the form of political protests in Hong Kong, a key luxury-shopping hub, and in the coronavirus outbreak that has put the brakes on spending by key Chinese clients. Chinese shoppers make up more than one-third of luxury spending and two-thirds of the industrys growth. Simons, who is known for conceptual runway shows inspired by youth sub-cultures like punk and rave, has long been a respected figure in the fashion industry. In late 2018, he left Calvin Klein after less than two years as his runway collections failed to reinvigorate demand at the underwear and jeans-makers more affordable divisions. While creative directors rely on extensive behind-the-scenes resources to design, market, and merchandise collections, the move by Prada is a bold attempt to have two major stars share power at the top. Simons said he hoped the collaboration would send a message to the world that we should not forget creativity. (Updates with quotes, background from third paragraph.) To contact the reporters on this story: Robert Williams in Paris at rwilliams323@bloomberg.net;Daniele Lepido in Milan at dlepido1@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Eric Pfanner at epfanner1@bloomberg.net, Todd White, James Amott 2020 Bloomberg L.P. It's the third-largest council in Australia by budget and eighth-largest by population. Loading Situated ideally between Brisbane and the Gold Coast for the daily commuter in both directions, Logan's population is expected to exceed 500,000 by 2036. Its wealth primarily lies in construction, real estate, and manufacturing, while health and education are on the rise. Within days, Ms O'Shea - a respected public servant who had served as director-general of two Queensland state departments before her retirement - was faced with the task of managing the city's future. "I got the phone call on the Wednesday asking if I would be prepared to have my name put on a shortlist for the minister to consider," Ms O'Shea told Brisbane Times. "I asked at the time, 'if I am successful when would I be expected to start?', and they said 'tomorrow'." While she managed to negotiate a start date of a week later, thanks to her daughter's wedding, Ms O'Shea still had just days to get her head around the issues before walking into Logan council, having no prior experience in local government. Announcing her appointment, Mr Hinchliffe described Ms O'Shea as "highly respected" with a distinguished career. "Her skills as a senior executive administrator managing government interests in complex and rapidly evolving environments, while upholding high standards of ethical behaviour and high levels of business performance will be vital in this role," he said on May 2. The council Local government can have a reputation for petty politics, but it's also a training ground for politicians keen to step up the ladder to state or federal governments. And while Queensland's local governments have been rocked in recent years by scandal and alleged corruption, beneath it all lies functioning services - rates, roads and rubbish, as the saying goes. Logan is one of Queensland's fastest-growing regions. Credit:Jimboomba Times "I contacted colleagues, both in the local government sector but across the state as well, to ascertain what it was that I was walking into," she said. "I got pretty resounding feedback that the council administration was actually excellent, that I was going into an organisation that was actually highly regarded both in the public service more broadly, but also in the local government sector. "So that gave me a lot of confidence that I had a good administration with a lot of professional people to support me." Loading As she got to work, Ms O'Shea also reached out to her fellow interim administrator at Ipswich, to learn from Mr Chemello's experiences. Four former councillors, whistleblowers to the alleged conduct of their peers, had been offered roles assisting Ms O'Shea in her work. Their lived experience as councillors proved invaluable as they offered insights on what did and did not work in the council's policies and helped Ms O'Shea's reform agenda develop. All four whistleblower councillors have left their advisory roles in recent months as they prepared to begin campaigning for their former divisions once more. Logan's former chief executive Gary Kellar, who had left the council in 2005 after 26 years in the role, returned to assist Ms O'Shea. Property lawyer Brent Lillywhite was also called in to join the management committee, offering insight into planning and development. The task The nine-month reform project ahead of Ms O'Shea and her team was clearly defined by three commitments she decided would lead all the work they did: business as usual for residents, stable leadership to straddle the gap between councillors being sacked and new councillors appointed, and establishing good, transparent governance. "I was very mindful that I wasn't an elected representative, the people of Logan hadn't chosen me per se to be their elected representative," she said. "So I really wanted to have an agenda that was a reflection of that. I was straddling this weird role of being a public servant but also ... having to exercise the delegation of the mayor and councillors." The first task was restoring the trust of Logan residents in their council, with the shadow of a CCC investigation over the council for months before the councillors were suspended. Regulatory reforms were put in place step by step, and policies for councillor codes of conduct, allowances, and accountability were put in place late last year. Council procedures and policies were forensically reviewed, assessed, and altered where needed in a bid to ensure Logan would not find itself in such a situation again. The changes were made with an awareness that Logan is likely to have many new and inexperienced councillors voted in on March 28, with a need to navigate a complex set of systems. Loading "What I hope it's done is provide a really solid platform for the new incoming council, so that if they adhere to those policies and procedures, they can govern the city with confidence," Ms O'Shea said. Ms O'Shea said her vision was for new councillors elected on March 28 to be more than simply a conduit for broken footpath reports, but to be the strategic arm of the booming city. New councillors will be given a comprehensive guide and information pack to their roles, covering not just their expected conduct but the decisions they will be required to make in the coming months and years. "If this was an ASX 100 company, your elected representatives are your board," Ms O'Shea said. "That's who you are - your mayor is your chairman, you want them to be making the same decisions in the same vein as you would a BHP Billiton. "So that's what we want our councillors to be." The future And with just over six weeks to go until Logan's new councillors, whoever they may be, are elected, Ms O'Shea now faces the end of her unexpected task. She said she was confident the new councillors would have everything necessary to build Logan up and keep it on track, with clear policies, a strong administrative arm and a supportive community. While her fellow administrator has moved on from Ipswich City Council to become the chief executive of Moreton Bay Regional Council, Ms O'Shea will return to her retirement. She will leave an almost unprecedented job with sadness and pride, and a confidence that Logan is back on track. "Not once have I had anyone be resentful of my presence here, and that's been extraordinary and it's probably a reflection of the community that is Logan," Ms O'Shea said. "It's been an absolute privilege, it really has. Clashes broke out Sunday evening between pro and anti-CAA groups near Jaffrabad in northeast Delhi where a large number of people had gathered to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act. Police fired tear gas shells as members of the two groups pelted stones at each other in Maujpur. For security reasons, the entry and exit gates of the Maujpur-Babarpur metro station were closed. Gates of the Jaffrabad station were also closed earlier in the day as anti-CAA protests continued on Sunday after hundreds of demonstrators, mostly women, blocked a road near the metro station the previous evening. The 500-strong group dominated by women staged a sit-in on Saturday night near the Jaffrabad metro station demanding a rollback of the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act. There was heavy security deployment in the area. BJP leader Kapil Mishra had called a gathering near the Maujpur traffic signal in support of the amended citizenship law following which a second group had assembled in the area. Later in the afternoon, a clash erupted between the two groups. Taking to twitter, Mishra said, "We have given a three-day ultimatum to the Delhi Police to get the road cleared. Get the Jafrabad and Chandbagh road cleared". In a video tweeted by him where he can be seen addressing the gathering, Mishra said, "They (protestors) want to create trouble in Delhi. That's why they have closed the roads. That's why they have created a riot-like situation here. We have not pelted any stone. "Till US President is in India, we are leaving the area peacefully. After that we won't listen to you (police) if the roads are not vacated by then," he told the gathering. Aman Sharma (22), a student and resident of Maujpur who was part of the group accompanying Mishra, said they were holding a protest against the closure of roads by those opposing the CAA. "At around 2:30 pm, they (anti-CAA protestors) started pelting stones and glass bottles," he claimed. Owing to security reasons, the entry and exit gates of the Maujpur-Babarpur metro station have been closed. "Entry & exit gates of Maujpur-Babarpur are closed," DMRC said in a tweet. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) New Delhi: Ahead of the US President Donald Trump's visit to India on Monday, Washington observed that Pakistan will need to act on terror groups extremists on its territory to have a successful dialogue with India. The White House said in a statement released on Friday (February 21). A senior US administration official said, "We continue to believe a core foundation of any successful dialogue between the two is based on continued momentum in Pakistan's efforts to crack down on terrorists and extremists on its territory. So we continue to look for that." On being asked if the US President will offer to mediate on the Kashmir issue during his two-day tour to India, the official said, "I think what you'll hear from the President is very much encouraging a reduction in tensions between India and Pakistan, encouraging the two countries to engage in bilateral dialogue with each other to resolve their differences." The official who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity, said, "President will urge both countries to seek to maintain peace and stability along the line of control and refrain from actions or statements that could increase tensions in the region." During Pakistani Prime minister Imran Khan's visit to Washington in 2019, the US President had offered that Washington could mediate between India and Pakistan, something that he has repeated seeveral times since. Though, New Delhi has categorically dismissed the idea. India's official stance when it comes to India and Pakistan ties is no third party mediation which has been stated under the Shimla and Lahore agreements. Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his meet with US President in France on the sidelines of G7 had said that India and Pakistan can "bilaterally" resolve all issues and "we don't want to trouble any third country". The comments come even as Pakistan remains in the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) due to its failure to implement the global watchdog's action plan which calls for action on terror groups operating on its territory. The FATF in a statement on Friday said that "all deadlines in the action plan have expired" and now Islamabad has time till June 2020 or "FATF will take action". (With PTI inputs) IndiGo is in talks with Sydney-based Qantas Airways and its wholly owned subsidiary Jetstar Airways on codeshare agreements, which allows an airline to sell other airline's seats, officials said. Currently, IndiGo has a two-way codeshare agreement with Turkish Airlines and a one-way codeshare partnership with Qatar Airways. In a two-way codeshare agreement, each airline on its distribution system can sell seats on other's flights. "IndiGo is currently in talks with Qantas Airways and Jetstar Airways regarding codeshare partnerships. With Qantas, it is likely to be one-way but with Jetstar, it is likely to be a two-way codeshare agreement," said an IndiGo official privy to the development. The official added that IndiGo's relationship with Qantas may be similar to that of Qatar Airways where it can sell 20 seats on each IndiGo flight connecting Doha with Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad. "These 20 seats on each IndiGo flight are blocked for Qatar Airways. It means, as IndiGo operates two daily return flights on Delhi-Doha, Mumbai-Doha and Hyderabad-Doha route, total 240 seats are blocked daily for Qatar Airways' passengers," the official added. In November last year, Qatar Airways had signed a one-way codeshare agreement with IndiGo that allows its passengers to book seats on the latter's flights connecting Doha with the three Indian cities. A second IndiGo official stated that the partnership with Melbourne-based Jetstar would likely be a two-way codeshare agreement, similar to the one it has with Turkish Airlines. In response to queries sent by PTI, Qantas Airways and Jetstar Airways said in a joint response,"We regularly explore new partnership opportunities to offer our customers more seamless travel experiences, but we currently have no updates to share." With around 47 percent share in domestic air passenger market, India's largest airline has been focusing on international traffic for further growth. In 2019, the low-cost carrier started operating flights between India and Singapore, Vietnam, Myanmar, China and Saudi Arabia. In October 2018, IndiGo had signed two-way codeshare agreement with Turkish Airlines allowing either of the airlines to book seats for its passengers on each other's flight. Bilateral flying rights between India and Turkey allow each country's airline to fly 14 flights per week to another country. As IndiGo already flies two daily flights to Istanbul, there is no scope to start additional flights to Turkey. "Our codeshare partnership with Turkish Airlines has been extremely fruitful," said the second IndiGo official. However, as bilateral relationship between India and Turkey have nosedived in the last few months due to the latter's multiple statements against India on the Kashmir issue, IndiGo does not expect increase in flying rights with Turkey. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-23 21:36:43|Editor: yhy Video Player Close BANGKOK, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- A bus on Sunday flipped after sliding backwards while it was ascending a steep hill in Thailand's southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat, killing two passengers and injuring 18 others. A police officer said the accident occurred when the was taking a number of tourists from the Hainan Association back to Songkhla province after a trip to Surat Thani for a Hainanese function. The bus driver, who was slightly injured, told police that his passengers asked him to drive up a hill called Noen Thewada, a well-known tourist spot, for sightseeing. However, when ascending toward the hill, the bus driver noticed that his vehicle was not powerful enough to advance uphill, therefore the bus started to slide backwards and then gathered speed. The driver said the bus veered off the road, hit a tree and flipped, hence the casualties. Two female passengers were crushed to death. Eighteen other passengers were injured, three of them seriously. They were rushed to nearby hospitals. Police had already held the driver and will question the latter to determine the exact cause of the accident. After speaking Sunday at a prominent black church in North Charleston, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said he wasn't banking on the endorsement of South Carolina's influential congressman Jim Clyburn ahead of Saturday's primary. "I'm not counting on anything," Biden told reporters, though he added that Clyburn's blessing "will be a big deal." The House majority whip said Sunday on NBC's "Meet The Press" that he will endorse on Wednesday after the previous night's debate in Charleston. Biden said he's talked to Clyburn, the highest-ranking black member of Congress, in the last "week or so." Clyburn is close to Biden but said Sunday that he's heard from Democrats who have been disappointed in Biden's debate performances. Biden also said he wasn't worried about billionaire Tom Steyer cutting into his strength among African Americans in South Carolina's primary Saturday. Steyer finished well behind the pack in Nevada and appears to be out of the running for any delegates. He has spent heavily on ads in South Carolina and polls suggest he's cut into Biden's advantages among black voters in the state. Biden seemed worried enough Sunday still to take a shot at Steyer for making some of his personal fortune investing in private prisons. "You can't hide your record," Biden said, after noting that Steyer and another billionaire, former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg, have spent hundreds of millions of their own dollars on advertising in the race. A woman police constable has reported for duty with her one-year-old son here ahead of the US President Donald Trump and the US first ladys visit to India. Sangita Parmar a constable from Baroda citys Gorua police station showed how professional and parental duties can be juxtaposed when necessary. Speaking to ANI, Sangita said, I have to perform both the duties of a police constable and mother. I dont have a choice between the two. The mother of the one-year-old has been performing in this manner for the last five days. She will be on duty as the city prepares for the US Presidents arrival. Parmar carries her son to the duty spot and kept him in a handmade hammock in shadow as she needs to breastfeed him often. I need to breastfeed my son and my relatives stay 24 kms away from here which makes it impossible for me to commute, Parmar said. Earlier, when she got to know about her placement she had sought relaxation from the duties. However, later she decided to take her child with her to her allotted duty spot. Its not that I am not facing any adversity while performing both the duties together, however, there is a sublime satisfaction. Also, my son is unwell for which he needs my care, she said. 10,000 security personnel are on duty for the VVIP visit. Gujarat Police in coordination with Special Protection Group (SPG), National security guards (NSG), Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) and Rapid Action Force (RAF) is looking after entire security arrangements. Michael Bloomberg is at the crux of a battle of cliches. America may be the land of second chances, but you never get a second chance to make a first impression. The level of saturation of Bloombergs television advertising actually is working against him now. Few are potential voters who have not been bombarded with the theme that Mike can get it done, featuring a candidate who appears strong yet accessible, powerful but caring. However in Las Vegas, Bloomberg pulled back his own curtain, having bribed the DNC to change its rules and allow him onstage, and Americans saw an uncertain-yet-imperious, cold, little man being bullied and out-talked by Elizabeth Warren, mumbling excuses for non-disclosure agreements that lasted just a few days until the mighty oligarch capitulated to the fake Native American. The stark contrast between what the ads promised and what the reality delivered will take roughly forever to fade from memory. Bloomberg provided his own gotcha, debunking his marketing thrust as a strong man of action. Americans instinctively distrust politicians, and they instinctively distrust manipulative advertising. We love to scorn the pretentious, the high and mighty brought down from their lofty perches. Even worse for Bloomberg, television advertising is not a welcome interruption of the programming that attracted the eyeballs in the first place. Why do you suppose so many ads these days use humor? Its as if insurance companies are in the comedy business, not selling a product whose necessity is unpleasant to contemplate. They will happily settle for a vague association with a cute talking animal or a working class heroine, sold with a sugar coating of humor. When those television interruptions are all for the same product a politician and come with stirring music and visuals, but no humor, resentment starts to kick in, and more ads produce more resentment. The only humor related to Bloomberg ads now is scornful laughter directed at him. So, will voters warm to him enough to support his bid to dislodge Bernie Sanders from what looks like a commanding lead in delegates following the Nevada caucus? Clearly, fear of a party disaster with a socialist at the top of the ticket inclines some loyal Democrats to support Anyone-But-Bernie (ABB), but can they unite? Bloombergs candidacy has rested on the assumption that sustained saturation advertising could win public favor for him that would pay off if a lavishly funded field organization were in place to drive turnout. This theory will not be tested until March 3rd, when 14 states will allocate 1,357 of the 3,979 pledged delegates to the Democratic National Convention. Bloomberg will be back on a presidential debate stage next Tuesday in Charleston, South Carolina, even though he will not be on the primary ballot in the Palmetto State when voters allocate delegates next Saturday, the 29th. So, he has his next debate performance, plus advertising, plus endorsements from prominent party figures (many of whom turn out to have benefitted from Bloomberg Bucks one way or another) as his tools to drive support. And he has to accomplish the goal of uniting the ABBs behind himself under great time pressure. I cant say with certainty that it wont work. Bloomberg has at his command the best talent that money can buy, and all remaining advertising space available for sale. But he has to redefine himself having inadvertently supplied a powerful negative impression. Caricature by Donkey Hotey ROSELAWN, Ohio New Prospect Baptist Church is home to one of the largest black congregations in Cincinnati. On any weekend there you'll find weddings, funerals, and three Sunday services. Not exactly a place you think you'd find 179 women firing .22-caliber handguns in the church basement. But that's exactly what happened on Feb. 8, when the church opened its doors to what state officials believe is one of the largest women-only, concealed carry gun certification classes held in the state of Ohio. Over and over, the women cited the same reason for coming to the class. They were tired of being scared of guns, of being alone in a home, of walking in some neighborhoods. Ariel Gresham, left, Nancy Robb, both of Finneytown hold an unloaded revolver during an all-female concealed carry and weapons class Saturday, February 8, 2020, at New Prospect Baptist Church in Roselawn sponsored Arm the Populace. Karen Bolden, 56, was so scared of her husband's guns she asked him to get rid of them when they got married two years ago. He did, but she's working to conquer her fear. When Bolden's sister alerted her to the class and suggested they go together she jumped at the chance. "This is why this class is so important," Bolden said. "We can't be afraid." The class was organized by two men: the church's pastor Rev. Damon Lynch III and Cincinnati City Councilman Jeff Pastor, a Republican who appeared at the class sporting a t-shirt reading "All gun control is racist." On Jan. 8, Pastor spread the word of the class on Facebook. "FREE All Women CCW Course! After hearing about those girls in Columbus being kidnapped and other young ladies around the country being sold into sex trafficking, rape, domestic violence, and other acts of violence against women, I felt the only thing I could do is host another free basic gun course for all women!" Within a week, the class was sold out. Two hundred women signed up. Despite an early morning snowfall that made driving treacherous, 179 women turned out for the class, all with varying comfort levels with guns. Some had never touched one. Others owned a gun, but wanted the license needed to carry it with them. Some came because their moms or sisters or friends suggested it. Story continues The class was taught by certified CCW licensing firm Arm the Populace. It was an intense, nine-hour class, complete with a built-just-for-the class shooting range in an empty storage area above the church's community center. Opinion: Don't pit slavery descendants against black immigrants. Racism doesn't know the difference. Women paid $25 each to cover the cost of the space, cheaper than the typical $65 class fee. Arm the Populace, a Cincinnati-based company that offers firearms and personal defense training, donated its time. It billed the class as the largest CCW class of all women ever in Ohio. A spokesman for the Ohio Attorney General's Office, which keeps CCW records, said the office does not track class size, but from his experience, 179 women in a class could be the largest. The office does not keep CCW permit statistics by race. A Pew Research Center report in 2017 delved into "America's complex relationship with guns." It found gun ownership varied considerably by race and gender. About 4 in 10 men (39%) said they personally owned a gun, compared with 22% of women. And while 36% of whites reported that they were gun owners, only about a quarter of blacks and 15% of Hispanics said they own a gun. White men are especially likely to be gun owners: About half (48%) say they own a gun, compared with about a quarter of white women, and nonwhite men (24% each) and 16% of nonwhite women, the report found. In this class, of the 179 women, 169 were black. The class was broken into five groups, rotating into lessons about safety, laws, how to actually get a CCW license, which only a sheriff can issue, and then actual target practice. A woman holds an unloaded revolver during a concealed carry weapon (CCW) class at New Prospect Church in Roselawn for women Saturday, Feb. 8, 2020. No 'mansplaining' allowed Douglas Cooper, Arm the Populace's founder and chief instructor, started the class by explaining: "The Second Amendment is for everyone," he said. Instructor Bill Maltbie then told the class why women-only classes are important, though they offer classes for everyone, too. "We do them so there are no men sitting there mansplaining because they've played a lot of video games," Maltbie said. "We're not here for Call of Duty. I just want to make sure I can go home at night and see my family." For Arm the Populace, it wasn't unusual to hold the class in a church. They work to bring the class to places where people feel comfortable: salons, daycare centers, biker clubs. And, well, churches. Cooper cuts an imposing figure, over 6 feet tall, bald, with a bushy beard and a body frame that shows he likes to eat. "I cant change the way I look, I look like a Sasquatch," he tells the class. "But, if I meet you in a place you feel comfortable, you might come." For Rev. Lynch III, it wasn't unusual either even though he's not a proponent of guns himself. Rev. Damon Lynch III, pastor of New Prospect Baptist Church "New Prospect Baptist Church is more than a church," Lynch said. "It's the heart of the community." Without a recreation center, like many Cincinnati neighborhoods have, the church serves that need. On the morning of the CCW permitting class, the church opened its doors for a financial freedom class, a Jewish culture class, an AA meeting and a funeral. "Im not a gun lover; I dont own any guns, but people have Second Amendment rights to own a gun," Lynch said. "In the African American community, the conversation is usually about buying guns back. But, if people are lawfully trained and learn how to be responsible, they will probably never use one. It sets them on a different course. As opposed to a person who gets a gun and thinks I have to go shoot." And that, Lynch said, "is a good thing." 'Practice, practice, practice' The range was built, with input from the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, just for the class. It was bare-bones, a sheet of wood tacked to a wall, on which targets would be placed. And a table, which the women stepped up to for shooting practice. The women could hear gunfire before they were even in the room, causing some to briefly pause. Inside the room, Instructors handed out earplugs. Then there was one-on-one training with .22-caliber handguns. Tape was passed around. Bolden used it to hang her target on the wall. Arms straight. Legs apart. Ten shots. An instructor guided her stance. She hit the target within a centimeter of the bullseye. Her sister, Sonya Jackson, was next. Same stance. An instructor lightly guided her arms into better position. Two bullets hit the target. "I didn't have my glasses," Jackson noted to her sister. Bolden told her, "You'll just have to go with me to the range. Practice. Practice. Practice." The room grew smoky, chips off the wooden board littering the floor. Kai Brown of Bond Hill gets instruction on how to hold a gun from Timm Penrod and Henry Ware, right, with Arm the Populace during an all-female concealed carry and weapons class at New Prospect Baptist Church Saturday, February 8, 2020. Kai Brown, 35, is a single mom with two small children. She went into the experience afraid of guns. But she signed up because she wanted to be able to protect her family. "I guess I'm a lover, so I'm not really into like guns and violence," Brown said. "If I have some friends that have a CCW and they have firearms ... I'm like crazy about them, putting them away, getting them out of my sight. It's just a fear that I've always had." When it came time to practice shooting, that fear emerged. She was apprehensive and flinched as others fired. She dipped her head into her hands. She took a deep breath. She fanned herself with her hands. But the instructors were kind. Encouraging. Helpful. Brown took another breath. And she fired. "It's evident that that fear is still there," Brown said. "I am hoping that just because of the times we live in and now ... you have to be prepared," Brown said. "And so I don't want my fear to keep me from being unable to ... get with the times." She praised Pastor for giving her the opportunity. And she echoed his opening sentiments to the class. "It's my right to carry ... so I want to be able to," Brown said. "It's wonderful to be surrounded by many different women from many different walks of life. And we're all ... here to protect ourselves." Follow reporter Sharon Coolidge on Twitter: @SharonCoolidge Sanders wins Nevada: Time for Democrats to reckon with potential impact of his nomination Poll: Nearly two-thirds of voters expect Trump to win reelection in November This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: CCW class for black women at Cincinnati church draws big crowd Togolese officials have begun counting votes in a presidential election that is widely expected to keep the incumbent Faure Gnassingbe in office. But key challenger Agbeyome Kodjo has insisted he could cause a shock upset despite claiming fraud in Saturday's poll. Security forces briefly surrounded the homes of Kodjo and one of his main allies shortly after the end of voting in a move the authorities said was for their "own safety". The opposition candidate has emerged as a dark horse as he looks to stop Gnassingbe from entering a fourth term that would extend his family's half-century domination over the West African nation. The president and his supporters had been confident of a resounding victory in the first round, despite widespread disillusionment after 53 years of dynastic rule that has failed to drag many out of poverty. "I have the conviction that in the coming week, I will lead this country," Kodjo told journalists at a press conference in his house after the security forces left. "Considering the revelations of fraud which marked this ballot, it is impossible for the outgoing candidate to be elected in the first round." Kodjo claimed the authorities had used ballot stuffing, fake polling stations and people casting multiple votes to skew the results in the incumbent's favour. The challenger said figures gathered from various polling stations showed he was in the lead in the capital Lome and the coastal region and had "good scores" in other areas. The election commission is expected to release the official provisional results early next week. Calm in the capital The situation around Lome was calm Sunday morning, an AFP journalist reported. Internet connections appeared to be sporadically interrupted. Gnassingbe has led the West African country of eight million people since taking over in 2005 following the death of his father Gnassingbe Eyadema, who ruled with an iron fist for 38 years. Story continues Kodjo, a former prime minister under Gnassingbe's father, gained ground during the campaign after winning the backing of an influential former Catholic archbishop. The authorities banned hundreds of local observers from monitoring the election and cancelled the system of electronic security at the last moment. Some 300 international observers were deployed, mainly from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union, with many African states supporting the incumbent. The six opposition challengers have suggested they will unite against the president if he fails to win an outright majority and the election goes to a second round. That vote would be held 15 days after the announcement of the final results. The authorities faced major protests in 2017 and 2018 demanding an end to the Gnassingbe family's five-decade stranglehold. But the demonstrations petered out in the face of government repression and squabbles among the opposition. Last May, Gnassingbe oversaw an overhaul of the constitution that allowed him to run this year -- and potentially remain in office until 2030. Despite economic growth of around five percent, around half of Togo lives on less than $1.90 per day. Stability and security are central to Gnassingbe's message as jihadist violence rocks its northern neighbour Burkina Faso. Togo has so far managed to prevent the bloodshed spilling over and its army and intelligence service are among the most effective in the region. (AFP) Newsfrom Japan Tokyo, Feb. 23 (Jiji Press)--Japan's Emperor Naruhito, who turned 60 on Sunday, attended a series of celebratory events at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo the same day, together with Empress Masako. Events to greet well-wishers from the general public on his first birthday after he ascended the throne in May last year were canceled in response to the outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus. In the morning, the Emperor was congratulated on by Crown Prince Akishino, Crown Princess Kiko and other Imperial Family members, as well as the heads of the three powers. In the afternoon, a luncheon was held at the "Homeiden" hall, with about 450 people in attendance. Emperor Naruhito said in his greeting that he takes the opportunity of his birthday to pray for the happiness of the people, the development of the nation and the health of the participants. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] The wave of support between Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi and United States President Donald Trump began last year during PM Modi's US tour for Howdy Modi. Both Trump and PM Modi have been vocal about their support for each other in public and on social media as well. On Trumps visit to India, around Rs. 80-85 crore is expected to be spent and almost half the budget is going solely towards security arrangements. India looks forward to welcoming @POTUS @realDonaldTrump. It is an honour that he will be with us tomorrow, starting with the historic programme in Ahmedabad! https://t.co/fAVx9OUu1j Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 23, 2020 According to a report in IANS, Over 10,000 police personnel including 25 IPS officers, 65 ACPs, 200 police inspectors and 800 sub-inspectors will be deployed during US President Donald Trump, his wife Melania Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Ahmedabad on February 24, said Ahmedabad DCP Vijay Patel. Reuters Despite all the security arrangements for Trump, security management is worried about the monkey ruckus that could create chaos in Agra. Therefore, security agencies have deployed five langurs on the route of Trumps procession. Langurs will be taken along to scare away the monkeys during the US President and his wife's visit to Taj Mahal on February 24. Reuters For this visit, heavy security arrangements have been made. According to India Today, the security management handling Trump and his family is handled by American Secret Services, 10 companies of paramilitary forces, 10 companies of PAC and NSG personnel have been deployed for other security measures. The Ahmedabad Police has also been closely working on both the US Secret Service and Indias Special Protection Group to devise a security plan for the event. Tax deductions made a big hole in your salary? Get your tax back with ETMONEY, India's only app that combines all tax saving options of NPS, ELSS & Insurance in one place. Save up to Rs.78,000 in taxes & get instant tax proofs. Palestinian militants fired some 20 rockets toward southern Israel on Sunday, hours after Israel said it killed a Palestinian militant who tried to place a bomb along the Israel-Gaza barrier fence. There was no immediate claim for the rocket fire, but it appeared to be meant to avenge the death of the militant. Palestinians were furious over the image of the mans lifeless body dangling off the front of an Israeli bulldozer that had crossed into Gaza to retrieve it. It also drew criticism for the territorys Hamas rulers for not responding. Israel said another Palestinian militant was shot and wounded in the clash. The Israeli military reported air raid sirens throughout southern Israel, and said at least 20 rockets had been fired. There were no reports of damage or injuries on the Israeli side, but it was the heaviest barrage of rocket fire in several months. Israel and the Islamic Jihad group engaged in a heavy round of fighting last November after the Israeli military killed a top Islamic Jihad commander. Since then, Israel and the more powerful Hamas group have been working through Egyptian mediators to cement an informal cease-fire. But Islamic Jihad has continued to try to carry out attacks. Islamic Jihad said a man killed in boundary fence clashes was a militant. Shortly afterward, amateur video on Palestinian social media showed an Israeli bulldozer crossing into Gaza and then lifting up the body of the militant. Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesman for the Hamas militant group, accused the Israeli military of abusing the corpse, saying that it bears the consequences of the ugly crime. The military said it was removing the body in a way that prevented further danger to those around. But the images generated widespread anger in Gaza, where it was seen as a provocation and violation of Islamic principles that call for respect for the dead. It also sparked criticism of Hamas on social media, with people accusing the group of appearing weak and allowing Israel to operate with impunity inside Gazas territory. One image on social media showed a picture of Jesus draped with a Palestinian flag hanging off the front of a bulldozer. Israeli Defense Minister Naftali Bennett rejected the criticism, noting that Hamas has been holding the bodies of two Israeli soldiers since they were killed in the 2014 Gaza war. I back the military, which killed the terrorists and collected the body, he said. Thats what should be done and that is what was done. The incident comes amid a relative lull along the security fence separating Israel from Gaza. Last week, Israel announced it would provide hundreds of additional work permits for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, in a new step aimed at solidifying an informal cease-fire with the Hamas. Tens of thousands of Gazans used to work in Israel. But Israel virtually sealed the border when it joined Egypt in imposing a crippling blockade on Gaza after Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007. The blockade, along with three wars between Hamas and Israel, has devastated the economy in Gaza, where unemployment is over 50%. A total of 108 senior police officers, including 33 Deputy Commissioners of Police and 75 Assistant Commissioners of Police besides thousands of junior officers and jawans are part of the security arrangements during US President Donald Trump's visit to the city on February 24. "As many as 33 Deputy Commissioners of Police, 75 Assistant Commissioners of Police, 300 Police Inspectors, 1,000 Sub-Inspectors, 12,000 jawans and 2,000 women police personnel have been deployed across the city for the upcoming visit of US President Trump," Ahmedabad Police Commissioner Ashish Bhatia said. "Three companies of Rapid Action Force (RAF) and seven Quick Response Teams (QRT) have also been deployed. Certain morcha squads have also been deputed on various spots with the convoy. 15 Bomb Detection Squads with dogs are also posted. The Special Protection Group (SPG), Air Force and the US Secret Service are providing additional security cover," he added. The Commissioner further informed that the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has been requested for the anti-drone system. "We have requested the DRDO to provide anti-drone system. The public at large is directed not to use drones for any purpose," he said. He further said that Sabarmati Ashram has been added to the visit plan, hence traffic diversions and arrangements have been increased in that area too. He also said that there will be exemptions to the route diversions granted to certain persons according to necessity. "There will be exemptions to the route diversions depending on the necessity like ambulance, fire-fighters," he said. "We did some combing operations last night and some people have been detained. But I will not be able to disclose the number of detainees now," he added. US President Donald Trump will be on a two-day official visit to India on February 24-25. He is scheduled to visit Ahmedabad, Agra and New Delhi. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The pair grew up with a family business their dad and uncle ran a construction company. "So we were accustomed to that life," Ryan said. "Our dad was at work all the time. You got done when the work got done." But, Garrett added, "We knew some of the benefits. A parent (has flexibility) to drive a kid to school." The brothers relish in the fact they get to meet face-to-face with both their suppliers the farmers who produce their grain and many of the customers who buy their products. "To take something from a raw grain to something that sits on the shelf is rewarding," Ryan said. He also is inspired "when we get a chance to see people enjoying it." "There are days it's just a job, or there are days when you ... walk into a bar in downtown Chicago and, 'Oh my gosh, they have Cody Road on their shelf,' " Ryan said. Advocates for distilleries The pair not only embraced their own small business but became vocal advocates for their industry, one whose growing pains were tested by previous limitations. "Prior to 2010, you could have a distillery, but you could not sell bottles or have a testing," Ryan said. Number of recovered patients higher than fresh cases of viral infection In this Friday, Feb. 21, 2020, photo, a doctor in a protective suit checks with patients at a temporary hospital at Tazihu Gymnasium in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province. China's leadership sounded a cautious note Friday about the country's progress in halting the spread of the new virus that has now killed more than 2,200 people, after several days of upbeat messages. (AP) Beijing: Ninety-seven more people died in China due to the coronavirus (Covid-19), taking the death toll to 2,442, officials said on Sunday, as a team of WHO experts visited the worst-affected Wuhan city in Hubei province. By the end of last night, a total of 2,442 people had died of the disease and 76,936 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection had been reported in 31 provincial-level regions, China's National Health Commission (NHC) said in its daily update today. Ninety-six deaths were reported from Hubei province and one from Guangdong province besides 648 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infections, it said. Hubei province, where the virus first emerged in December last, reported 630 new confirmed cases, taking the total confirmed cases in the hard-hit province to 64,084, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. The NHC also said China's daily number of newly cured and discharged novel coronavirus patients has surpassed that of new confirmed infections for the fifth consecutive day, indicating that cases of infections are coming down. Yesterday saw 2,230 people walk out of hospital after recovery, much higher than the number of the same day's new confirmed infections, which was 648, Xinhua reported. A total of 22,888 patients infected with the novel coronavirus had been discharged from hospital after recovery by the end of Saturday, NHC said. Meanwhile, a team of public health experts from the World Health Organisation (WHO) visited Wuhan to conduct a detailed probe into the outbreak which reportedly originated from a seafood market in the city in December last year. The NHC said WHO experts along with their Chinese counterparts who formed a joint investigation team have held talks with the local health authority in Wuhan and visited relevant healthcare institutions. The UN team comprises specialists from the United States, Germany, Japan, Nigeria, Russia, Singapore and South Korea, Hong-Kong based South China Morning Post reported. The 12-member team, which arrived in China on Monday, was initially designated to visit only Beijing, Guangdong and Sichuan provinces, while the worst-affected Hubei province and its capital Wuhan were missing from the list. However, the team was finally given permission to visit Wuhan by the Chinese government. Besides controlling the spread of the virus, a major task for the WHO team along with their Chinese counterparts was to come up with standard medicine to cure the disease. The NHC said on Saturday that the team had met top Chinese respiratory disease expert Zhong Nanshan in Guangdong, and visited the centre for disease control and prevention in Guangdong and the city of Shenzhen, and Sichuan. The specialists also discussed quarantine measures, the wild animal trade and community prevention measures with their Chinese counterparts, it said. LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / February 23, 2020 / Compare-autoinsurance.org (http://compare-autoinsurance.org/) is a top auto insurance brokerage website, providing car insurance quotes online from trustworthy agencies all over the United States. This website offers car insurance info about different coverage types, available discounts, and money-saving tips. Auto insurance covers much more than accidents and drivers should be aware of that. There are times when certain acts of nature may occur such as a tornado or a falling tree that may cause damage to an automobile and it would cost too much money out of pocket to repair or replace these things. The insurance will sometimes ask for a deductible depending on the type of accident that has occurred, but the cost is minimal compared to what it would cost to fix an automobile on your own. Find out why car insurance is important for new cars and have a look at our website if you want to get online auto insurance quotes. 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CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing Company Person for contact Name: Gurgu C Phone Number: (818) 359-3898 Email: cgurgu@internetmarketingcompany.biz Website: https://compare-autoinsurance.org SOURCE: Internet Marketing Company View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/577481/Car-Insurance-2020-Guide-5-Reasons-Why-Drivers-Need-Auto-Insurance BOZEMAN It all began with a sheep named Buster. He doesnt look any different than your average sheep, but his personality sets him apart, according to LaVonne Stucky, owner of The Wool Mill outside of Belgrade. When Buster was a lamb, he lost his mother and needed to be bottle fed. He grew to be friendly, and once even followed a mailman down the road, Stucky said. Stucky and her husband, Chris, host guests on their farm through Airbnb and Buster became popular among visitors. Stucky describes him as outgoing and fond of being around people. She made his likeness the logo for The Wool Mill. Stucky decided to save Busters last three fleeces and was trying to think of a use for them. I thought, I have to spread some of Busters joy, Stucky said. Inspiration struck last winter and she came up with Busters Hat Project. Since New Years Day, Stucky has been giving away free skeins of yarn spun from Busters wool to knitters all over the country. In return, the knitters are making hats for Stucky to sell. All of the proceeds will go to the Human Resource Development Councils Warming Center, which provides overnight shelter to the areas homeless. So far, shes raised about $1,000. Stucky has given out all 160 skeins of yarn she set aside for the project. Shes been posting photos of the returned hats about 70 with more on the way to Facebook and collecting payment through PayPal. She also plans to sell the hats at her Winter Farmers Market booth on Saturday. The hats are made in a variety of sizes and designs. Stucky has sent yarn to people in 32 states and to Nova Scotia, Canada, paying more than $600 in postage out of her own pocket. Almost all of the knitters are strangers to Stucky, having heard about the project through Facebook. Shes been receiving thank you notes with the hats from people grateful to participate. Some of the knitters have been sending more than one hat to sell or including acrylic hats to be dropped off directly at the Warming Center for people to wear. The acrylic material is easier to care for than the wool. Stucky said she was not expecting the project to take off in the way it has. Its crazy to know one little sheep can bring all of these people together, Stucky said. Stucky said she thought of the Warming Center a year ago in February when Montana was experiencing one of its longest cold snaps on record. She was lambing and spent most of one night outside trying to keep newborn lambs warm and dry. It was -40 degrees, she said. Despite Stuckys best efforts, three of the lambs died that night. I got to thinking, if you dont have a home what do you do in that circumstance, Stucky said. The Warming Center, a seasonal shelter, is seeing an increase in demand and has been struggling to meet it. HRDC established an overflow location two seasons ago to increase capacity while it builds a permanent year-round shelter over the next few years, but thats put a strain on its operating budget. The nonprofit needs to fill about a $100,000 hole or may have to suspend its service early this year instead of at the end of March when it typically closes. Stucky will continue to sell the hats until theyre gone on The Wool Mill Facebook page and at the Farmers Market in an effort to help with that. She said shes in awe of the response the project has gotten. Its just amazing to me. Its humbling, really, Stucky said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 D iane Abbott has announced she will be stepping down from the shadow cabinet after the new Labour leader is elected. Rebecca Long-Bailey, Sir Keir Starmer and Lisa Nandy are all vying to take over the reins of the opposition as Ms Abbotts long-time ally Jeremy Corbyn steps down. It comes after Labour's crushing defeat in the 2019 general election, after which Mr Corbyn announced he would be stepping down as leader. Speaking to Sky's Sophy Ridge on Sunday, the Shadow Home Secretary announced that she would be returning to the back benches. As Shadow Home Secretary, Ms Abbott has challenged the Government on many issues including the Windrush scandal / PA She said: I will be stepping down because I think that the new leader, whether its Becky, whether its Lisa, whether its Keir, they have to be able to construct their own Shadow Cabinet. I was a back bencher for a few years and theres an awful lot to do on the back benches. One of the things that I will want to do is make sure we do not make a swerve to the right on migration policy. TODO: define component type apester Ms Abbott added that it would be a dead end for Labour to go down that route. The MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington was the first black woman to be elected to Parliament when she won her seat in 1987. SEASON OPENING GALA 1/2 Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Hamer Hall, February 21, 22 "Gala" is a term so often used by the MSO it runs the risk of robbing the word of any sense of occasion. This season "opening" did, however, have such a festive air it's a wonder that it wasn't marketed as an extravaganza. The sense of extravagance came from marrying the solemnity and exultation of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the extraordinary strength, agility and, at times, whimsy of Circa, the cutting-edge "contemporary circus" based in Brisbane. This marriage was a happy and productive one, brokered by conductor Benjamin Northey and Circa director Yaron Lifschitz. Northey husbanded a lithe performance of the symphony, while Lifschitz created an extremely sympathetic embodiment of the score, impressively executed by 10 performers on a platform erected in front of orchestra. The varied and involving choreography blended elements of ballet, contemporary dance and acrobatics. Philip Haney, an expert on Islamic extremism who was a founding member of the Department of Homeland Security in 2003 and who became a prominent critic of President Obamas questionable management of the agency after he retired in 2015, died from a single gunshot wound on February 21. Haneys body was found lying on the ground outside his car in the small California town of Plymouth, east of Sacramento. On Saturday afternoon, as the news of Haneys death began to be reported, initially in social media and the new media and then more widely, the local Sheriffs Office of Amador County issued a statement based on the local Coroners Investigation: On February 21, 2020 at approximately 1012 hours, deputies and detectives responded to the area of Highway 124 and Highway 16 in Plymouth to the report of a male subject on the ground with a gunshot wound. Upon their arrival, they located and identified 66-year-old Philip Haney, who was deceased and appeared to have suffered a single, self-inflicted gunshot wound. A firearm was located next to Haney and his vehicle. This investigation is active and ongoing. No further details will be released at this time. A number of people were skeptical of the conclusion that Haney took his own life. For example, investigative journalist and Fox News contributor Sara A. Carter tweeted at 11:09 AM ET on Saturday morning: Somebody I deeply respected and considered a friend Phil Haney a DHS whistleblower during the Obama Admin was apparently killed yesterday in Southern [sic] California. Pray for his family and pray they find the person who murdered him. Still trying to get confirmation on details Carters tweet was quoted in a story at Fox News published around 7 PM ET Saturday. In 2016, one year after he retired from government service, Haney published a book, See Something, Say Nothing: A Homeland Security Officer Exposes the Government's Submission to Jihad. The book was extremely critical of President Barack Obama and his administration. Haney appeared several times on Fox News, including on Hannity (June 14, 2016) and Fox & Friends. An article at Law Enforcement Today on Saturday noted: Haney, who is credited with helping capture more than 300 jihadists, is best known for blowing the whistle on the Obama administration for shutting down an investigation he was leading that could have potentially stopped, among others the terrorist attack in San Bernardino. That attack, occurring on December 2, 2015, left 14 people dead and 22 seriously injured from gunshot wounds at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino. On June 28, 2016, Haney testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. His opening statement, which is available online, was titled Willful Blindness: Consequences of Agency Efforts To Deemphasize Radical Islam in Combating Terrorism. Philip Haney testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee June 28, 2016 Screen shot from Fox News Haney appeared frequently as a guest on new media platforms, including extensive interviews with John B. Wells on Caravan to Midnight (subscription required) and on The Hagmann Report (audio podcast of July 14, 2017 interview here). On January 4, 2018, Haney made his second appearance (video here) on The Hagmann Report, in the third hour long segment following my own in the programs second hour. Although we were both guests on the program that evening, I did not have a chance to engage Haney as our segments were self-contained. Friends of Haney discounted the initial report that Haney, a devout Christian, committed suicide. According to Law Enforcement Today: Friends of Haney told us that they spoke with Haney earlier this week and hed never been happier. Theyve suggested theres absolutely no way he would have taken his own life and reinforce that hes had many enemies since he blew the whistle on the Obama administration. . . In 2018, Haney told Intercessors for America prayer activists that he had been working on a special assignment in Minnesota to stop Rep. Keith Ellison from being elected Minnesotas Attorney General. As we approach the 2020 elections, friends of Haneys told us he was planning on doubling down on efforts to protect America from progressive leftists socialists. Peter Barry Chowka is a veteran journalist who writes about politics, media, popular culture, and health care for American Thinker and other publications. Peter's website is http://peter.media. His new YouTube channel is here. Follow Peter on Twitter at @pchowka. On Monday, when US president Donald Trump meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India, it will be their fifth meeting in eight months. On Monday, when US president Donald Trump meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India, it will be their fifth meeting in eight months. Four of these five have been on the sidelines of multilateral events across the globe, including one in US itself on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York last September. The visit to India, for President Trump, is his maiden one and even though there are several questions being raised about the deliverables for India during this visit, a senior government source said that for emerging powers, incoming visits should not be seen only in transactional terms. Not every visit can have big ticket deliverables. So, what do visits of this nature achieve and what goes on in the background to pull off these high-profile visits? Let's take the example of President Trump's visit itself. India has awaited his visit for a good two years. It was in 2018 that India sent feelers to Washington DC with the idea that he would be the chief guest at the Republic Day parade. The Modi government had managed to get former president Barack Obama as chief guest in 2016, making him the first American president to grace the prestigious occasion. Though this was in the last year of his presidency. But not only did the White House not respond to the request, the eternal wait saw media reporting on the same, further complicating matters. The Ministry of External Affairs managed to save face by suggesting the invite was an open one and that Trump could visit India whenever he desired. The visit Setting the dates for a visit is just one part of the humongous preparation effort. Starting from routine matters such as security, protocol, locations and their significance to the more concrete things like talking points during the meetings, both delegation-level and the restricted meeting between leaders, to the joint statement are not just time-consuming but entail constant engagement between the two sides. With a powerful leader like the US president, the Secret Service vets all locations and takes calls on where he can or can't go. For instance, it seems that the agency cut the roadshow route from 22 kilometres to 9 kilometres Ahmedabad, removing Sabarmati Ashram from the course. One of the reasons cited was the curves posing an issue for pilot cars in the president's motorcade. On issues like the joint statement, work remains on till the very last minute. A joint statement is not just a message of intent, but reflects the depth of relationship and is hence considered a very important aspect of diplomacy. As former diplomat Vishnu Prakash explained "the more important the visit, more critical are the discussions" surrounding the joint statement. He also points out that the discussions happen virtually till the last minute and some paragraphs could be bracketed for the external affairs minister or principals to look into. A senior government source also said India is looking at a powerful joint statement that is strongly-worded on terror and which shows intent for a future Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The US would also include mention Indo-Pacific. One question often asked is why have these bilateral visits when leaders hold talks on the sidelines of multilateral global events? Vishnu Prakash said in simplistic terms, the difference is between meeting in a hotel or restaurant and inviting someone home, which is "always more memorable." That aside, Prakash said a bilateral visit gives the leaders more time to spend together, as seen in Chinese president Xi Jinping's Mahaballipuram visit when he spent ten hours with Modi. That gives leaders an opportunity to discuss ties threadbare whereas the bilaterals, sometimes called pull-asides, don't end up being longer than 30 to 45 minutes. Some have also blamed outstanding bilateral issues between countries for over-shadowing meetings of groupings, for example the SAARC forum. More often than not, the entire focus veers towards issues between India and Pakistan rather than the grouping. Since 2016, there has been no summit-level meeting since India boycotted the one in Islamabad after the Uri terror attack. As India rolls out the red carpet for President Trump, which has the added element of a huge rally in Ahmedabad, questions have also been raised on the cost of such an event. This apart from the usual bilateral meeting held in Delhi's Hyderabad House. The estimated cost of the Ahmedabad event has been reported as Rs 100 crore, though no official figure has been put forth. Two lakh people will be involved in the event. However, many have pointed out that this trip offers New Delhi many advantages: From this being an opportunity to showcase India to a powerful leader, to the country as an emerging power putting on such larger than life events so that the outside world takes notice. Many diplomats believe that with the existing geo-political dynamic, soft diplomacy has to be mixed with hard-nosed negotiations to be able to manoeuvre across tricky international situations and for that, bilateral visits such as these are vital. Politician Pauline Hanson has slammed Chinese students for exploiting a legal loophole to sneak back into Australia amid the coronavirus outbreak. She called for universities to be liable if other students catch the disease, saying officials only care about 'money from foreign students'. A travel ban is in place to keep Australians safe from the deadly disease, which has killed more than 2,000 people worldwide. It means travellers, including students, are not allowed to enter Australia if they have been in China in the previous 14 days. But students from China are finding ways to work around the ban, brought in by Scott Morrison, with 1,477 students flying in on Friday and Saturday alone. Thousands more are expected in the coming week, with students arriving in Australia via transit countries such as Malaysia. A family wearing face masks to protect themselves from coronavirus arrive in Brisbane Airport before the ban (pictured) 'If any Australian kid catches coronavirus from any of these foreign students that come here, will the university be held liable?', Ms Hanson, who is leader of One Nation and a senator for Queensland, said. 'We know that the universities in Australia are not for the Australian students. 'It is all for foreign students and they rely on that, that money coming into the country. 'They use it as back door to get their permanent residency to Australia and then they send their own kids out here to get the free education. 'It is disgraceful what is happening.' Pauline Hanson (pictured on Monday on Today) said there is a danger of Australians catching coronavirus from Chinese students THE SIMPLE TRICK A CHINESE STUDENT USED TO FOOL IMMIGRATION Passengers arriving in Australia are required under Australian law to identify themselves and provide certain information. When you arrive in Australia from a foreign country, you are given a passenger card to fill in. One of the boxes asks for the name of the 'country in which you boarded the flight'. But this Chinese student wrote 'Hong Kong' in this section, despite starting his journey in China. With this, he claims authorities did not question him and simply waved him through. If he had written 'China' in the box, he would have been stopped and questioned. Advertisement Speaking on Today on Monday morning, she said universities shouldn't be helping Chinese students get back to Australia to continue their studies. Daily Mail Australia exposed the worrying loophole earlier this month and alerted the Department of Home Affairs and the Australian Border Force to the breach, but did they did not respond to requests for comment. One student bragged to friends about how he flouted the coronavirus travel ban, putting thousands in danger of contracting the deadly disease. He admitted to lying to officials by claiming he arrived from Hong Kong, when he in fact flew to Sydney from mainland China. Ms Hanson also used her Today appearance to defended controversial comments about the horrific Brisbane murder-suicide, saying 'these things happen'. In a crime which rocked Australia on Wednesday, Hannah Clarke, 31, was murdered by her estranged husband along with her three young children. Aaliyah, 6, Laianah, 4, and Trey, 3, were burned alive by their own father on their way to school after he poured petrol in their car and lit a flame. But Ms Hanson said the cowardly murders shouldn't lead to people 'bastardising all men' - saying Baxter could have been 'driven to it'. 'Don't bastardise all men out there, or women for that matter, because these things happen,' she said on Monday morning. Speaking about domestic violence murders, she added that: 'A lot of people are driven to this, to do these acts for one reason or another.' The killings have led to calls for more protection for domestic violence victims, after Ms Clarke was emotionally, sexually and financially abused by Baxter for years. Speaking on Today, Ms Hanson said the murders have been in the news more than if it was committed by a woman - and that Baxter may have been 'driven to it'. Lloyd and Suzanne Clarke (pictured), parents to Hannah Clarke, break down at a vigil to remember their murdered daughter on Sunday 'You know, this has been for a week we have been in the news nearly every day about this horrific tragedy,' she said on Today on Monday morning. 'But we don't hear much about it when a woman has murdered her children by driving a car into a tree, she threw out a suicide note. 'Or the woman who doused her husband with fuel and set him alight an said she was possibly driven to it. 'Hopefully the family law inquiry will get to the bottom of it.' Hannah Clarke and her three children were torched in their car on Wednesday morning by Rowan Baxter (all pictured together) who stabbed himself to death at the scene in Camp Hill On Thursday morning dozens of family and friends visited the scene of the tragedy to pay tribute to the family (pictured) She defended commentator Bettina Arndt, who made controversial comments about the Baxter murders. Hannah Clarke (pictured, left) with Baxter (right) on their wedding day Some MPs want Arndt to be stripped of her Order of Australia, after she praised a Queensland police officer for saying Baxter may have been 'driven too far'. Queensland detective Mark Thompson was taken off the case after making the comments. 'Congratulations to the Queensland police for keeping an open mind and awaiting proper evidence, including the possibility that Rowan Baxter might have been 'driven too far',' Ms Arndt wrote on Twitter. 'But note the misplaced outrage. How dare police deviate from the feminist script of seeking excuses and explanations when women stab their partners to death, or drive their children into dams but immediately judging a man in these circumstances as simply representing the evil violence that is in all men.' Rowan Charles Baxter (pictured, centre right, with his children) murdered his three kids in a horrific car fire on Wednesday Speaking about Ms Arndt's comments, Ms Hanson said she should not be stripped of her Australia Day honour. 'It was a horrendous act of what he did to his children,' she said. 'It was a tragedy and I am very deeply sorry for everyone. 'Family and friends involved in this treacherous of what he did to his former wife and his children. 'But Bettina Arndt should not be stripped of her Order of Australia. She is clearly stating what she thinks and what a police officer said. Hannah Clarke (pictured with daughters Aaliyah and Laianah) was killed just months after breaking free from her abusive husband 'This is why I have pushed for the family law inquiry to get behind what is happening on this.' Her comments come as a close friend of Hannah described her courageous last moments after she was ambushed and burned alive by her estranged husband. Simon Farmer - a family friend who was with Hannah in the Intensive Care Unit when she died after suffering burns to 97 per cent of her body - described the devoted mother's final minutes alive in gut-wrenching detail. 'She hung in there ... Until the last heartbeat brought a tidal wave of grief and anger,' he wrote on social media. 'You should all know how strong she was, she fought so hard.' The three youngsters died at the scene. Their father then killed himself beside the car when he knew his evil deed was done. The Baxter family car (pictured) was set on fire in Camp Hill, Brisbane, on Wednesday February 19 Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk (pictured, left), Hannah Clarke's parents Lloyd and Suzanne Clarke (centre), and police commissioner Katarina Carroll (right) at the vigil Hannah was rushed to hospital, with Mr Farmer saying the only part of his friend that was not burnt was her foot. 'We were in the ICU and we knew there was no hope,' the father-of-three told The Australian. Sergeant David Beard shared the 31-year-old's dreams of becoming a police officer at a vigil held on Sunday evening in Brisbane to mourn the loss of the family-of-four. Hannah had spoken about her plans at a Police Citizens Youth Club while visiting a friend the day before she burned to death. The shocking murder-suicide that has left Australia reeling unfolded just metres from the home of Ms Clarke's parents on Raven Street, Camp Hill, as she drove her children to school Hannah Clarke (pictured) with her 'main man', her son Trey, in a beach snap The mum-of-three had desperately tried to keep her young family safe from their evil dad, but was struggling after her domestic violence protection order was watered down. It has since emerged that he subject Hannah to years of domestic violence, prompting the brave mum to finally leave him last November. There was a domestic violence order (DVO) in place, but she expressed frustration that the conditions wouldn't be enough to keep her family safe. Despite being stalked every day by her monstrous ex, the DVO was watered down to allow her husband to be a close as 100 metres from her. Social commentator Bettina Arndt (pictured) has praised police for suggesting Baxter may have been 'driven too far' AUSTRALIANS WITH THE CORONAVIRUS NEW SOUTH WALES: 4 January 25 Three men aged 43, 53, and 35 who had recently travelled to China are confirmed to have contracted the disease. Two flew in from Wuhan while the other arrived in Sydney from Shenzhen, south China. They were treated in isolation at Westmead Hospital January 27 A 21-year-old woman is identified as the fourth person to test positive for the illness in NSW. The woman, a student at UNSW, flew into Sydney International Airport on flight MU749 on January 23 and presented to the emergency department 24 hours later after developing flu-like symptoms. VICTORIA: 6 January 25 A Chinese national aged in his 50s becomes the first confirmed case of the coronavirus in Australia. The man flew to Melbourne on China Southern flight CZ321 from Wuhan via Guangzhou on January 19. He was quarantined at Monash Hospital in Clayton in Melbourne's east. January 29 A Victorian man in his 60s is diagnosed with the coronavirus. He became unwell on January 23 - two days after returning from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak. The man was confirmed as positive on January 29 and was subsequently seen by doctors at the Monash Medical Centre. January 30 A woman in her 40s is found to have coronavirus. She was visiting from China and mostly spent time with her family. She is being treated at Royal Melbourne Hospital. February 1 A woman in her 20s in Melbourne is found to have the virus February 22 Two passengers taken off the Diamond Princess cruise ship test positive QUEENSLAND: 8 January 29 Queensland confirms its first case after a 44-year-old Chinese national was diagnosed with the virus. He is being treated at Gold Coast University Hospital. January 30 A 42-year-old Chinese woman who was travelling in the same Wuhan tour group as the 44-year-old man tests positive. She is in Gold Coast University Hospital in stable condition. February 4 An eight-year-old boy has been diagnosed coronavirus. He is also from the tour group where the other Queensland cases came from February 5 The case was found in a 37-year-old man, who was a member of a group of nine Chinese tourists in quarantine on the Gold Coast February 6 A 37-year-old woman has been diagnosed with coronavirus from the same travel group that flew to Queensland from Melbourne on January 27 February 21 Two Queensland women, aged 54 and 55, tested positive for COVID-19 and will be flown to Brisbane for further treatment. A 57-year-old woman from Queensland also tests positive for the virus SOUTH AUSTRALIA: 3 February 1 A Chinese couple in their 60s who arrived in Adelaide from Wuhan to visit relatives are confirmed to have coronavirus. A 24-year-old woman from South Australia has been transferred to Royal Adelaide Hospital WESTERN AUSTRALIA: 1 February 21 A 78-year-old man from Western Australia was transferred to Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in Perth JAPAN: 15 As of February 15, 47 Australians are among 219 confirmed cases of the coronavirus contracted on board Diamond Princess cruise ship at Yokohama. Two more Australians who were on board tested positive after they were evacuated to Darwin on February 22 Advertisement In the final two weeks before Saturdays Democratic caucuses in Nevada, the political discussionincluding part of the nationally televised presidential debaterevolved around union members and what they wanted. The powerful Culinary Union Local 226 had warned its membership that Medicare for All, as championed by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, would jeopardize their hard-won health benefits. Here was the long-running Democratic argument over whether universal health care should replace existing benefits, played out in direct and particular terms. Advertisement And on Saturday at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino caucus site, there were the union members, wearing their work uniformsmany of them accessorized, despite the leaderships message, with Unidos Con Sanders stickers. Monica Smith, a union member who said she had supported Hillary Clinton both in the 2008 and in 2016 caucuses, said she was supporting Sanders now because of his health care position, not in spite of it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I am now a Bernie Sanders individual, Smith said, because I believenumber onehe is experienced andnumber twoeverything he talks about for health care, I believe in. According to NBCs entry polling, 25 percent of the Nevada electorate was made up of union members and that group went decisively for Sanders. The Vermont senator took 34 percent of the union vote to 19 percent for Vice President Joe Biden, 15 percent for Pete Buttigieg, and 11 percent for Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Advertisement Advertisement Without offering an official endorsement for another candidate, the leadership of Local 226 had spent lead-up to the election criticizing Sanders health care plansaying in a published scorecard it would End Culinary Healthcareand the senators supporters for online abuse toward union leaders. Even just before the Bellagio caucus began, Bethany Khanthe director of communications for Local 226was telling reporters that the volume of abuse from Sanders supporters was still very high. The members at the Bellagio, though, many of them taking a break from their jobs to caucus, seemed to take the broader perspective on the question of health coverage. All of our people deserve health insurance, Smith said. Not just me because I fought and won it through a Culinary contract, but I think that my children who may not work in this field, they go to school, they deserve health care. And I dont believe that Bernies going to try to take away what we have won through years and years of bargaining. Advertisement Advertisement On Saturday, thanks in significant part to union supporters like Smith, Sanders looked headed toward a significant victory in the Nevada caucuses, according to entry polling and early returns. That win would place him in the clear frontrunner position for the Democratic nomination with Super Tuesday less than two weeks away. Advertisement Advertisement Of the 123 mostly Culinary workers who turned up at the Bellagio site, 76 ended up caucusing for Sanders, 45 ended up caucusing Biden, two ended up non-committed, and nobody else received any final-tally votes. Warren had a disastrous showing among these caucusgoers, garnering just 6 votes in the initial alignment and failing to meet the threshold for the second alignment. Ultimately, of the 51 delegates committed from this precinct, 32 went to Sanders and 19 went to Biden. Advertisement Advertisement During the Nevada campaign, Sanders team pushed back against the suggestion that his plan would hurt union workers without challenging the union itself. When I asked Sanders senior aide Jeff Weaver about the rift at Wednesdays debate, he repeatedly declined to criticize the Culinary Union or say that its scorecard was misleading. We have great respect for Culinary. Bernie has great respect for Culinary. Were just going to talk to voters and make our case, thats all, he said. Advertisement Advertisement He added that under Sanders plan, the unions state-of-the-art Vegas clinic will stay open. The Sanders campaign on Friday announced that its get-out-the-vote operation in Nevada, meanwhile, had knocked on 500,000 doors. The campaigns message on health care resonated with Smith and other culinary workers. Advertisement Aramas Walker, another union member, said that he supported Hillary Clinton in 2016 because of name recognition, but was supporting Sanders this time, citing Medicare for All. The thing about the health care, this whole discussion, my thing is this: Bernies plan is better for not only everybody in the nation but it also covers things, some of the things that our health plan itself doesnt cover, he told me. So, theres this thing where You lose your health care, but Im like, what are you really losing? Advertisement Holding on to their current individual benefits, the caucusgoers said, wasnt enough reassurance in a system where health care coverage is unreliable. I believe that when I sit with the people for Bernie Sanders and they say that they respect what we fought and won as Culinaryhe saw what happened to us with Obamacare, our copays are astronomical, Smith said. I do believe that he is right that, if I lose my job due to termination or illness, what do I get for health insurance and how do I get that back? If we had universal for everyone, I would at least know that I had something to fall back on, she added. Inghams Group Limited (ASX:ING) defied analyst predictions to release its interim results, which were ahead of market expectations. Results were good overall, with revenues beating analyst predictions by 4.6% to hit AU$1.3b. Statutory earnings per share (EPS) came in at AU$0.33, some 9.6% above what analysts had expected. 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. Readers will be glad to know we've aggregated the latest statutory forecasts to see whether analysts have changed their mind on Inghams Group after the latest results. See our latest analysis for Inghams Group ASX:ING Past and Future Earnings, February 22nd 2020 Taking into account the latest results, the most recent consensus for Inghams Group from eight analysts is for revenues of AU$2.59b in 2020, which is a satisfactory 2.0% increase on its sales over the past 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are expected to bounce 22% to AU$0.22. Yet prior to the latest earnings, analysts had been forecasting revenues of AU$2.58b and earnings per share (EPS) of AU$0.24 in 2020. So it looks like there's been a small decline in overall sentiment after the recent results - there's been no major change to revenue estimates, but analysts did make a small dip in their earnings per share forecasts. It might be a surprise to learn that the consensus price target was broadly unchanged at AU$3.54, with analysts clearly implying that the forecast decline in earnings is not expected to have much of an impact on valuation. Fixating on a single price target can be unwise though, since the consensus target is effectively the average of analyst price targets. As a result, some investors like to look at the range of estimates to see if there are any diverging opinions on the company's valuation. Currently, the most bullish analyst values Inghams Group at AU$4.00 per share, while the most bearish prices it at AU$3.10. Still, with such a tight range of estimates, it suggests analysts have a pretty good idea of what they think the company is worth. Story continues Zooming out to look at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can make sense of these forecasts is to see how they measure up both against past performance, and against industry growth estimates. We can infer from the latest estimates that analysts are expecting a continuation of Inghams Group's historical trends, as next year's forecast 2.0% revenue growth is roughly in line with 1.9% annual revenue growth over the past three years. Compare this with the wider market (in aggregate), which analyst estimates suggest will see revenues fall 10% next year. So although Inghams Group is expected to maintain its revenue growth rate, it's forecast to grow slower than the wider market. The Bottom Line The biggest concern with the new estimates is that analysts have reduced their earnings per share estimates, suggesting business headwinds could lay ahead for Inghams Group. Fortunately, analysts also reconfirmed their revenue estimates, suggesting sales are tracking in line with expectations - although our data does suggest that Inghams Group's revenues are expected to perform worse than the wider market. The consensus price target held steady at AU$3.54, with the latest estimates not enough to have an impact on analysts' estimated valuations. Still, the long-term prospects of the business are much more relevant than next year's earnings. We have estimates - from multiple Inghams Group analysts - going out to 2022, and you can see them free on our platform here. It might also be worth considering whether Inghams Group's debt load is appropriate, using our debt analysis tools on the Simply Wall St 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. Ali Watkins, it seems, wasn't the only one. The still-employed New York Times reporter set a new low bar in swamp journalism by sleeping with her sources, in her case Senate intelligence staffer James Wolfe, who got a two-month jail sentence for leaks to her, but in her case, ended only in her reassignment to the Times' New York City desk. It's still going on, and a new case of it signals it's apparently widespread practice in the mainstream media. Now we have a less-politically prominent official, 30-year-old Defense Intelligence Agency bureaucrat Henry Kyle Frese, who's in the news for pleading guilty to leaking big classified secrets surrounding the defense capabilities of North Korea and China to his lover-reporter, CNBC national security correspondent Amanda Macias, and then, at her request, to her good pal NBC national security correspondent Courtney Kube. Court documents show that he had 630 phone calls and at least 57 text messages with Macias, and 34 phone calls and 151 text messages with Kube. The two women were both Trump haters based on their Twitter posts, slanting their coverage to make the president look bad through the use of classified secrets as if to contradict him, leaving him unable to use Twitter to either trick our enemies or else dismiss the reports. They took the eight top-secret reports Frese leaked to do that, and then boosted each other publicly on Twitter while communicating privately through its messaging system. Here's the lovelorn trio of Macias, Frese and Kube, from their social media presence: The Times, for one piously characterizes this whole sorry picture is an issue about the importance of protecting "whistleblowers," (sound familiar?), the First Amendment, and the press's right to do its job: The intensive pursuit of government workers who share classified information has unsettled First Amendment advocates, who say it could have a chilling effect, persuading public employees to stay silent rather than alert journalists to wrongdoing. The rest of us see lovebird honeytrap journalism becoming more and more the norm as none of these reporters ends up seriously punished. Apparently, the managers up at the top of these organizations sees nothing wrong with this news standard other than a little bit of egg on their faces, raising questions as to whether they are now hiring these comely women for just this purpose. The reporters, having made an industry of soliciting secrets from lovelorn mooks like Frese, are still carrying on in the name of Getting Trump. None of them are facing arrest for knowingly printing stolen classified information, although that may change with this one, at least according to this dogged Twitterer File414 who's got a big series of tweets on this. Macias got a brief suspension in October from CNBC but seems to be back on the job, looking for more honey to trap, maybe. She appears remarkably cold in her absence of Twitter posts about her erstwhile roomate-lover who's now got a ruined career, all his money taken away, and a stretch in prison for leaking secrets to boost her career. She's instead tweeting pictures of what looks like her Paris vacation till the end of the month (hiding out till this blows over maybe?) and filing a single low-content story on the French wine industry derived from a press release, not actual interviews or street reporting, the PARIS dateline likely an argument to get the trip written off on her taxes. Kube, too, who benefited from Frese's leaks, has also moved on to other things, pity about Frese. Don't think that they are outliers breaking the rules, either. Here's a gag-inducing piece of fluff touting Kube on her birthday in 2018 from Politico. To Politico, she's a celebrity. As for Frese, what stands out is how easy it must have been for the FBI to get him. The sequence: Classified reports leak out. Investigators look at byline. Find leaked report. Check who had access to the leaked report (it was only 26 people, so one likely did it). Find out one of the 26 is literally living with the reporter who reported it. Bug phone. Find out about first reporter's friends, find that one friend is also a printer of classified links -- that can be traced to same DIA man. Easy as pie then to bug Frese's phone and find out what else they all want to leak out for the purpose of Getting Trump and Getting Ahead. All of them including Frese, were anti-Trump. The Times tut-tutted the use of the phone surveillance slipping in an editorial comment to its story: The case was prosecuted with a wiretap of Mr. Freses phone, perhaps the most intrusive tool in criminal investigators arsenal. If the bureau can't bug someone for doing this kind of activity, why have classified information at all? The Times' tut-tutting was nothing but a smokescreen to protect their anti-Trump agenda reporting. The fact that this "most intrusive tool" was used on Carter Page didn't bother them at all. Outside the patriotic perspective for opposing the leaks of classified info - and apparently Frese had none, he seemed to have been a Canadian until he had to give that up to get his clearance, not a reason of the heart - the U.S. secrets were supposed to be for the benefit of the American people, not someone's private gain up the career ladder. They were expensively obtained secrets, for one, and if as reported it was secrets about North Korea, it was obtained at extremely great risk. Pubishing those under such circumstances -- to Get Trump - is simply outrageous. Frese must have watched how James Wolfe had his Ali Watkins episode and got let off fairly easily, so no problem in doing it himself. He must have been sure no one was checking his social media, the easiest thing in the world to check, and therefore would get away with this. With anti-Trump bureaucrats leaking all over the place and getting away with it, it must have seemed to him that risking his career and livelihood (his plea deal pretty well leaves him ruined) was no big deal. Maybe that's changing now. But it's reasonable to wonder how much more of this is going on. Apparently there's a lot of it, given the Watkins, Kube and Macias examples. Maybe ending honeytrap journalism needs to be an issue. Images credit: shareable Twitter, Facebook posts As the Indian government has undertaken a vigorous task of beautification to welcome US President Donald Trump on February 24, the building up of a wall in the city of Ahmedabad has left a sour taste among social media. With the presidential motorcade for the 'Namaste Trump' event to start on Monday, a stretch of people will be kept out of vision. A wall is being risen alongside the road connecting the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport to Indira Bridge in Gujarat where the "biggest road show" is set to take place. The objective behind the wall is to hide more than 500 kutcha houses at the Dev Saran or Saraniyavaas slum area. The move has been drawing flak from various sectors of social media, where people pointed out the 'reality' was being concealed behind a pretence. Some mocked the idea of "Great Wall of Ahmedabad" suggesting that the money spent behind the wall could have otherwise been put to use to "better" the state of the slum dwellers. #____ Behind the wall, in case Trump is curious! Life in two sides of the wall built in Ahmedabad for. the pic.twitter.com/yyenxOrtKO Mukesh Kashyap (@Mukeshkashyap90) February 23, 2020 The picture of the wall with a contrasting view of its two sides, has gone viral drawing strong reactions. History will remember :Game of thronesChinaAmitabh BachchanDonald Trump&Narendra Modi " FOR THE WALL "#MannKiBaat#TrumpIndiaVisit pic.twitter.com/rdQrOxKguB SHOAIB | | (@Jii_Bilkul) February 23, 2020 This Wall reminds me of oscar winning Movie Parasite. 'Dont cross the line' #TrumpIndiaVisit #NamasteTrump pic.twitter.com/PDtOax2Ptk Irfan (@NextToSRK) February 23, 2020 Hey @realDonaldTrump although they have erected a wall, I know you love to build the wall, to hide govt inefficiency from you. Thought I might help to see what's on the other side#TrumpIndiaVisit#USIndia#ModiTrumpSummit pic.twitter.com/hSnnLgTRzp #CumChoTrump (@rajni_cant) February 23, 2020 Just wondering from where will this 7 million people will gonna come from #TrumpIndiaVisit Saket ojha (@Saketojha7) February 23, 2020 If Trump is curious, this is what is behind the wall #TrumpIndiaVisit #NamasteTrump pic.twitter.com/TKLiY9Wpfb Umar Sayed (@Umar_sayed17) February 23, 2020 However, in an earlier report, Municipal Commissioner Vijay Nehra said, "The decision to build a 4 feet wall was taken 2 months ago to prevent encroachments on footpath & road." "I had personally visited the slum & offered houses to the residents," he added. Truth has a way of coming outThe decision to build a 4 feet wall was taken 2 months ago to prevent encroachments on footpath & road. I had personally visited the slum & offered houses to the residents @AmdavadAMC is constructing about 1 lakh affordable homes for poor people https://t.co/t0QsQEOilp Vijay Nehra (@vnehra) February 19, 2020 The US President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump and a 12-member delegation, including the presidents daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner, will be arriving in India on Monday. Trump may also visit the Sabarmati Ashram after attending the grand Namaste Trump' event at the Motera Stadium with Prime Minister PM Narendra Modi. Iran on Saturday ordered the closure of schools, universities and cultural centres after a coronavirus outbreak that has killed five people in the Islamic republic -- the most outside the Far East. The moves came as Iranian authorities reported one more death among 10 new cases of the virus. Since it emerged in December, the new coronavirus has killed 2,345 people in China, the epicentre of the epidemic, and 17 elsewhere in the world. The COVID-19 outbreak in Iran first surfaced on Wednesday, when authorities said it claimed the lives of two elderly people in Qom, a Shiite holy city south of the capital. They were the first confirmed deaths from the virus in the Middle East. Iran reported two more deaths on Friday. "We have 10 new confirmed cases of COVID-19," Iran's health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour told state television on Saturday. "One of the new cases has unfortunately passed away," he added, noting that eight of them had been hospitalised in Qom and two in Tehran, without specifying where the death occurred. The latest cases take to 28 the total number of confirmed infections in Iran. Based on official figures, nearly 18 percent of those infected with the new coronavirus in Iran have died, compared with little more than three percent in China. - Mask sales soar - As a "preventive measure", authorities ordered the closure of schools, universities and other educational centres in 14 provinces across the country from Sunday, state television reported. They include Qom, Markazi, Gilan, Ardabil, Kermanshah, Qazvin, Zanjan, Mazandaran, Golestan, Hamedan, Alborz, Semnan, Kurdistan and the capital, Tehran. The government also announced that "all art and cinema events in halls across the country have been cancelled until the end of the week" in order to stop infections. "We are on the frontlines, we need help," head of Qom's medical sciences university said on state TV. "If I can say one thing, it is help Qom," said Mohammadreza Ghadir. The World Health Organization has expressed concern over the speed at which COVID-19 has spread in Iran, as well as it being exported from the Islamic republic to other countries including Lebanon. "The concern is... that we have seen an increase in cases, a very rapid increase in a matter of a few days," said Sylvie Briand, director of the WHO's global infectious hazard preparedness department. "We are just wondering about also the potential of more exported cases in the coming days," she added. The Iranian outbreak emerged in the lead-up to a parliamentary election on Friday. State media said the deadly virus had failed to dampen "the revolutionary zeal of Qom's people" to turn out to vote. Iranians have been snapping up surgical face masks in a bid to avoid catching the virus. Online retailer Digikala -- Iran's equivalent of Amazon -- said on Friday that it had sold 75,000 masks within 36 hours. It said it was not claiming a commission on its mask sales, amid concerns that demand was causing prices to skyrocket on the black market. - 'Epidemic has started' - "We stand against the unusual price increase," Digikala tweeted. "We stand alongside our dear suppliers and by providing fresh supplies, we hope we can meet a part of the country's demand." The health ministry said tests had been carried out on 785 suspected coronavirus cases since the outbreak began. "Most of the cases are either Qom residents or have a history of coming and going from Qom to other cities," its spokesman said. Iran has yet to confirm the origin of the outbreak, but one official speculated that it was brought in by Chinese workers. "The coronavirus epidemic has started in the country," state news agency IRNA quoted the health ministry's Minoo Mohraz as saying. "Since those infected in Qom had no contact with the Chinese ... the source is probably Chinese workers who work in Qom and have travelled to China," she added. But the official did not provide any evidence to support her claim, and it has not been reported elsewhere in Iranian media. All of those who lost their lives are believed to be Iranian citizens. Qom is a centre for Islamic studies and pilgrims, attracting scholars from Iran and beyond. Following the announcement of the first two deaths, neighbouring Iraq on Thursday clamped down on travel to and from the Islamic republic. The Iraqi health ministry announced that people in Iran were barred from entering the country "until further notice". Kuwait's national carrier Kuwait Airways meanwhile announced it would suspend all flights to Iran. Syria's Kurds on Sunday renewed their appeal for international aid to put on trial thousands of captured members of the Islamic State group, including Western nationals. Almost a year since the March 2019 fall of the last IS bastion in Syria, the victorious US-backed and Kurdish-led forces still hold about 12,000 suspected IS members in the country's northeast. Most of them are Syrian or Iraqi nationals but their ranks include between 2,500 and 3,000 nationals from around 50 other countries. In the face of Western hesitation to repatriate their own nationals, the Kurds have resigned themselves to having to put those detained on trial in Syria. The semi-autonomous Kurdish authorities "need international cooperation", Fener al-Kait, a foreign affairs official, said in the Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli. "We need a lot, at the judicial and technical levels," he told AFP, adding that several countries were expected to come forward with assistance "in a month of two", without identifying them. Kait on Sunday met with a parliamentary delegation from Belgium, 15 of whose nationals are held by the Kurds, while more than 60 Belgian women and children remain in camps for suspected IS family members. Search Keywords: Short link: The Agboowu of Ogbaagba, Dhikrulahi Akinropo, recently allegedly assaulted by the Oluwo of Iwo, Abdulrosheed Akanbi, over land dispute in Iwo land has expressed his displeasure over the failure of the Osun State Government to take proactive measures on the matter. While Mr Akanbi has been suspended from attending the Osun State Traditional Rulers Council meeting for six months, the state government is yet to state its stance on the matter. Mr Akinropo in a two hours interview with PREMIUM TIMES Kabir Adejumo at his palace on Sunday spoke on the genesis of his fight with Oluwo, how the police betrayed him and the silence of the state government. Excerpts: PT: What was the relationship between you and Oluwo before now and what led to the fight between you? Agboowu: We had a good relationship when he was first installed and we were all respecting him as the president of traditional rulers in Iwo land. Whenever he calls for meetings, we always respect him and make ourselves available. However, he started fighting with about eight kings including me during a meeting we had at his palace in August 2019 when he told us that all kings in Ayedire Local Government and Olaoluwa are subjects under him. That same day, he told us that anytime we want to sell any land above 10 acres in our jurisdiction, we must consult him and that he has the power to give receipt. We rejected this that same day but he repeated it in September that year. But Olu of Ile Ogbo said that cannot be possible. I also told him that I have to return to my subjects in Ogbaagba before I can give him response. After my comment, he then said he thought I was wise to have been made a king. I never responded to avoid problems. By October, we were invited by former AIG, Prince Oyebade in Zone II, over a petition that we were threatening Oluwos life. We were eight kings he wrote against. The AIG in his wisdom said we should try to resolve it amidst ourselves. PT: Did you then return to his palace for Obas council meetings? Agboowu: Well, even the council meetings we hold in his palace was not supposed to be. We only respected his predecessor. Iwo Local Government is the right place for our meeting. We then chose Iwo Local Government Secretariat since we have Chief house in the place. The day we called a peace meeting, he came with thugs even when it was obvious that we came for a peace meeting. He kept drumming for hours and raising curse on other kings on seat. The chairman of Iwo Local Government and former permanent secretary of SUBEB, Tayo Giwa, were present that day. We realised the atmosphere was tensed, so, we ran away from the place. Since then, we did not hear about the matter until a new AIG, Balkama came to Osun. He wrote to us to come and we respected that. PT: Was it at the meeting that you were assaulted? Agboowu: Yes. The Officer in charge of legal, AIG, the commissioner for chieftaincy affairs, the commissioner for lands and all other kings petitioned were present. AIG opened the discussion that some kings are having dispute over land. But commissioner for chieftaincy affairs, Taju Lawal, quickly wade in, saying, land matters are best resolved among the kings. He argued that it is not a criminal matter, so, police should stay away. He told us all that aggrieved parties should go to court. At that point, Oluwo stood up saying hes not interested in court. I was seated on the same row where he seated. Next to Oluwo was Alhaji Kamal, chairman Iwo Local Government and I followed. I told him to take it easy but the reaction I got from him was different punches to the extent that I fainted. He questioned why I should be talking while hes talking. Perhaps, I would be dead by now if not for AIG that forcefully dragged him away. I sustained injury. I told AIG that I felt very bad I could be assaulted in his presence. OC legal, Mr James then asked that we should write statement before going to hospital at Asubiaro. I was examined and treated. I returned home to douse tension because the people of Ogbaagba were already planning to storm Osogbo with annoyance. But to maintain peace, I asked them to wait for me and I returned home at night after I was treated at the hospital. I, again went to the hospital the following day for treatment. PT: But Oluwo said all that happened and got you injured was self-defense and police has not said anything to the public since then. Agboowu: The most painful thing is the report police AIG submitted to the council of obas that we never fought in his presence. We need to be careful of this country. Police are one of the major problems we have. Oluwo himself claimed it was self-defense but AIG told council of obas last Friday that he did not witness any fight. I feel very betrayed by the police. The AIG is a bloody liar. PT: How about the representatives of the government? Agboowu: I was surprised that the commissioner for local government and chieftaincy and the commissioner for lands also boycotted the meeting. They both claimed to have travelled including Iwo Local Government chairman. I want the two commissioners to swear with Ogun that I was never beaten. PT: How long have you been on the throne? Agboowu: I was installed in 1996. 24 years now. PT: With what played out between you and Oluwo, we can simply say that there is no respect for the years youve spent on the throne. Advertisements Agboowu: A king should be respected regardless of the power. He has no power over where I preside. Thats all I can say. PT: We obtained a copy of your petition to the AIG calling for Oluwos prosecution. Are you ready for a legal battle? Agboowu: I have been betrayed by the police. The AIG disappointed all Nigerians. We have to be scared of the police and not trust them. We are not safe. I am not against the government but I felt bad the commissioner for chieftaincy affairs who witnessed it did not report to the governor and Ive been left to carry my cross. I plead with Nigerians to help me from being cheated. If getting justice from the police and state government appears impossible, we will take legal means but I cant say absolutely yes for now. Lets wait and see how things unfold. The Osun State Council of Traditional Rulers suspended him from coming to meeting for six months already anyways for his indecency. I await government response too. Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday said his stand on the CAA-NRC-NPR is well thought of and decided after holding consultations with the NCP and the Congress--the other constituents of the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government. After meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi as part of a scheduled visit on Friday, Thackeray said that no one needs to fear about the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and that the National Population Register (NPR) is not going to throw anyone out of the country. Earlier, Thackeray had said that his government will not allow the proposed National Register of Citizens to be implemented as it would "impact people of all religions". The stand of Thackeray, who heads Shiv Sena, appeared at variance with the NCP and the Congress. "I have made my stand clear on these issues and I have also discussed it with the alliance partners Congress and NCP," Thackeray said while talking to reporters on the eve of the Budget session of the state legislature. Replying to a query on senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis' statement that a state government cannot change the questionnaire of the NPR, Thackeray said, "Senior members of the three parties (Sena, NCP and Congress) can sit together and discuss about the possible complications in its implementation in the state". When asked about the National Investigation Agency (NIA) taking over the investigation into the 2017 Elgar Parishad case, the CM said he didn't hand it over to the Central agency. "The Centre took over the probe as per law, but I am disappointed over it," he said. In a sudden move, the NIA took over the probe into the case last month. Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh of the NCP had said that CM Thackeray had overruled him in handing over the probe to the NIA. NCP chief Sharad Pawar had also expressed his disapproval with Thackeray letting the NIA take over the case. The Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government had initially criticised the Centre's move to hand over the case to the NIA. The case under probe relates to alleged inflammatory speeches delivered at the Elgar Parishad conclave held at Shaniwarwada in Pune on December 31, 2017, which the police claimed, triggered violence near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial in the district the next day. The Pune police have claimed the conclave was backed by Maoists. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Lena Toepler and Thomas Escritt (Reuters) Berlin, Germany Sun, February 23, 2020 11:05 689 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad206610a97 2 Entertainment Sigourney-Weaver,Harvey-Weinstein,Hollywood,film,Sexual-assault,My-Salinger-Year,berlin-international-film-festival,berlinale,Philippe-Falardeau Free The cascade of allegations against producer Harvey Weinstein, currently being tried on charges of rape and sexual assault, has "changed everything" for women in the film world, actress Sigourney Weaver said on Friday. The Aliens star is one of two lead actresses in My Salinger Year, the story of an aspiring young writer mentored by Weaver's experienced literary agent, which premiered out of competition at the Berlin Film Festival on Thursday. "I certainly respect the women who have gone to court against him, and I can't imagine that," she told Reuters. "I think it's changed everything, frankly. It's been case after case." The explosive allegations against Weinstein and a host of other senior men in film and other media industries have led many to demand a reassessment of the challenges women faced in the workplace. My Salinger Year, directed by French-Canadian Philippe Falardeau, could be one of the early fruits of that change, in its exploration of the relationship between an older and a younger woman working at an esteemed New York literary agency that counts J.D. Salinger among its clients. Read also: Weinstein jury deadlocked on most serious sexual assault charges "This mentor-mentee relationship is very common for women," Weaver said. "And it's a story that's not often told on film. You have plenty of coming of age stories about young men, but very rarely do we have this relationship." Filmed in Montreal but set in mid-1990s New York, the film is based on Joanna Rakoff's memoir of the same name, which recounted the year she spent answering fan mail addressed to J.D. Salinger. Margaret Qualley plays Joanna, who realizes over the course of her year under Weaver's stern and New York City's hedonistic mentorship that her loser boyfriend and her work as a literary agent are interfering with her aspiration of becoming a writer. "I so not wanted to project my male perspective and fantasies on to a woman's life," Falardeau said, explaining his decision to crew the film with women, including cinematographer Sara Mishara and editor Mary Finlay. Towards the end of her mentorship, Joanna dances with a former beau to the tune of "Moon River", a scene that hints slyly at the ways the life and horizons of a single young woman in New York have changed since the days of Holly Golightly. After being prevented from attending the annual convocation of two top state universities, West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday said he would be presiding over the graduation ceremony at West Bengal State University (WBSU). Dhankhar, who is also the chancellor of all state varsities, said he would discuss ways to improve the performance of the WBSU with the vice chancellor (VC) and the faculty members on the occasion. "Would be presiding as Chancellor Convocation of the West Bengal State University on February 25, 2020. The University since its inception in 2008 had its first convocation in 2017. Would avail the opportunity to discuss with VC and faculty how University may be ever on the rise," Dhankhar wrote on his official Twitter handle. The governor had recently faced massive protests by students and non-teaching staff during the annual convocation ceremonies of Jadavpur University and Calcutta University, prompting him to leave the venue. He had last week expressed dismay over not being invited to the Coochbehar Panchanan Barma University for their annual ceremony. Dhankhar has show-caused the Cooch Behar varsity's vice-chancellor Debkumar Mukhopadhyay, seeking an explanation as to why he should not be removed for what he termed was a failure to abide by the rules. "Cooch Behar Panchanan Barma University Convocation will be held on Feb 14. Ministers Partha Chatterjee, Goutam Deb, Rabindra Nath Ghosh and Binay Krishna Barman are invited for the Convocation. Chancellor, who has right to preside, has just no information! Where are we heading!" he had tweeted. Powers of Dhankhar as the chancellor, who had had frequent run-ins with state government, was recently clipped by the Mamata Banerjee-led dispensation, with the enactment of a new rule which states that his approval was no longer necessary for convening a senate meeting or selecting candidates for honorary degrees at the state varsities. In what was seen as a sign of thaw in their frosty relationship, however, the governor recently held meetings with the chief minister and other key functionaries of the government over a host of issues. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Reuters) Melbourne, Australia Sun, February 23, 2020 19:09 689 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad20661d93a 2 Environment Australia,Great-Barrier-Reef,coral-bleaching,environment,climate Free The government agency tasked with monitoring the health of Australia's Great Barrier Reef has detected signs of heat stress in several coral regions, increasing the prospects of another major bleaching event. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority said on Thursday that a prolonged period of warmer than usual ocean currents has led to water temperatures that are 2 to 3C above average for February, which is already the hottest month of the year on the reef. "So these anomolies are really very concerning and they have intensfied in the last week," David Wachenfeld, the authority's chief scientist, said in his weekly video update. The reef, which runs 2,300 kilometers down Australia's north eastern coast spanning an area half the size of Texas, has only just begun to recover after being heavily hit by two consecutive years of coral bleaching in 2016 and 2017. Read also: Australia's Great Barrier Reef in 'very poor' condition: Agency The marine park authority said it was further investigating the renewed bleaching, using spot checks by divers, helicopter patrols, and observations by the public. Lyle Vail, director of the Australian Museum's Lizard Island Research Station which is part of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, said he had observed about 30 percent to 40 percent of coral in shallow waters off the island had some level of bleaching. "The bright blue staghorn coral is ... fluorescing another sign a coral is in distress," he said in a statement from the World Wildlife Fund Australia. The Great Barrier Reef has an economic, social and icon asset value of $56 billion. It supports 64,000 jobs and contributes $6.4 billion to the Australian economy, Deloitte found in a 2017 report. Sex Discrimination commissioner Kate Jenkins Credit:Paul Jeffers A national register of confidential out-of-court settlements of underpayment and sexual harassment cases is needed to identify repeat offenders and systemic problems. The call from Secretary of Unions NSW Mark Morey comes as the sex discrimination commissioner and legal experts express frustration with confidentiality agreements that stifle public accountability. The use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) will be addressed in recommendations from a national inquiry into sexual harassment in Australian workplaces. Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins said her final report to be released within a month "will contain a series of recommendations, including one on NDAs". Non-disclosure agreements between an employee and their workplace can help parties resolve a dispute and ensure a right to privacy for victims of sexual harassment. When a patient arrives at an American emergency room today, they have a higher chance than ever before of seeing a doctor who's a woman or a person of color. And they're also more likely than ever to get a survey after they go home, asking how satisfied they were with their ER care. But some have worried that a combination of increased physician diversity, underlying patient biases, and more emphasis on ER satisfaction ratings could create issues - especially if hospitals with low ER patient ratings face public reporting or even financial penalties in future. A new study by a team from Yale University and the University of Michigan may ease some of those fears. Published in JAMA Network Open, the study finds that patients rated their satisfaction with a simulated ER visit just as highly if the doctor randomly assigned to them was white or African-American, and man or woman. Confidence in their doctor also didn't vary based on physician gender or race. This held true even after the researchers took into account variation in respondents' demographic characteristics and attitudes like prejudice and sexism. Surprise findings Lead author Rachel Solnick, M.D., M.Sc., notes that the study doesn't mean that emergency physicians won't ever face individual situations where a patient expresses bias against them because of race, gender, age or other factors. In fact, it was her own experience with such biases as an emergency medicine resident, as well as previous research by others, that led Solnick to do the study. The fact that ER patients don't get to choose which doctor they see, unlike with most other fields of medicine, adds to the potential for bias to creep into the doctor-patient interaction. We were really surprised that even after looking at these data in many different ways, we did not see evidence of racial or gender bias affecting patient satisfaction or confidence. This is not to say that people are bias-free, but it did not appear to enter into their ratings of care in surveys. This is good news, with a grain of salt." Rachel Solnick, lead author More about the study Solnick, now a National Clinician Scholar at the U-M Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, sees patients as an emergency medicine physician at Michigan Medicine, U-M's academic medical center. She's one of the approximately 25% of American ER physicians who are women; 5% of all ER physicians identify as African-American. Working with Yale colleagues including Kyle Peyton, Ph.D., Gordon Kraft-Todd, Ph.D. (now at Boston College) and Basmah Safdar, M.D., M.Sc., the team designed a study that drew its "patients" from two online platforms commonly used in academic research. More than 1,600 of them were recruited from the Amazon Mechanical Turk interface, and another 1,600 were recruited through Lucid using a quota sample matched to Census demographics. Each "patient" received the same scenario: they had gone to the ER for stomach symptoms, and received tests, a diagnosis of viral gastroenteritis and supportive treatment plan from the simulated physician randomly assigned to them. Alongside the physician diagnosis was a contradictory diagnosis from an online symptom checker, which suggested their symptoms might indicate a much more serious issue: an infected appendix. This contrast was meant to instill doubt in the doctor's competence in providing appropriate care. Assessing patient bias toward or against certain types of ER physicians is especially important at this time, Solnick adds. The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has been testing the feasibility of a new survey tool called the Emergency Department Patient Experiences with Care (EDPEC) for hospitals to use with ER patients who did not get admitted to the hospital. Such a tool could be used in future to impose financial penalties on hospitals with low ER satisfaction ratings, just as patient ratings for other types of care already do. The new CMS survey tool is in addition to private ones that hospitals already use in-house. "Patient satisfaction surveys have really altered the fabric of the emergency doctor/patient relationship, because in addition to thinking about the medical treatment we also are considering how we will be 'graded' at the end of the encounter," says Solnick. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, she emphasizes. In fact, it has made clear communication throughout an ER visit even more important -- even as ERs cope with crowding and have to accept every patient who comes to them. Next steps The current research didn't investigate patient assessments of doctors from other racial and ethnic backgrounds, immigration statuses, ages or national origins. Also, the scenario the researchers studied was based in an ER setting, and other areas of the healthcare system where patients have a longer term relationship with their doctor or exercise greater discretion in physician choice may reveal different results. That could be another avenue for follow-up studies. Although this study did not find that physician race or gender negatively affected patient satisfaction, on average, there is compelling evidence that increasing the diversity of the physician workforce has positive benefits for public health. For example, a recent field experiment in Oakland, CA found that black men treated by black male physicians reported greater satisfaction and took more preventative health measures than black men treated by white male physicians. But at the same time, minority physicians and women physicians often experience higher rates of burn out from their job and some report higher rates of job turnover due to discrimination. Solnick and colleagues feel that this new data points the research spotlight towards other sources of potential workplace discrimination- colleagues, superiors, and policies- and the need for institutions to identify and evolve in order to sustain and encourage a diverse workforce. A woman holds up a poster during a solidarity rally in Hanau, Germany on Saturday, three days after several people were killed in a shooting at the city. Read more The virus is spreading worldwide faster than our ability to contain it. No, not that one. Im thinking about the tragic and shocking events that took place on Wednesday night nearly 4,000 miles away in the German community of Hanau, not far from the city of Frankfurt. Around 10 p.m., a man walked into a popular hookah lounge called the Midnight Bar in Hanaus central square and began firing at the bartender and patrons, most of Turkish descent. Then the gunman fled to a second bar in a nearby town and repeated the carnage. In all, nine people were slaughtered. The mass murderer then returned home, where he killed his own mother, then himself. The details that then emerged about the gunman, identified by German authorities as 43-year-old Tobias Rathjen, will be numbingly familiar to anyone whos followed the growing spate of mass shootings here on American soil. The killer left behind the almost obligatory manifesto and videos trying to explain his inexplicable bloodshed targeting Germanys immigrant community. Indeed, the murderers manifesto reads like a greatest-hits package of atomized white male grievance in the 21st century; it blended his inability to have relationships with women, in keeping with the so-called incel movement, with deeply disturbed paranoia about remote mind control and hatred of various immigrant groups as well as the Islamic religion. But what the manifesto really showed was that, when it comes to hate in the internet age, its a small world after all. For all its insanity, theres very little difference between the ramblings of this mass murderer and the white supremacist who less than a year ago shot up two mosques in New Zealand and live-streamed it as he killed 51 people, or the Texas man whose hatred of Mexican migrants inspired the slaughter of 22 inside an El Paso Walmart. READ MORE: Trumps America unravels in one bloody nightmare weekend. Now its time to clean house. | Will Bunch Trapped in a psychological void on the other side of the world, a German killer was very much influenced by his understanding of politics in the United States. Echoing other mass-murder manifestos, he was fascinated by the rise of Donald Trump and what that said about white supremacy. In addition to supporting Trumps scheme to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico, the Hanau gunman argued the 45th president should "take the helm since his personality makes him the person most capable of setting the agenda in the U.S. He also cited off-the-wall conspiracy theories that will be familiar to anyone here on American soil whos watched whackjobbery like the internet fake-scandal called QAnon or its cousin, the invented Pizzagate affair, take root among impressionable conservatives. Specifically, the mass killer believed that a sex cult is flourishing at underground military bases. In some of them, they worship the devil himself, he wrote. "They abuse, torture and kill little children. Its the kind of thinking that screams out for mental health treatment but which, in 2020, might get one, in his or her "Q" T-shirt, a front-row seat at a Trump campaign rally. There was only one thing even more striking about the Hanau murders than the spreading virus of right-wing hate toward immigrants, racial minorities, and women as it leaps, pandemic-like, from nation to nation. Thats the utter lack of media coverage here in the United States. Sure, there were distractions important ones including the 2020 presidential primaries and the alarming authoritarian power-grab of an acquitted and revenge-seeking Trump. Over the last decade weve seen CNN, Fox News and other networks give breathless breaking-news-chyron, wall-to-wall coverage of various mass shootings, stabbings or truck attacks on pedestrians across the European continent and in the United Kingdom but only when those attacks are carried out by Islamists. An attack by a right-winger against mostly Muslim victims barely dented the bottom of the hour. Thats disgraceful and arguably racist. And its also a little bizarre because youd think that anyone who knows the last 150 years or so of world history might think that rising right-wing extremism in Germany would have some echoes suggesting this is a major story. The German chancellor Angela Merkel whose looming retirement has heightened concerns about rising right-wing political movements in her homeland certainly got the message, denouncing the poison of racism in a statement that didnt dent the American consciousness. Its hard not to believe that with our ADD-addled ability to focus only on the latest outrage of the last hour we are missing the most alarming and important trend of the last decade. That would be the rise of violent, brownshirt-style, right-wing global extremism and the concurrent era of authoritarian-style rulers on every continent, whose angry rhetoric toward migrants, ethnic minorities or women inspires these terrorists. The worlds indifferent response to similar trends in the 1930s led to global conflagration in the 1940s. Are we repeating those mistakes in the 2020s as we fail to connect the dots? The echoes of gunfire in Hanau had barely died when Trump departed on a junket to India for two days with his authoritarian identical cousin, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who in Trumpian fashion has solidified his support and his (successful) reelection on support from a fundamentalist base of his own religion, while marginalizing others. While Trump promulgates his travel ban that largely targets arrivals from majority-Muslim countries, Modi forced through a citizenship law that discriminates against Indias sizable Islamic minority. In breaking naan with Modi, Trump is indulging a love affair with a global league of extraordinarily bad gentlemen Russias Vladimir Putin, Saudi Arabias Mohammad bin Salman, Turkeys Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Hungarys Viktor Orban, the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte, etc., etc. that isnt just a personality quirk. Instead, Trump and his dictator friends are creating a feedback loop that is giving aid and comfort to every right-wing wacko who shares their beliefs in nationalist or ethnic supremacy and demonizing The Other. It cant happen here? It already is. This weekend during a Google search for something completely different I stumbled across a gobsmacking phenomenon also getting zero, or close to zero, coverage in national media. In rural Virginia counties, in a state where control of the legislature has flipped to Democrats during the Trump era, armed men are walking into county commission meetings demanding permission to form militias, urging sheriffs to resist any gun-control laws, and calling for secession into more conservative West Virginia. READ MORE: Call Richmonds MLK Day gun rally what it was: An outbreak of terrorism on American soil | Will Bunch In Wise County, Va., about 50 members of an outfit calling itself the Wise County Patriots Group, many of them wearing stickers readings Guns Save Lives (paging Mr. George Orwell), flooded the county board to demand creation of a militia that would be, in the words of one activist, a thumb in the eye of Virginias Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam. In nearby Charlotte County, Va., two brothers armed with rifles and wearing camouflage stormed into the commissioners meeting to make the same type of demand. I mean, all hands on deck, we bring that, I mean, we do what we have to do, and were looking for leadership, and its not just myself there are thousands of us who want to see that done, the rambling armed interlocutor, Bernie Rose, told the county board. In the conversation between people saying America is hurtling toward a second civil war and people wondering what that would even look like ... whats happening right now in rural western Virginia is what that looks like. And the nightmare that just happened in Germany is what the internet-fueled virus of weapons, bigotry, and hate speech looks like on a global scale. This isnt a 15-second, 8:55 a.m. in other headlines story, and its also shameful that the Democratic candidates are never asked in their debates how they would curb right-wing extremism, which based on Virginias experience might grow even faster if one of them wins in November. We really need to be talking about the mayhem that a Trump-loving conspiracy freak unleashed in Hanau. This is the story of our times. The new Smith & Nephew chief executive has refused to rule out a $5.4billion (4.2 billion) bid for Wright Medical. The FTSE 100 medical equipment business attempted to purchase the US-listed company, which makes implants for shoulders, elbows and ankles, last autumn before backing out. But when City analysts asked Roland Diggelmann, Smith & Nephew's new boss, last week whether he was interested in buying Wright Medical, he said: 'Of course we remain interested in the general area.' Smith & Nephew chief executive Roland Diggelmann has refused to rule out a 4.2 billion bid for Wright Medical Smith & Nephew is believed to have submitted an offer for Wright Medical after the Memphis-based firm's advisers begun an auction process in September 2019. But after deciding in October to remove its chief executive, Namal Nawana, and replace him with Mr Diggelmann, it pulled out. The UK giant is believed to have told Wright Medical it was interested in a combination but would not be able to prepare a formal offer until February 2020 due to the management change. US medical devices giant Stryker Corporation eventually agreed to buy Wright Medical for $5.4billion, but the deal is unlikely to close for several months as American regulators need to examine the takeover and give it approval. That gives Smith & Nephew opportunity to submit a rival offer. Last week, Smith & Nephew's shares rose to an all-time high after it reported a 4.4 per cent increase in revenues to $5.1billion and forecast they would grow by between 3.5 and 4.5 per cent in 2020. Smith & Nephew declined to comment further about its interest in Wright Medical. Environment Secretary George Eustice today refused to categorically rule out chlorine-washed chicken being imported into the UK under a Brexit trade deal with the US. Mr Eustice said the sale of the product, along with that of hormone-treated beef, is currently illegal in Britain and the government has 'no plans' to change the law. However, he declined to give a cast iron commitment on the issue as he suggested the controversial chlorine-washing method had largely been replaced with 'lactic acid washes'. Meanwhile, Mr Eustice defended Boris Johnson after the Prime Minister was widely criticised for failing to visit flooding victims last week. Mr Eustice said the government was not a 'one man show' and insisted it was the right approach for relevant Cabinet ministers to be put in charge of the government's response to major events. Separately it emerged that an official formula used to allocate flood defence funding is to be rewritten to make sure money is spread more evenly across the country. George Eustice, the Environment Secretary, today refused to rule out chlorinated chicken being imported to the UK from the US under a Brexit trade deal Boris Johnson, pictured at a meeting of his Cabinet on February 14, has faced criticism for failing to visit UK flooding victims but Mr Eustice said the government is not a 'one man show' The US and the UK are due to begin trade deal talks in the coming months and both administrations have expressed optimism that an agreement could be in place by the end of the year. But the row over chlorinated chicken is likely to prove a major sticking point during negotiations, with the US adamant that it wants North American agriculture to be able to access the UK market. Ministers have repeatedly rejected the idea of accepting chlorine-washed chicken amid concerns about animal welfare standards during the production process. However, Mr Eustice did not give a firm commitment on the issue when he was asked to this morning during an interview with Sky News. He said: Look, the truth is that it is already illegal in this country to sell chlorine washed chicken or indeed hormone beef. That is in our legislation. But the important thing I would say is we believe very passionately in this country about our food standards and our animal welfare standards.' He added: We are absolutely clear as a government that we will not take risks either with our food standards and that when it comes to animal welfare we will be projecting our views on animal welfare on the international stage.' Mr Eustice was told that the UK could opt to change the law if the US demanded the import of the products be included in a Brexit trade deal. Asked whether that would be a 'red line' for the UK, Mr Eustice appeared to dodge the question as he said: I am not quite sure why the US would make such demands because actually chlorine washes on chicken are very outdated technology and it is not really used by the US any more any way. What they tend to use these days are lactic acid washes. He added: What I am saying is we wont make any moves on our standards. We have got a clear position in this country that it is illegal to sell chlorine washed chicken, illegal to sell beef treated with hormones. We have no plans to change those things but equally it is not the case that the US currently use chlorine washed chicken anyway. The importance of the issue to the US was summed up in January when ambassador to the UK Woody Johnson said the products should not be banned in Britain. Woody Johnson, the US ambassador to the UK, said in January this year that chlorinated chicken should 'absolutely be included' in a post-Brexit trade deal He argued that the UK already allows a similar cleaning process for salads and chlorinated chicken should 'absolutely be included' in a trade accord between the two countries. Mr Eustice was also grilled over Mr Johnson's decision not to visit flooding victims. The PM spent last week at his grace and favour Chevening country estate in Kent and has not been seen in public in nine days. Mr Eustice defended the PM and said: In a Cabinet government it is not a one man show. 'It is right that on certain operational things such as this the Prime Minister will ask one of his Cabinet members to lead and I cannot see anything wrong with that. Mr Eustice's comments came after it emerged that the Environment Agency is going to rewrite its formula for how to allocate flood defence funding. Critics argue the current method, which is based on property value, favours the south east of England. A planned shake-up will shift the emphasis to protecting people's health which is likely to result in hundreds of millions of pounds in funding being diverted to the north and west of England, according to the Sunday Times. After the mistake was reported to the pharmacy board, an investigator for the state checked 200 prescriptions at the Owasso pharmacy for accuracy and found a 9.5% error rate, according to the complaint. Some errors were minor like portions of directions that were missing but others were more significant. A patient was told to take the wrong dose, for instance: one tablet instead of one-half. ALEPPO, Syria Activity has gotten back to normal at two crossings linking areas in northeast Aleppo province controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) with those held by armed opposition factions. Civilian vehicles started passing through the Aoun al-Dadat crossing for passengers, north of Manbij, on Feb. 6, and trucks resumed activity Feb. 10 through Um Jalud crossing, which is limited to the transport of goods. The Manbij-area Democratic Civil Administration ordered the crossing reopenings. Four months earlier, the crossings had closed when the Turkish army, backed by the oppositions Syrian National Army (SNA), launched an offensive Oct. 9 against the SDF, a Kurdish-Arab alliance, in northeast Aleppo. The opening of the crossings is supposed to boost trade and allow civilians to travel to and from the areas. Each side is in need of goods. While the opposition areas need various oil derivatives from the SDF-held oil fields in northeastern Syria, the SDF areas seem to lack food, cement and many other items. Speaking to Al-Monitor, an SDF crossing administration official at Aoun al-Dadat, who declined to be named for security reasons, said the SDF is allowing 100 people to enter its areas on a daily basis. These people mostly come from Idlib province seeking the temporary shelters that a number of humanitarian groups opened. The rest are residents of Manbij or the eastern parts of Syria wishing to visit their relatives, he noted. The official added that the SNA is negotiating with the SDF to facilitate the passage of oil trucks into the SNA-held areas in Aleppo. Currently, the SDF prevents the entry of oil derivatives. Meanwhile, dozens of trucks crossed at Um Jalud into the SDF-held areas in Manbij in recent days, loaded with construction materials, agricultural products and foodstuffs, mostly imported from Turkey, which helped return trade activities to normal in Manbij, he noted. Speaking to Al-Monitor, Ahmad Abdul Hamid, an opposition military commander with the SNA, said, "There is coordination between the SNAs administration of the crossings and the SDF regarding the goods allowed to pass through the commercial crossing, and the working hours for the trucks and passengers. He noted, In the past months there were many difficulties facing civilians, as they were prevented from returning to their areas in northern and eastern Aleppo. Most of them were passengers traveling to areas east of the Euphrates River. Yet they were shocked with the crossing being closed and had to wait [all those] months. Ahmed Fouad, owner of an oil tanker truck hailing from an SDF-held area in northern Aleppo, told Al-Monitor that because of Turkish military operations in October and November, "We failed to transport oil derivatives to the SNA-held areas, as Um Jalud crossing was shut down to trucks. I guess that we will be able to transport oil derivatives through the crossing soon. Abdul Salam Mohammed, a journalist working for independent media outlets in the opposition-held areas, told Al-Monitor, "The opening of Um Jalud crossing is significant. It is the one that allows the entry of basic commodities to civilians in both the SDF and opposition-held areas. It ensures that vegetables, construction materials and foodstuffs enter the SDF-held areas, and that commodities, mainly fuel, enter the opposition-held areas. He added, "The opening of the crossing will help thousands of youths resume work in the oil trade. So far, the oil quantities brought into Aleppo province have been insufficient, as the SDF has denied oil tanker trucks entry. Jassem al-Sayid, the Manbij-area media director, told Al-Monitor he could sympathize with the civilians and trucks that got stuck in Manbij for months after Aoun al-Dadat crossing closed. They could not return home to the Aleppo countryside and Idlib province. Furthermore, the prices of vegetables, foodstuffs and construction materials rose while the crossing was closed," and some products "disappeared from the shelves," he added. "That has burdened the residents of the city and the rest of the SDF-held areas ... who are facing multiple challenges. There is a real need to keep the commercial crossing open. Reopening the crossings has allowed thousands of civilians to breathe and enabled family reunions. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ghina Ghaliya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sun, February 23, 2020 The Defense Ministry plans to start recruiting young people to become military reservists sometime in the middle of this year, as an implementation of the 2019 law on the management of national resources for state defense, despite criticisms. According to the law, the military reserve is a voluntary service that can be mobilized to strengthen the Indonesian Military (TNI) when it is dealing with armed threats. The law, which was enacted last September, stipulates that citizens aged between 18 and 35 years have the right to participate in the program under the condition they pass a number of tests and be on call until they are 48. They are also required to undergo basic military training for three months. The ministry is now seeking millennials aged 18 and above to enroll in the program, according to the ministry's defense potential general director, Bondan Tiara Sofyan. It is expected that about 25,000 reservists would gradually be recruited. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,000/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Coronavirus: Passengers from Korea under strict watch View(s): With a rise in the number of new coronavirus cases in South Korea, Sri Lanka will screen and keep track of passengers coming to this country from there, a high-level health official said yesterday. There are many Sri Lankans working in South Korea and anyone whether Sri Lankan or foreign who comes directly from that country or transiting from elsewhere but with the journeys origin being South Korea will be screened at the airport, Health Services Director-General Dr. Anil Jasinghe told the Sunday Times. Even when they go to their homes, their health status will be checked by the staff of the relevant Medical Officer of Health (MOH), to ensure that they have not been affected by COVID-19, it is learnt. This is while all measures which are in place to prevent the disease from coming into the country are being maintained stringently. A media release from the Foreign Relations Ministry, meanwhile, assured that the ministry in coordination with the Sri Lanka Embassy in Seoul has been closely monitoring and coordinating efforts to ensure the safety of Sri Lankans residing in South Korea following the recent rise of Covid-19 cases, especially in the city of Daegu. At present, no Sri Lankans have fallen victim to the virus. More than 20,000 Sri Lankans comprising migrant workers as well as students reside in that country. The embassy is focusing particular attention on Sri Lankans in Daegu, where an estimated 915 reside, the release said. To respond to the needs of the Sri Lankans in that country, the embassy is operating hotlines round-the-clock and also a help desk. It has established two social media groups, while also being in contact with Sri Lankan temples, community leaders and all others concerned, it added. The hotlines are: (0082)-2-735-2966; (0082)-2-735-2967; and (0082)-2-794-2968. The Sri Lankans in South Korea may also contact: First Secretary Sasanga Nikapitiya (0082)-10-7222-1352; Counsellor (Employment & Welfare) Senarath Yapa (0082)-10-3389-2227; Second Secretary Nilanthi Pelawaththage (0082)-10-4084-0855; or Third Secretary (Employment & Welfare) Samantha Senanayake (0082)-10-7499-2966. New Delhi [India], Feb 23 (ANI): The Union Health Ministry has planned to increase the legal age for smoking tobacco from the present 18 year to 21 years. The Ministry has proposed that only those who have attained the legal age of 21 years be allowed to smoke. Presently, people over 18 years of age can legally smoke tobacco in the country. This is being done under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) as stringent action to contain tobacco use in the country. For this, the health ministry held a slew of meetings with senior officials for making suitable amendments. "A legal sub-group was formed to make amendments for tobacco control. We have submitted our recommendations to the ministry," a health ministry official said. "Apart from increasing the legal age of tobacco use by 21 years and above, we have also recommended raising the fine amount for those violating the rules. Teenagers are more vulnerable in this age group and can form a habit easily due to peer pressures. Increasing the legal age would help restrict the number of young teenagers who get involved in smoking habits. Even parents cannot send their children aged below 21 to shops for buying these products," he said, adding that the health ministry is planning to increase the penalty for smoking at restricted areas which is currently upto Rs 200. "In order to stop the illicit trade of cigarettes and tobacco products, we will build a tracking system. There would be a barcode on packets which will be scanned by the enforcement bodies to check whether the product has reached the market through proper legal channels and taxes have been paid or not," said the official. "It's a good step if the legal age of smoking is being enhanced from 18 to 21yr and bringing some amendments in COTPA. Enforcement is required and needs to be strengthened on the implementation level. Global Youth Tobacco Survey India 2009 states that 14.6% of students of 8,9 & 10 class were using tobaccos ( Boys 19% & girls 8.3%). The findings of current GYTS are expected soon," Dr. S K Arora, Additional Director (Health) at Delhi government told ANI. "The need of the hour is also to have a chapter on tobacco control in the school curriculum so that the whole community (teachers, students and parents) get educated right from the beginning. I have been writing to NCERT for the last five years to create a chapter on this from class 6th to 12th in CBSE & State boards but it has not yielded any results," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) KYODO NEWS - Feb 23, 2020 - 21:48 | All, Japan, World A group of 42 countries including Japan and the United States have agreed to include military-grade cyber software and manufacturing technology of weapon-capable semiconductor parts for export control in an effort to counter cyberattacks and other international threats, sources close to the matter said Sunday. The move by the member states of the Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies is apparently aimed at curbing the proliferation of military technology to parties such as China, North Korea and Iran. With the agreement, Japan plans to tighten procedures for exporting military-related products and technology. However, the operations of some Japanese companies may be affected because new control measures include cutting-edge fields of Japanese manufacturers. According to the sources, the agreement was reached unanimously at a meeting in December of the arrangement, a Vienna-headquartered international nonbinding regime that restricts exporting commodities and technologies which may be diverted to military and weapon use. The 42 members include Britain, Russia, India and South Korea, but China, Iran and North Korea do not take part. The agreement came amid rising concerns about cyberattacks against key infrastructures and military systems in the simmering standoff between the United States and Iran. In Japan, companies including Mitsubishi Electric Corp. and NEC Corp., major players in the nation's defense and infrastructure industries, have come under cyberattacks, with some suspecting involvement of Chinese cybercrime groups. Propelled by growing calls for countermeasures to possible cyberattacks and terrorism, the Wassenaar Arrangement member states affirmed the need to control "invisible weapons" such as communication surveillance technologies and systems, as well as digital forensics systems that allow retrieving erased data, the sources said. In response to the agreement to expand the scope of export control, Japanese authorities, including the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, will work out details such as crafting necessary legislation. If silicon wafers, a key component of a high-performance semiconductor, were subject to regulation, a Japanese maker would be required to file an application with the government to export the product and related technology. A highly efficient wafer is an integral part of manufacturing a cutting-edge chip that requires extremely thin, nanolevel light beams when designing it. Related coverage: U.S., Germany got secrets via encryption devices sold to 120 nations Kobe Steel, Pasco hit in latest cyberattack cases: Defense Ministry Huawei denies spying but fears linger about links with communists Japan, South Korea apart over key issues after 1st summit in 15 months We do not have a well-equipped hospital for the treatment of those infected by the coronavirus, Mustafa Eqlima said. We only have 50 kits for the virus test, so we had to buy it in advance. No one trusts the government. The Ministry of Health is scared to say the exact statistics of the coronavirus, and this widens the gap between the government and the nation. Excerpt from the article: When a crisis arises in a country, the most important issue is timely awareness. You can see an example of it in China. The Chinese government ignored the doctor who first announced the outbreak and officially announced it was too late. But China is so powerful and wise that it quickly quarantined a city with a population of nine million and built a special hospital in ten days to deal with this issue. For the past two or three weeks, Chinese tourists have been traveling to Iran. The Ministry of Health also announced that authorities are deploying thermometers at airports to monitor passengers condition and there is no concern. On each occasion, the officials of the Ministry of Health talked about this subject, stressing that the virus had not yet reached Iran, while everyone knew that the symptoms of the virus would show itself two weeks later. So, two weeks ago it should not have been said with certainty that nothing would happen. Now on Wednesday, 19 February, two people were reported dead in Qom as a result of coronavirus four days ago. Imagine how shocked people were about the announcement of the death of two people overnight. Fear has pervaded all people that when two people are reported to have died, certainly 100 people are infected, but the Ministry of Health does not provide official statistics. Also, because Qom was not immediately quarantined during the announcement, residents in Qom who feared becoming infected fled to the neighboring cities, meaning that patients who were unaware of the virus they were carrying spread it unintentionally when traveling to other cities. No one trusts the Iranian government. The Ministry of Health is afraid of giving precise statistics, and this lie will widen the gap between the government and the nation. Timely and accurate statistics give the people confidence, but officials continue to insist on their lies. They just said to observe personal health, but do they give people the right information? The whole country is afraid of getting the virus, because no matter how much they observe personal hygiene, where should they go if they are infected? Do you know that we have only 50 test kits for this virus? We should have bought it beforehand, but no one cares about it. Interestingly, the Health Minister on Tuesday firmly announced that we have no one infected with coronavirus! So how do two people die in one day? Why shouldnt people be scared? The peoples confusion has caused them unrest because no one in this country is accountable. We do not have a well-equipped hospital to treat patients. They collect patients from all over the country and bring them to Tehran for treatment. Hospital doctors are terrified of dealing with patients because they do not know what to do. Only two doctors have died since last night, why? Because we dont have isolation equipment. Peoples mistrust of the government has reached 90%. Why is there so little trust in a family today? Due to the lack of transparency of the government with the nation, virtually the country has been shut down. Today, everyone wants to escape Iran by any means. At the time of the virus outbreak, we did not suspend our flights to any country and perhaps our flights have been increased to China, but in these three days, all flights from other countries to Iran and vice versa have been canceled. We were safely bringing tourists and students from China. This only shows the irresponsibility and incompetence of the officials and, unfortunately, no organization is not questioning them. If these people were responsible in another country, they would have been 100% executed due to their mistakes. Qom officials did not quarantine Qom because of the lack of coordination of the Ministry of Health with the rest of other officials. If Qom was quarantined without considering security and political issues, then the Coronavirus would be controlled in that city. The authorities have never been accountable to the people in these years, they merely throw the ball in each others court. The least that the authorities can do for the people is to provide timely awareness to calm people down. Read more: Iran Covered Up Coronavirus to Boost Election Turnout Two South London men awaiting trial on fraud charges have been ordered to hand over 8.6million after they failed to persuade the High Court they were not bound by a deal reached with the liquidator of their investment firm. Omari Bowers and Andrew Skeene ran GFI Consultants Ltd, which used the name Global Forestry Investments. The firm was wound up in 2014 and the liquidator won a court order to freeze assets worth more than 10million. Omari Bowers and Andrew Skeene have been charged with fraud Bowers and Skeene contested this, and in November 2018 a compromise settlement was agreed under which they would make large monthly payments to the liquidator. However, in July last year the Serious Fraud Office charged both men with conspiracy to defraud, forgery and misconduct during the winding-up of their business. Skeene was arrested at Heathrow Airport in June and Bowers was arrested at Gatwick Airport in October. The pair argued the settlement was confidential and, as the liquidator had given a copy to the SFO, they should no longer be bound by it. At the High Court in London on Tuesday, Judge Philip Kramer rejected their claim and ordered them to stick to the deal and pay over 8.6million. As both men are awaiting trial, there are legal restrictions on what can be published, but I can say that I reported on their scheme to invest in teak trees in Brazil as long ago as 2011. You could say its hair-trigger self-righteousness. Theres an epidemic of it among the Democratic presidential candidates these days. A huffy Pete Buttigieg declared recently that he was not about to listen to lectures on family values from the likes of Rush Limbaugh. But Limbaugh, in fact, didnt say anything at all about family values in talking about Buttigieg. All he said was that his sexual orientation, which the candidate wears on his sleeve, may be off-putting to a certain percentage of the electorate. And thats surely an unexceptionable observation. Indeed, Buttigiegs sexual orientation seems like it may be off-putting to a significant portion of one major Democratic Party constituency namely, African Americans. Buttigiegs support among them barely manages to register any presence at all in the polling. Homosexuality is more widely accepted today than just 10 years ago. Yet, according to polling by the Pew Public Research Center no nest of right-wingers many Americans continue to hold out. Nearly four out of 10 still oppose same-sex marriage. Call them homophobes or whatever you may. But there are some people who simply arent sure about homosexuality, in no small measure owing to religious teaching. And, yes, there are some probably a lesser number who are outright hostile to it. Theyre out there, people with such views are, for better or worse. Thats all that Limbaugh was saying. And surely hes right. As a matter of fact, according to Pews polling, theres a distinctly higher percentage of doubt regarding gays among two mainstay constituencies of the Democratic coalition African Americans and Latinos than among whites. Among blacks, 49 percent still hesitate to accept same-sex marriage. And among Latinos the figure is 42 percent. A smaller, 38 percent of whites opposes gay marriage. The Democratic candidates are vocal these days in lamenting prejudice of all manner and form. Racism. Homophobia, Xenophobia. Islamophobia. Transphobia. You-name-it. Indeed, the candidates harp on the subject without letup. They nag. They berate. They hector. They wag an accusing finger in the face of those suspected of lacking sufficient piety in their obeisance to the catechism of diversity. No party candidate, however, dares to step forth and lament the persistent pockets of doubt in the very midst of the Democratic Partys loudly proclaimed diversity holy grail. Its politically safer to stick to suggesting that all such forms of prejudice are exclusively the province of the other political party. Or to suggest something even worse. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, unleashed a stemwinder oration denouncing Trump as the Grand Wizard of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Google Trump and Klan and youll get tens of millions of hits. In any event, returning to Buttigiegs beef with Limbaugh, the most insulting calumny that a Democratic presidential hopeful can face today is not to have it noted that youre gay, but to have it pointed out that youre a white male. Ewww. White male. Yuck! Even the white males themselves all frontrunners, as it ironically happens hasten to concede that an absence of skin pigmentation and a presence of the Y chromosome are indeed disgusting, reprehensible characteristics for one to possess, even though, of course, one has no choice in the matter. Even lower on the Democratic Partys scale of villainy is the redundant privileged white male, an unforgiveably execrable quality gadzillionaire Michael Bloomberg possibly excepted. Another Democratic Party constituency, U.S. Muslims, also lags behind the public overall in support of same-sex marriage, by 11percentage points, according to the Pew polling. The polling, by the way, shows that U.S. Muslims favor the Democratic Party by a landslide two-thirds margin. (An additionally interesting poll item: Fully 30 percent of Muslims believe theres a natural conflict between the teachings of Islam and democracy.) Anti-Semitism, along with homophobia and racism, also has kept the Democratic Partys fires of self-righteous outrage stoked and banked to maximum intensity. Just Google Trump and Anti-Semitism. Or Trump and Hitler. Youll get millions upon millions of hits. And this despite the fact that Trumps daughter, son-in-law and three grandchildren are Jewish. Nevertheless, a long line of party-supporting actors and entertainers goes on trooping before the cameras to tell us that Trump is a seig-heil-salute-snapping Fuhrer-wannabe. Yet again, however, its the party itself that seems to harbor disproportionately the very qualities of prejudice the partys rhetoric tirelessly bewails. Ponder, for example, the Anti-Defamation Leagues survey on anti-Semitism. The survey is crafted to highlight stereotypical, hostile views toward Jews. The propensity to such views, the inclination, is more than two times greater among blacks than among whites 23 percent for the former, versus 10 percent for the latter, the ADLs 2016 survey reported. The ADL survey reported an even greater propensity to anti-Semitism among Latinos 31 percent among immigrants. The number was also comparatively high among U.S.-born Latinos, 19 percent. Such numbers ultimately show, only, that no one racial or other category holds the patent on bigotry. Bigotry, alas, cuts across all demographic lines, all faiths and all political parties. Since nobody likes a public scold, the Democratic Party would be well advised to easy up on the preachy self-righteousness. Either that or heed the proverb, Heal thyself, physician. Your browser does not support the audio element. Vietnams Ministry of Education and Training has asked local authorities to allow students to resume their study at the beginning of March. The education ministry on Saturday evening sent a document to the administrations of provinces and cities throughout the country to inform them of a new plan for the rest of the school year. Accordingly, the provincial and municipal Peoples Committees were asked to prepare for the comeback of students of all kindergartens, schools, and universities on Monday, March 2. The 2019-20 school year must end before June 30, about one month later than previous years. The annual national high school examination will take place from July 23 to 26. If the administration in any locality decides to let students stay home for a longer period of time, they will have to make sure local students take enough classes to complete their curriculum and wrap up the school year on the designated date, which is prior to June 30. Local authorities were also required to follow directions from the Ministry of Health to ensure a safe environment for all students when they resume school. The COVID-19 has killed 2,462 people and infected nearly 78,700 globally since it first hit the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019, according to the South China Morning Post. Vietnam has so far confirmed 16 cases of the viral infection, including 13 Vietnamese, one Vietnamese American, and two Chinese. Among them, 15 have fully recovered and been released from the hospital. The country has recorded no new infection since Thursday last week. Most provinces and cities in Vietnam previously decided to let students stay home until the end of February to prevent the viral infection. The administration in Ho Chi Minh City recently submitted a proposal to the central government regarding its plan to further lengthen the school break to the end of March. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Sure, Born in Monmouth County just doesnt have quite the same ring to it. But for scholars and Bruce Springsteen fans in the rock legends home state, it just didnt seem right that there were classes about The Boss at colleges across the U.S.A. but none at the school next door to his hometown. Monmouth University in West Long Branch, one town over from where Springsteen was born (he was born in 1949 at Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch, and grew up in Freehold), has never before offered a class on him, despite the fact that its sprawling campus is a depository for documents, photographs and news clippings mined by outside scholars for writings and even classroom curriculum at other universities. We have so many Springsteen-related professors come here to do research, said Eileen Chapman, a former manager of the Stone Pony who is director of Monmouth Universitys Bruce Springsteen Archive and Center for American Music, which opened on campus in 2017. This semester, Monmouth students are getting in on the action. A student goes over notes in Prof. Kenneth Campbell's new class at Monmouth University, "Bruce Springsteen's America: Land of Hope and Dreams," an undergraduate elective from the History Department. Springsteen's 2016 autobiography, "Born to Run," is among the reading material.Noah Murray | For NJ Advance Media Course number HS 398 01, Bruce Springsteens America: Land of Hope and Dreams, is an undergraduate elective developed and taught by Prof. Kenneth Campbell of Monmouths history department, a Great Britain scholar who for a decade taught a popular class examining British history through the lens of The Beatles. The class takes its name from Springsteens gospel-inspired 1999 song, Land of Hope and Dreams. Over the years, people have asked me, Ken, why dont you teach a class on Bruce Springsteen? Campell, a Maryland native who is 64, said in interview before the start of a recent class. Im a British historian, but Ive always been a Bruce Springsteen fan." Campbell said a conversation with Chapman a year and a half ago led him to develop a class on The Boss. I said to her, Eileen, how disappointed are you that we at Monmouth dont have a course here on Bruce Springsteen? Campbell remembered. "And she said, Oh, Im very disappointed. Its very embarrassing. We are the only university in New Jersey that doesnt offer a course on Bruce Springsteen, and hes from here! Prof. Kenneth Kenneth Campbell of Monmouth University's history department, rocks a lesson on Bruce Springsteen's 1975 breakthrough album, "Born to Run," in the school's first class focused on The Boss, "Bruce Springsteen's America: Land of Hope and Dreams."Noah Murray | For NJ Advance Media The class, as the syllabus states, explores the history of the United States in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries through the lens of the life, music and lyrics of Bruce Springsteen. Campbell and his 21 students meet Monday and Wednesday afternoons in a nondescript classroom in Rechnitz Hall bereft of any signs of Springsteen-mania but equipped with an overhead sound system that Campbell uses to play snippets of the songs, like the sparse piano and harmonica intro to Thunder Road, the opening track to his critically-acclaimed commercial breakthrough album from 1975, Born to Run. The main textbook is Springsteens 2016 autobiography, also titled Born to Run, which Campbell used to validate the course itself and his academic discipline. History was a subject that bored me in middle and high school, but I devoured it now, the syllabus quotes Springsteen as writing in the book. It seemed to hold some of the essential pieces to the identity questions I was asking. How could I know who I was if I didnt have a clue as to where Id personally and collectively come from? Monmouth senior Rob Golebieski, a 22-year-old economics major from Clifton, said the class deepened his appreciation. Its kind of amazing, Golebieski said. Ive been a Springsteen fan for as long as I can remember, and I never really examined his lyrics as deeply as we have in this course. Reading his biography has really opened me up to his lifestyle, and how he grew up, and how that translates into his lyrics. My appreciation of Bruce has grown so much, and its made me want to meet him. Thats my goal. Springsteen superfan Connor Rupp, a native of Mason, Ohio, near Cincinnati, enrolled in Monmouths Class of 22 after his mother made him promise to visit a college campus as part of a pilgrimage to the Stone Pony, the Asbury Park venue long associated with Springsteen that is a shrine to his devotees. Connor Rupp, a Springsteen fan and sophomore at Monmouth University in Long Branch, works at the school's Bruce Springsteen Archive and Center for American Music, where materials include mockups of discarded alternates for the "Born in the U.S.A." and "Nebraska" album covers.Noah Murray | For NJ Advance Media The 20-year-old music industry major works at the Springsteen archive, where his boss, Chapman, is an old friend of Bruces. Last September, Rupp met Springsteen at an exhibition the archive helped stage. Coming out here, being in this musical space was one thing, Rupp said. "But meeting him, and the people around him, I feel like the luckiest Bruce Springsteen fan out there. The archive is contained in a modest Cape Cod-style house on the edge of the campus. Theres a handwritten set of lyrics for the Ghost of Tom Joad, a scrapbook put together by Springsteens mother, Adele, and early clips from The Star-Ledger and other Jersey papers. The walls are hung with large black and white prints of famous and less famous photos, including the one of Springsteen and Clarence Clemons cropped for the Born to Run album cover, but this one un-cropped, so the E-Street Bands late saxophone player is completely inside the frame with his skinny, scruffy young band leader. There are two bedrooms full of bookshelves neatly stacked with music and news magazines featuring Springsteen profiles; and standing upright on a table are mock-ups of alternative album covers for Born in the U.S.A. and Nebraska. And now were expanding to include artists that he has influenced and artists who have had an impact on him as well, Chapman said of the archives mission. Woodie Guthrie, Pete Seeger. And, you know, people like Gaslight Anthem, who have been influenced by him. Handwritten lyrics, early 45's, photos and other documents are on display at the Bruce Springsteen Archive and Center for American Music at Monmouth University.Noah Murray | For NJ Advance Media Monmouths studies of Springsteen are far from the first. Louis Masur, a Springsteen biographer, has been teaching a Springsteens American Vision course at Rutgers for years. Jonathan Cohen, an academic superfan who has plumbed the Springsteen Archive at Monmouth for his research, co-founded the Biannual-Journal of Springsteen Studies, or BOSS, a scholarly journal He co-founded while a student at McGill University in Montreal and still posted on the schools website. Cohen applauded Campbell not only for examining Springsteen songs dealing with historical themes the Great Depression (The Ghost of Tom Joad), de-industrialization (My Hometown), the experience of Vietnam veterans (Born in the USA), and the nations response to 9/11 (Empty Sky) but also for contemplating Springsteen as an outspoken political activist. Im glad its being taught by a historian, Cohen said of the Monmouth class. Its an interesting way to talk about Springsteen. To a degree, hes a musical innovator. But at the peak of his popularity, one way his work is best understood is as coming from this long lineage of political and semi-political American historical figures. The launch of the Bruce Springsteen Archive and Center for American Music at Monmouth University in September 2017 was marked by an "intimate conversation" between Springsteen and Grammy Museum Executive Director Bob Santelli on the campus in West Long Branch.Danny Clinch for Monmouth University In terms of his own education, Springsteen graduated from Freehold High School in 1967, and then briefly attended Ocean County College, but didnt graduate, said Jan Kurstan, a OCC spokeswoman, who said she was unaware of a Springsteen class ever being offered at the college. A Monmouth University spokeswoman, Morganne Dudzinski, said the university had not ruled out granting the 70-year-old Grammy, Tony, Oscar and Presidential Medal of Freedom winner an honorary degree. Referring to Springsteens musical contribution to the historical record, Campbell said, If I were to put a label on him, I would probably characterize him as a social historian. Hes really interested in the lives of the people, and telling the stories of the people, the common people. Campbell said one thing that distinguished Springsteen as a chronicler of social history, apart from his songwriting chops, was his rare combination of background and outlook, which seems to straddle the countrys seemingly widening sociopolitical divide. He comes from kind of this blue-collar, working class background, Campbell said. But he also has been influenced by the counter-culture, and his politics are more left-wing. And he has kind of a foot in both worlds and relates to people in both worlds, which at this moment in history seems to be a pretty important lesson for people to learn and to reflect on. "Bruce Springsteen's America: Land of Hope and Dreams" is the first class offered by Monmouth University in Long Branch, the city where Springsteen was born on Sept. 23, in 1949. No Springsteen posters adorn the walls, but Prof. Kenneth Campbell does use an overhead sound system to play snippets of Springsteen songs.Noah Murray | For NJ Advance Media Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. 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. Boris Johnson is planning to sell off Channel 4 after boycotting the 'left-wing' broadcaster, senior Tory MPs have claimed. The prime minister has refused to appear on the broadcaster since its head of news Dorothy Byrne said he was 'a proven liar' at the Edinburgh TV Festival in August. It has been alleged the channel could become more like Fox News following the sale, as Britain's broadcast media 'is so biased to the left'. The prime minister has refused to appear on the broadcaster since its head of news Dorothy Byrne said he was a 'proven liar' in August Boris Johnson, pictured outside Number 10 on February 5, has privately confirmed plans to sell Channel 4 following deterioration in relations between the broadcaster and Downing Street 'Boris Johnson has privately confirmed that he will definitely privatise Channel 4,' a Conservative MP told the Sunday Express. 'He thinks it's a great idea.' Shipley MP Philip Davies, who sits on the Culture, Media and Sport select committee, said: 'I've been arguing for years it should be sold off.' Channel 4's relationship with Downing Street has been in the deep freeze since the prime minister cancelled a planned interview with the broadcaster at the G7 summit in Biarritz, France, in August, following Ms Byrne's claims. Mr Johnson also cancelled a planned interview with the channel at the Tory party conference in October, and snubbed their political debate on climate change in November. The prime minister was replaced by an ice sculpture at the debate, which gradually melted throughout proceedings. The Prime Minister was replaced by an ice sculpture at its climate debate in November after he refused to attend but sent Michael Gove in his place Dorothy Byrne, head of news at Channel 4, at the Edinburgh TV Festival last year Michael Gove, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, had turned up to take Mr Johnson's place but was refused access by the broadcaster. Nigel Farage also refused to attend. Channel 4's editor, Ben de Pear, later took to Twitter to accuse the prime minister of behaving like Donald Trump. 'Put your leader Boris Johnson alongside the other leaders and stop playing games,' he tweeted. 'Don't refuse and then threaten our license it's a slippery slope.' They were also forced to cancel their general election debate, ahead of the election in December, after Boris Johnson refused to appear. The broadcaster has also had to apologise to Mr Johnson after it tweeted he said 'people of colour' on the campaign trail. The prime minister had actually said 'people of talent'. Conservative MPs have previously accused the channel of pursuing a political agenda. The Prime Minister has also been warring with the BBC, and refusing to come onto its flagship Radio 4 programme Today. He has also raised questions about the licence fee The channel, which is the home of popular TV programmes including the Great British Bake Off, saw its ratings slump last year as the number of its programmes in the top 100 watched dropped by a fifth. It had an average of 1.61 per cent of its programmes in the top 100 each week in 2018, which fell to just 1.27 per cent last year. The prime minister's decision to freeze out Channel 4 comes as he also puts pressure on the BBC, after accusing the publicly-owned broadcaster of left-wing bias. Mr Johnson has refused to appear on Radio 4's Today programme and Newsnight. He has also launched an attack on its licence fee, threatening to de-criminalise non-payment and turn the British national broadcaster into a Netflix subscription service. A Number ten source was also quoted by The Times this month saying the BBC could be forced to dump most of its radio stations in a massive 'pruning back' of its journalism. MailOnline has contacted Channel 4 for comment. 14 young people from across the North are in Yellowknife this weekend, hoping to shape policy in their territories and across Canada. Throughout the 18 month Jane Glassco Northern fellowship program, they will get training in policy skills as they tackle public policy on an issue important to them. This is the fifth group of fellows since 2010, and this year they represent places across the North, including Northwest Territories, Yukon, Nunavut, Nunavik, and Nunatsiavut. 'Working for the people' Jessie Fraser is from Sanikluaq, Nunavut and became interested in getting more involved with policy after starting to work with the territory's land claim organization. She said she wants to remind policy makers to work for the people they serve. "Even though it's a lot of theory and lots of paperwork and thinking about bigger things and not always being able to see how it trickles down and how it affects people in communities you're still working for the people." Fraser, who speaks Inuktitut, is passionate about lifting the voices of Inuit people, and ensuring they are represented at all levels. John Last/CBC 'Necessary and urgent reforms' Curtis Mesher is also interested in shaping policies that protect Inuit people. Though he grew up in Montreal, his family is originally from Kuujjuaq in Nunavik. Northern policy issues were always a prominent issue for him growing up, he said, with both of his parents working for Makivik Corporaiton, the land claim organization representing Quebec's Inuit. So it was no surprise that he became interested in how public policy affects northerners. As a law student, he's focusing his research on the justice system. "I think that there [are] a lot of necessary and urgent reforms that must be done for our criminal justice system our corrections system in the North," he said. More specifically, Mesher said he wants to look at the justice system in Nunavik, and hopes to examine how potential reforms could come from traditional approaches to rehabilitation. Story continues Protecting future generations Another big issue on the table this year is creating policy that protects future generations of northerners. As a new mother, protecting today's children is a prominent concern for Alyssa Carpenter, originally from Sachs Harbour, N.W.T. She said she wants to look into suicide prevention, But for her, the issue isn't just about policy it's also personal. Carpenter has worked in social work on the front lines of suicide response, and has struggled with depression. "This is an issue that we know impacts everybody in the North," she said. "It's something that needs to be talked about. It's something that needs to be addressed, and we need to remind the people who are in those policy decisions." John Last/CBC Whitney Johnson-Ward is also hoping to shape policy that protects today's youth, through climate action and wellness programs. "The land is really important to me and [it is] my home," she said. "Keeping it in a good condition for the next generation is really important." Johnson-Ward is from Champagne, Yukon and was inspired by the messages she heard from other young people when she took part in the territory's First Nations climate action gathering in Whitehorse earlier this month. Johnson-Ward said intergenerational knowledge sharing and collaboration is important to taking action against climate change and creating the next generation of ambassadors. The fellows will have 18 months to work on their policy projects. During that time, they will have three other regional gatherings opportunities to work together on making lasting policy changes. Black-owned media helped shape the identity of CBC on-air personality Nana aba Duncan as a Black woman; it planted the early seeds for her foray into journalism. What would my life be like, if not for Share? said Duncan, the host of Fresh Air on CBC Radio One. What would my life be like, if not for the Ghanaian News? As many of her peers of colour do, Duncan credits the citys Black-owned media brands, for serving as a launch pad for budding journalists struggling to get hired by mainstream titles, and shaping the way Black stories are told, and also for serving as a bridge between the diaspora and its diverse countries of origin. I remember writing for the Ghanaian News, said Duncan, who was born in Ghana. Seeing a Black face on the cover of Share is part of my experience. We need that. Duncan said Black-owned media is a key source of representation to an under-represented group. It means that there is another voice. While brands such as Share, a newspaper of record serving the African and Caribbean community, have been around for decades, several newer entrants, such as ByBlacks.com and G 98.7 FM have recently taken up the mantle of telling the stories they say are typically ignored by mainstream media. Strengthening Black representation in Canadian media was one of the motivations behind the creation of Roger and Camille Dundas ByBlacks.com. After they launched the site about seven years ago, the couple quickly discovered that their readership is hungry for the stories they provide. The Black Canadian community is desperate for positive representations, positive reflections of themselves, said Camille Dundas, the editor-in-chief. Mainstream medias relationship with the Black community has, for the most part, been predatory, in the sense that they are very interested in the stories of our pain, of our suffering, she said. Theyre not so interested in the stories of our success. Having a hand in shaping how Black stories are told is critical, she said. ByBlacks.com covers a little bit of everything relating to Black people in Canada, from business profiles to music reviews to opinion pieces. One of ByBlacks.coms most popular series was #BlackHistory365; throughout 2017, it shared a story daily about influential Black Canadians people such as Carrie Best, who founded the first Black-owned newspaper in Nova Scotia in 1946; and Mathieu da Costa, who was the first-recorded free Black person in Canada and worked as a Mikmaq translator for European settlers. I learned so much (more) in that one year than I ever did in school here in (any) one year, about Black Canadian history, said Camille. Black people in Canada have for so long had to look to the U.S. for any type of positive reflection of (themselves), she added. We wanted to create a space where we could do that for Black Canadians. Roger Dundas said they optimize their website diligently. Theyre ranked number one in Canada for Black online magazines, based on Alexa.com rankings, he added. This makes them a suitable choice for ad clients seeking to reach Black audiences, such as TD Bank, the City of Toronto and Soulpepper Theatre. Its been enough for ByBlacks.com to pay its writers and keep the machine going. The Dundass goals for the near future are to grow their younger audience, cover more Black Canadians outside of Ontario and move their presence offline through events such as Essence Fest, a music festival and conference organized by the American magazine of the same name. Roger Dundas wants to see Black Canadian titles to become more established, visible household names. Sharine Taylor, 26, is betting on a boost in visibility for her brand, Bashy, a magazine by and for the Jamaican diaspora. Its focused on Afro-Jamaican content primarily. Just more than 200,000 people in Toronto are of Jamaican descent, according to the last census. But migration from a number of countries has a large influence on the Black Toronto experience. I find that people are often, whether subconsciously or not, trying to recreate feelings of home, she said. As a freelance writer, Taylor got tired of having to justify why her story pitches, which championed dancehall artists and Jamaican culture, would be well-received by the readership of the publications. So she created her own title in 2016. Bashy, gleaming and glossy, is still very much a baby, she said. A few issues have been published in print and in a digital format, and it has a website. Taylor is able to offer writers honorariums and hopes to increase these. She wants to offer Jamaican people around the world a positive representation of themselves, as told by them. I no longer want a seat at the table; I want to dictate whos in the room. I want to create the space that I aspire to be a part of, she said. Veteran newsprint journalist, Ron Fanfair, who has written for Share News since 1986, is optimistic about the future of titles such as ByBlacks.com and Bashy. He said Black-owned and managed print entities, such as Share News and Contrast newspaper, were beacons of hope for budding journalists in the 70s, 80s and 90s, as they saw them as stepping stones to mainstream titles. They gave me an opportunity and without that opportunity, who knows what wouldve happened, he said. Donovan Vincent, now a Toronto Star reporter, wrote for Share, and Royson James, an eminent Black columnist for the Star, wrote for Contrast, which was conceived in the 1960s, as the eyes, ears and voice of Canadas Black Community. James said Contrast was like a community centre. Thats where we all came together. Jojo Chinto, who went on to work for CityTV, was an editor for Contrast. Media catering to a Black audience is key to shaping the landscape of how Black stories are told, he said. Share was the one that stood out for me, because they were telling the stories you werent seeing in the mainstream media. Fanfair said Afro-centric newspapers have consistently profiled both social issues and pioneering Black people in an uplifiting way. Stories about our young people doing well are the ones I enjoy doing, and you wont see those stories in the mainstream media, he said. Share, as most newspapers have, has been hit by a decline in advertising dollars. The once weekly paper is now only published twice per month. Fanfair is concerned about the dearth of new-media Black-owned brands, even with new online outlets, such as ByBlacks.com, emerging. I hope we can see more publications come to the service of telling those positive stories, he said. Delford Blythe, part-owner of G98.7 FM, a radio station geared toward the Afro-Canadian diaspora, said titles have to be prepared to evolve.. Theres lots of room, so we should come up with interesting channels (podcasts), for people to listen to, he said. We have to anticipate change and be ready to deal with it. The times have certainly changed from when Denham Jolly fought to get the first Black-owned station, Flow 93.5 FM, on the air, in 2001. Black music, culture and stories are now more widely accepted and appeal more broadly, Blythe said. From a Black-owned perspective, I dont see a threat; I see an opportunity, because more diversity in Toronto makes our message acceptable, he said. The younger generation is into different experiences and different cultures. Blythe said in the 90s, Black media brands werent seen as viable places for advertisers to promote their goods and services. Now major brands endorse diversity. We dont have the same type of barrier , he said. Its now about performing, so they can see the value, so we can bring them in. He recalled the concept of a dedicated Black-owned radio station was still a lofty goal in the 90s, and Afro-Canadian newsprint served as the key source of content for the diaspora. We got our news from Share, and, earlier on, Contrast, he said. We used to look for them dropping on the newsstand. Every name on the BrandBucket marketplace is exclusively listed with BrandBucket. That means that all of our sellers are very responsive, making for quick domain transfers. A dedicated BrandBucket agent will manage your domain transfer from beginning to end, ensuring a secure and easy transaction. They will manage the receipt of the domain into one of BrandBuckets secure registrar accounts and then complete the transfer to you. 1. Verification and registrar choice After we receive the payment and verify it, we will reach out via email to confirm which registrar you want the domain transferred to. We also provide a link to our tracking system, where you can communicate with us, check on the status of your transfer, view your invoice, and download your logo files. In most cases, if a domain is moved between accounts at a single registrar, the transfer is quick and usually completes within 48 hours. If a domain changes registrars (in other words, you would like to move it away from where it is currently registered), the transfer is slower. The total transfer time can then be anywhere from 48 hours to 7 days. BrandBucket has vetted and supports the following registrars: GoDaddy Namesilo Uniregistry NameCheap Google Domains Network Solutions Name.com Dynadot Amazon Route 53 123 Reg Gandi 2. We request the name from the seller. Once we know where you would like the domain transferred, BrandBucket will request the domain from the seller. All of our sellers are very responsive, making for a quick process. 3. Transfer the name into your account As soon as we receive the name from the seller, we start the transfer into your account and guide you through the whole process. 4. Verify with the buyer that the transfer is complete Once we confirm that you have received the name, we consider the escrow process to be complete. Only then do we release payment to the domain seller. The (IBC) has completed more than three years in operation, and the data is available now. An analysis of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) data gives insights into how the system has evolved. The amount recovered by financial creditors has varied, and does not show a clear improvement. In fact, the recovery rate was just 12 per cent in the quarter ending December 2019, the lowest in at least two years (Chart 1). Further, the IBBI data processed by EY India shows that bigger cases with higher claims by financial creditors take more time to get resolved (Chart 2). Also, the average recovery rate rises with time, but only till the upper limit of 330 days (Chart 3). After the 330-day period, there is no clear trend as to how fast or efficiently the cases get resolved, aside from this important fact: The most delayed cases are the ones with the higher claims. Due to such cases, the average time taken for resolution, and even liquidation, is slowly rising (Chart 4). The data also shows that it is better to admit a company in the process while its in operation, as the recovery rate is better (Chart 5A). A third of the companies not resulting in resolution were already defunct, shows Chart 5B. Among manufacturing companies that went to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), chemicals and metal firms witnessed more resolutions. Companies in the labour intensive (employment friendly) leather and textile sectors mostly get liquidated (Chart 6). In services, companies in the real estate and construction sector go for appeal or review the most (Chart 7). A resolution is more likely in the power and hospitality sector companies. StatsGuru is a weekly feature. Every Monday, Business Standard guides you through the numbers you need to know to make sense of the headlines; Source: IBBI, EY India, Compiled by BS Research Bureau Illustration: Ajay Mohanty Weekly church attendance is sometimes downplayed into a legalistic ritual. According to Pewforum.org, 61% of churchgoers attend to feel closer to God, while a sizable majority of non-churchgoers state they practice their faith in other ways. Which is the right way? Modern society may beg us to believe the choice is ours, but biblical truth is clear about going to church. Jesus Christ seeks in earnest to meet us on a day set aside to commemorate His defeat of death, to equip us to sustain our faith until He returns. God is not a God of coincidence. He has placed people purposefully around us, not just to evangelize the gospel but to encourage and admonish us in our faith. Church is a place to trust in Gods promised presence (Matthew 18:20) as we worship Him together, out of a sense of love and obedience (Colossians 3:16). When the church is functioning biblically, its more active and alive when the seats are empty, and the community is filled with those seeking to activate the gospel in love for each other. The reasons Christians go to church on Sunday, writes John Piper, is because we have been rescued from our sins, united with a risen, living Christ and with each other through faith in Jesus. Where Does the Word Church First Appear in the Bible? BibleStudyTools.com explains the word Church in the Bible, Derived probably from the Greek kuriakon (i.e., "the Lord's house"), which was used by ancient authors for the place of worship. In the New Testament it is the translation of the Greek word ecclesia, which is synonymous with the Hebrew kahal of the Old Testament, both words meaning simply an assembly, the character of which can only be known from the connection in which the word is found. The word ecclesia is used in the following ways in the New Testament: The New Testament Church was to be an expansion of the Old Testament Church, rather than a replacement. Eastons Bible Dictionary states, Under [the apostles] ministry disciples were added to the church already existing. The entire Bible tells the story of Gods plan of redemption through His Son, Jesus. John 1:1 says, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John Piper writes, The church is the assembly of Christians gathered to express that unity in Jesus and to worship Jesus. Why Sunday? Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy. - Exodus 20:8 Todays Christian church is built upon Jewish tradition. The Jewish Sabbath, a day of rest, is the seventh day of the week, Saturday. Early Christians chose Sunday for their Sabbath, the first day of the week, to commemorate the day Jesus rose from the dead, The Lords Day. Jesus re-established the church. Jesus rose from the dead, states John Piper, created a new people for himself, and inaugurated a new humanity, a new creation with a new day of worship. Having the Sabbath on Sunday signifies and celebrates His triumphant defeat of death and our anticipation of His return. Still on the Fence? Here Are Three Reasons to Attend Church: 1. To Grow with and Be Supported by Community And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another- and all the more as you see the Day approaching. - Hebrews 10:24-25 God has purposefully placed us in a support system. He tells us its not good to be alone, and He is faithful to provide access to the body of Christ. A body thats never together is more like a prosthetics warehouse, writes David Gunderson, and a family that never has family dinners or outings or reunions wont be a healthy family, if any family at all. The word of God is alive and active, and His church functions as an outflow of His truth, participating in the surrounding community to encourage and help others in the name of Jesus. Its not enough just to love God, Pastor Rick Warren writes, You must love the Church. You want to know how much God loves the church? He died for it. Anybody who says, I love Jesus, but I dont need the Church doesnt get it. We are all created with different strengths and weaknesses. We need only to glance around to witness Gods creative hand. Agreeing on everything was never part of the plan. Expecting each other to be perfect is a bar no-one can reach. We are called to compassionately model forgiveness and love, working together to honor God and tell the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 2. To Gain Maturity in Your Faith So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for words of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ - Ephesians 4:11-13 We go to church because Jesus is alive, to practice the gospel, and to learn how to love. From the moment we accept Christ as our Savior until the day we hug Him in heaven, we are a work in process. The word, sanctification, describes the way God is growing us into holiness day by day. Church is the place to hear the Word of God spoken by someone anointed to explain it. Thats simply not everyones gift! We come to church to experience the presence of God so that He can reveal life-applicable truth of His Word to our lives. The discipline of going to church every week for the majority of your life is in itself an act of worship, of sacrifice, writes Daniel Darling, Youre saying to yourself and to the world that assembling with the called-out people of God, that the story of Christianity, the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus matters so much that youre willing to dedicate at least one day a week to it. James admonishes us to be doers of the Word, not just hearers. Church leaders, mentors, small groups and Bible studies provide accountability to grow in our faith. 3. Sustainability through All Circumstances And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. - Matthew 16:18 Jesus never promised us an easy journey, but He never leaves us alone to figure it out. Church provides a resource to connect with people who are going through what weve been through or vice versa. Church also challenges us. When we look around on Sunday, we see a group of people whom Scripture says, are redeemed sinners. Whether our flaws are visible or hidden, we never walk any of it out alone. Many see the church as producing cookie-cutter people who follow dominant power structures, writes Tiffany Johnson, rather than as a living organism with discipleship and merciful influence in our surrounding communities. Following Christ is not easy and going to church provides a respite and refueling needed to keep fighting the good fight of faith and the challenging conviction to keep learning and growing in Jesus. Gunderson writes, We gather because the God were worshipping has instituted our gathering as a main way he matures and strengthens and comforts us. Click here for more Bible verses about going to church. Photo credit: GettyImages/GrandFailure Wall Street Buys Main Street Morgan Stanley is buying E-Trade, the discount brokerage firm that allows regular people i.e., those without tons of money to buy and sell financial assets online. The deal would give Morgan Stanley access to a new customer base known as the mass affluent: people who have some savings to invest, but are not rich enough to buy into hedge funds or pay for a Wall Street money manager (Morgan Stanleys traditional bread and butter). The $13 billion takeover is the biggest by a major American bank since the 2008 financial crisis. Image Credit... Giacomo Bagnara Whats Next? (Feb. 23-29) Tighter Borders After Brexit Now that Brexit has finally happened, Parliament can focus on other things like keeping certain types of immigrants out of Britain. Starting next year, the government will restrict visas for workers who cant speak English or meet specific salary minimums. The new rule is part of Prime Minister Boris Johnsons promise to take back control of the countrys borders and reduce its economys dependence on cheap migrant labor. But it isnt unfriendly to all foreigners high-skilled workers (engineers, scientists, those with advanced degrees) are welcome. Still, many business owners are worried that the law will hurt them because they rely on employees who dont meet its requirements. Another concern: The regulation disproportionately affects female immigrants, particularly those in low-paying jobs like nursing and senior care. Banding Together Employees at the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter have voted to unionize a groundbreaking step in Silicon Valley, which has been notably unfriendly to organized labor. Google, for instance, tried to prevent workers from discussing their labor rights, hired a consulting firm that specializes in blocking unions and fired several employees who pushed back. (The company says the employees were let go for other reasons.) Kickstarter is one of the first tech companies of its size and visibility where employees overcame those obstacles, and their next steps will be watched closely by other workers who hope to follow suit as well as higher-ups seeking to stop them. Coronavirus Rages On Over a month into the coronavirus outbreak, businesses are starting to see more widespread fallout as governments impose stricter measures to contain it. Apple cut its sales expectations for the quarter, citing the viruss impact on factories and stores. (In China, many people are afraid or forbidden to go out and shop, and deliveries are stuck in limbo.) Meanwhile, Amazon is stockpiling more Chinese products in the United States, a departure from its usual strategy of keeping inventory lean, in case the virus gets worse and disrupts trade further. The stock market, however, didnt seem too bothered by news of more quarantines this past week. At least nine people were killed and 37 others injured in Turkey's Van province following an earthquake early on Sunday, the country's health minister has said, Al Jazeera reports. Nine of the injured are in serious condition, Fahrettin Koca said. Earlier, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said three of those killed were children, adding that some 1,066 buildings collapsed. The Disaster and Emergency Management Authority had begun rescue work, Soylu said. "Search and rescue efforts are ongoing," he said. The magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck the Turkey-Iran border region, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said. The quake had a depth of 5km (3.1 miles), the EMSC said. Turkish public broadcaster TRT World said it affected about 43 villages in Turkey, which has a history of powerful earthquakes. TRT said damage inspection teams had been dispatched to the region. There were also reports of building collapse in the Turkish city of Van. As Google continues to improve its algorithm to reward websites with meaningful and high-quality content further, we are entering an exciting new phase in search engine optimization. Boulder SEO Marketing, a full-service digital marketing agency, announced today that it has teamed up with Bubbl, a leading provider of integrated and multichannel content marketing solutions, to expand its global reach and to grow its multilingual content development offerings further. Chris Raulf, Founder & President of Boulder SEO Marketing, notes, As Google continues to improve its algorithm to reward websites with meaningful and high-quality content further, we are entering an exciting new phase in search engine optimization. He adds: While traditional SEO will not go away anytime soon, we recognize the need to offer comprehensive and multichannel content marketing solutions to our customers around the world. London-based Bubbl has recently opened an office in Boulder, Colorado, which made it a natural fit for the two companies to team up. The content marketing companys expertly crafted narrative helps brands define, shape, and optimize their message worldwide. Bubbl specializes in humanizing brands and cultivates a strong, distinctive identity that raises awareness of what a brand stands for. Through a combination of in-depth analysis, results-driven planning, and an omnichannel digital marketing approach, we assist national and international brands in generating global user engagement in no time, notes Neil Sheth, CEO of Bubbl. He concludes, Googles recent algorithm updates have changed SEO as we know it. The search giant has made leaps in understanding context, and it continues to reward brands with on-target messaging and user-focused content. We are thrilled to have entered into this partnership with Boulder SEO Marketing at this crucial time. About Bubbl Founded by CEO Neil Sheth and based in London, Bubbl features a diverse team of experts hails from a myriad of backgrounds. Each of them is a master in their respective field, be it technical or creative. No project is too tough, too daring, too out-there. Our customers represent a vast range of industries, cultures, and languages. They seek our services from around the globe. For additional information, please visit https://bubbldigital.com. About Boulder SEO Marketing Since 2009, our international SEO company has grown into a full-service digital marketing agency. We now assist local, national, and international customers with all of their search engine optimization, pay-per-click, social media, content marketing, web design, and video creation needs. We take pride in working with ambitious businesses around the world who are looking to boost sales from their online marketing efforts. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Karnataka on Sunday took a dig at the people protesting against the amended citizenship laws and linked it to the Congress regime. The official Twitter handle of BJP Karnataka questioned the protesters as to why did they not protest when "Congress had kept them under poverty." The BJP Karnataka further alleged that the Congress had deprived people of education, denied employment and snatched away people's dignity. They didn't protest when CONgress kept them under POVERTY. They didn't pelt stones when CONgress deprived them of EDUCATION. They didn't block roads when CONgress denied them EMPLOYMENT. They didn't seek Azadi when CONgress snatched away their DIGNITY. WHY NOW ? ? BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) February 23, 2020 Nationwide protests against citizenship laws Protests against the newly amended Citizenship law, which fast-tracks Indian citizenship for non-Muslim minorities from three neighbouring countries, have flared since December last year. The mood in the national capital has been tense ever since violence erupted in the Jamia Millia Islamia University on an earlier occasion. The protests spread nationwide following that incident. Delhi is witnessing a similar type of protests at Shaheen Bagh where women protestors have been blocking the road connecting southeast Delhi and Noida for over two months now. Read: EXCLUSIVE: Ravi Pujari to be extradited to India soon; Karnataka Police team in Senegal Prime Minister Narendra Modis government had stated that the law is required to help persecuted minorities who came to India before December 31, 2014, from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. However, protestors insist the law discriminates against the countrys Muslim minority and violates Indias Constitution. Read: Amaravati JAC protests against 3-capital decision, demands case withdrawal against farmers States pass resolution against CAA Ever since the passing of the CAA, a few across the country have shown strong resistance towards implementing it. Recently, Rajasthan has become the fifth state to pass a resolution against it. Along with it, Kerala, Punjab, West Bengal and Puducherry, have also passed a resolution demanding scrapping the contentious law. Read: Congress leader pens letter to Delhi CM Kejriwal, urges him to pass anti-CAA resolution Read: BJP leader attacks Kamal Nath, says 'Congress wants to turn Madhya Pradesh into Italy' Every possible route the president may take has been scoured over New Delhi: American president Donald Trump will be lodged at the ITC Maurya in New Delhi during his 36-hour visit to India starting tomorrow, and therefore the entire area around the hotel and every possible route he might travel by will given over to security mania until he leaves the country. While the innermost perimeter around the president will be the preserve of the American Secret Service, who do not brag about their equipment and protocols to the media, here are the eye-popping security arrangements being thrown by the Indian agencies. 1. Anti-sabotage teams from the Army and paramilitary have been conducting checks on all the routes to be taken by Trump. 2. Look at what all will be in position: anti-drone detachment of NSG, snipers on buildings, SWAT commandos, kite catchers, canine units, Parakram vans have been deployed along the routes and around ITC Maurya. 3. Policemen from six districts have been called in. 4. Nearly 40 companies of Central Armed Police Forces, that, at an average of 100 men per company, is 4000 troopers. 5. Hundreds of high-def CCTV cameras with night vision installed along Sardar Patel Marg where ITC Maurya is located. (When Barack visited back in 2015, Delhi Police rented 605 CCTV cams and spent more than Rs 1 crore in hiring, installing and removing) 6. Double barricading on all roads Trump's convoy may take. 7. Aerial surveillance of all routes 8. Jersey barriers (sounds impressive but basically those annoying modular concrete or plastic barriers placed to organise traffic into lanes) 9. Trees have been trimmed as part of the non-negotiable security drill 10. Diplomatic Enclave in Chanakyapuri will be crawling with men in plainclothes. 12. Trees have been trimmed according to the directions of the security agencies as part of the protocol. 13. At the ITC Maurya, a three-layer security will be in place. --Delhi Police's security wing personnel will form the inner cordon, proximate to the US Secret Service. --The second layer will be deployed around the hotel's lobby area, parking, lawn area and pool area --The third one will comprise police personnel from the district police 14. The entire floor on which the Grand Presidential Suite is located is out of bounds to hotel staff. 15. NSG commandos and Delhi Police personnel have been sanitising every floor every day leading up to Trump's arrival. 16. All 438 rooms at ITC Maurya booked for the Americans. So no guests allowed inside. 17. Even ITC Maurya's neighbour, the Taj Palace is under security boots. 18. The entire green ridge opposite ITC Maurya has been sanitised. Village Council majority poised to kill park greenway Village Council member Anne Coletta displays a map she wanted the council to eliminate from the village's comp plan. NOTE: An earlier version of this story misattributed a quote about the proposed greenway through the Park at Flat Rock. Mayor Nick Weedman, not council member Anne Coletta, commented on his conversation with the NCDOT on what would happen if the Village Council refused to pay the 20 percent cost-share for the paved greenway. FLAT ROCK The Flat Rock Village Council has the votes to block a paved greenway through the Park at Flat Rock by refusing to pay a 20 percent share for the project. That much was clear during a discussion of the project last week in a Village Council meeting. Council members again clashed over the Highland Lake Road project, which has been kept alive by a regional transportation board, to the chagrin of the new council majority that has voted twice to block it. As soon as it was seated, the new council voted 4-3 to ask the NCDOT to cancel the $2.9 million project. After that vote, though, the Henderson County Transportation Advisory Board, the Hendersonville City Council and the Henderson County Board of Commissioners all recommended that the project proceed, and the French Broad MPO rejected Village Council member Anne Coletta's motion remove the project from the state Transportation Improvement Plan. The village council renewed the fight over two pieces of the project last week, when Mayor Nick Weedman urged the council to tell the NCDOT that it wont pitch in to pave the greenway. We are required to pay 20 percent of the cost of the bike-ped path, he said. I asked (Division 14 Engineer) Brian Burch what would happen if the council said we wont pay that. They would go ahead and construct a berm in other words, do the earth work but not do any of the paving. If later on, we decided we needed to do to connect to a larger trail system, we could apply for grants. It does not kill the bike-ped exactly but it does keep it from being paved. Council member David Dethero seconded Weedmans motion to withhold any cost-sharing payment but after a long discussion the motion was dropped. Instead, Coletta and council member Tom Carpenter planned to meet with Burch again. We have two options, council member Sheryl Jamerson said. No. 1, we dont contribute to creating the multi-use path. They will create berms, put the dirt where it all needs to be and thatll be it. They will not re-engineer where the path is going to go. A different route that uses some existing trails and saves more trees was an option at one time, she said. Higher up, the path would be right next to road. A little 10-year-old riding a bicycle on grass right next to the road keeps me up at night. I prefer to have it paved, she said. Coletta disagreed. Additional asphalt really makes no sense to me, to have a dual track, she said. The village doesnt know how much it would cost to maintain the trail. Until we have those figures Im opposed to additional paths. My problem with all these paths is that they dont go anywhere. It ends at Greenville Highway. The church is extremely impacted negatively and the park is impacted negatively. It would start at the church and end at the railroad tracks. That is to me a path to nowhere. Jamerson objected to Coletta's meeting behind the scenes with DOT engineers. When there is an opportunity to have a meeting with Brian Burch on something as important as this I felt like I had something to offer, Jamerson said. There was no reason in my mind that this couldnt be a council meeting. I asked for it, I was told no. And I felt that only having one point of view was not transparent. ... I just dont like the way things are going. Weedman said the shoe was on the other foot before the November election, when one or two council members were meeting with DOT engineers and excluding other council members, including him. Lets go back, talk to Brian Burch and then come back and if we need to have Brian Burch at the meeting then well do that, he said. Weedman acknowledged that the project is consuming too much time, generating too much conflict and preventing the council from tackling other important issues. To me the road has been the most divisive thing weve had, he said. I would like to get all the road issues in our rear-view mirror and move on to other things. Your point is well taken, he said to Jamerson. I happen to disagree with you because knowing that the ad hoc committee (working on Highland Lake Road) was off meeting with different people on different things and I never saw a written report, Im just a little uncomfortable with that. After the Highland Lake Road discussion sputtered to an end, Coletta brought up the villages comprehensive land-use plan and asked that a map of possible future trails, paths and sidewalk be temporarily deleted. If you look at the transportation section and historic preservation section there are conflicts, she said. The transportation section contains a map of future sidewalks, trails and multi-use paths that council members concede now probably wont happen. Yellow lines showing multi-use paths run along almost every major road in Flat Rock, including Erkwood Drive, Rutledge Drive, Greenville Highway, Highland Lake Road, Little River Road and Kanuga Road. Weve heard from our community that theyre very concerned about the possibility of changes to our roadways and everything, Coletta said. She wanted the council to officially declare that this page is suspended until we develop the transportation section with the Planning Board. All Im asking that it be suspended not taken out not changed. To me thats no more than a concept, Weedman said. The council took no action. A FARMER who was facing animal cruelty charges believes a letter delivered by a Government Minister may have resulted in his case being dropped. Cattle farmer Brian Wright (68) who has twice been prosecuted on serious animal cruelty charges told the Sunday World he believes the case may not have been dropped without the letter. Enright was due to appear in Monaghan District Court earlier this month to face fresh charges under animal health and welfare laws. However, the charges against the farmer were withdrawn on the date the case was due to go ahead. A spokesperson for Minister for Business Heather Humphreys subsequently confirmed she had delivered a letter from a third party in relation to the case, while the case was pending, to the Department of Agriculture but insisted the Ministerdid not interfere in the case. After the Sunday World approached Mr Wright, who was walking a field bordering a public road on his farm in Newbliss, Monaghan on Thursday, the 68-year-old described the controversy surrounding the Ministers involvement as a non-story. But when asked whether he believed the case would have been dropped without the letter, he responded: I have no idea, I have no idea ... the case may not have been dropped without the letter. Its just fouled-up stuff, he said initially when our reporter identified himself from the public road. Theyre making a story out of nothing.Its just a non-story but theres politics involved and its all politics at the moment. Theres two things ... someone wasnt happy my case didnt go ahead and then they contacted a journalist about a letter. Ive been working with the Department for years to try and get this resolved. And they had agreed to that ... when you do this, that and the other and I had done everything I was asked. Asked whether this meant the charges would have been dropped without the letter, he responded: I have no idea, I have no idea, it may not have been dropped without the letter ...When questioned whether he believed the letter helped, he responded: I dont know ...it is possible. Asked if he knew who sent the letter to Heather Humphreys, he responded: Well I didnt send it. Regarding his previous convictions,he said: They just trawled those up on acomputer. The dropped prosecution against Mr Wright followed the discovery by veterinary inspectors of a young calf with a compound fracture and a recumbent cow on his farm. When details in relation to the letter first emerged last weekend, it was claimed the letter delivered by the Business Minister contained unfounded allegations about officials involved in the case. The Social Democrats and Green Party called for an investigation into the affair. Catherine Murphy, co-leader of the Social Democrats,said Government ministers should not be postmen who deliver letters about cases currently before the courts. Why did Minister Humphreys get involved in a case that was going to trial and involved someone who has previous convictions? she asked.Why was the prosecution abandoned on the morning the trial was due to begin? Addressing calls for an investigation in to her involvement this week, a spokesperson told reporters Ms Humphreys did not interferein the case.The Minister did not interfere in the case, she said. She simply passed the correspondence she received to the appropriate department for their information, Ms Humphreysspokeswoman said. The spokeswoman said the correspondence set out a number of concerns about the case. The Minister was not in a position, nor was it her role, to investigate these concerns. She therefore took the appropriate course of action and ensured that the correspondence and claims there in were brought to the attention of the relevant department. Farmer Mr Wright had previously come before Clones District Court in 2008 where Judge Sean McBride described the evidence presented as shocking and stomach-churning. The case involved six counts of animal cruelty and one count of permitting carcasses to remain unburied on Mr Wrights 250-acre farm. Agriculture department inspectors had visited the farm in April 2007 and concluded that a number of cattle had starved to death. Mr Wright was eventually fined 3,500 for cruelty to cattle. In 2017, Mr Wright was fined 11,950 for an-other case of animal cruelty, again involving his treatment of the livestock on his farm. But Catherine Murphy TD said on Friday: We absolutely do need to know if the letter was the basis for the prosecution being dropped. And of it was, then that is very significant. The Minister is of a person, by nature of her position, of very significant standing and the fact she delivered it would have undoubtedly increased its significance. Future Australian teachers are struggling to pass a basic literacy tests before they graduate from university - and are paying for tutoring services to qualify. An increasing number of teachers have reached out to independent agencies to guide them through the Federal Government's Literacy and Numeracy Tests for Initial Teacher Education (LANTITE). The LANTITE test features questions around when to use punctuation marks, identifying the correct spelling of words and finding the meaning of words or phrases. Future Australian teachers are struggling to pass a basic literacy test involving simple grammar and punctuation rules (stock image) Tutoring agency, Cluey Learning, has seen more than 750 inquiries for help to prepare teachers for the test over the past four months, according to the Herald Sun. It found many of its students are lacking basic skills around grammar, punctuation, spelling and fractions. Tutoring Academy teacher Melinda Wood told the Herald Sun young teachers are propping themselves up with technology. 'They use spell check and stuff at home to help them but the second they are in exam conditions they don't know how to cope,' she said. An increasing number of teachers have reached out to independent agencies to guide them through the federal government's Literacy and Numeracy Tests for Initial Teacher Education (LANTITE) (stock image) One of the questions students were struggling with involved finding the annual income based off weekly pay. The reason they were unable to answer the question was they didn't know many weeks were in a year. In the past two years the pass rate for candidates sitting the LANTITE test in literacy for the first time dropped by five per cent, from 95.2 per cent in 2016 to 90/4 per cent in 2018. The lack of knowledge among aspiring teachers has sparked calls from the Australian Tutoring Association to introduce the test as a university entrance exam. The LANTITE test features questions around when to use punctuation marks, identifying the correct spelling of words and finding the meaning of words or phrases (stock image) But Australian Catholic Universitys Professor John Munro said the test isn't a reflection of the students' overall intelligence and knowledge. He said many students were passing all subjects except for the LANTITE literacy test. 'In other words, they had at least adequate literacy knowledge and skill for their specialist subject teaching areas but struggle with the LANTITE version of literacy,' he said. 'It is debatable whether individuals such as Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso or Winston Churchill could qualify to teach in our schools because they were dyslexic and would probably fail LANTITE.' Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 23) Hong Kongs lone Filipino novel coronavirus (COVID-19) patient is now cleared and is expected to be discharged this week. The Filipino household worker who tested positive for COVID-19 has informed the Philippine Consulate that all her tests turned out negative Sunday, as she remains healthy, according to Consul General Raly Tejada. The 32-year-old woman who works in Hong Kong tested positive for the virus, along with her employer. The Filipina is the 52nd person to be infected by the virus in Hong Kong. READ: Filipino household worker in Hong Kong tests positive for novel coronavirus According to the Hong Kong Health Department, there are only three Filipinos who remain in quarantine, and "all are healthy," showing no signs and symptoms. They are also expected to go home within the week. Meanwhile, three other Filipinos have been released since February 15, after completing their 14-day mandatory quarantine. Greta Thunberg with a placard reading School strike for the climate, during the Fridays for future protest in St. Pauli, Hamburg. AFP Hamburg: Greta Thunberg gave a rousing speech to several thousand people as part of a climate protest in Hamburg on Friday. Thunberg said that she did not understand how politicians could look their children in the eyes as they were stealing their future. The decision-makers are still behaving as though everything were fine and science is still being ignored, the Swedish activist told 20,000 protesters, according to police estimates. Organisers estimated 60,000 people. This is 2020, and we need to see real action now. If enough people get involved in making change happen, change can happen, the 17-year-old added. The event took place on the eve of a regional election and was attended by politicians, thousands of schoolchildren, students and activists in the St. Pauli district of Hamburg. It began with a minutes silence for the victims of the shooting spree in the city of Hanau earlier this week. We are sad, we are angry, said Yavuz Feroglu of the Kurdish umbrella organisation Nav-Dem. A performance from German hip hop group Fettes Brot preceded the Swedes speech. The participants, who demanded better climate policies, displayed posters and banners with messages such as We will strike until you take action and The earth is on fire. Forces loyal to Libya National Army (LNA) commander Khalifa Haftar said on Sunday they had killed 16 Turkish soldiers in recent weeks, a day after Turkey acknowledged it had lost several "martyrs" in combat in the north African country. Khalid al-Mahjoub, a spokesman for Haftar's LNA, said the Turks were killed in the port city of Misrata, in battles in Tripoli and in the town of al-Falah south of the capital. Turkey backs Libya's internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) and has sent Syrian soldiers along with some of its own soldiers and weapons to help the Tripoli-based administration repel an attempt by the LNA to capture the city. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday acknowledged some Turkish losses in Libya's "struggle". "We are there (in Libya) with our (Turkish) soldiers and our teams from the Syrian National Army. We continue the struggle there. We have several martyrs. In return, however, we neutralized nearly a hundred (of Haftar's) legionaries," Erdogan said. The Syrian National Army, also known as Free Syrian Army, is a Turkey-backed Syrian rebel group fighting against pro-Damascus forces in northern Syria, where 16 Turkish soldiers have been killed so far this month. Ceasefire talks between Libya's warring sides resumed on Thursday after the GNA had pulled out of negotiations following the shelling of Tripoli's port by Haftar's forces. *This story was edited by Ahram Online. Search Keywords: Short link: President Donald Trump gestures at a campaign rally at Las Vegas Convention Center on Feb. 21, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. AFP-Yonhap U.S. President Donald Trump complained again Friday that this year's best picture Oscar went to the South Korean movie, "Parasite," saying he likes to see the United States get honored. Trump originally aired his grievances about the Academy Awards the night before at a campaign rally in Colorado. This time he brought up the subject at another rally in Las Vegas. "This year we had a movie, and they said best movie. They announced a movie from South Korea. What's that all about? The movie was made in South Korea. Look, I get along great with South Korea. But you know, I never saw that one before. They used to call it best foreign movie. But now we do it that way. I don't get it, but that's what it used to be," the president said in front of his supporters. "This is really an incredible time, I'll tell you what, for our country," he continued. "I like to see things that we do get honored because nobody is doing what we do. Nobody can do it like us. We're the greatest country in the world again." "Parasite," directed by Bong Joon-ho, became the first foreign language film to win best picture at the Academy Awards earlier this month. The black comedy, centered on the theme of class disparity, also took the Oscars for best director, best original screenplay and best international feature film. Trump said he was looking for American movies like "Gone with the Wind" to win the top honor, a film he also cited on Thursday, along with "Sunset Boulevard." "I said, 'What's this all about?' I deal with them. They like me. We're helping them a lot. They're killing us on trade, you know. They beat us on trade and then they win the Academy Award for a freaking movie. But we redid that trade deal," Trump noted, referring to his administration's revision of a free trade agreement between South Korea and the U.S (Yonhap) Ahead of US President Donald Trump's visit to India, CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Sunday expressed reservations over the "deals" that India may sign with the US, saying that the US is seeking concessions from India which will harm our economy. "Even before the US President embarked on his journey to India, he has announced that he is going to get a 'very big deal' from India. What is this big deal that they are going to get from us?" Yechury said while speaking with ANI. "The US companies want access to the Indian agricultural market. They would sell their highly subsidized agricultural produce here which will mean mega bucks for them. But our farmers won't be able to compete with them. Our agricultural sector is already in distress and it will be devasted," the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader said. Taking a dig at the BJP government, Yechury said that the "cow protectors" are now mortgaging our dairy economy as the US wants to "dump their dairy products on us". He also pointed out that the US has been seeking the scrapping of India's drug patent laws that allow pedigreed drugs to be produced and sold at cheaper price in India to make it affordable to the masses. Yechury said that if multi- corporations sell their drugs in India, and the licensing and protection is stopped, "it will be an impossible cost for people who actually need medicine". He says that the USA and Trump are trying to emerge as the world's policeman. "Unfortunately our government is succumbing to these pressures," he added. "The misery of the people is compounding and at that time mortgaging India's economy to US interests, there cannot be something more anti-Indian people than this," he said. Commenting on the boycott of 'Namaste Trump' event by activists, he said, "It is good that people are protesting against the tamasha that is going to take place tomorrow. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) It has never been proved that the vanishing of the records, often undertaken by white officials, was intentional or coordinated, she said. Still, it had far-reaching consequences: From the 1970s through today, she said, the historical narrative of segregated black education as taught in most classrooms has centered on the schools inadequacy. Haryana Agriculture Minister Jai Parkash Dalal on Sunday asked officials to fix a day every month to hear public grievances and resolve them. He said to make the functioning of district administration more effective, the responsibility of each officer should be fixed to ensure that there is no delay in the work. The agriculture minister said this while presiding over the meeting of District Public Relations and Grievances Committee officials in Charkhi Dadri, an official release said here. During the meeting, a total of 13 complaints were heard, out of which 10 were settled on the spot, it added. Dalal directed the deputy commissioner to form a joint committee of public representatives, social workers, police and administration officials to keep a check on vehicle-overloading problem in Charkhi Dadri. He also asked police to take stern action to prevent the theft of canal waters. Taking cognisance of the problem of drinking water supply in Charkhi Dadri, the minister also directed sub-divisional magistrates to do a spot inspection and resolve such complaints immediately. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Diane Abbott has confirmed she will be stepping down as shadow home secretary when the next Labour leader is elected. Mrs Abbott said that she would return to the backbenches irrespective of which candidate wins the race and was committed to stopping a post-Corbyn 'swerve to the right.' The 66-year-old Hackney MP also pledged her support for Rebecca Long-Bailey, the shadow business secretary tipped as Jeremy Corbyn's successor. Mrs Abbott told Sky's Sophy Ridge: 'I will be stepping down because I think the new leader, whether it's Becky, whether it's Lisa [Nandy], whether it's Keir [Starmer], they'll have to be able to choose their own shadow cabinet. Mrs Abbott told Sky's Sophy Ridge: 'I will be stepping down because I think the new leader, whether it's Becky, whether it's Lisa [Nandy], whether it's Keir [Starmer], they'll have to be able to choose their own shadow cabinet' 'I was a backbencher for a few years and there is an awful lot to do on the backbenches. One of the things that I'd want to do is make sure that we don't make a swerve to the right on migration policy - I think that's a dead end for the Labour Party. Mrs Abbott also pledged her support for Rebecca Long-Bailey, the shadow business secretary tipped as Jeremy Corbyn's successor 'We have to stand by our principles and stand by our values and make sure we have an immigration policy which is fair and which is workable.' Mrs Abbott also said that Labour was 'long overdue a woman leader,' saying it was 'embarrassing' there hadn't been one. Margaret Thatcher ascended to the top of the Conservative Party more than 45 years ago. The shadow home secretary was also grilled on a since-deleted tweet in which she had claimed it was 'unlikely' that the former Speaker John Bercow had bullied one of his senior parliamentary officials. Mr Bercow, seen as an ally to those such as Mrs Abbott who supported a second Brexit referendum, had a formal complaint made against him by Lieutenant General David Leakey 'detailing allegations of bullying, intimidation and unacceptable behaviour' by the speaker. Mr Bercow, who stepped down in November, denies the allegations. Mrs Abbott told Ms Ridge: 'Anybody can be intimidated. But I think that given Leakey and the leadership roles that he played, as I said I think it's unlikely he was intimidated by John Bercow. Ms Abbott suggested Mr Leakey's military service in the British Army meant he could not be bullied in a since-deleted tweet Lieutenant General David Leakey (left) walks with Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow through the Central Lobby of the Palace of Westminster in June 2017 'Annoyed by John Bercow, insulted by John Bercow, but not intimidated.' In her tweet she had said it was unlikely because Lt. Gen. Leakey served in Germany, Northern Ireland and Bosnia. Mr Bercow has faced a raft of criticism over his behaviour towards staff. The furore was reignited after reports that Labour was considering nominating the former Tory MP for a peerage. Last Thursday, Micheal Martin movingly defended the Irish Republic from moral and political corruption in a magisterial speech whose historic import was missed by most of our craven media. Speaking with calm and composure, and with a forensic fidelity to the facts, he set out why the Fianna Fail party rejected Sinn Fein and its private army as a proper partner for governing our democracy. He recited the long list of IRA crimes: the Northern terror campaign, the cover-up of rape and murders, fraudulent fundings, and the systematic online trolling and abuse of opponents of Sinn Fein. He spoke quietly and without rancour, letting the cold, hard facts speak only for themselves. There was nothing vitriolic or vituperative about his address. He made no personal reference to Mary Lou McDonald. In her reply, McDonald dodged dealing with any of his charges, but tried to deflect attention by directing a personal diatribe at Martin. In a classic example of what psychologists call projection, and in brazen defiance of what the Dail had just heard, she ascribed her own bitterness and vitriol to a man who had done nothing but recite facts already on the public record. Using abusive epithets only applicable to herself, and trusting her faux-feminist facade would gain her protection from right-on RTE reporters, she accused Martin of having a "narrow and bitter mind", of "vitriol" and "exuding bile". But in the entire angry 10 minutes of her tirade, McDonald did not refer to, never mind refute, even one of Micheal Martin's charges of IRA criminality. From start to finish, McDonald was all hot air and bluster as she fulminated against facing into opposition. But her bitterness against Martin did not extend to Leo Varadkar. Referring to "legacy" issues, she said: "Micheal Martin should know this. I know that Leo Varadkar knows." This echoed her habit, during the election debates, of punctuating her many bitter attacks on Martin with emollient asides to Varadkar: "In fairness to Leo Varadkar" and "I agree with Leo Varadkar". In the past three years I've repeatedly logged how Leo Varadkar reciprocated Sinn Fein's stroking - which is why I distrust his belated cagey jibes at Sinn Fein. Why didn't Leo Varadkar call out Sinn Fein with chapter and verse as Martin did, instead of playing catch-up with a cosmetic call on Sinn Fein to disband the IRA army council? But at least, unlike the media, he realised Martin's speech had put him under pressure, both to follow up and to form a government. The media missed all that, and more. For example, they failed to note Martin's speech was heard in the tense silence reserved for those rare times when the truth is being told. The media also missed Sinn Fein's subjugation of the so-called left opposition. Shamefully, not even the Social Democrats called out Sinn Fein on covering up rape and murder. Far from marking these things, many in the media seemed to have heard a different speech to the one we saw at home. Daniel McConnell of the Irish Examiner believed that Mary Lou McDonald had "roasted" Martin! But this perversity was nothing compared with the spin his paper put on Commissioner Drew Harris's belief that the IRA army council has oversight of Sinn Fein. Compare the headline on Conor Lally's Irish Times piece, 'Harris agrees with PSNI that army council still oversees Sinn Fein and IRA', with the headline on Neil Michael's Irish Examiner piece: 'Garda Commissioner: "I will work with any elected government including a Sinn Fein-led one."' But it wasn't just the headline. Consider how the words I've italicised weaken the anti-IRA weight of the following sentence. "However, he also hinted he had the same intelligence the PSNI claims to have that suggests the Provisional army council oversees both Sinn Fein and the IRA." The Irish Examiner bigs up McDonald's rant. No mention of the moral power of Martin's speech. What is the media's problem with the word 'moral'? During the election, RTE reporters put constant pressure on Martin to move from 'moral' to economic 'manifesto' arguments. In doing so they were facilitating Sinn Fein's desperate desire to ban the word 'moral' from political discourse about why Sinn Fein were not acceptable partners in government. Like Martin, Sinn Fein knows the moral argument is also the most effective political one for two reasons. First, the moral argument - listing Sinn Fein's defence of IRA crimes - is not actually answerable, either by Sinn Fein or its media helpers. Second, the moral argument appeals to the majority of people in Middle Ireland who are not as soft on parties with private armies as the Pollyannas in media and academe. Given that the rising generation learns its fake history from Sinn Fein's extensive (and extremely expensive) online propaganda operation, it's vital that academics act with good authority in rejecting any role in government for a party with a private army. Alas, Aidan Regan, associate professor at the School of Politics and International Relations UCD, has been avoiding that aspect ever since the election. Just after the result, he wrote a piece titled: "Sinn Fein's rise in Irish politics is down to three big economic reasons". No mention of political factors such as Brexit Brit-bashing or the online brainwashing of youth by Sinn Fein. Eoin O Broin, of Sinn Fein, tweeted the professor's piece. The professor re-tweeted O Broin's tweet. So far, so cosy. Professor Regan is an RTE favourite. Ubiquitous on post-election panels, he was still overly in demand last week by lazy RTE producers and researchers. Last Sunday he was on RTE's The Weekend on One. The following night he was on Claire Byrne Live. Professor Regan passed up all these chances to warn us of the dangers of allowing a party with a private army to corrupt Irish democracy. Last Monday, on Claire Byrne Live, he told us it was "insulting" for Fianna Fail and Fine Gael "to refuse to speak with Sinn Fein". In using the unusual word "insulting", to describe a pragmatic political decision, Professor Regan was echoing the same word used by SF TD Martin Kenny, the previous day, on The Week in Politics. What did he find so insulting? "The fact that parties would just categorically rule Sinn Fein out on moral grounds rather than have practical policy conversations." (My italics.) Professor Regan seems to have the same problem with the word "moral" as the media and Sinn Fein, in relation to forming an Irish government. After that he wondered why, "Sinn Fein are in government in the North but is it not OK down the South?" Surely a professor of politics should know that Northern Ireland is simply a region of the UK, forced by the IRA into accepting a power-sharing settlement? But the Irish Republic is a sovereign State with every right to reject the IRA's immoral Anschluss - as Micheal Martin so courageously did in Dail Eireann last Thursday. Baghdad, Iraq Authorities in Iraq have extended a ban on all arrivals from neighbouring Iran, except of Iraqi citizens, as the country grapples with the possibility of an outbreak of the new coronavirus. The extension was announced in a statement issued by caretaker Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdis office on Saturday as Iran announced its sixth death from the disease that emerged in central China late last year. The statement did not specify how long the ban, which was first announced on Thursday, would be in place. Officially known as COVID-19, the virus has so far taken more than 2,300 lives, with the vast majority of those deaths happening in mainland China. It has spread to almost 30 countries including several in the Middle East: besides Iran, where there have been at least 28 confirmed cases, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Israel and Lebanon have all reported infections. But to date, there have been no cases in Iraq. On Saturday, Iraqs border crossings with Iran remained shut for the third day, with only Iraqi returnees allowed to enter and subjected to screening. Flights to and from Iranian cities had also been suspended, airport staff in the capital, Baghdad, said on Saturday. We need to develop the medical staff responsible of checking people coming [into Iraq], Ali al-Mosawi, of the Iraqi Red Crescent, told Al Jazeera. We have to be more serious about checking all Iraqi visitors, with no exceptions, he added. Prevention is better than treatment. Al-Mosawis comments came on the sidelines of a talk on Saturday in Baghdad in which health experts, including representatives from the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO), attempted to educate Iraqis on how best to prevent the spread of the virus. Iraqi society is uneducated when it comes to public health, al-Mosawi told an audience of mostly young students. According to WHO representative Adnan Nawar, the United Nationss health agency is working shoulder to shoulder with the Iraqi government to prevent the proliferation of the virus. WHO has provided Iraqs health ministry with virus detection kits, as well as technical and logistical advice, Nawar said, adding that hospitals in the country have been equipped with isolation rooms. Steady flow of pilgrims In its statement, the prime ministers office also called for a stronger awareness campaign and better health education but in a country rocked by months of anti-government demonstrations, many disillusioned Iraqis appear unconvinced by their leaders ability to protect them from a possible outbreak. We want to live, but our government doesnt care about the Iraqi people, a doctor from Anbar province wrote on Twitter. We dont have qualified hospitals to face the danger of coronavirus. Others drew comparisons between the digital thermometres used to detect the virus at border crossings and the infamous fake bomb detectors sold to the Iraqi government by British businessman James McCormick between 2008 and 2010 to be used at checkpoints. Meanwhile, Iraqs top Shia leader Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani on Friday also called on authorities to be up to the level of responsibility and step up preparations. While officials have yet to announce when the Iran-Iraq border crossings will reopen, analysts say the financial implications will not allow for a prolonged closure. Cross-border trade and travel are vital to both countries, Sajad Jiyad, of the Baghdad-based al-Bayan Centre, told Al Jazeera. There is a steady flow of pilgrims and religious tourists into Iraq that number tens of thousands per month, said Jiyad. All businesses engaged in that sector will suffer a large drop in revenues. He added: Iraq imports billions of dollars of goods from Iran per year and that trade will be disrupted leading to knock-on effect for Iraqi businesses and industry. Even basic foodstuffs will face a shortage leading to an increase in prices. In Iran, officials have recommended that people limit their movement in and out of religious sites in Qom, where two elderly people became on Wednesday the outbreaks first fatalities in the Middle East. Other measures taken in Iran include the closure of schools, universities and educational centres in 14 provinces across the country starting on Sunday. Sen. Bernie Sanders scored an easy win in the Nevada caucuses Saturday, giving him momentum going into Californias Super Tuesday primary and putting him potentially on a path to the Democratic presidential nomination. Sanders held a lead of roughly 2-1 in the popular vote in Nevada over former Vice President Joe Biden, in second place, with former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg in third as the caucus results were slowly tabulated. Sanders was supported by a broad coalition of voters in the most racially and ethnically diverse state of the three that have voted. The Vermont senator was backed by 53% of Latinos, who make up roughly a third of Nevadas population, NBC News entrance polls indicated. The networks surveys showed him running second among African Americans to Biden and leading among whites, young voters and even moderates. Hes got so much momentum in California you see how many people of color he is organizing here, said Aimee Allison, an Oakland activist and founder of She the People, which focuses on issues affecting women of color. His campaign learned a lot of lessons from (his run in) 2016, and they invested a lot in California this time. A lot of the other campaigns will be hard-pressed to catch up. Speaking at a rally in San Antonio, Sanders said his campaign has put together a multigenerational, multiracial coalition that is not just going to win in Nevada but sweep this country. Californias 416 pledged delegates up for grabs in the March 3 primary could be key to helping Sanders secure the partys nomination. But he will face one obstacle that wasnt present in Nevada, or in Iowa or New Hampshire, the other two early voting states where Sanders did well Mike Bloomberg. The former New York mayor is saturating the airwaves in the 14 states that vote on Super Tuesday, which include Texas, Virginia and Minnesota along with California. Bloomberg has spent $42 million on TV ads in California alone. He was not on the ballot in Nevada. But if Sanders can replicate the Latino support he enjoyed in Nevada in California and Texas, then youre not going to catch him, said Melissa Michelson, a professor of political science at Menlo College. Sanders has pulled ahead in California, and is now the favorite of 32% of the states likely Democratic primary voters, more than twice as many as his closest competitor, Biden (14%), according to a survey released last week by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California. Bunched closed behind Biden are Bloomberg, Buttigieg and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who was running fourth in Nevada. Biden, the onetime front-runner for the nomination, faces an almost must-win situation in the next primary, in South Carolina on Saturday. Nevada was the third consecutive state where he finished far out of first place. The press is ready to declare people dead quickly, Biden told supporters in Las Vegas. But were alive, and were coming back, and were going to win. Buttigiegs campaign was holding out hope for a second-place finish over Biden when all the votes were counted. In addressing supporters in Las Vegas, he painted Sanders as unelectable, saying the senator believes in an inflexible, ideological revolution that leaves out most Democrats, not to mention most Americans. Some other takeaways from Nevada: Sanders firewall: It appears that a Latino firewall is emerging for Bernie Sanders, said Adrian Pantoja, a senior analyst with Latino Decisions, which has conducted extensive polling nationally. Pantoja noted that Sanders used the same strategy in California that he did in Nevada: Organize in the Latino community early. He opened offices in Latino neighborhoods in east Los Angeles, the Inland Empire and the Central Valley in May, hired Latino campaign staff and built a strong ground game. Latinos want to see you and know that youre part of the community, Pantoja said. You cant just run TV ads from a distance. Bloomberg loved this: Sanders winning big and Biden finishing far behind was a dream scenario for Bloomberg. He expects Democrats who think Sanders is too far left will turn to him if they conclude Biden and the rest of the field are too weak. Still, Bloomberg has to hope that the $500 million and counting that he has spent on advertising will erase memories of his horrendous debate debut last week. The next debate is on Tuesday. Notably, Warrens post-caucus speech to supporters Saturday was aimed not at Sanders but at Bloomberg, whom she eviscerated on the stage last week. If Bloomberg remains the main target at the next debate, that will only help Bernie Sanders even more in California, said Michelson, the Menlo College professor. If he hadnt been the target in the last debate, maybe the other Democrats would have focused their attention on the front-runner. Buttigieg not winning nonwhites: Nevada was a test of whether Buttigieg could win African American and Latino voters. Entrance polls show Buttigieg winning only 9% of the Latino vote and less than 7% of the black vote. California isnt looking much more promising for Buttigieg, despite his strong showing in early states. Only 5% of likely Latino voters back him, according to the Public Policy Institute of California survey. Biden fading: Biden kept reassuring supporters after miserable finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire two predominantly white states that he would perform better in diverse Nevada. Dan Pfeiffer, a former communications chief under President Barack Obama, said Biden has to win South Carolina going away. And that gives him a shot. No more than a shot. Pfeiffer told The Chronicles Its All Political podcast that while there is a deep well of affection for Joe Biden in the Democratic Party, his campaign trail performance has been, many times, suboptimal. Its the states that have seen him the most who are deciding that he is not the most electable candidate, and thats a real problem, Pfeiffer said. Warrens bad luck: Warren didnt get a bounce off her sharp debate performance Wednesday. Part of the reason: Nearly 75,000 Nevadans had voted during the early voting period that ended Tuesday. But at least she raised some money, said Allison, noting that Warren took in $14 million between the New Hampshire and Nevada contests. Democratic enthusiasm: After a lackluster turnout in Iowa, Democrats were thrilled with what they saw in Nevada. Nearly as many people voted during the four-day early voting period as did overall in 2016. And nearly 10,000 people registered as Democrats for the caucus, solidifying the partys dominance in voter registration in the former swing state. But there was one ominous sign for the party: Fewer first-time voters cast ballots in Nevada than in 2016, continuing a pattern that was also present in Iowa and New Hampshire, according to NBC News entrance polls. Joe Garofoli is The San Francisco Chronicles senior political writer. Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joegarofoli The highly anticipated return of the caped crusader has attracted large crowds to its filming locations. And Batman ripped through the streets of Glasgow again on Sunday as they continued to shoot complex chase sequences through the city's Victorian Necropolis. Robert Pattinson's stunt double donned full black body armour, complete with the iconic pointy-eared cowl and sculpted armour plates made to resemble muscles for the shoot. Caped crusader: Batman ripped through the streets of Glasgow again today as they continued to shoot complex chase sequences through the city's Victorian Necropolis Stunt teams were seen driving ahead of the body double actor to spray the roads with a thin layer of water, having filmed the last few days in near-constant drizzle. Pictures from the set show the vigilante's skintight suit featuring silicon shoulder pads, and a chest plate bearing the signature bat symbol. The costume's arms feature medieval-looking gauntlets loaded with what appear to be steel darts. Testing the waters: Stunt teams were seen driving ahead of the body double actor to spray the roads with a thin layer of water, having filmed the last few days in near-constant drizzle One of the only elements of the rough-and-ready suit that has come into question are the unusual large eye coverings, which contrasts with previous versions of the costume. The Scottish city is standing in for the fictional metropolis of Gotham in the upcoming film The Batman. A source told the Sunday Mail Glasgow was selected for its gothic architecture and winding streets. Suited: Robert Pattinson's stunt double donned full black body armour, complete with the iconic pointy-eared cowl and sculpted armour plates made to resemble muscles on Sunday Glasgow was also used to shoot high-speed chase scenes for Fast and Furious Nine as it's grid system makes it easier to close down sections of road. Set designers were seen out on the streets of Glasgow transforming the area they were set to film in into the dark city of Gotham, on Saturday. The crew could be seen muddying up the road to cover up parking spaces and white lines, erasing all signs that the film was being shot in the Scottish city. Gruff: Pictures from the set show the vigilante's skintight suit featuring silicon shoulder pads, and a chest plate bearing the signature bat symbol Dream role: Pattinson, 33, who found fame in The Twilight Saga movies, was officially cast as the Caped Crusader in May last year, but has yet to be seen on set Other set designers were seen putting Gotham City number plates on the cars that were lined up on set. Adding to the gritty atmosphere, the cars that were being used were also covered in dirt to suggest they had been left there for a long time. Robert Pattinson's stunt double was then seen on set, filming in the city's Necropolis cemetery and driving around on a motorbike in full Batman costume. Accessorised: The costume's arms feature medieval-looking gauntlets loaded with what appear to be steel darts On Friday, Batman descended upon drizzly Glasgow in full black body armour as he roared around a cemetery on a motorbike during filming. The Scottish city is standing in for the fictional metropolis of Gotham in the film The Batman, which is being directed by Matt Reeves. Robert's stunt double- tore through the tombstones wearing the full Bat-Suit, complete with the iconic pointy-eared cowl and sculpted armour plates made to resemble muscles. Bit different: One of the only elements of the rough-and-ready suit that has come into question are the unusual large eye coverings, which contrasts with previous versions of the costume The skintight suit featured silicon shoulder pads, and a chest plate which bore the signature bat symbol. Pattinson's stunt-double was clearly ready for action with a medieval looking arm gauntlets loaded with silver darts. The Batman character was also sporting the integral utility belt around his waist which bore multiple pouches and holsters. Drizzle: Production crews have had to battle rain and drizzle for the start of filming in Scotland's second city A source told the Sunday Mail Glasgow was selected for its gothic architecture and winding streets. The source said: 'Glasgow will be turned into Gotham City and, with the citys architecture, its expected to look great in the new film.' The crew seemed to be struggling with the weather during the scene as filming had to be paused several times. Shredding tarmac: On Friday, Batman descended upon drizzly Glasgow in full black body armour as he roared around a cemetery on a motorbike during filming The Batman double was seen dabbing beneath his cowl with a green cloth as rain had clearly got under his mask, making it difficult to see. Fellow cast members were also seen patting themselves down and one biker had to have their helmet visor dried off before continuing. Filming has only just begun on the newest chapter of the Batman franchise, with the first scenes being filmed in London in January. On set: Producers and set assistants attend to the stunt double's needs as he rides in the drizzly Glasgow weather Director Matt Reeves shared a camera test of the actor in the new Batman suit via Vimeo. The 56-second clip slowly brings the Bat motif on the front of the suit into focus before panning up to show Pattinson in profile as he flexes his armored shoulders. The footage, set to a dramatic score by composer Michael Giacchino and bathed in red light, ends with Pattinson turning towards the camera revealing the mask that covers his eyes and nose. Glasgow: The Scottish city is standing in for the fictional metropolis of Gotham in the upcoming film The Batman, starring Robert The Batman which is due for release on 25th June 2021 in both the UK and USA is the ninth film starring the complex crime-fighter. The new film is directed by Matt Reeves who achieved notoriety for his apocalyptic Planet of the Apes sequels. Reeves, whose credits also include 2008's Cloverfield, took over the project at Warner Bros. from Ben Affleck. Affleck donned the Bat-Suit twice in Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice in 2016 and 2017s Justice League. The Good Will Hunting star recently revealed in a New York Times interview, that his drinking issues played a part in his announcement he would stop playing Batman early last year. The latest Batman offering has attracted a stellar cast, with Paul Dano confirmed as the Riddler and Zoe Kravitz will playing the legendary feline anti-heroine Catwoman. British actor Robert, 33, will be donning the famous cowl as he plays tortured millionaire Bruce Wayne and his vengeful alter-ego Batman. Soggy: Fellow cast members were also seen patting themselves down and one biker had to have their helmet visor dried off before continuing Atmospheric: A source told the Sunday Mail Glasgow was selected to stand in for Gotham for its gothic architecture and winding streets The former star of The Twilight Saga was officially cast as the Caped Crusader last May. Pattinson had actively pursued the role in The Batman, telling Variety last September: 'Id had Batman in my mind for a while. Its such an absurd thing to say. 'I sort of had an idea to do it, and Id been prodding Matt. He didnt accept any prods. I kept asking to meet him.' WBPCC president Somen Mitra on Sunday said the Congress will have a seat-sharing arrangement with the Left Front for the West Bengal civic polls but will not form an alliance with it. Going by the formula, the Congress and the Left Front constituents will field their candidates from their respective strongholds, Mitra told reporters here. Reacting to Mitra's remarks, CPI(M) legislature party leader Sujan Chakraborty told PTI in Kolkata, "We have always called for putting up a joint fight to defeat both the BJP and the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal." Mentioning that the State Election Commission (SEC) should ensure that civic elections are held in a free and fair manner, Mitra said, the Congress is in favour of using electronic voting machines and not ballot papers for the civic polls. The grand old party has no problems about the timing of the polls, the WBPCC president said. However, the dates should be fixed with due consideration about the schedule of different board exams, he said. "We have conveyed our stand to the SEC," Mitra said. The state secondary board exam which started on February 18 will end on February 27. The higher secondary examination will be held between March 12 to March 27. Restrictions are in place on the use of loudspeakers due to the examinations. The state BJP had urged the state election commissioner to be given "ample time" to campaign for the municipal polls as the state board exams will continue till the end of March. The elections to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation and 107 other civic bodies of the state are likely to be held in mid-April, official sources said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Vice-President of India M. Venkaiah Naidu looks at farm products after inaugurating a three-day meet at agricultural university on Saturday. Hyderabad: Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu stressed on the need for sustainable agriculture and suggested that measures like crop diversification, educating farmers about modern methods be encouraged for profitable agriculture. He was speaking after inaugurating a three-day meet, the second edition of Agrivision 2020, and Agritech South 2020 at the Prof. Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University (PJTSAU) Auditorium in Rajendranagar on Saturday. Mr Naidu addressed a gathering of farmers, university officers, a large number of students, agriculture faculty and scientists present at the event. Mr Naidu also stressed on the need to develop and encourage food processing and value addition for agricult-ure produce in a bigger way. Among others present on the occasion were agriculture minister S. Niranjan Reddy, university Vice Chancellor Dr V. Praveen Rao, CII-Telangana Chairman D. Raju, Icrisat director-general Dr Peter Carberry, CII-Telangana agricultural panel convener G.V. Subbareddy and Agritech South chairman Anil Kumar V. Epur. Cancer treatment damaged her womb and left her unable to carry a child. But primary school teacher Olivia Rowlands, 31, is now looking forward to becoming a mother after a long-lost cousin read her appeal for a surrogate in the Daily Mail. Ellie Hutchinson is 18 weeks' pregnant with a baby created from an egg harvested from Mrs Rowlands before she had radiotherapy, and her husband Sam Rowlands's sperm. Yesterday Mrs Rowlands said: 'I don't think there is a word to say how I will feel when I hold our baby. I think I will just feel whole and complete. Olivia Rowlands, 31, is now forward to becoming a mother after a long-lost cousin read her appeal for a surrogate in the Daily Mail (Pictured left, Olivia Rowlands with Ellie Hutchinson) 'We keep calling Ellie our superhero. It's the best gift you can give anyone. We wouldn't have a family without Ellie. We just can't wait to be parents, we're so ready. Cancer stole my chance of carrying a baby and put me into early menopause, but it cannot stop me being a mum.' She was a baby herself the only times she had previously met Mrs Hutchinson, who has a five-year-old son, Caleb, with her engineer husband Ryan, 36. As a result, the teacher, who was brought up in Dubai, had no memory of meeting Mrs Hutchinson, whose father was an uncle of Mrs Rowlands. Mrs Hutchinson, 34, a bank risk manager, said: 'I felt like I'd been very lucky to be fit and healthy and I knew I could have more children, but didn't want another. 'If the shoe was on the other foot, I hope someone would step forward for me. We're in contact all the time, I'm trying to keep her as informed as I can.' Mrs Rowlands was diagnosed with stage 3 bowel cancer in November 2017. Gruelling treatment followed, which doctors told her would damage her womb. Mrs Hutchinson is 18 weeks' pregnant with a baby created from an egg harvested from Mrs Rowlands before she had radiotherapy to treat her cancer (Pictured: Olivia and Sam Rowlands with Mrs Hutchinson) Pictured: Olivia and Sam when they found out they could freeze four embryos in January 2016 During a ten-day window prior to her lifesaving treatment, she had surgery to harvest her eggs and freeze them in the hope that she and Mr Rowlands, a gym owner, would find a surrogate. She was due to undergo a 'chemotherapy sandwich' six weeks of chemo, five weeks of radiotherapy and another six weeks of chemo. But four days into the treatment Mrs Rowlands, of St Andrews, Fife, felt 'terribly ill' and doctors discovered the sepsis which she had been diagnosed with due to an earlier colonoscopy had returned. Her treatment had to stop while she fought the infection, but then her consultant decided some of the tumour could be removed by surgery. It was performed at Dundee's Ninewells hospital, and she then began four months of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Mrs Rowlands (pictured with Sam) was diagnosed with stage 3 bowel cancer in November 2017 Mr and Mrs Rowlands had registered with the non-profit organisation Surrogacy UK, but after six months were nowhere near the top of the waiting list for a surrogate (Pictured: Mrs Hutchinson's ultrasound photograph) In August 2018 she got the all-clear. Mr and Mrs Rowlands had registered with the non-profit organisation Surrogacy UK, but after six months were nowhere near the top of the waiting list for a surrogate. So they took matters into their own hands and made a video appeal asking for a surrogate. The Mail reported on it in September 2018 as we told how Mrs Rowlands had shared her cancer treatment with photographs online. More than 100 people contacted them offering to be their surrogate including Mrs Hutchinson. Mrs Rowlands said: 'Ellie said she would love to offer her help. I just burst into tears.' She and her husband met Mr and Mrs Hutchinson, who live only about an hour away in Stirling, in January last year. They had blood tests and genetic tests before one of Mrs Rowlands' fertilised eggs was inserted into Mrs Hutchinson. Mrs Rowlands said: 'It hit me that I wouldn't be carrying this little person, but I tried to put it to the back of my mind. 'I kept thinking that this time last year I was just finishing treatment for cancer. I'm lucky to be here and I was lucky to have that ten-day window to freeze my eggs. I know a lot of people do not get that chance.' BY the time you read this, we could well have a brand new Government and the ship of state could be sailing steadily through calmer waters. Stranger things have happened, especially in the past week or so. But, at the moment anyway, I have to say that all Im feeling is the instability, combined with undue anxiety and a constant sense of mal de mer. I cant even find my feet, not to talk of my sea legs. But dont mind me! Instability is my second name. I cant climb a ladder anymore without feeling the force of gravity dragging it from under my feet. Every time a new storm appears on the met office horizon and thats every second day now I have to be physically restrained from trying to tie down the roof before battening the hatches. Youre over-reacting, as usual, Im told by my nearest and dearest, in between stifled yawns, as I stock the presses with tinned food and vitamin tablets. Theyve never known anything but stability themselves, and a fat lot of good that ever did them, they say ruefully. They may have a point there, because some economists would argue that too much political stability over too long a period of time can be detrimental. It can lead to complacency not to talk of all kinds of cronyism and political skulduggery. Instability in small doses could be good for us. Keep us on our toes! Right! For all that we havent been as stable as we thought we were in recent years. I would have put us among the most stable economies in the world because of our impressive performance since the crash. But the World Bank wouldnt agree. In the 2018 rankings of stability, we were down at 24th way ahead of the Yemen, which came last, but still behind countries like Uruguay. All I can think of is that the World Bank somehow sensed some latent civil war animosities in the Confidence and Supply Agreement that held us together for so long. Nevertheless, political instability is no joke for those of us afflicted by vertigo and disequilibrium. So the sooner they cobble a government together now the better it will be for all of us. I say they, because theres no point coming back to us again for a solution. We dont like to be told to try harder. Anyway, some of us are on the crest of the tsunami at the moment and the rest of us are just submerged in the Jetsam. A few of us, however, are dizzy from the instability and some others of us are simply ditzy. But all of us are in a vacuum, and, as everyone knows, nature abhors a vacuum and if we dont fill it soon well find ourselves in a black hole. Astronomers have recently discovered strange signals coming every 16 days from a dwarf star, billions of light years away in space. Such unprecedented regularity is astounding and suggests something truly bizarre. But only that the source is so far away, Id have said it was the sound of our elected politicians involved in the formation of a government going through the motions and then trying to pass the buck. Or is the analogy too ludicrous to even contemplate? So, despite our reluctance to be re-examined, if a second election is the only way to steady the ship, then so be it. Otherwise well all be staggering from pillar to post as the instability continues. The rest of the world will think were drunk and say we never lost it. But I dont think that ideologies that are poles apart should be forced together to create a government. Stepping up to the plate is never a good idea if it has to involve the abandonment of deeply held principles in pandering to the electorate and satisfying the so-called appetite for change. Change is always risky and anyway voting for a change of government is not the same as voting for the suppression of long held and hard fought loyalties and principles. One of those is freedom of speech and already there are threats from shadowy sources to those sections of the media that havent been wildly enthusiastic of the new order, suggesting a monitoring of the Press. The leaders of the party which won the popular vote need to dissociate themselves quickly from those shadowy despots before expecting anyone to talk to them, regardless of what their electorate wants or what the mood for change might dictate. Meanwhile, in the midst of all this instability, all I can do is to try and stay upright myself until the storm has passed. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will soon transition to their new lives, closing their office at Buckingham Palace and continuing to live part-time in North America. But before they do, the duke and duchess have one final set of engagements in the U.K. slated for late February and early March. After this, they'll continue to support causes they're passionate about. A rider has been left with a damaged motorcycle after being knocked onto the road near Welcome Bay this afternoon by a passing car that refused to stop. Police were advised that a motorcycle and a vehicle had collided on Welcome Bay Road/Hammond Street in Hairini at 12.08pm. The vehicle did not remain at the scene, says a Police spokesperson. A friend of the motorcyclist contacted SunLive to say that the motorcyclist had been travelling in the southbound lane from Tauranga on SH2A, leaving SH2a to continue on under the Maungatapu Underpass towards Welcome Bay. After coming through the underpass, on nearing the traffic lights at Hammond St, the rider continued to maintaining his travel in the left hand line. A car came out of nowhere from behind the rider, clipping him and sending him spilling onto the road, says his friend. The motorcyclist did not receive significant injuries, however the driver of the car didnt stop, continuing to drive towards Welcome Bay. Police enquiries are continuing to locate the driver. At the scene? Phone 0800 SUNLIVE or email newsroom@thesun.co.nz The intersection of Hammond St and Welcome Bay Rd has a traffic camera monitoring traffic through the area Killer dad: Rowan Baxter, 42 A father who burned his family to death told a friend he wouldn't do 'anything stupid' before the massacre. Rowan Baxter, 42, met a friend in a restaurant on Sunday, three days before torching his wife and three children and stabbing himself to death in Camp Hill, Brisbane. The pair spoke for two hours as the friend feared Baxter was suicidal after his estranged wife Hannah Clarke took out a Domestic Violence Order against him. During the conversation Baxter revealed he was devastated that he was not allowed to see his children, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. Talking about Ms Clarke, he said 'she can do whatever she wants to me but don't take my kids away from me, that's all I've got left in life,' the friend told the newspaper. The friend also revealed that when they parted ways after the meet-up he warned Baxter not to 'do anything stupid'. 'The last thing I said to him as he was walking away was "mate, don't do anything stupid" and he sort of turned as he was walking away and he just said "no mate, I'm not going to do anything stupid." I was sort of thinking that he might self-harm,' the friend said. Three days later Baxter poured petrol on his wife and three children and set them alight in their car. The friend said that Baxter was suffering extreme depression that drove him to become a 'monster' on that day. Hannah Clarke and her three children were torched in their car on Wednesday morning by Rowan Baxter (all pictured together) who stabbed himself to death at the scene in Camp Hill Left: Hannah Clarke pictured with her 'main man', son Trey in a beach snap. Right: Ms Clarke on her wedding with her husband 'If someone told me Rowan was capable of that, I would say, no way, not to his kids. He loved his kids more than anything else in the world,' the friend said. It comes after Daily Mail Australia revealed Baxter had a string of mistresses and was texting 'hundreds' of women while he was married. His cousin Sandra Taylor told Daily Mail Australia that she feared the controlling and vengeful coward would murder Ms Clarke and offered up her home as a safe haven. Ms Taylor, 45, set about making her house in Brisbane's south ready for her to run to, even buying treats for her three children. But before they could use it, Hannah was burned to death in her car along with Aaliyah, 6, Laianah, 4, and Trey, 3, after Ms Taylor's cousin Baxter ambushed them at her parents' come in Camp Hill. Rowan Baxter's cousin Sandra Taylor (pictured) told Daily Mail Australia she feared he would murder his estranged wife Hannah Clarke Ms Taylor was shocked when she heard about Wednesday morning's senseless murder, but in hindsight knew it was coming. 'I was shaken to the core when I heard... [but] this does not surprise me,' she told Daily Mail Australia. The mother-of-one said she was worried as Baxter's behaviour became increasingly threatening, including an assault on Hannah and constant stalking. 'Rowan was a man with a dangerous sense of possession and entitlement over his wife and children, particularly in the last three months, that I was concerned for,' she said. 'This was a man with a level of hatred and disrespect for their mother so great that he would make this choice - the most horrifying and despicable of choices.' Ms Taylor, who is Baxter's first cousin on his mother's side, revealed he was believed to be cheating on Hannah. The killer (pictured, centre right) flooded his social media with pictures of his three children, giving the impression of a doting father Hannah Clarke (pictured with her three children, aliyah, 6, Laianah, 4, and Trey, 3) is seen enjoying a day with her own grandmother (far left) 'We were at a family barbecue and he was at the grill and I walked over to him and he was sending hundreds of texts to other women,' she said. 'I know Hannah believed she wasn't the only one.' She also believes that Baxter had several affairs during his first marriage. While speaking to Nine News, Ms Taylor said said Baxter had a long history of vile misogyny, believing women were either 'prostitutes' or 'cleaners'. He had made his wife suffer through years of sexual, emotional and financial abuse, before she finally broke free from his clutches and planned to start a new life. But he soon made sure her dream could never be realised. 'Rowan believed that women are two things - to be a house cleaner, and to be a prostitute,' she said. Ms Taylor reached out to Hannah when Baxter made a long post on Facebook last month playing the victim about the custody battle, saying a 'great father like him' was being hard done by. The pair realised they worked in the same building and after Ms Taylor explained the history that helped explain Baxter's abuse, forged a bond. 'I let her know this was a safe house, it's minutes from our work and you'll be safe with us. I started buying treats for the children, I had visions of girls nights and made up the spare room,' she said. In her kitchen is an unopened 12-pack of Nutella she and her fiance bought for Hannah's three children and looked forward to spoiling them with. She said Hannah was forming a network of safe houses she could run to if Baxter appeared and threatened her. A shrine grows at the scene where Hannah and her three kids were doused in fuel and set alight, while one person leaves a poignant sign about domestic violence (pictured) Hannah Clarke (pictured with her three children, aliyah, 6, Laianah, 4, and Trey, 3) died of her injuries on Wednesday But Baxter was one step ahead because he had hacked into Hannah's phone using dodgy attachments and soon turned on Ms Taylor. 'I started getting very worried because all of a sudden I started seeing dog faeces all over my driveway, and two of my pot plants were destroyed,' she said. 'He's the kind of bloke to be doing that. 'I didn't know how to tell her to that he kept walking by the building we both worked in.' Ms Taylor said it now all made sense after Hannah's parents revealed Baxter was hacking into Hannah's phone, tracking her movements, and had been monitoring her activity for years. Ms Taylor said though it in no way excused Baxter's unspeakable crime, it could have been prevented if he was given help for the mental scars. 'He thinks he's done the right thing because there's been no mentoring for him, no one to make him see this isn't okay,' she said. 'It's just been fear, control, mental, sexual, and physical abuse?' Ms Taylor said more help and resources were needed to break the cycle of abuse. 'I will never understand. Twenty years in counselling I still ask that same question,' she said. 'When does it all stop?' The family's car (pictured) is removed from the scene in Camp Hill, Brisbane, after Hannah Clarke and her three children were set alight inside Hannah's shattered father Lloyd Clarke has pieced together the horrific timeline of events that led to the tragic loss of four lives and Baxter's suicide. Despite suffering burns to 97 per cent of her body, heroic Hannah was able to give police at the scene a detailed statement about what happened. She was taking the children to school after 8am from her parents' house in Camp Hill, Brisbane, while her killer lay in wait. A notorious control freak, Baxter had been spiralling since Hannah left him after years of abuse. 'Rowan must have been lurking somewhere close, either hidden around the side of the house or in the neighbour's driveway,' Mr Clarke told Daily Mail Australia. 'His car was found down the street, this was definitely premeditated.' Aaliyah (left), 6, Laianah (right), 4, and Trey (centre), 3, were killed in a quadruple murder-suicide on Wednesday morning when their father set their car alight on their way to school It comes after her family gave a brave TV interview to speak out about the horrors of domestic violence, just days after losing their three grandchildren and their daughter. Doting grandparents Lloyd and Suzanne Clarke adored Hannah's children and took them on days on fun-filled holidays and day trips. Alongside Hannah's brother Nat, the family announced they would launch a charity in her name to support other victims during a remarkable interview on A Current Affair on Friday night. In words that left viewers in floods of tears, the family urged others to hold their loved ones close - and not let themselves be consumed by hate. Lloyd Clarke (pictured, left) and Suzanne (right) are seen meeting baby Trey for the first time, along with his big sister Aaliyah. Trey was to die at three years-old along with his sisters and mum A makeshift shrine appeared at thew scene of the horrific crime. Heartbroken friends and family left flowers and teddy bears as they mourned the loss of Hannah Baxter and her three children 'I know everyone knows he was a monster,' Hannah's brother Nat said. '[But] don't get caught up with the hate and everything. 'Just spread the love that you have. Go home, hug someone. Hold them close. 'Appreciate your children. If there's someone who, a family member that for some reason you've fallen out with or whatever, just reach out. 'Have a chat to them. See how they're doing. That will be my best thing.' Craig Roberts is certainly within his authority as sheriff of Clackamas County to run search-and-rescue operations the way he sees fit. If he wants to dismantle the countys relationship with the expert rescue crews that have saved distressed climbers on Mount Hood for decades, local officials are limited in how they can stop him. But while Roberts may have the power to make such a dramatic change, he has yet to articulate a rational argument for it. His proposal to replace the existing arrangement with his own search-and-rescue team, as first reported by The Oregonian/OregonLives Noelle Crombie, seems more about enforcing administrative directives than promoting safety. Worse, his plan arguably increases the risk to the public, particularly with respect to missions on Mount Hood. Mountaineers have come to rely on Portland Mountain Rescue and the other elite teams that have shown the expertise, grit and skill to assist those who get into trouble on Mount Hood, one of the most-climbed peaks in the world with more than 10,000 climbers annually. And a 2018 criminal misconduct conviction for a longtime detective laid bare Roberts poor leadership in ensuring professionalism or accountability. Rather than throw the upcoming climbing season into turmoil, Roberts should set aside his plan, meet with Portland Mountain Rescue and the other groups and negotiate compromises that address his administrative concerns without dissolving the current partnerships. Keeping that continuity is especially important considering Roberts term expires this year and he is rumored to be interested in running for the county chair. If Roberts wont back down, county commissioners should seek to use their budgetary power to deny him the money for this venture, which would require a significant investment that the county can ill afford. And voters, too, should take note both in evaluating Roberts and those who would replace him. As Crombie reported, Roberts plans to stop calling on the four trained crews of more than 200 volunteers who have long responded to searches, from looking for lost hikers to the more extreme challenges of a search-and-rescue for a climber on Mount Hood. Instead, he wants to form a team with about 100 volunteers who would undergo uniform background checks and training and report to him. In explaining the plan, Roberts pointed to a report done by his former undersheriff, Matt Ellington, about search-and-rescue operations of two counties. But the report itself lacks much heft. Rather, it provides an outline of how the Deschutes and Multnomah county sheriffs structure their programs but doesnt even evaluate the effectiveness of those programs in conducting search-and-rescue missions. Oregonian editorials Editorials reflect the collective opinion of The Oregonian/OregonLive editorial board, which operates independently of the newsroom. Members of the editorial board are Therese Bottomly, Laura Gunderson, Helen Jung, John Maher and Amy Wang. Members of the board meet regularly to determine our institutional stance on issues of the day. We publish editorials when we believe our unique perspective can lend clarity and influence an upcoming decision of great public interest. Editorials are opinion pieces and therefore different from news articles. To respond to this editorial, submit an OpEd or a letter to the editor If you have questions about the opinion section, email Helen Jung , opinion editor, or call 503-294-7621. For example, the report calls the Deschutes County operation the premier program in the state, based on the number of volunteers it has, the amount of equipment assigned to the program and the amount of financial resources available to it. Not, for instance, the number of rescues, its success rate or other such metrics. In fact, there is not a single sentence in Ellingtons 12-page report that assesses the competence of either of the two programs. Theres greater discussion about the possibility that the Deschutes program may be getting a snowcat than there is about actual rescues the program conducted. Shouldnt the number of lives saved be a critical part of such an analysis before making such a drastic change? Apparently not. There are other weaknesses in Roberts position. On OPBs Think Out Loud, the sheriff said that he started looking at changes after a recent lawsuit filed by the family of a climber who died on Mount Hood. But the claims in the lawsuit centered on the delay and alleged mishandling by the sheriffs office and countys 911 dispatch service in sending out a rescue helicopter not on the quality of the efforts by the crew that responded to the fall. In fact, the family insisted as part of a $25,000 settlement that the county make a $5,000 donation to Portland Mountain Rescue, a reflection of their gratitude. Some may wonder why asking volunteers to shift to a sheriff-run system versus retaining the independence of the existing teams is such a big deal. But that esteem and identity are critical to their success. As Mark Morford, a Portland Mountain Rescue board member, told The Oregonian/OregonLive Editorial Board, these organizations foster a culture and solidarity that directly results in the high level of trust and performance needed for rescues under extreme conditions similar to the pride U.S. Marines take in conducting their missions. And Clackamas County residents should also eye Roberts proposal to increase his management portfolio with a fair amount of skepticism. Roberts was criticized for his agencys failure to take action on complaints that a detective was ignoring, rather than investigating, child abuse, sex abuse and other criminal allegations. An outside consultant hired by the county commission faulted the agencys leaders for failing to take responsibility of the mishandling. When the consultant sought to check on whether Roberts had implemented the recommendations, the sheriff refused to cooperate. If the sheriff resists basic acts of accountability and responsibility, why should he be trusted to upend and remake a function that is working well? Its worth noting that Roberts has made some positive changes to search and rescue assigning a full-time coordinator and placing the unit under the supervision of a lieutenant. And hes right to push to raise the bar for rescuers, with uniform background checks and training. But nothing is stopping him from achieving those worthy goals by meeting with the rescue teams and adapting the current system. Safety should come first. Unfortunately, nothing about this proposal suggests thats the priority. The Santa Fe Desert Chorale will weave a rich tapestry of sound at their shows in Santa Fe on Friday, Feb. 28, and in Albuquerque on Saturday, Feb. 29. Strength and Refuge: A Joyous Exploration of the Psalms features works by composers from across five centuries from the Baroque to beyond the millennium. The psalms are great shared traditions, artistic director Joshua Habermann said. The Jewish and Christian traditions have this common heritage and its been a source of inspiration to composers forever. The psalms were written as both poetry and as songs. The word hails from the Greek psalmoi, meaning words to accompany music. Habermann organized the program by pairing seemingly incongruous pieces together. An excerpt from Bachs first motet follows the Italian Jewish composer Salamone Rossis Haleluyah Ashreiish. These are both Baroque compositions, Habermann said, and theyre both written for double choir. The concert will mark the 10th anniversary of Santa Fe Vespers, a commissioned work by Robert Kyr, a professor of composition and theory at the University of Oregon. Its a long, extended work, Habermann said. Its written for soloists within the chorale. A lot of it draws on Bach and Renaissance styles. We thought it was a fun way to put things together, he continued. Youre seeing this piece from 1610 and 2010 actually have a lot in common. Sergei Rachmaninov wrote for more than piano and orchestra; in 1915 he penned his All Night Vigil for chorus. One of the greatest hits of all time is a setting for the Orthodox Vigil the All Night Vigil, Habermann said. Rachmaninov considered it one of his greatest works. The choir will sing two movements from the piece. Theyre really beautiful; its a very romantic Russian sound with deep basses and angelic sopranos, Habermann said. Its a very wide palette. The concert will close with Lithuanian composer Vytautas Miskinis Jubilate Deo No. 2, he added. Its rhythmic and fun and a great way to end the program. Israeli prime minister holds emergency meeting Number of deaths in China surpasses 2,400 Ten towns in Italy on lockdown as two deaths reported South Korea leader calls for 'unprecedented' steps to stop spread 43 cases, eight deaths connected to coronavirus in Iran Feds' plan to relocate coronavirus patients puts region at risk, California city says Japan minister apologizes after woman who left virus-stricken ship tests positive Israel prime minister convenes special assessment Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has held high level meetings with senior officials in the Health Ministry's emergency situation room to discuss the coronavirus. We are continuing preparations to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus in Israel. We are holding daily assessments," he told the gathering of government ministers and senior officials. "Today, I will appoint a ministerial team to convene on a daily basis in order to deal with this major challenge." He added: "We have also issued guidelines to Israelis who are returning to the country and we demand that these guidelines, which we are releasing to the public, be strictly adhered to." The police would also be called if anyone was found to be disseminating false reports about COVID-19 in the lead up the Israeli elections next month, he said. Lawahez Jabari Towns in Italy locked down as scores of people test positive Ten towns in northern Italy, with a population of around 50,000, were locked down Sunday after scores of people tested positive for COVID-19 and two people died from the disease. Government officials said Sunday that 133 people have tested positive for the respiratory illness, making it Europes worst-hit country. Of those cases, 89 are in the region of Lombardy, 17 in Veneto, two in Emilia Romagna, one in Piemonte and two in the country's capital, Rome. A 77-year-old woman who lived in Milan's Lombardy region died Saturday, the ANSA news agency reported. Her death came hours after a 78-year-old man died in the nearby city of Padua in the Veneto region. Story continues Image: ITALY-CHINA-HEALTH-VIRUS The government introduced a number of containment measures Saturday in areas affected by the contagion, including a ban on exit and entry into the affected areas. It also suspended all public events and gatherings and shut down schools, nurseries, museums, restaurants, businesses and public offices. All those who have been in contact with those infected are to remain at home for a quarantine period of 14 days, officials added. Both the police and where deemed necessary, the army, will ensure the measures are enforced, the government said. Those who break the rules risk up to three months in prison. Meanwhile, three football games scheduled to be played today in Lombardy and Veneto, the most affected regions, have been suspended. Giuseppe Sala, the mayor of Milan, said Sunday that all schools in the city will remain closed for at least a week. The rise in cases comes as Milan is holding its annual fashion week. Well known designer Giorgio Armani banned the public from attending the catwalk scheduled for Sunday and said it will be streamed online instead. The last two days of Venice's famed carnival were also cancelled in bid to stop the spread of the virus. Claudio Lavanga and AP Number of deaths in China surpasses 2,400 Almost 650 new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in mainland China, the country's National Health Commission reported Sunday as the total number of confirmed cases rose to 76,936. A further 97 new deaths were also recorded, it said. A total of 2,442 people have died in mainland China since the outbreak began. While the number of cases continues to rise, there have been less than 1,000 recorded each day over the last four days. However, changes have been made to the way that the number of infections are counted, making it difficult to draw conclusions from the figures. Yuliya Talmazan and Salina Lee South Korea leader calls for 'unprecedented' steps to stop coronavirus South Koreas president put the country on its highest alert for infectious diseases on Sunday and said officials should take unprecedented, powerful steps to fight a viral outbreak. Speaking at a government meeting, President Moon Jae-in said the outbreak had reached a crucial watershed and that the next few days will be a very important critical moment. Image: His comments came as authorities reported 169 new cases on Sunday, raising the total to 602 with five deaths. The U.S. State Department issued a level 2 travel alert for South Korea Saturday warning that older adults and those with chronic medical conditions should consider postponing non-essential travel. It said South Korea was experiencing "sustained community transmission of COVID-19." The Associated Press and Nayeong Kim Eight deaths connected to coronavirus in Iran, officials say Eight people have died after contracting the coronvirus, Iranian officials said Sunday, as the number of confirmed cases in the country rose to 43. Only China has confirmed more deaths from the respiratory illness. Most of the cases have been in Qom, a Shiite Muslim holy city 75 miles south of the capital Tehran. Schools, universities and seminaries in Qom will be closed on Sunday and Monday in an effort to prevent the spread of the virus. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq have placed travel and immigration curbs on Iran, while Oman on Sunday urged its citizens to steer clear of countries with high infection rates and said arrivals from those nations would be quarantined. Reuters Feds' plan to relocate coronavirus patients puts region at risk, California city says Leaders in Costa Mesa, California, said Saturday that they were kept in the dark until the last minute about plans by federal health agencies to transfer dozens of coronavirus patients to an empty building in their city in a move they said could put the entire region at risk. The Southern California city was granted a restraining order Friday by a federal judge to temporarily halt the relocation of up to 50 patients from Travis Air Force Base in Northern California to the Fairview Developmental Center. In its request for the order, the city cited concern that the building is located in a densely populated area surrounded by schools, golf courses and homes. "We are all united in addressing what we think is a public health crisis right here in our community," Costa Mesa Mayor Katrina Foley said. In a news conference Saturday, local elected officials chided the federal government for its lack of transparency about how the site was chosen, how many patients would be transferred and what federal agency made the decision. Alicia Victoria Lozano Japan minister apologizes after woman who left virus-stricken ship tests positive Japan's health minister has apologized after a woman who was allowed to leave a coronavirus-infected cruise ship docked near Tokyo tested positive for COVID-19. The woman in her 60s disembarked the Diamond Princess in Yokohama on Wednesday following a two-week quarantine on board, but was found to be positive following another test. Health Minister Katsunobu Kato told a news conference in Tokyo on Saturday that 23 passengers were released from quarantine aboard the cruise ship without being tested for COVID-19 because of procedural mistakes. Officials had tracked all the passengers which had not been tested and asked them to self-quarantine at home for 14 days, he said, adding that 19 of those passengers are Japanese citizens and four are foreigners who reside in Japan. More than 630 people aboard the ship have been confirmed to have the virus. Inside Japan, 120 confirmed cases have been recorded as of Sunday. Arata Yamamoto and Reuters A train crash that killed two drivers may have been avoided if the speed limit was lower, a union has claimed. The train carrying 153 passengers from Sydney to Melbourne derailed at Wallan on Thursday on a section of track where the driver had to be navigated by his co-driver, called the pilot. Under Victorian state rules, the train must travel below 25kmh during a section that requires navigation. But, although in Victoria, the interstate train was subject to national rules which do not have that restriction. A train crash that killed two drivers may have been avoided if the speed limit was lower, a union has claimed. Pictured: The clean-up at Wallan on Sunday A sling on a crane is used to move part of the XPT train that derailed in Wallan North, 45km north of Melbourne On Sunday, as the clean-up operation began, the Rail, Tram and Bus Union said the crash may have been avoided if that rule was enforced. RTBU Victoria secretary Luba Grigorovitch told the Sydney Morning Herald: 'If the ARTC imposed the same speed restrictions under pilot that are applied by MTM and V/Line the incident may have been avoided'. Speed is one of the factors being investigated, after it was reported the train was supposed to slow to 15km/h as it was diverted through a different part of track near Wallan station. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is looking at the maintenance of the train and railway line as well as signalling data. Some passengers from the XPT have said it was speeding when it derailed. Driver: John Kennedy (pictured) from Canberra Canberra man John Kennedy has been named as the driver of the XPT diesel locomotive. The 54-year-old died alongside the train's pilot, a 49-year-old man from Castlemaine in regional Victoria. Eleven of the train's 153 passengers were also injured. A Sydney man described 'hanging on for grim death' as the train came off the tracks. 'It probably went about 150 metres before it stopped, there were carriages going sideways - pretty horrifying,' he said. Passenger Leyon Gray estimated the train was 'probably doing 80 or 90km/h' before everyone was thrown out of their seats. Some passengers also claimed there was an onboard announcement saying the driver was trying to make up for a lost time before the crash. Police would not confirm this. The Rail, Tram and Bus Union said the the train came off a section of track awaiting maintenance. 'Conditions were altered and V/Line drivers rightly refused to traverse this section over the past week,' secretary Luba Grigorovitch said. The Victorian Nationals' deputy leader Steph Ryan raised concerns about the rail line with the state government days before the crash and after another train was derailed further up the line in January. Mr Kennedy died along with another male pilot on Thursday night when his train crashed on its way to Southern Cross Station in Victoria (pictured) Authorities remain at the scene of a fatal derailment of an XPT train north of Melbourne But Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack was not aware of complaints by drivers about the safety of the section of the track. 'No authority would let passengers travel on unsafe track,' he told reporters at the scene. 'We will ensure that proper answers are found for the bereaved families and making sure these sorts of things don't happen again.' It's expected to take days to clear the tracks, with buses set to replace all Seymour, Shepparton and Albury train services until further notice. The transport safety bureau will release a preliminary report into the crash in about a month, ahead of a final report in 18 months. A 22-year-old man was shot at and injured by a miscreant amid clashes that broke out in the old city area here on Sunday between anti-CAA protesters and police after incidents of arson and stone pelting, said officials. The clashes led police to fire teargas shells to disperse the mob indulging in vandalisation of property and throwing stones at security personnel in upper Kot area of the Kotwali police station, said Aligarh District Magistrate Chandra Bhushan Singh. Following the incident of violence, the adminstration also suspended internet services in the city till midnight today as a precautionary measure, Singh added. The violence broke out at a spot on the Mohamed Ali Road leading to the Kotwali police station where some women protestors were holding a dharna since Saturday on the Mohamed Ali Road leading to the Kotwali police station with the police trying to evict protesters from there, he said. The trouble began around 5 pm when the police tried to persuade women protestors at Upper Kot near Kotwali to evict them from the road, he said. "We told them that women protestors were already holding a protest at Eidgah and they would not be permitted to hold another such protest near Kotwali," said Singh. He said "even as efforts were underway to convince women to leave the area with prominent Muslim citizens of the area, including the Sahar mufti Abdul Khalid trying to defuse the situation, mayhem broke out and brick-batting started.." The district magistrate said police used tear gas shells to disperse the mob. "An electricity department transformer was set afire but police managed to douse the flames before they could spread," he said. Describing the situation in Upper Kot area as "tense but under control" Singh said "an intense patrolling of the affected areas is underway and the police are trying to trace out those who were "instigating" the women protestors at Upper Kot since yesterday" There were also reports of injuries to some people but the exact number of those injured in clashes is yet to ascertained, said official sources. One of the injured included 22-year-old man Tariq, whose father and brother told police that he suffered bullet injury by a "miscreant" who opened fire at his brother amid the clashes between police and protesters. Tariq was admitted at Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital at Aligarh Muslim University here, where doctors described his condition as "serious". The victim has suffered a bullet injury in the stomach, they said. Tariq's father told police at the hospital in presence of this PTI reporter that his son was standing in front of his house when he was shot at by a miscreant whom he recognises. The clashes in the old city area broke out shortly after a Bhim Army-led march by hundreds of anti-CAA protesters heading to the district collectorate earlier were stopped midway by police and Rapid Action Force jawans. Stopped by police, the protesters, however, had headed towards the Eidgah area in the city where another group of anti-CAA women protestors had been holding an indefinite dharna for the past three weeks. As the Bhim Army-led protestors, including women, were stopped by police from moving ahead after they crossed over the Katpula Bridge from the old city, they decided to join women protesters in the Eidgah area. The protesters had taken out the march on a call by Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar. Shops in some areas near Kotwali had downed their shutters. Aligarh SSP Rajmuni, who took over the charge as the district police only last night, had earlier told mediapersons that following the abortive march, an FIR has been lodged against three persons at the Delhi Gate police station for trying to violate prohibitory orders and breach peace in the city. The new SSP said he was monitoring the situation arising out of the anti-CAA protests, going on both at the AMU and the old city area. He had said our "channels of communications with protesters are going to remain open but it does not mean we will allow anybody to disturb the city's law and order". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Iranians have largely ignored a massive get-out-the vote effort by the government to record the lowest turnout for a nationwide election since the establishment of the Islamic republic in 1979. The Interior Ministry says a record low of 42.57 percent of registered voters took part in Iran's February 21 parliamentary elections, which is about 20 percent lower than the 2016 elections. Analysts say the poor turnout is a major blow to the clerical establishment. Low voter participation was especially problematic in major cities -- including the capital Tehran -- where turnout was 20 to 30 percent according to estimates and unofficial reports. It comes amid calls by Iranian leaders and state media for voters to show up en masse, with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei portraying voting as a "religious duty" and urging even those who don't like him to vote. But the voters' rejection of the government's various exhortations for people to take part comes as the country's cleric-led leadership faces some of its most challenging times in decades amid a U.S. campaign of "maximum pressure" and popular discontent and mistrust of state officials. "The low turnout is a reflection of a general public mood toward a ruling system largely seen as increasingly illegitimate, incompetent, and corrupt -- and anathema to people's interests," Ali Fathollah-Nejad, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Doha Center think tank, told RFE/RL via e-mail. Turnout And Legitimacy Iranian leaders often use relatively high turnout rates in the country's elections -- where candidates are preapproved by a hard-line watchdog loyal to Khamenei -- to claim legitimacy and popular support. "[The turnout] is important for authorities' show of support," Washington-based political analyst Ali Afshari told RFE/RL's Radio Farda. "They don't admit that the elections are unfree and unfair. They claim that despite the disqualification process the elections are highly competitive, [and] they need it for a show of legitimacy," Afshari, a former student leader, added. In the days leading up to the vote, the Guardians Council, which vets all election candidates, disqualified hundreds of reformists and moderates. Fathollah-Nejad said the purge, which turned the February 21 elections into the country's least representative vote, was a miscalculation on the part of the hard-liners. "[The low turnout] also signals a huge miscalculation on the part of the ultraconservatives and their sense of hubris -- to a large extent due to the moderate camp's weakness and failures -- to put an end to a rather well-functioning safety net meant to channel public discontent and a mechanism for regime resilience," he said. "[That is], namely, offering the choice, as many Iranians refer to it, between a lesser and a larger evil (i.e. the moderates or reformists against the hard-liners), turning these elections into the most uncompetitive ones." The turnout in the 2016 parliamentary elections was officially about 61 percent. Before that, the lowest turnout was in 2004 when 51 percent of voters cast their ballots in elections that led to a victory by conservatives. WATCH: Coronavirus Concerns In Iran Amid Elections Ahead of these elections, many observers had suggested that the mass disqualification of reformists and moderate candidates, frustration over a worsening economy, anger over a deadly November crackdown on antiestablishment protests, as well as the clumsy handling of the January downing of a Ukrainian passenger jet was likely to result in public apathy and a very low turnout. Those reasons along with a very sudden and extensive outbreak of the coronavirus across the country -- which has thus far killed eight people and possibly infected hundreds -- was also seen as a major factor that could keep voters at home. On election day, citizen journalists sent videos to Radio Farda that appeared to show empty polling stations in several cities. Abdollah Momeni, a well-respected political activist who was jailed in Iran for several years over his criticism of the government, said that the low turnout demonstrated the public's "rejection of a call by the establishment to take part in the show election." Momeni and others had said publicly that they would not vote on February 21. Threat Of Coronavirus Abdollah Ganji, the editor in chief of the hard-line Javan daily, which is affiliated with the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), posted a poll on Twitter asking his followers about the likely reasons for the low rate of people's participation in the parliamentary vote. Most of the some 13,000 answers in the poll as of late February 23 blamed the low turnout on the pressure of the poor economic situation/living conditions in Iran (43.7 percent). The second reason for low voter participation given by those polled was the "[negative] events of the past year" (40.3 percent). Just 5.5 percent thought the outbreak of the coronavirus was the main reason, while 10.5 percent said it was due to people's unhappiness with the mass disqualification of candidates. Speaking on February 23, Ayatollah Khamenei accused Iran's enemies of having tried to dissuade people from voting by exaggerating the threat of the coronavirus, the quick spread of which has caused many neighboring countries to close their borders with the Islamic republic and ban air travel to and from Iran. As of February 23, more people have died from the coronavirus in Iran than any other country in the world except China, where the outbreak originated. Yet Khamenei said the same day on his website that "this negative propaganda about the virus began a few months ago and it increased as the elections were approaching." But he still suggested that people had made a good showing at the elections. "People went to the polls, you saw it on television, and when you went out to vote you saw it," he said, adding that "in the past 41 years we've had 37 or 38 elections. Where in the world are there such great efforts for democracy?" WATCH: Everything You Need To Know About Irans Parliamentary Elections Hard-liners were expected to dominate the next parliament, after most of the moderates and reformists were among the some 9,000 would-be candidates who were rejected by the Guardians Council from being allowed to participate. Analysts say the anticipated conservative dominance of the next parliament could signal a victory for a hard-line candidate in Iran's 2021 presidential vote and cement the clerical establishment's hold on power in the country. PHOENIX - Three Arizona high school students enrolled in an automotive technology program were killed when a college van went off a highway on the way back from a professional drag racing event near Phoenix, officials said Saturday. The van crashed Friday night on U.S. 70 near Pima, a rural community about 135 miles (217 kilometres) east of Phoenix, the state Department of Public Safety said in a statement. An adult was driving the van carrying seven high schoolers and one college student, the DPS said. Two 16-year-old boys from the small towns of Thatcher and Fort Thomas and a 17-year-old boy from the tiny town of Duncan were ejected and killed when the van veered over the centre line, went off the highway and rolled, the DPS and college officials said. The driver and five other students suffered injuries that werent life-threatening. None of the identities of the victims were released. The high school students were enrolled in the Gila Institute for Technology, a state-funded joint education district serving Graham and Greenlee counties and were considered part-time Eastern Arizona College students, said Kris McBride, a college spokesman. McBride said the students were part of a group travelling in two vans as they returned from a National Hot Rod Association event in suburban Phoenix. It would be directly relatable to what they were studying at the program, McBride said. He said he didnt know whether the adult driver was a college employee. The cause and circumstances of the crash were under investigation, but it didnt appear drug or alcohol impairment was a factor, the DPS said. College President Todd Haynie said the students deaths were a tragic loss and the school was offering counselling for those needing support. We join the entire Gila Valley community in prayer for the families and friends of these students and send our heartfelt condolences to them, Haynie said in a statement. PARAMARIBO, Suriname (AP) Former coup leader and convicted drug trafficker Desi Bouterse was inaugurated Wednesday for a second consecutive term leading Suriname as the democratically elected president. After being sworn in, Bouterse pledged to restructure the sparsely populated South American countrys struggling economy away from its dependence on exporting commodities like gold, bauxite and oil. The time is right to develop new sectors which will guarantee a sustainable development for us, he said, adding that tourism, renewable energy and agriculture will be high on his next governments agenda. Bouterse appointed a new 16-member Cabinet immediately after his inauguration, which was attended by a few foreign heads of state, including the leaders of Ecuador and neighboring Guyana. Advertisement The appointment of new ministers was welcomed by the opposition of the ethnically diverse nation of roughly 540,000 people. The fact that Bouterse chose to replace the ministers of his underperforming first Cabinet is promising, said Chandrikapersad Santokhi, the main opposition leader. Bouterse led his National Democratic Party to victory in May elections, but fell short of the required 34-seat majority to automatically be re-elected as president. Last month, Parliament gave him a second term without a vote since there was no opposition. His second five-year term will be dominated by economic issues. The countrys economy has been hit hard by falling prices of oil and gold, and Bouterses first term saw generous social programs for children and the elderly paid for with foreign reserves of the central bank. In December 2012, the banks reserves stood at roughly $1 billion. Two months ago, $540 million was left. Last month, Bouterse said Suriname faces difficult times and vowed to cut expenses and govern with fewer public employees. But prominent political analyst August Boldewijn said he does not think Bouterse will have an easy time scaling down social programs. Thanks to his social spending, he was able to make the voters forget his checkered track record as a military dictator, said Boldewijn, a political science professor at the University of Paramaribo. Bouterse has loomed over Surinamese politics for decades. He first rose to power in 1980, when he led a military coup just five years after Suriname gained independence from the Netherlands. He was accused of murdering political opponents in 1982. He led another coup in 1990, three years after allowing the return of civilian rule. He stepped down as army chief in 1992, and was convicted in absentia in the Netherlands on drug trafficking charges in 1999. However, Suriname does not have an extradition treaty with its former colonial ruler and Bouterse also obtained immunity when he was first democratically elected as president in 2010. Former Vice President Joe Biden continues to hold a lead in South Carolina, but his advantage has narrowed sharply after months in which he was ahead of the other contenders by double digits. A CBS News poll released Sunday shows Biden has the support of 28 percent of likely democratic primary voters in South Carolina, with Sanders in second place with 23 percent. That is within the polls margin of error, which is plus or minus 5.5 percentage points. Businessman Tom Steyer has also made impressive gains in the state and is now in third place with 18 percent followed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren with 12 percent and Pete Buttigieg with 10 percent. Advertisement This latest poll was finished before Sanders commanding victory in Nevada. But still, the poll points to a much different race in the state than what it looked like only a few months ago, when Biden held a commanding 28-point lead. In early October, for example, Biden was at the top of the pack in South Carolina with 43 percent, followed by Warren with 18 percent and Sander, 16 percent. At the time, Steyer had a measly 2 percent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The former vice president has long had a strong advantage in South Carolina largely thanks to his support among black voters. But since the fall Bidens support among black voters has declined 19 points. In contrast, Steyers support among black voters has increased sharply. Advertisement Experts say that a Biden victory in South Carolina on Feb. 29 could revive his candidacy but another loss could end it. Biden really has to stake his claim here, said Bob Oldendick, a political science professor at the University of South Carolina. I think he has to win. If he does not win in South Carolina, its pretty much the end of his campaign. Biden blamed Steyers big spending in South Carolina for his drop in support among black voters. Whats happening is you have Steyer spending millions of dollars out campaigning there, so I think a lots happening in terms of the amount of money being spent by billionaires to try to cut into the African-American vote, Biden said on CBS Face the Nation. Regardless, he insisted that he continues to be confident he will come out on top in South Carolina. I feel good about where we are. I feel good about going into South Carolina. And I feel good about the kind of support Ive had with African-Americans around the country, Biden said. On Saturday night, Biden claimed victory with a distant second place finish in the Nevada caucuses. I know we dont know the final results yet, but I feel really good, Biden said. You put me in a position. You know, the press is ready to declare people dead quickly but were alive and were coming back and were going to win. Advertisement Advertisement Aides to Boris Johnson have been instructed that all briefing memos for the Prime Minister should be kept to two sides of A4 paper to improve the chances of him reading them. The Downing Street policy unit was said to have been asked to provide the PM with 'weekend reading' but was told any documents had to be an 'easy read'. Meanwhile, the PM's top aide Dominic Cummings is apparently blocking documents due to be placed in the premier's ministerial red box if he deems them to be too long or complex. The claims, reported by the Sunday Times, sparked a backlash as Whitehall sources suggested those running the government were operating as if they had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Aides to Boris Johnson have been told to keep memos to the PM short to boost the chances of him reading them Mr Johnson spent all of last week working from the grace and favour Chevening estate in Kent as he was criticised for staying at the country house instead of visiting flood victims. The Number 10 policy unit was apparently asked to provide the premier with memos on different policies so that Mr Johnson can be fully across proposals. But a source said the instructions were clear that the documents must be kept as brief as possible. They said: 'They've been told it should be an easy read: no more than four pages, or he's never going to read it. Two pages is preferable.' The PM's red box is filled every day with crucial documents and briefings for him to read. But Mr Cummings is said to have taken a strict approach to what is allowed to go into the briefcase. An official said: 'Box submissions have to be brief if he is going to read it. 'If they're overly long or overly complex, Dom sends them back with savage comments." Dominic Cummings, pictured in Downing Street on February 20, is said to be restricting what is put into the PM's ministerial red box with briefings deemed to be too long sent back to who wrote them A Whitehall source told the Sunday Times it was 'government by ADHD'. It came as David Davis, the former Brexit secretary, criticised the government for reportedly coming up with a 'hit list' of senior civil servants it wants to replace as he also hit out at Mr Cummings. Mr Davis said current issues in the civil service would not be resolved with a 'firing squad'. Mr Cummings previously described the former Cabinet minister as 'thick as mince' and accused him of being as 'lazy as a toad'. Mr Davis today hit back, telling the BBC's Andrew Marr Show that Mr Cummings was not likely to be in a position of power for very long. 'I mean, Cummings doesn't like me, I know that, that's self-evident, but frankly he's a special adviser - here today, gone tomorrow,' he said. Bernie Sanderss commanding Nevada caucus victory has made him a top target for his Democratic rivals. It is also a growing source of anxiety for establishment Democrats worried that the nomination of a self-avowed democratic socialist could cost the party the White House. Mr Sanderss win solidified his front-runner status in the crowded field as the race turns to Saturdays presidential primary in South Carolina, where his moderate opponents will scramble to try to blunt the Vermont senators momentum. Three days later after that contest, 14 states vote on Super Tuesday, March 3, when one-third of the delegates are awarded. A strong showing in those states could put Mr Sanders on a smooth path to the nomination against Republican president Donald Trump. That prospect has amplified concerns for Democrats who believe Mr Sanderss liberal policies will drive away moderate and independent voters in the general election in November. Jim Clyburn, the top-ranking black leader in Congress, warned of added risk for Democrats if Mr Sanders was the nominee. I think it would be a real burden for us in these states or congressional districts that we have to do well in, Mr Clyburn told This Week on ABC. He said that congressional districts that helped Democrats win back the House were moderate and conservative. In those districts, its going to be tough to hold on to these jobs if you have to make the case for accepting a self-proclaimed democratic socialist, Mr Clyburn added. Rival Pete Buttigieg denounced Mr Sanders in the sharpest terms yet (Meg Kinnard/AP) Mr Sanderss campaign argue the candidate will bring in new voters largely progressives and young people who have been alienated by politics. He successfully relied on that coalition on Saturday to dominate his Democratic rivals in Nevada, pulling far ahead of second-place finisher former vice president Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who came in third. Story continues Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren landed in fourth, while Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar and Tom Steyer were still in a close race for fifth on Sunday. We are bringing our people together, Mr Sanders said on Saturday. In Nevada, we have just brought together a multi-generational, multi-racial coalition which is not only going to win in Nevada, its going to sweep this country. Mr Sanderss new status was clear as both Mr Buttigieg and Mr Biden went after him harder than they have before. In his speech to supporters in Las Vegas, Mr Buttigieg denounced Sanders in his sharpest terms yet, claiming that the senator was calling for an inflexible, ideological revolution that leaves out most Democrats. The stakes were high for Nevada Democrats to avoid a repeat of the chaos in the still-unresolved Iowa caucuses, and it appeared Saturdays contest was largely successful. But Mr Buttigiegs campaign is raising questions about the results, citing more than 200 reports of problems allocating votes. It wants the state party to disclose more details of the votes and address concerns before releasing final results. But the party said it was not planning to offer a more detailed voting breakdown and appeared to be inviting the campaign to follow recount rules if it wanted to challenge the results. The word on the street (and in the tabloid ink) is that Jonathan Pollard may soon receive a pardon from President Donald Trump, and then relocate to Israel. That story has made the rounds before, but perhaps this time things may end differently. Pollard received a disproportionate sentence for his espionage activity under circumstances that suggested highly questionable behavior on the part of the United States government and the Israeli government as well. I am not a great fan of Jonathan Pollard; my primary reason for wanting to see his current movement restrictions removed is that his arrival in Israel as a free man would be a definitive slap in the face to those individuals, living and dead, who asserted their anti-Israel and anti-Semitic agendas to prosecute and incarcerate him. The reasons for my lack of enthusiasm regarding Pollard are no doubt colored by the fact that following his arrest, I and other Jewish people employed by the U.S. Department of Defense felt a heightened degree of scrutiny regarding our security clearances; the subsequent emergence in the news of David Tenenbaum's experiences in that regard gave us strong reason to at least suspect that our perceptions were not unfounded, notwithstanding some lingering questions regarding the Tenenbaum affair. Personal experiences aside, Pollard himself has given me little reason to join his fan club. His case file shows that he often disregarded the good advice of his handlers, and was known to be given to fantasies and delusions of being a Mossad super spymaster. Pollard and his supporters attribute his misdeeds to his supposed love of Israel, but that explanation is called into question by the fact that he and his then-wife were paid significant sums of money and other lagniappes for their services. He apparently also explored (if not consummated) transactions with "customers" other than Israel. The business imperative seems to have played no less a role in Pollard's actions than any affinity towards Israel. [If you wish to talk about love of Israel, a far better role model would be my wife's grandfather, who walked away from a secure and comfortable position as the cantor in Washington, D.C.'s largest synagogue for more than two decades, and moved to an ill-heated in the winter and sweltering in the summer Jerusalem apartment in 1950, a time when there was rationing of food, fuel, and other necessities there; he could have sat in the Knesset had he been willing to renounce his American citizenship (as was required at the time).]. Spying is an inherently dirty business. Once remuneration is received, the spy has sold not only the intangible information delivered to the foreign government, but also himself or herself, and is effectively owned by the paying customer; the foreign government that tendered payment has sufficient information to blackmail and coerce the spy it has purchased. It is all but impossible for someone to be "temporarily" engaged in espionage if he or she has received anything in excess of insignificant out-of-pocket business outlays such as telephone calls, photocopying expenses, or taxicab fare. Anne Henderson Pollard, Jonathan's then-wife who served prison time in connection with the espionage, now lives in Israel; Since my relocation to Israel I have yet to meet her personally (a distinct possibility, inasmuch as she and I now have some mutual acquaintances). Her hands were not clean in the matter, and my main empathies for her are because her plea deal was wired to Jonathan's; she may well have received less severe punishment had Jonathan better fulfilled his part of the bargain. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Jonathan Pollard is a hero on the Israeli "street." It is not unusual to see Israeli schoolchildren express solidarity with Pollard in classroom projects. Jonathan Pollard has been a valuable hostage to American presidents from the time of his arrest until the present, but his shelf life is not unlimited. His current wife, Esther, is now seriously ill with breast cancer, and if she succumbs to her disease then she (and, by extension, Jonathan) would become a martyr (as would Jonathan if he were to die before his current movement restrictions are lifted). Having voluntarily commoditized himself by playing the espionage game, Jonathan Pollard is now a U.S. government asset in President Donald Trump's armamentarium. The President certainly knows how to make deals with the tangible and intangible assets under his control. As recently demonstrated, President Trump is quite adept at exercising his Constitutional prerogative "to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States." His recent 18 February 2020 tranche of pardons and commutations was a brilliant political rope-a-dope move. Now, all of the lefties are being offered the bait of complaining that the pardons are contrary to law and order, and that the sentences have effectively been made too lenient by the President's actions. If they take the bait (as some already seem to be doing), then they would be left open to being associated with de Blasio's and Cuomo's so-called "bail reform." Israeli national elections are coming up in less than two weeks. If Trump wishes to boost Benjamin Netanyahu's (or any other contender's) standing among the electorate he can remove Jonathan Pollard's current restrictions in a manner to give the Israeli candidate of his choice a portion of the credit. I am not taking or placing bets one way or the other, but Jonathan Pollard's arrival at Ben-Gurion Airport in the next few days would not astonish me in the least. Kenneth H. Ryesky, a freelance writer currently based in Israel, is an attorney who has taught business law and taxation at Queens College CUNY for more than two decade. He formerly served as a Contracting Officer and as an Analyst for the U.S. Department of Defense. Enforcement of a new law requiring cell phones to be in a hands-free mode while driving begins Sunday, Feb. 23. This means drivers can no longer hold their cell phone on a public roadway in Massachusetts. Drivers under the age of 18 can no longer use a cell phone at all while driving, including in a hands-free mode; those over 18 may only touch devices to activate hands-free mode. Police officers will begin issuing warnings to violators of the new law until March 31. After that date, drivers will be fined. The first offense is a $100 fine; the second is $250 fine, plus mandatory completion of a distracted driving educational program; and the third and for every subsequent offense is a $500 fine, plus an insurance surcharge and mandatory completion of distracted driving educational program. However, drivers will be allowed to use a cell phone to call 911 for an emergency but are advised, if possible, to pull over safely before calling 911. For drivers 18 or over: Can only use electronic devices and mobile phones in hands-free mode and are only permitted to touch devices to activate hands-free mode Are not permitted to hold or support any electronic device/phone Cannot touch phone except to activate the hands-free mode and can only enable when the device is installed or properly mounted to the windshield, dashboard, or center console in a manner that does not impede the operation of the motor vehicle Are not allowed to touch device for texting, emailing, apps, video, or internet use Activation of GPS navigation is permitted when the device is installed or properly mounted Handheld use is allowed only if the vehicle is both stationary and not located in a public travel lane, but is not allowed at red lights or stop signs Voice to text and communication to electronic devices is legal only when device is properly mounted; use of headphone (one ear) is permitted Related Content: His Grace Andrew Fuanya Nkea, Archbishop of Bamenda WhatsApp Below is the speech of the Most Reverend Dr. Andrew Fuanya Nkea shortly after taking over canonical possession of the Metropolitan See of Bamenda at a solemn high mass Saturday, February 22, 2020 at the Saint Joseph's Metropolitan Cathedral in Bamenda. My coming to Bamenda as Archbishop is another miracle in this chain of miracles of my life. I dont know why God chose me to come to Bamenda. But all I can say is that I have always been open to the will of God from the day of my priestly ordination and I believe in what Saint Paul says in the first letter to the Thessalonians 5:18: in everything give thanks for it is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. I thank God for His mercy and love. The office of Metropolitan Archbishop is not something that anyone merits, at least not me. It is a choice of God because God has a mission which only He knows and He wants to use only me as a simple instrument to accomplish his will for the people of God and the people of good will that are in Bamenda. While I thank God for the people of God and for His inexplicable favour upon me, all I can say to Him today is quoting the letter to the Hebrews: Here I am Lord, I come to do Your will Hebrews 10:9. I thank the Holy Father Pope Francis, pastor of the universal church for appointing me in spite of my unworthiness first as Bishop of Mamfe and then six years later as Archbishop of Bamenda. The Holy Father is the symbol of unity in the whole church. And I can only pledge my total unity, loyalty and filial obedience to him in the discharge of my duties. I equally thank the Holy Father for his presence among us through the person of his personal representative to the church in Cameroon, the Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Julio Murat. Your Excellency, since you came to Cameroon, this is your first time in the North West Region. But you have shown a lot of interest in the church of the ecclesiastical province of Bamenda. And you have supported our pastoral and social works without reserves. Today, your presence at this ceremony is eloquent testimony of the fact that you identify yourself totally with the church of this ecclesiastical province and that you can take great risks on our behalf. For this, we thank you immensely and we ask you to transmit our sincere feelings of gratitude to the Holy Father Pope Francis. Since I joined the episcopal family of Cameroon in 2013, I have felt to the closeness of all the bishops and the effective and affective collegiality that binds us together. The bishops have left their other important commitments to be here today because this is what our collegiality implies. I thank particularly His Eminence Christian Cardinal Tumi for being a father and a mentor to me in my episcopal ministry. I thank the President of the National Episcopal Conference His Excellency Monsignor Abraham Kome for honouring the people of God in Bamenda with his presence. I equally thank Bishop Anselm Umoren, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Abuja in Nigeria who is here today to pray with us. I will like to pay tribute to the founding fathers of the church of this province, His Grace Fr. Paul Verdzekov and His Lordship Bishop Pius Awa of blessed memory. Bishop Awa was my father and he moulded me. Today, I will sleep on the chair of Archbishop Paul with a lot of trepidation. His selflessness, detachment from earthly things, his humility, his wisdom and absolute love for the church were some of the virtues on which this archdiocese was founded and from which we shall draw our inspiration. At this point, I wish to express personal gratitude to His Grace the Most Rev. Cornelius Fontem Esua, Archbishop Emeritus of Bamenda who today graciously handed the pastoral responsibility of the archdiocese to my humble person. You Grace, it is clear that you loved this ecclesiastical province with a passion and worked for it with your whole heart and might. God has blessed you to run the race of pastoral responsibility to the finish. You have been a bishop for almost half your life. And today, the church says that you deserve a rest. I want to assure you that you should not be worried at all about your welfare because I have enough experience in taking care of Bishops emeritus. I started as a priest assisting the ailing Bishop Pius Awa of Buea and then for the past six years, I have been taking care of Bishop Francis Teke Lisinge, the Bishop emeritus of Mamfe who is here today with us. I will ensure, Your Grace, that you are happy. You are still part of the presbyterium of the archdiocese of Bamenda and Bamenda is your home. Relax and rest well. The civil authorities of this country have shown great concern from the day I was appointed until today. I sincerely thank the Head of State of Cameroon for his personal representation at this ceremony through the distinguished person of His Excellency Minister Paul Atanga Nji, Minister of Territorial Administration. The general framework agreement signed between the state of Cameroon and the Holy See in January 2014 expressed the great collaboration that exists between the church and the state and the massive presence here of you, members of Government, Senators, Parliamentarians and other civil authorities, is a sign that the church enjoys the respect of the state without prejudice to our prophetic role of announcing the gospel message at all times in season and out of season. Mr. Governor of the North West Region, you have done everything within your powers to ensure security, and to mobilise the administration and the people of this region to see that this occasion is what it is. You did not just do it simply as a duty, but you did it with personal commitment and for this I say thank you. I thank also in a special way the British High Commissioner who came all the way to join us in this celebration. Your Excellency, thank you for your presence. I thank the traditional authorities of the South West and the North West Regions for their significant presence here and the precious gifts they have given to me which is a sign that the church cuts across regional boundaries. I am a son of the South West Region and I am equally a son of the North West region in equal measure. Although my parents hail from Lebialem Division in the South West Region, as has been repeated here by practically all the speakers, I was born in Widikum in the North West. I went to Primary School in Kumbo in the North West. I went to college in Buea in the South West. I did major seminary studies in Bambui in the North West. I began my priestly ministry in Mbonge in the South West, worked in Buea for many years in the South West and then back to Bamenda for another seven years as lecturer in the Major Seminary, registrar in CATTUC, in the North West and went back to Mamfe in the South West as Bishop. And here I have come again to Bamenda in the North West. So, South West you can hold 50, North West you can hold 50. My biological family, immediate and extended, have been a great blessing and treasure to me. They have always been there supporting me spiritually and materially to succeed in my work as a priest. They have made enormous sacrifices on my behalf and I want to thank them all very much. Like the Chairperson of the Laity Council said, my 81-year-old mother Caroline Nkea lives with my siblings in the United States of America now for the past 20 years. She was in Cameroon last October 2019 and when she was leaving, she said to me: Bishop, Cameroon is very far from America and the journey is now too heavy for me at my age. I am sure this is my last trip to Cameroon. And my next trip to Cameroon will be in a coffin when I have died. When she said that, God had a good laugh at that statement. And barely four months after she flew back to America, she is here again in Cameroon not in a coffin but on her two legs. I want to thank her for all the sacrifices and wish her many happy years. There are some special friends in my life, some members of the Lebialem community who have been there since I was a seminarian, some from the time of my priestly ordination and others much later. But they have been very supportive and today they are here again in their numbers. When I was consecrated a Bishop in August 2013, these friends of mine gave me the car which I have been using until today. Today again, the same friends have decided to give me another car as I begin my pastoral work in Bamenda. In Mamfe, they were represented by Dr. Diane Acha-Morfaw, and Prof. Leke. Today, they are represented my Mr. Paul Tasong, Mr. Felix Mbayu, Mr. Victor Arrey Mengot and Madam Honourable Lifaka Emilia. How can anyone adequately thank this people? I promise them my prayers and spiritual closeness and God will bless them and reward them abundantly. Now, I turn to the people of the Mamfe Diocese. Mamfe Diocese one family. The priests of Mamfe were simply wonderful, the religious dedicated, and Christs lay faithful marvellous. I can never thank you people enough. From this day, start praying to Jesus Christ the good shepherd to give you a new shepherd after His own heart so that you may continue to grow in faith. I will join you in the prayers. And I believe in Saint Augustine that Christ will never leave his church without good shepherds. The good news is that Pope Francis knows Mamfe very well and he will give you a shepherd at the appointed time, who will love you and pasture you towards the kingdom of heaven. Thank you for your beautiful gifts of the statue of our lady of Fatima. She is the one through whom we have been praying for peace in Mamfe. And we shall continue calling on her to intercede for peace to come to Bamenda and to the entire North West and South West regions. God bless Mamfe! Bamenda Archdiocese here I come. I come to you as a shepherd, not as a politician. I come to you as a priest, not as a business man. I come to you as a father, not as a policeman. I come to you as a messenger of peace, not as a warmonger. I come to you as a crusader of justice, not as a supporter of injustice and misphilosophies. I come to you in spirit and in truth, not in flesh and with lies. I come to you in the name of Jesus Christ. Like I said in Mamfe when I was ordained Bishop, I now say to you that I have three principal duties in the Archdiocese of Bamenda. My first duty in this Archdiocese is to preach the Gospel. My second duty is to preach the Gospel. And my third duty in this is to preach the Gospel. Any other thing outside preaching the gospel is a distraction. I come to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. I come to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ who is the Prince of Peace. When the journalists came to interview me after my appointment, one of the questions they asked me was my vision for the Bamenda Archdiocese. And I told them to their great surprise that I had absolutely no vision for Bamenda. But that when I go to Bamenda, I will sit down with the priests, the religious and all the Christ lay faithful and together we shall craft the vision for the Archdiocese of Bamenda and together we shall concretise and realise that vision. I want to sincerely thank all the Christians, non-Christians, the people of good will who came out two days ago in their numbers, in mammoth crowds to welcome me into the archdiocese of Bamenda. To be honest with you, you moved me to tears with your joy, your love and your kindness. But in all these, you must remember the words of the psalmist, Psalms 115:1 Not to us Lord, not to us, but to your name be the glory. I am grateful to the members of the organising committee of this occasion led by the Most Reverend Monsignor George Ngalim and Mrs. Edith Tanyi, Chairperson of the Laity Council. I thank the CMA, CWA, and the Charismatic Renewal, Cadets of Mary, Altar Servants and all apostolic groups. May God bless you abundantly for all your sacrifices. I thank the priests of this archdiocese for their warm reception and fraternal love since the past two days. We are not strangers to each other. Among you, I have my rector in the major seminary Monsignor Engelbert Kofon, among you I have my teachers, among you I have my school mates, among you I also have my students. Whatever our ages and relationships, there is one thing we share in common, the sacrament of holy orders. This sacrament does not belong to any one of us but belongs to Christ who through anointing with the mystical oil of chrism and the laying on of hands made us sharers in his priesthood. I sincerely thank you for all the work you have been doing and the sacrifices you have been making so that Gods people will continue to have pastoral care, spiritual guidance and social consolation. Thank you for all your collaboration with the organising committee of this feast. You are my blessing and I hope I will be your blessing also. I thank the religious men and women and members of the societies of apostolic life, especially the missionaries who are here today and who have pledged to continue helping us. I thank the Christ lay faithful in the archdiocese of Bamenda and especially the non-Catholics and the people of good will. Your massive presence here has convinced me that this has nothing to do with my little self, but with your reverence for the church and your believe in God. I thank the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon, the President of the Cameroon Baptist Convention, the Imam of Bamenda and all other religious leaders, their members, who have come to join us here today. We shall continue to work together in the spirit of ecumenism and interreligious dialogue. Without forgetting my special daughters, the OPSANs Queen of the Rosary College Okoyong- Mamfe ex-students, I wish to sincerely thank the Ex-Students of Our Lady of Lourdes College (LESANs) who generously and kindly offered me this chasuble I am wearing today for this occasion. Finally, I want to thank all the people I have not mentioned above. It is not because I have forgotten you, but because the speech was becoming too long. Please do not take offence that I did not call you. But bear with me that on a day like this, memory level drops. But I thank all of you from the bottom of my heart. The governance of the church is so organised that there is never a void or a vacuum in administration even for one minute. Canon 418 paragraph two number one, of the Code of Canon Law states that: the faculties of the vicar general and episcopal vicars cease with the resignation of the Bishop. Therefore, upon assuming the office of Archbishop of Bamenda, I must immediately make provision so that the work starts immediately after this mass. I am hereby appointing as Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Bamenda the Very Rev. Fr. William Neba and as Episcopal Vicar for the Clergy, the Very Rev. Monsignor Patrick Lafon. Transcribed by Atia Tilarious Azohnwi A train which derailed on Thursday night, leaving two drivers dead and 11 passengers injured, will be winched off the tracks at Wallan on Sunday. Investigators says they have now completed an on-site probe into the tragedy, with some of the locomotive units and passenger carriages to be removed from the area using heavy machinery, before they are relocated for more damage assessments. A number of functional carriages will be placed back on the tracks and connected to the locomotive unit at the back of the train, which was undamaged, before being transported by rail. The XPT train derailed at Wallan on Thursday night. Credit:AAP The Sydney to Melbourne XPT service was carrying 153 passengers at the time it came off the tracks around 500 metres away from the Wallan train station. The live bulletts were abandoned by the roadside Something like that? Pakistan-made 7.62 mm ammunition. (Representation only) Kochi: The Kerala police are spooked by the chance discovery of 14 Pakistan-made cartridges thrown by the wayside in Kollam district yesterday. Two civilians found the live bullets, bearing the marking POF, in a plastic bag near the Muppathadi Bridge in a forest area in Kulathupuzha, which is about 60 km from the states border withTamil Nadu. The police say POF is the signature of the Pakistan Ordnance Factories. Kerala police chief Lokanath Behera said the find has been handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), whose sleuths will now scour the entire area around the bridge. Military Intelligence officials too have reached Kerala to participate in the investigation. Keralas anti-terrorist squad has already launched an investigation into the matter. The forensic and armoury wings of the police have confirmed that the bullets are of foreign make. The cartridges are suspected to have been manufactured by the Pakistan Ordnance Factory (POF) during 1981-82. The 7.62 mm caliber bullets are used in long-range rifles. Privacy in the digital age faces challenges from hackers, private companies and government, and the judiciary has to deal with balancing the right to privacy with other rights and supplement existing legislative frameworks, Supreme Court Judge D Y Chandrachud said on Sunday. Justice Chandrachud, during a panel discussion on the 'Role of Judiciary in Protecting Privacy of Citizens in the Internet Age', said the challenges from these three "actors" present a range of concerns. "The challenges to privacy are presented by three key actors - (i) hackers; (ii) private companies; and (iii) the government. This presents a range of concerns: First, there is a possibility of serious data breach and the misuse of personal information," he said. "Second, vast silos of data may be used to profile people and to discriminate against vulnerable groups. Third, there is a chilling effect on free speech and disclosure of information," the apex court judge said. Justice Chandrachud said that the issue is about how "we as judges can preserve autonomy and informational self-determination of individuals in an age where technology governs every aspect of our lives. Or is privacy an illusion?". He said when a person searches for a book or a destination on the internet, the screen is instantly flooded with appealing pop-up advertisements. "If you search for an idea, a multitude of ideas confront you on the screen. The digital world has been ushered in at a pace which the incremental change of judicial decisions can scarcely match. Our Constitution protects the right to personal freedom, human dignity and liberty," he said. Justice Chandrachud pointed out that in today's world, every individual identity is viewed in terabytes of information and every individual is viewed as a collection of data represented by activities on the internet like shopping preferences, social media patterns, geographic location and personal biometric information. "This defines two new horizons: the first is of big data - data aggregation, which like 'death by a thousand cuts', is the collection of unconnected data to map the identity of the individual. "This has the potential to seriously threaten the rights of individuals to keep their personal and sensitive information private and to control how their information is used," he said. Justice Chandrachud said the second horizon is of artificial intelligence, which comprehends machine learning analysis of political beliefs, religious affiliation, race, ethnicity, health status, gender and sexual orientation. "Our individual data is aggregated and disaggregated to sort, score, classify, evaluate and rank people. How comfortable are we with artificial intelligence telling us whether an offender who seeks bail is likely to be a repeat offender?" he said. Justice Chandrachud, who is in line to become the Chief Justice of India in 2022, said globally good governance is witnessing an increasing reliance on digital technology to aid in the delivery of welfare services with the active support of the citizenry. Judges needs to see how to apply the standard of proportionality which was formulated in a pre-digital age amid the complexities of a digital age, he said. "In examining the judicial interface with privacy protection in the digital age, two preliminary points need to be highlighted: The dawn of the digital age is not in itself perilous. It presents avenues for mass improvements in social life. The issue is not the collection of data, but its use and misuse; and how do courts balance the right to privacy with other rights and supplement existing legislative frameworks?" Justice Chandrachud said. He referred to a Kenya High Court verdict that halted the implementation of the national biometric identification system until the government implemented a comprehensive data protection framework. "Chief Justice Bryan Sykes of the Supreme Court of Jamaica was a part of the bench that struck down the Jamaican National Identification and Registration Act and outlined in his opinion the dangers of merging silos of information to create wholly new information," he said Recalling the 2018 Aadhaar verdict in which a five-judge constitution bench had by majority upheld the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar Act, Justice Chandrachud said, "As the lone dissenter in that bench, I draw solace from the recently delivered judgment of Justice Sykes". Later in his welcome address for President Ram Nath Kovind, Justice Chandrachud said challenges posed by technology, climate change and terrorism, transcend individual jurisdictions. Highlighting that "justice knows no borders", he said, "Collegiality is at the core of judging." The Supreme Court had in a landmark verdict ruled that even the office of its chief justice is subject to a citizen's right to information, Justice Chandrachud said. "The doors of justice were thrown open, not just for those seeking justice, but also to those seeking to scrutinise the court," he said. The cross fertilisation of ideas is evident in the judgments of courts across the world relying upon the affirmation of LGBTQ rights by the Indian Supreme Court, Justice Chandrachud said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) By Panos Kotzathanasis | Published on 2020/02/22 Shim HyeJung directed a number of experimental features, such as "Dancing Hunter & Rabbit" in 2014, "Searching for Nasi Goreng" and "Carnival "in 2016, "Lost Voices" in 2017. She also directed a documentary, "The Camel and The Arab", in 2013 and fiction features "Kimchi" in 2012, "Heels Over Head" in 2016 and "Camellias in Bloom" in 2016. All her movies have been selected in many Korean film festivals over the past years. Advertisement On the occasion of her latest film, "A Bedsore" (festival entry) screening at FICA Vesoul, we speak with her about the concept of the bedsore, family issues in Korea, casting an actress who never moves, "Parasite" and other topics. The story of "A Bedsore" seems very real and all the characters are well analyzed and with a proper back story. How did you manage to accomplish that? My mom was very sick for a long time and the story of the housekeeper was also based on my mother's situation. I know the problems a family can have when there is a sick person in the house, and I based the characters on these experiences. How did a bedsore ended up being the initiation point of the story? When you have a family problem, it may not appear clearly on the outside, but inside, it rots. A bedsore is a wound that you can only see underneath the clothes, it is not visible outside, and is, in essence, a metaphor for the family issues. The issue of the fate of the elderly members of families, particularly if they are sick, seems to be a global one, since the state does not usually provide proper care for them. What is your opinion on the subject? It is not only family problems that I wanted to show in the movie, but that everyone has a bedsore inside of them, and that is the desire to be loved and I also wanted to show how the relations between the family members are developing. And to answer your question, in Korea right now, there is the issue of what the government should do about the elderly and what the family should do, and this is a turning point for our society right now. The way the daughter and the son are treated in the film by their father is much different, and actually leads the daughter to feel the victim of injustice. What is your opinion about this difference? In our society right now, there is a specific role for male and female children. The latter are expected to do the family's "manual labour" while the former to be in charge of financial issues. Therefore, there is an injustice in the case of the family in the film, since the daughter takes care of her family but the brother does not, even though in his mind, he is. It is an obvious difference that exists between age/generation and sex. Ji-soo's character highlights all the issues a woman can face inside a family. As a daughter, a mother and a wife. Can you give us some more details about that? Is that a reference to the Confucian "laws" about women? As I mentioned before, all characters in the movie have a bedsore. Ji-soo is a middle class woman who lives well, but her husband is seeing another woman and she still remains in her home without divorcing him. She just acts like this because she wants to retain her financial status and continue to live well. This gives her a "bedsore" and nowadays in our society a lot of middle-class women, even though they have these kind of problems, they cannot really solve them. You are right about the Confucian laws. The Korean society is very conservative right now and those problems are obvious. It has changed for the better in comparison with the past but the issues still persist. I have a daughter and I still have to take care of the errands of her parents, and these kinds of problems do not even change. What is the situation with illegal immigrants who work as in-house caretakers in Korea? How difficult is it for an immigrant to attain citizenship at the moment? In Korea, we have a lot of Koreans of Chinese origin so all the men that come in the country deal mostly with manual labour, construction for example, and women work in restaurants or as housekeepers. Because their culture is similar to ours, they can understand the food and how to take care of people. I do not know if there is a kind of insurance for the elderly in Europe, but in Korea there is no such a thing, so we have to pay people to take care of them, and that is why we hire housekeepers, although their pay is very meagre. Why are the children so quick to accuse the housekeeper about their mother's issues? A bedsore is very difficult to be taken care of, you have to turn the person on different sides all the time to prevent it. However, because it actually happened to their mother, they started accusing her while the son was not happy with the housekeeper and the bedsore for him was an excuse to kick her out. Their behaviour, however, is unfair towards her. The base of the film is dramatic, but Soo-ok is the source of much comedy, particularly through her interactions with Chang-sik. Why did you choose this approach and how difficult was it to balance comedy with drama? I did not want to do a comedy, not really, but then I like this kind of humour points in the housekeeper's life. Housekeepers do a very hard job and they have to face a lot of sadness but still we see that they have a bright side and they can find joy in their work, and I wanted to show this aspect also. Therefore, even though the bedsore shows the rotten side of people, I wanted the bright side to be there also. How was the casting process for the film like and how did you guide the actors? Was your approach different for the veterans and the younger ones? Kim Do-young, who plays the daughter is a good friend of mine and also a filmmaker but for the rest of the family members, I saw them in TV dramas or the theatre and I always wanted to work them. So, when I finished the scenario, I proposed to them and they accepted. I had a different approach for each character but because they were veterans in theatre, I did not direct them much during the filming process. Before the shooting however, we prepared a lot, we did a lot of readings, a lot of practice about their movements and I told them which tone they should use during the dialogues. Did you allow them to improvise a lot? Yes, I let them be free during the shooting but they are not actors that improvise a lot. How do you convince an actor to play a part where she does no nothing? (Jeon Guk-hyang) (laughter). (In English) Very good point (laughter). This was the hardest casting part actually, because the emotion of this character is very important for the movie. Jeon Guk-hyang has shot a short movie with me in the past, and that is why I think she accepted. The scene with the fight among the family members is the most intense in the film. Can you give us some details about the way you shot it and how you guided the actors for it? I like having many fight scenes in my movies, even my short ones include a number. I have my opinion about fight scenes, and I do not want the tension to go down at all during these sequences, so I only do one or two takes, because after that, the energy and the chemistry is not the same. First, I do a master shot, I do the scene from beginning to end in one take, because that is the best energy that you could have. Why do you like to have many fight scenes in your films? (laughter) Maybe because I also like to fight (laughter). Do the actors enjoy these scenes? They like them a lot. During the latest years, Busan and Jeonju Film festival have tried to "promote" women directors, probably because Korean cinema seemed to repeat itself lately. The result were film like yours, "House of Hummingbird" and "Moving On" this year. What is your opinion about this change? I am a woman, so I am very happy with it (laughter). There are a lot of women that come out, because now there are a lot of opportunities for them. Before, as you said, the industry was male dominated with a lot of crime thrillers, but the quality started to decrease. So, now the women put more personal and fresh points of view in their movies, so Korea can now have more female spectators that feel the movies address them and thus can appreciate more. But still, there are not many big feature films that are directed by women and I hope there will be more opportunities for women, not only in the independent sector but also on the commercial one. However, would you say that is more difficult to shoot a movie in Korea than a man? Yes, because the producers are the people who invest in the movie, and they are not really interested in woman's stories, and because the tickets sold are much more if the main actor is a male, they cannot ignore this fact, since most women's filmmakers' stories feature women main characters. What do you think about "Parasite"? (laughter). I really liked the movie, I found it very detailed and profound and I envy him because he is one of the directors in Korea that can do whatever he wants, without any limits and have his own style. Because of him, we now have an important place in international cinema and Korean movies are now more exposed to the world. I am very proud to be part of this industry and I am happy for his success. Are you working on any new projects? I am writing a script at the moment based on a short stories collection which I want to make into a feature film. It is a love story about a woman who picks up trash and knows what people like from that trash and falls in love with her neighbour. Interview by Panos Kotzathanasis Facebook ___________ "A Bedsore" is directed by Shim HyeJung, and features Kim Jong-goo, Kang Ae-shim, Jeon Guk-hyang, Kim Do-young, Kim Jae-rok, Lee Jae-in-I. Release date in Korea: 2020/06~Upcoming. At a US-led training exercise this week in coastal Mauritania, officials said the Defence Department has made no decision as it considers shifting resources to the Asia-Pacific region to counter China and Russia. France, which has about 4500 troops in West Africa - the most of any foreign partner by far - has urged the United States to stay in the battle and other European powers to step up. (The United Nations has about 13,000 peacekeepers in Mali alone.) While al-Qaeda and the Islamic State are enemies in Syria and Yemen, allegiances in West Africa tend to be more fluid, bolstered by tribal ties and practical concerns rather than ideology. The affiliates have common foes - the West and local governments from which they're trying to wrest control, the military leaders said. (The shared mission is not without clashes, an Arab intelligence official said: Al-Qaeda leaders were recently "outraged" when the Islamic State affiliate tried to recruit from an area they viewed as their own. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the incident.) US officials have long worried about the possibility of alliances between the world's most notorious terrorist organisations, and the concerns have intensified in the months since the collapse of the Islamic State's self-declared caliphate in Iraq and Syria. Both groups are undergoing changes in leadership - Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed in a US commando raid in Syria late last year, and al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, 68, reportedly suffers from health problems. West African officials say the groups in the Sahel are thought to communicate with their counterparts in the Middle East, but evidence is lacking that many fighters are flowing into the region from Syria and Iraq. American agencies watched late last year as al-Qaeda and Islamic State affiliates launched a seemingly co-ordinated campaign to isolate Ouagadougou, the capital in Burkina Faso, by periodically seizing control of highways into the city of 2.2 million, said a counterterrorism official in Washington who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence assessments. They bombed bridges and attacked military convoys, managing to halt transit until government forces arrived to reopen the roads, the official said. The extremists are "more organised and they're more mobile," said a high-ranking French military official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss military assessments. "They're carrying out professional attacks like we've never seen." It's a departure from 2012, when al-Qaeda loyalists planted flags in Mali's northern cities and then tried to take the capital, Bamako - drawing the ire of French troops, who beat them back. The militants appear to have learned from that loss, the officials said, and since last July have employed a more "complex" approach to grabbing power, according to unclassified US Africa Command slides obtained by The Washington Post: They're destroying infrastructure, assassinating local leaders and emptying key army posts in co-ordinated strikes to separate people from the government. The militants see an opportunity to drill Islamist values into one of the youngest and fastest-growing populations on Earth, military leaders in the region said. They aim to shape new fundamentalist societies: no art, no popular music, no sports, no modern education. "They share their tricks and their experiences worldwide - from the Islamic State down to the local actors," said Fane, the Malian defence official. Militants recruit youth in the vulnerable countryside with stacks of cash, he said, or at gunpoint after burning villages to dust. They provoke ethnic feuds and then offer protection. They slip through porous borders from one country to another. Leaders are known to meet in forested hideouts - particularly near the tri-state border of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso - to plan ambushes, share intelligence and exchange battle tips, including how to make roadside bombs, Malian army leaders say. The militants are gaining ground, said General Oumar Dao, chief of staff for the Malian president. "We can't afford to lose any help," he said. "This is a matter of basic survival." The Malian army has about 12,000 soldiers, he said, and plans to expand this year on limited funds. "Our state is a very poor one," he said. "We don't have the capacity to bring water, to bring health care, to bring an effective response." Issa Haidera, who leads a militia of 800 people in northern Mali, said his team of mostly farmers and herders is trying to eradicate the scourge themselves. Most of his men, he said, have lost family members to the extremists. He's raising five children whose parents died at their hands. They spend most days tending to rice patches while preparing to fight. War has destroyed most of their livestock and crops. "Some people with me have nothing left," he said, and others were lured to the side of "evil." "The terrorists," Haidera said, "will hand young men more money than they've ever seen in their lives." To his south in Burkina Faso, soldiers face attacks "every week," said Lieutenant David Ouedraogo, who heads a Burkinabe Special Operations team. Desperation and money come up in interrogations with captured militants, he said, but "some talk because they were forced into terrorism. They had to join or the terrorists would kill their families." A massive protest was held outside the Karachi Press Club (KPC) on Sunday against the rising incidents of enforced disappearances in Karachi city and other parts of Sindh province of Pakistan. "If those missing are involved in crimes or anti-state -activities, they must be presented in courts of the law and be given a chance of fair trials which is their fundamental right," said a protestor. Held under the banner of Sindh Network, the protesters raised pro-freedom slogans and demanded an early release of hundreds of Sindhi political activists languishing in detention centres. The purpose of the demonstration was to raise the heinous practice of enforced disappearance perpetrated by the security agencies of Pakistan in Sindh province. Protesters demanded the government of Pakistan to end human rights violations and release all those missing from Sindh, Baluchistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Was Biden handcuffed by Trump's Taliban deal in Doha? Thousands of terrorists might have been airlifted out of Kabul: Trump slams Biden Never in history has withdrawal from war been handled so badly: Trump US Capitol riot panel votes to hold Trump aide in contempt US judge rules against Trump over tax returns Donald Trump India Visit: Full Schedule India oi-Deepika S New Delhi, Feb 23: US President Donald Trump is all set to embark on a two-day India visit and his schedule is jam-packed. Starting from addressing 'Namaste Trump' event in Ahmedabad to visiting Taj Mahal in Agra, President Trump has a lot on his plate during his stay in India. Here is a detailed schedule of what Donald Trump will be doing on his visit to India. Monday, February 24, 2020 1140 hours Arrival: Ahmedabad Venue: Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport Photo Op: Official only 1215 hours Sabarmati Ashram Venue: Sabarmati (Ahmedabad) Photo Op: Official Only 1305 hours Namaste Trump Event Venue: Motera Stadium Photo Op: Registered Media - Registered media is requested to reach Regional Information Office, Barack no-3, Polytechnic compound, Ambavadi, Panjarapol, Ahmedabad at 7.00 am in the morning on February 24, where facility has been provided for proceeding to the venue. 1530 hours Emplane for Agra 1645 hours Arrive Agra Venue: Air Force Station, Agra Photo Op: Official Only 1715 hours Arrive and Visit Taj Mahal Venue: Taj Mahal Photo Op: Official Only 1845 hours Emplane for Delhi 1930 hours Arrive Delhi Venue: Air Force Station, Palam Photo Op: AV Media (Entry by PIB card only) Tuesday, February 25, 2020 1000 hours Ceremonial Reception Venue: Rashtrapati Bhawan Photo Op: AV Media (Entry by PIB cards only from Gate 38, North Avenue. AV Media has to chose among 'A', 'B'and 'C'stands. No movement allowed between the stands.) 1030 hours Wreath Laying at the Samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi Venue: Rajghat Photo Op: AV Media (Entry by PIB card only. No movement allowed from the riser.) 1100 hours Meeting with Prime Minister Venue: Hyderabad House (in front Lawns) Photo Op: Only AV Media registered for the Hyderabad House Event (Entry from Gate No. 3 KG Marg on first come, first served basis; please carry your PIB/identification card) 1240 hours Exchange of Agreements/ Press Statement Venue: Hyderabad House (Lawns) Only Media registered for the Hyderabad House Event (Entry from Gate No. 3 KG Marg; please carry your PIB/Identification card) 1930 hours Meeting with Rashtrapati Ji Venue: Rashtrapati Bhawan Photo Op: Official Only 2200 hours Emplane Premier Daniel Andrews says he will not become involved in the factional turmoil engulfing his party, despite a warning from a Labor elder that the leaders authority is being threatened. Mr Andrews said he saw no threat to his government from the bitter Right versus Left conflict that exploded publicly on Sunday with veteran Senator Kim Carr and state cabinet Minister Adem Somyurek trading accusations. Senator Carr says Mr Andrews government risks being swamped by the escalating internal brawling with the ALP veteran left-wingers explosive comments aimed squarely at Mr Somyurek, whose Right faction is warring with Senator Carrs Socialist Left. Loading Asked on Sunday if he was in control of Mr Somyurek's activities, the Premier said his local government minister was working very hard on his portfolio responsibilities. HSBC has warned that it faces a credit rating downgrade if officials cannot stop the spread of coronavirus in China. Finance chief Ewen Stevenson told analysts last week that the bank could battle a 'credit rating deterioration' if the disruption is prolonged in Asia, where the lender makes most of its profits. The bank said the virus could hit its revenue in Hong Kong, as it could leave customers struggling to meet loan repayments. HSBC warns it faces a credit rating downgrade if the spread of coronavirus cannot be stopped This would be particularly severe if the outbreak dragged on into the summer. Noel Quinn, the stand-in chief executive of HSBC, said: 'Our first priority is, obviously, the wellbeing of our people and our customers. 'We will continue to do all we can to provide support and ensure their safety. There will inevitably be a short-term economic impact that will doubtless affect our clients, and we will do all that we can to support them.' He said the bank would be forced to set aside $600 million (450 million) to deal with loan losses if the virus's spread continues to hurt businesses, consumers and supply chains in the second half of the year. Last week Apple warned of an iPhone shortage after it was forced to stop production temporarily in China, and it shut many of its stores as the infection spread throughout the country. Amazon has also warned companies that sell through its website to cancel orders or block purchases temporarily if they are disrupted by the deadly virus. Amazon sellers fear they will not be able to replenish stock from China if factories remain closed to contain the spread of the virus. HSBC declined to comment. A woman in the UK was so convinced that her house had been invaded by a snake that she did not leave her flat for 48 hours. She spotted the snake in her hallway for two consecutive days. The petrified woman called the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) after noticing the toy. Upon reaching the hallway, the RSPCA officers found it to be a bright yellow toy snake and came to the conclusion that it could have been a prank. The incident happened in Hampshires Fleet on February 20, reported Metro website. The woman first saw the snake in the communal hallway of her block and she again observed it the next day on the windowsill, said the report quoting RSPCA inspector Jan Edwards. The inspector said that the woman got worried when she found that the snake was not moving. She said that someone must have been playing a prank on the woman to make her scared. The inspector has now adopted the toy snake as the mascot of her van. A similar incident happened in June last year when a woman took revenge on her husband by planting a fake snake in the mailbox. The video of the hilarious incident went viral when it surfaced on social media. Former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said his party, BJP, will oppose the proposed 5 per cent reservation the Muslims by the state's Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government. "We oppose the Muslim reservation or any reservation which is given on the basis of religion," Fadnavis told media on being asked whether BJP will support the long-awaited Muslim reservation in the state. "Any reservation which is against the Constitution needs to be opposed. Muslim reservation is being given on the basis of religion. So, we will be opposing this reservation as it is anti-Constitutional. We will not support anything which is anti-constitutional. The MVA government has promised 5 per cent the reservation to the Muslims in the state. This reservation demand remained pending for several years during previous governments. On January 31, Maharashtra Minister and Congress leader Aslam Shaikh had said that the state government will soon bring Muslim reservation since it was a part of the alliance government's common minimum programme. "MVA government will soon bring Muslim reservation as it was a part of the grand alliance's common minimum programme," Shaikh told ANI. The Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress have formed a coalition government in Maharashtra led by Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Seven casino-resorts on the Las Vegas Strip are among the venues during the Nevada Democratic presidential caucuses on Saturday, the third contest in a 2020 primary season that has so far been marred by chaos and uncertainty. The exercise of democracy inside gambling centres is just one element that distinguishes the first candidate contest on the western side of the US, which will, more importantly, test the candidates strength with black and brown voters for the first time in 2020 with the earlier fixtures in Iowa and New Hampshire having taken place in overwhelmingly white states. Nevada represents an opportunity for these candidates to demonstrate their appeal to a larger swathe of our country, said state attorney general Aaron Ford, a Democrat who is not endorsing a candidate in the crowded field. I've got news for the Republican establishment. I've got news for the Democratic establishment. They can't stop us. Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) February 22, 2020 Nevadas population, which aligns more with the US as a whole than the opening elections in Iowa and New Hampshire, is 29% Latino, 10% black and 9% Asian American and Pacific Islander. The vote comes at a critical moment for the Democratic Party as self-described democratic socialist Bernie Sanders emerges as the clear front-runner and a half dozen more moderate candidates savage one another for the chance to emerge as the preferred alternative to Sanders. The ultimate winner will represent Democrats on the ballot against President Donald Trump in November with the White House incumbent not facing a contest in Nevada for his partys nomination. Yet on the eve of the caucuses, questions lingered about Nevada Democrats ability to report election results quickly as new concerns surfaced about foreign interference in the 2020 contest. Story continues Amy Klobuchar performed well in New Hampshire (Matt York/PA) Campaigning in California, Mr Sanders confirmed reports that he had been briefed by US officials about a month ago that Russia was trying to help his campaign as part of Moscows efforts to interfere in the election. It was not clear what role they were going to play, Mr Sanders said. We were told that Russia, maybe other countries, are going to get involved in this campaign. He added: Heres the message to Russia: Stay out of American elections. Despite the distraction, Mr Sanders enters Saturday increasingly confident, backed by strong support from Latinos and rank-and-file union workers who have warmed to his fiery calls to transform the nations economy and political system to help the working class. Tomorrow is Caucus Day in Nevada, and we need your help to bring us across the finish line. I know weve asked a lot lately, but if you have a few extra minutes, please head to https://t.co/IA2o4NIaRM to talk with caucusgoers about whats at stake. I'd greatly appreciate it. pic.twitter.com/T33OyMNINP Joe Biden (Text Join to 30330) (@JoeBiden) February 22, 2020 In a fiery speech the night before the caucuses, Mr Sanders lumped the Democratic establishment in with the corporate and Republican establishment, saying they cannot stop him. He said the establishment was getting worried about a multiracial coalition that wants higher wages and health care. Mr Sanders also picked up the endorsement of Dick Van Dyke with the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Mary Poppins star expressing his admiration for the veteran campaigner who ran Hillary Clinton a close second for the Democratic nomination in 2016. @BernieSanders & I have always loved Dick Van Dyke appreciating his talent w/our parents, our children & now our grandchildren. He brings such joy to the world! I learned about his love of democracy several years back. We so value his support! https://t.co/DaTMF1JM0m Jane O'Meara Sanders (@janeosanders) February 22, 2020 The outlook was dire for virtually everyone else. Long before voting began, there was scepticism about Pete Buttigiegs ability to win over a more diverse set of voters after strong finishes in overwhelmingly white Iowa and New Hampshire. It was the opposite for Joe Biden, who struggled in Iowa and New Hampshire but looked to Nevadas voters of colour to prove he still has a viable path to the nomination. The two women left in the race, Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar, were fighting for momentum, hoping to benefit from a sudden surge of outside money from newly created super PACs. Mike Bloomberg will enter the fray next month (Rick Bowmer/AP) Billionaire Tom Steyer has invested more than 12 million US dollars of his own money on television advertising in Nevada. The pro-Warren Persist super PAC, created in recent days, is spending more money in Nevada this week than any other campaign or allied outside group. Persist, which has not yet disclosed any donors and cannot legally coordinate with Ms Warrens campaign, has invested 902,000 US dollars this week in Nevada television on her behalf, according to spending data obtained by The AP. This is how well defeat Donald Trumptogether. https://t.co/x5NkWB5gM9 Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) February 21, 2020 That is more than Ms Klobuchars and Mr Bidens campaigns have spent over the entire year. New York billionaire Mike Bloomberg, who dominated the political conversation this week after a poor debate-stage debut, will not be on the ballot. He is betting everything on a series of delegate-rich states that begin voting next month. Many Trump supporters are confident that no Democrat will win in November (Patrick Semansky/AP) I think right now predicting whos going to win here in Nevada would be a wild guess, former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said in an interview. And if I were a gambler, which Im not, I wouldnt be betting on whos gonna win here in Nevada. The political world, meanwhile, hoped there would be a winner at all. Saturdays caucuses are the first since technical glitches and human errors plagued Iowas kickoff caucuses. Nearly three weeks later, state Democratic officials have yet to post final results. The first plane with evacuees from China arrived on February 20. Ukraine is considering a second flight to evacuate Ukrainians from China's from the Chinese city of Wuhan, Hubei province, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak if there are enough applications. This was announced by Ukraine's Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Anton Gerashchenko, according to the news outlet RBC-Ukraine. Read alsoBiological material for coronavirus taken from Ukrainians, foreigners evacuated from Wuhan (Photo) Yet, he did not mention how many applications will be sufficient for the evacuation. Gerashchenko also said that the situation in Novi Sanzhary where first evacuees from China were placed under 14-day observation was calm there were no rallies or protests. As UNIAN reported earlier, local residents in Novi Sanzhary, Poltava region, on February 20 protested against the arrival of 45 Ukrainian citizens and 27 foreigners evacuated from China amid the outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus and accommodated at a local medical center, which is within the Ukrainian Interior Ministry's jurisdiction. Protesters threw stones at buses with the evacuees. During the clashes, nine law enforcement officers were injured. The police opened two criminal cases on the fact of mass riots in Novi Sanzhary and violence against law enforcement officers. On February 21, the police released 23 of the 24 most aggressive individuals detained during the protests; one person remained under arrest. The evacuees will stay in Novi Sanzhary under 14-day observation with a strict biosecurity regime. There's little doubt Kashmir is high on Trump's mind. Last summer, Trump outraged India's foreign policy establishment by asserting Modi had asked him to mediate on the Kashmir conflict-and then brushed off New Delhi's denial, to repeat his claim Editor's Note: US President Donald Trump addressed the media on Tuesday and spoke on a host of issues. The POTUS, however, did not engage questions on Pakistan-backed terrorism, while maintaining that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will deal with terrorism. Trump also said that he is open to mediating on Kashmir. In the view of Trump's address, this article, first published on 23 February, 2020, is being republished. *** This article was first published on 23 February and is being republished on the account o From a distance, it might have been mistaken for an early autumn snowfall: torn leaves of a Quran fluttered all around the famous Rozabal ziarat in Srinagar - the grave of the saint Yuz Asaf, believed by some to in fact be the resting place of Jesus, had been dug up. In the small village of Wutligam, a woman charged with promiscuity had been marched to the village square, and then shot through the back of her head. In Arigam, jihadists looted the store of Hindu grocery-store owner Raj Nath; in Arizal, they tried to assassinate the pro-India politician Ghulam Qadir. In August, 1965, Hayat Mir, a crack intelligence operative with special forces training, had crossed the Chor Panjal pass with the columns of advancing Pakistan army troops. Then, perched on the mountains near the Baba Reshi shrine, he abandoned his uniform: Mir's job was to provoke a mass Islamist insurgency against Indian rule. Two years ago, sitting in his office in Washington DC, Central Intelligence Agency officer-turned-diplomat Robert Komer had watched the unravelling of a secret United States effort to mediate on Kashmir, and predicted it would end in just such bloodshed. "Everybody from (Field-Marshall) Ayub (Khan) down is on a new hate-India jag," he observed in a terse 22 October, 1963 missive to President John F Kennedy's National Security Advisor, McGeorge Bundy. The Pakistanis, he noted, "appear to be deliberately building up tensions over Kashmir". "I cite this not because I lack sympathy for the Paks but because until we do give them a cold shoulder on this sort of business we'll continue to have all sorts of problems". Four weeks later, President Kennedy was assassinated. The prospect of peace in Kashmir was buried with him. Indeed, the failed effort of 1961-1963-into which declassified documents now give historians granular insight-helps understand why the road to peace in Kashmir has so often led, paradoxically, to war. When the folk-dances and hugs celebrating the India-United States relationship are done later tomorrow, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump will get down to real business - backstage. There's little doubt Kashmir is high on Trump's mind. Last summer, Trump outraged India's foreign policy establishment by asserting Modi had asked him to mediate on the Kashmir conflict-and then brushed off New Delhi's denial, to repeat his claim. Early this year, Trump went even further saying that he and Prime Minister Imran Khan were "working together on some borders, and we're talking about Kashmir". The reasons for Trump's interest isn't opaque. Hoping to pull out of the endless war in Afghanistan, the US president has negotiated a peace deal with the Taliban. There are odds, though, that the Taliban might use a drawdown in United States troop levels to overrun major Afghan cities. That would be a disaster for Trump's re-election prospects, and he needs the Taliban's patrons, Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate, to keep their word. Islamabad's support, however, comes with a price-tag: support on securing concessions in Kashmir. Trump also has other other reasons to intervene in the Kashmir issue. Like Kennedy, he sees India as a strategic buffer against China - but the conflict over Kashmir gives Beijing leverage across South Asia. He is also apprehensive, with good reason, about the conflict escalating into a large-scale war, even a nuclear conflagration with catastrophic impacts on the region. For these very reasons, Bill Clinton had offered to mediate over Kashmir in 2000, while Barack Obama had hoped his Afghanistan envoy, Richard Holbrooke, would be able to engage Islamabad and New Delhi on the issue. New Delhi, in turn, has often sought international help, though it doesn't like the word mediation. United States mediation helped bring the Kargil war in 1999 to a rapid end, and since 26/11, it has played a key role in tempering Pakistan's use of jihadists against India. Following the Balakote air-battles, which mercilessly exposed gaps in India's military preparedness, New Delhi has also lobbied hard for Washington to hold back Pakistan from staging terrorist attacks which could force it to risk another crisis. This all makes mediation - conducted in secret, so it doesn't appear to be mediation - seem like an excellent idea to many in Washington, Islamabad, and even New Delhi. Except, it isn't. In the autumn of 1961, Komer floated the idea of a grand India-Pakistan bargain that read like a Wagah candle-waver's dream: a common air-defence system; a customs union; even joint management of agriculture in Punjab. This, he hoped, would allow India and Pakistan to negotiate a new relationship in Kashmir: perhaps New Delhi could be persuaded to give up "a little more wasteland up in Ladakh", and some minor territorial concessions alone the ceasefire line of 1948; perhaps there could even be "joint tenancy" in the Kashmir Valley. The China-India war of 1962 gave traction to Komer's proposals: New Delhi now desperately needed United States military aid, and Washington thought it could use the opportunity to push for progress on Kashmir. Late in 1962, the United Kingdom's secretary of state for Commonwealth relations, Duncan Sandys, and the United States' Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs, Averell Harriman, were dispatched to South Asia to determine what military assistance India needed. Lord Louis Mountbatten travelled with Sandys on this mission, hoping to persuade Nehru to agree to a demilitarised and independent Jammu and Kashmir. India's Cabinet, however, shot down the idea. The diplomats did, however, succeed in pushing Nehru and the Pakistani military dictator General Ayub Khan, who had taken power in 1958, to the negotiating table. After two rounds of talks, an event took place which, for all practical purposes, destroyed the prospects of an accord. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who had taken over as Pakistan's Foreign Minister, travelled to Beijing in March 1963 and ceded parts of Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir to China. To the President, Komer was blunt. "I wonder if we aren't doing ourselves a disservice by our continued pressure on Kashmir", he wrote in a 14 May 1963 note forKennedy. "There is no denying the great value of a Kashmir settlement to us", he recorded, "and until recently, I was as much of a hard-liner as anyone on this issue. I would be still if I saw a sporting chance". In reality, Komer argued, the prospects of a deal had been "dimmed by Pakistan's own excessive appetite and misguided tactics, such as trying to use the Chicoms (Chinese communists)". Talk of Indian concessions on Kashmir, he went on, would engender "a dangerous Pak emotional reaction". "The longer we nurture Pak illusions", Komer told Kennedy, "the more a head of steam is built up in Pakistan, and the harder such a reaction will be to head off". From the memoirs of Lieutenant-General Gul Hasan Khan, we know just how high that head of steam had built up: hoping to pressurise India into making the concessions Kennedy sought, it prepared to use force. There was, General Khan wrote, to first be an "intensification of the firecracker type of activity that was already current", a reference to terrorism. Then, the Pakistan army was to train guerrillas like Hayat Mir, who would be tasked with "arming the locals and helping them rise against the Indian Army of occupation". Then, on 29 August, 1965, Pakistan's army chief General Mohammad Musa received secret orders to initiate full-scale war: "a general rule", the orders read, "Hindu morale would not stand for more than a couple of hard blows delivered at the right place and the right time". New Delhi's own position on Kashmir hardened in the build-up to the war, with Nehru moving to tie the territory closer into the Indian Union. In 1963, with political patriarch Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah in jail on charges of seeking independence, Nehru's hand-picked regional strongman, Ghulam Muhammad Bakshi, ceased to call himself Kashmir's wazir-i-azam, or prime minister, and picked the standard title of chief minister instead. The arrangement would be formalised by the legislature in 1965. In late 1964, an order issued by the President of India allowed the central government to take charge of Jammu and Kashmir's administration in the event of the collapse of the constitutional machinery. Prior to this order, the imposition of emergency powers required the concurrence of the state legislature. A wide variety of central legislation was made applicable to Kashmir; high officials and candidates contesting elections now had to vow to "uphold the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India". Then, in January, 1965, the Indian National Congress amended its party constitution, and enabled the setting up of a state unit in Jammu and Kashmir which in turn simply subsumed the National Conference, then led by chief minister GM Sadiq. For both Islamabad and New Delhi, there are important lessons in those events. Pakistan's efforts to seize Kashmir failed spectacularly: far from rising in support of jihad, the villagers of Wutligam and Arizal were repelled by jihadists like Hayat Mir, and betrayed them to police. New Delhi's integrationist efforts, in turn, failed: incarcerating Sheikh Abdullah in jail, and the National Conference-Congress merger, left the state without legitimate political opposition, strengthening the Islamist tendencies that would exploded in the 1980s. There's an even more important lesson for the United States. Kennedy's peace efforts, no matter how well-intentioned, had led both India and Pakistan to sharpen their swords, not beat them into ploughshares. Either hoping to secure concessions or to avoid having to make them, both nations hardened the status-quo-a process that led on, inexorably, to war. Late in the afternoon of 17 November, 1965, Hayat Mir walked into the lunch-room at Srinagar's Ahdoos Hotel, to discuss plans to take forward the jihad in Kashmir after Pakistan's military defeat. Plain-clothes police personnel were waiting. "This is the first time in my life I have failed", police files record him as saying. Everybody failed: Washington, Islamabad, and New Delhi alike. Leaders who don't read history are condemned to repeat its errors. The path President Trump is now embarked on with Prime Minister Khan leads to the same destination so many other leaders found themselves at: a grim, blood-soaked place called impasse. Coleg Cambria students raise thousands for Royal British Legion This article is old - Published: Sunday, Feb 23rd, 2020 Kind-hearted students raised thousands of pounds for the Royal British Legions Poppy Appeal. Dozens of learners studying Level 3 Uniformed Public Services at Coleg Cambria spent a week collecting money and selling poppies on the Deeside site, as well as at shops and supermarkets in Connahs Quay and Queensferry. The Poppy Appeal is the Royal British Legions biggest fundraising campaign for the Armed Forces community. Suzanne Barnes, deputy director for business, business support services, sport and uniformed public services at Coleg Cambria Deeside, is proud of the students achievement in collecting more than 3000 for the cause. The learners chose the Poppy Appeal as part of the Community Challenge and fundraising element of their Welsh Baccalaureate course, said Ms Barnes. To have collected such a huge amount is testament to their commitment and the hours they put into this. Its an amazing charity and I know they are thrilled to have been able to donate such a large sum to the cause. Lynne Woodyatt, The Royal British Legions community fundraising manager for Wales, added: We are incredibly grateful to the students of Coleg Cambria for their efforts in raising this fantastic amount for the Poppy Appeal. Every donation received makes a real difference, from the children of serving personnel to the oldest of veterans and everyone in between, the Legion stands ready to assist the Armed Forces community. The Uniformed Public Services course at Cambria offers a range of modules and interaction with organisations including the Police, Fire and Rescue Services, Army and Navy. The experience and support we receive from these Services has been incredible and gives the students a real insight into the careers available to them, added Ms Barnes. For more information on the Poppy Appeal, visit www.britishlegion.org.uk Visit www.cambria.ac.uk for more on the wide range of courses and qualifications available at Coleg Cambria. A Bulgarian court has approved the extradition of a Ukrainian man suspected of co-organizing an acid attack on a Ukrainian activist that eventually led to her death. The February 22 ruling on Ukrainian national Oleksiy Moskalenko (Levin) was based on an extradition request from Ukrainian Deputy Prosecutor-General Viktor Trepak. Moskalenko, 42, was detained in the Black Sea coastal city of Burgas on January 24 without resistance and was identified by his fingerprints, Bulgarian police said. He was wearing a disguise that differed from the picture included on the red Interpol notice issued by Ukraine. Bulgarian police said the suspect crossed by foot into Bulgaria from Romania in 2018 and was living in an apartment rented by a woman from Ukraine. On July 31, 2018, an assailant poured acid on Ukrainian activist Kateryna Handzyuk in Kherson, a city 560 kilometers south of Kyiv. She died of her injuries three months later. An official in the city council and an adviser to Khersons mayor, Handzyuk often spoke out against public corruption in the city. Investigators say she was killed for accusing local politicians of stealing from the local budget and of illegal logging in the region. Five men were convicted last August and sentenced to prison for carrying out the attack. Moskalenko is charged with intended grievous bodily injury, which caused [the] death of the victim, according to the Interpol notice. With reporting by Hromadske and Ukrayinska Pravda Sara Lazarz sits in a room in the Franklin County House of Corrections to take part in the re-entry program. She suffered from panic as a result of trauma in her past. Now shes in the process of overcoming an addiction to heroin as a result. This treatment center is amazing, Lazarz said to MassLive in August 2019. The Medication Assisted Treatment program, also known as MAT, which is the use of medications in combination with counseling and behavioral therapies, is effective in the treatment of opioid use disorders and can help some people to sustain their recovery. The Franklin County House of Correction in Greenfield was the first in the state and among the first in the country to provide methadone in-house for its clients in an effort to subdue their addiction to opioids. Massachusetts received a second-round State Opioid Response grant of $35,879,685 from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to support prevention, treatment, and recovery services. We received a one-time grant of $500,000 to support our program, said assistant superintendent Ed Hayes. The program costs us approximately $400,000 annually. The opioid-related death rate in Massachusetts has surpassed the national average, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, there was an average of almost six opioid-related overdose deaths per day in 2017. Re-entry caseworker Ruben Mercado-Lugo often refers to the Franklin County House of Correction as a locked treatment facility. Clients of the facility undergo programs to help them re-enter the world outside the jail. (Douglas Hook / MassLive) Currently, we have 47 individuals in our MAT program, said Hayes in November 2019. Eight are methadone patients and 39 are buprenorphine. Since February 2016, the jail has run a MAT program according to Schwartz and on Sept. 1, became the first to offer an inhouse methadone clinic for the programs clients. From July 2018 through June 2019, 282 clients at the jail have received treatment using MAT. Having a better understanding of clients who are housed at the house of correction and getting to know how they usually act is key. This means that all the staff need to know what the client is usually like so they can see any difference in their demeanor. [Part of the reason] they start at 5:30, 5:45 in the morning, getting these guys and women up, getting them to the clinic and getting them dosed is because we need to watch them during the course of the day, said Franklin County Sheriff Christopher Donelan. When they're in treatment groups or when they're doing some of the work, to see how they're reacting. Are they getting groggy and theyre sleepy. Allan J. Ryan waits at 6 a.m. for his morning methadone dose in the jails library. (Douglas Hook / MassLive) Donelan knows how important it is to treat his clients as patients rather than inmates, referring to it as a locked treatment facility, to address the opioid crisis that has affected Massachusetts particularly hard. We're trying to find that perfect spot, where we're reducing cravings, but we're not causing any type of lethargic response, Donalen said. One of the greatest challenges the jail has encountered since the clinic opened and one of its biggest successes is the dosing. For each person, who is on either the suboxone or methadone treatment, there is a myriad of different factors the medical staff need to take into account. Height, weight, metabolism, tolerance and history all take time to judge. Experience is a big factor. In August, MassLive visited the facility and spoke to Sheriff Chris Donelan who said that when he first took over the role as sheriff in 2011 and noted that treatment facilities needed to be improved to address the treatment of the offenders that are sent to the jail. As each person enters the jail, they are screened for narcotics through blood tests, criminal record and by asking the individual for their personal history. There's some self-reporting, said Donelan. But there's a lot that we look at in [their] history that needs to back that self-reporting. At the Franklin County House of Correction locked treatment facility, clients undergo the Stages of Change program to help them re-enter the world outside the jail. (Douglas Hook / MassLive) Mutual respect has worked to create a calm environment within his jail. In order to treat those affected, they first need to want to be helped. The main difference between suboxone, also known as buprenorphine, and methadone is that buprenorphine is a partial-agonist (pain killer); methadone, like heroin, is a full-agonist. Buprenorphine works by interacting with the same receptors of the brain that affect other drugs (like heroin and methadone), but it fools the brain into thinking that it is taking an opiate when in reality its not. Unless you drill down into the underlying substance abuse issue, the underlying trauma issue, the underlying mental health issue that's causing someone to feel like they can't be in a room full of people, without being high, said Donelan. We have to drill down and get to that, so you can conquer whatever mental health issue is whatever that trauma is so you have the strength to go forward on your own merits and deal with whatever issues confront you. Based on the numbers of patients we've had in the year (we've maintained an average annual daily count of 40 persons), said Hayes in an email. The program costs an average of $27.40 per person per day. Donelan said earlier this year that it took 54 weeks and a 90-page application to achieve the methadone clinic. I refer to our House of Correction as a locked treatment facility, said Franklin County Sheriff Chris Donelan. This Opioid Treatment Program designation closes the circle for us on the full range of treatment options we can offer to offenders who find themselves in the criminal justice system because of addiction. (Douglas Hook / MassLive) The sheriff doesnt hold back when talking about the challenges of setting the clinic up. You need to stand in front of your security people (correction officers) and explain to them what youre doing and why and get their buy-in. The process is so much smoother and when you do it that way, said Donelan. When you have your security people talking to and understanding your treatment people (social workers, councilors) and talking to an in your medical people and thats important too because it has to be a team approach. He observed that a significant number of the clients arent bad people, they have just come from difficult backgrounds and need help, not punishment. Its changing the climate and culture from this attitude of if you relapse and commit another crime, youre just a dirtbag who cant stay straight. explained Donelan. To this climate and culture of all right, you relapsed. Relapse is part of recovery, come on back. Were going to run you through the whole program again and see how it works. You know, non-judgmental. Clients of the facility undergo programs to help them reenter the world outside the jail. (Douglas Hook / MassLive) Staff and clients alike see the work put into the program. This sheriff is different, said re-entry caseworker Ruben Mercado-Lugo. If he left [then] maybe a lot of us would as well. The treatment the clients receive at Franklin County has been hailed as a step in the right direction. I would say the fact that [methadone treatment is] an option in this facility is a success, said Donelan. Every addiction is different, every situation is different. [But] the more options we have here to help people deal with whatever theyve had to deal with throughout their lives, thats a success. Best remembered for "Maine Pyar Kiya", Bhagyashree, who is back after a gap of almost a decade with a slew of films, says she still feels like a newcomer. The actor, who made foray into movies with the 1989 movie, which also marked lead debut of superstar Salman Khan, returned to films this year with Kannada project "Seetharama Kalyana". Her last film was "Red Alert: The War Within" (2010). Bhagyashree has three films in the pipeline - "Kitty Party", Telugu remake of "2 States", in which she will be essaying the part played by Revathy in the Hindi film and a pivotal role in Prabhas' upcoming movie, tentatively titled "Prabhas 20". "People will get to see a completely new Bhagyashree in every movie. I am enjoying this phase as I'm getting to play different roles. I feel like a newcomer as I am learning things now," she told PTI in an interview here. She revealed she has signed one more movie, which is in Hindi but can't talk about it, till the producers announce it officially. "All the work that I am doing is different from one another. Everyone knows about '2 States' remake and I feel really pleased playing the part. 'Kitty Party' as the name suggest, is about women from the higher strata of society and how their lives intermingle. "'Prabhas 20' is a surprise package. It requires a skill set that I have never done before. I had to practise quite a lot to get it. Everything I am doing is poles apart from each other," she added. Bhagyashree said as society has evolved, the audiences have become open to different kind of storytelling. "There are films that have larger than life persona but that will be few, and in between, the major change that has happened is you need relatable characters. It is not just about hero and heroine. It is about each and every character today. "It is an interesting phenomenon. A generation back, there were films that were larger than life, the character had to be little louder, flamboyant. It is not that there aren't such parts today but you still have to be someone you know." She said playing real characters is challenging in a way. "When you playing these roles one should not go over the top and not underplay it as well, there is a thin demarcating line in between, you have to ace that. As a performer you are challenged, which is good," she added. Considering the fierce competition and scrutiny in an actor's life today, Bhagyashree believes people have lost touch with their real self, which she finds sad. "The parameters have just risen to another level. I think people have lost touch with their real self and it is all about projecting a certain image to the outside world. Unfortunately in doing that, they lose themselves and it is that loss of themselves that creates mental issues. As an actor, Bhagyashree is happy that she is not under any kind of pressure, including that of a film riding on her shoulders. "No one is going to point fingers at you and say the film didn't work because of you. My personal journey has helped me open up about life and people. A few years ago, I had a health scare, I felt, life is too short and I should do things that I want to do without placing myself under any parameters or restrictions. "The personal me has also evolved and that makes it possible for me to reach out to more characters and do work that is challenging," she added. Bhagyashree had suffered from acute calcific tendinitis and that kept her away from work. The actor said she still enjoys being noticed as the "Maine Pyaar Kiya" girl and hopes people accept her in her upcoming projects. "When people look at me and say I am part of their childhood memory or teenage years, it feels wonderful. It is so good that the character stayed for three-generation or three decades. I hope the characters that I am going to play in future will also be remembered." Bhagyashree was talking on the sidelines of an event, Dear Lottery, early this week. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Men in white T-shirts and carrying poles talk to riot police in Yuen Long after attacking anti-extradition bill demonstrators at a train station in Yuen Long, Hong Kong on July 22, 2019. (REUTERS/Tyrone Siu) Hong Kong Protesters Mark 7 Months Since Brutal Mob Attack HONG KONGHong Kong protesters, many dressed in black and wearing surgical masks amid fears over the new coronavirus, held sit-ins in the Chinese-ruled city on Friday to mark seven months since an attack by an armed mob on anti-government demonstrators. Protesters gathered in at least two locations, including more than 100 near the northern Yuen Long train station, in the New Territories and near the border with the mainland, where more than 100 white-shirted men beat up black-shirted activists and passers-by on July 21. Police came in for widespread criticism at the time for not preventing the attack, and for not immediately apprehending any of the attackers when they retreated into a nearby village and were surrounded by officers. The protesters chanted slogans on Friday including Liberate Hong Kong! Revolution of our times and Hong Kong independence, the only way out! We will never forget what happened on July 21, said Lily, a protester dressed in black, part of a group of a few dozens at the Causeway Bay metro station on Hong Kong island. We shouldnt forget to resist despite the outbreak of the Wuhan pneumonia, she said, referring to the central city in mainland China where the coronavirus outbreak originated. The Yuen Long violence was one of the highest-profile attacks since protests against a now-withdrawn extradition bill escalated in June last year. The movement has since broadened to include demands for full democracy for the former British colony that returned to Chinese rule in 1997, with protesters angry at perceived Chinese meddling in the citys promised freedomsa charge Beijing denies. Only a very small minority are calling for independence from China. Protests have lost their intensity this year, with many people avoiding large crowds in the densely populated financial hub due to the coronavirus outbreak which has killed two of the 69 patients in the city. But the outbreak has exacerbated anger with the citys leadership and the influence of Communist Party rulers in Beijing. In particular, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lams refusal to seal the border with mainland China, seen by many as a move to appease Beijing, has infuriated Hongkongers. Lam has said a full closure of the border would be impractical, inappropriate, and discriminatory and that the governments response to the crisis was based on scientific advice and had no political considerations. There have been sporadic weekend protests drawing hundreds since Hong Kong reported its first patient last month, demanding full closure of the border and opposing some buildings being turned into quarantine centers. These have been largely peaceful. But protesters last month torched the ground floor of one building due to be set up as a quarantine center, forcing authorities to ditch the plan. A Hong Kong police officer was confirmed to be infected with the coronavirus on Friday. The 48-year-old officer had attended a banquet with 59 other police in the islands Western district on Tuesday, police said. Everyone who attended is now quarantined. Television footage showed some protesters popping a champagne bottle to celebratethe police became a target of protest violence last year amid accusations of brutality, a charge they deny. By Jessie Pang Malaysia's leader-in-waiting Anwar Ibrahim on Sunday denounced "betrayal" in his ruling coalition, saying that some partners were trying to bring down the government and form a new one. The comments came after senior figures from his coalition and opposition politicians met in a Kuala Lumpur hotel amid speculation they were seeking to form a new alliance that excluded Anwar. "Even though there is no announcement tonight, the information I get... there is an attempt towards it (changing the government)," said Anwar, the presumptive successor to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed. "We were shocked today by developments, which for us is a betrayal because there has been a promise (to hand over power to me)." Anwar is a lawmaker from the "Pact of Hope" coalition, which unexpectedly swept to power in 2018 and ousted a corruption-plagued government that had ruled Malaysia for more than six decades. Mahathir, 94, agreed to hand power to Anwar if their coalition won but tensions have been rising in the government between competing factions. The pair have a stormy relationship which has dominated Malaysia's political landscape for over two decades. During a first stint as prime minister in the 1990s, Mahathir sacked Anwar from government before he was thrown in jail after being convicted of sodomy. Anwar's supporters say the charges were politically motivated. The pair reconciled before the 2018 election. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 23, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian Embassy in Iran is temporarily suspending its consular sections work (citizens registration and reception) starting February 23, the embassy said in a statement amid the novel coronavirus (covid-2019) outbreak in Iran. The embassy apologizes for the inconvenience, it said Sunday morning. The embassy did not mention for how long the consular section will remain closed but noted that it will issue updates. Earlier on February 22, Armenia warned its nationals against all but essential travel to Iran. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan National housing charity Threshold has warned that it has seen an increase in the occurrence of rent-related scams in the west of Ireland in recent weeks, with a particular concentration in Galway. Karina Timothy, Western Regional Services Manager, Threshold said: Our Galway office has seen a marked increase in the number of rental scams being reported by our clients over the last few weeks. Our advisors have been dealing with a number of cases in which those seeking rented accommodation have come into contact with people purporting to be landlords, but whose claims are ultimately exposed as illegitimate. By way of a recent example, one such client, Nadine, has been living in Galway for the last 10 months and is looking for a new place to rent for her family. She responded to an advert on daft.ie for a property advertised for rent, including bills, at 1,140 per month. The property was also advertised on other commonly-used sites Rent.ie and Property.ie. This rent would be approximately 400 less than current market rate, so it stands to reason that there would have been a large number of applications or expressions of interest for this particular property, said Timothy. Nadine received a strange reply from the prospective landlord, informing her that he was based in Spain and had a lovely wife and daughter. The nature of the reply appeared odd to Nadine and prompted her to investigate further. She then found that the images on the daft.ie advert varied greatly from those contained in a link the landlord supplied in follow-up emails. Another, similar case in the Galway area recently involved a mother, Leanne*, also searching for accommodation in Galway City, for herself and her young child. Leanne responded to an advert on daft.ie for an alleged property in Salthill with two bedrooms and two bathrooms, which was advertised at 700 per month far below market rates. Leanne received a response to her expression of interest and from that point the supposed landlord communicated with her via WhatsApp, seeking a fee of over 70 for Leanne to come and view the property. We would be very concerned that should our client not have become suspicious, she may have proceeded and inadvertently given the scammer access to her bank account, explained Ms Timothy. These circumstances a landlord who lives out of the country and exceptionally cheap rent for a standard property are classic red flags, but tenants are often under a huge amount of pressure to secure accommodation in tight timescales, and can even be faced with the risk of becoming homeless if they dont find a new place to rent. In their desperation to secure a property any property it is understandable that they might overlook signs such as these. Thresholds proposed property-specific Rent Register would allow prospective tenants, like Nadine or Leanne, to check the properties rent and registration history to determine their legitimacy. An important rule of thumb for renters to remember is that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. This is to say that renters need to approach all property adverts and correspondence from prospective landlords with vigilance and suspicion. If something seems off, do not provide any additional personal details, especially bank details. Review the materials and information that has already been supplied and try to spot inconsistencies. If in doubt, call Threshold and we can advise you on the next steps to take. In Cork last year, Threshold, together with An Garda Siochana and UCC Students Union released a checklist for renters as part of the organisations Scamwatch campaign. Their advice to renters on how to avoid scams applies equally to Galway and is as follows: - Be aware of offers that appear to be too good to be true if rent seems like a bargain, do more research by checking rental rates for similar properties in the area. - Use Google maps to verify that the property exists. - Never agree to rent a property without having properly viewed it and making sure you are happy with the terms and conditions of the letting. - Avoid paying in cash and always get a proper receipt. - Never transfer funds in person, via bank transfer or through a company to someone claiming to be an agent or landlord of a prospective property without verifying their bona fides. - Ensure the keys work and that you get proper contact details for the landlord/agent. *Clients name has been changed to protect anonymity The benches lining the middle of the South Albany High School cafeteria filled up slowly over the course of an hour on Saturday morning with mothers in red shirts demanding action on gun control, education lobbyists, young families and students all vying for the chance at having their ticket called. Everyone who entered the building got a ticket but only a handful got lucky. It's standard procedure at U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley's town halls. Everyone gets a ticket and if their number is called, they can ask a question. On Saturday, the Oregon senator held his 20th town hall of the year, 416th overall and questions did not stray from the standards: Is climate change real? What's responsible for gun violence the guns or the shooters? China. War. Corruption. But South Albany High School junior Rena Edwards brought up another topic. What did Merkley plan to do about the opioid crisis that has effected both of her parents, thousands of others and the nation itself? It was a stark reminder that regardless of cable chatter, social media wars and large campaign promises, residents have serious challenges and rarely get face time with their representatives to share them. For just over an hour, Merkley spoke on several issues including the four he considers core issues--housing, education, fair wages and health care and took questions from the audience of 250. Opiods "It's going take conversations with the medical community," Merkley said, citing the documented over-prescription of the drug. He told the crowd that his daughter had her wisdom tooth removed and came home with a bottle of the pills. When he suggested she not adhere to the belief that a prescription be taken to completion, she responded, "If they're dangerous, why wouldn't the dentist tell me?" "I was having a conversation with a mayor in Oregon who said her son was given a prescription after he injured his shoulder," Merkley said. "Now he's dead." Merkley said he thinks that many of the individuals affected by the opioid crisis were introduced to the drug through an initial prescription and that aside from reeling in those doctor's orders, more investment in treatment programs was needed. Climate change In answering a question about how the country can successfully cope with the changing climate and still remain supportive of industry, Merkley in turn asked a question of his own: Can everyone take in a deep breath for three seconds and hold it? "The air you just held in your lungs is different from the air you breathed when you were born," he said as the rush of air returned to the room three seconds later. "There's 33% more carbon in it than when I was born and it's going to double in my lifetime." He said he preferred the term climate chaos to climate change because of the affects he saw locally. Beetles for example, didn't die off in the same way they used to because it stayed warmer longer and the change in weather, he said, affected agriculture and industry. "It's a long way to the next star and we're not going to make it there in time," he said, noting that he has called for a rapid reduction in dependence of fossil fuels. China Fellow Oregonian Nick Kristoff and his wife Sheryl WuDunn recently wrote a book on the challenges facing rural communities in Oregon and around the country, Merkley said. In it, they detail the evolution of a glove factory. It eventually closed because the gloves were cheaper to make in China and the environmental laws much looser. Merkley said he didn't agree with the trading of tariffs hailed by the Trump administration as the solution to the country's complicated financial relationship with China. Politics "What can we do about Mitch McConnell?" The question about the Senate Majority Leader set off approximately 20 minutes of discussion on civics, the current state of the federal government and community relationships with frustration at the center. Merkley told the crowd that in his early career in politics, he often had bipartisan meetings and during sessions representatives would sit beside members of the opposite party. "I was unprepared for Mitch McConnell's maximum polarization strategy," he said. "When he said his top goal was to make sure Barack Obama did not get a second term that meant that when there were things we agreed on around housing, jobs, education, he wouldn't allow it because it would be seen as a victory for President Obama. We can't do that," he said, citing Alexander Hamilton's belief against super majorities. "If the minority is always obstructing the majority, intentionally, then we're always going to be hurting each other," he said. Cap and trade The Oregon Legislature currently is debating Senate Bill 1530, which would decrease the state's greenhouse emissions. Merkley does not serve in the state Legislature and has no hand in arguing or voting on the bill. However, when the question was raised, he referred the crowd to a previous effort to decrease sulfur through cap and trade to address acid rain. "The results were better than predicted," he said. "My sense is this its goal overall is to create a partnership with the type of cap and trade they have in California and it's worked pretty well in California." Next steps Teresa Hess came to the town hall wanting to walk away with one thing: a to-do list. "Tell us what to do," she said, citing her frustration over the continual back and forth. Merkley stressed the bipartisan nature of the event. "If you're frustrated, if you're concerned," he said, "start getting your neighbors into your kitchens to talk about the issues. Get involved in elections. The most effective tool is knocking on doors." Love 4 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 1 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The following letter was sent to Borough President James Oddo: I live in the Goethals Road N mobile home community. Each day I get on the Staten Island Expressway to travel east to my office in the Randall Manor/Silver Lake area. I use the expressway entrance immediately after the Goethals Bridge in Staten Island. At that location, the expressway is very dangerous due to the merging lanes getting on and getting off of the expressway. I have had several near misses in attempting to merge onto the expressway. The problem is that if one does not wait to merge to continue on the expressway, you are led without choice to Exits 4 (Forest Avenue) or 5 (440 S) and must take one of these. Perhaps concrete barriers might be utilized (similar to those at the Verrazano Bridge approach east-bound) or the powers that be might consider other options. I personally do not know what the possible solution is to this situation, but I firmly believe it is a tragedy waiting to happen. (Brenda Singer is a Mariners Harbor resident.) (Natural News) With each passing day of the coronavirus pandemic, its becoming more and more clear that the United States is following the Wuhan plan for how to contain coronavirus infections: Avoiding testing people, and you can then avoid reporting any confirmed infections. Given the tens of thousands of Chinese nationals entering the United States of America every month, the thousands of Chinese students and the many thousands of residents who are under observation by state health authorities in places like Washington and California, a reasonable person might expect that the CDC has so far tested at least 10,000 people for the CoVid-19 coronavirus. But guess how many the CDC has actually tested? To the great shock of anyone paying attention, the CDCs own website admits the agency has tested only 414 people in the entire country. As a lab science director myself, I find this number especially surprising given that most PCR genetic analysis instruments use sample well plates that allow for batch testing of 96 samples at a time. The sample trays for this are called 96-well plates, and theyre standard across all laboratories that conduct gene sequencing testing / PCR analysis. This means the entire number of cases tested by the CDC could fit in fewer than five instrument runs, at a cost of only a few thousand dollars in total (including the sample prep media, pipette tips, etc.). The number is so small, I could have run these tests in my own lab with a single gene sequencer instrument from Thermo, which only costs about $150,000. The CDCs budget for FY 2020 is $6,594,000,000. Yes, thats $6.6 billion. So out of $6.6 billion, they cant find the means to test more than a few hundred Americans for the coronavirus? Thats insane. But it gets worse Remember the thousands of coronavirus test kits the CDC sent to every state in America? No one is using them (because NONE of them work) As you may recall, it was just a little over two weeks ago that the mainstream media celebrated the CDC sending thousands of rapid coronavirus diagnostic test kits to hospitals and labs all across America. As Fox News reported on Feb. 5, [T]he test 2019-nCoV Real-Time RT-PCR Diagnostic Panel will be available to state public laboratories after the FDA issued a so-called emergency use authorization on Tuesday. We now know that nobody is using the test kits anywhere in America. A few days after they were sent out, the CDCs Dr. Nancy Messonnier announced the test kits were faulty and had a bad reagent component that produced false negatives and false positives. In other words, the test results were wildly invalid, so the test kits had to be completely scrapped. The CDC claimed that some of the test kits they sent out were flawed, failing to mention that all of them were flawed. Some of the coronavirus testing kits distributed to state labs around the US do not work properly, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reported the NY Post on Feb. 13th, about a week after the labs received the kits and realized they didnt work. Some of the kits, which also were sent to at least 30 countries, produced inconclusive results because of flawed components and the CDC said it planned to send replacements to make them work. Yes, they sent faulty kits to 30 countries. And then they claimed some of them didnt work. But in the world of epidemiology, if you dont know which test kits are faulty vs. accurate, then you cant trust any of them. The entire lot of diagnostic test kits is a total joke, in other words. But its a really clever way to make sure no reliable tests are being done in those 30 countries that received the kits The CDC hasnt sent any replacement kits or components so almost no testing is getting done across America Since that stunning admission by the CDC, no replacement test kits have been made available to anyone in the United States. Yet, strangely, South Korea has so many test kits that theyve managed to test thousands of people there already, confirming hundreds of new infections over just the last few days. (The current total of infections in South Korea is now 556, an explosive, exponential growth of infections over the last few days. Amazingly, South Korea can test all these people, while the USA cant seem to test anyone.) If we are to believe the CDCs excuses about the flawed test kits, South Korea is so much more advanced than the United States of America that they can deploy functioning, accurate test kits by the thousands, even as the U.S. CDC is still tripping over itself, trying to fix whatever problems they (intentionally?) introduced into the first wave of test kits that didnt work. A trained observer might conclude at this point that the CDC doesnt really want any test kits to function in America, for if they did work, they might reveal thousands of infections in places like San Diego, Seattle and Honolulu. (Wink wink to the CDC, since we already have confirmation of > 1000 infections across America, mostly focused in those cities, but well cover that in another article.) After all, the easiest way to avoid reporting infections is to make sure nobody has any test kits that might confirm such infections. Its the dont ask, dont tell policy of (badly) dealing with a pandemic, and it now appears to be official policy at the CDC. But it gets even more insane: 47 U.S. states are testing ZERO people for coronavirus Yesterday we covered the stunning fact that the State of Hawaii has tested exactly zero people for coronavirus infections. This may come as a surprise for all of us who have observed people flying through Honolulu who were later diagnosed with coronavirus infections. Hawaiian Airlines even confirmed they flew an infected couple from one of the smaller islands directly into Honolulu, where they boarded a Delta flight and headed off to Japan. So we might imagine that the Hawaii Dept. of Health would obviously have some level of testing going on, right? Surely the State of Hawaii owns some genetic analysis equipment in a lab somewhere Apparently not. As the Star Advertiser in Honolulu discovered, exactly zero people in the entire State of Hawaii have been tested for the coronavirus: Why hasnt Hawaii tested anyone for the virus? Hawaii state officials claim theyre waiting for test kits from the CDC. Its sort of like the old dog ate my homework excuse, but for a global pandemic. The CDC, as mentioned above, isnt sending any replacement kits to anyone, even as the days tick by and everybody is wondering just how many Americans really might be infected at this point. So we decided to poke around and find out how many U.S. states have tested zero people for the virus. It turns out that number is 47. California, Nebraska and Illinois are the only U.S. states that can currently test for coronavirus, the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) told Reuters on Friday, reported CNBC.com yesterday. Wait what? Yes, 47 states have no test kits and apparently no ability to test anyone. (Are they all scientifically illiterate? Do they not have gene sequencing instruments in their state health labs? Has America already collapse to the point where the people running all the science labs are incompetent to the point of suicide? Geesh) The CDC still hasnt sent out any replacements, of course. From the CNBC story: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last week said some of the testing kits sent to U.S. states and at least 30 countries produced inconclusive results due to a flawed component and the CDC planned to send replacement materials to make the kits work. But when, exactly? The CDC doesnt seem to be in any particular hurry to make the test kits work. And this is what allows Dr. Nancy Messonnier to claim the CDC, hasnt seen any community outbreaks so far. Of course they havent. Nobodys doing any real testing. By definition, there will be no community outbreaks in America for as long as nobody conducts any testing. It gets even worse: CDC testing flow chart practically PROHIBITS any discovery of community outbreaks Just in case you werent sure how this FUBARed situation could get any more FUBAR, the CDC has published a flow chart that provides instructions to U.S. state health departments on who should be tested for the coronavirus. Not that this matters at all when no test kits are available, but even when the CDC one day decides to send out diagnostic kits that actually work, the CDCs guidelines prohibit any testing for individuals who might suffer from community outbreaks. Thats not a typo. Seriously. See the chart below for yourself. The CDCs chart says the only people who should be tested are 1) People who traveled to China, and 2) People who have been in close contact with confirmed cases of coronavirus. So then, how exactly would anyone be tested if they suffered from a local transmission from an asymptomatic carrier who hasnt been to China themselves? In other words, people infected in community outbreaks would be prohibited from being tested under the CDC flow chart. Stated another way, if you got infected in America, you wont be tested in America. Thus, community outbreaks will be completely halted. Its almost (evil) genius. Now youre starting to see how this entire thing is a rigged catch-22 cover-up: Source: www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/identify-assess-flowchart.html A rational person might think the CDCs flow chart would demand testing for anyone showing symptoms that might match the known profile of this CoVid-19 coronavirus. But apparently that would make way too much sense. Instead, those people are prohibited from being tested if they acquired the infection from an unknown super spreader in the United States. Yes, it gets even worse: Washington releases 100 people from its watch list, but tests none of them Yesterday, we did find that the State of Washington, apparently in defiance of the CDC, had managed to test a grand total of 26 people out of the 779 people they are monitoring for possible coronavirus infections. Looking at the Washington State Dept. of Health website today, we find that health authorities there have somehow found the resources to test TWO more person (28 total) while releasing 100 people from the health supervision watchlist even though none of those 100 people have been tested. So in the State of Washington, 100 people can be released from the watch list without ever being tested? Indeed, yes. This is how public health works when governments are run by incompetent bureaucrats. Its almost like a scene ripped right out of Idiocracy. In the worst pandemic the modern world has ever seen, the entire State of Washington is testing about one person per day. It basically borders on criminal negligence. Conclusion: Fewer than 600 people have been tested across the entire country From the best we can tell, with the CDC claiming theyve tested 414 people, and Washington States 28 people no doubt existing as a subset of those 414 (Washington must send samples to the CDC in Atlanta, since the test kits dont work), and given that 47 states out of 50 have zero test kits, it appears that fewer than 600 people have been tested for coronavirus in the entire country. At least, thats the official status of things. In reality, what we already know from several highly placed sourced inside the federal government, thousands of people have been tested and over 1,000 infections have already been confirmed in America. One clue to confirm this is the fact that the Travis Air Force Base in California has run out of isolation beds and is urgently trying to export 35-50 infected patients to another facility in Costa Mesa, California. The city leaders of Costa Mesa got word of the scheme and filed an emergency lawsuit in California courts, revealing the true numbers of infected people the feds are trying to move. Heres a screen capture from the lawsuit, as broadcast by Fox 5 in San Diego: If 35-50 patients known to be infected are being moved out of one Air Force base in California, its obviously to make room for an influx of newly infected patients being relocated there. If Travis Air Force Base is being overrun in California, whats happening to the facilities in Omaha and San Antonio, too? The CDC is already warning U.S. hospitals to prepare for a surge in coronavirus patients, and theyve issued that warning because they know a surge is coming since they already have over 1,000 confirmed patients mapped out across America. But of course the CDC isnt telling the public, and its very likely they are withholding the coronavirus test kits in order to make sure U.S. states cant actually confirm any infections. This tactic of creating artificial scarcity in the test kits, by the way, is exactly how the communist regime of China kept their own infection numbers artificially low from the very beginning. We learned through a variety of sources that fewer than 1 out of 10 patients showing pneumonia-like symptoms were able to be tested in Wuhan hospitals, and even then the detected, confirmed coronavirus infections were exploding on an exponential basis. The CDC, it seems, is borrowing a playbook right out of the communist handbook of medical propaganda and public deception. Theres no word on the status of the replacement test kits, as you might expect. They probably arent even being produced. Theres no intention in the USA to accurately test anyone, since doing so would require reporting those results to the public. With the CDC now actively engaged in a coronavirus cover-up, and Big Tech censoring anyone who reports the truth, we have now entered an Orwellian phase of coordinated, authoritarian deception thats designed to deliberately keep the U.S. public in the dark about pandemic outbreaks which are already taking place on U.S. soil. The net effect of that deception, of course, will be a rapid explosion in the number of infections across America which appears to be the goal of the people running all this, including the CDC which stands to receive a windfall of new funding and police state powers once the pandemic spreads across multiple U.S. cities. The quarantines are coming in America. The medical police state is ready to be rolled out. CDC authorities are actively hiding infections from the public, even as they prepare armed CDC quarantine teams to kidnap and medically imprison people against their will. Every nightmare scenario youve imagined over the last two decades is about to be unfurled. And the only voices telling you the truth are completely banned on every tech platform (be design, of course, as this was all coordinated in advance). If you want to survive this, follow my work at Pandemic.news. The CDC and government officials will get you killed, or imprisoned, or injured with a mandatory experimental vaccine at some point. Dont trust anything coming out of official sources, as its now obvious theyve all agreed to lie to the world as a way to maximize the spread of the pandemic. In the current situation, we believe that it is necessary to temporarily close the Armenian-Iranian land border, including delaying flights, until the main spreading of the coronavirus will be neutralized in Iran. Edmon Marukyan, chairman of the opposition Bright Armenia party and head of the Bright Armenia faction in parliament, wrote this on Facebook. "Worrying and disturbing information is coming from our friend, Iran," he wrote. "In the current situation, we believe that it is necessary to temporarily close the Armenian-Iranian land border, including delaying flights, until the main spreading of the coronavirus will be neutralized in Iran. This is a necessity in the interests of our national security, as failure to take appropriate measures can lead to irreversible consequences. Above all, we convey our concern and compassion to the friendly [Iranian] people, expressing hope that they will be able to neutralize this impending catastrophe." People, plants and animals all stand to benefit from upcoming projects in the local bosque. To restore wildlife habitat and protect infrastructure by lessening erosion, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is rehabilitating and constructing side channels along the Rio Grande in southern Bernalillo and northern Rio Rancho. In Bernalillo, the bureau is partnering with the Southern Sandoval County Arroyo Flood Control Authority to connect the Venada Arroyo with one of those side channels to get storm water to the river. The Bureau of Reclamation is scheduled to work near the Venada Arroyo starting the first week in March, and then a little farther south in the Willow Creek Trailhead area this fall, said Project Manager Ann Demint. The federal government is paying for that work, which Demint estimated would cost between $500,000 and $1 million. She said shed know more about the price once work started and she had a better look at the land. Construction hours are 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday. She said workers will bring in equipment over recreational trails, but no trails will be closed for the projects. The floodplain containing the side channels will be closed when its an active construction site. In the Venada Arroyo area, the Bureau of Reclamation plans to rehabilitate three side channels built in 2008 so theyll flow again, Demint said. The project also includes work on the lower portion of the point bar, the surface where the river has deposited sediment on the inside of a curve. SSCAFCA is providing $281,000 from a bond voters approved in 2016 for the bureau to connect the arroyo with the side channel this spring, said authority Executive Engineer Charles Thomas. He said the creation of Cochiti Lake led to the Rio Grande digging its main channel deeper and moving away from the point where the Venada Arroyo emptied into the river. That led to the sediment from the storm water creating a delta at the mouth of the arroyo. So it started creating a situation where it wasnt functioning properly, Thomas said. The delta slowed the storm water, causing it to dump sediment in the arroyo channel, filling it too much so that water backed up into the adjacent subdivision. It hasnt gotten to the point of where its flooding, he said. However, the problem will get worse if something isnt done, and the water running over the sediment is making the arroyo wider so that the erosion is threatening homes, Thomas said. When the Bureau of Reclamation invited SSCAFCA to join its project, engineers had already designed the arroyo improvements to fix the problem and the bond money was available, Thomas said. It was pretty serendipitous at the point, he said. Once the arroyo is connected to the side channel with the proper slope for drainage, Thomas said, future storms will start carrying away the sediment upstream in the arroyo. Hes hoping the governor will approve $800,000 in capital outlay money from the legislature, so SSCAFCA can clear out more sediment faster. Demint said the Venada Arroyo-area project is anticipated to take a little more than two months. Equipment will be kept on Corazon del Bosque private land when its not being used. In the Willow Creek area, Demint said, the bureau will build two new side channels. Our approach these days is to try to do projects that work with the river, Demint said. If the bureau uses natural processes, projects are more successful, she said. Planners still have to work within the confines of existing infrastructure. The side channels will draw water from the main part of the river, reducing pressure on the east bank to lessen erosion, thus protecting irrigation-system infrastructure there. The side channels installed in 2008 were meant to do the same thing, but the river meandered away from them, stopping the channels from flowing and doing their job. The work will also make the channels better habitat for endangered silvery minnows, especially for their young in the spring, Demint continued. Mary Carlson, spokeswoman for the bureaus Albuquerque Area Office, said the minnows prefer water slower and shallower than the rivers main channel. Side channels also provide more protection from predators. Demint said the channels would provide a variety of water depths and velocities, including the minnows favorite conditions. Bringing water into the channels will encourage the growth of natural vegetation. Weve had really good results in the past in this area, so were expecting the same occurrence, Demint said of the vegetation. For questions about the work, contact Carlson at mcarlson@usbr.gov or 462-3576. By Christine Clark Zemla I never knew Emmett Till. Not his mischievous smile, or his fun-loving, fearless attitude, or the stutter when he got nervous. I was just a young white girl growing up in New Jersey when the Black 14-year-old from Chicago went to visit family in the Deep South in 1955. Though I never knew him, I can vividly recall the first time I heard his name. I had just returned to college, almost two decades older than most of my classmates, when in one of my first classes I watched Eyes on the Prize: Awakenings. The film served as quite an awakening for me! I learned how Emmett traveled with his cousin to Mississippi, and naive to the rules of Jim Crow South, Emmett whistled at white grocery store owner Carolyn Bryant. For that he paid the ultimate price. Brutally tortured, shot, tied to a cotton gin fan and tossed into the muddy waters of the Tallahatchie River, his body surfaced three days later. Carolyns husband Roy and her brother-in-law, J.W. Milam were found not guilty several weeks later, following a three-day trial and jury deliberation of just an hour. Months later, Milam and Bryant sold their story to Look magazine, in which they confessed to the murder. Nobody ever served time for the killing. Bryants Grocery and Meat Market where 14-year-old Emmett Till whistled at Carolyn Bryant. The teen was later brutally beaten and his body thrown into the Tallahatchie River. Carolyn's husband Roy and her brother-in-law, J.W. Milam were found innocent by an all-white jury but they later confessed to Look magazine in exchange for payment. Mamie Till insisted that Emmett be returned home and his casket remain open at his funeral, so that all the world could see what was done to her boy. And thousands marched past his casket and hundreds of thousands more saw the photos in Black publications. Years later, many would claim his story as the catalyst of the Civil Rights Movement. Rosa Parks, face of the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955, said she was thinking of Emmett Till as she refused to give up her seat on the bus. How had I never heard this story? Id never let go of Emmett Tills story and in many ways it has shaped my future. About 15 years ago, I began what would become annual treks to the Mississippi Delta. Expecting to find a Civil Rights map or guidebook to direct me on that first trip. I found none. In fact, I observed barely a mention of Emmett Till. Seems as if not too many people in the Delta remembered him either. Or perhaps, chose not to. Lyndon B. Johnson once proclaimed, Theres America. Theres the South. And then theres Mississippi." No state fought harder or longer to maintain a segregated society, refusing Blacks the right to vote and choosing to ignore the federal mandate to integrate schools. Theres no denying Mississippis dark past. Racial terror, however, was not unique to the Magnolia state. Contextualizing Americas history of race exclusively as a Mississippi story or a southern story lets the rest of us off way too easy. However, it is where Emmett Till was murdered and I needed to learn more. During my first trip to the Delta I couldnt help but think of William Faulkners famous line: The past is never dead. Its not even past. Thats how it felt for me, a trip back in time. Field hands had been replaced by machines. Although agribusiness is the driving economic engine in the region, I imagined, as I drove past endless cotton fields, that time really had stood still. The Confederate battle flag remains embedded in the states flag, the countless Confederate monuments, the visible, extreme poverty in towns like Glendora, Tutwiler and Drew. And the farms. I remember thinking who owns all of this land? I witnessed the still evident divide between rich and poor, black and white. Literary references and metaphors abound. Among my favorites, David L. Cohns in 1947 described the Delta as a strange and detached fragment thrown off by the whirling comet that is America. But I wasnt recalling literary references on that first trip. I was remembering Emmett Till. I couldnt help but wonder as I stood in front of Bryants Grocery and Meat Market, what rendered a whistle such an egregious act, one that would motivate grown men to inflict such pain and brutality on a child? I can only imagine that for Milam and Bryant this represented yet another reminder that times were changing. If they ignored the whistle, what then? Fear of the unknown, fear of change. Losing their authoritative grip in an area where Black residents historically outnumbered whites. The seed shed on Sturdivant Plantation, the out-of-the-way site where Milams brother worked, and where Emmett Till was tortured and murdered, is now privately owned and at least three miles off a main road. I made my way there on my next trip. Spending more than an hour inside the building was somewhat surreal. Timothy Tyson, author of The Blood of Emmett Till, tells us this: It takes from five-hundred to one-thousand pounds of force to crack a human skull. No one exerts that level of force on a just-turned fourteen-year-olds head without willingness to kill. In addition to their willingness to kill, others heard the blows outside and could do nothing. The seed shed where 14-year-old Emmett Till was murdered in 1955. The story of Emmett Till, in my class, is our entry point into conversations about slavery, emancipation, black codes, convict leasing, and the failure of Reconstruction: the contradictions inherent in the proclamation that all men are created equal and the emergence in the 19th century of scientific racism, which fueled the sentiment that blacks and whites are inherently unequal. My friend Patrick Weems, founding member of the Emmett Till Memorial Commission, reminds us that while we often think of the Till murder as a stand-alone, horrific event, countless communities across the nation have witnessed similar acts of injustice against people of color. Just days ago, one of my students shared his excellent research on the very active presence of the Ku Klux Klan in Monmouth County during the 1920s. I love the Mississippi Delta. The beauty of its flat terrain and seemingly endless cottonfields may be surpassed only by its spectacular sunsets. Ive met so many warm and welcoming people. Where else could you take a guided tour and actually end up being invited for dinner at the tour guides house? And, incidentally, we have remained friends ever since. The Delta offers the most amazing food and music fans travel from around the globe to experience the home of the blues. Its become my go-to place and I welcome every opportunity to return. Yet, there is a dark past. Weems says, Were working to tell the truth and grapple with our history. He hopes that others will follow their lead and uncover stories in their own backyards that have been ignored or erased, and confront their past, and try to foster a more equitable future. As I spend entire semesters Remembering Emmett Till Im reminded that his story is referenced mostly during Black History Month. Why not the rest of the year? After all, this is part of our collective past. For me, its an American story, one well worth remembering. Christine Clark Zemla is a professor in the Department of American Studies and creator of the "Remembering Emmett Till course at Rutgers UniversityNew Brunswick. 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. New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/21/2020 -- Market Industry Reports (MIR) has published a new report titled "Hospital EMR Systems Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast, 20192030." According to the report, the global Hospital EMR System Market is estimated to be over US$ 10.0 Bn in 2017. It is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 8.6% from 2019 to 2030. The continual growth of the hospital EMR market can be attributed to wide scale adoption of EMR by hospitals, which are widely used to store patient's medical history. Moreover, consolidation of hospitals and increasing healthcare expenditure to provide better healthcare has been a major factor to contribute to the substantial growth of the global hospital EMR system market between 2019 and 2030. Major Players in the Hospital EMR Systems Market The prominent players in the global Hospital EMR System Market are Cerner Corporation, eClinical Works, Epic Systems, McKesson, All Scripts, MEDITECH, Cantata Health, MEDHOST, CPSI, and NextGen Healthcare among others. Get Sample Copy with TOC To Understand The Structure Of The Complete Report @ https://www.marketindustryreports.com/pdf/11 Segmentation Based on: Hospital EMR Systems Market by Component Services, Software, Hardware Hospital EMR Systems Market by Mode of Delivery Cloud Based, On-Premise The Researcher Provides Following questions: -How are the manufacturers operating in the Hospital EMR System Market plan to adjust their production according to the status of demand during the forecast period, 2019 to 2030? -How are prominent leaders planning to secure economies in the distribution of their products? -What are the defects in the existing products and what corrective measures should the product owners take to improve the product? -How can companies explore new uses for their existing and new products or services, and thereby increasing the demands in the Hospital EMR System Market? -What will be the market share over the estimated period? -What are the general conditions prevailing in the Hospital EMR System Market? Get Access to Data Pack\Excel @ https://www.marketindustryreports.com/data-pack/11 Table of Contents 1. INTRODUCTION 1. Market Definition 2. Market Ecosystem 1. Market Classification 2. Geographic Scope 3. Years Considered for the Study 1. Historical Years 2016 & 2017 2. Base Year 2018 3. Forecasted Years 2019 to 2030 3. Currency Used for the Study 4. Report Beneficiary List 2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 1. Research Framework 2. Data Collection Technique 3. Data Sources 1. Secondary Sources 2. Primary Sources 4. Market Estimation Methodology 1. Bottoms Up Approach 2. Top Down Approach 5. Data Validation and Triangulation 1. Market Forecasting Model 2. Limitations of the Study 3. Assumptions of the Study Buy this report @ https://www.marketindustryreports.com/checkout/11 About Market Industry Reports Market Industry Reports is at the forefront of innovation to address the worldwide industry trends and opportunities. We identified the caliber of market dynamics & hence we excel in the areas of innovation and optimization, integrity, curiosity, customer and brand experience, and strategic business intelligence through our research. Contact Us 2nd Floor, Manikchand Ikon, B-Wing, Dhole Patil Road, Sangamwadi, Pune 411 001 Email: sales@marketindustryreports.com Phone: +1 347 767 5477 ( US ) + 91 8956 767 535 ( IN ) + 44 131 463 4161 ( UK ) Website: https://www.marketindustryreports.com The Earl and Countess of Wessex are hiring an Assistant Private Secretary based at their Windsor residence of Bagshot Park. The permanent role will assist Prince Edward, and Sophie Wessex, both 55, in organising their engagements which support the royal family both in the UK and abroad. The position manages a team of program coordinators in creating a weekly schedule for the couple, who share children Lady Louise Windsor, 16, and James Viscount Severn, 12. The candidate, who will be paid an annual salary of 45,000, is expected to have good knowledge of current affairs and experience of working within the military or central government departments is an advantage. The Earl and Countess of Wessex (seen at Buckingham Palace last month) are hiring an Assistant Private Secretary based at their Windsor residence of Bagshot Park The advert on the royal family's website reads: 'The Household of The Earl and Countess of Wessex supports Their Royal Highnesses in all aspects of their official engagements and duties within the United Kingdom and overseas. 'Your responsibilities will be diverse, as you assist the Principal Private Secretary and the Private Secretary to The Countess of Wessex with the provision of advice in organising all aspects of official programmes for Their Royal Highnesses, including managing themed projects and patronages. 'Acting as lead in managing the weekly programming priorities, you will be responsible for providing continuity and programme management oversight in support of the Principal Private Secretary. The candidate, who will be paid an annual salary of 45,000, is expected to have good knowledge of current affairs and experience of working within the military or central government departments is an advantage 'Managing a small team of Programme Coordinators, you will supervise the detailed preparation and implementation of elements of TRHs official programme.' The advert could signify an increase in royal duties for the couple, who last month were called upon to co-host a Buckingham Palace reception with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in the absence of the Queen, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall. Former PR guru Sophie, and the Queen's youngest grandson Edward, are currently on a ski holiday in St Mortiz with their children for the half term. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-24 07:08:55|Editor: Liu Video Player Close SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- An 18-year-old girl was killed Sunday in a fatal crash of a vehicle operated by her friend on a highway in Redwood City, Northern California, local media reported. The teenage passenger, who authorities described as a foreign national, was with her friend, also an 18-year-old girl who was driving a black Audi A3 southbound on Highway 101 in Redwood City, about 43 km south of San Francisco, the KTVU TV station said. The driver lost control of the car that veered off the expressway and went airborne before crashing into a light pole, which reduced the vehicle into a pile of mangled, twisted metal, according to the TV report. The young passenger was pronounced dead at the scene while the driver was sent to Stanford Medical Center for major injuries, the Mercury News daily said. "Alcohol is being investigated [as a factor] and the driver is under arrest at this time," the newspaper quoted Kurtis Waldschmidt, an officer of California Highway Patrol (CHP) in Redwood City, as saying. Both girls lived in San Jose in Silicon Valley, and Sunday's crash is the fourth deadly incident investigated by CHP Redwood City in the last nine days, local media said. Bernie Sanders locked in a base of voters young, Latino and liberal that was more than enough to propel him to a decisive victory in Saturdays Nevada caucuses. The 78-year-old Vermont senator captured majorities, or near-majorities, of Nevada Democratic voters in a crowded field, including voters younger than 45, those who call themselves very liberal and Hispanic voters, who make up nearly one-fifth of caucusgoers. He also won a majority of voters who said they made up their minds six weeks before caucus day, according to entrance polls, signaling a strong base of voters. The Sanders die-hards came out in force in Nevada, a state where he narrowly lost four years ago to Hillary Clinton, leading him to an easy victory over Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg and Elizabeth Warren and establishing him as the Democratic Partys frontrunner in the race to take on President Donald Trump this fall. The profile of Sanders core support looked a lot like the voters who pushed him to a win in New Hampshire and a still-unresolved photo finish in Iowa, with one important distinction: Sanders drew the largest share of nonwhite voters in Nevada, who made up only a small part of the electorates in the two previous states. The entrance polls conducted with voters at they arrived at caucus sites throughout the state combined with exit interviews of nearly 2,000 people who voted early showed Sanders winning 57 percent of voters younger than 45 and an astounding 65 percent of those under 30. Those figures are significantly greater than the share of young voters Sanders won in New Hampshire earlier this month. And Sanders, who struggled with older voters in Iowa and New Hampshire, was competitive with them in Nevada. He won 20 percent of those 45 and older, nearly matching Biden (23 percent) for the lead though Sanders won only 11 percent of those 65 and older, who made up more than a quarter of caucusgoers. Unlike in the predominantly white states of Iowa and New Hampshire, roughly a third of the Nevada electorate is comprised of minorities, and Sanders won a majority (51 percent) of Latinos, who account fore u most of those nonwhite voters. The entrance polls show Sanders well ahead of Biden (17 percent), the second-place candidate, among Latinos. Story continues Sanders also won white voters, with 29 percent, and he finished a strong second among black voters, with 27 percent to Bidens 39 percent. As in New Hampshire, there was a modest gender gap. Sanders ran 8 percentage points better among men (38 percent) than among women (30 percent). Among the most progressive voters the 3 in 10 caucusgoers who said they were very liberal Sanders won 49 percent. That was easily more than Warren, the second-place candidate, who got 17 percent. But Sanders, with 29 percent, also led the field among voters who said they were somewhat liberal. And he ran roughly even with Biden and Buttigieg among those who said they were moderates. Sanders also brought an unshakable group of supporters to the caucuses. Roughly two-thirds of Sanders voters said they decided more than a month ago whom they would support. Among those who decided in the past month, the race was much closer, with Sanders, Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar and Biden bunched closely together. For the also-rans, there wasnt much good news buried inside the entrance polls. Yes, Biden won the African American vote but capturing fewer than 4 in 10 is hardly locking down that voting bloc, and hes counting on black voters to deliver his first victory next week in the South Carolina primary. Buttigieg was jockeying for second place in Nevadas slow vote tally, but he showed little ability to draw support from nonwhite voters. The former South Bend, Ind., mayor won 19 percent of the vote among whites, good for second place, but just 8 percent among other voters, including 2 percent among blacks and 10 percent among Latinos, according to the entrance poll. Thats a troubling sign headed into South Carolina and a number of Super Tuesday states where whites will be a minority of the Democratic electorate, down from 65 percent of voters in Nevada and roughly 90 percent in Iowa and New Hampshire. For Warren, her strong debate performance earlier in the week helped, but only at the margins. She was the first choice of 19 percent of voters who decided in the past few days, compared to only 12 percent of those who decided earlier. Sanders opponents' main line of attack, thus far, has centered around the Vermonters support for "Medicare for All." But, at least in Nevada, that was a winner among Democratic voters: 62 percent support replacing all private health insurance with a single government plan for everyone, more than the 35 percent who oppose it. Sanders won roughly half, 48 percent, of those who back single-payer health care, compared to only 9 percent of those who oppose it. The other candidates hoped to exploit Sanders health care proposal by citing the opposition of some labor groups, including the Culinary Workers Union in Las Vegas. But the entrance poll suggests those attacks fell flat: Sanders won about a third of the vote in organized-labor households, the same percentage he captured among those in nonunion households. By Express News Service BENGALURU: Looks like Tourism minister CT Ravi has a chip on his shoulder--about casinos in the US. His grouse is that Karnataka is losing Indian money being spent on casinos there. He wants to spin the wheel to get back the payout money here. Seizing the chance in this high-stakes political game, the opposition wanted to know if the minister was suggesting opening casinos in Karnataka to boost tourism. On Saturday, Ravi jumped to his own defence and said he didnt mean starting casinos here. He said he only mentioned that in the US, about ten per cent of those patronizing casinos were Indians. The money is Indian money and they are taking it abroad. Casinos in Singapore and Sri Lanka have large number of patrons of Indian origin and at the end it is Indian money that is going abroad, he said. He added that it was up to the government to take a call. Senior Congress leader HK Patil, who didnt seem to be amused by all this talk of casinos by Ravi, said, Casino is not the way to boost tourism. It goes against Karnataka culture. We cannot emulate other nations and encourage these gaming houses. Congress spokesman and former MP VS Ugrappa gave the whole issue a different spin. There are many problems faced by people in the state. Instead of addressing these problems and meeting peoples expectations, they are catering to the foreigners desire to have casinos here. One minister says liquor will be supplied to houses in Karnataka and now tourism minister talks about casinos. They keep flaunting their patriotism. Is this how they show their love for the nation? If they want to improve tourism they can improve beaches along the western coast. And instead of improving world-class tourism centres like Hampi and providing proper infrastructure at tourism spots, all they can think of is casinos. We can assess their mindset through such statements. Obaseki denies involvement Protesting youths chanting anti-Oshiomhole songs on Saturday booed the convoy of the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole in Benin, Edo state. National Daily gathered that the timely intervention of the Police prevented the youths from coming near the vehicle conveying Oshiomhole who was in Benin to attend the burial ceremony of the mother of a former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ehiozuwa Agbonyinma, late Madam Cecilia Agbonyinma. Some APC chieftains who refused to be named accused Governor Godwin Obaseki for the activities of the youths. The chieftains said it was wrong for Obaseki to always mobilise thugs to harass Oshiomhole A top Edo government official who pleaded anonymity denied involvement of Obaseki in the airport incident. According to the official, Oshiomhole should leave Obaseki out of his predicament. If Oshiomhole go to Port Harcourt or Bayelsa, you know the reception he will receive. Didnt you see protest against him in Abuja? Was that also Obaseki? Oshiomhole has general dislike across the country. Oshiomholes travail is self-inflicted. Meanwhile, Governor Godwin Obaseki has denied sending youths to boo Comrade Adams Oshiomhole. Obaseki, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Communication Strategy, Mr. Crusoe Osagie, said the Edo State Government had no connection with the crowd that was reported to have booed Comrade Oshiomhole. According to him, It has come to our notice that Comrade Adams Oshiomhole arrived Benin today and was booed by a crowd of people. We are not directly or remotely involved in the act. We condemn insinuations that the Edo State Government is in any way involved in such an act. The series of anti-Oshiomhole protests across the country in the last couple of days, including those who jeered and booed Comrade Oshiomhole in Benin City, on Saturday have nothing to do with the government in Edo State. Oshiomhole, just like any other law-abiding person is welcome into the state as long as he does not engage in any activity capable of disrupting peace and safety. We categorically state that we are not in whatever guise involved with those who engaged in the act against the former governor. Osagie stressed that the state government would continue to maintain law and order, adding that the government was committed to protecting the rights of all law-abiding citizens in the state. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-23 08:32:55|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- China's National Equities Exchange and Quotations (NEEQ), also known as the "new third board," has seen a turnover of 12.4 billion yuan (about 1.8 billion U.S. dollars) since the beginning of this year, according to the exchange. From Feb. 17 to 21, turnover on the board reached 1.6 billion yuan, up more than 10 percent from the previous week. As of Friday, a total of 8,826 companies had been listed on the NEEQ. Launched in 2013, the new third board is the third national equity trading bourse after the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. It is designed for innovative, start-up and high-growth micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises. China has outlined a series of reforms to better orient the NEEQ to the needs and features of small enterprises and support high-quality growth of the real economy. France prop Cyril Baille announced on Sunday that he will miss the Grand Slam-chasing side's final two Six Nations matches with a right shoulder injury. The 26-year-old, who has made 19 international appearances, was replaced at half-time of France's 27-23 win over Wales in Cardiff on Saturday by Jean-Baptiste Gros. "Unfortunately it's the end of the tournament for me," Baille tweeted. "Dislocation of the right shoulder which will keep me off the pitch for a few weeks. I'll be your first supporter for the last two games." France, who have also beaten England and Italy to top the Six Nations table, face Scotland at Murrayfield on March 8 before hosting Ireland in a possible Grand Slam decider on March 14. Les Bleus have not won a Grand Slam since their most recent Six Nations title in 2010. Amid the ongoing bickering in the Congress post its dismal performance in the Delhi Assembly polls, its senior leader Jairam Ramesh said "collective submergence of individual egos and ambitions" was the need of the hour to revive the party. In an interview to PTI, the Rajya Sabha member and former Union minister said the party still has a long way to go "before it gets to see light at the end of the tunnel" and suggested that "all senior Congress leaders, after a certain age, should be mentoring juniors rather than tormenting them". Speaking on the issue of countrywide agitation against NRC-CAA-NPR, Ramesh insisted that political (opposition) parties should maintain an "arm's length from these protests and should not make attempts to hijack the people's movement". "We are all working towards it. The magic doesn't lie in any individual's hand. It is a collective effort. It will call for collective endeavour, collective discipline and collective submergence of individual egos," he said. "All of us have individual ambitions. But right now there should be only one ambition -- the party's revival, retention of support base and return to power," Ramesh said, when asked about the future course of action of the country's grand old party. Major infighting has erupted in the Congress, with leaders engaging in blame game, after the party drew a blank for the second consecutive time in the Delhi elections. Suggesting that senior Congress leaders should guide their juniors, he said the party has to go the distance for its revival. "For the last couple of years, we have lost power not just at the Centre, but also in states, although there has been marginal revival (in pockets).... We still have a very long way to go... there is obviously light at the end of the tunnel, but the tunnel is very long... We have a long way to go before we start seeing that light," he said. Noting that the Congress is up against a very "formidable election machine", Ramesh said, "Fighting Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L K Advani is a different ball game from fighting master communicators Narendra Modi and Amit Shah." "The Congress leaders have to be very careful about what they speak and what they do, as the BJP will always try to polarise and communalise things," he told PTI here during the launch of his book 'A Chequered Brilliance: The Many Lives of V.K. Krishna Menon'. Referring to the "spontaneous protests" against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR), he said the issue should not be politicised. "We should maintain an arm's length from these people's protests. We should not try to politicise and hijack them. There are certain things a political party can do and certain things which a party can't and should not do." "We should allow these protests to remain spontaneous because these are reflections of people's anger and frustration against the BJP government," he asserted. In states, where the Congress is in power, the governments have moved resolutions against CAA-NPR-NRC, the former Union minister said. "All that is constitutional and democratic has been done. We, as political parties, have fought it on the floor of Parliament, but we lost as we did not have numbers. We have also moved the court," he explained. Ramesh, however, contended that state governments passing resolutions against the amended citizenship act, is more of a "political signal", and "whether it will withstand legal scrutiny is doubtful because granting citizenship is a central subject". "In case of NRC and NPR, however, the exercise can't be carried forward without taking the state government on board," he added. Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, where the Congress is in power, have passed resolutions against the CAA. It has also supported a similar move by the Left government in Kerala. In West Bengal, too, the Mamata Banerjee government has passed a resolution against the CAA. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Anuja Chandramouli By Malay Chatterjees The Drunk Bird Chronicles is a strange book. Allegro Armstrong Braganza, the eponymous narrator literally gives the reader a birds eye view of a sprawling family saga spanning five generations and 100 years across at least three continents, featuring the oddest medley of colourful characters. The great white raven who is determinedly immortal was originally the friend and companion of Gareth Armstrong an inventor and brothel-owner-turned-missionary who leaves vice-laden Victorian England for India, his beautiful daughter, Rachel in tow. Later, Allegro becomes the guardian, friend and advisor of the many descendants of the Braganzas, a Goan family Rachel has married into. Allegro is the anchor, and only constant in the lives of the assorted offspring and the folks who will impact their lives. Chatterjee is a spiffy storyteller and despite stiff competition offered by smartphones, Netflix, etc, manages to keep the reader thoroughly engrossed and entranced by the lives and fortunes of his vast array of characters. It is nothing short of a miracle in this day and age, when a book commands ones sole attention given our willingness to be distracted by all and sundry. It is hard not to be charmed by a narrator who insists on being drunk most of the time while also willing to share the benefit of his wisdom, experience and especially the sharp edge of his tongue. Allegro guides the reader across familiar pages of history and through the ups and downs of the tempestuous lives of the Armstrong-Braganza family. There is Emilio, the talented piano tuner and Rachels husband, who is made to pay the devils due of four stitches in the arse to keep his tryst with an otherwise favourable destiny; Orlando and Blotto, the twins whose libidos threaten to derail their lives; Verna the nag, a Maharani who has been cast aside but continues to lord over all in her shrinking domain; the unfortunate maid, Marcelena who dares to dream of a better life; Marco the cop with the nebulous past; fiercely independent Laila who chooses to live and love on her own terms; Julio, whose life is marked by sordid deeds and beautiful art, brilliant Bella who studies to be a translator in Portugal and Maria, the dancer and struggling artiste. There is wit, irreverence and compassion aplenty for the travails of these characters even as skeletons tumble out of the closet and tragedy as well as triumph wait around corners as these individuals trundle pell-mell across the landscape of their lives, reckless and filled with boundless ambition, hope, lust, longing and avarice. Even traditionally taboo topics such as incest, the question of consent when individuals are under the influence, the responsibility of a mother towards her child, sodomising clergy, suicide, gang rape, are dealt with a surprisingly deft and light touch that nevertheless does not rob any of these touchy subjects of depth nor is any of it insensitive. Instead by laying bare the secrets of so many lives lived so richly, fully and so replete with mistakes that are every bit as hilarious as they are heart-breaking, Chatterjee succeeds in spinning a thought-provoking saga that engages on many levels and leaves the reader thoroughly enchanted and asking for more when the last page has been savoured and turned. French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday said that he is not sure of the European Union reaching a deal with the United Kingdom by December 31, 2020, the end of the Brexit transition period. According to reports, Macron was speaking to a group of fishermen in Paris where he said that fishing rights will be a key point of contention when the negotiations with the United Kingdom will start in March. As per reports, the Boris Johnson-led government will publish its mandate for the trade deal later this week, where the ministers are expected to reiterate their desire for a Canada-style agreement with fewer tariffs on goods. Read: Ex-UK PM David Cameron Bans 'Brexit' Questions In Talk On Effective Campaigning While speaking with the fishermen, President Macron said that he is not sure of the European Union reaching an agreement with the United Kingdom before the transition period ends in December. Macron further added that the negotiations are going to become more 'tense' because 'the British are very hard'. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom has said that it will consider a deal on fisheries but with a condition that the British waters are first and foremost for British boats. According to reports, the UK government will publish detailed demands for a trade deal online and in the parliament on February 25. Read: UK To Issue Blue Passports From March To 'restore National Identity' Post Brexit Brexit negotiations British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's chief negotiator David Frost, while speaking in Brussels earlier this month, suggested a 'Canada-Free Trade Agreement-type relationship' with the European Union. According to reports, the trade agreement between Canada and the European Union, which took seven years to negotiate, import tariffs on most goods have been eliminated, however, customs and VAT checks are still in place. The negotiations between the United Kingdom and the European Union are due to begin on March 2 in Brussels. While David Frost will represent the UK government, Michel Barnier will negotiate for the European Union. Read: EU Leaders To Debate Over Post-Brexit Monetary Challenges In Brussels Read: Brexiteer's Tweet About Long Queues At Airport Makes 'remainers' Mock Him By Norman Turrill and Kate Titus Turrill is president of League of Women Voters of Oregon Advocacy Fund Governance Coordinator and past president of League of Women Voters. He chairs the People Not Politicians campaign committee. Titus is the executive director of Common Cause Oregon, a nonpartisan government watchdog organization. Oregonians should choose their representatives. This simple concept is the basis of our electoral system. It is embedded in the U.S. Constitutions opening three words, We the People. And it is the principle behind a series of ballot initiatives that could reshape Oregons political future. Under current Oregon law, state legislators redraw the boundaries of congressional and state legislative districts after each census to adjust for population changes. This once-in-a-decade system was designed to ensure that each district contains roughly the same number of people. In the 2020 census, Oregon is projected to gain another U.S. congressional seat due to population growth, which means not only will we have a new district and a new electoral vote, but all five of our existing congressional district boundaries will radically change in shape and size. Not only are congressional districts redrawn, but so are the 90 state representative and state senate seats that make up Oregons Legislature. Every single Oregonian will be impacted every single Oregonian should be represented. These significant changes make the need for a fairer process more important than ever. Letting politicians draw their own voting maps is an inherent conflict of interest, like putting the fox in charge of the henhouse. Politicians in power shouldnt be allowed to draw voting maps that benefit themselves, but thats exactly what the process allows for now. We need to reform the process to create a fair system so that Oregon voters are choosing their politicians, instead of politicians choosing their voters. A diverse coalition, People Not Politicians, has united across party, identity and geographic lines to propose a fair and transparent redistricting system that puts everyday Oregonians in charge of drawing these districts. We are asking voters to support a series of measures proposed for the November ballot that would create an independent citizen redistricting commission to draw Oregons voting maps in 2021 and beyond. The independent citizen redistricting commission would be made up of ordinary Oregonians -- four members of the states largest party, four of the second largest party, and four registered voters unaffiliated with either major party. No lobbyists or consultants, big dollar political donors, party officers or elected officials would be allowed to serve. The commission would draw district borders with respect to geographic and voter diversity, reflecting city, county or other natural boundaries, as well as language, racial or other communities of interest. Favoritism or discrimination against any political party or office holder is prohibited. Perhaps most importantly, the entire process would be completed with full transparency and public meetings held across the state, instead of behind closed doors in the Capitol. Share your opinion Submit your essay of 500-700 words on a highly topical issue or a theme of particular relevance to the Pacific Northwest, Oregon and the Portland area to commentary@oregonian.com. Please include your email and phone number for verification. This reform would put Oregon at the forefront of history. We are the latest voice in the chorus of activists across the United States calling for people, not politicians, to be the center of the redistricting process. Oregon is known for its ballot initiative process which gives ordinary voters the ultimate say in the biggest issues facing our state. Likewise, our coalition of unexpected allies which includes nonpartisan groups Common Cause and League of Women Voters, the Independent Party of Oregon, NAACP, the Taxpayer Association of Oregon and the Oregon Farm Bureau wants to put people, not politicians, in charge of drawing our maps. To be clear, this reform isnt about taking power from one party and giving it to the other. The goal is to give Oregonians the opportunity for a fair, transparent process by which voting lines are drawn which will allow for more competitive primaries and general elections, for historically marginalized communities to be represented , and for elected officials to be held accountable to their voters. Its about unrigging the electoral system and holding our officials accountable to the growing number of people who call Oregon home. Oregonians face a choice to let politicians draw districts in a way that serve their own interests, or to reform Oregons redistricting process with a fair and transparent process to draw districts that represent all Oregonians. After all, the Constitution does not begin with the words We the Politicians. In fair elections, voters pick their leaders, not the other way around. Srinagar, Feb 23 : The J&K Police, in its recent action against drug dealings in Ganderbal, have arrested a woman drug peddler and recovered contraband substance and cash from her possession. Police said acting on specific information, officers from Police Station Kangan raided a shop run by a lady in Bonibagh area. "Officers were able to recover 400 grams of charas and Rs 422,750 believed to be the proceeds of narcotic crime. The accused lady has been arrested for drug related offences," police said. FIR under relevant sections has been registered by the police. "She has been shifted to Women Police Cell Ganderbal where she remains in custody," police said. "Initial investigation into the case reveals that lady was peddling contraband drugs to the youth of the area under the garb of running a local shop." "Community members are requested to come forward with any information regarding drug peddlers in their neighbourhood. Persons found indulging in drug peddling will be dealt as per law," police said. Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Sunday said a five-member committee comprising senior officials will look into the prospect of implementing in the state a legislation like Andhra Pradesh's Disha Act. The 'Andhra Pradesh Disha Act Criminal Law (AP Amendment) Act, 2019' was enacted as a tribute to the veterinary doctor brutally raped and murdered in neighbouring Telangana in November last year. The law mandates completion of investigation in cases of sexual offences within seven working days and the trial within 14 working days from the date of filing the charge sheet. The law, as passed by the AP Legislature, is awaiting the assent of the Centre. Deshmukh said the the committee will submit its report by March 30, followed by a draft to be presented in the next session of the Maharashtra Assembly. He was speaking to reporters on the eve of the state's Budget session. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Its already well-established that when Trump isnt treating the law like his personal plaything by issuing pardons to such friends and supporters as former Maricopa County (Arizona) Sheriff Joe Arpaio, hes insulting or undermining judges and courts he believes should bend to his will. That includes U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, whom Trump disparagingly referred to as Mexican in 2018, despite the fact that Curiel was born in Indiana. Trump has also used the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, based in San Francisco, as a personal punching bag because its dealt Trump a series of legal setbacks on some of his most radioactive proposals. I mean, its really sad when every single case filed against us is in the 9th Circuit, Trump told a gathering of governors at the White House in 2018, according to CNN. We lose, we lose, we lose, and then we do fine in the Supreme Court. But what does that tell you about our court system? Its a very, very sad thing. What it would tell anyone with even the most cursory knowledge of the judiciary is that the system is working. Courts follow law, and they follow precedent, not the political whims of whoevers sitting behind the Resolute Desk, or whichever party commands a majority on Capitol Hill. Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Heartbreaking footage has emerged of wildlife rescuers attempting to save injured koalas and kangaroos after bushfires destroyed their habitat. A group of animal rescuers descended on South Australia's Kangaroo Island to help wildlife after fire razed through the island over the summer period. Two people were killed in an out-of-control blaze in January which burnt out a third of the island, with torched animals found littered through the Flinders Chase National Park. More than 200,000 hectares of land was devastated by the fires, and an estimated 35,000 koalas were killed. Humane Society International Crisis Response Specialist Kelly Donithan picks up an injured koala on Kangaroo Island in January Wildlife and their habitats were decimated by bushfire over the summer period, with more than 200,000 hectares of land burnt Wildlife rescuers have been collecting injured animals and taking them to safe havens and animal hospitals including a makeshift field hospital at the Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park A team of wildlife rescuers led by Kelly Donithan from Humane Society Internationale trawled through the island recently for Channel Seven's Koala Rescue. Rescuers wandered through vast settings of burnt out trees to find struggling animals and transport to safe havens on the island. Ms Donithan was filmed with a severely burnt kangaroo initially thought to be dead and became emotional when talking about the marsupial's fate. 'We're seeing them around, these guys, and it's hard to really tell how bad their injuries are while they're still pretty mobile,' Ms Donithan said. 'But when you find them in this state, we know it's because the burns have gotten so bad on their feet that their skin and tissue and everything is dying. 'I don't think anything should be left out to suffer any sort of pain or hunger, it's just a really awful way for them to have to pass, it brings me peace to be able to give them that.' Kelly Donithan checks up on a koala she rescued on Kangaroo Island in January Koalas rest in washing baskets with baskets at the makeshift field hospital at the Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park There are fears for the survival of key native species including the island's glossy black cockatoo population and the Kangaroo Island dunnart. Native flowers and greenery have begun to bloom on the island since the flames were extinguished in mid-January. New growth has been spotted in burnt out regions of the island, with each growing shrub offering new hope for the island and its ecosystems. Residents are hoping for return in tourist traffic, and a much-needed local economic boost for local businesses. Qantas announced earlier this month that 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. Roads are being blocked by those against the CAA to cut off 35 lakh people in Jaffrabad and neighbouring areas from other parts of the city, Delhi BJP leader Kapil Mishra told a gathering on Sunday, demanding that police remove the protesters within three days. Mishra led a demonstration before clashes erupted between pro and anti-CAA groups near Jaffrabad in northeast Delhi where a large number of people who have been protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act had blocked a road since Saturday night. Police fired tear gas shells as members of the two groups pelted stones at each other in Maujpur. For security reasons, the entry and exit gates of the Maujpur-Babarpur metro station were closed. "They want to cut off 35 lakh people by blocking the roads. Is this the way to protest against anything? We will not allow the area to be turned into Shaheen Bagh," Mishra said. Mishra issued an ultimatum to the police to clear the roads and warned people will be back if the anti-CAA protesters are not removed. "Nearly 35 lakh people are affected by these roadblocks. They have no other way to cross the Yamuna. Had I not led them to protest the roadblocks, they would have taken to streets themselves," Mishra told PTI. A former MLA from nearby Karawal Nagar, Mishra had asked people to gather at Maujpur Chowk in support of the CAA in reply to the roadblock by those protesting against the new citizenship law. The anti-CAA protesters, including women, had blocked the road near Jaffrabad metro station on Saturday. Another road in Bhajanpura Chandbagh was also blocked by a group of protesters. Mishra said the people were "frustrated" due to roadblocks as it disconnected them from rest of Delhi. Taking to Twitter, Mishra said, "We have given a three-day ultimatum to the Delhi Police to get the road cleared. Get the Jafrabad and Chandbagh road cleared". In a video tweeted by him where he can be seen addressing the gathering, Mishra said, "They (protesters) want to create trouble in Delhi. That's why they have closed the roads. That's why they have created a riot-like situation here. We have not pelted any stone". "Till US President is in India, we are leaving the area peacefully. After that we won't listen to you (police) if the roads are not vacated by then," he told the gathering. Mishra said he gave ultimatum to police as those gathered at Maujpur Chowk would not leave the place unless some "concrete" assurance was offered to them. Mishra unsuccessfully contested recent Assembly poll from Model Town constituency in recent Assembly poll. He was banned from campaigning for some days due to terming the polls as India-Pakistan contest. He is known for his hardline views against anti-CAA protests that he often expresses through his tweets. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The standout politician of the General Election was Sinn Fein's Eoin O Broin.As Sinn Fein spokesperson for Housing, he presented as thoughtful and erudite, very much on the side of ordinary people. He looked and sounded like he had answers which, if given the chance, he could implement to the betterment of us all. But there may be more to Eoin O Broin and his political philosophy than meets the eye. In 2012, O Broin responded to a claim that Sinn Fein's opposition to austerity was 'populist'. He was unequivocal. Sinn Fein's entire political project was, he wrote, "populist, and unashamedly so". Populism seeks "to mobilise disparate social actors by linking their individual concerns into a single coherent popular movement" and it pits "the people against the elite". It is always "a challenge to the status quo" and is most powerful "when a political or economic system is in crisis". It is "subversive of the existing order of things and the starting point for radical reconstruction of a new order". For O Broin therefore the housing crisis is not core - rather, it is a means to an end. And that end means subverting and undermining the existing order. Housing shortages, homelessness, patients on trolleys are the legitimate concerns of the population and in any civilised community must be addressed. Put simply, the centre believes and expects that everybody has somewhere to live securely, and that everybody has access to healthcare - regardless of their status or wealth. These are among the basic minimums that we expect of ourselves and our society. The ills in society which deny these necessities to all citizens are ills that must be addressed and remedied. But for the populist - bad news is good news; just as good news is bad news. The populist, in other words, turns the world on its head. When, just after the election, Rebuilding Ireland announced that 53,000 new homes had been completed in the three years to the end of 2019, O Broin scoffed at this obviously positive news, tweeting that targets had been missed which was "one of the central reasons why the crisis continues". Later, he was happy to re-tweet the grossly false statement describing politicians like Leo Varadkar and Paschal Donohoe as "the crooks that's in there now". Given that O Broin openly seeks to subvert the existing order, it is appropriate to ask what kind of order he intends to replace it with. When people voted for Sinn Fein or for "change", it is obvious that they were voting for more housing and hospital beds - but were they voting to subvert the State? Were they intending to go that far? For those wanting detail from O Broin, they will be disappointed. The populist never describes the new order, other than in slogan. Populism feeds on legitimate societal ills, sowing distrust and division, only ever offering platitudes and slogans as solutions to whatever ill it exaggerates. It is at once a psychological reaction deep inside a person who sees enemy and conspiracy where there are none. It is divisive and corrosive of society. Every iteration of populism has claimed to be on the side of poor and weak against the rich and powerful. Trump calls for the swamp to be drained, and Johnson will 'take back control'. Both push against the boundaries of the system itself - always in the name of 'the people'. Both are clowns at the whim of some ideologue or some inner torment. O Broin is an ideologue guiding Sinn Fein. He does not seem a die-hard republican - the sort associated with beating a young man to death in a shed in Monaghan, or the omerta that follows such wickedness. But Sinn Fein, as a political movement, is fertile ground for a different form of subversion, the sort identified by O Broin. He writes that populism can be "progressive and democratic" or "regressive and authoritarian". But he is wrong. All populism is or becomes authoritarian or it dies - there has never been an exception. The great western political systems have in-built protections against the populist. Trump will rail against Congress or the courts or the free press, but he is hemmed in. Weaker systems collapse into chaos as the populist storms rage against them proclaiming a dystopian future, energised by the so called "will of the people". Authoritarianism inevitably follows. Ireland will survive this scare. The centre will hold. This is not the centre of Fine Gael or Fianna Fail but the centre at the heart of Irish society which is moderate - which wants problems addressed but does not buy the 'them and us' lie or see the State as the enemy needing to be broken. O Broin may look and feel like he is a problem solver - but his well-rehearsed and considered language points in a very different direction. By PTI NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is unlikely to accompany US President Donald Trump and his family members during their visit to the Taj Mahal in Agra on Monday, official sources said. The US President will arrive in Ahmedabad at around noon on February 24 for a less that 36-hour visit to India. He will be accompanied by a high-level delegation including First Lady Melania Trump, the President's daughter Ivanka Trump, son-in-law Jared Kushner and a galaxy of top US officials. After attending an event at Ahmedabad, the Trumps will travel to Agra on Monday afternoon to visit the Taj Mahal before arriving at the national capital for the main leg of the visit. ALSO READ: As Trump visit draws near, Yamuna and Taj Mahal make over take centre-stage When asked about reports that Modi may accompany Trump to Agra, official sources said there was no such plan. They said the visit to the Taj Mahal in Agra by the US President and his family members will afford them the opportunity to view the historical monument suitably. Therefore, no official engagements or presence of senior dignitaries from the Indian side is envisaged there, the sources said. Modi will be in Ahmedabad on Monday where a public reception will be accorded to the US President and the First Lady. The Prime Minister will also be present for the Delhi leg of the visit where official engagements are envisaged on February 25, the sources said. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-23 23:48:02|Editor: yan Video Player Close KHARTOUM, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- The acting secretary-general of the Council of African Political Parties (CAPP) has expressed his solidarity with China in its fight against the coronavirus epidemic. "The great efforts made by the Chinese government, including the measures to treat the patients, and the prevention and control measures, particularly the lockdown of Wuhan to control the disease, have all proved viable to control the situation," Mohamed Yousif Abdallah told Xinhua in an interview on Saturday at the CAPP headquarters in Sudan's capital Khartoum. "The results of the adopted measures were very good as both infection and death rates have started to noticeably decline," Abdallah said, hailing the spirit of unity shown by the Chinese people in the face of the disease. He also expressed Africa's appreciation for China's "efforts to secure the health situation for the rest of the world, particularly in Africa." China "has protected the world against many issues," the CAPP chief noted. Meanwhile, Abdallah criticized what he termed as "media exaggeration in dealing with the coronavirus outbreak." "This exaggeration is not beneficial to the world, nor to Africa, and therefore we must deal with the facts as they are," he stressed. As a non-governmental organization, the CAPP was established by 47 African political parties in Khartoum in April 2013. The CAPP acts as vehicle of cooperation and coordination between its member political parties, aiming to fight poverty and promote the settlement of poverty and conflict through peaceful means. Invitation, de-invitation, pension and Polonnaruwa monkeys: Stories that spiced up presidential banquet View(s): President Gotabaya Rajapaksa hosted his predecessor Maithripala Sirisena to lunch at the Presidential Secretariat banquet room on Friday. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa hosted his predecessor Maithripala Sirisena to lunch at the Presidential Secretariat banquet room on Friday. It was to mark the successful conclusion of talks between the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) to contest under the formers name and symbol. Both are vegetarians. There was a wide array of dishes largely curries for both veg and non-veg. Most had served hummus (mashed chickpeas blended with tahini, lemon juice, and garlic) and Arabic bread. Others went for different salads. Even before they could end the starters, an interesting conversation had begun at the table where among those seated with President Rajapaksa and Mr. Sirisena was Basil Rajapaksa. If one hoped for camaraderie to consume the mood at the luncheon, that was not to be. The conversations were overshadowed by candour and criticism wrapped in good humour. At one point it centred on P.B. Abeykoon, whom President Sirisena named as his secretary after the presidential election in 2015. It was around 4.30 a.m on January 7, 2015 when the results showed that President Mahinda Rajapaksa was headed for defeat. He was at Temple Trees and so was Mr. Abeykoon. By 6 a.m. Mr Abeykoon had left the then presidential residence in a hurry. The next thing we heard, remarked Basil Rajapaksa is that you (pointing to Mr Sirisena) had appointed him your Secretary. In politics, he noted, we have learnt that there are asaamanya or abnormal people. Mr Sirisena smiled as he nodded seemingly in approval. The moral pick the right person for the right job. President Rajapaksa chipped in. He recalled how he received an invitation for the wedding of Mr Abeykoons son from a different party. They had appealed to him not to take note of the father changing allegiance. I did not think of that at all. I readily accepted the invitation since this was a social occasion, declared President Rajapaksa. Days later, he had received a message that Mr Abeykoon wanted to meet him urgently, said President Rajapaksa. He gave him an appointment. I was shocked at what he told me. He said, I know you have been invited to my sons wedding. Please do not come. This is the first time in my life someone invited me for a wedding and later said I should not come, President Rajapaksa added, while the others laughed. President Rajapaksa did not stop at that. He said his government pension was getting delayed. So, I rang Mr Abeykoon. He remarked that the papers were still in President Sirisenas drawers. I called on a few occasions and got the same answer. Later, when I attended a seminar in China. Then Defence Secretary Engineer Karunasena Hettiaratchchi was also there. I told him about my encounters to get my pension, President Rajapaksa said. Later, when he returned to Colombo, he had been informed that Mr Hettiaratchchi had put all the papers together and arranged everything. I began receiving my pension, he revealed. That was not all. President Rajapaksa referred to Duminda Dissanayake (who was a guest on the SLFP side). He had noted that monkeys, elephants, stray cattle and peacocks were destroying crops in a big way. Mr Sirisena intervened to say that a random count showed there were a million monkeys in Sri Lanka. Even if one were to destroy one coconut, a million would be destroyed. It was Basil Rajapaksas turn now. He related how, as a onetime Economic Development Minister, he apportioned funds to the Department of Wildlife Conservation. They rounded up a large group of monkeys from Homagama and were transporting them to be released in an islet in Maduru Oya. This was because they would not be able to swim back. The truck with the monkeys had stopped in Polonnaruwa for the driver to have tea. It was just outside a school. When the school session was over, curious school children had opened the truck door and all the monkeys had escaped. He said he had to abandon the programme. What did you do, he asked Mr Sirisena whilst pointing his index finger and laughing loud. You told public meetings that I was sending rilaw and mee harak or monkeys and cattle from the South to Polonnaruwa. There was loud laughter again. Even Mr Sirisena joined in. Others on the Presidents side at the luncheon were Lalith Weeratunga and P.B. Jayasundera. Accompanying Mr Sirisena were Nimal Siripala de Silva, Mahinda Amaraweera, Dayasiri Jayasekera, Duminda Dissanayake and Lasantha Alagiyawanna. Easter Sunday attacks: Bombshell revelation about those in the know In high level political circles, the talk is about what they call a bombshell revelation that is to unfold before those probing the April 21 Easter Sunday massacres. According to the story doing the rounds, a onetime bureaucrat who wielded clout, is to declare that there were political leaders who had been issued prior warnings about the attacks that led to the killing of more than 268 innocent men, women and children. Who are they? They remain mum when asked, but would only say the fallout could be fireworks. Just this week, Colombos Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith told a news conference that even those above the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence were aware of the then impending attacks. Who are they? UNHRC sessions in March: No-show by ambassador-designate at high post committee Columnist C.A. Chandraprema, who had been designated Sri Lankas Ambassador to the UN in Geneva, was a no show before the Parliament High Post Committee. He had been summoned on two different dates by the committee but did not turn up, said an official source. Now that the Parliament sessions have ended, Mr Chandraprema is unlikely to take up the post. Thus, he will not be present when the UN Human Rights Council sessions in Geneva next month. However, it is likely he might still join the delegation to Geneva. If so, he will have to go as a private person. The US-backed resolution on Sri Lanka is due for discussion at these sessions though there will be no voting. Geneva veterans to join Dinesh Two more political leaders will accompany Foreign Relations Minister Dinesh Gunawardena for the UN Human Rights Council sessions in Geneva. They are Mahinda Samarasinghe who had also served in previous Sri Lanka delegations. The other is Nimal Siripala de Silva, who served in the last delegation. Politics puts paid to supplementary vote The Opposition proposed to move amendments to the governments proposal to introduce a supplementary estimate to pay outstanding payments to contractors. A government source said this prompted them not to go ahead with the vote. They said that the amendment was a way of defeating their move. The source said the President was empowered to make such financial provisions if there is no functioning Parliament. Diplomatic protest over new envoy The Foreign Office of an Asian country is in communication with the Foreign Relations Ministry in Colombo. This is over Colombos nominee for Sri Lankan envoy to that country. The Foreign Office has cited some controversial comments made by the envoy designate when he served in another capacity in the country. Omar Kamil to Jeddah? Omar Kamil, a onetime Colombo Mayor is tipped to go as Sri Lankas Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. New Jersey State Police rescued two distressed kayakers last week a mile from the Barnegat municipal docks in Ocean County, authorities said. Troopers were called to the scene Wednesday around 3 p.m. and found two kayakers, including one whose vessel had overturned. One of the kayakers was clinging to the other kayak, according to the State Police. The kayak that hadnt overturned was taking on water, police said. Troopers pulled the kayakers onto their boat and provided them with dry clothes to prevent the onset of hypothermia. Conditions on the water were rough. Both kayakers were treated on the scene once they reached the shore. Troopers Rescue Distressed Kayakers in Barnaget Bay Last Wednesday, troopers from the Marine Services Bureau Point... Posted by New Jersey State Police on Saturday, February 22, 2020 Tennyson Donnie Coleman may be reached at tcoleman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @TennysonTV. Find him on Facebook. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Populist governments are supposed to do things which are popular, not things that are unpopular. There is a danger Boris Johnson's Government has already forgotten this. Of course, governments have to pass laws that enable them to run the show, and sometimes there have to be penalties for non-compliance. But they also have to encourage people, to help them achieve their aims in a way that benefits society as a whole. Hamish McRae believes Borish should scrap the 45p top rate of tax The Cameron Government was not without fault, but it understood the need for this when it created the Nudge Unit. The unit is now a social purpose company called the Behavioural Insights Team, part-owned by the Government, and which helps advise other governments as well. Success stories include prescription forms so that doctors make fewer mistakes when filling them out, and increasing the number of Britons who have joined the NHS organ donor register by asking people whether there would be a donor for them if they needed a transplant. But now look at what is happening. Last week, the Government announced it would ban sales of coal and unseasoned wood for fires and stoves. The reason is that these increase local air pollution, something quite rightly the Government wants to tackle. But anyone who bought a wood-burning stove thinking they were doing the right thing by using a renewable fuel might feel a bit upset. Burning unseasoned wood is indeed bad for our environment (and for our chimneys), but there must be a better way of nudging people to use dry wood than a blanket ban on sales of wet stuff. New Chancellor Rishi Sunak should remember they are servants of the people on March 11th Or take the switch to electric cars. Last summer the incoming Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, said he wanted to use the Nudge Unit to find ways of pushing people towards buying them. Now, a few months into office, he strikes a rather different note. Instead of gently guiding us, perhaps by finding ways to make charging easier, he says that all cars sold in Britain will have to be electric by 2035, or maybe 2032. That's bossing, not nudging, and understandably this has caused resentment. Those are warning signs. The first big test of the tone of this Government whether it is populist or authoritarian comes soon in the Budget next month. Of course the new Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has to make the numbers add up. They are OK at the moment, but only OK. The latest public tax and spending numbers last week showed that the deficit is going to be around 44billion, which is a bit lower than the Office for Budget Responsibility projected but a bit higher than last year. So there is a bit of headroom, but no scope for huge tax cuts or huge increases in spending. Mr Sunak has to be careful. But and this really matters he also has to be popular. It seems that some really unpopular ideas, such as slashing pension tax relief, have now been junked. Given that we all have to save much more for our futures, that would have made no sense at all. Actually, pensions are one of the areas where a nudge (with a legal push behind it) has worked really well. Auto-enrolment has boosted the number of people in workplace pensions from 7.7million in 2017 to ten million last year. So while pensions certainly need reforms, you don't want to wreck what is in general a success story. My own populist measure would be to drop the top 45 per cent income tax rate back to 40 per cent. It would cost nothing and might even bring in more revenue as some people would no longer keep their income down to avoid it. Crucially, it would give a signal that it wants people to do well. Others will have their own ideas as to what will be popular, and the Government would be wise to listen. That's the core of it. Back in 1946 the Attorney General, Hartley Shawcross, made the infamous assertion in parliament about the new Labour Government that was compressed into the phase 'we are the masters now'. It became such a resonant, toxic view of government that both Tony Blair and Boris Johnson went out of their way on taking office to assert the opposite: The people are the masters and the politicians are the servants. The trouble is that this is what political leaders say, but what they actually end up doing feels rather different. Come the Budget on March 11 we will learn whether this Government really thinks of itself as a servant of the people who voted for it, or not. JUNEAU, Alaska - An agreement was reached over drinks between a bar association and a brewing association in Alaska that could rewrite alcohol laws and change how people enjoy their beverages across the state. The agreement produced a bill that would bring changes for brewery, winery and distillery tasting rooms, including clarification on which events could be held on their premises, KTUU-TV reported. The Alaska Cabaret, Hotel, Restaurant and Retailers Association (CHARR), the biggest trade association representing bars, and the Brewers Guild of Alaska, an association representing breweries, came to the agreement this week after yearslong conflict over the difference in licenses prices between bar and brewery owners. The bill would increase the time tasting rooms could stay open from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., maintain daily drink limits in tasting rooms, allow venues to hold four live music concerts each year and set rules in place so fundraisers, brewery tours and art shows would be in statute and could not be changed by regulation. It reflects eight years of hard work, Brewers Guild of Alaska President Lee Ellis said. Alaska CHARR proudly offers its full support, President Sarah Oates said. The bill was voted out of the Senate Finance Committee and will next head to the Senate for a full vote. We sat down, had a beer, came to common ground, made some compromises, and were all happy with what the bill looks like now, said Evan Wood, the co-owner of Devils Club Brewing in Juneau. Legislation would also increase limits on new breweries opening in the state unless given an exemption by the Alcohol and Marijuana Control Board. Whats always caused the wedge has been that friction between new breweries and existing license holders, bill sponsor and Republican state Sen. Peter Micciche said. Bar owners often pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for a license and many have resented breweries serving alcohol after paying much less for their licenses, Micciche said. Brewery owners have argued that the cost of buying manufacturing equipment is also expensive. The bill could have a huge impact on bar owners, said Republican state Rep. Louise Stutes in opposition to the bill. But if CHARR, the Brewers Guild and the public safety community are onboard, she said she wont oppose it. The World Health Organization (WHO) said it would support the efforts of vulnerable African nations to prepare for a possible outbreak of coronavirus on the continent. WHO pledged in a statement Saturday that it would support African Union Member States on a common preparedness and response strategy for COVID-19. A group of African health ministers held an emergency meeting about the disease in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Saturday. WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Twitter Sunday that "only together, in solidarity" can it keep the people of Africa safe. WHO conducted a survey of nations to assess overall readiness for COVID-19 and found the regional readiness level in Africa was an estimated 66 per cent. Officials from the organization have warned throughout the viral outbreak that countries with less developed health systems could be overwhelmed and insufficiently prepared to contain the disease on home soil. Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone/The Associated Press Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa, said there are "critical gaps in readiness for countries across the continent." "We need urgently to prioritize strengthening the capacities for countries to investigate alerts, treat patients in isolation facilities and improve infection, prevention and control in health facilities and in communities." So far just one case is confirmed on the African continent, in Egypt. Egypt Health Ministry spokesman Khaled Mugahed said the person was a "foreigner" who is carrying the coronavirus but not showing any serious symptoms. China has reported a total of 77,042 cases of the disease caused by the virus, including 2,445 deaths. Outside mainland China, there have been more than 1,700 cases in 28 countries, the WHO said. Few resources to bring citizens home Countries across the world have flown their nationals home from China's quarantined Hubei province, the centre of the outbreak that since January. But no sub-Saharan African country has done so, leaving thousands stranded. Story continues Governments across Africa have said they plan to send money to students to help with expenses. Cameroon said it was sending about $82,000 to help its citizens stuck in Hubei. However, many including Senegal and Uganda, say they do not have the resources to look after coronavirus patients at home and their nationals would be safer in China where authorities have reported a dramatic drop in new cases in Hubei in recent days. Abubaker Lubowa/Reuters The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention last week called on governments to bring Africans home. But this has provided little comfort for those stranded in China or their families back home who have received little or no communication from their governments. Uganda mother Margaret Ntale Namusisi's three daughters are being quarantined at their university in Wuhan. But nearly one month on, with no help from their government, they are now under lockdown in a crowded apartment with orders to stay indoors with the windows closed. Food, funds and morale are running low. 'Has Uganda given up on us?' "They are traumatized," said Namusisi, who wakes up at 3 a.m. every day to talk to her daughters over the Chinese messaging service WeChat. "They ask, has Uganda given up on us?" "We've gone to parliament, we've gone to the ministry of health, we've gone to the ministry of foreign affairs and taken them our petition to bring back our children," said Namusisi Roger-Michel Kemkuining, a Cameroonian, found out that his son Pavel had contracted coronavirus from a statement posted online by Yangzte University, where Pavel was studying. The statement, seen by Reuters, said the university had informed the Cameroonian embassy and the parents, but that was news to Kemkuining. Cameroon's health ministry spokesman, Clavere Nken, confirmed that the family had found out via social media. He said he had since spoken to them by phone. Yangzte University did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Pavel is the only known African to test positive for coronavirus. He has recovered and was released from hospital on Feb. 10 but remains in isolation, he told Reuters. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-24 01:40:16|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, delivers an important speech at a meeting to advance the work on coordinating the prevention and control of the COVID-19 and economic and social development, in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 23, 2020. (Xinhua/Ju Peng) The Chinese nation has experienced many ordeals in its history, but it has never been overwhelmed. Instead, it has become more and more courageous, growing up and rising up from the hardships, Xi said. "No victory should be lightly announced until there is a complete win." BEIJING, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday stressed unremitting efforts in the prevention and control of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic and coordination in advancing economic and social development. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks when delivering an important speech at a meeting in Beijing to advance the work on coordinating the prevention and control of the COVID-19 and economic and social development. The Chinese nation has experienced many ordeals in its history, but it has never been overwhelmed. Instead, it has become more and more courageous, growing up and rising up from the hardships, Xi said. The epidemic situation remains grim and complex and it is now a most crucial moment to curb the spread, he noted. Xi asked Party committees and governments at all levels to continue to make unremitting efforts in various prevention and control work and resume work and production in an orderly manner. Efforts should be made to fully unleash the huge potential and powerful driving force of China's development and strive to achieve the goals and tasks for economic and social development this year, Xi said. On behalf of the CPC Central Committee, Xi extended sincere greetings to Party members, officials and the general public throughout the country, especially those in Hubei Province and its capital city Wuhan, and expressed respect to the medical workers, officers and soldiers of the People's Liberation Army and comrades from various sectors who have been fighting on the front line of epidemic prevention and control. He also expressed his sincere gratitude to compatriots in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, overseas Chinese, as well as to countries, international organizations and friendly people that have provided various support to the epidemic prevention and control. Xi also expressed deep condolences to compatriots and medical personnel who lost their lives in the fight against the epidemic, and sincere sympathy to patients and their families who are struggling with the disease, as well as to the families of those who died on duty and the deceased patients. Sunday's meeting was presided over by Li Keqiang and attended by Li Zhanshu, Wang Yang, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji and Han Zheng. Party and state leaders Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, Li Zhanshu, Wang Yang, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji and Han Zheng attend a meeting to advance the work on coordinating the prevention and control of the COVID-19 and economic and social development, in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 23, 2020. (Xinhua/Ju Peng) POSITIVE TREND EXPANDING Xi said since the start of the outbreak the CPC Central Committee has attached great importance to the issue, made swift deployment, strengthened the centralized, unified leadership of the Party, requiring Party committees and governments at all levels to put people's lives and health as the top priority and adopt effective measures to curb the spread of the virus. The CPC Central Committee has made it a prominent task to improve the admission and cure rates and reduce the infection and mortality rates, Xi said, noting that Wuhan and Hubei have been taken as the country's main battlefield against the epidemic. Efforts have also been made to strengthen the emergency supply of medical materials and daily necessities, safeguard social stability and win the support of the international community, he added. The COVID-19 outbreak is a major public health emergency that has spread in the fastest speed, caused the most extensive infection and is the most difficult to contain in the country since the founding of the People's Republic of China, said Xi. "This is both a crisis and a big test for us," Xi said, adding that after arduous work, the positive trend in the prevention and control work is now expanding. "It has been proven that the CPC Central Committee's judgment on the situation of the epidemic is accurate, all work arrangements are timely, and the measures taken are effective," said Xi. "The results of the prevention and control work have once again demonstrated the notable advantages of the leadership of the CPC and the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics," he added. A medical worker wears protective suit and equipment before entering the isolation ward at Wuhan No.1 Hospital in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Feb. 22, 2020. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu) SOLID, METICULOUS EFFORTS REQUIRED Xi called for firm, solid and meticulous efforts in the epidemic prevention and control, urging Party committees and governments at all levels to remain vigilant and make unremitting efforts in the epidemic prevention and control work. No victory should be lightly announced until there is a complete win, Xi said, making the following demands: -- Hubei Province, as well as its capital city Wuhan, should be safeguarded with resolute efforts, with focal attention paid to containing the spread at communities and treating the patients; -- The epidemic prevention and control work in Beijing should be carried out with all-out efforts. Both imported cases and spread within the city should be prevented; -- Medical resources and key supplies should be allocated in a scientific manner, providing more protection for the medical workers; -- Scientific research should be accelerated in terms of drug and vaccine development. Effective diagnosis and treatment plans should be summarized and promoted in time; -- International and regional cooperation should be expanded. Good communication with the World Health Organization and experience sharing with relevant countries should be continued; -- Public communication through news media should be more effective. Release of epidemic information should be improved; -- Social stability should be well safeguarded. Illegal activities disturbing medical treatment, epidemic prevention, and market and social order should be severely punished. IMPACT MANAGEABLE The impact of the epidemic on China's economic and social development is temporary and generally manageable, Xi noted. He said the COVID-19 epidemic will inevitably deal a relatively big blow to China's economic and social development. However, at such a time it is even more important to view China's development in a comprehensive, dialectical and long-term perspective, and to strengthen and firm up confidence. In general, the fundamentals of China's long-term sound economic growth remain unchanged, Xi added. Medical team members cheer up for each other before leaving for Hubei Province at the Guiyang Longdongbao International Airport in Guiyang, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 22, 2020. The 9th batch of 176 medical workers from Guizhou Province to Hubei Province departed on Saturday to aid the novel coronavirus fight there. (Xinhua/Tao Liang) ORDERLY RESUMPTION OF WORK, PRODUCTION Stressing orderly resumption of work and production, Xi made specific requirements to that end. Each region should adopt a precise approach when advancing resumption of work and production based on local health risks, Xi said. Regions with relatively low risks should reorient their disease prevention and control strategies as soon as possible to focus on forestalling imported cases and comprehensively restoring the order of production and life, Xi said. Medium-risk regions should promote work and production resumption in an orderly manner based on local epidemic-control situations, while high-risk regions should continue to be fully committed to doing a good job in epidemic prevention and control, he said. Xi stressed strengthening the regulation role of macro-economic policies, calling for more positivity in the country's proactive fiscal policy and the roll-out of more targeted interim policies in cutting taxes and fees to help micro, small and medium-sized firms tide over difficulties. Besides, the prudent monetary policy should feature more flexibility and moderation, Xi said, calling for making good use of existing financial support policies and introducing new policies and measures in due course. China will step up efforts to keep employment stable, with all-round measures to cut corporate burdens, keep the payroll stable, and create more jobs, Xi said, adding that in addressing the outstanding problems of serious scarcity of workers in some enterprises, high pressure in keeping the payroll stable, and difficulty of key groups to obtain employment, efforts should be given to support flexible employment through multiple channels and facilitate employment of college graduates. The country should resolutely accomplish the task of alleviating poverty despite the impact of the epidemic, Xi said, urging efforts to help poor workers return to their posts in an orderly manner, support leading poverty alleviation enterprises and workshops to resume work as soon as possible, and improve mechanisms to prevent people from returning to poverty. Xi underscored efforts to push for the resumption of work and production with precise epidemic prevention and control strategies, while smoothing travels and logistics channels and lifting cargo transport bans to push all links in the industrial chains to resume work and production in a coordinated way. The country should actively expand effective domestic demand, fast-track the progress of projects under construction and new ones, as well as enhance guarantees for labor, land, funds and other production factors. In the meantime, China will ensure the timely agriculture work in spring, Xi said. In doing so, he urged efforts to address the protruding issues in spring farming preparation and ensure well-organized production, transportation and supply of farming materials. Migrant workers get on a train at Chongqing North Railway Station in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, Feb. 23, 2020. A total of 518 migrant workers from various districts and counties in Chongqing took a special bullet train to resume work in Shaoxing of Zhejiang province on Sunday, in order to help the resumption of production there in a safe way. (Xinhua/Wang Quanchao) Xi also noted that people's basic livelihood should be guaranteed, such as the supply of staple and non-staple food. Enhanced efforts should be made to take care of those in need as well as those losing their family members due to the epidemic. Efforts should also be made to coordinate medical treatment for patients with other diseases. The country should keep the foreign trade and investment stable amid the epidemic outbreak, Xi stressed. Foreign trade policy tools like export tax rebates and export credit insurances should be put to good and full play to ensure smooth operation of foreign trade industrial chains and supply chains. Major foreign investment projects should be well implemented, while opening-up of finance and other services should be expanded. Business environment should continue to be optimized to strengthen foreign businesses' confidence in long-term investment and operation in China, Xi said. In order to win the people's war against the epidemic, the Party's leadership should be strengthened, Xi said. Xi required cadres at all levels, especially the leading officials, to take initiative in fulfilling duties. Cadres who make outstanding contributions should be awarded, while those who fail to perform their duties should be held accountable, Xi noted. Stressing more care for primary-level cadres, Xi called for solving their practical difficulties in a timely manner and resolutely rectifying the practice of formalities for formalities' sake and bureaucratism. Xi also required summing up experience and drawing lessons from the weak links exposed in the epidemic to improve the ability to deal with major public health emergencies. While presiding over the meeting, Li Keqiang called for rallying more closely around the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core and required the solid and precise implementation of the decisions and policies made by the CPC Central Committee. Li demanded efforts to achieve this year's economic and social development goals and tasks, and secure finishing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects and completing the 13th Five-Year Plan. Child waywardness is increasingly becoming an issue of social concern as our society evolve and becomes more urbanised. Urbanisation and its attendant parenting is becoming challenging for most families to handle. The pressures of having to provide for your family is taking a toll on most men who have families as society develops and the demands of childcare also becomes very daunting. When such demands outstrips the strength of some men they tend to shirk their responsibilities and children of such fate become wayward. A wayward child is "a child having a status arbitrarily defined by statute in some states, usually being under a stated age, habitually associating with vicious or immoral persons, or growing up in circumstances likely to lead to criminal activity or wilful disobedience of parental or other lawful authority and therefore subject to custodial care and protection for his or her own welfare" (www.merriam-webster). One characteristic of wayward children is that they are normally homeless and are found on the streets and are involved in all manner activities for survival either legal or illegal. According to an article titled "Streetism is the Global Trend or the Flipside of the Developing World", published on www.world-science, it stated that "it is estimated that about 100 million children between the ages of 5 and 18 live on the streets in less developed world countries" (www.world-science.com). Since most countries in Africa are considered developing, it would be very appropriate to examine some figures on street children. It is estimated that 30 million street children are found on the African continent and more than 90,000 children are found on the street of Ghana. As at June 2011, 33,000 street children were recorded in Ghana but in 2014, the number increased to 90,000 which represent more than a 100 percentage increase (Ghanaweb.com). This astronomical increase is reflective of the fact that, there is a gradual breakdown of our family structure especially the shirking of responsibility of most fathers. As society urbanises, the rate of fatherless children also grows. The changes in the family dynamics might be one of the most significant factors in the growth of streetism especially absentee fathers. Some contributing factors to streetism may include death in the family especially death of the father, parental divorce or remarriage, domestic violence among many others. Such drastic changes in the family structure can have significant and emotional impact on a child or children. Research shows that social vices such as armed robbery, drug-abuse, prostitution and others can be traced to children who started life on the streets. According to a blog www.all4kids.org quoting George W. Bush when he addressed the issue of fatherlessness while in office, said, over the past four decades, fatherlessness has emerged as one of our greatest social problems. We know that children who grow up with absent-fathers can suffer lasting damage. They are more likely to end up in poverty or drop out of school, become addicted to drugs, have a child out of wedlock, or end up in prison. Fatherlessness is not the only cause of these things, but our nation must recognize it is an important factor. This clearly shows that children who have no fathers normally have a brush with the law and this phenomenon is associated with faithless children who normally roam on the streets. Children who normally have no homes to lay their heads are from homes with either no father at all or an irresponsible or absentee father. All these have affected society because over the years there has been an over reliance or focus on the impacts of mothers on their children. The National Fatherhood Initiative posit that many people are amazed at the research which shows a nexus between father absence and an increase in juvenile social problems in America including: teen pregnancy, substance and alcohol abuse, poverty, juvenile delinquency, suicide and physical abuse and a host of other distressing social problems. The sad reality is that not only does father absence injure children, it also has an agonizing effect on fathers as well. Fathers who develop positive relationships with their children or child propel and encourages fathers to lead more productive lives, even in the most difficult of circumstances. There are some things some men wouldn't do just because they have a child or children. A Fathers actions are sometime measured looking at the consequent effects on their family. In America for example, evidence shows that fathers who write to their children or child once a week have a lower risk of violence in prison and recidivism (committing new offenses after a crime committed in the past) when released. This impacts positively on the child or children of inmates, and goes to show how father contact can change the trend of their childrens lives - even while the father is still in prison. This proves the importance of a fathers relationship with their children. When that relationship is hampered by whatever means, it has consequential effects on their children. More so, absentee fathers who have travelled and keep regular contact with their child or children serve the same purpose as incarcerated fathers. Which means any form of contact between a father and his child or children positively affects children and fathers must try and keep in touch with their kids through whatever means possible. When this happens the incidence of wayward children would subside. In addition, the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the US notes, in a study that it conducted looking at the trends of father involvement and larger social challenges. The trends according to the research from 2006 - 2010, showed fewer fathers now live with their children over the period studied. The reasons associated with this unpleasant trend include non-marital childbearing, incarceration, and in relation to Ghana, drug abuse, poverty and sheer irresponsibility on the part of some men and other factors. In support of the fact, father absence if becoming a global problem, it is estimated that more than 20 million children live in a home without the physical presence of a father. Millions more have dads who are emotionally absent but physically present. This compounds the problem of fatherlessness. Some kids have fathers who are generally present in person but, the responsibilities they must discharge which connect them to their kids are non-existent. This means being a father is not just being available but being involved in your child's upkeep, training and development. "If it were classified as a disease, fatherlessness would be an epidemic worthy of attention as a national emergency" (fathers.com). The impact of fatherlessness can be seen in our homes, schools, hospitals and prisons, as reflected in the behaviour of fatherless children. In short, fatherlessness is associated with almost every societal ill facing the children of the US and by extension children in similar or same situations. The father absence phenomenon in America has gotten to crisis level. According to the 2017. U.S. Census Bureau, examining the data involving children living without a biological, step, or adoptive father, it posits that, 19.7 million children, representing more than 1 in 4, live without a father in the home. Consequently, there is a father factor in nearly all social ills facing American society today. This is the same situation likely to affect Ghana and other developing economies across the globe. The absence of fathers have negative consequential effect on child outcomes thereby being involved in socially unacceptable activities facing countries. It can be stated without any shred of doubt that, the impact of father-child involvement, also describes how improved involvement of fathers in the lives of their children has been associated with a range of positive outcomes for the children. In my respectful view, men are becoming endangered species all over the world. Most men die through wars, tribal and ethnic conflicts, gang violence, armed robbery etc. With the few men around, there are irresponsible fathers among them as well. These are major contributing factors to father absence. The time has come for countries across the globe to find some very ingenious ways of helping men become good fathers. The positive impacts of such relationships cannot be overemphasised. When men become the fulcrum around which the lives of their children revolve, society would benefit from well-balanced children whose characters are socially acceptable and become assets to families, society, country, continent and the world at large. Another area where father absence affects children especially girls is early pregnancy. "A father's absence increases a daughter's risk for early sexual activity and teenage pregnancy, according to a recent long-term research (Allen, 2016). A lot of studies show that girls become sexually active earlier, reach puberty younger and are more likely to get pregnant in their teens if they had an absentee father or father was absent from the home from when they were young (Nowak, 2003). Fathers have a direct impact on the well-being of their children. Girls with involved, respectful fathers see how they should expect men to treat them and are less likely to become involved in violent or unhealthy relationships, writes Jeffrey Rosenberg and W. Bradford Wilcox cited in an article "How Fatherlessness Impacts Early Sexual Activity, Teen Pregnancy, and Sexual Abuse, written by Rob Schwarzwalder and Natasha Tax. In Ghana teenage pregnancy has become an issue of public concern. The deputy health minister Tina Mensah in May 2019 said "Ghanas high teenage pregnancy and adolescent child bearing rates which stands at 14.2 percent and 66/1000 adolescents respectively, are a great concern to the government of Ghana" (ghanaweb.com). She added that, indeed when the president was inaugurating the National Population Council in March 2019, His Excellency Nana Akufo Addo, lamented the high fertility rate among girls who should ordinarily be in school and charged the National Population Council to work with all the relevant institutions and stakeholders to drastically reduce teenage pregnancy. The nexus between teenage pregnancy and absentee fathers is well established. In this regard our authorities should begin to put in place measures and policies including legislation that would make men responsible towards their children. This is the only possible way to curb the rise in teenage pregnancy. Following from this, I caution and counsel ladies who have had kids out of wedlock to allow the father of their child to participate in baby care no matter what issues they have. This is because when women prevent fathers from taking care of their kids, the impact on such children are normally negative and doesn't augur well for society. In conclusion, if fatherlessness has gotten to crisis level in America then it means it is a problem everywhere. In Ghana it is estimated the about 90,000 children are street children and that could mean the about 90,000 fathers have shirked their responsibilities. The surge in reported cases of kidnappings, armed robbery, murders, rape and juvenile crimes in Ghana should serve as a wake call that fatherhood is in crisis and something needs to be done. I cannot posit that all children who grow up in homes without fathers cannot be wayward but majority of wayward children are from fatherless homes. With regards to teenage pregnancy, juvenile delinquency, incarceration of children, poor academic grades in school, cohabitation etc. are all mostly associated with kids who grew up in absent father homes. If we want to reduce wayward children and its attendant social ills, then we should begin a campaign against irresponsible fatherhood. If possible, we should legislate against such men and deal with them accordingly. When we are able to reduce father absenteeism or fatherless homes, we shall automatically reduce child waywardness including streetism, teenage pregnancy and other socially unacceptable behaviours normally exhibited by such children. D. C. KWAME KWAKYE Broadcast Journalist GBC, Radio Central Cape Coast Email: [email protected] Betye Saar is an artist whose lifes work has consisted of creating careful arrangements of objects. So it should come as no surprise that her Laurel Canyon studio is also a careful arrangement. Vintage clocks of all shapes and sizes line its walls. One table holds a graceful cluster of antique bird cages. Another is filled with masks and locks and colored glass in various shades of red reminiscent of the all-red environmental installations shes created in recent years. For the record: A previous version of this article stated that Betye Saars 2016 solo show at Milans Prada Foundation opens in October. It opens in September. But at the heart of Saars sunny space sits a tidy collection of bric-a-brac that jolts with its unseemliness: a shameful harvest of ceramic mammies, tin renderings of pickaninnies and leering, thick-lipped figurines clutching pieces of watermelon. See more of Entertainments top stories on Facebook >> Advertisement In Saars hands, however, these notorious artifacts become something mighty. For more than 40 years, shes acquired debasing kitsch objects at flea markets and garage sales, and then transformed them. It began in 1972, with a breakthrough work titled The Liberation of Aunt Jemima, a small, shoe box-size assemblage in which she took a stereotypical mammy figurine and armed her with a rifle and a grenade. Just three months shy of her 90th birthday, Los Angeles artist Betye Saar gives a tour of her studio and explains what keeps her inspired. Its like they abolished slavery but they kept black people in the kitchen as mammy jars, Saar says of what drove her to make the piece. I had this Aunt Jemima, and I wanted to put a rifle and a grenade under her skirts. I wanted to empower her. I wanted to make her a warrior. I wanted people to know that black people wouldnt be enslaved by that. Over her career, Saar has quietly and firmly built a body of work that touches on the magical, the personal and the political something she continues to do to this day. In fact, just three months shy of her 90th birthday, Saar is busy. This week, she wraps up a sprawling survey of her work at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art in Arizona, a traveling exhibition previously at the Museum het Domein in the Netherlands her first solo show in Europe. See the most-read stories in Entertainment this hour >> In September, she will have a pair of concurrent shows at her Culver City gallery, Roberts & Tilton, one of which will consist of an entirely new body of work. In September, she debuts an exhibition at the buzzy Prada Foundation in Milan, which will present work from various stages of her career. And good luck trying to get on her calendar in 2017. Saar already has an exhibition planned at L.A.'s Craft & Folk Art Museum for the spring and will have works featured in important group shows at the Brooklyn Museum in New York and the Tate Modern in London. She is almost 90 and still making work, says Sara Cochran, director of the Scottsdale museum, who helped organize Still Tickin, Saars museum survey. There is a tenacity and grit there. 1 / 9 Artist Betye Saar in herstudio in 1970, with Black Girls Window, acquired by MOMA in 2013. (Bob Nakamura / Roberts & Tilton) 2 / 9 Vintage clocks of all shapes and sizes can be found in Betye Saars Laurel Canyon studio. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 9 The Edge of Ethics, foreground, and Seated Shadow With Bird Cages are part of retrospective at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art in Arizona. ((Carolina A. Miranda / Los Angeles Times)) 4 / 9 At the heart of Saars studio sits a collection of ceramic mammies, notorious artifacts that she transforms into something mighty. ((Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)) 5 / 9 The Liberation of Aunt Jemima, 1972, channeled Saars humor, outrage. (Betye Saar / Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive) 6 / 9 Alpha & Omega, in the Arizona show, conveys visions of otherworldly passages. (Carolina A. Miranda / Los Angeles Times) 7 / 9 Migration: Africa to America I, 2006, is among Saars mixed-media assemblages in the Scottsdale exhibit. Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (Tim Lanterman / Scottsdale Museum of Contemporar) 8 / 9 A detail from Saars installation Red Time, from the retrospective Still Tickin. (Carolina A. Miranda / Los Angeles Times) 9 / 9 Artist Betye Saar in her Laurel Canyon studio in Los Angeles. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) Curiously, the one place Saar isnt showing is in L.A.'s major museums. Other than a single piece of assemblage on view in the Museum of Contemporary Arts exhibition The Art of Our Time, her hometown institutions have been rather aloof. Saar is too preoccupied to let this bother her. Shes got several assemblages in various states of completion inside her studio. And in her spare time, she is working on a catalogue raisonne of her lifes work: More than six decades of production covering themes of family, spirituality and those recesses of American history having to do with race. Despite a serious case of jet lag shes just returned from a site visit in Italy at the Prada Foundation with curator Elvira Dyangani Ose Saar is bubbly and charming, gamely sitting down for an interview in her studio. I could use a nap, she confesses, as she eases her petite frame onto a Space Age exercise ball chair. But there is too much to do. Its this work ethic that has led to her prolific output. The exhibition in Scottsdale alone, a fraction of her output, features 135 works that survey the breadth of her techniques, which include print-making, collage and assemblage. This includes a series of family portraits from the 70s rendered as collages on vintage handkerchiefs and transformed into ghostly mementos. Deft arrangements of African effigies and elements of tarot become enchanted-looking assemblages that explore the mystical. And, of course, there are the political works, which take symbols of racism statuettes of crows (for Jim Crow), the derogatory black memorabilia and organize them into totems that channel humor and outrage. Saar has even produced room-size environments. Alpha & Omega, on view in Scottsdale, features sculptures in chilly hues of blue, sitting below the hovering skeleton of a neon canoe a dream-like scenario that conveys visions of otherworldly passages. Something I admire about Betye is that she deals with grief, says Cochran. We are a society that does not deal with grief. She gives gravitas to emotions that we just arent used to giving much attention to. Something I admire about Betye is that she deals with grief ... She gives gravitas to emotions that we just arent used to giving much attention to. Sara Cochran, director of the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art An artists beginnings Saar was born Betye Brown in Los Angeles on July 30, 1926, the daughter of mixed-raced parents from Iowa and Louisiana. Her father died in his 30s, leaving Betye, then about 5, and her two younger siblings in their mothers care. At that point, the family relocated to Pasadena to live with relatives, the city where the artist would spend the rest of her youth. After graduating from high school, Saar spent two years at Pasadena City College before moving on to UCLA in 1947 which, at the time, she says, was like this small, little rustic canyon. There, she majored in design, with the idea of becoming an interior decorator. Being from a minority family, I never thought about being an artist, recalls Saar. But I could tell people how to buy curtains. After she graduated, she developed her own greeting card line. She also successfully teamed with fellow designer Curtis Tann to form Brown and Tann, an enamelware company that sold jewelry and other popular decorative objects out of Tanns living room. Their work drew the attention of Ebony magazine, which featured the pair in its pages in fall 1951. During this period, she met ceramist Richard Saar, the two married in 1952. and had three girls: Lezley and Alison, who are respected artists in their own right, and Tracye, a writer. Saars entry into art was a bit of a happy accident. In the late 1950s, she enrolled at Cal State Long Beach. I thought Id get my masters and teach, she recalls. Then one day I walked past the print workshop and I was like, Heyyy! The Edge of Ethics, foreground, and Seated Shadow With Bird Cages are part of retrospective at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art in Arizona. (Carolina A. Miranda / Los Angeles Times) Saar never got the degree. She focused on printing instead. I loved making prints, she remembers. The move into fine art, it was liberating. It gave me the freedom to experiment. But the move into three dimensions took a serious turn around 1967, when Saar visited an exhibition of the works of Joseph Cornell at the Pasadena Art Museum (now the Norton Simon). Cornell was known for producing intimate box assemblages that used scavenged objects in moody and surreal ways. I immediately started collecting stuff after I saw that show, Saar says. I started going to yard sales and estate sales. Two other important journeys would also make their mark on her work: A trip to Chicagos Field Museum, whose extensive collection turned her on to the power of African art, followed by a trip to Haiti in the early 1970s. I said, If its Haiti and they have voodoo, they will be working with magic, she says, and I want to be in a place with living magic. Saar was less interested in actual magic than in the visual ways in which magic could be conveyed. After these journeys, she began to replace European symbols with African ones, and she sought out used objects including personal mementos specifically because they were charged with previous life. She was also affected by the spirit of the times. In 1962, she relocated with her family to the Laurel Canyon home where she still lives and works. We lived here in the hippie time, Saar recalls fondly. Down the road was Frank Zappa. There werent that many houses. We had the long skirts and long hair, and it was very casual. Youd go to a love-in or a concert. Cannabis plants were growing all over the canyon, she adds. I ask if she may have put those plants there to begin with. Im not going to say, she replies with a laugh. We were as hippie-ish as hippie could be, she adds, with some seriousness, while still being responsible. By the end of the decade, Saar and her husband had divorced. She remained in Laurel Canyon with the children and took on a series of part-time jobs that would allow her to continue to make work and manage the family. For a time, she designed costumes for the Inner City Cultural Center, among other places. She also taught first at Cal State Long Beach, then at the Otis College of Art and Design. In the 1970s, as the Black Power movement was ascendant, she observed it in her art increasingly employing symbols tied to the African American struggle, from the cruel schematics of slave ships to the hackneyed images of black memorabilia shed begun collecting. If you are a mom with three kids, you cant go to a march, says Saar, but you can make work that deals with your anger. If you are a mom with three kids, you cant go to a march, but you can make work that deals with your anger. Betye Saar, artist Artistic profile A key player in myriad artist movements from assemblage to feminist art to the Black Arts Movement of the 60s and 70s Saars work now resides in the permanent collections of more than 60 international museums, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the L.A. County Museum of Art and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. But while her international profile has grown and is bound to get even bigger after her exhibition at the Prada Foundation, local recognition has been slow to materialize. Her last solo museum show in Los Angeles was at the California African American Museum in 2011 and featured roughly two dozen recent works. Before that, she exhibited the installation Limbo at the Santa Monica Museum of Art in 1994. Her most recent solo exhibition at one of the citys major museums was at MOCA in 1990. That show, Sanctified Visions, paid tribute to writer Zora Neale Hurston and received positive critical notice. Given Saars central role in the L.A. art scene since the 1970s, the lack of recognition she has received here is inexplicable, says Steven Nelson, a professor of African and African American art history at UCLA. L.A. is ever so slowly giving black artists their due. However, that attention is almost exclusively directed at male artists. MOCA chief curator Helen Molesworth, who included an assemblage by Saar in Art of Our Time, says part of the artists low institutional profile may be partly attributable to the nature of her work: Small and intensely personal at a time when the art world has been moving toward the big, the heroic and the ever more conceptual. And to be in the crosshairs of both racism and sexism is no easy place, she adds. She exists in those crosshairs. At the heart of Saars studio sits a collection of ceramic mammies, notorious artifacts that she transforms into something mighty. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) Saars show at the Craft & Folk Art Museum will provide a small corrective, but that exhibition featuring fewer than two dozen of her washboard assemblages hardly makes up for a full-blown, scholarly retrospective. Dont bother asking her about these deficiencies. Ive always done what I did and never felt I was competing with what was going on, she says frankly. In reviewing the decades worth of works that went into the exhibition that traveled from the Netherlands to Scottsdale, she said she felt satisfied: I said to myself, You were a good artist then, you are a good artist now. She claps her hands and lets out a boisterous laugh. Theres no time to dwell on the past. Betye Saar has too much future to think about. carolina.miranda@latimes.com Twitter: @cmonstah ------------ FOR THE RECORD May 2, 10:06 a.m.: An earlier version of this article stated that Betye Saars solo show at Milans Prada Foundation opens in October. It opens in September. ------------ As much as I love to travel across the Midwest and beyond, I also love to take time to explore things closer to home. I remember my dad telling me that he once worked with a man who lived the first couple decades of his life within a few miles of Taj Mahal, but he had never been there. Dad then admitted that after living in the Chicago area for more than four decades and working in downtown Chicago for many years, he had never been inside the Sears Tower (now the Willis Tower). Its unfortunate when there are gems in our own backyard that we never take time to explore. And it happens often. Theres only so much time in the day and we all drive by places every day that are worth exploring if wed only make time to do so. Thats why Im a big advocate of staycations and frequent weekend getaways and day trips that allow us to explore more of whats around us. A recent weekend in Valparaiso was a perfect example. Ive been through Valpo so many times, or stopped there for a quick lunch or play or other event, and each time Im there I know theres so much more Im missing out on particularly when it comes to food. Valpo is a great foodie town and there have been a lot of restaurants on my foodie bucket list just waiting to be crossed off. I got to mark some of the list on this trip. JERSEY CITY City officials are thankful two developers of Downtown Jersey City properties have promised to incorporate new schools into their projects. But Downtown Councilman James Solomon says overcrowding is such an issue that even when the two schools are opened, it still wont completely solve the problem. We need another school, even after that, given the population growth, Solomon said. The councilman held a meeting with Downtown residents Saturday at City Hall to discuss the large development project at Saddlewood and Laurel courts, which will include an elementary school. Another development going up nearby, the Charlotte between Columbus Drive and Montgomery Street near Warren Street, will include a school for pre-K 3- and 4-year-olds. The overcrowding at School 16 on Sussex Street is so bad that roughly 280 students chosen by lottery are bused to the old School 20 on Danforth Avenue, now called the School 16 Annex. Another 80 students from School 37 on Erie Street are bused to School 22 on Van Horne Street. Solomon said that Schools 3 and 5 are over recommended capacity, but so far, none of the students are being bused to other facilities. With new buildings means more kids, Solomon said. Schools being built by private developers may become a growing trend. The cash-strapped state Schools Development Authority, which was created to fund the creation of new schools in what are generally considered poorer districts, has no current plans to build any new facilities in Jersey City. With new developments going on in the city, many residents have been hesitant to accept the new changes. But, on Saturday, a couple of residents said they were impressed with the project thats in the works. Jeanne Daly, a Downtown resident for 21 years, was impressed by the details about the proposed residential high-rise and elementary school at Laurel and Saddlewood courts. I came in a skeptic, said Daly, but I come out very positive. Sonia Araujo, another longtime Downtown resident, said she was impressed with Lennar Multifamily Communities (LMC), the developers of the project. Though Daly and Araujo said theres still concern about average residents being priced out of Jersey City, as well as mega high-rises obstructing views, they said theyre looking forward to whats next. The Saddlewood and Laurel courts project would include about 810 residential units, a 50,000-square-foot school for up to 350 elementary schoolers, retail space and a 11,400squarefoot outside park. The park would be an extension of the Philippine Plaza. If approved, the project is estimated to be finished by spring 2023. Three people were killed and five others injured in Odishas Puri district after an elephant went on a rampage on Sunday morning in growing attacks by tuskers in the state. Wildlife officials said the animal had sneaked into the Delang area of Puri on Saturday night and caused crop damage. Puris divisional forest officer Sushant Ray said the elephant tossed 60-year-old Jugalkishore Bhatt of Gopinathpur panchayat while he was working in his field on Sunday morning. And, 45-year-old Chaitan Sahu of Rajtei village and 65-year-old Makar Palei of Matighar village under Khurda forest division were killed while going for morning ablutions. Five other villagers were also injured in the attack by the tusker, which spread panic in the area as it attacked houses as well. Khurdas divisional forest officer Sudeep Nayak said the tusker was hiding in a forest patch of Rajtei village. Wildlife conservationists say 2019-20 has turned out to be the worst year for man-elephant conflict in Odisha with the human casualty rising to an all-time high of 106 so far compared to last years death toll of 93. Officials in Jajpur district had to shut down six schools for a day in January after a stray tusker killed two people. Wildlife officials in Angul district had managed, in the same month, to tranquillise a tusker that had killed six people over six months and injured more than two dozen apart from causing mass destruction of paddy crop. Odishas leading wildlife conservationist Biswajit Mohanty said unlike the previous years, the deaths this year had been reported from districts not known for such a conflict. From being localised in Angul-Dhenkanal belt, Keonjhar, Sundargarh and Mayurbhanj districts, deaths have been reported from Khurda and Puri. The forest department instead of taking steps for mitigating the dire situation is more concerned about eco-tourism projects, he alleged. Renowned elephant conservationist Raman Sukumar of Bengaluru-based Centre for Ecological Sciences said though there were no definitive answers to the reason behind the sharp rise in human-elephant conflict, large-scale mining in forest areas of eastern India was adding to the problem. The natural habitats of elephants all over eastern India is shrinking. The problem of mining in Jharkhand and Odisha forests is setting the stage for increasing human-elephant conflict, said Sukumar. Another factor could be climate variabilities such as extreme events like extreme drought or extreme rainfall that forces the elephants to leave for a better place, he added. Politician Pauline Hanson has defended controversial comments about the horrific Brisbane murder-suicide, saying 'these things happen'. In a crime which rocked Australia on Wednesday, Hannah Clarke, 31, was murdered by her estranged husband along with her three young children. Aaliyah, 6, Laianah, 4, and Trey, 3, were burned alive by their own father on their way to school after he poured petrol in their car and lit a flame. But Ms Hanson said the cowardly murders shouldn't lead to people 'bastardising all men' - saying Baxter could have been 'driven to it'. 'Don't bastardise all men out there, or women for that matter, because these things happen,' she said on Monday morning. Speaking about domestic violence murders, she added that: 'A lot of people are driven to this, to do these acts for one reason or another.' Pauline Hanson (pictured on Monday on Today) said 'these things happen' and the public shouldn't 'bastardise all men' for the terrible Baxter family murder suicide Lloyd and Suzanne Clarke (pictured), parents to Hannah Clarke, break down at a vigil to remember their murdered daughter on Sunday The killings have led to calls for more protection for domestic violence victims, after Ms Clarke was emotionally, sexually and financially abused by Baxter for years. Speaking on Today, Ms Hanson said the murders have been in the news more than if it was committed by a woman - and that Baxter may have been 'driven to it'. 'You know, this has been for a week we have been in the news nearly every day about this horrific tragedy,' she said on Today on Monday morning. Hannah Clarke and her three children were torched in their car on Wednesday morning by Rowan Baxter (all pictured together) who stabbed himself to death at the scene in Camp Hill 'But we don't hear much about it when a woman has murdered her children by driving a car into a tree, she threw out a suicide note. 'Or the woman who doused her husband with fuel and set him alight an said she was possibly driven to it. 'Hopefully the family law inquiry will get to the bottom of it.' Ms Hanson, who is leader of One Nation and a senator for Queensland, also expressed concerns about Chinese students returning to Australia amid the coronavirus outbreak. On Thursday morning dozens of family and friends visited the scene of the tragedy to pay tribute to the family (pictured) Speaking on Today, she said universities shouldn't be helping Chinese students get back to Australia to continue their studies. 'If any Australian kid catches coronavirus from any of these foreign students that come here, will the university be held liable?' she said. 'We know that the universities in Australia are not for the Australian students. 'It is all for foreign students and they rely on that, that money coming into the country. One Nation leader Pauline Hanson (pictured) also expressed fears about the coronavirus outbreak, as Chinese students return to Australia Hannah Clarke (pictured, left) with Baxter (right) on their wedding day 'They use it as back door to get their permanent residency to Australia and then they send their own kids out here to get the free education. 'It is disgraceful what is happening.' She also defended commentator Bettina Arndt, who made controversial comments about the Baxter murders. Some MPs want Arndt to be stripped of her Order of Australia, after she praised a Queensland police officer for saying Baxter may have been 'driven too far'. Queensland detective Mark Thompson was taken off the case after making the comments. 'Congratulations to the Queensland police for keeping an open mind and awaiting proper evidence, including the possibility that Rowan Baxter might have been 'driven too far'," Ms Arndt wrote on Twitter. Rowan Charles Baxter (pictured, centre right, with his children) murdered his three kids in a horrific car fire on Wednesday 'But note the misplaced outrage. How dare police deviate from the feminist script of seeking excuses and explanations when women stab their partners to death, or drive their children into dams but immediately judging a man in these circumstances as simply representing the evil violence that is in all men.' Speaking about Ms Arndt's comments, Ms Hanson said she should not be stripped of her Australia Day honour. 'It was a horrendous act of what he did to his children,' she said. Hannah Clarke (pictured with daughters Aaliyah and Laianah) was killed just months after breaking free from her abusive husband 'It was a tragedy and I am very deeply sorry for everyone. 'Family and friends involved in this treacherous of what he did to his former wife and his children. 'But Bettina Arndt should not be stripped of her Order of Australia. She is clearly stating what she thinks and what a police officer said. 'This is why I have pushed for the family law inquiry to get behind what is happening on this.' The Baxter family car (pictured) was set on fire in Camp Hill, Brisbane, on Wednesday February 19 Her comments come as a close friend of Hannah described her courageous last moments after she was ambushed and burned alive by her estranged husband. Simon Farmer - a family friend who was with Hannah in the Intensive Care Unit when she died after suffering burns to 97 per cent of her body - described the devoted mother's final minutes alive in gut-wrenching detail. 'She hung in there ... Until the last heartbeat brought a tidal wave of grief and anger,' he wrote on social media. 'You should all know how strong she was, she fought so hard.' The three youngsters died at the scene. Their father then killed himself beside the car when he knew his evil deed was done. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk (pictured, left), Hannah Clarke's parents Lloyd and Suzanne Clarke (centre), and police commissioner Katarina Carroll (right) at the vigil Hannah was rushed to hospital, with Mr Farmer saying the only part of his friend that was not burnt was her foot. 'We were in the ICU and we knew there was no hope,' the father-of-three told The Australian. Sergeant David Beard shared the 31-year-old's dreams of becoming a police officer at a vigil held on Sunday evening in Brisbane to mourn the loss of the family-of-four. Hannah had spoken about her plans at a Police Citizens Youth Club while visiting a friend the day before she burned to death. The shocking murder-suicide that has left Australia reeling unfolded just metres from the home of Ms Clarke's parents on Raven Street, Camp Hill, as she drove her children to school Hannah Clarke (pictured) with her 'main man', her son Trey, in a beach snap The mum-of-three had desperately tried to keep her young family safe from their evil dad, but was struggling after her domestic violence protection order was watered down. It has since emerged that he subject Hannah to years of domestic violence, prompting the brave mum to finally leave him last November. There was a domestic violence order (DVO) in place, but she expressed frustration that the conditions wouldn't be enough to keep her family safe. Despite being stalked every day by her monstrous ex, the DVO was watered down to allow her husband to be a close as 100 metres from her. In a text to friends sent on January 30 (pictured), Hannah expressed concerns about changes to the domestic violence protection order out on her estranged husband What to do if you're at risk of domestic violence There are a number of services across Australia you can contact for help. The National Sexual Assault, Family & Domestic Violence Counselling Line: 1800 737 732, available 24/7 Call 000 if youre in immediate danger Relationships Australia: 1300 364 277 Lifeline: 13 11 11 Advertisement Just days later, Baxter would approach the family car on the school run, cover his wife and children in petrol and set them alight. 'I have to go back to court and had to drop off an application today to get the DVO conditions changed as he keeps turning up where I am,' the mother-of-three said in text message to a friend, sent on January 30. 'He got the DVO adjourned and when they did that they took off the no contact and made it just 100m from my home so technically hes not doing anything wrong hence why we need it changed!' Even the female police officer who helped Hannah lodge her DVO last year told her it would do little to protect her from her evil husband. Social commentator Bettina Arndt (pictured) has praised police for suggesting Baxter may have been 'driven too far' Detective Mark Thompson (pictured) has stood down from the investigation after making controversial comments in a press conference But despite family and friends describing the domestic abuse Hannah suffered, Queensland police provoked controversy last week for saying they were keeping an 'open mind' about the crime. Inspector Thompson was forced to apologise for his comments after they were condemned as victim blaming by domestic violence campaigners. 'Our job as investigators is to keep a completely open mind,' Inspector Thompson said in a press conference on Thursday. 'We need to look at every piece of information and, to put it bluntly, there are probably people out there in the community that are deciding which side to take so to speak in this investigation,' he said. 'Is this an issue of a woman suffering significant domestic violence and her and her children perishing at the hands of the husband? Or is this an instance of a husband being driven too far by issues that he's suffered by certain circumstances into committing acts of this form?' Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll apologised on Friday for what was said. She added the phrasing was wrong and Detective Inspector Thompson was 'gutted' about the comments. BRISBANE MURDER-SUICIDE: HOW COWARDLY RAMPAGE UNFOLDED JANUARY, 2020 Queensland Police officers are called to a family violence incident that allegedly involved the couple. WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 19 - EARLY MORNING: Rowan Charles Baxter, 42, is spotted filling a jerry can with fuel at a local service station. 8.20AM: Baxter dives into his estranged wife Hannah Clarke's white Kia Sportage as she was preparing to do the school drop off on Raven Street, Camp Hill, a wealthy suburb of Brisbane. He douses Ms Clarke, 31, and their three children - Aaliyah, six, Laianah, four, and Trey, three - in petrol and sets the car alight. Neighbours hear an explosion which sounded like a 'gas bottle' blast. At least four explosions followed. Baxter grabs a knife from the SUV and stabs himself in the chest. He tries to stop neighbours from saving his wife and children before dying in the street. Ms Clarke escapes the burning car and screams: 'He's poured petrol on me.' Horrified witnesses see her skin peeling off her body. One heroic neighbour hoses her down in an attempt to save her life and suffers burns himself. She is rushed to Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital in a critical condition. WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Ms Clarke dies in hospital from the horrendous burns she suffered in the quadruple murder suicide. Advertisement Madhya Pradesh: A faction-ridden Congress party had just crossed the mark during the 2018 assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh. However, since then, internal discord has been a regular feature in the party's state unit. Of late, the discord has only grown. The contentious issues being -- appointment of the Pradesh Congress Committee chief and upcoming nominations for the Rajya Sabha seats which will fall vacant in April. The disharmony founds its source when in December 2018, former Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia was initially snubbed for the post of Chief Minister. What followed was his shocking defeat in Lok Sabha polls at his own turf in Guna. Last year, Scindia's camp -- WCD minister Imarti Devi, Food minister Pradyumn Singh Tomar, Health Minister Tulsi Silawat, among others -- had lobbied hard for him to become the PCC chief. But in the absence of wider consensus, party high command put the decision on the back burner. For the last few months, Scindia's camp has set its eyes on the Rajya Sabha nominations as three seats from the MP quota are going vacant in April 2020. Given the numbers of Congress in the MP assembly, it could pocket one seat easily and bag another with some efforts. Scindia also seems to be strategically channelising his anguish against the state government in last few months on issues connected to Vachan Patra, the party poll manifesto. The Gwalior family scion who had been critical of his own government on several issues since long, recently sparked off a raging debate in his own party as he threatened to take to the streets if Vachan Patra wasnt implemented in letter and spirit. His remarks came hours after Co-operative Affairs Minister Dr Govind Singh openly admitted that his government could not fulfill the farm loan waiver promised, due to financial constraints in the said time limit. Scindias threat hadnt gone down well with Chief Minister Kamal Nath, who said Vachan Patra was for five years and not a few months. Tension escalated between the two senior leaders even as Scindia said -- "Toh Utar Jaye Na (let him protest)". However, some days later Nath laughed off reports of a rift between him and Scindia; saying since he was never upset with Shivraj (Singh Chouhan) so how could he be angry with Scindia. But the damage was already done; BJP leaders mocked at the ongoing war between the two senior Congressmen. Several leaders belonging to these rival camps also exchanged barbs over the issue. Witnessing this unending discord, AICC recently formed a co-ordination committee for the unit's smooth functioning. The inaugural meet of the committee happened at Kamal Nath's residence in New Delhi. Sources said Scindia left the venue in the middle of the event in anger. Later, party leaders rubbished such claims, calling the meeting cordial. But Women and Child Development Minister Imarti Devi, loyal to Scindia, had announced that the entire party would follow Scindia, if he decided to protested. Another supporter of Scindia, the Gwalior-based Mahila Congress State General Secretary Ruchi Rai Thakur demanded that he revive the Madhya Pradesh Vikas Congress which was founded by his father Late Madhav Rao Scindia in late 1990s. Bal Khande, ex-District head of Congress in Gwalior posted in favour of Scindia on social media. He posted against his own government and called for Scindia loyalists to hit the streets for 'Maharaj' (supreme king). On the other hand, Minister Dr Govind Singh urged Scindia, whom he called a senior leader, to refrain from making such public comments. Amid all this, PWD Minister and a close aid of Nath, Sajjan Singh Verma sparked off a fresh debate demanding that AICC General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi be nominated for Rajya Sabha from the MP quota. Political analysts believe that if at all this happens, either Scindia or Digvijaya Singh, the sitting RS MPs, will have to switch base elsewhere for the nomination. Many wonder whether it is a masterstroke aimed at pushing Scindia out of state affairs completely. Sources claim that Rahul Gandhis close aide Meenakshi Natrajan is also eyeing a Rajya Sabha nomination from MP. Other claimants for the post include former Leader of Opposition Ajay Singh and Home Minister Bala Bachchan. A few days ago, MLA Sanjay Yadav from Jabalpur, another close aid of Nath, had also staked claim for the top post. It seems likely that anyone from Nath's pack could pocket the post, as the Chief Minister is not in the mood to let another power centre be created in the state Congress unit. And on the other hand Scindia is not the only one from the Gwalior-Chambal region who is sulking. Aidal Singh Kansana, sitting MLA from Sumaoli in Morena, who was snubbed off ministership, threatened by saying -- "Party overlooking leaders like me wont do any good in the Joura assembly by-poll. A Digvijaya loyalist, Kansana had openly protested with supporters after he was denied cabinet birth in December 2018. Joura in Morena and Agar in Agar District are due to assembly by-poll shortly after the demise of Congress Banwarilal Sharma and Manohar Untwal of BJP, respectively. Congress with 114 MLAs is desperate to win the upcoming by-polls which could help the ruling party gain the magic majority figure of 116. The party is presently clinging on to power with the support of BSP, SP and four independent MLAs. Digvijaya Singh, whose clout has been quite evident in the Kamal Nath government, is also being pestered by his own brother Laxman Singh, who hardly misses an opportunity to irk the party over being denied the ministerial berth. Laxman Singh, had even asked Rahul Gandhi to apologise to farmers for not fulfilling his farm loan waiver promise. He has also been asking the Congress unit to entrust seniors like him with key responsibilities; utlising their experience. The upcoming Rajya Sabha nominations are only expected to fuel the raging tussle within Congress, said a Bhopal-based political journalist. Last weekend it was Storm Ciara. Now it will be Storm Dennis. A second weekend of significant windstorms is forecast for Europe and the British Isles and that could cause more problems for travelers. Storm Ciara caused hundreds of flights across Europe to be canceled last weekend, with two of Europe's busiest airports -- Frankfurt, Germany, and Amsterdam, Netherlands -- each grounding more than 100 flights due to the storm. While this may seem like an excessive number of storms, it really isn't. This is the exact time of year these big, intense systems normally hit Northern Europe. So why all the attention, if this is the norm? It's not the frequency, but rather the intensity that has everyone taking notice. According to Stephen Burt, a weather historian and fellow at the University of Reading, we had a similar cluster of intense storms crossing the Atlantic back in January and February of 2014. The current system is worth watching because it will come close to the historical record for low pressure. Most forecasts have had the pressure of this storm bottoming out at 918-921mb (millibars). "The North Atlantic pressure record is 912-915mb, on 10 January 1993," Burt points out. "There are only a handful of depressions known to have fallen below 920mb within the last 150 years or so." So, depending on where this storm bottoms out, it could end up in the top ten lowest pressure storms in North Atlantic recorded history. Winds will not likely reach the 90 mph-plus gusts seen with last weekend's storm, but widespread gusts of 50 mph are likely across the UK both Saturday and Sunday. High winds are possible on Sunday in Belgium, Denmark, France and Germany. The winds won't be the only concern. Saturated ground presents the risk for further flooding. The UK Met Office has already issued multiple Amber Warnings for heavy rainfall. Rainfall amounts of 2-3 inches (50-75mm) are likely across a widespread area of the region, with isolated amounts of 5+ inches (125+mm) possible. Read more weather news from around the world What is a bomb cyclone? Snow, thunder and flooding are all forecast and weather warnings have been issued for 19 counties. Batten down the hatches and wrap up warm, as Met Eireann has said that we're in for an unsettled few days. The national forecaster issued a Status Yellow rainfall warning today for Connacht, Cavan, Monaghan, Donegal, Dublin, Kildare, Laois, Longford, Louth, Wicklow, Offaly, Westmeath, Meath, Clare and Tipperary. Met Eireann has said they expect accumulations of up to 25mm of rain and meteorologist Liz Gavin said that this may lead to widespread flooding. "The main concern at the moment is that we do have a yellow rainfall warning in operation," she told Independent.ie. "That comes into effect from 8pm this evening until 8am tomorrow morning, so we are going to see a spell of rain extending across the country tonight. "That rain is likely to be preceded by a period of sleet and snow in parts of Connacht, Ulster and North Leinster. "Overnight there's a risk of some really hazardous driving conditions, before the precipitation turns back to rain overnight," she continued. "Rivers are quite elevated at the moment which, combined with the rainfall and as the snow melts, will lead to some localised surface flooding." "It will become quite cold later in the evening and into Tuesday with showers, many of them wintry, with a mix of hail sleet and snow from Tuesday and Wednesday as well. "Wintry showers on Tuesday and Wednesday and we could even see some thunder in the mix as well." Residents of Springfield, Clonlara, Co Clare, have been evacuated from their homes and more were braced for hell and misery as the flooded River Shannon swept around their homes. Around 7,000 sandbags, and pumping stations were delivered to ten houses, some of which have been cut off from roads, and are now effectively languished on islands. The nightmare of previous devastating floods, in 1995, 2009, and 2016 returned for Joe and Geraldine Quinlivan who have built a sandbag trench around their bungalow. "Its bringing back hell again. Politicians just don't seem to care. Youll get the politicians here when the media arrive, and when they get their faces on the papers and on the television, they go away after that, and thats what they have been doing since 1995," said Joe Quinlivan. He believes the solution lies in dredging trees and silt on a stretch of the River Shannon about a mile from his home. However, he said his requests have, so far, fallen on deaf ears. "There are two types of people in this country, one that will do it and one will talk about it. Give me the man that will do it." In 2016, the family spent an exhausting seven weeks, night and day, pumping floodwater away from their home. Looking over her rear garden fence at a lake of floodwater coming towards her home, Geraldine Quinlivan fought back tears. "The water has risen approximately six inches since 9pm last night, and its still rising so, its a cause of great concern for us," she said. "Its unfortunate we find ourselves back in the same situation again with nothing down." The frustrated mother of four continued: "I was up this morning at 3.30am and my husband got up at 5.30am to check to see what the water levels were like. Weve just had enough, we cannot live like this any more." "Its not good enough we are putting up with this and living with this threat every year." "This is not an acceptable way to live, we cant cope with this physically or mentally anymore." Springfield is located between the Parteen Weir and Limerick. The Parteen Weir sluice gates are operated by the ESB, which in the event of increased rainfall and large volumes flowing from Athlone,must in turn release increased discharge flows, which in turn flood communities on the lower Shannon basin. Plans by Clare County Council to construct a nearby embankment and pumping station have been put on hold. "We need this embankment built. The time for surveys, talking, and meetings is over," said Geraldine. "We need the new government to put an emphasis on flooding, on the misery of flooding and its effects on people. The new government should make flooding a priority." "Its not rocket science. We just need it to be done." Speaking in Springfield, John Leahy, Clare Council Senior Engineer, said an increase in rainfall was forecast for the area overnight which would likely result in floodwaters rising. "Weve had crews here all week making preparations. There are some houses that have been cut off and some of those residents have been put up in local hotels," Mr Leahy said. "In addition to our own crews working here all week, we have the (Clare) Civil Defence here and we also have the Fire Service, and the Army on standby, if we need their assistance. "Wed like to reassure the people of Springfield/Clonlara that Clare County Council wont be leaving here until the flood has subsided, until the waters have abated around their houses." While the rain warning is expected to be lifted tomorrow, cold temperatures will prevail and the possibility of sleet and snow will remain until Wednesday. "There will be a good deal of dry weather tomorrow with a few showers around," Ms Gavin said. Early indicators show that the mercury will begin to rise again by the end of the week, however, weather conditions will become more unsettled with lots of wind and rain forecast. The meteorologist said: "It looks like being really unsettled for the latter parts of the weeks as well. Not quite as cold but probably more wet and windy than Tuesday and Wednesday." His firm had promised Hammond he would dispose of non-hazardous demolition debris at a registered landfill in Markham, Illinois, and use clean fill to level the demolition sites within the city. The grand jury alleges IESCO submitted dump and fill tickets showing he was following the programs guidelines and received payments totaling $93,300. But the grand jury alleges in its indictment of Alshuaibi the tickets were false and fraudulent to give the appearance that he had complied with the rule to dispose of demolition materials through a registered facility and that he had used clean fill material, when in fact he had not. The Times reported last fall that the South Holland, Illinois firm and two of its employees dumped the debris in the dead of night into a Gary wetland that flows into the Grand Calumet River. IESCO Construction Inc. allegedly dumped numerous, large piles of demolition debris at 306 N. Clark Road in Gary, rather than disposing of the material properly in a landfill. Joe Biden at a campaign event in Las Vegas, Nevada, on February 20, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Segar Former Vice President Joe Biden is telling a story on the campaign trail about being arrested in South Africa, but there's no record of him mentioning the arrest before now. The 77-year-old has told three campaign events about being arrested while trying to visit Nelson Mandela in the 1970s. The New York Times looked into his past mentions of South Africa and reported that Biden has never before publicly talked about an arrest. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Former Vice President Joe Biden has told a story about being arrested in South Africa during several presidential campaign events in February, but there's no evidence he's ever mentioned the incident ever before. Biden has told the story in which he says he was arrested while trying to visit Nelson Mandela in the 1970s at two events in Nevada and one in South Carolina, according to the New York Times. But the New York Times reported that after a deep dive into Biden's memoir, past speaking events, and interviews, they found that he had never spoken about the arrest until the 2020 presidential race. "This day, 30 years ago, Nelson Mandela walked out of prison and entered into discussions about apartheid," Biden said at a South Carolina event on February 11. "I had the great honor of meeting him. I had the great honor of being arrested with our U.N. ambassador on the streets of Soweto trying to get to see him on [Robben] Island." The New York Times reported that Biden mentioned the 1970s South Africa trip in his 2007 memoir, but made no mention of an arrest. According to HuffPost, Biden spoke about a 1977 visit to the South African Embassy in Washington in 2013 but did not reference being arrested. Biden said at the time that he met with anti-apartheid leaders, though Mandela was still in prison and they did not have a chance to meet. The Biden campaign has not yet responded to Insider's request for comment. Story continues Former civil rights activist and Georgia congressman Andrew Young, who was a US ambassador to the United Nations from 1977 to 1979 told The New York Times that he traveled to South Africa with Biden and did not recall an arrest. "No, I was never arrested and I don't think he was, either," the 87-year-old said. "Now, people were being arrested in Washington. I don't think there was ever a situation where congressmen were arrested in South Africa." He said he respects Biden but supports Michael Bloomberg in the 2020 presidential race. Read the original article on Business Insider Every Friday morning, not too long after the sun comes up, the dinning room of Ironwood Kitchen, a restaurant on the citys West Side, comes to life. On one such day, men who forged a fellowship based on circumstances most people would not ever wish to know, file in one right after another. Almost all are graying, and all are combat veterans. One man in the group, Dale Cole, breaks off and steps behind the counter, where a young blond woman waits to take their orders, and begins making the coffee. Theyve seen things nobody wants to see, Cole said. Theyve had nobody to talk to, and these guys come in and are able to sit with like people. Hanging on the wall behind the cashier and Cole is a rack of coffee mugs. Each mug belongs to one of the men waiting in line and is inscribed with his name and an image of his choosing related to his time in the military. One features a photo of a soldier in uniform, while another displays a sketch of the Cu Chi tunnels the Viet Cong used during the war. Pete Bostwick has been attending the breakfasts for about seven years. Before joining the group, he said, he didnt have any friends. We are people with shared experiences, Bostwick said. Anybody who has never done what we have cant understand it. They call themselves the Ironwood Vets, but its the only thing about this group that is official. They dont advertise. Nobody takes roll. Their are no dues and no paperwork to sign. All one has to do is show up and hang out. A report released by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in September said 13.5% of all people who died by suicide in 2017 were veterans. The exact number was 6,319, approximately 17 deaths by suicide a day. Although suicide is a complex issue and there is no single explanation, the report lists social isolation as a risk factor. Meanwhile, word-of-mouth is responsible for most of the groups growth. Cole said there are about 70 regular members, most of whom served in Vietnam, but not all show up to every breakfast. About 35 showed up on this particular Friday, one of them being veteran Gene Weber. Hes been attending for four or five years. He said that although the breakfasts are informal, there are some rules of etiquette. We dont tell war stories, but we tell stories, Weber said. Theres also no politics and no religion. It will pop up by accident sometimes, but then somebody will usually put a stop to it. There is a lot of banter. The men trade barbs. They jokingly call a group of about half-dozen men clustered together at the end of one table the snake eaters. They were all special ops, and all but one of the group didnt want to give their name or be photographed. The veterans say they chose the restaurant, off Unser north of McMahon, because its owner, Matt Moody, is veteran-friendly. Moody said some of them stopped by his restaurant for a meal several years ago and he told his daughter to thank the men for their service. The vets followed that up by asking Moody if he would mind if they met there once a week. One place they had previously met had closed, and they were outgrowing another place. He let us put all this stuff up, Bostwick said. Its like our own clubhouse. Military memorabilia, photos and maps hang on the restaurants walls. Theres a wall dedicated to New Mexico law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. Another section recognizes important women in military history. A table up front, set for one, pays tribute to prisoners of war and those still missing in action. Each item placed on the table is symbolic, including a rose that represents faith that they will return, a slice of lemon that reminds onlookers of the soldiers bitter fate, and salt on the plate to represent the tears of families as they wait. Moody said he didnt have to think twice when they asked to host their weekly get together there. My patriotism runs deep, Moody said. I know the price our servicemen and women paid for our country and the cost makes my heart ache. These men and women in our military put themselves between my family and danger, and Ill never forget that. Moody said the public has embraced the decor, taking time to walk around the restaurant to look at the displays. Many customers, Moody said, have brought their own memorabilia to add to the collection, including photos, dog tags, newspaper articles, book and patches. I have shared tears, hugs, and countless conversations with admirers of the displays of courage, he said. It is the smallest act to honor our veterans by making our restaurant into a tribute to their sacrifices. Advertisement More than 1000 mourners have gathered to remember a mother and her three children who were burned alive by their father in a unthinkable act of domestic violence. The vigil was held in Brisbane on Sunday evening to mourn the loss of Hannah Clarke, 31, and siblings Laianah, aged four, Aaliyah, six, and Trey, three. The venue - Whites Hill State College in Camp Hill - is just blocks away from where they were murdered on Wednesday morning at the hands of the children's father, Rowan Baxter. Dressed in pink - Hannah's favourite colour - her father Lloyd Clarke and brother, Nat, thanked the crowd for their support. Family Image of Hannah Clarke critically injured standing with Rowan Baxter who died in the car fire along with the three children Lloyd Clarke is comforted by his son Nat at the community vigil for his daughter Hannah and her three children Hannah Clarke's brother Nathaniel Clarke holds back the tears while holding his young son during the vigil for his murdered sister 'We would have felt lost without all your support,' the distraught father said. 'I don't know how we can repay such kindness.' He described the past week as the 'hardest of their life'. 'We may not know you all, but you embraced our family when our whole world collapsed and for that we are genuinely grateful,' he said. 'While dealing with this truly difficult time, my family and I are forever thankful to our neighbours and those who were first on the scene who tried to desperately help Hannah and the children. Lloyd and Suzanne Clarke, parents to Hannah Clarke, break down at a vigil to remember their murdered daughter Hundreds turn out for a vigil for Hannah Clarke and her three children Aaliyah, 6, Laianah, 4, and Trey, 3, in Brisbane A police officer speaks during a vigil to remember murdered mother. Thousands of mourners attended the event A woman dressed in pink breaks down and prays by bunches of flowers at the vigil for Hannah Clarke and her three children 'You selflessly and without hesitation did what you could to save them. I don't know how we can repay such kindness, other than to say we will be eternally grateful. You have restored out faith that there are many good and decent people in the world.' Mr Clarke spoke about his pride over everything his daughter managed to achieve before her life was cut short. He also reflected on the joy his three grandchildren brought to his life. Many who addressed the crowd spoke of Hannah's courage and love. Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll said Hannah was able to give a detailed account of the attack while fighting for her life. Two young boys place a bunch of yellow flowers at the vigil for the family. One boy appears overcome by emotion Flowers left at the vigil for Hannah Clarke and her three children Aaliyah, six, Laianah, four, and Trey, three Crosses bearing the names of the youngsters who were burned alive by their father are swarmed with flowers from mourners An Australian Red Cross members places crosses bearing the names of the dead mother and children at Bill Hewitt Reserve in East Brisbane Hannah Clarke is pictured with her son Trey (left and right) and Laianah and Aaliyah (right) before they were murdered by Rowan Baxter While many tried to remember the best of Ms Clarke and her children, many could not hide their grief over one of worst acts of domestic violence Australia has ever seen. A mass of flowers and children's toys were laid at the front of the vigil, while hundreds of condolence messages have been written by a community still in shock. Nikki Brookes was a friend of Ms Clarke, and had to hold back tears as she addressed the crowd. She called for the community to not turn a blind eye to domestic violence. Thousands gathered to pay tribute to the mother and children who were burned alive on Wednesday A mother helps her daughter leave toys and a balloon as tributes for the mother and her three children who were burned alive 'We are a nation in pain,' she said. 'Don't back away from your friends for the sake of convenience. 'Time's up on domestic violence.' Baxter doused their car in petrol and set it alight while Hannah was dropping the children off at school. The youngsters died at the scene while Hannah succumbed to her horrific burns in hospital later that day. Baxter stabbed himself in the chest and died from his injuries. The Story Bridge, Victoria Bridge and City Hall in Brisbane were also lit with pink lights to honour the family. People leave messages and flowers to remember the lives of Hannah Clarke and her three children. One reads: 'We will never forget you' One distraught woman kneels by the rows of flowers at the public vigil for the mother and her three children Emergency workers stop to pay tribute to the family-of-four. One woman stands with her eyes closed by rows of flowers The Story Bridge in Brisbane is seen lit up in pink in memory of Hannah Clarke and her children. Pink was her favourite colour The venue where the vigil was held was Hannah's former school. She was the school captain with the So You Think You Can Dance 2008 winner Jack Chambers. 'Such heartbreaking news yesterday. A monstrous crime that makes you sick to your stomach! Hannah and I were school captains back in our last year of school, 15 yrs ago,' he wrote on Facebook in a moving tribute. 'That would be the last time I had actually seen or spoken to Hannah Clarke - so while I didn't know her in our adult life, I will always remember her as the kind, strong and driven teenager she was. If you want to show your support to the Clarke family, you can donate below.' The Victoria bridge is seen lit up in pink in the Brisbane CBD in honour of Hannah Clarke and her three children who were doused in petrol and set alight Mourners lay flowers at the vigil. The Story Bridge, Victoria Bridge and City Hall in Brisbane were also lit with pink lights to honour the family Mourners leave trinkets and crosses as tributes to Hannah Clarke, Laianah, age four, Aaliyah, age six, and Trey, age three Hannah's sister-in-law Stacey Roberts set up a fundraiser to support the family. 'My beautiful sister in-law and my nieces and nephew had their lives taken by a disgusting human being they called their father,' she wrote on the Facebook fundraising page. 'For all those who knew Hannah or had even just met her once would know how much of a beautiful soul she was, her children where her life. All she ever wanted was happiness. Her children were only a reflection of her. We will miss them all more than anything!' For 24/7 confidential support, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 Slain sandalwood and ivory smuggler Veerappan's daughter Vidya Rani has joined BJP in Tamil Nadu. She was part of many others who had joined the BJP on Saturday at Krishnagiri in the presence of party General Secretary Muralidhar Rao, former Union Mi Image Source: IANS News Slain sandalwood and ivory smuggler Veerappan's daughter Vidya Rani has joined BJP in Tamil Nadu. She was part of many others who had joined the BJP on Saturday at Krishnagiri in the presence of party General Secretary Muralidhar Rao, former Union Mi Image Source: IANS News Chennai, Feb 23 : Slain sandalwood and ivory smuggler Veerappan's daughter Vidya Rani has joined BJP in Tamil Nadu. She was part of many others who had joined the BJP on Saturday at Krishnagiri in the presence of party General Secretary Muralidhar Rao, former Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan and others. Vidya Rani said that the she had joined the party to serve the people. She said her father also wanted to serve the people, though took a wrong route. Veerappan, who had kidnapped Kanada actor Rajkumar in 2000 and former Karnataka Minister H. Nagappa in 2002, was killed in a police encounter in 2004. Meanwhile the Tamil Nadu BJP on Sunday said its members will take out a procession in all the districts on February 28 to demanding action against those who support anti-national activities. Bernie Sanders landslide victory in Nevadas Democratic nominating contest has scattered his moderate challengers and injected his White House campaign with a fresh burst of momentum as he drives into the next crucial battlegrounds. With his strong result Saturday, the Vermont senator demonstrated an ability to broaden a coalition beyond the narrow limits of leftist voters, undercutting the argument from several moderates that he would not be able to bridge the divide between progressives and centrists. He showed last night that he can energize our core base, Howard Dean, a former presidential aspirant himself and former head of the Democratic National Committee, told CNN. By early Sunday, Sanders was comfortably ahead in Nevada with 60 percent of precincts reporting. The 78-year-old senator was leading the Democratic pack with 46 percent of the vote, followed far behind by former vice president Joe Biden at 19.6 percent and Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, at 15.3 percent. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar trailed at, respectively, 10.1 percent and 4.8 percent. - Incredibly impressive - Sanders was quick to claim victory, saying his multi-generational, multi-racial coalition was going to sweep this country. Dean said the senators result in a state far more typical of Americas demographic variety than the two earlier-voting states was incredibly impressive. But he quickly added that a more definitive result will come only after voters in 14 states cast ballots on March 3, or Super Tuesday. Before that comes South Carolina, which votes on February 29. Bidens once-strong prospects had faded sharply for weeks, but he said Saturday that he felt really good about his second-place showing in Nevada and shouldnt be counted out. His team is banking on a strong showing in South Carolina, where Biden has enjoyed support among a majority-black Democratic electorate. But after Sanders came in virtually tied for first in Iowa and then won last week in New Hampshire, his undeniable victory in Nevada places him squarely in the drivers seat, at least for now. He leads national polls by an 11 point margin over Biden and by 13 points over Mike Bloomberg, the former New York mayor who skipped the early voting states to focus on Super Tuesday. - Some Democrats worry - Sanderss progressive policies, including universal health care, higher taxes on the wealthy and an increase in the minimum wage, have struck a chord with millions of Americans. But they have raised alarm among some Democrats that he will make an easy target for President Donald Trump as a radical leftist, and that if he heads the Democratic ticket in November the party could face sweeping losses. Trump on Saturday issued a sarcastic-sounding congratulations on Twitter to the man he calls Crazy Bernie. Asked if the Democrats majority in the House of Representatives might be threatened if Sanders turned out to be Trumps rival in November, one powerful South Carolina Democrat said that it might. It would be a real burden for us in these states or congressional districts that we have to do well in, said James Clyburn, the House Democratic whip. In those districts, its going to be tough to hold onto these jobs if you have to make the case for accepting a self-proclaimed Democratic socialist. Buttigieg, while congratulating Sanders on his Nevada victory, offered a stern warning against picking someone who he said sees capitalism as the root of all evil to go up against the populist president. Pressure seems certain to grow on some of the lower-polling Democratic moderates to withdraw to allow others to coalesce around a centrist who might fare better against Trump. Republican campaign advisor Mark McKinnon, speaking on CNN, predicted that the lower polling candidates will be flushed out of the race after Super Tuesday. But the centrist alternatives face steep challenges, he added: Bloomberg performed notably poorly in Wednesdays Democratic debate, and Biden does not have the resources. Progressive candidate Elizabeth Warren, speaking late Saturday in Washington state, which votes March 10, vowed to stay in the race despite a third straight mediocre showing. She renewed her attacks on Bloomberg, accusing him of trying to buy this election. Bloomberg, co-founder of the Bloomberg LP media company, has plowed a record $438 million of personal funds into his campaign. McKinnon said, meantime, that if Sanders compiled a large enough lead after Super Tuesday it would make it hard for other Democrats to oppose his nomination at the national convention in July, even if he has not won a clear majority of delegates. Theres something going on here that defies the conventional wisdom, he said: a 78-year-old man attracting highly energized young voters. Sanders, he said, is creating a passion among voters. V. P. Wright raised her voice and gesticulated, her tight blonde curls bouncing under a black fedora as she explained how environmental disasters like the Flint, Michigan, water crisis have disproportionately impacted marginalized communities. Speaking to a group of students and environmental activists Saturday, Wright went on to explain the concept of epigenetics, how the environment can affect a persons genetic makeup. We all come from different communities. We all have our own paths that contribute to who we are genetically and how we pass that on to our children and their children, Wright said at the Houston Youth Climate Summit, a gathering at Texas Southern University where policy experts and community leaders convened to discuss how environmental injustices impact communities and how young people can get involved. The daylong event featured speakers like Wright, a member of literacy and performing arts group Writers Block, as well as local activists working to improve Houstons quality of life. Ines Sigel of LINK Houston, which advocates for sustainable transportation solutions, discussed concerns over the Texas Department of Transportations Interstate 45 reconstruction and expansion project, which is expected to cut through inner-city neighborhoods. Were mostly concerned about the displacement of homes and jobs and the loss of connectivity between neighborhoods, Sigel said. This will have a disproportionate impact on low-income communities. Roughly 100 people attended the event, which was hosted by Mi Familia Vota, OCA-Greater Houston, JOLT Texas, Texas Rising, Coalition for Equity and Environmental Resilience and Sunrise Movement. The topic of climate change is massive. Weve noticed a lot of students want to be engaged, said Angie Razo, Texas state director for Mi Familia. We wanted to provide a specific day to delve a little deeper in the topic. College and high school students from Houston, Pearland, Bellaire, Katy and elsewhere heard about governmental efforts aimed at combating climate change, including the Green New Deal, a congressional resolution that sets goals for tackling climate change, and the city of Houstons own climate action plan. I hear a lot about climate change nationally, but Ive never really heard about how it affects Houston, Jannelle Barnett, a senior at DeBakey High School for Health Professions, said. Barnett is part of a civic action project in her Advanced Placement government class and she attended the youth summit in hopes of sharing some of what she learned with her classmates. My goal is to inform other students and to help them realize how we can positively affect climate change here in Houston and try to make an impact, she said, because so far I really havent really heard much about people trying to combat it. Ive just heard about another hurricane, another rainstorm. nancy.sarnoff@chron.com twitter.com/nsarnoff Bob Nill, a crossing guard in Kansas City, Kansas, helped elementary children make it safely to Christ the King Parish School every day. He left retirement so he could give back. "He loved the children. The children loved him. They called him Mr. Bob," said Cathy Fithian, principal of Christ the King Parish School. Fithian said the 88-year-old served as a crossing guard for five years and had a special bond with the students. "On Friday, when he went home, he had a lot of valentines from the kids, gifts and cards, and he just went on and on about the gifts. And his son knew that he loved it here and the kids loved him," Fithian said. Nill was hit by a driver just before 8 a.m. Tuesday. According to a release from the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, witnesses reported the crossing guard was struck and killed while pushing children out of the way of an approaching vehicle. "He stopped them and they listened, thank God. And then he, of course, was the victim," Fithian said. Nill died later from his injuries. Neighbors said he was cordial, active and friendly. "He's one of the nicest guys I've ever met, especially in this neighborhood," one man said. "To give his life for those children, how blessed are we that Bob was there?" Fithian said. Police said the driver of the car stayed at the scene. Officers are investigating whether distracted driving may have contributed to the accident. Healthcare facilities at the district level and higher levels are capable of treating patients infected with COVID-19. As of February 21 afternoon, 15 of the 16 patients with COVID-19 in Vietnam had been cured and discharged from hospital. The 15th case, a Vietnamese American, at HCM Citys Tropical Diseases Hospital repeatedly tested negative from February 12 17 and was discharged on February 21. Vietnam still has 28 suspected cases and nearly 5,650 people in close contact with those who may have the virus or those returning from epidemic areas. All of them are under quarantine. By February 21 noon, there are 76,727 confirmed cases in 29 countries and territories worldwide and the number of deaths reached 2,247. In China alone, 75,465 cases have been reported with 2,236 deaths. New cases may be appeared in the coming time, but with the rising temperature and effective treatment plans in place, Vietnam is capable of containing the outbreak and ensuring safety for economic and cultural events, said Tran Dac Phu, former director of the Health Ministrys Preventive Health Department. Deputy Foreign Minister To Anh Dung noted the World Health Organisation (WHO), international organisations and diplomatic corps have recommended that in the current situation, Vietnam can soon think about reopening schools. Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Huu Do said the ministry is considering to allow students to go back to school starting from March 2, given that longer shutdown would causing difficulties for teaching and learning in this 2019-2020 academic year. The ministry will accelerate communication campaigns to educate students on how to stay safe during the COVID-19 outbreak, Do added. He moved on to say that the ministry will work with the Peoples Committees of HCM City and Hanoi on February 22 to discuss HCM Citys proposal to extend school break until the end of March. I just want to get on with my life, Bright said after federal prosecutors agreed to his release from jail earlier this month. Everyone is trying to tell me what I should have done. I should have done this or I should have done that. But they werent the ones sitting in that cage all those years. The world is still battling the Covid-19 (coronavirus) scourge as there is yet no cure or vaccine to prevent the spread of the disease. African countries, especially, have been investing on preparedness and surveillance against the disease. Meanwhile, Nigeria also continues to battle its Lassa fever outbreak. Here is a round-up of some of the stories that made headlines last week. Chloroquine not yet confirmed as treatment for coronavirus Chloroquine is yet to be confirmed as one of the sure drugs in the treatment of coronavirus, formally known as Covid-19, Nigerias minister of state for health, Olorunnimbe Mamora, said. Mr Mamora said there is yet no certain acceptable drug in the treatment of the new disease as lots of clinical trials are still ongoing. It was reported that chloroquine has been effective in the treatment of Covid-19, but the minister said this is yet to be ascertained. More than 20 African countries can now test for coronavirus disease Twenty-four countries in the African region have confirmed to the World Health Organisation (WHO) that they can carry out the test for potential COVID-19 cases. Two weeks ago, only two referral laboratories one in South Africa and another in Senegal were capable of doing this. The scaling up of testing capacity across the continent represents a significant milestone in COVID-19 preparedness efforts. At the beginning of the outbreak, the vast majority of national laboratories in Africa lacked the reagents necessary for testing. As the virus had not been in humans before, there were no pre-existing supplies of reagents that could be used to test for its presence. Buhari commends Doctors Without Borders for roles in Nigeria The sacrifices of Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) in conflict areas in Nigeria are well appreciated, President Muhammadu Buhari has said. Receiving Christos Christou, International President of the organisation at State House, Abuja, Friday, the president said the sacrifices as individuals and as a group were quite enormous, particularly as they are on non-profit basis. Commenting specifically on the situation in the North-east, President Buhari said despite criticisms, the government has made substantial progress. South Korean city on full alert as coronavirus numbers soar South Koreas southeastern area was on full alert as the number of coronavirus patients continued to surge on Friday. The new cases were mostly assumed to be related to a church associated with a minor religious sect. South Korea reported 52 new cases of the new coronavirus on Friday, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 156. Nigerias death toll from Lassa fever rises to 103 Since the onset of the Lassa fever outbreak in Nigeria, no fewer than 103 people have lost their lives to the disease, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) disclosed. According to the agency, there was a spike in the number of suspected and confirmed cases as well as in deaths from the disease. As of February 16, the number of newly confirmed cases increased from 109 in week six to 115. Paracetamol abuse can cause liver, kidney failures Expert Nigerians have been cautioned against the abuse of paracetamol in general and in tenderising meat in particular, as it could lead to liver and kidney failures. This advice was given by a medical doctor with the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Gbenga Adebusoye. Mr Adebusoye said drugs are chemicals and should not be taken lightly. He said when abused, drugs can be toxic to the human system and could endanger lives. He said the abuse of paracetamol leads to rapid damage of the liver, which can cause acute liver injury that could result in liver failure that can not be managed except by a liver transplant. Advertisements Polio eradication on UN Secretary Generals agenda during Pakistan visit Polio eradication is of high priority on the agenda of the United Nations, its Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, has said. Mr Guterres during his visit to Lahore, Pakistan, during the first nationwide polio campaign of the year, said polio is one of the few diseases we can eradicate in the world in the next few years. This is a priority of the United Nations and I am extremely happy to see it is a clear priority for the Government of Pakistan. More than 39 million children across the country are set to be vaccinated during the February campaign. UN officials join global call to end scourge of preventable deaths Road traffic accidents take some 1.35 million lives every year and cost most countries three per cent of their gross domestic product, a top UN health official said on Wednesday as the Third Global Ministerial Conference On Road Safety kicked off in Stockholm, Sweden. WHO said road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death for children and young adults aged 5-29 years. The UN health agency said 93 per cent of the worlds road fatalities occur in low- and middle-income countries, even though these nations have approximately 60 per cent of the worlds vehicles. Coronavirus: Russian-Linked Social Media Accounts Used To Spread Alarm, Says US Thousands of Russian-linked social media accounts have launched a coordinated effort to spread alarm about the new coronavirus, disrupting global efforts to combat the epidemic, US officials told AFP. The disinformation campaign promotes unfounded conspiracy theories that the United States is behind the COVID-19 outbreak, in an apparent bid to damage the US image by seizing on international health concerns, they said. False personas are being used on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to advance Russian talking points and conspiracies, including suggesting that the CIA is behind the virus that has claimed more than 2,300 lives, mostly in China. Lawyer Lee Suet Fern, daughter-in-law of the late Lee Kuan Yew (PHOTOS: Morgan Lewis/Facebook, Yahoo News Singapore) SINGAPORE Lawyer Lee Suet Fern has been found guilty by a Disciplinary Tribunal of grossly improper professional conduct in her handling of late founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yews final will, reported The Straits Times on Sunday (23 February). The two-man tribunal appointed by Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, comprising Senior Counsel Sarjit Singh Gill and lawyer Leon Yee Kee Shian, found all charges against Suet Fern proven beyond reasonable doubt, in its 206-page report released last week. It called Suet Fern who is married to Lee Kuan Yews youngest child Lee Hsien Yang a deceitful witness, who tailored her evidence to portray herself as an innocent victim who had been maligned. The tribunal added that the conduct of Hsien Yang, who testified as a witness, was equally deceitful. "Mr Lee (Kuan Yew), who was very frail and in poor health, was misled by the very people whom he trusted: his son Lee Hsien Yang and daughter-in-law, said the tribunals report on the case. Suet Fern will now be referred to the Court of Three Judges, the highest disciplinary body that deals with lawyers' misconduct. The 61-year-old may face a fine, suspension or even be disbarred. The tribunals finding is the latest chapter in the long-running dispute over the fate of the Lees former family home at 38 Oxley Road. The ongoing saga has seen Hsien Yang, his sister Wei Ling and their eldest brother Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, embroiled in a public row. Disciplinary Tribunal report a travesty In response to media queries, Suet Fern said, I disagree with the Disciplinary Tribunals report and will fight this strongly when it is heard in open court. She added, Any member of the public can obtain the entire record of the closed-door proceedings of the Tribunal from the Law Society. I urge the public to look at these and come to their own independent conclusions. Separately, in a Facebook post on Sunday, Lee Wei Ling decried the tribunals report as a travesty. Story continues This all is yet another attempt to rewrite history following on from the secret ministerial committee looking into Lee Kuan Yews Will and wishes for 38 Oxley Road. My father knew full well what he was doing. He was clear in his decision for the Will, said Lee. I continue to be ashamed at Hsien Loongs disrespect for his fathers dying wish. She added, I am appalled and disgusted by the The Sunday Times reports that seek to character assassinate my brother and his wife. An unsavoury tale Last January, the Attorney-Generals Chambers (AGC) referred Suet Fern to the Law Society for her alleged role in preparing Lee Kuan Yews will. AGC said that this had placed her in a position of conflict and was a breach of the rules governing the conduct of lawyers because her husband was a beneficiary of the will, which was signed on 17 December 2013. Two charges were then laid against her by the tribunal. First, as her father-in-law's retainer, she had failed to advance his interest, unaffected by her own interest and/or that of her husband. This was because she prepared and arranged for the execution of the will, which gave Hsien Yang a third of the estate. Secondly, as retainer, Suet Fern breached rules by acting on the one-third share and failing to advise Lee to be independently advised on the "significant gift". The couple have consistently denied that Suet Fern acted as the late Lees lawyer. But the tribunal said it was quite clear (Suet Fern) was represented to Mr Lee as the lawyer responsible for the last (and not first) will. It concluded that the facts showed an unsavoury tale of how Hsien Yang and Suet Fern persuaded an ailing 90-year-old Lee to sign a new will without legal advice from his usual lawyer. They cut off that lawyer from communications with Mr Lee on the last will, and rushed through the execution of the last will, in her absence, the report said. Contrary to her denials that she was acting as Lees lawyer, and that she was only helping as a family member, daughter-in-law and an obedient wife, Suet Fern took over as the lawyer to prepare the last will and advise Lee. She misled Mr Lee on the terms of the last will, asserting that he was persuaded to sign the last will in a matter of 16 hours. A draft of it was sent to him at 7.08pm on 16 December, 2013. He signed it at 11.10am the next day. Suet Fern, said the tribunal, gave the briefest of advice to Mr Lee, and did not alert Mr Lee to all the differences between what Mr Lee had earlier wanted and what the last will actually provided for. The tribunal also had harsh words for Hsien Yang, stating that, he tried to hide how he and his wife had misled his own father, Mr Lee, on the last will. He had no qualms about making up evidence as he went along. We found him to be cynical about telling the truth, the report said. The demolition clause The former Lee family home at 38 Oxley Road (Yahoo News Singapore file photo) In the tribunals hearings last July, Suet Fern testified in her own defence while Hsien Yang appeared as a witness. Other witnesses called included lawyer Bernard Lui from Suet Ferns firm Stamford Law. Lui and his colleague Elizabeth Kong went to 38 Oxley Road on the morning of 17 December 2013. In a span of 15 minutes, they met Lee Kuan Yew and the last will was executed. At the heart of the matter was a clause in Lees will stating that 38 Oxley Road was to be demolished upon his death but only after Wei Ling had moved out. This was in earlier versions of the will but later deleted. The final will reinstated the demolition clause, as well as equal shares of Lee's estate to all three of his offspring. A total of six wills had been drafted earlier, with Kwa Kim Li acting as his lawyer. During the hearings, the Law Society's lawyers, Senior Counsel Tan Chee Meng, Koh Swee Yen and Eugene Oh, argued there was an implied retainer between Suet Fern and the late Lee. They also asserted that Lee was not advised on how the last will differed from the sixth or penultimate will done in 2012. In its report, the tribunal noted that the couple did not explain why the first will was chosen when it had been superseded five times. "The respondent and Mr Lee Hsien Yang say that Mr Lee decided this himself. We only have their word for this and, in this case, on many aspects where there was other evidence, it was clear that both of them were lying, and had acted dishonestly," the tribunal said in its report. Lee Kuan Yew knew exactly what he wanted The late Lee Kuan Yew was Singapore's Prime Minister from 1965 to 1990 (Yahoo News Singapore file photo.) Suet Fern was represented by Senior Counsels Kenneth Tan and Walter Woon, lawyer Abraham Vergis and two others from Providence Law. The mother of three denied being Lees lawyer and rejected the assertion of an implied retainer. She also argued that if she was in a position of conflict of interest, her father-in-law was fully aware and chose to proceed. In submissions to the tribunal, Woon described the Law Societys argument that Suet Fern and Hsien Yang deliberately cut Kwa Kim Li out and got Lee to execute his last will in her absence, and misleading him as to its contents as being totally implausible. Woon, a former Attorney-General, pointed out that if the couple had meant to cut Kwa out, there was no reason to send her a copy of the draft Will before execution nor to tell her after the event that it had been done. If there were any irregularities, they would have been exposed practically immediately, said Woon. He added that the December 2013 will merely re-affirmed the equal division of his estate made by Lee in his original 2011 will, which reflected the agreement among the siblings. In addition, Suet Fern became aware that Lee originally had given Wei Ling an extra one-seventh share in the penultimate will only several months after his death. Therefore, there could not have been a breach of duty on her part. Furthermore, Woon asserted, The Tribunal is being invited to make a finding that Mr Lee did not understand his own Will despite reading and re-reading it not just once but several times. The alternative which the Law Society is putting forward is that Mr Lee Kuan Yew, a very brilliant lawyer and world statesman, did not understand his own will despite reading it several times. He also noted that there has been no suggestion by the Law Society that Lee was not in full command of his faculties at the time he executed his will in December 2013. There has also been no allegation that Suet Fern had influenced Lee by undue influence or unconscionable conduct Anyone who has ever had dealings with Mr Lee Kuan Yew would find the very idea utterly laughable. Mr Lee Kuan Yew was a dominating character of sharp intellect who knew exactly what he wanted and was accustomed to having his instructions carried out without delay, said Woon. This story has been updated to include Lee Suet Ferns comments on the disciplinary tribunals ruling. Related stories: Li Shengwu: I will no longer take part in contempt of court proceedings, have unfriended Hongyi Lee Kuan Yew never accepted Ministerial Committees options for Oxley Road home: Hsien Yang Lee Hsien Yang refutes PMs claim of role wife played in Lee Kuan Yews last will An insult to suggest Lee Kuan Yew did not understand his own will: Hsien Yang Lee Hsien Yang, Lee Wei Ling say they have no confidence in Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong Ministerial panel reveals 3 broad options for 38 Oxley Road house PM Lee in Parliament: Allegations of abuse of power by my siblings are entirely baseless TASHKENT (Reuters) - Uzbekistan will liberalize its domestic migration system which bars provincial dwellers from moving to the capital unless they have already secured a job there, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said on Friday. The system inherited from the Soviet era in effect barred those living in the provinces from seeking jobs in Tashkent, with the result that many people have chosen to find employment abroad instead. "We have kept our people shackled for 30 years, it's true," Mirziyoyev said in his annual address to parliament. Tashkent, which is undergoing a construction boom and offers higher wages compared with the provinces, has a population of 2.5 million, and more than 30 million Uzbeks live elsewhere in the Central Asian country. Unemployment is one of the biggest concerns for Mirziyoyev's government which has been implementing a series of economic reforms over the last three years that have increased demand for labor in the capital. In another move aimed at reducing unemployment, Uzbekistan plans to train a million people in software programming skills, Mirziyoyev said on Friday. (Reporting by Mukhammadsharif Mamatkulov; Writing by Olzhas Auyezov, Editing by William Maclean) Through eight grueling years of the Revolutionary War, and another eight as the first President of the United States, George Washington was sustained by a dream of the day he would return to Mount Vernon, his beloved plantation high above the Potomac River, where at 65 years old he aspired to a peaceful retirement as a farmer. But that's not quite how it turned out. "He got anything but a peaceful retirement," said biographer Jonathan Horn. "His retirement was filled with controversy, intrigue, and personal torment." mount-vernon-plantation-620.jpg George Washington's home at Mount Vernon, Va. CBS News Horn is the author of "Washington's End: The Final Years and Forgotten Struggle" (published by Scribner, a part of ViacomCBS), which begins where most Washington biographies end as he rode off into the sunset. washingtons-end-scribner-vertical.jpg Scribner But at Mount Vernon, he quickly became restless. Horn compares him to a lion in a cage. "He was waiting for news from the capital of Philadelphia he'd be pacing back and forth," Horn said. "He could go for miles on this piazza." The year was 1798. France was attacking American ships at sea, and war with the former ally seemed imminent. Washington was named commander in chief of the new army, even though, according to the Constitution, that title belonged to President John Adams. Even though, Washington accepted the position, and just over a year after stepping down as president, he was back in Philadelphia. "So, he just couldn't let go?" said CBS News chief Washington correspondent Chip Reid. "It was really hard to let go," Horn said. "He had created this country. This country is his legacy. And he's worried about what's going to happen to it." His prized reputation took a beating, as enemies including former friends Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and James Monroe condemned him for acting like a king. Story continues "So, that should dispel the idea that all of our founding fathers were good friends," said Horn. In a remarkable parallel to today's politics, Washington's Federalist Party accused France of meddling in the presidential election at the request of Jefferson and his fellow Republicans. The so-called quasi-war with France soon cooled off, and Washington returned to Mount Vernon. Though he was just 66 years old, he was plagued with a series of torments, including his health. As Horn writes: "His hands are not as steady as they once were. His back stoops. His hearing has weakened but not so much that he does not hear the whispers about his senility. His memory, always bad, has become worse. His vision has declined." But perhaps worst of all, his teeth were gone, replaced by dentures, not made of wood as the old story goes, but of ivory, animal teeth, and human teeth (possibly from enslaved people he owned). It's no wonder Washington rarely smiled. george-washington-dentures.jpg George Washington's dentures. CBS News As for his relationship with Martha Washington in those final years, Horn said, "By this time in his life he will tell you that marriage is the great joy of life." But he and Martha were raising two grandchildren from her first marriage, and even the "Father of Our Country" struggled to keep up with the demands of parenthood. "He's constantly disappointed by Martha's grandson, George Washington Parke Custis," said Horn. "He keeps dropping out of schools. The boy promises to do better, he never actually does." Despite his good relationship with Martha, he still appeared to have strong feelings for Sally Fairfax, a married woman he had loved in his youth. "We know that because he wrote a letter to Sally Fairfax," said Horn, "and he said all of the things he had done in his life since then had not brought him as much joy as the time he spent with Sally Fairfax as a young man." Other family secrets may be lost forever because, tragically for historians, Martha burned almost all of their letters to protect their privacy. george-washington-chip-reid-mount-vernon-620.jpg CBS News' Chip Reid with Doug Bradburn, president and CEO of Mount Vernon. CBS News Reid asked Doug Bradburn, president and CEO of Mount Vernon, "What did this place, Mount Vernon, mean to George Washington?" "This was home for him. It was his sanctuary," he replied. Bradburn said, despite all the challenges here, Washington did fulfill some of his dreams: He became a pioneer of modern farming, experimenting with seeds and fertilizers, and he built one of the nation's largest whiskey distilleries. Bradburn showed Reid Washington's study: "I like to call it his man cave. I mean, this is where he loved to do his work, massive correspondence, corresponding with people all over the world." mount-vernon-george-washington-desk-620.jpg George Washington's desk. CBS News Successful as he was, it's important to note that Washington would have never done well as a farmer and businessman without the 300-plus enslaved people who toiled at Mount Vernon. Bradburn said that during the war Washington's views on slavery changed in part due to the heroism of black soldiers. "He hopes there's some way that legislation will be passed to end slavery," he said. But his actions sometimes contradicted his words. According to Horn's book, Washington said that getting work out of his slaves sometimes required "a little of the overseer's whip." He remained a slave-owner until his death. George Washington passed away in his and Martha's bedchamber. And, sadly, what a grim death it was, from a throat infection, easily cured with antibiotics today. His doctors repeatedly bled him (the practice at the time) of about five pints of blood, which only made him weaker. Said Bradburn, "He basically suffocated to death." "The father of our country suffocated to death, in his bed?" asked Reid. "It's a brutal way to go." mount-vernon-george-washington-bed-chamberjpg.jpg George and Martha Washington's bed chamber. CBS News When death was near, he dressed in fine clothes. Surrounded by family, doctors, and slaves, his last words were simply: "'Tis Well." George Washington was 67 years old. "He went out in that sort of stoical fashion that he wanted to project," said Bradburn, "and he knew people would be telling this story for centuries. And so, he wanted to do it in style." George Washington let go of life like he let go of political power: bravely, and with one eye on history. READ AN EXCERPT: "Washington's End" by Jonathan Horn For more info: "Washington's End: The Final Years and Forgotten Struggle" by Jonathan Horn (Scribner), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available via AmazonGeorge Washington's Mount Vernon Story produced by Maggie Dore. Nature: Frozen waterfalls "Sunday Morning" news and viewer mail Faith Salie on the corporate buzzword "team" A strengthening storm is expected to dump snow on interior portions of the Northeast, setting up lake-effect snow that will continue even after the storm departs. Snow will develop over the middle part of the Mississippi Valley, extend across the central Great Lakes and into part of southern Canada Tuesday and Tuesday night. This snow accumulated up to a few inches of snow over the northern Plains through Monday night. At the same time, this storm will send rain showers into the Northeast, with perhaps some wet snow mixing with rain in far northern New England. A second storm will come into the Northeast from the south, spreading snow across the northern tier of the region. More snow will spread from the Ohio Valley to New England from Wednesday through Thursday as the second storm catches up to the first storm and becomes a much stronger system as a result. The potential exists for a swath of significant snow to develop on the storm's colder, northwest flank, which will mostly be in Canada and in northern New England. In these areas, 6-12 inches of accumulation is possible with an AccuWeather Local StormMax of 16 inches. Colder air will sweep eastward and catch up with lingering moisture during the middle of the week. Farther south, for portions of the eastern Ohio Valley and western slopes of the Appalachians, precipitation will begin as rain Wednesday before changing to snow later in the day. "Precipitation will change over from rain to snow as the storm and the cold air moves eastward across central New York and northern New England," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alan Reppert. This mixing will limit snowfall totals to just a few inches in the central Appalachians, with little or no snow along the coast. This amount of snow is still enough to cause slippery spots on untreated surfaces from northern Pennsylvania to Vermont, including on portions of Interstates 80, 81, 86, 87 and 91. CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP Story continues The same areas that have been in a snow drought this winter, namely along the I-95 corridor from Connecticut to Maryland, will once again miss out, much to the dismay of snow lovers. Washington, D.C., has picked up 0.6 of an inch of snow this season. Typically, by this point the nation's capital has received 12.9 inches. Farther north, Philadelphia has recorded just 0.3 of an inch of snow or 2% of normal so far this season and New York City has picked up only 4.8 inches of snow so far this season, a mere 26% of its normal snowfall. While the storm is not expected to bring heavy snow to this region of the East Coast, but is likely to generate strong winds in this area. This satellite image shows areas of the Northeast that have snow on the ground on Feb. 24. 2020. More snow is on the way for much of these areas this week. (NASA/MODIS) "While the storm during the middle part of the week would bring rain to the coastal Northeast and even a large part of the central Appalachians, it is likely to be an effective wind producer," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dave Dombek. Rainfall amounts of 0.5 of an inch to 1 inch are possible on the milder, southern side of the storm Wednesday through Wednesday night. The gusty winds, bringing the fresh, Arctic air over the Great Lakes, will generate some fierce lake-effect snow behind these storms. After starting in the western Great Lakes late on Wednesday, the cold air and wind on the backside of the storm will spread lake-effect snow to the eastern Great Lakes. The lake-enhanced snow could continue into the weekend. "Lake-effect snow can pile up in feet downwind of Lake Ontario with this setting up to be a multi-day event east of Ontario," Reppert said. "Even Lake Erie will have some areas that look to pick up over a foot of snow." Snowfall totals of this magnitude have been mostly absent so far this winter in the eastern Great Lakes. As the snow winds down, a lingering chill is expected to close out the month of February. Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios. Bernie Sanderss win has solidified his front-runner status in the crowded field (Eric Gay/PA) Bernie Sanderss commanding Nevada caucus victory has made him a top target for his Democratic rivals. It is also a growing source of anxiety for establishment Democrats worried that the nomination of a self-avowed democratic socialist could cost the party the White House. Mr Sanderss win solidified his front-runner status in the crowded field as the race turns to Saturdays presidential primary in South Carolina, where his moderate opponents will scramble to try to blunt the Vermont senators momentum. Three days later after that contest, 14 states vote on Super Tuesday, March 3, when one-third of the delegates are awarded. In Nevada, we have just brought together a multi-generational, multi-racial coalition which is not only going to win in Nevada, it's going to sweep this countryBernie Sanders A strong showing in those states could put Mr Sanders on a smooth path to the nomination against Republican president Donald Trump. That prospect has amplified concerns for Democrats who believe Mr Sanderss liberal policies will drive away moderate and independent voters in the general election in November. Jim Clyburn, the top-ranking black leader in Congress, warned of added risk for Democrats if Mr Sanders was the nominee. I think it would be a real burden for us in these states or congressional districts that we have to do well in, Mr Clyburn told This Week on ABC. He said that congressional districts that helped Democrats win back the House were moderate and conservative. In those districts, its going to be tough to hold on to these jobs if you have to make the case for accepting a self-proclaimed democratic socialist, Mr Clyburn added. Rival Pete Buttigieg denounced Mr Sanders in the sharpest terms yet (Meg Kinnard/AP) Mr Sanderss campaign argue the candidate will bring in new voters largely progressives and young people who have been alienated by politics. He successfully relied on that coalition on Saturday to dominate his Democratic rivals in Nevada, pulling far ahead of second-place finisher former vice president Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who came in third. Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren landed in fourth, while Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar and Tom Steyer were still in a close race for fifth on Sunday. We are bringing our people together, Mr Sanders said on Saturday. In Nevada, we have just brought together a multi-generational, multi-racial coalition which is not only going to win in Nevada, its going to sweep this country. Mr Sanderss new status was clear as both Mr Buttigieg and Mr Biden went after him harder than they have before. In his speech to supporters in Las Vegas, Mr Buttigieg denounced Sanders in his sharpest terms yet, claiming that the senator was calling for an inflexible, ideological revolution that leaves out most Democrats. The stakes were high for Nevada Democrats to avoid a repeat of the chaos in the still-unresolved Iowa caucuses, and it appeared Saturdays contest was largely successful. But Mr Buttigiegs campaign is raising questions about the results, citing more than 200 reports of problems allocating votes. It wants the state party to disclose more details of the votes and address concerns before releasing final results. But the party said it was not planning to offer a more detailed voting breakdown and appeared to be inviting the campaign to follow recount rules if it wanted to challenge the results. Half of young Australian women experience sexually-related personal distress, with one in five women having at least one female sexual dysfunction (FSD), new research by Monash University shows. A study conducted by the Women's Health Research Program at Monash University has reported, for the first time, an overall picture of the sexual wellbeing of Australian women between the ages of 18 and 39. The findings have been published today (Monday 24 February 2020) in the international journal, Fertility and Sterility. Results showed 50.2 per cent of young Australian women experienced some form of sexually-related personal distress. This relates to the degree of feeling guilty, embarrassed, stressed or unhappy about their sex lives. A concerning 29.6 per cent of women experienced sexually-related personal distress without dysfunction, and 20.6 per cent had at least one FSD. The most common FSD was low sexual self-image, which caused distress for 11 per cent of study participants. Arousal, desire, orgasm and responsiveness dysfunction affected 9 per cent, 8 per cent, 7.9 per cent and 3.4 per cent of the study cohort respectively. Sexual self-image dysfunction was associated with being overweight, obese, living together with partner, not married, married and breastfeeding. Taking psychotropic medication (such as antidepressants), reported by 20 per cent of surveyed women, had the most pervasive impact on sexual function. The use of the combined oral contraceptive pill was not associated with any sexual dysfunction. "Sexual wellbeing is recognised as a fundamental human right. It is of great concern that one in five young women have an apparent sexual dysfunction and half of all women within this age group experience sexually-related personal distress," senior author and Professor of Women's Health at Monash University, Susan Davis, said. "This is a wake-up call to the community and signals the importance of health professionals being open and adequately prepared to discuss young women's sexual health concerns." The Grollo-Ruzzene Foundation Younger Women's Health Study, funded by Grollo Ruzzene Foundation, recruited 6986 women aged 18-39 years, living in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, to take part in the study. All women completed a questionnaire that assessed their sexual wellbeing in terms of desire, arousal, responsiveness, orgasm, and self-image. Participants also evaluated whether they had sexually-associated personal distress and provided extensive demographic information. Almost one-third of participants described themselves as single, 47 per cent had a body mass index within the normal range, and nearly 70 per cent had reported being sexually active in the 30 days preceding the study. Women who habitually monitored their appearance, and for whom appearance determined their level of physical self-worth, reported being less sexually assertive and more self-conscious during intimacy, and experienced lower sexual satisfaction. Professor Davis said if untreated, sexually-related personal distress and FSD could impact relationships and overall quality of life as women aged. "The high prevalence of sexually-related personal distress signals the importance of health professionals, particularly those working in the fields of gynaecology and fertility, being adequately prepared to routinely ask young women about any sexual health concerns, and to have an appropriate management or referral pathway in place," Professor Davis said. ### The study, titled 'The prevalence of sexual dysfunctions and sexually-related distress in young women: a cross-sectional survey', was authored by: Ms Jia Zheng, Dr Marina Skiba, Professor Robin Bell, Dr Rakibul Islam and Professor Susan Davis from Monash University's School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine. To download a copy of the paper, please visit https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2019.09.027 MEDIA ENQUIRIES T: +61 3 9903 4840 E: media@monash.edu Beijing, Feb 23 : President Xi Jinping has said that the coronavirus epidemic that has killed over 2,400 people is China's "biggest public health emergency". "It has the fastest transmission, widest range of infection and has been the most difficult to prevent and control," Xi said at a meeting in Beijing to advance the work on coordinating the prevention and control of the COVID-19 and economic and social development. Xi Jinping stressed on unremitting efforts on the prevention and control of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic and coordination in advancing economic and social development, Xinhua news agency reported. The meeting was presided over by Premier Li Keqiang and also attended by Li Zhanshu, Wang Yang, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji and Han Zheng. A Trump platter, comprising signature dishes from ITC Mauryas restaurant Bukhara with a little customisation, is likely to be laid out for US President Donald Trump during his maiden visit to India, sources said. The Bukhara restaurant, which has hosted several heads of states, including former US presidents, and has not altered its menu for the last 41 years. Like his predecessors, Trump is likely to dine at the iconic restaurant where a Trump platter is likely to be laid out for him. It will be customised according to his taste, the sources said. Also Watch | Watch: US President Trump shares morphed Baahubali video of himself ahead of visit The hotel, however, has not revealed anything about the arrangements made for Trump, including the food. Barack Obama had visited India twice in 2010 and 2015 as the president and he was served the Obama platter. Since then, the dish has become a part of the menu and is also very popular among the guests. The Obama platter consists of tandoori jhinga, machhli tikka, murg boti Bukhara and kebabs. When Bill Clinton had visited Bukhara as the president, the hotel had introduced Clinton platter and Chelsea platter. Bukharas dishes are mainly tandoor based and has an assortment of kebabs, the signature Dal Bukhara and breads like Khasta Roti, Bharwan Kulcha. Trump is also likely to be gifted an apron with a painting of M F Husain. Legend has it that Husain was so impressed with Bukhara that he painted his trademark horse on his canvas while having food at the restaurant. This trademark horse has been replicated on the aprons that are given as mementos to the guests. These aprons will also be presented to the Trumps, the sources said. When Obama had stayed at the ITC Maurya in 2015, he was served food from the hotels roof top European restaurant WestView where he dined with top CEOs from India and US on January 26. The dinner was hosted at the Grand Presidential Floor. First Lady Michelle Obama chose to experience the famed Bukhara cuisine and had a private dinner with select members. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 11, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cannabix Technologies Inc. (CSE: BLO) (OTC PINK: BLOZF) (the Company or Cannabix) developer of marijuana breathalyzer devices for law enforcement and the workplace is pleased to report that Dr. Moe Paknahad has joined the Company as VP of Technology Development. Dr. Paknahad will help direct product development of Cannabixs THC breathalyzer devices. Dr. Paknahad is an Electrical Engineer who has spent last 10 years on research and development and product development in biomedical and environmental monitoring devices with skills in prototyping, piloting and commercialization. Dr. Paknahad received his PhD in electrical engineering at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and completed his post-doctorate at the University of Toronto. He is a specialist in the areas of microfluidics, machine olfaction, sensors, organ-on-chip and lab-on-chip technologies. More recently he served as a product development specialist at CellScale Biomaterials and VitroFlo based in Ontario developing organ-on-chip in-vitro devices for drug screening purposes. In addition, he served as a technical lead and co-founder of early stage company developing energy harvesting technology. Dr. Paknahad played a significant role at UBC helping invent microfluidic gas analysis technology which is used for different applications ranging from human breath analysis to gas leakage detection in natural gas infrastructures. Dr. Raj Attariwala stated, Dr. Paknahad has deep knowledge of sensor technologies, pilot prototype production as well as commercialization and will be a great addition to our technical team for both microfluidic technologies and FAIMS. The Company has granted 200,000 stock options exercisable at $.80 for period of 2 years. About Cannabix Technologies Inc. Cannabix Technologies Inc. is a leader in marijuana breathalyzer development for law enforcement and the workplace. Cannabix has established breath testing technologies in the pursuit of bringing durable, portable tools to market to enhance detection of marijuana impaired driving offences on roads at a time when marijuana is becoming legal in many global jurisdictions. Cannabix is working to develop drug-testing devices that will detect THC- the psychoactive component of marijuana that causes intoxication- using breath samples. In particular, Cannabix is focused on developing breath testing devices for detection of recent use of THC, in contrast to urine testing for THC metabolite that requires an invasive collection and reflects usage, days or even weeks earlier. The devices will also be useful for other practical applications such as testing employees in the workplace where impairment by THC can be hazardous. We seek Safe Harbor. On behalf of the Board of Directors Rav Mlait CEO Cannabix Technologies Inc. For further information, contact the Company at info@cannabixtechnologies.com The CSE has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking information that involves various risks and uncertainties regarding future events. Such forward-looking information can include without limitation statements based on current expectations involving a number of risks and uncertainties and are not guarantees of future performance of the Company, such as final development of a commercial or prototype product(s), successful trial or pilot of company technologies, no assurance that commercial sales of any kind actually materialize; no assurance the Company will have sufficient funds to complete product development. There are numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and the Companys plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information, including: (i) adverse market conditions; (ii) risks regarding protection of proprietary technology; (iii) the ability of the Company to complete financings; (iv) the ability of the Company to develop and market its future product; and (v) risks regarding government regulation, managing and maintaining growth, the effect of adverse publicity, litigation, competition and other factors which may be identified from time to time in the Company's public announcements and filings. There is no assurance that the marijuana breathalyzer business will provide any benefit to the Company, and no assurance that any proposed new products will be built or proceed. There is no assurance that existing patent pending technologies licensed by the Company will receive patent status by regulatory authorities. The Company is not currently selling commercial breathalyzers. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. These and all subsequent written and oral forward-looking information are based on estimates and opinions of management on the dates they are made and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this notice. Except as required by law, the Company does not intend to update these forward-looking statements. Hitting out at the central government for spending crores of rupees to welcome Donald Trump, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Saturday called the US President Mogambo, the villain essayed by late actor Amrish Puri in the Bollywood film Mr India. He claimed that the government is doing everything to make Mogambo happy. What is the need to spend crore of rupees from the governments treasury? People living in slums are being forced to hide or move to make Trump happy. Is this the right behaviour? Gujarat was developed by Modi as a model for others but the poor are being exploited there. It is like we will do everything to make Mogambo happy. We will protest against the Modi government, he told ANI. Chowdhury, who is Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha, has also declined the invitation by Rashtrapati Bhavan for the banquet being organised in honour of Trump on February 25, citing that the similar invitation was not extended to partys interim president Sonia Gandhi. Trump is coming here. India to host a grand dinner for him but the Opposition is not invited. Why Sonia Gandhi ji is not invited for dinner with Trump. In Howdy Modi event, both Republican and Democrats shared the stage. But here, only Modi will be with Trump. What kind of democracy is this? Chowdhury said, adding that the Centre should respect democracy. Trump is coming to India is a very big thing. The US is a powerful nation and we welcome their president in our country. The country which he represents is considered as the oldest democracy and India as the biggest democracy. Democracy has some features which everyone shall respect, he said. The US President and First Lady Melania Trump will be visiting India on February 24 and 25. Trump will first visit Prime Minister Narendra Modis home state Gujarat and take part in a roadshow with the Prime Minister in Ahmedabad. He will also address at the Namaste Trump event at Motera Stadium in the city. Later, he will visit the Taj Mahal in Agra and attend a cultural programme in the city. Trump will then travel to Delhi where he will hold delegation-level talks with the Prime Minister and meet other leaders. Nurses will be trained to perform surgical procedures under a radical NHS drive to slash waiting times. They will be urged to take a two-year course to become 'surgical care practitioners' and help ease the workload of under-pressure surgeons. But critics say the plan is a 'sticking plaster solution' to a 'very serious staffing crisis', and it will only intensify existing nursing shortages. Nurses will be trained to perform surgical procedures under a radical NHS drive to slash waiting times (stock image) Under the proposal, the qualified nurses will be responsible for procedures including the removal of hernias, benign cysts and some skin cancers. They will also undertake key tasks during major surgery including heart bypasses and hip and knee replacements. The plans are expected to be laid out in the NHS's People Plan next month. This will set out how the health service needs to transform its working practices to keep pace with the demands of a growing and ageing population. Medical leaders say they have 'very little anxiety' about the plans, but patients may be alarmed at the thought of their operations being performed by non-surgeons. Surgical care practitioners will have done five years' training a three-year degree as a nurse or another healthcare professional, followed by a two-year masters course. Surgeons have up to 16 years' training including six years at medical school and ten years learning specialist surgical skills. Latest NHS figures show that 43,600 nursing posts or 12 per cent are vacant, at a time when demand for good nursing care has never been higher. NHS waiting times are at their worst in 13 years, with 4.4 million patients languishing on lists, some of whom have been there more than a year. The plans are expected to be laid out in the NHS's People Plan next month despite objections from critics (stock image) The delays have intensified over the past year with up to 70 per cent of surgeons cutting back on their hours to avoid punitive pension taxes imposed by the Treasury. There are currently about 800 surgical care practitioners working in hospitals. Leading surgeons say there would need to be 'thousands' more to make a real difference, although other sources suggest it will initially be in the 'hundreds'. Lib Dem health spokesman Munira Wilson said: 'This is a sticking plaster solution to very serious staffing crisis across our NHS workforce.' Caroline Abrahams, of Age UK, added: 'Anything that helps older people to get the surgery they need more speedily has to be worth trying, providing the arrangements are proven to be safe and have the appropriate clinical oversight.' What nurses will do... Operations nurses could be asked to do after training as surgical care practitioners: Removing hernias Removing benign cysts Removing some facial skin cancers Carpal tunnel surgery to relieve pressure on a nerve in a wrist Some tasks in heart surgery such as taking a section of tissue from a vein in the leg, which is then inserted into the heart by a surgeon Closing up incisions after operations Advertisement Professor Michael Griffin, president of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, said: 'We are totally supportive of this. We have very little anxiety about this. 'I don't need to tell you about waiting lists. A lot of the procedures are very reproducible, straightforward, very important, but they are relatively small operations that can be managed quickly and efficiently.' Surgical care practitioners earn about 50,000 a year twice the average nursing salary of 25,000 a year making it an attractive career path. Many surgical care practitioners started their careers as nurses but others were employed as 'operating department practitioners' theatre staff who have done a three-year degree. Although the Royal College of Surgeons supports the plans, it is concerned that surgical care practitioners won't be properly regulated. Nurses who retrain to become surgical care practitioners will still be overseen by the Nursing and Midwifery Council. The college believes they should be regulated by the General Medical Council, the doctors' professional watchdog. An NHS spokesman said: 'The NHS is supporting the Government to deliver its pledge to deliver 50,000 more nurses. 'This will require a combination of training and recruiting nurses, and helping our amazing staff who may otherwise have considered leaving our health service altogether, to retrain, upskill, develop their careers and stay in the NHS.' New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy speaks at the State of the State address in Trenton on Jan. 14. He announced Saturday that he will have surgery to remove a kidney tumor. Read more In the last couple of decades, as internal imaging has gotten better and more common, doctors have been finding more instances of kidney tumors, such as the one Gov. Phil Murphy announced this weekend that he has. But theres good news. A lot of kidney masses we find are nonaggressive and really arent destined to get people into trouble, Alexander Kutikov, chief of the division of urologic oncology at Fox Chase Cancer Center, said Sunday. Theres a really wide spectrum of disease severity in kidney cancer. The governor announced Saturday that doctors plan to remove the tumor on his left kidney in early March and that his prognosis is very good. The tumor was found during an intestinal test. It was unclear whether it is cancerous. Roughly 400,000 people in the United States are living with a kidney cancer diagnosis. Roughly 20% to 30% of the kidney tumors that surgeons remove are benign, Kutikov said. Many kidney tumors, especially when they are small, are detected by routine screening for something else. Murphys tumor is about three centimeters wide, which makes all the difference, said Kutikov and Naomi Haas, a doctor and director of the kidney and prostate cancer clinical program at Penns Abramson Cancer Center. Generally, most masses of that size have a very low risk of spreading," she said Sunday. When a kidney tumor is that size, doctors can monitor it over years or decades to see whether it grows, or they can remove it. Its a decision that patients with small tumors make in consultation with their doctors, based, for example, on their risk factors. Tobacco exposure and obesity can raise a persons risk for kidney cancer, as well as having several relatives who have had the disease. Murphy has said his family has no known history of cancer. Most kidney surgeries are minimally invasive and require small incisions. The governor could be back to work in two to four weeks, depending on how the surgery goes, Haas said. Most patients in the governors situation dont need additional treatment because the risk of tumors returning is low, she said. She said shes grateful to Murphy for talking publicly about his tumor. Whenever somebody speaks out about a diagnosis," she said, its bringing awareness. Peter Webers season of The Bachelor has been filled with drama. A surefire sign of a dramatic season? Canceled cocktail parties. Throughout Webers season, viewers felt as if the pilot was canceling events left and right. He canceled the first group date after his emotional conversation with Hannah Brown, he walked out of a pool party, and cocktail parties were either canceled or cut short. Peter Weber and contestants | Eric McCandless via Getty Images Why Peter Weber canceled or cut short so many group events In a recent interview the bachelor did with Buzzfeed, he spoke about his choice to cancel the cocktail party in Costa Rica. I knew what I wanted to do and there was no reason delaying the inevitable. Being on this side of it, there is this part of sympathy. You dont want to have to put someone through a cocktail party and have a conversation with someone that you already know youre sending home. Its tough, Its a weird position to be in, he said. He also touched on why he canceled the pool party in the midst of all the Alayah Benavidez drama. I was taking so much from everyone and it was tough. I was kind of just overwhelmed and I didnt like what I was hearing about people, what they were saying about Alayah. I just kind of needed to go and take a deep breath and decompress. Obviously, it caused drama but it is what it is, he said. Peter Weber liked being the bachelor more than he liked being on The Bachelorette Though Weber says The Bachelor was more challenging than he ever could have imagined, he still liked being in the lead role way more than he liked being a contestant on The Bachelorette. I loved being the bachelor, for sure, more than being on The Bachelorette. The Bachelorette was awesome but Ive never had that huge personality so group dates were always a little weird for me. I didnt want to have to try too hard to stick out, he said. So I always kind of battled with that. But being the bachelor, youre very lucky to have a lot of amazing women there trying to pursue a relationship with you as well. Peter Weber wishes he would have done things differently Through all of his ups and downs as the bachelor, Weber says that, though he wishes he did some things differently, he gives himself grace. Of course I wish I did things differently. I think anyone going through this kind of experience would have that. But I just know and I can feel confident that in the moment I was making every decision based on my heart and what I thought was the right decision. Its so easy for people to judge and make all these comments on what I should and shouldnt have done but I know nothing going around. I know nothing except for my interactions with everyone in that moment, he said. Weber continued: I give myself a lot of self-grace for that. I dont beat myself up at all. I know I could have put my foot down a lot more in a lot of situations but I am also a personI love to give people the benefit of the doubt. I want to see the good in people. Its a quality Im proud of myself for having but in this specific situation it definitely kind of bit me and it is what it is. It is what it is. Read more: Well, It Looks Like Hannah Brown Will Probably Not Be The Next Bachelorette Divers Spot Wounded Manta Ray Asking for HelpThen They See Fishhooks and Rush to the Rescue The content is not available due to expiration. Simone Greco (nee Morris) of Appia Antica, Rome, Italy and originally from Marlbog Road, Haggardstown, Dundalk, passed away on 31 December, 2019, with her loving husband Roberto by her side and in the care of The Policlinico Tor Vergata Hospital, Roma. She will be sadly missed by her beloved husband, Roberto and son, Patrick; her mother, Ann-Marie; father, Richard; sisters, Zana and Arlene; brothers, Lyndon and Peter; nieces, Anika and Ariana. Simone grew up in Dundalk and having attended the Dundalk Grammar School, then moved to Dublin where she studied Fashion Design at the Grafton Academy. She loved sailing and horse riding and met her husband while sailing in St.Tropez. They married in Rome in 2003. With her husband by her side she worked in the Greco family fashion label, Blunauta, doing what she loved most designing her own fashion line. She was a keen traveller in her youth and continued her many adventures worldwide with her family. In Rome she made her home and created many beautiful memories with her husband and son. In 2018 she was diagnosed with Leukemia and sadly passed away on New Year's Eve, 2019. Her funeral took place on Friday, 3 January, 2020, at Chiesa di San Sebastiano, via Appia Antica, Roma, followed by burial at Rocca di Papa, Roma. Simone was taken too soon and will forever shine a light in her familys hearts. Spread your wings and fly our beautiful angel Boris Johnson is at loggerheads with Whitehall's most powerful mandarin over a top-secret 5 billion spy satellite project. The Prime Minister announced his vision of a post-Brexit independent British space presence in his first speech on the steps of Downing Street last year. But Mr Johnson and his closest aide Dominic Cummings were furious when Sir Mark Sedwill branded the project 'unrealistic and unaffordable' and revealed his officials were working on a cheaper alternative. Boris Johnson is at loggerheads with Whitehall's most powerful mandarin over a top-secret 5 billion spy satellite project At a tense meeting in No 10, a 'visibly angry' Mr Johnson put his head in his hands and berated the head of the Civil Service for putting dampers on the highly classified project. When he was met with a slew of negative comments about the space programme that is months behind schedule, the PM snapped: 'Why am I only hearing about this now?' Sir Mark's response that he was 'going to tell you about it after this meeting' was met with short shrift by the angry Prime Minister. He said he had already announced the project and demanded that Sir Mark get it back on track. The UK currently relies on an American satellite system for navigational guidance of our drones, missiles, ships and other espionage projects. Britain was leading the way in an EU system called Galileo but was ousted from the project in a Brexit spat with Brussels. But Mr Johnson and his closest aide Dominic Cummings were furious when Sir Mark Sedwill (pictured) branded the project 'unrealistic and unaffordable' and revealed his officials were working on a cheaper alternative In one of his first acts in office, Mr Johnson gave a British alternative the green light. He said: 'Let's get going now on our own position navigation and timing satellite and earth observation systems UK assets orbiting in space with all the long-term strategic and commercial benefits for this country.' But it is understood that officials led by Sir Mark want a cheaper system that would not be purely independent and sovereign. The row comes amid claims Mr Cummings is trying to wrestle control of space policies from the Business Department. In the Cabinet reshuffle, Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom and Space Minister Chris Skidmore were sacked. It is understood Mr Cummings blamed them for agreeing to give the European Space Agency a further 1.8 billion in funding last year money he believed should have been spent on the new UK-only capabilities. Last year, Mr Skidmore said more than 50 companies were involved in the secret project. 'The UK Space Agency won't let me go into detail about the specific companies, but next year, around March time, there will be a 5 billion programme announced,' he added. 'We would want it fully delivered by 2030 but the first satellites would go up by 2025.' Ahead of US President Donald Trump's visit to India, Samajwadi Party on Sunday accused the central government of wasting hundreds of crores of rupees at a time the country is in the grip of an economic slowdown. In a statement issued here by the Samajwadi Party on Sunday, party chief Akhilesh Yadav also said it is ironical that Gujarat, the birthplace of Gandhiji who was an epitome of simplicity, is indulging in extravagance. "The Government of India is going to waste hundreds of crores of rupees of the public on the visit of US President Donald Trump to India. Lakhs of people are being arranged to say 'Namaste' to Trump jee. But, despite all the efforts, truth cannot be hidden. The entire world knows that slowdown has gripped the Indian economy. The Indian farmer has been pushed to darkness." The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister also attacked the state BJP government over the issue of development. He said the BJP does not endorse the qualitative development works done by the SP government. "It was during the regime of the SP government that the Agra-Lucknow Expressway was constructed. Such was the quality of the expressway that fighter jets and carrier aircraft of the IAF could land on it. The 325 kilometre long expressway has been selected as a runway to make emergency landing," he said. Yadav said the BJP government in UP is about to complete three years in office, but has "hardly done anything". "The achievement of its tenure has been 'tukbandi' (rhyming) one after the other in the name of development," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At Trump Towers Pune, which were completed a few years ago as the first project in India to bear the Trump name, only seven of 46 units are occupied, according to building employees and others with knowledge of occupancy and sales. The real estate market is now so weak, the Trump familys partners in Pune decided to not even attempt at least for now to sell half of the luxury apartments in the complex, which retail for about 35 percent more than comparable properties. Pune, Mumbai, Kolkata and Gurugram, a tech hub near New Delhi, all have Trump-branded projects. The deals in India were negotiated before Mr. Trump was elected, and the Trump family said they were contractually obligated to see them through. But the decision to push ahead has generated conflict-of-interest questions about the mixing of presidential duties with family business. Panchshil Realty, which built the towers in Pune, did not answer emailed questions. Through a spokesman, the companys chairman, Atul Chordia, declined to comment. Asked to comment on its projects in India, the Trump organization and one of its India-based partners did not dispute that their real estate projects in India, particularly in Pune and Mumbai, have faced challenges because of the downturn in the luxury real-estate market. But they argued that while they are suffering too, their sales are still better than others in the market. Despite the slowdown in India, Trump is still the most sought after luxury residential brand in the country, Kalpesh Mehta, the developer of unfinished projects in Kolkata and Gurugram, said in a statement. First, the board should not have hired a consultant who openly admitted he was not concerned with a candidates credentials. And going forward, the board needs to include an accredited doctoral degree as part of the job requirements. Many of the previous city school directors held accredited doctorates. So why would that not be essential as the school system moves into a new era with a new director, especially when the previous directors had such successful tenures? And while the school board seems to have made a huge oversight in its hiring process, the most problematic issue to come out of all this is Sisks overall behavior. The man that the school board hired to fill a position of integrity and trust has not been meeting those expectations. And Sisks own words make that a point of concern. The night the board voted to move forward with his hiring, Sisk said, I follow the rules that I expect every other principal in my system to follow. MSNBCs Chris Matthews is under fire after comparing Bernie Sanders victory in the Nevada caucuses to the Nazi invasion of France in 1940. The Hardball host is now under pressure to resign after invoking the historical comparison during an on-air conversation with Brian Williams. In the widely shared clip, he analyses the vote tally of Mr Sanders and compares his strong early performance to the lacklustre voting numbers of Joe Biden and other moderates. He then concludes by saying: I was reading last night about the fall of France [to the Nazis] in the summer of 1940. And the general, Reynaud, calls up Churchill and says, Its over. 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 And Churchill says, How can that be? Youve got the greatest army in Europe. How can it be over? He said, Its over. Although he fell shorting of explicitly naming them, it appears from his comments that he was comparing Mr Sanders to the Nazis. It was seen as particularly insensitive by some, given that Sanders, who is Jewish, had most of his family killed in the Holocaust. Mike Casca, Mr Sanders communications director, said: Never thought part of my job would be pleading with a national news network to stop likening the campaign of a Jewish presidential candidate whose family was wiped out by the nazis to the third reich. But here we are. David Sirota, who also works for Mr Sanders, also tweeted his disapproval. Mr Sirota wrote that only a few days before another American journalist, Chuck Todd, had read a passage comparing Mr Sanders votes to Nazi brown shirts, adding: Bernie is Jewish and his family was killed by the Nazis. None of this is OK. Journalist Alex Kotch wrote: For once, Im not being sarcastic here. Im dead serious. Im really, really insulted by a major pundit on an allegedly liberal news network comparing a Jewish candidates overwhelming caucus victory to the French losing a battle with the Nazis. Get this lunatic off the air. Another Twitter user, Krishan Patel, wrote: He should be fired immediately. Saturday saw Mr Sanders win the Nevada caucuses by an apparent landslide, propelling himself into solid frontrunner status among Democrats and moving his campaign one step closer to taking on Donald Trump in November. Matthews also claimed that the Trump team is sitting on so much opposition-research on Bernie ... including his views on world affairs. He added: Theyre going to kill him. I lived in Stinson Homes until I was about 7. It was a community of fourplexes, which I think were former Army barracks, on the site of what became Harlandale Memorial Stadium. I cant find anything about it on the internet. I wonder if it was former military housing, and if so for whom? I always suspected it was owned by the city. If so, was it subsidized housing? Henry Ridgeway Kind ofin that rent from these units was subsidizing other city needs at the tenants expense. They drew their name from their history as barracks to house military personnel and civilian workers at Stinson Field during World War II, when the U.S. government requisitioned San Antonios first municipal airport for use as a training base. According to a history on the Stinson Airport page on the citys website, sanantonio.gov, The military constructed more than 100 buildings for the war effort. The federal government paid the city $1 a year for its use, but deeded over the new buildings when Stinson was transferred back to the city at wars end. Many of them were one- and two-story barracks. Given the postwar housing shortage, The military barracks were converted into homes, mostly duplex-style, said Stinson Airport Manager Morris Martin. Hemmed in by the airfield and San Jose Burial Park, these buildings were located where Harlandale Stadium and Stinson Park are now, taking up most of 91st through 96th streets between Echo and Apollo streets. On ExpressNews.com: Stinson marks 100 years in 2015 The stadium takes in most of the blocks that had the two-story apartments, said David Hartin, who grew up in South Central and southeast San Antonio and remembers the neighborhood as it waned in the early-to-mid-1960s. The federal government first rented its 435 units to veterans part of a Veterans Administration emergency housing program through 1949 to relieve the postwar housing shortage, then transferred the 80-acre tract, valued at an estimated $1 million, free of charge to the city, which operated it as public housing for more than 25 years. At the time of the transfer, many of the buildings were in need of maintenance. They didnt get much. From 1952, when the San Antonio Housing Authority took over, these one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments were rented as is, at less than half of market value, with the average costing $35 a month and the most basic at $12. During the first year, the city made an $87,000 profit, having budgeted a one-time $76,000 for rehabilitation of buildings originally intended as temporary. In later years, with smaller amounts spent for maintenance, the net income would be greater, predicted the San Antonio Express, April 16, 1955. Once the city assumed responsibility, there was no means test for residents, and some city employees, who apparently had an inside track, lived there for the rock-bottom rents. There were a few amenities provided during the early 1950s: low-cost weekly movies in the summertime, a well-baby clinic twice a month, church services held by varying clergy in a former military chapel and a recreation club for teenagers in another old military building. There also were sport courts and a dance floor that likely were just abandoned concrete pads. For at least a decade, Stinson Homes remained profitable. Under the administration of the parks department, it was lumped with La Villita, the Spanish Governors Palace and Municipal Auditorium as Municipal Enterprise. Together, they earned the city $115,607, according to the citys annual report for 1959-1960, a peak year. Heres how it breaks down for the housing project: $125,241 in rental revenues with expenses of $40,675 more than $20,110 of which was budgeted for the salaries of a manager, a maintenance repairman, a clerk and four laborers. Only $5,500 was earmarked for repairs. The complex was, for a while, the goose that laid the golden eggs. When neglected units were too substandard to appeal to renters even at the low prices, they were boarded up, and whole ramshackle buildings would be razed. For a while, the city made up for this decrease by raising rents on the lowest-priced units. Profits peaked at $155,000 in 1954 and continued to slide along with the number of units, from 435 in the early 50s to 248 occupied units in 1962, when Mayor W.W. McAllister requested a report on the merits of continuing to operate the dwindling profit center or selling or repurposing the land. The report, submitted to the City Council three years later, found that the housing area was in bad repair, said the San Antonio Light, July 7, 1965, and The cost of operations almost offsets rental revenue. At the time of the announcement, 248 of 250 remaining units were occupied. The buildings of Stinson Homes were condemned, leases were terminated and the buildings were razed in the summer of 1967. Entire buildings, advertised as Government buildings to wreck, were sold to salvage contractors for a few hundred dollars each, for their remaining asbestos siding, oak floors, roofing, cabinets, doors, double sinks, shower stalls and lumber. historycolumn@yahoo.com | Twitter: @sahistorycolumn | Facebook: SanAntoniohistorycolumn Helping hand: Designer Lorna Ross (right) with Jacinta Dixon, who is living with Alzheimer's, sitting in the 'magic chair' which has helped her cope with her condition A cruel twist of fate robbed Jacinta Dixon of one of the greatest pleasures of her life. The Dublin grandmother always had a love of reading. But then she began to realise something was wrong. Although her eyes continued to see printed words on pages, she slowly lost the ability to recognise what the words meant. She lost the ability to count and although she could still see the numbers on a clock, she could not tell the time any more. Similar symptoms wreck the lives of 5pc of those with Alzheimer's disease when it attacks the part of the brain that makes sense of what they see. Yet Jacinta's memory was intact. She retained the ability to have intelligent conversations. But the loss of basic abilities left her highly stressed and anxious. Jacinta (69) said of the illness: "It wrecks your life." But a 'magic chair' has changed her life for the better. The chair obeys simple voice commands and, most importantly, it contains audio versions of all of Jacinta's favourite books. The chair was created out of an idea to make a television series in which leading inventors, designers, engineers and technology experts create ingenious solutions for people hit by illness, accidents or disability. Jacinta was chosen as one of 12 people to benefit. The new six-part RTE series, Big Life Fix, begins on RTE One on Wednesday, March 4, at 9.35pm. Based at Tog, a facility for creative people in the Blackpitts area of Dublin, the team harnessed the power of science to create tailor-made inventions for individuals and families. One of the innovators is designer Lorna Ross, who led a team that created the 'magic chair'. Dubliner Lorna (53) enjoyed a glittering design career in the US, before returning to Ireland in 2017 to become head of Accenture's Fjord design studio at The Dock in Dublin. She worked for top organisations such as the Mayo Clinic and MIT and even helped designed wearable technology for elite US Navy seals. Lorna and her team in Dublin designed the chair over a number of months before it was delivered to Jacinta at her home in Clondalkin. Jacinta told the Sunday Independent: "It's a magical chair, it really is. It's like a magic chair in a children's story book. It has all my favourite books on audio. "It also plays my music, tells me the time and tells me what the weather is going to be like. "My eyes are bad, my hearing is not great and the other fiddly things that come with Alzheimer's are real bummers. But this chair is a real comfort zone," she said. Ms Ross, who now works for VHI Health and Wellness, said she would love to see a version of the chair benefit others with similar symptoms. The experience helped her realise that creative people can devise relatively simple fixes which can make a huge difference to people who are isolated or hampered by illness or disability. Jacinta was diagnosed with the condition by Dr Garret McDermott when he worked for North Dublin HSE. He is now principal clinical neuro-psychologist at Tallaght Hospital. He said it was "incredibly heartening" to see talented people designing practical solutions for patients. The inventors and innovators on Big Life Fix, which was made with the support of Science Foundation Ireland, take on 12 projects, including seeking to preserve the voice of Roisin Foley, a young mother dealing with motor neurone disease, and help Eoghan Barry, a teenage rower from Skibbereen who is missing part of his right arm, to reach his full potential. They will work with Kevin McGarry, who lost his legs in a farming accident, and with 15-year-old Erin, who was born without arms and who wants to become more independent. They will also help three-year-old Alana Reid Sochan, who has butterfly syndrome and who requires 24-hour care, to sleep in her own room. The construction materials industry has ranked second among Saudi Arabia's non-oil exporting sectors for the first half, with the total exports surging to over SR10 billion ($2.7 billion), according to a report by Saudi Export Development Authority. The report comes ahead of Saudi Build 2020, a premier trade exhibition for building materials, which kicks off on October 5 and runs for the next three days. Last year's event was attended by more than 23,000 people, and was a huge success. A total of 520 major international and local brands from 34 countries took part, said the organisers. Saudi Build 2020 will be held concurrently along with Saudi Stone Tech, Saudi Build PMV Series, Interior Design and Saudi Build Technology & Automation Building at Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center, it added. Mohammed Al Alsheikh, head of marketing & corporate communications at REC, attributed the growth of the construction market in the kingdom and the Arab region to the increased spending on infrastructure projects. The building materials sector is one of the main pillars of the construction industry in the region, stated Al Alsheikh. He pointed out that this reflected the economic movement of the sector, and therefore, the level of the volume of investment in the sector serves as an indicator of the economic and real estate growth. On the upcoming event, Al Alsheikh said Saudi Build 2020 is expected to be the largest international exhibition for building and construction technology and materials. It will serve as an important gateway for investors to enter the Saudi market. "REC has successfully managed since 1982, to bring together thousands of local, regional and international companies, investors, businessmen, real estate developers, professionals, engineers, contractors, service companies, construction equipment suppliers, consultants, contractors, purchasing managers, technical specialists, merchants, and distributors, all on a single platform - the Saudi Build exhibition," remarked Al Alsheikh. "The event has become an icon for the Saudi construction and infrastructure sector, displaying innovative infrastructure capabilities, inspiring advancements in the building arena and featuring state-of-the-art technologies in the field of materials science," he added.-TradeArabia News Service Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-23 20:16:30|Editor: yhy Video Player Close MOGADISHU, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Somali and the United States forces killed two al-Shabab terrorists and wounded another in a new airstrike conducted in the militants' stronghold in southern Somalia on Saturday. The U.S. Africa Command (Africom), which has in the past conducted counterterrorism strikes against the terror group in Somalia, said that the latest airstrike also destroyed al-Shabab's compound in the vicinity of Saakow. "We currently assess no civilians were injured or killed as a result of this airstrike," Africom said in a statement issued on Sunday. The U.S. and partner forces have increased military raids into territory formerly controlled by al-Shabab after driving the insurgents out of Mogadishu in 2011. Since 2017, the U.S. military has stepped up air raids against al-Shabab, which is trying to overthrow the internationally-backed Somali government. The strikes have largely targeted al-Shabab figureheads based in southern Somalia, where the group still maintains a strong grip in some regions. At least one Winnipeg-area division wants to expand the number of uniformed police officers working in its schools. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 23/2/2020 (689 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. At least one Winnipeg-area division wants to expand the number of uniformed police officers working in its schools. There are currently 18 members of the Winnipeg Police Service part of the School Resource Officer program, a countrywide community policing initiative that was first introduced to Winnipeg in 2002. Its intent, according to Public Safety Canada, is to provide law enforcement officer support to school communities "with a focus on prevention and early intervention activities." The Winnipeg program is funded by the province, police force and school boards. School Resource Officers Click to Expand Winnipeg School Division: 9 Seven Oaks School Division: 3 St. James Assiniboia School Division: 2 Pembina Trails School Division: 2 Louis Riel School Division: 1 River East Transcona School Division: 1 Winnipeg Police Service "Our school resource officer has been a positive presence at six of our schools for the 201920 school year," said Amanda Gaudes, a spokeswoman for River-East Transcona School Division, in a statement to the Free Press. "He visits the schools on a rotating schedule, serving as a role model for students, and provides education and resources regarding the law, digital citizenship, anti-bullying initiatives, and good choices." During the first year of the program at the east Winnipeg division, its single officer has split his time between Transcona Collegiate, John W. Gunn Middle School, Bernie Wolfe School, Radisson School, Westview School and Joseph Teres School. So far, Gaudes said the division has heard positive feedback from students, staff and parents. Scot Halley, a superintendent with the Winnipeg Police Service who oversees the SRO program, said the division has requested up to five more officers but limited resources in the force mean it can only increase the city-wide roster to 19. (Gaudes said the division couldnt comment on its exact request since the 2020-21 school budget process is underway.) Both Halley and Coun. Vivian Santos (Point Douglas), the citys liaison for school boards, confirmed the division will gain an additional SRO next year. Halley said that although the force feels it would be "very beneficial" to further expand the program, it needs to examine its resources first. "It allows us to interact at a young age with our young people and to start building those relationships and gaining trust," he said. "Thats really the goal of the entire program its to let kids know who police officers are and what we do and how we serve and how we take care of people." Past studies of the program operating at the Winnipeg School Division and Pembina Trails School Division have concluded students feel safer with SROs around and there are fewer bullying incidents and reports of graffiti on school property. Not all community members would agree the way the programs set up is beneficial for all students. "Any act of police intervention, especially around children and citizens of colour, I dont think its an accident. Its another way to police and surveil Indigneous, black and vulnerable minorities," said Alexa Potashnik of Black Space Winnipeg. Potashnik noted white students have a very different experience with police than students who identify as visible minorities, who might have firsthand, negative experiences with authorities. Historic, systemic violence against people of colour amplifies matters, she said, adding today marks one year since Winnipeg police shot and killed Machuar Madut, a 43-year-old newcomer from South Sudan who had mental health challenges. In November 2017, the Toronto District School Board voted to end its controversial SRO program after a review of the program found it criminalized predominantly racialized and undocumented students. The programs end was celebrated by black activists who had long raised concerns about policing of their children in schools. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Halley said it would be "devastating" if a movement to end SROs like the one in Toronto happened in Winnipeg. Bronwyn Dobchuk-Land, an assistant professor of criminal justice at the University of Winnipeg who has researched such programs and their effects on populations across the country, questioned why Winnipeg is expanding its program while SROs are being shut down elsewhere. Dobchuk-Land said mistrust is rooted in police being unable to provide security to the most vulnerable citizens in the first place. As well, she said a trusting relationship between a single officer and children doesnt translate into good relationships with other officers. "The issue is not just about whether we keep SROs or not keep SROs," said Jennifer Chen, a Winnipeg School Division trustee. For Chen, its a question of whether police are provided with sufficient cultural training in order to build trust with students from all ethnocultural communities. maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @macintoshmaggie Carnival Corp. (NYSE:CCL), Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE:XOM), 3M Co. (NYSE:MMM) and HSBC Holdings PLC (NYSE:HSBC) have reached their three-year lows. Carnival declined to $41.69 The price of Carnival shares declined to $41.69 on Feb. 21, which is only 4.2% above the three-year low of $39.92. Carnival is a British-American cruise operator and currently the world's largest travel leisure company. The company has a combined fleet of over 100 vessels across 10 cruise line brands. It is the only company in the world to be listed on both the S&P 500 and FTSE 100 indexes. Carnival has a market cap of $29.61 billion; its shares were traded around $41.69 with a price-earnings ratio of 9.65 and a price-sales ratio of 1.39. The trailing 12-month dividend yield is 4.79%. The forward dividend yield is 4.71%. Carnival had an annual average earnings growth of 6.50% over the past 10 years. On Feb. 20, Carnival announced the company has signed a five-year agreement with the city of Norfolk to operate seasonal cruises from the Half Moone Cruise Center through 2025. As per the agreement, the city of Norfolk has agreed to make investments at the Half Moone Cruise Center to accommodate larger vessels and provide an upgraded guest experience, including a new boarding bridge. Exxon Mobil declined to $59.13 The price of Exxon Mobil shares declined to $59.13 on Feb. 21, which is only 0.6% above the three-year low of $58.79. Exxon Mobil is an international oil and gas corporation. The company is the largest direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Company and was ranked second in the Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue in 2018. The oil giant has a market cap of $250.36 billion; its shares were traded around $59.13 with a price-earnings ratio of 17.59 and a price-sales ratio of 0.96. The trailing 12-month dividend yield is 5.90%. The forward dividend yield is 5.81%. Story continues On Feb. 14, Exxon Mobil announced the board of directors elected Stephen Littleton as vice president of investor relations and corporate secretary, effective March 15. The current vice president of investor relations and corporate secretary, Neil Hansen, has been appointed vice president of fuels for Europe, Middle East and Africa. Littleton has held a variety of financial advisor and management roles, including upstream capital budget advisor, and is currently the vice president of downstream business services and controller. 3M declined to $156.93 The price of 3M shares declined to $156.93 on Feb. 21, which is only 4% above the three-year low of $150.58. 3M is an American conglomerate corporation with operations in the fields of industry, worker safety, health care and consumer goods. The company produces a variety of products, including adhesives, abrasives, passive fire protection, window films and dental and orthodontic products. The company is a DJIA component and a component of the S&P 100. 3M has a market cap of $90.33 billion; its shares were traded around $156.93 with a price-earnings ratio of 20.10 and a price-sales ratio of 2.88. The trailing 12-month dividend yield is 3.68%. The forward dividend yield is 3.71%. 3M had an annual average earnings growth of 5.30% over the past 10 years. On Feb. 20, 3M announced it has reached an agreement to address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the environment in Michigan's Plainfield and Algoma Townships. The agreement will resolve legal claims between the two companies and is related to the lawsuit between Wolverine Worldwide and 3M. Under the settlement, 3M will make a fixed financial contribution of $55 million to support Wolverine's past and ongoing efforts to address PFAS remediation under Wolverine's Consent Decree with the State of Michigan. HSBC Holdings declined to $36.46 The price of HSBC Holdings shares declined to $36.46 on Feb. 21, which is only 3% above the three-year low of $35.36. HSBC Holdings is a British financial services holding company. As of December 2018, it is the largest bank in Europe with total assets of $2.558 trillion. The company has around 3,900 offices in 67 countries and around 38 million customers. The company is also a component of the FTSE 100. HSBC Holdings has a market cap of $147.11 billion; its shares were traded around $36.46 with a price-earnings ratio of 23.51 and a price-sales ratio of 2.15. The trailing 12-month dividend yield is 7%. The forward dividend yield is 7.05%. On Feb. 5, HSBC Holdings announced changes to its senior management team. Stephen Moss was appointed regional chief executive, responsible for Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and Canada. Moss will oversee the company's activities in the above regions, including defining and overseeing the implementation of plans and priorities in the region to support the group's strategy. Moss is currently group head of strategy and planning and chief of staff to the group chief executive, and the appointment will be effective March 1. Disclosure: I do not own stock in any of the companies mentioned in the article. Not a Premium Member of GuruFocus? Sign up for a free 7-day trial here. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. The American actress, Meghan Markle met Prince Harry through a common friend and after a whirlwind romance married him. It was a fairytale wedding and Meghan modified her lifestyle to adjust to her new surroundings. She had to learn many new things and unlearn many more. In a short span of time, she was able to impress all those around her and had a huge fan following. However, both she and Harry belonged to the new generation and wanted to have the freedom to lead the lives in their own way. That led to a clash of interests that magnified after the birth of their son Archie. Ultimately, they decided to step down from being senior royals and not depend on money from the family but become independent financially. Meghan Markle and Harry want to set up home in an alternate location, probably in Canada or in America. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are to stop using their "SussexRoyal" brand from Spring 2020 https://t.co/kmdYuBlAwZ BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) February 21, 2020 The Guardian says there is now a ban on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex from using the word 'royal.' They launched their brand Sussex Royal and will have to drop the word royal. Their spokeswoman provided this information. She said, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex do not intend to use Sussex Royal in any territory post-spring 2020. Last assignment of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Meghan Markle and her husband Harry will attend the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey on March 9. This occasion is a major engagement in the Queens calendar and it will be the last official appearance of Meghan and Harry as members of the British royal family. On March 31, they will stop representing the Queen and become financially independent. They could subsequently shift to North America, but maintain contact with the United Kingdom and pursue the same charitable goals. Discuss this news on Eunomia These extend support to a wide variety of causes from the Commonwealth to mental health. EXCLUSIVE: Queen BANS Prince Harry and Meghan from using 'Sussex Royal' brand https://t.co/QvKzcnBPMk Daily Mail U.K. (@DailyMailUK) February 18, 2020 The Guardian makes mention of certain plans Harry and Meghan have been working on. They registered a website in March 2019, and their Instagram account that started soon afterward has an impressive number of followers that runs into millions. They expected to use the tag of royal but have to modify their strategy in view of the latest developments. The Queen has said the couple is still much-loved by the family. She has a soft corner for Meghan Markle. However, Meghan and Harry marketing themselves as royals would not be right since they will no longer be performing any official duties. Meghan Markle and her husband drop the royal tag According to Sky News, a spokeswoman for the couple confirms Meghan and Harry have decided not to use the Sussex Royal branding after the spring. It will not appear in the plans for their non-profit organization later this year. They have also had second thoughts on plans to trademark Sussex Royal. They will have to re-brand their website and Instagram account in line with the decision. They had indicated that they would divide their time between the UK and North America and will become "financially independent." In the opinion of people in the know, they have the potential to earn millions in their first year of independence. Andy Barr, a retail expert, has revealed to a section of the media: "They're going to be the most famous brand in the world - the Beckhams, Obamas, Bill Gates - they're going to far surpass them, they're such a major brand already." It seems Netflix is keen on a partnership with the couple. Canada suits the Suits actress Meghan Markle Meghan Markle and Harry are back in Canada after a brief stay in America. They have stepped down from royal duties and hope to pursue alternate sources of income to become independent. Meghan was an actress and spent time in Canada while shooting the TV drama Suits. She has contacts in the world of glitter that could prove useful. Harry is also confident of success. Some serving and past senators have kicked against the bill that seeks to establish an agency for the rehabilitation of repentant Boko Haram members. The lawmakers described the bill as needless, waste of resources and misplaced priority. This is even as they questioned the nationality of the insurgents. The introduction of the bill comes amidst outrage about repentant Boko Haram members being made to undergo rehabilitation. The repentant insurgents were said to have been exposed to formal literacy classes, skills acquisition and Islamic Religious Knowledge (IRK) as well as drug and psycho-therapy during their training. A group of Borno elders, led by ex-governor Kashim Shettima, last year, frowned at the initiative, saying the militarys operation was not well thought out. Many individuals and civic groups have also argued that the bill if passed, will breed more insurgents. They fear that releasing the purported repentant Boko Haram militants into civilian population could be counterproductive as hardened fighters would return to the terror group to commit more atrocities. The bill The bill titled, National Agency for the Education, Rehabilitation, De-radicalisation and Integration of Repentant Insurgents in Nigeria was introduced in the Senate on Thursday. It is sponsored by Ibrahim Geidam (APC, Yobe East), a former governor of the state. Having been read for the first time, the details are expected to be discussed on another legislative day. Although details of the bill have not been made public, part of the bill seen by PREMIUM TIMES shows that the agency will help gain a greater understanding of both the immediate needs for combating Boko Haram as well as (be a) tool for counter-radicalisation in the future. Some major aims of the bill as contained in it include: * Provide avenue for rehabilitating, de-radicalising, educating and reintegrating the defectors, repentant and detained members of the insurgent group Boko Haram to make them useful members of the society. * Provide avenue for reconciliation and promote national security. * Provide an-open-door and encouragement for other members of the group who are still engaged in the insurgency to abandon the group especially in the face of the military pressure. * Gives the government an opportunity to derive insider-information about the insurgence group for greater understanding of the group and its inner workings. * Gaining greater understanding of the insurgents will enable government to address the immediate concerns of violence and study the needs of de-radicalization effort to improve the process of de-radicalisation. * Help disintegrate the violent and poisonous ideology that the group spreads as the programme will enable some convicted or suspected terrorists to express remorse over their actions, repent and recant their violent ideology and re-enter mainstream politics, religion and society. According to the document, the agency will create vocational rehabilitation for the members which will give the detainees opportunities to learn carpentry, clay shaping, pottery, use of art through drawings, among others. Lawmakers condemn the bill Many senators who were present at the plenary during the first reading of the bill could not hide their surprise when it was mentioned. Others seemed amazed at the bill itself. Some past and serving senators who spoke with PREMIUM TIMES also condemned the bill. The senator representing Ondo Central, Ayo Akinyelure, said there is no justification for the bill and questioned the real nationality of the insurgents. These are criminals to whom life means nothing. So what type of rehabilitation are we going to give them? Do you even know if they are Nigerians? Most of them are not Nigerians. They are from Niger Republic and other neighbouring countries. They just believe that terrorising us and taking our resources is what is their major concerns. When you now say you want to establish an agency, then you are now harbouring terrorists in your country and you are giving recognition that youre keeping them by opening an agency. Advertisements Before you know it, they will resettle around Nigeria and attack and take over. Doesnt make sense. The best thing is for them to go back to their countries and if they want to repent, they repent and surrender. Thats all, he said. While he said the insurgents cannot be rehabilitated, the lawmaker advised that funds should be used to correct infrastructural decay. There is no justification for the creation of such agency. How can an enemy be rehabilitated? These are people who have done Nigeria so much harm killing people that they cannot create, and you want to establishso what are we budgeting trillions yearly for our security agencies? We have a lot of infrastructural decay all over the country. Our roads are bad. Average Nigerian cannot enjoy good roads, electricity, water supply both in the city and villages and you want to use the little resource available to rehabilitate your enemies. Enemy can never be rehabilitated. We have been on this thing since the time of Jonathan. The president said when we vote for them, they will eradicate Boko Haram but Boko Haram has been on the increase since then and this is almost six years now. They are not making significant impact. He also called for improved funding for the army, the police and other security agencies as well as proper equipment to fight the insurgents. Kaduna South senator, Danjuma Laah, who was absent when the bill was introduced, said he is seriously against it. I could remember I was the first person that raised the motion when I was talking to the IG when he came to the floor of the senate, he was asking about that bill. I remember most Boko Haram that were arrested and these suicide bombers with all these terrorists, most of them were caught on this act, retreated to IDP, they kept them there, trained them, feed them, overfed them, within the shortest time at their disposal, within three months, they call them out of the IDP, they absorb them in the army. I asked that question, why should that be possible. Are they saying that those people are better off than the intelligent staff that they have or what did they see or foresee in them that they were absorbing them in all the military operations. He could not answer. He said the police chief, Mohammad Adamu, assured him that he would not allow it to happen in the Nigeria police. READ ALSO: That it is only the army, Air force or navy that does that. But I see no reason why such people should be absorbed into the army system, knowing fully well that they are offenders and you are looking forward for them to repent, he said. What kind of repent? No matter what, once you are a thief, you are a thief. Anytime anything misses in your room or house, they will always suspect you. So I am not just comfortable with that bill, he added. The army has since denied the rumour that it is employing ex-Boko Haram members. For Shehu Sani, an ex-Kaduna senator, the situation in the North-east has been properly taken care of with the establishment of the North East Development Commission (NEDC). That commission should be well-funded and well-equipped to tackle all these socio-economic matters that affect the North East, he told PREMIUM TIMES. He said establishing an agency for repentant Boko Haram members is needless and a complete waste of resources. Also, if we start any agency in the name Boko Haram, either that agency will become a breeding ground for more terrorists or it is going to be a target of the terrorist. We cannot start diverting resources that supposed to be used to bring an end to the violence and the killings and fund NEDC in the name of setting up an agency. As far as Im concerned, that repentant Boko Haram agency is going to be a factory for producing more suicide bombers and more killers. While he noted that some countries have deradicalisation programmes like this, he explained that Nigeria is currently at war with the insurgents hence the need to discard the idea of rehabilitation for the members. the situation now is that the country is at war with insurgents. Deradicalisation can only come after the leadership and the group has been defeated. But doing this is putting the cart before the horse. Isa Misau, an ex-Bauchi senator, said he is against the bill as it is not the right time for Nigeria to start such. So after rehabilitation, who is going to monitor them? Do we have the manpower to monitor their activities after that because, I think even the sponsor of the bill, I dont know, I dont think he has made serious research before bringing that bill. There are some senators already who are against the bill. I will also not support it especially this time when we cannot even monitor a lot of things. We are lacking a lot of things when it comes to intelligence gathering. Even the ordinary and physical things, we cannot contain them. How do you know he has repented? Mr Misau argued that leaders of Boko Haram could sponsor members to pretend they have repented so they can gather more intelligence. You cannot compare it to amnesty given to Niger Delta because they have people that are known. Everybody knows their leaders and the reasons for their agitation. But Boko Haram, nobody knows the reason why they are killing people or this is the reason why they are doing what they are doing because you can see there is a lot of difference. You cannot just come and tell me that you are killing people in the name of religion whereby you are killing both Muslims and Christians so which means which religion are you talking about. I dont support that bill because even if we are going to do anything concerning repentant Boko Haram, it is not where we will put a commission for it, for now. We dont know how tomorrow will be but for now, it is not a good idea. The former chief whip, Olusola Adeyeye, simply said quite frankly, I strongly disagree with the need for such an agency. Rather than solve any problem, the metastasis of needless bureaucracy has always created more problems! The Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) here has written a letter to Madhya Pradesh government suggesting that Bollywood stars and other guests be served with food containing Kadaknath, a protein-rich breed of chicken, when they visit the state for IIFA Awards next month. The move of the Jhabua-based KVK, which also runs the Kadaknath Research and Production Project, is aimed at making this black-coloured variety of chicken more popular. The 21st edition of the International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA Awards) is scheduled to be held in Indore from March 27-29, while Bhopal will host a function in run up to the mega Bollywood event. The famous Kadaknath chicken meat from tribal dominated Jhabua district had got a Geographical Indication (GI) tag last year after a legal battle with neighbouring Chhattisgarh over it. The KVK on Saturday wrote a letter to state Chief Minister Kamal Nath, in which it suggested that the Kadaknath chicken meat be served to the Bollywood personalities. Project director I S Tomar said, "IIFA is being organised in Indore, which is close to tribal-dominated Jhabua. Kadaknath breed is low in fat and high in protein and iron. This chicken could be included at least in one meal for the IIFA guests. This would help in marketing this breed of chicken and make it popular across the world." The letter also says that the self-help groups working for the production of Kadaknath may supply this chicken during the IIFA event, he added. The letter suggested that the guests could also be served with Dal-Pania, another food of this tribal-dominated district. The Kadaknath variety of chicken, which is mainly reared in Jhabua, is registered under the category of "Meat Product, Poultry & Poultry Meat" of GI. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) South Korea went on high alert Sunday following a sharp jump in coronavirus cases, and Italy and Iran took their own drastic containment steps as an epidemic that has killed nearly 2,500 people in China continued a relentless global expansion. The World Health Organisation (WHO) also warned that Africa's poor health systems left it vulnerable to the COVID-19 disease, which spilled out of China to more than 25 countries. South Korea is raising the nation's alert to its "highest" level, President Moon Jae-in said on Sunday after the number of infections nearly tripled over the weekend to 556. Led by an outbreak cluster in a religious sect in the southern city of Daegu, South Korea now has the most infections outside of China apart from the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Japan, which has seen more than 600. "The next few days will be crucial," Moon said following a government meeting on the virus. "The government will raise the alert level to the highest level according to experts' recommendations." Moon did not specify what those measures may include. South Korea reported 123 new cases and two deaths on Sunday, taking the countrywide toll of fatalities to four. More than 300 cases have been linked to the Shincheonji Church of Jesus sect in Daegu -- whose founder claims the mantle of Jesus Christ and vows to take 144,000 people with him to heaven on judgement day. Some 9,300 Shincheonji members have either been quarantined or asked to stay at home, according to the Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 1,240 have reported symptoms. Elsewhere, Italy and Iran began introducing the sort of containment measures previously seen only in China, which has put tens of millions of people under quarantine lockdown in the epicentre province of Hubei. More than 50,000 people in about a dozen northern Italian towns near the business hub of Milan were urged by authorities to stay home, while shops and schools were shuttered. With dozens of cases, Italy on Friday became the first European country to report one of its nationals had died from the virus, followed by a second death on Saturday. Both were elderly. The government was weighing "extraordinary measures" to halt further infections, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said. China reported another 97 deaths in its daily update Sunday, taking its total to 2,442, plus 648 new infections. Nearly 80,000 people have been infected worldwide, the vast majority in China. China's outbreak remains concentrated in the locked-down city of Wuhan, where the virus is believed to have emanated from a live animal market in December. The city was locked down exactly one month ago as of Sunday, followed by surrounding areas. China's infection rate has slowed from early in the epidemic, but Chinese flip-flopping over counting methods has sowed confusion over its data. There also was growing concern over the difficulty of detecting the virus. Japan on Sunday confirmed that a woman who tested negative and disembarked from the Diamond Princess later tested positive. Similar instances have been reported elsewhere. Japan has been criticised over its handling of the cruise ship. Many passengers were allowed to disembark without being properly tested or despite having close contact with infected people. More than 1,000 crew remain on board and are expected to serve a 14-day quarantine. Iran ordered the closure of schools, universities and cultural centres across 14 provinces from Sunday following five deaths in the Islamic Republic -- the most outside East Asia and the first in the Middle East. Iran's outbreak surfaced Wednesday and quickly grew to 28 confirmed infections. "The concern is ... that we have seen ... a very rapid increase (in Iran) in a matter of a few days," said Sylvie Briand, director of the WHO's global infectious hazard preparedness department. Iraq on Thursday clamped down on travel to and from Iran, and flag carrier Kuwait Airways has suspended flights to the country. Although Egypt is the only African country with a confirmed case, the WHO warned that the continent was vulnerable, urging more African Union cooperation. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said necessary treatment tools such as respiratory support machines were "in short supply in many African countries and that's a cause for concern". The US State Department said anxiety was being stoked by a coordinated effort by thousands of Russia-linked social media accounts spreading conspiracy theories that the outbreak was a US-orchestrated ploy to damage China, officials said. Russia's foreign ministry dismissed the allegation as "deliberately false". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) (Newser) Scrambling to contain the rapidly rising number of new coronavirus infections in Italy, the most outside Asia, authorities on Sunday stepped up measures to ban public gatherings. Venice's famed carnival events, which have drawn tens of thousands of revelers to a region that is now in the heart of the outbreak, have been called off, the AP reports. "The ordinance is immediately operative and will go into effect at midnight,'' announced Veneto regional Gov. Luca Zaia, whose area includes Venice, where thousands packed St. Mark's Square to join in carnival fun. Carnival would have run through Tuesday. Buses, trains, and other forms of public transportincluding boats in Venicewere being disinfected, Zaia said. story continues below Three people in Venice have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, all in their late 80s and all hospitalized in critical condition. Zaia said among those infected was a nurse. Nearly all of Italy's 133 known cases are in the north. Authorities expressed frustration they haven't been able to track down the source of the spread of COVID-19 there, which surfaced last week when a man in Codogno in his late 30s became critically ill. "The health officials haven't been yet able to pinpoint Patient Zero,'' Angelo Borrelli, head of the national Civil Protection agency, told reporters in Rome. For now, the strategy is closures and other restrictions. Italy had taken measures early on in the global virus alarm, including banning direct flights from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau. (Read more COVID-19 stories.) Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Saturday said that dissent and consensus are part of democracy but you cannot get your rights by blocking the road. The minister was apparently referring to people protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Population Register (NPR) and Register of Citizens (NRC) at Delhi's Shaheen Bagh for over two months. "This is a dilemma between rights and duties, they (protesters) understand their rights but not the duties. Dissent and consensus are part of democracy but you cannot get your rights by blocking the road," Naqvi said at an event here. A large number of people, mostly women, have been holding a sit-in protest since mid-December last year that led to blocking of Noida-Kalindi Kunj road. Recently the Supreme Court-appointed senior advocates Sanjay Hedge and Sadhana Ramachandran as interlocutors to talk with the protestors here and urge them to clear the road. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The county obliged, according to those same emails. Ultimately, Broadway paid $430,899 in late payments for the March and May tax sales to secure the tax certificates won at public auction. In emails to the county, Williams presented himself as the legal representative for Broadway Logistics not as an investor with company. At the same time, at least one county official was aware Wisniewski, the tax-sale bidder associated with Broadway Logistics, should have been barred by law from bidding on tax-delinquent properties. Repay said he's not familiar with all the particulars of Williams involvement in the tax sale. But he is aware Williams presented a position without disclosing his association with a tax sale bidder. "I think the end result would have been the same. The decision to accept a late payment would have probably been the same. But (Williams) should have said: 'I'm advocating for this because I'm part of this group,'" Repay said. "It's a concern. He admitted to me that was an error in his ways, but the overarching involvement was not, in my opinion, something that should preclude him from being a contractor for us." HMS Vigilant, one of the UK's four nuclear warhead-carrying submarines. (PA) The government is planning to replace the UKs controversial Trident missiles with nuclear warheads supplied by the US, Pentagon officials have revealed. The Ministry of Defence confirmed over the weekend that officials were looking at options to replace the current Trident warheads. It followed an announcement by US Strategic Command commander Admiral Charles Richard, who wrote in a statement that the US was developing a replacement warhead called W93 or Mk7 for its own military. This effort will also support a parallel replacement warhead programme in the United Kingdom whose nuclear deterrent plays an absolutely vital role in Natos overall defence posture, he said. Admiral Charles Richard revealed a replacement for Trident is being developed. (AP) It is understood that the Government has been unable to find the time to inform Parliament, which is in recess, but an official announcement will be made shortly. Several MPs hit out at the planned deal shortly after it was revealed in The Observer, with Ed Davey, acting leader of the Liberal Democrats, calling it totally unacceptable. Britain under Johnson increasingly looks like putty in Trumps hands, he told the newspaper. That Britains major defence decisions are being debated in the United States, but not in the UK, is a scandal. Under Johnson, it seems that where Trump leads, we must follow. READ MORE FROM YAHOO NEWS UK: The MoDs update to Parliament published shortly before Christmas did not confirm the upgrade. Work also continues to develop the evidence to support a Government decision when replacing the warhead, it said. The plans were also referenced by a Pentagon under secretary of defence, Alan Shaffer, who said its wonderful that the UK is working on a new warhead at the same time, according to US publication Defense Daily last week. Story continues Prime Minister Boris Johnson has long backed the proposed replacement and the Conservatives committed to renewing the deterrent ahead of the election. The cost has been estimated at 31 billion. An MoD spokeswoman said: As previously stated in the 2015 defence review, we can confirm that we are working towards replacing the warhead. We have a strong defence relationship with the US and will continue to remain compatible with the US Trident missile. An announcement about the UKs replacement warhead programme will be made in due course. Russians should not expect a hot summer after such an abnormally warm winter, a leading researcher at the Voeikov Main Geophysical Observatory, Andrey Kiselev said. According to the meteorologist, nature will try to equalize the temperatures. If the temperature has increased too much in winter, then in summer, it will be either average or below average, but, in any case, it will not be too high, he said. Once again operating out of their well-worn playbook, the Democrats are spinning the cylinder and placing the gun to their heads in suggesting the Russians are backing the Presidents re-election, and once again they missed the empty chamber and fired a bullet into their leading candidate. In 2016, when they claimed that Trump was Russias choice and had secured his election, they ended up with highlighting to voters what the media had covered up: It was Hillary Clinton who approved the Uranium One sale of 20% of U.S. Uranium. It was Hillary who received assistance to this end from the Russian-paid lobbying firm APCO Worldwide. It was her husband who was paid $500,000 for a short talk in Russia by a bank connected to the Kremlin. It was Hillarys foundation that received $145 million from companies connected to the Russian nuclear company Rosatom. It was Hillary who was responsible for not providing security to our diplomats in Benghazi and who bald-faced lied about the murder of our ambassador and his defenders. It was Hillary who prompted the murder of Qaddafi after he was cooperating with us on nuclear disarmament and set off the greatest wave of refugees since World War II. As ridiculous as the Democrats' claim was, it was good enough for the Obama administrations Department of Justice and FBI to illegally sweep up communications of anyone with any connection to the Trump campaign and anyone they ever talked to or emailed. It was enough for them to file false affidavits to the FISA court to do this. It was enough for them to abuse anyone with any connection to the Trump Administration with trick interviews, hoping to catch them in process crimes. It was enough for them to unmask the communicators, leak often false accounts to a compliant press, and even to charge people for crimes, force them to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in defense, to suffer psychological distress, and sometimes to face or suffer prison. The story was always without factual foundation or logical analysis. But apparently the payoff was sufficient for them, so they reprised it anew in claiming that the President illegally used a quid pro quo to force Ukraine to investigate Hunter Biden. Once again it backfired, only highlighting the Biden family's corruption in Ukraine and China. They rammed through a one-party impeachment and lost, but the damage to the man who was once their leading candidate is incalculable and the lie only strengthened the President in the polls and in fundraising. They managed to turn him into this years underdog -- a remake, if you will, of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. They must be slow learners, because theyre trying it again. The NY Times led with an account indicating that the President ousted Joseph Maguire, acting DNI, for a secret briefing to the loathsome liar, Adam Schiff. The Washington Post, a leading years-long recipient of CIA leaks, reported that Maguires deputy Shelby Pierson showed that Russia was interfering in the 2020 campaign to get President Trump re-elected. Hot Air quotes Jake Tapper and the Presidents tweets on the subject. This time even CNN was smelling the merde. Tapper notes that Pierson exaggerated. At best, the intelligence is that Russia is planning to meddle (psst -- it always does), but theres no evidence they were planning to meddle on Trumps behalf. Moreover, after the Russian and Ukraine disasters, Tapper noted both Democrats and Republicans were challenging this at the briefing. Catherine Herridge offered more specific rebuttal of the claim: Catherine Herridge @CBS_Herridge Source familiar w/house briefing @CBSNews says briefers pressed for evidence to back up claims Russia trying to help POTUS in 2020. Asked if there was signals intelligence -- such as phone intercepts or SIGINT -- to back up claims, source said briefers had none to offer #DNI And the President swatted back on Twitter: Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump Another misinformation campaign is being launched by Democrats in Congress saying that Russia prefers me to any of the Do Nothing Democrat candidates who still have been unable to, after two weeks, count their votes in Iowa. Hoax number 7! On the other hand, it appears that Russia is trying to help Bernie Sanders's campaign. Unlike the 2016 debacle where the intelligence community thought for some illogical rationale unknown to me that Russia was for Trump and used that to begin a witch hunt that lasted for years, they notified Bernie Sanders so he could be on guard. Its not clear how the IC thinks Russia plans to do this, the suggestion being manipulation of voters through social media. To this, wretchardthecat tweets a useful warning: If anyone Russia roots for on Twitter is disqualified, Putin has an automatic veto over who runs for US president. The real test is in policy. Who increases the defense budget? Who vows to cut it? Who increases energy independence? Who decreases it? Or similar tests. I dont have to tell you the answer, do I? In case you are stumped, Walter Russell Mead wrote the answer for you three years ago: If Trump were the Manchurian candidate that people keep wanting to believe that he is, here are some of the things hed be doing: Limiting fracking as much as he possibly could Blocking oil and gas pipelines Opening negotiations for major nuclear arms reductions Cutting U.S. military spending Trying to tamp down tensions with Russias ally Iran. Tom Rogan details why the entire report is bunk. In the first place it is unlikely, under present circumstances (the impeachment debacle), that we can produce the kind of diverse high-value sources which are necessary to offer a high degree of confidence assessment. Then he analyzes Putins strategic objectives and contrasts the records of the President and the Democrats likely candidate -- Bernie Sanders. He notes, among other things, that the President was instrumental in obtaining significant increases in U.S. and NATO defense outlays, resistance of Russian ballistic missile proliferation and the deployment of U.S. nuclear strike capabilities designed to challenge Russias evolved strategic doctrine. He has strengthened Ukraines defenses, and by supporting fracking hes fired up the economic weapon Putin most fears In contrast, the 2020 Democratic Party is a Putin dream world on this energy issue. Trumps Middle Eastern diplomacy clipped Russias initiative to be a major power broker there. He adds, on the question of Russias preferred candidate: Bernie Sanders. Because the idea that Putin would prefer all the above to a president who took his honeymoon in the Soviet Union, likes many of Russia's allies, and wants to gut U.S. defense spending, end or greatly diminish U.S. alliances with the Sunni monarchies, and ban fracking? Give me a break. The real aim, it seems to me and Tom Maguire, is that the purpose of this tall tale is to de-legitimize the eventual winner so the losers can assuage their trouncing with another temper tantrum. Reece Richardson is enjoying his time traveling the United States while on tour with Aquila Theatre. Its quite different from his native England. This is on my bucket list, he says. Travel the States by bus. The next time, Ill have to drive a motorcycle from coast to coast. All kidding aside, Richardson is able to dig his teeth into his role of Winston Smith in an adaptation of George Orwells 1984. The traveling production makes a stop at Popejoy Hall at 3 p.m. Sunday, March 1. Written in 1944 near the end of World War II, Orwells 1984 depicts a society controlled by a totalitarian government bent on repressing all subversive tendencies. Big Brother is always watching and technology is wielded as a weapon to inundate citizens with propaganda and to monitor thoughts and actions. Imagined before the existence of computers, this dystopian future explores the power of technology as a mental manipulator and source of curated information. Richardson says the resurgence of 1984 marks a widespread desire to understand the present moment by looking back. Its really fascinating from start to finish, Richardson said. There are a few productions that resonate from the time they are written to the modern day that have an immediacy. This one baffled me. It was written in 1944 and Orwell predicted the rise of technology. The foresight that he had. Its pretty astonishing to be onstage, and the words are so relevant. Richardson describes Winston Smith as an everyman who is relatable to an audience. Hes deeply passionate and pathetic, thats the main reason he ends up in Room 101, he says. Because of his love for language and emotion, as well as being an individual, hes seen as dangerous to the state because hes bursting with humanity. He is seen as a rebel, and he has his faults. In this totalitarian state, hes the enemy. Richardson says the adaptation by Michael Gene Sullivan celebrates the complexity of the individual. In that world, Big Brother is beating down people exactly the same, he says. Winston is saying there is duty and strength. For me, finding the light and share of Winstons journey in such a dark world is a tremendous thing. There is obviously pain and suffering, and I wanted to encapsulate that. I wanted there to be hope and by finding those moments, thats where the writing truly shines. Richardson wanted to work with Aquila Theatre after learning of the company six years ago. Because I work with classical text, it grabbed my attention, he says. When I went to drama school, I wanted to see the States, and its been a real privilege to see this beautiful country. This will be my first time in New Mexico, and I cant wait to see pieces of the Wild West. Of course, theres also the Breaking Bad locations. Celtic stormed 12 points clear of faltering Rangers at the top of the Ladbrokes Premiership after a powerful 3-1 comeback win against Kilmarnock at Parkhead. Killie striker Eamonn Brophy scored in the seventh minute with a penalty he won when he was fouled by returning Hoops defender Jozo Simunovic. News of second-placed Gers 2-2 draw against St Johnstone in Perth enthused the home fans and amid a Hoops siege, defender Kristoffer Ajer levelled from close range in the 29th minute before French striker Odsonne Edouard scrambled in four minutes later with defender Kirk Broadfoot in attention. Hoops fans watched Neil Lennons side play against 10 men from the 56th minute when Killie midfielder Alan Power, already booked, was sent packing by referee Kevin Clancy for his challenge on right-back Jeremie Frimpong, before striker Leigh Griffiths added a third just after the hour mark. It was Celtics 10th domestic win out of 10 fixtures in 2020, with 10 league games remaining as they race towards their ninth successive title for the second time in the clubs history. Steven Gerrards Ibrox side have played a game less but the prospect of wresting the title back from the east end of Glasgow, after losing 10 points since the turn of the year, now looks remote. Celtic skipper Scott Brown was unusually absent from the fray after picking up a calf injury in the 1-1 Europa League draw at FC Copenhagen on Thursday night Callum McGregor took the armband and Lennon made four changes with Simunovic, Greg Taylor, Tom Rogic, and Griffiths all coming back. After a couple of early scares Celtic fell behind when Simunovic tangled with Brophy inside the box as they fought for a Niko Hamalainen pass, with referee Clancy pointing to the spot with no hesitation. Celtic keeper Fraser Forster had saved his fourth penalty in seven in Copenhagen but Brophy hammered the ball past the Southampton loanee for his sixth goal of the month. Almost at the same time, news of St Johnstones second goal came through to cheers from home fans who rejoiced again when the full-time whistle went at McDiarmid Park. In between events elsewhere, in the 15th minute, Rogic tested Killie keeper Laurentiu Branescu with a decent long-distance drive before the Juventus loanee blocked a Griffiths drive with his feet. He then tipped Simunovics powerful long-distance effort over the bar but from another corner moments later, Christopher Jullien cut the ball back for defensive partner Ajer to slam in from six yards. Edouard then bundled the ball in from a couple of yards after Simunovic had headed back former Kilmarnock left-back Taylors searching cross, Broadfoot failing to keep it out as he challenged. The Killie keeper was again busy after the restart. Edouard twice missed the target from 12 yards before the visitors were reduced to 10 men for Powers tackle on Frimpong and Alex Dyers side struggled further. Griffiths tapped in a Ryan Christie cut-back and he had the ball in the net again in the 72nd minute only to see the offside flag up before he was thwarted by a brilliant save from Branescu, who also parried a Taylor drive as the Rugby Park men worked hard to prevent a real thrashing. Csc.mg scored 40 Social Media Impact. Social Media Impact score is a measure of how much a site is popular on social networks. 2/5.0 Stars by Social Team This CoolSocial report was updated on 20 Apr 2015, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. The total number of people who shared the csc homepage on Delicious. The total number of people who shared the csc homepage on Google Plus by a google +1 button. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared, liked or recommended the csc homepage on Facebook + the total number of page likes (if csc has a Facebook fan page). The total number of people who shared the csc homepage on StumbleUpon. 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The total number of people who tagged or talked about website Facebook page in the last 7-10 days. A Facebook page link can be found in the homepage or in the robots.txt file. The type of Facebook page. Twitter account link TWITTER PAGE LINK NOT FOUND EUGENE, Ore. --- Eugene Police said a menacing suspect was taken into custody after resisting arrest and threatening an officer with a knife Friday afternoon. One officer involved was sent to the hospital but has since been released. Officials said at 12:11 p.m. on Friday Eugene Police received a report of a trespassing subject, later identified as Robin Harrison Hart, age 34, at Columbia Bank, 2400 W. 11th Avenue. KEZI 9 News has learned Hart had previously threatened an employee. Police told KEZI 9 News that Hart entered the bank, went into an empty office, and took pictures. He was told to leave by a female staff member and he did. However, shortly after he came back inside and threw a bullet at the staff member, hitting her in the head. Police said Hart left the bank and one of the officers found him at W. 18th and McKinley. KEZI 9 News has learned that Hart resisted arrest and tried to injure the officers eye area. The officer took him to the ground and then noticed Hart had taken out a large knife. Officials said the officer was able to pin the knife on the ground and two other officers arrived. The officers were able to take Hart into custody. Officer Charles Fulton, age 29, was taken to a local hospital for treatment of lacerations and abrasions. Hart has been charged with Criminal Trespass 2, Menacing, Assault on a Public Safety Officer, Resisting Arrest, Attempted Assault 2, Unlawful Use of a Weapon, Warrant for FTA Telephonic Harassment. I often talk to news consumers citizens by another name who insist that they want just the facts reporting. Theyre understandably frustrated that they cant seem to find that when so many news organizations, especially cable news, seem to have chosen political sides for commercial purposes. They want news that is unbiased that doesnt come with a side helping of opinion. Just tell me what happened, they say. Ill make my own decisions about what it means. The farmers in Binh Thuan Province are facing dropping river water levels and imminent drought. The rainfall in Binh Thuan last year was as high as expected. But since early 2020 rainfall has been low. Even though the dry season has only started, the water levels in many reservoirs are already at a low level and have caused local droughts. According to Ninh Thuan Irrigation Works Company, the water levels at 21 reservoirs and lakes hasn't even reached one-third of design capacity, staying at around 61 million cubic metres. 13 reservoirs and lakes had completely dried up, six others can provide water for household activities and some fields and only two have good water level. Phuoc Trung Reservoir has the capacity to store 2.3 million cubic metres of water to provide to three communes. But as of February 20, there are only 83,000 cubic metres of water left. Works on over 7,800ha of crops have been halted, badly affecting the farmers. It's forecasted that the situation will worsen in the coming months. Some photos of the serious drought in Binh Thuan Province: Sheep have to go further away to find grass Animals searching for grass Farmers have to harvest early and face low harvests Parched land Dtinews Severe drought expected in 2020: forecast agency The drought in the dry season this year will be quite harsh and water shortage may occur in many places. The central region may face serious water shortage from June. G eorge Eustice has refused to rule out chlorinated chicken and hormone-treated beef being imported into the UK in a post-Brexit trade deal with the US. The Environment Secretary's predecessor before the recent reshuffle had insisted the controversial products from the States would not be imported amid animal welfare and environmental fears. But Mr Eustice, while saying there are no plans to change the law, did not explicitly rule it out when pressed three times on the subject. With the Government expected to publish its negotiating position for a free trade deal with Washington within two weeks, he told Skys Sophy Ridge On Sunday that the Government would not take risks on standards of welfare. Britain's Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs George Eustice / VIA REUTERS But he said lactic acid washes are now more commonly used in the US than chlorine, which is unlikely to allay fears over animal welfare because concerns centre on treatment before the washes themselves. What Im saying is we wont make any moves on our standards, weve got a clear position in this country that it is illegal to sell chlorine-washed chicken, illegal to sell beef treated with hormones, we have no plans to change those things, he said. Tim Farron, the Liberal Democrats food and rural affairs spokesman, accused the Conservatives of having backed down on their commitment. Tim Farron / PA Wire/PA Images Farming communities up and down the country are rightly concerned about being undercut by low-standard imports from the US, he said. With the Tories desperation for a trade deal with Donald Trump, it would appear they are rolling back on their promises. They are wilfully threatening British consumers and farmers. Theresa Villiers, who was relegated from leading the environment department to the backbenches in Boris Johnsons reshuffle, had been explicit in January that the EU laws banning chlorinated chicken and hormone-treated beef would be adopted here. There are legal barriers to their import and those are going to stay in place, she added. The Governments immigration plans set out this week are designed to cut the number of low-skilled migrants entering the UK. The plans have drawn criticism from businesses for choking off a supply of workers that they need to operate. Mr Eustice, who used to run a strawberry farm, stressed a seasonal agricultural workers scheme will be an important part of immigration policy in the future. Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs George Eustice / VIA REUTERS He said there would be a quadrupling of the size of the scheme to 10,000 initially this year, but this still falls short of National Farmers Union calls for 70,000. Mr Eustice said ministers would be working out a fully fledged programme for the future. Home Secretary Priti Patel had suggested lower-skilled jobs could be filled by eight million people classed as economically inactive. But she drew criticism after it was pointed out that the Office for National Statistics estimates most of these are students, long-term sick, carers or retired. Priti Patel / AP I dont think the Home Secretary was saying that all eight million of those people would be able to fill these, just that there are people there who might, he told Sky. Ministers are expected to recommit to seeking to obtain a Canada-style agreement with Brussels in the negotiating mandate scheduled for publication on Thursday. But this could set up a clash with the EU after its chief negotiator Michel Barnier ruled out the possibility the UK could have the same deal as the North American nation. While the UK formally left the EU on January 31 it is currently in a transition period during which it follows Brussels rules without having a say in how they are made. The transition is due to finish on December 31 and the Prime Minister has repeatedly vowed not to extend it. But there have been fears this is too little time to strike the ambitious deal and the UK could plummet out of the bloc and be hit with high trade tariffs. The PM is to convene his Brexit Cabinet on Tuesday to sign off on the mandate before it is published online and laid out in Parliament on Thursday. His Europe adviser David Frost will then head to Brussels for the first round of negotiations on March 2. The EU member states are expected to adopt their negotiating position on Tuesday. Brussels is yet to publish its negotiating mandate but a leaked draft reportedly included a stipulation the UK must return unlawfully removed cultural objects to their countries of origin. The Government ruled out discussing handing the Parthenon marbles, commonly called the Elgin marbles, back to Greece. State attorneys general are finding a national settlement over the toll of opioids to be elusive, as some lawyers for state and local governments are renewing public criticism of the proposed deal with a group of companies led by the nation's largest drug distributors. A group of top state lawyers in October announced the framework for a deal that they said would be worth about $48 billion in cash, treatment drugs and services over time. Some state attorneys general and lawyers for local governments criticized it at the time. They're speaking up anew as the push continues to reach a deal, with a trial over opioids scheduled to start next month in New York. In a statement Friday, Patrick Morrisey, the attorney general in West Virginia, one of the states hit hardest by the opioid crisis, said the $22 billion in cash being offered by distributors AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson, plus drugmaker Johnson & Johnson, "is way too low." Under terms previously announced, Teva Pharmaceuticals would also provide a free addiction treatment drug, and the other companies would distribute it. Morrisey also said that the money would not be allocated fairly under the plan as it stood because states' shares would be based too much on population and not enough on the impact of the crisis. "When addressing a national public health crisis, a global settlement shouldn't be about a pure money grab for the states," he said. "Monies should be targeted to those who need it most and spent on abatement." His statement showed that at least some attorneys general remain resolute not to accept the offer a week after 21 of them signed a letter saying they opposed the deal as offered. Lead lawyers for more than 2,500 local governments suing the drug industry said Friday that the companies have offered an additional $1.2 billion in cash over 18 years. The lawyers said that's not enough. "Concerns remain that the total value being proposed is not adequate nor does it provide any degree of assurance that resources will reach communities," they said. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. The attorneys general from North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Texas who championed the settlement in October said it was better to have a national deal than see money go out piecemeal while it lasts through trial judgments. Prescription and illicit painkillers have been linked to more than 430,000 deaths in the U.S. in the past two decades, and they've created financial burdens for families who have lost incomes and governments who have seen public service expenses rise as they've tried to deal with the crisis. The offices of several attorneys general who have supported the deal have declined comment or not returned messages. The companies also did not respond to messages or did not comment on Friday night. Earlier in the week, McKesson said in a statement that it was trying to finalize a settlement "that would serve as the best path forward to provide billions of dollars in immediate funding and relief to states and local communities." Here is the official schedule of US President Donald Trumps engagements in India as issued by the Ministry of External Affairs. Monday, February 24 1140 hrs : President Donald Trump to arrive at Sardar Vallabhbhai International Airport, Ahmedabad 1215 hrs: Sabarmati Ashram (Ahmedabad) 1305 hrs: Namaste Trump Event at Motera Stadium 1530 hrs: Emplane for Agra 1645 hrs: Arrival at Agra 1715 hrs: Visit to Taj Mahal 1845 hrs: Emplane for Delhi 1930 hrs: Arrive at Delhi Tuesday, February 25 1000 hrs: Ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan 1030 hrs: Wreath laying at the samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat 1100 hrs: Meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Hyderabad House 1240 hrs: Exchange of Agreements/ Press Statement at Hyderabad House 1930 hrs: Meeting with President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan 2200 hrs: Departure. MIAMI A once-standout federal narcotics agent known for spending lavishly on luxury cars and Tiffany jewelry has been arrested on charges of conspiring to launder money with the same Colombian drug cartel he was supposed to be fighting. Jose Irizarry and his wife were arrested Friday at their home near San Juan, Puerto Rico, as part of a 19-count federal indictment that accused the 46-year-old Irizarry of secretly using his position and his special access to information to divert millions in drug proceeds from control of the Drug Enforcement Administration. Its a black eye for the DEA to have one of its own engaged in such a high level of corruption, said Mike Vigil, the DEAs former Chief of International Operations. He jeopardized investigations. He jeopardized other agents and he jeopardized informants. Federal prosecutors in Tampa, Fla., allege the conspiracy not only enriched Irizarry but benefited two unindicted co-conspirators, neither of whom is named in the indictment. One was employed as a Colombian public official while the other was described as the head of a drug trafficking and money laundering organization who became the godfather to the Irizarry couples children in 2015, when the DEA agent was posted to the Colombian resort city of Cartagena. When the Associated Press revealed the scale of Irizarrys alleged wrongdoing last year, it sent shock waves through the DEA, where his ostentatious habits and tales of raucous yacht parties with bikini-clad prostitutes were legendary among agents But prior to being exposed, Irizarry had been a model agent, winning awards and praise from his supervisors. After joining the DEA in Miami 2009, he was entrusted with an undercover money laundering operation using front companies, shell bank accounts and couriers. Irizarry resigned in January 2018 after being reassigned to Washington when his boss in Colombia became suspicious The case has raised concerns within the DEA that the conspiracy may have compromised undercover operations. His fingerprints are all over dozens of arrests and indictments, said David Weinstein, a former federal prosecutor in Miami. It could have a ripple effect and cause courts to re-examine any case he was involved in. Irizarry and his wife posted $10,000 bond each and were released later Friday. Nathalia Gomez-Irizarry declined to comment and closed the door at the house she shares with her husband, saying he wasnt home. Messages to Irizarrys attorney were not immediately returned. Joshua Goodman and Jim Mustian are Associated Press writers. People wearing protective masks in Venice, Italy, on February 23, 2020 due to concerns over coronavirus infection. NurPhoto 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 Asia-Pacific team. All times are U.S. Eastern Time. 4:18 pm: Israel may quarantine 200 South Korean visitors Israel may quarantine some 200 visitors from South Korea at a military base in a Jewish settlement on the occupied West Bank over coronavirus fears, according to Israel's Ynet news site. Israeli Interior Minister Aryeh Deri said separately he had ordered South Korea and Japan to be added to a list of Asian countries to which travel to and from Israel was being barred. 3:48 pm: Austria halts train traffic with Italy Austria has halted train traffic with its southern neighbor amid concern that two passengers on an in-bound train from Italy were infected with the coronavirus. Italy is grappling with the largest coronavirus outbreak outside of Asia, with more than 130 reported cases and three deaths. 3:03 pm: Air New Zealand cuts 2020 outlook Air New Zealand cut its 2020 outlook, as the impact from the coronavirus and subsequent capacity reductions appear set to offset benefits from lower jet fuel prices, Reuters reported. The airline said the negative impact to earnings was between $22.2 million and $47.4 million, Reuters said. 1:08 pm: Four passengers test positive for coronavirus in England Four passengers tested positive for the virus in England after being evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan, according to Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty. "Four further patients in England have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of cases in the UK to thirteen," the statement from the chief medical officer for England said. Tweet 1 12:25 pm: Mnuchin: Central bankers will look at options for responding to virus Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, speaking after a meeting of G20 financial leaders, told reporters that central bankers will look at options for responding to the virus as needed. "I'm not going to comment on monetary policy, but obviously central bankers will look at various different options as this has an impact on the economy," he said. 11:47 am: Official: Third person dies in coronavirus outbreak in northern Italy A third person infected with the coronavirus has died in Italy, a regional official said, as the government struggles to contain an outbreak of the illness in the north of the country with more than 130 cases reported since Friday. Lombardy regional councilor Giulio Gallera told reporters the victim was an elderly woman from the town of Crema, east of Milan, who was also suffering from cancer. Two other elderly patients in northern Italy have died over the past 48 hours. The government has placed a dozen towns under quarantine and closed down schools. 11:29 am: There's a 'clear will' from governments to react if coronavirus outbreak persists: EU commissioner Paolo Gentiloni, the European commissioner for economic affairs, told CNBC that there's a "clear will" from governments to react if the virus outbreak persists. "Our assessment that was made here at G20 was to update continuously information on this situation and be ready to react if the downside risk will materialize," he said. Earlier in the day, Gentiloni said the European Union sees "no need to panic" over a coronavirus outbreak in Italy that has already killed two people and infected more than 100 in the country. The comments came after a meeting of G20 financial leaders in Saudi Arabia. 10:28 am: G20 ready to adopt policies to limit economic impact of virus Saudi Arabia's finance minister said that finance officials from the Group of 20 major economies agreed to continue monitoring the risk from the coronavirus outbreak and to adopt appropriate policies to limit the global economic impact. 9:45 am: IMF chief sees negative economic impact from virus, even if outbreak contained The coronavirus that originated in China will have a negative impact on the global economy even if it is rapidly contained, and it would be prudent to prepare for more significant consequences, the head of the IMF said. International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, in a statement issued after a meeting of finance officials from the world's 20 largest economies, called for coordinated action to contain the human and economic impact of the virus. 9:21 am: Venice Carnival to be halted due to outbreak The last two days of the Venice Carnival, which draws tourists from around the world, have been canceled because of an outbreak of coronavirus, the head of the Veneto region Luca Zaia said. Events scheduled for Sunday in the lagoon city would continue as planned. "But as of this evening there will be a ban on the Venice Carnival as well as on all events, sporting as well, until March 1 inclusive," Zaia said. 9:15 am: Turkey to close Iran border, halts flights Turkey will close its border with Iran as a precautionary measure to halt the potential spread of coronavirus after the neighboring country reported 43 cases of the disease, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said. All highways and railways will be closed as of 5 p.m. local time on Sunday and flights from Iran suspended. 6:52 am: South Korea on high alert, confirms sixth death South Korea raised its coronavirus alert to the "highest level" as cases continued to rise. A sixth person has died from the coronavirus in South Korea, the country's Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention said Sunday evening. South Korea's new cases jumped by 169 over the weekend, bringing the its total infected to 602. 6:07 am: China's Xi says coronavirus situation is still "serious and complex" Chinese Premier Xi Jinping said the coronavirus situation in China is still "serious and complex," according to a Reuters translation of state media. He also said that the country would maintain a "prudent" monetary policy, and would introduce new policy measures in a timely way, Reuters reported. Xi said the epidemic was a major public health emergency with "the fastest spread, the widest range of infections, and the most difficult prevention and control in China" since the founding of the People's Republic of China, according to state media. China is the epicenter of the new coronavirus, with 76,936 cases and 2,442 deaths on the mainland as of Feb. 22. Many businesses and schools remain shut, with economists predicting an economic growth slowdown for the country of 1.4 billion. Alleging that Home Minister Amit Shah was working like the "hate minister" of the country, CPI(M) politburo member Brinda Karat on Saturday said the BJP-led central government was "fulfilling its agenda of communal polarisation". Karat, addressing the inaugural session of the 22nd central conference of CPI(M)'s tribal wing, slammed Shah for his comments on the Shaheen Bagh protesters during campaigning for the Delhi assembly polls. "Home Minister Amit Shah...asked people to push the buttons in EVMs so hard that Shaheen Bagh gets electric current from it. I think this kind of comment is unfair. That is why I say Amit Shah is not the home minister, he is doing the work of hate minister," she said. Campaigning for a BJP candidate in January in Delhi, Shah had said, "When you press the button (of EVM) on February 8, do so with such anger that its current is felt at Shaheen Bagh." Karat said the central government with its "brute majority" in Parliament was "fulfilling the agenda of communally polarising people". "BJP thought they are at liberty to fulfil their agenda in the name of religion as they had sheer majority. But after 2019 Lok Sabha election, a new direction in politics was observed. People are now speaking against this government," she asserted. The senior CPI(M) leader alleged that cases of mob lynching, communal violence and an "environment of hatred" were results of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah's "hate politics". She also claimed that tribals in the northeast would be the worst hit by the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). "People of the northeastern region would not accept any citizenship on the basis of religion, because it is against the spirit of the Constitution," Karat said. "There is no work in the rural areas, farmers aren't getting proper wages, the BJP is looting money from poor people and rights of indigenous people are being persecuted every day," she Daniel Craig has been playing James Bond for well over a decade. Fans are well aware he will have to throw in the towel at some point. Because of this, people have been speculating about which actor will replace him. This speculation has gotten so ubiquitous even people involved with the Bond franchise have publicly discussed their opinions on the matter. Billie Eilish only recently became involved with the franchise when she sang the title song for the upcoming Bond film No Time to Die. Heres her opinion on who should replace Craig. Billie Eilish performing at The Grammy Museum | Scott Dudelson/Getty Images Billie Eilish wants the James Bond franchise to break new ground According to Cinema Blend, Eilish appeared on the radio show Capital Breakfast. There, she was asked who shed like to see play Bond next. Her answer was quick and decisive. Shed like to see Marvel actor Michael B. Jordan take on the iconic role. Jordan is most known for his appearances in The Wire, Creed, Creed II, and Black Panther. Eilish said shed like to see Jordan try his best British accent to play the role. If cast as 007, hed be the first American actor to play the character in a theatrical film. According to Metro, previous actors whove taken on the role on the big screen have been Scottish (Sean Connery), English (David Niven, Roger Moore, Daniel Craig), Australian (George Lazenby), and Welsh (Timothy Dalton). The only American actor who ever played the role was Barry Nelson in an episode of the TV series Climax! In that episode, Bond was portrayed as an American. Oddly enough, 007 is referred to as Jimmy Bond throughout the aforementioned episode of Climax! Jordan would be the first black actor to play the role. Numerous critics are excited about the possibility. Many fans also like the idea of Idris Elba taking on the role. Like Jordan, Elba appeared on The Wire. Unlike Jordan, Elba would not have to fake a British accent to play Bond. How playing 007 would fit into Michael B. Jordans career Could Michael B. Jordan be the next James Bond? | David Becker/Getty Images for The Blackhouse Foundation Playing a literary character who was initially portrayed as Caucasian would not be new ground for Jordan. According to The Washington Post, be previously played Guy Montag in a television adaptation of Ray Bradburys Fahrenheit 451. Montag was Caucasian in both Bradburys original novel and the 1966 film version by Francois Truffaut. Jordan has also played the Human Torch in the 2015 film Fantastic Four. Jordan said he had specific reasons why he wanted to portray Montag and the Human Torch. I wanted to go out for those roles because it was just playing people. It didnt have to be the specific, Youre playing the black guy in this. So far, Jordan hasnt commented on the possibility of portraying 007. Regardless, its still fun to speculate on who could take on the role in the future. Sony Pictures certainly has a lot of actors to choose from. Also see: James Bond: Sam Heughan of Outlander Reveals If He Will Play 007 On Saturday (Feb. 22), for a second consecutive night, driver Yannick Gingras recorded five wins and won the feature at the Meadowlands Racetrack, as he scored with Trump Nation in the Big Ms Preferred Handicap for pacers. Trump Nation, who was sent to the gate as the publics 4-5 choice, blasted away from Post 7 in the field of eight along with Atta Boy Dan and Americanprimetime. Endeavor was in the early scrum, but driver Corey Callahan decided to back off into the four hole as Atta Boy Dan led at the quarter. Trump Nation continued on until he surged to the top at the three eighths. Endeavor, the 2-1 second choice, was on the move at the half racing on the rim and chipped away at the leaders edge (he drew to within a length at the head of the stretch). The rivals battled through the lane as Endeavor continued to inch closer, but, at the wire it was an ultra-determined Trump Nation who out-gamed Endeavor by a neck in 1:49.4. Harambe Deo finished third. Trump Nation (inside), victorious in the featured Preferred Handicap for pacers at the Meadowlands Saturday night. Trump Nation (inside), victorious in the featured Preferred Handicap for pacers at the Meadowlands Saturday night. Gingras wasnt worried as his primary foe was closing in. I was pretty confident I was going to be able to hold him off, said Gingras. This horse was super again. Trump Nation, a five-year-old gelded son of Betterthancheddar who is trained by Ron Burke, returned $3.80 to his backers. Hes now won 15 of 40 lifetime starts and earned $432,446 for owners Burke Racing Stable, Evan Katz, Weaver Bruscemi and Purnel & Libby. THE NEED FOR SPEED: A fast track and comfortable-for-the-time-of-year temperatures in the 40s on a clear night led to some rock-the-clock times on the program. The red-hot Bell I No, who won a week ago in 1:49.1 despite cold conditions and a -1 track variant, recorded the second fastest mile in North America of 2020 when he ripped through fractions of :26.4, :54.1 and 1:22 before completing the mile in a lifetime-best 1:48.4 to record his third win in four starts in the sixth race high-end conditioned pace. Andy Miller drove the Andrew Harris trainee. Just two races later, the Ron Burke-trained Covered Bridge equalled Effronte As national seasons-best of 1:48.3 by coming from off the pace while winning another high-end conditioned pace. Driven by Gingras, Covered Bridge lowered his previous lifetime mark by two-and-one-fifth seconds while making his seasonal debut. A LITTLE MORE: Chalk players ruled the night, as eight winning favourites scored on the card. Wagering on the tracks four popular multi-leg puzzles was vigorous, as the 20-cent Pick-5 ($75,544), 20-cent Pick-6 ($29,150), 50-cent Early Pick-4 ($89,159) and 50-cent Late Pick-4 ($74,289) accounted for total bets of $268,142. Gingras, Dexter Dunn (three winners), Andy McCarthy (two) and Marcus Miller (two) combined to win 12 of the 13 races. Burke recorded three wins on the night. ... All-source handle on the card totaled $2,687,050, the eighth time in the last nine programs that wagering has exceeded $2.5 million. Racing resumes Friday at 6:55 p.m. (Meadowlands Racetrack) Photo: The Canadian Press Chief Woos (Frank Alec) speaks during a press conference following a meeting between Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs and the Mohawks People's Council on Friday Feb. 21, 2020, in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory near Belleville, Ont. Traditional chiefs of the Wet'suwet'en First Nation have arrived in Kahnawake, Que., as they continue their tour of Mohawk communities in eastern Canada where rail blockades in solidarity with their cause have been erected. Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs oppose the Coastal GasLink project that would carry natural gas to the B.C. coast, though others in the community support the pipeline. Countrywide protests and blockades followed a move by RCMP to enforce a court injunction this month against the hereditary chiefs and their supporters, who had been obstructing an access road to a Coastal GasLink work site. Their Quebec visit comes one day after the Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs visited supporters at Tyendinaga Mohawk territory to thank them. One of the hereditary chiefs said Friday his people are willing to engage in nation-to-nation talks with the B.C. and federal governments, but not until the RCMP in B.C. have left traditional Wet'suwet'en territory entirely and Coastal GasLink, the pipeline company, ceases work in the area. The comments came after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau emerged from meetings with senior cabinet ministers on Friday saying that barricades on rail lines and other major transportation routes must come down after two weeks of calls for patience and stalled attempts at negotiation. At least two blockades in Quebec have come down since Trudeaus comments, neither on Indigenous territory. Late Friday, protesters left a site in St. Lambert, south of Montreal, where they had been blockading railway tracks since Wednesday. Riot police arrived in the afternoon after Trudeau spoke to enforce an injunction ordering protesters off Canadian National Railway tracks in St-Lambert, Que. Another small blockade set up near L'Isle-Verte, Que., on Wednesday was also dismantled late Friday, provincial police said. The traditional chiefs took part in "Words at Edge of the Woods" a welcoming ceremony that took place at the Mohawk longhouse in Kahnawake. Mohawk leaders and Wet'suwet'en chiefs are expected to address reporters later Saturday. On Saturday, Stent noted that if the Russians are in fact interfering in this election, it could bring about new energy sanctions. She noted that one piece of legislation in the Senate, the DETER bill, would require new sanctions if evidence of Russian meddling emerges from intelligence agencies. Stent noted that, so far, Putin may have concluded that the penalties are a small price to pay if he can bring his geopolitical rival down a few more notches. And the early intelligence analyses suggest that, by backing Sanders in the primary and Trump in the general election, he would probably have a good chance of maximizing the electoral tumult. WASHINGTON - It's been a running gag ever since she launched her bid to become president of the United States: Amy Klobuchar knows how to handle a Canadian winter. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 23/2/2020 (688 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., is interviewed in the spin room after a Democratic presidential primary debate Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020, in Las Vegas, hosted by NBC News and MSNBC. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Matt York WASHINGTON - It's been a running gag ever since she launched her bid to become president of the United States: Amy Klobuchar knows how to handle a Canadian winter. Not long after the Minnesota senator's blizzard-bound campaign debut last year, a group of former U.S. and Canadian ambassadors gathered in Washington a city famous for running and hiding from the white stuff to discuss, among other things, their preferred nominee. "Canadians love Amy Klobuchar look at the way she handled snow," joked former Canadian ambassador and Manitoba premier Gary Doer, who hosted Klobuchar's 2013 swearing-in party on the Canadian Embassy's rooftop patio. Gordon Giffin, U.S. ambassador to Canada under Bill Clinton, happened to be hosting his own reception for Klobuchar at his home in Atlanta the very next night. "We're not expecting snow," he said, "but I am expecting Amy Klobuchar to be the Democratic nominee." Bruce Heyman, who might never have been confirmed in the Senate as Barack Obama's Ottawa emissary without her help, calls Klobuchar the best hope for both the Democrats and the country. The solidarity is striking, particularly for a candidate whose visibility challenges have long extended well beyond the weather forecast in Minnesota. But her affinity for the Canada-U.S. file demonstrates why those hoping to reboot relations with the White House could do worse than the first female senator from the North Star State. She has spent more than a decade as co-chair of the Canada-U.S. Inter-Parliamentary Group, the panel of lawmakers from both sides of the border that works to identify shared interests at the legislative level. She's also a devout free-trader with a deep understanding of Canada's priorities, thanks in part to the fact she "can see Canada from her porch," as she likes to say. Social liberals might take comfort in her support for abortion and LGBTQ rights. For Giffin, it all comes down to that re-election embassy bash, which featured congressional movers and shakers from both sides of the aisle. "It was actually a physical manifestation of the way Washington ought to work these days, Republicans don't go to Democrat swearing-in parties," Giffin recalled in an interview Friday. "Gary and I have a common thread with Amy of seeing how she does politics and government the right way. She works with Democrats and Republicans, and she knows more than something about Canada." Heyman credits Klobuchar "nobody knows the Canada-U.S. file better who's running for president," he says with breaking through a partisan deadlock on Capitol Hill and getting him confirmed by the Senate in 2014. During a subsequent gathering in Ottawa, he saw her bilateral bona-fides up close. "There we were, just a couple of months later, and who does she bring? She brings Republicans and Democrats and some of the most red Republicans and blue Democrats," he recalled. "I've seen her work across the aisle at a time when we are a country divided, and parties divided." But as the primary fight moves through Nevada and into South Carolina, with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders showing signs of pulling away from the pack and Super Tuesday looming on March 3, Klobuchar is facing an uphill struggle for traction with more diverse black and Latino voters in the South. Money is becoming a challenge, too, as donors aim their largesse at the front-runners. For Giffin, a veteran of the U.S. political trenches, Klobuchar needs to catch a lucky break. "The voters in South Carolina, no matter what their background or diversity might be, want to be for somebody who's got a chance to win the nomination first, and secondly to win the general election," he said. "I'm not by any means predicting that Amy's going to be the next president of the United States. I'd be thrilled if she was, and I think the country would be well-served if she was. I think she's impressing people as she goes along. Can lightning strike? I don't know." North of the border, she's still a stranger, a new online survey from the Angus Reid Institute suggests. Sanders was the choice of 28 per cent of respondents to both defeat Trump and herald an improvement in Canada-U.S. relations, besting second-place Joe Biden at 14 per cent. Klobuchar registered just four per cent, with fewer than a third of those surveyed even having an opinion of her. And that lucky break might have already happened: Klobuchar's campaign found new life in New Hampshire, where she used the televised debate to promote her reputation as a moderate consensus-builder with a fighting chance against Donald Trump in critical states like Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. "I don't have the biggest name up on this stage, I don't have the biggest bank account ... but I have a record of fighting for people," she said. "I'm asking you to believe that someone who totally believes in America can win this, because if you are tired of the extremes in our politics and the noise and the nonsense, you have a home with me." The ensuing momentum, paired with a continuing flurry of newspaper endorsements, painted a target on her back in the next contest in Nevada. That's where fellow candidate Pete Buttigieg savaged her for supporting a bill to make English the national language and for blanking on the name of the president of Mexico. "Are you trying to say that I'm dumb? Are you mocking me here, Pete?" Klobuchar retorted, shaken. "He's basically saying that I don't have the experience to be president of the United States." Friday's headline in the New York Times said it all: "Klobuchar suddenly rises to rival worth attacking." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 23, 2020. Follow James McCarten on Twitter @CdnPressStyle From the Feb. 15 Star-Ledger, two stories on the same page in the same column: A man who left a pit bull puppy in a cage on Sandy Hook Bay to drown gets one year in state prison. A woman drives a BMW hits a 14-year-old girl, drives with her on the hood till she falls off, and then leaves the scene. She then tries to hide the damage to her car. The girl has brain damage, a fractured skull and other injuries. The driver gets probation, community service and revoked driving privileges. I guess comparing the two judgments, one judge figured a dog is worth more than a child. It amazes me how some people in government cant see that this kind of action promotes no trust and questions the honesty of all judges. They all get smeared, good or not. Robert J. Bounczek, Bloomfield On immigration: Fewer walls, more bridges Recent articles in The Star-Ledger and other news outlets highlight opposition by local police and sheriffs departments to New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewals immigration directive and his police reform efforts. The federal Department of Justice also has joined some of these suits. Instead of demonizing those fleeing violence and instability in Central America and elsewhere in the world, we should work toward the United States investing the necessary resources and ensure that asylum seekers have their claims heard. People deserve humane treatment and a fair shot at their legal right to asylum. We must also address the root causes forcing people to leave their countries in the first place. We need to build fewer walls and more bridges. Paula Zevin, Somerset PA hasnt improved its plan for Hudson Tunnel The Star-Ledgers editorial, The Portal triumph does not erase the mortal transit threat leaves out the most important reasons why the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) assigned the Portal North and the Hudson Tunnel projects their respective ratings in the Capital Investment Grants (CIG) program annual report. New Jersey Transit followed the sound advice and recommendations of the FTA and improved the Portal North Bridge projects financial plan and subsequent rating. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the Hudson Tunnel project sponsor, did not. The Port Authority assumes unprecedented and unrealistic amounts of Federal funding and leaves unspecified the sources of funding to repay several USDOT Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) loans assumed in the financial plan. FTA continues to administer the Capital Investment Grants (CIG) program consistent with Federal law, evaluating each project on its merits. Many other project sponsors are attentive to the CIG program requirements. During this Administration, FTA has advanced 25 new CIG projects across the nation, totaling approximately $7.6 billion in funding commitments. Until the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey improves its financial plan - like New Jersey Transit did for the Portal Bridge - the Hudson Tunnel project will remain ineligible for Federal participation. K. Jane Williams, FTA acting administrator Use of SWAT-like immigration unit is overkill The Trump administration is planning to deploy BORTAC, a SWAT unit of the U.S. Border Patrol with special forces-type training, into American cities including Newark ostensibly to enforce Immigration and Customs Enforcement civil violations. This is analogous, in effect, to sending in Navy SEALs to enforce child support orders. BORTAC is the Border Patrol equivalent of the team that went into Pakistan to find Osama bin Laden. This is a paramilitary force set loose in American cities. Lisa Trimboli, Long Branch Learn to use Democrat correctly I enjoy reading the Friendly Fire column each Friday, with one exception: Republican strategist Mike DuHaimes regular misuse of the word Democrat as an adjective. A Democrat is an individual member of the Democratic Party. There is no Democrat Party, nor is there a Democrat field as he specifically mentioned in the Feb. 14 column. While most readers might think this a benign mistake, it is actually name-calling, and Republicans have been making this mistake for decades. Would Republicans object if Democrats started calling them the Repub Party? Of course they would and so would I. It is time for DuHaime to publicly disavow any further use of the Democrat dig, and if he wont, then The Star-Ledger editorial staff should correct his misuse before publishing his words. A. Adler, Livingston 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. Hereditary chiefs from the Wetsuweten First Nation were expected to return to British Columbia on Sunday after visiting Mohawk communities in Eastern Canada, with no signs that blockades crippling the countrys rail network will come down. The actions, particularly one on a critical east-west rail line on Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory near Belleville, Ont., are in support of hereditary chiefs who oppose a natural gas pipeline despite support from elected band councils along the route of the project in northern B.C. In Vancouver, protesters returned to the site of CN Rail tracks on the citys east side, but police spokesman Sgt. Aaron Roed said the gathering appeared to be a continuation of protests over the past few weeks. He said about 40 people were off to the side of the tracks, not blocking rail lines, and officers had informed them of an injunction already in place. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday that while the government is ready to talk, blockades that began two weeks ago must come down and that the situation is unacceptable and untenable. Hereditary chiefs have said they are ready for discussions with the B.C. and federal governments after the RCMP and Coastal Gas Link leave their traditional territory. Heredity Chief Namoks, also known as John Ridsdale, said Sunday that talks were progressing with the Mohawks to take down blockades until Trudeau made his antagonistic and misinformed speech. If the prime minister had not made that speech the Mohawks would have taken down everything, he said Sunday. They were ready. We were on the phone. Namoks said all five hereditary chiefs are expected to meet in northern B.C. on Monday to plan their next steps and talks with the RCMP could resume on Thursday at the earliest. He said the chiefs will not budge from their demands for the Mounties to remove every component of a mobile unit from the 29-kilometre mark from Highway 16 before meeting with them. The local constabulary can look after the patrols, Namoks said of a detachment in nearby Houston. The officers that they fly in and out on a seven-day basis is what we want gone from the territory. Dawn Roberts, a spokeswoman for the RCMP, said the mobile unit has been temporarily closed as discussions are underway with the deputy commissioner about its future. This means that the buildings have been locked and secured and that the gates and the fence thats around that property has been locked, she said. Officers who were stationed at the unit are now conducting patrols of the area from the Houston detachment, about 40 minutes away, Roberts said, adding she is not aware of any plans by Mounties to meet with the chiefs on Thursday. The chiefs visited supporters this week in Tyendinaga and Kahnawake south of Montreal, and repeated that their conditions for talks to begin have not been met. Chief Woos, of the Grizzly House, told reporters in Kahnawake on Saturday that attempts to reach out to Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller have not been returned since Trudeaus announcement on Friday. It seems to me like ever since Mr. Trudeau has made his announcement, the communication has ceased, Woos said. But senior cabinet ministers said Sunday the federal government remained ready to talk. Speaking Sunday on Globals news and political affairs series The West Block, the minister for Crown-Indigenous relations styled conversations as productive and that all sides were making good progress. Carolyn Bennett said that at no time have we stopped negotiations. She added later in the interview that keeping the conversation open along with the removal of the RCMP from the Wetsuweten territory are really important criteria to getting us through this difficult patch and on to a good path. She said there are differing opinions within the Wetsuweten Nation, and it is the nation itself that has to sort out the divide. Within the Wetsuweten community that there are differing opinions and matriarchs, there are people that are speaking up about their issues as well, Bennett told the program. The solution will be found in the Wetsuweten community as they come together with their vision of self-determination and how they can form a government and write their own laws. On CTVs Question Period, Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said the barricades needed to come down and that the federal government is committed to dialogue. He urged the hereditary chiefs to come back to the table. We all understand the importance of a peaceful resolution, but a speedy resolution, because the impact of these barricades is unacceptable, untenable, Blair said. It cant be maintained because of the harm that it is causing and so we have confidence in the police to do the job peaceably. He said that it was the responsibility of the police in each jurisdiction to deal with the blockades and was cool to the idea of the federal government sending in the military to forcibly remove demonstrators. I dont believe personally that its ever appropriate to put armed services up against Canadians in any part of Canada, Blair told the program. The armed services perform an essential role to this country, but the police also perform an essential role. Some barricades have come down, including one in St-Lambert, Que., late Friday, which will allow the St-Hilaire commuter train line to resume service on Monday, according to Exo, the company that oversees commuter rail service in the Montreal area. Via Rail service has said it is set to resume certain routes, including its Quebec City-Montreal-Ottawa route, on Monday. Read more about: Multi-billionaire Michael Bloomberg, a late entry into the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, appeared on the debate stage for the first time Wednesday in Las Vegas with five other candidates. He got pummeled. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren seized on Bloombergs history of misogynist remarks and non-disclosure agreements with former female employees. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders attacked Bloomberg for the stop and frisk" policy he implemented as mayor of New York City. Former Vice President Joe Biden criticized his management of the city while mayor. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar objected to being told, in so many words, to step aside for Bloomberg. The attacks seemed to catch him off-guard. Even Bloombergs own staff agreed that he had a terrible night. Several cartoonists drew him bloodied and battered. They also commented on his immense wealth, his previous political life as a moderate Republican and his 2016 remarks belittling farmers. Sanders, the front-runner, was the other target in Wednesdays debate. Bloomberg accused him of communism." Sanders called it a low blow. The Vermont senator identifies himself as a democratic socialist. Party leaders are worried the label would hurt him in the general election, prompting talk that he could be denied the nomination even if he wins a plurality of delegates. Cartoonists had some fun with slot machine imagery as Nevadans chose their candidates in caucuses. Other topics in the cartoons: President Donald Trumps grants of clemency to several high-profile white-collar criminals, including former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was caught trying to sell Barack Obamas Senate seat, and junk bond king Michael Milken; Trumps interference in cases brought by the Justice Department and Attorney General William Barr; the bankruptcy filing by Boy Scouts of America to shield its assets from sexual abuse claims; and the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal. Cartoons were drawn by Bill Bramhall, Dan Wasserman, Dana Summers, Drew Sheneman, Scott Stantis, Walt Handelsman, David Horsey, Phil Hands, Joel Pett and Joey Weatherford of Tribune Content Agency; and A.F. Branco, Mike Luckovich and Michael Ramirez of Creators Syndicate. View more editorial cartoon galleries. by Brad Camara | 76ers Correspondent | Sun, Feb 23rd 2:29pm EST Ben Simmons (back) will undergo additional tests on Monday and has been ruled out for the game against the Hawks. (Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN) Fantasy Impact: Simmons had an MRI on Sunday and returned to Philadelphia to undergo initial testing. The team will send Simmons for additional testing Monday and provide an update once the MRI results return. He will miss Mondays game, and based on the results could potentially miss additional contests. Look for Shake Milton to see an expanded role with Simmons sidelined. US sanctions are similar to the new coronavirus, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said at a meeting with Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg in Tehran, Trend reports referring to the website of the Office of the Iranian President. Rouhani noted that the fear of this virus is greater than the virus itself. The Iranian president added that the US imposed sanctions on Iranian food and medicines in addition to the countrys economy. The imposition of these sanctions is a terror attack, and Iran expects the EU to fulfill its humanitarian mission in this regard, said Rouhani. The Iranian president added that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) may have a positive impact on the security and peace not only in Iran, Europe and 5+1 group countries, but the whole region and the world. Rouhani said that Iran still hopes that the nuclear agreement will be preserved. Nuclear agreement could be a good basis for building confidence between Iran and the West, mainly the EU and the US, the president noted. Iran, in turn, remained committed to this agreement. During Yellowknifes first Fridays For Future climate change march last fall, Dr. Courtney Howard spoke about her experience with a condition called eco-anxiety to the most Yellowknifers Ive seen in one spot. She asked the young crowd an estimated 1,000 people to raise their hands if they also find themselves worried about climate change, and she watched all these little hands go up. Every day, young people are immersed in unrelenting and alarming climate change information, particularly on social media, which has contributed to the new mental health phenomenon. Eco-anxiety leads to intense feelings of stress, fear and grief in reaction to climate change. In response, some countries are introducing more targeted climate curricula. But that movement is slow to arrive in Canada. I first became aware of eco-anxiety when it happened to me, says Howard, an emergency doctor in the Northwest Territories. She began dealing with crippling anxiety after educating herself about the state of our planet in 2012. I finished reading Bill McKibbens Global Warmings Terrifying New Math in the fetal position, curled up around my eight-month-old daughter, thinking climate change is going to change her life. Today she has transformed that fear into action, speaking out about her experience with eco-anxiety and advocating for the expansion of climate education. Eco-anxiety was first defined in 2017 by the American Psychological Association as a chronic fear of environmental doom. The condition can be debilitating, emotionally exhausting and lead to depression, loneliness, lethargy and feelings of helplessness. I didnt know anyone else feeling this way and was incredibly lonely, says Howard. It impacted my daily function a lot. Eco-anxiety presents itself differently from other forms of anxiety, says Niki Harre, a psychology professor at the University of Auckland. It is less individual; instead, it is a fear for the collective future. The phenomenon is relatively new, and the term eco-anxiety is not yet commonplace, says Harre, even among people who are experiencing it. While there is no clinical diagnosis, the trend is definitely becoming more and more clear, and young people are most at risk. Rachael Buchwald, a 20-year-old student at the University of Manitoba, says her eco-anxiety has increased in the last year. She did study climate change when she was younger but has only recently begun to feel just how overwhelming of an issue climate change really is. Buchwald describes completing a Grade 5 project on ecological sustainability as just another part of the curriculum. I dont think I really understood what it all meant, she said, but she believes todays younger children are immersed in an environment where they are told their future is uncertain. They grow up hearing about natural disasters and some even see that devastation first hand. That was the case in Vernon, B.C., says Julia Payson, executive director of the local Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) branch. Wildfires surrounded the town in 2018, and residents were told to stay indoors for a week because of the smoke. The CMHAs crisis line lit up. It received calls from individuals who felt socially isolated, first responders were reporting PTSD, and many said they felt powerless and stressed. Young people were especially worried. Payson remembers her own terrified children asking: Whats happening? How close are the fires? Why is the sky orange? A lot of parents didnt know how to explain the fires to their kids, says Payson. The Vernon CMHA created a toolkit to support parents whose children were dealing with eco-anxiety. However, Canadian curricula have little to offer teachers whose students express the same concerns. People who witness the effects of climate change up close, such as those in Vernon, face more risk of experiencing eco-anxiety. In Nunavut, elders in the community are also expressing eco-anxiety, says Howard, as they have seen the land and hunting practices change in their lifetimes. Others experiencing more general eco-anxiety may not see the imminent risk of climate change first hand, but they often are following ecological crises closely on social media. Today, climate change is framed as the biggest threat to biodiversity, economic growth, global health and even the human species itself. Many experts on eco-anxiety compare it with the nuclear threat for previous generations. Young people in Canada were too often left out of the nuclear conversation. When parents werent levelling with their children about the nuclear crisis, their kids lost trust in them, says Howard. This left a generation of young people feeling unsafe, confused and generated much stress. Unlike the nuclear threat, however, climate change is visible daily, at least on phones and televisions. A never-ending news cycle of wildfires, flooding, heat waves and cyclones makes climate change appear more imminent than ever before for many young people. Sarah Rundle, a Grade 11 student at Malvern Collegiate Institute in Toronto, is the president of her schools eco club. There has been more of a push to get involved in the fight against climate change this year than ever before, she says. Rundle says students are more fearful this year. In weekly club meetings, they talk about these concerns, including whether they will be able to have children and what jobs will be available for them. To address this type of concern, countries such as New Zealand and Italy are introducing climate change curriculums, which try to address eco-anxiety. The idea is to emphasize the science behind climate change, while presenting strategies to better manage eco-anxiety. In New Zealand, middle-school students are now being taught climate science, current international responses, local implications and how to join climate change movements. They are also encouraged to keep a feelings thermometer to track their emotions in a curriculum developed in collaboration with scientists and psychologists. The curriculum includes important tools for managing eco-anxiety, says Jackie Feather, a psychologist and senior lecturer at the Auckland University of Technology. When students understand the science behind climate change it helps ease their anxiety, she says. Mental health tools in the new curriculum encourage students to acknowledge and cope with difficult emotions around climate change, and a new Wellbeing Guide teaches mindfulness, to check in with your values and be grateful. Meanwhile in Canada, climate education is widely seen as lacking and inconsistent. A study on secondary school curriculums last year found the majority of students were not being taught about the scientific consensus that humans are causing climate change. Many textbooks are outdated and do not reflect the current scientific data. For instance, Manitobas climate curriculum was published in 2001. Im part of a generation that didnt really learn a lot about climate change in school, says Talia Smith, who graduated from Oak Park High School in Winnipeg in 2014. Even Rundle, who is a current high school student, says I only really started learning about climate change when I was 14, which I think is far too late. The new climate change curricula being developed also focus on collective activism and individual lifestyle changes in response to eco-anxiety. As Yellowknifes Courtney Howard has experienced first hand, action feels better than anxiety. This is also why students at Malvern Collegiate have been organizing their own beach clean-ups, fundraising for koalas in the Australian bushfires and tracking the schools waste management. As well, Sarah Rundle has given up meat this year, is avoiding fast fashion, limiting her water and electricity use and is trying to use public transit more often. Joining the fight against climate change has helped some students feel better about the future, but others say the task feels daunting. It can feel very overwhelming and exhausting to try and tackle climate change as just one person facing a global problem, says Winnipegs Smith. Likewise, Buchwald says she was excited when her family began composting. But then she realized her neighbours were not, and that her university definitely wasnt and the restaurant she works at combines recycled bottles with garbage at the end of each night. This is an overwhelming feeling, she says. Such feelings of helplessness are why experts warn against letting anxiety lead to burnout. When Howard first got involved in climate activism, she says, I was completely driven by anxiety instead of strategy. Today, she says if you want to make change, you have to be quite centred in your emotions. Howards involvement in the climate movement helped her feel less alone and find people in her community who were experiencing the same feelings of eco-anxiety. Feather emphasizes that when it comes to anxiety, its what you do with that anxiety that is important. Anxiety is not necessarily a bad thing; it is a natural reaction to a threat, says Feather. Eco-anxiety is therefore a rational response, not something to suppress or ignore. Payson, of the Canadian Mental Health Association, says stress can be a good motivator but if we maintain it for too long, it turns into distress and starts to impair us. When she works with individuals experiencing eco-anxiety, she emphasizes that we have to take care of ourselves and we have to find ways to practise self-compassion. Another important tool for managing eco-anxiety is ensuring correct resources are used, which means better media literacy for young people immersed in social media. With little formal climate education in Canada, many young people instead rely on their own research to inform their opinions, the majority of which comes from social media. This can be a great tool for young people to follow what is happening globally, like the fires in Australia, but it can also spread false information. Exaggerated, overly dramatic or inaccurate news spreads quickly on social media and can have harmful impacts on peoples mental health. Headlines claiming there are only five years left to save the planet can be especially terrifying to children. Buchwald says the children she babysits often show her alarmist and unverifiable news on Instagram. Howard says education in Canada needs to respect our children enough to be honest with them about the challenges we are facing. Natasha Comeau is a Fellow in Global Journalism at the University of Torontos Dalla Lana School of Public Health. She holds a Master of Global Affairs from the Munk School Read more about: My day is besieged with infuriating health and safety warnings. If I buy coffee at the station it says on the lid that the Contents May be Hot. I should jolly well hope so, just as I was rather hoping that the biscuit I have bought may contain nuts, as its label solemnly informs me. As I cross the bridge to my platform a treacly, ingratiating male voice intones: When on the stairs, please use the handrail and take care! If I had been thinking of using the handrail, I always give up the idea as soon as I hear this. What are we to make of what has happened to the cheese-rolling contest in Brockworth, Gloucestershire, an event now protected with fencing, in which a Double Gloucester cheese is chased down a steep hill for fun? I probably take less care, too, on the principle that I will decide when to take care, not when some computerised social worker tells me to. When I reach the platform, the railway companys total silence about the delay to my train is punctuated with brusque, hostile announcements in a disapproving female voice telling me to stand behind the yellow line, so as to be safe from the supposed slipstream of the train that hasnt arrived. And there are posters warning me (untruly) that high-speed trains pass this platform and explaining if this happens it is not a good idea to stand too close to them. Until quite recently, the trains on my line were so antique that it was still possible, under certain circumstances, for passengers actually to open the windows and doors themselves. Nowadays this ludicrous but happy festival takes place in a semi-official limbo. Growing insurance costs meant that nobody would take responsibility for it any more. Supposed health and safety fears led to the actual cancellation of the official event in 2010 These rash actions were strongly discouraged. There were perhaps five separate notices, in red or yellow, warning against opening anything except in certain very restricted circumstances. I have been sternly reprimanded by officious staff for leaning out of a train window while the train was at a standstill at a station. Now the whole thing is hermetically sealed, and I am often prevented from boarding, or detained on the train, while the driver, or the guard, or perhaps a computer in Yokohama, decides whether it is safe to unlock the doors. While I wait I will be told repeatedly to mind the gap between the train and the platform or, on other lines, to mind the gap between the platform and the train. In my view, they would be better occupied arranging for my trains to arrive and depart on time. If it has been raining, I will be warned that it might be wet underfoot. The opening and closing of the doors is always accompanied by a loud annoying beeping, to make us hurry and to reduce the risk of anyone getting slightly squashed. This is life in modern Britain. I do not think the railway companies (or all the other bodies that do this sort of thing) especially care whether I fall down the stairs or slip down the gap between the train and the platform, or whether I am sucked into the side of a passing bullet train. No doubt they would be distressed if this took place, but there would be nothing personal about it. They badger me and you with these unceasing admonitions because they just want to be as sure as they can be that they are not blamed if this happens, and so do not face a lawsuit from my surviving relatives. I suspect that their insurance companies also insist on it, so they can say that they warned me and their liability is reduced. While I wait I will be told repeatedly to mind the gap between the train and the platform or, on other lines, to mind the gap between the platform and the train. In my view, they would be better occupied arranging for my trains to arrive and depart on time This fear of lawsuits and of insurance companies refusing to pay out is the source of the perpetual, nosey-parker concern for our safety which is utterly maddening for those who can remember the freedom we used to have. Do not mistake my attitude for rashness. I am keen on being safe. I think seat belts in cars are vital, and applaud real advances in safety such as stronger railway carriages and bans on drinking and driving. But what are we to make of what has happened to the cheese-rolling contest in Brockworth, Gloucestershire, an event now protected with fencing, in which a Double Gloucester cheese is chased down a steep hill for fun? Nowadays this ludicrous but happy festival takes place in a semi-official limbo. The taxes which were saved by cutting Legal Aid have been added instead to the insurance premiums we must pay. Or they have been loaded on to the ever-increasing legal burden of the NHS Growing insurance costs meant that nobody would take responsibility for it any more. Supposed health and safety fears led to the actual cancellation of the official event in 2010. Now, though it happens, it is surrounded with offputting precautions, which seem to me to be there to keep lawyers away rather than to promote safety. Roads are closed all around the site. One year police police! warned against the perilous use of a real cheese, weighing 8 lb, and it was replaced by a lightweight foam substitute. On one recent occasion stern notices warned those rash enough to attend to go away. They stated grimly: Cheese rolling is a dangerous activity for both participants and spectators. The cheese roll is not managed. You are strongly encouraged not to attend. It is especially unsuitable for children. You attend entirely at your own risk. People do attend, and there is at least something funny about a regulated cheese roll. But watch out, each November, for heartbreaking stories about Remembrance Day parades cancelled because of ludicrous health and safety concerns. In 2015, the commemoration of the fallen in Caerleon, in South Wales, was cancelled for the first time in 50 years when organisers were quoted a price of 700 to insure the event. It is far from being the only example. But when these crazy and dispiriting things happen, I doubt that one person in 100,000 knows why. There is a general belief that some Left-wing thing called Health and Safety, perhaps linked with Human Rights, has been introduced into our country, probably by Brussels. This fear of lawsuits and of insurance companies refusing to pay out is the source of the perpetual, nosey-parker concern for our safety which is utterly maddening for those who can remember the freedom we used to have Others connect it with Political Correctness, gone mad or otherwise. They are all quite wrong. Almost nobody knows the names of its true culprits, the Right Honourable Baroness Thatcher, her successor Sir John Major, and their Lord Chancellor, the devout and distinguished James Peter Hymers Mackay, otherwise known as Lord Mackay of Clashfern. Let me explain. The 1945 Labour government had, rather nobly, decided that justice was not justice if it was not available to everyone. It had created the Legal Aid system which allowed people who had been wronged, or accused of grave crimes, to pay for good lawyers to fight their cases. Justice, however, turned out to be too expensive. The system was increasingly means-tested. As so often, this meant crazy anomalies. The middle classes, whose taxes pay for the system, struggled to get Legal Aid themselves. But in high-profile cases, enormous sums were paid to defendants or claimants who looked pretty undeserving. By the middle of the 1980s, only half the population were still effectively covered. Yet it was still hugely expensive. By 1986 the net cost was 342million. So the Thatcher government decided to try another way. It would license the so-called no-win, no fee system which exists in the USA. It is also known there as ambulance-chasing because of the sordid practice of attorneys appearing like vultures at scenes of grief, and offering their services. Such cases looked as if they were free of charge (though it is not as simple as that, especially if you lose) and so Mrs Thatcher thought they might be a substitute for the Legal Aid which she planned to slash, and which has indeed been slashed. Such cases had long been banned here because of the nasty effect everyone who understood them assumed they would have. Many, especially experienced lawyers and judges, warned of a paradise for ambulance-chasing, bounty-hunting legal sharks, who would scour the country for clients with grievances, and make a living out of driving their dubious cases through the courts. It was easy to see, by looking at the USA, how this would work. I had seen it myself on visits there in the 1980s and while I lived there in the Clinton era. I laughed, then, at the crude TV advertisements showing people falling victim to terrible accidents (my favourite was a man whose motel balcony collapsed under him) and then making piles of dollars by calling a free hotline to their local attorney. It was scarier for me than for most people. As a journalist, a high-risk trade, I could not get general liability insurance at all. I just had to accept (for instance) that if somebody came to my Maryland home and spilled boiling water on their hand, they could sue me for vast sums of money and I would be liable for it. But in Britain it was just an added cost a tax, imposed through ever-higher insurance premiums on every working family in the country. And those insurance companies pay out, usually without going to court, because they are so sure the courts will find against them that it is cheaper to do so. In return, they demand the incessant precautions, notices, warnings and restrictions on normal, sensible life that we now all have to endure. I suspect Mrs Thatcher was a little embarrassed by what she was doing. Why else was her plan introduced so stealthily? Why else did the legislation contain a peculiar delaying device, which brought it into force long after it was passed and, as it happens, long after she had left Downing Street? It was excoriated by experts and laymen alike in the House of Lords. But Mrs Thatcher was sure it would work. She went gaily ahead with this Bloodsuckers Charter, more politely known as the 1990 Courts and Legal Services Act (Section 58). But it did not come into force until after she had been overthrown in late 1990, which is why it is not usually associated with her. In fact, there was a long hesitation. The law was finally activated in 1995 by the passage of the Conditional Fee Agreements Regulations. I suspect Mrs Thatcher was a little embarrassed by what she was doing. Why else was her plan introduced so stealthily? Why else did the legislation contain a peculiar delaying device, which brought it into force long after it was passed and, as it happens, long after she had left Downing Street? In a last-ditch attempt to stop it, which failed by only six votes, the late Lord Ackner warned there will be occasions when this country will exceed the worst excesses of the United States. He noted that the original Bill had been enacted in the teeth of opposition from seven Law Lords, the Master of the Rolls, a former Lord Chancellor, my noble and learned friend Lord Hailsham, a former Attorney-General, the noble and learned lord, Lord Rawlinson of Ewell and the Law Commission. On March 15, 1990, in a House of Lords debate, Lord Ackner was blunter still, saying: Many of us recognise it as being evil. A few weeks earlier, another highly experienced lawyer, Lord Mishcon, had warned: To walk into the possibility of the American model of contingency fees is asking for trouble for the public and the profession. But the most ferocious denunciation came from Lord Hailsham, a former Lord Chancellor and once thought of as a possible Tory premier. He said: I regard this as a straightforward moral issue. I believe a conditional fee of the type proposed to be inherently immoral. It undermines the whole ethic of advocacy, the whole ethic of the legal profession. He added: If we make it pay to be dishonest, people will become dishonest even if they start by being honest. That is what this proposal will do. He accused his own Tory colleagues of trying to use the system to provide a substitute for Legal Aid. Who can now say that any of these warnings were wrong? On TV, in hospitals themselves, wherever a bewildered and angry possible client might be seduced into beginning an expensive lawsuit, advertisements entice us into launching no win, no fee legal actions. And many of us do. The taxes which were saved by cutting Legal Aid have been added instead to the insurance premiums we must pay. Or they have been loaded on to the ever-increasing legal burden of the NHS. So we have gained nothing, while losing a great deal of freedom. This is why the world has been transformed into a place where everyone is trying frantically to avoid responsibility for any fault or failing, in which we must be perpetually warned, nannied and prevented from taking the tiniest risk. Now you know. Wouldnt it be good to live in a country where, when a bad mistake is made, the government recognises that, and reverses it? But will anyone have the courage to put it right, or will it continue until it says Warning: Open other end on the bottoms of all wine bottles, and even a pair of shoes comes with a warning of the dangers of leaving the laces undone if we are still allowed to have such dangerous things as shoelaces at all? If you want to comment on Peter Hitchens click here New Zealand quick Trent Boult declared himself "happy to be back" as he bagged three wickets to leave India struggling for survival at stumps on day three of the first Test in Wellington on Sunday. India, faced with a 183-run first-innings deficit, were 144 for four at the close, still 39 in arrears after rollicking innings by Boult and Kyle Jamieson pushed New Zealand to 348. Ajinkya Rahane was unbeaten on 25 with Hanuma Vihari on 15, and spinner Ravichandran Ashwin said India were far from raising the white flag, although with only six wickets remaining, he saw a score around 350 as necessary to save the Test. Boult, back in Test cricket after breaking a hand during the Boxing Day Test in a disastrous series for New Zealand in Australia, took a back seat in India's first innings when Jamieson and Tim Southee took four wickets apiece to roll the tourists for 165. But he came to the fore on day three, first with the bat and then with figures of three for 27 as India, the world's top-ranked side, looked lost in New Zealand conditions. "I'm just happy to be back out there, it's been a little frustrating on the sidelines," the left-armer said. "If we can get a couple more early in the first hour (on Monday) or so, we should be in a good position." Boult credited changing the angle of delivery as a key weapon to upset the Indian batsmen. "We know it's a very good wicket generally and day three and four is the best time to bat. If I do my job, we won't be chasing too much." Ashwin believed the pitch would give more in the final two days, bringing an emphasis on his spin if India can set a strong enough target. "The Test match cricket, it begins now," he said. "If you can get as close to the first innings score as they did then we might present ourselves an opportunity to do something, but that's very far away in the game and we have to take it every ball at a time because there is enough in the surface." India lost Prithvi Shaw early in their second innings to give Boult his first wicket and he claimed Cheteshwar Pujara with the last ball before tea. Mayank Agarwal went for 58 soon after the resumption and Boult removed Virat Kohli to have India at 113 for four. India had their opportunities to clip New Zealand's wings. They opened the day with two wickets in the first three overs to have New Zealand 225 for seven, just 60 runs ahead. But lusty hitting from Jamieson with an entertaining 44 off 45 balls and Boult adding 38 off 24, along with a more sedate 43 from Colin de Grandhomme saw New Zealand's last three wickets add 123 runs. Ishant Sharma was the most successful of the Indian bowlers with five for 68 while Ashwin took three for 99. LAS VEGAS - After the chaos of the Iowa caucuses, Democrats were desperate to avoid another fiasco in Nevada. And early indications Saturday were that they succeeded. Enough preliminary results came in to allow The Associated Press and other news organizations to declare Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont the caucus winner by early evening in Nevada. By comparison, the AP still has yet to declare a winner in Iowa, nearly three weeks after its caucuses. Initial results in Iowa were delayed nearly 24 hours, with a coding issue that muddying the data reported to the party by caucus organizers using a custom mobile app. Adding to the difficulty was that Iowa was a much closer race than Nevada, with a slim margin separating Sanders and former Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg. The stakes were incredibly high for Democrats heading into Saturdays caucuses. Any further chaos could have undermined the partys credibility in the candidate-selection process. Republicans have seized on the Iowa problems as a sign of Democratic incompetence. The Nevada results came in slowly and there were sporadic reports of problems from caucus sites. It was also possible that, as more results were released, discrepancies could surface. Still, the problems didnt compare to Iowas. Things have been going as expected and the state party is proud to have been able to hold caucuses without the mess we saw in Iowa, while also making history by being the first in the nation to include early voting in our caucuses, said Jon Summers, a senior adviser to the state party. Democrats had signalled that results might be slower, emphasizing their commitment to accuracy over speed. After the Iowa caucuses, Nevada Democrats quickly scuttled plans to use an app created by the same developer that had created Iowas app. Democrats poured resources into Nevada, as they realized they could ill afford another poorly executed election. Unlike state primaries and the November election, which are run by government officials, caucuses are overseen by state parties. Nevada Democrats sought to minimize problems by creating multiple redundancies in its reporting system, relying on results called in by phone, a paper worksheet filled out by caucus organizers, a photo of that worksheet sent in by text message and electronic results captured with a Google form. They relied on trusted commercial tech iPads and Google that appeared to smooth the process. Still, election experts had warned that Nevadas use of new technology and last-minute changes to the process without sufficient training and field testing could increase confusion and the potential for problems. And, just like in Iowa, precinct captains in Nevada were being asked for the first time to report results from every stage of the process, revealing how the results are calculated. Jay McLeod, a Joe Biden supporter who was observing caucuses of two precincts at an elementary school in North Las Vegas, said he refused to sign off on the results worksheet. The caucus organizers announced midway through the process that they had switched the early vote numbers for both precincts, before switching them back and forth at least four times, McLeod said. It was just craziness, McLeod said. Utter chaos. At a caucus site at the upscale Bellagio hotel-casino, the caucus went off almost without a hitch in front of dozens of TV cameras. The whole event was over in an hour. But it had one big advantage because it was a workplace caucus instead of a traditional precinct meeting, there were no early votes to integrate and no need to use an iPad and the Google form. A key question heading into the caucus was how Democrats were going to navigate a complicated process for adding early voting to the caucus process. Its a step that Iowa didnt attempt, and appeared to be popular among Nevada Democrats. Nearly 75,000 people cast early ballots over a four-day period, and the party was able to process those in time for Saturday so they could be integrated into the in-person vote with help from the Google app. There were a few reports of caucus organizers having trouble calling in results to a secure hotline. Kimi Cole, the chair of the Douglas County Democrats who was the site lead at a middle school in the northern Nevada city of Gardnerville, said she tried a few times but could not get through. She was able to send in to the party, via text message, a photo of her worksheet showing the results. Cole said the data was also transmitted electronically through the Google form on the iPad, which seemed to run smoothly for everyone at that site. ___ Cassidy reported from Atlanta. Associated Press writer Jonathan Cooper in Las Vegas contributed to this report. Former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont will visit Derry later this year, it was revealed today. Puigdemont, who is living in self-imposed exile in Belgium following his leading role in attempts in recent years to have Catalan declared an independent state from Spain, has accepted an invitation to speak at a meeting of Derry City and Strabane District Council on May 5. This followed a motion put forward by People Before Profit councillors, Shaun Harkin and Eamonn McCann, inviting Puigdemont to Derry. In a joint statement, Cllrs Harkin and McCann said they had received confirmation that the Spanish politician would be coming to Derry. The statement said: "People Before Profit won the support of Derry and Strabane Council for our motion inviting Puigdemont; giving full solidarity to the peaceful Catalan demand for justice; for Spanish authorities to end the attempt to repress, criminalise and imprison the movement for independence; for prison sentences on Catalan leaders to be rescinded; and for the leaders of the EU to end their complicity with the Spanish state's attempt to crush the democratic aspiration of the Catalan people. "We call people in Derry and across Ireland to demonstrate their solidarity with the Catalan cause by welcoming Carles Puigdemont here on May 5 and to join the call for the Spanish authorities to immediately rescind jail sentences of Catalan self-determination supporters." Flash U.S. President Donald Trump's National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien said that he had not seen any evidence that Russia will help Trump get reelected, according to U.S. media on Saturday. ABC News released the transcript of O'Brien's interview to be broadcast on Sunday, during which O'Brien said that he did not know about Russian's potential interference in the 2020 U.S. election. "I haven't seen any intelligence that Russia is doing anything to attempt to get President Trump reelected," O'Brien said. "And our message to the Russians is stay out of the U.S. elections. We've been very tough on Russia and we've been great on election security," he added. O'Brien's comments came after The New York Times reported earlier this week that intelligence officials recently briefed the House Intelligence Committee about Russia interfering in the presidential race to get Trump reelected. Trump rejected the media report in a Friday tweet, calling it a "misinformation campaign" launched by Democratic lawmakers in the Congress. (@ChaudhryMAli88) The World Health Organization (WHO) has appointed six special envoys to aid in the global effort to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease, officially called COVID-19, Secretary-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press briefing on Friday MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st February, 2020) The World Health Organization (WHO) has appointed six special envoys to aid in the global effort to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease, officially called COVID-19, Secretary-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press briefing on Friday. "I'm also pleased to announce today, that we're appointing six special envoys on COVID-19 to provide strategic advice and high-level political advocacy and engagement in different parts of the world," the secretary-general stated. The group of special envoys will comprise leading medical professions with experience at both the national and regional levels. Former Egyptian Health Minister and Population Maha El Rabbat, and David Nabarro, former special adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Climate Change, were the first two envoys to be announced by Ghebreyesus. Two former WHO regional directors have also been appointed as special envoys. Mirta Roses, who has experience of the Americas region and Shin Young-soo, who fulfilled the role in the Western Pacific region, have also been given advisory roles. WHO has also selected two experts with experience of controlling the spread of contagious diseases in Africa to become special envoys to control the coronavirus disease outbreak. John Nkengasong, director of the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Samba Sow, director-general of the Center for Vaccine Development in Mali have accepted Ghebreyesus' invitation to become special envoys. "WHO's key role is coordinating the global response to the epidemic and our new special envoys will help us to do that. This is another step we're taking to take advantage of the window of opportunity we have to contain this outbreak," Ghebreyesus said. During the press briefing, the director-general stated that as of 05:00 GMT on Friday, China has reported over 75,500 cases of COVID-19, including more than 2,200 deaths. More than 1,100 confirmed cases have been identified outside of China, with more than 25 countries reporting cases of infection. New York socialite, Lara Prychodko (pictured), 48, who was found dead at the bottom of a trash chute at her apartment in 2018 reportedly had an affair with the former CEO of WebMD before her death A New York socialite who was found dead at the bottom of a trash chute at her luxury Manhattan apartment in 2018 reportedly had an affair with the former CEO of WebMD before her death. Lara Prychodko, 48, was found dead on July 18, 2018, at her $6,500-per-month apartment at Zeckendorf Towers in Union Square. Police investigating her death at the time concluded that she drunkenly fell into the chute by accident. Before her death, Prychodko was reportedly in the middle of a contentious divorce with her estranged husband, David Christopher Schlachet, and had lost custody of her 12-year-old son, Talin. At the same time, Prychodko was allegedly having an affair with former WebMD CEO, Wayne Gattinella, according to a recent report from the New York Post. In the months leading up to her death, Gattinella who is now the president and CEO of tech company, DoubleVerify Inc, reportedly signed the Zeckendorf Towers lease with Prychodko in January 2018. According to the Post, the pair had been dating since 2009 and Prychodko was putting pressure on Gattinella to leave his wife of 40 years Valerie. In an email from May 2019 that was obtained by the newspaper, Prychodko wrote to the millionaire: 'I just woke up missing my beautiful amazing son whom Ive lost because of my love of you.' She also wrote to the father-of-four: 'You said you would take care of private school. But you are not. My child deserves the same privilege yours do.' Scroll down for video Prychodko (right) was allegedly having an affair with former WebMD CEO, Wayne Gattinella (left). The pair had reportedly been dating since 2009 and Prychodko was putting pressure on Gattinella to leave his wife of 40 years Valerie Before her death, Prychodko (pictured with her husband in 2010) was in the middle of a bitter divorce with her estranged husband, David Christopher Schlachet Prychodko (pictured with her husband and son in 2009), 48, had also lost her son in a custody battle with her estranged husband before her death Eventually, Gattinella's wife, Valerie, learned of their alleged relationship when she found a charge for a gym membership at Equinox on her husband's credit card statement, according to the Post. Prychodko's friend, Amanda Armstrong, told the Post that when Valerie found out about the affair 'she hit the roof'. But Gattinella, who met Prychodko in 2002 while she worked as an online publisher for WedMD, started to be 'very rude' to Prychodko after his wife found the membership. 'Lara was sick of being the mistress. Thats what she had been for many years,' Armstrong said. Not long after Prychodko died, Gattinella's wife filed for divorce. It's unclear if the alleged affair between Gattinella and Prychodko led to their split. Gattinella owned a $4.5million property in Greenwich, Connecticut, that was purchased in 1999. The home is now on the market. The millionaire also owned a vacation property in East Hampton that's worth more than $2million. He also owned two condos in Manhattan both worth $2million each. During their split, Valerie held onto the couple's 2019 Porsche Macan and Gattinella hung onto a 1997 Porsche and their Manhattan properties. Valerie currently has the East Hampton property. Prychodko was found dead on July 18, 2018, at her $6,500-per-month apartment at Zeckendorf Towers (pictured) in Union Square Her body was found at the bottom of a trash chute (pictured) in the Zeckendorf Towers Prychodko was found in this refuse closet by a maintenance worker in July 2018 In the months leading up to her death, Gattinella who is now the president and CEO of tech company, DoubleVerify Inc, reportedly signed the Zeckendorf Towers lease with Prychodko in January 2018. The property features several amenities, including a pool (pictured) The 14,000 square feet of outdoor space on the buildings seventh floor makes up the largest residential green roof in New York The Zeckendorf Towers (pictured) is a 29-story, four-towered condominium complex on the eastern side of Union Square, Manhattan, in New York City Gattinella was named CEO of WedMD in 2005. He resigned from the company in 2012 and that same year he joined DoubleVerify as their CEO and president. A source told the Post that Gattinella's alleged affair with Prychodko began in 2009. Gattinella was questioned by police after Prychodko died, but he was never named as a suspect in her death. He told the Post in an email that Prychodko was a 'former colleague and friend'. At the time of Prychodko's death, investigators concluded that it was an accident. But earlier this month, the famed pathologist who controversially concluded that pedophile Jeffrey Epstein's autopsy showed signs of murder claimed in bombshell new findings that Prychodko's death was not a tragic accident. New York City's former chief medical examiner Dr Michael Baden claimed that the mother-of-one may not have plunged to her death accidentally, and her body showed signs of strangulation. In a letter to Prychodko's family, Baden concluded that she 'may have died because of homicidal ligature strangulation and was then placed in the garbage chute'. At the time of Prychodko's death, investigators concluded that it was an accident But earlier this month, famed pathologist, Dr Michael Baden (pictured) who controversially concluded that pedophile Jeffrey Epstein's autopsy showed signs of murder claimed in bombshell new findings that Prychodko's death was not a tragic accident Baden claimed that the mother-of-one ( pictured with her husband in 2012) may not have plunged to her death accidentally, and her body showed signs of strangulation Baden was recruited by Lara's family after her father Nicholas Prychodko refused to accept the results from the Manhattan District Attorney's office, who closed the case 'with no resolution' just two months after her death. Investigators said that Prychodko was last seen alive on video surveillance around 4.20pm, apparently intoxicated and stumbling around the 27th floor of the Zeckendorf Towers where she lived. She was found 'crushed from multiple angles' around 30 minutes later by the building's maintenance worker. The city's Chief Medical Examiner ruled her cause of death as 'undetermined' but said that it did not involve foul play. Her father has long maintained that his daughter was murdered and for a period moved from his home in Toronto to New York to press for a further probe into her death. Baden offered to investigate the case pro-bono for the family after being approached by Nicholas. According to the New York Post, he reviewed autopsy notes, X-rays, lab tests and crime scene photos before sending his findings to the family in a letter on July 15, 2019, just less than a year after the death. His findings concluded that strangulation may have been the reason why there was little bleeding from Prychodko body when she went down the chute and was crushed. Baden was also concerned about the woman being topless in the crime scene photo. 'One of the first things he said was that her blouse was off,' Nicholas told the Post. 'He felt that was unusual and a potential indication of a struggle before she died.' Prychodko's ex, construction executive Schlachet, was the co-founder of Taocon Inc, a construction company in New York, which owed more than $3.4million to creditors and had assets of only $550,844. Schlachet (right) has never been a suspect in her death David Schlachet with his son Talin Schlachet in 2017 - David won custody over Talin before Prychodko's death Nicholas has doggedly argued that the death was murder because there was a lack of video footage from the hallway outside Prychodko's apartment where the chute was located. The only video footage shows Lara entering the elevator, apparently drunk, at 4.10pm. A neighbor on the 27th floor claimed that she returned to her own apartment around 4.20pm but emerged 10 minutes later when she heard a noise in the hallway. She told police then that she spotted a purse by the trash compactor entrance. This purse belonged to Prychodko. 'After completing a thorough investigation which included interviewing multiple individuals and viewing video, there is no criminality suspected at this time, and it is believed to be an accident,' NYPD Lt John Grimpel said in 2018 after the investigation concluded. Prychodko's ex, construction executive Schlachet, was the co-founder of Taocon Inc, a construction company in New York, which owed more than $3.4million to creditors and had assets of only $550,844, according to documents filed in federal court in 2016. The company filed for bankruptcy in 2016, the same year that he filed for divorce from Prychodko. The couple were regularly pictured on the Manhattan social circuit and in The Hamptons before they parted ways. Their wedding was announced by The New York Times in 2003. The two were in mediation to divide up their properties - a home in the Hamptons and apartments in Chelsea and Williamsburg - when the 48-year-old died, according to her lawyer. Baden was recruited by Lara's family after her father Nicholas Prychodko (right) refused to accept the results from the Manhattan District Attorney's office, who closed the case 'with no resolution' just two months after her death She had also lost custody of their son Talin and was required to undergo regular drug and alcohol testing as part of the settlement, her attorney Eric A. Seiff told the Post after her death. Prychodko had a 2012 conviction for driving while intoxicated and allegedly told her lawyer that she believed her addiction issues were brought on by a 'growing brain tumor'. 'I know she was absolutely convinced the pain and dependency she was experiencing that had her drinking was directly related to the growing brain tumor,' Seiff said. However, Seiff said that his client had passed all of her recent 'professionally monitored' drug tests and when he talked to her on the Monday before her death she seemed 'upbeat'. 'I have not been aware of a single test that she failed the last year. For the last six months [the tests] have been professionally supervised,' Seiff said. He also told the Post that the financial talks regarding the divorce had turned in her favor in the weeks leading up to her death. 'I was utterly shocked when I heard about her death,' he said. 'I just know her death was not an accident.' Her father, Nicholas revealed to the Post that after his daughter's death, Schlachet immediately took control of their shared properties, selling the Toronto condo for $700,000 and renting one of their Southampton homes for $75,000 a month. Schlachet has never been named a suspect in is wife's death. After receiving Baden's results in 2019, Nicholas attempted again to reopen his daughter's case, submitting them to the city's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. The Canadian Consulate in New York also pushed for a further investigation. Baden claimed that Jeffrey Epstein had also died by murder not suicide Dr Oz speaks with Forensic Pathologist, Dr. Michael Baden on Jeffrey Epstein's cause of death The OCME refused, however, saying that they 'have found no signs of foul play in your daughter's death'. 'I have consequently informed the OCME, I no longer have any faith in their professional integrity, nor do I any longer accept the validity of their autopsy report and its conclusions,' Nicholas said of the response, adding that he had also met with a representative of the Manhattan DA's Office. Nicholas concluded that he is now poised to hire a private investigator to try to uncover new evidence about the death. The NYPD repeated earlier this month that they had 'determined' no criminal activity was involved in Prychodko's death. Baden was also hired by the family of Jeffrey Epstein when he was found hanging in his cell at the federal Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan in August 2019. The pathologist controversially announced that he believed Epstein's autopsy showed signs of homicide over suicide. Clashes broke out between police and violent, anti-CAA protesters in the old city area here on Sunday, in which at least five persons were injured, two of them critically, said officials. With protesters indulging in arson, vandalisation of property and stone-pelting at security personnel in Upper Kot area under Kotwali police station limit, the police fired teargas shells and rubber bullets to disperse the mob, said Aligarh District Magistrate Chandra Bhushan Singh. Following the violence, the district adminstration also suspended internet services in the city till midnight today as a precautionary measure, Singh added. Those injured in clashes included a 22-year-old onlooker, who was, according to his father, fired at and injured by a miscreant, whom, he said, he recognises. Four others in the mob suffered injuries from pellets and rubber bullets, two of them in their eyes, with one of them likely to lose his left eye, said doctors treating them. Deputy Inspector General of Police (Aligarh range) Preetinder Singh, meanwhile, told PTI that police have also detained some persons after the violence. The protesters too have been evicted from their "dharna" site, he added. Aligarh DM Singh said the violence broke out at a spot on Mohamed Ali Road leading to the Kotwali police station where some women protestors were holding a dharna since Saturday with the police trying to evict protesters from there. The trouble began around 5 pm when the police tried to persuade women protestors at Upper Kot near Kotwali to evict them from the road, he said. "We told them that women protestors were already holding a dharna at Eidgah and they would not be permitted to hold another such protest near Kotwali," said Singh. He said "even as efforts were underway to convince women to leave the area with prominent Muslim citizens of the area, including the Sahar mufti Abdul Khalid trying to defuse the situation, mayhem broke out and brick-batting started.." The district magistrate said police used tear gas shells to disperse the mob. "An electricity department transformer was set afire but police managed to douse the flames before they could spread," he said. Describing the situation in Upper Kot area as "tense but under control" Singh said "an intense patrolling of the affected areas is underway and the police are trying to trace out those who were "instigating" the women protestors at Upper Kot since yesterday" One of the injured included 22-year-old man Tariq, whose father and brother told police at hospital in presence of this reporter that he suffered the bullet injury after a "miscreant" opened fire at him amid clashes between police and protesters. Tariq was admitted at Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital at Aligarh Muslim University here, where doctors described his condition as "serious". The victim has suffered the bullet injury in stomach, they said. Tariq's father told police at the hospital that his son was standing in front of his house when he was shot at by a miscreant whom he recognises. A hospital spokesperson said a total of five persons have been admitted to the hospital after the clashes. Injured included a 25-year-old man, Mohammad Ibrahim, who suffered pellet injury in his left eye. He is to be operated operated upon tonight but doctors fear he may lose his left eye's vision, said hospital spokesperson, adding a 20-year-old man, Rashid, too has suffered an eye injury, but he is out of danger. The spokesperson said another youth, Kalim, 22 too was hit by a rubber bullet in his chest but he out of danger. DIG Preetinder Singh told PTI that the police resorted to "use of force" after protesters targeted them with heavy stone-pelting. "Some of the anti-CAA protestors at city's Turkmaan Gate area pelted stones at a police jeep, after which police used force and pushed them back. Some people have been detained. The CCTV footage is being examined. Strict action will be initiated against guilty persons," he said. "A protest was going on near Kotwali police station (in Aligarh), and women were staging protests. There was a rumour that police have arrested someone after which people started pelting stones on police vehicles and damaged them. "Police used force to disperse the protestors, and the protesters have been evicted from the site," he added. The clashes in the old city area broke out shortly after a Bhim Army-led march by hundreds of anti-CAA protesters heading to the district collectorate earlier were stopped midway by police and Rapid Action Force jawans. Stopped by police, the protesters, however, had headed towards the Eidgah area in the city where another group of anti-CAA women protestors had been holding an indefinite dharna for the past three weeks. As the Bhim Army-led protestors, including women, were stopped by police from moving ahead after they crossed the Katpula Bridge from the old city, they decided to join women protesters in Eidgah area. The protesters had taken out the march on a call by Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar. Aligarh SSP Rajmuni, who took over the charge as the district police only last night, had earlier told mediapersons that following the abortive march, an FIR has been lodged against three persons at the Delhi Gate police station for trying to violate prohibitory orders and breach peace in the city. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ambassador Le Thi Tuyet Mai, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the United Nations, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and other international organisations in Geneva, addresses the Conference on Disarmament (CD). (Photo: provided by the Vietnamese mission in Geneva) In her speech at the event on February 21st, she highlighted that the CD needs to affirm the important role of the disarmament mechanism toward peacekeeping and security in the world in the context that this year marks the 75th anniversary of the United Nations and 50 years of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). The ambassador stressed that with the role of a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2020-2021 tenure, Vietnam pledges to join hands with UN members efforts to promote sustainable peace, and as the ASEAN Chair in 2020, the country stands ready to boost the close coordination between ASEAN and the CD as well as other UN forums. Earlier, during a meeting with Ambassador Mai, rotary President of the CD in 2020 Carlos Mario Foradori, who is also Ambassador of Argentina, highly valued Vietnams contributions to the CD framework, especially the country's successful assumption of the CD Presidency in 2019. Ambassador Mai, for her part, said Vietnam spoke highly of the joint effort of the current CD President Ambassador Foradori and five other rotary CD presidents in 2020, in working with UN members to accelerate the conferences tasks, while affirming Vietnams continued efforts to the CD in order to boost international peace and security./. Brian Smith served four years in the U.S. Marine Corps, and retired as an assistant chief with the California Highway Patrol. He resides in Bakersfield. If you have a personal Cop Tale to share, please contact Smith at bmsmith778@gmail.com. Sitting by the window, Cheng Chuchu (pseudonym) in Wuhan, a megacity in central China, bathed in the morning sun and opened a book she began reading just before falling ill a month ago. She has a good appetite. "I had broccoli, sausage fried rice, beef stew, an orange and homemade soymilk for lunch," she said. Cheng was just discharged from hospital, but is still in quarantine in her apartment. By the end of Feb. 22, the novel coronavirus has claimed 2,442 lives and infected over 76,000 nationwide, according to the National Health Commission. Of them, 1,856 fatalities were reported in Wuhan, the epicenter of the virus outbreak, accounting for 76 percent of the total. On Jan. 23, two days before the Spring Festival, or the Chinese Lunar New Year, China took traffic restrictions in Wuhan, home to over 10 million residents and capital of Hubei Province, to curb the spread of the deadly pathogen. All urban public transportation, including city buses, ferries and metro lines have hence been suspended and outbound channels at the airport and rail stations closed. All of a sudden, the city seemed stalled, with streets empty, restaurants closed and celebration of the Lunar New Year nowhere to be found. But some places are busier than ever, namely hospitals. Having had a scratchy throat and cough days before, Cheng developed a fever on the lockdown day, and a CT scan showed she might have been infected with the coronavirus. Early the next day, she rushed to the hospital for a nucleic acid test. "The hospital was stuffed with patients," she recalled. She waited for nearly 10 hours to know the result. It was positive. The next day, or the Spring Festival, was her nine-year-old son's birthday. "I was in no mood for celebrating, at all," Cheng said. She couldn't be near him for fear of passing on the disease. Cheng sang "happy birthday" to her son via a video chat, only to see a disappointed face. Her condition deteriorated over the next few days, developing constant high fever, dyspnoea, muscular soreness and even falling into a coma. She forced herself to gulp five liters of water every day and took her prescribed pills regularly. Yet she maintained a desperate thirst for survival. She kept dialing hotlines hoping to be hospitalized, but received little help -- there were too many patients waiting for a bed. "I was physically frail and sad as there seemed no hope," she said. Also on the Spring Festival, Chang Kai's 91-year-old father began to develop a fever and breathing difficulties. The family took him to several hospitals but was told that no bed was available. Chang, a producer with the Hubei Film Studio, issued pleas for help to friends but all the efforts were in vain. The family fell into despair. "In silent surrender, we took our old father back and looked after him by the bed as the last chance to show our filial piety. He passed away in just days, with hatred," Chang wrote in an article titled "Chang Kai's last words." The family was hit hard. Chang's mother died of the same disease within a week and both the Changs were infected. "Chang was admitted to Wuchang Hospital in early February and soon fell into a coma," said Li Yang, Chang's colleague. He died on Feb. 14. So did his elder sister, on the same day. "I have been filial as a son, conscientious as a father, devoted as a husband and sincere to others all my life. Farewell to the people I love and those who love me," he wrote down these words in his final hours. Chang's wife is receiving treatment at Jinyintan Hospital and moved out of the intensive care unit on Feb. 19. "I'll try my best to live," she told Li in a WeChat message. The tragedy of the family is like a piece of a grim reality jigsaw puzzle that reflects Wuhan's life-and-death battle against the novel coronavirus disease, or COVID-19. A DIFFICULT DECISION The shutdown of a big city like Wuhan due to a public health emergency is unprecedented in modern Chinese history. Even when factories in most parts of China have gradually resumed operation and people are returning to work, Wuhan is still at a standstill as authorities strive to contain the epidemic. "Given the large population base, it can easily have a serious impact on the health system. In fact, what happened in Wuhan has already verified this. If the spread of the disease is not contained in time, it will lead to a global pandemic," warned Tang Bei, an international public health researcher at Shanghai International Studies University. Most people began to feel the pinch of the outbreak in late January, but weeks before, medics in Wuhan had already begun to feel its impact. Qin Lixin, director of the radiology department at Wuhan Pulmonary Hospital, said the first COVID-19 case in the hospital was reported on Jan. 3 but didn't arouse enough caution since winter is a common flu season. "We got nervous when more and more patients flooded the hospital about a week later," Qin said. When Feng Xiang at Wuhan Psychological Hospital heard the virus can spread from person to person, his first thought was that "there are not enough beds." "I'm a doctor and I know the number of isolation beds in Wuhan is far from enough," said Feng. "My colleagues at the fever clinics said it was quite scary to see the hospital stuffed with patients." Vaccination and reduction of social contact are the only two effective ways to hinder interpersonal transmission of a virus, according to Tang. "The first method is not yet in place. Considering the high infection rate and a large number of close contacts in Wuhan at that time, there's no other better ways except cutting off traffic to reduce population outflow." The latest figures showed the overall mortality rate of COVID-19 patients on the Chinese mainland except Hubei is around 0.7 percent. In Wuhan, it is 4 percent. Globally, there are fewer than 30 countries and regions affected by the epidemic, far lower than the over 200 countries and regions affected by the H1N1 flu in 2009. And over 90 percent of confirmed COVID-19 cases are in China. "The figure has shown that Wuhan's closure has a remarkable effect on slowing the spread outside the city," Tang said. "Wuhan's move not only helps curb the epidemic in China, but has also won precious time for the international community to prevent its further spread." In fact, not only Wuhan, almost all cities in Hubei have taken similar measures to prohibit or restrict inter-city movements, such as Huanggang, Xiaogan and Jingzhou, where the epidemic is serious. "The lockdown is a move not perfect but urgently necessary. Though some say the death rate of the coronavirus disease is not high enough to take such strict measures, an important factor should be taken into consideration that the public lacks immunity to the new virus," explained Tang. The losses are tremendous. Besides ordinary citizens, more than 1,700 doctors and nurses were infected by the disease, with at least ten deaths. Li Wenliang, 34, an ophthalmologist with the Central Hospital of Wuhan, died on Feb. 7 because of the disease. He was among the first to draw public attention to the novel virus and was infected while at work. "People are upset because Li is an iconic figure in this epidemic," said Feng with the Wuhan Psychological Hospital. "This is a hard-learned lesson." Liu Zhiming, head of the Wuchang Hospital, who became infected while working to combat the virus, passed away on Feb. 18. The deceased also include government official, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, university professors, bodybuilding champion, retired worker, driver, and people who had other professions. On Feb. 11, Wuhan issued a new notice and rolled out the strictest measures ever, demanding all residential communities be closed to minimize the flow of personnel. Each family can only have one person go out every three days, and supermarkets no longer serve individual customers. "We hardly go out now. We can order food and other necessities online and the community will help deliver them to us," said Feng. "We're at a critical stage and I believe this is necessary." AROUND-THE-CLOCK RESCUE On Jan. 20, President Xi Jinping ordered resolute efforts to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, putting people's safety and health as the top priority. China has carried out national mobilization, across-the-board deployment and swift responses, adopted the most comprehensive and rigorous prevention and control measures and launched a people's war against the epidemic. On Jan. 24, Hubei Province raised its Level II public health emergency response to the top level and announced measures to follow Beijing's SARS treatment model to build a makeshift hospital for admitting COVID-19 patients. Later that day, 450 medics from medical universities of the army, navy and air force of the People's Liberation Army arrived in Wuhan, marking the start of nationwide efforts to aid the hardest-hit city in the fight against the epidemic. On Feb. 3 and Feb. 8, two makeshift hospitals -- Huoshenshan and Leishenshan with a total capacity of 2,600 beds -- were delivered and put into use in less than two weeks, respectively. As of Feb. 19, the number of designated hospitals reserved to treat COVID-19 patients in Wuhan, especially those with severe symptoms, has risen to 45, with a capacity of 19,161 beds. Meanwhile, to ensure all COVID-19 patients are admitted, Wuhan municipal authorities began transforming public venues such as exhibition centers and gymnasiums into temporary hospitals for patients with mild symptoms. As of Feb. 21, Wuhan had activated 13 temporary hospitals and plans to build another 19 makeshift hospitals, bringing the total reserved beds in temporary hospitals to 30,000 by Feb. 25. China has dispatched more than 30,000 medical staff, including elite medical groups, to assist Wuhan. Of them about 11,000 are intensive care specialists, making up to approximately 10 percent of the country's total number of intensive care medics, data from the National Health Commission show. On Feb. 13, Ying Yong, former mayor of Shanghai, was appointed secretary of the Hubei Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and took full charge of epidemic prevention and control in the province. Wang Zhonglin, former Party Chief of Jinan, was also named Wuhan's new Party chief. SILVER LINING With the help of her community, Zhang Fengling entered a temporary hospital on Feb. 6. "We can get immediate help here and we even had the festive food of glutinous rice balls on the Lantern Festival," she said. "I'm so grateful that medics always tried their utmost to comfort us, despite already being exhausted." Lei Lihua, Party secretary of a local community in Jiang'an District, saw changes over the days. "Social resources are becoming abundant, as well as the number of medics," she said. "A patient used to have to wait for a week before being hospitalized, but they now can get a bed within a day." Wuhan has completed a thorough combing of its over 3,300 communities and villages to ensure every confirmed or suspected patient is located and attended to. "The residents are active to report their physical condition," said Lei, "With everyone mobilized, the efforts to control the epidemic at the source are proved to be effective." To quell people's fears and address problems concerning their psychological health, Wuhan opened two 24-hour hotlines on the lockdown day, with services offered by the Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University and the Hubei Psychological Consultant Association. The city has also recruited 6,000 taxis to provide free rides to local residents and offer services such as food and medicine delivery as well as emergency medical treatment. The taxies are subject to unified dispatch under community committees. Cheng was discharged from hospital on Feb. 11. "I thought that what I've gone through only existed in fiction, but it really happened," she said. "I'll never forget it and I will cherish every day from now on." Feng from the Wuhan Psychological Hospital said he has no idea about how long the lockdown will last. "But I will cooperate and stick it out. I believe that's the choice for everyone in this city to win this battle." The latest figures show China's daily number of newly cured and discharged novel coronavirus patients has surpassed that of new confirmed infections for a fifth consecutive day. Wuhan is still at the heart of the fight, but the number of newly confirmed and suspected patients is declining. Xiang Xinran, an 80-year-old architect, has not stepped out of his Wuhan apartment for a month. Six people have been killed by COVID-19 in his neighborhood. He often stands on the balcony and looks down into the quietness. Many friends who are not in Wuhan send him messages and make calls to cheer him up. "I pray that China will enjoy peace and order after the epidemic," he wrote. A civil rights lawsuit filed by a federal agency accuses the owners of a Medford restaurant of subjecting at least two employees to sexual abuse and harassment, even after a manager was convicted of harassing an employee. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit Wednesday against New China, Inc. The federal lawsuit alleges the restaurant allowed open and notorious offensive conduct, including sexual comments and inappropriate touching against young female employees, including at least one minor. The lawsuit draws from two complaints filed with the EEOC and Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries, which described a hostile work environment for female employees. The lawsuit describes repeated sexual comments and innuendos, inappropriate staring, video recording, and repeated unwanted physical contact. The complaints included allegations that a restaurant manager repeatedly subjected young women to hugs, touched employees below their waist and rubbed his body up against female employees bodies since at least July 2017. The complaints further alleged inappropriate touching beneath the womens clothing, including a restaurant manager putting his hand under a female employees shirt. In another case, the manager asked a 15-year-old employee to text him nude pictures of herself, according to a press release provided by the EEOC Wednesday. The lawsuit accuses the restaurant of failing to take prompt or corrective action ... despite female employees reporting the offensive and unwelcome sexual conduct, the conduct being witnessed by the assistant manager, and the manager being arrested at work for sexually assaulting a female employee. The manager, named in a BOLI complaint as Michael Li Gan, 45, of Medford, was arrested at the restaurant in November 2017 on misdemeanor charges of harassment and third-degree sexual abuse. Gan was sentenced to 11 months of probation and a $5,000 fine after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of harassment in August 2018, Jackson County Circuit Court records show. The EEOC alleges that despite the repeated employee complaints and the managers guilty plea, the restaurant failed to stop Gans behavior or fire him. Instead, New China fired one female employee soon after she reported his inappropriate conduct, and another female employee felt she had no choice but to resign, the release said. According to a March 2019 complaint to state and federal investigators, the victim told investigators she was subjected to unwanted touching by Gan and perhaps videotaped by a cook. The woman reported the cooks actions to an assistant manager in late June 2018 and was later let go, according to the complaint. The restaurant told her it was a layoff because of a business slowdown. The EEOC said it believes more New China restaurant employees may have been harassed, or witnessed harassment and asked anyone with information to call 1-833-779-3986 or email NewChina@eeoc.gov. The EEOC said it is seeking financial compensation for the victims and punitive damages against the restaurant owners, with the amounts to be determined at trial. -- Mail Tribune JERUSALEM A macabre tug of war over the body of a Palestinian militant on the Gaza-Israel border, captured Sunday on video in broad daylight, prompted a barrage of rocket fire from Gaza met by retaliatory Israeli airstrikes late Sunday. Israels use of heavy machinery to retrieve a militants body earlier in the day drew harsh criticism even within the country. But Israels hawkish defense minister, Naftali Bennett, defended the armys seizure of the body as appropriate, suggesting it could be used as a bargaining chip to recover the remains of two Israeli soldiers who have been held in Gaza since 2014. The day of tensions began around 6:30 a.m. when, Israel said, its soldiers spotted two militants from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group placing an explosive near the border east of Khan Younis, in southern Gaza. Israel later released a surveillance video that it said showed the two men approaching the fence, and a photo of the explosive. Palestinian Islamic Jihads armed wing has repeatedly tried to provoke violence between Israel and Gaza in recent months. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has tried mightily to maintain quiet before elections set for March 2. Sunday, February 23, 2020 at 8:19AM Google, on Friday evening, uploaded a support article addressing its current situation with Huawei and how it's affecting its users. The US government banned companies in its country from conducting business with the Chinese tech company, which means Google's services and apps aren't available in Huawei's newer models. While Google tries to steer clear of talking about whether Huawei poses a threat to US national security, it talks about how it works with Huawei while complying with government regulations to protect its existing users. Tristan Ostrowski, legal director for Android and Google Play, wrote: "Our focus has been protecting the security of Google users on the millions of existing Huawei devices around the world. We have continued to work with Huawei, in compliance with government regulations, to provide security updates and updates to Google's apps and services on existing devices, and we will continue to do so as long as it is permitted." The devices Google can update are Huawei products released on or before May 16, 2019. At least, they can do so now. But those devices that came after that date are considered "uncertified" since these haven't been through Google's "rigorous" security checks, nor did these products have Google Play Protect preinstalled, which helps detect if your hardware has been compromised. And so Google warns users of these Huawei products not to sideload its apps onto these uncertified smartphones because the company can't guarantee if what you get will be free of malware. Ostrowski wrote, "Sideloaded Google apps will not work reliably because we do not allow these services to run on uncertified devices where security may be compromised. Sideloading Google's apps also carries a high risk of installing an app that has been altered or tampered with in ways that can compromise user security." You can check if your device is certified under Google Play Protect by going to the Google Play Store on your phone, tap on Menu, and then head to Settings. You'll see there if your device is certified under Play Protect certification. Source: The Verge Seoul/Shanghai: South Korea raised its disease alert to the highest level on Sunday after a surge in coronavirus infections and two more deaths, while China state media warned the outbreak there had yet to reach a turning point despite some signs of easing. South Koreas president said he was putting the country on "red alert" due to the rapid rise in new cases, which are largely being traced back to church services. Health officials reported 169 new infections, bringing the total to 602, having doubled from Friday to Saturday. Workers spray disinfectant as a precaution against the COVID-19 at a local market in Daegu, as the country raises the alert level. Credit:AP The escalation in the alert level allows the government to send extra resources to Daegu city and Cheongdo county, which were designated "special care zones" on Friday. South Koreas Yonhap News Agency said it also enables the government to forcibly prevent public activities and order the temporary closure of schools, though the government gave no immediate details on what steps could be taken. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Four people, who have dedicated themselves to serving those impacted by memory loss with compassion and dignity, were honored by the Jewish Community Center (JCC) of Staten Island at the second annual #RememberMe brunch on Sunday. The event, held at the Joan & Alan Jewish Community Center (JCC) of Staten Island in Sea View on Sunday, benefits the JCCs Family Solutions to Memory Loss, which is a catalog of programs for seniors suffering from memory loss, as well as their caregivers. The JCC honored Cherine Hanna, Adele McMahon, Jackie Reiter, and Rabbi Stephen Stern. ---------------------------------------------------- You can go here for more photos from the event. ---------------------------------------------------- The memory loss programs include discussion groups, memory stimulation activities and art therapy classes for adults with recently-diagnosed to mid-stage Alzheimers disease and related dementias. Recognizing the emotional and physical toll that caring for a loved one with memory loss can entail, the JCC offers programs that provide respite to caregivers, including support groups, workshops on self-care, and assistance with coordinating care. We are proud to honor these four outstanding members of our community for their work in the field of memory loss, said David Sorkin, CEO of the JCC. On a personal note, my family and I know the burden of being caregivers to a loved one with Alzheimers Disease, and can really appreciate the value of the Family Solutions to Memory Loss Programs." Scenes from the second annual #RememberMe Brunch, held at the Joan and Alan Bernikow Jewish Community Center Lew Stolzenberg Social Hall, Seaview. February 23, 2020. (Staten Island Advance/Derek Alvez) - #RememberMe Brunch at JCC Lew Stolzenberg Social Hall Staten Island AdvanceStaten Island Advance Here is more information about each of the honorees, provided by the JCC. Cherine Hanna Hanna has been the program coordinator for the JCCs My Place program since 2017. Hannas career at the JCC began in 2007 as an assistant teacher for children ages one and two until she moved into another assistant teachers role in 2015 for the Pre-K for All program. She currently oversees the My Place program for people with Alzheimers and other related dementias. Her work with this particular population and their caregivers has made Hanna an integral part of the department. According to the JCC, She shows true leadership through her compassion, creativity and kindness, she truly has a heart of gold. She has a bachelors degree in education from Alexandria University in Egypt. Before joining the Family Solutions to Memory Loss department, Hanna worked as a pre-K teacher for three years and taught French to high school students for five years during her time in Egypt. In 2005, she came to the United States and married her husband Dan. The pair welcomed their son Daniel in 2006. She is fluent in three languages: Arabic, French and English. She enjoys traveling, cooking, interior design, art, history, and organizing. She credits her mother for her extraordinary work ethic. Jackie Reiter, LMSW Reiter is the owner and executive director of the Staten Island office of Home Instead Senior Care. Since 2001, Reiter and the Home Instead team have been providing individualized home care services to older adults throughout the borough. Home Instead Senior Care developed a specialized training program for its caregivers to care for those suffering from dementia. Reiters dedication to helping the elderly and their loved ones, extensive background, and participation from the community has made her a vital resource and a go-to expert in senior care. She is deeply involved in other local organizations and committees, including the Staten Island Alzheimers Coalition, Community Board 2 Aging Committee, sitting Executive Board member at the JCC of Staten Island, and a member of the Staten Island BUCKS Business Networks and the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce. Being in the geriatric field for more than 30 years, she is a licensed masters social worker (LMSW). Reiter earned her masters degree in social work from the Wurzweiler School of Social Work at Yeshiva University and received her licensure from New York State. She worked at the JCC of Staten Island as the assistant director of the Senior Adult Department and for the Visiting Nurse Association as a contract social worker, prior to owning the Staten Island Home Instead office. She is the proud mother of three children, Bari, Gabriel and Jared, as well as her fourth child," a Yorkshire Terrier named Yoshi. Rabbi Stephen Stern gave the Ha'Motzi at the second annual #RememberMe Brunch, held at the Joan and Alan Bernikow Jewish Community Center Lew Stolzenberg Social Hall, Seaview. February 23, 2020. (Staten Island Advance/Derek Alvez) - #RememberMe Brunch at JCC Lew Stolzenberg Social Hall Staten Island AdvanceStaten Island Advance Rabbi Stephen Stern, Ph.D. Rabbi Stephen Stern has served as spiritual leader of Arden Heights Boulevard Jewish Center for 26 years, where he has found a group of caring, committed, and compassionate congregants with whom he shares a vibrant Jewish life. He has been active in many community organizations that strive to bring much-needed services to those looking for support and spiritual edification. He was a Jewish educator for the JCC for 10 years where he spearheaded efforts to create a singles group and bereavement group, as well as a dynamic lecture series. He was a member of the Holocaust Commemoration Committee, the Council of Jewish Organizations, and the Staten Island Rabbinic Council. He was appointed as a police liaison for the 123 Precinct and has encouraged security measures at Arden Heights based on the pressing need to be vigilant against the increased attacks against Jewish people and institutions. For the last 10 years, he has held the position of Jewish chaplain at NYC Health + Hospitals/Sea View campus where he holds religious services, and assists families dealing with a myriad of disabilities, including dementia. He has discovered the value of emotional support and stimulation through Jewish prayer, song, and recollection of personal memories of meaningful Jewish pasts. He hails from Los Angeles, Calif., where he met his wife Irina and moved to Staten Island. He became a stepdad to Michael and Nichole, as well as continuing ongoing relationships to his children Alan, Mark, and Natalie, who have given him four grandchildren Zoe, Izzy, Eli, and Ethan. Adele McMahon, LCSW McMahon is a New York State licensed clinical social worker, and has been the supervisor of geriatric services at Staten Island University Hospital, a division of geriatric medicine for 25 years. She contributes to the doctors, residents and medical students training in community services and psychosocial skills. She is the social worker for the Geriatric Medical Clinic and the Medical Home Visit Program doing assessments and giving supportive therapy to both patients and their caregivers. She is a graduate of New York Universitys School of Social Work and a supervising field trainer for bachelor-level social workers from the College of Staten Island. In 1988, she started Staten Islands caregiver program while working at Community Agency for Senior Citizens, Inc., and the first early-stage support group for patients with Alzheimers and their caregivers. She worked for Visiting Nurse Service of New York for 10 years doing in-home assessments for patients and families. She currently works per diem for Integrity Senior Services providing supportive therapy for home-bound patients. She has three children and eight grandchildren. Scenes from the second annual #RememberMe Brunch, held at the Joan and Alan Bernikow Jewish Community Center Lew Stolzenberg Social Hall, Seaview. February 23, 2020. (Staten Island Advance/Derek Alvez) - #RememberMe Brunch at JCC Lew Stolzenberg Social Hall Staten Island AdvanceStaten Island Advance FOLLOW ANNALISE KNUDSON ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER. LAS VEGAS - Pete Buttigieg's presidential campaign is asking that the Nevada State Democratic Party hold off on releasing final numbers from Saturday's caucuses until the party rectifies a series of errors the campaign claims it has discovered in the processing of materials and tabulation of results. At issue is the way the state party combined preferences from four days of early voting with caucus-day support - an intricate process that caused tensions between the state party and the presidential campaigns in the days leading up to the caucus. Now uncertain is how quickly Nevada Democrats can verify and publish results, while avoiding the protracted uncertainty that plagued their counterparts in Iowa after a software glitch snarled the first-in-the-nation contest, causing a severe delay in the release of error-laced figures, which remain in question. In Nevada, the state party had released figures from about half of the roughly 2,000 precincts late Saturday when the letter arrived from Michael Gaffney, the campaign's national ballot access and delegates director. Preliminary results showed Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., with a thumping victory - enough for the Associated Press to name him the winner on Saturday evening - followed by former vice president Joe Biden. The numbers put the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, in third place, right at the 15-percent threshold required to take delegates to the national convention from the state. But Hari Sevugan, Buttigieg's deputy campaign manager, suggested that portrait of support in the Silver State was incomplete. The campaign's internal numbers, he said in a statement, showed a "razor-thin margin for second place in Nevada." A spokeswoman for the state party didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Gaffney, in his letter to the party's chairman, William McCurdy II, raised questions about the integration of preferences from Nevada's four-day early voting period into caucus-day support. He asked the state party to release separate early vote and in-person totals for each precinct; to correct any errors arising from the integration of early votes; and to "explain anomalies in the data." "Given how close the race is between second and third place, we ask that you take these steps before releasing any final data," Gaffney wrote. The campaign asked the state party to respond by 6 p.m. PST. Even before the caucus got underway, the state party had moved to pre-empt questions about possible mathematical irregularities in the results, which were rampant in Iowa. In a memo released Friday, the state party's executive director, Alana Mounce, said numbers released by the party would reflect the information on reporting sheets completed at precincts across the state. "If there are any math questions or other issues on caucus reporting sheets, they will be addressed subsequent to caucus day according to our established results review procedures," she wrote. The memo arrived as campaigns were still waiting on data from the final day of early voting. The quest to match ranked-choice preferences completed ahead of time with the precincts where those preferences would ultimately count on caucus day had proven to be arduous. And it brought the state party into conflict with the campaigns. Especially vexed was the process of voiding ballots, mostly because they lacked signatures, in a review process conducted by three people appointed by the state party. Campaign representatives were invited to observe what was dubbed "caucus court," according to multiple people familiar with the procedure. The campaigns had been promised data from early voting, in which nearly 75,000 Nevadans participated at roughly 80 sites across the state, but they didn't receive names from the final day until Saturday morning. That left little time to coax Democrats whose ballots had been voided - about 2.3 percent of the total who voted early - to turn out to caucus. The uncertainty on the eve of the caucuses followed days of escalating tensions, which flared as the Nevada Democrats revamped their system for transmitting and verifying results following the debacle in Iowa. Campaign operatives, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid crossing the party, described hastily arranged conference calls and last-minute notices about voting procedures, including the requirement of signatures on early ballots. As Nevadans headed to caucus on Saturday, at least one campaign was still raising concerns about how the early vote would be integrated into the in-person caucuses. One adviser said several campaigns had pressed the state party to issue written guidance more clearly outlining how the early count would be characterized to in-person caucus-goers, but that the party declined. The aide raised the issue of optics, pointing to how some Democrats were known to make last-minute decisions inside the room based on the size of a crowd behind a particular candidate. The fear was realized in certain precincts on Saturday, as caucus-goers stuck in their corner hoping more support from early vote would materialize, only to find out after the fact that they would come up short. One group of Buttigieg supporters inside Thurman White Academy in Henderson took a gamble, hoping the iPad would spit out better numbers for them on the final alignment. It did not. "They are still assembling the plane as it is trying to take off," the campaign aide warned. Privately, people close to the state party groused that campaigns were endeavoring to sow doubt about the results ahead of time in order to explain away a poor showing. About eight in 10 caucus-goers said they were confident that preferences in Saturday's caucuses would be counted correctly, according to preliminary entrance poll results, while just under 2 in 10 said they were not confident. "I think the party here is doing everything it can to try to make sure this is a totally legitimate count, but caucuses are hard - it's really hard," Biden told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Asked whether caucuses should be abandoned, he said, thats the judgment the American people are going to make. About an hour into episode eight of "Hunters," Al Pacino's character OKs the execution of Wernher von Braun. By gunshot to the head. As von Braun sits helplessly duct-taped to a chair. The fifth episode of Amazons new show features a surreal satirical sequence proclaiming, Come to Huntsville, Alabama, home of the Space and Rocket Center, staffed by Nazi scientists, smuggled here by your government. Oh yeah. It really happened. Huntsville, Alabama, its some f---ed up s---. But hey, we got to the moon! Safe to assume Jordan Peele, executive producer of Hunters, wont be receiving a key to the city from Huntsville officials soon. Streaming on Prime Video since Feb. 21, Hunters depicts a band of vigilante Nazi assassins. Set principally in 1977 New York, the show stars Academy Award-winning film actor Pacino, in his first TV series, as the groups leader, Meyer Offerman, tracking down and snuffing escaped Nazis now living new lives in the U.S. Peele is best known for writing and directing hit horror films Get Out, which in 2018 won Academy Award for best original screenplay, and Us, from 2019. Before that, it was his sketch comedy work on Mad TV and Key & Peele. Production for Hunters looks expensive, the actors talented, costuming a fun mix of Dazed & Confused pants and Almost Famous set pieces. However, like Get Out and Us, some writing on Hunters doesnt exactly suspend disbelief. (Peele doesnt write or direct any of the shows 10, season-one episodes.) For example, in Hunters, von Braun, revered director of NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center who guided U.S. spaceflight to the moon, is depicted as having faked his 1977 cancer death. Hes now living in seclusion, purchasing birdseed and helping a Fourth Reich engineer a pathogen into high fructose corn syrup. At times "Hunters" is entertaining. Other times it calls to mind Quentin Tarantino doing "True Blood." The von Braun "Hunters" episode is directed by Michael Uppendahl, known for his work on acclaimed AMC costume-drama "Mad Men." In addition to Pacino, "Hunters" stars include: Josh Radnor, one of the dudes from CBS sitcom "How I Met Your Mother"; Carol Kane, Academy Award nominated actress of "Annie Hall" and "Father of the Bride," and Logan Lerman, from those YA fantasy fiction "Percy Jackson" films. Unfortunately, von Brauns Nazi Party past isnt fiction, although that didnt become widely known until about seven years after his death. Its also true the charismatic scientist, born into Prussian aristocracy, developed the deadly V-2 missile for Germany, a fact known well before his passing. Apollo 11 Splashdown Celebration at Huntsville. Von Braun, Dr. W, Being carried to The Speaker's Platform. (MIX FILE) As Time magazine reporter Alejandro de la Garza wrote in a 2019 story examining von Brauns complicated legacy, Before he was building rockets for America, he was building them for Hitler. Germany launched more than 3,000 missiles of his design against Britain and other countries, indiscriminately killing approximately 5,000 people, while as many as 20,000 concentration camp prisoners died assembling the weapons. de la Garza also wrote of von Braun, Some have portrayed his time working for the Nazis as a survival strategy, but others have gone so far as to frame him as a war criminal, or something close to it. As de la Garza notes, since von Braun died before details of his Nazi past reached mainstream, theres no possibility of hearing him out. A bio on NASAs website reads, Von Braun was a member of the Nazi Party and an SS officer, yet was also arrested by the Gestapo in 1944 for careless remarks he made about the war and the rocket. His responsibility for the crimes connected to rocket production is controversial. The Hunters scene where Pacino and crew find von Braun, portrayed by actor Victor Slezak, from 1995 film The Bridges of Madison County, features Tom Lehrers 1967 comedy-tune, Wernher von Braun. Sample couplet: Call him a Nazi, he wont even frown/'Nazi, Schmazi!' says Wernher von Braun. Thus far, Hunters has earned a 63 percent critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an audience score of 70 percent. A two-star Guardian review calls the show dangerously insensitive. However, an NPR review proclaims Hunters to be more fun than it should be, while Rolling Stone says it goes big on grindhouse style. Update: The sentences regarding von Brauns Nazi Party past and V-2 missile development were edited for clarity. MORE ON ENTERTAINMENT Scout shares her To Kill a Mockingbird movie secrets Is Bamas mascot on this classic Aerosmith album cover? The American dreams of wrestlings American Nightmare Mandalorian, metal and comedy: a Q&A with Brian Posehn Animator talks Scooby-Doo, Smurfs, if Shaggy was stoned Flood affected communities in the United Kingdom's south of Wales region has been hit with heavy rains sweeping in from southwest of the country. According to reports, the United Kingdom meteorological department has issued a fresh yellow warning for heavy rainfall in the region on Saturday after a brief respite offered by Storm Dennis. The latest rain warning came as the United Kingdom was still trying to cope up with the impact of two consecutive storms that hit the country in the past weekends. Read: Storm Dennis Forces Plane To Land Sideways On Runway As Hundreds Of Flights Grounded According to reports, as of Saturday ten flood alerts and nine flood warnings remained in place across Wales, mainly near River Severn and River Dee. Meanwhile, in England, nearly 75 flood warnings and 156 flood alerts were put in place in wake of the recent rain alert. According to the Met Department, the yellow warning for heavy rains was issued from 3 am to 3 pm in Scotland, Northern Ireland and northeast of England. Read: Flights Cancelled Across Britain As Storm Dennis Triggers Flood Alerts Storm Dennis and Ciara Strong winds and heavy rains battered parts of Britain as Storm Dennis swept through the country that picked up last weekend. A man died after falling into a river on February 16 in South Wales, the worst-hit region in the United Kingdom. According to reports, the man fell into the River Tawe following which the police launched a search operation. The police later informed in a tweet that he was found dead further along the river in the Trebanos area. As per reports, Storm Dennis also affected the northwest region of France as approximately 60,000 people suffered power cuts, while rails and traffic were also disrupted in the region. Read: Storm Dennis Approaches UK, 'danger To Life' Warning Issued By Met Office The reports further stated that winds up to 90mph were recorded in Aberdaron in south Wales and the defence ministry in the country deployed the army to handle the situation. Before Storm Dennis, Storm Ciara had caused similar havoc in the United Kingdom as it led to two of the busiest airports in Europe, Frankfurt in Germany and Amsterdam in the Netherlands, grounding more than 100 flights. Read: Storm Dennis Claims 1 Life In UK, Over 60,000 People Suffer Power Cuts In France TWIN FALLS Hundreds of millions of dollars of investment keep flowing into the Magic Valley, property values tick up and up and the population continues to boom. The regions economy is growing fast. But not all cities and neighborhoods are feeling equally prosperous. Even in downtown Twin Falls its easy to find boarded-up buildings and empty lots covered in dust and weeds. For some blighted Magic Valley areas, there are signs new development could start trickling in soon. Training sessions, such as the one put on by Magic Valley economic development experts Feb. 13 in Twin Falls, are helping investors better understand how opportunity zones work. Opportunity zones are federal tax breaks that incentivize development in economically distressed areas. Recent clarifications to the rules for opportunity zones, released two years after the zones were created, could encourage investors to start putting their money into communities that need it. How opportunity zones work Congress created opportunity zones as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017. They can be only in areas classified as low-income according to U.S. census data, and theyre scheduled to sunset in 2027. The Magic Valley has five opportunity zones. One covers essentially all of Twin Falls downtown. Jerome has one that sits atop a square mile of the city east of Interstate 84 and south of Main Street. Theres a massive one in Minidoka County that includes a good chunk of Rupert. Buhls essentially includes the whole city, and nearly all of Gooding County is in an opportunity zone. Heres how they work: If an investor has capital gains, and spends those capital gains on a project in an opportunity zone, she doesnt have to pay taxes on those capital gains for five years. When her five years are up, she gets a 10% tax break on the gains she invested. Plus, if she holds onto that property for 10 years or longer, then sells it, her new capital gains on the sale are tax-free. The biggest benefit by far is the end of the investment, Galena Opportunity Fund CEO Bill Truax said. The Galena Opportunity Fund is a Boise-based group that specializes in developing housing in opportunity zones in many western states. How opportunity zones work Say an investor puts $100,000 of her capital gains into an apartment complex in an opportunity zone, and a decade later sells that building for $1 million. Normally shed have to pay tax on that $900,000 in appreciation, but because of the opportunity zone she doesnt have to pay any capital gains tax on that money. Depending on the investors tax income bracket, the opportunity zone tax incentive could have saved her $180,000 when she sells her property. Economic development experts, investors and real estate moguls say the tax incentives are significant and are likely to attract investment in areas that otherwise might not have received it. The projects still have to make financial sense, but if an investor is choosing between two areas that seem equally enticing, the existence of an opportunity zone in one could be a clincher. Opportunity zones arent going to do much good for people looking to make a quick buck. It takes a decade to realize the full benefits, which encourages investors to take a strong interest in the long-term economic well-being of a community. Why havent they caught on? So far theres only one opportunity zone investment underway in the Magic Valley. The $12 million Youth Ranch project on Main Avenue in Twin Falls is being funded by the Galena Opportunity Fund. Downtown parking garage Cars sit parked in the lot behind the former Idaho Youth Ranch building Jan. 14 in Twin Falls. A $4 million parking garage and apartment compl The abandoned Youth Ranch will be demolished this spring. The building that will replace it is set to be the tallest in town. That property will have ground-floor retail, second-floor office space and several floors of apartments totaling 48 units on top. The project includes an adjacent parking garage, topped with more apartments. When constructions done, the buildings tenants will probably make downtown Twin Falls a lot busier. But there wasnt a flurry of investment following the creation of opportunity zones in 2017. Thats because the rules werent finalized until December 2019. Now that the rules are clear, there could be more projects coming. Fran Florence of Westerra Real Estate Group in Twin Falls said hes certain that more investors will start taking advantage of Magic Valley opportunity zones, and noted that there are two unannounced projects being considered right now. Getting money in the zone In most cases, communities have to work to attract investment. There are opportunity zones throughout the country, with hundreds of cities competing for investor dollars. Magic Valley communities with opportunity zones have similar pitches for investors. Theres nearby rail and interstate access. The regions an agricultural hub. Housing needs are strong thats a common theme throughout the state. Twin Falls, as the Magic Valleys biggest city, offers investors several advantages. It might take a bit longer for the Magic Valleys other opportunity zones to see new development. The first projects are being announced in more urban settings, said Jerry Miller, business retention and expansion specialist at the Idaho Department of Commerce. As those projects take off, I think the investors are going to be looking at smaller to mid-sized communities. Truax said massive funds might not be eyeing small communities, but local investors and ag-business specialists could be. He also reiterated that big investors probably arent going to invest in opportunity zones unless the project would work regardless of the incentives. Southern Idaho Economic Development Executive Director Connie Stopher said smaller communities experiencing less growth than Twin Falls, might have a more difficult time selling themselves to investors. (Opportunity zones) are not a lightning rod thats going to transform rural communities without significant work on the communities part to attract investment, Stopher said. Still, she thinks there could be projects coming. My hope is well continue to see more investment in these five areas in the Magic Valley, Stopher said. Theyre all areas that could use investment. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Traffic movement was affected in northeast Delhi's Khureji Khas area on Monday after a large group, comprising mostly women, gathered there to protest against the CAA, police said. They said the protesters, approximately less than 100 in number, assembled on a stretch leading to the main road of Khureji Khas for a sit-in demanding roll back of the amended anti-citizenship law. "The protesters have gathered on one side of the stretch which leads to the main road. There is traffic movement but it is very slow," a senior police official said. "We have been talking to them and negotiating with them to clear the road," he said, adding that while many of the protestors have left the site, some people are still on a sit-in against the Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens. "The protests have been peaceful so far. We hope they clear the stretch soon so that traffic movement can pick up," the official said. A sufficient number of policemen have been deployed to ensure that the situation remains under control, he said. The sit-in at Khureji Khas comes amid an anti-CAA protest by around 500 people, mostly women, around 5 km away near the Jaffrabad metro station in northeast Delhi that continued on Sunday, prompting the Delhi Metro authorities to close the entry and exit gates of the station. The Jaffrabad protest began on Saturday night, blocking a road which connects Seelampur with Maujpur and Yamuna Vihar. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) New Mexico sues Google for allegedly using the Google for Education platform to gather personal and private data from children. Google is facing a new lawsuit for allegedly using the Google for Education platform to gather personal and private data from students with an age of less than 13 years. The lawsuit was filed by the state of New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas last week, alleging the tech giant violates the privacy of the young students. The company offers free Chromebooks to schools and access to the G-Suite for Education service as part of the Google for Education platform. Student safety should be the number one priority of any company providing services to our children, particularly in schools, wrote Balderas. Tracking student data without parental consent is not only illegal, it is dangerous; and my office will hold any company accountable who compromises the safety of New Mexican children. This service gives students access to several Google services, including Gmail, Classroom, online office document processing, it implements a complete platform to do schoolwork and communicate with teachers. Balderas is accusing the IT giant of violating the ChildrenS Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by profiling young users through the collection of sensitive information like physical locations, web and search histories, YouTube viewing habits, contact lists, passwords, and voice recordings. Outside of its Google Education platform, Google forbids children under the age of 13 in the United States from having their own Google accounts. But Google attempts to get around this by using Google Education to secretly gain access to troves of information about New Mexican children that it would not otherwise have, continues the lawsuit. Balderas pointed out that Googles conduct is contradictory while it aims at protecting the students privacy, it continues to spy on them . These practices do not simply violate federal law, nor do they merely impact children under the age of 13, continues the complaint. Covertly monitoring children of all ages, despite unambiguous representations to the contrary, violates longstanding rights rooted in the common law as well as New Mexicos statutory prohibitions on unfair, deceptive, and unconscionable business practice. Google is refusing any accusation, it highlighted that the schools must obtain the consent of parents before joining to the platform. The company also pointed out that childrens personal information is not used for advertising purposes. The New Mexico Attorney General is asking for $5,000 per violation of New Mexicos Unfair Practices Act (UPA), fees, state damages. These claims are factually wrong. G Suite for Education allows schools to control account access and requires that schools obtain parental consent when necessary. Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda told The Verge: We do not use personal information from users in primary and secondary schools to target ads. School districts can decide how best to use Google for Education in their classrooms and we are committed to partnering with them. Pierluigi Paganini For many, it's the biggest one-off tax slug they will pay. And it comes on top of many people's biggest ever financial outlay. It's that double-whammy scenario which has so many economists calling for the abolishment of stamp duty on homes. They have a point. While the rate varies (depending on house value and various concessions) a $750,000 purchase will set you back about $30,000 in stamp duty. Hand over $1 million for a house and expect to pay more than $40,000 in additional tax to the state government. Two former federal treasury secretaries, Ken Henry and Martin Parkinson, are just the latest calling on the states to scrap stamp duty in favour of a broad-based and ongoing annual land tax. Existing homeowners would be exempt, as they have already contributed stamp duty. "Its a big obstacle for first-home buyers - saving for the deposit and then saving for the stamp duty - its just nuts," Dr Henry said. The argument has echoed for years. Former prime minister Julia Gillard argued for it in 2012, asserting it would improve the nation's competitiveness and increase the mobility of labour, which was a big talking point during the resources boom. In 2005, former treasurer Peter Costello antagonised the states by demanding they abolish stamp duty in return for a windfall from the GST. Photo: Contributed Loss of wildlife habitat and biodiversity are unfortunate side effects of urban development globally. Biodiversity is an all-encompassing term that includes the number of species, variety of ecosystems, and genetic diversity within a given area. Protecting the Earths biodiversity provides many economic, environmental and spiritual services to humans, in addition to the benefits to plants and animals themselves. So what is the City of Kelowna doing to minimize these effects of urban development? I recently visited the City of Kelownas Community Planning Department to find out. Like many environmental issues, the solution lies in protecting the most sensitive areas and species. In partnership with the provincial and federal governments, the City issues permits to develop natural areas under stringent conditions. Developers must follow a strategy to protect environmentally sensitive areas, such as wildlife corridors, nesting and denning areas, waterways, riparian buffers (land and vegetation along waterways) and groundwater aquifers. Sensitive areas within and around the city have been inventoried for their ecological function, sensitivity to disturbance, and habitat for threatened and endangered species. Natural areas that you might not think of as particularly sensitive, such as rocky outcrops, are protected for their aesthetic value. If youve hiked the rocky areas in Kettle Valley or Myra-Bellevue Park, youll likely agree with this assessment. Threatened and endangered species are classified by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, and they are protected under the federal Species at Risk Act. Endangered species in and around the City include the badger, western screech owl and yellow breasted chat. A number of threatened snakes, birds and amphibians also inhabit our region. Protecting biodiversity and sensitive areas can be done in a few ways, in the order of highest level of protection: Avoid disturbing the most sensitive areas. Avoiding impacts to the environment is always much easier (and cheaper) than having to restore it. Maintain intact ecosystems by providing corridors, to avoid fragmenting the ecosystem where it is disturbed. This is often done along waterways, where the riparian zone is left as a buffer of 15 to 50 meters between the waterway and urban development. Fallen trees and snags are also retained because they provide valuable habitat for birds, rodents and insects. Restore or enhance the ecosystem by planting native vegetation and transplanting animals to their native habitat, and by removing invasive species. Mitigate the damage done by development by controlling soil disturbance, erosion and stream flows. This mainly applies to the construction stage of development. Compensate for disturbance that cannot be avoided by providing equal or greater habitat nearby. This concept is known as no net loss and is often applied by the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Even though this protection undoubtedly adds costs to urban development, the result is likely to increase the overall value of properties near a protected natural area. In addition to the ecological benefits, communities that include natural areas for viewing and walking have much higher intrinsic and monetary value. So what does this all mean for you? If you are lucky enough to live adjacent to a waterway or other sensitive area, this means that you need to be very careful about altering the environment along your property, including the soil, vegetation and water check with the city if in doubt. For the rest of us, it means that natural corridors have been set aside both to protect the natural environment and for us to enjoy it. So get out there and appreciate our biodiversity! As the coronavirus crisis grinds on, animal campaigners operating in Asia are shining a light on the staggering number of dogs and cats butchered for human consumption. Dog and cat meat is available in many live-animal markets and restaurants, whose visitors are mostly locals, but may also include tourists, especially from South Korea and China. Dogs in a tiny cage await to be slaughtered in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Credit:FOUR PAWS The trade and eating of companion and wild animals not only causes immense suffering, but also poses serious risks to human health, such as the spread of rabies. FOUR PAWS, a global animal protection organisation based in Vienna and with offices in Australia, has just published a report that estimates 9 million dogs and 1 million cats are brutally slaughtered in Vietnam, Cambodia and Indonesia every year. LAS VEGAS After Bernie Sanders cemented his standing as the undisputed frontrunner in the Democratic presidential primary with a resounding win in the Nevada caucuses Saturday, his rivals for the nomination were left to explain to their supporters how they could stop him. Incomplete results showed Sanders with a better than two-to-one margin over Joe Biden, with Pete Buttigieg close behind in third place, followed by Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar. You all did it for me! Biden told approximately 300 of his supporters at his caucus-night party at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union hall in Las Vegas. Now were going to go on to South Carolina. Joined onstage with his wife, Jill, Biden said Saturdays second-place finish would catapult him back into contention after disappointing finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire. The press is ready to declare people dead quickly, but were going to come back and were going to win, Biden said, adding that his campaign was now in a position to do just that. Yet Biden also seemed to acknowledge that the task ahead wouldnt be easy. Were in a spot now where we just have to keep moving. Shortly before the caucuses began on Saturday, Elizabeth Warren surprised her volunteers at Coronado High School in suburban Henderson with two boxes of Dunkin Donuts, a favorite from her home state of Massachusetts. This is my first election! one supporter told Warren as an impromptu selfie line began to form. Mine too! Warren said, before issuing a quick correction. For president. But after briefly addressing the crowd inside the school, Warren made a beeline for a waiting minivan, along with her husband, Bruce Mann. When a reporter tried to ask how she was feeling, the senator brushed the question aside. Always feels good, Warren replied. Then, as if to say No more questions, she ran the rest of way to the van, left Nevada and took a flight to a rally in Seattle, in Washington a state that doesnt vote until March 10. Story continues Sen. Bernie Sanders holds hands with his wife, Jane, during a campaign event in San Antonio, Texas, on Saturday. (Eric Gay/AP) Former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg was scheduled to attend a caucus-day watch party in Las Vegas on Saturday afternoon before results were announced. He intended to move on to Colorado on Saturday evening before traveling to Virginia, which is a Super Tuesday state. Buttigieg is going to South Carolina next week. As the results became apparent on Saturday, Buttigiegs team announced that they were tracking the caucus results on their own. An aide to Buttigieg said, after reviewing their internal numbers from 38 percent of the precincts, that the former mayor was coming in second to Sanders. With actual tally sheets that weve transcribed we see Bernie with a solid lead, but we are currently in second place, the aide said. The situation was reminiscent of the Iowa caucus on Feb. 3, when both Buttigieg and Sanders declared victory based on internal data. That result is still in dispute. Sen. Amy Klobuchar also didnt stick around in Nevada, instead addressing her supporters in her home city of Minneapolis. As usual, we have exceeded expectations, Klobuchar said. A lot of people didnt even think Id still be standing. She then said she would be traveling to South Carolina to campaign there. Sanders, meanwhile, was focused on Super Tuesday and spoke to an enthusiastic rally in El Paso, Texas, before delivering a victory speech late in the day in San Antonio. As Sanders supporters sipped beer at a victory party and cheered a TV feed of the senators speech, Dan ONeal, the Arizona state coordinator for Progressive Democrats of America, said Nevada had finally proven how hard Sanders will be to stop. Now Im optimistic that Bernie will go into the convention with an overwhelming plurality of the delegates, ONeal said. Will it be the 1,991 we need? I dont know. But the will of the people has to be taken into consideration. If the people want real, lasting change, that will has to be accepted. And Nevada was the first testing ground for that. Its much more representative of the country as a whole than Iowa or New Hampshire and Bernie won big. On a day marked by intermittent rain and unusually cold temperatures, Sanderss supporters turned out in force, helping him win a plurality of caucus-goers, as Buttigieg, Biden and Klobuchar continued to split the moderate vote. Joe Biden speaks to supporters at his party after the Nevada caucuses in Las Vegas, on Saturday. (Patrick T. Fallon/Reuters) Sanders drew strength from the most diverse electorate yet to vote in the primary. Roughly 30 percent of the state is Hispanic, 10 percent is African-American, and Asian-Americans, the fastest growing population group, account for nearly 8 percent. Hispanic voters strongly supported Sanders, according to entrance polls. At the East Las Vegas Community Center in a Hispanic section of town dotted with Section 8 housing units and strip malls, many of those who showed up hours before the caucuses began at noon said they were there to support Bernie Sanders. Its Bernie or bust, said Michelle Diaz, 38, who showed up at 9 a.m. We need a pit bull, not a moderate, Jennifer Lawson, 65, told Yahoo News. Theres nothing moderate about what Trump is doing. I dont want a moderate, and if you havent made up your mind at this point with whats going on, I feel for you. My husband is being told to go back to Mexico, and hes not from Mexico, hes from here. Bernie, I see him as a pit bull. I dont think hell bring roses to a street fight; hell bring gloves. First-time caucus-goer Eugenia Cooper, 36, said she was supporting Sanders because of his support for Medicare for All. I was born in England where they have national health care. We need that, she said. While a repeat of the counting problems that marred the Iowa caucuses was feared in Nevada, the day was largely free of serious mishaps. Precinct volunteer Jeff Culler told Yahoo News that he thought the Nevada caucuses would be drama-free. I think this is going to be anticlimactic today. I think its going to go very smoothly, Culler said before the caucuses began. Behind him, a row of iPads was laid out on a stage, an unopened deck of cards atop each one. Volunteer precinct captain Jeff Culler at the East Las Vegas Community Center. (David Knowles/Yahoo News) When I open the iPad and it has my early vote totals, thats when Ill know that theyve been transferred. I trust that they have, Culler said. But as Culler powered up the iPad for the first time, a confused look overtook his face. The program was asking him to input his own totals first, so he couldnt be sure that the early vote numbers had been loaded yet. The worst-case scenario today is something happens with the tech. The results might be slow in reporting, but the integrity of the results wont be affected, Culler said. The race now heads to South Carolinas first-in-the-South primary next Saturday, followed by the Super Tuesday slate of contests on March 3, when 15 states hold primaries. At the Biden event, Will Elander, an 18-year-old volunteer for the campaign, chose to look at the bright side of Saturdays results and the road ahead for the former vice president. If you look back at Iowa and compare that to how this is going so far, Im only optimistic, Elander said. _____ Read more from Yahoo News: The first group of Australians evacuated from Chinas Wuhan province to a Darwin camp are being released following 14 days in quarantine. About 266 people will leave the Howard Springs quarantine camp on Sunday, after they were evacuated earlier this month from the epicentre of the coronavirus at Wuhan, the capital of Chinas Hubei province. One of the evacuees, Brian Leng said he was initially concerned about spending a fortnight in quarantine but was glad he made the decision to leave Wuhan. What they dont tell you is the people here are really supportive and really lovely and accommodate pretty much all your needs, he told the ABC. In hindsight, really happy to have made the decision to take this evacuation flight. Evacuees from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan are still facing several more days of quarantine at the camp. Seven cases have now been confirmed among the group of 164, who are also being kept at the facility near Darwin after leaving the virus-hit Diamond Princess cruise ship in Yokohama on Thursday. This reaffirms the decision we made not just to conduct an airlift (from the cruise ship) but to ensure that these people were in supervised quarantine in a separate area within the Howard Springs facility, federal Health Minister Greg Hunt told reporters on Saturday. Two people from Victoria tested positive to the virus on Saturday and will be repatriated to their home states health system, while the Queensland woman will be transported to her home state on a specialised medical retrieval plane on Monday. Two other Queensland women aged 54 and 55 who tested positive on Friday night have been flown to a Brisbane hospital for further treatment. A 78-year-old man from Western Australia was transferred to Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in Perth on Friday, while a 24-year-old woman from South Australia has been transferred to Royal Adelaide Hospital. The latest cases posed no risk to the Darwin community and strict public health measures remain in place. It brings the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country to 23, including 10 people who have recovered from the illness. Health authorities have declared the coronavirus contained within the general Australian community. As a result, some Year 11 and 12 students outside the Hubei province enrolled in Australian schools will be able to apply to get back into the country as long as they are not unwell. The process to return to Australia comprises of 13 steps, with states and territories to have the final say on whether to let students return. A similar relaxation of travel restrictions will be considered for university students this week, but no decision has been made yet. How many of us have heard our mothers preach to us that cleanliness is next to godliness? Many of us have heard it so many times and so many ways that we actually assume this is a Proverb from the Bible. While the concept was pushed by the church its not actually a Proverb or from the Bible at all. Many times, these widely known sayings can influence our thinking, but the saying themselves lack biblical truth. Its important that we take the time to research the things we accept as true. Its our job to dig a little deeper and fact check ideas that sound good to us but we arent sure where the idea actually came from. This common saying was born out of the 19th-century church and has influenced our thinking of what it should look like to be a proper Christian. The saying itself does not have a biblical foundation. The Bible uses becoming clean as a spiritual act that Jesus does for us through the cross and his ability to forgive us. God loves us all, no matter our means or how clean and tidy our lives appear on the outside--Which is great news to those of us who may be lacking in the housekeeping department! Lets evaluate what we can learn from this phrase. What is the Origin of the Phrase "Cleanliness is Next to Godliness"? According to Patheos from the 1500s until about 1800s bathing sort of fell out of fashion. People actually believed bathing could be unhealthy! Which we now know that just the opposite is true. Prior to this time period and especially in the Ancient world people generally valued cleanliness and bathing. Thankfully, during the 19th century some of the Protestants decided to push cleanliness as a concept in hopes that a value on physical cleanliness would also lead to a people embracing a cleaner lifestyle. The famous phrase cleanliness is next to godliness can be found in a 1778 sermon by John Wesley. These words stuck and had a huge impact on the culture of the day. During the late 1700s and through the 1800s the church began to take on social justice as part of their mission. The idea of cleanliness and faith even influenced the branding of newly emerging soap companies. The Ivory Soap brand we all know and love took its name from Psalm 45:8. The idea that our physical cleanliness impacts our spiritual well-being took the world by storm. At the same time that cleanliness became a Christian cause, so did many other issues the world was grappling with at the time. Christians were working to help end slavery, fighting against child labor, educating the poor, and more. Cleanliness as a value just was part of a broader message thats aim towards a moral cleansing of a generation. Reformation was the focus for the church. Cleanliness is next to godliness is probably one of the most famous statements that lives on from this era. Many of us are still wondering how much our outsides have to do with our spirituality all these years after this message was given. What Does the Bible Have to Say about Cleanliness and Godliness? The Bible uses many metaphors that paint a picture of God washing us of our sins and spiritual impurities. These passages have little to do with our physical level of cleanliness but rather point us to our need for a Savior who is capable of forgiving our sins. God washes us not of physical dirtiness but cleanses our souls. Ezekiel 36:25-26 says I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. This passage is one of many that shows us Gods desire to purify us in a spiritual sense so that we can come alive in Christ! Without God giving us a new heart and removing our impurities, we cannot be in a relationship with him. Having sterile homes, immaculate clothes, and Pinterest perfect lives will do nothing to save our souls. Isaiah 1:18 says Come now, let us settle the matter, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. It is only through the spiritual cleaning that Jesus death on the cross that we can gain our salvation! We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus (Ephesians 2:8). Our godliness is a result of a real relationship with Jesus, not our diligence to keep up proper appearances. What are some modern take-aways from this 19th Century saying? 1. The Messages We Push as Christians Matter This is an old saying that almost everyone still knows. I doubt John Welsey had the first clue of how famous his words would become! While the heart behind the message was noble and we can all agree cleanliness is important, his message still missed the truth of the Biblical message of what God says about washing us clean. God doesn't care what you look like on the outside; His primary concern with humanity is the state of their hearts! We live in the Digital Age where truth is hard to come by and we have the ability to push messages out online daily about our beliefs via social media. Our words may not go viral, we do have a responsibility to think critically about what we are promoting as truth online. Have we done our research to make sure the messages we promote as Truth stand in line with what the Bible actually says? Are we sharing these ideas to bring others to know Gods love or to promote our own personal agendas? Will the messages we share with others build up those around us or will they bring more disunity and divisiveness to our community? These are important questions to ask ourselves when we are declaring something is a Word from God to the world around you. 1 Peter 1:10 warns us to avoid evil and untruthful speech. Matthew 7:15 tells us to beware of false prophets. Today maybe one of the hardest times to determine who the false prophets are with so many trying to shout their truth at us. Diligence is required on the part of all Believers when it comes to our words. 2. God Cares Most About Our Hearts Some of the most lost people of our world can come in the most put-together packages. Matthew 19:24 paints a worrisome picture for the well-off. It says, Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God. Thankfully, there is hope for those of us who are wealthy! In verse 26 Jesus says that with Him all things are possible, meaning even those us that have trouble setting aside our riches for Jesus can know Him through Gods grace. Psalm 51:10 paints a beautiful picture of what God does want to do in our lives. It says, Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. His hope is that more than wanting to look the part, we would genuinely have a heart that desires Him. Proverbs 4:23 says, Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Before we do anything else we have to evaluate our intentions. Integrity is the state of being whole or undivided. Thats what God wants for us; that we live our lives with oneness, where our thoughts, actions, intentions, and character are unified for Gods purpose. We don't want to hide our true selves, while, on the outside, look like we are doing the "right thing." If you are struggling to keep your outsides together, dont worry. God still loves you! 1 Samuel 16:7 says, But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." When we get too focused on how things appear, we can become distracted from what God truly wants us to see. The message of the Bible is one of Spiritual rescue that makes all the difference on how we live our physical lives. God cares about the heart. Hes not so worried about the appearance of our outside packaging. Maybe then we should spend a little less time focused on how things look but rather where we stand in our relationship with Him. If you have perfected your exterior but neglected your interior, God wants so much more for you. He wants to give you a passion and love for Him that will turn your world upside down in the best sort of way. Amanda Idleman is a writer whose passion is to encourage others to live joyfully. She writes devotions for the Daily Bible Devotions App, she has work published with Her View from Home, also for the MOPS Blog, and is a regular contributor for Crosswalk.com. You can find out more about Amanda on her blog or follow her on Instagram. Photo Credit: Unsplash/Sarah Dorweiler Amanda Idleman is a writer whose passion is to encourage others to live joyfully. She writes devotions for My Daily Bible Verse Devotional and Podcast, Crosswalk Couples Devotional, the Daily Devotional App, she has work published with Her View from Home, on the MOPS Blog, and is a regular contributor for Crosswalk.com. You can find out more about Amanda on her Facebook Page or follow her on Instagram. LUCKNOW In the first week of the drive to curb noise pollution across the state, the UP police received 4,669 complaints related to loudspeakers and DJs on Dial 112 (the state police emergency response centre). In nearly 90% of the cases, people cooperated in minimising noise pollution in the larger interest of Board examinees. To address the remaining 10% complaints (490), the cops had to visit the site more than once to resolve the problem, claimed the police. On the directives of officiating director general of police (DGP) HC Awasthi, the UP police had launched a drive from February 15 and March 31 to curb noise pollution by restricting the use of loudspeakers/public address systems at public and private locations across the state to help students prepare for their examinations. As compared to smaller towns, major complaints came from bigger districts. In Lucknow alone, there were at least 35 complaints for which police had to visit the spot twice or thrice to resolve them. Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddh Nagar received 23 and 16 such complaints, respectively. Kanpur City was fourth and Agra fifth in terms of most complaints, said additional director general of police (ADGP) Asim Arun, in a press statement. He said there are 28 districts in UP where police had to visit only once to address complaints related with loudspeakers. Noise pollution not only affects concentration in studies, but is also harmful for our health. There are several researches that highlight the ill-effect of noise pollution. It not only damages our hearing ability but also affects our brain. High-decibel speakers also cause problems to animals, said Arun. Police personnel have been trained to run the campaign successfully, added the ADGP. LUCKNOW TOPS CHART In Lucknow, there were at least 35 complaints for which police had to visit the spot twice or thrice to resolve them. Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddh Nagar received 23 and 16 such complaints, respectively. Kanpur City was fourth and Agra fifth in terms of most complaints, said ADGP Asim Arun, in a press statement. Ahead of the start of the second part of Parliament's Budget Session, Sikkim's lone Lok Sabha member Indra Hang Subba has stressed on the need to improve the quality of debate. Subba, one of the youngest MPs in Parliament, said MPs should stop using "abusive" language and the debate should be issue-based without attacking personally members of other parties. "Sometimes during the debate, I see some of the colleagues cross limits and make abusive statement to their colleagues from the other party. I feel bad. ...I think this should stop," Subba, 31, told PTI in an interview. He said the discussion or debate in Parliament should be "more on issues" and not be "personal", he said expressing concern over a decline in the quality debate. "The quality of debate should be a little higher than the level we are at present. Our debate should be of a level that our nation has been known in the entire world," he added. Subba, also a research scholar at Sikkim University, was at the national-level workshop on research methodology organised by the Rhenock Government College. As a lone MP from the state, he said, "It's a huge responsibility and feel proud to represent my state. I am learning every day during the session and getting to know a whole lot of issues from all over India." Asked if the north east region is still neglected by the central government, Subba said, "I don't say our region is neglected but our issues are not listened to in a proper manner." However, after setting up of the Union Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region, there is some accessibility to the central policies. There is some improvement under the Modi government's 'Act East policy', he added. Subba is from Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) party, which won the assembly elections in May last year to form the new government in Sikkim. The second leg of Budget session of Parliament will commence from March 2 to April 3. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday announced that he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron next month to discuss the situation in northwest Syria. "I held telephone conversations with Putin, Macron and Merkel on Idlib. We will meet together on March 5 and discuss this topic again," Erdogan said, speaking in Izmir province. Erdogan announcement comes after a Turkish soldier was killed in Syria's Idlib province in a bomb attack by the government, Sputnik reported. The situation in Syria has deteriorated and nearly a million people have been displaced amid aggression from Russian-backed Syrian forces. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) State-run Central Bank of India is looking to sell its entire 64.40 percent stake in its housing finance subsidiary Cent Bank Home Finance (CBHFL), a top bank official said. The lender has floated a request for proposal (RFP) for appointing merchant bankers. The shortlisted bankers will help the lender scout for a potential investor to buy its stake in the mortgage financier. "We plan to exit from Cent Bank Home Finance. The bank already provides housing loans, and so, we feel that there is no need to have a housing finance subsidiary," Central Bank of India managing director and chief executive officer, Pallav Mohapatra, told PTI. The bank holds 64.40 percent in the unlisted housing finance company, while the remaining stake is held by Housing & Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO), Unit Trust of India (UTI) and National Housing Bank (NHB). The bank is facing operational curbs under the Reserve Bank's (RBI) prompt corrective action (PCA) framework. Mohapatra said the process of determining the valuation of the Bhopal-headquartered home finance company will begin as soon as the merchant bankers are appointed. "Right now, it is difficult to say how much we will be able to realise through this disinvestment. Once the valuation is done, we will be in a better position to assess the amount we can raise. But, we expect a better valuation for CBHFL than its peers as it is a deposit-taking NBFC, he said. In 2016, the bank had tried to sell its entire stake in CBHFL, but the deal could not be concluded. PTI had then reported that another state-run Bank of Baroda had shown interest in buying a majority stake in the mortgage lender. In 2016, the 64 percent stake sale by the bank in its housing finance subsidiary could have fetched nearly Rs 250 crore, experts had said. CBHFL's net owned fund stood at Rs 111.57 crore as on March 31, 2019. Its advances stood at Rs 1270.9 crore while deposits were at Rs 482.33 crore as of end March 2019. During FY19, it reported a net profit of Rs 16.28 crore, with earning per share of Rs 6.51. In the April-December 2019, it had reported a net profit of Rs 8.92 crore as against Rs 9.87 crore in the first nine months of FY19. Its total assets stood at Rs 1,390.90 crore in the first nine months of FY20. CBHFL was incorporated as 'Apna Ghar Vitta Nigam Ltd' and was subsequently renamed as 'Cent Bank Home Finance Ltd'. It commenced operation in June 1991. The home loan financier has presence in nine states through 18 branches. Besides the sale of this strategic investment, the city-based lender is also in the talks to sell its 20 percent stake in Indo Zambia Bank from where it is looking to garner around Rs 60 crore. The other stakeholders in the bank include Bank of India (BoI) and Bank of Baroda (BoB) with 20 percent stake each, and the Zambian government owning the balance. "We are in talks with BoB and BoI to buy our stake in the bank," Mohapatra had told reporters after the announcement of Q3 FY20 results. The bank is also targeting to raise Rs 200 crore in the current quarter by monetising its real estate properties. In the quarter ended December, the lender reported a net profit of Rs 155 crore as against a net loss of Rs 718 crore in the year-ago period. The profitability was achieved due to better recoveries, higher income and reduction in cost, Mohapatra had said. The bank's recovery, including sale to asset reconstruction companies stood at Rs 1,273 crore. Recovery in written off accounts was Rs 520 crore during Q3 of FY20. It is expecting a good recovery in some of the stressed accounts such as Religare Finvest, Coastal Energen Ltd and Flexi Tuff in the present quarter. Gross non-performing assets (NPAs) in the quarter ended December reduced to 19.99 percent from 20.64 percent, while net NPAs improved to 9.26 percent from 10.32 percent in the year-ago period. Mohapatra had said he expects net NPAs to come below 6 percent by end this fiscal which will help the bank to come out of PCA. These are top stories at 3 pm: NATION DEL11 PM-TRUMPIndia looks forward to welcoming US President Trump: PM ModiNew Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said India looks forward to welcoming US President Donald Trump. LGD10 LD JUDICIAL CONFERENCE President hails efforts of judiciary in pursuing cherished goal of gender justice New Delhi: President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday hailed the efforts of the Indian judiciary in pursuing the "cherished goal of gender justice" and said that the Supreme Court has always been "pro-active and progressive". BOM5 GA-AIRCRAFT-LD CRASH Navy''s MiG-29K jet crashes off Goa coast, pilot ejects safely Panaji: A MiG-29K aircraft of the Indian Navy crashed into the Arabian Sea off the Goa coast on Sunday morning, the Navy said. DEL2 DL-LD PROTEST-CAA Anti-CAA protest continues at Delhi's Jaffrabad New Delhi: An anti-CAA protest by around 500 people, mostly women, near the Jaffrabad metro station in northeast Delhi continued on Sunday, prompting the Delhi Metro authorities to close the entry and exit gates of the station. DEL17 CONG-THAROOR-LEADERSHIP Growing perception that Cong 'adrift'; party must resolve leadership issue for revival: Tharoor New Delhi: The Congress must fix its leadership issues on top priority to address the growing perception among the people that the party is "adrift", senior leader Shashi Tharoor said on Sunday and asserted that resolving the uncertainty over a long-term president was crucial for the party's revival. By Asim Kamal FOREIGN FGN17 JAPAN-VIRUS-LD INDIANS Four more Indians on board cruise ship test positive for COVID-19: Embassy Tokyo: Four more Indian crew members on board a cruise ship moored off the Japan coast have tested positive for the coronavirus and those who are not found to be infected would be facilitated to travel back home once all the results are declared, the Indian embassy said on Sunday. FGN5 US-TRUMP-LD BAHUBALI Trump says looking forward to being with 'my great friends' in India Washington: President Donald Trump has said that he was looking forward to being with his "great friends" in India as he retweeted a video in which his face was superimposed on the hit movie-character Bahubali, showing him as a great saviour. By Lalit K Jha. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Bollywood celebrities Malaika Arora, Lara Dutta, Anil Kapoor and Aditya Roy Kapur graced the red carpet of LIVA Miss Diva 2020 grand finale here on Saturday night. (Photo: ANI) Mumbai: Bollywood celebrities Malaika Arora, Lara Dutta, Anil Kapoor and Aditya Roy Kapur graced the red carpet of LIVA Miss Diva 2020 grand finale here on Saturday night. For the evening, the stars, who turned esteemed judges, made head-turning fashion statements as they arrived for the event. Anil Kapoor rocked in a suit that he paired with a grey shirt and tie, while Aditya looked all dapper in the black suit that he paired with a printed shirt. Malaika Arora and Lara Dutta, on the other hand, stole the show with their dramatic outfits. Lara chose a beautiful purple metal robe coupled with drop-diamond earrings for the event and also shared her enthusiasm and eagerness to see contestants. "We've had the girls with us for almost a month, They have been absolutely incredible very raw young, amazing talent came out of the whole country. I can't wait to hopefully not just crown another Miss Diva but crown another successor that's gonna go on to become Miss Universe," Lara added. While Malaika who was in the mood for summer wore a yellow gown and said: "It's always wonderful to be a part of any event. It's great to be back. We've got amazing lineup." Designers Shivan and Narresh, and Nikhil Rishi Mehra also judged the grand finale. Earlier, actor Deepika Padukone delivered a message for the top 20 contestants of the Miss Diva 2020 which they shared on their official Twitter handle. "To all the contestants of Miss Diva, I wish you all the best. Don't worry about the end result. Just enjoy the process," Deepika said. Congress leader P Chidambaram on Sunday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the CAA, NRC and NPR, telling him to ask visiting US President Donald Trump if it was possible to extradite as many as 19 lakh people from Assam. Addressing a meet here against the Citizenship Amendment Act, the former Minister, citing the BJP's brute majority in Parliament, asked what was the guarantee that the government would not bring in an amendment, similar to the CAA, to give a push to its idea of a "Hindu" country. Alleging that there was a great threat to the Constitution and the need to save it, he said countries were now asking quesitons over the CAA. "U.S. President Donald Trump has said that he will ask questions about the CAA even before his arrival. If six to 10 lakh people are going to be affected, will the visiting leader go without posing questions?," he asked. The European Parliament, UNHRC and a United States panel on religious freedom were all asking questions, calling upon the government to give up the contentious law. "We know who will be affected. The government is hiding that. The world (countries) is not a fool; it is awake that this will bring a huge threat to Muslims on the basis of their religion," he said, adding most countries have started asking questions. The CAA was "a tool" evolved to retain 12 lakh Hindus and send out seven lakh Muslims in Assam, he alleged. While there are countries which have stopped illegal immigration, there was no country that extradited as many as 19 lakh people, he said. "Which country has extradited 19 lakh people? If Narendra Modi has any doubt, he can ask American President Donald Trump and he will answer," he said. He asked if the US president, who had all along talked about sending back those from Mexico, was successful. "Where to send 19 lakh people ? Which country is ready to accept them? Through which mode of transport will you send them?" he asked. Tracing the background to the NRC, beginning with the Assam accord, to determine foreigners, he said his party had cautioned -as early as when the survey was mooted- that it would lead to social discord. While 40 lakh people were identified as foreigners in the exercise initially, a review pegged it at 19,06,657, he said. As soon as it came to be known that 12 lakh of them were Hindus and seven lakh Muslims, the Centre found itself in a quandary as all of them had to be sent out of the country. "The NRC in Assam is a very big failure," he said. To overcome the "predicament" of 12 lakh Hindus, the government came up with the CAA, he said. Alleging that the government was lying about the law, he said the Ministers too were lying. "A big lie is that the law (CAA) will not affect people who are in India. Will those in Africa will be affected,?" he asked sarcastically. The CAA wants to send only Muslims out of the country while allowing others to stay put and the law has been challenged on grounds, including religious discrimination, in the Supreme Court, he said. If the BJP-led Centre could bring the CAA, which was tantamount to impinging on the basic features of the Constitution, there was no guarantee that the government will not bring other amendments, he said. "Why will you not bring other amendments tomorrow? What is the confidence that you will not declare (India) a Hindu country in view of the brute majority?," he asked. The RSS and BJP were spreading "venomous views" that those belonging to the same 'gothra' should not get married. "What is the confidence that this will not become a law (forbidding same gothra marriages),?" he asked. "Mischievous" questions have been included in NPR like place of birth of parents, their birth dates, mother tongue, Aadhar card, driving licence, Permanent Account Number and passport. "Why are you asking these questions?," he said, adding this was an effort to identify people as foreigners through their parents if they cannot be directly named as such. "That is why there is a scare among the people. The NPR exercise should be given up completely and this is our demand. NPR is not necessary. Ask questions in the Census." The NRC drive must not be done at all and should be given up completely and instead, a census should be undertaken. The senior leader demanded that the government rescind the CAA. "Otherwise the Supreme Court should declare it as null and void." The Constitution, he said, does not allow discrimination on the basis of religion and citizenship is based on the principle of territory and not religion. Countering a claim against protests while the matter is pending in the apex court, he wondered whether the agitations were not held while the Ayodhya case was pending in the top court. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A YOUNG man who carried out a number of early-morning robberies has been jailed for six and-a-half years. Luke Barrett, 19, who has an address at St Michaels Court, Watergate, pleaded guilty, at Limerick Circuit Court, to charges relating to offences at businesses in Limerick city and in Newcastle West. Judge Tom ODonnell was told the first incident happened at around 6.20am on July 6, 2017 when Mr Barrett entered a family-owned shop in Newcastle West while armed with a knife. He threatened a worker and escaped with around 340 cash. He was arrested and charged a week later and was released on bail. Giving evidence in relation to the offences in the city, Garda Dermot Cummins said the next incident occurred shortly after 7am on August 15, 2018 when the defendant entered a service station at Locke Quay and threatened a member of staff with a large knife before demanding the contents of the till. After the worker pressed a panic button, Mr Barrett retreated and left the store warning the worker he would see him around the city and would kill him. The second incident, he said, occurred at Subway, Cruises Street, at around 7.20am on the same day. Again, Mr Barrett entered the premises armed with a knife and threatened a female worker before escaping with around 80 in cash. When arrested by gardai, Mr Barrett said he was off his face on drugs and would have robbed anywhere as he needed money to buy drugs. Judge Tom ODonnell was told the defendants drug addiction was his sole motivation for his offending and that he had gotten in with the wrong crowd at a young age. He is now drug-free and is engaging with the Probation Service. Imposing sentence, the judge said the use of a weapon and the premeditated nature of the offences were aggravating factors as was the threat of violence. While the youth has no previous convictions and comes from a good family, the judge noted he is at high risk of reoffending. He imposed consecutive sentences totaling six-and-a-half years imprisonment which were back-dated to August 2018. Mr Barrett received concurrent two-year sentences in relation to a number of theft charges arising from shoplifting incidents in the city. Shevlin Sebastian By Express News Service KOCHI: Once a month, four veteransPRN Pillai, N Ramadasan, MNC Pillai and GVK Nairmeet at each others home in Bhilai, to play cards or talk about politics, and reminisce the years spent at Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP). One day, Ramadasan dropped the idea of visiting their ex-colleagues in Kerala, and the rest of the group agreed. They set out on a January morning by the Korba-Thiruvananthapuram Express. When they reached Palakkad a couple of days later, they were received by Padmanabhan who worked in the accounts department of BSP. Later, they met Balasubramaniam, and then met the old team spread out across. One of our colleagues had died, so we went and met his wife, says Pillai. The group met friends all over Thuravoor, Vaikom, Kottayam, Tiruvalla, Chengannur, Mavelikara, Pandalam, Pathanamthitta, Adoor, Kottiyam, Karunagapally, Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram. In Thiruvananthapuram, journalist Anil Philip met them. His late father K V Philip had worked in BSP for 42 years. With the help of Anil, we were able to meet many families in Thiruvananthapuram, says Pillai. At most of the places, people remembered their life in Bhilai and shared unforgettable anecdotes with the quartet. Bhilai is a well-planned city designed by the Russians. There are wide streets and plenty of greenery, says Pillai. The steel plant was set up on February 4, 1959, during the tenure of Jawaharlal Nehru. Back then, the plant had an employee strength of 55,000. There were more than 5,000 Malayalis employed there, says Pillai. In the end, the group managed to meet 75 families and travelled 750 km across the state. And barely a week after they returned, they received the sad news that KV Nair who lived at Cheriyanad near Mavelikara had passed away. He had come and met us, says Pillai Nair was around 75 and was in good health. He had gone to the Mavelikara General Hospital to get a certificate for his daughter, suffered a sudden heart attack and died. The group is grateful they were able to meet Nair. We are all in our 70s and 80s, so time is running out for all of us, says Pillai. We are glad we were able to make this journey. he concludes. Readers hoping to buy Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) for its dividend will need to make their move shortly, as the stock is about to trade ex-dividend. You will need to purchase shares before the 28th of February to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 31st of March. Sun Life Financial's next dividend payment will be CA$0.55 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed CA$2.20 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Sun Life Financial stock has a trailing yield of around 3.4% on the current share price of CA$65.23. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Sun Life Financial's dividend is reliable and sustainable. We need to see whether the dividend is covered by earnings and if it's growing. See our latest analysis for Sun Life Financial Dividends are typically paid from company earnings. If a company pays more in dividends than it earned in profit, then the dividend could be unsustainable. Fortunately Sun Life Financial's payout ratio is modest, at just 47% of profit. Companies that pay out less in dividends than they earn in profits generally have more sustainable dividends. The lower the payout ratio, the more wiggle room the business has before it could be forced to cut the dividend. Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends. TSX:SLF Historical Dividend Yield, February 23rd 2020 Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing? Stocks in companies that generate sustainable earnings growth often make the best dividend prospects, as it is easier to lift the dividend when earnings are rising. If earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. This is why it's a relief to see Sun Life Financial earnings per share are up 8.9% per annum over the last five years. Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. Sun Life Financial has delivered 4.3% dividend growth per year on average over the past ten years. We're glad to see dividends rising alongside earnings over a number of years, which may be a sign the company intends to share the growth with shareholders. Story continues The Bottom Line Is Sun Life Financial an attractive dividend stock, or better left on the shelf? Sun Life Financial has seen its earnings per share grow slowly in recent years, and the company reinvests more than half of its profits in the business, which generally bodes well for its future prospects. In summary, Sun Life Financial appears to have some promise as a dividend stock, and we'd suggest taking a closer look at it. Ever wonder what the future holds for Sun Life Financial? See what the 11 analysts we track are forecasting, with this visualisation of its historical and future estimated earnings and cash flow A common investment mistake is buying the first interesting stock you see. Here you can find a list of promising dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading. Paytm is looking at a comprehensive set of offers for its merchant base in order to drive its next phase of growth, according to two top executives. From Internet-of-Things (IoT)-enabled hardware solutions to its Paytm for Business app, the e-commerce and payments firm is engaging more and more with its merchant base. When it comes to P2P (peer-to-peer) and merchant payments, the focus is obviously more on merchant payment. The P2P side of the business is taken care of by the payments bank which is already doing very well. When it comes to merchant payments, you need ... Fugitive gangster Ravi Pujari has been arrested in South Africa and being brought to India by a team of officials, including senior IPS officers from Karnataka, a top police official said on February 23. Pujari, wanted in many cases including extortion and murder in different parts of the country, including Karnataka, and been on the run for over 15 years, was deported to Senegal in West Africa following his arrest and later extradited. He had jumped bail in Senegal last year after being arrested there. (We are) coming with him from Senegal. Now in Paris. (We are) coming by Air France and (would be) there (in India) by midnight, the police official, part of the team, told PTI. Pujari, who hails from Karnataka, was likely to be brought here by Monday morning, police sources said. The National Investigation Agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Research and Analysis Wing would join the investigation, the sources said. According to police, the gangster, facing over 200 cases including murder and extortion, was arrested in January last year by the Senegal authorities after remaining elusive. Despite efforts of Indian officials to get him extradited then, a local court had granted him bail and Pujari later fled to South Africa. Police sources on Sunday said the gangster was nabbed from a village in a joint operation by the South African and Senegal police. After he was brought to Senegal, the Indian team completed extradition formalities, they added. Pujari was initially associated with gangster Chhota Rajan, but he had also worked for fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. With the hype around Donald Trump's maiden visit to India as US President reaching a crescendo, here's a trip down the memory lane on tours by previous American presidents. It all began about 60 years ago when Dwight D Eisenhower became the first US President to visit India to give a fillip to bilateral relationship which has seen many ups and downs to finally settle down in the last few decades as a strategic partnership. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower -- December 9-14, 1959 It was a landmark maiden visit by an American president and Eisenhower was greeted with a 21-gun salute when he landed in the national capital. He met the then President Rajendra Prasad and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. During his visit, Eisenhower delivered a public speech at Delhi's Ramlila ground and addressed members of both Houses of Parliament. He was also given a tour of the Taj Mahal in Agra with Prime Minister Nehru accompanying him to the iconic monument. -- Richard Nixon -- July 31-August 1, 1969 Nixon's visit to India could not match the euphoria and excitement of Eisenhower's. He stayed in the country for less than a day and it achieved little with Nixon siding with Pakistan at the time of the 1971 Bangladesh War. -- Jimmy Carter -- January 1-3, 1978 Carter's visit came just months after the Janata Party's Morarji Desai succeeded Indira Gandhi as the country's prime minister. During his three-day visit, President Carter addressed Parliament and visited a village near Delhi which was later named after him. His visit was aimed at mending ties between India and the US against the backdrop of the 1971 Bangladesh War and the nuclear tests of 1974. -- Bill Clinton -- March 19-25, 2000 This was a presidential visit from America after over two decades and many regard it as a game-changing event during which Clinton and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee set the tone for deepening of bilateral ties. The visit also came at a tricky time in the backdrop of the US imposing sanctions on India following its 1999 nuclear test and the Kargil War. Clinton visited several popular tourist destinations like Agra, Jaipur, Hyderabad and Mumbai, besides Delhi. More importantly, the visit signified the beginning of the Indo-US strategic and economic partnership. During the visit, Clinton signed the Joint Statement on Energy and the Environment and also addressed Parliament. -- George W Bush -- March 1-3, 2006 Bush and First Lady Laura Bush visited during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's first term in office. During his stay, Bush delivered a speech before a select audience at Delhi's Purana Qila. But the visit will be remembered for the finalisation of the nuclear deal which later allowed India to pursue nuclear commerce. -- Barack Obama -- November 69, 2010 It was a visit that sent all the right messages for deepening and strengthening of strategic Indo-US ties. In a break from the past, Obama landed in Mumbai. The message was not just for trade but a show of solidarity with the victims of the Mumbai attacks which had rocked India's financial capital just two years prior to the visit. During the visit, Obama also expressed support for India's bid for a permanent seat in a reformed and expanded UN Security Council. Michelle Obama, who had accompanied her husband on the trip, charmed Indians as she danced with underprivileged children at an event in Mumbai. During the visit Obama, who had come with a large business delegation, attended the U.S.-India Business and Entrepreneurship Summit in Mumbai and addressed the Indian Parliament. -- Barack Obama -- January 24-27, 2015 In 2015, when Obama again visited along with First Lady Michelle, he became the first US President to visit the country twice while in office. It was indeed a trip of many firsts, as Obama was also the first US President to be the chief guest at India's Republic Day Parade. He met President Pranab Mukherjee and held wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Deepening of strategic ties in sectors such as trade, defence and climate change were at the centre of deliberations during the visit, which also saw an emphasis on the Indo-Pacific strategy. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A grandmother was knocked unconscious and a male stripper broke his leg in two places when his fireman's pole collapsed into the audience during a Dreamboys show in London. Lewis Riches, 32, had been performing at the For Your Eyes Only club in Shoreditch on Saturday when he 'jumped onto a pole' which then 'ripped out of the ceiling'. One witness, who was sitting in the second row, said the pole then landed on an elderly woman's head and 'promptly knocked her unconscious'. Father-of-two Mr Riches, who is a personal trainer, shattered his leg in two places when the 20ft pole crashed to the ground. The 75-year-old woman, who was at her granddaughter's hen party, was rushed to hospital where she was treated for a head injury. Lewis Riches, 32, had been performing at the For Your Eyes Only club in Shoreditch on Saturday when he 'jumped onto a pole' which then 'ripped out of the ceiling' Father-of-two Mr Riches, who is a personal trainer, broke his leg in two places when the 20ft pole crashed to the ground 'We were sitting in the second row, enjoying the beginning of the show, when a stripper jumped onto a pole, which ripped out of the ceiling,' the witness said. 'The pole landed on an elderly woman's head and promptly knocked her unconscious.' The woman, who had been visiting the club with friends for a 'fun night out', said the audience were at first ushered to the bar, where her group stayed for around 40 minutes before they decided to leave. She added: 'It was not clear [if the elderly woman] had broken her neck or had a heart attack, but the paramedics had her in a neck brace and had to use defibrillators. 'Although we left 40 minutes later, neither party moved again and the screaming and crying didn't stop. It was traumatic for all involved.' Janine Scutt, who had also attended the Dreamboys show with a hen party, said the stripper's leg 'looked like it was bent backwards' in the aftermath of the accident, and he also 'seemed to have hurt his face when he landed on a metal bar around the edge of the stage'. 'The injured man was more concerned about the audience than himself, even though he was clearly in agony,' she added. A witness, who was sitting in the second row inside the venue and asked not to be named, said a performer 'jumped onto a pole which ripped out of the ceiling' (stock image) Pictured: For Your Eyes Only in Shoreditch, where the Dreamboys show took place on Saturday Other eyewitnesses claimed the audience was left 'watching the drama unfold' in their seats, before being told to leave 'in small groups'. Recounting the 'horrific' experience, Kerry Hilliard said: 'He literally ran across the stage to swing on the pole and it ripped clear off the ceiling! Mr Riches is due to have an operation on his leg and ankle today 'At first I thought it was part of the performance but I quickly realised that it had all gone horribly wrong!' Mr Riches is due to have an operation on his leg and ankle today and could be off work for up to six months as he recovers from his injuries. A spokesperson for London Ambulance Service confirmed a woman suffered a head injury and was rushed to hospital after the incident at the club. 'We were called at 8:17pm yesterday evening (23 February) to reports of an incident on City Road, Shoreditch', a statement said. 'We dispatched two ambulance crews, an advanced paramedic, a medic on a bicycle and our hazardous area response team (HART). 'We treated a woman for a head injury at the scene and took her to hospital. We treated a second person, a man, for a leg injury and took him to hospital.' Dreamboys spokeswoman Kirsty Shaw-Rayner told the Sun: 'Lewis is such a lovely guy. He's so sweet and he was in tears about the whole thing. All he was concerned about was making sure the lady was OK. 'Luckily, she is going to be all right but it's not the way she imagined her night going.' Afterwards, Sheikh Hasina is consecutively leading the government of Bangladesh for last eleven years. Now, she is not only the leader of Bangladesh but also the leader of Asia who established liberal democracy, rule of law, people rights, women empowerment, and the freedom of speech in her country. by Swadesh Roy In Bangladesh, a slogan is heard everywhere and very popular which is whatever the religious customs are, the festival is for everyone, and the people of Bangladesh maintain it with a keen heart, not just a slogan. Despite being a Muslim majority country, the main festival of Hindu religious community, Durga Worship, is celebrated here as one of the main festivals across the country. Most of the Muslim boys and girls with a festive mood enjoy the days of Durga Worship, and similarly, the main festival of the Muslim religious community, Eid-Ul-Fitr, is celebrated in the same way and the boys and girls of the Hindu, Buddhist, and Christian community enjoy it fullest. On the other hand, the holy Christmas on 25th December is an enthusiastic festival in Bangladesh from the British era to now-a-days and is being celebrated gorgeously. All the hotels, main roads, and many private offices decorate their places using colorful lights, and not only children, but even adults from every community take photographs in front of the Christmas trees. This religious harmony, clearly laudable, is a long tradition of Bangladesh, and to be honest, the Muslims of Bangladesh are culturally very liberal. Thats why, no Islamic fundamentalism put its feet in Bangladesh, rather when tried were overthrown by the government and the liberal people. However, Bangladesh is a religiously liberal country as well as liberal in politics which make the people here very much argumentative and strengthen them to raise their voice in any kind of suppression always. For this reason, no autocratic rule could get footage in this soil. We all know, the people of Bangladesh have a long and glorious history for achieving democratic society and the rule of law. Once, this soil was established as a part of Pakistan in the name of religion but resistance against Pakistan started within four months through the moderate young political workers and that movement became snowball within very short by the leadership of the then student leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He initiated to establish a moderate and liberal political party to achieve democratic rule of law. The party named Awami League, which made history and created an independent democratic country and the man Sheikh Mujibur Rahman became the leader of the liberty. In 1971, he was the democratic icon of the world, but sadly he was assassinated brutally by a military que detta and then the military rulers established one kind of autocracy. But the people of the country didnt take it easily; rather they started fighting against military ruler where the workers of the liberal political party Awami League were in the front line. At a stage, iconic leader Sheikh Mujibs daughter Sheikh Hasina took the leadership of the Awami League and by her leadership, the military ruler was overthrown by a mass uprising of the people. Afterwards, Sheikh Hasina is consecutively leading the government of Bangladesh for last eleven years. Now, she is not only the leader of Bangladesh but also the leader of Asia who established liberal democracy, rule of law, people rights, women empowerment, and the freedom of speech in her country. For establishing it, she empowered the countrys legal system for trialing the war criminals and the corrupt leaders. Immediately after the assassination of Sheikh Mujib, this country was ruled by the military rulers who assisted the war criminals and corrupt people to become powerful. But now, they are in worse shape because of the rule of law, and they are blaming Bangladesh in many ways. Sometimes, they tried to confuse some important people and organizations supplying fake information regarding Bangladesh. After releasing a statement by the American Senator Chuck Grassley, a question aroused, was he confused by the fake information? Otherwise, why should he describe Bangladesh is under an authoritarian rule and facing persecution for faith and religious beliefs! There is no incident in Bangladesh that can prove any Bangladeshi was persecuted by the government for religious beliefs. On the other hand, Bangladesh is running last eleven years by the parliamentary democratic system. When Senator Grassley released his written statement, the parliament session of Bangladesh was ongoing and Prime Minister was delivering her speech in the parliament. So, it makes everything clear that Senator Grassley was confused by the fake information. We hope he will retreat from his statement because this statement is a cause of hurt for the democratic people of this small country. A big democratic countrys Senator cannot do this injustice to any democratic people of any democratic country. Swadesh Roy, Senior Journalist, Dhaka, Bangladesh. He is a highest state award winning journalist and can be reached at swadeshroy@gmail.com LYNWOOD Since word of police dog Dantes injury has spread, an outpouring of cards, treats and bones have been sent to lift the spirits of the four-legged officer and his human partner. The GoFundMe for the canines spinal surgery has surpassed its fundraising goal by nearly $10,000. Though Dante is in good spirits, he still has a long way to go in his recovery, Lynwood Deputy Chief Terrence Shubert said. He hasnt undergone surgery yet, just physical therapy, so the road really hasnt even started for him yet, Shubert said. But we are hopeful. Dante's surgery is scheduled for Tuesday at MedVet in Chicago. Veterinarians said swelling around the injury needed to subside and some of the tissue around his spine needed to heal before surgery could be safely performed. They also ordered the dog to undergo physical training, where he has been steadily navigating orange cones and doing hydrotherapy, where he is partially submerged in water while walking on a treadmill, Shubert said. He definitely seems to be in high spirits, Shubert said. He has quickly become the favorite down at the vet and the physical therapists enjoy working with him. 23.02.2020 LISTEN Elizabeth Amoaa, founder of Speciallady Awareness has been nominated for Women Empowerment And Social Entrepreneur Award at Women Make Change Awards 2020. The event will be held on Friday 6 March at Arab British Chamber of Commerce in Mayfair, London. She was nominated for her unstoppable perseverance towards her charity work and advocacy for education on female gynaecological health. As a patient with multiple gynaecological complications such as endometriosis, her work has transformed many lives both locally and internationally. She has carried out numerous Outreach Programs in her birth country of Ghana. Her story was recently published in both national and international media platforms. Women Make Change Awards recognise women from all over the world who are doing amazing things in various sectors such as health and community development. Therefore, the awarding body follows these women based on recommendations from the general public. As a result, Elizabeths efforts were recognised and has led to her nomination for an award in two prestigious categories. Speciallady Awareness deserves this award for her excellent work ethic, selfless commitment to her advocacy and the people whose life she continues to inspire. Once again, this is another example of a young Ghanaian woman who is making a difference in peoples lives and rightly deserves an award. As she always says I am the voice of the voiceless. Ghana and all her fans around the world wish her the very best. TDT | Manama The Ministry of Health has announced that there are no registered cases of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the Kingdom, and all precautionary measures are being taken in to ensure the continued health and safety of Bahrains citizens and residents. The ministry confirmed in a statement that, within the past 24 hours, it has conducted tests on 19 travellers arriving from countries where COVID-19 is prevalent. All test results returned negative. The total number of tests conducted for suspected cases of the disease now stands at 74, all of which have returned negative. The ministry highlighted that it is co-ordinating with all necessary authorities to follow up on all potential cases that have been flagged at the Kingdoms entry points. The ministry further highlighted that it is following health guidelines outlined by the World Health Organisation, international health measures followed by international airports, and the unified precautionary measures followed by the GCC, when dealing with travellers arriving from countries were COVID-19 is prevalent. It noted that all travellers entering Bahrain International Airport from countries that are experiencing active cases of COVID-19 are undergoing testing to ensure they are not infected. Travellers from these countries are also quarantined for a period of 14 days as a preventive measure in order to monitor their health. Meanwhile , The Ministry of Health has stepped up efforts to spread awareness about coronavirus as they urge residents and citizens to adopt hygiene measures. The ministry has urged citizens and residents to take various measures to protect themselves from coronavirus. The ministry sources said that educational campaigns are in full swing to create awareness in the public about the novel coronavirus. The modes used to create awareness include traditional media, social media and even SMS campaign, which was recently done. Kindly be reminded to take the following precautions to reduce the risk of contracting the coronavirus (Covid-19): Wash your hands regularly and thoroughly using soap and water. Use alcohol-based sanitisers, the statement said. Clean and disinfect frequently used objects and surfaces such as door handles. Cover your mouth when coughing or sneezing, and dispose of used wipes properly. Avoid contact with people experiencing a fever or suffering from a cough, the ministry stated in a mass SMS campaign, which was sent out to Bahrainis and expatriates across the Kingdom. Meanwhile, foreign visitors from five countries have been banned from entering the Kingdom as Bahrain takes up strict measures to prevent coronavirus outbreak in the country. The authorities in Bahrain have decided to put in place three stringent steps to ensure that coronavirus is not spread in Bahrain. The steps include banning entry to all foreigners who have visited five countries including Iran, Thailand, the Republic of Singapore, the Kingdom of Malaysia and the Republic of South Korea. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in co-ordination with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Interior, has activated several procedures related to arrivals to the Kingdom in light of the outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement added. The steps include banning entry to all foreign visitors who have visited the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Kingdom of Thailand, the Republic of Singapore, the Kingdom of Malaysia and the Republic of South Korea within 14 days of their date of arrival in the Kingdom. Bahraini citizens, GCC citizens and Bahraini residents who have visited Iran, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia or South Korea within 14 days of arriving in Bahrain will be subject to quarantine and enhanced testing procedures, recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The ministry has advised citizens and residents to follow WHO guidelines and avoid all but essential travel to areas, where coronavirus (COVID-19) has been detected. He prevailed among those with college degrees and those without; those living in union and nonunion households; and in every age group except those over 65. He won more than half of Hispanic caucus-goers almost four times as much support as his nearest rival, former vice president Joe Biden and even narrowly prevailed among those who identified as moderate or conservative. Despite attacks on his health proposal by the powerful Culinary Union, he won in caucus sites filled with union members. Israeli forces on Sunday shot dead a Palestinian suspected of placing a bomb near the Gaza border, before extracting his body with a bulldozer, the army said. "Following the successful thwarting of the attack near the Gaza Strip fence earlier this morning, an IDF (Israeli army) bulldozer extracted the body of one of the attackers," a military spokeswoman told AFP. Search Keywords: Short link: Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-23 16:03:52|Editor: yhy Video Player Close NEW DELHI, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- An MiG-29K fighter aircraft belonging to Indian navy crashed in the western India state of Goa on Sunday, officials said. The fighter jet crashed during a training mission and the pilot of the jet ejected safely. "Today morning at around 10:30 a.m. local time, an MiG-29K aircraft on a routine training sortie crashed off Goa. The pilot of the aircraft ejected safely and has been recovered," a statement posted by India navy on social media said. Meanwhile, the navy has ordered an inquiry to investigate the cause of the crash. A Christian man who was deported from the UK despite claims he had been threatened with execution by Islamic extremists in Pakistan has told The Independent he is living in hiding and in fear for his life. Asher Samson, 42, said he feels felt like a prisoner in his own home as he is unable to leave the house without the risk of being attacked. He was forcibly removed to Pakistan, his country of birth, last year. He first arrived in the UK in 2004 to carry out his theology training in order to become a pastor, but later applied for asylum on the basis that he had received death threats from Islamic extremists during visits home. Mr Samson's asylum claim was refused in 2018 and shortly afterwards he was detained in Morton Hall Immigration Removal Centre in Lincolnshire and issued removal directions. He was initially granted bail, but the Home Office detained him again a week later and deported him the day before he was due to attend a meeting to submit fresh evidence for his claim. Prior to his removal, Mr Samson told The Independent prior to his removal he was terrified at the prospect of being sent back to his home city of Abbottabad in Pakistan, where says he has no one and nowhere to go. Just over a year after the deportation, he is living in a small flat in an undisclosed location. He said he is forced to move regularly with the help of his cousin because it is dangerous to stay in one place. Mr Samson said he was followed upon his arrival at an airport in Pakistan, and stones were thrown at the accommodation arranged by his cousin. Speaking from Pakistan, Mr Samson told The Independent: I feel so unsafe. I dont leave the house. Im like a wasted man now. I cant work, I cant go to see people. I spend my days staring at the walls. Its like Im in a detention centre again. But there, they come and lock you up three times a day. Here, Im locked up all day, all night. Mr Samsons current bedroom, where he says he spends his days staring at the walls (Asher Sampson) The Pakistani national has three siblings who all live outside the country due to the risk of religious persecution, he said. One sister lives in New Zealand while his brother and other sister, who both have spousal and unmarried partner visas, are settled in the UK. His sister Esther Walker, who lives in Birmingham, has written a letter to Boris Johnson highlighting the fact that he pledged in his Christmas message to stand with Christians everywhere, in solidarity and calling on him to urgently review the safety of Mr Samsons deportation. After he got deported to Pakistan he had to keep changing locations for safety and was unable to stay in one place. We remain deeply worried for the security and safety of Ashers life in Pakistan, she states in the letter. Three weeks after he was deported, Mr Samsons mother who had been splitting her time between her children in Britain and New Zealand moved in with him so she could go out to buy him food and medicine. He said that due to having no income, they were struggling to afford enough to eat. Were cutting down on everything food, bills, the basic needs. And I feel bad for my mum. Shes getting old but shes having to do everything for me. My independence has completely gone, he said. Its just me and mum sitting in one room with no one else around us. I dont get to sleep until around 2am or 3am. I just lie in bed thinking about whats going to happen with my life. Mr Samson, who worked as a manager in McDonalds in Birmingham before he was deported, said he was struggling to maintain a close relationship with his siblings over the phone. You cant maintain the relationship over the phone. Its a big gap now. We havent seen each other in so long, he added. Why is the Home Office getting so many immigration decisions wrong? Along with his siblings, Mr Samson was a regular churchgoer in Hall Green, Birmingham, where he spent more than 10 years as an active member of the Christian community. Revered Lorraine Shorten, who has known Mr Samson for more than two years and is pastor at his church in Birmingham, previously told The Independent he was a well-thought of member of the community Its shameful we are a Christian country yet we cant help him. Its terrifying to send him back there with the situation for Christians in Pakistan ... This is so extremely short-sighted by the Home Office, she added. The Home Office said it did not comment on individual cases. Jodi Mckay, Tania Mihaulik and Guy Zangari Credit:Shakespeare Parliament returns to Macquarie Street this Tuesday but the long break appears to have done little to salve egos bruised during last years Labor leadership ballot. As the Herald reported last Monday, a review into who would succeed Michael Daley as the partys leader after its March election defeat found it had increased animosity between Labor MPs because the winner would decide who would take frontbench positions. A reshuffle in July following Jodi McKays victory against current transport spokesman Chris Minns relegated two shadow ministers, Daleys families spokeswoman Tania Mihailuk and police spokesman Guy Zangari, to the backbench. Now the pair have decided to delete themselves from NSW SPLP Centre Unity a secret WhatsApp group reserved for elected members of Labors Right faction. Mihailuk and Zangari self-evicted on February 5, leaving some of their caucus colleagues highly amused. News organizations called the Nevada Democratic caucuses on Saturday for Senator Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.), basing their conclusions on entrance polls and a smattering of voting precinct results. NBC, Fox News, the Associated Press, and other networks have proclaimed Sanders the winner, although only four percent of precincts have reported concrete results so far. Those precincts gave Sanders 54 percent of the vote, with former Vice President Joe Biden in second at 17.5 percent. The campaigns for Biden and former South Bend, Ind., mayor Pete Buttigieg attempted to keep up supporters spirits as networks proclaimed a Sanders victory. Buttigieg released internal polling results showing the former mayor would receive 20 percent of the states delegates, while Biden attempted to reassure supporters at a rally in Las Vegas. The press is ready to declare people dead quickly. Well, we are alive, Biden said. Sanders, for his part, led a rally in El Paso, Texas, as the Nevada results trickled in, and used the opportunity to slam President Trump. We have a president today who is a pathological liar, who is running a corrupt administration, Sanders said. Who is a racist. A sexist. A homophobe. A xenophobe, and a religious bigot. The Nevada win gives the Sanders campaign added momentum going into the South Carolina primary on February 29. After his strong performances in the first two state primaries, two national polls released on Wednesday showed Sanders with a double-digit lead against rival candidates among prospective Democratic primary voters. In an interview to be aired Sunday on CBSs Face the Nation, Biden asserts he is confident hell win in South Carolina with the support of the states black voters, who make up around 60 percent of the states Democratic electorate. I feel good about where we are. I feel good about going into South Carolina. And I feel good about the kind of support Ive had with African-Americans around the country, Biden says. More from National Review Massive billboards have been put up and roundabouts decked up with American and Indian flags to welcome US President Donald Trump in Agra on Monday. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath and governor Anandiben Patel will receive him at the airport, where 300 artists will welcome him. The welcome ceremony for Trump is expected to last 15 minutes before he would proceed towards the Taj Mahal at 5pm. Students will wave Indian and American flags along the 14-km route Trump will take to reach the Taj Mahal. Stages have been set up at main crossings, where over 3,000 artistes will perform. The US President is expected to stay at the Taj Mahal for about an hour before leaving for Delhi around 6.45 pm. As many as 10 companies each of Provincial Armed Constabulary and central paramilitary forces have been deployed in Agra along with a dozen teams of the National Security Guard and nearly 4,500 Uttar Pradesh police personnel. The Taj Mahal will remain closed for the public from 12.30pm on Monday in view of the US Presidents visit. Vasant Swarankar, the superintending archaeologist for Agra circle of the Archaeological Survey of India, issued a notice in this regard on Sunday under the power vested in him under Rule 5 of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Rules. Early closure of the Taj Mahal is because of the visit of Donald Trump, the President of United States of America, said Swarankar in the notice. The monument will remain closed till the departure of the guest. The entry of heavy vehicles has been also banned in Agra on Monday. Also, there will be diversions on both expresswaysYamuna and Agra-Lucknow. Commissioner, Agra division, Anil Kumar, has indicated some changes to the scheduled Taj Mahotsav being organised at Shilpgrama kilometre east from the Taj Mahal on Monday. If all goes well in time, the Taj Mahotsav might have a late evening event at Shilpgram after the departure of the VVIP guests, said a tourism official. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON 21.02.2020 LISTEN Vanessa Harrison's VanVosh showcases on the most elaborate platform in the U.S fashion season, New York Fashion Week 2020. The showcase was part of the Emerge Runway Show and Wearable Art Collective a feature of the annual fashion week. The Emerge Runway Show and Wearable Art Collective also saw an honorary award presented to the creator of the New York Fashion Week, FERN MALLIS. VanVorsh, a well know fashion brand famous for its designs, blend of afro eccentric kaleidoscope and eclectic forms of Avant Garde. Utilizing origami construction in African fabrics such as Ghana's famous GTP and Vlisco with a fusion of European influence brings about the intricateness of dramatic fashion. This is evident in the true recognition of targeted sales globally to achieve consumer success in this rag trade. I have grown and envisioned to aspire to the top. Our pacesetters; Mathew Luther, Kwame Nkrumah, Bob Marley, Afua, Sutherland and many more have I sourced my inspiration from, not in one mind but to demonstrate and achieve on their political and human relations.. ~Vanessa Harrision~ The brand debuted on the platform of the Emerge Runway Show and Wearable Art Collective of the New York Fashion Week 2020. The collection themed EXODUS: THE MASTERPIECE saw carefully tailored garments coupled with amazing designs which were the highlights of the show. Vanessa Harrison, the creative director of VanVorsh seeks to contribute her quota to the growth and contribution of fair trade, promoting economic success for the under privileged. In this quest she hopes to inspire African designers to never give up and elevate, for it's never too late. Vanessa Harrison (designer @Vanvorsh). A Mandan man who is a registered sex offender was sentenced Tuesday to serve seven years in prison for giving alcohol to a teenage girl and having sex with her. Cyrus Cuba, 30, who also has sex crime cases pending in two other counties, pleaded guilty in October to felony gross sexual imposition and a misdemeanor for providing alcohol to a minor. The charges stemmed from an alleged incident in February 2019 in which the girl spent the night at Cubas residence after he gave her and a friend a flavored alcoholic beverage, police said. South Central District Judge Bruce Romanick accepted the sentencing recommendations of Assistant Morton County States Attorney Austin Gunderson for a 15-year sentence with eight years suspended. Gunderson said prison programs would provide the opportunity for evaluation and a structured environment, which might benefit Cuba. Cuba may have suffered a traumatic brain injury as a child, defense attorney Michael Hoffman said, but the injury is not documented. He did not disagree with Gundersons recommendation and added that cognitive evaluation might tie in with the possible brain injury and with incidents of bullying from Cubas childhood. We believe he could benefit from any program that will help him understand his issues and address them, Hoffman said. Cuba in a prepared statement told Romanick that he took full responsibility for his actions and asked for forgiveness from the girl and her family. I never meant for any of this to happen, he said. Romanick told Cuba seven years is a long time to be in prison but its a much shorter sentence than hes handed down in similar cases. He called Cuba's action "not just inappropriate, it's criminal." "That's what you've got to understand," the judge said. He allowed Cuba credit for 227 days already served. Cuba in 2014 pleaded guilty to gross sexual imposition in Mercer County. He was sentenced to five years in prison and given credit for 216 days served. That case was reopened in March. He is scheduled for trial in Burleigh County on March 4 on a charge of gross sexual imposition. He will be sentenced on March 24 for failure to register as a sex offender in Burleigh County. Reach Travis Svihovec at 701-250-8260 or Travis.Svihovec@bismarcktribune.com Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Officials in Saudi Arabia have called for the arrest of a female rapper after she released a music video for a song praising girls from Mecca. The 'insulting' music video - which was uploaded to YouTube - calls the women from the holy city 'powerful and beautiful' and goes on to describe them as 'sugar candy'. The video was released by Saudi rapper, Asayel Slay and talks about women from the holy city of Mecca - the birthplace of Prophet Mohammed where millions of Muslims make a pilgrimage to each year during Hajj. In the song she sings the line: 'Our respect to other girls but the Mecca girl is sugar candy.' The 'insulting' music video - which was uploaded to YouTube by rapper Asayel Slay (pictured) - calls the women from the holy city 'powerful and beautiful' and goes on to describe them as 'sugar candy' The music video is shot in a coffee shop as several young people dance around in the background and the rapper herself wears an ankle-length dress and headscarf. On Thursday, Mecca regional authorities said in a Tweet that the governor had issued orders that Ayasel and the video production team be prosecuted, according to Aljazeera. 'Prince Khalid bin Faisal of Mecca has ordered the arrest of those responsible for the Bint Mecca rap song, which offends the customs and traditions of the people of Mecca and contradicts the identity and traditions of its esteemed population,' the tweet said. In the song she sings the line: 'Our respect to other girls but the Mecca girl is sugar candy'. Pictured is a screen grab from the music video which is shot in a cafe Social media users have rallied around Asayel, blasting Saudi bosses as hypocritical. On Twitter, users shared the hashtag #Mecca_Girl_Represents_Me in solidarity with the rapper. Asayel Slay's Youtube account has been suspended and the video removed. Asayel Slay's Youtube account has been suspended and the video removed On Twitter, users shared the hashtag #Mecca_Girl_Represents_Me in solidarity with the rapper (pictured) Saudi Arabia has in recent years implemented a series of social and economic reforms, spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, including giving women the right to drive. He is also making efforts to promote a more modern image of the kingdom abroad as part of the Vision 2030 scheme. The likes of Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj and BTS have been invited to perform. Minaj dropped out following backlash, citing her support for women and the LGBT community. The Eastern Naval Command (ENC) has denied having received any proposal from Andhra Pradesh government of setting up of a secretariat in Millennium Towers, according to an official statement. The Eastern Naval Command (ENC) released the statement after a few publications reported that the state government will be setting up a Secretariat here. "Eastern Naval Command (ENC) categorically rules out neither receiving any proposal nor raising any objections to Government of Andhra Pradesh regarding setting up of the Secretariat in Millennium Towers in Visakhapatnam as reported in some media on 22 Feb 2020, "read the statement. The state Assembly had earlier passed the 'Andhra Pradesh Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Bill 2020'. The Bill proposes to have a legislative capital at Amaravati, executive capital and Raj Bhavan at Visakhapatnam and judicial capital at Kurnool. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BENGALURU: The stage is all set to bring back dreaded underworld don Ravi Poojari to India, announced Karnataka home minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday. All legal hurdles have been cleared to bring back Poojari. A court in Senegal had cleared his handing over process. There are some formalities pending at the international level. As soon as they are completed, we will bring him back, Bommai stated. International agencies are in touch with us and our officers are stationed there. They will bring him back soon, he added. International don Ravi Poojari is wanted in as many as 70 criminal cases in Karnataka alone. He is wanted in cases of extortion and murder and was active in the Mumbai underworld. He was part of the Dawood gang and later, is said to have worked with another don, Chota Rajan for some time. Claiming to be an enemy of Dawood, Poojari reportedly finished off all his associates and anti-India elements in the country. His men were involved in a shootout on the Shabanam Developers office in Bengaluru in which a lady staffer was killed in the firing. He is also said have been involved in the shootout case of Shahid Azmi, an advocate from Mumbai. There are cases against him in Kerala, Gujarat, and Maharashtra. Senegal officials caught him after India issued a Red Corner notice against him in January 2019. However, he managed to secure bail before state police officers could get him in their custody. The government then issued a Red Corner notice and he was caught by Senegal authorities. This time, the state police department has stationed a team of officers with proper documents for submission. It is to be seen how the police deal with Ravi Poojari once they manage to bring him back. US President Donald Trump has congratulated US Senator Bernie Sanders who is coming ahead in the Saturday Nevada caucuses, according to early results. "Looks like Crazy Bernie is doing well in the Great State of Nevada. Biden & the rest look weak, & no way Mini Mike can restart his campaign after the worst debate performance in the history of Presidential Debates. Congratulations Bernie, and don't let them take it away from you!" Trump wrote on Twitter on Saturday. In a separate Tweet, Trump ironically retweeted a comment from Fox News regarding Kremlin reportedly backing Bernie Sanders' bid to win the White House. "Why didn't somebody tell me this?" Trump wrote commenting on reporter Jon Scott's Tweet. With over four per cent of the Nevada caucuses votes counted, Sanders has 54.1 per cent, while Joe Biden has 17.8 per cent. Indiana Mayor Peter Buttigieg has 8.8 per cent, while Senator Elizabeth Warren has 10.1 per cent. On Thursday, the New York Times reported that on February 12, a senior official with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) told members of the House of Representatives' Intelligence Committee that Russia was allegedly interfering in the 2020 election to get Trump re-elected. Meanwhile, The Washington Post reported that US lawmakers had been informed about alleged Russian assistance to Sanders. Russian officials have repeatedly rejected accusations of meddling in the US or any other country's elections or internal affairs. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Lauding the efforts of the Supreme Court in pursuing the "cherished goal of gender justice", President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday (February 23) remarked that the apex court has always been "pro-active and progressive". Addressing the International Judicial Conference 2020, President Kovind said the apex court has led "progressive social transformation" and talked abpout the Vishaka guidelines laid down by the top court over two decades ago for preventing sexual harassment of women at workplace. "In pursuing the cherished goal of gender justice, to mention one example, the Supreme Court of India has always been pro-active and progressive," President Kovind said. "From issuing guidelines on preventing sexual harassment in the workplace two decades ago to providing directives for granting equal status to women in the Army this month, the Supreme Court of India has led progressive social transformation," he added. "The Supreme Court of India also deserves admiration for carrying out many radical reforms that made justice more accessible to the common people. Landmark judgments passed by this court have strengthened the legal and constitutional framework of our country," President Kovind said. Live TV Addressing the conference, Chief Justice of India (CJI) S A Bobde expressed happiness over the positive outcome of deliberations in the conference and remarked that judges of various jurisdictions are bound by a common thread of "commitment to the dispensation of justice". CJI Bobde noted that the verdicts delivered by the Supreme Court of India have been cited by other courts of the world, which means that India has served as a "beacon of hope" to several nations across the world. CJI Bobde asserted that the job of the judiciary is not only to keep a check over those in power but to empower deprived citizens also. Students, activists and academicians wrote in an open letter that the Trump-Modi alliance was fascist and the claimed that these forces attempted to erode democracy and curbed freedom of speech and religion. US President Trump is expected to arrive at Ahmedabad on February 24 and will be a part of an event called 'Namaste Trump' with Prime Minister Modi. However, this wont be the first time Trump has faced protests on a foreign visit. The most popular protest against his visit was in June 2018 when close to hundreds of thousands of protesters marched in various parts of the UK. A 6-metre-tall inflatable diaper-clad baby with Trumps face on it was seen floating in London. The balloon christened Trump baby was seen floating in many other anti-Trump protests around the world. Protesters were generally against Trumps flavour of politics and far-right politics. Days before Trumps visit to South Korea, protesters took to the streets of Seoul protesting against the risk of conflict with North Korea that Trump represents. A war with North Korea can prove disastrous for South Korea and Trumps unusual approach to diplomacy with the North was a cause for concern for many South Korean. A pro-Trump protest took place nearby at the same time as the anti-Trump protest in Seoul. In November, 2017, thousands of people in the Philippines staged protests against Trump visiting their country as a guest to the ASEAN summit. The left in the country alleged that Trump had dragged the Philippines into a war of rhetorics with North Korea and fuelled President Dutertes war on drugs. The protest was marred by violence and riot police controlling the protests in the capital of Manila. Earlier the same year, women dressed up as characters from The Handmaids Tale protested against Trump visiting Poland. Protesters in Warsaw said that the US President was a sexist, misogynist and that he is a person that endangers the world. Though the number of women dressed in bonnets and red were not many, they were backed by several anti-Trump protesters who said that Trump was not welcome. Though a large-scale anti-Trump protest is unlikely in India during his current visit, not everyone is happy with his presence here. The American President is also visiting the country at a time when there are many anti-CAA protesters on the streets. Bay of Plenty Have you got your Class 2 manual license and are looking to get your foot in the door of a well renowned company? Read on!he... View or Apply on GoodWork.co.nz Ready-made curry pastes are a great way of adding an instant punch of flavour to a dish and are far quicker than making your own pastes from scratch. These two Thai curries are wonderfully fragrant and very quick to make. Set the curry aside to cool to room temperature, then spoon into a labelled freezer bag and freeze flat for up to three months SERVES 4 PREP 5 MINUTES COOK 15 MINUTES 3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts splash of sesame or vegetable oil cooked rice or noodles, to serve around 6 tbsp Thai green curry paste (check label for guidelines, as different brands vary in strength) 100g chopped okra, frozen or fresh 400g can coconut milk 100g mangetout 1 small bunch coriander, chopped, to serve If you are also making the Thai Red Curry, put the sweet potatoes on to boil first , then continue with the Green Curry. Place the chicken breasts on a board and slice, on the diagonal, into 1cm slices. Heat a splash of sesame or vegetable oil in a frying pan, then add the sliced chicken and cook, stirring, for 3-4 minutes, until sealed. If you are also making the Thai Red Curry, drain the sweet potatoes now, then set another pan on the stove and make the sauces for both curries side by side. If you are making the curry to eat straight away, cook the rice or noodles according to packet instructions now. Add the curry paste and okra to the pan with the chicken and stir until everything is coated in the paste. Pour in the coconut milk, then add the mangetout, stir to combine and leave to simmer for 5-10 minutes, until the chicken and vegetables are tender. TO SERVE The curry is now ready to be served, spooned over a bed of cooked rice or noodles and garnished with freshly chopped coriander. TO FREEZE Set the curry aside to cool to room temperature, then spoon into a labelled freezer bag and freeze flat for up to three months. Or use glass dishes with plastic lids which transition perfectly from freezer to oven. You can also put them on the table and serve straight from the dish. TO COOK FROM FROZEN Remove the curry from the freezer and allow to defrost fully in the fridge. Reheat it in a pan on the stove until piping hot, then serve as described above. EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in a statement has condemned the Israeli regime's settlement announcements in two neighborhoods in Jerusalem al-Quds, Mehr news agency reports. The Israeli regime has announced an imminent decision regarding settlement construction in the occupied territories of Givat Hamatos and Har Homa neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem al-Quds. Reacting to the announcement, EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement on Saturday that "such steps would be deeply detrimental to a two-state-solution." "As set out clearly on numerous occasions by the European Union, including in Council conclusions, such steps would cut the geographic and territorial contiguity between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, isolate Palestinian communities living in these areas, and threaten the viability of a two-state solution, with Jerusalem as the capital of both states," he added. "Settlements are illegal under international law," he stressed. "The EU will not recognize any changes to the pre-1967 borders, including with regard to Jerusalem, other than those agreed by the parties. We call on Israel to reconsider these plans." The EU had also rejected Trump's proposed so-called 'Deal of the Century' for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In Ancient Rome, magistrates were accompanied by burly men who carried symbols of their right to inflict punishment. These were bundles of wooden rods called fasces, from which the word ''fascist'' emerged in the early 20th Century, to describe those who believed that violence was an appropriate way to obtain and hold power. Those who debate such matters often convince themselves that political violence is an exclusive characteristic of the right, forgetting one of the most famous statements of China's Chairman Mao, who wrote in 1938 that "every Communist must grasp the truth; political power grows out of the barrel of a gun". Murderously totalitarian regimes usually begin with seemingly minor violence by bands of unarmed thugs who beat up opponents. In the 1930s, Fascist Italy had its Blackshirts, while Nazi Germany had its famous Brownshirts. Today, Venezuela's 'Colectivos' continue this tradition. Punishment beatings are usually a reliable indicator of fascist political tendencies. The wooden rods mentioned above were also used to protect Roman magistrates from the anger of the mob. Our word today comes from the Latin mobile vulgus, meaning the fickle and often violent crowds on city streets. Mobs are a recurrent and often violent feature throughout history all over the world - culminating in the extraordinary ''Terror'' of Enlightenment France in 1793, when the most sophisticated country in Europe tore itself apart. It followed the urging of Robespierre, the architect of the French Revolution, who advised: "If the basis of popular government in peacetime is virtue, the basis of popular government during a revolution is both virtue and terror." Today, 'mobbing' has a more technical term. It describes the coordinated online activity of cyber-bullying. This involves repeated actions intended to harm and upset the target. Online mob rule is an increasing threat to mental health that has very real consequences in the real world. The tragic death last weekend of Caroline Flack in the UK is leading to more calls for ''strong'' legislation to curb social media. Cowards hide in crowds, confident of their anonymity as one among many. Anonymity lies at the heart of much that is wrong with online activity, and especially social media. To their credit, the social media giants have tried to deal with this problem. Facebook - which estimates that about 5pc of its accounts are fake - reported in 2019 that in the previous six months it had removed 3.2 billion fake accounts. Google+ tried to make all users use their actual names between 2011 and 2014. This has been bitterly resisted, leading to the so-called 'Nymwars'. The activities of the group 'Anonymous' that emerged around 2008 is another testament to this resistance. Anonymity is claimed to promote openness and the freedom to be expressive and informed. Such claims are not wrong, though we can't pretend not to notice the terrible cost of anonymous online bullying. Current research suggests that in the US, suicide ideation and attempts among adolescents have nearly doubled since smartphones became common in 2008, making suicide the second leading cause of death for individuals between 10 and 34 years of age there. On the other hand, the United States Supreme Court has ruled that anonymity is one of the highest human rights - "a shield from the tyranny of the majority". It seems from this that it will be fruitless to call for ''strong laws'' to limit the harm of social media, because these will limit its use and usefulness. This genie can't be put back in the bottle. We can't change the internet. We can't stop bots and trolls. Instead of trying to change the unstoppable, perhaps we can all look to change ourselves. Perhaps we can adopt new online behaviours and beliefs - what we used to call ''good manners''. Perhaps each of us can strive to be kind to make the online world a better place? Being online is like a new language, a jumble of words, but with few ''rules'' of grammar. Evolving a new online language will be a difficult balance. Too few rules will make us less easily understood. Too many rules will bring us back to the tyranny of ''political correctness'' - one of the favourite tools of the online mob. Difficulty is no reason not to try to improve behaviour. Human beings can choose their behaviour. The histories of terrorising mob behaviour is not the whole story. Destiny does not always belong to ''the strong''. British politics coined the term ''wets'' to describe the opposite of the strong. Slavery, serfdom, poverty, illiteracy and high infant mortality rates have all been swept away by kindness and compassion for our fellow creatures. All the great human success stories seem to stem, not from the ''strong'', but from those who were compassionate, kind and unafraid to be seen as weak. Perhaps we can learn and teach ourselves to be weaker and wetter - not ''stronger''. In 1948, after the slaughter of World War II which left Europe in ruins and on the brink of starvation, the United States set up the Marshall Plan. It paid the equivalent to $100bn in today's money to rebuild both the victor and the vanquished. It was reasoned that nations that were poor and humiliated would be susceptible to further political turmoil of the type that started the two world wars. It is ironic that compassion saved Europe from a self-destruction that was born of rigid and heartless ideologies. It is also ironic that Europe has re-emerged as one of the great powers of the world by trying to peacefully dissolve the national boundaries that previously cost the lives of millions in two world wars. Such wetness. Ireland, at the time of the foundation of the State, was a country teetering on the brink of being run by the ''strong'' men who had emerged from eight years of armed struggle. Many post-colonial countries settled uneasily into a post-independence period - often involving extended periods of military intervention to secure the new country. We too easily forget that Ireland opted for the ''wet'' option of establishing an unarmed Garda Siochana in February 1922. They endured the Civil War of 1922-23, during which many Garda stations were attacked, while hundreds of early members were physically assaulted. Miraculously just one, Henry Phelan, was shot dead on November 14, 1922, in a pub in Mullinahone, Co Tipperary. An Garda Siochana emerged still unarmed and increasingly trusted and accepted because of yet more reckless wetness. Online bullying has many of the same characteristics of terrorism, namely victimisation of the few to send a message to the many by exploiting the media as an amplifier. Like terrorism, the extremes of online bullying have the potential to provoke repressive over-reactions by governments who feel compelled to respond with ''strong'' laws and rules. Instead of playing into the hands of the mob by adopting strong controls, perhaps the online world would become a safer place if each of us resolved to adopt a self-imposed code of weak, wet ''rules'' for social media. If enough people resolved to use their own name; to tell the truth; to avoid name-calling; to only write what would be acceptably said face-to-face; to avoid writing in anger; and to be conspicuously respectful of other opinions. VANCOUVER - Canada's Governor General visited an overdose prevention site in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside on Saturday after meeting with first responders on the front lines of substance-use issues fuelled by the opioid fentanyl. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 22/2/2020 (689 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. VANCOUVER - Canada's Governor General visited an overdose prevention site in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside on Saturday after meeting with first responders on the front lines of substance-use issues fuelled by the opioid fentanyl. Julie Payette met at a fire hall with firefighters and police officers as well as officials including Mayor Kennedy Stewart, British Columbia's Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin and Dr. Patricia Daly, the chief medical health officer for the Vancouver Coastal Health authority. Payette said she's learned that the overdose crisis that has caused thousands of deaths across the country is complicated and will require a co-ordinated response including health and mental-health services in order to find solutions and "diminish hardship." She said it wasn't her first visit to the drug-riddled neighbourhood and that she's had a longtime interest in addiction issues. "Before I was Governor General of Canada I served on the board of Drug Free Kids Canada," Payette said of the non-profit organization that aims to help parents in particular deal with youth addiction and prevention. "My reason to be here today is just to highlight and thank the folks that do this every day," she said of firefighters and police officers who respond to multiple 911 calls daily involving people who have overdosed. After her visit to the fire hall, Payette walked a few blocks with first responders and officials to the Molson Overdose Prevention Site, where people inject their own drugs and other drug users trained to supervise them ensure they get help if they overdose. The site opened in December 2016 under an order from the provincial health minister, seven months after the B.C. government declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency because of a record number of overdose deaths, mostly due to fentanyl. Coco Culbertson, senior manager of programs at PHS Community Services Society, which runs Molson, said Payette's visit may help to reduce the stigma of drug use. "She was incredibly empathetic and understanding of how these places offer humanity and dignity to people that often don't have a lot of agency in society," Culbertson said. Molson is around the corner from Insite, North America's first facility to offer drug users a place to walk in off the street to inject their own drugs under the watchful eye of a nurse. Insite opened in 2003 to curb overdose deaths and spiralling HIV rates when the federal Liberals were in power and under an exemption to Canada's drug laws but the facility became the focus of heated court battles with the election of the Conservative government before a unanimous 9-0 decision by the Supreme Court of Canada in 2011 kept the site open. The success of Insite has spawned similar sites across the country including two others in British Columbia, which is also home to 30 overdose prevention sites in B.C., including the one Payette visited. Jonathan Gormick, spokesman for Vancouver Fire Rescue Services, said the governor general's meeting with first responders is meaningful because she's not a politician. "I think when she gathers evidence and she advocates for a position it's taken with more validity because it's not based on getting votes, it's not based on towing a party line or saying something just to oppose an opposition party," Gormick said. "Hopefully it will influence some change and be supported across party lines." Health Canada says about 14,000 people died in the country of opioid-related overdoses between January 2016 and June 2019 and thousands more were hospitalized. Later on Saturday, Payette was to meet with five teenage skiers who were hailed as heroes last year for helping to save an eight-year-old boy who was dangling from a chair lift on Grouse Mountain. The teens grabbed a piece of out-of-bounds netting to help cushion the boy's fall after convincing him to jump. "I'm the mom of a teenager so I know how important it is to say, 'Hey, good job,'" Payette said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 22, 2020. >>> Vietnam reports no new COVID-19 cases since February 13 >>> Vietnamese advised to avoid travel to coronavirus-hit areas in RoK The suggestion was made during a meeting of the National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control in Hanoi on February 22, discussing the time for students to return to school after long-term absence due to the coronavirus outbreak. At the meeting, representatives from the relevant ministries and agencies stressed that medical safety measures in schools to prevent the epidemic from spreading must be ensured when allowing students to return to school, such as offering them soap and antibacterial hand-washing liquid. Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, who is also the head of the committee, affirmed that Vietnam has controlled the epidemic well, with synchronous solutions having been implemented to control people at risk of infection and timely detect, isolate and provide treatment for those infected with Covid-19. In the face of complicated movements of the coronavirus outbreak in other countries, the deputy PM asked the concerned authorities and localities not to be subjective while continuing to strictly implement the guidance from the Secretariat, the Prime Minister and the health sector on disease prevention and control. As students have been off from school for nearly one month, the Ministries of Education and Training (MoET) and Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs should soon make an official decision on adjusting the current 2019-2020 school year schedule. In case the two ministries do not reach any decision, the Prime Minister will make the final decision to serve as a basis for provinces and cities nationwide to implement. Deputy PM Vu Duc Dam speaks at a meeting of the National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control in Hanoi on February 22, 2020. (Photo: VGP) Localities must review the implementation of professional requirements to ensure hygiene and safety at local schools. It is important to ensure that schools reopen with a safer environment than in any State agencies, Deputy PM Dam stated. * On Saturday (February 22) afternoon, Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Huu Do informed that his ministry has agreed to set the closure of the current academic year on June 30, instead of May 31 as previously planned. Meanwhile, the national high school graduation exams is expected to take place from July 23 to 26. Early next week, the MoET will issue a formal decision on the 2019-20 school year schedule adjustment, Do informed. * Also on Saturday afternoon, a delegation from the Ministry of Health (MoH) led by Deputy Minister and Deputy Head of the National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control, Truong Quoc Cuong, had a working session with the Cao Bang Provincial Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control. Cuong asked Cao Bang to continue investing in and equip the local medical staff, border guards and customs with supplies to ensure their epidemic prevention work. On the occasion, the MoH and donors supported Cao Bang with 50,000 medical masks. Representatives from the Ministry of Health present 50,000 face masks to Cao Bang provinces authorities on February 22, 2020. (Photo: NDO/Minh Tuan) * On the same day, the MoHs Department of Preventive Medicine announced that it sent documents to provincial and municipal health departments to guide health monitoring applied for people coming from the epidemic areas, especially for those returning homes from Vinh Phuc provinces districts of Binh Xuyen, Tam Duong and Tam Dao, which have recorded Covid-19 confirmed cases. For people from or going through Son Loi commune in Binh Xuyen district (Vinh Phuc) the locality that has discovered infections and secondary transmission in the community, they must be isolated at a concentrated isolation facility within 14 days after leaving Son Loi as prescribed by the MoH. In case of contracting fever, cough and shortness of breath, they should be taken immediately to health facilities for isolation and treatment). Those coming from or passing through communes with Covid-19 infections, but not yet having a secondary spread in the community, like the Quat Luu and Thien Ke communes of Gia Khanh town of Binh Xuyen district, Minh Quang commune of Tam Dao district and Hop Hoa town, in Tam Duong district, must inform their arrival to local authorities and to will be applied with health monitoring measures at the place where they arrive or stay within 14 days after leaving Vinh Phuc provinces communes and town listed above. For people from communes without any infection cases in Vinh Phuc, the same medical monitoring measures are applied as in other localities across the country. * Overseas Vietnamese in Eastern Europe have worked to raise funds and collect medical supplies and equipment as part of efforts to support people in the homeland in the fight against the coronavirus disease. In the Czech Republic, the Vietnamese community has raised money and collected medical supplies worth over VND400 million (US$17,000) to send to the homeland to support the fight against the Covid-19 outbreak in Vinh Phucs Binh Xuyen district. In Poland, the Vietnamese community has actively responded to the "Everyone skipping a lunch" campaign launched by the Vietnamese Embassy in collaboration with the Vietnamese Association in Poland to raise funds to support Binh Xuyen in Covid-19 prevention and control. A medical check point in Son Loi commune, Binh Xuyen district, Vinh Phuc province, which has recorded six among 16 Covid-19 confirmed cases in Vietnam. (Photo: NDO/Tran Nguyen) * On February 22, An Giang Provincial People's Committee said that it had instructed the provincial Border Guard to strictly control immigration activities across the Vietnam - Cambodia border, as well as setting checkpoints at all the local border gates and trails, while managing the number of Vietnamese-Cambodian students returning to class. According to reports from of border localities in An Giang province, up until now, the control of Covid-19 has been carried out strictly. The district-level health centres have set up isolated areas and established quick response teams, while coordinating with interdisciplinary units to control the entry and exit procedures at the border gates and carrying out disinfection at schools, markets and border gate areas. An Giang province also has enhanced communications on the epidemic prevention at local tourist destinations. * On Saturday afternoon, the Department of Health of Thanh Hoa province informed that currently, two local people returning from the epidemic areas have been isolated and monitored at the local medical facilities. Another 237 people are under self-quarantine at home and 25 at enterprises. All localities in Thanh Hoa, especially 100% of local schools, have implemented disinfection and organised training and communication on Covid-19 prevention. Doctors from Thanh Hoa Provincial General Hospital have successfully supervised and provided isolated treatment for Covid-19 infected and suspected cases. (Photo: NDO/Mai Luan) * On the evening of February 21, Thai Nguyen provincial authorities welcomed 181 Vietnamese people returning from Chinas Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian provinces to a centralised isolation area under the management of Regiment 832 (Military Region I) in Luc Ba commune, Dai Tu district. During the 14 days of isolation here, each person will be monitored by health staff with their body temperature checked twice a day and enjoy free meals worth VND57,000 per day. * On February 22, Quang Ninh province issued a process to allow international cruise ships passing through Chinese ports to dock in Quang Ninh amidst the Covid-19 outbreak. Accordingly, cruise ships that have passed Chinese ports (including Hong Kong and Macau) are allowed to dock in Quang Ninh, but tourists and crew members must not disembark and instead must be isolated on board following to the anti-Covid-19 regulation by the local health sector. Along with that, the international medical quarantine forces must perform disinfection, while medical declarations and examination are applied on all passengers and crew members. Two cruise ships dock in Ha Long city, Quang Ninh province. (Photo: NDO/Quang Tho) For international ships that do not passing areas with Covid-19 prevalence, shipping agents and tour companies must provide information on the ship's arrival plan, the details of the ship's itinerary and the list of passengers and crew members to Quang Ninh authorities at least 10 days before the time the ship arrives at Quang Ninh ports. The Provincial Department of Health coordinates with relevant agencies to assess the situation and risk of disease transmission from the ships to decide to allow tourists and crew members to come ashore, while presiding over the implementation of international medical quarantine procedures. * According to the MoH, as of 18:00 on February 22, 77,816 people worldwide have contracted Covid-19 in 32 countries, territories and the Diamond Princess cruise ship, with 2,360 people died. In mainland China alone, 76,291 people were infected and 2,345 people have so far died. In Vietnam, 16 Covid-19 confirmed cases have been reported, of which 15 have recovered. The number of negative samples tested was 1,213, while 27 Covid-19 suspected cases are in isolation and close monitor. In addition, 1,538 cases with normal health and no signs of fever nor cough are still isolated due to having close contact with people suspected of Covid-19 infection. Tropical cyclone Esther has formed in the Gulf of Carpentaria, north of Mornington Island near the Queensland and Northern Territory border with winds of up to 130km/h expected. Residents of two states were battening down the hatches as the slow-moving tropical low threatened to develop into Cyclone Esther overnight. The tropical low in the Gulf's centre was predicted to strengthen into a category 1 system overnight, the Bureau of Meteorology said, which has now occurred. The tropical low has resumed its southward movement over the Gulf of Carpentaria east of Groote Eylandt, the bureau said in a note on Sunday evening. It should continue to move southward and intensify and develop into a tropical cyclone tonight or early Monday morning. The cyclone could briefly strengthen to category 2 as it makes landfall. Source: Windy.com Shortly after 5:30am Monday morning, the Bureau of Meteorology Queensland said the system had developed into a category 1 cyclone. The cyclone is producing wind gusts up to 110 kilometres per hour which could strengthen as it moves southwest at about 10 kilometres an hour. People from Port Roper to the NT and Queensland border and surrounding areas should activate their household plan now, authorities said. Start preparations for a cyclone, know where you will shelter. Those near Burketown, including Mornington and Sweers Islands and Doomadgee, should remain inside until the cyclone has passed and keep up with the latest advice. Earlier on Sunday night, forecasters predicted the system could briefly turn into a category 2 cyclone as it hits the coastline and makes landfall between Borroloola and Mornington Island about lunchtime on Monday. Sometime in the early afternoon it will probably cross the coast, at this stage as a category 2, a bureau spokesman told AAP. However at 4am this morning, the bureau said a category 2 impact is considered unlikely. Tropical cyclone Esther has formed in the Gulf of Carpentaria, north of Mornington Island. For the latest #CycloneEsther updates, refer to https://t.co/rVLE6i5J4y pic.twitter.com/7YsBwe4QQR Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) February 23, 2020 Heavy rain with the potential to cause flash flooding is expected in areas around the Gulf of Carpentaria over the next couple of days, forecasters say. Story continues The region could receive up to 200 millimetres of rain west of Burketown to the Northern Territory border on Monday with the downpours continuing as the system slowly moves across the Top End. It will weaken after crossing the coast but we are expecting significant rainfall, meteorologist Shane Kennedy said. Flood warnings are current for Gulf of Carpentaria catchments with more than 400mm of rain potentially falling within 48 hours. There is a severe weather warning out for the gulf right up to the Torres Strait. Abnormally high tides are expected to swamp the coast with large waves causing minor flooding. Destructive winds with gusts up to 130km/h are possible in coastal areas between Borroloola and Mornington Island early on Monday as the system approaches. The slow-moving system is expected to weaken as it moves toward the central Northern Territory before possibly affecting Western Australia later in the week. Forecasters say the system could strengthen after passing over Western Australia and the cyclone may reform in the southern Indian Ocean and possibly make a second landfall on the Pilbara coast later in the week. Meanwhile, a tropical low north of the WA coast is forecast to develop into a tropical cyclone today. The system is well off the coast at 660 kilometres northwest of Broome and moving southwest at eight kilometres per hour. As of 3am Monday there was no tropical cyclone advice issued. with AAP Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play. The energy industry will be watching Houston liquefied natural gas company Tellurian during President Donald Trump's visit to India beginning Monday. Company officials said they will have a team in India during the president's visit, which comes as Tellurian is working to finalize the details of a $2.5 billion supply deal with India's Petronet LNG by a March 31 deadline. Oil & Gas: Modi visit backdrop to one of the largest LNG deals in U.S. history In September, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Houston was the backdrop for the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Tellurian and Petronet LNG. Tellurian received a federal permit in April 2019 to build its Driftwood LNG export terminal in Lake Charles, La. If the facility lands contracts and financing, it will be able to build a facility capable of producing and exporting up to 27.6 million tons of LNG per year. Under the proposed deal with Tellurian, Petronet has pledged to invest $2.5 billion in the Driftwood LNG project in exchange for the rights to 5 million metric tons of LNG per year over the life of the project. With slumping demand in China attributed to a warm winter and the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, India is emerging as a growing buyer of LNG. The world's second most populous nations is trying to boost the amount of electricity generated from natural gas. Fuel Fix: Get daily energy news headlines in your inbox Update 2.15pm: Met Eireann has updated its status yellow warning for rain to include Co. Limierick. The warning will now affect 20 counties. The areas included are: Connacht, Cavan, Monaghan, Donegal, Dublin, Kildare, Laois, Longford, Louth, Wicklow, Offaly, Westmeath, Meath, Clare, Limerick and Tipperary. Earlier: Counties along River Shannon braced for flooding amid rain warning Update 9.30am: A status yellow rainfall warning has been extended to four more counties. The warning is now in place for Dublin, Kildare, Laois and Wicklow as well as the 15 counties previously named. It will be in effect from 8pm tonight until 8am Monday morning. Rainfall of 25mm or more is expected in areas. The rain is likely to be preceded by a period of sleet and snow in parts of Connacht, Ulster and north Leinster, before turning to rain later in the night. As the ground is saturated at the moment and river levels are elevated the combined effect of rainfall and snow melt may lead to some localised surface and river flooding. Status Yellow - Rainfall Warning Update. Valid from 20:00 Sun, 23-Feb-2020 until 08:00 Mon, 24-Feb-2020 pic.twitter.com/opb0hyh7fk Met Eireann (@MetEireann) February 23, 2020 Update 7.13am: Homes and businesses in counties along the River Shannon are bracing themselves for possible flooding today. Farmland along the river, including around Athlone and Carrick-on-Shannon, is already underwater but flood defences are working so far. A status yellow rainfall warning for Connacht, Cavan, Monaghan, Donegal, Longford, Louth, Offaly, Westmeath, Meath, Clare and Tipperary will take effect from 8pm tonight. "Locals are very concerned at the moment with the bad forecast we have," said Tom Cleary, a racehorse trainer near Athlone, which was badly affected by flooding in 2016. "At the moment it's at a danger level and it will only take a couple more inches. There are some houses that will be badly affected with another couple of inches of water so they are very concerned." Meanwhile, Mayo County Council spokesperson Noel Gibbons is warning motorists not to drive through flooded areas: "We're pleading with motorists not to drive through flooded roads, particularly roads that have been closed, to check with their local media before they head to the road, local social media sites, the local authorities or AA Roadwatch just to check if there's any roads closed and if so to look at an alternative route." Italian regions most affected by the new coronavirus will now be able to restrict the movement of people in order to prevent the spread of the disease, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced after an emergency ministerial meeting. "In areas considered to be hotbeds, neither entry nor exit will be permitted unless there is a special exemption," Conte told reporters after the five-hour meeting, also saying that a relevant decree has been adopted, which outlines measures to control the emergency epidemiological situation in the country. Head of Italy's civil protection agency Angelo Borelli said at the same press conference that the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Italy was 79, with two people having died from the disease. According to Borelli, 51 people have been hospitalized, with 18 of them currently in intensive care. Eleven of the people infected with the new coronavirus in Italy are quarantined at home. Cases of the new coronavirus (COVID-2019) have been confirmed in five Italian regions, with Lombardy currently most affected (over 50 people infected). (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In ways big and small, the coronavirus battering China and triggering fears of a global pandemic shares key hallmarks with the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) of 2002-03 even as the current outbreaks effects have become deadlier and farther-reaching. China remains the epicenter of the disease, which has caused over 77,000 infections and more than 2,300 deaths, but has now spread to more countries and generated fears about global growth. Over the last few days, both South Korea and Italy reported large surges in the number of cases within their respective borders, while the death toll outside of China has risen. According to Bill Frist, a physician and former majority leader of the U.S. Senate, the governments this time around has been more responsive. Also, rapid changes in technology have helped with the flow of information, and helped to identify and contain the disease. As we see Chinas response now, reflecting on the pastin some ways there has been real progress, the Tennessee Republican, who traveled with a delegation to China during the SARS epidemic, told Yahoo Finance in a recent interview. Yet an over-centralized Chinese government, combined with a lack of transparency, has been a point of criticism especially in health care, even with some notable improvements. And in both crises, a whistleblower doctor played a key role in forcing Beijings hand. Nobody would budge [in 2002], until they heard from above, which is the same criticism we are hearing today, Frist added. Back then it was all playing catch up, he said, recalling the confusion and chaos during SARS that led to higher infection rates. There was simply a lack of knowledge of how to care for patients, there was a lack of protective clothing. Hospital administrators had never addressed anything like this in China, and therefore the real lethality of it was in the hospitals, Frist said. The current list of countries impacted by COVID-19. Now vs 2003 is massive Although the worldwide impact of SARS was very limited, Chinas share of global growth was smaller in the early 2000s than it is currently. In 2020, the country is a bigger source of demand, and is integral to companies efforts to manufacture and supply goods to customers around the world. Story continues What that means is aftershocks from the worlds second largest economy which has been mostly quarantined in ways forcing many multinational companies to curtail or shut down operations on the mainland have a much larger ripple effect. The complexity of supply chains now versus 2003 is massive, Kim Tilley, a portfolio manager at Lazard Asset Management, told Yahoo Finance. Which is evident in how volatile markets have become in the face of the outbreak. Its a reflection of how integral China and the Asia Pacific region are to global growth prospects, with major companies like Apple (AAPL) and Walmart (WMT) all warning about the potential hit to growth. The developing [coronavirus] global health emergency is a new uncertainty and is causing an immediate, substantial decline in economic activity in China and across Asia, according to a letter from Lazard Asset Management last week. Growth should continue in diversified economies where the number of cases is minimal, although the multinational businesses domiciled therein would still be exposed to impacts on their local operations and third party suppliers in affected countries, the firm wrote. Chinas importance as a destination for global products has also greatly increased over this timeframe. Economies in Europe and Japan, which have been struggling to recover their potential since the (financial crisis), could be more vulnerable to economic disruption than the U.S. as a result, it added. Brian Alster, general manager of Third Party Risk & Compliance at Dun & Bradstreet, said the impact to Chinas gross domestic product (GDP) could shave as much as 2-3 percentage points off their growth. What that is going to lead to, is the smallest growth in GDP for China since 1991 [but] conversely, its going to have a relatively small impact on global GDP and U.S. growth, he said. However, the virus is piling pressure on an already tense relationship between the U.S. and China, which sparked a change in how some companies viewed their supply chains. It has triggered what some analysts say is a decoupling between the worlds two largest economies, as companies look elsewhere to fill supply and demand needs. MODERNIZATION AND RESPONSE Meanwhile, China has become one of the worlds largest producers and exporters of pharmaceutical ingredients, which means travel restrictions and production stoppages may impact generic drugs. Brad Loncar, a biotech investor with a Chinese ETF, told Yahoo Finance that one outcome of the outbreak could be a significant shift in how China views its own health sector. This entire thing has been a test of the capability of the government. Its a very touchy subject, Loncar said. The government is trying to prove that its capable of handling an emergency like this by itself. There has been some justified anger by the people there in the way it has been handled. The way government will respond is to have better facilities and plans going forward, thats why (health) will benefit a lot. Yet according to Loncar, the crisis may shift the role China plays in the global economy from a cheap source of labor and parts, to a bigger player in the health sector. Beijing had already been modernizing its health care efforts, and the coronavirus may accelerate the process, the investor said. The past decade for investing in China has all been about investing in consumer companies, Loncar added. Thats going to change as consumer companies are most likely to see lasting effects from this. Anjalee Khemlani is a reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter: @AnjKhem Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, SmartNews, LinkedIn, YouTube, and reddit. Iffath Fathima By Express News Service BENGALURU: Its been 10 years since the horrific fire at Carlton Towers, a multi-storeyed commercial complex on Old Airport Road, claimed nine lives and injured over 70 people but justice is yet to be done for the families of victims. Vasanthi Hariprakash, Member, Executive Council, Beyond Carlton, said, Court trials have not started, which is unfortunate. Recently we met Deputy Chief Minister C N Ashwath Narayan and asked him to look into the case. Uday Vijayan, Managing Trustee and president of Beyond Carlton, who lost his son Akhil, said, It was a terrible loss for us. I still wonder how we are managing without my son. But we in Beyond Carltron dont want any mother or father to see something happen to their children due to a fire accident. That is why we carry out various fire safety awareness programmes. Ashok G V, advocate for Beyond Carlton, said, In the trial court, the investigation and chargesheet were completed. Nine accused filed petitions for quashing of proceedings under Section 482 of CrPC. The high court disposed of eight cases, but a criminal petition 1803 of 2013 is still pending. The case SC 1164 of 2010, which is before the trial court, has been posted for framing of charges on February 24. After framing of charges, there is a plea and after that, the court will start the trial. On Saturday, members of Beyond Carlton held a memorial service to mark the 10th anniversary of the tragedy. Composer, international performer and filmmaker Dr Prakash Sontakke played Remembrance on the slide guitar and Theramin. This was followed by a presentation by Anantha Subramanyam, a senior photojournalist, on a decade of capturing images of a city careless about its safety, titled Safety or the lack of it. Sumit Khanna, a fire fighter, shared how each of us should be aware of safety measures during a fire accident and also shared tips on saving oneself and others till the rescue teams arrive at the scene of the accident. Ahead of US President Donald Trump's visit to Ahmedabad, gift shops in Rajkot are selling specially designed coffee table mugs with pictures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump on them and "Namaste Trump" slogans imprinted on the mugs. The buyers here are keen to purchase these unique colourful coffee mugs. "It's a matter of pride that US President Donald Trump is visiting Gujarat on February 24. I went out shopping today and saw these coffee mugs featuring Modi-Trump pictures on it," said Anjali, a buyer. Rajkot's Johar Cards are selling these mugs at Rs 150 apiece. "I was so excited to see these mugs here as it reflects the kind of environment we have in Gujarat ahead of US President Donal Trump's visit. I am a big fan of PM Modi and Trump. We also bought the coffee mugs featuring Modi-Trump pictures to express that we are also welcoming Trump here," said Heena Vurda, another buyer. Donald Trump's visit to Ahmadabad is now just a few hours away and Gujarat is all geared up with the best possible "swagat" (welcome) of the US President. "People here are looking to buy these mugs. They believe that something good will come out of their (PM Modi and Donal Trump's) meeting," said Tejal Mehta, a shopper. US President Donald Trump will be on a two-day official visit to India on February 24-25. He is scheduled to visit Ahmedabad, Agra and New Delhi. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) UPDATED on Dec. 17 with the identity of the man shot by sheriff's deputies. WASHINGTON COUNTY, Mo. Sheriffs deputies here shot and killed a man Friday night while responding to a residence about a possible suicide, police said. The man was later identified by the Washington County prosecutor's office as Joseph Krebs, 48. Around 8:20 p.m., deputies were dispatched to the 15000 block of North State Highway 21 near Washington State Park for a possible suicide. When they arrived, a female resident told the deputies that the person had not committed suicide but was asleep in a bedroom. Due to the nature of the call, deputies requested to speak with the male subject, which the female granted, Washington County Sheriff Zach Jacobsen said in a statement. Deputies found the man awake in bed. One deputy observed blood in the sink and bathtub of an adjacent bathroom, according to the release. To the Times: We are writing in response to Republican Chairman McGarrigles letter Let tax-and-spend Dem policies begin, which faults County Council for trying to leverage millions of dollars in state funding to rebuild our roads and bridges by implementing a $5 car registration fee. While his argument could be brushed off as typical politics after all, when he was on County Council, taxes went up by double digits one thing that cannot go uncorrected is his statement that when the Republicans left County Council, there was a $65 million surplus for Delaware County. That statement simply is not true. The fact is, last year the Republican majority on County Council approved a budget with a $23 million deficit and had to raid the Countys Rainy Day Fund to bring the budget into balance as required by law. The Republican majority didnt use the raided funds to make desperately needed capital improvements, such as a new 911 communications system to protect first responders, necessary repairs to the prison, or to fix county bridges at risk of collapse, but to paper over a budget shortfall that was years in the making. Thats why we backed cutting government spending by 5% instead of raiding the surplus, and when the Republican majority opposed reducing spending, we proudly voted against a budget that didnt make the hard choices necessary to continue to invest in Delaware County. The sort of misguided and factually tenuous attacks like Republican Party boss McGarrigle belong in Washington, D.C., and on cable talk shows, not in serious discussions about our communitys future. The community of One Mile Dam in Darwin has been home to Aboriginal people for thousands of years, but residents fear they could soon be pushed out to make way for inner-city developments. A sacred site with deep cultural connections, its one of about 40 town camps across the Northern Territory which historically served as refuges for Aboriginal people, who were barred under discriminatory laws from living in urban areas until the 1970s. Mindy Timber outside her home at One Mile Dam. Credit:Darrian Traynor In 1978, after a lengthy land rights battle, One Mile Dam was leased to the Indigenous community in perpetuity, to provide a permanent place for Aboriginal people to stay when they come to Darwin. Sitting on 3 hectares of what is now prime real estate among inner-city apartment blocks, the camp is home to around 10 permanent residents and provides a safe haven for dozens of others who are homeless or visiting from remote communities. Numbers swell to up to 100 people during the wet season. Central Park and other parks across New York City are being invaded by pesky red-eared sliders - the most popular turtle in the American pet trade. The turtles, native to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico, are bred by turtle farmers and sold wholesale to retailers. While more than 52 million were legally exported from the United States - mainly to China - many are sold illegally through pet shops, street vendors and websites. The reptiles are designated as one of the world's hundred worst invasive species by the IUCN, National Geographic reports. Pet owners will often realize that the maintenance to take care of the turtles can be overwhelming and dump the turtles out in the wild. The turtles, native to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico, are bred by turtle farmers and sold wholesale to retailers. But a huge bulk of them are sold illegally and then abandoned out in the wild Morningside Park Pond, located in Upper Manhattan, is being especially invaded by the turtles Morningside Park Pond, located in Upper Manhattan, is being especially invaded by the turtles - named after the bright red marks on their head that resemble ears. Roughly 90 per cent of the sliders in the pond were formally pets to New Yorkers, says Allen Salzberg, publisher of the HerpDigest Newsletter. Salzberg is also a longtime member of the nonprofit New York Turtle and Tortoise Society. And New York isn't the only place being invaded by the turtles: red-eared sliders are in every state and have even made it as far as Hawaii. Roughly 90 per cent of the sliders in the pond were formally pets to New Yorkers, says Allen Salzberg, publisher of the HerpDigest Newsletter It is unknown exactly how large the turtle population is but iNaturalist app users have documented tens of thousands of verified red-eared slider observations in almost all residential and urban regions in the U.S. over the last decade. Salzberg describes the turtles as being 'total optimists,' which explains why they've adapted so well to NYC. 'They make the most of whatever they have,' he added of the reptiles. Red-eared sliders can lives months without food, which allows them to slow their metabolism to conserve energy during trying times. But the turtles grow extensively when their food source is in abundance. Morningside Park has ample food for the turtles, explaining why so many are found to be overweight with unusually thick legs and necks. Native species have suffered as a result of the turtles' scavenger like eating tendencies. Several turtles coexist in New York's ecosystem, including: spotted turtles, musk turtles, map turtles, bog turtles, wood turtles, painted turtles, Eastern mud turtles and diamondback terrapins. Eastern painted turtles have faced the brunt of the red-eared sliders invasion, with their populations declining in areas across the city. 'There's a pond in Central Park named Turtle Pond,' Salzberg said. 'I used to go to that pond and see a nice number of painted turtles and snapping turtles. Now it's all sliders. My wife and I saw one painted turtle in there two years ago.' The waters in the Upper Manhattan pond are at fault, as well, as they have an abundance of phytoplankton - microscopic plants that cause bright green algae blooms. Morningside Park has ample food for the turtles, explaining why so many are found to be overweight with unusually thick legs and necks. The phytoplankton feed off nutrients in animal waste and the algae bloom then consumes oxygen while blocking sunlight, harmful to creatures in the area. The turtles in Morningside Park were placed mostly by their owners and in New York City, pet release is prohibited by law. Park rangers would need to monitor parks 24/7 in order to enforce such a law, however, according to Christopher Joya. Joya is a middle school teacher and volunteer with Urban Utopia Wildlife Rehabilitation, a New York City-based network of state-licensed wildlife rehabilitators. He had a student retrieve a turtle from Prospect Park only to discover that it would be nearly impossible to get the reptile to a shelter as they aren't enough spaces for them. Joya kept the turtle, spending hundreds to buy a 50-gallon tank. They named the turtle Peace. The turtles in Morningside Park were placed mostly by their owners and in New York City, pet release is prohibited by law. Native species have suffered as a result of the turtles' scavenger like eating tendencies There are health risks with owning red-eared sliders as they are prone to carry salmonella. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration passed the 'Four-inch Law' in 1975, prohibiting the sale of turtles with carapaces fewer than four inches wide. According to Salzberg, the length was decided because the FDA theorized that small children wouldn't be able to shove entire baby turtles in their mouths. The 1975 regulation limited the sale of the turtles in pet stores but underground pet shops in New York City's Chinatown continue to sell the young turtles, illegally. Street vendors across in most of the boroughs sale the baby turtles and the reptiles can even be found online. As of 2020, there were at least 20 websites that sold them illegally under four inches wide. There are health risks with owning red-eared sliders as they are prone to carry salmonella 'Young parents will be walking through Chinatown with their kid and the kid goes, Mommy! Mommy! Look at that cute little turtle! And next thing they know, they're stuck with a pet for 50 to 60 years,' Salzberg stated. Joya and Salzbeg feel that there is no perfect solution for curbing the red-eared slider problem in the city, besides educating children about responsible pet ownership. There are Facebook groups dedicated to rehoming turtles, but supply is often higher than demand. Joya's last resort is humane euthanasia. 'I'm sorry if this upsets anyone, but' Joya said. 'Actually, scratch that. I'm not sorry. Because you should have done your research when you got the turtle in the first place.' They encountered Antonio Cummings, 25, of the Chatham neighborhood. Officers said he had a magazine of armor-piercing rifle rounds, as well as body armor with an insignia that looked like a Chicago Police Department star, according to the news release. Bala Chauhan By Express News Service BENGALURU: Notorious fugitive underworld don Ravi Pujari has been extradited and brought to Bengaluru from Paris around midnight on Monday by a special team of Karnataka police, headed by Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Amar Kumar Pandey. A former close aide of Indias most wanted fugitive criminal and mastermind of the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, Dawood Ibrahim, Pujari was brought to Bengaluru under tight police security by Air France flight AF 194, which landed at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) at 12.38 am on Monday. He was taken to an undisclosed high-security location by the police and will be produced before a local court on Monday. He will be taken for medical examination under a thick security blanket. Top police sources told TNIE that Pandey and his team arrested Pujari on February 22 from the Republic of Senegal. Pujari, against whom multiple Red Corner Notices (RCNs) were issued by Interpol, was arrested from a barber shop in Dakar in Senegal on January 21 by the local police with the help a vital tip-off from Pandey, who was then posted as ADGP, State Human Rights Commission. Pujari had jumped bail last year and escaped from Senegal. According to the sources, he was arrested recently on a tip-off from the Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW).Soon after his arrest last year in Senegal, Pujaris lawyers had argued that their client was Anthony Fernandez from Burkina Faso, as mentioned in his passport issued on July 10, 2013 and valid till July 8, 2023, and that he was not the fugitive don that the Government of India was looking for. Cong leaders had got threat calls from Pujari But the ghost of a 1994 murder of a builder in Mumbai, in which Pujari was arrested and later enlarged on bail, reportedly got him in, said an official source.Soon after being released on bail, Pujari fled to South Africa before moving to Dubai, Australia and back to West Africa. The Maharashtra police had approached the Interpol for a Red Corner Notice (RCN) against him. The RCN was issued, and it contained Pujaris fingerprint, which was collected at the time when he was in a Mumbai prison. When Pujari was identified in Senegal in January 2019, his fingerprints matched with the one in the RCN, said the officer. The 50-year-old don, originally from Malpe in coastal Karnataka, who had been on the run for more than two decades, has been charge-sheeted in several criminal cases under sections of the Indian Penal Code for extortion (384), kidnapping for ransom (364), murder (302) and criminal intimidation (506) among others in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Kerala. There are 98 criminal cases registered against Pujari in Karnataka alone. Of these, at least 46 are registered in Bengaluru. Pujari was charge-sheeted for his alleged involvement in a fatal shootout against builder Subbaraju in 2001 in Bengaluru. In February 2007, at his behest, an assailant walked into the office of Shabnam Developers in Jayanagar and shot down the office receptionist, mistaking him for Shabnam owner K Samiulla. There are more cases of extortion and shootouts at prominent builders and realtors allegedly by henchmen linked to Pujari in Bengaluru, Mangaluru and Udupi. Congress MP from Bengaluru Rural D K Suresh, Congress MLA Tanveer Sait and Kerala opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala have claimed that they had received threat calls from the gangster. Karnataka police had sent a comprehensive dossier to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) of over 15 criminal cases, translated in French, in which Pujari has been charge-sheeted but not faced trial. The Maharashtra, Gujarat and Kerala police had also sent files of charge-sheeted cases against him to the MHA. The files were further submitted to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), which had sent the police dossiers to Senegal, where they were processed by the Justice Department.The process of Pujaris extradition took some months as India does not have an extradition treaty with Senegal. But the extradition of the fugitive don was drawn out between the two-member countries under the United Nations Office on Drugs & Crime (UNODC), the source added. Second big catch for state Ravi Pujaris extradition is the second important case in Karnataka in the last five years. In August 2015, don Bannanje Raja was extradited from Casablanca in Morocco in an alleged fake passport case. There was a Red Corner Notice (RCN) against him. It was supposed to be a calm afternoon spent kayaking in Florida, but one Florida woman, her friend and some children said they were nearly attacked by an alligator. Seminole County deputies rescued the group. We were kayaking, and a gator almost flipped us over. The tail went on our kayak! a caller told a 911 dispatcher. Allison Haviland and a friend, along with four children, were out on the Econlockhatchee River in East Orange County when one of their kayaks deflated. That started what became a series of events that lead to them getting lost in the woods. We had to divide and conquer, and fit six people into two kayaks meant for four, Haviland said. Havilands two sons and one of the teens rode with her friend and she and the older teen shared the other kayak. Because they were a little heavier, they couldn't keep up with the small kids, who she told to rush ahead and get to the end of their planned trip. To make matters worse, it was getting dark. We saw what we presumed was a fish that jumped out of the water, Haviland said. Their kayak isn't what caused the fish to jump out of the water an alligator was. The gator wasnt too excited about someone, or something, in its fishing spot. "A gator came up, rolled next to our kayak and had the tail of the gator come across the side of the kayak, just about tipped us over, Haviland said. Not willing to take any chances, Haviland got to the closest shoreline she could reach, a trail not far from Snow Hill Road. They would try to hike out of the woods through the Little Big Econ Forest, which is home to snakes and bears. With the help of 911 operators, the chopper pilot for the Seminole County Sheriff's Office and deputies on the trail, this story has an ending that even she says she can laugh about. "How many people can say they were almost kicked into the river by an alligator, lost in the woods, then a helicopter had to come find them? On a Monday night? Haviland said. Haviland also said her group kayaked for five hours before the incident. She also had a flat tire earlier in the day and was laid off from her job. She said despite those things, she is looking on the bright side that at least she didnt get eaten by an alligator. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. SARAH CRAFT joined the Black Hawk County Gaming Association as a project coordinator. She has a bachelors degree in economics from the University of Northern Iowa and a masters degree in urban and regional planning from the University of Iowa. DANA VAN ROEKEL was promoted to vice president of finance and chief financial officer for Lutheran Services in Iowa. She began as a budget and financial analyst, then a lead budget and financial analyst, ultimately becoming director of finance in 2018. She was chief financial officer for Special Olympics Iowa for nine years, and she received a bachelors degree in accounting from Northeast Missouri State University at Kirksville. MATTHEW HALVERSON was promoted to paraplanner with Discerning Wealth, a private wealth advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial Services. Halverson will work the team of five advisers in Waterloo. DR. NAFISSA CISSE EGBUONYE, director of the Black Hawk County Health Department, was honored as an Iowa Public Health Hero by the University of Iowa College of Public Health for her efforts to improve health in the community and establish her department as a leader in health promotion, prevention and health equity. Egbuonye has led the county health department since 2016. ERIKA L. ALLEN joined Abby S. Wessel at the Reinbeck law firm Rickert, Wessel & Allen as a partner on Jan. 2. Allen previously practiced law at the Grundy Center firm Heronimus, Schmidt, Allen, Schroeder & Geer, where she had been a partner since 2008. The focus of her legal practice is trust and estate, business, real estate, and tax law. BRENDAN LEIRAN, PA-C, joined Virginia Gay Hospital, Vinton, as an emergency room/hospitalist. He received a masters degree in physician assistant studies from St. Ambrose University and has experience as a physician assistant simultaneously working in both Urgent Care for Mercycare in Cedar Rapids and orthopedics/sports medicine at Physicians Clinic of Iowa. Two new employee owners joined the VGM Group. MATT HUTCHISON is a data analyst in the insurance division. He attended the University of Northern Iowa. DAKOTA RUEBER is an IT support specialist in the IT department. JAY BULLERMAN, president of Financial Resource Advisors in Waterloo, was selected to attend Ceteras Fast Forward Conference. He was a featured presenter at Fast Forward and shared the Opening ACE Talk on Emotional Intelligence and the Risks Worth Taking as a CEO. SAVANNAH SWESTKA was named principal of Hansen Elementary in Cedar Falls. At the end of the 2018-19 school year, Swestka was named interim principal. Prior to that, she served as associate principal in support of Hansen and Southdale during 2018-19 and the previous year in support of Hansen and Lincoln elementary buildings. She also oversaw the districts preschool program. LORI THURESON joined Oakridge Real Estate as marketing manager. She has extensive experience in design and brand management. Please send People in Business submissions to newsroom@wcfcourier.com Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The old story of a farmer trying to get a stubborn mule to pull a wagon by dangling a carrot in front of its nose, or hitting its rump with a stick, may not seem to have much to do with the practice of medicine. But a new study suggests that when it comes to making the best use of health care dollars, it will take a combination of carrots and sticks to move things forward. The study looks at the effects of two initiatives that aimed to reduce the use of two blood tests that experts consider "low value" for most patients: Routine vitamin D tests, and an unnecessary thyroid test for tracking thyroid hormone levels. After an organization that advises the health care system in Ontario, Canada reported in 2010 that population-based Vitamin D screening does not improve outcomes, the province's health plan for all residents declared it wouldn't pay for low-value vitamin D tests. Soon after, the rate of testing dropped nearly 93 percent, the study shows. Patients who had a condition or medication that might lower their vitamin D levels could still get tested. But in the U.S., where no such payment change took place, 2.6 million unnecessary vitamin D screening tests happened in just one year, according to the researchers from the University of Michigan, University of Toronto and VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System who published the new findings in JAMA Internal Medicine. advertisement A few years later, as part of an education campaign called Choosing Wisely, physician professional societies issued recommendations on when not to use Vitamin D and T3 testing. And while use of the test in Ontario dropped an additional 4.5%, the use in U.S. patients covered by Veterans Health benefits or commercial insurance dropped about 14%. "Our study found small reductions in the use of unnecessary vitamin D screenings in response to recommendations from the Choosing Wisely campaign, but much greater reductions in Ontario when recommendations were complemented by policy change," says Eve Kerr, M.D., M.P.H., senior author of the new paper and a professor in the U-M Department of Internal Medicine. "The biggest lesson is that while recommendations alone can work to reduce low value care, recommendations have greater impact when they are reinforced by changes to policy and practice." Improving value Kerr heads a program at the U-M Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation called the Michigan Program on Value Enhancement. She and her colleagues used the same Choosing Wisely guideline to build an alert for clinicians who had ordered a vitamin D test of low potential value into the electronic health record at Michigan Medicine, U-M's academic medical center. In 2018, they reported that this guideline-based "carrot" had led to a positive and sustained change in orders for low-value vitamin D tests. advertisement James Henderson, Ph.D., the first author of the new paper, assistant director of MPrOVE and a data science consultant at U-M's Consulting for Statistics, Computing and Analytics Research unit, notes that the new paper's findings show that Choosing Wisely recommendations for T3 testing did not appear to have had the desired impact. T3 testing, which is no longer recommended for patients with known thyroid issues because a test called TSH is more accurate, did not decline in either the U.S. or Canada after Choosing Wisely guidelines were issued. In fact, in the study population of U.S. patients with private insurance, the rate of testing actually went up slightly. Handle with care Kerr, Henderson and their colleagues from IHPI and the VA Center for Clinical Management Research note that policy decisions for low-value care -- including payment changes -- must be made with care, to avoid problems with access to that type of care for patients who could benefit. For instance, the Ontario payment change exempted patients who have bone or digestive disorders that can change vitamin D levels, and patients who take certain medications that can change vitamin D absorption from food and supplements. "Payment policies are not the only effective means for reducing low-value care," says Kerr. "Indeed, sometimes restricting payment may be too blunt an approach and could lead to underuse." She adds, "Other effective policies that can be coupled with recommendations include population based education programs, communication approaches to help patients and physicians make more patient-centered decisions, decision support for doctors about low-value care, and most importantly, culture change initiatives that emphasize the responsibility of health care institutions, clinicians, and patients to provide and seek high-value, evidence-based care while avoiding low-value services." Ten adults, three children, and one dog have been displaced in York City a three-alarm fire damaged four houses along the 600 block of East Philadelphia Street on Saturday, according to a media report. York City Fire Chief Chad Deardoff told the York Daily Record that two people were inside at the time of the fire, but firefighters were able to rescue them. There were no reports of injuries. The cause of the fire is unknown at this time, Deardoff told YDR. It began around 1:50 p.m. and spread from 628 to 636 E. Philadelphia Street, YDR reported. Witnesses reportedly said they thought the wind played a factor in making the fire worse, according to their report. 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. North Korea has tightened its customs-related quarantine measures amid the cross-border proliferation of the new coronavirus that originated from China, its top trading partner, according to Pyongyang's state newspaper. All goods arriving at North Korea's ports or passing through border bridges should be kept at isolated areas for 10 days without exception, fully disinfected and then delivered in accordance with relevant procedures, the Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the North's ruling party, said in a report. All materials and packaging containers should be disinfected from top to bottom, it added, citing a study on the COVID-19 virus that shows its high survival rates. "Materials being brought from another country could be used as a carrier to spread the virus," the newspaper said. It claimed again that there's still not a single confirmed case of the virus yet in North Korea, which shares a border with China. The reclusive communist North is known for stringent restrictions on information flow and tightly controlled state media. (Yonhap) Season for air-condition sales is going to start soon, and the sector is bracing for a hike of up to 5 per cent, amid combined impact of hike on compressors and increased costs due to outbreak in China, which is the main supplier. Amid scare, several manufacturers expect 2020 to be a challenging year for the industry as they are going to airlift component such as controllers, compressors and other materials from China, Thailand and Malaysia and the increased logistic cost would put pressure on input costs. According to some makers, the crisis unfortunately has come at a critical time, when April-June season is knocking, during which the industry accounts around 40 to 45 per cent sale of residential airconditioners. There is a shortage due to and in order to keep the production up, we are airlifting the critical components from China. There is also an increase in on compressors and others, Blue Star Managing Director B Thiagarajan told PTI. Blue Star, an air conditioning and commercial refrigeration company, has already increased prices by 3 to 5 per cent on various items. "This is not only because of Coronavirus. We have to airlift some components. There is an increase in custom duty and ocean freight also," he said. According to Daikin India MD & CEO KJ Jawa, most of the Indian are "strongly dependent" on China not only for compressors but also for other components as controllers etc. I am expecting that prices are going to go up by 3 to 5 per cent with immediate effect. It might go further up if the situation does not improve. Most of the people are importing from Thailand or Malaysia, said Jawa adding that Daikin has already increased price, effective from March and has plans to review it further if the condition does not improve. Though production has been started by some of the vendors, but it would take time as they require several clearances from the Chinese government as well from the Indian authorities and would not be easy and unfortunately the critical period for the AC industry is March to June. "This is unfortunate but what else one can do about it," he said, adding "this will definitely affect the revenue and profitability in the short run of the industry." While presenting the budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had proposed to hike the basic to 12.5 per cent from 10 per cent on compressor of refrigerator and air conditioner. In a residential AC, compressor and motor, which account for around 30 per cent of the price are imported, while sheet metal, coils and other are sourced locally. Voltas, a leading player in the segment, is also revisiting its prices as it is also feeling the heat of disruption of supply. In short term, there could be a shortage, therefore people may be looking for some opportunity to increase the price. Besides duties of the some of the components has also gone up. Putting both things together would have some impact on the pricing and industry is looking to increase it, said Voltas MD & CEO Pradeep Bakshi. We would also have to revisit our pricing. Still we are calculating as what kind of impact would happen, but surely there would be some increase, he said adding it could happen around 2-3 per cent. If the raw material is delayed further then surely it would be more.' However, on being asked that as whether it would impact the sales, Bakshi said that the hike would be around Rs 700 and this would not deter the customers to buy AC in summers. Godrej Appliances AVP, Product Group Head- Santosh Salian said over all for the end customers, the increase would be 3 to 5 per cent. Production of components is hugely delayed in China and there is a disruption of the entire schedule due to Coronavirus, leading to an increase in ocean freight charges due to the challenging situations for shipments arising out of the outbreak. If there is a disruption in the schedule, you did not get container at the same time. There is a peak load of demand of containers, this is going to happen and it would push the cost of ocean freight further, Salian said. Panasonic India President & CEO Manish Sharma said the company is also watching the situation and may consider airlift for the critical components to maintain inventory level. According to him, there is sufficient inventory for February and March but the situation extends beyond that then it may have to airlift as ocean freight would take two to three weeks time to reach. The Indian room AC industry market is expected to be around 4.5 million units with more than 20 competing in the space. Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena will officially announce Colombo's withdrawal from co-sponsoring a 2015 UN Human Rights Council resolution on accountability for war crimes during his address at the council's session on Wednesday, according to his office. Sri Lanka co-sponsored the resolution along with 11 other countries, including the US and Britain, calling for an investigation into alleged human rights violations during the island nation's civil war, which ended in 2009. Gunawardena will make the announcement on Wednesday during his address at the 43rd Session of the Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva. Ahead of the Session, Foreign Secretary Ravinatha Aryasinha briefed the President of the UNHRC Elisabeth Tichy-Fisslberger in Geneva on Lanka's decision to withdraw from the resolution, the foreign ministry said Saturday. Gunawardena will also respond to the oral update on Sri Lanka by the UN Human Rights High Commissioner and is scheduled to meet the High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet in Geneva. Sri Lanka decided to withdraw from co-sponsoring the resolution after the US imposed travel restrictions on Army chief Lt Gen Shavendra Silva and his immediate family members over alleged gross violations of human rights during the final phase of the island nation's Civil War in 2009. The resolution 30/1 on promotion on reconciliation in Sri Lanka was co-sponsored in 2015 by the Lankan government headed by then President Maithripala Sirisena. Sri Lanka's ruling and opposition parties have strongly opposed the US move to impose the travel ban on Lt Gen Silva, saying America's decision was based on independently unverified information. Foreign Minister Gunawardena earlier said that Lt Gen Silva was only conducting a war against a designated terrorist group which was the LTTE. Lt Gen Silva was appointed as the Sri Lankan Army Commander last year and previously headed the Army's 58th Division in the final battle against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels of the civil war in 2009. The UN rights body resolution had blamed Silva's brigade of committing rights abuses during the final phase of the battle which ended in May 2009. Both government troops and the LTTE were accused of rights violations. The Sri Lanka Army has denied the alleged rights abuses. The resolution 30/1 called for an independent investigation with foreign judges and prosecutors to probe war crimes allegation. According to a United Nations report, some 45,000 Tamil civilians were killed in the last months of the war alone. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The officials argued that the federal government had provided no details about how neighborhoods in the Orange County city would be protected from COVID-19. Costa Mesa filed a legal request Feb. 21 to halt the plan to hold 30 to 50 COVID-19 patients at the Fairview Developmental Center unless the facility is deemed suitable for quarantine, according to the Los Angeles Times. It is certainly not an isolated location, Costa Mesa Mayor Katrina Foley told the L.A. Times. It would certainly be important for us as the lead city to know what the plan is. Read more here. Coronavirus Hits Supply Chains, Saps US Business Activity Coronavirus-related supply chain disruption is taking its toll on U.S. firms, with a recent survey of company purchasing managers showing a slump in business activity in February thats being blamed in part on the spread of the disease. The deterioration was in part linked to the coronavirus outbreak, manifesting itself in weakened demand across sectors such as travel and tourism, as well as via falling exports and supply chain disruptions, said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit, which on Feb. 21 published its Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) report. Read more here. Hospitals in Beijing Report Transmission Within the Facility At least two hospitals in Beijing have confirmed hospital-acquired infections of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 recently, while a private company has reported that a staff member who returned to work later diagnosed positive for the virus. Read more here. Number of Infections in Italy Rises to 155 The number of infections in Italy has continued to rise Sunday as authorities work to track down patient zero. According to the U.S. Embassy in Rome, the infection rates are still very low, although the spike in infections over the last few days represents the biggest outbreak so far outside of Asia. Most cases remain concentrated in mainland China, with the second-highest incident rate in South Korea with at least 602 known cases. Japan also has a high number of infections due to 691 passengers on the mostly-evacuated Diamond Princess cruise ship becoming infected as well as 135 cases in the general population. Meanwhile, Iran has reported the highest number of deaths due to the virus excluding China, with a total of eight. The majority of cases in Italy have been reported from the Province of Lodi in the Lombardy region. Cases have also been reported in Veneto, Emilia Romagna, and Piemonte. Officials in that region have canceled school for the week. Officials have also asked universities in Lombardy, Veneto, Piedmont, and Emilia Romagna to suspend classes until Feb. 29. School trips have been suspended on a national level in an attempt to prevent any further spread of the virus. The head of Italys civil protection service, Angelo Borrelli, said Sunday afternoon, We have not yet been able to find it [patient zero]. It is, therefore, still difficult to formulate hypotheses on transmission. Italy Confirms Third Death Italy confirmed the third coronavirus death on Sunday, identifying the case as an elderly cancer patient. The elderly woman was stricken in Crema, located in Lombardy, where most cases have been reported in the country, said Italian officials. She had been hospitalized for a few days, Giulio Gallera, Lombardys top health official, said in a news conference. Shed been tested, and they already knew she had the coronavirus. As reported by the AFP news agency, Angelo Borrelli, the head of Italys civil protection agency, said that 152 people in Italy are confirmed to have contracted the virus, which causes the disease COVID-19 and has triggered lockdowns in China and South Korea. Four Passengers Test Positive in the UK UK Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty confirmed four passengers on the Diamond Princess have tested positive for COVID-19. Four further patients in England have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of cases in the UK to thirteen, the statement said. The virus was passed on in the Diamond Princess cruise ship, and the patients are being transferred to specialist NHS centers. Update on #coronavirus: Four further patients in England have tested positive for #COVID-19. The virus was passed on in the Diamond Princess cruise ship and the patients are being transferred to specialist NHS centres. More info: https://t.co/cudRsJTMPe pic.twitter.com/AtccAx9qpf Department of Health and Social Care (@DHSCgovuk) February 23, 2020 Japan Confirms 773 Cases, Third Diamond Princess Passenger Dies In Japan, where the government is facing growing questions about whether it is doing enough to counter the virus, authorities had confirmed 773 cases by early Sunday evening. Most of them were from a cruise ship quarantined near Tokyo, the Diamond Princess. A third passenger, a Japanese man in his 80s, died on Sunday. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe instructed government agencies to urgently prepare medical provisions and draft a comprehensive plan to curb the spread. Italy Cancels Venice Carnival as Total Cases Climb to 133 Scrambling to contain a rapidly rising number of new coronavirus infections in Italy, the largest amount outside Asia, authorities on Sunday stepped up measures to ban public gatherings. The ban included stopping Venices famed carnival events, which have drawn tens of thousands of revelers to a region that is now in the heart of the outbreak. The ordinance is immediately operative and will go into effect at midnight, announced Veneto regional Gov. Luca Zaia, whose area includes Venice, where thousands packed St. Marks Square to join in carnival fun. Carnival would have run through Tuesday. Buses, trains, and other forms of public transportincluding boats in Venicewere being disinfected, Zaia told reporters. Museums, a top tourist draw at any time of the year, were also ordered to shut down after Sunday in Venice. Authorities said three people in Venice have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, all of them in their late 80s, and who are hospitalized in critical condition. Zaia said among those infected was a nurse. Nearly all of Italys 133 known cases are clustered in the north, at least 25 of them in the Veneto region. Turkey, Iraq Restrict Iran Travel As Iran raised its COVID-19 death total to eight and the number of cases to 43, Turkey and Iraq implemented travel bans. Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said that Turkey would close its border with Iran as a precautionary measure to halt the spread of the virus. All highways and railways will be shut down starting at 5 p.m. Flights from Iran to Turkey will be suspended, he said. Iraq, meanwhile, extended an entry ban for any non-Iraqis coming from the neighboring country. The prime minister ordered the halting of receiving travelers from Iran except for Iraqis, Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdis office said in a statement. Baghdad implemented the travel ban starting Thursday, and it was extended on Saturday, reported Asharq Al-Awsat. South Korea Reports A Sixth Death Due to Virus The death toll continues to rise in South Korea. The sixth death was a 59-year-old man who was confirmed to be infected on Wednesday and began receiving treatment, according to local media outlet Yonhap News Agency. He died at the Dongguk University hospital in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province. Iran Raises Death Toll to Eight, Infections to 43 Irans health ministry raised Sunday the death toll from the new virus to 8 people in the country, amid concerns that clusters there, as well as in Italy and South Korea, could signal a serious new stage in its global spread. There were now 43 confirmed cases of the illness in Iran, Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour told state TV. Irans outbreak is centered mostly on the city of Qom but spread over the past few days to people in four other cities, including the capital, Tehran. Across the country in 10 provinces, authorities shuttered schools for at least two days starting on Sunday, and Tehran University suspended classes and shuttered its dormitories for several days. Those who live in student dorms were asked to return to their home towns and continue lessons through the internet where possible. Read more here. Total Cases in Italy Reach 115 Italys number of cases of the new coronavirus has jumped, with dozens of new confirmed cases reported in the northwestern region of Lombardy, which includes the countrys financial capital, Milan. The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Italy had reached 115 on Sunday, state TV said following an announcement by Lombardy Gov. Attilio Fontana that there are 89 cases in his region. Most of those cases have popped up in small towns in the countryside, although Milan has at least one example. Almost all of Italys cases are clustered in the north, with roughly a dozen towns on lockdown, meaning that people are not allowed to enter or leave the towns boundaries. After Lombardy, the next hardest-hit region is Veneto, in the northeast, with at least 17 cases. Read more here. South Korea Reports 169 New Cases of Coronavirus, 2 Deaths in 1 Day South Korea on Sunday reported 169 new cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and two new deaths. Late Sunday afternoon, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) announced 46 new cases of the virus and the countrys fifth death. Earlier in the morning, the country reported its fourth death and a rise of 123 cases from the previous day. Now, South Korea has a total of 602 known cases of coronavirusa massive spike from Thursday when the countrys tally stood at 104. Since then, KCDC has reported triple digits in new cases daily: 100 on Friday and 229 on Saturday. Read more here. Japan Says 23 Diamond Princess Passengers Released Without Retesting for Coronavirus Japans Ministry of Health has reported a mistake in its quarantine operation with the Diamond Princess cruise ship, saying that 23 passengers have been released after spending 14 days on the ship without being retested. The retesting was needed to clear all passengers on the ship of the virus, given the ongoing infections among passengers throughout the quarantine period. I (feel deep) remorse that an operational mistake invited such a situation, and we would like to make sure that such a situation will never occur again, health minister Katsunobu Kato said during a press conference Saturday. Death Toll in Iran Climbs to Six The death toll in Iran has climbed to sixthe highest outside China. The Islamic Republic has reported 28 confirmed cases of COVID-19. Minoo Mohraz, an Iranian health ministry official, said the virus possibly came from Chinese workers who work in the city of Qom and traveled to China. She did not elaborate. A Chinese company has been building a solar power plant in Qom. There have been few virus cases in the Middle East so far. 13 cases have been confirmed in the United Arab Emirates, which is a popular tourist destination, one case in Egypt, and one case in Lebanon. Irans neighbor Iraq, which has reported no cases of the virus, took measures to contain it by suspending visas on arrival for Iranian passport holders and direct flights between the two countries. US Issues Level 2 Travel Warnings for South Korea and Japan The U.S. CDC issued a Level 2 travel warning for both South Korea and Japan on Saturday after reports of sustained human-to-human transmission in both Asian countries. The second-tier warning advises travelers to exercise increased caution when traveling in these countries. Older adults and those with chronic medical conditions should consider postponing nonessential travel, the agency warning says. Taiwan has also raised its travel advisories for both South Korea and Japan to Level 2, travelers to take preventive action against infection when visiting the two neighboring countries. The UK has issued a travel warning for Daegu and Cheongdo County in South Korea. Situation in South Korea Grave as Confirmed Cases Surpass 500 South Korea is anxious amid confirmations of an increasing number of COVID-19 patients on Sunday as the nations total surpasses 500. Saturday night saw South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun declared that the country was entering a more grave stage of the coronavirus outbreak. Still, he tried to provide some reassurance by saying that the government was making all-out efforts to contain further spread of the disease. By Sunday morning, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 123 new cases of the novel coronavirus and one additional death. Four people have now died in the country as at least 556 cases have been confirmed. Over 300 cases have since been traced to Shincheonji Church in the Daegu after the 61-year-old female super-spreader who attended the church tested positive on Feb. 18. She was South Koreas 31st confirmed case. The KCDC said that more than 9,000 church members are now under self-quarantine. A planeload of travelers from South Korea has also been denied entry by Israel. Israeli authorities were told that nine South Koreans, who had recently traveled in Israel as part of a 77-member group, had tested positive for the virus after returning home, Israeli media reported. All travelers returning to Israel from both South Korea and Japan are now required to remain in isolation for two weeks after their arrival, according to the Israeli health ministry. Japan currently has 135 confirmed cases of coronavirus and three deaths. About 1,000 tourists from South Korea currently in Israel have been told to avoid public places, and to isolate themselves in their hotels, local media reported. Read more here. Frank Fang, Melanie Sun, Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this article. For updates from Feb. 22, click here. From The Epoch Times Geological Survey dismisses local officials' claim that there's 3000 tonnes of gold out there Kolkata/Sonbhadra (UP): The Geological Survey of India (GSI) has dismissed as fanciful claims by local officials that there are 3000 tonnes of gold deposits in Sonbhadra district in Uttar Pradesh. It said the estimated reserve would be no more than 160 kg. The claim of huge deposits of gold was made two days ago by the district mining officer of Sonbhadra, K K Rai. He said the gold seam runs through Son Pahadi and Hardi areas of the district. He estimated the deposits in Son Pahadi at around 2,943.26 tonnes, while the estimate for Hardi block was more modest, 646.16 kg. However, GSI director-general M Sridhar told PTI in Kolkata last night that "The mineralised zone having an average grade of 3.03 gm of gold per tonne of ore is tentative in nature. The total gold that can be extracted from a total of 52,806.25 tonnes of ore is approximately 160 kg, not 3,350 tonnes as mentioned in the media." The northern region division of GSI carried out a survey of the Sonbhadra area back in 1998-99 and 1999-2000. The report was shared with the UP director-general of mining. There was no indication from that survey that huge deposits of gold are available in the region. That survey estimated about 52,806.25 tonnes of ore in that area. A mere 3.03 gm of actual gold would be extractable per tonne of ore. Gold usually occurs in native form alloyed with other metals like silver or mercury in alluvial soils such as riverbeds and floodplains. It also exists in oxidized form in ores such as quartzite, calaverite and sylvanite. Of the worlds known mineral reserves of gold ore, 50 percent are found in South Africa, and most of the rest is divided among Russia, Canada, Australia, Brazil, and the US. India has only three producing gold mines at Hutti, Uti and Hirabuddini. The famous Kolar gold fields were mined since the Indus Valley civilization and sporadicaly right until their closure due to nonviability in 2001. The Hutti gold mines too are in Karnataka and are owned by the state government. The Hutti Gold Mines are the only company in India that mines and processes gold ore. Hutti barely produces 2.65 gm of gold per metric ton of ore. 'Pakistan is determined to garner the peace dividends.' 'On the diplomatic front, this will be, principally, in terms of a revival of Pakistan's relations with the US,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar. IMAGE: US President Donald J Trump and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan in the Oval Office at the White House, July 23, 2019. The acrimony over the disputed results of the Afghan presidential election notwithstanding, there has been a consensus within Afghanistan for the 'reduction in violence' plan negotiated by the US and the Taliban, which commenced at midnight on Friday. Hope has replaced despondency. President Ashraf Ghani, Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah and former president Hamid Karzai (who is an influential political voice) have in unison welcomed the reduction in violence plan. Notably, Abdullah sounded conciliatory, saying 'Afghans see this as a necessary stepping stone toward intra-Afghan negotiations, a permanent ceasefire and a durable settlement acceptable to our citizens. As a responsible side, we will do our utmost to facilitate, cooperate and justly resolve all outstanding issues to build consensus that engages Afghans in peace making.' In a statement on February 21 titled 'Next Step Toward a US Agreement with the Taliban', the US state department has described the talks with the Taliban as aimed at facilitating a political settlement, 'reducing' the US military presence and ensuring that no terrorist group ever again operates out of Afghan soil. The statement announced that a US-Taliban agreement is expected to be signed on February 29 and intra-Afghan negotiations will start 'soon thereafter' to deliver a 'comprehensive and permanent ceasefire' and the future political roadmap for Afghanistan. The US statement estimated that 'a real opportunity' is at hand. In a separate statement, the Taliban also announced the signing of a peace agreement on February 29. It expected 'a suitable security situation' appearing between now and February 29. However, in a departure from the US statement, the Taliban highlighted 'arrangements for the release of prisoners' as one of the tasks ahead. The Taliban statement characterised the inter-Afghan negotiations as involving 'various political parties of the country'. Significantly, neither the US statement nor the Taliban statement made any references to the Afghan government under Ghani as a protagonist. Conceivably, the upcoming inter-Afghan dialogue would have both Ghani and Abdullah as stakeholders. The US is yet to comment on the Afghan presidential election results. Nor has Russia, China, Pakistan or Iran yet congratulated Ghani on his election 'victory'. India stands out in the region in this regard. To be sure, this is a triumphalist moment for Pakistan. The commencement of the 'reduction in violence' pact signifies that the Afghan peace process has gained traction. Pakistan has lost no time in claiming credit as the key facilitator of the Afghan peace agreement which is to be signed on February 29. Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has called the peace agreement a 'historic breakthrough' and underscored the key role Pakistan played in this regard. 'We constructed a roadmap to peace,' Qureshi said in Islamabad on Friday. In an oblique reference to the hardliners in Ghani's circle (and possibly, their supporters in India), he added, 'I also told (US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay) Khalilzad that the US and its allies around the region must remain wary of certain elements who benefit from continued fighting. I warned him that these elements are bent on destroying the progress of our peace efforts.' It will be a pleasant surprise in the circumstances if India gets invited to the signing ceremony on February 29. Qureshi asserted, 'The deal will be signed in the presence of Pakistan because it was impossible for the deal to come through without our efforts.' Pakistan is determined to garner the peace dividends. On the diplomatic front, this will be, principally, in terms of a revival of Pakistan's relations with the US. Recalling US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's visit to Pakistan last year, Qureshi said, 'Pompeo told me that the pathway to fixing relations between Pakistan and the US came through Kabul. Now I would like to remind him that we have fulfilled all our promises. Not only did we build a peace team, but we also played our role in ensuring that the negotiations were successful.' And there has been a paradigm shift. We can already notice that Pakistan is no longer in agony over its fate in the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force. Simply put, the international community cannot afford to ostracise Pakistan at a juncture when Afghanistan is entering a crucial transformative phase during the coming 2 or 3 years. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang hinted at this on Friday at the daily briefing when he said the 'vast majority' of FATF members recognised that Pakistan has made 'enormous efforts' in improving its counter-terror financing system and, therefore, 'Pakistan will be allowed more time to continue implementing its action plan, the purpose and aim of the FATF is to support countries's efforts to strengthen institutions against money laundering and terror financing and safeguard the international financing system.' Looking ahead, Pakistan will remain the navigator in intra-Afghan negotiations. Qureshi said: 'After February, we will try to build a delegation to promote the intra-Afghan peace process and we have also decided when and how those talks will take place. Pakistan has played its role in the peace process with wholeheartedness and honesty and it is now incumbent upon the Afghan government to do the same.' Pakistan will ensure, no matter what it takes, that a friendly government takes shape in Kabul which will not be susceptible to Indian influence. Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar served the Indian Foreign Service for more than 29 years. He has served as India's ambassador to Turkey and Uzbekistan and has been a contributor to Rediff.com for well over a decade. The Geological Survey of India (GSI) has rejected claims of around 3000 tonnes of gold deposits in UP's Sonbhadra district, saying the estimated reserve is 160 kg. Sonbhadra district mining officer K K Rai had said on Friday that gold deposits were found in Son Pahadi and Hardi areas of the district. The deposits in Son Pahadi are estimated to be around 2,943.26 tonnes, while that at Hardi block are around 646.16 kilogram, the official had said. However, GSI Director General (DG) M Sridhar told PTI in Kolkata on Saturday evening that "The mineralised zone having an average grade of 3.03 grams per tonne of gold is tentative in nature and the total gold which can be extracted from the total resource of 52,806.25 tonnes of ore is approximately 160 kg and not 3,350 tonnes as mentioned in the media". On the claim by the district official, he said, "Such data was not given by anybody from GSI.... GSI has not estimated such kind of vast resource of gold deposits in Sonbhadra district. "We share our findings regarding any resources of ore after conducting survey with state units.... We (GSI, Northern Region) had carried out work in that region in 1998-99 and 1999-2000. The report was shared with UP DGM for information and further necessary action," he said. Sridhar said that in its report after exploration in the district "the GSI has estimated a probable category resource of 52,806.25 tonnes of ore with 3.03 grams per tonne gold (average grade) for a strike length of 170m in Sub- Block-H, Son Pahadi of Sonbhadra district of Uttar Pradesh". The GSI is headquartered in Kolkata. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were accused yesterday of 'losing all sense of perspective' after making an extraordinary online 'swipe' at the Queen and other royals. Harry and Meghan announced on Friday evening that they will stop using their Sussex Royal brand when they step down as senior royals on March 31. But hours after releasing a carefully worded statement via Buckingham Palace confirming the move, the couple posted a 1,114-word 'update' on their personal website. They claimed the Queen had no 'jurisdiction' over the word 'Royal' overseas and said the monarch and the Government would have been powerless to stop them had they continued to use the word while abroad. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (pictured) were accused yesterday of 'losing all sense of perspective' after making an extraordinary online 'swipe' at the Queen and other royals The lengthy statement contained what appear to be references to other royals, including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie and the Earl and Countess of Wessex. There was also a thinly veiled attack on the British media, who they feel have been unfairly critical of their actions. The statement claimed they had been treated differently from other members of the Royal Family and reminded readers that Harry remains sixth in line to the throne and an HRH by birth. Last night it was clear that the Palace was exasperated by the intervention, although not unduly surprised. Others described the couple's words as unhelpful to their public image and family relations. 'Let's just hope they feel they have got whatever they want to get out of their system,' said one. Another royal insider who is not part of the negotiations told the Mail that the couple seemed to have 'lost all sense of perspective'. Last night it was clear that the Palace was exasperated by the intervention, although not unduly surprised. Pictured: The Queen, 93, arriving for a church service at Windsor yesterday 'It was their decision to do this and the family is clearly trying their best to facilitate it,' the source said. 'But it inevitably requires sacrifices on both sides and the Sussexes need to be rather more gracious about it. 'Sniping from the sidelines doesn't help anyone.' Most irritating, it seems, were the not-so-subtle references to other royals, including William and Kate. However, officials were at pains not to be drawn into a war of words with the couple 'for everyone's sake'. A Buckingham Palace spokesman refused to comment, but stressed that several statements had been issued since the couple decided to announce their departure last month. Unusually, some of those statements, they said, were from the Queen in which she expressed her sadness that her grandson and his wife wanted to walk away but said she would support them. The lengthy statement contained what appear to be references to other royals, including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie (pictured) and the Earl and Countess of Wessex A spokesman for the couple issued a statement about their use of royal titles at 7.07pm on Friday, but a much longer version was shared online some three hours later. The second statement made little attempt to disguise their disappointment at the rejection of their initial plan to retain their royal titles while earning income overseas. 'The preference of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex was to continue to represent and support Her Majesty the Queen albeit in a more limited capacity, while not drawing on the Sovereign Grant,' it said. Harry and Meghan made clear that they feel irritated that their efforts to trademark items such as pens, clothing and 'emotional support services' under the Sussex Royal logo were rejected. It had been concluded that it was both morally and legally untenable for them to market themselves as royals while pursuing commercial interests. In the most provocative passage in their statement, they claimed there was, however, nothing stopping them from using the word 'royal' abroad but they had simply chosen not to. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex posted an extraordinary statement on their website claiming that the Queen does not own the word royal across the world after they were forced to drop their 'Sussex Royal' brand. Pictured: The Duke and Duchess arriving in Canada on Valentines Day The statement said: 'While there is not any jurisdiction by the Monarchy or Cabinet Office over the use of the word 'Royal' overseas, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex do not intend to use 'Sussex Royal' or any iteration of the word 'Royal' in any territory (either within the UK or otherwise) when the transition occurs Spring 2020.' The couple believe their attempts to trademark their brand were met unfavourably compared with the treatment of William and Kate, who they claim have done the same for their own charitable foundation. 'The trademark applications that had been filed as protective measures, and that reflected the same standard trademarking requests as done for The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, have been removed,' the statement said. They also made reference to Harry's uncle, aunt and cousins, saying: 'While there is precedent for other titled members of the Royal Family to seek employment outside of the institution, for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex a 12-month review period has been put in place.' Observers took this as a reference to Beatrice and Eugenie, both HRHs, who have jobs outside of the Royal Family, as well as occasionally carrying out charitable engagements or accompanying the Queen. The couple (pictured) believe their attempts to trademark their brand were met unfavourably compared with the treatment of William and Kate, who they claim have done the same for their own charitable foundation Princess Eugenie works as a director at an art gallery, while her elder sister has a role with a tech company start-up. Prince Edward and his wife Sophie were also initially permitted to pursue their own careers outside of the Royal Family, running a film production company and PR firm respectively. But both were dogged by claims they were trading on and profiting from their royal status, and after a string of scandals were forced to quit their day jobs and become full-time working royals instead, which they have done successfully and without complaint. Over the weekend, Harry and Meghan faced widespread criticism for their statement, with one royal expert calling the comments spiteful. Tom Bower, who wrote a biography of Prince Charles, added: 'The comments smack of spiteful fury. I fear it will get worse.' Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine, said: 'It appears to be a gratuitous and ungracious swipe at the Queen. It is kind of saying, 'By the way we know we can use royal if we want to'. 'The Queen is doing everything she can to keep the peace, but the Sussexes believe the Royal Family is against them. The more you read it, the nastier it appears.' ROBERT HARDMAN: Harry and Meghan are being peevish and tin-eared... just who IS advising them? By Robert Hardman for the Daily Mail Like every Sandhurst cadet, the young Prince Harry had the age-old maxim variously attributed to Erwin Rommel, the Duke of Wellington and the 6th century BC Chinese general Sun Tzu drummed in to him throughout his military training: time spent in reconnaissance is seldom wasted. So how is it that, after all those months of supposedly careful planning, the great 'Sussex Royal' adventure now looks more like the retreat from Dunkirk? And why, given their evident concern about retaining their royal status, have the Duke and Duchess of Sussex shown such disrespect for the person from whom that status descends the Queen? For the latest pique-filled statement on the sussexroyal.com website is enough to test the patience of the most sympathetic observers. Like every Sandhurst cadet, Prince Harry (pictured with Meghan Markle) had the age-old maxim drummed in to him throughout his military training: time spent in reconnaissance is seldom wasted Yes, it must be extremely irksome to spend a great deal of time and money creating a new brand for yourself and registering a plethora of trademarks, only to be told that it's all a non-starter. Yes, the Sussexes may well feel there is one set of rules for those still inside the royal compound and another for them. Yet the couple have only themselves to blame, not that they seem willing to acknowledge that. In the latest online message to their 11.2 million followers, they have posted a number of thinly veiled grumbles about various members of the Royal Family. However, it is the dismissive tone of their remarks about the Queen's authority which surprises me most and leaves me wondering just who on earth is advising them. The thrust of their argument is as follows: We are royal and we can jolly well use the word 'royal' all over the world if we want to because it is not in the gift of the Queen or the British Government; we have merely chosen not to do so. Last Tuesday, the Mail's Rebecca English broke the story that the Palace had told Harry and Meghan their 'Sussex Royal' brand would have to go because they are no longer part of regular royal operations. Alongside it, I wrote a piece explaining that there was nothing personal about this. Rather, the monarchy's own 'brand' is protected by a series of well-established laws including the Trade Marks Act, the Companies Act and an international agreement dating back more than a century and signed by 177 nations. How is it that, after all those months of supposedly careful planning, the great 'Sussex Royal' adventure now looks more like the retreat from Dunkirk, writes Robert Hardman (Pictured: Prince Harry with Archie) It is the dismissive tone of their remarks about the Queen's authority which surprises me most and leaves me wondering just who on earth is advising them, writes Hardman I also said the couple should have consulted the official royal website. 'There,' I wrote, 'they will find exhaustive guidance from the Lord Chamberlain's Office on how businesses can lay claim to any sort of 'royal' status. Much of it, in any case, is governed not by the Palace but by the Cabinet Office.' Late on Friday, the Sussexes put out a lengthy statement, following Palace confirmation of the Mail's story. It contained a number of peevish assertions but the stand-out gripe was this: 'While there is not any jurisdiction by The Monarchy or Cabinet Office over the use of the word 'Royal' overseas, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex do not intend to use 'Sussex Royal' or any iteration of the word 'Royal' in any territory (either within the UK or otherwise) when the transition occurs Spring 2020.' What an extraordinary thing to say. Ever since they sprung their royal resignation on the Royal Family and the world, the Sussexes have said they plan to divide their time between the UK and abroad. They are not emigrating in perpetuity. So they could hardly raise two fingers to British law and set up some bogus 'royal' entity internationally while expecting to be taken seriously back home. Nor is this statement correct anyway. The monarchy in tandem with several 'overseas' governments including that in Canada where the couple are actually living do have a jurisdiction over the word 'royal'. That is because the Queen is sovereign of 15 nations other than this one. Any requests for 'royal' designation in Canada, for example, must be sent to the Governor-General's Office at wait for it 1 Sussex Drive, Ottawa. The statement also neglects the fact that there is another player in this saga, namely the Secretary of State for Business, currently Alok Sharma, who has jurisdiction over 'royal' names for 'any type of business' under the Companies Act of 2006. Similarly, all royal trademarks fall under the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property of 1883. Yesterday, I consulted a top commercial lawyer at an international law firm with offices in the UK and US. Her verdict: 'Signatories to the Paris Convention are required to use reasonable efforts to enforce the trademark legislation of other signatory nation states, giving overseas effect to national protective laws. For example, the US signed the convention back in 1887 and Canada in 1923, so the UK could take steps to challenge the use of 'Sussex Royal' on websites and branding there.' Setting aside the legalities, it is the confrontational tone which jars. Whoever is behind this combative approach clearly has a tin ear for public sensibilities about the monarchy in the UK. But then the couple are clearly not being advised from the UK. Just look at the phrasing of their statement: 'Per the agreement' instead of 'As per the agreement'. Or '...when the transition occurs Spring 2020.' Prince Harry would never write or talk like that. He would say 'when the transition occurs in the Spring of 2020.' The couple also complain that 'while there is precedent for other titled members of the Royal Family to seek employment outside of [sic] the institution, for The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, a 12-month review period has been put in place.' It is not the rogue 'of' that is likely to upset the Queen but the fact that the '12-month review period' is anything but a heavy-handed restriction on the Sussexes' freedom. Rather, it is the monarch's way of ensuring the doors remain open for the couple to return if things do not go as planned. And right now, they certainly do not. Harry and Meghan's statement on their website in full AS AGREED AND SET OUT IN JANUARY 2020: It is agreed that the commencement of the revised role of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will take effect Spring 2020 and undergo a 12 month review. The Royal Family respect and understand the wish of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex to live a more independent life as a family, by removing the supposed public interest justification for media intrusion into their lives. They remain a valued part of Her Majestys family. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will become privately funded members of The Royal Family with permission to earn their own income and the ability to pursue their own private charitable interests. The preference of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex was to continue to represent and support Her Majesty The Queen albeit in a more limited capacity, while not drawing on the Sovereign Grant. While there is precedent for other titled members of the Royal Family to seek employment outside of the institution, for The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, a 12-month review period has been put in place. Per the agreement The Duke and Duchess of Sussex understand that they are required to step back from Royal duties and not undertake representative duties on behalf of Her Majesty The Queen. As agreed and set out in January, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will retain their HRH prefix, thereby formally remaining known as His Royal Highness The Duke of Sussex and Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will no longer actively use their HRH titles as they will no longer be working members of the family as of Spring 2020. As the grandson of Her Majesty and second son of The Prince of Wales, Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex remains sixth in line to the throne of The British Monarchy and the Order of Precedence is unchanged. It was agreed that The Duke and Duchess will no longer be able to formally carry out official duties for The Queen or represent The Commonwealth, but they will, however, be allowed to maintain their patronages (including those that are classified as royal patronages). It is agreed that The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will continue to require effective security to protect them and their son. This is based on The Dukes public profile by virtue of being born into The Royal Family, his military service, the Duchess own independent profile, and the shared threat and risk level documented specifically over the last few years. No further details can be shared as this is classified information for safety reasons. In relation to the military, The Duke of Sussex will retain the rank of Major, and honorary ranks of Lieutenant Commander, and Squadron Leader. During this 12-month period of review, The Dukes official military appointments will not be used as they are in the gift of the Sovereign. No new appointments will be made to fill these roles before the 12-month review of the new arrangements is completed. While per the agreement, The Duke will not perform any official duties associated with these roles, given his dedication to the military community and ten years of service he will of course continue his unwavering support to the military community in a non-official capacity. As founder of the Invictus Games, The Duke will proudly continue supporting the military community around the world through the Invictus Games Foundation and The Endeavour Fund. Based on the Duke and Duchess of Sussexs desire to have a reduced role as members of The Royal Family, it was decided in January that their Institutional Office would have to be closed, given the primary funding mechanism for this official office at Buckingham Palace is from HRH The Prince of Wales. The Duke and Duchess shared this news with their team personally in January once they knew of the decision, and have worked closely with their staff to ensure a smooth transition for each of them. Over the last month and a half, The Duke and Duchess have remained actively involved in this process, which has understandably been saddening for The Duke and Duchess and their loyal staff, given the closeness of Their Royal Highnesses and their dedicated team. As The Duke and Duchess will no longer be considered full-time working Members of The Royal Family, it was agreed that use of the word Royal would need to be reviewed as it pertains to organisations associated with them in this new regard. More details on this below. ADDITIONAL DETAILS: As shared in early January on this website, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex do not plan to start a foundation, but rather intend to develop a new way to effect change and complement the efforts made by so many excellent foundations globally. The creation of this non-profit entity will be in addition to their cause driven work that they remain deeply committed to. While The Duke and Duchess are focused on plans to establish a new non-profit organisation, given the specific UK government rules surrounding use of the word Royal, it has been therefore agreed that their non-profit organisation will not utilise the name Sussex Royal or any other iteration of Royal. For the above reason, the trademark applications that had been filed as protective measures and that reflected the same standard trademarking requests as done for The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, have been removed. While there is not any jurisdiction by The Monarchy or Cabinet Office over the use of the word Royal overseas, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex do not intend to use Sussex Royal or any iteration of the word Royal in any territory (either within the UK or otherwise) when the transition occurs Spring 2020. As The Duke and Duchess of Sussex continue to develop their non-profit organisation and plan for their future, we hope that you use this site as the source for factual information. In Spring 2020, their digital channels will be refreshed as they introduce the next exciting phase to you. Advertisement What does each paragraph of Harry and Meghan's statement really mean? MailOnline breaks down the couple's announcement they will drop royal By Jemma Carr for MailOnline The Duke and Duchess of Sussex released an extraordinary statement on their website after they were forced to drop their 'Sussex Royal' brand last night. In the sour-sounding statement Meghan and Harry claimed the Queen does not have 'jurisdiction' over the lucrative term 'royal' overseas. They also appeared to complain that the palace is treating them differently to other family members. Here, MailOnline decodes what each carefully-chosen phrase means. There is 'not any jurisdiction by The Monarchy or Cabinet Office over the use of the word "Royal" overseas': Harry and Meghan make it perfectly clear that they could use the term 'Royal' as part of their branding overseas if they wanted to Harry and Meghan make it perfectly clear that they could use the term 'Royal' as part of their branding overseas if they wanted to. However, following their transition this Spring, they will drop the term on request of the Queen. The Daily Mail first reported that the Queen had asked Harry and Meghan not to employ the 'Sussex Royal' name when they are no longer working royals. It is a significant blow for the couple, who have spent tens of thousands of pounds building the Sussex Royal-branded website and creating a hugely popular Instagram feed. In an unprecedented legal move, the queen has drafted in top lawyers in a bid to enforce the ban. A string of trademark applications, covering items from clothing and books to stationery and bandanas, were withdrawn. It comes after MailOnline yesterday revealed that Meghan has told friends there is nothing 'legally stopping' her and Harry from using their Sussex Royal name. Meghan complained to her inner circle that using the name 'shouldn't even be an issue in the first place and it's not like they want to be in the business of selling T-shirts and pencils,' the insider said. They added: 'Meghan said she's done with the drama and has no room in her life for naysayers, and the same goes for Harry.' The friend added: 'Meghan said the global projects they are working on speak for themselves and they chose that name to protect the royal name, not profit off of it.' But, the insider added: 'Meghan has told her inner circle that their success is inevitable with or without their current brand name. 'She said regardless of the name, Harry and Archie have royal blood and no one can take that away. And that as a family, they will always be considered royalty.' 'There is precedent for other titled members of the Royal Family to seek employment outside of the institution': Harry and Meghan imply that they are being treated differently to other members of the royal family who can 'seek employment outside of the institution' Harry and Meghan imply that they are being treated differently to other members of the royal family who can 'seek employment outside of the institution'. They say the guidelines are different for them as a 12-month review period has been put in place. They do insist, however, that it is their 'preference' to 'continue to represent and support Her Majesty The Queen albeit in a more limited capacity, while not drawing on the Sovereign Grant'. The couple insist that it is their 'preference' to 'continue to represent and support Her Majesty The Queen albeit in a more limited capacity, while not drawing on the Sovereign Grant' 'The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will continue to require effective security to protect them and their son': The couple also insisted that security 'to protect them and their son' is necessary amid controversy surrounding protection costs The couple also insisted that security 'to protect them and their son' is required amid controversy surrounding protection costs. Protection for Meghan and Harry is estimated to cost taxpayers in Canada and the UK between 3million and 6million a year, as staff work round the clock two weeks at a time. The statement read: 'It is agreed that The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will continue to require effective security to protect them and their son. 'This is based on The Dukes public profile by virtue of being born into The Royal Family, his military service, the Duchess own independent profile, and the shared threat and risk level documented specifically over the last few years. 'No further details can be shared as this is classified information for safety reasons.' The couple boldly insist that security is necessary, putting a swift and sudden stop to the naysayers. However, they refuse to provide details about what forms this security will take, claiming doing so would be a breach of 'safety'. By saying that no more details 'can' be shared, the couple imply that they want to give more information but are unable to. 'The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will become privately funded members of The Royal Family with permission to earn their own income and the ability to pursue their own private charitable interests': The couple plan to relaunch their careers potentially earning millions of pounds a year - in a bid to 'become financially independent' Remaining financially independent has been a key Megxit focal point. The couple plan to relaunch their careers potentially earning millions of pounds a year - in a bid to 'become financially independent'. This will allow them to give up funding from the Sovereign Grant the money taxpayers give to the Queen every year and launch themselves onto the international celebrity circuit. Earlier this year they said they had 'made the choice' to 'no longer receive funding' from the Sovereign Grant, adding: 'Their Royal Highnesses prefer to release this financial tie.' Harry and Meghan's first post-Megxit appearance earlier this month was at an event held by US banking giant JP Morgan in Miami - an organisation which has been embroiled in a succession of controversies. Harry is still 'sixth in line to the throne': The line of the succession to the monarchy is: Prince of Wales followed by Prince William, then Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis finally followed by Prince Harry The statement spells out the fact that Harry is still sixth in line to the throne. The line of the succession to the monarchy is: Prince of Wales followed by Prince William, then Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis finally followed by Prince Harry. The statement reads: 'As the grandson of Her Majesty and second son of The Prince of Wales, Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex remains sixth in line to the throne of The British Monarchy and the Order of Precedence is unchanged.' They will 'be allowed to maintain their patronages': The statement states that the couple will be allowed to keep their patronages even though they won't be allowed to carry out official duties for the Queen The statement states that the couple will be allowed to keep their patronages even though they won't be allowed to carry out official duties for the Queen. By using the word 'allowed' they put the onus on the Queen, who the couple make clear has given her express permission. It comes after Meghan was given until Easter to prove her mettle as Royal Patron of the National Theatre, according to a top West End producer. She was gifted the honour last January by the Queen, who had been the National's patron for 45 years. Nica Burns - who co-owns The Nimax Group, which comprises six London West End theatres including The Palace, the Apollo and the Vaudeville - has said that the Duchess should not hold the position indefinitely. Ms Burns said: 'I think we should give Meghan until Easter to say what she thinks is possible with her patronage.' 'We have to give her a chance, forget who she is and give her some space. 'If she is not going to be doing any work with the National, then she should step down. But as she is a role model, we would rather she didn't.' The Duke and Duchess's statement read: 'It was agreed that The Duke and Duchess will no longer be able to formally carry out "official duties" for The Queen or represent The Commonwealth, but they will, however, be allowed to maintain their patronages (including those that are classified as royal patronages).' Harry 'will retain the rank of Major, and honorary ranks of Lieutenant Commander, and Squadron Leader' The statement makes it clear that Harry will maintain military titles including: the rank of Major, and honorary ranks of Lieutenant Commander, and Squadron Leader The statement makes it clear that Harry will maintain military titles including: the rank of Major, and honorary ranks of Lieutenant Commander, and Squadron Leader. It was earlier revealed that Harry is being stripped of a number of military roles including Captain General of the Royal Marines, the ceremonial head of the Corps. He will also lose Honorary Air Commandant of Royal Air Force Base Honington, and Honorary Commodore-in-Chief of Small Ships and Diving, Royal Naval Command. Harry will also be barred from wearing his military uniform after stepping back from Armed Forces appointments, although he can still wear his medals at engagements. The couple's statement read: 'In relation to the military, The Duke of Sussex will retain the rank of Major, and honorary ranks of Lieutenant Commander, and Squadron Leader. 'During this 12-month period of review, The Dukes official military appointments will not be used as they are in the gift of the Sovereign. No new appointments will be made to fill these roles before the 12-month review of the new arrangements is completed. 'While per the agreement, The Duke will not perform any official duties associated with these roles, given his dedication to the military community and ten years of service he will of course continue his unwavering support to the military community in a non-official capacity. 'As founder of the Invictus Games, The Duke will proudly continue supporting the military community around the world through the Invictus Games Foundation and The Endeavour Fund.' Italian fashion icon Prada said Sunday they have appointed Belgian designer Raf Simons as their co-creative director. Prada said Simons, considered one of his generation's most talented designers and a veteran of Dior and Calvin Klein, would take up his post on April 2. Miuccia Prada, 70, unveiled the surprise news on the fifth day of a Milan Fashion Week disrupted by a clutch of coronavirus cases barely an hour away from the event. "I am not here to announce my retirement to you nor my succession -- on the contrary, this is a new breath of fresh air for me, a very exciting new adventure," Prada said. "And I'm probably going to have to work even harder than before," she added, looking visibly elated at the prospect of welcoming Simons aboard. "We hold each other in high regard, we respect each other and we are very much looking forward to seeing where this collaboration will take us," said Prada. A statement said that Simons, 52, would have "equal responsibilities for creative input and decision-making." The pair's first collection will be for spring/summer 2021 and is to be presented in Milan in September. Simons noted that "our relationship started one year before I took creative direction of Jil Sander in 2005." Since then, he and Prada have maintained a "dialogue about everything, about fashion, about politics, contents," the Belgian designer added. Simons said they share the belief that "creativity still is at the core of fashion," and want to work out how designers can "together question their own position in the fashion system." Patrizio Bertelli, Miuccia Prada's husband and company chief executive, said: "It is the first time in the history of fashion that two such important stylists and of such statures will be working together. "The Prada group has always been capable of anticipating global changes in fashion and we are still showing as much today," he told a hastily convened press conference. Prada said in a statement that the new partnership "is born from a deep reciprocal respect and from an open conversation -- it is a mutual decision, proposed and determined by both parties" who would seek to be innovative and "push boundaries." The firm added that Prada and Simons would bring "a new approach to the very definition of creative direction for a fashion brand -- a strong challenge to the idea of singularity of creative authorship." In addition to heading Jil Sander, Simons created his own brand, Raf by Raf. He left Calvin Klein, where he had been chief creative officer, in December 2018 after the firm alluded to differences in their respective creative visions. Miuccia Prada said that bringing Raf Simons aboard and giving him equal responsibility for creative input and decision-making presaged "a very exciting new adventure" (Natural News) During an interview Friday, former U.S. Army infantry officer, combat vet, and current U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton reiterated his view that the Chinese government is not being transparent about the severity of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. He told Fox News host Laura Ingraham that Beijings Communist leaders were not updating the rest of the world on what Chinese doctors and scientists were seeing regarding the virus. I dont disagree that Chinas scientists and doctors can, in some cases, be world-class, and they can be professional, he said. However, they have sitting next to them at every level of government a minder from the Chinese Communist Party, said Harvard Law-educated Cotton, as reported by Breitbart News. And I do not have any confidence in those party apparatchiks allowing Chinas scientists or their doctors to speak freely to anyone outside of China, especially officials in the United States government, he added. Cotton is a member of the Senate Armed Services and Intelligence committees, so you could say that when it comes to data on China, hes pretty much up to speed. And while hes certainly trustworthy enough, there are other sources making similar claims about Chinese government opaqueness regarding details about the virus. The Epoch Times reported this week, for instance, that Chinese authorities have begun shutting down the Internet, which, of course, makes it even more difficult for any information to get out. The Internet connection in my home was cut off for several days. I kept on calling the mayors hotline, but nobody is taking care of us, said one resident of Wuhan City, the epicenter of the virus, according to the Times. (Related: U.S. now admitting coronavirus has broken containment beyond China.) The paper added: Since Feb. 11, more and more Wuhan residents reported that their home internet connections were down. Wuhan authorities have issued strict quarantine measures to contain the outbreak, including allowing only one person per household to leave their homes. The Chinese-language Epoch Times (CET) spoke with several Wuhan residents and found that some neighborhoods, where there are large numbers of reported COVID-19 virus infections, have had their internet cut off. This happens all the time in China Analysts and commentators say they believe Chinese authorities are doing this in order to restrict Netizens ability to freely discuss whats going on with the outbreak in their own country especially in the city of 11 million where the virus began. Thus far, the Times reported, since the outbreak began in December some 70 percent of officially reported cases are from Wuhan City. A number of people interviewed by the CET said their residential areas began broadcasting messages over loudspeakers that were installed on lamp posts that Internet connections would be cut off beginning the evening of Feb. 10. Where I am, its close to the makeshift hospital at the Wuhan International Expo Center, said one resident whose connection was shut off Feb. 11, along with neighbors who live nearby. It looks like everyone in our community lost their Internet connection, he added. Others confirmed that their connections were shut off around the same time and, as of February 21, had yet to be restored by the government. Such tactics are used very often by the Chinese Communist government to hide the severity of information about emergencies from citizens and the world, Gu He, an observer of Beijings censorship, told CET. As early as 2009, the Chinese government cut off the Internet in the whole Xinjiang region, [and confined it] to a local area network for 312 days, Gu said. It uses this method to control peoples speech. Cotton also noted on his Senate website that the Chinese government has also expelled journalists. The Chinese Communist Party is complaining about newspaper headlines while the Chinese people suffer and die from coronavirus, he said recently in response to a Wall Street Journal report that China booted three of its reporters. See the latest information on the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak at Pandemic.news. Sources include: WSJ.com Breitbart.com NaturalNews.com Geography isnt static. Rivers change course, mountains erode, and islands disappear under rising seas. The geography of farming and food changes, too. For example, 180 years ago my home county was the castor bean and castor oil capital of the U.S. Both titles, however, slipped into irrelevance as a new resource, crude oil, rose to dominate the lubricant business. Today, fewer and fewer Americans have ever heard of castor beans or castor oil. Those long-forgotten twins seem to have a modern equivalent. Total U.S. wheat acres peaked at 88 million in 1981. Last year, the most recently completed reporting year, total U.S. wheat acres were about one-half of that, or 45.6 million acres. In its just-published Agricultural Projections to 2029, however, the U.S. Department of Agriculture forecasts wheats decades-long slide will stabilize between 45 million and 46.5 million acres in the coming decade. That estimate also comes with a warning: U.S. [wheat] export growth is tempered by sustained price competition from Russia, Ukraine, and the European Union. Translation: After 40 years of falling U.S. wheat plantings and, now, fast-rising international competition for exports, dont bet on our forecast. Its no surprise the two biggest benefactors of wheats decline are Americas two biggest crops, corn and soybeans. As David Widmar of Agricultural Economic Insights pointed out more than two years ago, almost 30 million of wheats lost 43 million acres have been planted to corn and soybeans since 2000. There are two critical (among other) reasons for the big switch: government ethanol blending mandates have fueled corns rise and fast-growing soy exports, especially to China, have pushed soybean acres higher. Both forces, however, are losing steam. Increased use of electric cars and, soon, trucks, has already flat-lined the once voracious U.S. gasoline and, in turn, ethanol appetite and continued global competition in the soy trade is pinching U.S. soybean margins towards breakeven. The elective, sustained tariff war with Americas biggest soybean customer, China, throughout 2018 and 2019 has added to that woe. More troubling for U.S. farmers is the unabated growth of their soy competitors, especially South Americas biggest soy boy, Brazil. Late last year, USDAs Foreign Agricultural Service noted that for the first time ever, Brazil is forecast to overtake the United States as the leading soybean producer in the world during the 2019/20 season. Part of the explanation is American; 2019s terrible weather clipped U.S. soybeans harvest nearly 20 percent. Another part, though, is Brazils strong and steady rise in plantings. Last July, the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture forecast the nations soybean acreage would balloon 25 percent in the coming decade. If accurate, the increase of 23.5 million acres would boost Brazilian soy acres to 112 million by 2029, or about 22 million acres more than the record U.S. soy plantings in 2017. A few days after that news hit global markets, Reuters reported the chairman of Chinas largest food company, state-owned COFCO International, told Brazilian ag leaders his firm wanted to increase its Brazilian soy imports by 25 percent over the next five years. More troubling, the COFCO boss added that his company would underwrite soy expansion on some or most of Brazils undeveloped 25 million hectares. How many acres are in 25 million hectares? You better sit down for this: a staggering 61.8 million. That number and the Chinese promise should finally dispel another myth too long at the center of U.S. agricultural geography: Buy land because theyre not making it anymore. Well, they are making more of it and many of those makers Brazil, Ukraine, Russia, China among others are poised to substantially alter American farm and food geography in the next 20 years. In fact, they already are; just ask a wheat grower. If you can find one. The Farm and Food File is published weekly through the U.S. and Canada. Source material and contact information are posted at www.farmandfoodfile.com. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 RACINE The U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial, also known as the Iwo Jima Memorial, is one of this nations most iconic war memorials. And the next one, pending a successful fundraising campaign, will be a bronze, 40% replica to be placed in Pritchard Park. The Iwo Jima Memorial portrays six U.S. Marines victoriously raising the American flag over Mount Suribachi during World War II in the middle of a ferocious five-week battle. It was the first foreign flag ever to fly on Japanese soil. In tandem with todays 75th anniversary of the flag-raising on Mount Suribachi, a group of local Marines has launched a nationwide effort to build a new, bronze Iwo Jima Monument, a $4 million undertaking. Called the Iwo Jima Memorial Midwest Project, local planners are working with Robert Bricker, the only sculptor involved in the restoration of the original Iwo Jima Memorial in Arlington, Va., three years ago. Pending successful fundraising, Bricker, of the Bronze Craft Foundry in Charlottsville, Va., will produce a 40%-scale version of the original bronze monument for Racine. The base will be 8 feet tall, the figures 13 feet tall, and the memorial will weigh 20,000 pounds. The monument is to be placed at the Veterans Memorial Walk at Pritchard Park. The project has been in the planning stage for about the past 18 months, said Project Director John Capriotti of Racine, who served in the Marines and is junior vice commandant and historian of the local Marine Corps League Detachment 346. Capriotti said this project has approval from Marine Corps headquarters and the effort grows in large part from a feeling that that part of U.S. history is slipping away. Detachment 346 has been doing a living memorial float of the flag-raising in parades and various events for more than 74 years, and it is one of the best-known entries in Racines annual Fourth Fest Parade. Capriotti said that during one of those parades, I was talking to kids about the Iwo Jima float. They had no idea what I was talking about; they were about 14 or 15 we dont want to lose what the military does for this country. Getting it right For 36 days in 1945, from Feb. 19 to March 26, the Battle of Iwo Jima had some of the fiercest fighting of the Pacific War, as the Marine Corps and U.S. Navy fought to secure Iwo Jima as a staging area for attacks on the main Japanese islands. 6,821 Americans were killed on Iwo Jima, among 26,040 total American casualties. The U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial is based on a photograph of the flag-raising shot by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal. It became an iconic image of not only the battle, but of the war in the Pacific and one of the most reproduced photographs in the world. However, the original memorial misidentified two of the six Marines who raised the flag, as the Marine Corps and FBIs Digital Evidence Laboratory discovered during the past few years. The new statue will replace those two faces with the actual Marines who participated: Cpl. Harold Pie Keller and Pfc. Harold Schultz. Therefore, the new IJMMP statue will be the very first monument built that reflects the exact image of the photograph, Capriotti said. The original Iwo Jima Memorial has a unique connection to Racine, he said. The very first Iwo Jima Monument statue was molded as a tabletop version for review and approvals by the Marine Corps. Sculptor Felix De Weldon used Johnson Floor Wax, made by what is now SC Johnson, to form that statue. Construction The Iwo Jima Memorial Midwest Project has had strong support from Racine County officials, Capriotti said, although no county money is involved at this point. Fundraising is underway with last weeks launch of the IJMMP website, www.iwojimamemorialmidwest.org Capriotti said the group will reach nationwide for possible corporate donations. Apparel, merchandise and memorial bricks, which will be placed at the monument, are being offered for sale to donors via the website. (More apparel offerings will be added beyond what the website shows, Capriotti said.) The memorial will require 16 months to produce in 10 distinct stages for the statue, starting with digital and analog pattern creation, and five stages for the base. Each stage has been priced, and as sufficient funds are amassed, each stage can proceed, Capriotti said. The bases surface will be covered in polished, engraved gravel from the Madison area. Although the base will be less wide and deep than the original, it will be the same height, 8 feet, to accommodate all the engravings. When the statue itself is ready, it will make an 820-mile flatbed journey from Virginia to Racine, which Capriotti said will present many promotional opportunities along the way. Once in place in Racine, it definitely would add to our attractions list, said Dave Blank, president and CEO of the county visitors bureau, Real Racine. I can see it particularly working well with the group-tour segment. Capriotti said the monument site will be used as a venue to host various veterans events and will be augmented with educational materials for elementary schools. Organizers will also undertake fundraising efforts to help veterans in need. Information about the project, and ways to donate, can be found online at www.iwojimamemorialmidwest.org Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Is Dry January an insult to French culture? Your first instinct might be: no its a health movement. But hold that thought: an open letter from a group of elite French chefs might change your mind. Thats right, in response to the ~wellness~ craze sweeping the globe, some of the most prominent purveyors of haute couture have taken to the internet to vent their disgust. This French chef in The Times has produced the most French chef quote imaginable pic.twitter.com/M1QWZJKTT4 Patrick Smith (@psmith) January 16, 2020 As Decanter recently reported, dry January has opened up a new fault line in Frances increasingly complicated relationship with wine and alcohol in general. News of the campaign has not gone down well in some parts of French high society. More than 40 figures, including chefs and writers, criticised the concept as an Anglo-Saxon and puritan obsession in an open letter published by Le Figaro newspaper in December, Decanter continued. This initiative dismays me, wrote Philippe Claudet, lead author of the article, arguing French drinkers being made to feel guilty each time [they] caress the sides of a glass before bringing it to [their] lips. Sensual. Gerard Idoux, chef of the acclaimed restaurant Le Recamier in Paris added his two cents too, saying, These days we are not allowed to drink, to smoke or even to have a mistress. Its just prohibition, prohibition, prohibition. Not so sensual. Ashley Madison aside, if you commit yourself to CrossFit (and only have Netflix and Kombucha as vices), whilst you may be building the sinewy body of your dreams, your social life is probably as dry as the oven-baked chicken breast you put in your salads. I was once in a restaurant in the Cognac region of France with a friend who was explaining that some of the people in our group did not eat meat. The maitre d replied: Not even foie gras? Jack Malvern (@jackmalvern) January 16, 2020 But back to Decanter (arguably the most fitting outlet to cover the story): Debate over dry January in France escalated in November when it was reported that president Emmanuel Macron opposed the idea. While Frances health ministry has so far not endorsed the campaign for 2020, dozens of health organisations, including psychologists, anti-addiction experts and patient advocates have (mirroring the campaign launched by Alcohol Change UK in 2013), prompting the scathing open letter. The result? We now have Michelin starred chefs halving the price of wine on one side (to encourage diners to drink them by the bottle rather than by the glass), and dry January campaigners on the other, arguing a month of abstinence can help people lose weight, sleep better and save money. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Gerard Idoux (@gerardidoux) on Jan 11, 2020 at 10:20am PST Defenders of the traditional French lifestyle, however, say it is crucial to resist the spread of British wine free lunches and sometimes even dinners, The Times reports. As Decanter reports, health campaigners and leading doctors have repeatedly highlighted alcohol-related illness in France in recent years and called for tougher regulation, which has led to fierce battles with wine industry groups, in particular. Frances national academy of medicine said in 2019 that alcohol was responsible for 41,000 deaths per year in the country. But as we reported last year: hedonism could be the secret to continental Europes incredible life expectancy. So dont write off the wine just yet. Read Next Trumps tweet comes more than a week after the intelligence official, Shelby Pierson, told members of Schiffs committee during a bipartisan briefing that Russia has developed a preference for Trump and views his administration as more favorable to its interests, according to people who were briefed on the comments and spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter. New Delhi: Ahead of US President Donald Trump's two-day (February 24-25) visit to India India, a village located near Delhi is abuzz with activity. The village, located in Haryana's Gurugram, is named after former US President Jimmy Carter and is called Carterpuri. The village was visited by then US President Carter on January 3, 1978 along with his wife Rosalynn Carter. Atack Singh Baghel who was 24 when Carter came to the village told WION, "It was festivity in the village when he came. He called on village panchayat and presented the proposal of renaming the village Carterpuri". Carter had visited the village since his mother Lillian Gordy Carter had been stationed in the village in 1960s as a social worker. Kartar Singh Baghel, the elder brother of Atack said, "communication continued between the white house and the village for a long time later." adding, "It became a personal relationship and we used to tell, a man from this village is in the white house" Jimmy Carter later that month wrote to Bup Singh Yada, headman of the Carterpuri saying, "I very much appreciated the warm hospitality and friendship which you and all the people of Carterpuri extended to me when I visited your village" Thanking further, he said, "It was, without doubt, one of the high points of my entire foreign travel and represented an experience I shall not soon forget" The first lady also wrote to Carterpuri, saying "Jimmy and I were pleased to receive the lovely gifts on the occasion of our visit to India. They will always remind us of our wonderful time in Carterpuri...thank you so much for these gifts and for your gracious hospitality" Carter was the 3rd US president to visit India. The federal cabinet appears ready to make a decision on Monday on the Teck Frontier tarsands mine. Reports say cabinet ministers are split. According to sources close to the prime minister, any approval would come with a condition that Alberta legislate an emissions cap requiring the province to hit net-zero emissions by 2050. As an organization representing doctors across Canada, we believe this would be an irresponsible bargain, which would hinder our ability to meet our emissions targets and place the health of Canadians at risk. The Teck mine would be the largest open pit tarsands mine in our countrys history, producing four to six megatonnes of greenhouse gases per year until 2066. Its approval would be fundamentally incompatible with federal emissions targets and any provincial net zero targets supposedly linked to it. Climate change is already harming the health of Canadians. Wildfires, smoke-laden air, insect-borne diseases, floods, hurricanes, and heatwaves are increasing as temperatures rise. The health professionals our organization represents are on the front lines of these issues every day. Globally, the World Health Organization estimates that climate-induced heat waves, insect-borne diseases, malnutrition, and infectious diseases will claim 250,000 lives per year by 2030. The Liberals promised in the last election that Canada would beat its target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent (compared to 2005 levels) by 2030, and would be net zero by 2050. Meeting these goals will require aggressive emissions reductions. The TMX pipeline offers a cautionary tale of what happens when we trade fossil fuel infrastructure approvals for provincial climate promises. The federal government approved TMX contingent on Alberta signing on to the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change, requiring a provincial price on carbon. When Jason Kennys UCP came into power, it promptly cancelled provincial carbon pricing and sued the federal government to prevent it from imposing one. This case is still winding its way through the courts. Did the federal government withdraw its support for TMX when Alberta reneged on its commitments? Quite the contrary. When the private sector eventually decided the project was too risky, the federal government stepped in to purchase and save it. So what happens when Alberta misses its targets related to some bargain theyve agreed to on Teck? History shows that there will be no consequences. Its easy to make election promises and legislate targets to appease anxiety about climate change and gain votes from climate-concerned citizens. It takes courage to make decisions in line with them. If the federal government approves the Teck project, we know it is unwilling to make the tough decisions to be climate leaders. Once again, it will fall to the next generation to clean up our mess but by then, it will already be too late. Robin Edger is the executive director and CEO of Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE), a doctor-directed non-profit working to secure human health by protecting the planet. Read more about: For more than a year, the mother of Thomas Valva, who was allegedly killed by his New York cop father, pleaded for child welfare workers to intervene and protect her children from neglect and abuse at the hands of her estranged husband and his fiancee. Eight-year-old Thomas died of hypothermia on January 17 after he was allegedly starved, beaten and locked outside overnight by his NYPD transit cop father, Michael Valva. Thomas was laid to rest earlier this month in the Long Island neighborhood of Melville and just days after his funeral, his mother, Justyna Zubko-Valva, revealed that she was worried about the child and his brother, Anthony, after Valva received temporary custody over the children. In September 2017, a judge granted Valva custody over all three boys and even barred Justyna from seeing her children, according to court documents. On the night of the ruling, Justyna reportedly told Kimberley Berens, who ran the Fit Learning school, which educated autistic children before they went to regular schools: 'He's going to kill my kids.' Since those initial revelations, Justyna has since gathered documents, obtained by the New York Daily News, that shows how child welfare caseworkers missed or ignored signs of the alleged abuse. Scroll down for video For more than a year, Justyna Zubko-Valva (pictured), the mother of Thomas Valva, who was allegedly killed by his New York cop father, pleaded for child welfare workers to intervene and protect her children from abuse at the hands of her estranged husband and his fiancee Eight-year-old Thomas (left and right) died of hypothermia on January 17 after he was allegedly starved, beaten and locked outside overnight by his NYPD transit cop father, Michael Valva Justyna told the newspaper that she began meeting with Child Protective Services in 2017, the same year she lost custody of her children. In one December 2017 meeting, she recalled how caseworker, Michelle Clark, declined to take any evidence detailing the abuse. 'She informed me she will not take any evidence from me,' Justyna wrote in the documents shared with the Daily News. 'If I try to provide my evidence to her, she is not going to take them into consideration.' Clark submitted five reports between October 31, 2017, and January 15, 2018, and not one of them found safety factors that 'place the children in immediate danger'. On January 13, 2018, a neighbor confirmed to Justyna that Valva hit Thomas repeatedly on his lower back, right side and buttocks after the child accused Pollina of hitting him. That incident forced Justyna to file another report against Valva and Pollina. A caseworker then reportedly went to the couple's home but they refused to let the worker inside. A few days later, Thomas told Clark that he was still in pain from his fathers beating. Clark later closed the case. CPS responded to that complaint by filing an order of protection against Justyna because Valva constantly complained 'he was being harassed'. In October 2018, Justyna filed a a request to remove caseworker Jessica Lantz for 'failing to report Valva and Pollinas neglect of the children,' according to the Daily News. In one December 2017 meeting, Justyna recalled how caseworker, Michelle Clark, declined to take any evidence detailing the abuse Justyna said she believed that some of the caseworkers were trying to downplay the seriousness of the alleged abuse at the hands of Michael Valva (left) and his fiancee Angelina Pollina (right) Justyna believed that Lantz was downplaying the seriousness of the alleged abuse. Three investigations into Valva were later closed that year. In the months leading up to Thomas death, 17 calls were made to a child abuse hotline about the boys, records revealed. Thomas' worried teachers had called a state abuse hotline about 20 times reporting that that he and his brother Anthony arrived to school hungry, and bore signs of physical abuse. In one instance the boys brought urine-soaked backpacks to school. One complaint was filed against Valva and Pollina with Child Protective Services in January 2019 by a school official. 'Thomas, age 7, presented a right, swollen black eye today that he didnt have within the past two days,' the complaint said, according to the Daily News. 'There is a history of physical abuse in the home involving Thomas so his black eye is suspicious due to conflicting explanations and conflicting time frames.' That report listed Thomas and Anthony as 'maltreated'. Despite the claims, CPS concluded that the case did 'not rise to the level of immediate or impending danger of serious harm'. The agency did not intervene. A month later, another complaint was filed against Michael Valva and Pollina. This time the school official alleged that Anthony had been coming to school 'with his backpack soaked in urine'. 'Anthony has been staying in the garage and is not allowed in his room due to him urinating in his bed. As a result of the child being soaked in urine, he has a foul odor and he is extremely cold,' the official said, according to the Daily News. Three more complaints were filed in March, May and August, but nothing was ever done. Earlier this month, Thomas' nanny, Amanda Wildman, said she even witnessed the abuse. Valva had three sons from a previous marriage and Pollina had three daughters and they tried to present themselves as a happy family like The Brady Bunch, Wildman claims. Valva had three sons from a previous marriage and Pollina had three daughters Michael Valva's Center Moriches, Long Island, home where Thomas died in January Wildman worked for the Valva family from 2017 to 2018 and revealed in a Dr. Oz show interview that she saw the boys in the family were subject to intense verbal abuse and brainwashed to hate their biological mom. 'What were you observing in your time with Thomas and the rest of the children that was alarming to you?' Oz asked. 'They were, you know everybody says more the boys than the girls, but they were all verbally abusive. They all got verbally abused,' she said. She claims Pollina was the big abuser in the home who punished the kids for little things like not finishing their food. The kids would be told to sit on the couch and remain there, even if they had to use the restroom. 'If they didn't finish their food or they got caught throwing out their food, they got in trouble and they were told to go sit on the couch and they weren't allowed to get up until she said,' Wildman said. 'She told them, "I don't care if you have to go to the bathroom, you're to remain on that couch until said otherwise."' When asked if she ever saw the kids injured, Wildman said: 'I did.' 'Id seen the bite mark and now that I look back to the videos and everything that everybody's posting, you see it - You could hear Mike in the car chanting, "We love daddy. We love Angela." Ya know, "We hate mommy."' Amanda Wildman, who was a nanny for Thomas and his siblings in 2017 to 2018, claimed she saw verbal and physical abuse in the Valva household on Long Island 'They were, you know everybody says more the boys than the girls, but they were all verbally abusive. They all got verbally abused,' Wildman told Dr Oz earlier this month. She claimed on one occasion she saw bite marks on Thomas 'So it's like whatever was beaten into their head was beaten so bad that they were telling me like graphic stories. And I met Justyna. She's a wonderful lady like. Its so- I wish we could have connected before all of this happened. I wish somehow I knew she was fighting,' she said. Wildman warned the public not to trust Pollina, who has portrayed her husband as the big abuser in the family, though she is also under investigation for abuse. 'When I was there it was almost the opposite.And you know it's funny because she's trying to portray herself as like this victim of Mike. Meanwhile, she was the runner of it all,' Wildman explained. 'Like anything she said to do, Mike followed in her footsteps,' Wildman added. Pollina and Valva face second-degree murder charges for the death of their son Thomas, 'because they engaged in conduct which created a grave risk of death to this child,' Suffolk County Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart said. They forced the child to sleep in the garage in frigid 19-degree weather, investigators said. Valva called police on the morning of January 17 claiming that his son fell in the driveway while waiting for the school bus, hit his head, and became unconscious. When cops arrived the boy's body temperature was just 76 degrees. He was was transported to a hospital and declared dead. Valva and Pollina lived together with their combined six kids. Thomas, a six year old boy, a 10 year old boy, 11-year-old girl twins and an eight-year-old daughter, authorities say. All five of those kids have been placed in the custody of Child Protective Services. Hart said investigators believe Thomas and his 10-year-old brother were subjected to severe punishment including 'food deprivation and exposure to extremely frigid temperatures'. 'We are still investigating the extent of the abuse and if it extended to all of the children,' Hart said. - A pastor has ordered the couples in his church to kiss each other during a church programme - In a photo, the couples have grabbed their respective partners to kiss - The church, Hope Restoration Ministries, is said to be one of South Africas most popular churches - It was said to be a Valentine's Day event Our manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in Install our latest app for Android and read the best news about Ghana The pastor of Hope Restoration Ministry has ordered the couples in his church to kiss each other during a church programme. In the photo that has gone viral on social media with much traction, the couples passionately grabbed their respective partners to kiss them. It was said to be a Valentine's Day event which the church organised for its members to help promote love in their marriages. Pastor orders church members to kiss one another during service (Photo) Source: Facebook READ ALSO: Afia Schwar shamed for doing ahosheshe on despites son in new photo Hope Restoration Ministry is said to be one of the biggest churches in South Africa with a large following. Meanwhile, in an earlier report by YEN.com.gh, one pastor ordered his church members to pray in the name of a goat rather than Jesus Christ. In yet another report, another pastor asked his church members to chew grass, while he himself refrained from chewing. READ ALSO: Fresh throwback photo of Despites son drops; Ghanaians ladies all over him In another weird report, a Ghanaian pastor was captured fetching his bathe water for his church members to drink. In the video published by YEN.com.gh, the church members were seen drinking with all excitement. Again, in another report, controversial fetish priest, Kwaku Bonsam, stormed a church to collect the juju he gave to one pastor to perform miracles with. READ ALSO: Tracy initially rejected Kennedy - Fada Dickson narrates their love story in new video Mathew Anim Cudjoe showered with money after Hearts - Kotoko game in Accra | #Yencomgh Have national and human interest issues to discuss? Know someone who is extremely talented and needs recognition? Your stories and photos are always welcome. Get interactive via our Facebook page. Source: YEN.com.gh The Alabama-based center that will house coronavirus patients provides advanced training to first responders and is equipped with the nations only hospital facility used to prepare health care workers for disaster response. Here is AL.coms complete coverage of the plan to bring coronavirus patients to Alabama Heres what you need to know about the Anniston-based CDP: What is the Center for Domestic Preparedness? The 176-acre Center for Domestic Preparedness is located in Anniston at the former site of Fort McClellan, once home to the U.S. Armys Chemical Defense Training Facility. It is about 60 miles east of Birmingham and 90 miles west of Atlanta. The CDP opened in 1998, originally under the management of the Department of Justice. It is now managed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. CDP trains first responders from around the country at its Chemical, Ordnance, Biological and Radiological Training Facility as well as Noble Training Facility. According to FEMA, Noble is the only hospital facility in the U.S. dedicated to solely training health care professionals in disaster preparedness and response. It is equipped with exercise and simulation areas, emergency operations center and emergency department, as well as a clinical and isolation ward used for training. CDP trains about 50,000 first responders each year. Housing coronavirus evacuees The plan announced Saturday by the Department of Health and Human Services includes housing American passengers evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship at the Anniston facility. Some 300 Americans were evacuated from the cruise ship as it docked in Japan amid a coronavirus outbreak onboard. More than 3,700 passengers on board the ship were quarantined after testing positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. Two passengers died. According to FEMA, the passengers who will stay at the CDP tested positive for COVID-19 although, at this time, either they do not have symptoms or have a mild flu-like illness. The Department of Defense has set aside military bases in California, Colorado and Texas to house evacuees during a 14-day quarantine. An unknown number of patients are expected to be transported to the Alabama facility next week and will stay in the existing dorms that are typically used to house first responders in the residential training program. Photos online show a hotel-like setting with private rooms and a shared bath. Federal officials told the Anniston Star housing the evacuees in a CDP dorm will keep hospital beds open for people who need them, such as those hospitalized with a severe case of the flu. The evacuees will be kept apart from those training at the facility and will remain there until they are medically cleared. Federal officials said the CDP will provide housing for evacuees while Health and Human Services will provide medical care and support services for evacuees. They will be transported to CDP via a small plane flying into Anniston and travel via a federal vehicle. The planes and vehicles will then be sanitized, officials said. In the event an evacuee becomes seriously ill, they will be transported to pre-identified hospitals for medical care, federal officials said. However, Calhoun County Emergency Management Agency said officials have not shared a plan related to transporting patients to a hospital. CDP tapped by federal government in the past In 2014, the federal government announced plans to house hundreds of young undocumented immigrants at the Anniston facility. The plan, opposed by Congressman Mike Rogers, whose district includes Anniston, was eventually canceled. The CDP is a world class first responder training facility; however, it was in no way built to house immigration detainees, much less children, Rogers said at the time. A British pensioner who is serving an eight-year sentence for smuggling 1million of cocaine on a cruise has said she fears she will die behind bars. Susan Clarke, 71, is jailed at Portugal's maximum-security prison EP Tires and is now waiting for biopsy results after she found a lump in her left breast. The grandmother-of-eight, from Kent, has grown frail and lost more than two and a half stone since she was convicted alongside her husband Roger, 72. She told the Sunday People: 'We were made an example of but I've been handed a death sentence. My worry is that I'll never be free and I'll be leaving here in a box.' British pensioner Susan Clarke, 71, has said she fears she will die behind bars after finding a lump in her breast while serving eight years for drug smuggling in Portugal (pictured with her husband Roger, 72, who is also behind bars) Mrs Clarke, whose appeal has been unsuccessful, added: 'I may never get out of here alive and there's no way I can reduce my sentence now. 'We feel completely abandoned. The Foreign Office has ignored us, Boris Johnson has not helped and we have been completely cut adrift.' It has now been 14 months since Mrs Clarke was arrested and she is now sharing a small cell with three other women. However the grandmother, who takes medication for high blood pressure, vertigo, reflux and arthritis, says she is more worried about her husband. She said that Mr Clarke had to have an emergency operation to remove an ulcer and added that 'if something isn't done for Roger soon then he will die here.' The retired couple were jailed last September after being found guilty of trying to smuggle cocaine into Europe on a 6,800 luxury Caribbean cruise. The retired couple were jailed after being found guilty of trying to smuggle drugs into Europe on a 6,800 Caribbean cruise. Police found 9lbs of cocaine hidden inside the lining of four suitcases (right, police taking apart one of the bags and left the cases on a bed) Mrs Clarke is serving her time at Portugal's maximum-security prison EP Tires (pictured) and has lost more than two and a half stone since she was convicted last September Three judges convicted retired chef Mr Clarke and his ex-secretary wife of drugs trafficking after a one-day trial at Lisbon's main criminal court. They were told they will serve their sentences in Portugal instead of being sent back to Britain to do their jail time as a state prosecutor had requested. The pair, who had been living in Spain, were arrested on board cruise liner Marco Polo on December 4, 2018, by Portuguese police acting on a tip-off from Britain's National Crime Agency. They discovered 9lbs of cocaine hidden inside the lining of four suitcases Mr Clarke had been handed in St Lucia. Bromley-born Mr Clarke, insisted he had no idea the cocaine was hidden in the lining of four suitcases picked up on the paradise island of St Lucia. Clarke told the court he was taking the suitcases back to the UK for a friend called Lee who had promised to pay him 800 and bragged he could sell them for a massive profit at upmarket stores such as Harrods. The couple, who had been living in Spain and are from Kent, were arrested on board cruise liner Marco Polo on December 4, 2018, by Portuguese police acting on a tip-off from Britain's National Crime Agency Mr and Mrs Clarke (pictured together) had previously both served prison sentences in Norway after being convicted in 2010 for trafficking 240 kilos of cannabis resin Mr Clarke, who held hands with his wife as they learnt their fate through a translator, whispered to her: 'Jesus Christ, I was not expecting more than four years. I'll be 80 when all this is over.' During the trial Mr Clarke also confirmed they had both served prison sentences in Norway after being convicted in 2010 for trafficking 240 kilos of cannabis resin. He said he had done a first drugs run to clear debts and was made to do more with his wife as cover after being threatened with violence by gangster paymasters if he stopped. The smuggler, who was born Roger Button but changed his surname to Clarke after finishing his prison sentence, was jailed for nearly five year and Susan for three years nine months. Portuguese prosecutors say they believe the Clarkes were making between 18,000 and 26,500 plus extras per cruise they took so they could smuggle drugs into Europe. Britain's NCA said they believed the couple were planning to offload the cocaine in Portugal but Policia Judiciaria inspector Carla Nunes told their trial she thought the final destination was the UK. Scottish court orders venue to explain why it canceled Franklin Graham event Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Glasgow Sheriff Court has asked the Scottish Event Campus to explain by Feb. 27 why it canceled an event evangelist Franklin Graham was scheduled to hold at the venue. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, which Graham heads, had asked the court to pass an interim order for the venue to hold the event, which was canceled last month due to his views on homosexuality. Susan Aitken, Glasgow City Council leader, had said earlier that the way Graham expresses his views could, I believe, fundamentally breach the councils statutory equalities duties. She pointed out that in 2016, Graham accused LGBT activists of trying to cram down Americas throat the lie that homosexuality is OK. This is ultimately about whether the Scottish Event Campus will discriminate against the religious beliefs of Christians, Graham said, according to Glasgow Times. More than 330 churches in the Glasgow area alone support this evangelistic outreach and their voices are being silenced. This case has wide-reaching ramifications for religious freedom and democracy in the U.K. and Europe. Aitken had earlier sought to explain that the booking for the event was processed in the same way we would for any religious concert of this nature and as a business we remain impartial to the individual beliefs of both our clients and visitors. She added, However, we are aware of the recent adverse publicity surrounding this tour and have reviewed this with our partners and stakeholders. Following a request from our principal shareholder the matter has been considered and a decision made that we should not host this event. Graham said the CEC officials should at least meet with us and discuss options for a way forward. Lets work towards a resolution. All eight venues booked by the BGEA for Grahams U.K. tour, which is scheduled to start in May, pulled out due to pressure from LGBT groups. In a media interview earlier this month, Graham said he was surprised. I have been surprised I'm not coming to speak against anybody and I dont name any groups of people, Graham, the son of the late evangelist Billy Graham, told Christian Today, based in the U.K. Im coming to tell people how they can have a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ. He said hes most concerned about the stifling of free speech for churches. ... If we don't stand up for the right to free speech and freedom of religion, there are lots of churches in this country that meet in public who are at risk, he said. They could be kicked out, they could be forced to go somewhere else, just because of their faith." We haven't broken any laws and I think it's important for the church that we resolve this matter so that it protects them," he said of possibly pursuing legal action. This isnt the first time the evangelist met opposition from LGBT groups. In 2018, bus ads for his 2018 evangelistic festival were pulled following an outcry from LGBT groups. Graham believes that the need for preaching the Gospel in the U.K. is greater than ever. He wants people to know that we are all sinners and our sins separate us from God. And unless we confess our sins and repent, and believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we have no hope. The only hope that we have is through Christ, he continued. And so, I'm coming to tell the people of the U.K. how they can have a relationship with God through faith in His Son, and I want people to know what steps we have to take in order to have that relationship. I'm certainly not here to speak against anyone. I'm here to speak for everyone. However, he added, some people dont want to hear that they are sinners. They think that this is hateful and angry speech. Its not. In love, I want to warn people and tell them the steps they need to take to have a right relationship with God, and how they can be sure their sins are forgiven. Pebblebrook Hotel Trust (NYSE:PEB) came out with its annual results last week, and we wanted to see how the business is performing and what top analysts think of the company following this report. It looks like a credible result overall - although revenues of US$1.6b were what analysts expected, Pebblebrook Hotel Trust surprised by delivering a (statutory) profit of US$0.63 per share, an impressive 24% above what analysts had forecast. Earnings are an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance, look at what top analysts are forecasting for next year, and see if there's been a change in sentiment towards the company. So we gathered the latest post-earnings forecasts to see what analysts' statutory forecasts suggest is in store for next year. View our latest analysis for Pebblebrook Hotel Trust NYSE:PEB Past and Future Earnings, February 23rd 2020 After the latest results, the consensus from Pebblebrook Hotel Trust's eleven analysts is for revenues of US$1.52b in 2020, which would reflect a perceptible 5.7% decline in sales compared to the last year of performance. Statutory earnings per share are expected to plummet 27% to US$0.46 in the same period. Yet prior to the latest earnings, analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$1.52b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$0.28 in 2020. There was no real change to the revenue estimates, but analysts do seem more bullish on earnings, given the massive increase in earnings per share expectations following these results. The consensus price target was unchanged at US$27.19, implying that the improved earnings outlook is not expected to have a long term impact on value creation for shareholders. 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. There are some variant perceptions on Pebblebrook Hotel Trust, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$34.00 and the most bearish at US$22.50 per share. 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. Story continues Another way to assess these estimates is by comparing them to past performance, and seeing whether analysts are more or less bullish relative to other companies in the market. These estimates imply that sales are expected to slow, with a forecast revenue decline of 5.7% a significant reduction from annual growth of 14% over the last five years. Compare this with our data, which suggests that other companies in the same market are, in aggregate, expected to see their revenue grow 4.9% next year. It's pretty clear that Pebblebrook Hotel Trust's revenues are expected to perform substantially worse than the wider market. The Bottom Line The biggest takeaway for us from these new estimates is that the consensus upgraded its earnings per share estimates, showing a clear improvement in sentiment around Pebblebrook Hotel Trust's earnings potential next year. Fortunately, analysts also reconfirmed their revenue estimates, suggesting sales are tracking in line with expectations - although our data does suggest that Pebblebrook Hotel Trust's revenues are expected to 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 said, the long-term trajectory of the company's earnings is a lot more important than next year. We have forecasts for Pebblebrook Hotel Trust going out to 2021, and you can see them free on our platform here. You can also see whether Pebblebrook Hotel Trust is carrying too much debt, and whether its balance sheet is healthy, 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. JERUSALEMIsrael finds itself in a familiar place after a tumultuous election campaign with maverick politician Avigdor Lieberman still seemingly in control of the countrys fate. The run-up to Israels third election in less than a year saw criminal charges filed against the prime minister, an American Mideast plan unveiled and various party mergers and machinations. Yet once again, opinion polls suggest that neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor his chief challenger Benny Gantz will be able to form a coalition without Lieberman. Lieberman remains cagey about his intentions, raising the possibility his brinkmanship could end up forcing yet another election. Liebermans nationalist Yisrael Beitenu party bolted from Netanyahus right-wing camp last year to spark the unprecedented stalemate in Israeli politics. Though Lieberman has all but ruled out sitting in a government led by his one-time mentor Netanyahu, saying his era is over, he has also driven a hard bargain with Gantz and has taken out campaign ads against the former military chief. Lieberman insists a future coalition cannot include Arab-led parties, whose lawmakers he considers terrorist sympathizers because several have sided with Israels adversaries and refused to condemn attackers. He has also ruled out governing jointly with ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties that he says have long wielded disproportionate power that has harmed Israels secular majority and, in particular, his base of immigrants from the former Soviet Union. Lieberman himself immigrated to Israel in the 1970s from the former Soviet republic of Moldova. His preferred solution after the last election was to play matchmaker between Gantzs centrist Blue and White party and Netanyahus Likud and coax them into a unity government. But that option appears off the table even if the numbers dont seem to add up to any other realistic alternative. Gantz refuses to partner with the indicted Netanyahu and Likud appears unwilling to part ways with its longtime leader, even as he goes on trial next month. Still, Lieberman, who declined interview requests, insists this vote will produce a breakthrough and hell be the one to dictate how it all plays out. The reality is different. There wont be another election. This time we will pick a side, said Eli Avidar, a lawmaker from Liebermans party who often serves as his voice to foreign audiences. Avidar, a former diplomat, said that with Netanyahu heading to trial on March 17, other options have emerged across Israels fractured political landscape. For starters, Lieberman has indicated a newfound openness to sitting in government with left-wing parties he once shunned and has hinted that other nationalists could follow suit to give Gantz the edge he needs. Either way, Avidar said that with Iran believed to be pursuing nuclear weapons and a huge deficit to overcome, there was simply too much at stake to risk dragging on the government paralysis any longer. Israels attorney general charged Netanyahu in November on three counts of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. The trial begins two weeks after the election, and just as the new parliament is sworn in and coalition negotiations will be getting under way. Opinion polls show Likud and Blue and White in a tight race. Unless Likud somehow defies the polls and emerges as the most dominant party, Netanyahus precarious legal position will make it difficult for him to form a new coalition. Its not a game, Avidar said. The minute Netanyahu shows up to court people will finally realize that its over for him and its time to move on. If this indeed is the end of the road for Netanyahu, it would carry no small degree of irony that Lieberman was the one to finally push him out. Lieberman started out as a top Netanyahu aide in the 1990s and as Netanyahus chief of staff during his first term in office later that decade. He then embarked on a political career of his own as a nationalist hard-liner and champion of fellow former Soviet Union immigrants. Over the next two decades, the pair enjoyed a roller-coaster relationship in which Lieberman held a series of senior Cabinet posts under Netanyahu and often served as a staunch partner and defender, while occasionally emerging as a rival, critic and thorn in Netanyahus side. Lieberman resigned as defence minister in 2018 because Netanyahu kept blocking his plans to strike hard against Gaza militants. He passed up the chance to return to the post following last Aprils election when he refused to join Netanyahus emerging coalition and forced the do-over vote. He stuck to his guns after the September vote as well and helped prevent Netanyahu from securing the parliamentary immunity he sought to avoid an embarrassing trial. If, as polls forecast, Netanyahu fails to secure a 61-seat majority in Israels parliament, Israels longest-ever leader may be out of cards to play. With another deadlock looming, Lieberman leaves observers pondering what he ultimately hopes to achieve. Israeli commentator Nahum Barnea said he believes Lieberman isnt driven by political ambition at this stage, noting he has already held a number of senior Cabinet posts. Theres nothing out there that truly charms him, he said. I think he mostly wants to prove that Israel can have a government without Netanyahu. The 61-year-old Lieberman derives most ofhispower from a devout following of both immigrants and native-born Israelis drawn to his straight-talking persona and his dual nationalist-secular credo. Perhaps more than any other Israeli political leader, he exercises complete control over his party. That gives him great leverage in coalition negotiations. But Barnea says Lieberman may have overplayed his hand by creating too many enemies in ruling out both the Arab-led and ultra-Orthodox parties. Even so, polls still have his party as a tipping point that could block Netanyahu from staying in power. Lieberman started out as the kingmaker, but he turned into the king-slayer, Barnea said. The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 27 other press freedom and human rights organizations in a letter dated February 19 calling for authorities in Togo to maintain the stability and openness of the internet and social media platforms. The call came in response to concerns that the government intends to shut down or disrupt the internet during the presidential elections scheduled for February 22. The letter, addressed to Cina Lawson, Togos minister of posts, digital economy, and technological innovations, encourages the government to undertake the necessary measures to ensure that the internet service providers and relevant actors ensure an open, accessible, and secure internet throughout Togo during this electioneering period. The letter notes that the Togolese government is currently facing a court case alleging that its internet shutdown in 2017 violated citizens rights. Read full letter below: February 19, 2020 #KeepIton: Joint letter on Keeping the Internet Open and Secure During the Elections in Togo Re: Internet shutdowns during Togos elections Your Excellency Cina Lawson, Posts, Digital Economy, and Technology Innovation Minister CC: M. Abayeh Germain Boyodi, Director of Autorite de Regulation des Communications Electroniques et des Postes (ARCEP); Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS); The Chief Observer of the EU Election Observation Mission for 2020 We are writing to urgently request that your offices ensure the stability and openness of the internet and social media platforms in Togo. We have received information that your government intends to shut down the internet during the presidential elections scheduled for February 22, 2020. On behalf of more than 210 organizations from over 70 countries that make up the #KeepItOn Coalition, we appeal to you, Minister Lawson, to ensure that the internet including social media and other communication channels are open, secure, and accessible before, during, and after the presidential elections in Togo. Internet shutdowns contravene national and international laws Internet shutdowns violate fundamental human rights such as freedom of expression, access to information, and the right to peaceful assembly, among others guaranteed by national, regional and international frameworks such as the Togolese Constitution, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), and the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (ACHPR). Madam Minister, we would also like to remind you about the current court case before the Economic Community of West African States Community Court of Justice brought against the Togolese republic for shutting down the internet back in 2017. Reiterating the plaintiffs argument, the internet shutdown then violated the fundamental rights of the Togolese citizens and if it were to happen again, will contravene their rights yet again. In November 2016, ACHPR adopted a resolution on the right to freedom of information and expression on the internet in Africa, which noted its concern over the emerging practice of State Parties of interrupting or limiting access to telecommunications services such as the Internet, social media and messaging services, increasingly during elections. ACHPR/Res. 362(LIX) The UN Human Rights Committee, the official interpreter of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, emphasizes in its General Comment no. 34 that restrictions on speech online must be strictly necessary and proportionate to achieve a legitimate purpose. [1] Shutdowns, by contrast, disproportionately impact all users, and unnecessarily restrict access to information and emergency services communications during crucial moments. Shutdowns are neither necessary, nor effective at, achieving a legitimate aim, as they block the spread of information, contribute to confusion and disorder, and obstruct public safety. Internet shutdowns harm human rights, disrupt emergency services and harm economies Research shows that internet shutdowns and violence go hand in hand. [2], [3] Shutdowns disrupt the free flow of information and create a cover of darkness that shields human rights abuses from public scrutiny. Journalists and media workers cannot contact sources, gather information, or file stories about the electioneering process without digital communications tools.[4] Justified for various reasons, shutdowns cut off access to vital information, e-commerce, and emergency services, plunging whole communities into fear. The open internet has fostered unprecedented creativity, innovation, and access to information and to other kinds of social, economic, cultural, and political opportunities across the globe. The technical means used to block access to information online often dangerously undermine the stability and resilience of the internet. Network disruptions also destabilize the internets power to support small business livelihoods and to drive economic development. A 2016 study by the Brookings Institution, a prominent think tank, revealed that shutdowns drained $2.4 billion from the global economy between 2015 and 2016. [5] As a coalition that believes in the internet as an enabler of all other human rights, we are confident that access to the internet and social media platforms can foster transparent and fair elections and enable citizens participation in the upcoming elections. We, therefore, call on you to undertake the necessary measures to ensure that the internet service providers and relevant actors ensure an open, accessible, and secure internet throughout Togo during this electioneering period. Internet shutdowns must never be allowed to become the new normal in Togo. We respectfully request that you use the important positions of your good offices to: Ensure that the internet, including social media, remains accessible throughout the presidential elections; Publicly declare the commitment of the Government of Togo to keep the internet on, and to notify the public of any disruptions; Encourage telecommunications and internet service providers to respect human rights through public disclosures on policies and practices impacting users. We are happy to assist you in any of these matters. Sincerely, Access Now Africans Rising AFRICTIVISTES AfroLeadership ARTICLE 19 West Africa Association for Progressive Communications (APC) Bloggers of Zambia Campaign for Human Rights and Development International - CHRDI Centre for Multilateral Affairs (CfMA) Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) Committee to Protect Journalists Human Rights Foundation (HRF) i Freedom Uganda Network Iraqi Network for Social Media Media Foundation for West Africa Media Matters for Democracy Media Rights Agenda Movements.org Spectrum OpenNet Africa Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI) Paradigm Initiative PEN America Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF) Right 2 Know South africa Rudi International SAFEnet Sassoufit Unwanted Witness Uganda UN Human Rights Committee (UN, July 2011) General Comment No. 34 http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrc/docs/GC34.pdf An internet shutdown is defined as an intentional disruption of internet or electronic communications, rendering them inaccessible or effectively unusable, for a specific population or within a location, often to exert control over the flow of information. See more at < https://accessnow.org/keepito n > . Anita R. Gohdes, Pulling the Plug: Network Disruptions and Violence in the Syrian Conflict (Journal of Peace Research: 31 January 2014) < http://www.anitagohdes.net/uploads/2/7/2/3/27235401/gohdes_synetworkaug14.pd f > accessed 24 March 2017. Jonathan Rozen, Journalists under duress: Internet shutdowns in Africa are stifling press freedom (Africa Portal) 17 August 2017) > Married At First Sight's Hayley Vernon has admitted to suffering a drug relapse after beating her eight-year addiction to crystal meth. The 32-year-old finance broker took ecstasy in January 2019 at a New Year's Eve rave in Sydney, and also used magic mushrooms in Bali last month. Last week, Daily Mail Australia obtained a photo of Hayley holding two yellow sneaker-shaped tablets at the NYE dance party. Honest: Married At First Sight's Hayley Vernon has admitted to suffering a drug relapse after beating her eight-year addiction to crystal meth. Pictured in Sydney on October 10 'They're called Air Max 90s': Last week, Daily Mail Australia obtained this photo of Hayley holding two yellow sneaker-shaped tablets at a New Year's Eve dance party in January 2019 Hayley, who was left homeless and estranged from her family because of her ice addiction, took a single ecstasy pill nine months before she began filming Married At First Sight in September. 'They're called Air Max 90s,' she said of the pills. Hayley, who is paired with truck driver David Cannon on Nine's social experiment, insisted that it was just a momentary relapse. 'This doesn't mean I'm back in my bedroom on meth every weekend. Nobody is perfect,' she told Daily Mail Australia last week. Hayley also admitted to using magic mushrooms in Bali last month, after she had finished filming Married At First Sight. 'I had never tried psychedelics and used them for meditation on a spiritual trip to Gili Trawangan island. It was an awakening experience,' she added. 'Nobody is perfect': Hayley, who was left homeless and estranged from her family because of her ice addiction, took a single ecstasy pill nine months before she began filming Married At First Sight in September. She insisted it was just a momentary relapse In January, the bodybuilder shared a private Facebook post about her experience taking 'mushy shakes' on the Indonesian party island. 'I tried a mushy shake last night for the first time in my life, mind blown! It was fair to say I ended up having five. We rode our pushbikes into the jungle, where I found a place that had bright coloured doors, and art everywhere,' she wrote. 'I can't put it into words but the clarity that I was able to get through this experience was unreal, I was tapping into a different level of light and energy, and having major epiphanies... all I can say is wow.' Staying strong: 'This doesn't mean I'm back in my bedroom on meth every weekend,' Hayley told Daily Mail Australia. Pictured in January 2019, days after the rave where she took ecstasy 'I had never tried psychedelics': She also admitted to using magic mushrooms in Bali last month (pictured), saying it was 'for meditation on a spiritual trip' to Gili Trawangan island 'I was tapping into a different level of light and energy': In January, Hayley shared a private Facebook post about her experience taking 'mushy shakes' on the Indonesian party island Hayley was drug tested before and during filming of MAFS by executive producer Tara McWilliams. All of her tests came back negative. On Married At First Sight, Hayley has spoken candidly about her former struggles with hard drugs. She started smoking cannabis at age 16 before becoming addicted to meth at 19. Hayley: 'My life as a drug addict' Hayley turned to cannabis aged 16 following issues at home At age 19, she developed an addiction to crystal meth She later found herself homeless and estranged from her family Hayley battled with drug abuse for almost a decade She got clean at age 26, after weight training brought 'focus' to her life After finally beating her addictions, she reconciled with family and friends She now admits to a 'momentary relapse' by taking ecstasy in January 2019 She also took magic mushrooms in Bali last month, which she describes as a positive experience Advertisement 'We both aren't into vanilla sex': Hayley and her 'husband', David Cannon, consummated their relationship on Tuesday's episode of MAFS after moving in together during intimacy week During her eight-year addiction, she became homeless and estranged from her family. She turned her life around several years ago after being introduced to a bodybuilder on Instagram, who helped her find 'focus' through weight training. Hayley is now a successful finance broker and homeowner in Melbourne. Inspiring: On Married At First Sight, Hayley has spoken candidly about her former struggles She and David, 31, consummated their 'marriage' on Tuesday's episode after moving in together during intimacy week. David boasted afterwards: 'We had a pub meal, one thing led to another and we got down. I had a feeling like Hayley and I had common ground in the bedroom. 'We both aren't into vanilla sex. And last night was certainly not vanilla. I don't think she was expecting for me to be so dominant in that area.' Hayley added: 'You know, sometimes you just want your hair pulled!' Daily Mail Australia has contacted Channel Nine for comment. Married At First Sight returns Sunday at 7:00pm on Channel Nine An out-of-control truck ploughed into homes killing a mother and her three-month-old son. The 18-wheeler was carrying a digger on the back when it came off the road and smashed through buildings in Bulacan, the Philippines on Tuesday (Feb 18) afternoon. Michelle Ramos, 17, and her baby boy Matthew were killed in the collision. Her father-in-law was injured while her mother-in-law is still unconscious at the hospital. Ramos' husband, Rolly Bangit, tried to rescue his dying wife who was stuck under the debris. He then held her in his arms as she pleaded through tears to find their baby. Rolly said: ''I held her hand while trying to remove the debris on top her. Then I looked for our baby. She asked me where our baby was, then she slowly died while I was holding her. I couldn't do anything.'' Police arrested the truck driver Eliazar Lumawag. He allegedly told officers that he felt something was wrong with the truck when he started the journey but ignored it. He said that the brakes failed and was unable to control the vehicle when it went round a bend and hit the buildings. Michelle was working on her in-laws' watermelon store at the time. Several other people were injured and were taken to the hospital. Three other houses and several vehicles were also hit by the truck. The driver was held in the San Jose Del Monte police station where he allegedly tested positive for methamphetamine. He was later charged with reckless imprudence resulting in double homicide, multiple injury, damage to property and violation of the Dangerous Drugs Act. Police Corporal Dante de Guzman said: "We received information that the truck driver was under the influence of meth when the incident happened." Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami on Sunday ordered Rs 2 lakh as assistance to a class IX girl student, a space enthusiast, for successfully qualifying in an online test to visit America's space agency NASA and participate in an international conference. The student V Abinaya studying in Namakkal district got through the exam held by firms here and in America, the Chief Minister, in a statement, said adding the opportunity to visit NASA and take part in a global space science symposium is a "victory for her talent." Wishing her many more successes in space science, Palaniswami lauded her for the "achievement and to encourage younger generation, I have ordered Rs 2 lakh assistance from the Chief Minister's Public Relief Fund. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Measuring Canadian Pacific Railway Limited's (TSX:CP) track record of past performance is a useful exercise for investors. It enables us to understand whether or not the company has met or exceed expectations, which is an insightful signal for future performance. Today I will assess CP's recent performance announced on 31 December 2019 and weigh these figures against its long-term trend and industry movements. See our latest analysis for Canadian Pacific Railway How Did CP's Recent Performance Stack Up Against Its Past? CP's trailing twelve-month earnings (from 31 December 2019) of CA$2.4b has jumped 25% compared to the previous year. Furthermore, this one-year growth rate has exceeded its 5-year annual growth average of 12%, indicating the rate at which CP is growing has accelerated. What's enabled this growth? Let's take a look at if it is only due to an industry uplift, or if Canadian Pacific Railway has seen some company-specific growth. TSX:CP Income Statement, February 23rd 2020 In terms of returns from investment, Canadian Pacific Railway has invested its equity funds well leading to a 35% return on equity (ROE), above the sensible minimum of 20%. Furthermore, its return on assets (ROA) of 13% exceeds the CA Transportation industry of 8.7%, indicating Canadian Pacific Railway has used its assets more efficiently. And finally, its return on capital (ROC), which also accounts for Canadian Pacific Railways debt level, has increased over the past 3 years from 14% to 17%. What does this mean? Canadian Pacific Railway's track record can be a valuable insight into its earnings performance, but it certainly doesn't tell the whole story. Positive growth and profitability are what investors like to see in a companys track record, but how do we properly assess sustainability? I suggest you continue to research Canadian Pacific Railway to get a better picture of the stock by looking at: Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for CPs future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for CPs outlook. Financial Health: Are CPs operations financially sustainable? Balance sheets can be hard to analyze, which is why weve done it for you. Check out our financial health checks here. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore our free list of these great stocks here. NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the trailing twelve months from 31 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. A third person has died in Italy from the coronavirus, as the number of infections rose above 130. Officials have expanded quarantine measures in a bid to contain the outbreak in the north. Iran has also imposed lockdowns after eight deaths, while South Korea has raised its COVID-19 alert to the "highest level". The epidemic has now killed nearly 2,500 people in China as it continues its relentless global expansion. The World Health Organization (WHO) also warned Africa's poor health systems left it vulnerable to the COVID-19 disease, which spilled out of China to more than 25 countries. Responding to the rising number of new cases, Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said 11 towns in north, in the Lombardy and Veneto regions, would be placed under quarantine, affecting about 52,000 people. More than 130 cases have now been reported throughout the country, with 89 of those centred around the small town of Codogno, about 70 kilometres southeast of Milan. A third person died on Sunday from the so-called COVID-19 epidemic in Italy, which was the first country to ban direct flights to and from China in January. Iran deaths on the rise Iran ordered the closure of schools, universities and cultural centres across 14 provinces from Sunday following eight deaths in the Islamic Republic -- the most outside East Asia. Iran's outbreak surfaced Wednesday and quickly grew to 43 confirmed infections. "The concern is ... that we have seen ... a very rapid increase in a matter of a few days," said Sylvie Briand, director of the WHO's global infectious hazard preparedness department. 'Highest' alert South Korea has raised its coronavirus alert to the "highest level" following a sharp jump in new cases, President Moon Jae-in said Sunday. The number of infections has nearly tripled over the weekend to 602. Story continues Led by an outbreak cluster in a religious sect in the southern city of Daegu, South Korea now has the most infections outside of China -- apart from the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Japan. "The next few days will be crucial," Moon said following a government meeting on the virus. "The government will raise the alert level to the highest level according to experts' recommendations." South Korea reported 169 new cases and three more deaths on Sunday, taking the countrywide fatality toll to five. More than 300 cases have been linked to the Shincheonji Church of Jesus sect in Daegu with some 9,300 members either quarantined or asked to stay at home, according to the Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 1,240 have reported symptoms. The new cases also included a Samsung Electronics employee at a plant in Gumi city, leading the tech giant to suspend operations there until Monday. (with AFP) The Shinsegae Department Store in southern Seoul / Yonhap Shinsegae Department Store, a major South Korean retailer, said Sunday it will partially shut down one of its outlets in southern Seoul for a disinfection measure following a recent visit there by a patient diagnosed with the new coronavirus. The store in the posh Gangnam district will close its food court at the basement level for one day, the company said. The patient infected with the COVID-19 virus stayed at the venue for an hour on Wednesday with her husband. The patient also attended a religious service of a minor Christian sect in Daegu, 302 kilometers south of Seoul, last week. Her infection was confirmed on Friday. Go into any Scottish pub and chances are that a good proportion of drinkers will be nursing a pint of Tennent's. It is a national best-seller, with a near 50 per cent share of Scotland's lager market. In Ireland, Bulmers occupies a similar space in the cider market, while Magners Bulmers' doppelganger in Britain has become a favoured brew across the UK. All three tipples are owned by C&C Group, a drinks maker that can trace its roots to 19th Century Belfast. Looking ahead: C&C Group has potential to grow and owns Tennent's, Magners and Bulmers The shares are 3.77 and should rise, as the London-listed company is forging ahead and has significant potential for growth. C&C's founder, Dr Thomas Cantrell, is credited with inventing ginger ale and, with fellow Irishman Henry Cochrane, built Cantrell & Cochrane into the largest soft drinks maker in the world. Now known as C&C it has morphed into a FTSE 250 business, selling 44 million gallons of Tennent's, Magners and Bulmers every year, equivalent to 950,000 pints a day. The group is behind a range of other beverages, including premium brands such as Orchard Pig cider from Somerset and Scottish craft beer Drygate. It owns almost 50 per cent of Admiral Taverns, a 1,000-strong chain of community pubs. And, in 2018, chairman Stewart Gilliland acquired drinks distributors Matthew Clark and Bibendum, after their previous owner, Conviviality, collapsed into administration. The deal was transformational. C&C has been distributing drinks for decades in Ireland and Scotland, and it has a close relationship with top brewer, AB InBev, whose brands include Budweiser, Corona and Stella Artois. Origin story: Dr Thomas Cantrell is credited with inventing ginger ale, and with fellow Irishman Henry Cochrane built Cantrell & Cochrane into the largest soft drinks maker in the world But Matthew Clark is Britain's top drinks distributor, selling to 25,000 pubs, hotels, restaurants and clubs nationwide. Bibendum complements Clark, with an emphasis on premium products and venues. Both were in a sorry state when C&C acquired them. Stocks were low, debts were high and customers were worried. C&C's managers took steps to bring the firms back to life, and they have made sterling progress. Steve Thomson, who was chief executive of Matthew Clark before it was acquired by Conviviality in 2002, has rejoined the business and Bibendum's founder, Michael Saunders, is back in the saddle too. Both have been in the drinks industry for decades, developed longstanding relationships with major customers and are now working hard to drive their respective divisions forward. There is clear room for growth on three fronts. C&C can sell a wider range of drinks to existing clients. It can find new customers, and it can sign up new brands to its extensive roster of drinks, which includes 600 gins, wines and spirits, as well as a big range of soft drinks, as demand for non-alcoholic beverages rises. C&C has done well with the integration of Matthew Clark and Bibendum, but last month it announced chief executive Stephen Glancey would be retiring with immediate effect. Glancey was at the helm for nearly eight years and was widely respected, so this unsettled investors, especially as no reason was given. In recent weeks, however, leading investors seem to have been reassured that Glancey's decision was personal and that the business is still doing well. In the meantime, Gilliland is well advanced in his search for a successor. A list of about 20 candidates has been drawn up, interviews begin in the next few weeks and a successor should be announced within months. A trading statement next month should provide further reassurance, as well as results for the year to February 28, 2019, released in May. Brokers expect a 6 per cent increase in turnover to 1.7billion (1.4billion), with pre-tax profits up 12 per cent to 104.4million and an 11 per cent rise in the dividend to 17 cents (14p). The results are in euros, as C&C used to be listed in Dublin. But UK shareholders receive their dividends in sterling and there should be good growth announced next year too. Midas Verdict: C&C shares are 3.77 and were more than 4 before Glancey's resignation. They should recover and increase further in value. The company is well positioned in the drinks business, with strong brands and an extensive distribution network. Gilliland is an experienced operator and a new chief executive is likely to deliver further progress. Buy. 1K Shares Share For whatever reason, being 35,000 feet in the air makes me reflective. During one flight, I had a flurry of thoughts, and the reason I decided to get into this whole mess of direct primary care spilled out of me. I want to share it here because if you dont know why or you cant convey why youre doing something, whats the point in doing it? In line with my desire to have a career that served others, I had the opportunity to do my residency in family medicine at a federally qualified health center in Denver that also served as that metro areas international refugee intake clinic. We saw people from all walks of life and tended to each and every person in the same way, under the same constraints and system that dominates health care. As I advanced in my training, more and more patients were added to my schedule. At first, I was expected to see 12 patients in a day. Then it crept to 16, 18, 20 and peaked at 22 at the end of my training. A schedule like that meant I was starting a new patient visit every 20 minutes. If I wanted to place any orders, coordinate care, look up the best medical evidence, seek advice (I was, after all, in training), or simply document the visit, that face-to-face time with the patient was squeezed to 12 minutes or less. This time crunch was further complicated by the fact that more than half of our visits were translated leaving half the amount of time to realistically care for and communicate with someone. This was my reality: If I wanted to help a vulnerable population, I needed to figure out how to learn about their concerns, ask clarifying questions and communicate a plan of action back to them in six minutes if they were non-English-speaking, 12 minutes if they spoke English. It didnt matter that patients had taken off work, navigated several bus lines, waited all afternoon as I slowly became more and more delayed in my schedule, and had multiple issues to discuss. None of that mattered. The 12 minutes mattered. Because if I ran late, people would get angry. If I ran late, people would cancel. If I ran late, fewer patients could be seen. And if I ran late, ultimately, the clinic lost money. So, I created a routine for getting through each visit: Id enter the exam room, flip on the computer, pull up a timer in the bottom right corner of the screen 12:00 exactly and explain, We only have 12 minutes, so please prioritize the most important concern you came with today. Then Id click start, and the timer would tick away 11:59, 11:58 During my last year in training, the behavioral health professor scheduled a visit where shed record my interaction with a patient, and wed play it back to review for pluses and minuses after the session. Days in the clinic were always exhausting, so when we finally sat down at the end of the day to review my visit with an Iraqi refugee, I was actually grateful to be excused from the onslaught of patient visits. The professor explained how this would work: Wed watch the video together, either of us could pause it to reflect on what was happening, and wed come up with things that I did well and things that could be done better. She hit play and the screen buzzed to life, showing me seated, back turned, hair a little unkempt and creased in ways that made me cringe, hunched over the computer, explaining my timer and my spiel about prioritizing and the man. He sat, facing the camera, his view cast just to the left of the screen. His skin was a chestnut brown, his hair dark and groomed nicely, his frame carried a little more weight than it should have, and his clothes were generic and clean. Arms crossed, he began his story in fluid Arabic. His story was the story of the refugee: He had fled due to war and violence. As he spoke, the interpreter would interject to fill me in, and even before she could finish interpreting, hed begin again. He had lost siblings, children, and friends. He lost his home, his profession, his identity. He was suffering intolerable pain abdominal pain, pain from bones broken during torture, and joints that no longer worked. The timer on the video showed that a little more than four minutes had elapsed since the start of the visit. Had I been able to see it in the video, the timer on my own computer screen would have told me we had about seven and a half minutes left. And I knew both as the doctor in the video, listening, and now as the person watching the video and being reviewed that the clock was ticking down. In the video, I sat, not speaking, nodding, and intermittently making noises of understanding, not interrupting. My professor clicked pause and asked how I thought the visit had gone so far, seeing as a third of it had transpired. I dont think I managed to say a word before I realized I was swallowing hard, gazing toward the ceiling, feeling my eyes well up. Everything everything about that visit was terrible. It was terrible that this is the world we live in. It was terrible that this man had so much hardship. It was terrible that I didnt have the skills to do the right thing interrupt and reorient the patient. And it was terrible that on the video, I sat there, feeling simply impotent. And I felt impotent all over again watching it unfold. What I wanted to say was this: I know medicine cant solve all this mans problems, but I as another, caring human being want to sit with him and hear his story. I want to be present and empathetic and bear witness. I want to nod and make him feel heard. I want him to know that he is the most important person to me right now. And yes, well talk about his high blood pressure, his pain, his debilitated joints in good time. And I dont really know if well ever truly cure any of them, but well work on it. But the only thing I can offer this man at this moment is to be with him. And everything about the system is keeping me from offering the most basic elements of being human: compassion and love. But instead, I probably mumbled something bland about not being focused or missing the opportunity to agenda-set or whatever nonsense and let the tears flow. At the end of my residency, months after this encounter, I realized I couldnt keep being a doctor and care truly care if I stayed, so I left the system. Because it is a broken system. And it was breaking me, too. So, I set out to work for my patients and only my patients. I wanted to take the third parties out of the room. I wanted to return the control of the health care industry to physicians, who, in turn, are responsive to patients sitting in front of them. I wanted the opportunity to be present with patients. To care. This is why my staff and I ask ourselves on a daily basis, How can we show those we serve that we care in all our actions? More tangibly, how can we bring the patient back to the center of the health care experience? January 2019 marked the two-year anniversary of my practice. Weve been through a ton in the past year. Ive started to understand many aspects of business, and although weve done some pretty amazing things in the past two years, weve also made people frustrated and mad while trying to care for them. And so, I still reflect on these basic questions frequently, like checking the vitals of one of my patients. Are we still meeting that goal? Are we still steadfastly patient-focused? Do we still show patients that we care in all our actions? Allison Edwards is a family physician and founder, Kansas City Direct Primary Care. She can be reached on Twitter @KansasCityDPC. This post was originally published in the Kansas City Direct Primary Care new employee handbook and in the AAFPs Fresh Perspectives Blog. Image credit: Shutterstock.com Candles and flowers for the victims of the recent shooting are placed outside the Midnight Shisha bar in Hanau, near Frankfurt. Photo: REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski Germany's leaders are struggling to work out how to counter a recent rise in right-wing hate, 75 years after the Nazis were driven from power. Last Wednesday's shooting rampage that began at a hookah bar in Frankfurt was Germany's third deadly far-right attack in a matter of months and came at a time when the Alternative for Germany, or AfD, has become the country's first political party in decades to establish itself as a force on the extreme right. In the wake of the latest spasm of violence, Chancellor Angela Merkel denounced the "poison" of racism and hatred in Germany, and other politicians similarly condemned the shootings. The rampage followed October's anti-Semitic attack on a synagogue in Halle and the killing in June of a regional politician who supported Merkel's welcoming policy toward migrants. But Germany's top security official said the trend goes back further, noting a 2016 attack on a Munich mall against migrants and a years-long cross-country killing spree against foreigners by a group calling itself the National Socialist Underground. Extremism is no new phenomenon in Germany, where the Red Army Faction and other radical-left groups waged a campaign of kidnappings and killings from the 1970s through the 1990s, and where some of the key September 11 plotters lived before heading to the US ahead of the 2001 attacks. Germany has strict laws prohibiting any glorification of the Nazis, with bans on symbols like the swastika and gestures like the stiff-armed salute, and denial of the Holocaust is illegal. But security officials have frequently been accused of being "blind in the right eye", for intentionally or inadvertently overlooking far-right activity. That was said to be the case with the NSU, which was able to kill 10 people, primarily immigrants, between 2000 and 2007 in attacks written off by investigators as organised crime. It was only after two NSU members died in 2011 in a botched robbery that their crimes were uncovered. A lawyer who represented victims' families at the trial of an NSU member, said German authorities need to give more than "lip service" to fighting racism. "We haven't really begun yet a real fight against neo-Nazis, and one of the reasons, for me, clearly is the victims," he said. "The victims of Nazis are not members of the German middle class, but Muslims, migrants, LGBT people, immigrants. As long as the victim pool, so to say, was limited to minorities, it was not considered a real threat for society." In 2000, on the intervening night of March 19 and 20, when the then US President Clinton was in India, 35 Sikhs were shot dead by gunmen in Army uniforms after descending to Chattisinghpora. Srinagar: The US President Donald Trumps upcoming visit of India has caused fear psychosis and panic among the Sikhs of Kashmir Valley as they are reminded of the horror of the night of March 19, 2000, when as many as 35 members of the minority community were massacred by gunmen in Chattisinghpora village of southern Anantnag district during the then President Bill Clintons official visit of the country. Stating this, Jagmohan Singh Raina, chairman of All Parties Sikh Coordination Committee (APSCC), an amalgam of J&Ks Sikh organisations, said that the Sikhs of the Valley have to face such fearful situation whenever a high profile foreign personality, especially, that from the USA visits India. The whole India seems to be busy in making preparations for Trumps visit, but for Sikhs of Kashmir, the visit has brought in fears that the members of the community are yet again on the radar. The Sikhs are feeling insecure and they fear that something untoward might happen on the eve of Donald Trumps visit, Raina said in a statement here on Saturday. In 2000, on the intervening night of March 19 and 20, when the then US President Clinton was in India, 35 Sikhs were shot dead by gunmen in Army uniforms after descending to Chattisinghpora. A local woman had also died of cardiac arrest on seeing piles of bullet-riddled corpses of the victims, raising the toll to 36. The authorities had blamed the gory incident on separatist militants. Five days after the massacre, Army and J&K police had claimed that five perpetrators were killed in an encounter in Anantnags Pathribal area and all of them were foreign terrorists. But later, it turned out to be a fake encounter and all the five slain men were unarmed civilians, who were picked up by the forces from different areas of the district earlier. Subsequently, at least, ten persons were also killed after security forces opened fire on the people protesting against the fake encounter in Anantnags Brakapora area. New Delhi, Feb 23 : US President Donald Trump will be on his first official visit to India on Monday but he has had a longstanding business relationship with India through his real estate projects in the country. Trump's business interests in India are among his largest outside the US, although not in the pink of health pretty much like his presidency. India, in fact, is the largest portfolio of Trump's real estate business outside North America. According to a report by PropTiger.com, since entering the Indian market in 2013, the New York-based Trump Organization has launched luxury residential projects with a revenue potential of $1.5 billion through ties up with domestic players. The company controls four ultra-luxurious residential projects, real estate market for which is a niche one, under the name Trump towers-- located in Pune, Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata -- and an office tower in Gurugram, in the National Capital Region. The Trump Organization's business partners in India include Panchshil Realty, Macrotech Developers, M3M India and Unimark Group. Trump Towers Pune are twin towers with the black glass facade, built in partnership with Panchshil Realty. Trump Tower Mumbai is a 75-storey building being by Macrotech Developers (formerly Lodha Group). Trump's partners for the Trump Towers in Gurugram are M3M India and Tribeca Developers. The latest Trump Towers project in India is being built in Kolkata, in partnership with Unimark Group. The developers of the Kolkata and Gurugram residential projects also organised a three-day trip to New York for homebuyers. Around 150 guests also met the US President's son Donald Trump Jr. Market experts feel that although investments by the Trump Organization show that foreign players want to invest in India's luxury realty segment, the company has not been able to garner a customer response as was expected. "The Trump Towers which have come up in India so far are a testimony to the fact that this segment is acknowledged by global luxury brands eyeing India," said Anuj Puri, Chairman, ANAROCK Property Consultants. Puri added that the overall reception for Trump Towers has been positive but the "response was not as expected". Moreover several of Trump's business partners are facing troubles. Macrotech Developers, formerly Lodha Group, which built the 75-story Trump Tower in India is reeling under huge debt and off late it has witnessed a few downgrades. Ratings agency India Ratings and Research in December 2019 downgraded ratings of Macrotech Developers debt instruments to 'IND BB' from 'IND BBB-' and maintained ratings on Rating Watch Negative (RWN). Moody's Investors Service in November had downgraded the corporate family rating (CFR) of Macrotech to Caa1, from B3. A rating of Caa1 is given to entities with high credit risk. Further, Atul and Sagar Chordia-run Panchshil Realty, the partner developers of 23-story Trump Tower in Pune ran into controversy following a meeting with Trump after he was elected President, sparking debates on conflict of interest. Meanwhile, India's real estate sector has been reeling under debt because of the ongoing slowdown. Rating agency India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) has maintained a negative outlook on the overall real estate sector for 2020-21. Furthering its business interest, the Trump Organization may extend its portfolio to hospitality segment in India. In an interview last year, Donald Trump Jr said that the Trump Organization would look at new branding and licensing deals in India, possibly even hotels, once his father demits office as US President. As the President lands in India on Monday, there would be hopes of strengthening the bilateral ties and indications of a much expected trade deal. But, irrespective of the bilateral ties between the two countries, Trump's business relations with India, one of the largest markets in the world, seem to be growing, although with a few hiccups. VIENNA -- The World Health Organization (WHO) is concerned about the number of coronavirus cases with no clear epidemiological link, although the total number of cases outside China remains relatively small, its director general said on Saturday. Cases with no clear link include those with no travel history to China or contact with a confirmed case, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a briefing. China has reported 75,569 cases to the WHO, including 2,239 deaths, he said. According to available data, the disease remains mild in 80% of coronavirus patients, and is severe or critical in 20% of patients, he said. The virus has been fatal in 2% of reported cases. The risk of death increases for older patients, Tedros said, adding there were relatively few cases among children. Outside China, there have been 1,200 cases in 26 countries, with eight deaths, Tedros said. That includes one confirmed case on the African continent, in Egypt, he said. He called the reported decline in new cases in China welcome news but said it had to be interpreted very cautiously, adding, It is far too early to make predictions about this outbreak. A WHO-led international team of experts, which has been on the ground in China for the past week, will travel to Wuhan, the epicenter of the virus outbreak, on Saturday. Our biggest concern continues to be the potential for COVID-19 to spread in countries with weaker health systems, Tedros said. The WHO is calling for $675 million to support countries, especially those which are most vulnerable, he said, adding it has identified 13 countries in Africa that are seen as a priority because of their links to China. It has shipped more than 30,000 sets of personal protective equipment to several African countries, and is ready to ship almost 60,000 more sets to 19 countries in coming weeks, Tedros said. The WHO has also appointed two specialists as special envoys to help African countries prepare for the potential arrival of the virus: the director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, John Nkengasong, and the director general of the Center for Vaccine Development in Mali, Samba Sow. North Dakota voters can expect debate later this year over involving the Legislature in approving constitutional initiatives, but they might not see two competing measures over the issue. The 2019 Legislature sent a constitutional measure to 2020 voters that would send initiated constitutional measures approved by voters to the Legislature for majority approval. If lawmakers were to reject a measure, it would go back to voters and if passed again would be enacted. North Dakota Watchdog Network Managing Director Dustin Gawrylow led a sponsoring committee that in April 2019 proposed a countering measure to tighten how the "powers reserved to the people" in North Dakota's constitution could be amended, leaving petitioning as the only avenue to amending the article. The Legislature's measure would amend that article, if passed. Gawrylow told the Tribune on Friday he is "shifting my priorities" to defeating the Legislature's measure, calling his group's proposal "on life support." Gathering signatures has been difficult, he said, and "at this point it's not likely" supporters will gather the 26,904 signatures by the June 8 deadline to submit to North Dakota's secretary of state. "Right now there's not a path to success, and so I'm shifting gears and starting to do fundraising for the defensive action against the Legislature's measure in November," he said. Gawrylow said he plans to meet with other groups who have previously utilized the initiative process and try to develop a coalition. He called the Legislature's measure "a bridge too far." "A lot of these issues do end up before the Legislature and they have an opportunity to talk about it and they don't," Gawrylow said. "And so ... the initiative process is designed to allow the public to act when the Legislature's unwilling to -- and so putting them into the process when they didn't want to be in the process in the first place is kind of an overreach, as far as I'm concerned." Sen. David Hogue, R-Minot, proposed the legislation that produced the Legislature's measure. He said outside groups have figured out North Dakota's ballot measure process, and that the Legislature's measure is in line with the vision of the constitution's founders for "a collaborative process between the people and the Legislature." "It is in my opinion an improvement on what the founders established because it still gives the people the last word," said Hogue, who is seeking a fourth term. He sees a problem in recent years' constitutional initiatives being drafted "in the privacy and seclusion of a law office and immediately emailed to the secretary of state" without opportunity for public comments or hearings. He cited the 2016 Marsy's Law measure for crime victim rights. Marsy's Law for North Dakota was solely funded by California billionaire Henry Nicholas, who gave more than $2.3 million for the initiative that bears his murdered sister's name. "When you have exactly 100% of the measure funded from people out of state who will not be subject to the law, I think that is the strongest indication you can have why maybe some reform is necessary," Hogue said. He and Gawrylow each expect public debate around the Legislature's measure to begin in midsummer. The measure is one of two so far approved for the 2020 ballot, the other being a proposal to expand the membership of North Dakota's State Board of Higher Education and increase term limits. Two other proposed measures would legalize marijuana, but they await approval for the ballot. Voters will have their say on Nov. 3. Reach Jack Dura at 701-250-8225 or jack.dura@bismarcktribune.com. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has overruled a recommendation of his chief secretary Tom Jose and extended the suspension of IAS officer Sriram Venkitaraman by another three months. (Photo: ANI) Historically, since Warren Hastings introduced collectors for revenue collection in the 18th century, the term 'collector' has denoted the states power in the hinterlands. Since Independence, the role of the district collector has grown even more significant with multiple powers conferred upon the official under numerous Central and state laws on a wide range of subjects. But the term collector may be on its way out in Madhya Pradesh. The Kamal Nath government has constituted a high-level committee to suggest an alternative for the designation of collector. It believes that due to the multidimensional regulatory and developmental role of the collector as the administrative and executive head of the district, a new term is needed for the position. Sources say that I.C.P. Keshari, additional chief secretary of the commerce tax department, heads the three-member committee also comprising Malay Kumar Srivastava, Manish Rastogi and Vishesh Garhpale. Preeti Maithil, the district collector of Sagar, is the member secretary of the committee. The panel has been tasked with giving recommendations after consulting all stakeholders, including members of the public. It will also explore the contours of the jurisdiction of the executive head of the district. The new term will be incorporated in the land revenue code and developmental schemes which state the collector as the district head. However, the police manual, CrPC and Arms Act remain unchanged which district magistrate as the district head and not collector. An accident, then a suspension Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has overruled a recommendation of his chief secretary Tom Jose and extended the suspension of IAS officer Sriram Venkitaraman by another three months. The IAS officer was on suspension as he is accused of hitting and killing Kerala journalist K.M. Basheer in a road accident in August last year while driving his car in an inebriated state. The panel headed by Jose had recommended the chief minister to not extend the suspension period further citing that the police had not filed the chargesheet even six months after the accident. Apparently, it was conveyed to the chief minister that the IAS officer could not be kept on suspension beyond six months on the basis of an FIR. But, sources say, the chief minister has decided to ignore the recommendation in view of the widely held public view that there was a concerted effort on the part of senior bureaucrats in the state administration to rescue the errant officer. Air Indias new captain After the end of Ashwini Lohanis tenure as chairman and managing director (CMD) of Air India, the appointment of Rajiv Bansal as his successor is being viewed as a renewed divestment push by the government. This would be Bansals second stint at Air India, having served as interim CMD for three months in 2017. Then also, he had replaced Lohani, who had been appointed chairman of the railway board. Bansal, a 1988-batch IAS officer of the Nagaland cadre, is currently additional secretary in the ministry of petroleum and natural gas. Bansal takes charge at a time when the financially strapped national carrier is looking to get new wings for the future. According to sources, Mr Bansal has a reputation for being focused and decisive. During his earlier stint at Air India, the airlines on-time performance was 95 per cent, and he drew up a phased plan to get aircraft grounded due to lack of spare parts back in the air. These talents will be much needed during the critical divestment period as the airline looks for new suitors. Shin said hundreds of Shincheonji members are probably in hiding: For them, the fear of being outed as a Shincheonji follower is bigger than the fear of getting ill from the virus. Because of the cult stigma attached to the church, Shin said, some members hide their affiliation even from their families. The US government and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will face off Monday in a high-security London courthouse, a decade after WikiLeaks infuriated American officials by publishing a trove of classified military documents. A judge at Woolwich Crown Court will begin hearing arguments from lawyers for US authorities, who want to try Assange on espionage charges that carry a maximum sentence of 175 years in prison. The extradition hearing follows years of subterfuge, diplomatic dispute and legal drama that have led the 48-year-old Australian from fame as an international secret-spiller through self-imposed exile inside the Ecuadorean'Embassy in s Londsy to incarceration in a maximum-security British prison. Assange has been indicted in the U.S. on 18 charges over the publication of classified documents. Prosecutors say he conspired with U.S. army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to hack into a Pentagon computer and release hundreds of thousands of secret diplomatic cables and military files on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. US authorities say WikiLeaks' activities put American lives in danger. Assange argues he was acting as a journalist entitled to First Amendment protection, and says the leaked documents exposed U.S. military wrongdoing. Among the files published by WikiLeaks was video of a 2007 Apache helicopter attack by American forces in Baghdad that killed 11 people, including two Reuters journalists. Journalism organisations and civil liberties groups including Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders say the charges against Assange set a chilling precedent for freedom of the press. What we have is an assault on journalism, left-wing Greek lawmaker Yanis Varoufakis said at an Assange support march in London on Saturday. The only charge against Julian, hiding behind the nonsense of espionage, is a charge of journalism. Assange's legal saga began in 2010, when he was arrested in London at the request of Sweden, which wanted to question him about allegations of rape and sexual assault made by two women. He refused to go to Stockholm, saying he feared extradition or illegal rendition to the United States or the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In 2012, Assange sought refuge inside the Ecuadorean Embassy, where he was beyond the reach of U. and Swedish authorities. For seven years Assange led an isolated and increasingly surreal existence in the tiny embassy, which occupies an apartment in an upscale block near the ritzy Harrod's department store. Confined to the building, he occasionally emerged onto a small balcony to address supporters, and received visits from celebrity allies including Lady Gaga and Baywatch actress Pamela Anderson. The relationship between Assange and his hosts eventually soured, and he was evicted in April 2019. British police immediately arrested him for jumping bail in 2012. Sweden dropped the sex crimes investigations in November because so much time had elapsed, but Assange remains in London's Belmarsh Prison as he awaits a decision on the U.S. extradition request. Supporters say the ordeal has harmed Assange's physical and mental health, leaving him with depression, dental problems and a serious shoulder ailment. For his supporters around the world, Assange remains a hero. But many others are critical of the way WikiLeaks has published classified documents without redacting details that could endanger individuals. WikiLeaks has also been accused of serving as a conduit for Russian misinformation, and Assange has alienated some supporters by dallying with populist politicians including Brexit-promoter Nigel Farage. Assange's legal team insists the American case against him is politically motivated. His lawyers say they will present evidence that the Australian was offered a pardon by the Trump administration if he agreed to say Russia wasn't involved in leaking Democratic National Committee emails that were published by WikiLeaks during the 2016 U.S. election campaign. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Related Egypt's FM says fair political settlement for Palestine key to peace Sisi says no alternative for direct talks between Israel, Palestine amid US MidEast plan controversy Egypts Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met on Sunday in Cairo with an American Jewish Committee (AJC) delegation to discuss the most pressing regional issues as well as the developments in Egypt-US relations. Foreign ministry spokesperson Ahmed Hafez said in a statement that the delegation was keen to hear about Egypts stance on regional issues, especially on the PalestinianIsraeli peace process. Minister Shoukry emphasised Egypts support of any efforts to resolve the stalemate that has dominated the peace process for years, and that the country hopes for a fair and holistic settlement for the Palestinian cause. Shoukry lauded during the meeting the recent developments in the strategic relations between Egypt and the US. He said that Egypt looks forward to enhancing its cooperation with the US in the different political, economic, development and investment fields. Shoukry also touched on the efforts exerted by Egypt in the field of combating terrorism and extremism along with its efforts in development and economic reform. The minister asserted that such efforts help in reinforcing regional and international security. The AJC delegation praised the efforts exerted by the Egyptian government in maintaining Jewish heritage in Egypt and preserving Egypts Jewish antiquities. The AJC is a Jewish advocacy organisation founded in 1906; its headquarters is in New York City. The organisation aims to influence public opinion and policy through its relationships and international presence. Search Keywords: Short link: US President Donald Trump will be welcomed by Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on his arrival at the airport in Agra where hundreds of artistes will perform, a top official said on Sunday. The city has been decked up to welcome the American president who will visit India on February 24-25. He will visit the Taj Mahal in the evening after arriving here on Monday from Ahmedabad, before leaving for Delhi. "The UP governor and chief minister will welcome US President Trump at the Kheria airport. However, they will not accompany him to the Taj Mahal. The governor and the chief minister would also be at the airport to send him off," Agra District Magistrate (DM) Prabhu N Singh told PTI. Trump's convoy route from the airport to the Taj Mahal is about 13 km, and along the way thousands of artistes will welcome him with special performances. "At the airport, about 250 artistes will do special performances reflecting the beauty and culture of Uttar Pradesh. "Along the route to the Taj, a total of 3,000 artistes spread over 21 designated areas will present dance forms of Brij, Awadh and other regions, like Krishna Leela, dances themed on Radha, and other cultural forms of the regions, Singh said. Massive billboards greeting the US president ahead of his India visit and reflecting the bonhomie between him and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have been put up in Agra. "Entire route has been spruced up aesthetically and US and India flags have been put up at roundabouts to give the area a festive look. We have done our best to welcome the American leader to Agra," the DM said. Huge billboards bearing images of Trump shaking hands with Modi have also been put up across the city to signify the friendship between the two countries. In the main city, old roads are being repaired, road-dividers being painted afresh, illegal hoardings and posters removed, and walls along the route that President Trump will take being decorated with paintings reflecting the Brij culture and architectural heritage of Agra. All concerns have been taken care of and we don't see any issue. It will be all safe and secure, as a huge three-layered security deployment will be in place tomorrow, the DM added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) London: Prince Harry and Meghan are to abandon attempts to build a personal foundation, they have said, changing their plans to instead create a "non-profit entity" that will enable them to work with global experts in the private sector. The Duke and Duchess had originally filed paperwork for the "Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex" with the Charities Commission and Companies House, for a personal organisation that would have seen them work on causes close to their hearts. The couple are scrapping their plans to build a foundation. Credit:Getty Images They have now disclosed they have scrapped plans for a foundation altogether, preferring a new model that would allow them to work globally. In a telling hint as to their career path, the Sussexes published an online statement specifying that they "do not plan to start a 'foundation', but rather intend to develop a new way to effect change and complement the efforts made by so many excellent foundations globally. The maternal uncle of Dr Kafeel Khan, who was recently arrested for allegedly making inflammatory statements during anti-CAA protests, was shot dead in front of his house at Bankatichak in Rajghat area here, police said on Sunday. Dr Nusratullah Warsi aka Dada (55), a property dealer, was shot dead on Saturday night at about 10:45 pm and an FIR against two people was filed in this connection on a written complaint of his family members. According to police, it appears to be a case of murder due to monetary and property dispute and they are searching for both the accused. Dr Kafeel Khan, suspended doctor of Gorakhpur BRD Medical College, was last month arrested under charges of giving a provocative speech during a protest against the CAA and NRC at Aligarh Muslim University and was later charged with the National Security Act. Warsi on Saturday evening had gone to his lawyer Siraj Tariq's house, a few metres away from his own house, and was returning home on foot when a man shot him in his head, killing him on the spot. "On the written complaint of family members, case of murder against one Imammuddin and Anil Sonkar has been registered and police has initiated probe and is searching for both the accused. Police met the women in their house and is interrogating them," Circle Officer VP Singh said. Prima facie it appears to be a case of property and money dispute, he said, adding, three teams have been constituted to investigate the case and soon the accused will be caught. Dr Kafeel Khan had last month raised apprehension in a Mumbai court about being killed in an "encounter" by the Uttar Pradesh police after claiming that he had been "falsely" implicated in the case by them. The paediatrician had come to the limelight in 2017 when a controversy broke out after the death of over 60 children in less than a week at the BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, where he was posted. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With a partial truce under way Saturday and a deal between the US and the Taliban likely on the horizon, Afghans are daring to dream of the war ending and their country finally opening up. The "reduction in violence" agreed by the Taliban, the US and the Afghan security forces comes ahead of a possible deal between the insurgents and Washington which would see the US pull thousands of troops out of Afghanistan. While the move is fraught with uncertainty, it marks a potentially historic step in the country's more than 18-year-old war. Afghans have been sharing their hopes for peace on social media, tagging posts with hashtags in Dari and Pashto -- Afghanistan's two main languages -- that translate to #ifPeaceComes and #whenThereIsCeasefire. "In the past 15 years, people have not been able to travel on highways safely. The Taliban stop them, kill them or kidnap them," Ramin Mazhar, a popular poet who helped spread the hashtags, told AFP. If the reduction in violence holds, Mazhar said he would go to Nuristan, an inaccessible province in the northeast of the country. "I want to go to Nuristan, run, laugh, sing, dance, whistle and eat yogurt," he said. "I want to touch its green hills, crazy rivers and blue sky. I want to climb its trees, and know its pigeons." Afghanistan was once a popular destination on the "hippie trail" that saw foreigners from across Europe travel to the country by bus en route to India in the 1960s and 1970s. Tourism was all but destroyed following the Soviet invasion in 1979 that led to over 40 years of continuous fighting and instability. Few Afghans have been able to visit areas outside of their immediate home ever since, while millions have relocated to urban areas or moved abroad. The desire to see more of the country is strong. Afghanistan is home to stunning mountain ranges like the snow-capped Hindu Kush along with verdant, remote valleys and swathes of pristine desert. However with the Taliban controlling or contesting approximately half of Afghanistan, only small pockets of the country are accessible. Highways and roads connecting urban centres to outlying towns and villages are notoriously dangerous with travellers killed or kidnapped almost daily by insurgents or criminal gangs. Domestic flights, which are already too expensive for most Afghans, are also limited. - 'Sorrows and happiness' - "I have promised to take my friends to Badakhshan... (and) will fulfil my promise only when there is a ceasefire," Abdullah Jahid wrote on Twitter about the country's mountainous northern province near the border with Tajikistan. "If peace comes, I will go to the remotest villages of Afghanistan to meet with the indigenous people, eat their food, learn about their handcrafts and share my sorrows and happiness with them," added Hamidullah Satari, another Twitter user. The burst in enthusiasm comes as the Taliban and US are expected on February 29 to strike a deal that would see American troops withdraw from the country in exchange for security guarantees, after more than a year of gruelling talks. Most analysts agree a subsequent agreement between the Taliban and the Kabul government would take years, but the breakthrough has spurred hopes. People from all walks of life have been using the hashtags -- outlining journeys to be taken by foot, bicycle, or road trips by car, while Afghans living abroad have vowed to return to their country and settle if the war ends. Even the Taliban are taking to social media to share hopes for peace. "It was easy to travel under the Taliban regime but America destroyed everything. When the invasion ends, everything will be easy again," a Taliban supporter tweeted. Others have said they hope any peace will provide an opportunity to help those who have suffered the most after decades of bloodshed. Heela Najibullah -- the daughter of former Afghan president Najibullah Ahmadzai who was brutally tortured and murdered by the Taliban in 1996 -- said she hoped to visit her father's grave in southeastern Paktia province. "I will walk to my father's grave. I will cry and pray that no other Afghan child becomes an orphan," she tweeted. "I will make a school there, and teach at the university." The International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE), the youth movement of the Socialist Equality Party, is holding an emergency online meeting this Sunday, February 23, at 4pm Pacific Time to discuss an international socialist strategy for the UC strike. Visit iysse.com/UCstrike for further details. Closing out the second week of the wildcat strike at University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC), roughly 1,000 graduate and undergraduate students and supporters held a so-called Doomsday Rally on campus, followed by a general assembly. At the assembly, students voted overwhelmingly to continue the strike and defy an administration ultimatum to submit final grades for Fall 2019, which 200 graduate teaching assistants have been withholding since December. The strikers main demand is a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) of $1,412 to ease the crushing rent burden, currently over 50 percent of most graduate students salaries, in one of the most expensive areas of the country. The strike has sparked sympathy actions calling for COLA at most of the nine other UC campuses. The UC administration, led by former Obama Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, has responded to the strike with threats and stonewalling. Napolitano and UCSC Executive Vice Chancellor Lori Kletzer have threatened students with dismissal and deportation, setting 11:59 pm yesterday (Friday) as the deadline to submit Fall 2019 final grades. The strike is having a considerable impact on the campus. Students report a state of disarray, with some classes attempting to hold exams in the evenings because the campus is shut down during normal business hours. In a report-back from a meeting with the UCSC administration at the general sssembly, a graduate student representative told the attendees that Kletzer and administrator Quentin Williams refused their request for non-retaliation and a substantive meeting in exchange for grades. The administration specifically refused to remove disciplinary letters from student files or rescind student conduct summonses, saying they would negotiate only after students halted the strike. The speaker noted to Kletzer that I personally was livid that two of my friends in that room were going to be deported. Kletzers one-word response was, Registered. A delegation of international students, who face the threat of deportation if they are fired, bravely stated that they would continue to withhold grades, noting, There is a significant group of us who are willing to do this and this is because we trust the people in here that when it comes down to it, in the next month, in the next two months, in the next three months, that youre going to be here for us. They then highlighted solidarity from many faculty, who have assured them that they will find ways to fund them to prevent them from losing visas if the administration denies them spring teaching assistant positions in retaliation. Ryan, a first-year PhD student in literature at UCSC, spoke with the World Socialist Web Site about the wildcat strike. Im all for it, Ryan said. I did not submit my final grades. I am on fellowship, so I dont have a TA (teaching assistant) position right now, but Im still withholding my grades from the Fall. I have a TA-ship in the spring and that is the thing that they could possibly revoke from me if I do not submit my grades. Asked his thoughts on expanding the strike as far and wide as possible, Ryan, who also worked for three years as a commercial fisherman, responded, Im all about it. One thing that made me really stoked for today is that a bunch of the other UC campuses are on strike. I think it was UCSD that occupied their library yesterday and the whole campus today. Berkeleys doing a bunch of stuff, [Santa Barbara] of course and [UCLA]. And I think a lot of our success actually relies on that inter-campus solidarity. Its something that Lori Kletzer cant ignore. On conditions facing graduate students, Ryan noted, We all know we have a horrible housing crisis throughout the state and particularly the Bay Area. Santa Cruz is a microcosm of that. I think it demonstrates the inequitable distribution of wealth at greater levels. It definitely also shows what the institution of the university actually tends to value from our graduate students. Its not our research. Its not the actual thing were here to do. Its the simple input of grading labor that they dont want to pay faculty for. Weve always been talking about how the number we need is $1,412. We live with a really high rent burden, upwards of 50 percent. What that means is I get $2,000 a month from the university and I spend $1,250 a month in rent. Thats what that means. I am almost 30 years old. I have had a partner for 10 years. It would be great if we could rent a house and maybe get married and have a kid. Asked about graduate student homelessness, Ryan explained Ive known at least five [students who were homeless]. A friend of mines partner lives in a van. Hes not a student but he works here. A lot of students move home and then do Zoom calls [video conferences] into their classes. The unfortunate part is that they probably dont get the educational experience they thought they would get when they signed up for a PhD. Blindsided by the wildcat strike, the United Auto Workers (UAW), reeling from a massive bribery scandal, is seeking to regain control and channel the struggle into a politically harmless, isolated struggle. Devon, a delegate from the recently formed Harvard UAW graduate union, sought to provide political cover for the UAW International, which has refused to publicly support the wildcat strike. Harvard graduate students face conditions similar to those at UCSC and struck in December 2019. Devon raised the Harvard strike, which the UAW called off without achieving any of the students demands, as an example of a successful militant struggle waged through the official trade unions. He explained that the UAW ended the strike due to a perceived risk of firings, supposedly in the belief that Harvard would continue to negotiate in good faith after they had ended the strike. However, he admitted that ending the strike had substantially weakened the students position, with the administration now too busy to meet with us. He concluded by encouraging strikers to keep doing what youre doing. This perspective is a trap. Having lost control of the graduate students, the UAW is putting on a "left" face and doing what it can to contain the strike and prevent it from assuming an openly political character. Completely absent from the UAW remarks was any reference to the Democratic or Republican parties or the capitalist system, much less a call to spread the strike to other sections of the working class. The suggestion that students can win substantial economic gains simply through militant on-campus trade unionism is false. As the police repression of the protests demonstrates, simply by exercising their right to strike, students find themselves in direct opposition to Napolitano, the UC Board of Regents and the Democratic administration of Governor Newsom, which appoints the majority of board members. The role of the UAW as labor police was demonstrated by its treatment of WSWS reporters at the event. Although striking students greeted the reporters warmly, a union representative sought to verbally and physically intimidate the WSWS reporting team for urging students to break with the corrupt UAW and expand the strike on and off the campuses. The UC strike is fundamentally a political struggle. In a state that has been implementing austerity measures for over a decade, the fight for higher graduate student wages means a fight for expanded funding for public education. This means taking money away from Californias numerous billionaires and from the trillions squandered on war. Graduate students and their supporters should form rank-and-file committees, independent of and in opposition to the UAW, and fight for the broadest possible extension of the strike to win COLA and more. In particular, they should reach out to 14,000 Northern California Safeway workers who recently cast a 95 percent strike authorization vote and 200,000 Ontario teachers who are currently on strike. Were all rushed for time these days, but even so, the fact that one in three people in the UK doesnt regularly read for pleasure is a shock. And research shows that one in six people have literacy problems, perhaps because they missed out at school or lack the confidence to tackle long books. Which is why the Quick Reads series is the perfect way to introduce reluctant readers to bestselling authors. These short, easily digested stories celebrate the joy of books without demanding hours of time. The six titles, covering romance, comedy and crime, each cost only 1, are around 100 pages long and can be read in one sitting or over a couple of nights. Sally Morris revealed six books featuring in the Quick Reads series, including Clare Mackintoshs The Donor (pictured left) and A. A. Dhands A Darkness Rising (pictured right) Supported by the generosity of writer Jojo Moyes and the Reading Agency charity, they can also be borrowed from libraries. Highlights this year include Clare Mackintoshs chilling psycho-thriller The Donor, in which a teenage girl meets the mother of a young man whose heart she was given in a transplant with catastrophic consequences, and Candice Carty-Williams vibrant contemporary re-telling of West Side Story, Notting Hill Carnival, set in the rival ganglands of Londons bustling Notting Hill. Milly Johnsons life-affirming heroine, Lara, confronts the heartache of her past to discover what she really wants in life in The Little Dreams of Lara Cliffe, while A. A. Dhands charismatic Detective Inspector Harry Virdee tackles drug gangs on the streets of Bradford in A Darkness Rising. Adam Kays bestselling memoir of life as a doctor, This Is Going to Hurt, appears in a shortened version, and finally, a wonderful pick-and-mix collection of ten stories by leading writers, A Fresh Start, is the ultimate choice for the time-pressed. Here, Louise Candlishs sharp revenge drama unfolds with controlled tension, while Keith Stuarts moving and funny account of anxious parents following their autistic son on his first date is based on personal experience. Jojo Moyess portrayal of a middle-aged woman coming to terms with her husbands infidelity is witty and uplifting, and Ian Rankins domestic drama is a gem of concise, suspenseful crime writing. Fanny Blake reveals the pain of sibling rivalry and the power of family secrets, while Sophie Kinsella has fun with the modern obsession with de-cluttering. For more information, visit readingagency.org.uk 'It's the first-ever US presidential visit which is specially planned for India.' 'The standalone visit itself has achieved something already. Don't underestimate it.' Sheela Bhatt gives us an exclusive glimpse of what the Modi government hopes to achieve from Trump's visit. IMAGE: Workers walk past a hoarding of United States President Donald J Trump ahead of his visit to Ahmedabad, February 22, 2020. Photograph: Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters "I assure you this is the trip when you will have one defining photograph of Prime Minister Modi and President Trump. I can't say now where, when and how. But that image will speak volumes than any other deals or agreements done or not done," a high level source in the government, a pivotal member of the group trying hard to make the Trump visit successful, tells Rediff.com. The Modi government, as expected of it, is showing confidence that all arrangements are in place including the management of drawing huge crowds for the Trump-Modi road show in Ahmedabad on Monday afternoon. "Forget about mathematics or trade or defence. Talk chemistry! Chemistry ab badhega!," declares the high-level source. "When any country's presidential or prime ministerial visit takes place, how do you rate its political success? One of the ways is by assessing the chemistry between the VIP guest and the head of the government of the host country. Both leaders have that and this visit will enhance the chemistry between Modi and Trump." "By all accounts, the Trump visit is political more than anything else. Politics drives everything in both regimes," says former foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal. "There are serious trade differences, but the strategic partnership can develop still." "Trump's visit is sending the right geo-political message to our neighbouring countries when there are movements within India against the government," adds Sibal. "In short," says the highty placed government source, "The Modi government is looking at the Trump visit as the relationship that is going smoothly will visibly get stronger when he leaves India on the evening of February 25." "It's the first-ever US presidential visit which is specially planned for India," the highly placed government source points out. "The standalone visit itself has achieved something already. Don't underestimate it. The message has already spread." The geo-political message is that America has decided to have a full blown and exclusive visit of its president and his family soon after major political decisions with huge ramifications like dilution of Article 370 and amendments to the all-important Citizenship Act. "President Trump has a personal political gain in mind too," explains Chidananda Rajghatta, the Washington-based diplomatic editor of The Times of India. "Aside from the geo-political messaging of support to India," Rajghatta points out, "Trump will also hope to derive some political advantage back home. Indian Americans don't constitute a big voting bloc, but even in small numbers they become important in swing states such as Michigan which Trump won by a mere 10,000 votes in 2016." IMAGE: A hoarding with images of Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi and United States President Donald John Trump along a road ahead of Trump's visit to Ahmedabad on Monday, February 22, 2020. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters "This visit is all about political messaging," notes a retired senior diplomat who has worked closely with Prime Minister Modi in the past. "By having a standalone visit to India, Trump has -- if not exactly endorsed -- surely ignored decisions like Article 370 and CAA." "There will be customary remarks and public questions over it, but that's it. America gave support to India at time of the Pulwama terror attack. There is highest-level intelligence co-operation. The military component ($18 billion in the last decade) and energy trade (in 2016, US energy exports to India grew 500% to nearly $7 billion) is expanding," highlights the retired diplomat. "For India, it is the most important bilateral relationship. From 1998 to 2019, both sides have maintained steady forward movement. Not even the detractors can ignore that fact. India has a favourable trade balance with America. A rare feat," he adds. "India enjoys bipartisan support in Washington. Notwithstanding a few recent negative remarks from Democratic leaders, India is confident that broadly America has tilted towards India due to its strategies in the Indo-Pacific and due to China." "The new 2+2 dialogue of Indian and US defence and foreign ministries is an American idea," reveals the retired diplomat. "It is helping sort out issues without circumventing it for long. Both sides are less bureaucratic now, if and when they want to." America and India have serious trade difference on agricultural products and dairy products and also on high-cost two wheelers like Harley-Davidson motorcycles. It is definitely advantageous to India that in spite of such a high profile visit, trade negotiations have not been completed in time. An inconclusive trade agreement means India has not yielded to American pressure, yet. Three companies are competing in the Indian market to sell 5G technology. The US wants India to avoid Huawei, the Chinese monolith, and select either Ericsson or Samsung. Also, India has sensitive, well-established and pragmatic relations with Iran. Since last year due to American-led sanctions, Iranian gas imports to India is down to nil. This affects Indian interests. However, these are big issues and Trump's visit is not the event to decide it. America and India have both conducted many bilateral rounds of dialogue round the year where the respective positions of both countries regarding China and Russia have been made known. Prime Minister Modi has surprised many in the last six years by keeping India-Russian relations on steady ground. The Trump visit, therefore, will matter mainly in providing optics. IMAGE: Prime Minister Modi and President Trump take a selfie with a child before the Howdy, Modi event in Houston, September 22, 2019. Photograph: www.narendramodi.in The Modi government is hyping up the personal chemistry between the Indian prime minister and American president. There is a method behind it. Both leaders have shaped up personalised diplomacy with a sharp political purpose. Modi has likely cracked the Trump code. He is playing on Trump's sentiments, something Modi understands well. Both men confront political and personal accusations and derision within their countries. Both are self-made men with large egoes. Both have come to power winning a democratic election. Both have mercilessly taken head-on their enemies, adversaries and competitors. Modi has, over the years, demonstrated his knack to judge people as his relations with Nepal's Left-leaning leader K P Oli demonstrates, say a retired diplomat who has prepared many briefs on world leaders for Indian prime ministers when he was in government. The Trump-Modi chemistry is also because both leaders believe that the projection of their selves and their views is necessary to maintain their leadership position abroad and within their country. Of course, this projection of themselves have captured the imagination of their core supporters. Both Modi and Trump are intense men in public and in private and both run their politics on the basis of the 'Nation First' slogan. Asked, if in spite of the so-called chemistry, if Trump likely to repeat his proposal to mediate in Kashmir, the retired senior diplomat says, "On Kashmir, India and Modi can absorb much more than comments here and there by visiting dignitaries." Asked if India should expect Trump to offer to mediate on Kashmir again, a senior administration official of the US state department, said, 'I think what you'll hear from the president is very much encouraging, a reduction in tensions between India and Pakistan, encouraging the two countries to engage in bilateral dialogue with each other to resolve their differences.' 'We continue to believe that a core foundation of any successful dialogue between the two countries is based on continued momentum in Pakistan's efforts to crack down on terrorists and extremists on its territory. So we continue to look for that," the state department official said, while briefing the media in Washington, DC, on the eve of Trump's visit. 'But I think the president will urge both countries to seek to maintain peace and stability along the line of control and refrain from actions or statements that could increase tensions in the region,' the state department official added. Many government sources who are in the know of things tell Rediff.com that the Modi government has a "closed mind" on issues related to Kashmir. So, foreign governments know well that the Modi government is unlikely to change track on what it has done and plans to do in the Kashmir valley. IMAGE: Prime Minister Modi and President Trump at the G-20 summit in Biarritz, France, August 2019. Asked specifically how the chemistry between Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping and Modi and Trump got established, the afore-quoted senior diplomat says, "Prime Minister Modi picks the traits of the visiting leader correctly when he is briefed on them." The diplomat cites the example how America is lately understanding that there is a necessity to listen to Indian arguments for a 'Make in India' initiative in the defence sector. If the US and India agree to a joint venture and manufacture American defence equipment in India, then it will be certainly cheaper than America. Also, due to cost effectiveness, China and Russia are able to increase their export of weapons and defence equipment to far many countries now and through it they are able to influence their international diplomacy. To compete with them, the joint venture in India is more desirable for America. IMAGE: Ivanka Trump with Prime Minister Modi at the 8th annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Hyderabad, November 24, 2017. She showered generous praises on the prime minister in her keynote address, terming Modi's achievement as 'truly extraordinary'. Photograph: @MEAPhotogallery/Flickr The most important signal of the Trump visit's significance to the American establishment is visible in the list of visitors accompanying the American president or POTUS, as he is referred to by the US secret service that protects Trump and his family. Trump arrives in India with his wife Melania, his daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner. Ivanka, reportedly the favourite of Trump's five children, is officially assistant and advisor to the US president while her husband Jared, who hails from a wealthy New York Jewish family, is assistant and senior advisor to Trump. Also, don't miss one name in the list of VIPs -- which includes three secretaries -- accompanying Trump. In Trump's regime, policy wonk Stephen Miller -- who got married last week -- is assistant to the president and senior advisor for policy. Miller, 35, drives Trump's hardline immigration policies and politics and influences Trump at many levels. With almost all important core members of Trump's regime, including newly appointed National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien, on board, the burden of making the American president's India visit successful is shared equally on both sides. The script, with commas and all, is written backstage. Relax and watch the grand perfomances on the actual stage in Motera and at the majestic Taj Mahal. Bernie Sanders Communist Party Flirtation Commentary President Donald Trump says that he thinks presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is a communist. Bernie Sanders says he isnt. The head of the Communist Party USA, Joe Sims, agrees with Sanders. After studying Sanders for more than a decade now, I agree with President Trump. Bernie Sanders is a creature of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). Theyve funded and manned his election campaigns. Theyve propagandized for him and supported him for well over 30 years now. Sanders would be nothing without the DSA. And theyre definitely small c communists. But what about big C communists. The Communist Party USA, for example? While the DSA is Sanders greatest love, he has also occasionally flirted with the DSAs best friends in the Communist Party. Aside from a little jealousy, there was no great conflict here. The two organizations have collaborated for decades and share some cross-membership. Their policy positions are almost identical. The DSAs more innocuous name does, however, make it a little easier to work inside churches, the Democratic Party, and other organizations. Even as student in Chicago in the early 1960s, Sanders worked for a time for the Communist Party-controlled United Packinghouse Workers Union. Sanders communist flirtation got a little more serious in the late 1980s. A notice was placed in the Maoist-leaning newspaper the Guardian (NY) on Nov. 8, 1989, concerning an upcoming U.S. Peace Council 10th anniversary national conference. The U.S. Peace Council was a front for the Communist Party USA and an affiliate of the Soviet-controlled World Peace Council. Mayor Sanders addressed the event, as did long-time Communist Party ally Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), former Communist Party leader Jack ODell of the Rainbow Coalition, Zehdi Terzi of the terrorist Palestine Liberation Organization, and Gunther Drefahl of the communist East German Peace Council. Sanders was hobnobbing here with some of the most-dangerous communists on the planet. Little wonder that the FBI was keeping tabs on him when he served as mayor of Burlington. H.R. 950, the Job Creation and Infrastructure Restoration Act of 1997, was introduced in the 105th Congress on March 5, 1997, by congressman Matthew Martinez of California. It had 33 original co-sponsors, including Sanders. According to the New York State Communist Party: The primary purpose of this emergency federal jobs legislation was to provide much needed jobs at union wages to crisis ridden cities by putting the unemployed to work rebuilding our nations infrastructure (schools, housing, hospitals, libraries, public transportation, highways, parks, environmental improvements, etc[)]. $250 billion is authorized for emergency public works jobs over a five year period. The Communist Party USA unsuccessfully promoted versions of this funnel money to the unions bill for some years. All the major groups promoting it, such as the National Labor Coalition For Public Works Jobs and the New York Coalition for Public Works Jobs, were led by Communist Party members such as Bill Davis of New York. In 2010, John Case wrote about his personal experiences with Sanders while serving as Communist Party district organizer in New England. The article in the Communist Partys Political Affairs was entitled Sanders for President?: There are few, if any, politicians on the left, more shrewd than Bernie Sanders. I got to know him somewhat in my years as a UE rep in Vt, and later as DO for the Communist Party in N. New England. With a few arguable exceptions, he has always both ideologically and politically pursued a working-class line. As important, he become a demonstrated master of very concrete tactics directed at isolating the right, without appearing irresponsible or reckless to center forces. He kept focused on the concretes especially economics, and non-corrupt governance that blunted repeated attempts by the right to isolate him. In April 2015, just a weekend away from Election Day in Chicagos mayoral and city council races, Sen. Sanders came to Chicago to speak in support of Jesus Chuy Garcia, the far-lefts candidate against incumbent Mayor Rahm Emmanuel. In front of a crowd of 700 gathered on Chicagos far southeast side, Sen. Sanders and district Steelworker retiree leader Scott Marshall fired up the voters for their friend Garcia. Chuy Garcia had a 40-year history with the Chicago Communist Party. Marshall was head of the Communist Party Labor Commission. According to a report of the event in the Communist Partys Peoples World: U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders elaborated on the theme of building a peoples movement. What we are doing is not just to make the 10th ward better, he said, but demonstrating when people stand together theres nothing we cant accomplish. Then he laid out what looked to the enthusiastic crowd a lot like a platform for the 2016 presidential race. Were gonna ask the richest people billionaires and corporations to start paying their fair share, he said right off the bat. Next, he spoke of putting millions to work at green and living wage jobs by investing in the crumbling infrastructure and creating energy systems that cut carbons. He advocated free tuition in public colleges and universities, Medicare for All, raising Social Security benefits, overturning Citizens United and public funding for elections. Change is in the air, observed steelworker retiree [Scott] Marshall. A powerful movement, led by labor, is being born. Garcia lost the mayoralty race but was later elected to Congress in 2018, where he proudly serves in the Bernie Sanders initiated Congressional Progressive Caucus. In a Jan. 24, 2018, article on the Communist Party USA website, party leader John Bachtell explained his members involvement in the 2016 and 2018 election campaigns: Members were involved with Bernie Sanders campaign and are continuing their activism in Our Revolution, Swing Left, Indivisible, Working Families Party, statewide groups like the New Virginia Majority and local Democratic Party groups and 2018 electoral campaigns. The Communist Party USA appears to be at least equally involved in Sanders 2020 campaign. In December 2019, Ohio Communist Party leader Rick Nagin wrote in the Peoples World: Defeating Trump and the ultra-right in 2020 means moving the electorate to the left. The most effective force doing that is the Sanders campaign, which we should become fully immersed in. Communist Party Chairman Joe Sims may not consider Sanders a communist, but it seems like most of the rest of the party considers him a worthy comrade. Trevor Loudon is an author, filmmaker, and public speaker from New Zealand. For more than 30 years, he has researched radical left, Marxist, and terrorist movements and their covert influence on mainstream politics. He is the author of a soon-to-be published book White House Red: Communist, Socialists and Security Risks Running for U.S. President, 2020. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. As Nevadans headed to caucus on Saturday, at least one campaign was still raising concerns about how the early vote would be integrated into the in-person caucuses. One adviser said that several campaigns had pressed the state party to issue written guidance more clearly outlining how the early count would be characterized to in-person caucus-goers, but that the party declined. German wholesale retailer Metro Cash & Carry is gearing up for expansion in India with the addition of five new stores this year and also plans to accelerate its e-commerce play and partnership with kirana stores, according to a top company official. The wholesale retailer, which has registered profits in the last two years in India, has so far partnered with 2,000 kirana stores in Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Delhi, offering them complete end-to-end retail solutions. "The company thinks India is a big growth market. The opportunity for growth in India is huge in both physical stores and e-commerce," Metro Cash & Carry India Managing Director and CEO Arvind Mediratta told PTI. As part of expansion plans, he said, "we have five stores coming up this year in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana." Metro Cash & Carry currently has 27 cash and carry stores in India in 17 cities. When asked about investments for the new stores, he declined to comment but said besides the new physical stores, the company has also been focussing on its partnership with local neighbourhood stores through its 'Smart Kirana Programme'. The whole idea is how to make a kirana store smarter in terms of usage of technology, by running business more efficiently, targeting more customers using data analytics, drive more customer traffic and make it more successful and profitable, he added. "We believe in helping kiranas in increasing their sell-out, not just sell to them because if their sell-out improves, and if they think Metro can help increase their sell-out, we automatically become their preferred supplier," Mediratta said. The company has provided point of sale (PoS) devices, which come with a Metro app to kirana owners through which they can order items from Metro online, get daily sales and profit report while also track top customers, the most selling articles and slow moving items. The device also allows them to accept debit/credit cards and accept wallet payments, which offer customer cashbacks and other offers. It enables passing on of such benefits to the end customer, he added. "The programme is working well and we believe we now have enough results and have got approval from our global board to expand this programme and take it national. We are now already in the process of scaling it up," he said. For scaling up its Smart Kirana Programme, Mediratta, said the company is taking it one step at a time. "Our idea is to first saturate Bangalore, Hyderabad and Delhi before you enter newer cities. You get better returns on investment if you do one market and do it really well, this is one of our big learnings when it comes to profitability. Strengthen your dominance wherever you are," he said. Metro has partnered with Paytm in Delhi and MSwipe in the rest of the country for digital payments while it has also roped in ePayLater which not only offers credit to kirana stores but also to their end-customers enabling them to shop at specific stores, Mediratta added. Stating that Indian retail landscape is changing with new-age online players both in business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) investing a lot of money, including on pricing which has put a lot of pressure on local kirana stores. In order to help the small stores keep up with the changes, he said Metro is also helping the kirana owners remodel their stores and convert old closed-loop stores into an open format modern store where customers can come inside and shop thereby increasing customer traffic and impulse buying. "What we are tying to do is organise loans for these kiranas for remodelling, because it can cost from Rs 75,000 to Rs 2 lakh and the remodelling operations takes only 48 hours," Mediratta said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Britain's biggest housebuilders are set to boost payouts to shareholders by 1billion a year even after the lucrative Help to Buy scheme ends. In a startling analysis, builders are forecast to increase dividends by a huge 40 per cent over the next five years. That would take annual payouts to investors to 3.6 billion, up from 2.6billion from the largest nine builders in 2019. The analysis, from housing market gurus at HSBC, comes after renewed confidence in the sector pushed builders' shares to record highs on Friday. A Persimmon housing development. Housebuilder dividends are set to rise Last week, official data showed house prices had risen in every region in the UK for the first time in two years at an average of 2.2 per cent thanks to a 'Boris bounce' from the resounding Conservative Election victory in December. Even so, critics had expected the industry's dividend bonanza to finish when the controversial taxpayer-funded Help to Buy scheme ends in March 2023. The scheme, designed to help young buyers, has been credited with fuelling record dividends as well as bonuses for fat-cat bosses, and for propping up house prices since it was introduced by former Chancellor George Osborne in 2013. The top nine housebuilders are expected to suffer a fall in profits once the scheme is finally phased out, having failed to fix Britain's housing crisis. But analysts now think there will be so much cash left over for the industry's biggest players that they could hand out 3.6billion to investors in 2024, a year after the subsidies stop. The scale of the projected payouts is likely to anger campaigners who argue that money lining the pockets of executives and their shareholders should be spent on building homes. The largest dividend last year came from scandal-ridden Persimmon, which is this week set to reveal it paid out 748million in 2019 after raking in pre-tax profits of more than 1billion yet again. Its annual results due on Thursday will show its operating margins are still way above the sector norm at 30 per cent, even after it pledged to spend huge sums to improve the quality of its homes. Also on Thursday, Vistry, the newly-named firm formed by the merger of Bovis and parts of Galliford Try's business, is expected to report a 130million dividend for last year. The results will follow on from Taylor Wimpey, another major builder, which on Wednesday is expected to say it dished out 500million to shareholders in 2019. 'We are forecasting the nine companies in this report to increase 2024 dividends in aggregate by 40 per cent versus 2019, including special dividends,' said HSBC analyst John Fraser-Andrews. 'Our forecasts for these dividend payments to rise are the result of the cash balances that prevail on almost all of the balance sheets of the housebuilders in this report, such that we expect the national volume builders with limited growth prospects within the UK to continue to return almost all of their free cash flow to shareholders.' Fraser-Andrews and his team have made a 'U-turn' in their report and followed others in becoming more optimistic about house prices. They have now upgraded their forecasts for 2020 in southern England and now expect a 2 per cent uptick, against a fall of between 2.5 and 5 per cent previously. Builders' share prices have surged since the Election and some hit all-time highs last week, including Persimmon and Barratt Developments. Last week, property website Rightmove said asking prices rose again, underlining a return in confidence from those selling their homes. Keepmoat Homes goes on market at 500m One of Britains oldest builders could be about to change hands as private equity firms and hedge funds look to take advantage of the revival in Britains housing market. City sources said the private equity owners of Keepmoat Homes are looking for a buyer willing to spend 500million. The Doncaster-based firm, which focuses on affordable homes for first-time buyers, was set up by George Bramall and Dick Ogden in 1931. TDR and Sun Capital bought the company, which sponsors the stadium used by Doncaster Rovers FC, six years ago. Another housebuilder for sale is Avant Homes, formerly known as Gladedale. Like Keepmoat it was once owned by failed bank HBOS. A group of hedge funds bought the Derbyshire firm from Lloyds Bank for 175million four years ago and are said to want to sell it for 600million, with Moelis advising on both sales. Asked if she needed help getting to the polls, the angry woman voter said hotly, Well we havent seen anyone yet have we? Well just wait till your man arrives with the necessary, wont we?!, hanging up with a bang. Baffled, I turned to my local campaign manager on byelection day in a riding in Atlantic Canada and asked for a translation. He was embarrassed and enraged and snapped, Mrs. Murphy knows bloody well that New Democrats dont trade mickeys for votes! The penny dropped heavily on the naive young central Canadian visitor. Until the 70s buying elections was a rather simple, reasonably inexpensive and accepted convention in many parts of Canada. Liquor, cash and promises of positions with the county or the province were the currencies. Prodded by the scandals in Quebec in 1970, in Ontario the following year, and then Watergate, Canada decided to clean up the process and change the rules. We still benefit from that moment of epiphany with one of the cleanest election finance systems in the developed world. The Americans tried the same, post-Watergate, with a short lived public financing provision struck down in 1976 by the Supreme Court, in Buckley v. Valeo. Then the infamous Citizens United Court decision a generation later broke down all the barriers to buying an American election. This year is seeing the sad consequence of that decision, with some observers predicting that this will be the first $10 billion presidential cycle. Applying the usual Canada/U.S comparator of 10 to 1, that would mean $1.25 billion Canadian here. That is more than five times what we spend, including every penny spent by third parties. Donald Trumps allies have committed to spending $1 to $1.5 billion independent of his own campaign, which has a $1-billion budget. Mike Bloomberg has spent in three months twice as much as all the players in a Canadian election would be permitted. He has pledged to spend another $1 billion supporting the Democratic party before November. He is now spending a $1 million a day on Facebook alone, and there are 264 days until election day. Democratic party contenders have raised more than $400 million and already spent much of it. These are eye watering levels by comparison with any democracy anywhere in the world, and indeed in comparison with any previous American electoral cycle. But the drivers for more and more spending are real in a highly competitive race. California, a media market bigger than Canada, can easily absorb $500 million in TV and social media spending, over a six-month campaign. New York and Texas are not far behind. The injection of Bloombergs $350 million since November has moved him from zero to 19 per cent in some polls, so his cash was not wasted. Having been badly bashed in his first debate performance, it will be interesting to see what kind of firewall his cash can deliver. This is an electoral cash arms race that has no obvious ceiling. Money cannot trump a strong candidate, as it were, or save an incompetent one. Hillary Clinton spent more than three times what Trump did. The outcome does little credit to her campaign teams choices of message, messengers and message delivery vehicles. If Bloomberg cannot take and deliver better punches, his money wont save him. Needless to say, like any arms race, this will end in tears. Asking someone to give $5,000 to your superpac is equivalent to a political dinner ticket for $500 in Canada. Little is expected in return, and little granted. Ask me to give you $5 million for your superpac means the payback has to be a little more beneficial than rubber chicken and a candidate handshake an ambassadorship, the end of an IRS audit, or maybe even a pardon down the road. We can thank the wise political players in 1974 Canada who understood the risks of allowing elections to be seen to be for sale, and putting in place strict prohibitions. Looking at the sad, tawdry nature of American political giving and spending this year underlines the importance of the spending and giving limits they created. Come January 2021, on Inauguration Day, it will be hard to watch the victor swear their oath to uphold the Constitution, without wondering whether their unspoken higher loyalties may in fact have already been pledged elsewhere. Robin V. Sears is a principal at Earnscliffe Strategy Group and was an NDP strategist for 20 years. He is a freelance contributing columnist for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: is a principal at Earnscliffe Strategy Group and was an NDP strategist for 20 years. He is a freelance contributing columnist for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @robinvsears Read more about: Powder Ridge Mountain in Middlefield hosted the Special Olympics Connecticut 2020 Winter Games the weekend of February 22, 2020. Hundreds of athletes of all abilities from across the state participated. Terming 'test checks' proposed by the government on telcos' AGR arithmetic as standard audit procedure, Industry body COAI has said the needs to ensure consistency among its different circles on calculation of dues to minimise any differences. Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI) also cautioned that any decision to encash bank guarantees will be "disastrous" for the telecom industry, which only has three private players. "Any move to encash bank guarantees will precipitate an already precarious situation," COAI Director General, Rajan Mathews told PTI. Mathews termed the 'test checks' being proposed by the telecom department to examine deviation in calculation of dues by as a "standard audit procedure". He pointed out that while amounts need to be finalised as soon as possible, operators too should be given a fair opportunity to explain the deviations in calculation. "There should be consistency amongst all LSAs (Licensed Service Areas) of the (Department of Telecommunications) on how the amounts are calculated, so the differences are minimised," Mathews added. The government has made it clear that it will verify the companies' claims on AGR math and examine any deviations from its own calculation, through random 'test checks' before March 17. The government will conduct 'test check' for any one year (of telcos' dues) to examine variances between telecom companies' assessment and the government's own calculation of AGR liabilities. The test check will happen for all telecom firms, but could start with those, which have already claimed they have made full and final settlement towards their statutory liabilities, like Tata Teleservices. In all, as many as 15 entities owe the government Rs 1.47 lakh crore -- Rs 92,642 crore in unpaid licence fee and another Rs 55,054 crore in outstanding spectrum usage charges. These dues arose after the Supreme Court, in October last year, upheld the government's position on including revenue from non-core businesses in calculating the annual (AGR) of telecom companies, a share of which is paid as licence and spectrum fee to the exchequer. The Supreme Court earlier this month rejected a plea by mobile carriers such as Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea Ltd for extension in the payment schedule and asked them to deposit an estimated Rs 1.47 lakh crore in past dues for spectrum and licences. The apex court had warned that it will initiate contempt proceedings against top executives of these firms for non-payment. Some telecom firms are already struggling with mounting losses and debt, and the additional liability has raised concerns of them defaulting on existing loans. Of the estimated dues that include interest and penalty for late payments, Airtel and Vodafone Idea owe about 60 per cent. Vodafone Idea is confronted with total AGR dues of over Rs 53,000 crore. Of this, it has so far paid only Rs 3,500 crore in two tranches earlier this week. Airtel has so far paid Rs 10,000 crore out of its estimated liability of over Rs 35,000 crore. Tata Teleservices has paid Rs 2,197 crore, the entire outstanding it believes to have arisen after the October ruling of the apex court for calculating dues. Tata Teleservices and Tata Teleservices Maharashtra have submitted to the government the details of calculation in support of its payment, but sources in the said that wide gap between the company's calculations and the department's assessment of about Rs 14,000 crore, will certainly be examined. You could say the hens have hatched. Hens, a play written by Tom Noone, a playwright and teacher at Naas CBS, recently sold out its run in Monasterevin as it played a central role no pun intended in the revival of amaeur drama in the town. The smash-hit play was performed to sell out crowds. When Tom Noone got involved he brought with him some expertise and a play which caught the imagination of the community, said Colman Hynes, chairman of the Monasterevin Drama Group. Even in the build up we were having 20 people at our readings whereas before we had only a trickle of people interested in taking part, added Mr Hynes. The play sold out for five nights one of which was devoted to the sponsors, whose support is vital to anateur drama anywhere. We could have sold another 30 to 40 tickets each night, he said. Hens was performed in the community centre building and over four hundred people came to see this riotous comedy written, which was also directed by Mr Noone. Rave reviews, roaring applause and standing ovations greeted the play which ran from January 25 to February 2. Having a successful play and the involvement of the writer as the director and producer was a huge bonus to this inexperienced drama group. All of the cast and crew and committee involved were new to drama, except for the well-known actor Tom McGrath. For the committee this was their first ever production and it was a remarkable achievement. The writer and director Mr Noone was very impressed with all involved and some very talented people revealed themselves during this production. Tom McGrath is a fantastic actor and professional and so I was delighted he was involved but I was amazed at the talent of the new people especially, Esther Crowe and Sarah Pearce who looked like they had been treading the boards all their lives, said Mr Noone. The play is set in a fictional Irish town of Ballintroy in the present day and a group of women are planning a hen night. But not all goes smoothly and there are a few things to negotiate. In the middle of all these hens is grandad Jack, played by Tom McGrath, the star of the show. Then there is the mother-in-law Helen, played by Esther Crowe whose performance had audiences almost crying with laughter. Cast members Derek Sherlock, Tracy Fenlon, Jean Kelly, Jean Dwyer and Sarah Pearce all made their stage debuts and all excelled with memorable performances. The cast and crew brought the 90-seater theatre to life every night with a wonderful telling of this hilarious story. The play has its origins in a story told to Tom by his mother about a ring being removed from a loved one in a nursing home for feat it would be lost weaved into a tale of life, love and loss. We will have an AGM over the next couple of months and sort out where were going to go next, said Mr Hynes. Meanwhile Hens already being snapped up by other drama groups.And Mr Noone is planning a sequel which he promises will be even better. The sequel will be a play in its own right which means that you don't have to see Hens first. He also thanked All-Ireland winning director Conor OConnell for his help and also Ciaran OShea of Sallins Drama Society, John Dooley and the audiences. Opposition withholds support for VOA, confronts move to increase debt limit View(s): On Thursday the Government decided not to present an amended Vote on Account (VOA) seeking an additional Rs 367 billion for Government expenses, and increase the borrowing limit after the Opposition refused to support the move. When the sittings began, House Leader Dinesh Gunawardena asked Speaker Karu Jayasuriya if the Government had information about the Opposition not honouring agreements reached with the Government earlier. Parliament was then briefly suspended to hold an urgent Party Leaders Meeting which was attended by Treasury Secretary S.R. Attygalle, but this too failed to break the deadlock. When Parliament reconvened, Mr Gunawardena told the House the Government had decided not to present the VOA. We need this money to purchase essential medicine, fertiliser, to pay contractors and suppliers and settle bank loans which the previous Government has failed to pay back, he said. He said the UNP-led Opposition had initially claimed it could not support an amended VOA as wit would be illegal. We consulted the Attorney General and his opinion was that if the House approves it, it will be legal. He accused the Opposition of standing in the way of the Government providing relief to the people. The Prime Minister clearly explained to Parliament that these funds are needed to ensure the welfare of the people. But since the Opposition is opposing it, we have decided not to present the VOA, he added. Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, however, insisted the Opposition was not opposed to approving the Rs 367 billion needed for development measures. This motion has two sections, one that deals with development and relief. We are supportive of both. What we oppose is the attempt to increase the debt ceiling. He said Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa had asked for a moratorium of three years to pay off the countrys debts during his recent visit to India. Mr Premadasa questioned how the Government could ask Parliament for permission to borrow more money, when it could not pay off existing debts. Vote for women candidates, female MPs urge public Female Parliamentarians appealed this week for the public to use their votes at the next general election to increase the number of female MPs in Parliament in order to take correct policy decisions on behalf of women and children. The appeal was made during a news conference held by seven female MPs on Thursday. They said that at present there were only 12 female MPs in the 225-member legislature, meaning that women made up just 5% of the MPs in this Parliament. UPFA MP Sumedha G. Jayasena said even though an agreement had been reached for 25% female representation in the local government, provincial council and parliamentary level, this percentage was not being brought forward through the candidate lists of parties. She said party leaders should focus on including more women in the candidate lists. UNP MP Rohini Kumari Wijeratne said female candidates found it hard to compete with their male counterparts in the current electoral system as they do not go around handing out money, liquor or other goods used by male candidates as tactics to obtain votes. The MPs requested voters, especially female voters, to mark at least one of their three preferences at the upcoming general election for a female candidate to ensure at least one female MP is elected from each district. UPFA MPs Sumedha G. Jayasena, Dr. Sudarshini Fernandopulle, Sriyani Wijewickrama, UNP MPs Vijayakala Maheswaran, Hirunika Premachandra, Dr. Thusitha Wijemanna and Rohini Kumari Wijerathna attended the press conference. Eighth Parliament: Media and public access to Committee sessions most significant highlight Given that the Government has stated that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa will dissolve Parliament on March 2 or 3, this was the final sitting week of the Eighth Parliament. This Parliament was notable for many reasons, most significant of all perhaps being the decision to open it up more to the people by allowing media access to Parliamentary Committee sessions that were previously held behind closed doors. Sessions of key Committees such as the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) and the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) are now being televised and carried on both mainstream media and on the web, becoming widely popular among the people. The decision to open these Committees to the media was preceded by the opening of the proceedings of the Parliamentary Select Committee appointed to inquire into the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks. The Eighth Parliament also saw the appointment of Sectoral Oversight Committees to further empower the legislature. The 2018 Constitutional crisis was the most significant challenge faced by the Eighth Parliament during its term. Mass brawls among MPs also took place inside the Parliament chamber during the 52-day crisis. Then President Maithripala Sirisena dissolved Parliament during the crisis and a new parliament would have been elected at the beginning of 2019 had the Supreme Court not ruled the Presidents actions illegal. Children of mothers prescribed macrolide antibiotics during the first trimester of pregnancy are at an increased risk of major birth defects when compared with penicillin, and the drugs should be used 'with caution' according to a new UCL study. The study, published today in The BMJ, aimed to assess the association between macrolides -- a class of drugs used to treat common bacterial infections -- and major malformations such as heart and genital defects, as well as four neurodevelopmental disorders (cerebral palsy, epilepsy, ADHD, and autism spectrum disorder) in children. Researchers analysed data from 104,605 children born in the UK from 1990 to 2016 using the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) with a median follow-up of 5.8 years after birth. A further 82,314 children whose mothers were prescribed macrolides or penicillins before pregnancy, and 53,735 children who were siblings of children in the study group acted as control (comparison) cohorts. Major malformations were present in 186 children of 8,632 whose mothers were prescribed macrolides at any point during pregnancy and 1,666 of 95,973 children whose mothers were prescribed penicillins during pregnancy. After taking into account other influencing factors, the researchers found macrolide prescribing during the first three months (the first trimester) of pregnancy was associated with an increased risk of any major malformation compared with penicillin (28 versus 18 per 1,000 births ) and specifically cardiovascular malformations (11 v seven per 1,000 births). Macrolide prescribing in any trimester was also associated with a slightly increased risk of genital malformations (five v three per 1,000 births). No statistically significant associations were found for other system specific malformations or for any of the four neurodevelopmental disorders. advertisement Lead author, PhD candidate Heng Fan (UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health) said: "Macrolide antibiotics are used to treat a wide variety of bacterial infections, and are among the most frequently prescribed antibiotics during pregnancy in Western countries. "This work builds on previous evidence of rare but serious adverse outcomes of macrolide use, especially for unborn babies. These adverse outcomes were assumed to be associated with the arrhythmic effect of macrolides and policy advice about their use in pregnancy varies." As an observational study, the researchers highlight that cause cannot be determined but as the results were largely unchanged after further analyses, they suggest that the findings withstand scrutiny. Heng Fan added, "If the associations are shown to be causal, these findings suggest that an additional four children would be born with cardiovascular malformations for every 1,000 children exposed to macrolides instead of penicillins in the first trimester of pregnancy." Professor Ruth Gilbert (UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health) added: "Our findings suggest it would be better to avoid macrolides during pregnancy if alternative antibiotics can be used. She underscored that, "Women should not stop taking antibiotics when needed, as untreated infections are a greater risk to the unborn baby." The authors were supported by funding from Child Health Research CIO Trust, China Scholarship Council, National Institute for Health Research and from Health Data Research UK. KANSAS CITY HIPSTERS ENJOYING SUNDAY BRUNCH AT FOX & PEARL CONFRONTED DEADLY GUNFIRE, A SWARM OF POLICE AND SHUT DOWN STREETS!!! CESAR CHAVEZ AVE KILLING!!! Police investigating after man found dead near bus stop on Summit by: Brian Dulle Posted: / Updated: KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kansas City, Missouri police are investigating after a man was found dead near a bus stop Sunday morning. Police responded to the incident just before 8 a.m. near Summit and Avenida Cesar E. Chavez where a man was found unresponsive. KANSAS CITY POLICE REPORT 2020 HOMICIDE #22 Police investigate death near KC bus stop KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Police are investigating what may have contributed to a man's death near a bus stop Sunday morning. Emergency crews were dispatched to the 2300 block of Summit just before 8:00 a.m. on a medical nature unknown call. Upon arrival an unresponsive male was located near the bus stop. The latest Kansas City killing happened right outside this town's most celebrated hipster restaurant just moments ago.Remember thatNow . . .There's an online debate over this story . . . Some claim it was a police shooting whilst authorities initially report the guy was dead when they arrived at the scene.Either way, the corpse on the street just one block over from this upscale eatery seems to provide a fact check regarding the progress of urban core gentrification or at least might cause a few hipsters to lose their appetite.Check the headlines . . .Developing . . . Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-23 15:06:42|Editor: yhy Video Player Close KABUL, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Afghan special counter-narcotics police in southern Uruzgan province have seized 525 kg of narcotic drugs, the Interior Ministry said on Sunday. "Counter-Narcotics Police of Afghanistan (CNPA) launched a special raid in surrounding areas of Tirin Kot, capital of Uruzgan province. The CNPA seized 525 kg of opium and hashish from a house during the raid," the ministry said in a statement. No arrest was made during the raid in the province, 37 km southwest of the country's capital Kabul. An investigation has been undertaken, according to the statement. The famous picture of Labor prime minister Ben Chifley admiring the first Holden that featured in recent nostalgic reports about the cars storied place in post-war Australia is something of a cheat. Poor Ben, the pipe-smoking former railway engineman, didnt hold on to office for long after his 1948 trip to the GMH factory at Fishermans Bend. Former Prime Minister Ben Chifley introduces Australia's first car, the Holden 48-215, later known as the Holden FX, at Fisherman's Bend in 1948. Chifley was too much of an activist for Australian voters. He wanted to nationalise the banks and promptly lost the 1949 election to the Liberals led by Robert Menzies. It was really the extraordinarily long Menzies era he led his government to another six election wins and didnt surrender the prime ministership until 1966 that enabled and accompanied Holdens penetration into the Australian culture. Menzies installation ushered in a new political settlement in which the non-Labor parties confirmed themselves as the default national government. It was not a time of ambitious policy-making or of great social programs. The Menzies government held on to the confidence of the public by not promising to do too much. It existed to keep the country ticking over and at each election successfully dismissed every Labor policy idea as being too costly and too radical. Is any of this starting to sound familiar? Were now into the third term of a Coalition government that somehow seems to be establishing its own political settlement, just as Menzies did. It does not aim to be transformative. It does not speak of policy challenges or adventures, as John Howard did when he proposed a GST. More than anything, the Morrison government exists to hold office and maintain the status quo and thats all its ever sought to do. Broad-based support across age, racial and ideological groups propelled Bernie Sanders to a dominant victory in Nevada's Democratic caucuses, tightening his grip on the front-runner spot in the race to find a challenger to President Donald Trump. Joe Biden, the former vice president, appeared headed to a badly needed second-place finish in Nevada after poor showings earlier this month in the first two nominating contests in the Democratic presidential race ahead of the 3 November election. Senator Sanders' triumph on Saturday in the first racially diverse state in the campaign suggested he was reaching a broader coalition of Democratic voters with his unapologetic message of social and economic justice, including his signature pledge to provide universal healthcare for all Americans. For Mr Biden and other moderates who argue Mr Sanders is too liberal to beat Mr Trump and who have been trying to blunt his momentum, however, the Nevada results made the job much harder. We have put together a multi-generational, multiracial coalition that is going to not only win in Nevada, it's going to sweep the country, Mr Sanders, a US senator from Vermont and self-described democratic socialist, told cheering supporters in San Antonio, Texas. In pictures: Bernie Sanders celebrates Nevada caucus win Show all 5 1 /5 In pictures: Bernie Sanders celebrates Nevada caucus win In pictures: Bernie Sanders celebrates Nevada caucus win Bernie Sanders and his wife Jane, triumphant at hearing of Nevada Caucus win. in San Antonio Texas on 22 February 2020 Reuters In pictures: Bernie Sanders celebrates Nevada caucus win Bernie Sanders embraces his wife Jane at rally in San Antonio Texas on 22 February 2020 REUTERS In pictures: Bernie Sanders celebrates Nevada caucus win REUTERS In pictures: Bernie Sanders celebrates Nevada caucus win Bernie support raises sign and a thumbs-up to the news of Senator Sanders' win REUTERS In pictures: Bernie Sanders celebrates Nevada caucus win Bernie supporter cheer at the news of Sanders' win REUTERS With 50 per cent of the precincts reporting, Mr Sanders had 47 per cent of the county convention delegates in Nevada. Mr Biden was a distant second to Mr Sanders with 19 per cent, but ahead of former Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, in third with 15 per cent. The press is ready to declare people dead quickly, but we are alive and we are coming back and we are gonna win, Mr Biden told supporters in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Senator Elizabeth Warren, who had been looking to jump-start her campaign after poor finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire, trailed in a disappointing fourth with 10 per cent in Nevada. Senator Amy Klobuchar and activist billionaire Tom Steyer were well back at 5 per cent and 4 per cent, respectively. Pete Buttigieg cautioned Democrats about nominating Mr Sanders, portraying him as an ideologue who would divide the country and lose to Mr Trump. We can prioritise either ideological purity or inclusive victory. We can either call people names online or we can call them into our movement. We can either tighten a narrow and hardcore base or open the tent to a new, broad, big-hearted American coalition, Mr Buttigieg told supporters in Las Vegas. The race now begins to broaden across the country, with the next primary on Saturday in South Carolina, followed closely by the Super Tuesday contests in 14 states on 3 March that pick more than one-third of the pledged delegates who will help select a Democratic nominee. Mr Biden, the No 2 to former President Barack Obama, is counting on a strong showing in South Carolina, which has a large bloc of black voters. In Nevada, entrance polls showed Mr Biden led among African Americans with 36 per cent, followed by Mr Sanders with 27 per cent. The Super Tuesday states will be the first nominating contests for former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has not been competing in the four early voting states but had been rising in opinion polls. The Nevada results reinforce the reality that this fragmented field is putting Bernie Sanders on pace to amass an insurmountable delegate lead, Mr Bloomberg campaign manager Kevin Sheekey said in a statement. Voters poured into more than 250 caucus sites around Nevada, where Mr Sanders was aided by strong support from the six in 10 voters who said they backed a government-run Medicare for All, the Edison entrance poll showed. The entrance poll showed Mr Sanders led in Nevada across all age groups except for those older than 65. Around 54 per cent of Latino voters said they backed him, while 24 per cent of college-educated white women and 34 per cent of those who have a union member in their families supported him. Bernie Sanders speaks after being declared the winner of the Nevada Caucus as he holds a campaign rally in San Antonio Texas 22 February 2020 (Callaghan O'hare/Reuters) (Callaghan O'hare/Reuters) He also won with college graduates, and was the top pick of voters who consider themselves independents. He also was favoured over Mr Biden among voters whose top priority is defeating Mr Trump in the November election. Senator Warren shrugged off her poor finish in Nevada, saying she got a boost in fundraising and support from an aggressive debate performance on Wednesday - which came too late to affect early voting in the first part of the week. We have a lot of states to go, and right now I can feel the momentum, Ms Warren said at a rally in Seattle. On Twitter, Mr Trump appeared to be enjoying the Democratic race. Looks like Crazy Bernie is doing well in the Great State of Nevada. Biden & the rest look weak, & no way Mini Mike, Mr Trump wrote, the last a reference to Mr Bloomberg. Nevada caucus officials and voters at multiple sites on Saturday reported voting rules confusion, calculation glitches and delays in reporting tallies - despite efforts to avoid the issues that plagued Iowa's caucuses earlier this month. After a technical meltdown delayed results in Iowa, state officials promised a revised reporting system using a telephone hotline and photos of caucus reporting sheets would ensure a smoother process. Nevertheless, precinct chairs at some caucuses experienced long waits on the phone lines. Four days of early voting in Nevada this week drew more than 75,000 Democrats, more than half first-time voters, putting the party in position to surpass the turnout record of 118,000 in 2008, when Mr Obama's candidacy electrified the party. But those early votes had to be counted along with those cast on Saturday, slowing the process. Reuters Several Turkish troops were wounded on Sunday in Syria's Idlib province after pro-Damascus forces targeted a Turkish military convoy with heavy artillery, prompting it to retreat northwards, the Syrian Observatory monitoring group reported. Turkey has sent thousands of troops to Idlib in the last few weeks after a stepped up campaign by President Bashar al-Assad to re-take the last rebel stronghold prompted nearly a million Syrians to flee for the Turkish frontier. So far 16 Turkish soldiers have been killed since reinforcements began entering northern Syria earlier this month, raising the prospect of broader conflict. The Observatory said a fresh Turkish military convoy of about 65 vehicles entered northern Syria on Sunday and headed to the southern Idlib area of Jabal Zawiya before being pushed back by the shelling and Russian air strikes. After Russia and Turkey, which support opposite sides in the nine-year war, failed to reach an agreement in the last two weeks over Idlib, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has vowed to push back Syrian government forces if they press on. Turkey already hosts 3.7 million Syrian refugees and says it cannot handle another wave. The Observatory said about 2,765 Turkish military vehicles and 7,600 Turkish soldiers had moved into northern Syria since Feb. 2. Search Keywords: Short link: Fugitive gangster Ravi Pujari has been arrested in South Africa and being brought to India by a team of officials, including senior IPS officers from Karnataka, a top police official said on Sunday. Pujari, wanted in many cases including extortion and murder in different parts of the country, including Karnataka, and been on the run for over 15 years, was deported to Senegal in West Africa following his arrest and later extradited. He had jumped bail in Senegal last year after being arrested there. (We are) coming with him from Senegal. Now in Paris. (We are) coming by Air France and (would be) there (in India) by midnight, the police official, part of the team, told PTI. Pujari, who hails from Karnataka, was likely to be brought here by Monday morning, police sources said. The National Investigation Agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Research and Analysis Wing would join the investigation, the sources said. According to police, the gangster, facing over 200 cases including murder and extortion, was arrested in January last year by the Senegal authorities after remaining elusive. Despite efforts of Indian officials to get him extradited then, a local court had granted him bail and Pujari later fled to South Africa. Police sources on Sunday said the gangster was nabbed from a village in a joint operation by the South African and Senegal police. After he was brought to Senegal, the Indian team completed extradition formalities, they added. Pujari was initially associated with gangster Chhota Rajan, but he had also worked for fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. The Member of Parliament for Gomoa Central, Hon. Naana Eyiah has expressed the Government's commitment towards quality Healthcare Delivery to the citizenry. According to the MP who is also the Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, healthy people makes a wealthy nation. "His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo led NPP Government is committed towards healthy human resources for national development. That explains why greater attention is on the Health Sector. We will continue to ensure quality accessible health facilities at affordable cost" Hon. Naana Eyiah stated these at the inauguration of a renovated office complex for the Gomoa Central District branch the National Health Insurance Scheme ( NHIS) at Gomoa Afransi on Friday. She noted that His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo led the NPP government has put in place achievable measures aimed at improving Healthcare Delivery in the country. " Gomoa Central has gotten its fair share of quick quality Healthcare delivery at the doorsteps. Health facilities are at the reach of every community All CHIP Compound facilities in the district have been equipped with the needed materials and equipment to offer the best of services to the people. Each Health facility in Gomoa Central has a standby generator to generate electricity in case of a power outage. Air-conditions have also been supplied to store drugs and others to avoid contamination and other health-related implications" Hon. Naana Eyiah commended staff for their commitment to duty adding it has enhanced the image of the District. " Afransi Health Insurance Center even though was operating in a very congested space, its service delivery is second to none. That is why I in collaboration with the Gomoa Central District Assembly renovated this structure to facilitate the smooth operation of the scheme. I like to encourage the staff to continue with the selfless services they are rendering to our people especially the aged and pregnant mothers. We will continue to support the office with whatever is needed to boost its services" District Chief Executive for Gomoa Central, Hon. Benjamin Kojo Otoo lauded Hon. Naana Eyiah for renovating the structure for the scheme. "Gomoa Central District Assembly is highly grateful for this kind gesture of our Members of Parliament. We couldn't have done it because funds were not available for this laudable project. This bigger space is going to make the scheme more efficient in delivering its essential services to the people. It is also going to create employment because more hands would be needed while the local economy will also be boosted" The Gomoa East District Director of the Ghana Health Service, Mr. Stephen Tei-Toh said the District Directorate has been working hand in hand with the Health Insurance Authorities in the District to ensure effective healthcare delivery in all its Health facilities Mr. Maxwell Yaw Ahenkorah, Gomoa Central District Scheme Manager of the National Health Insurance Authority disclosed that his outfit covers many communities in Gomoa, Agona, Asikuma- Odoben- Brakwa as well as Ajumako- Enyan- Essiam district stating that the people have confidence in their operations. Present were Gomoa Central NPP Constituency Executives including its Chairman Alhaji Omar Adam, Women's Organizer, Madam Diana Aubyn, and Mr. George Obeng, Deputy Constituency Organizer. Less than two weeks after delivering his second inaugural address, Abraham Lincoln wrote that he expected the speech to wear as well as perhaps better than any thing I have produced. But, he added, I believe it is not immediately popular. He was right on both counts. The speech, barely more than 700 words, is now considered one of the most important in American history. But on the day it was delivered, March 4, 1865, with the Union on the brink of victory in the Civil War, Lincoln had trouble placating his own party, much less his political opponents. And he opted to write words that addressed slavery in grand, religious terms, rather than itemizing the practical ways in which the country would have to begin moving forward. In Every Drop of Blood, Edward Achorn addresses sweeping issues about the war and the precarious state of the nation by narrowing his lens to the 24 hours around the inauguration and the many notable characters around the president that day. Below, Achorn discusses the hostility toward the president, the diaries of Southern women, how Stanley Kubrick is like Lincoln and more. When did you first get the idea to write this book? Thats a hard one because I suppose it was decades ago, when I first came across this speech. It has all this resonant language that sounds like something out of Shakespeare or the King James Bible. Here you have this president whos been re-elected and virtually won a war that was a struggle for the countrys survival, and instead of celebrating he speculates on the wars immense suffering. He says it may be Gods judgment for the sin of slavery. Its not an ordinary speech. Ive always thought I would want to write about it. About five years ago, I decided to do it. A friend of mine said, You should write about Booth and Lincoln on that day. John Wilkes Booth, who murdered Lincoln six weeks later, was there watching the speech. But then I began to look at all the people who intersected with Lincoln that day. Walt Whitman was covering it. Clara Barton was trying to win Lincolns help for a project she was working on, to find out what happened to missing soldiers. You had Vice President Andrew Johnson, who was drunk at the ceremonies. Frederick Douglass, who was the most interesting to me. Whats the most surprising thing you learned while writing it? Ive read all these books about how Lincoln was hated, but I was still surprised by how disdained and disliked he was by so many of his contemporaries. Liberal Republicans thought he was too calculating, too quick to weigh public opinion. Democrats thought he was a tyrant, a rube, and was destroying the Constitution. I think a lot of this was airbrushed out of history after he was assassinated, when he became a martyr. But when you go back to that day and look at what people were saying, you get a stunning sense of what Lincoln was up against. Theres a lot of hostility from all sides. Im not sure how he withstood it. I guess he was defeated so many times in his life, had been down so many times, that he was able to take almost anything. Iran threatens to destroy tomb of Esther and Mordechai Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom is raising concerns over unconfirmed reports that authorities in the Islamic Republic of Iran are threatening the destruction of the tomb of Esther and Mordechai in response to President Trumps Middle-East peace plan. The tomb is believed by some to be the resting place of the Old Testament queen Esther and her relative, Mordechai. Esther was the queen of the Persian King Ahasuerus. She is credited with helping save the Jewish people from being massacred. The tomb is a popular pilgrimage site for Jews and Christians in Iran. USCIRF is troubled by reported threats to the tomb of Esther and Mordechai in Hamedan, Iran, USCIRF stressed in a tweet. [USCIRF] emphasizes the Iranian government's responsibility to protect religious sites. The congressionally-mandated bipartisan and independent international religious freedom watchdog body was responding to a report from the Alliance for Rights of All Minorities in Iran. The organization posted on social media Sunday that the historic Jewish site is at risk of destruction. Iranian authorities are threatening to destroy the historic tomb of Ester and Mordechai in Hamedan and convert the site to a consular office for Palestine, the Facebook post claims. Ester and Mordechai were biblical Jewish heroes who saved their people from a massacre in a story known as #Purim. Their burial site has been a significant Jewish landmark for Jews and history buffs around the world. According to covering reports, members of Iranian #Basij [paramilitary] attempted to raid the historic site yesterday in an act of revenge against the Israelis Palestinian peace plan by President Trump, the post added. The United States-based nongovernmental organization watchdog group International Christian Concern reports that reports on Irans plans for the tomb are unconfirmed. But the NGO indicated that the alleged raid by Basij forces occurred last Saturday. The Jerusalem Post could not confirm the covering reports cited by the alliance. One initial report appears to have been published on Feb. 7 by Mohabat News, the Iranian Christian News Agency. The report cites a warning issued by the Council for Explaining Students' Mobilization of Hamadan Universities. Although reports are unconfirmed, it would not be the first time that the tomb of Esther and Mordechai has been threatened. As the Brooklyn-based Jewish Press reports, a group of Basij members from Abu Ali Sina University threatened to destroy the tomb in 2010 even though the tomb was labeled a national heritage site in 2008. Additionally, the Jewish Press notes that authorities in Iran downgraded the status of the tomb in 2011 and removed a sign indicating that it was a pilgrimage site. The threat of the tombs destruction highlights Irans Jewish history and community. But it also runs parallel to several challenges that Iranian Christians face, as many of their charges following arrest are phrased within a framework of terms that connect them to Zionism, ICC explained in a report. The tomb of Esther and Mordechai are important to both Jews and Christians. But for local Christians to speak about the tomb at such a sensitive point in time would put them at great risk for further persecution. Several sites sacred to Christians and Jews have been targeted over the years by radical Muslims. In 2014, the Islamic State destroyed the tomb of Jonah in Iraq. Iran ranks as the ninth-worst country in the world for Christian persecution, according to Open Doors USAs 2020 World Watch List. In Iran, religious minorities are regularly arrested for worshiping in house churches and Muslim converts to Christianity are severely persecuted. In early February, two women born into Muslim families who later converted to Christ and led two house churches in Iran spoke at a religious freedom panel discussion in Washington, D.C., where they outlined the experiences they faced. Maryam Rostampour and Marziyeh Amirizadeh spent 259 days in Irans notorious Evin Prison. Even though they were sentenced to death, the two were released after much international pressure. We know first-hand how difficult it is for those who attend house churches because they risk their lives to attend house churches, Amirizadeh said. Any time if the government find out, they can raid the gathering, arrest people, torture them and confiscate their property. Dabrina Bet Tamraz, an Assyrian Christian whose father, brother and mother are imprisoned in Iran, also spoke at the event. 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. Hyderabad: Municipal administration minister K.T. Rama Rao on Saturday announced that in order to provide better civic services and transparency in the administration, the state government has decided to introduce the New Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation Act in the Budget Session. Speaking at a review meeting at the MCRHRD Institute with municipal and urban development authorities, Mr Rama Rao said that all the rules and regulations incorporated in the Telangana Municipal Act will be brought into the New GHMC Act. He asked the authorities concerned to look into the matter and submit a report of items to be included in the new legislation. Earlier the minister reviewed a range of ongoing works in the city like the Strategic Road Development Programme, Comprehensive Road Maintenance Programme (CMRP), Hyderabad Roads Development Corporation, development of footpaths, development of slip and link roads and junction improvements. On the SRDP and CRMP works, Mr Rama Rao instructed zonal commissioners and engineers to prepare a schedule and synchronise the work of other departments on shifting of utilities in order to complete the projects without delay. On land acquisition, the minister instructed officials to issue all notices for a particular project on a single day. so that it will be easy to take action in time. WASHINGTON Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a hero to many progressives and a prodigious fundraiser, is singling out a California Democrat as one of a handful of bold swing district House members worthy of her supporters campaign donations. With call-outs on her website and on Twitter, the New York Democrat has helped Orange County Rep. Mike Levin raise more than $38,000 for a campaign that could be crucial to Democrats hopes of holding the House in November, the congresswomans campaign said. Ocasio-Cortez herself gave an additional $4,800 through her political action and campaign committees, Federal Election Commission records show. Ocasio-Cortez said she plans to issue similar fundraising call-outs for another first-term California Democrat facing a potentially tough race in November, Orange County Rep. Katie Porter, to her 6.3 million Twitter followers and on her website. Ocasio-Cortez is trying to capitalize on her prominence among progressives to extend her influence from deep-blue districts to purple ones such as those represented by Levin and Porter, both of whom flipped Republican-held seats in 2018. Although their districts could be considered swing seats, the two California Democrats are aligned with Ocasio-Cortez on some progressive issues. In an interview, Ocasio-Cortez said her philosophy is, When someone takes a tough vote, we really want to have their back. Levin handily defeated a Republican in 2018 to win the 49th Congressional District seat that had been held by GOP Rep. Darrell Issa, who didnt run for re-election. It was one of seven California seats the Democrats flipped in the blue wave midterm elections that gave the party control of the House. Republicans are targeting several of those first-term Democrats this year in hopes of regaining the House. Levin, D-San Juan Capistrano, was formerly an environmental attorney who started a sustainable power company. He is a strong backer of the Green New Deal, a nonbinding resolution co-sponsored by Ocasio-Cortez that combines ambitious carbon emissions reduction goals with social justice provisions such as government-led job retraining for fossil-fuel workers. Levin said he is grateful to Ocasio-Cortez, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco and everybody else who helps us out. Ocasio-Cortez first asked her supporters in March 2019 to help swing-district Democrats targeted by the GOP. She directed them to a fundraising page on her website that sent contributions to the campaigns of Levin and a Connecticut Democrat, Rep. Jahana Hayes. The page also solicited funds for then-Rep. Katie Hill of Los Angeles County, who resigned in October amid allegations of improper relations with a former campaign aide and a congressional staffer. The website now indicates that money raised will be divided only between Hayes and Levin. Mike Levin and Jahana Hayes are two members, among others like Katie Porter and several others, that have exemplified just a huge degree of political courage in this Congress, Ocasio-Cortez said in an interview. They won over Republican districts and they didnt immediately turn around and give up on some of the most important fights of our time, whether it is health care or its criminal justice reform, whether it is a Green New Deal, she added. They are so committed to progressive values while holding formerly Republican seats that I think it is really important that we come out and support them as much as possible. A total of 3,500 people participated in Ocasio-Cortezs call-out for swing district Democrats, her campaign said. The effort directed $35,656 to Hayes re-election effort. Ocasio-Cortez is one of the top four fundraisers of Democrats in the House and is among the top 10 House fundraisers overall, according to Federal Election Commission reports. On Friday, she endorsed an all-female slate of progressive congressional candidates, including a few who are running against incumbent Democrats. One Californian was on the list, Georgette Gomez, who is running for the seat that Democratic Rep. Susan Davis is vacating in San Diego County. Ocasio-Cortezs support for candidates running primary challenges has put her at odds with the Democratic establishment, most notably its campaign arm, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. The Friday announcement illustrates the other wing of her influence operation: boosting upstart progressive newcomers, while aiding incumbents in swing districts who share her policy vision. For some members, the support comes as a welcome surprise. Hayes said she didnt know about it until a reporter told her. Thats good, Hayes said with a laugh, and set off to find Ocasio-Cortez in the House chamber to thank her. Ocasio-Cortez did not ask Hayes permission to collect money for her, Hayes said. The re-election prospects for the Democratic incumbents Ocasio-Cortez has boosted range from 50-50 to likely, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. Ocasio-Cortez previously raised money for Democratic Rep. Lauren Underwood, whose Illinois district is rated as a toss-up by Cook. Porters 45th Congressional District in Southern California is lean Democrat, while Levins district is likely Democratic and Hayes seat is solid for the party, Cook says. Porter, Levin and Underwood are on the National Republican Congressional Committees 2020 target list. Porter raised $3.5 million last year for her re-election in 2019 and started 2020 with $2.7 million in campaign cash, Federal Election Commission records show. Porter has Republican challengers. Levin raised $1.9 million and kicked off the new year with $1.3 million in his campaign coffers. He has one Republican challenger, San Juan Capistrano Mayor Brian Maryott, who trails him in fundraising. San Francisco Chronicle staff writer Dustin Gardiner contributed to this report. Emilie Munson is a Hearst Newspapers regional correspondent, covering New York and Connecticut politics. Email: emilie.munson@hearstdc.com Twitter: @emiliemunson Zilla Stacey has the kind of impossible figure - a tiny waist and voluptuous curves - that women like Kim Kardashian make millions of dollars from. But the 29-year-old events company CEO from Melbourne isn't aiming to look like a member of America's most famous pop culture family because she's too busy focusing on creating the 'best version' of herself. She jokingly refers to this process as 'Operation Bratz Doll' on her Instagram page Miss Zedd, and in the decade since she first started dabbling with cosmetic treatments, has spent $200,000 on it. 'I was 18 when I first started getting anything cosmetic done. I started with Botox and fillers... which I think is where most girls begin,' she told FEMAIL. Scroll down for video The glow up! Zilla Stacey, who goes by Miss Zedd on Instagram, has undergone $200,000 worth of cosmetic procedures since she started dabbling with Botox at 18 'I was 18 when I first started getting anything cosmetic done. I started with Botox and fillers... which I think is where most girls begin,' she told FEMAIL The results speak for themselves! Besides hoping someone invents a 'butt bra' one day, Miss Zedd has no complaints (pictured after her Brazilian butt lift) What is the difference between filler and Botox? Botox contains purified bacteria that freezes muscles. In doing so, Botox can help minimise the appearance of lines and wrinkles caused by facial expressions. Dermal fillers contain ingredients that add fullness to areas that have thinned due to aging. This thinning is common in the cheeks, lips, and around the mouth. Source: Medical News Today Advertisement An average month in her busy beauty schedule will involve 'filler of some sort', whether it be in her cheeks, lips, nasal folds, tear troughs, jowls, marionettes (lines around the mouth), chin or jawline. One round of filler will usually last up to a year so she doesn't have to get everything done at once, only a top up on each area when needed. In her decade-long foray into the cosmetic world Miss Zedd has also had Botox in her forehead, bunny lines (on your nose), smile lines, lip flip (above the mouth), chin and underarms. She gets treatments for cellulite and skin tightening whenever she notices a change and annually gets her brows tattooed and teeth whitened. An average month in her busy beauty schedule will involve 'filler of some sort', whether it be in her cheeks, lips, nasal folds, tear troughs, jowls, marionettes (lines around the mouth) or chin The transformation: The brunette beauty has had two sets of veneers in her lifetime, as well as a range of other facial treatments Those pearly whites have also had two sets of veneers on them. While her work as a social media influencer means she frequently collaborates on certain cosmetic procedures for a discounted rate, Miss Zedd does have to fork out her own funds. I didn't sit down for five weeks after my Brazilian Butt Lift surgery After four years of careful research and consultations from doctors in Spain, Turkey, Los Angeles, Thailand and Australia, she decided to get a Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) at Melbourne's Cosmos Clinic. 'I got my BBL as I was unhappy with the results I'd achieved through the gym and knew that I couldn't obtain the wide hips and little waist I was wanting from that alone,' she said. She went in for the surgery in August 2018 with specialist surgeons removing fat from her waist, sterilising it, and then reinjecting it into her buttocks. Miss Zedd documented her Brazilian Butt Lift healing process on YouTube, sharing graphic images of blood that was pouring out of her body What are the costs associated? * For Botox expect to pay between $500 and $800 a session. * Miss Zedd told FEMAIL she spent $35,000 'last week' on her teeth. * Her Brazilian Butt Lift cost between $18,000 and $20,000. * The cost of a single unit of non-fat filler is about $500 to $600. * Porcelain veneers can cost between $650 and $2,500 per tooth depending on where you go. Advertisement Miss Zedd uploaded videos of the process to YouTube, sharing imagery of her bloodied clothes post-surgery, the uncomfortable position she had to sleep in and how long it took to heal. 'Whilst healing the hardest part is not being able to sit. I didn't sit for five weeks,' she said. 'It's only recommended not to sit for two weeks but I'm a perfectionist and in my mind, what's five weeks in a lifetime if it means your results will be peachy as f***?' She said. 'You're kind of housebound post-operation due to the lymphatic fluid that leaks from your body for the first seven to 10 days. 'Whilst healing the hardest part is not being able to sit. I didn't sit for five weeks,' she said (the transformation is pictured) 'I remember going to the shops and this lady coming up to me so concerned because I was bleeding through my pants and top... I couldn't help but laugh because she thought I hadn't noticed.' A lady came up to me so concerned because I was bleeding through my pants Each type of Brazilian Butt Lift varies depending on where you go, what results you want to obtain and your desired body shape. 'I wanted high hips, a little waist and a peachy booty which is approximately $18,000 to $20,000,' Miss Zedd said. While there was certainly an adjustment period after the surgery - and she found her rear kept 'bumping into things' - there isn't much she can't do with her new bum in tow. While there was certainly an adjustment period after the surgery - and she found her rear kept 'bumping into things' - there isn't much she can't do with her new bum in tow What are the risks of a Brazilian Butt Lift? * Bruising * Stretch marks * Infection * Blood clots * Cardiac and pulmonary complications * Deep vein thrombosis *Fat embolism (fat is injected into the bloodstream and travels to the lungs) Advertisement The procedure has left her with a few 'tiny scratch marks' but they are barely noticeable and worth the boost in confidence she has gotten as a result. A year later in August 2019 Miss Zedd visited the hospital again, this time for a fat transfer to her breasts. 'This involved liposuction to my knees and thighs and transferring the fat to the upper poles of my breast,' she said. 'I got this done as I wasn't 100 per cent on having an implant this early because they need to be changed. I wanted fullness in my breasts without huge scars and implants. 'I only aspire to look like the best version of myself. I don't get work to look like a completely different person,' she said 'A fat transfer to the breasts is keyhole surgery so the scars are very small.' While Miss Zedd has no other 'crazy' treatments planned for 2020 she wouldn't rule out a facelift 'way down the track' and can't predict what the future will hold. 'I only aspire to look like the best version of myself. I don't get work to look like a completely different person,' she said. 'I always recommend people research where they're going and ensure that they're doing it for themselves, not because someone has pressured them or made them feel like you need to change in any way.' You can follow Miss Zedd and her open conversations about cosmetic surgery and treatments on her Instagram here. LAS VEGAS - Nevada Democrats are rebuffing a request from Pete Buttigieg's presidential campaign to hold off on releasing final numbers from Saturday's caucuses until the party rectifies a series of errors the campaign claims it has discovered in the processing of materials and tabulation of results. At issue is the way the state party combined preferences from four days of early voting with caucus-day support - an intricate process that caused tensions between the state party and the presidential campaigns in the days leading up to the caucuses. Even as officials brushed off the campaign's request, it remained uncertain how quickly Nevada Democrats would be able verify and publish results, while avoiding the protracted uncertainty that plagued their counterparts in Iowa after a software glitch snarled the first-in-the-nation contest, causing a severe delay in the release of error-laced figures, which are still in question. In a letter on Saturday night, Michael Gaffney, the Buttigieg campaign's national ballot access and delegates director, asked the state party to release separate early-vote and in-person totals for each precinct; to correct any errors arising from the integration of early votes; and to "explain anomalies in the data." "Given how close the race is between second and third place, we ask that you take these steps before releasing any final data," Gaffney wrote to the party's chairman, William McCurdy. But Molly Forgey, a spokeswoman for the state party, said Democratic officials would continue to verify and report results, about half of which had been published on the state party's website by Sunday morning, almost 24 hours after the caucuses got underway. "We never indicated we would release a separate breakdown of early vote and in-person attendees by precinct and will not change our reporting process now," Forgey said in a statement, adding that any campaign wishing to query the results would have to do so through a formal method laid out in the party's "recount guidance." The letter from Gaffney alleged a slew of problems, including "200 incident reports" from across the state. By his account, they ranged from early-vote data not being delivered or being delayed to the data figuring improperly in caucus-day calculations to the data being allocated to the wrong candidate. "In at least one location, early vote data from the wrong precinct was used," he wrote. Forgey declined to say whether the campaign's claims had merit, affirming only that, "We are continuing to verify and to report results." The state party had released figures from just under half of the roughly 2,000 precincts late Saturday when the letter arrived from Gaffney, asking for a response by 6 a.m. Pacific time Sunday. The release of additional numbers was sluggish, with data from 1,266 precincts reported by Sunday morning. Meanwhile, questions were already emerging about why numbers for some precincts were initially revealed and then removed from the state party's website. Preliminary results showed Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., with a thumping victory - enough for The Associated Press to name him the winner Saturday evening - followed by former vice president Joe Biden. The numbers put the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, in third place, right at the 15% threshold required to take delegates from the state to the national convention. But Hari Sevugan, Buttigieg's deputy campaign manager, suggested that portrait of support in the Silver State was incomplete. The campaign's internal numbers, he said in a statement, showed a "razor-thin margin for second place in Nevada." Even before the caucuses began, the state party had moved to preempt questions about possible mathematical irregularities in the results, which were rampant in Iowa. In a memo released Friday, the state party's executive director, Alana Mounce, said numbers released by the party would reflect the information on reporting sheets completed at precincts across the state. "If there are any math questions or other issues on caucus reporting sheets, they will be addressed subsequent to caucus day according to our established results review procedures," she wrote. The memo arrived as campaigns were still waiting on data from the final day of early voting. The quest to match ranked-choice preferences completed ahead of time with the precincts where those preferences would ultimately count on caucus day had proven to be arduous. And it brought the state party into conflict with the campaigns. Especially vexed was the process of voiding ballots, mostly because they lacked signatures, in a review process conducted by three people appointed by the state party. Campaign representatives were invited to observe what was dubbed "caucus court," according to multiple people familiar with the procedure. The campaigns had been promised data from early voting, in which nearly 75,000 Nevadans participated at roughly 80 sites across the state, but they didn't receive names from the final day until Saturday morning. That left little time to coax Democrats whose ballots had been voided - about 2.3 percent of the total who voted early - to turn out to caucus. The uncertainty on the eve of the caucuses followed days of escalating tensions, which flared as the Nevada Democrats revamped their system for transmitting and verifying results following the debacle in Iowa. Campaign operatives, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid crossing the party, described hastily arranged conference calls and last-minute notices about voting procedures, including the requirement of signatures on early ballots. As Nevadans headed to caucus on Saturday, at least one campaign was still raising concerns about how the early vote would be integrated into the in-person caucuses. One adviser said several campaigns had pressed the state party to issue written guidance more clearly outlining how the early count would be characterized to in-person caucus-goers, but that the party declined. The aide raised the issue of optics, pointing to how some Democrats were known to make last-minute decisions inside the room based on the size of a crowd behind a particular candidate. The fear was realized in certain precincts on Saturday, as caucus-goers stuck in their corner hoping more support from early vote would materialize, only to find out after the fact that they would come up short. One group of Buttigieg supporters inside Thurman White Academy in Henderson took a gamble, hoping the iPad would spit out better numbers for them on the final alignment. It did not. "They are still assembling the plane as it is trying to take off," the campaign aide warned. Privately, people close to the state party groused that campaigns were endeavoring to sow doubt about the results ahead of time in order to explain away a poor showing. About eight in 10 caucus-goers said they were confident that preferences in Saturday's caucuses would be counted correctly, according to preliminary entrance poll results, while just under 2 in 10 said they were not confident. "I think the party here is doing everything it can to try to make sure this is a totally legitimate count, but caucuses are hard - it's really hard," Biden told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Asked whether caucuses should be abandoned, he said, "that's the judgment the American people are going to make." For so long "looking east" was a remedy for Irish companies to the threat of Brexit. But now the idea must come with a sense of foreboding as the spectre of coronavirus creeps closer and closer to Irish shores from its epicentre in China. The idea of operating a business while your workforce, your customers and you yourself seek protection from a contagious illness with a startling death toll is, at best, unsettling. But, as with many things in the world of Irish business, Kerry Group provides a useful guide. Its financial results presentations tend to be boring in their predictability. Increased revenue, growing profits, huge acquisitions all delivered with a "Yerra, sure we never expected any of it" style of deadpan understatement beloved of Kerry people. Yet this year's results presentation promised to be different. It had all the usual ingredients, pardon the pun, but it also had one other to add to the mix: coronavirus. The news, ahead of the presentation, that Kerry's Chinese production plants were down to not much more than 30pc capacity because staff could not come to work due to the threat of the virus promised business reporters a potential ripple of excitement at the press conference. But it was not to be the case. Kerry boss Edmond Scanlon breezed through coronavirus as quickly as he dealt with topics as varied as revenue targets and Kerry's bid to become a player in the meat-free market. He could do this because, in fairness to the company, it operates a well planned model that sees its business in each individual country, including in China, become a self-contained entity. Staff were sent home, production is taking a hit but none of it was ever going to cause a panic down in Tralee. So what would - or will - happen should cases of coronavirus begin to appear in Irish workplaces? Are Irish businesses as equipped as Kerry to deal with the inevitable disruption? So far, the signs are good. When recruitment firm Indeed thought there was potential exposure from the virus to its Dublin office it did all the right things and did not hesitate to tell its staff to work en masse from home before giving them the all-clear. Other businesses need to learn these positive lessons and have protocols in place should the worst happen. Terence McCrann, Partner at McCann FitzGerald, has developed some guidelines to help and was happy to share them this week with the Sunday Independent. "Employers have obligations under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 to ensure the health, safety and welfare of their employees and to provide a safe place of work," he said. Employers should consider carrying out a risk assessment to understand the likelihood of employees contracting the virus and be mindful of whether employees have recently travelled to, or are intending to travel to, any region where cases of the coronavirus have been positively identified, he said. They should also consider temporarily suspending employees' business travel to any of the affected regions and ensure that sanitation practices and standards in places of work are appropriate and adequate - for example increasing the supply of sanitation wipes at workstations. Other measures he suggested include training on prevention of the spread of infectious diseases, a review of relevant insurance policies and potentially requiring employees returning from affected regions to attend a medical examination. He also warned that employers should be cognisant of potential discrimination issues that may arise, particularly on the grounds of disability and race. "This may include preventing bullying and/or harassment of employees who are of Chinese origin, and ensuring that management decisions, for example requiring certain employees to work from home, are not confined to employees of a particular ethnic background," warned McCrann. But what should employers do where there is a suspected case of the virus? McCrann urged businesses to have a contingency plan for such an event. "Employees should be informed of the procedure to be followed if they are concerned they may have been exposed to the virus, which would include notifying their employer of their concerns and ensuring they do not attend work," he said. "Employers should adhere to their sickness absence policy in terms of how a suspected case of the virus is dealt with and this may include sending the employee to the organisation's occupational health practitioner for a medical assessment," he said. Where employers learn of any potential exposure to the virus, they may wish to consider requiring all of their employees, or employees at specific locations, to work from home, he added. "Employees who are required to work remotely should continue to be paid their usual remuneration. Where the nature of certain employees' work is such that they cannot work remotely, they should also continue to be paid their normal remuneration for so long as they are required to absent themselves from the workplace," said McCrann. Obviously, it is to be hoped that the situation does not arise but in today's globalised world the unwelcome appearance of a case of coronavirus in an Irish workplace would not be a huge surprise. But as the canny team down in Kerry Group HQ well know, it pays to be prepared. Copyright 2020 Albuquerque Journal When experts talk about fraud committed within a family, many people picture the all-too-common cases in which adult children exploit a vulnerable parent in an effort to steal their money. Thats not the situation a 38-year-old former Albuquerque resident found herself in when she learned her sister had been using her stolen identity for years. The woman, who now lives in Mesa, Arizona, discovered in 2018 her drivers license had been revoked because her sister had racked up 17 criminal charges in her name. The sister, who was still living in Albuquerque, also used the womans credit card to charge $4,000 in medical expenses. The more I looked into it, the deeper it got, she said. She suspects her sister, who is a less than a year younger, stole her Social Security card while visiting her in Arizona. I cant even really explain to you how I feel, the woman said in a phone interview. I feel betrayed. I feel hurt. I feel let down by my own family. Its devastating, to be honest. Its called familiar identity theft, when the thief is a friend or family member someone the victim knows and trusts. It can be an especially difficult crime if other family members or friends urge the victim not to report the incident to police. Many victims feel they bear some responsibility for what has occurred, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center. They also may feel its better to keep the theft within the family. However, the resource center encourages victimized family members to file a police report as the first step toward undoing the damage. Doing so shows, in an official way, that youre not the one responsible for the fraudulent activity, the resource center says. In particular, if you dont alert authorities about credit card fraud, youre accepting responsibility for the charges. That means the debt is yours, the damage to your credit report will follow you and the harm to your family relationships will be lasting. The center also advises general security steps when it comes to your ID, such as making sure computer devices are password-protected and securing personally identifying documents, such as bank statements, credit card statements or Social Security cards. The Arizona woman has contacted police and is awaiting action. She has no idea where her sister is. I dont know what I could have done differently, she says. Its hard for me to forgive her. n n A warning for businesses: Scammers are using new voice-mimicking software to leave messages that appear to come from a supervisor, according to the Better Business Bureau. The technology can be used, for example, to trick employees into wiring money to a vendor for a rush project, the BBB says. The money instead goes to the scammer. This voice cloning technology has recently advanced to the place where anyone with the right software can clone a voice from a very small audio sample, the BBB says. Heres what to do, courtesy of the BBB: Make it an official company policy to confirm all change and payment requests before making a transfer, rather than relying on email or voicemail alone. Secure accounts by setting up multifactor authentication for email logins and other changes in email settings. Verify any changes in information about customers, employers or vendors. Contact Ellen Marks at emarks@abqjournal.com or 505-823-3842 if you are aware of what sounds like a scam. To report a scam to law enforcement, contact the New Mexico Consumer Protection Division toll-free at 1-844-255-9210a. US President Donald Trump on Sunday said that he looks forward to be with "millions and millions" of people during his maiden visit to India, beginning Monday. "I look forward to being with the people of India. We will be with millions and millions of people. I get along very well with the PM. He is a friend of mine. PM Modi told me this will be the biggest event they have ever had," Trump told reporters before embarking on his maiden visit to India. The US President along with his family and a ministerial delegation will be in India for around 36 hours. During the visit, he is scheduled to participate in a roadshow with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and address a gathering at the Motera Stadium. On Monday evening, the President and his family will be visiting the Taj Mahal in Agra. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Several nations have closed their borders with Iran after eight people died and over 40 were found to be infected with the coronavirus, Trend reports citing Sputnik. Iraq, Pakistan, Turkey, Afghanistan, Armenia, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have imposed temporary bans on people travelling to and from Iran. "We have decided to shut the land border temporarily after an increase in the number of cases in our neighbour Iran," Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Sunday. Pakistan has closed its land border with Iran, while Afghanistan has suspended all travel to Iran. "To prevent the spread of the novel #coronavirus and protect the public, Afghanistan suspends all passenger movement (air and ground) to and from Iran," the office of the National Security Council of Afghanistan said in a statement posted on Twitter. Saudi Arabia has said that anyone travelling from Iran must wait for at least 14 days before entering the kingdom to prevent the spread of the virus to the Muslim pilgrimage sites of Mecca and Medina. Armenia has become the latest country to close its border with Iran. According to Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, his country is closing the border for two weeks and suspending air traffic amid growing alarm over a rise in the number of coronavirus cases in Iran. Police are searching a river after finding personal items belonging to a student who went missing in Glasgow. Emily Hope, 22, went missing after leaving Mango nightclub in the city centre at around 2am on Saturday morning. One friend says that she walked off on her own and 'no-one could find her or see where she went'. Emily Hope, 22, went missing after leaving Mango nightclub in the city centre at around 2am on Saturday morning. Police are searching a river after finding personal items belonging to the student The psychology student, from the north-west area of Jordanhill, was last seen on CCTV near the Tradeston Bridge. Police in Scotland are now working with specialist search teams including a Marine Unit on the River Clyde. Friend Emma Bodig posted: 'Our friend Emily Hope went missing last night at around 2am. She was out in mango (sauchiehall street) with some friends and left on her own, no one could find her or see where she went. 'She was wearing grey jeans and a long sleeve polka dot top and a bright red jacket with red shoes. The student, from the north-west district of Jordanhill, was last seen on CCTV near the Tradeston Bridge 'If anyone hears from her or has seen her/knows anything could you please get in touch ASAP, we're really worried about her!' A spokesman for Glasgow Police said: 'Officers are continuing to carry out enquiries and searches for 22 year-old Emily Hope from Jordanhill, who has been missing since Saturday 22 February 2020. Inspector Gavin Smith said: 'A review of CCTV footage has revealed that Emily was last seen near the Tradeston Bridge and personal items belonging to Emily have been found next to the River Clyde in the Tradeston area. Officers, assisted by specialist search teams including the Marine Unit will continue to search that area for Emily.' 'I would ask anyone who has seen Emily in Glasgow City Centre or the Tradeston area to contact officers through 101 quoting reference number 1448 of 22nd February.' For years, this newspaper has called for competitive elections. Well, we have all we can handle in the race to replace Congressman Mike Conaway of Midland. Ten Republicans are on the ballot for Texas 11th Congressional District race. Consultants, as well as a few candidates, have openly said the race is headed to a runoff. That could mean another election in a year jampacked with electoral contests. There is nothing wrong with that. The race to replace Conaway as representative of District 11 requires a winner to collect a majority (as it should). If no one receives a majority of the votes on March 3, the top two candidates will move to a May 26 runoff. It will add to the number of elections this year, but we believe Midlanders will be up for another race, especially because theres a congressional seat on the line. The GOP winner will be a heavy favorite to win in November. A runoff for the GOP nomination makes perfect sense. Because there are so many candidates in the race, we dont know the differences between them. Anyone who has attended a forum involving 10 candidates knows the number of questions is limited. If a candidate gets 90 seconds to respond to a question, that equates to about 15 minutes per question for the entire group. If the forum last 90 minutes, the number of questions that can be asked of the group doesnt allow for deep dives into their positions. Maybe a candidate will pull off a statistical anomaly. If that happens, the Republicans in the 29-county district will have made their voice heard. But if they dont, a runoff will provide an opportunity for that deeper dive into what candidates are all about. We will be able to move past forums and have debates. The Reporter-Telegram, for instance, has talked with the Permian Basin Petroleum Association about the possibility of a runoff debate, and with the PBPA on hand, you can expect Permian Basin residents will know which candidate will better represent the industry. Potential voters also will know which candidate better represents them on fiscal, border, social and national security matters. We will have a back-and-forth discussion, and we will see which candidate measures up beyond the stump speech and prepared remarks. An expectation of a runoff doesnt mean Midlanders need to stay home during the primary election process -- on the contrary. There are 10 candidates who want to win outright with a majority on Super Tuesday. And if they cant, they want to be part of the runoff. We hope all Republican voters do their homework and make an educated choice for the next representative of District 11. That is all anyone can ask. If you support someone no matter their fundraising prowess or hometown they would gladly appreciate your vote. They need to make the runoff. British couple David and Sally Abel, from Northamptonshire, are struggling with poor mental health in a Japanese hospital after cruel online trolls accused them of 'milking it'. The pair, who were on the Diamond Princess cruise for their 50th wedding anniversary, were both diagnosed with pneumonia before being moved to a hospital. It comes as a Japanese man in his 80s from the coronavirus-infected cruise has died, bringing the death total from the liner to three. British couple David and Sally Abel, from Northamptonshire, are struggling with mental health in a Japanese hospital after cruel online trolls accuse them of 'milking it' The British couple told their son Stephen Abel that they had already been struggling to socialise after being stuck in a room for two weeks, before going the hospital where they now feel 'even more confined'. In a video live-streamed on YouTube, Stephen and wife Roberta said they have been dealing with 'nasty' online trolls and urged people watching their videos to 'be kind'. 'It is sad to hear the few people who have decided to troll them and be quite nasty. If don't have anything nice to say and you can't be kind, don't say anything at all because we don't want to hear it and we don't want them to see it,' Roberta said. Stephen added: 'To address the trolls who say we're milking it - we really are not milking it.' The couple went on to explain how disconnected sociable David is feeling having been blocked off from the outside world. 'It's really tough being so disconnected for the outside world. He's Mr sociable. He's struggling with not being able to socialise in his normal ways. 'Because mental health is a huge thing in a situation like this, mental it's hard form. They've been stuck in a room for two weeks on a cruise which is tough already and the you're moved to a hospital and you're even more confined.' The British couple told their son Stephen Abel that they have been struggling to socialise after being stuck in a room for two weeks Roberta Abel said yesterday that her and Stephen have seen the CT scans of the Abels' lungs, showing Mrs Abel with mild pneumonia and Mr Abel's acute pneumonia. Stephen even tweeted President Donald Trump in a desperate bid to get his parents out of their 'prison-like' Japanese hospital. He posted: '@realDonaldTrump need help getting my mum and dad out of Japan with Coronavirus. UK government are not helping us. 'They say Japanese hospital is like a prison. Can you help? My folks are big trump supporters.' A third passenger from the coronavirus-infected Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan died on Sunday, according to authorities He also said in a YouTube video that the pensioners were left in a hospital room that has no shower or bathing facilities, and only provided with basic paper towels. 'They haven't eaten properly. Neither of them can eat the food,' he said. A second update, on Saturday, looked more positive. Stephen said that the pair were communicating better with a new doctor. 'That is really reassuring and has done a lot for their mental well-being,' Stephen said. The update comes as the health ministry confirmed the death of an elderly Japanese man on its website, days after an elderly couple also died. The Japanese government is facing growing questions about whether it is doing enough to stop the spread of the virus, which originated in China and has killed more than 2,400 there. The issue is all the more pressing since Tokyo is preparing to host the 2020 Summer Olympics in July. Stephen Abel also posted a video update on the couple's YouTube channel alongside his wife Roberta on Friday night and Saturday morning Health Minister Katsunobu Kato said he would hold a meeting of experts on Monday and formulate a basic policy for addressing the disease on Tuesday. Kato apologised on Saturday for allowing an infected woman to leave the Diamond Princess, which has been quarantined in Yokohama since February 3rd. The woman came ashore on Wednesday but then tested positive for the disease on Saturday in Tochigi Prefecture, north of Tokyo. Kato said on Saturday that officials had failed to properly test 23 people who disembarked the ship, and his ministry was trying to contact them to be retested. Stephen Abel posted on Twitter late last night to President Trump in a bid to help get his parents out of the Japanese hospital The ship is owned by Carnival Corp and was originally carrying some 3,700 passengers and crew representing more than a dozen nationalities. Some nations have flown their citizens home to undergo additional quarantines. Japanese authorities have allowed some other passengers to leave, prompting concerns they could be spreading the virus in Japan. There have been 634 infections on the ship, according to national broadcaster NHK. Those cases represent the largest concentration of the illness outside China. It comes after an evacuation carrying 32 British and European passengers who were on the coronavirus-riddled Diamond Princess landed in Britain. David posted a picture of his wife, Sally, also getting treated. She was also taken off the cruise after she tested positive The amount of people flying back to Britain is less than half of the 78 UK nationals who were trapped on the doomed vessel as officials admitted some refused to get on the plane. The couple were on the cruise for their 50th wedding anniversary when it was placed into quarantine. Although they were originally in a hospital just 90 minutes from the coronavirus-stricken cruise ship, Mrs Abel called her son in the middle of the night to say the couple were suddenly being moved to a different 'three-star' hospital. It took seven hours for the family to track down which hospital they had been taken to. (Bloomberg) -- Google should move to limit any privacy and data protection risks before it seeks European Union approval to take over health tracker Fitbit Inc., European privacy authorities warned Thursday. The possible further combination and accumulation of sensitive personal data regarding people in Europe by a major tech company could entail a high level of risk to privacy and data protection, the regulators, known as the European Data Protection Board, said in an emailed statement. The companies should mitigate possible risks to the rights to privacy and data protection before notifying the merger to the European Commission. Data regulators are ready to contribute advice to the EUs merger authority, according to the statement. National data agencies can fine companies for breaches and privacy violations but dont have a role in approving deals. The European Commission, which will look at the transaction, usually focuses on the economic effect of combining firms and has never probed how a companys acquisition of more data might affect privacy rights. Google said it plans to work constructively with regulators to answer their questions about the deal and wont sell personal information to anyone. Fitbit health and wellness data will not be used for Google ads. And we will give Fitbit users the choice to review, move, or delete their data, the company said in an emailed statement. Theres heightened concern in Europe over big tech takeovers that allow already powerful firms move into new areas. Googles $2.1 billion acquisition of the maker of smartwatches and fitness trackers, announced in November, would add wearable devices to the internet giants hardware business. It also advances the ambitions of Google parent Alphabet Inc. to expand in the health-care sector by adding data from Fitbits more than 28 million users. Regulators have been criticized for being too permissive in allowing tech deals such as Facebook Inc.s $19 billion takeover of messaging service WhatsApp in 2014 and its $1 billion purchase of photo-sharing service Instagram in 2012. Story continues To contact the reporter on this story: Aoife White in Brussels at awhite62@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Aarons at aaarons@bloomberg.net, Christopher Elser, Jonathan Browning For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. Many local SMEs have seen exports surge after teaming up with global e-commerce platforms. The Vietnam Agarwood Center, one of the leading local agarwood manufacturers and suppliers, has sent its products and materials to over 40 countries and territories around the world since seeking out e-commerce platforms a few years ago. Alibaba.com has become its major export channel, receiving some 100 inquiries a month, 60-70 per cent of which become orders. Vietnamese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have strong manufacturing capabilities, while e-commerce is actually lowering barriers for the countrys more than half a million entrepreneurs to take part in global trade, said Mr. Zhang Kuo, General Manager of Alibaba.com. Reaching the world Joining business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce platforms has helped many local exporters directly approach customers and seize opportunities in the global market while saving on traditional trade promotions. Online exporting has become the fastest way for businesses to procure orders quickly as e-commerce in the country has boomed in recent years, said Mr. Pham Tan Dat, CEO of Miczone, the operator of cross-border trading platform Fado.vn. In the past, many businesses traditionally encountered cumbersome procedures and huge outlays of 15-30 per cent when seeking foreign partners or implementing trade promotion programs. M.i.i.n, an artificial eyelash manufacturer, also inspired other businesses with how its owner, Ms. Tran Bao Ngoc, saved her business from the brink within two weeks of working with Alibaba.com and is now receiving consistent large monthly orders from markets like the US and Russia. Similarly, Mr. Vu Trung Son, Director of the Vietnam Agarwood Center, said 90 per cent of its customer portfolio now comes from Alibaba.com. After officially setting up base in the country a few months ago, Amazon Global Selling Vietnam (AGSV), Alibaba.coms largest competitor, has also been enabling local SMEs to expand their business to international markets. The two giants have both committed to supporting SMEs by providing effective sales solutions on e-commerce platforms, like how to develop brands, find potential customers, and manage their online stores. Vietnam has inherent advantages in manufacturing, especially in the fields of textiles, leather, shoes, and consumer products. Together with local partners, AGSV will help businesses identify and seize opportunities to export domestic products, diversify global product lists, and contribute to the growth of Vietnams economy, said Mr. Tran Xuan Thuy, AGSV Director. We have seen many succeed after launching or extending their business on Amazon, and the AGSV team will help them reach a wider marketplace, explore export opportunities, and receive educational support regarding professional cross-border e-commerce and operational skill sets. Among the many success stories of local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that transformed their businesses via e-commerce are Paper Color, Mary Craft, and Babu Handmade. Selling globally helps all reach out to a huge number of customers around the world, while saving on sales and marketing costs. We learned how to operate the business professionally based on customer feedback, said Ms. Le Thi Thien Ngan, Founder and CEO of greeting card supplier Paper Color. We now export to more than 30 countries and territories and are continuing to grow our own branding. If the number of your customers purchasing via Amazon is growing you will also have more opportunities to sell your products to millions of other customers. Mary Crafts sales, meanwhile, have grown by more than 150 per cent each year since it started selling on Amazon in 2015. Amazon helps me reach a wider global market, said Founder and CEO Ms. Mary Nguyen. In particular, Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) helps me meet orders from Amazon and other sales channels. FBA assists us in shipping products to customers within one or two days, which is great for business. Opportunities ahead Cross-border trade is growing strongly and together with traditional exports plays an important role in Vietnams international trade, according to data from the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Exports increased 2.51 times, from $96.91 billion in 2011 to $243.48 billion in 2018. The Vietnam E-commerce Association (Vecom) has also noted that 32 per cent of all local SMEs have established business relationships with foreign partners through e-commerce channels. Mr. Dat from Fado.vn said cross-border trade is still to catch up with the pace of the larger e-commerce sector in Vietnam, which grew at an astounding 35 per cent, but he believes it will see high growth in the time to come. Underpinning this, authorities have been working on a legal framework for e-commerce and cross-border trade, and information and technology infrastructure and cross-border platforms in Vietnam measure up quite favorably against regional countries. Moreover, Vietnam currently ranks fourth among the Top 10 countries globally with the largest number of suppliers on Alibaba.com, according to Mr. Tran Dinh Toan, Deputy CEO of OSB Holding, a local partner of Alibaba.com. He also said exporting via e-commerce platforms brings economic efficiency and is suitable to the potential Vietnams SMEs possess. Looking to the future, Mr. Kuo from Alibaba.com told VET that it targets to work with 10,000 enterprises in Vietnam within the next five years. We have seen great potential in Vietnam as there are a large number of SMEs and they are boosting exports and moving into e-commerce, said Mr. Thuy from AGSV. We also see some individuals looking to earn a second income from an online business. Feedback on Vietnamese products from global customers has been positive because of their high quality and reasonable prices. In view of the huge growth potential of Vietnamese vendors, AGSV expects momentum will continue into the future. Vietnamese enterprises are well known for their manufacturing capabilities and Vietnam has a lot of young talent and strong online communities, he went on. These are essential drivers helping manufacturers market and sell their products successfully on Amazon. We have seen many interesting stories in Vietnam over the last few years. Cross-border barriers Along with Vietnams strengths are also weaknesses, especially at SMEs, such as a lack of human resources support and technology, especially e-commerce and exporting tools, according to AGSV. Many also lack knowledge about cross border e-commerce and this is a focus for the Amazon company. It plans to strengthen existing cooperative efforts with local partners such as the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade), Vecom, local online communities, and service providers. At the same time, we will explore and establish new partnerships with more local partners to provide a comprehensive ecosystem, from finance, payment, logistics, and account management to brand registry, to make it easier for local vendor partners to grow their business globally with Amazon, Mr. Thuy said. Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Dung, Vice Chairman of Vecom, said local enterprises still have limitations in information and knowledge about e-commerce, especially cross-border trade, leading to difficulties and inefficiencies in online exports. Online is yet to be common because businesses dont have the skills to confidently sell their products via such channels. The Association has worked with many providers and consulting companies to support businesses in accessing websites to export products. There are also certain barriers in global trade that are challenges, such as fraud and trade disputes, according to Ms. Toan from OSB. Transactions are conducted without face-to-face meetings, so if a business is not familiar with the online environment or equipped with the necessary skills and international trade experience, there are certain implicit risks it must tackle. He recommended the government complete the legal framework for e-commerce and introduce a comprehensive system of regulatory documents, focusing on promoting the application of e-commerce in key export industries in order to enhance market access and further expand scale, as well as building and developing an e-commerce payment system. There should also be more practical support for Vietnamese exporters to join cross-border e-commerce trading platforms, which would improve their competitiveness internationally. VN Economic Times Hong Nhung E-commerce: an inevitable integration trend The application of new technologies - artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing and Internet of Things - is taking place across the globe. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-23 15:56:30|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close A little girl colors a painting on the protective suit of a medical staff at the isolation ward of children infected with novel coronavirus pneumonia in Wuhan Children's Hospital in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, on Feb. 20, 2020. At the isolation ward of children infected with novel coronavirus pneumonia in Wuhan Children's Hospital, many children were afraid of seeing the medical staff wrapped in protective suits. Wang Jia, a nurse in the hospital who likes drawing, came up with the idea of drawing cartoons on the protective suits and invite children to color them, a way to make these children relaxed. Gradually, many medical staffs are used to take time to draw some cartoon characters on their protective suits before seeing the children. Consequently, children became more cooperative with the treatment through this way. (Wuhan Children's Hospital/Handout via Xinhua) MEDIA -Slowly but surely, Chase Bank is coming to the county seat. Chase Bank had made several appearances before the planning commissions. Since the first formal submission in November 2019, the applicant, planners and professionals on both sides have fine-tuned the application for an approximate 3,000-square-foot, two-story building on the southeast corner of Baltimore Avenue and Edgmont Street. The culmination was preliminary/final plan approval by council at the February meeting without any further presentation or discussion. Among the issues worked out in the last three months were how to fit the structure on a 0.8-acre lot, which included a culvert that runs through the property and is an issue for placement of any large building. It apparently was not a concern for McDonalds, the former occupant of the parcel. Council approved the development by resolution, which had 18 conditions. They included streetlights conforming to standards of design; approval for highway occupancy by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation: water and sanitary sewer service consent from Aqua America and Little Washington; adherence to designs presented and those specified in the boroughs TND (Traditional Neighborhood Development) district. In an earlier meeting, project attorney Robert Careless said the building is not a Chase prototype, but a custom-designed building based on the boroughs design standards. Careless said the Media site was identified about a year ago as Chase was moving into Pennsylvania with brick-and-mortar locations. A major emphasis on the operation will be in financial advice and services. Councilman Paul Robinsons Properties and Public Works reports included a bid award of $178,780 for the police department sally port. This structure, he explained, is an enclosed space for police to move individuals to the station without their being out in the open. Weve been looking at this for three years, and finally got a very good bid for it, Robinson said. Council approved Robinsons motion for the agreement with Pennsylvania Department of General Services for the purchase of road salt for the August 2020-July 2021 season, required at this time. However, Robinsons action item did not go without the obvious comment on the winter so far. He suggested that unused costs related to snow-clearing be transferred to the budget for road repair. Council agreed to have the matter put on the Finance Committee agenda for consideration. Councilwoman Lisa Johnsons committee report as liaison to Media Business Authority laid out borough events through the fall. Mass gathering permits approved included: Town Talk Newspapers Spring Super Sunday, April 19 (rain date April 26); Brandywine Valley Craft Brewers Festival, May 2; MBA Dining under the Stars, Wednesdays May 6-Sept. 30; Town Talk Newspapers Arts and Crafts Show, June 14 (rain date June 21); 41st Annual Media 5 Mile Race June 19 (rain date June 26). There were no questions or comments about the timing of the events which were all approved. The platform of the ruling party's nominee for Paris mayor, Agnes Buzyn, "appeals to the right", according to Cedric Villani, the dissident candidate who will be running against his former party in the race to the Hotel de Ville. Villani was excluded from President Emmanuel Macron's LaREM party after refusing to back the previous candidate Benjamin Griveaux, who was forced to withdraw in disgrace over a leaked sex video. When Buzyn revealed her platform to the Journal du Dimanche on Sunday, three weeks before the first round of voting on 15 March, Villani was quick to go on the offensive. He slammed his rival's programme, saying her priorities were short-sighted and identical to those of conservative candidate Rachida Dati. "I see a platform that focuses on safety and cleanliness it obviously appeals to the right," said the mathematician and MP, who defines himself as "neither right nor left". He dismissed the two themes as obligatory. Indeed, they feature in his own platform, which plans for a municipal police force and advances in artificial intelligence to help clean the streets. 'Paris of the future' But the real question is, what are we going to do about it? he asked. "Yes, we need to fix the Paris of today. We have to maintain a high level of security and cleanliness. But we also have to prepare the Paris of tomorrow, a Paris that will be greener, more democratic, a Paris focused on education and knowledge, he said, assuring that he was the sole candidate with his eye on the future. Incumbent socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo found common ground with Villani, criticising the conservatism of the ruling centrist party's candidate. She added that both Buzyn and Dati failed to address the climate emergency, recalling her efforts to cut pollution by reducing vehicles in Paris and underlining future plans to plant 170,000 trees in the capital in the coming years. The latest Ifop-Fiducial poll, published on Sunday, gives Hidalgo a 2-point lead in the first round of voting, with 24 percent. Rachida Dati sits second ahead of Buzyn, with the Greens candidate David Belliard further afield. Despite polls systematically placing him fifth behind the rest of the candidates, Villani insists he has his eyes set on victory in the elections, which conclude on 22 March. fuck It's been 84 years.gif but arguable cult hitwill return to Sky One in "about 6 months" according to lead actress, constantly-pregnant earth mother Teresa Palmer.I meant to do a few update posts while the show was casting and filming, but I didn't, so this will also be a fairly thorough roundup post of the smattering of news that's happened since the show's first season wrapped in November of 2018.Above, you have the "first look" image of Matthew and Diana having safely arrived in Elizabethan England, just in case you were worried the show would keep you in suspense as to whether or not Matthew let go of her hand in the finale (he clearly didn't, so now they canhide in time).Read on for casting news, some random photos of Matthew Goode looking like a reasonably hot pirate, and... that's about it, because for some reason this set was locked down tighter than Matthew's jeans in episode 7 (I'm pretending literally anyone remembers the show at this point).So for casting news!The "big" announcement was that(of Rome and Sex Education fame) would be playing Philippe, Vampire Matthew's Vampire Dad.It's hard to know exactly how they managed to get Purefoy for this, until you remember that he and Matthew Goode spend about a month a year getting hammered on camera together and exchanging playful homoerotic banter on And Tom Hughes (of Victoria and dating Jenna Coleman fame) is Kit Marlowe, a thirsty gay daemon who definitely used to sleep with Matthew* back in the 1590s. Other casting includes Holly Aird (from Waking the Dead and being James Purefoy's actual ex-wife) as Diana's... lady maid(?) Francoise, and Jacob Ifan as the very-much-not-beloved Benjamin. Fun fact: Jacob Ifan is Edward Bluemel's (Marcus from Season 1) roommate, so it kind of seems like this season was mostly cast through an employee referral system, but we'll take it. A few other recognizable names are Victoria Yeates (Call the Midwife), the legend Sheila Hancock (theater, darling), Adrian Rawlins (Harry Potter, you remember him as 'Inaccurately old James Potter') and Lois Chimimba (Doctor Who). According to Teresa Palmer and the book series' author Deborah Harkness, Matthew Goode "refuses" to have his photo taken on set and shared on social media, but on a very rare occasion he popped up in some people's feeds (with permission, we assume). So here are some shots of him looking like a hybrid between the BBC's Musketeers and a romance novel pirate. You're welcome: And that's about it for now until whenever the trailer comes out sometime in the next 6 months. Another notable casting choice wasasbook fan favorite Gallowglass. Here's the... undeniably wiggy portrait they released of Cree in costume.*Speculation, but I'm right. Wondering why President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration has so far pushed back on the groundswell of emerging facts that the escalation in the mass killings of Christians, the burning of their Churches and houses in selected Christians dominated towns and Villages of Northern Nigeria by Islamic tertorists and armed Fulani herdsmen constitute carefully CHOREOGRAPHED GENOCIDE, a leading civil Rights Advocacy group-: HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has affirmed her hope that World leaders will intervene without further delay to stave off full blown genocide similar to the HOLOCAUST. HURIWA has therefore asked the President Major General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) and the National Assembly to as a matter of a national emergency take concrete measures to invite the United Nations Security council to lead the process of establishing a global wide military interventions by creating buffer zones in the affected communities to stop the ABSOLUTE ANNIHILATION OF CHRISTIAN MINORITY TRIBES IN THE CORE NORTHERN STATES OF THE NORTH EASTERN STATES AND SOUTHERN KADUNA STATE. "These steps, the Rights group said are imperative because both the boko haram terrorists and other related armed attackers have continuously made good their threats to uproot Christianity from the entirety of Northern Nigeria even as the RIGHTS GROUP blamed the skewed anti- Christian land policies in some states in the North West of Nigeria WHICH DELIBERATELY is aimed at denying CHRISTIAN CHURCHES RIGHT OF CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY TO SET UP CHURCHES as one of the key motivating factor driving the current wave of anti-Christian massacres and genocides of epic proportions by the combination of Islamic terror extremists and armed Fulani herdsmen in Northern Nigeria. "We make haste to advice President Muhammadu Buhari to stop living in denial and accept the intolerable reality of the existence of a coordinated genocides of Christians in Northern Nigeria as the first necessary steps towards finding concrete way forward in addition to the immediate rejiging and reorganisation of the nation's internal security institutions to infuse the participation of CHRISTIANS to head some of these internal national security platforms currently dominated by Moslems." HURIWA said: " Our hearts bleed as we have just read about what a newspaper called fresh revelations that have emerged on how Boko Haram insurgents attacked Garkida town in Gombi Local Government Area of Adamawa State for six hours on Friday night. The town is located on the Gombi-Biu Damaturu Road, which shares proximity with Southern Borno and Sambisa Forest.Reports say police barracks, churches and a house belonging to Gen Paul Tarfa (retd.) were among several buildings burnt by the terrorists during the attack.Meanwhile, the Islamic States West Africa Province is said to have claimed responsibility for the attack, alleging that they killed three soldiers and took some worshippers in a church hostage in addition to other villagers in the community. How on earth with scorched- earth terror agenda of eliminating the presence of Christians and CHRISTIANITY be allowed by the Federal government to continue to manifest and unfold? Why will the Federal government be busy spreading half-baked PROPAGANDA to attempt to deny the existence of a well-oiled plots by Islamic terror groups and armed Fulani mercenaries to wipe off Christians even when the plotters have successfully carried out their threats? HOW IS IT THAT CHRISTIAN LIVES DON'T MATTER ANYMORE IN NIGERIA?" HURIWA Which believes that there is a well planned genocide targeting Christians and urged the Nigerian authority to listen to the voices of reason and work out how to stop this rapidly expanding threats against Christians and to openly invite the United Nations Security council to provide PEACE ENFORCERS TO KEEP MEMBERS OF THE CHRISTIAN MINORITY TRIBES NOW UNDER ATTACKS IN ALL OF THE NORTH EAST AND NORTHWEST SAFE BECAUSE AS IT IS THE NIGERIAN MILITARY IS OVERWHELMED. HURIWA invites President Muhammadu Buhari to sit back and read the factual newspaper accounts from the victims of the recent Adamawa attacks and take steps to assure Nigerians that his government is not in a conspiratorial silence whilst the genocides against Christians go on because as we got the information from an eye witness account rendered by a media the People were also killed but I have no record as of now. They also razed General Paul Tarfas residence, among other important buildings in the town. A tweet by @tntmagazinenigeria also showed a church that was eventually burnt by the insurgents. It read, Where several houses, which included those of prominent sons of Garkida, market, churches; EYN, Living Faith and Anglican burnt. Rural health centre, two ambulances burnt while another two taken by the insurgents.The saddest part is that some people from the very town of Garkida who were recruited by the insurgents were the ones selectively showing the insurgents which properties to set ablaze. My heart bleeds for this nation we call Nigeria.Also, the Cavell Group, a consultant in intelligence, risk, crisis and expedition, in a series of tweets via @TCG_CrisisRisks, noted that many of the villagers were able to escape into the bush while some were abducted." HURIWA warned the Nigerian authority that Nigeria will pay heavy price should the current governmental authorities continue to threat the massive genocides against Christians as a non-ISSUE. Prince William revealed that he had spent the week lambing with his kids [Image: Getty] It turns out that Prince George and Princess Charlotte love spending their school half-term break in the same way as any other young kids - with animals and getting muddy. Their dad, Prince William, 37, revealed yesterday that he had enjoyed a week of lambing with his six-year-old son and four-year-old daughter in Norfolk. According to the Daily Mail, the Duke of Cambridge told a fellow guest at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, ahead of the Six Nations match, how his two eldest children took to farming in rather different ways. The father-of-three also added that son Prince Louis, one, also joined in - but was more a fan of the tractors. READ MORE: Kate Middleton says the hospital media circus after the birth of Prince George was 'terrifying' Speaking in his role as patron of the Welsh Rugby Union to injured player Rhian Roberts, the duke explained how he wanted to introduce his kids to country life. He said: We've been lambing with the children this week. Charlotte wasn't sure at first but George was straight in there. Louis loves the tractors. They love seeing the lambs and feeding the lambs. Dairy farming - you are all seriously tough. The primary school teacher, 34, told him she had married a dairy farmer in West Wales, prompting the royal to describe his experience of the occupation. READ MORE: Prince William admits he 'can't beat' Duchess Kate at tennis Roberts told the paper that the duke was down to earth during their conversation about farming. She recalled: We were talking about the land where he was and the land where we are, which is a mining area. He said they've been lambing this week up in Norfolk. They want the children to see the country way of life as well as the city way of life. READ MORE: Previously unseen Duchess of Cambridge photo shared to mark 38th birthday It is unclear exactly which farm the duke took his kids to visit, however it is likely to be near his and wife Kate Middletons Norfolk country home, Anmer Hall. Story continues It is situated in the grounds of the Queens country estate, Sandringham, and was given to them by her as a wedding present. According to Town & Country, the Georgian manor house has ten bedrooms and also features a tennis court and swimming pool. It appears the duke and duchess are particularly fond of the property - with their 2018 Christmas card picture taken in the picturesque grounds. Although their two eldest children are at school in London - during which the Cambridges stay at Kensington Palace - the family regularly visit their second home in the holidays, particularly during Christmas when Her Majesty relocates to the area. Watch the latest videos from Yahoo Style UK: Tunis, Tunisia (PANA) - Tunisian security units in Meknine, 175 km south of Tunis, on Saturday arrested a Takfiri element, who was under judicial investigation for "joining an alleged terrorist organization," a Tunisian security source said, indicating that the arrested person had been sentenced to one year in prison At the event (Photo: VNA) An Agribank leader said residents in Vinh Phuc and in Son Loi commune, Binh Xuyen district in particular are greatly impacted by the epidemic. Earlier, Agribank branches rescheduled debt payment and reduced loan interests to borrowers, offered facial masks and hand wash to clients, and raise awareness of its staff about prevention and control measures as suggested by the Health Ministry. Among 16 COVID-19 cases confirmed so far in Vietnam, 11 hail from Vinh Phuc. So far, 15 patients have been discharged from hospital. Besides, no new cases have been reported in Vinh Phuc and the country since February 13th./. michael barbaro From The New York Times, Im Michael Barbaro. This is The Daily. [music] Today: Over the past few weeks, several of Americas largest and most profitable companies have unveiled elaborate plans to combat climate change. Andrew Ross Sorkin on why theyre doing it now and just how meaningful the plans really are. Plus, the results of the Nevada caucuses. Its Monday, February 24. michael barbaro Andrew, tell me about this letter. andrew ross sorkin So every year, usually the second or third week of January, Larry Fink, who runs BlackRock, which is the largest money manager in the world they oversee $7 trillion. Thats with a t. michael barbaro Wow. andrew ross sorkin Basically 401(k) plans, pension plans. All of that money lives under BlackRock. And so Larry Fink has huge influence. And he writes a letter every January to the C.E.O.s of the world. So Ive made it my I dont want to say lifes michael barbaro [LAUGHS] andrew ross sorkin Ive made it my job for the past several years to try to get my hands on this letter, because typically what he says changes the conversation. archived recording And it is the letter that sent shockwaves through corner offices across America yesterday, BlackRock C.E.O. Larry Fink issuing a warning to corporate leaders about the dangers of short-term thinking. andrew ross sorkin Back in 2016, he wrote a letter telling C.E.O.s, stop issuing quarterly guidance, stop telling us what you michael barbaro Expect your earnings to be. andrew ross sorkin expect your earnings to be, because then it creates this artificial expectation and then youre trying to manage to that number. And he wants C.E.O.s to think more long term. michael barbaro And what happened? archived recording (warren buffet) I personally think thats a very good recommendation. andrew ross sorkin Huge companies, like Unilever, stopped issuing quarterly guidance. Warren Buffett publicly came out and said that companies should stop issuing quarterly guidance. archived recording (warren buffet) It was to give encouragement to companies that really felt uneasy about giving guidance to perhaps have a little more backbone about it. andrew ross sorkin But Larry Fink was the first. michael barbaro OK. andrew ross sorkin In 2018, Larry Fink wrote a letter archived recording Ive now been to a number of dinners where your letter has already been the topic of conversation. andrew ross sorkin saying, you know what, its not enough simply to have profits. You have to have purpose. archived recording (larry fink) I believe the involvement in a community, to have a purpose, is vital for long-term survivability and long-term profitability. andrew ross sorkin And then a year and a half later the Business Roundtable, which represents all the big companies in the world, said, you know what, its not just about profits anymore either. So his letter really has michael barbaro A kind of biblical quality in the world of business. andrew ross sorkin It has weight. Because he genuinely is the largest investor in the world. And as a result, Larry Fink controls huge chunk stakes in these companies. And he, to some degree, can control whether people on that board, the C.E.O., sinks or swims. He can vote that board out if he doesnt like what theyre doing. In certain cases, he can pull his money from their companies if he doesnt like what theyre doing. michael barbaro Which explains why every year it seems like you go to pretty extraordinary lengths to get your hands on this letter. andrew ross sorkin And this year, its early January 2020, and I get my hands on a draft of the letter. And two paragraphs in I was stopped cold. [music] He writes, Climate change has become a defining factor in companys long-term prospects. Last September, when millions of people took to the streets to demand action on climate change, many of them emphasized the significant and lasting impact that it will have on economic growth and prosperity, a risk that markets to date have been slower to reflect. But awareness is rapidly changing, and I believe were on the edge of a fundamental reshaping of finance. michael barbaro So what is he really getting at here? andrew ross sorkin Hes saying for the very first time, as the largest investor in the world, that climate change has to become an integral part of the investing thesis for companies. And more importantly, that C.E.O.s and companies themselves now have to change and think about climate change. And if they dont, hes going to be pulling his money from them. michael barbaro Wow. andrew ross sorkin You know, and he even says it explicitly in the letter, quote, We will be increasingly disposed to vote against management and board directors when companies are not making sufficient progress on sustainability-related disclosures and the business practices and plans underlying them. [music] Part of the Fink assessment is not simply that he is some kind of tree hugger do-gooder and wants to change the world though I think he may on a personal basis. But that he thinks that the world has shifted in a way, and the climate risk is now so real that it actually will have an economic impact in a way where as a fiduciary for pensioners and investors, that he needs to now push this in a way that he didnt think he had to before. michael barbaro So its not an act of advocacy. Its an act of kind of wise business. andrew ross sorkin I think that he would say this is not driven by ideology. Its not driven by politics. Its driven frankly by money. He thinks that theres now a genuine business risk and cost michael barbaro To not doing anything. andrew ross sorkin to not doing anything. michael barbaro And maybe even to these businesses, and therefore to these investors, these retirees. andrew ross sorkin Exactly. michael barbaro So right. A tipping point to reach where you have to do something. andrew ross sorkin Exactly. This is the first time that a major investor has genuinely taken on the issue of climate change and said, you know what, corporate America, I know you guys have been talking about this, thinking about this maybe, but now you actually have to do something about it. And if you dont do something about it, investors like me are going to do something about it ourselves. Which means that were either going to vote you out of your job, or were going to pull our money from you. Hes throwing down the gauntlet. michael barbaro And what are you thinking when you finish reading this letter? andrew ross sorkin So Ill you something funny. I know when the letter is going to come out. Its about a week beforehand and I go to a meeting with Satya Nadella, the C.E.O. of Microsoft. michael barbaro As one does. andrew ross sorkin As one does if youre a business reporter who covers companies like this. michael barbaro [LAUGHS] And he says that the company is about to reveal a sweeping climate change plan. Now of course, Im thinking in my head, this letter that Larry Fink is about to come out with, are they connected? Whats going on here? And I later find out, in fact, that Larry Fink had been talking to Microsoft. And I start to think to myself, you know what, I think something big is about to happen here. So what happens when this letter is actually delivered to all these C.E.O.s? andrew ross sorkin Headlines are everywhere. [music] archived recording Consumer news now, one of the biggest airlines in the world has committed to going carbon neutral starting next month. andrew ross sorkin And literally within the next 21 days archived recording (satya nadella) This is the decade for urgent action, for Microsoft and for all of us. andrew ross sorkin company after company archived recording The tech giant said it has created a climate innovation fund which will invest $1 billion over the next four years. andrew ross sorkin starts announcing new initiatives around climate. archived recording Jeff Bezos out with his next big idea. andrew ross sorkin And then you have Jeff Bezos, the worlds richest man who runs Amazon, pledging $10 billion towards combating climate change. archived recording This global initiative will fund scientists, activists, NGOs, any effort that offers a real possibility to help preserve and protect the natural world. michael barbaro And presumably these are all companies in which BlackRock, run by Larry Fink, is an investor. andrew ross sorkin In some cases, he may be the biggest investor. michael barbaro So youre seeing all these major corporations fall in line. But [music] andrew ross sorkin Im thinking to myself, how much of this is about really just placating investors like Larry Fink and frankly the public? Is it spin? Is it marketing? Is it greenwashing? Or is it genuinely going to have an impact on the climate? So I start to go through the plans individually one by one. And the answer is pretty interesting. Some of these pledges may have huge real impact. Others, not so much. And seeing which is which was fascinating. [music] michael barbaro Well be right back. Andrew, tell me about these corporate climate plans that you looked at. andrew ross sorkin So I went back to look at Microsofts plan and Amazons plan and Deltas plan. These are all big household brands that people know. archived recording Welcome aboard, and thanks for flying with Delta. andrew ross sorkin Lets start with Delta because in many ways, it was the most surprising. Here is an airline. The entire business is based on fossil fuels. michael barbaro Right. It just is a carbon emitter. andrew ross sorkin Thats what it is. Thats what its going to be for a very long time. archived recording And we are announcing that starting March 1, Delta Airlines will become the first airline to go fully carbon neutral on a global basis. andrew ross sorkin Delta just came out and said theyre going to become carbon neutral. archived recording And a lot of people are going to do a double take. An airline becoming carbon neutral is michael barbaro Just to explain that term. andrew ross sorkin It effectively means that theyre going to neutralize all of their carbon emissions. So their carbon emissions are going to somehow become zero. And Im thinking to myself, how is that going to happen? michael barbaro And whats the answer? andrew ross sorkin Well, the answer is that when they say were going to become carbon neutral, its not that theyre going to stop flying and its not that theyre going to stop using fossil fuels. What it really means is buying carbon offsets. What does that mean? Well, you could invest in planting trees, which naturally stores carbon. Or you could invest in a wind farm. And so Delta says theyre going to spend a billion over 10 years. Thats real money $100 million a year. What are they going to buy? One of the things theyre going to try to do is invest in new biofuels. Theyre going to try to make their planes more fuel efficient. Theyre hoping to use some of that money to invest in technological innovations. But in the short run, given that that technology for the most part doesnt really exist, theyre basically going to be having to buy these offsets. michael barbaro So theyre not going to be making the carbon problem any better. andrew ross sorkin Theyre not making it any better. michael barbaro But theyre not going to be making it any worse by offsetting it. andrew ross sorkin At least theoretically, philosophically, thats the concept. michael barbaro OK. andrew ross sorkin But theyre going to be flying just as many planes as they ever were. michael barbaro But given how much airplanes emit andrew ross sorkin Its a huge amount. michael barbaro Its a huge amount. andrew ross sorkin Huge amount. michael barbaro Thats potentially a huge plus just to go neutral from where we are today. But it sounds like Delta is not fundamentally changing the central source of emissions at the core of its business, which Im sure many people who care about climate think is what a company like Delta should do. andrew ross sorkin Exactly. And by the way, what Deltas doing theyre the only airline in America thats announced anything like this. Now the real question is whether these offsets are real. When you really get deep into the world of carbon offsets, its like the Wild West. Sometimes companies are paying money genuinely to build a wind farm or plant a forest. But sometimes that forest is getting razed a year later, and some of the time theyre actually just paying money to prevent a forest from getting razed. michael barbaro Raising the question of whether it means anything at all when you say you have offset your carbon emissions. andrew ross sorkin Exactly. michael barbaro So it sounds like carbon offsets, which is what Delta is relying on, may not be everything that we think it is. andrew ross sorkin Its a financial construct in many ways. Its not a fundamental change. michael barbaro OK, so that is Delta. Which company is next? andrew ross sorkin Lets talk about Amazon. archived recording The worlds richest man, Jeff Bezos, is jumping into the battle to address climate change. Lets take a look at his new effort by the numbers. andrew ross sorkin Because Jeff Bezos just announced this massive $10 billion pledge to combat climate change. And we dont know completely about what that program is ultimately going to look like. But we do know what Amazon itself has pledged to do. And they have two big goals. One is to have 50 percent of all their shipments be carbon neutral by 2030, so 10 years from now. michael barbaro And presumably, that might involve things like what Delta did offsets. andrew ross sorkin Well, they plan to do it a bit differently. What Amazon wants to do is change how much fossil fuels they actually use. And so theyre investing in 100,000 electric trucks, for example. So when you get your Amazon Prime package, instead of a truck coming up to the outside of your house thats powered by fuel, itll be battery powered. michael barbaro Got it. andrew ross sorkin Theyre also investing in wind and solar so that their massive cloud computing operation, which involves tens of thousands of computer servers, is going to be powered by the sun and by wind. michael barbaro So, the way in which this is different from what Delta is doing, is rather than paying somebody else as Delta did to offset the airlines carbon emissions, Amazon is saying, we will meaningfully reduce carbon emissions by changing our own operations. andrew ross sorkin Theyre genuinely trying to reduce their carbon emissions, the actual emissions in the air. By the way, some people will tell you that theyre not doing this fast enough. michael barbaro And, of course, Amazon is so big. It is so profitable. It touches so many different lives, carries so many different products that there will be people who ask, why isnt every component of that company changing to deal with climate? andrew ross sorkin Absolutely. Look, there are people who are going to say, why doesnt Jeff Bezos take every dollar of profit that this company makes for the next two decades and use it to invest strictly in climate if this is really the single most important issue in the world? michael barbaro OK, so that leaves us with Microsoft. archived recording The scientific consensus is clear. The world has a huge carbon problem. andrew ross sorkin And they have perhaps the most ambitious plan of all. They are carbon neutral today. michael barbaro Interesting. So Microsoft is already where Delta is hoping its going to be in 10 years. andrew ross sorkin Exactly. But their big plan is to be carbon negative by 2030. archived recording Meaning that well reduce our emissions by half and remove from the atmosphere more carbon than we emit. michael barbaro Wow. andrew ross sorkin Think of it a little bit like going on a diet or exercising, burning more calories than you take in. michael barbaro So that goes well beyond being carbon neutral, which is just basically zeroing out the amount you put in the world. andrew ross sorkin Carbon neutral is stasis. Carbon negative is removing the carbon from the air. And even more ambitious, by 2050, they say they want to be carbon negative for their entire history starting in 1975. michael barbaro Well, how does that work? andrew ross sorkin So they want to remove all the carbon that the company has put into the atmosphere since 1975. michael barbaro Wow. andrew ross sorkin How are they going to do that? michael barbaro [LAUGHS] Im going to ask you how are they going to do that? andrew ross sorkin Theyre going to invest a ton of money in forest, in wind, in solar. But really, what theyre hoping to do is invest in a breakthrough shoot-the-moon technology. michael barbaro Like what? andrew ross sorkin Whats called carbon capture, the idea of removing carbon from the atmosphere and building machines that do this, that do what trees do naturally. And there are a number of efforts that are taking place around the world that are trying to build technology like this. But if were being honest, its not there yet. And thats what all of these companies are ultimately going to be after. Thats what the Jeff Bezos $10 billion investment is going to be about. Its going to be about trying to invent a technology thats going to change the game. michael barbaro Im shocked that the company that is promising the biggest transformation and the most ambitious plan, Microsoft, probably has the smallest carbon footprint, almost assuredly. I mean, if you compare Microsoft, a maker of computers and software, to a company that delivers millions of packages, or an airline company that has 1,000 planes in the air with all their emissions. So what does it tell you that the biggest polluters in this list seem to be doing the least ambitious climate plans? andrew ross sorkin It tells me that its hard. In many ways for Microsoft, its easier. And if you really think about it, Microsoft has the biggest balance sheet. It has more money than these other companies. And, in fact michael barbaro More than Amazon? andrew ross sorkin Yes, in terms of profits, absolutely. And in terms of thinking about all three of these companies, all of these are the market leaders, if you will. These are all very healthy companies. So in some ways, they can afford to experiment. They can afford to try to do this. Think about all of the other companies that dont have michael barbaro Billions of dollars in profit. andrew ross sorkin billions of dollars in profits that they can even think about this. Its going to be a lot harder for them to catch up. michael barbaro So if the biggest companies in the economy, the ones with the money to experiment in this world, are doing kind of modest things when it comes to maybe Delta or Amazon, youre saying that should make us reflect on what less profitable companies are not even bothering to do. In other words, its only the very, very top of corporate America thats even andrew ross sorkin Its only the top michael barbaro playing here. andrew ross sorkin tier of corporate America that can afford to really go down this road right now. And the question is whether what they do forces the issue for everybody else. Whether their quote-unquote leadership unless youre cynical enough to believe this is all marketing, and there are a lot of people who do but to the extent that they go down this road, whether everybody else decides they have to follow. michael barbaro And weve talked about this in the past. This is a moment where governments are not exactly leaning on climate. They are looked to for leadership, but they dont seem to have their acts together. andrew ross sorkin Look, in the United States, clearly, when it comes to climate change, we have an administration that doesnt believe that carbon emissions matter. But in the end, and I hate to say this, but all of these individual corporate efforts are on the margins. Because the reality is that China is emitting more carbon than the United States and Europe combined. And so Microsoft can do all it wants. Amazon can do what its doing. Delta can do what its doing. But none of these things on their own can change the game. michael barbaro Until big governments do things. andrew ross sorkin Either until big governments literally dictate how everybody across the world is going to do it. Or, somehow every business decides that theyre going all in. michael barbaro Its interesting. In some ways, at this moment, corporations seem to be responding more lowercase d democratically to the problem of climate than perhaps some governments. Because theyre actually responding to what their consumers want. andrew ross sorkin These companies arent dumb. If Microsoft, Amazon and Delta all know that what theyre going to do on a very individual basis cant fundamentally change the game, right we know that they cant change the game by themselves what are they really doing this for? michael barbaro And whats the answer, a little bit of altruism a little bit of marketing? andrew ross sorkin Probably all of the above. Theres probably a little bit of marketing. Theres probably a little bit of maybe the investors are going look at me differently. I think there are executives that want to be leaders in this space. Theres no question that when Larry Fink wrote his letter or any of these companies thought about their policies, they were responding to consumers. They were responding to their employees. They were responding to investors. But the real question is whether a group of companies unto themselves can actually change the game. Whether their leadership is going to force every other company to follow them, or whether ultimately you need governments across the globe to create rules that every company follows. And until and unless that happens, I think theres going to be a lot of fair skepticism about what these companies are doing and why theyre doing it. michael barbaro And whether it matters. andrew ross sorkin And whether it ultimately matters. michael barbaro Well, Andrew, thank you once again. andrew ross sorkin Thank you, Michael. [music] michael barbaro Well be right back. archived recording (bernie sanders) [CHEERING] And now Im delighted to bring you some pretty good news. michael barbaro Heres what else you need to know today. archived recording (bernie sanders) I think all of you know we won the popular vote in Iowa. [CHEERING] We won the New Hampshire primary. [CHEERING] And according to three networks and the A.P., we have now won the Nevada caucus. [CHEERING] michael barbaro Senator Bernie Sanders has won the Nevada caucuses by a wide margin archived recording (crowd) Bernie, Bernie, Bernie! michael barbaro positioning himself as the clear front-runner in the race for the Democratic nomination. archived recording (bernie sanders) In Nevada, we have just put together a multigenerational, multiracial coalition, which is going to not only win in Nevada, its going to sweep this country. [CHEERING] michael barbaro With 60 percent of precincts reporting, Sanderss lead was more than double his nearest competitor. Joe Biden was in second place, followed by Pete Buttigieg, then Elizabeth Warren. The Times reports that given the large number of moderate candidates left in the race, it appears increasingly unclear whether any single one of them can catch up with Sanders. archived recording (bernie sanders) Which is another reason why were going to win this election. [CHEERING] archived recording (pete buttigieg) And I congratulate Senator Sanders on a strong showing today, knowing that we celebrate many of the same ideals. But before we rush to nominate Senator Sanders in our one shot to take on this president, let us take a sober look at what is at stake. michael barbaro In a speech from Las Vegas, one of those moderates, Pete Buttigieg, cautioned Democratic voters about what he said was the risk of nominating Sanders. archived recording (pete buttigieg) Senator Sanders believes in an inflexible, ideological revolution that leaves out most Democrats not to mention most Americans. [CHEERING] michael barbaro Thats it for The Daily. Im Michael Barbaro. See you tomorrow. [music] It's in area under Chinese occupation for 60 years: MEA on China constructing bridge across Pangong lake No signs of talks on LAC, but Chinese psy ops in full swing We will continue to deal with Chinese PLA in firm, resolute manner: Army chief China commends Pakistans efforts on terror funding India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Feb 23: China on Friday praised close-ally Pakistan's "enormous efforts" in combating terror financing while playing down reports that it backed India and other countries against Islamabad at the just concluded FATF meeting in Paris that retained the country in the Grey List. Asked about reports that China has joined India and other countries in sending a strong message to Pakistan and urging it to fulfil its commitments to fight terror financing and money laundering, foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told an online media briefing, that the Financial Action Task Force meeting has decided to give Pakistan more time to implement its action plan on money laundering and terrorist financing. FATF: Now China, Saudi Arabia set new deadline for Pakistan "China's position on the relevant issue remains unchanged. Pakistan has made enormous efforts in improving its counter-terror financing system, which has been recognised by the vast majority of the FATF members at its latest plenary meeting concluded on February 20 in Paris," he said. "It was decided at the meeting that Pakistan will be allowed more time to continue implementing its action plan," Geng said, a day after Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping and they agreed to step up communication and exchanges at the highest level to strengthen Pakistan-China all-weather strategic cooperative partnership. China said it stands ready to work with relevant parties to offer more assistance to Pakistan in its efforts against terrorism. "China maintains that the purpose and aim of the FATF is to support countries' efforts to strengthen institutions against money laundering and terror financing and safeguard international financing system," the spokesman said. The Paris-based FATF, which supervises effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing, during the meeting decided continuation of Pakistan in the "Grey List", sources said. The global terror financing watchdog also warned Pakistan that stern action will be taken against it if the country fails to check the flow of money to terror groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) among others, the sources said. NEWS AT NOON FEB 23rd, 2020 The FATF in October decided to keep Pakistan on its Grey List for failure to curb funnelling of funds to terror groups like LeT and JeM. If not removed off the list by April, Pakistan may move to a blacklist of countries that face severe economic sanctions, such as Iran. The plenary noted that Pakistan addressed only a few of the 27 tasks given to it in controlling funding to terror groups like LeT, JeM and the Hizbul Mujahideen, which are responsible for a series of attacks in India. The FATF said Pakistan has to swiftly complete its full action plan by June, the source said. India has been maintaining that Pakistan extends regular support to terror groups like LeT, JeM and the Hizbul Mujahideen, whose prime target is India, and has urged the FATF to take action against Islamabad. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, February 23, 2020, 8:26 [IST] Despite bureaucratic hurdles, the vast majority of pediatricians want to keep participating in a national program that provides vaccinations at no cost to children who are on Medicaid, uninsured, or who are American Indian/Alaska Native, according to researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. The Vaccine For Children (VFC) Program was created in 1993 to keep children from contracting vaccine-preventable diseases due to an inability to pay for the drugs. Since then, it has increased vaccination rates, decreased vaccine-preventable illnesses and reduced social and racial disparities among those inoculated. While it is likely that much of the burden reported by pediatricians related to the VFC program is in response to...tightened requirements, it is reassuring that providers seem to have remained with the program." Sean O'Leary, MD, study's first author, associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine The study, published online today in the journal Pediatrics, examined pediatrician participation in the program. "We sought to explore pediatricians' current attitudes and experiences with the program and how these attitudes and experiences are affecting participation," said O'Leary, who is also spokesman for the American Academy of Pediatrics and practices at Children's Hospital Colorado. They researchers sent surveys to 471 pediatricians with 372 responding. They asked how many of the doctors participated in the program, the perceived burdens of taking part, their experiences and practices in stocking the vaccines and their views on a bigger reimbursement for giving the vaccine to Medicaid patients. Yet when asked if they considered quitting the program in the past year, 85% said they had never seriously considered or discussed it. Another 10% said they had considered it but not seriously and 5% reported seriously considering it. Those who seriously considered opting out, said the chief culprit was difficulty in record keeping requirements. Other reasons included unpredictable vaccine supplies, inadequate payment for vaccine administration fees and keeping separate stocks of vaccines, requiring separate storage facilities. But nearly all pediatricians surveyed said the program was valuable because they could give vaccines regardless of the patients' ability to pay, children could get the vaccinations at their own medical provider's office and it improved overall vaccination rates. O'Leary recommended alleviating burdens where possible. That could include increasing payments for vaccine administration, uniform rules that allow borrowing between private and VFC vaccine stocks and creating incentive to buy proper storage and monitoring equipment. "In order to maintain and increase vaccination rates," O'Leary said. "It will be important to keep monitoring these attitudes." New Delhi, Feb 23 : India has suspended exports of some medical items, which are in huge demand in China for the prevention of the COVID-19 infection. The government's decision for the prohibition of specific exports came after waiting for China's permission to send a special Indian flight for the evacuation of remaining Indian citizens in Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus epidemic. Beijing has withheld the approval even as it allowed three other countries to send flights in the last one week. While the government said the exports were prohibited in accordance with the World Health Organization's (WHO) advisory, Beijing claimed that there was no WHO restriction on trade or travel. In a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs, spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said: "The precautions taken by India are in accordance with the WHO's advisory about the outbreak of Corona virus infection, which is a global public health emergency." He said the government had already responded to the needs of "our Chinese friends," and allowed a one time exemption for the export of some items which had been restricted for export. Some restrictions, he said, have been imposed on the export of certain medical equipment in view of the fact that they are in short supply in India too. "Just like any other country, India with a billion plus population has the responsibility to take the necessary measures to combat the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak which if not properly managed can become a global risk," he said. Earlier, spokesperson of the Chinese embassy in New Delhi, Ji Rong had said that as per media, the Chinese medical institutions, charity organizations and local authorities have been complaining against India's prohibition of exports of some medical products much needed in the prevention of the epidemic in China. The WHO has not recommended or opposed any travel and trade restrictions, she claimed. "It is hoped that the Indian side could review the epidemic situation in an objective, rational and calm manner, handle with China's much-needed items in a cooperative and constructive way, and resume normal personal exchanges and trade between our two countries as soon as possible," she said. The Indian spokesperson Raveesh Kumar recalled that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had written to President Xi Jinping, offering assistance during the ongoing crisis. He said the government has also extended another "humanitarian gesture and an expression of India's solidarity with with the people of China" by offering to deliver medical relief to Wuhan by a special flight. "We have also called upon the Chinese authorities to allow Indian citizens and those of our neighbouring countries to return by the same flight. We hope that they will give it positive consideration," the spokesperson said. (Aarti Tikoo Singh can be contacted at aarti.t@ians.in) Pete Buttigieg tweeted a bizarre celebration of the results in Nevada - complete with typo - telling supporters: 'Your are the answer. This is your night'. His comments came as he shared internal campaign data which showed he only received half as many votes in the state's caucuses as winner Bernie Sanders. His campaign said he was on track to finish second \ with 21 per cent of the vote as Sanders secured 42 per cent of the state's support. "To those who questioned whether a Midwestern mayor could gather a national movement around a new kind of politicsyour [sic] are the answer. And to everyone who believes in what were buildingthis is your night. This is your campaign," Mr Buttigieg wrote in a Twitter thread that also sought out donations from supporters as the campaign seeks to meet a $13 million fundraising deadline by 3 March, which is Super Tuesday. The messages continued: "It belongs to the most talented, and energetic, and kind, team of organizers and volunteers, and to the nearly 1 million grassroots supporters who have chipped inand yes, I hope youll join them and help us raise $13 million by Super Tuesday." 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 Buttigieg's results in Nevada may provide a lifeline to the campaign as it proceeds, and bolsters his claims moving forward that he is the best choice for moderate voters who might view Mr Sanders as too extreme to take on Donald Trump this November. But, after close results in New Hampshire and Iowa, the distant second showing assuming his internal campaign information holds would undeniably illustrate difficulties for the Buttigieg campaign, as the race heads towards more diverse states with non-white populations seen as less hospitable to the former mayor. Buttigieg came under fire for a similar speech in Iowa, declaring victory before the final results were in. As chaos reigned across the state's caucus system, Buttigieg took to the stage and said 'an improbable hope became an undeniable reality'. He was mimicked as 'mayor cheat' on Twitter but ultimately did finish neck and neck with Sanders. Iowa is still in the process of recounting some of its results. Strata Manufacturing (Strata), the advanced composite aero structures manufacturing unit of Mubadala Investment Company, has outlined its ability to expand production capabilities beyond traditional aerospace at the Unmanned Systems Conference in Abu Dhabi. A composite manufacturing pioneer located in the heart of Nibras Al Ain Aerospace at Al Ain, Strata is the gold sponsor of the event. During the summit, it highlighted the ability to facilitate composite production for unmanned systems and showcase advanced technologies deployed across its Made with Pride in the UAE aero structures product portfolio. Speaking at the conference today (February 22) at Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Centre (Adnec), Strata CEO Ismail Ali Abdulla, participated in a panel of industry experts emphasising the Unmanned Systems role in supporting multi-domain operations. The conference was held a day before the Umex Exhibition 2020, which will run from February 23 to 25 at the same venue. Strata has established itself as a trusted partner of choice for the worlds leading aircraft manufacturers and has since developed our capabilities to provide composite manufacturing to further industry verticals, remarked Abdulla. Our adoption and deployment of next-generation technologies is a major contributor to our diversification and expansion of Stratas Made with Pride in the UAE product portfolio, he stated. "Stratas strategy is focused on sustaining its business by constantly investing in peoples capabilities and new technologies; this has already made a positive impact on Stratas operational blueprint. We have witnessed at Stratas manufacturing facility how Fourth Industrial Revolution solutions complement our current workforces to improve manufacturing efficiencies and quality," he added. Aiming to highlight the advanced engagement of missions and operations in the light of 4IR, the 4th Unmanned Systems Conference hosted a world-class speaker line-up, with industry leaders converging to discuss trends and drivers, as well as opportunities and challenges poised to shape the future of unmanned systems and the 4IR. A long-established adopter of cutting-edge technologies, Strata works with leading aircraft manufacturers including Airbus, Boeing, Leonardo, and Pilatus. Based at Nibras Al Ain Aerospace Park, Strata supports the development of a leading aerospace hub in Abu Dhabi as part of the emirates economic diversification initiatives. Established in 2009, Strata has partnerships with the worlds leading aircraft manufacturers such as Airbus, Boeing and Leonardo-Finmeccanica Aero-structures Division as well as a Tier one supplier to SAAB and SABCA.-TradeArabia News Service STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- St. Johns University hosted the GRACE foundations King and Queen of Hearts dance, Friday night on the Grymes Hill campus. The office of Student Life and Student Government Inc. partnered with the foundation to celebrate Valentines Day. Many of the party-goers dressed up with attire, such as crowns, tiaras and capes. Those who were in attendance not only danced, but got to enjoy snapping pictures in a photo booth, and various games, such as corn hole. The universitys sororities, fraternities, and other organizations were also invited to the festivity, along with the Staten Island community. The partnership is part of the universitys way to help boost and foster the Staten Island community as a whole. The GRACE Foundation, who helped sponsor the event, is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of children, adults, and families that are impacted by autism spectrum disorders. Claiming it was enforcing tribal law, the Cayuga Nation Council under the direction of Clint Halftown had its newly created police department raid properties in Seneca Falls early Saturday morning that had been under control of a group that disputes Halftown's authority. In the process, at least seven people were temporarily detained and one person is facing charges, but nation officials said no one was injured. In addition, the council overnight demolished several buildings in the area including a convenience store, day-care center, schoolhouse and sugar shack. Since 2014, those properties had been under control of a group of nation members or supporters that have referred to themselves as the nation's tradition government. The overnight move comes three months after a state Court of Appeals decision that declined to force the traditional government to turn over nation-owned properties under their control in Seneca County and to pay damages. A lawyer representing the traditional leaders blasted the Halftown council action, calling it "a viciously unlawful act." The Halftown council controls the Cayuga Nation commercial enterprises in Union Springs. Given the actions that took place in Seneca Falls this weekend, Cayuga County Sheriff Brian Schenck on Saturday morning said law enforcement has increased patrols in the area of those properties. "I'm concerned with the possibility of retaliation," he said. "My No. 1 priority is making sure the people in Union Springs are safe." Schenck said law enforcement had not been contacted directly by the Cayuga Nation ahead of the raid in Seneca Falls, but had received "intelligence" that something might be happening. The Halftown-led council told The Citizen in an email on Saturday afternoon that it "alerted local and state authorities to its planned enforcement activities in advance and coordinated its law enforcement activities with those agencies to the greatest extent possible and in keeping with the federally recognized status of the Nations Police Department." The Halftown council in recent years has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Interior as the official leadership of the nation, following an election process that was orchestrated by his council over the objections of traditional leaders. The Halftown council cited the federal recognition, along with a letter the Interior Department's Bureau of Indian Afairs sent in June to Seneca Falls' police chief, as the basis for taking its actions in Seneca Falls. "Despite this confirmation by the Cayuga people of their government, those who had seized the Cayuga Nation properties in 2014 refused to leave. They continued to operate Cayuga Nation businesses keeping the money for themselves, and refusing to provide any accounting for how the money was spent," a Cayuga Nation press release issued Saturday morning said. "Today, the Cayuga Nation has employed tribal law to detain persons who have violated that law, and the Nation has retaken possession of its properties." Appeals court leaves internal leadership question up to the Cayuga Nation The New York Court of Appeals this week reversed a lower court decision on a lawsuit between The press release said Cayuga Nation police found substances "suspected to be methamphetamine and marijuana, along with drug paraphernalia, guns, and ammunition." Six people were released without charges and a seventh individual was charged with possession of a substance suspected to be methamphetamine. That person, who is male but whose name was not disclosed, was arraigned by Cayuga Nation Judge Joseph Fahey and released on his own recognizance. The defendant will be handled by the recently created Cayuga Nation court system. The defendant has the right to be represented an attorney of his choice or by one provided by the nation. The demolition of the buildings was done "to eliminate certain public safety issues, and it does not want these buildings to become a target for any further friction in the community going forward," the press release said. The Halftown-led council said it issued a demolition order under the tribe's health and safety ordinance. "There are no further demolition orders pending and the Nation has no further planned enforcement activities at this time," it said in an emailed response to questions from The Citizen. Joe Heath, legal counsel for the traditional Cayuga Nation chiefs and clan mothers, issued a statement Saturday night condemning what took place: This is not Cayuga Nation law and these clearly unlawful acts of destruction of nation property were in complete violation of the Great Law of Peace," he said. "The traditional chiefs and clan mothers have said for years that Halftown is lawless and that his newly concocted 'government,' which was created with the illegal, back-room assistance of the BIA and its eastern regional director, was illegitimate, with no defined process or procedures. "This is a viciously unlawful act, in complete violation of Cayuga Nation law, carried out by a mercenary 'police force' all white and no Cayugas. What kind of government destroys a day care center for political reasons?" "It is a very sad day for the Cayuga Nation and its scores of citizens whose jobs were just bull-dozed. Early Saturday afternoon, members of the Cayuga Nation Police could be seen patrolling the area on foot behind caution tape, occasionally cracking jokes and talking among themselves. A few motorists stopped off the side of the road to take pictures of the rubble, despite the nearby signs saying stopping at any time was prohibited. At one point a man in a car yelled "It's a terrible thing they're doing!" The overnight action at the Seneca Falls on Friday followed an announcement Friday by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on housing assistance funding for Native American tribes, which included a $287,948 grant for the Cayuga Nation. The funds come through the Indian Housing Block Grant program, which provides low-income housing assistance for Native American and Alaska Native families. Funds can be used by tribes to develop or renovate housing, manage housing, crime prevention and safety activities and "model activities that provide creative approaches to solving affordable housing problems in Indian Country," a HUD press release said. Love 4 Funny 9 Wow 12 Sad 16 Angry 96 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 Air New Zealand has followed Qantas in slashing flights to Asia and across the Tasman as it prepares to take a financial hit of up to $NZ75 million ($72 million) from the coronavirus crisis. The carrier on Monday said it would cut capacity into Asia by 17 per cent from February through to June, including the suspension of Seoul services from March 7. Air New Zealand says the coronavirus will cost it up to $NZ75 million. Credit:AP Air New Zealand had already suspended flights to Shanghai and reduced frequency to Hong Kong, with the COVID-19 outbreak severy denting travel demand in and around Asia and taking a heavy toll on the region's airlines. Flights between New Zealand and Australia will be reduced by 3 per cent from March through to May, the airline said, while domestic flying will be cut 2 per cent in March and April. The legacy of Gus Wagner, the Corrales chile farmer who died Feb. 15 at the age of 87, can be summed up in three words: family, friends and farming. With Gus as the quiet, steady patriarch, four generations of Wagners have grown chile, pumpkins, corn, apples and melons on Wagner Farms in Corrales. Gus was a hard worker who was passionate about preserving New Mexico farmland and agricultural traditions, his son Jim said. He was so good to people, and everyone was always happy to see him, Jim said. He would give them a big smile and share his farming tips. He built relationships in this community, and his love of agriculture had a big impact on all these local farmers in the valley. Augustine Wagner, Gus Wagners father, bought the homestead and farm in 1910. Gus was born on July 9, 1932, to Augustine and Trinidad Wagner. A lot has changed since the Wagners started farming in Corrales, but one thing stayed the same: Gus loved to hang out at the farm and visit with anyone who stopped by. Wagner was a council member for the Village of Corrales for eight years and served 26 years as a Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District board member. Corrales presented Gus with the annual Agricultural Heritage Award in 1995. In 2018, the Village proclaimed Oct. 21 Gus and Arlene Wagner Day, in honor of the familys contributions to community agriculture. The community expressed gratitude for Gus and his legacy on social media this week. Corrales lost one of the greats, the Corrales Growers Market posted on Facebook. Wagners granddaughter, Chantelle Fawn, recalls summers on the farm with her cousins and her grandpa, who was quiet but generous. Working on the farm brought us together, and we were all best friends. My grandpa loved to provide that environment for us, because family was so important to him, Fawn said. So many people dont care or know about farming, but my grandpa did, and I want to keep that tradition going with me and my son. Fawn and her family continued her grandfathers legacy by starting Farmers Daughters, a female-led company that provides local food and education for restaurants, farmers markets and breweries. Gus is survived by wife, Arlene Wagner (Espinosa); children Anthony Wagner, Bobby (Donna) Wagner, Jim (Roxanne) Wagner and Gina Wagner; sisters Mariana Swann and Adela CdeBaca, 14 grandchildren, two great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and sisters Sophia Martinez, Mary DeBaca and Eva Cordova. A celebration of life will be held Sunday, Feb. 23, at 5 p.m. at San Ysidro Church, 5015 Corrales Road, across from Wagner Farms. A funeral Mass will be Monday, Feb. 24, at 11 a.m. at the same church. A tractor hayride processional will follow the Monday services to honor Wagners farming legacy. In a bid to boost scientific temper among children, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday talked about the initiative taken by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) which facilitates the viewing of rocket launchings at Sriharikota. "Children, youth in India are increasingly taking a keen interest in Science and Technology. When I was in Bengaluru during Chandrayan-2, I witnessed immense enthusiasm and fervour on part of children present there. There was no sign of drowsiness from any angle. To give a fillip to this very enthusiasm in children and young people, ISRO launched a facility to sit, watch rocket launching at Sriharikota. The online booking is also possible through a link provided on ISRO's website," he said while addressing the 62nd edition of his monthly radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat'. He also spoke about ISRO Yuvika programme, aimed at imparting knowledge on Space Technology, Science and Applications to the youth with an intent to raise their interest in Space activities, and lauded the organistion for integrating the youth with science through such programmes. "Yuvika programme was launched for school students in the year 2019. Yuvika is an acronym for Yuva Vigyani Karyakram and this program is in consonance with our vision, Jai Jawan, Jai Kisanm, Jai Vigyan, Jai Anusandhan. In this programme, students after their exams during their holidays, visit different centres of ISRO and learn about Space Technology, Space Science and Space Applications. If you wish to be participant of this training, you can register by visiting the website of Yuvika linked to that ISRO," he said. ISRO has launched a special programme for School Children called "Young Scientist Programme" "Yuva Vigyani Karyakram" from the year 2019. The second session of the programme is scheduled to be held during the month of May 2020. The programme will be of two weeks duration during summer holidays (May 11-22, 2020) and the schedule will include invited talks, experience sharing by the eminent scientists, facility and lab visits, exclusive sessions for discussions with experts, practical and feedback sessions. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-23 19:58:28|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close TEHRAN, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- At least 75 people were injured in the 5.7-magnitude earthquake that hit Qotur region in West Azarbaijan Province in the northwest of Iran on Sunday, the chief of Medical Emergency Center of Khoy city in West Azarbaijan said. Most of those who were sent to the medical centers had brief injury, Mojtaba Gamari told official IRNA news agency. Earlier on the day, Mojtaba Khaledi, the spokesman for Iran's Emergency Organization told Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA) that the quake has caused significant damage to 25 villages in Qotur which borders Turkey. According to Iran's Seismological Center, the epicenter of the earthquake, which took place at 9:22 a.m. local time (0552 GMT) on Sunday, was at the depth of 6 km, 38.45 degrees north latitude and 44.52 degrees east longitude. Over 20 aftershocks have trembled the region, the report said. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-23 17:43:09|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- The first batch of 100,000 N95 masks donated by the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) has arrived in China, said the China Family Planning Association (CFPA). The masks have been distributed to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and relevant medical institutions in Hubei Province, the epicenter of the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), said the CFPA. The IPPF has set up a special emergency fund for supporting the CFPA in the prevention and control of COVID-19. Alvaro Bermejo, director-general of the IPPF has spoken highly of China's efforts in fighting the coronavirus epidemic. "China's emergency is our emergency too," he said. CFPA's Standing Vice President Wang Peian expressed thanks to the IPPF, adding that staff members of the CFPA and volunteers have been actively participating in epidemic prevention and control. Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday said secularism is in the blood and veins of every Indian and minorities are more secure in India than in any other country even as he asked some countries to refrain from advising India on its internal affairs. Hyderabad: Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday said secularism is in the blood and veins of every Indian and minorities are more secure in India than in any other country even as he asked some countries to refrain from advising India on its internal affairs. 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' (whole world is like one family) has been the essence of Indian culture, Naidu said, while speaking after inaugurating the platinum jubilee celebrations of Andhra Vidyabhi Vardhani (AVV) Educational Institutions in Warangal. "Respecting all religions and 'Sarva Dharma Sambhav' is our culture we should continue to follow," an official release quoted him as saying. Appreciating the country's rich spiritual heritage, Naidu said (chanting) Bharat Mata Ki Jai means the Jai of 130 crore Indians. Objecting to some countries tendency to comment on India's internal matters, the vice-president asked them to refrain from it. With India being the largest parliamentary democracy, he said it can manage its own affairs. Stressing that peace was a prerequisite for development, Naidu said that in a democracy, everyone has a right to dissent and protest but it should be done in a peaceful manner. He asked the youth to develop a positive attitude in life and be constructive in their approach. He urged the union and state governments to mandatorily link employment up to a level with the local languages to promote the use of mother tongue in the country. He called for promoting the use of Indian languages in the administration, saying,This will not only bring the administration closer to the people but also help in preservation of our rich linguistic heritage. Quoting Sardar Patel, Naidu said unless a child understands the language of instruction properly, he would not be able to understand the subject being taught in that language. Advocating value-based education, Naidu said it should focus on overall development of the students by imparting morals, ethics and age-old civilisational values of the country. Seeking a change in mindset of society, he said children should be taught to be respectful towards girls and women from an early age. Highlighting that Indian culture shows great respect for women, the Vice-President said it was evident from the fact that all rivers in the country had been named after women. Expressing concern over the fast-depleting water resources, he said lakes and traditional water bodies should be maintained. Also, he appreciated the work being done by the Telangana government for developing irrigation in the state. Delhi to ease restrictions, if Covid cases come down in next 2-3 days: Health Minister Lata Mangeshkar health update: Doctor says,'She in ICU with Covid-19 and pneumonia, will be under observation' Coronavirus: Death toll reaches 2,442 in China, infections in South Korea spike International oi-Madhuri Adnal Beijing, Feb 23: The death from the deadly coronavirus on Sunday stood at 2,442 more people in China, with 64,084 confirmed case surpassing the toll from the SARS epidemic of 2002-3. While Wuhan is still the epicentre, the disease has spread to over a dozen countries, including India. Meanwhile, South Korea reported a jump of 123 new cases, bringing the country's total to 556 infected, according to the country's for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Sunday morning. In Italy, 79 people reported suffering from the coronavirus infection. The virus has also resulted in the deaths of two people in the European country. India, on its part, is also taking strict precautionary measure, be it evacuating Indian nationals from China or conducting screening tests of people coming from Asian countries. NEWS AT NOON FEB 23rd, 2020 Mumbai Airport official told news agency ANI, "As directed by Govt of India, the Airport has started screening passengers coming from Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam & Nepal. People coming from China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Japan & South Korea will continue to be screened as earlier." For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, February 23, 2020, 8:21 [IST] New Mexico Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich and U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland have introduced legislation that would accelerate the deployment of broadband services to Native American communities. Along with U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington, Heinrich and Udall are sponsoring the Bridging the Tribal Digital Divide Act of 2020 in the Senate. U.S. Reps. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., and Tom Cole, R-Okla., are sponsors with Haaland in the House. Reliable internet access is fundamental to economic success in the 21st century, Udall said in a release. It is unacceptable that Americans living on tribal lands, in addition to tribal governments, face so many barriers to accessing reliable broadband. This is fundamental to the effort to ensure that the federal government is upholding its trust and treaty responsibility to Native communities. Heinrich said access to high-speed internet is increasingly essential to daily life and brings unprecedented economic opportunities for users, especially for people living in rural areas. Connecting more tribes will strengthen broadband across rural New Mexico and improve education, boost the economy, and increase public safety and civic engagement, the senator said. Access to the internet opens up opportunities for young people and economic growth for entire communities, but Native American communities are the most digitally disconnected in the country, Haaland said. Lack of internet access and broadband leads to disparities in student achievement, health outcomes, economic opportunities and even violence. The lawmakers cited a Federal Communications Commission report that said less than half of households on tribal lands have access to fixed broadband service, representing a nearly 27% gap compared with non-tribal rural areas. In 2018, the FCC estimated 35% of Americans living on Tribal lands lacked access to broadband services, compared with 8% of all Americans. The bills would establish the Tribal Broadband Interagency Working Group to improve coordination across federal broadband programs and reduce deployment barriers. They would require that technical assistance be provided to interested, underserved Native communities to develop a broadband deployment plan. They would also streamline the application process for federal grants to support the deployment of broadband services on Tribal lands. They would also establish a Tribal Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee, set aside FCC and USDA funds for the benefit of broadband deployment on tribal lands and establish the Tribal Broadband Right-of-Way Pilot Program. US officials accused malign Russian actors of promoting unfounded theories about the virus online. Claims circulating online allege the virus is an attempt to wage an "economic war on China" Russia has flatly denied allegations that it is spreading disinformation about the new coronavirus outbreak on social media. US officials said Russian-linked accounts were making unfounded claims that America started the outbreak. Thousands of profiles on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram were peddling the theory, the officials said. Responding to the allegations on Saturday, the Russian foreign ministry dismissed them as "fake". "This is a deliberately false story," foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Russia's Tass news agency. Over 2,000 people have died, mostly in China, and more than 76,000 people are confirmed to have the new coronavirus. The virus, which originated last year in Hubei province in China, causes a respiratory disease called Covid-19. Earlier, a senior US State Department official, Philip Reeker, said "malign" Russian actors were attempting to sow disinformation about origin of the coronavirus. One conspiracy theory - circulating online in several languages - alleges the virus is an attempt to wage "economic war on China". "By spreading disinformation about coronavirus, Russian malign actors are once again choosing to threaten public safety by distracting from the global health response," Phillip Reeker, acting assistant secretary of state for Europe and Eurasia, told AFP news agency. The posts also accused Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates of involvement in the outbreak. According to AFP news agency, the disinformation campaign was identified by US monitors in mid-January, shortly after the third death from the new coronavirus was announced. "In this case, we were able to see their full disinformation ecosystem in effect, including state TV, proxy web sites and thousands of false social media personas all pushing the same themes," said Lea Gabrielle, the head of the State Department's Global Engagement Centre. The accounts had been previously identified for sharing Russian-backed messages on events such as demonstrations in Chile and the war in Syria. It is alleged that the accounts are run by humans. The US State Department said the claims were making some countries in Africa and Asia suspicious of the Western response. Russian TV has also been reporting that Western elites, especially the US, are to blame. One of the country's main TV networks, Channel One, has launched a regular slot devoted to coronavirus conspiracy theories on its main evening news programme. Conspiracy theories have also featured heavily on the Channel One's main political talk show. It suggested that various Western actors - pharmaceutical companies, the US or its agencies - are somehow involved in helping to create or spread the virus, or at least in spreading panic about it. BBC Coronavirus: Ukraine protesters attack buses carrying China evacuees President Volodymyr Zelensky urged people to show solidarity and remember "we are all human". - DR Congo forces have killed six fighters of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in two operations targeting the group accused of killing nearly 400 civilians since November 2019, the army said Sunday. The main action took place early in the day east of Beni, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. "The toll is five ADF cutthroats neutralised, one captured and one soldier wounded," army spokesman brigadier general Sylvain Ekenge told AFP. Separately, "the army pounded an ADF position" near Beni and killed another fighter, he said. DR Congo forces "have adapted their tactics against the ADF by becoming highly mobile, which allowed patrols to intercept ADF fighters trying to massacre civilians" in the area, the spokesman said. "The captured terrorist is being interrogated and will reveal the true identity of these cutthroats," who use rifles as well as machetes, the army statement said. The ADF began as an Islamist-rooted rebel group in Uganda that opposed President Yoweri Museveni. It then fell back to North Kivu, DR Congo's border province with Uganda, during the Congo Wars of the 1990s. The militia appears to have halted raids inside Uganda and its recruits today are of various nationalities. Already blamed for hundreds of civilian deaths in the Beni region since 2014, the group embarked on a series of massacres after the army launched a crackdown in October. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The former head of the Customs Authority was sentenced last year to 10 years in prison for receiving bribes Egypt's top appeals court, the Court of Cassation, upheld on Sunday a 10-year jail sentence against the former head of the country's Customs Authority over bribery charges. Gamal Abdelazim was arrested in July 2018 and sentenced in April of the following year for receiving bribes and using his position to allow the entry of goods into the country without the payment of the required customs duties. Abdelazim also reduced customs fees and issued licenses for four warehouses in exchange for bribes. He was also fined EGP 768,000 ($49,300) and removed from office over the case. Six other defendants charged in the case were acquitted. Sunday's verdict is final and cannot be appealed. The countrys anti-corruption authorities have been waging a campaign against high-level graft in recent years, arresting a number of senior officials over corruption and bribery. Search Keywords: Short link: By Express News Service THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With reports of a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases outside mainland China, the state Health department has decided to further strengthen its surveillance. The department, as per an advisory from the Union Health Ministry, has decided to screen air passengers from Kathmandu, Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia. ' The state is already screening passengers from Malaysia and Vietnam. As the ministry extended the screening list, we will coordinate with the respective Airport Health Officers, said Dr Amar Fettle, state nodal officer, public health emergency of international concern. ALBANY If theres any indication of the difference two years can make, take a look at the state Republican Party. In January 2018, Chairman Edward F. Cox was heading into his ninth year leading the party, which had controlled the state Senate for all but one year during his tenure much of that era due to a partnership with a group of moderate Democrats who caucused with the GOP, handing them the majority. And the Senate was in good shape heading into the general election that year, too, armed with $2.1 million in their campaign account. But after suffering critical losses in that November's general election, the Republicans were relegated to the Senate minority when they returned to Albany in 2019, with just 23 members to the Democrats 40. Cox was pushed out months later, replaced by an energized Nick Langworthy, then the chair of the Erie County Republican Committee. But as the 2020 campaign efforts kicked into full gear last month with a high-stakes presidential election in the backdrop Senate Republicans counted just $340,000 in their campaign coffers a mere tenth of the Senate Democrats balance. We had a change in culture coming in, said Langworthy, who is entering his seventh month as GOP chairman. We have tried to restore the fighting spirit of the party but most importantly, rebuilding the infrastructure. Its a lot of behind-the-scenes work picking up a party that has not only lost power, but also morale, grassroots support and money. And the optics would suggest things arent getting better. Historically, the state Senate has been the Republicans cornerstone for power in a state as blue as New York, where Assembly Democrats, especially from downstate, have held firm control of the chamber for more than four decades. Republican George Patakis three terms as governor from 1995 to 2006 is bookended by about two decades of Democratic leadership in the Executive Chamber. Since October, seven Republican senators have announced that they will not seek re-election this year, some of them citing the jarring shift to the Senate minority and the overall state of politics in New York. Thats on top of the departures of former Sen. Bob Antonacci, R-Syracuse, who left in January after winning a judicial post, and the impending exit of Sen. Chris Jacobs, R-Buffalo, who is running for the congressional seat vacated by former U.S. Rep. Chris Collins. Petitioning begins Tuesday for state Senate candidates, and several seats including some in swing districts and others held by Republicans who plan to retire are without an announced GOP contender. Some Senate hopefuls have declared their candidacy only during the past week, including the Republican running to fill Antonaccis seat in an April special election. The retirements havent been helpful, Langworthy acknowledged. Im not pleased with all of that. But the reality is, you have to find silver lining in dark clouds. He said the GOP is eyeing a new generation of candidates who are prepared to serve in a minority. The party is building itself up, he said, with candidates who feel compelled to run and fight against controversial Democratic policies, including bail reform and the so-called Green Light Law that allows undocumented immigrants to obtain drivers licenses while blocking federal immigration and border agencies from accessing New York's motor vehicle database. Some of the new Republican faces are young or new to the political sphere a description that has traditionally described New York's Democrats. Everywhere I go, no matter what part of the state youre in, you hear people talking about how important it is for us to fight this bail reform, which is terrible, and its inspiring people of all stripes, Langworthy said. When 165,000 people join a Facebook group and are talking about bail reform every single day, thats a movement. But the lack of candidates? Langworthy insists thats just not the case. He said the delay in announcements is attributable to a new shift in the political calendar that requires candidates to start collecting signatures in February instead of late spring, as primaries will be held in June this year instead of September. That change hasnt stopped Democrats from jumping into several competitive Senate races months ago, though they face far fewer races without an incumbent candidate from their own party. Petitions are not due until April, and a good political organization can qualify a good candidate in short order as they need to, Langworthy said, adding that those hot-button Democratic policies have inspired candidates to run. Senate Minority Leader John J. Flanagan, R-Long Island, and newly appointed Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay, R-Pulaski, both said they have been encouraged by the interest among Republicans running for office this cycle. The backlash over bail reform, as well as partisan infighting between moderate and progressive Democrats, makes them feel more confident heading into election season, they said. I feel more optimistic about Republicans in New York state than I probably have in the past 10, 15 years, Barclay said. But even as the Republicans put forth their candidates, the gap in time between their announcement and that of their Democratic opponents could put them at a fundraising disadvantage. In the 46th Senate District, where incumbent Republican Sen. George Amedore of Rotterdam plans to retire at the end of his term, the GOP has yet to put up a candidate, though both Amedore and Flanagan say a strong contender will emerge soon. Meanwhile, the Democrats have two candidates vying for the seat Michelle Hinchey and Gary Greenberg. Hinchey, who has the support of the local Democratic county chairs, had nearly $100,000 in her campaign account last month. Its an uphill slog and a challenge, but Ive done it many times before, said Flanagan, who was elected to lead the conference in 2015, when it still maintained majority status. He is banking on voters rejecting the one-party rule in Albany, which he said has spurred debate on detrimental policies ranging from the hotly contested criminal justice reform to less incendiary matters such as infrastructure investments. Every now and then, when elected officials forget who they represent the public has a tendency to remind us sometimes with a feather, and sometimes with a bat, he said. Amedore likened the Republicans rebuilding efforts to that of his liberal counterparts in 2011, when the Senate Democrats were nearly $3 million in debt, from which they were eventually able to rebound. The GOP is revitalizing and retooling," he said. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. The Republicans losing the Senate majority was a big blow to the party and to the state it just takes time to overcome and to rebuild, and thats what the party is doing, he said. But whether its been enough time or will be by the time of the November general election is a question voters will answer. It takes significant time and money to revitalize a hurting political organization, said former Congressman John Sweeney, a Republican. I am skeptical that thats happened with the New York GOP. I dont mean that as a condemnation of Nick Langworthy or any individual, added Sweeney, who helped lead the Republican Party to a gubernatorial victory and strong local showing in the 1990s. The fact of the matter is that the rebuild should have begun a long time ago, certainly no later than the 2016 presidential election," Sweeney said. "Their failure in the Senate and their failure elsewhere in not being able to raise political funds is a sign of a lack of leadership. But there is an opening, Republicans say, for a leader to emerge in U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, who was catapulted into a national spotlight last year from her high-profile role in the presidential impeachment hearings. Stefanik has repeatedly won by large margins in her North Country district one of the only areas of the state where the GOP has consistently succeeded recently in winning local elections. In 2019, Democrats lost control of the Clinton County Legislature and conceded a seat in Franklin County. Republicans have maintained a roughly 50,000-voter advantage in the district a difference of about 36 percent even as Democratic enrollment has surged at the state level, according to state voter registration data. The data makes Stefanik optimistic for the future of the GOP both at the state and congressional level. I think people are seeing that, when you have one-party rule thats lurching further and further to the left that has led to these ill-planned and rushed laws that have had negative consequences for the safety and security of New Yorkers, she said. Stefanik said she is focused on her re-election campaign and district advocacy, but also wouldnt rule out a gubernatorial run in 2022. But even as top GOP officials maintain a positive lookout, Democrats holding firm control of state government and chasing a super-majority in the Senate this fall arent necessarily looking over their shoulder. They hold a significant fundraising advantage in an increasingly blue state, where there are more than double the number of registered Democrats than Republicans. And in 2022, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, a career politician and prominent Democrat, has said he will seek a fourth term. While backlash over bail reform and the Green Light Law may jeopardize seats in some suburban swing districts, Republicans would need to flip at least nine Senate seats or possibly 10, depending on the outcome of the special election in Syracuse to take back the majority. Albany insiders across the political spectrum have acknowledged that a comeback is doubtful this year. The Senate GOP has no money, no leadership, no real ideas, and more members and staff jumping ship every day, said Senate Majority spokesman Mike Murphy. New Yorkers have rejected them, and everyone realizes that they have no shot at winning the majority. But a party can hope, especially as the turnout of this election will determine whether Republicans have a say in the upcoming redistricting process. At the very least, the GOP could pick up a few seats in both chambers, quashing dreams of a veto-proof Democratic Legislature and giving Republicans a better foundation for 2022. Im not as intimidated as some people think I should be, Langworthy said. The RSL's West Australian branch has withdrawn a controversial policy not to include a Welcome to Country or Acknowledgement of Country at Anzac and Remembrance Day services. In a statement on Sunday afternoon, the RSLWA said its position on the matter had unfortunately drawn misunderstandings of its intent after an unprecedented "level of community reaction". Queen Elizabeth ll and WA Premier Colin Barnett watch a Welcome to Country performance in Perth in 2011. Credit:Mogens Johansen "RSLWA values and respects the Australian Indigenous community and, in particular, indigenous Veterans," it said. "We accept the policy may have been open to misinterpretation. Its advisory policy will be reviewed and relaunched in the near future following further dialogue with interested parties." (UPDATE: CMU student charged in triple stabbing at Wayside bar) (UPDATE: CMU student arrested in stabbing at Wayside bar, 2 students injured) MOUNT PLEASANT, MI - The Wayside Central bar has released a statement after a stabbing incident late Saturday night at the bar located near Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant. The statement shared Sunday, Feb. 23, on the the bars Facebook and Twitter pages notes First & foremost our number #1 concern is with the well being of the victim at this time. Officers with the Mount Pleasant Police Department were called out shortly before midnight Saturday for a report of a fight at the bar, 2000 S. Mission St. A Central Alert sent out by the university noted a stabbing had taken place at the bar, with multiple injuries reported. CMU reports stabbing of 3 at Wayside bar, suspect in custody Mount Pleasant police said three people were injured and taken to local hospitals. No information was immediately available on their conditions. Officials have not said if any CMU students were injured or involved in the incident. They have not released the victims names or any additional information on their conditions. Our thoughts & prayers go out to him and his family during this time. It was a very serious injury & we do not have an update to the victims health status, the bars statement reads. We ask that you continue to pray. The bar responded to a Facebook comment on their post a second victim suffered a hand laceration, while a third victim was unrelated to the incident or suffered a very minor injury. A suspect was identified and arrested after interviews with multiple witnesses and a review of video footage, police said. First & foremost our number #1 concern is with the well being of the victim at this time. Our thoughts & prayers go out... Posted by Wayside Central on Sunday, February 23, 2020 Central Michigan University released a statement early Sunday morning that called the situation an isolated off-campus incident. There is no longer an ongoing threat to the public. The community is safe, per the CMU statement. Wayside shut down around 1:30 a.m. Sunday after receiving word from police that a suspect had been apprehended. Prior to this, at the direction and advice of law enforcement, we maintained business operations to allow officers to create a perimeter and we assisted in gather information from witnesses as well as obtaining critical video surveillance, per the bars statement. The goal was to not create additional panic, assist in finding an at large suspect, and the safety of those in the area. Please keep the victim in your prayers. Central Michigan University Police, Michigan State Police, Isabella County Sheriffs Department, Mobile Medical Response, and the Mount Pleasant Fire Department assisted the Mount Pleasant Police Department at the scene. Wayside offered thanks in the statement to first responders for their assistance and the bars staff for handling the situation swiftly and safely following the incident. Anyone with information about the stabbing incident is asked to contact the Mount Pleasant Police Departments Anonymous Tip Line at 989-779-9111. Supporters of a nine-year-old boy with dwarfism have rushed to debunk claims he is actually an 18-year-old man after the youngster's heartbreaking response to being bullied went viral. A fundraiser to send Quaden Bayles to Disneyland has reached $460,000 after his mother Yarraka shared a video of him in tears because of the abuse. But in the wake of the post - which prompted an outpouring of support and encouraging messages from celebrities including actor Hugh Jackman - hurtful rumours have spread online claiming the Brisbane boy is already an adult. Scroll down for video Online trolls have accused nine-year-old Quaden Bayles of actually being an 18-year-old man. In this photo, they claimed he was drinking wine - but had subtly cropped out the Appletiser next to him on the table One account retweeted false posts claiming Quaden was actually an 18-year-old man, and not a nine-year-old primary school student Quaden (pictured far left) was actually attending the 18th birthday celebrations of a friend called Garlen One post circulating on Twitter said his high-profile Instagram page and lucrative modelling career were proof he 'scammed everybody'. The accuser also pointed to a photo of Quaden at an 18th birthday party, saying the celebrations were for him. Yarraka Bayles hit out at the claims as they gathered pace on social media, sharing a post from someone who said they knew Quaden from before his viral video. 'Hes nine! Dwarfism is not a joke, is he a model or actor?' the Facebook post read. 'So are a lot of kids That doesnt mean s**t!' Others have also jumped to Quaden's defence over the birthday post, saying he was actually attending the 18th birthday celebrations of a friend. Quaden was also seen playing with toys when he appeared on television as a four-year-old in 2015 Looking further back, Yarraka Bayles celebrated Quaden turning 16 days old in December 2010 A photo of Quaden posing with his pals in an Instagram post on January 18, which he captioned 'happy 18th ma bah' appears to support this claim. Why Quaden IS a nine-year-old 1. He was at his friend's 18th birthday - not his own - in January 2. His modelling profile, which may not have been updated, says he is eight-years-old 3. He appeared on TV toothless and playing with toys as a four-year-old 4. A photo of him purportedly drinking alcohol has been cropped to remove the Appletiser beside him 5. A baby photo from 2010 shows him at 16 days old Advertisement One Instagram photo of the nine-year-old had meanwhile been subtly cropped by his accusers showing him appearing to drink wine with his mother. In fact, a bottle of Appletiser was sitting on a table next to him - proving his beverage was sparkling apple juice. The young boy's modelling success and strong Instagram following has also raised doubts about his age. On Saturday, both his and his mother's profiles on the platform were deleted. His profile on Star Now says he is eight-years-old though, with beginner modelling experience. Quaden has also appeared on television as a four-year-old, sitting on his mother's lap playing with toys in an interview with Studio 10. Looking further back, Yarraka Bayles shared a picture of her son's sixth birthday cake in December 2016 and in 2010 celebrated Quaden turning 16 days old. A fundraiser to send Quaden Bayles to Disneyland has reached $460,000 after being set up by comedian Brad Williams - who also has dwarfism Quaden Bayles' Instagram account 'Quadosss' warned his 226,000 followers that fake accounts were being created in a post on Saturday morning On Saturday, Quaden's Instagram account 'Quadosss' warned his 226,000 followers that fake social media accounts (left) claiming to be him and trying to take advantage of his situation were being created The rumours about his age have been accompanied in recent days by trolls creating social media accounts in an attempt to profit from his bullying. On Saturday, Quaden's Instagram account 'Quadosss' warned his 226,000 followers fake social media accounts claiming to be him and trying to take advantage of his situation were being created. 'WARNING!!!! FAKE ACCOUNTS! PLEASE REPORT ASAP!' Quaden's account posted to Instagram, along with a screenshot of a fake Twitter account using his name. One of the fake accounts has pictures of Quaden and urges followers to 'pay my GoFundMe' and has a link to donate. While trolls continue to spread rumours, Quaden (pictured) has received an outpouring of international support, including from Hugh Jackman and comedian Brad Williams While trolls continue to spread rumours, Quaden has received an outpouring of international support, including from Hugh Jackman and comedian Brad Williams. Williams, who also has dwarfism, created a fundraiser for Quaden after hearing the upsetting news that he was bullied at school. Money raised will be used to bring Quaden and his mother for a holiday in Disneyland California, while all the excess will be given to anti-bullying charities. Joel Thompson, the Indigenous All-Stars captain, leads the team onto the field with nine-year-old Quaden at CBUS stadium on The Gold Coast Quaden's mother Yarraka shared the distressing video which sparked the outpouring of support after picking her son up from school on Wednesday. The schoolboy, who has achondroplasia - the most common type of dwarfism - told his mother: 'Give me a rope, I want to kill myself.' In the video, which has been viewed more than three million times, Quaden also said: 'I just want to stab myself in the heart... I want someone to kill me.' Quaden also scratched at his neck and said: 'I want to die... I want to scratch myself.' He has since led the Indigenous All-Stars out onto the field in their rugby league clash with the Maori All Stars in Queensland on Saturday. The Citizenship Amendment Act and the Register of Citizens in India are among the several sensitive legal issues which have drawn the attention of the Cornell Law School for conducting a fact-based study on them. The US-based Ivy League law school, which launched its Cornell India Law Centre here early this month, is dedicated to promoting the study of Indian law and policy within the US legal academy. Although there are centres on China's law, Africa's law, and European law at US law schools, there has not been significant focus on the study of Indian law among US legal scholars. Sital Kalantry, faculty director of the centre and clinical professor of law, told PTI that another goal of the Cornell India Law Centre is to foster collaboration between Indian law schools, legal professionals, judges and their counterparts in the US. Kalantry said the Centre is working on summarising important Indian Supreme Court cases such as on the Aadhaar scheme, decriminalisation of section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, verdict in the Sabarimala case and the surrogacy law. The faculty director said the Centre is also keenly watching the developments on CAA, and establishment of foreign tribunals in Assam keeping in mind the need to conduct fact-based evaluations of these contentious issues. "We hope to use empirical and other legal methodologies to inform law and public policy in India, including debate about the CAA and NRC," Kalantry said. She said Cornell India Law Centre is the first centre of any American law school in India that examines Indian law across all substantive areas. There is a MoU between the Centre and Jindal Global University for a pilot project on dual degree programmes allowing students to earn Indian and American law degrees in six years. The Centre was formally inaugurated on February 7 in the presence of former Supreme Court judge Justice (retd) A K Sikri, Jammu and Kashmir High Court Chief Justice Gita Mittal and senior advocate and Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi. The Cornell India Law Centre was launched in the United States on September 26, 2019 with a lecture by Richard Verma, vice chairman and partner at the Asia Group and former US ambassador to India. Kalantry said though the Centre does not have a physical space in India, it is collaborating with many Indian legal institutions and has entered into partnership with some law institutes like the Kolkata-based West Bengal University of Juridical Sciences. She said there has been a good response to the Centre's initiative and in the last two years, former Chief Justice of India Justice (retd) T S Thakur, Justice (retd) J Chelameswar and other judges of the Indian Supreme Court have visited the Cornell India Law Centre. 2020 represents a pivotal year for the global community to demonstrate meaningful progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Scientific studies, economic reports, and the media present a bleak prognosis for success, with accelerated timelines, increasing inequalities, and geo-instability influencing the environment in which positive social change needs to take root. At the center of all of this is the increasingly popular call for partnerships. If one were to do a sentiment analysis of any global gathering, like last months World Economic Forum gathering in Davos or the United Nations General Assembly each September in New York City, Im sure said budding anthropologist would see a noticeable spike year on year in how people define their interests, goals, and objectives, within a partnering framework. Absent of such a study (if youve conducted this analysis, let me know!), I can only provide anecdotal evidence that the tone and tenor of the international community is decidedly pro-partnership. But, why? And, will it be enough? It is true that cross-sector collaboration can unlock a deeper understanding of complex challenges, crowd in new or deeper funding, allow for intervention at scale, and ultimately hopefully result in sustained positive impact. Weve seen successful projects engage industry competitors around the same table for a common agenda, like the 2019 P3 Impact Award Winner that brought together no less than 5 different oil companies alongside academia, medical technology companies, and the Government of Equatorial Guinea to nearly eradicate malaria in Bioko Island. Weve seen clearly-aligned nonprofits and industries come together to support childhood nutrition in countries like India. And, weve seen foundations partner with governments and coffee giants to create powerful market levers that contribute to peace in Colombia. Whether the goal of the partnership be market access and profit driven or purely humanitarian in nature, its clear that likely, and unlikely, bedfellows are increasingly leveraging the power of partnerships to address the SDGs. The private sector has widely adopted partnerships as a model for both risk mitigation and market expansion. Call me an idealistic millennial, but I think theres something deeper than a keeping up with the Jones corporate attitude driving the increase in partnerships. Not only has there been a surge in the understanding that governments cannot, and should not, go it alone in trying to resolve our global environmental, social, and governance challenges, but for the first time there has been an opening for engagement that welcomes true private sector partnership. Recommended Tofu worse for the environment than meat say farmers Partnership, in this instance, being rooted in co-collaboration, open and ongoing communication, acceptance if not appreciation of each others internal goals and objectives, and shared project goal setting. It is these types of authentic partnerships that are increasingly taking hold, rather than transactional engagements that dominated earlier decades, and their success begets more success. This is a good thing, as drastic changes to business as usual are essential to achieve the 2030 agenda. But the pressure must be maintained. Partnerships that merely offset negative environmental or social impact are a welcome evolution of corporate strategy, but will not be enough. Instead, we must look to companies that are, through partnerships, attempting to reverse damaging industry practices. Mars, for example, is adopting climate smart agriculture practices that exceed the measures globally called for to safeguard the 2 degree climate warming threshold, committing itself to practices consistent with a 1.5 degree change and working not only with its own company practices but deep into its supply chain. Microsoft announced plans to be carbon negative by 2030, leading the way for the tech industry and its extractive-rich supply chain to follow suit. Starbucks is commiting to conserve or replenish 50% of all the water it uses. This next level of corporate leadership that pushes standards should be discussed in every board room and strategy session, as governments and markets will increasingly call on companies to be a positive actor not just a neutral one. Progress in the past decade has solidified partnerships as an element of corporate not just philanthropic strategy, and has empowered industry actors as a part of the project, and not just a funding source. This progress must now accelerate to welcome the private sector as a part of the solution. This means actively working with companies on ambitious goals their success is our success and widening the tent around how to partner, and with who. Above all, it means never settling for business as usual or being satisfied by a simple do no harm partnering mentality, but instead demanding industry-wide change that helps accomplish the Global Goals. Concordia is a New York-based nonprofit that facilitates cross-sector collaboration for social impact. The Annual Summit, Concordias signature gathering, takes place in New York City each September and is the largest and most inclusive gathering alongside the UN General Assembly. Learn more at Concordia.net A Sydney woman convicted of plotting a terror attack with her husband had written letters to Brothers 4 Life leader Bassam Hamzy and sent threats to NSW prison officials before her release. Alo-Bridget Namoa and husband Sameh Bayda, both 22, were jailed after they were found guilty of planning a New Year's Eve terror attack in Sydney in 2015. Namoa was sentenced to three years and nine months in 2018 with a non-parole period of two years and 10 months, which expired in January last year. She was released in December under strict parole conditions after she renounced her radical Islamic faith and claimed she had converted to Christianity. At the time of her parole hearing, AFP revealed a trove of disturbing letters Namoa had written while she was serving time at Silverwater women's jail, as they called for stricter conditions for her release. Australian Federal Police have turned over a trove of letters Alo-Bridget Namoa (left) wrote to dangerous Brothers 4 Life leader Bassam Hamzy (right) while she was serving time in jail Namoa also wrote a series of disturbing letters to NSW prison officials in which she said she said she missed watching 'kuffar' - a derogatory term for non-Muslims - having their 'necks sliced' A series of letters obtained by The Daily Telegraph showed Namoa had written to notorious gang leader Hamzy several times, and had asked him to look after her husband after the couple was convicted. 'I'm trusting you to take him under your wing and look after him like his (sic) your own baby brother,' she wrote in April 2016. In another letter to Hamzy months later, she revealed her phone access had been revoked because she was charged with 'stupid stuff' after giving another inmate - who she described as a 'kafir b***h' - a razor. Namoa also sent a series of disturbing messages to the NSW Corrective Services Commissioner in which she said she missed watching 'kuffar' - a derogatory term for non-Muslims - having their 'necks sliced.' She also offered to send them photos of 'beautiful beheadings' upon her release, admitting AFP officers had her phone which contained the violent content. Alo-Bridget Namoa and husband Sameh Bayda, both 22, were jailed after they were found guilty of planning a New Year's Eve terror attack in Sydney in 2015 'Do you think we could turn a kafir's brain into macaroni? I used to like people, smile in your faces but in my head I'm smiling cause I want all your necks haha,' she wrote. 'The blood of a Muslim is cheap, our men love death more than life. One day we will dominate, may we be the generation to raise the black flag.' Namoa also expressed her contempt for the government at the time, referring to the former Prime Minister as Malcolm 'pigbull' and a 'dirty Kafir' who 'needs to be put down'. However, a letter written as recently as July 2019, showed Namoa referred to herself as a 'baby terrorist'. She wrote a letter to Hamzy's cousin Amna Rima saying: 'please, good grief dont give me a Hamze belting when I come see you am I still your baby terrorist?' According to the Telegraph, Namoa was slapped with 21 strict conditions last month, which will be in place until December this year. She is required to adhere to a curfew and report to Fairfield Police station every week as part of her conditions. She also has limited phone and internet access. Her husband - who also claimed to have converted to Christianity behind bars - was released last month. At the time of the couple's trial, a court heard their phones contained a vast amount of extremist material, including graphic images and videos of beheadings and soldiers carrying Islamic flags. Namoa was sentenced to three years and nine months in 2018 with a non-parole period of two years and 10 months - and was released in December, while husband Sameh Bayda was freed last month Namoa had described the couple as a jihadi Bonnie and Clyde and the Crown contended their plan was for a New Year's Eve attack by Bayda. The judge accepted Bayda's evidence that he was inspired by jihadist propaganda to commit a violent street robbery, with two friends, of two non-Muslims walking down the street that night. However, he backed out of the plan. 'It follows that I also accept that Bayda did not intend to carry out a New Year's Eve attack of a kind likely to lead to his death,' Justice Fagan said. He found Bayda had exaggerated to Namoa what he planned to do and she could have been taken in by his false boasting about a suicide mission. Both were only 18 at the time and 'demonstrably immature for their age'. He accepted their evidence that they had renounced their fanatical beliefs and were genuinely remorseful. RICHMOND, Va. (AP) When plans for the 605-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline were first unveiled in 2014, supporters of the natural gas project brimmed with enthusiasm and promises. The pipeline would bring natural gas from West Virginia to growing markets in Virginia and North Carolina, and with it, would come economic development, thousands of jobs and reduced energy costs for consumers, supporters said. A beaming Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe called it a win-win,"saying it would be good for the environment,too, because it would help speed up the closing of aging coal plants. Since then, the project hasfaced one setback after another, with legal challenges brought by environmental groups prompting the dismissal or suspension of eight permits and halting construction for more than a year. Now,three yearsbehind schedule, with a price tag that has nearly doubled to $8 billion, the project is headed to the U.S. Supreme Court for a hearingMonday on a critical permit. Backed by the Trump administration, the project developers Dominion Energy and Duke Energy will ask the high court to reverse a federal appeals court ruling that threw out a permit needed for the pipeline to cross two national forests, including parts of the Appalachian Trail, the historic footpath that stretches from Georgia to Maine. In its ruling, a three-judge panel of the Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sharply criticized the U.S. Forest Service for granting a special-use permit to build the pipeline through parts of the George Washington and Monongahela National Forests, and to cross the Appalachian Trail. The court found that the Forest Service did not have the statutory authority to approve the trail crossing and said the agency had abdicated its responsibility to preserve national forest resources. The question before the Supreme Court is whether the Forest Service has authority to grant rights-of-way for gas pipelines through lands crossed by the Appalachian Trail within national forests. Story continues The project developers, joined by U.S. Solicitor General Noel Francisco, say the answer is yes, arguing the Forest Service is the agency that holds jurisdiction over land in the George Washington National Forest. But the environmental groups say the answer is no because the 2,200-mile (3,540-kilometer) scenic trail is considered a unit of the National Park System and only Congress can approve such a crossing. Under plans for the project, a 0.1-mile segment of the pipeline would cross about 700 feet (213 meters) beneath the Appalachian Trail. That tiny segmentis a key component of the pipeline project's route. It's important because Dominion has really bet its project on this crossing point, said Greg Buppert, a senior attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center, which sued on behalf of the Sierra Club and other environmental groups. Dominion spokeswoman Ann Nallo said the company chose that crossing point after consulting with federal agencies to determine the best route for the pipeline. Part of the determination involved the impact on the environment, Nallo said. In its ruling, the 4th Circuit found that the Forest Service had "serious environmental concerns" about the project that were suddenly, and mysteriously, assuaged in time to meet a private pipeline company's deadlines. Environmental groups say the pipeline would scar pristine landscapes, put numerous rivers and streams at risk of increased sedimentation and harm sensitive species. The stakes are high for lead developer, Dominion, a dominant corporate power in Virginia politics and favorite landing spot for government officials. U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr spent a decade on the company's board before joining the Trump administration. The company is counting on the project to help balance its books after aggressive purchases of other energy companies in recent years. Make no mistake, if that pipe is canceled, it certainly is balance sheet destructive, and it will impact Dominions growth rate, said Shar Pourreza, an analyst who follows Dominion as Guggenheim Partners' managing director for North American power and utilities. Dominion has some heavy-hitters on its side, with support from 18 state attorneys general, more than 60 members of Congress, trade associations and labor unions. A host of environmentalists, land owners and communities along the pipeline route have urged the Supreme Court to uphold the 4th Circuit's ruling. Dominion says the pipeline will bring a critical new gas supply to Virginia and North Carolina to support the shift away from coal and toward intermittent natural resources like solar. The company also says greater availability of natural gas will attract manufacturing businesses. Critics question the assertion that the gas is needed. In a brief filed with the Supreme Court, Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring's office said recent analyses indicate the demand for natural gas will remain flat or decrease for the foreseeable future. In an earnings call with investment analysts earlier this month, Dominion CEO Tom Farrell said the company is optimistic" that the Supreme Court will issue an order reversing the 4th Circuit ruling in May or June. He said Dominion is working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on a separate permit related to endangered species and then anticipates resuming construction across major portions of the pipeline. But opponents of the project emphasize that six other permits have been revoked or suspended, including a permit to build a gas compressor station in the historic African American community of Union Hill in Virginia. The bottom line is, no matter what happens on Monday, there are others issues, said Lew Freeman, executive director of the Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance, a nonprofit coalition of 51 organizations opposing the pipeline. The Police in Ekiti State have arrested one Olarewaju Oluwaseun, a driver plying Akure -Ilorin route over a false alarm alleging herdsman attack. Abutu Sunday, the Commands PPRO stated this in a statement on Sunday in Ado Ekiti. Mr Sunday, an assistant superintendent of police, said Mr Oluwaseun raised a false alarm to the Police Control Room, in Ado-Ekiti, that he was attacked and robbed of N27,000, by one Quadri Isah, a herdsman, who was rearing his cattle along Awo Ekiti/ Igede Ekiti road. He said upon receipt of the call, the Police Control Room, alerted the Safer Highways Patrol Team, which immediately rushed to the scene of the alleged crime along Awo Ekiti/ Igede Ekiti road. The PPRO said on getting to the scene, the patrol team actually met the complainant and the suspect, but discovered the complainant had already injured the suspect with a jack knife as against his first claim that he was attacked and robbed by the suspect. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the police image maker, said the duo were later moved to the State Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) for further investigation. Upon interrogation, Mr Quadri Isah, the herdsman, said he was only trying to control his cows to cross from one side of the road to the other side when he was accosted by the driver, Mr Olarewaju Oluwaseun According to Quadri, the driver felt his cows were blocking the road and therefore, angrily alighted from his vehicle, picked a jack knife from his vehicle and stabbed him severally During investigation, the initial complainants vehicle was searched and the sum of N27,000 he earlier claimed he was robbed of was recovered from his vehicle and also one jack knife which he used to stab Isah was recovered The complainant, thereafter confessed that he lied against the herdsman and that the earlier information he gave to the police was false The Command therefore, wishes to debunk the earlier information by Oluwaseun that he was attacked and robbed by the herdsman. The information was totally false and maliciously fabricated for a selfish interest. Neither was Oluwaseun nor anybody attacked along Awo Ekiti/Igede Ekiti road,he said. Mr Sunday warned that the state Commissioner of Police, Amba Asuquo, has therefore urged members of the public to ensure that information given to the police, the people around them and on the social media were always truthful, objective, accurate and timely. This, he said, was to avoid incidence that could cause chaos and breach of peace. (NAN) The House of Representatives began last weeks legislative business with the launch of the maiden Green Chamber magazine. It said it wants to use the publication to tell its own story, away from the dependence on reportage by mainstream media. Represented by the minister of information, Lai Mohammed, President Muhammadu Buhari at the event said, contrary to widely held belief, lawmakers are not overpaid. He added that the magazine would allow lawmakers to correct this wrong perception. Also speaking at the launch was ex-Kenyan anti-corruption chief, Patrick Lumumba. He charged the lawmakers to put the people first and shun selfish gains. Are you honourable members or horrible members? he asked rhetorically. Upon resumption of plenary for the day, the House began deliberations by bemoaning the difficulty Nigerians encounter in registering for the National Identity Number. The House, therefore, said it would investigate the cause of the challenge. While that lasted, the House Committee on Defence, as directed by the whole House two weeks before, amidst worsening insecurity, went on a fact-finding mission to the northeast. Also at the committee level, the House Committee on Finance ordered the Centre for Management Development (CMD) to remit within three weeks 542.4 million to the treasury, a backlog of unremmited 25 per cent of the centres IGR between 2012 and 2018. Furthermore, the House accused the executive of shortchanging them as well as the judiciary. It said this was because the ministry of finance had failed to fully disburse amount allocated to both arms, in contravention of the Constitution which backs first line charge for both arms. The House went further by urging the federal government to appoint more Supreme Court judges due to the low number of the apex courts judges. Luke Onofiok who moved the motion said he observed that the court has 13 judges (which cannot form two panels of 7) when it should have a maximum of 21. The House committees on Air Force and Judiciary also began a probe into the 10 billion building project by the Air Force. This came to be after a company, Blue Boulevard Limited, petitioned the House, accusing NAF of breach of contract on the project. By IANS NEW DELHI: It's business as usual at Delhi's Shaheen Bagh, the venue of the ongoing protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, even after several rounds of talks between the protesters and the Supreme Court-appointed interlocutors. On a sunny Sunday, as the protests entered the 71st day, several speakers heaped praises on the people for their perseverance, expressing hope that the top court will listen to their voice on Monday. However, some protesters are apprehensive of the government's intention, saying that such protests should come up in each corner of the country. Speakers at the protest site kept coming, delivering endless speeches with crowd cheering every time something interesting is said. One speaker Jamal Khan, who came from Faridabad to support this cause, started his speech with 'Jai Hind', and spoke about freedom fighters Ram Prasad Bismil and Ashfaqullah who gave their lives for the freedom of the nation. He got huge cheers from the crowd when he said that those killed in Jallianwala Bagh massacre included Muslims as well. ALSO READ: Anti-CAA protest continues at Delhi's Jaffrabad, entry and exit gates of metro station closed "Hum desh bachane nikle hain aau hamare saath chalen," (We have come out to save our country, come with us,) he said, to the loud cheers of some women who stood and said, "Inquilab Zindabad". "The fight is not about Muslims but for the Constitution and that is why Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar and other OBC leaders are with this movement," said another speaker. One of the banners held by a woman protester read in Sanskrit: "yatra nariyastu pujyante, ramente tatr devta," meaning "God exists where females are worshipped". Speakers also took jibes at the Prime Minister and the Home Minister as one speaker Furkan said, "two persons have made the nation suffer." When asked, Congress leader Parvez Alam Khan said, "The protest is organic and faceless and nobody can claim to be its leader. So without concrete assurance from the court, nobody is willing to move from here as people have lost faith in the government because of the contradictory statements being made." The interlocutors appointed by the Supreme Court held several parleys with the protesters but the road blockade issue has not yet been resolved. However, the protesters have opened an arterial road where traffic now can move towards Noida. Laura Whitmore has confirmed that Love Island will return to screens in the summer, following speculation over the future of the show in light of Caroline Flack's death. It had previously been reported that bosses of the ITV2 show were locked in crisis talks in the days following Flack's shocking February 15 suicide, as they discussed whether to continue with the series or axe it altogether. But during Sunday night's live finale of the show's first ever winter series, Laura confirmed to viewers that the team was in the hunt for new recruits as she said: 'Love Island will be back in Majorca this Summer head to the website for audition details.' Returning: Laura Whitmore has confirmed that Love Island will return to screens in the summer, following speculation over the future of the show in light of Caroline Flack's death Erstwhile host Caroline, 40, was found dead at her east London home hours before February 15th's episode was set to air, prompting bosses to cancel airing the show both on that day and on the 16th. Executives were subsequently said to be working to hammer out a definitive plan on how to handle the ratings juggernaut going forward. Financial Times' Mark Di Stefano took to Twitter last Sunday to report that bosses at ITV were locked in meetings to discuss how best to respond to the TV personality's tragic death. Winners: Following a two-day hiatus, bosses continued airing the season's remaining episodes, with Paige Turley and Finn Tapp being crowned the eventual victors on Sunday night Runners-up: Favourites Siannise Fudge and Luke Trotman were the runners-up of the series He wrote: 'ITV execs and programme makers are meeting now to discuss how to respond to Caroline Flack's death. Told to expect more information this afternoon on tonight's episode of Love Island and the long-term.' MailOnline has also learned that contestants on the show were not informed by show executives of Flack's tragic death until the hours leading up to Sunday's finale. Following a two-day hiatus, bosses continued airing the season's remaining episodes, with Paige Turley and Finn Tapp being crowned the eventual victors on Sunday night, followed by runners-up Siannise Fudge and Luke Trotman. The contestants are the first to take part in the show's winter series in South Africa, which has been presented by Whitmore after Flack stepped down following her arrest on suspicion of assaulting her boyfriend Lewis Burton, 27. Her next court date regarding the charges was scheduled for March 4. Tragic: Flack, pictured in 2018, tragically took her own life at her east London home while the friend who was staying with her 'popped out' to the shops Flack tragically took her own life at her north London home while the friend who was staying with her 'popped out' to the shops. It came just hours after she found out she would face trial next month, despite Mr Burton claiming he wanted to drop the charges. A Love Island source last week told MailOnline was 'business as usual' in the villa, with contestants completely unaware the former host took her own life. A spokesman for the show said on Saturday: 'Everybody at Love Island and ITV is shocked and saddened by this desperately sad news.' The 40-year-old is the third person involved with the hit series to kill themselves. Sophie Gradon was found dead at the age of 32 in 2018, while the body of Mike Thalassitis, 26, was discovered near his home in 2019. Stepped down: Flack stepped down following her arrest on suspicion of assaulting her boyfriend Lewis Burton, 27. Pictured together in October 2019 On Sunday, the hashtag #cancelloveisland was trending on Twitter, with several calling for the programme to be taken off air as The Jeremy Kyle Show was following the death of a guest. Another show Flack recorded for Channel 4, The Surjury, has been cancelled as a mark of respect. The new series, which was set to see participants go under the knife if they were given the thumbs-up by a 12-strong jury, was set to air later in 2020. A spokesperson for Channel 4 told Metro: 'We are shocked and saddened to hear the tragic news about Caroline Flack. 'Our deepest sympathies go out to Caroline's family and friends. Under the circumstances, we have decided not to broadcast The Surjury.' Court: The star's next court was scheduled for March 4. Pictured at London's Highbury Corner Magistrates Court on December 23, 2019 ITV and Love Island producers have already come under scrutiny for prompting that decision, with many questioning what support they gave her. Reality shows have been warned by Ofcom that they have a duty of care towards their stars. Speaking on Sky News's Sophy Ridge on Sunday, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps echoed the TV regulator, saying 'the duty of care should be considered' over Flack's death. But he warned: 'Clearly people making these programmes do have a duty of care, not just to contestants but to presenters as well. 'But I don't want to jump to conclusions. We know there were circumstances involved here.' Pal: The contestants are the first to take part in the show's winter series in South Africa, which has been presented by Laura Whitmore after Flack stepped down. Pictured in January 2019 The former presenter has been described by friends as feeling 'on her own' and that she 'couldn't see a way out'. They claim she was struggling with her mental health and using anti-depressants before her death. Among Flack's final Twitter likes was a post advertising suicide prevention services at Christmas, which read: 'Hard time of year for a lot of folks. 'Suicide Hotline 116 123 (Samaritans) A simple copy and paste might save someone's life. If you are struggling, please please talk to someone. XXX' MailOnline has contacted ITV for comment. If you have been affected by this story, you can call the Samaritans on 116 123 or visit www.samaritans.org Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden walks on stage to speak during a Nevada caucus day event at IBEW Local 357 on February 22, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Democratic presidential candidates wasted no time taking shots at Sen. Bernie Sanders on Saturday, after Sanders cemented his lead in the 2020 primary with a projected win in the Nevada caucus. Two candidates, former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg and former Vice President Joe Biden, slammed Sanders well before the final results had been announced, as their campaigns bickered about who came in second place. Eventually, NBC News projected that Biden came in second and Buttigieg third. Buttigieg, who edged out Sanders in the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucus and came in a close second in New Hampshire's primary, attacked the 78-year-old democrat socialist at length in a speech to his supporters in Las Vegas. "Senator Sanders believes in an inflexible, ideological revolution that leaves out most Democrats, not to mention most Americans," Buttigieg said. "Ours is the only campaign who has beaten Senator Sanders anywhere in the country this campaign cycle," Buttigieg added. Buttigieg also stressed the importance of nominating a candidate who can help elect Democrats down the ballot in 2020. Democrats, he said, need to nominate a candidate who "gives a damn about the effect you're having from the top of the ticket." Sanders has shown "willingness to ignore or dismiss, or even attack the very Democrats that we absolutely must send to Capitol Hill," Buttigieg said. Biden, meanwhile, took a swipe at Sanders less directly, by referencing The Washington Post's recent report that Russia is attempting to boost Sanders' campaign as part of its efforts to meddle in the 2020 election. "We're going to have more help from Vladimir Putin, who wants somebody he doesn't think can beat Trump," Biden said at his own campaign event in Vegas on Saturday. Sanders has denounced the Kremlin's reported attempts to meddle, once again, in a U.S. presidential contest. Biden took another veiled jab at Sanders, as well as former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg, a billionaire who has dumped hundreds of millions of dollars into his campaign. "You know, I'm a Democrat for a simple reason. I ain't a socialist, I ain't a plutocrat, I'm a Democrat. I'm a Democrat, okay. And I'm proud of it," Biden said. He explained that he is a Democrat because he believes that "everybody just deserves a shot." Bloomberg's campaign was not competing in the Nevada contest but it nevertheless issued a statement warning that selecting Sanders as the Democratic nominee would be a "fatal error," arguing that his appeal does not extend beyond his narrow base. "We are going to need Independents AND Republicans to defeat Trump attacking your own party is no way to get started," the Bloomberg campaign said in a statement. "As Mike says, if we choose a candidate who appeals to a small base like Senator Sanders it will be a fatal error." For most of the Democratic field, the Nevada caucus became a fight for second place long before the first projections showed Sanders clinching the top spot by a wide margin. By about 9 p.m. ET Saturday, early results appeared to show Biden and Buttigieg vying for the no. 2 spot, while Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., looked to be in fourth place. Biden's campaign manager Greg Schultz tweeted Saturday evening that, "based on our internal data, Biden will come in a strong second tonight in Nevada." "Make no mistake: The Biden comeback starts tonight in Nevada," Schultz tweeted. Schultz TWEET Biden, once seen as the top Democrat in the race to defeat Trump in 2020, underwhelmed in the first two primary contests in Iowa and New Hampshire. Biden's campaign is banking that the stronger showing in Nevada will help propel him to a win in South Carolina's primary next week. "The press is ready to declare people dead quickly, but we're alive and we're coming back and we're going to win," Biden said. But Michael Halle, a Buttigieg campaign strategist, pushed back on Schultz's claim that Biden clinched second place in Nevada. "Not from what we're seeing," Halle tweeted in reply to Schultz, adding a link to the Buttigieg campaign's internal caucus data. Halle TWEET Sanders, who for weeks has led the field in national polls, was widely expected to win in Nevada. He won the majority of support from Latino voters and voters under 45 in Nevada, according to entrance polls of the caucus. He is on track to win more of Nevada's 36 electoral delegates than any of the six other Democrats competing in the caucus. Gardai have seized two guns after raiding an apartment in Dublin's south inner city. A man in his late 20s has been arrested and is being questioned at Kilmainham Garda Station. The Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad on Saturday called for a ban on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and challenged it to fight elections directly. Chandrashekhar Azad made the comments from Reshimbagh Ground near the RSS headquarters in the eastern part of Nagpur and the venue for the customary annual Vijayadashami speech of chief. Nagpur Police had denied permission to the Bhim Army to hold a workers rally close to the RSS headquarters that led them to move Bombay High Court. The Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court allowed it to hold the rally on certain conditions that it would not be a political meeting and there should not be any inflammatory speeches. The high court also warned that any violation of its conditions will invite criminal action and contempt of court proceeding. The Bhim Army chief, however, utilised the occasion to fire salvos against the RSS and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Azad said the RSS, which is the BJPs ideological fountainhead, should fight elections to taste the actual public support for the Manuvadi agenda of the Sangh, instead of having a political front in the BJP. I want to give a suggestion to the Sangh chief: take out the veil of lies and come to the field. It is a democracy. Contest direct elections with your agenda and people will tell you if Manusmriti or Constitution will run the country, he thundered. Azad also challenged RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat for a debate over the issue of reservation as he renewed his call for a shutdown on February 23 against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). He said the new citizenship law, the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the National Population Register (NPR) are the RSS agenda and accused the rightwing organisation of using the BJP to fire from its shoulder. Azad also appealed to the Maha-Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra to not allow NPR in the state in the interest of the people. He said there will be a time when India will have a government of Bahujans (other backward class people) and the others will be given reservations. Referring to the Nagpur Polices contention that clashes could erupt if the Bhim Army uses foul languages against the RSS, Azad said two ideologies will always clash. While we believe in the Constitution, they believe in Manusmriti. This country runs only on the Constitution and not on any other ideology. This Manuvad will end in the country only if a ban is imposed on the RSS, he further said. France's tourism sector has taken a beating following the coronavirus outbreak, according to the country's finance minister. "We have less tourists, of course, in France, about 30%, 40% less than expected," Bruno Le Maire told CNBC's Dan Murphy on Sunday at the G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors' Meetings in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. "That's, of course, an important impact for the French economy," he said. The new coronavirus infection first surfaced in late 2019 in the Chinese city Wuhan, and the disease has since killed nearly 2,500 people in China. Amid travel bans and trip postponements, demand for air travel has fallen, leading to more than 200,000 flight cancellations. France is one of the most visited countries in the world. According to the country's Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, 89.4 million visitors toured France in 2018 and tourism accounts for nearly 8% of its gross domestic product. It also welcomes around 2.7 million Chinese tourists each year, Le Maire said. "It won't be the same, of course, in 2020." France has reported 12 confirmed cases of the virus and one death, according to a WHO report dated Feb. 22. CNBC's Leslie Josephs contributed to this report. DUBAI -- Authorities in Iran on Saturday announced the detection of at least 10 new cases of coronavirus and two more deaths, deepening a sense of public unease over the handling of the spread of the disease. The latest cases appeared to bring the number of cases in Iran to 29 and the number of deaths to six. News of the latest cases and deaths came from Health Ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur and the governor of Markazi province in central Iran, cited by state TV. The Health Ministry earlier on Saturday noted a total number of 28 cases and five deaths and the governor announced a death in Markazi province later in the day. Most of the cases, including eight of the new infections, have been in Qom, a Shiite Muslim holy city 120 km (75 miles) south of the capital Tehran. Schools, universities and seminaries in Qom will be closed on Sunday and Monday in an effort to prevent the spread of the virus, the government crisis management headquarters for Qom province announced on Saturday, according to the official IRNA news agency. Health officials had called on Thursday for the suspension of all religious gatherings in Qom. The cases in Iran have affected the neighboring region. The United Arab Emirates announced two new coronavirus cases on Saturday, an Iranian tourist and his wife, the state news agency WAM reported, raising the total number of coronavirus cases in that country to 13. Lebanon confirmed its first coronavirus case on Friday, a 45-year-old woman returning from Qom. Iran has suspended religious pilgrimage trips to Iraq, an official who oversees pilgrimage trips said on Saturday, according to the Fars news agency. Iraq announced on Thursday that it had banned border crossings by Iranian nationals, Iraqs state news agency said. The decision came after Iraqi Airways suspended flights to Iran. Kuwait Airways also suspended all flights to Iran starting on Thursday. Saudi Arabia said on Friday it had suspended travel by citizens and expatriates to Iran. Kuwait Airways was operating special flights to evacuate more than 700 Kuwaitis from the northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad on Saturday, it said in a post on its official Twitter account. ANN ARBOR, MI - The reasons for making a move out west were beginning to pile up for Washtenaw Intermediate School District Superintendent Scott Menzel. One of his daughters lives in California where she is attending graduate school, while another plans to head out west after graduating from Michigan State University, Menzel said. His brother, in the meantime, lives in Phoenix, inspiring Menzel to begin looking for job opportunities in Arizona. Menzel previously was a finalist for another superintendent position in Arizona with Peoria Unified School District. That led him to look into Scottsdale Unified School District, which selected Menzel as its new superintendent Saturday, Feb. 22. Scottsdale has an outstanding reputation around Arizona, Menzel said. During the course of my career, I thought it might be a nice place to end up at the right point in time. Now is the right point in time. Menzel has led the Washtenaw Intermediate School District since 2011. Prior to that, he led similar operations at the Livingston Educational Service Agency from 2007 to 2011, as well as Whitmore Lake Public Schools, where he served as superintendent from 2002 to 2007. While Scottsdale Unified School District has a strong reputation overall, Menzel said he was excited to help provide further stability to the district, which has gone through some turmoil in recent years. Current Superintendent John Kriekard came out of retirement to bring stability to the district after it cut ties with Superintendent Denise Birdwell. Scottsdale Unified School District reached a $150,000 settlement agreement with Birdwell to end her contract a year early after the district and the Arizona Attorney Generals Office launched investigations into district finances, bidding practices and potential conflicts of interest, the Arizona Republic reported. The latest superintendent was able to calm the waters," Menzel said. Its a leadership opportunity for me to help them not only become one of the best school districts in Arizona, but competitive with the top schools across the globe. Menzel, a Michigan native, reflected fondly on his time in Southeast Michigan, highlighting the recent passing of a bond proposal that will help construct a new $53.2 million school for special-needs students just outside Ann Arbor. The WISD hadnt gone for a facility bond upgrade in 30 years, Menzel said. Thats pretty signficant and (the support for the bond) reflects the communitys commitment to education. Menzel also pointed to the consolidation of Willow Run and Ypsilanti schools to form a new school district as a point of pride. In March 2012, Willow Run and Ypsilanti Schools -- with support from the Washtenaw Intermediate School District -- announced a proposal to consolidate, motivated by the incentive of $10 million in state grants Gov. Rick Snyder had announced that year for consolidating school districts. In November 2012, 61 percent of voters in both districts cast their support for combining the two financially struggling school systems. Eight months later, the new district - Ypsilanti Community Schools - was up and running. Given where Ypsilanti and Willow Run schools were when that started, the ability of those two communities to come together was pretty signficant, Menzel said. At the beginning, that didnt seem possible." Menzel said he is looking forward to leading a district of about 23,000 students with 29 facilities, comparing it to Ann Arbor Public Schools in terms of its size and the scope of responsibility. Menzel said the leadership transition for the Washtenaw Intermediate School District likely will be discussed at its board meeting Tuesday. He currently anticipates remaining with the district through the end of the school year, with plans to begin working in Scottsdale in June or Juy. Its nice in the sense that the decision was early enough that the board has the ability to post and recruit for the position (before leaving), he said. We have an amazing team at the WISD and I value their commitment to the children and families we serve. READ MORE: Washtenaw County voters approve $53M bond to rebuild special education building Scott Menzel, Washtenaw ISD leader, finalist for state superintendent Deals of the Year 2014 Executive of the Year award: Scott Menzel A Chinese pensioner who took 27 days to show coronavirus symptoms has sparked fears that a 14-day quarantine is two weeks too short. The 70-year-old man was infected with the killer virus in China's Hubei Province and showed symptoms nearly four weeks later, the local government said on Saturday. He drove to Shennongjia, in north-western Hubei, from eastern Ezhou, where he had close contact with his sister, who had been infected, on January 24, according to the Hubei government website. A Chinese pensioner, 70, who took 27 days to show coronavirus symptoms has sparked fears that a 14-day quarantine is too short. He made contact with his sister in Shennongjia, in north-western Hubei, from eastern Ezhou,who had been infected, on January 24 The pensioner, identified as Jiang, developed fever on February 20 and tested positive for coronavirus a day later, according to a government statement. This case could change the current policy which presumes a 14-day incubation period. It comes as the global epidemic has killed 2,458 people and infected 78,572. And there is a reported surge in untraceable clusters of new coronavirus patients which has caused experts to warn that 'containment methods are not going to work'. The pensioner then developed developed fever on February 20 and tested positive for coronavirus a day later, according to the Hubei government website. Pictured: Market workers wearing protective gear spray disinfectant at a market in the southeastern city of Daegu, South Korea, on February 23 It comes as the global epidemic has killed 2,458 people and infected 78,572. Pictured: A nurse preparing a room at the quarantine department at Rafik Hariri University Hospital in Beirut, Lebanon The new coronavirus spreads 'as easily as a common cold', unlike its cousins SARS, MERS, or Middle East respiratory syndrome, according to Dr. Amesh Adalja of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. It's 'certainly being spread by people who show such mild symptoms that no one can tell'. South Korea reported that new cases in the country had more than doubled in one day, raising the total to 433, on February 22. And officials in Italy confirmed the first deaths of Europeans from the virus, after two pensioners died. Neither had travelled to China, adding to fears the virus could spiral out of control. Figures today show a surge in untraceable clusters of new coronavirus patients around the globe has caused experts to warn that 'containment methods are not going to work' Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said his government was maintaining 'an extremely high level of precaution' after 45 people were diagnosed with the virus. The Italian authorities placed 50,000 people in lockdown in ten towns in Lombardy and Veneto, telling them to remain indoors. Thirty-two Brits and European passengers who were trapped on board the virus-riddled Diamond Princess cruise liner off the coast of Japan have been flown back to Britain. A 29-year-old French national fell to his death from the ninth floor of a residential complex in neighbouring Navi Mumbai city on Sunday morning, police said. Charlie Saste, a resident of 'The Residence Green Escape' building, seems to have fallen from an open duct area on the ninth floor, an official said. "He was rushed to hospital where doctors declared him dead on arrival. Prima facie, it seems to be an accident. He was not in an inebriated condition at the time," an official said. "We have not found any foul play. Saste was living in India for the past two-three years. We have registered an accidental death report," said NRI Coastal police station senior inspector Tanveer Sheikh. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Yes, that's true. You can search, "chat.whatsapp.com" on Google and you'll start seeing hundreds and thousands of links for WhatsApp group chats as results. This means, literally anybody can access those links and join those groups which are meant to be private. So exactly how did this happen? Well, Google indexes anything it can on the web. This means Google has probably indexed the WhatsApp group links if you've ever shared them online i.e., in the open web. Your private groups aren't that private after all, yeah? Your WhatsApp groups may not be as secure as you think they are. The "Invite to Group via Link" feature allows groups to be indexed by Google and they are generally available across the internet. With some wildcard search terms you can easily find some interesting groups. pic.twitter.com/hbDlyN6g3q Jordan Wildon (@JordanWildon) February 21, 2020 This problem was brought to light by a journalist in Germany named Jordan Wildon who tweeted about it on Friday. His tweet said, "Your WhatsApp groups may not be as secure as you think they are. He found out that any group link that is shared outside of secure, private messaging can relatively easily be found and joined. The worst part about this problem is that Facebook knew about this issue beforehand. They were notified about the problem last year in November. But they said it's not Facebook's problem because they're not responsible for what the search engine crawls. Reuters According to the experts familiar with the matter, Google has indexed over 4,50,000 private WhatsApp group invitations. With this in hand, literally anybody can look for a private WhatsApp group, join it and get all your phone numbers too. That doesn't sound like something Facebook should've ignored, right? What Can You Do Now? Well, for starters, you can manually ask Google to not index your group link. There's an option with which you can prevent Google's crawlers from indexing a particular link. But that's a lot of work. The next best thing you can do is to create a new group now and ask the members not to share the invite link anywhere. If not, then you also stop using WhatsApp altogether. In late February, the world remembers the victims of the Khojaly tragedy: from October 1991, the Azerbaijani city of Khojaly was surrounded by the Armenian armed forces, and after massive artillery attacks on the night of February 25-26, 1992, the armed forces of Armenia with the help of the former USSR 366th motorized rifle regiment captured Khojaly. As a result of the Khojaly genocide, 613 people, including 63 children, 106 women were killed, eight families were completely exterminated, 487 people were injured, 1275 were taken prisoners and hostages. The fate of 150 people, including 68 women and 26 children, is still unknown. For 48-year-old Durdana Aghayeva, the eight days of captivity she was subjected to by the occupying forces of Nagorno-Karabakh felt agonisingly long - more like 80 days, Bernama.com writes in the article The painful journey of an Azerbaijani war victim. She was beaten and tortured in a basement of a police station after being captured while trying to flee in the aftermath of the Khojaly tragedy. It was during the early morning of Feb 26, 1992, that the Khojaly-born woman was just 20 years old and working as a telephone operator. Like many young people, she dreamed of many things including the pursuit of tertiary education only for the war to shatter the dreams. Aghayeva is eldest in her family and she has three brothers. Her father died in 1986 while her mother died in 2017. Like any other war victims, the past still haunts Aghayeva. She was fleeing her home with some 70 to 80 people young, old, children and women, and including her family members into a forest area to find a safe place. But according to her, the painful tragedy struck when a shot wounded her right leg and she was captured. In an exclusive interview with Bernama in Baku recently, Aghayeva through a translator said that her 19-year-old brother was also injured and captured. They were separated from their mother, grandmother and brothers who managed to reach a safe zone. "Everyone was trying to flee their homes in Khojaly. And when they began firing, everyone lost each other we got separated. Many were wounded. "I felt like it was a very dark, long and cold night...we were forced to walk 3 kilometres in pain to a police station...it was harsh winter and snow. We all pleaded, cried, even scared to ask for water, and afraid of torture. I got no clue as to what was waiting for me. The only thing that came to mind was that I am going to die. We reached the police station in the early morning," she narrated between her sobbing, detailing the trauma and ordeal she went through. Aghayeva, along with her brother, was released after eight days in exchange for prisoners of war and handed over to the Azerbaijani military before being reunited with her family after she insisted that she will only go if her brother, too, is released. She was depressed following the ordeal and frequently needed hospital visits. In 1998, she married a man from Baku who she met during the course of her job in the field of communication, and gave birth to a girl in 2002. Her daughter, now 17 and in secondary school, also joined the interview. Aghayeva said that she still works in the communication field to support her family and lives in a housing area for Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) provided by the Azerbaijani government. "After the capture and the incident...it was like I lost all my dreams, like getting married and having a family, until I met this person. When I started meeting him, slowly I told him all my stories. He was the first person I told my story to. He said he fully accepted me as I am. He supported me, especially emotional support. Finally, I saw a little light at the end of the tunnel," Aghayeva explained. "He encouraged me to tell the story to the outside world...if by doing so I can feel it can heal me. Finally, my story was published in a book entitled Eight Days In Armenian Captivity - Memories of a girl from Khojaly. Telling the story has a healing effect," said Aghayeva, who unfortunately lost her husband three years ago. She has visited the United States, Turkey, Italy, Russia and Iran to share her experiences and convey the message of peace. Her book was written in 2016 and published in four languages: Turkish, Russian, Azerbaijan and English. She said that she didn't have any intention to write a book at first because she only wanted to tell the story for her daughter to read in the future. "But people encouraged me to write and as a survivor of war, I feel I have the responsibility to tell the world," she pointed out. "Peace is the key to everything. I have seen the brutality of war. War is eviI, so pray for peace everywhere. I don't want any child...any women to go through what I went through. I don't wish for any woman to have to undergo what I went through. Islam is a religion of peace," she said. Aghayeva recalled the beautiful days and years prior to the conflict where there was peaceful co-existence between Azerbaijanis and Armenians. "I hope that this occupation will end so that we, the IDPs, can go back to our homes in Khojaly and other currently occupied areas...to touch once again the flowers...to experience the spring... to feel the beautifulness of our villages and our towns," said Aghayeva, her eyes in tears longing for that day. "It was a war and though I saw them (captors) as enemies, and having been tortured, I don't wish for any of them or their family members to endure what I had to go through," Aghayeva said. In 1992, war broke out between the two former Soviet states, resulting in Armenias occupation of 20 per cent of Azerbaijans territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts. All these areas are internationally recognised, including by Malaysia, as part of Azerbaijan. Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Malaysia Prof Dr Qaley Allahverdiyev said that the Azerbaijan government is working towards gaining international acknowledgment to recognise the tragedy as a genocide. He said more than one million Azerbaijanis became refugees and internally displaced persons due to the Armenian occupation. A woman opened her airing cupboard to find an escaped pet snake slithering underneath her vacuum cleaner. Kasia Radochonska, from Southwark, London, was choosing shoes when she spotted the little corn snake slithering through the warm cupboard on Saturday February 16. The snake, now nicknamed Mavis, is believed to be an escaped pet. If not claimed by anyone, she faces being rehomed by the RSPCA. The small snake was found slithering under the hoover (RSPCA/PA) She said: I looked at the vacuum cleaner and noticed something red, like rope. Then it moved and I thought: Oh my god, its a snake! I shut the door as I didnt want her to go missing and I sat in the kitchen and waited for the RSPCA to arrive. I probably would have been more frightened had she been a big snake but she was only small. If it had been a spider, I would have run a mile. RSPCA animal collection officer Joe Tambini went to Kasias flat in Cadet Drive and collected the little snake. Ms Radochonska knocked on doors in her block to find out if anyone was missing a snake, but no-one claimed her. She will be rehomed if no-one comes forward to claim her (RSPCA/PA) Mr Tambini said: The snake was a bit cold, so I took her to RSPCA Putney Animal Hospital where she was put in a vivarium to heat up. People are always surprised to hear that we actually get called out to collect lots of escaped snakes who have gone wandering around the neighbourhood. They can slither out of their vivariums and into strangers homes. Weve even had some hide for months before coming out later, much to the householders shock. The young corn snake is in good condition and, if not claimed by an owner, will move to an RSPCA rehoming centre to find a new keeper. Kasia said: I dont know how she got into our flat, how long shed been there or where she came from! You expect to spot a mouse in your flat, or a rat, or even a fox who might wander in off the street. But I never thought Id find a snake under the hoover. Aamir Khan is a Bollywood star whos loved not only by Indians but by fans across the world. The success of his recent films Dangal and Secret Superstar in China is another proof that the for the actor goes past boundaries. Currently, China is struggling with the coronavirus that is fast-spreading in the country. A video of Aamir recently surfaced online in which the actor has expressed his thoughts and his feelings about the lives lost and the people in China suffering from the deadly disease. In the video, Aamir reveals he got in touch with his few friends from China and spoke to them about the situation. He said, have been in touch with a few of my friends and I have been following this tragedy with a lot of pain in my heart. My heartfelt condolences to those who have lost somebody close. I know that these are very difficult times. I am sure the administration is doing all that they can to bring back things to control and back to normal and the best that we can do at this time is to take care, take precautions, and follow the instructions of the administration and help them to help us. I hope and pray that things get back to normal very soon in China. My thoughts and my prayers are with you in this time of crisis. Sending you all my love, take care, be safe, be healthy.On the work front, Aamir will be seen in Laal Singh Chaddha which is an official remake of Forrest Gump starring Tom Hanks. Secret Superstar helmer Adavit Chandan will be helming the project which also stars Kareena Kapoor Khan. Though they have been enjoying a relatively private life on Vancouver Island in Canada, royal life isnt quite over for Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. When the pair announced their intent to resign as senior working members of the British royal family in early January 2020, they caught everyone including the royal family, by surprise. As soon as Megxit was announced, Markle left the U.K. for Canada to be with her mother, Doria Ragland and her son, Archie Harrison. The prince stayed in the U.K. for nearly two weeks to iron out details of the exit with his family. Though the Sussexes have been given the green light to move on, they still have to complete some final royal duties before Megxit officially goes into effect on April 1, 2020. This is what Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been up to since Megxit The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have mostly kept a very low profile since announcing Megxit in January 2020. However, they have traveled to the United States a couple of times. Once for a speaking engagement with JP Morgan in Miami, and then to Stanford University to brainstorm for their new charity. Other than that, theyve been enjoying life away from the spotlight on Vancouver Island. In fact, Prince Harry was just spotted grabbing groceries for his family. They both love to be outside and have been loving it there, a source revealed to People. When theyre not doing yoga or eating in, Harry will pick up sandwiches at a local spot, and Meghan walks her beloved rescue beagle Guy and the couples adopted Labrador. 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. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will always support the monarchy Though they wont be working royals after April 1 the Sussexes have always vowed to support Queen Elizabeth and the monarchy. That means they might still attend some official royal events here and there. We intend to step back as senior members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen, they said in a statement. It is with your encouragement, particularly over the last few years, that we feel prepared to make this adjustment. We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour our duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages. Inside Prince Harry and Meghan Markles final intense royal schedule At the end of February, the Sussexes will return to their U.K. home base, Frogmore Cottage. Buckingham Palace has confirmed that the duke and duchess will attend a number of royal engagements through mid-March. On February 28, Prince Harry will attend the Invictus Games Choir Visit with Jon Bon Jovi. On March 5, the prince will be joined by the duchess and they will attend the Endeavour Fund Awards together. The awards celebrate members of the Armed Forces Community who were injured or fell ill in service. On March 6, the Duke of Sussex will appear at the official opening of Silverstone Experience with Formula 1 champion, Lewis Hamilton. Then on March 7, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will attend the Mountbatten Music Festival at the Royal Albert Hall. International Womens Day falls on March 8 and the duchess has something up her sleeve for that. Then, on March 9, the couple will attend the Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey with Queen Elizabeth. Whew, were exhausted just thinking about it. After a long wait of almost 12 years, the 11-storey new building of the Sassoon General Hospital will start operations by the end of the year, according to officials. The building, which is part of a project worth Rs 250 crore, will have in-patient facility along with operation theatres and private room facilities for patients. Out of the 11 storeys at least seven will start operations by the end of the year. The building will have 100 rooms, 50 with attached bathrooms and toilets while the remaining 50 with common bathroom and toilets, said Dr Ajay Chandanwale, dean of BJ Medical College. The extended portion will be a state-of-the-art hospital with organ transplant units. The new building would also have departments of TB, skin care, orthopaedics, ophthalmology and ENT. However, due to frequent delays due to change in council of ministers, the project got delayed for more than a decade now. The new building proposal was approved in 2008 and construction started in 2009, however, due to frequent change in council of ministers, the project got delayed for almost a decade, said officials aware of the development. The extended building which will house advance medical facilities and is near the mortuary on the Sassoon General Hospital premises. Chandanwale said, The civil work for the hospital is done and we are now awaiting administrative approval for the remaining work like gas supply and electricity connections. Most of the work, like fixing doors and windows, is also going on. Out of the seven lifts to be built in the hospital, one is ready to be used. Dr Chandanwale also said that out of the Rs 250 crore for the entire project about Rs 150 crore has already been spent and by the end of the year, the extended portion will start operations, if not fully, then, at least partially. Niranjan Telang, chief engineer, public works department (PWD) who is handling the project, said, We are sure that at least a part of the building will be commissioned for use by year-end. The furniture will be placed soon and plastering work will also get over. The building will also have paid facilities for patients who wish to get special treatment. Annual conference The 46th Annual Conference of the Research Society will be organised from February 25-26 wherein undergraduate and postgraduate students will participate. The conference will also host lectures on issues of adolescent addiction. Praveen Swami In the summer of 1999, a young United States diplomat found himself inside a safe-house in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, face-to-face with the patriarch of Afghanistan's Islamic jihad. The Talibans minister for borders, Sirajuddin Haqqani turned out to have a well-developed sense of irony: it was, he said, "good to meet someone from the country which had destroyed my base, my madrassa, and killed 25 of my mujahideen". "Haqqanis assistants glared sullenly", diplomatic cable records. Less than a year earlier, al-Qaida had bombed the United States' embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, killing more than 200. The United States responded by firing cruise missiles at jihadist camps in eastern Afghanistan. The diplomat warned that more strikes could follow unless the Taliban expelled al-Qaedas chief, Osama bin Laden. Even though the Taliban would not expel Bin Laden, Haqqani responded, they had him under control. William Milam, the United States Ambassador in Islamabad, exulted: his countrys threats of violence, and moves to isolate the regime, were "indeed pinching the Taliban". Lethal as missiles are, self-delusion is even more dangerous: In the months before that meeting took place, we now know, Bin Laden had summoned the head of al-Qaedas military committee, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, to Kandahar, and green-lighted the 9/11 plot. Ahead of his visit to India, President Donald Trump signed off on a Reduction in Violence agreement with the Talibanthe first in a series of steps meant to prepare the way for the withdrawal of United States troops from Afghanistan. For India, the deal is exceedingly bad news. The Taliban's second sunrise will energise jihadist movements in Kashmir, and across the region, just as the Afghan mujahideen's defeat of the Soviet Union did in 1989. There's little New Delhi can do but prepare for the rising storm. India has neither the military capacities nor diplomatic heft needed to influence the course events will take in Kabul. History, though, leaves no room for illusions about what lies ahead. In 1992, almost a decade before 9/11, the Pakistani Islamist politician Fazlur Rahman laid out a road map for the global jihadist magazine. "The Afghan jihad," he told the Pashto language Manba al-Jihad magazine, "which was spearheaded by Maulana Haqqani and other truthful leaders, defeated the Soviet empire. But now there is another enemy to this jihad. That is America, and its conspiratorial policies that are intended to bring Afghanistan, the centre of jihad, under American attack." Fazlur Rahman concluded: "We are sure that people like Haqqani will fuel the flames of jihad worldwide." Kashmir was one of the new theatres. "A small nation with a small population, with limited resources and weapons, rose in revolt against the Soviet onslaught," the jihadist-turned-politician Altaf Khan, also known as 'Azam Inquilabi' recalled, "to the extent that the Soviet Union ultimately disintegrated into fragments". "So we got inspired," he proceeded, "if they could offer tough resistance to a super-power in the east, we too could fight India." Faced with these threats, though, the United States sought accommodation, In 1994, President Bill Clintons administration began working to facilitate energy giant Unocal's plans to build an ambitious pipeline linking Central Asia's vast energy fields with the Indian Ocean. Muhammad Ghaus, the Talibans foreign minister, led an expenses-paid delegation to Unocal's headquarters in Sugarland, Texas, at the end of 1997. The clerics, housed at a five-star hotel, were taken to see the NASA museum, several supermarkets and the local zoo. In April 1996, Robin Raphelthen-Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, and later Barack Obamas ambassador for non-military aid to Pakistanvisited Kabul to lobby for the project. Later that year, she was again in Kabul, this time calling on the international community to "engage the Taliban". "The Taliban does not seek to export Islam, only to liberate Afghanistan," she said. Even as the State Department report described Bin Laden as one of the "most significant sponsors of terrorism today", the regime which sheltered him has never declared a state sponsor of terrorism. "The truth," former secretary of state Madeleine Albright later wrote, "was that those (attacks before 9/11) were happening overseas and while there were Americans who died, they were not thousands and it did not happen on US soil." For Prime Minister Imran Khan, and General Qamar Bajwa, the army chief who underpins his authority, President Trumps Afghan deal will prove a giftjust as 9/11 was for General Pervez Musharraf, and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan for General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq. Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate will have to guarantee sure the Taliban does not attempt to seize Afghan cities like Kunduz before the United States Presidential elections are completeand for that, there will be a price. New Delhi can, thus, expect greater United States pressure to negotiate with Pakistan over Kashmirand to temper its reactions to acts of terrorism. Already, Jaish-e-Muhammad training camps, shut down after last years Balakote air-strike, have reopened. From the Doha Accordthe roadmap for the Afghan peace talks signed last yearit's clear Afghanistan is headed towards a dismantling of its fledgeling, post-9/11 republican order. The parties agreed to "institutionalise (an) Islamic system in the country for the implementation of comprehensive peace"; clearly, the Afghan constitution itself is an inadequate framework for the Taliban. Last year, Taliban delegates at a dialogue in Moscow described the current Afghan constitution as "un-Islamic", and labelled women's rights "immoral". And Taliban chief Haibatullah Akhundzada vowed in an Eid message to continue fighting until ending the occupation and establishment of an Islamic system". From President Trumps optic, the case for withdrawal is simple: the payoff from the expensive, murderous war of attrition in Afghanistan, just doesnt justify its costs. Even if jihadists seize power in Afghanistan, the argument goes, the United States massive counter-terrorism capacities give it a formidable shieldand Pakistan can be paid to play policeman. Plenty of President Trump aides, well-aware of how the road to 9/11 was paved disagreed with this line of argumentamong them, former secretary of defence Jim Mattis and national security advisors HR McMaster and John Bolton. They found their boss was determined to fulfil his election promise to pull out of foreign wars. Back in 1989, as the Kashmir jihad rose, New Delhi was caught unawares: the states political system was in disarray, the consequence of elections rigged by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi; its administrative structure in ruins; it's economy incapable of accommodating the aspirations of young people. Islamists were able to fill these voidswith devastating consequences. Ever since 1999, Indian policies in Kashmir have been predicated on the assumption that New Delhi and Washingtons regional interests converge: reining-in Pakistans jihadist proxies, it seemed, was a common interest. President Trumps Afghan deal makes thats not necessarily true. Time no longer on its side, New Delhi needs to act now to reestablish not just its authority, but Indias legitimacy, in Kashmir. Oishani Mojumder By Express News Service HYDERABAD: The dockless bike rental service Bounce, that was launched in Hyderabad four months back has already lost three bikes as they were dumped in places such as gutters or due to vandalism. The dockless feature enabled by Bounces keyless technology lets a user pick up a Bounce bike from the nearest location and after using it, drop it off at any legal parking zone. However, the city-users do not seem to be abiding by the rule of a legal parking zone. One bike was recently discovered in a drain near Jagathgiri Gutta. There have been many cases wherein the traffic police had to remove Bounce bikes parked at no-parking places or being dumped at various places, including one, even in the middle of a flyover. Some of the bikes also end up either being stolen, or vandalised for parts, such as their tyres. Company officials said that the penalty amount is recovered from riders responsible for vandalism, with the help of police and CCTV footage available with them. Speaking to Express, Ankit Acharya, a representative from Bounce said, "We have noted three such cases in Hyderabad in the last four months. However, it has not affected us as the penalty is claimed from the last rider. We are using tech on the app to trace who and where the last rider was. The Hyderabad police has been co-operative in helping us with CCTV footage as well." "Similar incidents have been noticed in Bangalore as well, where in the last 13 months close to 10 to 12 bikes have been affected," the representative added. The bike rental service currently has close to 2,500 bikes plying in the city. Users ignore rules Bounces keyless technology lets a user pick up a bike from the nearest location and drop it off at any legal parking zone. But several city users ignore this rule and some dump them in gutters or abandon them on flyovers Voters in German city-state Hamburg punished Chancellor Angela Merkel's crisis-racked conservatives in a regional election Sunday, while the incumbent centre-left held off a challenge from the Greens according to exit polls. It was a "bitter day" for Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), party general secretary Paul Ziemiak said. According to the Infratest exit poll and estimates from public broadcasters ARD and ZDF, the centre right was ground down more than four percentage points, to just over 11 -- managing just third place with its second-worst score ever in a regional vote. Turmoil in the federal party, as Merkel's designated successor stepped down following a scandal over cooperation in an eastern region with the far right, had been "anything but a tailwind" in Hamburg, Ziemiak said. The biggest winners in Sunday's vote marked by high turnout were the progressive, ecologist Greens. They more than doubled their score to over 24 percent after climate change shot to the top of Germany's political agenda in 2019. The Hamburg result was "a great success", Greens national co-leader Robert Habeck told ARD. "We have a very challenging situation for democracy in Germany, and the CDU is tied up in its own problems... It will be up to us to give the land direction and trust." There was good news too for the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), formerly the main challengers to the CDU for the chancellorship but recently overtaken by the Greens. With just over 39 percent, incumbent SPD mayor Peter Tschentscher, 54, will likely remain in office as head of a "red-green" coalition in party bastion Hamburg. Meanwhile far-right party AfD and the liberal Free Democrats (FDP) were both flirting with the five-percent hurdle needed to enter parliament. Early exit polls showed the far-right squeezed out, but updated totals from ARD and ZDF later Sunday pointed to AfD just clearing the threshold. With the Greens on the rise and CDU and SPD support eroding, Hamburg's results reflect the broader political picture of fragmentation visible in Germany-wide polls. But the prosperous port city with a proud left-of-centre tradition could yet be the first state to boot AfD out of parliament since its founding in 2013. In many other parts of Germany, AfD polls in double digits, scoring above 20 percent in several recent state elections in the former communist east. That has been enough to throw sand in the gears of regional politics, with national repercussions. - Thuringia chaos - Earlier this month, Merkel's conservatives were shaken by the apparent alliance of their regional branch in eastern state Thuringia with AfD, voting in an FDP politician as state premier. The breach of a historic political taboo provoked a nationwide backlash against both the mainstream right-of-centre parties. As a result, CDU leader and Merkel's heir apparent Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer announced her resignation, throwing open the question of who will succeed the veteran chancellor following elections next year at the latest. She is set to announce Monday how the party will select a new leader or leadership team. Meanwhile the SPD can breathe easy after years of ever-grimmer federal and state election results that have seen nervous party members chew through multiple leaders. - No island - While Hamburg's political makeup is unusual, events in the final week of campaigning showed that the port city is far from insulated from events in the rest of Germany and Europe. On Friday, Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg joined a massive "Fridays for Future" demonstration in Hamburg attended by around 10,000 people, according to police. Weekly marches across the country by the school strike movement last year helped force Berlin to raise its climate ambitions and fix a binding end to coal power generation by 2038 in law. Meanwhile, both the SPD and the Greens cancelled final campaign events on Thursday, after a racist gunman killed nine people with migrant backgrounds in the city of Hanau. People from across the political spectrum have slammed AfD in the wake of the killings, highlighting similarities between its politicians' anti-migrant rhetoric and the words of the gunman in a rambling "manifesto" he is believed to have posted online. Incumbent SPD mayor Peter Tschentscher, 54, will likely remain in office as head of a "red-green" coalition in party bastion Hamburg Hong Kong, Feb 24 : There is a new dangerous trend emerging in the coronavirus (COVID-19) epicentre of Wuhan as several cured patients have tested positive and were sent to quarantine again for 14 days. As per reports in the Chinese media, patients who had recovered and discharged people were sent to quarantine centres from Saturday. The intervention by the authorities follows several instances in which recovered patients were found to be still carrying the virus and able to infect others. Doctors were quoted by the Chinese media as saying that that there had been cases in which patients tested positive after they had seemingly recovered. "This is dangerous, Zhao was quoted as saying by Southern People Weekly magazine. "Where do you put those patients? You cannot send them home, because they might infect others, but you cannot put them in hospital because resources are stretched." Xiang Nijuan, a Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention researcher, was on Friday quoted by state broadcaster CCTV as saying that monitoring of those who have had close contact with patients should be expanded to a wider pool of people, because some patients had been contagious two days before the onset of their own illness. The Wuhan administration has introduced 14 days' mandatory quarantine for recovered patients, after some discharged patients again tested positive. From Saturday, all patients who had recovered and been discharged had to be sent to designated places for two weeks of quarantine and medical observation, the city's coronavirus treatment and control command centre said. Wuhan and the rest of Hubei province, of which it is the capital, have continued to account for the vast majority of confirmed coronavirus cases in mainland China. One protester was shot dead and at least six wounded in renewed violence between anti-government demonstrators and security forces in central Baghdad on Sunday, Iraqi officials said. Separately, Prime Minister-designate Mohammed Allawi received a call from US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who congratulated him on his nomination and emphasised joint coordination between Iraq and the US as relations between the two countries soured after a Washington-directed attack January 3 near Baghdad airport killed top Iranian general Qassem Solimani. One protester was killed in Baghdad's central Khilani Square Sunday evening and at least six were wounded when security forces fired live rounds to disperse crowds, Iraqi security and medical officials said. The clashes occurred near the Sinak bridge, which was recently reopened by security forces after protesters had blocked access for months. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. Protesters continue to occupy central Tahrir square and adjacent Jumhuriyah bridge, which leads to the fortified Green Zone, the seat of Iraq's government. Over 500 people have been killed under fire from security forces since mass anti-government protests erupted in the capital and Iraq's south on Oct. 1. Thousands of Iraqis, mostly young people, took to the streets to decry government corruption, poor services and unemployment. In the call, Pompeo emphasised bilateral joint action and coordination, according to a statement from the prime minister's office, at a time when U.S-Iraq relations have seethed after the killing of Soleimani. After the strike, Iraqi lawmakers passed a non-binding resolution to pressure the government and oust US troops. Allawi was elected prime minister-designate February 1 after months of negotiations between rival blocs. He is set to present a Cabinet for parliament's approval Wednesday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Codogno: Italian authorities on Sunday cancelled all remaining events at the world-famous Venice Carnival in an effort to halt the spread of coronavirus infections. Italy, which has the highest number of infections outside of Asia, has moved to clamp down on public gatherings, including postponing some Serie A football fixtures and restricting access to some Milan Fashion Week shows. A woman in full costume for Venice Carnival, which was on Sunday cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak. Credit:AP Carnival, which draws tens of thousands of revellers to a region that is now in the heart of the country's coronavirus outbreak, should have run through until Tuesday. By Express News Service KOCHI: The patriotic thief who broke into a home at Thiruvankulam recently and left after writing an apology note upon realising that it belonged to a retired army colonel, is a professional who does not leave any clues that can be used to track him down. Before entering the house, he had opened the locks of two shops with precision and only broke the shutters of the rooms where the cash was kept. Though the fingerprint and dog squads checked the spots for clues, they could not trace any crucial evidence to track him down. Also, CCTV footage is not helpful as he had covered his face, said a police official. Police officials have been unable to trace the criminals whereabouts even five days after the incident. Around 1 am on Tuesday, the thief had broken into the house of Issac Mani, a retired army officer who is settled with his family in Qatar. He consumed alcohol from one of the liquor bottles in the house. In the apology that he scribbled on the wall, the thief said, I realised it was a military officers residence only when I saw the cap (of the colonel). If I had known it, I wouldnt have broken into the house. The police officials were informed about the theft attempt by the maid deployed to clean the premises of the house. A humble request The thief also put the documents and a bag he had stolen from Bharat Tyres near the house and requested the occupants to hand them over to the shop owner. A sum of Rs 10,000 was found missing from the tyre shop as were a few coins from another shop nearby. In both the shops, the locks were opened without any damage. Shop owners said a person who has good knowledge of the area must have operated the theft. Schools in Bihar would soon have 'POCSO cells' to hear complaints of sexual misconduct and exploitation, a government official said here on Sunday. Bihar Project Council, an organization dedicated to achieving Universal Elementary (UEE) in the state, had last week issued direction to all district officers to set up POCSO cells in schools, with students among others as its members, she said. "We have given directions to the district education officers (DEOs) to set up POCSO cells in all schools of the state, starting March 1... "There will be a committee headed by the headmaster in each school, which will look into the complaints and take necessary action, according to the provisions of POCSO Act," Kiran Kumari, special project officer, Bihar Education Project Council (BEPC), told PTI. The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 aims to punish those engaging in sexual crimes against children, while safeguarding their interests at every stage of the judicial process. In the first phase, the units would be established in secondary schools, she said, adding that the model would be later replicated in primary and middle schools. Each committee will have the school principal or headmaster, a senior school teacher, a panchayati raj representative, a girl student, a boy student and a clerk as its members, Kumar explained. "A student can either directly submit a written complaint of sexual exploitation or misconduct to the committee or leave it in the complaint box, with or without mentioning his or identity. The complaint box will be opened once every week. "If the committee deems fit, the complaint will be forwarded to the nearest police station. It will be the panel's job to find out the identity of the complainant at the time of lodging of an FIR. As per POCSO rules, confidentiality of the complainant will be maintained," she said Noting that the "cells would work at two levels", the BEPC state programme officer said awareness would be generated about sexual harassment in schools, as part of the initiative. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) is in talks with Sydney-based and its wholly owned subsidiary Jetstar Airways on codeshare agreements, which allows an airline to sell other airline's seats, officials said. Currently, has a two-way codeshare agreement with TurkishAirlines and a one-way codeshare partnership with Qatar Airways. In a two-way codeshare agreement, each airline on its distribution system can sell seats on other's flights. " is currently in talks with and Jetstar Airways regarding codeshare partnerships. With Qantas, it is likely to be one-way but with Jetstar, it is likely to be a two-way codeshare agreement," said an IndiGo official privy to the development. The official added that IndiGo's relationship with Qantas may be similar to that of Qatar Airways where it can sell 20 seats on each IndiGo flight connecting Doha with Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad. "These 20 seats on each IndiGo flight are blocked for Qatar Airways. It means, as IndiGo operates two daily return flights on Delhi-Doha, Mumbai-Doha and Hyderabad-Doha route, total 240 seats are blocked daily for Qatar Airways' passengers," the official added. In November last year, Qatar Airways had signed a one-way codeshare agreement with IndiGo that allows its passengers to book seats on the latter's flights connecting Doha with the three Indian cities. A second IndiGo official stated that the partnership with Melbourne-based Jetstar would likely be a two-way codeshare agreement, similar to the one it has with Turkish Airlines. In response to queries sent by PTI, and Jetstar Airways said in a joint response,"We regularly explore new partnership opportunities to offer our customers more seamless travel experiences, but we currently have no updates to share." With around 47 per cent share in domestic air passenger market, India's largest airline has been focusing on international traffic for further growth. In 2019, the low-cost carrier started operating flights between India and Singapore, Vietnam, Myanmar, China and Saudi Arabia. In October 2018, IndiGo had signed two-way codeshare agreement with Turkish Airlines allowing either of the airlines to book seats for its passengers on each other's flight. Bilateral flying rights between India and Turkey allow each country's airline to fly 14 flights per week to another country. As IndiGo already flies two daily flights to Istanbul, there is no scope to start additional flights to Turkey. "Our codeshare partnership with Turkish Airlines has been extremely fruitful," said the second IndiGo official. However, as bilateral relationship between India and Turkey have nosedivedin the last few months due to the latter's multiple statements against India on the Kashmir issue, IndiGo does not expect increase in flying rights with Turkey. New Delhi, Feb 23 : The Congress once again raised the pitch on Sunday, over much publicised Modi-Trump gala public event, connecting the same with general system of preferences (GSP) that was scrapped by the US. Congress Spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala tweeted: "Continuing since 1974, US removed India from Duty Free Imports i.e GSP on June 5, 2019. It has affected the $5.6 billion Indian exports to the US, especially gems, jewellery, rice, leather." He added, "Post 'Howdy Modi' & 'Namaste Trump' gala events, Will PM ensure restoration of GSP status?" This is not the first time the Congress has raised the GSP pitch over US President Donald Trump's India visit. On Friday, another congressman Anand Sharma said, "This visit should not be reduced to a photo opportunity or a PR exercise that would devalue the importance of our partnership, that would also not be in India's national interest," before adding India must raise the issues of "restoration of GSP and also reversing the present association and recognizing India as a developing country." The United States Trade Representative's (USTR's) office earlier classified India as a developed economy, this making it ineligible for benefits given by Washington to all the developing countries. An elderly cancer patient became the third person known to be infected with the coronavirus to die in Italy, health officials said on Sunday, as the number of people contracting the virus continued to mount. The death of the woman in a hospital in the small city of Crema in Lombardy, the centre of Italy's coronavirus scare, followed that of a 77-year-old woman on Saturday and a 78-year-old man on Friday, the first victim of coronavirus in Europe. The head of Italy's civil protection department, Angelo Borrelli, said during a conference that 152 people had now tested positive for the virus, including the three deceased. The cancer patient had been hospitalised for a few days, said Lombardy's health chief, Giulio Gallera. "She'd been tested and they already knew she had the coronavirus," Gallera said, adding that it was too early to know whether the virus was the actual cause of death. The deaths, and steadily rising cases of infected people, have prompted a series of security measures to try to check the spread of the contagion. Eleven towns -- 10 in Lombardy and 1 in Veneto -- are under lockdown, with residents prohibited from leaving. Regional authorities have ordered gathering spots, such as bars, restaurants and discos to close. Schools throughout the affected areas are to remain closed next week. Most of the cases in Italy are in Lombardy, a prosperous region in the country's north, and can be traced back to a 38-year-old man whom authorities have called "patient one." The man, who is intensive care, dined last month with another man who had visited China in January. He exhibited flu-like symptoms at the time of the dinner, but has since tested negative for the virus, media reports said. And health officials are still puzzled over certain cases with no obvious links with infected persons. "The rapid increase in reported cases in Italy over the past two days is of concern," the World Health Organization (WHO) spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic said on Sunday. "What is also worrying is that not all reported cases seem to have clear epidemiological links, such as travel history to China or contact with a confirmed case," he added. Experts from WHO and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control plan to arrive in Italy on Tuesday, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) YEREVAN. The Yerevan court of general jurisdiction has decided to hear the lawsuit filed by Armenias former National Security Service (NSS) director Artur Vanetsyan against Haykakan Zhamanak daily, the DataLex judicial information system informs. The reason for the lawsuit is an article published in Haykakan Zhamanak, in which it was written, in particular, that the "propaganda campaign, which a number of specific media outlets are carrying out against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's family membersin particular his wife Anna Hakobyan and his daughter Mariam Pashinyan, is being coordinated and inspired by NSS former director Artur Vanetsyan. At the same time, there are grounds to believe that this anti-propaganda is also paid for by Vanetsyan. Before applying to the court, Artur Vanetsyan's legal representatives had demanded that the newspaper refute this report and publish the text of this refutation, but Haykakan Zhamanak failed to do so. The infant children of two volunteer firefighters killed during Australia's horror bushfire season shared a teddy bear during a poignant memorial service. The public state memorial at Sydney Olympic Park was held on Sunday to recognise the devastating toll of the unprecedented bushfires that ripped through New South Wales. Thousands of homes have been damaged or destroyed and 25 people have died in the NSW bushfires since October. Scroll down for video Harvey Keaton, son of RFS volunteer Geoffrey Keaton, and Charlotte O'Dwyer, daughter of volunteer Andrew O'Dwyer shared a teddy bear during the Bushfire State Memorial at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney on Sunday RFS volunteer Geoffrey Keaton's son Harvey and his truck-mate Andrew O'Dwyer's daughter Charlotte shared a touching moment as they held hands at the service The loved ones of victims of the Australian bushfire crisis inspect a tribute during the state memorial on Sunday. Each candle represented a person killed during the 2019-20 bushfire season RFS volunteer Geoffrey Keaton's son Harvey and his truck-mate Andrew O'Dwyer's daughter Charlotte shared a touching moment as they united during an emotional service at Qudos Bank Arena. Mr Keaton and Mr O'Dwyer died on December 19 when a tree hit their tanker in Buxton south-west of Sydney. The pair were part of a four-truck convoy on their way to battle an out-of-control blaze. Samuel McPaul, 28, meanwhile died on December 30 when the truck he was travelling in crashed east of Albury. NSW Rural Fire Service commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons says each death serves as a tragic reminder of the horror summer. 'Each one of those is a story of grief, of profound loss, and great sadness, of lives cut short, and of families being changed forever,' he told the memorial. Harvey Keaton and Charlotte O'Dwyer play together at the service at Sydney's Olympic Park on Sunday Pictured: Melissa and Charlotte O'Dwyer. Her father was part of a four-truck convoy on its way to battle an out-of-control blaze Jess Keaton with her son Harvey in her arms on Sunday. Prime Minister Scott Morrison spoke of a black summer underscored by unrelenting grief Fire boots representing the six RFS and Coulson Aviation firefighters killed in the recent bush fire on stage during the Bushfire State Memorial NSW Rural Fire Service commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said each death was a reminder of a horrific summer for bushfires 'We are truly blessed you've made the effort to be here today,' Mr Fitzsimmons told attendees at the memorial 'To the families and loved ones of those that have been lost, and who are here today, we know your hearts have been broken over recent months and we are truly blessed you've made the effort to be here today.' Firefighting crews from across the state were among the hundreds of people who travelled to Sydney's Qudos Bank Arena for the memorial. Six sets of boots were symbolically placed at the memorial for the three American airmen who died in a firefighting plane crash near Cooma and the three RFS volunteers who died fighting fires. Geoffrey Keaton, 32, died when his fire truck rolled while battling the large Green Wattle Creek blaze near the town of Buxton Andrew O'Dwyer (pictured with his daughter Charlotte) also died in the crash on December 19 last year Samuel McPaul, 28, (pictured with his wife Megan) died on December 30 when the truck he was travelling in crashed east of Albury The three Americans killed were captain Ian McBeth, first officer Paul Clyde Hudson and flight engineer Rick DeMorgan Jr. They lost their lives when their C130 water-bombing tanker crashed northeast of Cooma on January 23. 'They were selfless individuals, paying the ultimate price while simply serving and protecting others in their local community and communities much further afield,' Mr Fitzsimmons said. Captain Ian H. McBeth was among the three American airmen who died in a firefighting plane crash near Cooma in southern NSW on January 23 Flight Engineer Rick DeMorgan Jr, from Florida was also on board and is survived by two sons Prime Minister Scott Morrison spoke of a black summer underscored by unrelenting grief and children kissing their fathers' coffins. 'In every case, our firefighters confronted the fire by relying on the love that was behind them,' he told the memorial. 'We've lost firefighters, aviators, farmers, and civilians alike this summer. All carried within them, even until the end, the DNA of our universal language - I love you.' Poised, polished and perennially fashionable, the Duchess of Cambridge never puts a foot wrong. So whats her secret? Royal expert Claudia Joseph explains how its all down to three simple rules Sensational and sustainable: Kate at this years Baftas in an Alexander McQueen gown first worn on a tour of malaysia Amid the recent chaos weathered by the Royal Family, there is one member of the Firm who outshines the rest: Kate, The Duchess of Cambridge. Throughout it all, Kate has remained poised and professional while inspiring millions with her enviable sense of style. So much so that she has just been voted Britains most fashionable Royal by the Fashion Retail Academy. Some fashionistas have suggested that a rivalry between Kate and her sister-in-law, the Duchess of Sussex, had sparked her new look, but I believe that she has finally found the confidence to be herself. As I discovered when I wrote my book How to Dress Like a Princess, Kate has become a modern icon. Her carefully honed style can be explained by the three Cambridge commandments ACCESSIBLE Perhaps Kate has taken notes from her grandmother-in-law for her first commandment. The Queen is known for her thrift, and the Duchess echoes this with her penchant for affordable labels. The 2019 Cambridge Christmas card featured her wearing a teal dress by Boden. In the sale for 60, it promptly sold out. Last month, the black and white check Zara dress she wore on a visit to Bradford, reduced to 15.99, sold out in three hours, with some shoppers posting it on Ebay for 125. And recently shes set social media alight by rewearing a pair of 1.50 Accessorize earrings. SUSTAINABLE The Duchess wears her clothes again and again, and the second of her commandments was on show during Octobers tour of Pakistan. Repeats included an Emmy London clutch and pumps, plus a leather vest from British label Really Wild, last worn in 2016. But it was her star turn at the Baftas, where she wore a gown recycled from 2012, that exemplified how Kate refreshes a piece: the sleeves were tweaked for a more structured shape. Reworking is a typical Kate tactic: for example, taking up necklines, and on the Pakistan tour she even turned a dress into a top. ELEGANT The Pakistan trip was the perfect showcase for Kates third commandment. With help from her stylist Natasha Archer, the Duchesss wardrobe championed British designers and respected the host country in modest but stylish outfits. She wore dresses by Jenny Packham and Catherine Walker in varying shades of green and white, the Pakistani national colours, as well as a dazzling array of traditional costumes. Over the following pages we show you these commandments in action Claudia Joseph is author of How to Dress Like a Princess: The Secrets of Kates Wardrobe (Splendid Publications, 12.99) 1. ACCESSIBLE Left: Wild In Woking last month for part of her landmark survey tour, Kate sported a Zara bargain an on-trend animal-print skirt. Right: Standout Kate dazzled in a gown by British label Needle & Thread at the recent UK-Africa Investment Summit at Buckingham Palace. Left: Bargain Kate was ahead of the curve when she picked this Zara hounds-tooth dress. It originally cost 89.99; when she wore it last month it had been reduced to 15.99. Needless to say there was a stampede, and it sold out in hours. Right: Casual At Peterley Manor Farm last year, to mark her patronage of Family Action, Kate wore an enduring classic crewneck by Really Wild 2. Sustainable Sleek Kate first wore this Catherine Walker dress with a black hat. When she wore it again for Holocaust Memorial Day, she tied back her hair for a more modern look. Stunning Kate first dazzled in this Alexander McQueen dress at a state dinner in Malaysia. She made headlines again this year when she wore a tweaked version with more fitted sleeves and shoulder pads to the Baftas. The finishing flourishes: Kates deja vu hats, bags and shoes 1 Chanel hopping Already seen in France and Sweden, this classic also joined Kate at a Natural History Museum do last year. 2 Perennial pumps The Duchess recycled her favourite Emmy London shoes in the Pakistani national colour on the Royal tour. 3 Shining example Kate is championing eco-friendly brands by wearing this recycled-gold Daniella Draper necklace. 3. Elegant Left: Shimmering For a reception at the Pakistani National Monument, the Duchess chose a bottle-green gown by one of her favourite eveningwear designers, Jenny Packham. Right: Sleek chic In a Hicks & Brown fedora and Roksanda coat for a Sunday church service on the Sandringham estate in January. Left: Tribute In a navy Alexander McQueen suit for her trip to Loughboroughs Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre this month. Right: Diplomatic Kate wore a printed dupatta shawl by Pakistani high-street store Bonanza Satrangi to meet the countrys prime minister Imran Khan. Left: Kate wearing lace gown by her favourite designer, Alexander McQueen at Decembers Royal Variety Performance. Right: Kate wearing her oft worn Oscar De La Renta suit during a visit to the Nook Children's Hopsice last November Left: Kate teams her black Philip Treacy hat with the Queen's pearl drop earrings. Right: For a recent trip to Bradford, Kate swapped her usual clutch for an on-trend top-handle bag by Aspinal of London Trinny Woodall, Alexandra Shulman, Dylan Jones, Sophie Dearden 1. Trinny Woodall, YOU columnist The Duchess has a classic way of dressing. Her clothes are very fitted, and while I think its nice to see her lovely figure, Id love to play with the proportions of what she wears. For a dress-down day Id like to put her in wide-leg pants, cool trainers, a white shirt and a fitted jacket. 2. Alexandra Shulman, Former editor of Vogue and Mail on Sunday columnist Catherine looks good in anything. Id like to see her experiment with some of the younger British designers who could make her some terrific formal clothes. Michael Halperns sequined styles would adapt brilliantly to the red carpet, and Richard Quinn, who won the Queen Elizabeth ll Award for British Design, has beautiful florals. 3. Dylan Jones, Editor of GQ The Duchess is so chic that it feels unnecessary to try to recommend what else she might wear. Although, having said that, I think she would look terrific in Vivienne Westwood. She has such a strong sense of personal style that Im sure she could carry it off with conviction. 4 Sophie Dearden, YOU senior stylist Kate is a huge fan of prints, embroidery and flowing dresses, so Id love to see her try a few classic, minimalist looks. It would be great to see her channelling Princess Diana in shapes that are feminine yet strong. Id like to dress her in this Jil Sander-inspired suit a structural shape in a pared-down palette, with sleek accessories. From her engagement announcement to the birth of Prince George, Kate likes to celebrate her milestones in blue. And this might not be a coincidence. According to colour analyst Melissa Nicholson, who advises her clients on what shades to wear based on their complexion, hair and eye shades, Kate best suits a summer palette, which means she looks better in clothes that have a cool blue tint rather than a warm yellow one. I would say her best shades are French blue and bright navy, Melissa says. The Kate effect changed our lives A stamp of approval by the Duchess for an up-and-coming label can mean thousands of new customers overnight with items selling out instantly. Her three current favourites reveal what the Kate Effect has meant for them Worn five times Left: Kate at Wimbledon wearing Soru Jewellery. Right: Marianna Doyle and Francesca Kelly, founders of Sory Jewellery 'Were so proud, the brand exposure was amazing Marianna Doyle (below left) and Francesca Kelly, founders of Soru Jewellery. The Duchess first wore our double-sided pearl earrings to an art ceremony at the Natural History Museum in 2016. The following day, she was spotted in the same pair at Wimbledon [pictured]. This really put us on the map: the brand exposure was amazing and our international audience grew instantly. Kate has regularly worn our earrings since then most recently for a reception at Buckingham Palace last month. Were so proud to see someone as influential as her wearing our designs. Sold out in a day Left: Kate wearing Beulah Shibani scarf. Right: Natasha Rufus Issacs, co-founder of Beluah London Kate has created 300 hours of work for vulnerable women Natasha Rufus Isaacs, co-founder of Beulah London. Were delighted that the Duchess chooses to make a positive fashion statement by wearing Beulah London. On a visit to Port Talbot steelworks in South Wales this month, she wore our Shibani scarf [pictured], which was made by one of our manufacturers that offers vulnerable women in India, Bangladeshand Nepal sustainable employment opportunities. The overnight interest in this scarf has already created nearly 300 hours of work for these women. Finally back in stock Left: Kate wearing Hicks & Brown Suffolk Fedora. Right: Alice Leet-Cook and Rosie Turner, co-founders of Hicks & Brown We were small but now weve got a worldwide market Alice Leet-Cook and Rosie Turner (below left), co-founders of Hicks & Brown. We consider ourselves to be a fairly small UK hat brand, but the interest we have received following the Duchess wearing our navy Suffolk Fedora last month [pictured], has opened us up to a worldwide market. Weve seen a huge spike in web traffic, particularly from the US, Canada and Italy, and the style she wore sold out almost immediately. We feel incredibly honoured. The Duchess is so inspirational with all the work she does, and her sense of style is iconic. We certainly wont be forgetting this moment. Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - Libya's High State Council, a consultative assembly, unanimously voted on Saturday to suspend its participation in the political talks, scheduled for February 26, in Geneva, Switzerland, until three points are met When one thinks of actor Taapsee Pannus movies, it is a given that she will pack a punch with the fierce, bold and firebrand image that she has come to be known for. With her next film Thappad, which highlights the subject of domestic violence, the actor hopes to break that tag and set a new benchmark for herself. Thappad is one of the most challenging projects of my career because I carry this image of a firebrand actor and people think that isse koi maarega toh yeh ghumaake maaregi. We were trying to strip off that firebrand image to make her resonate with the average Indian woman who still believes in keeping things to herself and not fighting back. And to make my audience believe in my character Amrita who is submissive and vulnerable, was tough, Taapsee says. Calling it a passion project for her and director Anubhav Sinha, Taapsee recalls how a casual discussion led to the making of this film. I remember during the promotions of Mulk (2018), I was chatting with Anubhav sir and I told him that if there is a day I can really tell someone to make a film, itll be on the subject of domestic violence. It is very personal to me and I cant explain why... Right after Sinha finished the shooting of Article 15 (2019), he gave Taapsee the script and she took it on. Taapsee says they have consciously kept the movie devoid of a heavy dose of domestic violence. We deliberately refrained from making it into an excessive domestic violence film because then people might try to disconnect with it, saying Yeh hamare ghar pe nahi hota. Yeh hum upper middle class ya educated logo ke ghar pe nahi hota hai. Hota sab ghar mein hai and so it was deliberately kept like that, says Taapsee. Also read: Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan vs Bhoot Part One box office day 2: Ayushmanns film earns Rs 20 cr, Vickys horror drama at Rs 10.62 cr The actor, who has always played strong characters in her previous films such as Pink (2016), Naam Shabana (2017) and Badla (2019), shares that while shooting for the film, she felt claustrophobic many times, and so, she was desperate to come out of the character. When the shoot got over, I didnt get back to normalcy for 30 days and I had to take a break from work to disconnect from it, signs off Taapsee, who has her hands full with films such as Haseen Dilruba, Rashmi Rocket, Shabaash Mithu and Loop Lapeta. Follow @htshowbiz for more A Multi-billion dollar US Mideast arms market may be in jeopardy View(s): UNITED NATIONS, Feb 17 2020 (IPS) When President Saddam Hussein ran one of the worlds most authoritarian regimes in the militarily-volatile Middle East during 1979-2003, US newspapers routinely described him as the strongman of Iraq as most journalists rightly view dictators worldwide. But one of his political aides, described as Saddams right-hand man (what if Saddam was left-handed?), took issue with a visiting US journalist when he rather hilariously challenged the description. No, no, no, said the aide, unfamiliar with the nuances of the English language, Saddam is no strong man. He is the strongest man in Iraq. But that prodigious military strength was built on a massive arsenal of weapons, mostly from the then Soviet Union (under a 15-year Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation) and also from France and UK. Pieter Wezeman, Senior Researcher, Arms and Military Expenditure Programme, at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), told IPS that after 2003, Iraq received large amounts of weapons from the US, partly as aid, and partly paid for by Iraq. The US has been the largest arms supplier to Iraq during 2003-2018. However, Iraq has looked for alternative suppliers too, he said. Already, in 2005 it ordered Russian transport helicopters, about 40 of these were delivered 2006-2011. To integrate these into the Iraqi armed forces was probably not such a big deal, as they were of a type Iraqi had already been operating since the 1980s, when the USSR supplied them, Wezeman pointed out. At a press conference at the presidential palace in Baghdad back in late 1981 where I found myself a captive for over four long hours the Iraqi president lambasted the Iranians, with whom he was at war (1980-1988), and blasted Israel for the June 1981 sneak air attack on the Osirak nuclear reactor, 128 miles south of the Iraqi capital. Backed by its arsenal of weapons, Iraq invaded neighbouring Kuwait in August 1990 when its short-lived seven-month occupation ended as a US-led coalition ousted the Iraqis who had defied a Security Council resolution calling for troop withdrawal. When a US-led coalition invaded Iraq and ousted Saddam Hussein from power in March 2003, the Bush administration transformed Iraq into one of the biggest US arms markets in the Middle East, ranking behind Saudi Arabia, Israel and Egypt. The US arms included sophisticated jet fighters, combat helicopters, air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles, warships, battle tanks, howitzers, and armoured personnel carriers, along with military assistancelargely under a bilateral Strategic Framework Agreement. The Wall Street Journal reported last month that Iraq was considering purchasing a Russian air defence system perhaps to spite the US following a demand by the Iraqi parliament that US troops, numbering over 5,200, leave Iraq. The Trump administration has refused to concede to the demand, prompting Iraq to accuse the US of violating sovereign territory and perhaps the UN charterlargely triggered by the drone-killing of Major General Qassim Suleimani, the commander of Irans Quds Force, inside Iraqi territory. Conscious of American assistance to fight the insurgent group ISIS, one Iraqi official told the New York Times last month: We dont want Americans to leave. We want American troops to leave. Dr. Natalie J. Goldring, Senior Fellow and Adjunct Full Professor with the Security Studies Programme in the Edmund A Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, told IPS its logical for the Iraqi government to play off the United States against other Iraqi weapons suppliers. She said the US and Russia are engaged in an arms race in the Middle East. In stoking violence in the region, the US government is also creating future markets for US arms manufacturers. Instead, the US government should be working to reduce conflict and weapons transfers to this volatile region. She said the United States continues to dominate the global arms trade, accounting for 36 percent of the global trade in major conventional weapons from 2014-2018, according to SIPRI Since 2005, the US State Department has approved more than $22 billion worth of Foreign Military Sales (FMS) to Iraq, mostly government-to-government transfers of military systems and equipment using their own national funds. The US weapons to Iraq included 46 M1A1 battle tanks, 36 F-16 fighter aircraft, 24 IA407 helicopters, 9 C-130 cargo aircraft, F-16 munitions package (including Paveway tail kits, AIM-9M Sidewinder missiles, and AGM-65 Maverick missiles) and Contractor Logistics Support (CLS) packages for various air and ground platforms, according to the State Department. Wezeman told IPS a bigger change occurred beginning 2012, when Iraq started to supplement US weapons with advanced new Russian equipment. The Iraqis acquired 19 Mi-28 combat helicopters (the first country to receive this model after Russia itself) instead of US AH-64s and further Mi-35 combat helicopters and Pantsyr-S1 SAM systems (air defence system). Around 2015, he said, Iraq also ordered a reported 300 BMP-3 tracked armoured vehicles and 73 T-90S tanks, several batches of both types have been delivered since. Recently, he said, there have been reports that Russia has been offering its long-range S-400 SAM system. It remains unclear if this is just Russia offering the system or if there is serious interest in Iraq to acquire it, said Wezeman. To operate Russian and US equipment side by side may not be the best solution from a logistical and training perspective, but despite that Iraq has opted to do so anyway. The major reason for that choice is likely to be related decreasing reliance on the US, an objective that may increase after the killing of Iranian General Suleimani in Iraq, and possibly lower prices for the Russian equipment. Operating both Russian and US equipment is not unique for Iraq either. India has been operating Russian (Soviet) and European weapons since the 1960s and over the past decade it has increasingly added US weapons to the mix too. Jordan has operated US and Soviet SAM systems side by side since the 1980s. NATO member Greece bought Russian SAM systems around 2000 and NATO member Turkey bought Russian SAM systems last year. So, it has been done and can thus be considered possible. Which is one more reason for the US to worry about it, he pointed out. Dr Goldring told IPS that when the Iraqi parliament recently voted to remove all foreign troops from Iraqi soil, the Trump administration publicly dismissed the vote. President Trump continues to engage in a dangerous fallacy that the United States gets to make the last move in international security issues. Although this resolution wasnt binding, it suggests the extent of Iraqi anger with the US governments decision to violate Iraqi sovereignty by assassinating Iranian General Suleimani on Iraqi soil. She said President Trump acts like a bully, both internationally and domestically. He ignores laws that he finds objectionable and acts as if the US government gets to do whatever it wants wherever it wants. If the Iraqi government implements this resolution, in addition to removing ground forces, the US would be barred from using Iraqi airspace for overflights, among other restrictions, said Dr Goldring, who is Visiting Professor of the Practice in the Duke University Washington DC programme and also represents the Acronym Institute at the United Nations on conventional weapons and arms trade issues. (Thalif Deen is a former Director, Foreign Military Markets at Defence Marketing Services (DMS); Senior Defence Analyst at Forecast International; and military editor Middle East/ Africa at Janes Information Group) General Secretary of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia says President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Thursday, February 20, 2020, delivered the State of Nation address of a different country other than Ghana. According to him during the delivery, he was convinced that the President was living in another country and talked about their state other than the country he governs, as everything he said is completely different from the reality. Speaking on Okay FMs 'Ade Akye Abia' Morning Show, General Mosquito as he is popularly known wondered why President Akufo-Addo could look in the face of Ghanaians to say that the country is in a good shape and doing well in a competent hand. Akufo-Addo has looked into the face of God and Ghanaians and said that Ghana is working effectively. What came to my mind is that maybe the President is living in a different country and he is talking about them, and the rest of us are living in Ghana . . . because all the things he said about the nation, I see it that he is describing another country and not this Ghana we live in," he said. He charged the media to engage the public to solicit their opinions regarding the State of the Nation which President Akufo-Addo talked about on the floor of Parliament. He said he believes that the majority of Ghanaians share the same view with him that the President described another country. I also believe that if you should go out to ask people to tell you if they believe that the President was addressing the state of Ghana, majority of Ghanaians will tell you that the President was addressing another country and not Ghana, he asserted. He maintained that all the things the President claimed to be the case are contrary to the reality, thus, it is painful to hear the President say that the NHIS is working effectively when the service providers have threatened to withdraw their services and start the Cash and Carry System again by the end of this month if the government fails to pay their one-year arrears. He was of the view that President Akufo-Addo should have been truthful to Ghanaians about the difficulties and hardships the country is experiencing in order to win the sympathy of the citizens to stand by the government than to anger them with a false address. The Minority in Parliament on Thursday dramatically boycotted this years State of the Nation Address [SoNA] without giving any tangible reason. The Minority organized a press conference addressed by the Minority Leader, Hon. Haruna Iddrisu in Parliament to explain their action. According to them since becoming President of our republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has conducted the affairs of state with the kind of "tyranny, despotism and authoritarianism" that frightens many objective observers. 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. Featured Video Class 10 student throws acid from beaker at three girls outside science lab in Himachal Pradesh India oi-Madhuri Adnal Hamirpur (HP), Feb 22: A class 10 student allegedly threw acid on his four schoolmates, three of them girls, leaving them injured in Himachal Pradesh's Hamirpur district on Saturday, police said. The incident took place in the evening at a school in Utpur, they said. Three class 10 girl students and a boy of class 9 suffered minor burns, police said, adding the attacker fled the spot after the incident. The school was open in the evening as annual practical examinations were being held. According to the class 9 student who was injured, his senior came out of the science lab just before the school was about to be closed and threw acid on him from a beaker. He said he was sitting with three girls outside the class room at the time of the incident and some acid also fell on the faces of the girls who soon complained of a burning sensation. Hamirpur SP Arjit Sen Thakur said a police party was rushed to the spot to investigate the incident. Acid attack on minor rape victim in UP's Hapur No formal complaint has been lodged with the police so far but they are acting on the basis of reports circulating on the social media, he added. Four students suffered minor burns and were given treatment at a local clinic and then sent back to their homes, the SP said. The school principal confirmed the attack but refused to divulge any further details. Insiders in the education department said dilute hydrochloric acid (HCL) kept in the laboratory might have been used in the attack. It could have been more damaging had the attacker thrown concentrated acid on the schoolmates, they said. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, February 23, 2020, 10:38 [IST] Before prima ballerina Amanda Rohr takes the stage at Popejoy on Saturday, Feb. 29, shell darn the edges of her toe shoes to make sure they stay intact. I make sure I have at least two pairs, the New Mexico Ballet dancer said. Popejoys stage is really hard. Rohr will dance the role of Alice in Alice in Wonderland to the music of Prokofiev, Glazunov and Smetana performed by the New Mexico Philharmonic. She practically grew up in toe shoes. Rohr began dancing with her sister at the age of 3 when she was living in Wenatchee, Washington. At first, it was just a fun activity. When she turned 5, her mother took her to see Swan Lake. I fell in love with it, Rohr said. It was the grace and beauty of it and the work it took to make it look so effortless. By the fifth grade, she was studying with the San Diego Ballet Academy in the style of the legendary choreographer George Balanchine. After being invited to New York for the Youth American Grand Prix ballet competition, Rohr began her professional career with Ballet Idaho. She came to Albuquerque in late 2013 to be with her now-husband, and quickly signed with the New Mexico Ballet. Since then, Rohr has danced the role of Swanhilda in Coppelia, Princess Jasmine in Aladdin and the Magic Lamp, the Sugarplum Fairy in The Nutcracker and solo roles in Balanchines Serenade. I still love performing, Rohr said. You get nervous, but theres nothing quite like getting to be on stage. Alice in Wonderland follows Lewis Carrolls classic closely, she said. The ballet opens with Alice playing in a field when her sister asks for her help with her lessons. Alice falls asleep and follows the rabbit down the rabbit hole and thats where she meets all the characters, Rohr said. Albuquerque will get to leap down the same hole on Leap Day. In the 1955 photo that gave new life to the American Civil Rights movement, 14-year-old Emmett Till is lying in his casket, his face grossly swollen and bruised, teeth missing, one ear detached. He looks nothing like the round-faced boy who liked to dress up and had dreams of becoming a police officer. No one can see the teenager who loved to make jokes, regularly attended church with his mother and who covered his stutter by doing impressions of his favorite comedic duo, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. Tills life and brutal murder and his mothers love and brave decision to share her grief with the world are at the center of Till, a musical interpretation of the familys story, presented by American Theater Group at South Oranges Church of St. Andrew & Holy Communion through March 8. We want to honor Emmetts memory and Mamies love and the preciousness the black community feels for Emmett while also letting white audiences know that this still goes on, said composer Leo Schwartz, who co-wrote the show with DC Cathro. This is not just for him, but for anyone like him cut down in hate, killed because of who they are. This is still happening. I want people to walk out of this show and never see the issue of color the same way again. In the summer of 1955, Till traveled from his native Chicago to Money, Mississippi to spend time with extended family. There a white woman working in a grocery alleged the African American teenager had touched her, propositioned her and wolf-whistled after he left the store. The womans husband and his half-brother then kidnapped Till from his uncles home, beat him, shot him and tied a 75-pound fan around his neck with barbed wire before tossing him into the Tallahatchie River. His body was found there three days later. Mississippi authorities wanted to bury Till immediately, but his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, insisted he be returned to Chicago. She then held an open casket funeral for her son, adamant that the world see the horrors inflicted upon him and witness her devastation. More than 50,000 people attended Tills funeral, and countless others saw images from it published in Jet magazine. Later that year, two white men were arrested and tried for Tills murder. The all-white, all-male jury acquitted them after an hour of deliberations. The men later admitted the crime in a national magazine interview. Tills impact on the Civil Rights movement is undeniable: Less than four months after his murder, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on an Alabama bus. Jesse Jackson said Parks told him she was going to give up her seat, but then she thought of Till and didnt. On Aug. 28, 1963, exactly eight years after Tills murder, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his I Have a Dream" speech during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. King had previously referenced Till, speaking about the racial injustice in the crying voice of little Emmett C. Till screaming from the rushing waters in Mississippi. While he did not mention Tills name in this address, he did repeat the word until as he issued a call for action with lines including, We will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream. Until, til, Till. Schwartz and co-creator DC Cathro premiered an earlier version of Till at the New York Music Festival in July 2019. A reviewer for The New York Times said it was the best of the four productions shed seen, praising the story that blows the dust of history off a tragedy and brings a martyr to exuberant, mischievous, complicated life. After opening night, a friend came to me and said, I dont know if you were aware of this, but at one moment the entire audience stopped breathing and then all together they sucked in air, said Schwartz, whose recent work includes The Book of Merman and HONOR. That said, he promised that the production was also uplifting. I dont want anyone to sit in the theater for 90 minutes and feel totally beat up without a sense of hope. The hope comes from those in the production who suffer the most: Till and his mother. After a preview for Texas teenagers, many in the audience told Cathro, We knew the story, but now hes a real person. We want the audience to get to know Emmett and fall in love with him the way people did in real life, Cathro said. He was one of those kids that would light up a room. When James Vagias, American Theater Groups executive producer, saw the New York Music Festival was premiering a musical version of this tragic story, his first thought was, I hope they get it right. They more than got it right, he said. It really does resonate in 2020 as it did in 1955. To further that resonance, American Theater Group is also offering a post-show discussion March 5 featuring Tills cousin, Rev. Wheeler Parker, Jr., the last living witness to the events of Aug. 28, 1955. It is also producing the show in an unusual venue: South Oranges Church of St. Andrew & Holy Communion, an Episcopal congregation founded in 1859. Till both starts and ends in church settings. It really is about faith, community and family, and thats what a church is, director Cezar Williams said. When I heard it would be in a church, I joked that that that would do 75% of our work for us. Then I saw this beautiful building and upped that to 90%. Williams, who is African American and has two daughters, said he related to the challenges Mamie Till-Mobley faced trying to raise a child and keep him safe in a divided nation. He told Schwartz about having the talk with your children in which you detail how they must be careful about how they behave in public because to step out of bounds in even the most minor way could be life-ending. Its one of the most heart-wrenching moments of being a black parent, Williams said. You have to steal your childs innocence and tell them that people are going to assume the worst about them without knowing them at all. Yet he sees hope in the Till familys story. I think in the timeless battle between love and fear, because thats what this really is, love ultimately wins, Williams said. What happened to this child was wrong, but this mother, in the face of the unimaginable, chose to do something that would bring the country together. TILL presented by American Theater Group Church of St. Andrew & Holy Communion, 160 S. Orange Ave., South Orange. Tickets: $42, available online at https://www.brownpapertickets.com. Feb. 27 March 8. 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. By Chris Prentice, Pete Schroeder and Imani Moise WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Wells Fargo & Co has agreed to pay $3 billion to resolve criminal and civil probes into fraudulent sales practices and has admitted to pressuring employees in a fake-accounts scandal, U.S. officials said on Friday, wrapping up one of the last major investigations looming over the bank. Wells Fargo will pay the penalties to the U.S. Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission and enter into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement during which the San Francisco-based bank will continue to cooperate with any ongoing government investigations, Justice Department officials said. As part of the deal, Wells Fargo admitted that between 2002 and 2016 it pressured employees to meet "unrealistic sales goals that led thousands of employees to provide millions of accounts or products to customers under false pretenses or without consent, often by creating false records or misusing customers' identities," the department said in a statement. In a statement, Charles Scharf, Wells Fargo's new chief executive, described the past conduct as "reprehensible." Wells Fargo is the fourth-largest U.S. lender. "This case illustrates a complete failure of leadership at multiple levels within the bank. Simply put, Wells Fargo traded its hard-earned reputation for short-term profits, and harmed untold numbers of customers along the way," Nick Hanna, U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, said in a statement. Top managers within Wells Fargo's Community Bank division were aware of the "unlawful and unethical" practices as early as 2002, and many of the practices were referred to as "gaming" within the bank, the Justice Department said. The agreement resolves the civil and criminal liability regarding Wells Fargo's fake-accounts scandal. About $500 million of the penalties will go to the SEC to be distributed to investors to settle charges that the bank committed fraud by misleading investors about its sales practices, an SEC official said on a call with reporters about the resolutions settlement. Settling the multi-agency investigation marked an important milestone for Scharf, who joined the company from BNY Mellon in September shortly after the third anniversary of the scandal. Story continues "We are committing all necessary resources to ensure that nothing like this happens again, while also driving Wells Fargo forward," Scharf said. 'GHOST IN A MACHINE' Watchdog group Public Citizen criticized the deal, saying it does not go far enough. "Any resolution for Wells Fargo's massive, management-directed misconduct must hold individuals to account. We know many of the crimes, and we know that real executives, not some ghost in a machine, committed them," said Bartlett Naylor, a financial policy advocate with the Washington-based group. The deal does not preclude civil or criminal charges against individuals, Justice Department officials told reporters. U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, who is seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican President Donald Trump in the Nov. 3 election, wrote on Twitter, "This is a small step in the right direction, but it's not a substitute for holding senior executives individually accountable - and bringing criminal charges against them if the evidence justifies it." The probe examined activities in Wells Fargo's community bank unit, with Justice Department citing pressure coming from the division's leadership. In a rare move last month, a U.S. bank regulator charged several former Wells Fargo executives for their roles in the scandal. That included a settlement with former CEO John Stumpf and civil charges against Carrie Tolstedt, former head of the community bank unit. "Ms. Tolstedt acted appropriately and in good faith at all times, and the effort to scapegoat her is both unfair and unfounded," her lawyer Enu Mainigi said on Friday. The Justice Department inquiry was seen by analysts and investors as a key hurdle the bank had to clear before it could focus on its growth strategy, which includes convincing the Federal Reserve to remove an unprecedented growth restriction placed on Wells Fargo's balance sheet until it proves it has fixed its risk management and controls. Wells Fargo had already paid out more than $4 billion in fines and penalties related to the scandal since 2016. Internal and external probes have uncovered issues in each of Wells Fargo's major business lines, including wealth management and the commercial bank. The U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee is scheduled to hold three hearings on Wells Fargo's conduct next month. Over the past three years, Wells Fargo has taken various steps to fix its issues and rebuild trust with customers, investors and regulators. They include changes to its board, centralizing risk teams and hiring an external chief executive. However, ongoing reputation issues and unresolved legal matters have weighed on the bank's stock price and profitability, which have lagged peers since 2016. (Reporting by Chris Prentice and Pete Schroeder in Washington and Imani Moise and Karen Freifeld in New York; Editing by Will Dunham) Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-23 21:29:51|Editor: yhy Video Player Close Kazakh infection specialist Saule Atygaeva (C) as well as other medical staff from the infection department of a designated quarantine hospital express support for their Chinese counterparts in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, Feb. 20, 2020. Kazakh medical staff working on the frontline of novel coronavirus prevention work have expressed support for their Chinese counterparts in the fight against the epidemic. "Chinese medical workers have shown the world great strength and confidence through their work," said Saule Atygaeva, an infection specialist working on a designated quarantine hospital in Nur-Sultan where Kazakhs recently back from China are put in quarantine. (Photo by Kalizhan Ospanov/Xinhua) Navy's MiG-29K fighter jet crashes in Goa during routine training, pilot ejects safely India oi-Madhuri Adnal New Delhi, Feb 23: Indian Navy's MiG-29K aircraft crashed in Goa on Sunday while on a routine training sortie. The pilot was able to eject himself safely and has been rescued. The crash took place at 10:30 AM. "Today at around 1030 hours a MiG-29K aircraft, on a routine training sortie, crashed in Goa. The pilot of the aircraft ejected safely and has been recovered. An enquiry to investigate the incident has been ordered," Indian Navy, quoted by ANI, said. MiG-29K trainer aircraft crashes in Goa; Both pilots eject safely Meanwhile, an enquiry to investigate the incident has been ordered. NEWS AT NOON FEB 23rd, 2020 This comes three months after another MiG-29K fighter jet of the Indian Navy crashed outside a village in Goa in November 2019. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, February 23, 2020, 13:20 [IST] Film producer Harvey Weinstein leaves at New York Criminal Court for his sexual assault trial in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., Feb. 21, 2020. Reuters One name that keeps coming up in deliberations at Harvey Weinstein's rape trial _ Annabella Sciorra _ was front and center again Friday as jurors started their fourth day without a verdict by listening to a reading of a large chunk of her testimony. Before going home the day before, the Manhattan jury had sent the judge a note saying it wanted to review the cross-examination of the ''Sopranos'' actress and any follow-up questioning by prosecutors.About 90 minutes into the reading, the jurors notified the judge they had ''heard enough'' and resumed their deliberations. The jury has already focused on emails that Weinstein sent regarding Sciorra, including ones to the private Israeli spy agency he allegedly enlisted to dig up dirt on would-be accusers as reporters were working on stories about allegations against him in 2017. Sciorra, now 59, was the first accuser to testify and took the witness stand nearly a month ago, telling jurors how the once-powerful movie mogul showed up unexpectedly at the door of her Manhattan apartment before barging in and raping and forcibly performing oral sex on her in late 1993 or early 1994. On cross-examination, Sciorra was grilled about why she opened her door in the first place and didn't find a way to escape if she was under attack. Weinstein lawyer Donna Rotunno asked: ''Why didn't you try to run out of the apartment? Did you scratch him? Try to poke him in the eyes?'' Prosecutors say Sciorra weighed only about 110 pounds in those days, making her no match for the 300-pound Weinstein. ''He was too big'' to fight off, she told the jury. ''He was frightening.'' Weinstein, 67, is charged with five counts stemming from the allegations of Sciorra and two other women _ an aspiring actress who says he raped her in March 2013 and a former film and TV production assistant, Mimi Haleyi, who says he forcibly performed oral sex on her in March 2006. Sciorra's accusations are key to the most serious charges that jurors are weighing in the closely watched (hash)MeToo case _ two counts of predatory sexual assault, which carry a maximum penalty of life in prison. The charge requires prosecutors to show that a defendant committed a prior rape or other sex crime, but doesn't have the statue of limitation constraints that would bar her allegations from consideration on their own. Weinstein has maintained any sexual encounters were consensual. The Associated Press has a policy of not publishing the names of people who allege sexual assault without their consent. It is withholding the name of the 2013 rape accuser because it isn't clear whether she wishes to be identified publicly. Sciorra went public in a story in The New Yorker in October 2017 after one of the few people she says she told about the incident, actress Rosie Perez, got word to reporter Ronan Farrow that he should call her. Sciorra didn't get involved in the criminal case until later. Her allegations weren't part of the original indictment when Weinstein was arrested in May 2018, but after some legal shuffling they were included in an updated one last August. Weinstein's lawyers fought to get her nixed from the case in the run-up to the trial, arguing to no avail that prosecutors shouldn't be allowed to use her claims because they predated the enactment of the predatory sexual assault charge in 2006. Weinstein's lawyers have also argued that it's plainly unfair to make the producer defend himself against something alleged to have happened more than a quarter-century ago. They contend prosecutors shoehorned Sciorra into the case to get a marquee name on the witness stand. ''Annabella was brought into this case for one reason and one reason only,'' Rotunno said in her closing argument last week. ''She was brought in so there would be one witness who had some star power, one witness you may recognize and one witness whose name may mean something.'' (AP) Body image activist Honey Ross has revealed men frequently slide into her DMs and try to chat her up, but would never publicly admit to being attracted to her because she's 'fat'. Writing in The Sunday Times Style magazine, the daughter of British TV presenter Jonathan Ross, 59, from London, reflected on how she navigates dating as a plus size woman, claiming she has often been 'oversexualised' or 'desexualised' by men. She explained that many men who message and follow her online would never talk to her in front of their friends because of her size, even if they were complimentary in private messages - branding their desire for larger bodies 'their dirty secret'. Honey wrote about the unspoken pressure to lose weight that she felt for a long time, but she now believes her curves are her secret power to sort the good men from the bad - adding she is now 'punching higher than she used to' when looking for a partner. Honey Ross, 22, the daughter of Jonathan Ross, revealed men frequently try to chat her up in private messages, but would never publicly admit to being attracted to her because she's 'fat' Honey, pictured, is a producer and activist who said she's had to deal with people's sexual comments since she started dating 'Whether it's swiping right or sliding into my Instagram DMs, I get a lot of sexual attention,' she wrote. 'Strangers and mutuals alike are privately trying to get my attention. But note the word "privately": most of these men who message and follow me would never publicly like or comment on my pictures. 'Their desire for fat bodies is their dirty secret, hidden in inboxes across the world.' She added that in a real-life situation, none of these men would be talking to her in front of their friends. The activist explained that larger women are often either desexualised or oversexualised by society The activist and producer explained that has often been oversexualised by men 'to the point of fetish' and faced 'violently sexual opening lines', including 'you're edible' and 'I'm skinning you'. She also wrote that fellow larger women have gone through similar experiences, and that plus-size women dating have to juggle the opinion they have of themselves as well as their partner's and society's opinion. Honey wrote that during dates she was often 'reduced to her frame' when men spoke about her, with various companions proclaiming they prefer to date larger women and don't find thin women attractive. Honey said she felt a form of 'unspoken pressure' to lose weight in order to bag a date but added her frame is a superpower allowing her to sort the good men from the bad ones Honey also added that plus-size women juggle their own opinion of themselves with their partner's and society's opinions She explained that her dating profile use to read 'fatter in person' as a self-deprecating joke, and realised recently that other people had been doing the same as a kind of 'warning' to fellow app users. Honey has since stopped doing that and urged other plus size women to do the same as it makes being a larger woman sound like something negative. Honey added that, being friends with predominantly thin women, she used to struggle with seeing the nice responses they would get online compared to what people said about her. Real: Honey Ross has made quite the name for herself with her activism and garnered attention at the VIN + OMI London Fashion Week show on Friday She admitted her thin pals were 'horrified' when they found out the sheer volume of unpleasant messages Honey receives. She concluded by revealing she has given herself permission to no longer settles for 'dehumanising crumbs' and instead to ask for me - and she's received it. Last week Honey garnered attention at the VIN + OMI London Fashion Week show, making her runway debut in quirky attire. Honey donned a pink mini dress that hugged her curves, the bold dress featured a ruffled collar and capped sleeves and had the word 'REAL' down the front. A photo of an Ira Hayes monument in Sacaton on Feb. 22, 2020. PHOENIX Growing up on the Gila River Indian Community south of Phoenix, Brian Alphus Jr. is familiar with the story of Ira Hayes. The two are similar in many ways they're both Native Americans from the same Pima reservation. And like Hayes, Alphus plans to enlist this summer in the U.S. Marine Corps at the age of 19. Hayes went on to worldwide fame, captured in the Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph of six U.S. Marines raising an American flag over Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II. He was the one at the far left reaching for the flagpole. His heroics occurred 75 years ago this week, but they still resonate today. U.S. Marines of the 28th Regiment, 5th Division, raise the American flag atop Mt. Suribachi, Iwo Jima, on Feb. 23, 1945. Strategically located only 660 miles from Tokyo, the Pacific island became the site of one of the bloodiest, most famous battles of World War II against Japan. "Ira was an idol to the community, a hero and a role model," said Alphus, who added that he didn't have "a father role model" in his life and veterans like Hayes help fill the gap. 75th anniversary: Here are the most iconic pictures from the Battle of Iwo Jima Many of the Gila River Indian Community members spoke of Hayes' legacy Saturday during a military parade near the Veterans Memorial Park on the Gila River Indian Community 40 miles southeast of Phoenix. Several hundred people from near and far attended the celebration, which was held in honor of the 75th anniversary of the flag-raising. To Valerie Fagerberg, Hayes' story was one of resilience because, in addition to surviving the war, he had to battle post-traumatic stress and survivor's guilt during a time when there weren't many resources available for veterans. Fagerberg is a resource navigator for the community's veteran and family services office. "For him to go through what he was put through and for this community to come together and honor him, as a tribal member, makes me very proud," she said. A photo of one of Ira Hayes' dog tags on Feb. 22, 2020. Hayes was born in 1923 in Sacaton, Arizona. In 1942, he enlisted in the Marine Corps and fought in the Solomon Islands at Vella Lavella, the Bougainville Campaign and Iwo Jima, among other places. Hayes earned the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with a Combat V and Combat Action Ribbon. Story continues When he came back, he was hailed as a hero and even played himself in the 1949 Hollywood film "The Sands of Iwo Jima," starring John Wayne. But life ended tragically. His experiences in the war left him with feelings of depression and isolation and what today would be considered post-traumatic stress disorder. On the night of Jan. 24, 1955, the 33-year-old became intoxicated during a poker game and fell in a drainage ditch, where he died of exposure. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, not far from the Iwo Jima Memorial. Wayne Allison's great grandmother, Emma Whittaker, and Hayes' mother, Nancy Whittaker Hayes, were sisters. "It means a lot to us, the family, knowing that there was a Native American who raised the flag (and) became symbolic of America," he said, adding that he didn't understand the gravity of his family's history until he became an adult. Now, Allison represents the family at various events across the country, including on Saturday in Sacaton. There, he displayed one of Hayes' military dog tags. Hayes was buried with the other. More than 30 years ago, Gila River Indian Community members Lancelot and Shirley Lewis began creating a monument of Hayes at the Veterans Memorial Park with help from Oscar Urrea, a sculptor. Lancelot Lewis stands next to a poster board outlining the creation of an Ira Hayes monument in Sacaton on Feb. 22, 2020. The monument features a stone base, black tile and a bronze relief of the flag-raising. Several stones placed at the top of the monument were requested from Iwo Jima grounds, Lancelot said. Lancelot, a Vietnam veteran, was the commander of the Ira Hayes American Legion Post 84 in Sacaton at the time. Since the creation of the monument in 1988, the community has celebrated Hayes and the flag-raising at Iwo Jima annually at the park, he said. Brian Alphus' mother, Carol Alphus, said she hopes her son can someday be a role model in the the same way Hayes is a role model to him. "I'm very humble and happy in knowing I'm part of him (Hayes) and that we're carrying his memory on and in our hearts." Follow reporter Chelsea Curtis on Twitter @curtis_chels. 'We can't be afraid': Nearly 200 women come to this Ohio church basement to conquer fears and fire guns Clint Eastwood on 2020 election: 'The best thing we could do is just get Mike Bloomberg in there' This article originally appeared on The Republic | azcentral.com: Iwo Jima anniversary: Flag-raiser Ira Hayes inspires 75 years later BOSTON Did an artificial intelligence system beat human doctors in warning the world of a severe coronavirus outbreak in China? In a narrow sense, yes. But what the humans lacked in sheer speed, they more than made up in finesse. Early warnings of disease outbreaks can help people and governments save lives. In the final days of 2019, an AI system in Boston sent out the first global alert about a new viral outbreak in China. But it took human intelligence to recognize the significance of the outbreak and then awaken response from the public health community. Whats more, the mere mortals produced a similar alert only a half-hour behind the AI systems. For now, AI-powered disease-alert systems can still resemble car alarms easily triggered and sometimes ignored. A network of medical experts and sleuths must still do the hard work of sifting through rumors to piece together the fuller picture. Its difficult to say what future AI systems, powered by ever larger datasets on outbreaks, may be able to accomplish. The first public alert outside China about the novel coronavirus came on Dec. 30 from the automated HealthMap system at Boston Childrens Hospital. At 11:12 p.m. local time, HealthMap sent an alert about unidentified pneumonia cases in the Chinese city of Wuhan. The system, which scans online news and social media reports, ranked the alerts seriousness as only 3 out of 5. It took days for HealthMap researchers to recognize its importance. Four hours before the HealthMap notice, New York epidemiologist Marjorie Pollack had already started working on her own public alert, spurred by a growing sense of dread after reading a personal email she received that evening. This is being passed around the internet here, wrote her contact, who linked to a post on the Chinese social media forum Pincong. The post discussed a Wuhan health agency notice and read in part: Unexplained pneumonia??? Pollack, deputy editor of the volunteer-led Program for Monitoring Emerging Diseases, known as ProMed, quickly mobilized a team to look into it. ProMeds more detailed report went out about 30 minutes after the terse HealthMap alert. Early warning systems that scan social media, online news articles and government reports for signs of infectious disease outbreaks help inform global agencies such as the World Health Organization giving international experts a head start when local bureaucratic hurdles and language barriers might otherwise get in the way. Some systems, including ProMed, rely on human expertise. Others are partly or completely automated. These tools can help hold feet to the fire for government agencies, said John Brownstein, who runs the HealthMap system as chief innovation officer at Boston Childrens Hospital. It forces people to be more open. The last 48 hours of 2019 were a critical time for understanding the new virus and its significance. Earlier on Dec. 30, Wuhan Central Hospital doctor Li Wenliang warned his former classmates about the virus in a social media group a move that led local authorities to summon him for questioning several hours later. Li, who died Feb. 7 after contracting the virus, told the New York Times that it would have been better if officials had disclosed information about the epidemic earlier. There should be more openness and transparency, he said. ProMed reports are often incorporated into other outbreak warning systems. including those run by the World Health Organization, the Canadian government and the Toronto startup BlueDot. WHO also pools data from HealthMap and other sources. Computer systems that scan online reports for information about disease outbreaks rely on natural language processing, the same branch of artificial intelligence that helps answer questions posed to a search engine or digital voice assistant. But the algorithms can only be as effective as the data they are scouring, said Nita Madhav, CEO of San Francisco disease monitoring firm Metabiota, which first notified its clients about the outbreak in early January. Madhav said that inconsistency in how different agencies report medical data can stymie algorithms. The text-scanning programs extract keywords from online text, but may fumble when organizations variously report new virus cases, cumulative virus cases, or new cases in a given time interval. The potential for confusion means theres almost always still a person involved in reviewing the data. Theres still a bit of human in the loop, Madhav said. Andrew Beam, a Harvard University epidemiologist, said that scanning online reports for key words can help reveal trends, but the accuracy depends on the quality of the data. He also notes that these techniques arent so novel. There is an art to intelligently scraping websites, Beam said. But its also Googles core technology since the 1990s. Google itself started its own Flu Trends service to detect outbreaks in 2008 by looking for patterns in search queries about flu symptoms. Experts criticized it for overestimating flu prevalence. Google shut down the website in 2015 and handed its technology to nonprofit organizations such as HealthMap to use Google data to build their own models. Google is now working with Brownsteins team on a similar web-based approach for tracking the geographical spread of tick-borne Lyme disease. Scientists are also using big data to model possible routes of early disease transmission. In early January, Isaac Bogoch, an infectious disease physician and researcher at Toronto General Hospital, analyzed commercial flight data with BlueDot founder Kamran Khan to see which cities outside mainland China were most connected to Wuhan. Wuhan stopped outbound commercial air travel in late January but not before an estimated 5 million people had fled the city, as the Wuhan mayor later told reporters. We showed that the highest volume of flights from Wuhan were to Thailand, Japan, and Hong Kong, Bogoch said. Lo and behold, a few days later we started to see cases pop up in these places. In 2016, the researchers used a similar approach to predict the spread of the Zika virus from Brazil to southern Florida. Now that many governments have launched aggressive measures to curb disease transmission, its harder to build algorithms to predict whats next, Bogoch said. Artificial intelligence systems depend on vast amounts of prior data to train computers how to interpret new facts. But there are no close parallels to the way China is enforcing quarantine zones that impact hundreds of millions of people. Matt OBrien and Christina Larson are Associated Press writers. Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Sunday termed the scheduled visit of US First Lady Melania Trump to a government school in the capital as 'a matter of great pride' for the state government, teachers, and students. "It is a matter of great pride for the Delhi government, teachers, and students that US First Lady is visiting a state government school. It is a big appreciation for us that the work of AAP government in the sector, especially 'Happiness Classes', is being recognised in the world," said Sisodia while speaking to ANI. The names of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Sisodia, also the city government's Minister, were dropped from the school event where Melania Trump is scheduled to visit on February 25. However, Sisodia expressed willingness to personally receive the First Lady along with Kejriwal and brief her about Hapinness Classes and its positive impact. "Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and I would have loved to personally receive the First Lady in Delhi government school and brief her about the concept of Happiness Classes and the positive impact that it has on students during her visit to classrooms," he said. The Deputy Chief Minister informed that certain concerns were expressed by the US Embassy regarding Kejriwal accompanying the First Lady during the school visit. "Certain concerns were expressed by the US Embassy regarding Kejriwal and I accompanying the First Lady during the school visit. We respect the same. We welcome the First Lady wholeheartedly and will do our best to facilitate the tour," he said. US President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will be in India on a two-day visit on February 24-25. Melania after reaching the Hyderabad House here on February 25 will visit a Delhi government school in Moti Bagh to meet the school children. The school is getting ready to welcome the US First Lady. The school, which is situated in the residential area of Moti Bagh, will have massive security arrangements as well. Multi-layered security will be provided to her apart from the security cover of the US agencies. After meeting kids, she is expected to attend 'Happiness Classes' started by the Delhi government. As a part of the programme, students are taught various activities including meditation, street plays, basic obedience aimed at reducing anxiety and stress levels among children. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In line with its 125th Anniversary, Sun Life Philippines, through its philanthropic arm Sun Life Financial Philippines Foundation Inc., reiterates its commitment to give back to the country that has been its home since 1895. As part of its financial literacy advocacy, Sun Life Foundation recently launched Sun Pera-Aralan, a financial management program that will enable teachers to properly budget their finances. The program, mounted in partnership with the Department of Education, aims to benefit 125,000 public school teachers nationwide by empowering them to go from financial awareness to action. Meanwhile, amid the recent activity of the Taal Volcano, Sun Life Foundation has also allocated 2 million for relief efforts for affected families. Further efforts are being coordinated between the Sun Life Foundation and the Philippine Red Cross on how else Sun Life may assist in providing aid for those stricken by the calamity. These initiatives are on top of Sun Life Foundations regular projects founded upon its core pillars: Financial Literacy, Education, Health, Environment and Arts and Culture. The Sun Life community is one in providing the help needed in times like this. This is our way of giving back to the country that has been our home for 125 years, says Sun Life chief executive officer and country head Benedict Sison, who is also the chairman of the Sun Life Foundation. Through sustainable programs and relevant forms of assistance, we aim to stay true to our promise of being the Filipinos partner in their pursuit of a brighter life not just in the present, but even beyond lifetimes. For updates on Sun Lifes 125th anniversary celebration, visit sunlife.com.ph and follow @SunLifePH on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. SPONSORED CONTENT Quarantine authorities disinfect Sincheonji church in Daegu. / Yonhap By Kim Se-jeong A religious sect at the center of the increased spread of new coronavirus outbreak in Korea said Sunday it will sincerely collaborate with the authorities fighting to contain COVID-19 (nCoV-2019). "We've been sincerely collaborating with the government and will continue to do so, hoping that the crisis will end soon," said spokesman Simon Kim for the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony, simply called Shincheonji, during a briefing aired on YouTube. "In fact, the church members are also the victims and I want citizens to keep this in mind. We earnestly request people to stop showering us with criticism and hatred." The statement came in response to rising public criticism of the church for failing to assist in government in efforts to contain the spread of the virus. Earlier, local news media reported the church was refusing to share information requested by the government and ordered members to lie about their activities to them. Refuting the criticism, Kim explained the church had offered all the requested information without any delay. In an online petition filed with Cheong Wa Dae, Sunday, an angry citizen wrote, "I call on the government to disband Shincheon on this occasion." The petitioner explained: "The reason for the virus' spread in Daegu and North Gyeongsan Province is because of Sincheonji's unethical dogma and its insincere collaboration with the government." The petition gained more than 200,000 supporters. Last Tuesday, the Shincheonji Church in Daegu became the center of the country's coronavirus epidemic, after a member of the congregation was confirmed to have the COVID-19 (nCoV-2019) although she had never traveled outside Korea and had no record of being exposed to a confirmed patient. She had attended the church twice in Daegu with thousands of other people during the incubation period for COVID-19; and congregants came from neighboring cities and villages in Ulsan and Cheongdo, North Gyeongsang Province. Starting Wednesday, newly confirmed cases appeared among those who attended the services with her. As of Sunday, 329 out of 602 confirmed patients are from the church. Daegu city authorities have been trying unsuccessfully to contact all members of the Daegu church almost 10,000. On Sunday, the city said 1,276 people reported that they had suspected symptoms. Authorities said they were unable to find 670 people and asked police for help in tracing them. Founded here in 1984, the Shincheonji Church has 120,000 members around the world. The church teaches that Lee, the founder, is Jesus Christ returned and only he can interpret the Bible correctly. In Korea, the church is notorious for soliciting money from members and for infiltrating other churches as a strategy to win new converts. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sun, February 23, 2020 10:05 689 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad20660e624 4 National Terawan-Agus-Putranto,COVID-19,coronavirus,outbreak,pharmacy,medication,health-ministry Free Amid the global COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak that has killed more than 2,000 people around the world, Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto says that the disease has opened up new opportunities for local pharmaceutical industries. The outbreak should be an opportunity for us. This is our chance to strengthen ourselves, Terawan said on Friday as quoted by Antara news agency. The minister made the statement as he said he saw China was temporarily unable to produce medicine because of the outbreak. Responding to the situation, Terawan urged citizens to consume modern drugs made out of natural ingredients from Indonesia. Modern medications from Indonesia have a lot of benefits. They have little to no side effects. I think this is a great market potential, the minister said. Read also: Don't panic, stay healthy and pray, says minister in response to coronavirus fears Prior to the outbreak, Indonesia depended on other countries such as China to supply raw materials for medicine production. Almost 90 percent of raw materials used by Indonesian pharmaceutical manufacturers were imported 60 percent of which came from China. Terawan said Indonesia still had enough raw materials to meet the nations medicine needs. The government would also encourage local pharmaceutical companies to find their own supplies of raw materials and reduce their dependency on other countries. To support local pharmaceutical companies, the minister said the Health Ministrys traditional medicine research center would collaborate with other parties to develop medications made using local ingredients. "We still have enough supply," Terawan said. The World Health Organization recorded that COVID-19 had killed 2,247 people around the globe as of Friday, most of whom were patients in mainland China. There have been eight deaths outside mainland China, including two cases in Iran and one each in Japan and South Korea. The United Nations health body has also recorded 76,769 confirmed COVID-19 cases globally. (dpk) CLEVELAND, Ohio As the novel coronavirus, called COVID-19, continues to spread across the globe, Clevelands major hospitals are preparing for potential cases. From screening patients for the virus to protecting medical providers, local health care systems are taking precautions to ensure that if they do get a case of COVID-19, it doesnt spread, as it has in China. Part of preparedness is thinking ahead, said Dr. Amy Ray, medical director of infection prevention at the MetroHealth System. As of Feb. 20, there were more than 75,000 cases reported worldwide and more than 2,100 deaths, most of which are concentrated in China, the epicenter of the outbreak, according to the World Health Organization. The virus has spread to 26 countries, including the U.S., which has 15 reported cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Currently, there are no cases in Ohio of the respiratory illness, which has symptoms similar to the flu fever, cough and shortness of breath. Protecting patients Early identification of patients who are at risk for COVID-19 infection is important, Ray said. MetroHealth staff who schedule urgent appointments in doctors offices are trained to look for patients who are having fever and cough, or fever and shortness of breath, and have traveled in China or been in close contact with someone who traveled there, Ray said. If a patient who may have COVID-19 walks into the MetroHealth emergency department unannounced, health care workers will ask the person to put on a mask, the same as they do with a patient who appears to have the flu, Ray said. Signs hanging in the emergency room urge patients to wear masks and cover coughs. Transmission of COVID-19 from person to person happens after prolonged, direct contact, Ray said. The CDC considers sharing a hospital waiting room with a person who has the virus to be a low-risk situation. At the Cleveland Clinic, the electronic medical records vendor turned on a function that automatically prompts those who are checking in patients or taking calls to ask if patients have traveled to China and are experiencing symptoms such as cough and fever, said Dr. Tom Fraser, vice chairman of infectious disease at the Clinic. University Hospitals staff also screens patients entering the system. If someone is at risk for COVID-19, staff will ask the patient to put on a mask before visiting the doctor, or the patient can be met outside with a mask, said Dr. Elie Saade, medical director for infection control at UH. We are really taking an aggressive approach. Whenever we have a doubt, the slightest doubt, the infection control team will intervene right away to help the providers on the front line, Saade said. Each UH location has at least one dedicated infection preventionist, he said. The Clinic has a multidisciplinary team working on infection prevention. At MetroHealth, patients considered at risk for COVID-19 are directed to the emergency department. There, the patient is handed a mask and immediately placed in a private isolation exam room, which has a ventilation system that pumps the rooms air to the outdoors six times an hour. The air isnt recirculated into the hospital, Ray said. The goal is to isolate the [suspected COVID-19] patient from others to minimize exposure, Ray said. There wouldnt be any need to evacuate the emergency department, she said. At MetroHealths main campus in south Tremont area, officials have set aside a two-bed unit, called the Special Diseases Care Unit, for possible COVID-19 patients. The unit has its own blood lab and an anteroom where health care workers can put on and take off their protective gear. The Infection Prevention Team is looking for other areas of MetroHealth with negative-pressure ventilation systems that could be used to care for COVID-19 patients, Ray said. Portable X-ray and other equipment can be brought to the isolation rooms to minimize the need to move patients through the hospital, limiting the danger of transmission to others. The procedures at MetroHealth, the Clinic and UH are similar. Staff also would limit how many people are entering isolation rooms, Saade said. Environmental services and food delivery would be restricted, and food would be delivered by doctors and nurses, he said. There are requirements for hospitals to have these types of negative-pressure rooms, which typically are housed in emergency departments, Saade said, and hospitals can also use machines to purify the air in other rooms, if theres a need for more capacity. Protecting health care workers At each hospital system, medical personnel wear protective gear that covers their nose, mouth and eyes to examine patients suspected of having COVID-19. That means wearing fitted respirators, a face shield or goggles, gloves and a gown. Keeping health care workers protected and healthy is a priority because they come in contact with so many others, Saade said. A big problem in these big epidemics thankfully, were not there yet is that you dont have enough health care workers to help with people care, he said. The hospitals have adequate supplies of personal protective equipment for medical staff, the doctors said. All staff dealing with patients are prepared to enter a room feeling safe that they can take care of somebody, Fraser said. Depending on the type of exposure a medical provider has with a COVID-19 patient, the staff member will then need to go into isolation, Saade said. A worker who suffered high-risk exposure to the illness, such as being in contact with saliva or mucus from a COVID-19 patient while not wearing protective gear, would spend 14 days in isolation at home, doctors said. Because the treatment for COVID-19 involves ensuring that the patient gets adequate oxygen and fluids, any physician and not only infectious disease doctors can treat these patients, Ray said. She doesnt anticipate a shortage of doctors if there is an outbreak in Northeast Ohio. Dr. David Nguyen, an infectious disease physician at University Hospitals, practices putting on the personal protective equipment that would be needed if there were a patient with the novel coronavirus. (Gus Chan, The Plain Dealer)The Plain Dealer Testing Hospitals cannot test for COVID-19; only the CDC can do that at this point. Each health system is working closely with local and state health departments and the CDC. Doctors or nurses at area hospitals take test swabs from suspected COVID-19 patients and ship them to CDC headquarters in Atlanta, using biosafety protocols for shipping, Ray said. Public health departments are responsible for following up with the patients family and friends and other contacts. It takes about a week to get test results back from the CDC. Suspected COVID-19 patients who are in stable condition and dont need hospital care are quarantined at home, Ray said. Public health workers monitor the patient via phone or Skype. The patient would need fluids and rest to recover. If the suspected COVID-19 patient has other health conditions that make coronavirus dangerous, such as diabetes or heart disease, he or she will be admitted to the hospital, Ray said. Saade estimates there are least 60 respirators, which are used to help patients breathe, at UH Cleveland Medical Center alone. A Clinic spokesperson didnt give an exact number but said the system is well supplied. Ray declined to state the number of respirators at MetroHealth. While its ideal to isolate all patients in the hospital, if there were a COVID-19 outbreak, those with lesser symptoms would need to self-quarantine at home, Saade said. If we have just a few people, we can isolate them, he said. Thats not something that can happen if its widespread. Back to the basics Fraser said that a lot of the precautions that health systems are taking for COVID-19 are built on day-to-day infection-prevention practices. In the end, it all comes down to the basics, he said. Everybodys seen the Hazmat suits and stuff like that on TV. But if we dont wash our hands well between patients, then you can have all kinds of fancy suits but not be protected, Frazer said. Clean hands going in, and clean hands going out is the fail safe, he said. Because not everybody is going to come with a sign that says Ive got coronavirus. The Clinic emphasizes daily basic infection-prevention practices, such as hand hygiene and proper cough etiquette. Those kind of basics, without those, everything else would fall apart, Fraser said. Because Northeast Ohio already is in flu season, a lot of extra precautions already are being taken, such as asking patients with a cough to wear a mask in waiting rooms. For now, influenza is still a bigger risk, Saade said. In Ohio, there have been 5,457 flu-related hospitalizations this season, and in Cuyahoga County, there have been 1,045 confirmed cases of the flu, health officials said. So far this season, there have been 92 pediatric flu-related deaths reported across the United States, according to the CDC. Ohio has seen two pediatric flu deaths this season, health officials said. The CDC and ODH track only pediatric flu-related deaths. The CDC said COVID-19 still poses a low risk to the vast majority of Americans. Read more COVID-19 coverage: One additional Ohioan tested negative for coronavirus, health officials say Inside the coronavirus outbreak: Former Clevelander gives account of daily life in Shanghai Ohio economy could feel impact if Chinas coronavirus outbreak continues much longer Novel coronavirus less deadly than past epidemics, local experts say Coronavirus death toll continues to climb in China; U.S. hospitals prepare: Updates Asian community group, worried by coronavirus-related racism, urges Clevelanders to get the facts The jute industry in West Bengal is facing difficulties due to dearth of working capital as banks have allegedly tightened the lending standards for the sector, officials said. The lenders have been seeking "clear land papers" from mills' owners for extending loans, they said. At present, three major jute mills remained closed due to working capital crunch, industry sources said. "Lack of banking credit has hit several jute mills in the state. Mill owners are not getting adequate credit to run their businesses. Banks make lending norms more stringent for land titles, which is used as collateral," a jute mill promoter told PTI on condition of annomity. Workers of closed Weaverly Jute Mills at Shyamnagar in North 24 Parganas district allegedly ransacked the office of the unit and torched two vehicles after the management put up a notice to continue the suspension of work on Friday. The work at the mill has been suspended since January 29 as the promoters of the company witnessed "a slowdown in business" and were struggling with "fund crunch", sources said. "Following the alleged fraud perpetrated by billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, the banks become extra cautious. They are seeking clear land papers before sanctioning loans," industry sources said. Indian Jute Mills Association chairman Raghavendra Gupta said access to bank credit against the land title is a challenge, though the state government had brought in a legislation and subsequently, amended a relevent law to solve the problem. "Currently, lands of the mills belong to the state and had been given to the millers for a specific purpose. A legislation and the amended law enabled the government to offer land to mill owners for a lease of 99 years to solve this perennial title issue," Gupta said. He hoped that the mills will be able to supply monthly three lakh bales of jute bags to the government. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-23 23:43:01|Editor: yan Video Player Close HONG KONG, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government is proactively taking actions to liaise with relevant mainland authorities to discuss on how to bring back Hong Kong residents stranded in Hubei province in an orderly manner, said a spokesperson for HKSAR government on Sunday. The SAR government attaches great importance to the situation of Hong Kong people in Hubei, and fully understands why they are keen to return to Hong Kong as soon as possible, the spokesperson said. According to the spokesperson, as of Sunday morning, the SAR government had received more than 1,400 cases of request for assistance in Hubei, involving over 2,700 Hong Kong people there. The spokesperson said that the SAR Wuhan Economic and Trade Office had been keeping close contact with the assistance seekers and making its utmost efforts in providing them with assistance, such as helping with their medical and daily needs. "The HKSAR government is determined to overcome all difficulties with the aim to bringing back the Hong Kong people stranded in Hubei," the spokesperson stressed, adding "at the same time, there is a need for all relevant parties to come together to draw up a sound and safe plan in order to reduce the public health risks to a minimum." According to the spokesperson, a 77-year-old Hong Kong man passed away in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei, due to COVID-19. And 10 Hong Kong people from three families in Hubei were infected with COVID-19, nine were treated in local hospitals and one had been discharged. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sun, February 23, 2020 14:17 689 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad206618cc4 1 Politics Muhadjir-Effendy,Indonesia,marriage,poverty,poverty-alleviation,poverty-rate,Golkar,GolkarParty,privacy,income-inequality Free The state should not interfere with its citizens personal matters, Golkar Party lawmaker Ace Hasan Syadzily said in response to a controversial statement from Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendy. In a speech at the National Health Work Meeting in Jakarta on Wednesday, Muhadjir suggested that rich people should marry those who came from low-income families, arguing that such marriages would help reduce the national poverty rate. Read also: Minister suggests the rich should marry the poor to reduce Indonesias poverty rate "Choosing one's partner is a personal matter. The nation should not interfere in this matter. Islamic teachings on marrying people from the same class should not be interpreted as a mistranslation," Ace said on Friday as quoted by kompas.com. He said the government should be looking for the right strategy to combat economic inequality, such as giving low-income families access to education, health care, providing job opportunities, and conducting training programs. "Those are the right ways to eradicate poverty," he said. (dpk) A delegation from the Republic of Barbados, currently in Ghana for an investment tour, has called on the Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, to share ideas on how to improve both countries tourism prospects. The delegation was led by the Minister of Tourism and International Transport of Barbados, Mr Kerrie Symonds, and the Minister for Creative Economy, Culture, and Sports, Mr John King. Mrs Barbara Oteng Gyasi, the Minister of Tourism, welcoming the delegation, said Ghana was excited to have people from the Caribbean visiting to share ideas on how to improve upon tourism. She said both countries would identify all significant areas that needed collaboration to help push the sector. As people of African descent, we are brothers and sisters and you have to come home to experience what we have and well also come over to experience what you have, she said. Mrs Oteng Gyasi said Ghana just commemorated the Year of Return and initiated the Beyond the Return, a ten-year project which was a follow-up action to the Year of Return, to enable the country build closer bonds with all brothers and sisters in the Diaspora. She said both countries would deliberate on how to facilitate quick travel to Ghana by looking at direct air transport as well as identify their roots within the West African Sub-region. Mrs Oteng Gyasi expressed the hope that after all deliberations concrete actions would be taken to realize the dreams of the Prime Minister of Barbados as well as the President of Ghana. Mr Kerrie Symonds (MP), on his part, said they were excited to be in Ghana as they saw Ghana to be a home away from home. He said the presidents of both countries had embraced a common destiny, which called on the citizens to build stronger relationships. For 400 years we have co-existed without building that depth of relationship, and I think that at the level of tourism it is important because it allows us to bring up certain things to enhance our tourism, he said. From the perspective of Barbados we have a cultural and heritage approach to our tourism. Traditionally we have seen tourism through the lenses of a eurocentric focus, and from the time we became independent much of our tourists were coming from Northern Atlantic. Mr Symonds said it was important to find ways of bridging the gap across all generations and one way of doing that was to focus on international transportation linkages to facilitate business and commerce. We must get our people to invest more across the waters for cross-fertilization of investment, he said. It is important to find some platforms and pillars on which we can rest the future development, communication, and linkages between the two countries. He promised that with his team, they would have a full sampling of the cultural and tourism products in Ghana to tell the story better back home. Meanwhile, both countries have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for culture, technical, and scientific corporation in the areas of tourism, aviation, youth development, commerce, investment, and music. 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 We all know how big phishing attacks can be, which is why social media companies are always looking out for better ways to deal with them. Recently, Vade Securesfor Q4 2019 was released in which WhatsApp was seen in the fifth position, which is up by 63 spots being the most impersonated brand in phishing attacks."Despite having only three brands in the top 25, social media increased its share of phishing URLs from 13.1% in Q3 to 24.1% in Q4 2019.", explained Ed Hadley, Senior Director, North American Marketing at Vade Secure, in a blog post.Vade Secure mentioned that the rise in the phishing attack stems from a group on WhatsApp with the name Berbagi that invite recipients in the group and shows them pornographic content. Apart from it, it is also in the news that the 000webhost, a web hosting provider was hacked from where the phishing pages were hosted.Not to forget, there are other social media giants as well on the list. Facebook took the second spot and Instagram was found on a number 13. Facebook has been working well and saw an 18.7% decrease in the number of URLs for phishing attacks.Facebook has solved many WhatsApp bugs in the past that could have led users to compromise their privacy, but thankfully it did not come to that point. Facebook is committed to make WhatsApp a safe place and we might see better and safe connectivity in the future.Read next: The Why and How of Securing Your WhatsApp Account This week we learned that due to yet another delay, the Eglinton Crosstown Light Rail Transit (LRT) project in Toronto is now set to open in 2022 (two years after the original estimated completion date.) For some, this news was greeted with a sigh of frustration over the inconvenience the extended construction timeline will mean for their commute, and for others, it signified the dimming of a light on the other side of a very long tunnel theyve journeyed to keep their businesses alive through the decade-long disruption. Businesses, and the community of Little Jamaica in particular, between Keele St. and Allen Rd. along Eglinton Ave. W., have been stretched far past their limits during this construction effort. The culture cultivated in this distinct neighbourhood, built by Caribbean and in particular Jamaican diasporic waves over the last century, has left an undeniable mark on our country. It has served as a welcoming centre on the Toronto map for Black Canadians. Upon moving to Toronto, I was sent to Little Jamaica in search of community, and a hair salon. I ended up at Head Turners adjacent to Eglinton West station. It was there that I carried out my big chop, and learned how to see beauty in, and care for, my natural curls, a process I wish Id embraced much sooner. It was in Little Jamaica that I found a little bit of home and learned how to be my whole self. What happens when the most concentrated area of Black-owned businesses in the country intersects with what is described by Metrolinx as the largest transit project taking place in Canada? By the time this project is done, how many salons, restaurants or grocery stores will have survived to participate in the promised revitalization? To understand the scope of the challenge ahead, take a moment to watch Sharine Taylors poignant 2019 film Tallawah Abroad: Remembering Little Jamaica. Taylor reminds us that well need more than murals to commemorate the cultural contributions of communities past. In order to preserve the essence of what makes Little Jamaica special, the cultural connection, the taste, the feeling of home, it will take collaborative and intentional effort across all levels of government and layers of community. Without intervention this beautification exercise will lead to erasure; the trajectory is laid out, unless new development is required to respect the local culture, heritage protections are carefully considered, Little Jamaica branding is the norm, and access to affordable and appropriately sized storefronts for small businesses is prioritized. For all of the work to be done, it seems there is a lack of Black Canadian representation at the leadership tables where many of these planning decisions are being made and interim supports are being deployed. The York-Eglinton BIA has been eerily silent on the commonly understood disproportionate impact felt by Little Jamaican businesses and the need to preserve the soul of the neighbourhood. Any compensation provided to impacted businesses should use a separate apparatus than BIA infrastructure to ensure funds reach the businesses in need of it most. A part of our work during Black history month must be to imagine a future made different by the contributions we choose to make today. Kudos to the community groups and projects, including Black Futures Eglinton and Black Urbanism Toronto, as they come together to re-envision the future of the neighbourhood, no matter how late it feels to change the tide. Alica Hall, Executive Director of the NIA Centre for the Arts, situated just down the street from Little Jamaica in the Oakwood neighbourhood is focused on creating space for community to gather, sharing Toronto is in a public space crisis. She describes the neighbourhood as an epicentre of creative entrepreneurs that can have a bright future if we are intentional in building it. Looking back years from now, I hope to have built a lifelong connection with Little Jamaica and share it with my own children. Well follow our noses and fill our bellies with the world class Caribbean cuisine lining vibrant streets. I believe, over these next few years, we can do more than help a few businesses survive. With some course correction, Little Jamaica can evolve and thrive. Evangelical Christian sues US Postal Service over mandatory work on Sundays Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment An evangelical Christian in Pennsylvania has taken legal action against the U.S. Postal Service for forcing him to quit by requiring him to work on Sundays after the USPS partnered with Amazon for delivery. Gerald Groff, a former mail carrier in Lancaster County who didnt want to miss church or to observe Sunday as the day of worship, filed a motion for summary judgment before a federal district judge against the USPS earlier this month for not accommodating his religious beliefs, Independence Law Center, which is one of the law firms representing the Christian, said in a statement. The USPS had never required Groff to work on Sundays until it started parcel delivery in partnership with Amazon. Initially, the Post Office accommodated Groffs religious beliefs for not working on Sundays, as he worked on holidays, in the evenings and on Saturdays when other carriers werent willing to work. However, later, the USPS started enforcing a mandatory Sunday policy on Groff and disciplined him. As a result, he was constructively discharged from the job. In a free and respectful society, government should recognize those differences among us that make us great, rather than punishing those differences, particularly when those differences result from our sincerely held religious beliefs, David Crossett, one of the attorneys representing Groff, said in the statement. Just as the Supreme Court recognized in a case involving the right of a Muslim worker to wear a head scarf at a clothing store, a government employer like the Post Office should reasonably accommodate an employees religious beliefs. The Post Office had plenty of other options for delivering Amazon packages on Sundays without making this employee violate his religious conscience, said Randall Wenger, ILCs Chief Counsel. In a free society, government employers can and should do better at respecting their employees rights. ILC lawyer Jeremy Samek told abc27 that its not uncommon for people to request reasonable accommodations at their workplace. Employers are actually required to provide reasonable accommodations. Its something that happens every single day. Samek continued, We should, as a society, seek to reasonably accommodate people with unique religious beliefs, that we can all live and work together in a pluralistic society. At the end of the day, Mr. Groff wants his job back. Its important for him, but its also important for lots of other people who work for the federal government or the post office that they be able to continue their employment and to continue to observe their religious beliefs. The French government has launched an anti-bedbug campaign on February 20 and also a dedicated website with a hotline emergency number to prevent infestation. The website provides strict measures to prevent the spread of the small, flattened insects which have settled in homes and hotels to feed on human blood. According to international media reports, the bedbugs had disappeared from France in the 1950s, however, the insects have made a resurgence. The France government has warned people on the webpage saying, 'we all can be affected'. The website also mentions that these parasites prefer to survive and multiply in dark areas meaning the corners of the sofas and beds are at high risk. The bedbugs, also known as Cimex Lectularius, can bite up to 90 times in a single night, leaving sores similar to mosquito bites. READ: France Starts Closing Its Oldest Nuclear Plant According to the website, international travel and increasing resistance to insecticides are to blame for the bedbugs resurgence. Furthermore, the website advises hotel guests to store their luggage on racks rather than on the floor and to check bed, mattress and other dark areas before using them. The authorities have also advised washing clothes in hot water, or heating non-washable items in a tumble dryer. READ: France Gets New Health Minister Amid Virus Fears Billions of dollars to exterminate As per reports, the extermination experts in Paris said that four lakh addresses including hotels, apartments and houses were treated in 2018. It is believed that due to the banning of potent poisons the bedbugs revived and in the late 1990s, they were also thriving in New York. Another outbreak in US, back in 2010, led to them invading high-end apartment buildings, hotels and even clothing stores like the lingerie outlet Victoria's Secret. The insects cost billions of dollars annually to exterminate by businesses and homeowners and a study also found that the bed bugs had become resistant to pesticides. Another study further suggests that the insects sought out human scents and snuggled up in worn clothes before tagging along. The bedbugs hide in linen by day and come out at night to bite people, leaving red, itchy soars, however, they do not transmit any disease. READ: France Reports First Death In Europe From Coronavirus READ: Macron Getting Hybrid Car As France Steps Up Climate Fight People who become the target of Twitter storms after making controversial remarks will be defended by a new body called the Free Speech Union. The organisation will stand up for the rights of its members to tell the truth in all circumstances. The union has been set up by the journalist Toby Young in response to police investigations into a string of non-crime hate incidents triggered by outspoken comments. The organisation will stand up for the rights of its members to tell the truth in all circumstances. The union has been set up by the journalist Toby Young, who is pictured above Mr Young, writing in todays Mail on Sunday, said the union would be a non-partisan, mass-membership organisation. He says: If someone at work writes to your boss to complain about something youve said, well write to them, too, and explain the importance of intellectual tolerance and viewpoint diversity. If self-righteous social-media bullies pick on you, well return the fire. If someone launches an online petition calling for you to be sacked, well launch a counter-petition. The enemies of free speech hunt in packs; its defenders must band together too. Tory MP Andrew Rosindell said he has 'watched freedom of expression gradually being eroded and good men and women being hounded as a result of simply having an opinion' The move, which comes after The Mail on Sunday launched its own Fighting For Free Speech campaign, was welcomed by Tory MP Andrew Rosindell, who said: Free speech is the bedrock of a free society and a free people. I have watched freedom of expression gradually being eroded and good men and women being hounded as a result of simply having an opinion. Its time the fightback began against the extreme politically correct culture and I commend Toby Young for this initiative in establishing the Free Speech Union. Fellow Tory MP Philip Davies said he was delighted to back the campaign. He said: In a free country, free speech is the most precious commodity of all. However, the politically correct brigade have been so successful that now decent people are petrified of what they say or what word they use in case some extremist zealot claims they were offended by it. I wish Toby every success with this vital campaign and I will support it in any way I can. Oyo in South East Asia has announced the setting up a dedicated fund to support its partners and their families in the region who have been afflicted by Covid-19. The setting up of the fund for South East Asia follows a dedicated Fund of over RMB1 million ($142,284) in China to support infected employees and their family members. Dr Mandar Vaidya, CEO, South East Asia, Japan & Middle East, said the fund, set up with a dedicated commitment of $200,000 by Oyo in South East Asia will cover partners and their family members impacted by Covid-19. Dr Vaidya and other members of the leadership team for South East Asia have also pledged to donate a portion of their salaries for February 2020 to the cause. In a note to partners in South East Asia, Dr Vaidya said: Oyo is deeply concerned with the spread of Covid-19 and the impact it has on people and businesses in South East Asia. The hospitality industry has been impacted and we are also concerned with the impact Covid-19 has on our partners as they come to grips with the current situation. Our responsibility as #TeamOYOSEA compels us to come out in full support of everyone connected to Oyo as we navigate through this difficult phase." He added Oyo stands in solidarity with all Oyoprenuers and our partners in the region. Our effort reflects the organisations culture and values, which we hope, would spur others in the region to do their part during this challenging and uncertain time." Oyo in South East Asia has benefited immensely from the support we have received from the people in this region. The fund is our way to return the love and support weve received, which we hope will go some way to help our partners recover from the effects of Covid-19, said Dr Vaidya. Globally, Oyo is present in 800+ cities across 80 countries. In South East Asia, Oyo is present in 250+ cities over 2,500+ franchised and leased hotels across Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand. - TradeArabia News Service By Jonathan Spicer ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A Turkish soldier was killed in Syria's Idlib region in a bomb attack by Russian-backed government forces, the defence ministry said on Saturday, Turkey's 16th military death during a month in which talks between Ankara and Moscow have stalled. The rising Turkish military death toll, including two on Thursday, could complicate a possible deal to halt a spike in fighting in Syria's northwest. Since early December nearly a million Syrians, mostly women and children, have been displaced in the winter cold there. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said he will meet Russian, German and French counterparts on March 5 to discuss Idlib, where Syrian government forces are pushing to retake the last large rebel-held region after nine years of war in the country. Turkey has sent thousands of troops and equipment to the region just south of its border to head off the campaign driven by Russian air raids. It already hosts 3.7 million Syrian refugees, says it cannot handle another wave and has closed its borders. Turkish forces retaliated to the bomb attack Saturday and destroyed 21 "regime targets", the ministry said, adding the soldier was a tank mechanic who died when transferred to hospital. After Russian and Turkish delegations failed to reach an agreement in the last two weeks, Erdogan has promised to push back Syrian government forces if they press on. Turkey has "determined our road map" for Syria after calls on Friday with Vladimir Putin, Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron, Erdogan told supporters in Izmir on Saturday. "I expressed our determination clearly" to them, he said. The German and French leaders expressed concern about the humanitarian situation in Idlib and urged an end to the conflict, while the Kremlin has said it is discussing the possibility of holding a four-way summit. In Damascus, the transport ministry declared the main highway from Aleppo running through Idlib open to the public after it was recaptured in the offensive. Story continues Taking back the M5 highway from insurgents marks a big gain for President Bashar al-Assad, as it restores state control over the route between Syria's two biggest cities for the first time in years of conflict. Syrian state media, citing a military source, said any breach of Syria's airspace "will be dealt with as an enemy military target". Damascus and Ankara, which opposes Assad, have agreed Russia could control Idlib airspace. The United Nations has warned fighting in Idlib could "end in a bloodbath" and called for a ceasefire. The latest Syrian offensive has prompted the biggest civilian exodus in a civil war that has killed an estimated 400,000 Syrians, displaced millions more and left much of the country in ruins. Separately in Syria's northeast, the UN has suggested that the Tal Abiyad border crossing between Syria and Turkey could be used to deliver aid to civilians after Russia and China blocked the world body from using a crossing point on the Iraqi border to provide help. (Additional reporting by Irem Koca in Istanbul, Ellen Francis in Beirut and Michelle Nichols at the United Nations; Editing by Alex Richardson and Ros Russell) Global hospitality major Radisson Hotel Group is looking to add around 30 operating hotels in its portfolio by 2023 as part of its expansion plans in the country, a top company official has said. The company currently has 94 operating hotels in India. It has been signing around 12 to 15 hotels every year and opening about 8 to 10 hotels on an average. "We plan to add about 30 more operating hotels by end of 2023 as part of our expansion plans in India. So, we would have around 125 to 130 operating hotels by then," Radisson Hotel Group, South Asia, Managing Director & VP Operations, Zubin Saxena told PTI. This a part of the company's strategy to cross 200 hotel-mark, both operational and in the pipeline, in India by 2023 and it is on target to achieve this, he added. On being asked about the growth roadmap for the company, Saxena said: "It is all dependent on the market. I think India as a market is going to be a mid market growth story as the country grows in tier II and tier III locations. So, the brands in these segments are expected to have some movement". But in tier I cities, the company will also be launching Radisson Collection, which is our luxury brand in India. The company is also launching a Radisson RED in Mohali later this year, he added. On the initiatives undertaken by the company to streamline operations and to ramp up operational profitability, Saxena said: "In 2019, we launched 'India Unification Plan' which was built around unlocking the synergies of our portfolio in India. We would like to say that the plan has been a success". India unification strategy is premised on five critical areas: people, procurement, food and beverage, operations and commercial, he noted. When asked about the business model the company follows, he said: "We are largely doing management agreements with selective franchising". Another successful initiative undertaken by the company is that it has clustered the hotels in its portfolio in India. Right now it has 6 operating clusters, he added. Radisson Hotel Group is one of the world's largest hotel firms with seven distinctive hotel brands, and more than 1,400 hotels in operation and under development around the world. The company's portfolio includes Radisson Collection, Radisson Blu, Radisson, Radisson RED, Park Plaza, Park Inn by Radisson and Country Inn & Suites by Radisson. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A nurse who was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer after noticing a change in the shape of her nipple has warned women to be diligent with breast checks. Alison Kristensen, from Brisbane, was 48 years old in March 2015 when doctors discovered a 60 millimetre tumour in her right breast and told her she needed to undergo emergency surgery. 'I will never forget the phone call where the doctor told me "Alison, you have breast cancer,"' Alison, now 52, told FEMAIL. Alison had no family history of the disease but decided to have a mammogram when she noticed her nipple looked 'abnormal' in the mirror and felt a small 'mass' in her right breast. Brisbane nurse Alison Kristensen (pictured) was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer after noticing a change in the shape of her nipple 'I went to the Wesley breast screening clinic in Brisbane to have a mammogram and screening done,' she said. Alison had no family history of cancer 'I was at work when they told me the screening results and was urgently sent to a private surgeon.' Alison described the whole experience as 'painful, surreal and traumatising' and said she had avoided checkups because she never noticed any worrying symptoms. Shortly after the diagnosis Alison had a mastectomy to remove the breast as well as radical axillary lymph node dissection to remove any cancerous lymph nodes. 'I woke up in the recovery room in excruciating pain and was given medication before being wheeled to my room,' she said. When the realisation of losing her right breast sunk in, she quickly 'became distressed'. Shortly after the diagnosis Alison had a mastectomy to remove the breast as well as radical axillary lymph node dissection to remove any cancerous lymph nodes When the realisation of losing her right breast sunk in, she quickly 'became distressed' The surgery took place on March 8 and Alison was sent home two days later. 'The pain in my chest was so intense and the nerve pain around the surgery area was horrendous for a number of weeks. 'I went home with a chest drain that had to be emptied out daily as it would fill with blood,' she said. 'I had every type of treatment recommended with chemotherapy starting two weeks after surgery. I had it every third Tuesday, along with daily radiation for the first five weeks.' Alison 'felt like she was dying' after the first week of chemotherapy and couldn't stop crying. Alison 'felt like she was dying' after the first week of chemotherapy treatment and couldn't stop crying What are the common symptoms of breast cancer? * Breast lumps * Changes in size or shape of breasts * Changes to the skin including dimpling, a rash or puckering of the breast * Changes to a nipple such as turning in or just feeling different to usual * Abnormal nipple discharge * Inflamed breast where your breast may look red or swollen * Hard breasts * A red, scaly rash on the breast * Breast pain Source: Cancer Council Australia Advertisement Alison works as a mental health nurse and was previously contracted with the Australian military, assisting traumatised soldiers returning home from overseas. Throughout her cancer ordeal, Alison used mindfulness and music to lift her spirits, as she was determined not to fall victim to the disease. 'It was a tough time and there were many tears, especially once I slowly started to lose my hair and had to wear bandanas or hats,' she said. 'But I had to work, I didn't stop working and just kept going.' Alison's positive mindset, spirit and good sense of humour helped her to push through the experience of having cancer. She now encourages women to have their breasts checked by a doctor, even if they assume nothing is wrong. Alison's positive mindset, spirit and good sense of humour helped her to push through the experience of having cancer To celebrate five years of being clear of cancer, Alison decided to go on the holiday of a lifetime overseas. 'Last year in November I said to myself "I'm alive, I'm healthy and I'm happy, so I'm going to quit my job in Brisbane, rent out my apartment and venture off to Italy",' she said. Alison is currently travelling around Italy on the holiday of her dreams. Copyright 2020 Albuquerque Journal New technology to help the Santa Fe Police Department better track evidence may be a long time coming, but thats not surprising, according to an expert at a top criminal justice college. Law enforcement agencies often take a deliberate approach and consider the human element when it comes to integrating swiftly changing technology into processing and maintaining evidence, according to an expert on the subject. Police departments are very slow to change to some of these new technologies and rightfully so, because some things you need to have a human do because the computer cant say this evidence needs to be in the refrigerator or not, said Joe Giacalone, a retired New York Police Department sergeant and an instructor at New York Citys John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Giacalone responded, in a telephone interview last week, after issues involving lost evidence and security concerns at the Santa Fe Police Departments evidence room were raised in an audit by an third-party source. Among the issues delineated in the audit were that SFPD failed to follow its own policy and procedures, was using an outdated evidence tracking system and suffered from a staffing shortage. Contracts for an evidence software tracking system and security improvements at the evidence room were approved by two city committees last week, although Tuesdays approval by the Public Safety Committee came amid a barrage of questions by its members. The problem was underscored last year when physical evidence from a 2017 homicide case was lost and the person charged with homicide ended up pleading guilty to a lesser charge. The recent audit by SCS Northwest Consulting Services said the Police Department has outdated and inadequate systems for our evidence facilities and operations, according to a Feb. 14 memo to various committees and the City Council from Deputy Police Chief Ben Valdez. During Valdezs presentation Tuesday, he was questioned by committee member Stephen Tapke about a more expensive evidence tracking system known as RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), which uses small electronic tags to keep track of evidence. I am a little bit concerned there may be a better strategy out there, said Tapke, who spent several years working in tech services for the New Mexico Department of Public Safety. This is an extremely important function in any law enforcement agency. If cost were not an issue, I would certainly consider that, Valdez responded, making an analogy of owning a Ford Pinto or a Ferrari. Why not propose that system now? Tapke asked. At this point, we are just trying to modernize it (the tracking system), Valdez said. Despite the approval of the bar code tracking system, Valdez said he could follow up with details on the RFID system. But he said there was a sense of urgency, with the City Council scheduled to consider the contracts this week. The train is going down the tracks, he said. Plan is to use bar code tracking Procedures for logging and tracking evidence have changed, said Giacalone, who retired in 2012 from a 20-year career with NYPD. He now teaches classes in criminal investigation, organized crime, and police and diversity at John Jay. During his career, Giacalone said the NYPD changed from a pen and paper system to software evidence tracking that scanned in documents and dates. Basically, its the Police Department finally discovered bar coding, he said. Santa Fe will also use a bar code system, the same technology used in supermarkets to price items, to track evidence room and warehouse inventories. From the point they (items) make it into our storage area each item will have a bar code on it, Valdez said. That process will begin out in the field, where crime scene technicians may collect anywhere between 50 and 200 items, he said. The contracts approved by city committees last week include the purchase of an Evidence Management Software/EvidenceOnQ system at a cost of $86,000, and an upgrade of security cameras and alarms for just over $95,000. That surveillance system includes about 40 interior and exterior cameras, an alarm system, motion detectors and an indoor siren. The Police Department also plans to add three employees and a supervisor to its evidence unit staff, for a total of seven employees. That will allow seven-day coverage of the evidence unit. Valdez said that the added staff would cost about $400,000 and that about $500,000 would be needed for future equipment needs, including two separate shelving areas for misdemeanor and felony crime scene evidence. The department is also seeking a contract for $57,000 to purge unneeded items from the evidence room, the city said in a statement last week. A learning curve Ways of preserving evidence have evolved, Giacalone said. Evidence used to be put in plastic bags until it was discovered condensation could spoil evidence. After that, paper bags were used. We learned that the hard way back in the day, Giacalone said. In case of hair fibers or body fluids and stuff like that, we dont hold all that stuff. That gets sent to the lab for testing, he said. So its important that you keep in mind, too, that there are certain things that need to be refrigerated. These are things that should all worry a police department. Constant vigilance for the evidence chain of custody is key, said Giacalone. As a desk officer in New York City, with every tour, you start off going through whats in your evidence room, matching up with the numbers that you have, he said, adding that keeping tight control is essential. Because we never want stuff like this (losing evidence) to happen. The old mantra for being a desk sergeant is that two things will get you into trouble: property and prisoners, Giacalone said. Coordination in controlling evidence is paramount, he said. Not just Santa Fe Police Department, but also other police departments should coordinate with other agencies that deal with evidence, he said. Everybody needs to be tied into the same page, and they should probably all get together and rewrite some department procedures on how things should be handled. The SCS Northwest Consulting Services audit said Santa Fe was not following its own procedures, such as requiring the property custodian to keep a computerized log to keep evidence safe. Giacalone suggested he would always have one person (who) should be designated as the evidence control specialist. So you have one person thats in charge, and then you would have assistants to that person to cover the other issues. Santa Fe Police Chief Andrew Padilla said the department is working toward getting the evidence room to where it needs to be. The ultimate goal is to bring our Evidence Unit and the Police Departments processes in line with industry standards and best practices identified by the International Association of Property and Evidence, Padilla said in a statement. The contract proposals will go to the Public Works Committee on Monday and then to the City Council for approval on Wednesday. Andy Stiny is a former Albuquerque Journal staff reporter and a 2019-20 Fellow at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice Troubled by the ongoing demonstration at Shaheen Bagh, which has crossed 70 days now, residents of Sarita Vihar and Jasola on Sunday began a protest, demanding the opening of roads. The residents, however, said that they were not opposed to the cause of Shaheen Bagh protesters, but demanded the immediate opening of the roads for restoring normalcy in the daily commute. "We do not belong to any party or organisation. We are the residents of Sarita Vihar and are troubled by the blockade. We want to tell the protesters at Shaheen Bagh that nobody has the right to block the roads. Go to the Prime Minister's house or the Jantar Mantar to protest. The roads belong to everyone," Poonam, a resident of Sarita Vihar, told ANI here. "All school children and the office goers have to face troubles daily because of this blockade. We want to ask the government why they are not removing them from the streets," she asked. The residents raised slogans like 'Save the Constitution,' 'Respect the Constitution,' 'Empty Our Roads,' and Vande Mataram. Another resident, who had come at the protest site, said: "The public are being troubled by the (Shaheen Bagh) protests. They say 'Hindu-Muslim-Sikh-Isai Aapas Bhai, Bhai.' Then why should the protests by one community trouble three others? This is the main road. It should be opened for all." This is not the first time that dissent against the protests at Shaheen Bagh has come to the front. Even yesterday too shopkeepers from Kalindi Kunj market met advocate Amit Shahni with their own set of demands. A delegation of the shopkeepers met Shahni and apprised him of the difficulties being faced by the businessmen in the area due to the protests, which have been going on for 70 days now. Shahni had earlier approached the Supreme Court after the rejection of his petition by the Delhi High Court in which he had sought direction for the Delhi Police to ensure smooth traffic flow on Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch. Thousands of people have been staging a sit-in at Shaheen Bagh area since mid-December last year against CAA and NRC. They fear that the two laws in combination would deprive a large section of Muslims of their citizenship rights. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Midland ISD officials are holding a meeting Monday to determine options for another longer-term failing campus. The district reported Friday that it is considering transforming Sam Houston Collegiate Preparatory Elementary into an in-district partner school. District officials hinted at the move on Tuesday when officials told the board of trustees about a community meeting concerning a charter operator: Colorado-based Third Future Schools. During the meeting on Tuesday, district officials said there would be a community meeting on Monday, but they were not ready to disclose the location. Later in the week, Communications Office officials said the location would be made public on Friday. The press release did not provide the time or specifically where the meeting will take place. The district said the move stems from the districts effort to comply with the requirements of House Bill 1842. Houston Elementary has received failing marks from the Texas Education Agency for four straight years. In 2016 through 2018, Sam Houston Elementary was rated improvement required. In its accountability ratings released in the fall, the TEA gave Sam Houston an F one of nine earned by Midland ISD schools. Houston Elementary was transformed in 2018 into Sam Houston Collegiate Preparatory Elementary, with a focus on Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) strategies. Moving Houston under the umbrella of an in-district charter would give Midland ISD its third in-district charter. The other two are Young Womens Leadership Academy, which opened this year, and the IDEA Travis Academy, which is set to open in the fall. While progress in campus culture is evident, the transformation has not yielded the academic turnaround desired, as demonstrated by scores on the state-mandated STAAR test and the districts School Performance Framework measurements, Midland ISD said in a press release. The district reported Friday that while state accountability scores for this year will not be released until August, the state's deadline for school transformation action is in March. It is vital that we evaluate our options now, so our community can retain Sam Houston as a neighborhood school, Superintendent Orlando Riddick said in a press release. Campus staff have been informed of the possible change and a meeting with current Houston parents has been scheduled for Monday, according to the report released Friday afternoon by MISD. A subsequent community meeting is anticipated but has not yet been finalized. The Midland ISD board of trustees ultimately will decide whether to pursue a partnership at Sam Houston Collegiate Preparatory Elementary. I have faith in the campus leadership and staff and their sincere desire to lift all students at Sam Houston, Riddick said. Partnering with an external partner can bring a new, innovative model to our family of schools something that can be replicated and ultimately benefit all Midland ISD schools. (Natural News) If you ever needed a better reason to become a prepper or just someone who is better able to handle unexpected emergencies this is it. A video of Chinese authorities who appear to be confiscating consumer items in a supermarket under the guise of checking commodities prices in a Wuhan coronavirus-hit part of the country has gone viral on social media, sparking shock and outrage, The Epoch Times reported. The video, from Feb. 19, was taken by a shopkeeper from Ezhou City located in the Hubei Province, where Wuhan City, the epicenter of the virus pandemic, is located. The shopkeeper posted the video on Weibo, which is Chinas version of Twitter; it is surveillance footage taken in his store depicting a number of local government officers entering and grabbing piles of supplies on display and behind the counter, then walking out with them, apparently without compensating the shop owner. At one point the storekeeper looks like he wants to close up shop but he is prevented from doing so by one of the officers, who then allows his colleagues to enter and begin taking more of his goods. The video also made it to Twitter: Today, local government officers started grabbing things as soon as they got inside the shop, saying that I opened the shop to carry out business, the store owner says in the video, according to The Epoch Times. Under the citys virus-imposed lockdown, shops are not permitted to open as a way to control the spreading, worsening pandemic. But obviously those rules can be broken at will by the same government that imposed them. The owner noted that he only went to his shop to get some noodles and other supplies for himself, not to open up for business and certainly not government-sanctioned shoplifting. He added that he had not opened his business at all during the lockdown, which, no doubt, is causing him and his family severe economic hardship. (Related: Coronavirus poses more than just a global health threat; it could also result in global economic collapse.) Were supposed to believe they gave it all back? And then the government steals from him, to boot. They came in and started snatching [things], he said. What is this behavior? The video and the officers actions sparked outrage from Chinese citizens on Weibo, most of whom accused the officers of abusing their authority in order to confiscate things for their own personal gain. Then again, since the virus began spreading out of control to various parts of the country, a number of cities have given their local authorities the power to confiscate whatever personal property they deemed necessary, supposedly as part of the overall effort of controling and combating the outbreak. Since the video was posted, the resultant outrage sparked the Ezhou city government to respond. Officials said that the officers only temporarily confiscated the storeowners goods, but were sure to add that he had opened his store in violation of the lockdown order, according to local media reports. Reports claimed that the goods have since been returned to the owner and an investigation launched into the incident. But given the Chinese central governments opaqueness regarding the severity of the outbreak and how many people have been sickened and killed by it, there is no reason to believe that goods have been restored to their rightful owner. Not even Chinese citizens believe the story. If we are to say the shop really did operate in violation of regulations, then close the shop and punish it, one netizen said. If the temporary confiscation was legal, then why did they have to return the items? The point is, when times get desperate, those with authority always impose their will on the powerless. So the lesson, even in America, is this: Always be prepared for any contingency, because your government isnt going to take care of your needs, especially if its dealing with a nationwide emergency of some sort. See the latest information on the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak at Pandemic.news. Sources include: TheEpochTimes.com NaturalNews.com LOS ANGELESIt started with a stick that much everybody can agree on. A Korean stock boy wielded the stick at a Black patron inside a Leimert Park liquor store late on a Sunday afternoon. In some tellings, the customer was rudely chased away for being short a nickel another instance of the Korean-owned store mistreating the surrounding African-American community. In others, the man was drunk and making his third booze run of the day, and the employee denied him service, as required by law. The incident in late 2017 pitted the stores longtime elderly Korean shopkeeper against a band of Black activists who voiced familiar complaints about outsiders taking advantage of the scarcity of retail options in South L.A. It snowballed into a months-long boycott and protests and unnerved the neighbourhood, the Korean community and a city that keenly remembers how similar tensions a quarter century ago culminated with Los Angeles up in flames. In time, one party would be driven out of town and the other would claim victory, with city and community officials scrambling to draw up a plan to prevent such tensions in the future. And to everyone involved, it was a reminder that the embers of the 1992 L.A. riots still smoulder in communities where economic disparities and racial and cultural misunderstandings never went away. The protesters A half-dozen members of the Africa Town Coalition were holding their weekly food bank in Leimert Park, passing out meals and produce, when someone ran over and told them about the skirmish at Huberts Liquor. They were regulars in the area, chanting Black empowerment slogans and soliciting donations for food and school supply giveaways. Primarily middle-aged men, they belonged to the generation that came of age in Los Angeles during the collective ire of 1992, with the political angst but without the organizational prowess or scale of the Black Lives Matter movement. For years, they had protested and boycotted businesses they believed had disrespected the community: a Walmart, a Boost Mobile, a Wienerschnitzel. When they heard about Huberts, they kicked into action and announced a grand closing of the store. They made signs Our $$s count. Respect Black Power waved the Black nationalist flag and brought out the bullhorn, blocking customers from entering the store. The protests tapped into long-held complaints about Huberts the prices a dollar or two higher than at big-box stores, the short treatment from employees who didnt seem to live in or care about the neighbourhood, the row of photos taped on the bulletproof glass of suspected shoplifters. They didnt know much about the owner, a diminutive woman who spoke faltering English, but it almost didnt matter. To them, she was yet another outsider profiting off the neighbourhood. They would add five cents more than necessary. For a lot of people, five cents is a big deal, said Eschelle Washington, 38. Protests and boycotts were tried and true methods for the group. William Billion Campbell, 49, staged his first protest in his 20s when a convenience store clerk yelled at him and his cousin for reading comic books without buying them. The clerk apologized after two days. We have the right to hold them accountable and choke off their finances, said Kevin Wharton Price, one of the groups leaders. Irregardless of how people view our methods, our methodology is sound and successful. Huberts is in the heart of Leimert Park, one of Los Angeles last remaining historically Black neighbourhoods, an area the group was advocating to get renamed Africa Town. Protesters cried out to customers that the store does not deserve the Black and the brown dollars. At one heated demonstration, Price and Campbell were briefly detained but not charged, and returned the next day to protest. After weeks, when they felt their complaints were falling on deaf ears, they took the protest to Koreatown. The signs they carried didnt mince words: No More Korean Merchant Parasites. The owner It almost felt like fate that Soon Yoon had ended up in Leimert Park. She had arrived in the U.S. with little to her name. She first worked at a gas station, then sold tamales and menudo in Canoga Park before she saved up enough to buy a liquor store in East L.A. When her husband left her for a younger woman, the store became a lifeline for Yoon and her two children. During the L.A. riots, dozens of Korean-owned liquor stores were burned to the ground. By then a single mother in her 50s, Yoon planned to move on to something safer, maybe a coin laundry, and sold her store. But one day she missed her normal exit off the 10 Freeway and somehow ended up in Leimert Park. She saw a busy liquor store for sale and soon bought it with a Small Business Administration loan. For two decades, Yoon said, she thought she had a good relationship with the community. Save for some kids who would run out with a can of this or that a couple times a year, she had little trouble. Her prices werent cheap, but an extra two or three per cent markup was a business decision many shopkeepers made to take advantage of the lack of competition and compensate for what they believed was the risk of doing business in poorer, higher-crime areas. People think were raking it in, but they dont see the 10 to 15 hours a day we put in, the loans we took out and the hard work we do, said Mike Kim, president of the Southern California Korean American Grocers Association. They only think of the money we take away. Yoon had regulars with whom she exchanged warm greetings, who would come in for their morning paper or a snack after performances at a nearby theatre let out. Now and then she paid a neighbourhood guy down on his luck to sweep her parking lot. One man called her mama-san, and she would come out from behind the counter to give him a hug. Through the area merchants association, she donated to programs at nearby Crenshaw High. The man who was chased out of the store with the stick also was a regular, the neighbourhood drunk whose poison of choice is beer, Yoon said. She was watching through a security camera from the back when the trouble started. When Yoon came out front to see what was going on, one of the women who took issue with the stock boys behaviour threw water at her. A handful of protesters returned the next day with their signs and bullhorns, and again the day after that. What started with complaints about one mans mistreatment evolved into a litany of grievances, blaming all of the areas social ills on the store and the liquor it sells. The protests continued for weeks, then months. Police officers repeatedly came by to keep the crowd from getting out of hand, but said they couldnt stop the group from rallying on public streets. By December 2017, after months of on-and-off protests and lists of demands, Yoons daughter, concerned for her 79-year-old mother, began imploring her to leave it all behind. The mediators Alarmed by the protests, a store employee called the Korean American Federation, a community group that serves and represents first-generation, non-English-speaking immigrants. Emile Mack, the federations vice-president and a retired Los Angeles Fire Department official, said he could see the dispute from both perspectives. An adoptee from South Korea raised by Black parents in South L.A., he grew up going to a corner liquor store a lot like Huberts for chips and soda in the 60s and 70s. Using his connections, he assembled a group to talk out the situation representatives from the First African Methodist Episcopal Church, mayors office, City Council and Assembly. The group began meeting at a church and later at city hall, going over demands from the protesters. Mack realized the situation at Huberts was a sign that, however much leaders of the Black and Korean communities were holding joint events and posing for photo ops, among many Angelenos, stereotypes and misunderstandings persisted. The people that are actually in the community dont have much better understanding or relationship than they did back in 92, he said. Koreans, theyre just here taking our money. African-Americans come in and they steal from us. ... Basic things you couldve heard 25 years ago, still being thought by most people in the community. Back then, nearly half the liquor stores in South L.A. were owned by Korean immigrants drawn by cheap rent, the minimal English required and a stock that doesnt go bad. They set up shop in neighbourhoods they didnt understand at a time when crime was at an all-time high, police presence was heightened and Black communities felt under siege. Tensions rose in 1991 when a 15-year-old girl, Latasha Harlins, was shot in the back of her head by a Korean shopkeeper who suspected her of shoplifting. The hostility turned to rage when Soon Ja Du, convicted of manslaughter, was sentenced to probation. When South L.A. erupted in riots after the Rodney King verdict the following year, more than 2,300 Korean-owned businesses were looted and burned down. In many ways, the Korean-owned liquor stores that still dot South L.A. today are a snapshot from the early 1990s. The majority of the owners are still first-generation immigrants whose children have gone on to more lucrative professions. Most of the customers also remain economically disenfranchised if not worse off compared with the rest of the city. To Kirkpatrick Tyler, the mayors field representative for South L.A., it seemed as if everyone involved in the Huberts dispute simply wanted to be heard and acknowledged. He tried to act as a translator of sorts, listening to people and putting what theyre saying in a palatable format that other people can understand. Its an uncomfortable space, he said. Its about how do we make the decision, Lets stay in this space and talk to each other. After spending hours with the protesters and speaking extensively with Yoon, the owner, Mack drafted a response to the Africa Town Coalitions demands. Yoon offered to participate in cultural sensitivity training and assist with local substance abuse programs; she agreed to offer more than just liquor and to make a monthly donation to the coalitions food program. Mack noted that Yoon already had been sponsoring nearby youth programs and that she had previously employed a Black clerk for eight years until he retired, and had been trying to hire others since. Yoon had already removed the photos of alleged shoplifters. In December 2017, as Mack and the protesters were going back and forth about what changes should be made at the store, Yoon quietly sold the business to another Korean owner. Mack said she felt she was being portrayed in an unfairly negative light. It was really troubling her obviously, he said. It was just getting to be too much. Yoon later said that she felt pressured to sell for far less than what Huberts was worth. Some of her regulars, she added, implored her to stay, offering to call the police on the protesters on her behalf. She believes it was outsiders, not the community, who pushed her out. I never lost the neighbourhoods heart, she said. The aftermath The protests continued for about a month after the ownership change, but eventually faded away. Since then, Huberts has become a symbol of both progress and stagnation. Simon Choi, the new owner, lowered prices, cleaned up the stores appearance and began stocking more fresh produce. He holds barbecues in the parking lot, donates beverages every week to Africa Town Coalitions food giveaway for homeless people and donates $100 monthly to support the groups activities. This fall, Choi also bought a new leaf blower for a neighbourhood beautification project. The Africa Town Coalition, the Korean American Federation and Mayor Eric Garcettis office have explored using lessons from what happened at Huberts elsewhere in Los Angeles. They talked of creating a cultural competency workshop for business owners to teach them communication skills and the historical context for specific communities, possibly devising a score that would be posted at each store like restaurant sanitation ratings. But after several meetings, working groups and proposals, the effort has fizzled, with a new South L.A. representative for Garcettis office and the community groups moving on to other issues. Mack said recently that until fundamental inequalities are improved, another situation like Huberts probably awaits in some other corner of Los Angeles. Unless there are changes that allow the smaller business to be acquired by the average person, its still going to be difficult, he said. I dont think the changes have been made that make Black ownership any more viable today than it was 25 years ago. This fall, there was one final piece of unfinished business from the battle over Huberts. Kevin Wharton Price, one of the protest leaders, walked into a downtown courthouse in November wearing a faded Africa Town sweatshirt. He had come to address the two-year-old warrant he had received after demonstrating at the store. The penalty: a $400 fine. To Price, it was worth it for Leimert Park. Besides, he said, he plans to let it go to collections anyway. The on Monday will begin enforcing a regulation that could deny green cards or legal permanent residency to legal who seek public benefits like food stamps. The move might affect a number of Indians who are on H-1B visas and are in long ques to get permanent legal residency. The decision follows the Supreme Court's ruling on Friday which lifted the final remaining injunction on the 'public charge' regulation. "As a result, the Department of Homeland Security will be able to implement its regulation on Monday," said White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham. "This final rule will protect hardworking American taxpayers, safeguard welfare programs for truly needy Americans, reduce the Federal deficit, and re-establish the fundamental legal principle that newcomers to our society should be financially self-reliant and not dependent on the largesse of taxpayers," Grisham said. The final rule published on August 14, 2019 was originally scheduled to come into effect on October 15, 2019, but could not be implemented due to various court rulings. The ruling prescribes how the Department of Homeland Security will determine whether an alien is inadmissible, and ineligible to adjust status to that of a lawful permanent resident in the because the alien is likely at any time in the future to become a public charge. According to US Citizenship and Immigration Services, the new rule includes a requirement that individuals seeking an extension, stay or change of status demonstrate that they have not received public benefits over the allowed amount since obtaining the non-immigrant status that they are seeking to extend or change. According to a 2018 Migration Policy Institute Report, 61 per cent of non-citizen Bangladeshi families, 48 per cent of non-citizen Pakistani and 11 per cent of non-citizen Indian families receive public benefits that would be scrutinised under the rule. As per SAALT (Strengthening South Asian Communities in America) organisation, the impact of the rule would be felt across the South Asian American community, as over 10 per cent of recipients in financial year 2016 were from South Asian countries. Nearly 472,000 or 1 per cent of the approximately 5 million South Asians in the United States live in poverty, according to a Pew Research Center study. In 2015, eight of 19 Asian American groups had poverty rates higher than the US average. Among those, Pakistani Americans (15.8 per cent), Nepali Americans (23.9 per cent), Bangladeshi Americans (24.2 per cent), and Bhutanese Americans (33.3 per cent) had the highest poverty rates among South Asian American groups, the SAALT said. The White House had said last year that this action will help ensure that if aliens want to enter or remain in the United States they must support themselves, and not rely on public benefits. An alien who receives public benefits above a certain threshold is known as a "public charge." Foreign nationals will be barred from entering the United States if they are found likely to become public charges. Those migrants in the United States who are found likely to become public charges will also be barred from adjusting their immigration status, the White House. "President Trump is enforcing this longstanding law to prevent aliens from depending on public benefit programs," the White House said, adding that the Immigration and Nationality Act makes clear that those seeking to come to the United States cannot be a public charge. For many years, this clear legal requirement went largely unenforced, imposing vast burdens on American taxpayers. The new rule would "have the long-term benefit of protecting taxpayers by ensuring people who are immigrating to this country don't become public burdens, that they can stand on their own two feet, as in years past have done," Ken Cuccinelli, Acting Director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services, had then told Fox News. In a fact sheet last year, the White House said the Congress passed and President Bill Clinton signed two bipartisan bills in 1996 to help stop aliens from exploiting public benefits. This included the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act and the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act. As Congress made clear at the time, it is our national policy that aliens should "not depend on public resources to meet their needs." Americans widely agree that individuals coming to our country should be self-sufficient, with 73 per cent in favour of requiring to be able to support themselves financially, it said. "We must ensure that non-citizens do not abuse our public benefit programs and jeopardise the social safety net needed by vulnerable Americans," the White House said. Large numbers of non-citizens and their families have taken advantage of its generous public benefits, limited resources that could otherwise go to vulnerable Americans, it said. As many as 78 per cent of households headed by a non-citizen with no more than a high school education use at least one welfare program. Fifty eight per cent of all households headed by a non-citizen use at least one welfare program. Half of all non-citizen-headed households include at least one person who uses the Medicaid health programme, the White House said. A witness to a tragic car fire which left a toddler dead says people were watching as flames engulfed the vehicle, with no idea the girl was inside. The two-year-old died as fire took hold of the car on Ironwood Drive in Kununurra, in Western Australia's Kimberley region, at about 7am on Sunday. The toddler had been playing with her four-year-old brother, who managed to escape the flames, according to the West Australian. Emergency services rushed to the scene after a Triple-0 call was made by a witness, who didn't know the girl was trapped inside. The grisly discovery was made after firefighters extinguished the blaze. Police have established a crime scene at the home as arson detectives work to investigate what caused the fatal accident. A witness told the paper she saw about six people standing and watching the flames. 'They definitely watched the car, they weren't screaming or trying to do something,' she said. 'Because they weren't doing anything I just thought maybe they had set it on fire, it's crazy.' Member for Kimberley Josie Farrer said the community is reeling from the tragic accident. 'That young age, you just don't know what to say. It's far too young to lose a child of that age. It's too raw an issue to talk about,' Ms Farrer said. The two-year-old girl lay dying inside as fire took hold of the vehicle on Ironwood Drive in Kununurra, in Western Australia's Kimberly region at about 7am on Sunday The family has expressed their grief on social media, describing the toddler as 'a precious little girl'. 'Love and miss you my beautiful granddaughter. words cannot explain how much you're going to be missed from us all,' a relative wrote. Other members of the outback community rallied around the family. 'May all the Ancient ones surround you now and support and give strength at this time. My heart goes out to you all,' a woman wrote. Police have established a crime scene at the home as arson detectives work to investigate what caused the fatal accident. The fire is not being treated as suspicious. NETANYA, Israel, Feb. 23, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Cellcom Israel Ltd. (NYSE: CEL) (the "Company") announced today that Mr. Ami Erel, the Company's Chairman of the Board of Directors, informed the Company of his resignation from the board of directors, effective March 1, 2020. About Cellcom Israel Cellcom Israel Ltd., established in 1994, is a leading Israeli communications group, providing a wide range of communications services. Cellcom Israel is the largest Israeli cellular provider, providing its approximately 2.767 million cellular subscribers (as at September 30, 2019) with a broad range of services including cellular telephony, roaming services for tourists in Israel and for its subscribers abroad, text and multimedia messaging, advanced cellular content and data services and other value-added services in the areas of music, video, mobile office etc., based on Cellcom Israel's technologically advanced infrastructure. The Company operates an LTE 4 generation network and an HSPA 3.5 Generation network enabling advanced high speed broadband multimedia services, in addition to GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks. Cellcom Israel offers Israel's broadest and largest customer service infrastructure including telephone customer service centers, retail stores, and service and sale centers, distributed nationwide. Cellcom Israel further provides OTT TV services, internet infrastructure and connectivity services and international calling services, as well as landline telephone services in Israel. Cellcom Israel's shares are traded both on the New York Stock Exchange (CEL) and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (CEL). For additional information please visit the Company's website http://investors.cellcom.co.il. Company Contact Shlomi Fruhling Chief Financial Officer [email protected] Tel: +972 52 998 9735 Investor Relations Contact Ehud Helft GK Investor & Public Relations In partnership with LHA [email protected] Tel: +1 617 418 3096 SOURCE Cellcom Israel Ltd. Portuguese parliament votes to allow euthanasia for terminally ill amid protests Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Despite protests, lawmakers in Portugal have voted to allow euthanasia and doctor-assisted suicide for the terminally ill in the western European nation. The Portuguese parliament passed five "right-to-die" bills this week, each of which passed easily, according to the Associated Press. The nation's president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who took office in 2016, may yet intervene and block the legislation. The Portuguese leader is reportedly reluctant to embrace euthanasia. Should he veto the bill, the parliament could then override the veto by taking a second vote. Prior to the vote, protesters outside the parliament building rallied against the measure, some chanting "yes to life" while others held up religious images and crosses. Because of the serious nature of the bill, each legislator was required to state their vote on the bills, as opposed to electronic voting. Voting in such a way is usually reserved for weighty matters like impeachment or a declaration of war. The practice of euthanasia is presently legal in Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Switzerland and in several U.S. states. The Catholic Church in Portugal led the efforts against legalizing euthanasia, having unsuccessfully attempted to persuade lawmakers to allow a popular vote in a referendum on the issue. Portugals Constitution asserts that human life is sacrosanct. A Socialist party lawmaker said the goal of the bills was to allow Portuguese citizens to make intimate choices, without breaking the law. The pending provision covers patients over the age of 18 who are in a situation of extreme suffering, with an untreatable injury or a fatal and incurable disease. In order for someone to meet that criteria, two doctors, at least one of whom specializes in the relevant condition from which the patient is suffering, and a psychiatrist are required to sign off. Those seeking to end their lives are then processed through a Verification and Evaluation Committee, which may approve or reject the request, the proposals stipulate, and the process is delayed if challenged legally, or should the patient lose consciousness. The measures contain allowances for health practitioners with moral objections to refuse to perform the procedure on moral grounds. Telmo Correia, a lawmaker from the right-leaning Popular Party, described euthanasia as a sinister step backward for civilization and observed that none of the parties backing the legalization efforts mentioned euthanasia in their platforms for the upcoming general election in October. In the United States, Maine, Vermont, New Jersey, Washington state, Oregon, California, and Hawaii, along with the District of Columbia have legalized assisted suicide. Montana does not have a state law on the books but the option is legal in the state following a state Supreme Court ruling. Welcome to Money Diaries College Edition, where were tackling what might be the last taboo facing modern women: money. Were asking college students how they spend their hard-earned money during a seven-day period and were tracking every last dollar. Today: a Student/Technical Assistant at a university that costs $52,000 a year who spends some of her money this week on Ito En Green Tea. Occupation: Student/Technical Assistant Industry: Higher Ed Age: 20 Location: New York, NY Salary: $15,600 Paycheck Amount (2x/month): $540 (after taxes) Allowance: $150 (from my mom) Yearly Tuition: $12,000 (The sticker price is $52,000, but $40,000 is covered by scholarships, I also will be graduating in three years instead of four.) Gender: Woman Monthly Expenses Rent: $650 (for one room in a four-bedroom with three roommates) WiFi/Gas/Electric: $60 Loans: $0 (Ill graduate with $3,900 of debt left, down from $8,000. Ive taken out around $4,000 in student loans in my name each year Ive been in school. My dad paid $36,000 toward my schooling.) Acorns Account Fee: $2 Acorns Contribution: $120 Spotify Premium: $5 Metrocard: $127 Health Insurance: $0 (on my dads) Cell Phone: $0 (moms plan) Day One 9 a.m. I slept over at my boyfriend, J.s, last night and he makes me coffee before he leaves for a meeting. I take a shower and make oatmeal with pumpkin seeds and half a banana before I leave around ten. The sun is shining and I have no pressing need to be on campus yet, so I take a leisurely walk. I find the Complete First Season of Flight of the Conchords leaned up against an apartment building, seemingly up for grabs. I text my friends about the find, and we make vague plans for a movie night. I feel a little absurd carrying it on the train, but I dont really want to put the street DVD in my backpack with my clothes, so it stays in my hands for all to see. 12 p.m. J. and I link back up to snag some free Lunar New Year dumplings from the film department where he studies and I work, we snicker at the sight of one of the famous professors out here grabbing free food with all of us broke students. Story continues 1:30 p.m. Say goodbye to J. and head to my final class of the week, a senior thesis seminar. Its hard because Ive drifted from my major since declaring it, and Ive found it really difficult to get excited about the material anymore. Im not sure what in this field I have the drive to write 25 pages of original research on. The professor is great, though, which is encouraging. I think his no cynicism rule may prove to be the most difficult part of the class. 4 p.m. Finally home! Theres a new subletter and I feel awkward greeting them, but they seem cool! I put laundry away and return to the kitchen to experiment with some of the agar agar and instant coffee one roommate/friend left behind when they left to study abroad this semester. I make a normal dinner of chicken and broccoli and a chaos meal of hand-whipped espresso foam, coffee jelly, copious sugar, cream of wheat, and almond milk. 6 p.m. I have a little panic attack! I work at the same campus facility as an ex with whom I had a bad relationship and worse break-up. I left the ex, F., to be with my current boyfriend, J., in April, and F. spent the summer and all of fall semester harassing J. and I at parties and lurking when I was working. I start spiraling, worrying our managers think Im unprofessional because of his behavior, so I text him for the first time in months, asking if he and the managers have spoken about it. They havent. This does nothing to assuage my worry and now Im embarrassed for showing my belly to the worst person. I make plans to go to J.s to read while he does work, just to be somewhere else in the presence of another person. 9 p.m. I buy a pack of American Spirits from the gas station next to my apartment. Im ready with my Studying-Abroad-Roommates left-behind fake, but the Sunoco guy doesnt even ask for it. I take the train to J.s house and listen to Kimya Dawson to try and feel better (it only marginally works). $14 10:30 p.m. The train is stopped within feet of my stop, with radio silence from the conductor. The man sitting across from me takes a swig from his twist-off bottle of wine. Im jealous. 10:40 p.m. Finally make it to J.s. We sit in his living room and I relay my panicky afternoon; he assures me that I am not damaged or stupid and that he doesnt resent me for having feelings. After about an hour of crying and Big Relationships Feelings Talks, he regales me with his crazy subway story of the day, then tucks me into bed. We have sappy loving sex (ew) before he goes back downstairs to work on his script (which needs to be finalized by tomorrow). I read Mark Fishers Capitalist Realism for like half an hour before I fall asleep and J. returns. Daily Total: $14 Day Two 8:40 a.m. J. has to be up early again for class, which means Im up too! He graciously makes me coffee (usually Im the up-early, coffee-making one) and I get dressed and ready while he does so. I make myself the same oatmeal and linger an extra hour after he goes, sipping my coffee. 10 a.m. I get to the subway platform. My metrocard has been taking like six or seven swipes before it goes through lately, which Im convinced is a ploy by the MTA to get people to use OMNY. 10:30 a.m. The professor I was supposed to meet with at 11 has to bail when her childcare falls through. I start walking through Nolita to take the long way home when my mom facetimes me from her drive into work. I tell her about everything that happened last night, and she echoes what everyone else has said in terms of needing to let go of whats he gonna do next fear. She also admonishes me for smoking, and asks what I want for my birthday this year, as its coming up. 12 p.m. Get home and finish Capitalist Realism. I text a temp who I worked with last semester and my friend C. about it, as they had both recommended it to me. I also finish Elfriede Jelineks Lust, the other book Ive been working on lately. Jesus, its grim and not what I needed right now. 2 p.m. I make myself a turkey and hummus sandwich and watch a few episodes of The Critic on YouTube. I want to marry Jay Sherman. 2:30 p.m. Head out to meet B., my older cousin, at the school where hes a grad student. Im joining him at the Decolonize This Place/FTP action at Grand Central, mobilizing against police presence in the MTA. 4 p.m. We move from B.s school to Grand Central, where the main action is taking place. I grew up in Portland and went to a lot of protests in high school, but this is my first in New York. There are lots of cameras on us; reactionary-content-grifters getting in faces with their phones, trying to provoke a reaction, and a veritable swarm of cops, some in full anti-terror gear. Organizers go around the crowd updating people where the action will move after this. 6:30 p.m. We break from Grand Central and head out to Restoration Plaza. B. and I take the train out of Time Square, and the lights look wild against the fleets of police on the street. There are cops on our train looking for protestors, and some high school kids make a break for it just before they get on. B. and I have the benefit of looking like total yuppies, so we arouse little suspicion. The cops ride on our car the whole rest of the way, and we periodically hear descriptions of an unruly crowd at West Fourth come through over the walkie-talkies. 7 p.m. We link back up with the group and march through Bed-Stuy. I have complex feelings about my presence here as a white person, on one hand, it feels like Good Allyship to show up and use my privilege as a Nonthreatening Blonde to put myself between more vulnerable marchers and the police; but on the other hand, it feels a bit like resistance-LARPing, and I worry all the other white people and I are diluting the gravity of the message. I dont know if Im doing the right thing, but it feels better to show up and try something than to sit at home and watch. 8 p.m. Finally, the action ends and protesters disperse. B. and I and two of his fellow students go to a nearby Mexican restaurant for dinner. B. pays for a Tecate and two tacos for me. He and his friends/colleagues tell stories from the original Occupy days over the beers. We talk a bit about the Mark Fisher I just read, and my own Ph.D. aspirations. 8:30 p.m. I say goodbye to B., and catch the bus up to my friend, L.s, apartment. Hes having a few of our friends over to celebrate the semester starting back up. We drink white wine and watch music videos. My friend, C., brought his girlfriend A., whos lovely, and in a similar boat to me, graduating a year early. 11:55 p.m. T., my friend/roommate and I split a Lyft home because the busses get unpredictable at this hour (she agrees to give me cash later, she doesnt have Venmo). Before we go inside, we do some light chain-smoking and talk about boy drama. $11.96 Daily Total: $11.96 Day Three 8 a.m. I have a training for my second job on campus from 10-4 today so, I get up and dress in a pair of wide-leg black jeans, a gray turtleneck under an oversized striped sweater from the Great American Apparel Sale of 2016, Blundstones, and my go-to leopard coat. I eat my usual breakfast (usual to the point that Im shocked to have made it this far in the diary without mentioning it) of greek yogurt, chia seeds, and frozen raspberries. I also make myself half a Chemex. The New Subletter mentioned that they are a barista, and told us coffee grounds are communal because they get them free!! 9:40 a.m. On a later train than Id like because I forgot its the weekend and my train is only running to Manhattan once every 20 minutes. I make it to the training only five minutes late, thank god. 12 p.m. We break for lunch, which is thankfully catered. I make a plate of grilled chicken, veggies, pickles, and tabouleh. 2:20 p.m. The training wraps up far earlier than expected! I come away with a laundry list of emails to send and a clamshell box of leftovers from lunch. Our team leader takes us out for boba after and I get a rose black tea with 25% sweetness, almond milk, and tapioca. I sip it and do not think its 25% sweet. I start to get a headache and wind up throwing half of it away, which makes me feel guilty. I hop on the train to meet J. in midtown where hes casting a role. I told him Id bring food, but I realize I forgot to grab a fork. Guess hell have to use his hands/a comb or just wait. 3 p.m. Arrive at the studio. You know Im passionate about both J. and police abolition because I dont know what else could get me to go to midtown twice in two days. 4:30 p.m. Head back to campus to charge my phone, pick two books up from the library, and grab a fork to polish off leftovers with J. before he has another meeting. 6 p.m. Say bye to J. and take the subway to the Trader Joes in Brooklyn. Trader Joes is insanely crowded and out of nearly everything, so my shopping is super disorganized I get capers, chicken breast, tuna, parsley, black bean fusilli, Greek yogurt, frozen raspberries, and a grapefruit for $26. On my walk to the bus, I see two teenage girls hug and tackle each other, overjoyed and screaming. It moves me to the point of tearing up. My emotions have been all over the place these past few days; I usually have a solidly stoic register. $26.11 7 p.m. I give two dollars to a man who asks for change while waiting for the bus. Listen to a Spotify-generated playlist of JPEGMAFIA, Danny Brown, and Freddie Gibbs on the ride home. $2 9 p.m. Chat with my dad on the phone while tidying my room he gives me some interesting avenues to explore for my undergrad thesis. I make a simple dinner of black bean fusilli, parsley, tuna, and capers, and talk more with The New Subletter while I cook. We agree to get the kitchen all sorted tomorrow (theres so much food left behind and now moved in that were running out of fridge/cabinet space). I eat while perusing PDFs about EU austerity and the Eurozone crisis for class. J. asks if he can send me the newest draft of his script so I can take a look at it. Im happy to oblige. Daily Total: $28.11 Day Four 9:30 a.m. I wake up with nothing pressing to do, scroll Facebook, and drift back in and out of sleep for the next hour and a half. Im not phenomenal at self-motivating when I dont have any urgency. Finally, I get up and make breakfast, chat with New Subletter, and make myself a shot of espresso. Its a real tamp-the-grounds, wand-for-steaming espresso machine, and my roommate got it used off of eBay, so its decently finicky. I manage to pull a halfway decent shot with New Subletters professional guidance. I make that into an americano and sip it while eating my raspberries, greek yogurt, and chia seeds. 2 p.m. Do the NYT sudoku of the day, knock out some readings for class on Tuesday, and plan out my meals for the week. I get dressed in an off-white thermal turtleneck (also from the Great American Apparel Closing Sale of 2016), black tights, and a vintage camel Miu Miu mini-skirt. The skirts a few sizes too big, and I havent had a chance to get it tailored yet, so I cinch it at my waist with a gaudy cowboy belt I inherited from my great-grandpa. I use up the last of my turkey in todays sandwich, along with some roasted cauliflower and broccoli for lunch. 3:45 p.m. Pack a bag and head out to meet J. at his house. Were making turkey chili for his family, so we first walk to the butcher to get two pounds of ground turkey, then to Brooklyn Fare for the rest of the ingredients. It comes to around $30 I think, but his parents pay. We get home, realize we forgot the jalapeno, and head right back out to a bodega. Chop veg, brown meat, and get chili simmering. We play 20 questions while dinner cooks, and I learn that the guy I thought was Josh Gad is actually John Hodgeman. 8:30 p.m. We head out to a rowdy screening of CATS! at the Alamo Drafthouse. J. got us tickets last week. We swing by a liquor store on the way there and he gets us a fifth of vodka to mix with the seltzer I brought. Once were in our seats, he orders a gin fizz float too. We split the cost of that, and I steal a few sips but stick mostly to the vodka soda. $7.50 11 p.m. J.s cat boyfriend is a tie between Skimbleshanks and Macavity, whereas my cat boyfriend is 100% the magical Mr. Mistofelees. Were still feeling a bit too rowdy post-screening to go back to J.s, so we swing by a neighborhood bar on the walk back. Its oddly closing up, despite the website saying its open until 1? We head to the deli across the street instead to get a 16oz 11% double IPA to split, for maximum alcohol to dollar efficiency. J. pays the $5 and I tell him Ill give him two bucks in cash when we get back to his house. 11:30 p.m. I dont love the flavor of the beer, so J. winds up drinking most of it. We wind up having a big What does graduating in a few months mean for us? conversation and talk through his imposter syndrome. Hes drunk and weepy, and Im glad I can kinda repay the favor of comforting, as he did for me on Thursday. I reheat some leftover chili for him before we go to bed. Daily Total: $7.50 Day Five 10:30 a.m. Wake up blissfully late, neither of us have immediate pressing obligations for once! I get dressed (same outfit as yesterday but with a different turtleneck) and make us coffee and a little oatmeal for myself. J. is always really loopy when he wakes up, and its very endearing. We have a leisurely morning like we havent been able to have in a while. J. walks me through his plan for a Gremlins 3 reboot when hes a Famous Director, and we plan an extremely hypothetical trip to Montreal for the end of the semester. 12:20 p.m. J. walks me to the train. I take out my Metrocard and realize I never wound up giving J. cash for the beer. I help the man sitting next to me with his game of Tetris on his phone on my ride home. 1:30 p.m. Meal prep for Tuesday and Wednesday (roasted sweet potato and hard-boiled eggs with mixed greens for lunch, chicken breast and black bean rotini with capers and parsley for dinner), make lunch for today (Trader Joes kale gnocchi and chicken breast), reply to some emails, and scroll Facebook for a bit. The New Subletter is in the kitchen, we chat for a good hour and a half about making art while making a living, and they show me some of their photography. They also make me a little mug of coffee with their Aeropress, which is super nice. 4:45 p.m. Head out on my way to work, my Metrocard is acting up (as it does way more at my station?) but theres a woman near the gate nice enough to bump it open for me, so I dont miss a train. I listen to US Girls on the ride into Manhattan. 8 p.m. Works been pretty slow. I read a few chapters of Freuds Interpretation of Dreams for class and start Sophie Pinkhams Black Square for pleasure. One of my new years resolutions has been to read more, aiming for one book a week. Ive been playing catch up, but if I can finish this one before Wednesday Ill be at four out of five. Black Square is the most readable of all my picks so far. I eat my dinner of black bean rotini, broccoli, and two medium-boiled eggs. 10:30 p.m. Off work and on the subway. I text B. about meeting up to talk more about potential graduate program stuff. I listen to Yung Chomsky on the train ride home and when the woman sitting next to me gets up, I realize she has a Fountainhead tote bag. Coastal elite bubble cities whom. 11:30 p.m. Brush teeth, wash face, take two melatonin gummies, read more Black Square until I fall asleep. Daily Total: $0 Day Six 8 a.m. I wake up and check caucus results only to see that they..dont exist. Take a shower, make chia seeds, raspberries, and Greek yogurt for breakfast, along with a Chemex to take in a thermos. Wear a pair of second-hand wide-leg chinos with low-profile Doc Martens and a velvet button-up. I tie my hair back in a low ponytail at the nape of my neck with a thin patterned red scarf, which when paired with the velvet shirt makes me feel like a pirate. 9:30 a.m. I find a five euro note on the subway platform. Not especially useful now, but not a bad thing to find at all. 12:15 p.m. I eat the salad I brought from home with egg and roasted sweet potato. Im going full tinfoil hat about the Iowa caucus with my group chat of home friends. Head to the library to pick up more books on Freud that I need. 1 p.m. I meet my professor at a nearby coffee shop to discuss potential avenues for an undergrad thesis. I get a macchiato. Its helpful to reign in what Im interested in versus what would be possible to research, but the meeting runs a little over, and I wind up ten minutes late to my next class (oops). $4 4:45 p.m. Out of my second class of the day. I head to Walgreens before work to get two packs of gum and a bottled Ito En Green Tea. On the way into the office, I snag a pack of roasted seaweed to snack on from the tray of food up for grabs. $6.39 10:05 p.m. More reading, sudoku, and crosswords with the occasional troubleshooting call. Ive already chewed half of the first pack of gum (bad habit) and Im dead tired. Put on the newest billy woods album (honestly, I usually just shuffle my Spotify which contains most of these artists, but writing down what I listen to has made me much more conscientious of it, hence more playlists and albums). 10:50 p.m. Finally home! Wash face and brush teeth. One of my roommates (whos been away for most of this diary) is back tonight, and a touring band is crashing on their couch tonight (truly a feat, as that couch is tiny). At one point, my roommate and the band set off the smoke alarm. I wind up falling asleep closer to 1 a.m. Daily Total: $10.39 Day Seven 9:20 a.m. I let myself sleep in a little later than usual, make coffee, and yogurt/raspberries/chia. The kitchen is in a state of disarray from last night, oh well. I get dressed in a pair of way-too-big secondhand black Wranglers, my great grandpas gaudy belt, and a vintage patterned Marni top. 12:05 p.m. I pay a medical bill for an ambulance ride I took back in August. My insurance reimbursed me for 90% of this (it was $1,361 in total), and I dip into my savings from when I was working full time during the summer to pay the remaining ten percent. Im extremely fortunate to a) be on my dads insurance still, and b) have money saved up. $136 1:30 p.m. Eat a salad at home with more roasted sweet potato and two medium-boiled eggs, then head out to catch the train and go to class. The turnstile is acting up again, so another kind person waiting for the train trips the gate again so I dont miss it. 4:45 p.m. Out of class! I head to the radio station where my friend, Q., has a show right now. He matched with my friend/roommate T. on Bumble and wants my advice as to whether or not its a friend thing or something he should pursue. I tell him to go for it!! 5:30 p.m. I go to work, this is the shift I was dreading, as its right after my ex wraps up, and his behavior in the 5-10 minutes we overlap is unpredictable. Today I am simply ignored completely, which honestly is probably the best-case scenario. It still makes me shaky and anxious for a solid 15 minutes. Oh well. Im probably being overdramatic. Do some sudoku, reorganize some cables, watch the Bon Appetit everything on the menu videos. J. swings by between meetings to say hello, and we make plans for tomorrow. 10:20 p.m. Off of work a little early today. Catch the train, get home around 10:50. Theres another little roommate shindig happening, but Im so beat, I elect to stay in my room and attempt to finish Black Square. I have about 60 pages left by the time I go to bed. Daily Total: $136 Money Diaries are meant to reflect individual womens experiences and do not necessarily reflect Refinery29s point of view. Refinery29 in no way encourages illegal activity or harmful behavior. The first step to getting your financial life in order is tracking what you spend to try on your own, check out our guide to managing your money every day. For more money diaries, click here. Do you have a Money Diary youd like to share? Submit it with us here. Have questions about how to submit or our publishing process? Read our Money Diaries FAQ doc here: r29.co/mdfaqs Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here? A Week In Salt Lake City, UT, On A $85,000 Salary A Week In Baltimore, MD, On A $28,000 Salary A Week In Minneapolis, MN, On A $54,000 Salary Paris, Feb 23 : French President Emmanuel Macron has said that he was "not sure" a UK-European Union (EU) trade deal will be struck by December 31, the end of the Brexit transition period. "I am not sure that an agreement will be reached between now and the end of the year," the BBC quoted Macron as saying at a meeting here on Saturday. "Anyway, it is going to become more tense because (the British) are very hard." Macron's comments come as the UK government signalled it would publish detailed demands for a trade deal. The mandate is due to be signed off on Tuesday and will be published online and in Parliament on Thursday, the BBC said in the report. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's chief Brexit negotiator, David Frost, called for a "Canada-Free Trade Agreement-type relationship" with the EU in a speech in Brussels earlier this month - and the mandate will repeat these demands. But EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said such a deal cannot happen. Under Canada's agreement with the EU, which took seven years to negotiate, import tariffs on most goods have been eliminated between the two countries, though there are still customs and VAT checks. UK-EU trade negotiations, led by Barnier and Frost, are slated to begin in Brussels on March 2. Ghanas High Commission to India, Mike Oquaye Jnr has submitted his nomination forms to contest in the upcoming parliamentary primaries for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Dome Kwabenya Constituency. The governing NPP goes to the polls on April 25 in all the 169 constituencies where the party has sitting Members of Parliament to elect its parliamentary candidates for the 2020 general elections Addressing the delegates, the aspiring MP for Dome Kwabenya constituency promised to deliver diligently should he be elected. Described as grassroot man, Mike Oquaye promised to serve the people of Ga East Municipal and help the youth to gain jobs. Briefing the media, Mike Oquaye Jnr who faces stiff competition with the incumbent and Minister of State in Charge of Public Procurement, Sarah Adwoa Safo, stated, I am not at war with my contender who is the incumbent in the constituency, I think I am capable to do more and for the people of Dome Kwabenya. Whether win or lose, its still NPP and together we will work for victory come December 7th. SEOUL (dpa-AFX) - Sixt said it agreed to sell its entire participation in Sixt Leasing SE to Hyundai Capital Bank Europe GmbH, a joint venture of Santander Consumer Bank AG and Hyundai Capital Services. The participation consists of shares representing about 41.9% of the share capital of Sixt Leasing SE. The purchase price agreed for the sale of the participation amounts to about 155.6 million euros, or 18.00 euros per sold share. Sixt SE expects the sale to be completed in the second half of 2020. In addition, Sixt SE will be entitled to a dividend on its participation in Sixt Leasing SE for the financial year 2019 of up to 0.90 euros per share. Sixt SE has communicated to Sixt Leasing SE an expected dividend for the fiscal year 2019 in the amount of up to 0.90 euros per share. Should the sale be closed prior to this year's annual general meeting of Sixt Leasing SE, the purchase price would be increased accordingly to up to about 163.4 million euros or up to 18.90 euros per sold share. Upon completion of the sale of Sixt SE's participation in Sixt Leasing SE, Sixt SE will presumably generate a mid-double-digit million euro amount as extraordinary pre-tax profit at group level. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de All eyes are on Peter Weber as he approaches the end of his Bachelor season. But before Weber, we cant forget all the drama that occurred on Bachelor in Paradise. Demi Burnett from Colton Underwoods Bachelor season hit it off with Derek Peth from JoJo Fletchers season of The Bachelorette while on the beaches of Mexico. Unfortunately, Burnett cut her time with Peth short, as she pursued her relationship with girlfriend Kristian Haggerty instead. Peth tried to make new connections in Paradise, but he was left heartbroken when it came time to say goodbye to Burnett. And despite Burnett and Haggerty getting engaged on the show, theyve since parted ways. Now, Burnett appears to be single. And Peth is back to publicly posting on her Instagram. Heres what he wrote about her lack of flaws. Demi Burnett dumped Derek Peth on Bachelor in Paradise Derek Peth and Demi Burnett on Bachelor in Paradise | John Fleenor/ABC via Getty Images Burnett and Peth instantly connected in Paradise, and many loved their drama-less, easy-going relationship. Unfortunately, Burnett found herself drawn to Haggerty, the woman back home, despite developing a serious connection to Peth. I have this girl that I cant stop thinking about and then I have you, an amazing guy, in front of me that has blown my mind with how great of a person you are, Burnett told Peth in Paradise. And Im trying to figure it out, but right now Im just really torn. Those who watched the show know Burnett ultimately picks Haggerty. And Peth takes the breakup gracefully, as he truly wants the best for the woman he was falling for. He later sent a tweet out to fellow BIP star Mike Johnson for helping him get through one of the most difficult moments in his life, which was when Burnett told him the honest truth. Peth called Burnett flawless on her Instagram post It seems Peth might still have some lingering feelings for Burnett. While Burnett and Haggerty seemed like a great match, they broke up back in October 2019. With a heavy heart full of love for one another we have decided it is best for us to take a step back from our relationship, Burnett announced on Instagram. We ultimately want what is best for us in the long run and for us right now, that means being apart and growing individually. Since then, Burnett has been focusing on her Sex Positive campaign, and shes also made many statements about being the first openly LGBTQ person on any of the Bachelor shows. And given what Peth commented on Burnetts selfie she posted on Feb. 18, we can tell he still thinks of her. I just really like dis pic, Burnett captioned the post. To that, Peth commented, i see no flaws. This isnt the first time Peth has reached out publicly to Burnett Fans freaked out when they saw Peth basically calling Burnett flawless, of course. As one fan commented on what Peth wrote, can yall please date again?! #teamremick(Demi/ Derek) but also your both killing it solo so like do what feels right. Another wrote, I still ship. We cant forget that this is far from the first time Peth has commented on Burnetts Instagram since their split, too. Back on Nov. 10, 2019, Peth commented on another photo Burnett added of herself. And it got their followers talking back then as well, as one wrote, petition to get Demi and Derek back together. Will Burnett and Peth ever give their relationship another shot? Weve seen plenty of exes meet again in Paradise, so perhaps theyll both be traveling to the beaches of Mexico again in the future to rekindle their flame. Theres also the chance they have a fantastic and easy friendship that they dont want to ruin with romance, too. But given how heartbroken Peth was, were betting hed love another chance with Burnett. Check out Showbiz Cheat Sheet on Facebook! Senior officials of the telecom department and other key ministries met on Sunday to discuss urgent relief measures that can be extended to the telecom industry, which is battling an unprecedented crisis on account of massive statutory dues it owes the government. The meeting, held at the Department of Telecom, lasted for over an hour and is said to have deliberated on options before the government to provide much-needed lifeline to the AGR-hit industry. Telecom czar and Chairman of Bharti Airtel Sunil Mittal had last week made an appeal to the government for cut in levies and taxes to pull the sector out of what he had described as an "unprecedented crisis". Telecom department officials remained tightlipped after high-level government meeting on Sunday, where officials from NITI Aayog and Finance Ministry are said to have been present. Secretary Anshu Prakash remained unavailable for comments. The crucial meeting comes at a time when the telecom are staring at Rs 1.47 lakh crore in unpaid dues -- Rs 92,642 crore in unpaid licence fee and another Rs 55,054 crore in outstanding spectrum usage charges. Of the estimated dues that include interest and penalty for late payments, Airtel and Vodafone Idea owe about 60 per cent. While Airtel has raised USD 3 billion in last few months and is expected to have sufficient funds to tide over the AGR crisis, Vodafone Idea - that has only paid just seven per cent of its total Rs 53,000 crore statutory dues - remains deeply vulnerable. The government, meanwhile, is looking to strike a balance between complying with the Supreme Court order on AGR dues, ensuring health of the sector and safeguarding consumer interest. Both Mittal and VIL Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla continued to meet top government functionaries throughout last week to seek prompt measures that would offer a breather to the sector. A top government official had said recently that attempts are being made to balance the need for health of the sector, consumer interest while complying with the Supreme Court order on statutory dues. Although the official had not elaborated, sector watchers had said the statement alludes to the government keen on ensuring adequate competition by retaining the present three-plus-one model of competition (three private players and one public sector company). The statutory dues arose after the Supreme Court, in October last year, upheld the government's position on including revenue from non-core businesses in calculating the annual (AGR) of telecom companies, a share of which is paid as licence and spectrum fee to the exchequer. The Supreme Court earlier this month rejected a plea by mobile carriers such as Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea Ltd for extension in the payment schedule and asked all of them to deposit an estimated Rs 1.47 lakh crore in past dues for spectrum and licences. It threatened to initiate contempt proceedings against top executives of these firms for non-payment. Some telecom firms are already struggling with mounting losses and debt and the additional liability has raised concerns of them defaulting on existing loans. Vodafone Idea has so far paid only Rs 3,500 crore in two tranches. Airtel has paid Rs 10,000 crore out of its estimated liability of over Rs 35,000 crore. Tata Teleservices has paid Rs 2,197 crore, the entire outstanding it believes to have arisen after the October ruling of the apex court for calculating dues. February 22, 2020 " Information Clearing House " - I was in Kabul in 2010 when Julian Assange and WikiLeaks first released a vast archive of classified US government documents, revealing what Washington really knew about what was happening in the world. I was particularly interested in one of these disclosures, which came in the shape of a video that the Pentagon had refused to release despite a Freedom of Information Act request. When WikiLeaks did release the video, it was obvious why the US generals had wanted to keep it secret. Three years earlier, I had been in Baghdad when a US helicopter machine-gunned and fired rockets at a group of civilians on the ground who its pilots claimed were armed insurgents, killing or wounding many of them. Journalists in Iraq were disbelieving about the US militarys claims because the dead included two reporters from the Reuters news agency. Nor was it likely that insurgents would have been walking in the open with their weapons when a US Apache helicopter was overhead. We could not prove anything until WikiLeaks made public the film from the Apache. Viewing it still has the power to shock: the pilots are cock-a-hoop as they hunt their prey, including people in a vehicle who stop to help the wounded, saying, Oh yeah, look at those dead bastards, and, Ha, ha, I hit them. Anybody interested in why the US failed in Iraq should have a look. The WikiLeaks revelations in 2010 and in 2016 are the present-day equivalent of the release by Daniel Ellsberg in 1971 of the Pentagon Papers, unmasking the true history of the US engagement in the Vietnam War. They are, in fact, of even greater significance because they are more wide-ranging and provide an entry point into the world as the US government really sees it. The disclosures were probably the greatest journalistic scoop in history, and newspapers such as The New York Times recognised this by the vast space they gave to the revelations. Corroboration of their importance has been grimly confirmed by the rage of the US security establishment and its overseas allies, and the furious determination with which they have pursued Assange, the co-founder of WikiLeaks. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter Daniel Ellsberg is rightly treated as a hero who revealed the truth about Vietnam, but Assange, whose actions were very similar to Ellsbergs, is held in Belmarsh high-security prison. He faces a hearing in London this week to decide whether he will be extradited from the UK to the US on spying charges. If extradited, he stands a good chance of being sentenced to 175 years in the US prison system under the Espionage Act of 1917. Ever since Assange orchestrated the release of documents through WikiLeaks, he has been the target of repeated official attempts to discredit him or, at the very least, to muddy the waters in a case that should be all about freedom of speech. The initial bid to demonise Assange came immediately after the first release of documents, claiming that it would cost the lives of people who were named. The US government still argues that lives were put at risk by WikiLeaks, although it has never produced evidence for this. On the contrary, the US counter-intelligence official who was in charge of the Pentagons investigation into the impact of the WikiLeaks disclosures admitted in evidence in 2013 that there was not a single instance of an individual being killed by enemy forces as a result of what WikiLeaks had done. Brigadier General Robert Carr, head of the Pentagons Information Review Task Force, told the sentencing hearing for Chelsea Manning that his initial claim that an individual named by WikiLeaks had been killed by the Taliban in Afghanistan was incorrect. The name of the individual was not in the disclosures, he admitted. On the day the WikiLeaks revelations were made public, I had a pre-arranged meeting in Kabul with a US official who asked what the coding on the top of the leaked papers was. When I read this out, he was dismissive about the extent to which the deep secrets of the US state were being revealed. I learned later the reason for his relaxed attitude. The database Manning had accessed was called SIPRNet (Secret Internet Protocol Router), which is a US military internet system. After 9/11, it was used to make sure that confidential information available to one part of the US government was available to others. The number of people with the right security clearance who could theoretically access SIPRNet was about 3 million, although the number with the correct password, while still substantial, would have been much fewer. The US government is not so naive as to put real secrets on a system whose purpose was to be open to so many people, including a low-ranking sergeant such as Chelsea Manning. Sensitive materials from defence attaches and the like were sent through alternative, more secure channels. Had the US security services really been using a system as insecure as SIPRNet to send the names of those whose lives would be in danger if their identity were disclosed, they soon would have run short of recruits. The false accusation that lives had been lost, or could have been lost, because of WikiLeaks damaged Assange. More damaging by far are the allegations that he has faced of the rape and sexual molestation of two women in Sweden in 2010. He denies the allegations, but they have condemned him to permanent status as a pariah in the eyes of many. The Swedish prosecutor discontinued the rape investigation last year because of time elapsed, but this makes no difference for those who feel that anything Assange has said or done is permanently tainted and that the WikiLeaks disclosures are only a tangential issue. Likewise, much of the media views Assanges character and alleged behaviour as the only story worth covering. Although information about SIPRNet and General Carrs evidence was published long ago, few journalists seem to be aware of this. But it is not because of anything that may have happened in Sweden that Assange is threatened with extradition to the US to face prosecution under the Espionage Act. The charges all relate to the release of government secrets, the sort of thing that all journalists should aspire to do, and many have done in Britain and the US without being subject to official sanctions. Compare the British governments eagerness to detain Assange with its lack of interest in pursuing whoever leaked the secret cables of the British ambassador to the US, Kim Darroch, to the Mail on Sunday last year. His negative comments about Donald Trump provoked an angry reaction from the president that forced Darroch to resign. Assange has made disclosures about the activities of the US government that are more significant than the revelations in the Pentagon Papers. That is why he has been pursued to this day, and his punishment is so much more severe than anything inflicted on Daniel Ellsberg. This article was published by "The Independent" Do you agree or disagree? Post your comment here Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) president Kumari Selja has slammed the BJP-JJP alliance government of the state for the new excise policy and the decision to take away the land of Dhauli given to the Brahmin families. In a statement on Sunday, she said that those who used to talk of closing liquor vends in the state have made arrangements for opening liquor vends from house-to-house today. "Eliminating 15 per cent quota in liquor vend contracts of Dalits exposes the anti-Dalit face of this government. Dhauli (donation) land given by the Congress government to the Brahmin families is being taken away by the present government, which is highly condemnable," she said. Kumari Selja said that our state is already getting entangled in the swamp of drugs. On the other hand, the decision of the government giving relaxation on sale of liquor in shopping malls, reduction in the prices of beer, allowing the bar to open till 1 am in midnight and giving permission to keep liquor boxes in the house shows that the government promotes intoxication in the state. She said that the parties involved in this government used to talk about liquor ban in the elections, but today the real face of these parties has come before the people of the state. This decision of the government will have serious consequences, she said. Selja said that be it the government of the state or the Central government, Dalits were repeatedly tortured in this government. Sometimes there was a conspiracy to end their reservation, sometimes the law against the oppression of Dalits is not properly advocated, which was rejected in the Supreme Court. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Their characters never met on the show. But Jana Kramer posed up a storm with Hilarie Burton at a One Tree Hill reunion convention in Wilmington, North Carolina this week. Jana, 36, posted an Instagram snap Friday night that showed her cuddling up to Hilarie in a recreation of the show's all-ages nightclub Tric. Together at last: Jana Kramer (left) posed up a storm with Hilarie Burton (right) at a One Tree Hill reunion convention in Wilmington, North Carolina this week Throwback: Hilarie's character Peyton Sawyer (left) and Jana's Alex Dupre (right) never met each other on the hit show Referring to Hilarie and her characters respectively, Jana wrote: 'When Peyton and Alex meet for the first time at Tric.....its magic;).' Jana also got to reunite with her dashing old co-star Stephen Colletti, whose character Chase was romantically involved with Alex. 'Chase and Alex reunite back in Tric after 8 years....#onetreehill,' wrote Jana alongside a picture of Stephen with his arm around her. Both Alex and Chase were introduced late in the series - he began appearing on One Tree Hill in season four and she in season seven. 'Chase and Alex reunite': Jana also got to reunite with her dashing old co-star Stephen Colletti, whose character Chase was romantically involved with her character Alex The program, which ran from 2003 to 2012, was largely filmed in Wilmington but its setting was a fictional North Carolina town called Tree Hill. Reunion conventions occur regularly in Wilmington and this year's edition will reportedly include 22 actors who appeared on the show. Chad Michael Murray, Daphne Zuniga, Moira Kelly, James Lafferty, Lee Norris and Barbara Alyn Woods will be among them. The way they were: Stephen is pictured playing a scene with Jana for the ninth and final season of One Tree Hill, which aired in 2012 Friends With Benefit Charity Events have put together the current three-day fete, which is entitled A Weekend in Tree Hill 2. A group of One Tree Hill cast members also got to have a reunion last month at a Golden Globes after-party at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Danneel Ackles, Bryan Greenberg and Sophia Bush were in each other's company again at a party thrown by InStyle and Warner Bros. What a night: (from left) Danneel Ackles, Bryan Greenberg and Sophia Bush were together again last month at a Golden Globes after-party thrown by InStyle and Warner Bros Burton also took to Instagram herself to share photo of her reuniting with One Tree Hill co-stars Chad Michael Murray and James Lafferty. 'I got a job when I was 20 years old that gave me some of the most important relationships and experiences of my life,' Burton began. 'I didnt take nearly enough pictures this weekend and didnt get photo evidence of everyone, but I love @raenia23 at @fwbcharityevents for bringing us all together,' she added. 'Thick and thin, our shared history has been a cornerstone in my life. Love you guys. Xxx,' Burton concluded. Reunited: Burton also took to Instagram herself to share photo of her reuniting with One Tree Hill co-stars Chad Michael Murray and James Lafferty Important: 'I got a job when I was 20 years old that gave me some of the most important relationships and experiences of my life,' Burton began Pictures: 'I didnt take nearly enough pictures this weekend and didnt get photo evidence of everyone, but I love @raenia23 at @fwbcharityevents for bringing us all together,' she added Shared history: 'Thick and thin, our shared history has been a cornerstone in my life. Love you guys. Xxx,' Burton concluded A lot of the rhetoric is promising people that this project is right there, its ready to go and all we need is Prime Minister Trudeau, said Andrew Leach, an energy economist at the University of Alberta. Even if he said yes, at a minimum, this project is years away, and it would need a big rebound in oil prices. ANCHORAGE, Alaska Alaska needs a comprehensive review effort to improve aviation safety because its aviation fatal and non fatal accident rates are far higher than the national average, the National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday. The NTSB issued a safety recommendation to the Federal Aviation Administration calling for the formation of a group focused on safety to better review, rank and integrate Alaskas unique aviation needs into the FAA safety enhancement process. We need to marshal the resources of the FAA to tackle aviation safety in Alaska in a comprehensive way, NTSB Chairman Robert L. Sumwalt said in a prepared statement. The status quo is, frankly, unacceptable. Alaskas aviation accident rate was 2.35 times higher than the rest of the nation from 2008 to 2017, the NTSB said. The fatal accident rate in the Alaska was 1.34 times higher than the national average, according to NTSB statistics. The latest fatal crash occurred Feb. 6. A pilot and four passengers died when a Yute Commuter airplane crashed near Tuntutuliak in southwest Alaska. Aviation safety in Alaska has been an ongoing concern for the NTSB. The board in August 2017 met in Anchorage in a rare investigative hearing outside Washington, D.C., to increase awareness of controlled flight into terrain accidents, in which an airworthy aircraft is flown unintentionally into ground or water. The hearing focused on an Oct. 2 , 2016, crash of a Hageland Aviation Services airplane into a mountain between the southwest Alaska villages of Quinhagak and Togiak, two tiny communities off the road system. The crash killed two pilots and a passenger. The two villages. like dozens of other Alaska communities, are not connected to the state road system. Flying is a way of life to reach such destinations. The challenge is increased by the need to cross mountain ranges, open water or regions where weather changes quickly. Alaska also lacks infrastructure that is routine in other parts of the country, including technology that can provide certified weather information. Without certified weather information, flying under instrument flight rules is prohibited and must be conducted under visual flight rules. Flying at an altitude of 500 feet (150 meters) is allowed under visual rules. Testimony at the 2017 hearing indicated that pilots sometimes turn off an airplanes Terrain Avoidance and Warning System to avoid repeated alerts or hard warnings when an aircraft drops to 700 feet (215 meters). The FAA has initiatives to improve Alaska aviation safety. But the silo-like nature of the FAAs sprawling organization makes it difficult to develop a comprehensive plan for a statesuch asAlaska, Sumwalt said. The FAA in statement provided by spokesman Allen Kenitzer said the agency has a long history of promoting safety initiatives in Alaska and strongly supports bringing together stakeholders to identify safety risk areas and potential solutions. The FAA will carefully review the recommendation that the NTSB issued today, the agency said. The NTSB recommendation was prompted in part by a September meeting in Anchorage in which aviation groups discussed how flying safety could be improved. The September discussion focused on aviation regulations that cover charter and business flights. Participants discussed improving pilot training and consistently managing weather risks. But the challenges apply to all aviation operations, the NTSB said. All pilots must deal with Alaskas challenging geography and weather, Sumwalt said. We need to give them all the tools and resources to do so safely. The FAA in its response said it holds pre- and post-season discussions with air tour operators to discuss safety lessons learned from recent operations. The FAA has deployed 230 weather cameras throughout Alaska, providing pilots with visual weather information and updates every 10 minutes. The FAA continues to work with the National Weather Service to increase coverage of Automated Weather Observing Stations and forecast programs for 157 Alaska airports, the agency said. About the photo: This Oct. 17, 2019, file photo, shows a commuter airplane that crashed near the airport in Unalaska, Alaska, killing a passenger. Alaska needs a comprehensive review effort to improve aviation safety because its aviation fatal and non fatal accident rates are far higher than the national average, the National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday. (Jim Paulin via AP, File) Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. An Airbus A350-900 XWB aircraft. REUTERS/Tim Chong Airbus recently delivered to 350th Airbus A350 aircraft to one of its top customers, Air France. The Airbus A350 program was first approved by Airbus in 2006 in response to the Boeing 777 and 787 Dreamliner programs that were becoming popular with airlines and highlighted Airbus' inadequacies in the twin-engine market. Fourteen years later, the Airbus A350 is a symbol of efficiency in aviation and reshaping long-haul air travel. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Airbus delivered its 350th A350 aircraft to Air France earlier in February, marking a milestone for one of the manufacturer's newest twin-engine wide-body offerings. The delivery came six years after the first Airbus A350 was delivered to a customer in 2014, and seven years after its first flight in 2013. Since its arrival in the skies, the A350's reach has spread far and wide, with no shortage of orders for the next-generation aircraft. The A350 has renewed fleets, been the platform for new products, and opened routes previously thought to be unviable, all in its short time in the sky. Much like Boeing with the 777 and 787 Dreamliner, the A350 marked a turning point for Airbus that saw it shift to producing next-generation twin-engines instead of going big with aircraft like the A380, a commercial flop for Airbus which will end the program after less than 300 deliveries. With the A350 quickly surpassing the A380 in terms of orders, it's been a successful aircraft for Airbus and is ushering in the future for the manufacturer and air travel. Take a look back at the history of the Airbus A350. In 2005, Airbus' landmark achievement of engineering and design, the Airbus A380, took its first flight. Airbus a380 AP Source: Airbus Airbus' quad engine double-decker had finally bested Boeing and its 1.5 deck 747 aircraft that had dominated the skies since the 1960s. It was called the 21st-century flagship by Airbus and sought to change aviation the same way the 747 did. Story continues FILE - In this June 18, 2015, file photo, an Airbus A380 takes off for its demonstration flight at the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget airport, north of Paris. Commercial airliner maker Airbus is releasing 2019 earnings on Thursday, Feb. 12. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, file) Associated Press Source: Airbus Airbus, however, was looking in the wrong direction as rival Boeing was focused on the next generation of air travel that didn't involve four-engine aircraft. Airbus A380 Getty Images Two years prior to the A380s first flight, Boeing had announced it was developing a new plane with only two engines, piggybacking off the success of the 777 that had entered service with United Airlines in 1995 and was revolutionizing twin-engine travel. Boeing 787 Dreamliner Ted S. Warren/AP Images Source: Boeing That aircraft was the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, a commercial success for Boeing that would later be found in the fleets of airlines the world over by the mid-2010s. boeing 787 dreamliner Randall Hill/Reuters With airlines warning Airbus that its current plans for a next-generation aircraft, which was basically a carbon fiber A330 with new engines, wouldn't be enough to convert 787 customers to A350 customers, Airbus went back to the drawing board. Airbus A330-300 Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images Source: Reuters The Airbus board was largely divided on the aircraft and the decision to produce the aircraft wasn't even settled when the aircraft was first announced in 2006 at the Farnborough Airshow. Airbus A350 unveil Farnborough 2006 LEON NEAL/AFP/Getty Source: Reuters Later that year, however, Airbus decided on a design for a new, clean slate carbon aircraft with two engines and the A350 in its final form was born, a $13 billion endeavor. Airbus A350 Thomas SAMSON/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Source: New York Times and Reuters So while the Airbus A380 was making history with its first flight, it was nearly obsolete before its wheels ever left the ground as Airbus was already shifting towards twin-engine aircraft. FILE PHOTO: An Emirates Airline Airbus A380-800 takes off from Dubai International Airport in Dubai, United Arab Emirates February 15, 2019. REUTERS/Christopher Pike Christopher Pike/Reuters The new aircraft would a direct competitor to the 787 Dreamliner and 777, with three variants planned to include the smaller -800, midsize -900, and larger -1000, and seat capacity ranging from 250 to 375 Christian Scherer, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer, speaks during a news conference for the delivery of the first Fiji Airways A350 XWB airliner at the aircraft builder's headquarters of Airbus in Colomiers near Toulouse, France, November 15, 2019. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau Reuters Source: New York Times and CNN The decision to start fresh instead of giving the A330 a makeover was influenced primarily by airlines and other customers, including Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker and aircraft leasing magnate Steven F. Udvar-Hazy. FILE PHOTO: Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker is seen during the 53rd International Paris Air Show at Le Bourget Airport near Paris, France, June 17, 2019. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo Reuters Source: Reuters A key feature of the aircraft would also be included in its full name, A350 Extra Wide Body or XWB, with the cabin width being slightly larger than the 787's at 5.61 meters. FRENCH BEE AIRBUS A350.900 11 French bee Source: Airbus The extra meters allow for as many as 10 seats per row to be installed on the aircraft, though many airlines opt for nine. Virgin Atlantic A350 51 David Slotnick/Business Insider Development of the aircraft began the next year in 2007 with an estimated first flight in 2013. In the meantime, orders were piling up from major airlines including Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines. Qatar Airways A350 Order ERIC PIERMONT/AFP/Getty Source: Singapore Airlines Though General Electric was initially sought after to provide engines to power the aircraft, Rolls Royce eventually became the top A350 engine supplier with its more efficient Trent XWB exclusively found on the aircraft. Virgin Atlantic A350 57 David Slotnick/Business Insider Source: Seattle Times and FlightGlobal The new Rolls Royce engines helped Airbus achieve a greater level of efficiency with the A350. According to the manufacturer, the aircraft is 25% more efficient than its current generation wide-body aircraft and its largest variant can fly up to 8,700 nautical miles. Virgin Atlantic A350 5 David Slotnick/Business Insider Source: Airbus Production for the aircraft took place across Europe with production sites in France, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom, among others. Airbus A350 Production Alain DENANTES/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Source: Airbus Ultimately, the smallest -800 variant would be dropped and the sub-250-seat market would be given to the upcoming Airbus A330neo project. Airbus A330-900neo REGIS DUVIGNAU/Reuters The cockpit of the aircraft would be one of the most technologically advanced to be featured on an Airbus jet with pilots being fed information from high-definition screens and having access to multiple exterior cameras. Airbus A350 cockpit Thomas Pallini/Business Insider Following a six-year production, the A350 was transferred from the final assembly line in Toulouse to the flight test department in May 2013 to perform 2,500 hours of testing before it could be certified. Airbus A350 Test Flight AKSARAN/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Source: Bloomberg The final design of the A350 would look nothing like the A330 and boast a carbon fiber fuselage with blended winglets called sharklets giving it a more sporty look. Airbus A350 AKSARAN/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Then in June, the first Airbus A350 took to the skies for the first time with scores of computers and engineers onboard to test its capabilities. Airbus A350 First Flight AKSARAN/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Source: Airbus Following successful test flights and certifications from EASA and the FAA, Qatar Airways took the first delivery of an Airbus A350-900 XWB in December 2014, marking a new era for Airbus that would see it double down on next-generation aircraft. Qatar Airways Mustafa Ciftci/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Source: CNN Following Qatar Airways taking the first four A350s to be delivered by Airbus, other carriers started to receive their orders including Vietnam Airlines, Vietnam Airlines Airbus A350 THOMAS WHITE/Reuters Finnair Finnair Airbus A350 Daniel Bockwoldt/picture alliance/Getty Singapore Airlines Singapore Airlines Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images LATAM Airlines Brasil... LATAM Airlines Airbus A350 REGIS DUVIGNAU/Reuters Ethiopian Airlines Ethiopian Airlines Airbus A350 Yu Chun Christopher Wong/S3studio/Getty Cathay Pacific FILE PHOTO: A Cathay Pacific Airways Airbus A350-900 airplane approaches to land at Changi International Airport in Singapore June 10, 2018. REUTERS/Tim Chong Reuters Thai Airways International Thai Airways International Airbus A350 Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto/Getty China Airlines China Airlines Will Lester/MediaNews Group/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/Getty Lufthansa... Lufthansa Airbus A350 model Saumya Khandelwal/Hindustan Times/Getty Air Caraibes... Air Caraibes Airbus A350 Fabrizio Gandolfo/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty and Asiana Airlines. FILE PHOTO: An Asiana Airlines Airbus A350-900 is seen at the Airbus delivery center in Colomiers near Toulouse, France, March 20, 2019. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photo Reuters The aircraft was growing in popularity in most continents, though with one notable standout: North America. That was until Delta Air Lines received its first A350 in 2017, the first US-based A350 operator. Delta Air Lines Airbus A350 GREG BAKER/AFP/Getty Source: Delta Air Lines While the -900 was becoming more pervasive, some airlines decided to hold out for the larger A350 variant that was to make its commercial debut in 2018, the Airbus A350-1000 XWB. The Airbus A350 1000, a passenger jet, soars through the clouds at the 53rd International Paris Air Show. Pascal Rossignol/REUTERS The A350-1000 XWB is an extended version of the -900, offering a longer fuselage by over 20 feet and capable of holding over 400 passengers in a high-density configuration. FILE PHOTO: An Airbus A350-1000 performs during the 53rd International Paris Air Show at Le Bourget Airport near Paris, France June 18, 2019. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo Reuters Source: Airbus The latest A350 would come soon after the -900 debuted, performing its first flight in November 2016. An Airbus A350-1000 taxies during the 53rd International Paris Air Show at Le Bourget Airport near Paris, France, June 17 2019. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol Reuters Source: Airbus Qatar Airways, again, became the first operator of the aircraft type when it took delivery in February 2018. Qatar Airways Airbus A350 1000 REGIS DUVIGNAU/Reuters Once the -1000 debuted, more airlines started adopting the A350, most notably the two largest UK carriers British Airways British Airways Airbus A350 George Pimentel/Getty And Virgin Atlantic Airways. Virgin Atlantic Plane in Flight Nicolas Economou/Getty Images Both carriers were already operators of the Boeing 787 with the A350 complementing their next-generation fleets, as was the case with many A350 customers. LAX Day Trip Alaska Airlines - Virgin Atlantic Boeing 787 Dreamliner Thomas Pallini/Business Insider The A350 also managed to penetrate Boeing strongholds including Japan where American aircraft reign supreme over European types. Japan Airlines Jets Tokyo Haneda REUTERS/ Toru Hanai Japan Airlines, which had long favored Boeing products alongside rival All Nippon Airways, became the first Japanese operator of a next-generation Airbus twin-engine wide-body when it received its first A350-900 XWB in 2019. Japan Airlines Kyodo News via Getty Images The aircraft soon started to displace the Boeing 787 Dreamliner on the list of longest flights in the world, with the longest routes for the A350 including Singapore and San Francisco operated by Singapore Airlines, an approximately 7,350-nautical mile route... Singapore Airlines Airbus A350 Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto/Getty Source: Forbes Manila and New York operated by Philippine Airlines, around 7,400 nautical miles Philippine Airlines TED ALJIBE/AFP/Getty Source: Forbes Singapore and Los Angeles operated by Singapore Airlines, a near-7,650-nautical mile route Singapore Airlines A350 Edgar Su/Reuters Source: Forbes And Singapore and Newark, again operated by Singapore Airlines, currently the longest nonstop route in the world with an approximate length of 8,300 nautical miles. For this route, the airline uses a specially configured Airbus A350, the A350-900 Ultra Long Range or ULR. Singapore Airlines A350 C. v. Grinsven/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Source: Forbes The A350 is shaping to be the new face of ultra-long-haul travel, as Qantas recently selected the aircraft to operate its planned nonstop flights from Sydney to London and New York over Boeing's offering. The flights, currently in testing under the name Project Sunrise, would be the longest in the world with nearly an entire day in the air. Qantas Project Sunrise QF7879 Pilots David Slotnick/Business Insider The aircraft continues to dominate in Europe and Asia but has not been as well received in the Western Hemisphere or south of the Equator, with only a handful of carriers in North America, South America, and Africa purchasing the aircraft. Airbus A350 1000 Farnborough Air Show 2018 Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider South African Airways became the first sub-equatorial airline in continental Africa to operate the aircraft, though it's unclear whether or not the airline will be around to continue operating them as it continues to face financial issues. South African Airways Airbus A350 South African Airways Source: Business Insider United Airlines will become the second US operator of the A350 when it begins taking delivery of its order for 45 of the type in 2027. The airline already flies all three variants of the 787 Dreamliner. united airlines Justin Sullivan / Getty Images Source: The Points Guy Airbus just delivered its 350th Airbus A350 to Air France last week, with deliveries and orders continuing to rise. Air France Airbus A350 PASCAL PAVANI/AFP/Getty Source: Air France The aircraft is also being used by Airbus to help usher in the future of air travel, with an A350-1000 XWB performing an autonomous takeoff with no pilot input in December. Airbus A350 Demonstrates First Fully Automatic Vision Based Take Off Airbus Source: Business Insider What began as a hasty effort to compete with Boeing ended up giving Airbus the aircraft to lead it and the aviation industry into the future. FILE PHOTO: An Airbus A350 takes off at the aircraft builder's headquarters in Colomiers near Toulouse, France, September 27, 2019. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau Reuters Read the original article on Business Insider The hit BBC television crime drama series 'Line of Duty' crew were filming in Belfast city centre. The filming involved in a scene set on the doorstep of the fictional police station. Stars of Line of Duty have been seen filming for the sixth series of the hit drama in Belfast city centre. Adrian Dunbar was seen in character as Superintendent Ted Hastings outside Belfast Central Library on Royal Avenue. The city centre location is used as fictional police station Pelbury House in the drama, the finale of which drew nine million viewers in May last year. Mr Dunbar was joined by show creator Jed Mercurio on Sunday, as well as Martin Compston, who plays Detective Sergeant Steve Arnott, also a member of AC-12 - a special unit charged with investigating police force corruption. Expand Close The hit BBC television crime drama series 'Line of Duty' crew were filming in Belfast city centre. Photopress Belfast / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The hit BBC television crime drama series 'Line of Duty' crew were filming in Belfast city centre. The actors and crew appeared to be filming a scene set on the doorstep of the police station, with an 18-month-jump between series five and series six set to take place. The stars will be joined by new recruit Kelly McDonald for the series, which will focus on an enigmatic detective chief inspector played by Ms McDonald. She will take on the role of Joanne Davidson, a senior investigating officer on an unsolved murder case. Speaking to the Sunday Business Post, Adrian Dunbar said the landscape of the drama will have shifted when viewers sit down to series six. Expand Close The filming involved in a scene set on the doorstep of the fictional police station. Photopress Belfast / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The filming involved in a scene set on the doorstep of the fictional police station. "There are a lot of similar tropes . . . were still after bent coppers, organised crime groups and so forth, but there are other things that are different. "Its been a long time since weve been back to AC12, so things have changed there. In essence, were lucky that in Jed Mercurio we have a writer who is not lazy. He has set the bar very high and kept it there, so I dont think were going to disappoint our audience at all." The new series will premiere on BBC One later this year. It was 1996 and the historic Jersey City building was not in great shape. The front porch was falling off. Windows were boarded up. There was water damage and the attic was filled with junkand bat feces. The Van Wagenen House, also known as the Apple Tree House prominent due to an unconfirmed claim that generals George Washington and Marquis de Lafayette met under an apple tree on the property to discuss Revolutionary War Strategywas in danger of being demolished. It was just truly in a dilapidated state, said Courtenay Mercer, who was familiar with the property. It was uninhabitable at that point. But two years later, the city bought the property with the intention of preserving it and designating it as a local landmark. It took nearly two decades, but in 2017, the house reopened to the public with the ability to host events and house the offices of the Jersey City Division of Cultural Affairs and Jersey City Economic Development Corporation. One group that deserves at least partial credit is Preservation New Jersey, a nonprofit based in West Trenton that supports historic preservation through advocacy and education. Since its launch 25 years ago, Preservation New Jersey has highlighted 250 historic sites all across the state and all in varying shapes of decline that need attention. Through the groups efforts, and specifically their annual top 10 list, they hope to bring more awareness to historic properties, and eventually make a legislative change that would encourage more historic restoration. Top 10 Lists Every year, Preservation New Jersey publishes a list, highlighting the 10 Most Endangered Historic Places in NJ. The process starts with a public call for nominations in the fall, accepting them up until the New Year, Mercer, the organizations director, said. A committee of historic preservation experts start fact-checking the nominations in January and decide which properties go on the list, up until April. The committee then writes up paragraphs for each nomination and releases the top 10 list in May, she said. The group has done this for 25 years, with varying degrees of success, Mercer said. Of the 250 sites since the start, roughly 15% have been saved in that theyve been restored and are getting use, she said. Another 15% have been lost, and then everything else is kinda in the middle, in various degrees, she said. The other categories they use to classify propertiescritical, progress made, endangered, etc.are more fluid. So for example, critical is right before lost forever, Mercer said. Its so deteriorated that if somebody doesnt come in there, soon, its a lost cause, she told NJ Advance Media, versus progress made, would be we know that they got a grant and its not restored yet, but theres a movement, or somebody bought it and has said they plan to restore it. Celebrating their 25th anniversary at an upcoming gala in March, Preservation New Jersey sees its advocacy work as an important part of preserving the states history, one local property at a time. We dont have the capacity to fight for all the structures in New Jersey. They need someone locally-minded and so generally, when we select the sites, we try to make sure there is somebody interested in saving it and our public relations effort helps galvanize efforts to help in the grassroots effort, Mercer said. Challenges to restoration A lot of the properties are in danger of being demolished due to development pressure, Mercer said. Theres also a lack of funding for these types of properties, both to maintain and restore them, which has not changed since Preservation New Jerseys start. Maybe the locations have shifted a little bit. As were seeing our urban centers revitalized, were seeing more pressure to tear down structures in the cities and downtowns, she said, but the reasons behind it has not really changed, nor the number coming in every year. Theres also the issue of government restrictions. For example, if a property is on the historic registry, there are stricter guidelines for restoration, including needing to submit the intent of the renovation to the state, explained Francis Reiner, an urban designer and partner at DMR Architects. This is compared to a property that may have historical value but isnt actually on the register, so its more flexible what you can do to the property. DMR Architects helped convert a 140-year-old former Masonic temple in downtown Hackensack to a performing arts center, Reiner said. A 400-year-old former Masonic temple in downtown Hackensack was converted into a performing arts center. They kept the exterior and architectural style of the building intact and gutted the interior of the building. They also assessed the structure, making sure the second floor was capable of handling live loads of audiences and the whole building was up to code. Because it was not historically registered, we were able to make those changes and do those things and put back something that really benefits the community, Reiner told NJ Advance Media. Cost is another potentially prohibitive factor of designating and preserving these properties. Funding has always been an issue, although that part has gotten slightly better in recent years, Eric Holtermann, an architect who worked on the Van Wagenen house, said. (New Jersey) is a state where labor costs are high, he said. Careful restoration work can be costly. (But) theres just a general recognition that buildings are important enough and a pretty good movement for trying to save these buildings. Still, all over the state, buildings that are viable are knocked down, he added, (because theyre) more convenient in the short term. Growing interest Despite these challenges, some experts believe that it has actually gotten easier to save properties over the years. David Listokin, a professor who specializes in historic preservation at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University, said theres been increased interest in restoring these types of properties, which reflects a change of attitude. It is challenging. Older properties have their needs, he told NJ Advance Media. You have people sometimes.chasing at a public body having oversight over their properties, but theres clearly been a sea change in terms of growing interest in historic properties and a desire to preserve them. Listokin pointed to the old, original Pennsylvania Station as an example of a catalyst. Stunning, classic design, soaring ceilings, a one-of-a-kind, Listokin explained about the original building, which was knocked down in the 1960s. The demolition of the old Penn Station in the 1960s helped spur the current historic preservation movement, Rutgers professor David Listokin said.Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division The demolition of Penn Station, Listokin said, sparked a growing recognition that the loss of historic properties is really a loss to society. Not long after the stations demise, New York City established a local landmarks commission. And the reason why I mention that is that of course, now when you go into Penn Station, you have a very different experience, he said. People also recognize maintenance of historic properties may benefit the public in the long-term. Mercer pointed to the Statehouse as an example. They let it go for so long and then it became a multi-million dollar project and had to be closed for X number of years, she said. The Statehouse is currently undergoing a controversial $300 million renovation launched by former Gov. Chris Christie. Moving forward, Preservation New Jersey aims to continue raising awareness of the threats that historic properties face. The organization wants to bring in new members who are interested in preservation, not just the frequent fliers who participate in the community, Mercer said. At the March gala, the organization is premiering a documentary it created commemorating the 25th anniversary of the 10 Most Endangered Historic Places in New Jersey lists. The documentary features people who were closely involved with three properties that were recognized over the years. Preservation New Jersey is also pushing for a state historic preservation tax credit, which would allow a credit on the expense of restoring a historic property. The proposal is part of a five-bill package Gov. Phil Murphy touted last February to overhaul tax incentives in the state, NJ Advance Media previously reported. However, the tax credit does not currently existit is still a proposal. New Jersey is one of only 13 states that doesnt have a tax credit program for historic restoration, Mercer said. The states that have (historic preservation tax credit programs) tend to draw down more money from the federal program, Mercer said, referring to federal historic tax credits. It helps the property owners bridge that gap of restoration. If there are more resources available, hopefully there will be fewer endangered properties. Editors Note: This story was corrected to reflect the age of the Hackensack Performing Arts Center. 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. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has slammed former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh for his statement that 'nationalism and the slogan of 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' are being misused to construct a militant and purely emotional idea of India.' "I am unable to understand in what direction Dr Manmohan Singh is going. I think the slogan of 'Hindu Aatankwad' was raised during his regime as well. What type of terrorism he is talking about," said Surendra Jain, international joint general secretary Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) told ANI on Sunday. "Nationalism and the slogan of 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' are being misused to construct a militant and purely emotional idea of India that excludes millions of residents and citizens," Dr Singh had said at a book launch event in the capital on Saturday. Jain asked if Dr Singh wants to state that "by saying 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' the Muslims will come forward and more and more youth will follow the path of terrorism? Does he want to say anything about Hindu terrorism? 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' is the sign of nationality. It is a sign of commitment to the nation. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The home of a key Togo opposition candidate was surrounded by security forces just hours after polls closed Saturday in elections widely expected to see President Faure Gnassingbe claim a fourth term in power. Troops could be seen outside the house of Agbeyome Kodjo, considered an important challenger in the electoral race, as the government confirmed the move and said it was for "his own safety". "We are largely in the lead everywhere, my house is surrounded by soldiers," Kodjo told AFP. A large contingent of security forces were blocking all access to the property in the capital Lome, according to AFP journalists at the scene. Military roadblocks were being put up elsewhere in the city, while internet connections appeared to be sporadically interrupted. Polls closed at 1600 GMT Saturday after what had been a peaceful election day with a moderate turnout. Togo. By Kun TIAN (AFP) Gnassingbe, who was running against six other candidates, has led the West African country of eight million people since 2005 following the death of his father Gnassingbe Eyadema, who ruled with an iron fist for 38 years. Kodjo is seen as a potential dark horse in the polls after winning the backing of an influential former Catholic archbishop. A former prime minister who served under Gnassingbe's father, he appeared to have gained ground during the electoral campaign. "The Togolese want change, they want an alternative," he said early Saturday as he voted in Lome. "And when we see all this mobilisation and all the methods of fraud put in place by the government, if at the end of the election, the government dares to say that it has won, imagine the rest." The Togo security minister Yark Damehame said both Kodjo's home and that of the former archbishop had been surrounded as a precaution. "We have received reports that he is at risk of an attack on his house by unruly individuals, but I cannot tell you from which side," he said. Opposition challenge Results are expected early next week according to electoral officials. The six opposition candidates have suggested they will unite against the president if the vote goes to a second round, which would happen within 15 days of the result announcement if none of the candidates achieves a majority. President Faure Gnassingbe, whose family has ruled Togo since 1967, is the frontrunner. By PIUS UTOMI EKPEI (AFP) Gnassingbe travelled to the family's home region of Kara to vote, and called on Togolese to "express your choice in complete freedom for the sake of democracy". Main opposition leader Jean-Pierre Fabre of the National Alliance for Change came second at the last two elections but has failed to keep the opposition united. He called on the people to vote in numbers "to prevent fraud and allow for a second round". In Be, an opposition district of Lome that normally goes to Fabre's ANC party, some voters shouted to observers that they had "given our votes to Agbeyome". Results are expected early next week. By Yanick Folly (AFP) The authorities faced major protests in 2017 and 2018 demanding an end to five decades of dynastic rule that have failed to lift many out of poverty. But the demonstrations petered out in the face of government repression and squabbles among the opposition. Last year, Gnassingbe pushed through constitutional changes allowing him to run again -- and potentially remain in office until 2030. In Lome earlier in the day some voters expressed hope for change. "We suffer too much in Togo, this time it has to change," said Eric, a driver in his 30s. "I am not going to tell you who I will vote for, but this time we don't want to be cheated of victory." Observers removed This week, 500 local observers lost their accreditation, accused of interfering in the electoral process, and the system of electronic security of the results was cancelled at the last moment by the Independent National Electoral Commission. Opposition leader Jean-Pierre Fabre cast his vote in Lome. By PIUS UTOMI EKPEI (AFP) However, some 315 international observers are deployed, mainly from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union, with many African states supporting the incumbent. "Where we were, the offices opened on time, the voters were there, the staff and the equipment were there, so we hope everything will continue to go well," Hery Rajaonarimanpianina, head of the AU mission and former Madagascar president, told AFP earlier. Stability and security are central to Gnassingbe's message as Togo eyes the jihadist violence rocking its northern neighbour Burkina Faso. The country has so far managed to prevent the bloodshed spilling over and its army and intelligence service are among the most effective in the region. State Defense Concern Ukroboronprom ukrinform.ru Employees of the military prosecutors office detained the director of the Zvezda state-owned plant after taking a $ 5,000 bribe. This was stated by the press service of the Military Prosecutor's Office in the Central region. It is reported that the official has received this amount for concluding a contract for storing property and then - concluding a lease agreement for non-residential premises, which is located on the territory of the plant that is part of the Ukroboronprom group of companies. "02.21.2020 we documented the fact of obtaining undue benefits in the amount of 5,000 US dollars by the director of the Zvezda state-owned enterprise," the statement said. Related: Ukroboronprom company increases arms exports to $ 908 million In particular, on February 21, the director was detained in accordance with Art. 208 Code of Criminal Procedure of Ukraine, unlawful benefit was seized. A criminal case has been opened under the article acceptance of an offer, promise or unlawful gain by an official (part 3 of article 208 of the Criminal Code). The detainee was informed of suspicion. The sanction of the article provides for punishment in the form of imprisonment for a term of 5 to 10 years with confiscation of property. Ukraine might organize another evacuation of its citizens, who remained in the Chinese city of Wuhan - the epicenter of the spread of the coronavirus. Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Anton Herashchenko stated this, as the press service of the Ministry reported. "If there is a sufficient number of applications from Ukrainians in the city of Wuhan with a request to evacuate them, Ukraine will be able to do this again," Herashchenko said. On February 20, the Boeing 737-800 landed in Kharkiv city. It carried the Ukrainians, who were evacuated from China so as to save them from the raging coronavirus. According to Ukraine's Healthcare Ministry, none of the passengers were sick or showed any symptoms of the disease. The Interior Ministry decided that the citizens will be put on the quarantine in Novi Sanzhary, Poltava region, central Ukraine. That evening, the buses with the evacuated passengers reached Novi Sanzhary; the enraged locals pelted them with stones, protesting against the decision to accommodate the people there. They also set a fire and tried to block the road to the sanitarium, but the police didn't let them. Ukrainian Anastasiia Zinchenko did not evacuate with other citizens of Ukraine from Chinese city Wuhan as she could not take her dog with her. She failed to find a veterinary clinic in Wuhan for the procession of the necessary package of documents for dog Misha, as Ukraines Embassy to China reported on Facebook. Amid big and small victories as a result of round-the-clock work of our diplomats on the organization of the evacuation of our citizens from Hubei province covered by a virus, despite the real sincere desire to help each and everyone, the desirable result was achieved not everywhere. As a consequence, a few-weeks fight against bureaucracy was unsuccessful and Nastia Zinchenko had to stay in China along with her pet, pomeranian Misha, the embassy reported. Thus, the citizen of Ukraine was not allowed to leave with the dog due to the inconsistencies in the dogs documents. It is noted that firstly, there were no documents from the veterinary clinic and the Ukrainian was offered to leave the pomeranian in the pet hotel and evacuate. However, the girl refused from such a variant. An HSBC graduate trainee had an affair with her 56-year-old manager before bombarding him with 89 messages in four weeks and threatening to 'destroy your daughter and your career' after they broke up. Emily Salt, 26, who has a degree in International Business, Finance and Economics, met the manager during a six-month internship at the bank. But, after their relationship fell apart, she hounded him with angry messages and told his 16-year-old daughter: 'You look like a slut, your eyebrows are halfway up your head. Your dad makes enough money to get a nose job for you.' Salt pleaded guilty to causing her former partner harassment between April 15 and May 19 last year, and causing his daughter harassment between 1 November, 2018 and 1 August 2019 during a hearing at Croydon Magistrates' court, London. She was sentenced to an 18-month restraining order, prohibiting her from contacting the two victims, 25 days of rehabilitation, 100 hours community service and ordered to pay 85 costs. Emily Salt, 26, hounded the manager and his 16-year-old daughter after their relationship collapsed. She was sentenced in Croydon Magistrates' court, London Salt, who was hauled to court when she continued the harassment after moving from her home in Stockport, Greater Manchester, had attended Poynton High School and Alliance Manchester Business School. She had also sent insults aimed at the girl's mother. District Judge Nigel McLean told the trainee that her offences 'clearly crossed the custody threshold' as he handed down her sentence. 'The young victim was forced to endure nearly a year of your sustained abuse and harassment,' he said. 'It was designed to cause her maximum distress at a time she was sitting exams. 'Your actions in relation to the father were designed to cause him distress by subjecting him to harassment and abusing his daughter as well. The abuse they are subject to was sinister.' Salt met the manager during a six-month trainee scheme at the bank. She was dragged to court after the harassment continued when she moved from Stockport, Manchester Prosecutor Julie Idowu said the former partner had told Salt 'not to contact him or his family' and had threatened to report her to the police. 'Facebook and Instagram accounts were set up in the name of the male complainant and friends and family of his received requests,' she said, 'but the accounts belonged to this defendant'. 'There was also an attempt to hack into the ISA account of the daughter. He received a text from the defendant notifying him of an attempt to liquidate the investment in his daughter's Junior ISA account.' Salt was initially charged with a 9,000 fraud regarding the ISA, but this was dropped at Inner London Crown Court. She was sentenced to an 18-month restraining order, 100 hours community service, 25 days rehabilitation and ordered to pay 85 costs at the court (pictured) Salt's lawyer Marina Williamson told the court: 'She met the victim during a six-month internship at the bank and little did she know it would end up in the terrible ordeal that has ended here. 'He was senior at the bank, thirty years older than her and she was quite vulnerable, quite young. She fell deeply in love with him and that is part of the reason she behaved so badly at the end. 'She was a victim of psychological manipulation, domestic violence at the hands of the complainant who lied and made false promises.' The study, a collection of molecular data from bird species found across 41 oceanic archipelagos, reveals how the area and isolation of islands are key to determining the diversity of species they contain. It is known that biodiversity is unevenly distributed across the planet. But why do some islands such as the Galapagos and Hawaii harbour so many unique species of birds? In the 1960's, Robert MacArthur & Edward Wilson proposed what was to become a highly influential theory in biology: the Theory of Island Biogeography. This theory predicts the number of species expected on any given island as a function of the area (size) of the island and its isolation (distance) from the mainland. Remarkably, to date no study has shown on a global scale how island area and isolation determine the rates at which species colonise new islands, evolve new types or go extinct. These relationships have remained elusive for decades. However, in a new study published today in Nature, a team of ornithologists, evolutionary biologists and mathematical modellers have shown for the first time how rates of island colonisation, natural extinction, and species formation vary with island size and distance from the continent. Dr Sonya Clegg, Associate Professor of Evolutionary Ecology at the Department of Zoology, says: 'This huge collaborative effort -- led by Dr Luis Valente of Museum fur Naturkunde in Berlin -- has allowed us to create this remarkable global dataset of island birds worldwide. This data shows that indeed, colonisation decreases with isolation, and extinction decreases with area, confirming the key components of the Theory of Island Biogeography. Importantly we were able to extend the model framework to include speciation, showing that speciation increases with both area and isolation, and furthermore, describe the precise shape of these key global biodiversity relationships for birds.' A further fascinating result was the finding that the vast majority of island bird species represent unique evolutionary branches with no close relatives on the islands they inhabit. Dr Valente of Museum fur Naturkunde in Berlin, says: 'Islands are frequently associated with spectacular radiations -- think of Darwin's finches of Galapagos, where a single coloniser went on to diversify into 15 different species -- but this is not the evolutionary scenario for most of the world's island bird diversity.' Dr Clegg says: 'It will be exciting to see how this major advance for testing island biology theory on a global scale can be applied to other taxa. How will the precise shape of relationships change when looking at ants, or mammals or reptiles? These types of comparisons will answer long-standing questions about biogeographical patterns, and no doubt stimulate new avenues for research.' WASHINGTON In the days before they filed the sentencing recommendation for President Trumps friend Roger J. Stone Jr. that helped plunge the Justice Department into turmoil, the prosecutors on the case felt under siege. A new boss, Timothy Shea, had just arrived and had told them on his first day that he wanted a more lenient recommendation for Mr. Stone, and he pushed back hard when they objected, according to two people briefed on the dispute. They grew suspicious that Mr. Shea was helping his longtime friend and boss, Attorney General William P. Barr, soften the sentencing request to please the president. In an attempt to ease the strain, David Metcalf, Mr. Sheas chief of staff, clasped his hand on the shoulder of one of the prosecutors, Aaron S.J. Zelinsky, as they passed in a hallway. But the gesture prompted a terse and sharp verbal exchange, according to three people briefed on the encounter. As word of the spat spread through the office, unfounded rumors swirled that the altercation had been physical. Skepticism of Mr. Shea, the acting U.S. attorney for Washington, only deepened in his 600-person office when Mr. Barr quickly intervened to recommend a lighter sentence for Mr. Stone just as the president declared on Twitter that the government was treating his friend too harshly. Haiti - FLASH : High tension at Champ-de-Mars This afternoon at the Champ-de-Mars, a few hours from a supposed National Carnival... clashes took place between agents of the National Police of Haiti, demanding from the authorities the acceptance of the formation of the union of the Haitian National Police (SPNH) and also the resignation of the head of state, and members of the Haitian Armed Forces. According to available information, members of the Haitian Armed Forces (FADH) responded by firing shots (warning shots) when protesters fired into the air. The situation escalated into a clash between plainclothes police claiming to be from the national police union, other uniformed police and FADH members from their headquarters. Many shots and bursts of automatic weapons were heard in the Champs de Mars area, near the National Palace, of the Departmental Directorate of the West of the National Police of Haiti (DDO-PNH). At the moment, according to an unofficial report, there were already at least 12 injured, including two or three police officers. A fire broke out in front of Radio Tele Caraibes, it was 3 cars on fire at street Chavanne, demonstrators accused the station of filming them by drone and of having a bias. Carnival stands were also set on fire. The new PNH armored vehicles were noticed on the Champ-de-Mars. A panic situation is noticed, people run all over the place, certain with face masked with scarf. In Cap-Haitien, on boulevard there are burnt tire, the stands were dismantled. In Gonaives the situation is degenerating. HL/ HaitiLibre Prominent Muslims in the United States are combating Islamist attempts to take over political podiums in the country and standing up to those who claim to speak on their behalf It has taken much meticulous planning, abundant financing and manipulative politics for the Muslim Brotherhood to infiltrate certain groups in the United States over the past four decades. Since the drafting of its masterplan to take control of various Muslim communities in North America in 1980, the Brotherhood has worked to spread its influence in Islamic centres in the US and to bring a number of Islamic communities in the country under its banner. The Brotherhood has not operated under its own name, however. Instead, it formed several offshoot groups such as the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR). These organisations, using the fronts of NGOs, have spread the doctrines of the Muslim Brotherhood in the US. Unlike in Europe, especially in the UK, the Brotherhood chose to work under different aliases in the US to throw off suspicions of their allegiance to the group. The Brotherhoods plan has worked, and the group capitalised on events such as the horrific terrorist attack of 9/11 on New York and Washington to present itself as representing American Muslims facing a political and social backlash as a result of the terrorist actions committed by Al-Qaeda. The CAIR and ISNA lobbied US politicians in Congress and elsewhere to adopt their cause, and more recently they managed to secure the election of Congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tulaib, both propped up by Islamist circles funded by the Muslim Brotherhood and even by Brotherhood regime figures. Omar received campaign donations in September 2019 from Halil Mutulu, co-chairman of the Turkish-American National Steering Committee (TASC), a political advocacy group in the US with close ties to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. However, there have been growing protests from mainstream US Muslims against this Islamist influence. Many US Muslims believe that the Islamists are damaging their name and hijacking their faith in order to attain their own particular gains. One of the latest examples is Iraqi-American journalist Dalia Al-Aqidi, who herself immigrated to the US and has grown tired of the behaviour of Ilhan Omar, who has attempted to portray herself as an exemplary Muslim woman while acting in a way that misrepresents Muslims in general. Al-Aqidis collision course with Omar started when she criticised the latters behaviour on Twitter, saying that she had adopted Islamist causes and had exploited her status as a minority in the US to gain unwarranted sympathy for these while pushing preset agendas. Omars supporters then managed to get Al-Aqidis Twitter account suspended for a while. Omars hypocrisy became evident when she met Erdogan, who has been responsible for mass murders in the Middle East region, all of which Omar has chosen to be silent about. Instead, she has given her support to various Islamist agendas, including the imprisonment of members of the Muslim Brotherhood terrorist group in Egypt. She even refused to support a bill in the US Congress recognising the Armenian Genocide by the Ottomans, giving the flimsiest of excuses. Omar has attempted to diminish the atrocity of the terrorist attacks on 9/11 by calling them something that Muslims have paid a hefty price for. While it is true that US Muslims endured discrimination after the attacks committed by Al-Qaeda on 9/11, it is an undeniable fact that Muslim Brotherhood and more broadly Islamist doctrines encourage confrontations with the West and have been adopted by the likes of Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS) group for this purpose. Omars comments on the deaths of 3,000 innocent people in the 9/11 attacks had a very negative impact in the US, stirring up controversy and hatred towards Muslims as a result. This was all the more the case as they came from a US Congresswoman who claims to represent Muslims. MEDIA RESPONSIBILITY: Al-Aqidi wanted to confront Omar about these double standards, but Omar, who would gladly appear on the Qatari Aljazeera TV network, ignores other calls to interview her. Al-Aqidi believes that Omar and others cause misconceptions and bigotry towards Muslims in the United States, and as a result she has chosen to nominate herself as Republican Party candidate in Minnesotas fifth congressional district, Omars seat, in order to confront her directly and give state voters an alternative option. It is a David-versus-Goliath situation given Omars enormous financial backing, but Al-Aqidi is adamant about carrying on the fight. Al-Aqidi is also not alone. Other prominent US Muslims combating the Islamists include Egyptian-American political analyst Tawfik Hamid, prominent author Zuhdi Jasser and journalist Shireen Qudosi. All of these and others have contributed to growing efforts to stop the advances of the Islamists in taking over political podiums in the US. Groups such as the American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD) formed by Jasser is an alternative for Muslims in the US who want to stand up against the Islamists who choose to speak on their behalf. The Muslim Brotherhood has thus far successfully averted attempts by US Congressmen to designate it as a terrorist group. Thanks to the influence the Islamists exert, backed by the financial power of the likes of Qatar and links to the Muslim Brotherhoods global networks, including political support from the Turkish state, these efforts have not yet succeeded. Even with the designation of the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group in predominantly Muslim countries such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Syria among others, the US Congress is still not motivated to make real moves against the group. Unfortunately, the call to do so has been met by a deluge of criticism from voices in the US media who believe that it would be Islamophobic to take such action as it could allegedly disrupt relations with countries with Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated governments, such as Tunisia, Morocco and Jordan. This flimsy excuse cannot be entertained indefinitely, since allowing the existence and operations of a notorious terrorist group on American soil to keep cordial relationships with a handful of countries is clearly counter-productive. By this logic, the US could have spared itself over six decades of confrontations with communism and communist parties throughout the world during the Cold War on the grounds that this would sour relations with the former Soviet Union and European Eastern Bloc countries as well as others across the world. There seem to be useful idiots in the US Congress who believe they are better informed about Islam and better suited to identify who is a Muslim and who is a terrorist than countries such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia, making them more royal than the king. It is imperative that the US administration seek the designation of the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group, as this will represent a nail in the coffin for the terrorist groups ambitions in North America. It will also encourage the European countries to follow suit, rendering the lives of Muslim Brotherhood members in Western societies that much harder. It is to be hoped that there are US politicians who will rise to the occasion, as women like Dalia Al-Aqidi have already done, and expose Islamist practices in Western societies and the threat they represent. The writer is a political analyst and author of Egypts Arab Spring and the Winding Road to Democracy. *A version of this article appears in print in the 20 February, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly. Search Keywords: Short link: By Adam Borowski "I want to believe" the famous poster hanging on the wall of Fox Mulder's FBI office. I have been fascinated by the unexplained since I can remember. I deliberately avoid the word "paranormal,'' as there is nothing paranormal in trying to understand how the world works by keeping an open mind. I listened to people from all walks of life recount their encounters with the unknown. Some people were obviously deranged, while others were trying to make sense out of what had happened to them. Mind you, listening to someone does not equal believing: I learned to distinguish between valuable information and made-up nonsense. Many respected scientists no longer scoff at non-mainstream ideas; a hopeful sign for a civilization in a constant crisis. My mind is inherently humble: how can I presume to understand reality? How can you condense infinity to a single belief system where one person is right and everyone else is wrong? Clearly, this reeks of arrogance and ignorance. I am incapable of accepting a single belief system as the answer to everything. My mind would immediately have doubts and questions. I am also fascinated by the idea that there are endless alternative realities. Anything that can happen does happen. Apparently, I am a K-pop star in one of them; an unnerving thought indeed. Socrates supposedly said: "Wisdom is knowing how little we know.'' Why do people get defensive when you question their beliefs? They see you as a threat. Just as viruses spread, so do harmful belief systems; taking over the minds of the masses. For example, an atheist who is invited to a Thanksgiving dinner should not ridicule religion. It is downright rude. In 2016, I worked in Chengdu, China. I will never forget getting out of the subway station only to see the Global Center Mall standing majestically in front of me. I had many interesting experiences in Chengdu, including an enthralling conversation about "evil, demonic aliens'' with a local tour guide. The guide had a strong religious belief that aliens were actually demons from the depths of hell. Whether you believe in aliens, or not, it is evident people need a clear-cut distinction between good and evil. Take the Kim family in "Parasite'' as an example. They are sometimes called terrible, even evil. The Kim family is not evil; they just want a better life. If anything, they are resourceful, doing what they can to escape poverty in a rigidly hierarchical society. Rich people often want to believe their children are geniuses; they want teachers who can prop up the illusion. They are not interested in the truth. The Kim family understands this mindset perfectly. To some people, anything outside the norm is automatically seen as evil, even demonic. John Whiteside Parsons, the founder of modern rocketry, was a believer in combining science and metaphysics. For that, he was mercilessly attacked by atheists and religious zealots. Undoubtedly, many of his denouncers saw themselves as "good people.'' It is worth remembering that claiming the moral high ground does not make you a good person. Actions speak louder than words. I hope that, in the future, nobody will be surprised that there are paranormal studies at universities. How about you? Do you want to believe? Adam Borowski (adam.borowski1985@gmail.com) is a technical Polish-English translator and an international relations aficionado. He is the author of the novel "Perfect lives. Perfect selves." A pair of turkeys were caught sparring on the side of VT-111 in Morgan, Vermont, on the morning of February 23. Why did the turkey cross the road? To pick a fight with its bro, wrote Jennifer Hannux on Twitter. She later posted a video of a pair of deers dancing in the road. Credit: Jennifer Hannux via Storyful Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content. Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist. If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter . Support our mission and join our community now. Bandh supporters on Sunday staged dharnas and put up road blockades in many districts of during the shutdown called by the Bhim Army. had given a call for a nationwide shutdown to against a Supreme Court ruling that states were not bound to provide reservation in government jobs and quota in promotion. Opposition parties such as the RJD, Upendra Kushwaha led Rashtriya Lok Samata Party, former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi led Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), former MP Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav's Jan Adhikar Party (Loktantrik) and had extended their support to the Bhim Army's bandh call in The bandh supporters belonging to the Bhim Army staged the dharnas and blocked highways and roads at some places in Muzaffarpur, Begusarai, Nawada and Bhagalpur districts for some time during the day-long shutdown. They also blocked NH 28 near Gobarsahi in Muzaffarpur town, while the movement of Begusarai-Patna Rajya Rani train was hampered for some time in Begusarai. The state capital remained, by and large, unaffected by the bandh with shops remaining open, traffic remaining unaffected except the Dak Bungalow roundabout, which is in the heart of city, where bandh supporters belonging to the Bhim Army, RLSP, HAM(S) and the JAP staged dharna and demonstrations in support of the bandh. Some of protesters belonging to Pappu Yadav's JAP (Loktantrik) targeted a city bus at the Dak Bungalow roundabout and raised anti government slogans. Leading a at the same spot, former chief minister and HAM(S) chief Jitan Ram said, "I have extended support to the Bhim Army and that is why I am here staging a sit-in to against the Centre's sinister design to end the reservation for SC, ST and OBC." Leaders or workers of the RJD, the principal opposition party in Bihar, did not actively participate in the bandh. unit spokesman Mrityunjay Tiwary said, "The party has supported the issues raised by the Bhim Army but could not actively participate in the bandh due to a major programme in the state capital for the launch of Tejashwi Prasad Yadav jee's 'Berojgari Hatao Yatra'." The Bhim Army is also protesting against alleged atrocities on dalits, the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the proposed Register for Citizens (NRC) during the bandh. LAS VEGAS (AP) The Latest on the 2020 presidential campaign (all times local): 9:15 p.m. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is lumping the Democratic establishment in with the corporate and Republican establishment and saying they cant stop him. Sanders is the favorite in Saturdays Nevada caucuses after winning New Hampshire and essentially tying for first in Iowa. His rivals and some party centrists have become alarmed that the self-declared democratic socialist could win the nomination as his opponents split the non-Sanders vote. Sanders is an independent who caucuses with Democrats. In Nevada he has stressed his independence from the party. On Friday night he went furthest yet. He said the establishment was getting worried about a multiracial coalition that wants higher wages and health care. When we stand up together, theyre not going to stop us, Sanders told a crowd in a Las Vegas park. 9 p.m. Sen. Amy Klobuchar capped a day of campaigning across Nevada telling a crowd in Reno she's the best candidate for those who are tired of extremes and want someone with proven experience who can bring people together. The Minnesota Democrat started Friday morning in Las Vegas and traveled to rural Elko before making one final plea for support in Reno before Saturdays first-in-the West presidential caucuses. Klobuchar says she has a track record of being able to work not just with Democrats but also Republicans and independents to find common ground. She said it takes real courage to be willing to stand next to someone you dont always agree with to find solutions. She told about 200 people Friday night in a Boys & Girls Club gym in Reno that if they are tired of the noise and nonsense in our politics, and the extremes youve got a home with me. 8:50 p.m. Joe Biden is making his last pitch to supporters before seeking a badly needed boost for his campaign in Nevadas Saturday caucuses. The former vice president excoriated President Donald Trump while speaking in front of about 250 supporters at a Las Vegas middle school, including the presidents downplaying of U.S. intelligence conclusions that Russia interfered in the 2016 election. Story continues Biden said Russia is also trying to affect who becomes the nominee in the Democratic Party, a reference to reports Friday that intelligence officials have concluded Russia is trying to interfere and help Trumps re-election and to boost the candidates of Sen. Bernie Sanders. Biden said that though Trump was impeached, he wasnt removed from office and he thinks he has free reign to do anythIng at all. 8:40 p.m. Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg says hell never know the struggles that people of color endure but as president hell surround himself with people who do. The former mayor of South Bend, Indiana was asked by a voter at his last campaign rally before the Nevada caucuses why polls show him lagging with voters of color. Buttigieg says hell never have the experience of a black man watched suspiciously in the mall or a black woman denied pain medication at a hospital. That's the promise that I will make that I will always show up. I will always listen. I will always learn and these voices will be elevated and empowered in my white house just as they are in my campaign, Buttigieg told more than a 1,000 people in a middle school gym in Las Vegas. Buttigieg focused his closing message to Nevada voters on a call to unity, saying weve got to put forward a nominee who can bring as many Americans as possible into a majority that can defeat Donald Trump. He lobbed an implicit criticism at Bernie Sanders, saying Americans shouldnt have to choose between a revolution and the status quo. 7:40 p.m. Sen. Elizabeth Warren made a last pitch to Nevada voters, saying Senate filibuster should be eliminated if lawmakers, like Senate leader Mitch McConnell, keep blocking gun control that many Americans support. Warren was holding a town-hall style event Friday in Las Vegas before the states voters become the first in the West to decide on a Democratic nominee. With the site of the biggest mass shooting in modern history about 5 miles away, Warren mentioned rival presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders by name in her comments about the obstacles to changing gun laws . When other people who are running for president -- and I say this just as a factual statement -- like Bernie, who say they want to make real change but they will not roll back the filibuster, keep in mind what that means, Warren said. They have given a veto to the gun industry. There were about 500 people at the event, according to Warrens campaign. 6:40 p.m. The campaign of Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer says it has reached a tentative deal to unionize just ahead of the Nevada caucuses. The California billionaire climate activists campaign announced Friday it had reached an agreement with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2325. Steyers campaign says a majority of field staff agreed to be represented by IBEW Local 2325, and the negotiated agreement will be subject to ratification by campaign staff. Labor support for candidates is expected to play a critical role in Saturdays Nevada caucuses, and lobbying for union backing has been spirited. Staffs of several Democratic campaigns have unionized as the field lobbies to garner labor support ahead of the eventual nominees general election matchup with President Donald Trump. Other campaigns that have organized include Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, former Vice President Joe Biden and former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg. By Express News Service BENGALURU: Politicians, cutting across party lines, have condemned sloganeering by teenage activist Amulya Leona for days in Karnataka but on Sunday, one voice showed compassion to the now jailed youngster. Former minister and Congress leader D K Shivakumar on Sunday said that while pro-Pakistan slogans are unacceptable, dissent cannot be silenced. At a time when ministers in the B S Yediyurappa-led BJP government are pushing for a strong case against activists and organisers of anti-CAA protests with a few right-wing organisations even placing a bounty on Amulyas head, Shivakumar has chosen to extend the benefit of doubt to the teenager. We do not know what this young girl wanted to say. After going through her previous posts, it is clear that she believes in the ideology of Vishwamanava (global citizen). She wanted to speak on those lines perhaps. Politicking takes place but where and when it should is important. This is the matter of the country. Nobody will support activities against our country. I do not support pro-Pakistan slogans. Our country comes first but dissent should not be silenced. Let us not hurry into things, Shivakumar said. The Congress leader had previously condemned Amulyas sloganeering much like his peers. Shivakumars statement came on the day Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai held a meeting with top police officials to deal with cases of sedition, hate speech and anti-CAA rallies at large. Bommai is said to have met CM B S Yediyurappa post his meeting with top cops to brief him of the precautions over the department intends to take in the future. Permissions to protests are likely to hit a roadblock with incidents of alleged inflammatory and hate speeches taking the centre stage. Union minister D V Sadananda Gowda said that Central and state governments were already taking measures to clamp down on such incidents. Investigations into these cases are being treated very seriously. Many anti-national organisations and individuals are looking to gain political mileage out of this. The Centre, as well as the state governments, are taking measures to curtail this. We will not allow it to grow, said Gowda. Ahead of US President Donald Trump's visit, the Congress on Sunday asked whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi would raise with him the issue of easing H-1B visas, restoration of GSP status and security concerns over Taliban. Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala asked why Prime Minister Modi is silent about "India First" as President Trump talked of "America First". He also asked whether Modi would ensure cheaper oil for India after it stopped buying oil from Iran in view of sanctions and if Indian steel exports would get a boost after India commits to USD 3 billion defence purchases. "Trump Government's restrictive immigration policies have hit H-1B visas. Indians get 70 pc of 85000 H-1B Visas. "Now, Rejection Rate for India has increased from 6 pc in 2015 to 24 pc in 2019, especially for IT professionals. Post 10 million people gala event, Will PM Modi ask for easing H-1B visas," he asked on Twitter. Surjewala said as US prepares to sign a deal with Taliban on February 29, what about India's red lines. "Have we forgotten IC-814 hijacking and release of terrorist Masood Azhar in Kandhar, who's JeM then attacked Parliament and Pulwama? As gala bash unfolds, Will Modiji raise our National Security concerns," he said. The Congress leader said continuing since 1974, the US removed India from Duty Free Imports i.e GSP (generalised system of preferences) on 5 June, 2019. It has affected the USD 5.6 billion Indian exports to the US, especially gems, jewellery, rice, leather, he noted. "Post 'Howdy Modi' and 'Namaste Trump' gala events, Will PM ensure restoration of GSP status," he asked. Surjewala said up till 2018, India imported 250 crore ton Crude Oil/month from Iran on Rupee payment, 90 days credit and doorstep delivery. The Modi governmentstopped buying cheaper Iran oil as per US sanctions that raised oil prices in India,he alleged. "As fest continues in Ahmedabad, Will Modiji secure cheaper oil for India," he asked. The Congress leader alleged that India's exports of USD 761 million of steel to the US fell by 50 pc to USD 372 million as the Trump Government hiked tariffs on import by 25 pc. "As India commits to USD 3 billion Defense purchases, why zero relief for India's export of steel? US President Trump is on a visit to India from February 24 and 25. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Even as anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests at Delhi's Shaheen Bagh have been going on peacefully, a pro-CAA rally in Delhi's Maujpur turned violent. Maujpur lies near Jaffrabad area where a massive anti-CAA protest is also going on simultaneously. Clashes broke out between two groups of people near Jaffrabad in northeast Delhi on Sunday evening where a large number of people had gathered. A report by news agency PTI said police had fired tear gas to pacify the two groups. "Police fired tear gas shells as members of the two groups pelted stones at each other in Maujpur," it reported. Delhi: Stone pelting between two groups in Maujpur area, tear gas shells fired by Police. pic.twitter.com/Yj3mCFSsYk ANI (@ANI) February 23, 2020 Pro-CAA protestors throwing stones in Maujpur area in presence of police #SayNoToNPR #BharatBandh pic.twitter.com/ERog8szYm5 We The People of India (@ThePeopleOfIN) February 23, 2020 Kapil Mishra present in Delhis Jafrabad where there was stone pelting between pro and anti-CAA protesters pic.twitter.com/BItjcHESSZ Times of India (@timesofindia) February 23, 2020 There was tension in the area after hundreds of anti-CAA protesters, mostly women, blocked a road near the Jaffrabad metro station which connects Seelampur with Maujpur and Yamuna Vihar. Women started to gather at the metro station from Saturday night itself after which police and paramilitary forces were deployed here. Since the protest was staged by women, a huge number of female officers have also been deployed. Road number 66 has been blocked by the protesters while entry and exit from the metro station has been stopped. Most of the protesters are carrying the national flag and chanting slogans of "Azadi" while some are even wearing blue bands and chanting 'Jai Bhim'. AFP The anti-CAA protest continued on Sunday, prompting the Delhi Metro authorities to close the entry and exit gates of the station. There was heavy security deployment in the area. Speaking to IANS on the protest at Jaffrabad, BJP leader Vijay Goel said: "This protest is pre-arranged by the opposition who were not able to defeat PM Modi. The law has been passed by the Parliament and protesting against it or promoting propaganda over it is wrong." A report by India Today mentioned crowds chanting "Jai Shri Ram" slogans. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said on Sunday that he and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal would have loved to receive US First Lady Melania Trump at a Delhi government school she's scheduled to visit but he respected the concerns raised by US Embassy over it. Sisodia, who is also Delhi's minister, said it is a matter of pride for his government that the US first lady will visit a government-run school. Melania, wife of US President Donald Trump, is scheduled to visit the school on Tuesday to watch "happiness classes" and interact with the students. "Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and I would have loved to personally receive the First Lady in the Dehi Govt school and brief her about the concept of Happiness Classes and the positive impact that it has had on students, during her visit to the classrooms," Sisodia said in an official statement. "However, certain concerns were expressed by US embassy regarding CM and Deputy CM accompanying first lady during the school visit. We respect the same. We welcome first lady wholeheartedly and will do our best to facilitate the tour," he added. According to the original schedule, Kejriwal and Sisodia were to welcome Melania at the school and brief her about rationale behind the introduction of happiness classes as well as the Delhi government's overall reform initiatives in the sector, officials in the city had said on Saturday. Sources in the Delhi government said the US embassy communicated to the city administration on Saturday morning that the names of Kejriwal and Sisodia do not figure in the list of invitees for the event. "It is a matter of great pride for Delhi Government, Delhi government teachers and students that First Lady Melania Trump is visiting a Delhi Govt school. It is a big appreciation for us that the work of AAP government in sector, especially Happiness Classes, is being recognised in the world," Sisodia said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Sen. Bernie Sanders said in an interview with "60 Minutes," to be aired Sunday evening, that he would, as president, be willing to meet with U.S. adversaries and use military force in response to "threats against the American people" and its allies. Why it matters: Sanders is the current Democratic front-runner and enjoys broad support across nearly every demographic. However, one group that he is struggling to court is voters who prioritize foreign policy, which ranked as one of his least supportive blocs in the Nevada caucuses, according to Washington Post entrance polls. The exchange: SANDERS: "Hopefully, [military actions] are as rare as possible, but we have the best military in the world." ANDERSON COOPER: "What would your criteria be for military actions?" SANDERS: "Threats against the American people, to be sure. Threats against our allies. I believe in NATO. I believe that the United States, everything being equal, should be working with other countries in alliance, not doing it alone." COOPER: "If China took military action against Taiwan?" SANDERS: "I think we have got to make it clear to the countries around the world that we will not sit by and allow invasions to take place." Details: Sanders said he believes meeting with adversaries is "not a bad thing to do," and that, like President Trump, he would be willing to meet with North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un. "I think, unfortunately, Trump went into that meeting unprepared. I think it was a photo opportunity and did not have the kind of diplomatic work necessary to make it a success. But I do not have a problem with sitting down with adversaries all over the world," he said. The big picture: Sanders has made common cause with leftists around the world for decades, sometimes controversially. But his foreign policy platform is not as radical as some might imagine, Axios' Dave Lawler reports. Though he favors diplomacy over military action and believes the government should scale back its defense spending, Sanders also supports increasing foreign aid and reaffirming the United States' commitment to NATO. Go deeper: Big foreign policy changes are coming if Trump loses The Centre-run AIIMS has demanded an explanation from the president of the Resident Doctors Association for a tweet on the RDA's handle that it said was "political in nature". The AIIMS administration said in a "memorandum" that the tweet was shared on February 12, a day after the Delhi assembly election results were announced, and it was posted by the RDA president. AIIMS RDA President Adarsh Pratap Singh had posted a tweet on the Twitter handle on February 12, congratulating the people of Delhi on AAP's victory in the election, according to an RDA member. He, however, deleted it the same day apparently after objection from some association members. "Congrats to the people of Delhi for showing the whole country how democratic power can prevail over fascist forces & how people of a nation can decide on the kind of leadership they deserve! Congrats to @arvindkejriwal & @AamAadmiParty for such a great victory ! #DelhiElections (Sic)," the tweet read. The AIIMS registrar issued the memorandum on February 21 and asked the RDA president to give his explanation within 48 hours from the date of issue of the notice. "It has been brought to notice that a tweet was posted from the official Twitter handle of RDA-AIIMS, New Delhi on Feb 12, 2020, at 2.30 PM. The content of this tweet was political in nature on the Delhi State Assembly Elections. It has also been brought to notice that this tweet was posted by the President of the RDA. "This has been viewed seriously by the competent authority. President, RDA, is required to give his explanation regarding the above tweet within 48 hours from the date of issue of this memorandum," it said. The notice has been marked to the Director and the Dean of AIIMS-Delhi. When contacted, the RDA president refused to comment. In Delhi polls, AAP won 62 seats out of 70 while BJP won eight seats. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) New Delhi: Instead of directly smuggling heroin from Pakistan into India, traffickers have now found a new route to bring the drugs in via Mozambique in Africa, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) said on Sunday after arresting three people over the past week, and recovering 14.5kg of the drug from them. According to KPS Malhotra, Delhi zonal director, NCB, while this poses the bureau a new challenge, the choice of a new route also means that security agencies at land and sea borders have been able to effectively foil plans to smuggle in heroin from usual routes. The revelation on the new route came when the NCB received a tip-off that drugs could land in Delhi via Mozambique. Last Tuesday, we set a trap at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, and studied the movement of passengers of two flights, which had left from Johannesburg in South Africa. There were two women who were found to be carrying 9.57kg heroin, said Rajesh Nandan Srivastava, deputy director general, NCB. He said both women were nationals of Mozambique and had concealed the contraband in the lining of their trolley bags. One of these women had visited India in December, the officer said. Srivastava said the two women claimed they were to hand over the heroin to a man in Greater Noida. The NCB raided a house in Greater Noidas Sector 106 and arrested a resident of Ivory Coast in west Africa. He was in possession of 4.97kg of heroin. The total worth of the drugs recovered from the two women and their receiver is nearly 60 crore in the international market, Srivastava said. In the house, the team went on to find 20 empty bags whose linings had been cut open. It suggested that this syndicate was using this mode of operation for quite some time. Going by the possibility that nearly five kilogram of heroin could be concealed in each of these bags, it is likely that they have already smuggled around 100 kilogram of heroin into India in the recent past, he said The interrogation of the suspects revealed that earlier they would collect heroin from Afghanistan and bring it to India via Pakistan. But now they find that route unfeasible due to repeated seizures. So, they are using the Mozambique route, Malhotra said. Reacting to these seizures, Rakesh Asthana, director general, NCB, said the bureau is in the process of strengthening itself on manpower and technological fronts to counter the drug menace more effectively. Representative image State-run telecom firm BSNL's employee unions have called for a nationwide hunger strike on Monday, to protest against delay in execution of the Rs 69,000-crore revival package announced by the government. "The All Unions and Associations of BSNL (AUAB) is organising a country-wide hunger strike on February 24, 2020. This hunger strike is being organised to demand the expeditious implementation of the Union Cabinet's revival package in respect of BSNL, as well as to demand settlement of the grievances of the employees," AUAB said in a statement. In October 2019, the central government approved a Rs 68,751-crore revival package for loss-making BSNL and MTNL, including 4G spectrum allocation and voluntary retirement scheme (VRS), as well as their merger. AUAB, , said the salient feature of the revival package is the allotment of 4G spectrum, the issuing of sovereign guarantee for raising funds to the tune of Rs 15,000 crore, with share of BSNL at Rs 8,500 crore and Rs 6,500 crore for MTNL, by way of issuing long-term bonds, monetisation of assets and implementation of a VRS. "Out of these, only the VRS has been implemented, through which 78,569 BSNL employees have been sent home. It is extremely disturbing to note that, even after the lapse of nearly 4 months, 4G spectrum has not been allotted to BSNL," statement said. It added that the government has not yet issued the sovereign guarantee to BSNL, to enable it to raise Rs 8,500 crore, by way of issuing long-term bonds. "The process of monetisation of BSNL's assets is also moving at snail's pace. The Supreme Court of India's judgment, with regards to the calculation of the AGR, has caused uncertainties in the telecom sector, due to which banks are also unwilling to extend the much-needed loans to BSNL," the statement said. The BSNL employees' body said that due to the delay in the allotment of 4G spectrum and also due to the non-availability of funds, it is understood that BSNL's 4G service is not likely to be launched before the end of 2020. "This delay is much against the spirit of the Union Cabinet, in approving the revival package for BSNL. The attention of the Minister of Communications (Ravi Shankar Prasad) has already been drawn to the need to provide BSNL with the much-needed working capital. However, nothing has happened," the statement said. AUAB said that despite the relief package, employees are not getting salary on time and the wages of the contract workers have not been paid for the past 10 months. "Under these circumstances, the AUAB has already organised country-wide lunch-hour demonstrations on February 11, 2020. In continuation of this, hunger strikes are being organised throughout the country on February 24 to urge the Department of Telecommunications and the BSNL management to take expeditious actions," AUAB said. The Star Wars films have taken center stage for decades. But the franchises series have proven to be just as vital. And with The Mandalorian leading the charge, even Disney CEO Bob Iger said TV is the future of Star Wars. While some might throw the animated shows aside, aspects like the Darksaber reveal in The Mandalorian demonstrate that theyre just as important to the lore and story of Star Wars. With that said, if a Star Wars Rebels sequel series does happen as rumors profusely say it will it would be the perfect opportunity to connect to The Mandalorian. Ahsoka Tano in the epilogue of Star Wars Rebels | Lucasfilm/DisneyXD A Star Wars Rebels sequel series could explain how Moff Gideon got the Darksaber One of the major reveals in The Mandalorian was Moff Gideons possession of the Darksaber. Its a lot like the lightsabers that Jedi and Sith use, except its black and is shaped like a sword. Legend has it that Tarre Vizsla, the first Mandalorian Jedi, created it back when he was a part of the Order. House Vizsla eventually took it back from the Jedi after his death and Pre Vizsla had it up until The Clone Wars Season 5. Pre Vizsla was leader of Deathwatch, but once Maul defeated him in combat, the Darksaber and leadership of the group went to the former Sith. Loyalists to the Mandalorians like Bo-Katan, left Deathwatch once Maul took over. As well see in The Clone Wars Season 7, the Siege of Mandalore occurs because she wants to take the planet back from him. Kanan Jarrus then possesses the Darksaber and gives it to Sabine Wren. This returns it to a Mandalorian once again. Lastly, viewers saw Sabine give it to Bo-Katan, which is the last we see until Moff Gideon has it. If theres a Star Wars Rebels sequel series, we could get the full story of how it ended up in Imperial hands, as Inverse points out. We (kind of) already know what Ahsoka and Sabine are doing in this period While there are only rumors at this point, this alleged sequel series of Star Wars Rebels would focus on Ahsoka and Sabine. YouTube channel Kessel Run Transmissions reported this in January, and now Star Wars podcaster named Corey Van Dyke is saying a reliable source confirms the series too. The epilogue of Star Wars Rebels happens around four years before The Mandalorian. Ahsoka comes back just as Sabine heads off to look for Ezra. Right before the epilogue, Ezra threw himself and Thrawn into hyperspace, and no one knows where they ended up. So if these rumors do come to fruition, Ahsoka and Sabine would be looking for Ezra right before the period that Mando meets The Child. While one would be animated and the other live-action, their stories could still align. Whether in regards to the Darksaber storyline or even talk of a force-sensitive child from Yodas species. Ahsoka worked closely with the Master Jedi, so shed likely be intrigued. This animated series would perfectly connect to the live-action one To bounce off of their intrigue into a Baby Yoda, if Lucasfilm really wanted to blow peoples minds, they could turn these animated characters into live-action ones too. This hasnt been done before, at least not with characters as big as Ahsoka and Sabine, but never say never. Its hard to believe that Ahsoka wouldnt want to seek out The Child after hearing about him. And Sabine is likely itching to get the Darksaber back, if Bo-Katan died. Theres a lot that would work with these two coming into The Mandalorians storyline. Its just tricky. But, with Dave Filoni, the mastermind behind these two characters and working on The Mandalorian, its not impossible. Regardless of what happens, even if there arent any crossovers between the two shows, it makes sense for these two shows to intertwine somehow. Republican lawmakers in Maryland are criticizing a history lesson at a public high school near Baltimore that compared President Donald Trump with Nazis and communists. A slide used in an Advanced Placement history class at Loch Raven High School in Towson shows a picture of Trump above pictures of a Nazi swastika and a flag of the Soviet Union. Two captions read 'wants to round up a group of people and build a giant wall' and 'oh, THAT is why it sounds so familiar!' The Baltimore Sun reports that state Del. Kathy Szeliga arranged for copies of the slide and the school system's response to be sent to her fellow Baltimore County lawmaker. She also posted the image on Facebook. Pictures of Trump above pictures of a Nazi swastika and flag of the Soviet Union were shown to the students in the class 'It is horrific. It is educational malfeasance,' Szeliga said Friday at a meeting of the countys delegation. Baltimore County Councilman Wade Kach called it 'a piece of propaganda' that didn't belong in a classroom. The school system said the slide was not part of the resources it provides for AP history teachers. Charles Herndon, a spokesman for Baltimore County schools, said students in advanced high school classes are 'discerning, intelligent students who are going to be able to draw their own inferences and draw their own conclusions.' Republican lawmakers in Maryland are criticizing a high school history at a public high school near Baltimore which directly compared President Donald Trump with Nazis and communists Baltimore County schools released a statement: 'The topics being discussed in the class included World Wars and the attempts by some leaders throughout history to limit or prevent migration into certain countries. In isolation and out of context with the lesson, the image could be misunderstood,' the school district said in a statement. 'In our Advanced Placement (AP) classes, which are college level courses, we expect and encourage analysis and discussion around historical and current events even if they are considered controversial. This lesson was not intended to make a political statement. If a student has concerns when discussing a controversial issue, schools have the tools to address the concern and support the student.' The school system said the issue had become a personnel matter 'which will be appropriately addressed by the school administration and is not subject to further clarification.' The British Council competition aims to engender a wider societal discussion of science and its importance in the modern world The British Council celebrated the top three winners of its first National Science Stars Competition Thursday, at its head office in Agouza, in the presence of Alex Lambert, deputy director of the British Council, Professor Yehia Bahei El-Din, the founding director of the Centre for Advanced Materials at the British University in Egypt (BUE), British Council staff, and teachers, school leaders and parents from Greater Cairo, Alexandria and Mansoura. Eight out of the 10 shortlisted students in the finals were females. The three winners Reem Haitham from Salahaldin International School in Alexandria, Omar Tarek from Al-Bashayer International School, and Gana Sherif from Summits International Schools all received an internship in the Department of Science of the British University in Egypt. A total of 125 students from 28 schools participated in the competition. The three-minute winning presentations included simple, clear and creative ways to describe complicated scientific concepts like matter and antimatter and black holes. The competition was launched by British Council in Egypt as a student engagement programme designed to drive students passion for science, cultivate their skills in science communication, and drive a conversation among the general public around science. Lambert said: The British Council has already been fostering science communication for over 10 years in Egypt through Famelab, a competition targeting older science enthusiasts, which even lead to job creation for our participants. And this year, we are proud of Science Stars young talent, who were inspiring ambassadors of their schools today. Science communication is like the gatekeeper who lets people into the lab and scientists inside of it to engage with the public. It is the bridge between both worlds, and it is important, because non-scientific people deserve to know how science affects their world, said Nour Fawzy, participant and student at Salahaldin International School in Alexandria. During the ceremony, the head of exams business development at the British Council in Egypt, Yasser Ali, thanked teachers for imbibing a passion for learning in students. Studies show that curiosity boosts levels of mental and physical energy. Not only are our science stars growing through this programme, but everyone in the audience today became curious about a scientific concept; some of them even googled anti-matter, the topic of Reem Haithams presentation. This is our larger purpose: to get regular people curious about science, Ali added. The British Council supports its partner schools with administrative and operative roles as it liaises between awarding bodies (Pearson Edexcel, Oxford, and Cambridge) and two Egyptian relevant ministries, ensuring the integrity of the exams system at every stage. It also actively supports teachers development and with school activities enhancing educational knowledge. It connects schools with governing authorities, as well as with the latest teaching and learning techniques, through networking events like the global Schools Now! initiative, and also a conference, which will be held in Egypt this year in the presence of Minister of Education Tarek Shawky and over 300 delegates from around the world. The fifth Schools Now! conference takes place 4-5 March 2020 in Cairo. Search Keywords: Short link: A third person who became ill on board a coronavirus-stricken cruise ship quarantined off the coast of Japan has died, the country's health ministry said. In a statement, the ministry identified the victim as a Japanese man in his 80s who was removed from the Diamond Princess and taken to a local hospital after suffering 'symptoms.' The ministry did not confirm whether the man had tested positive for COVID-19. Three Japanese passengers from the Diamond Princess have died after contracting the coronavirus They said they could only disclose the information that the family of the man had consented to make public. It gave the man's cause of death as pneumonia. A total of 36 people who were passengers on the ship are seriously ill on the 'infection factory' ship. The death comes after two other elderly passengers, also both Japanese and in their 80s, died on Thursday after contracting the virus. Despite a quarantine imposed on the Diamond Princess, more than 600 people on board tested positive for the virus, with several dozen in serious condition. In total, Japan has so far recorded four deaths linked to the new coronavirus outbreak, which has infected more than 130 people excluding those linked to the Diamond Princess. On Thursday, two Japanese passengers - an 87-year-old man and an 84-year-old woman - died from the same disease, a week after a woman not related to the cruise ship also died. A bus with a Chinese banner saying 'Go, We are Going home!' carrying the Hong Kong passengers from the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship leaves a port in Yokohama Following news that a passenger who tested negative later developed the virus, Japanese health minister Katsunobu Kato has said that the government will have to keep close tabs on those who were allowed to leave the ship. The country's health authorities will make daily phone calls to hundreds of people who have disembarked from the Diamond Princess, Kyodo News in Japan reports. The minister added that the evacuees have already been asked to avoid using public transportation and told to wear masks when they come into contact with others. The news comes as the family of British couple David and Sally Abel, from Northamptonshire, are struggling with poor mental health in a Japanese hospital after cruel online trolls accused them of 'milking it'. The pair, who were on the Diamond Princess cruise for their 50th wedding anniversary, were both diagnosed with pneumonia before being moved to a hospital. One of the most expensive bottles of Irish whiskey ever produced is coming to Belfast. The 35,000 (29,000) Midleton Very Rare Silent Distillery Chapter One was released last week, with buyers snapping up the mere 48 bottles instantly. One of the lucky new owners is Willie Jack, owner of the famous Duke of York and Harp Bar in the city's Cathedral Quarter. "I have whiskeys on display which are marked 'Never for sale', but this will be a case of 'Don't even ask'," he told Sunday Life. "We are not speculators trying to rip people off, we just want to show everyone the great Irish whiskey tradition." The bottles are the first in a series of six annual releases in the run up to the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Midleton Distillery in 1825. The peated single malt with a strength of 51.2% was produced in 1974 in the Old Midleton Distillery before it closed its doors in 1975 after 150 years of continuous production. According to Midleton owners, Irish Distillers, it was "part of a series of innovative trials never to be released or repeated". It was the brainchild of then master distiller Max Crockett and is "one of the world's rarest whiskeys by its very nature". Barry Crockett, son of Max and his successor as master distiller, said of it: "It is the ultimate heirloom and memento of the dedication to precise malt preparation, brewing and distillation skills of generations of distillers at Midleton." Tradition Willie is just one of two people in Northern Ireland to get his hands on a bottle with the identity of the other not yet known. The release was only offered for sale in the UK, Ireland, France and the US with two also available in a private online auction. "We are hoping to open a museum of Belfast to show the great whiskey tradition of Ireland but it will be on display behind bullet-proof glass," he said. "This is for people who love whiskey but I don't want to put an artificial price on it, it's not about money." The Duke of York has long been known for its huge range of Irish whiskeys, including many other rare Midletons. Mr Jack also has a whiskey shop nearby, The Friend At Hand, which offers over 600 different types of Irish whiskey for sale. But the Chapter One is on another level, coming in a handblown and etched Waterford crystal decanter, encased in boxes made with wood up to 200 years old from reclaimed whiskey vats. 1971 2020 Jennifer Jean Diener, age 48, left this world to be with her dad in heaven on February 15, 2020, following complications from an automobile accident. Jennifer was born in Milwaukee on April 3, 1971, to her proud parents, Philip and Jean (nee: Jacobs) Jacobson. A graduate of Waterford High School Class of 1989, Jenny went on to earn her bachelor and masters degrees in Criminal Justice from UW-Milwaukee and UW-Platteville, respectively. Jenny joined the Racine Police Department in 1995 and had been serving the Racine Community with honor for the past twenty-five years. Her absence will be felt throughout the entire city. On September 22, 2001, Jennifer was united in marriage to the love of her life, Brian W. Diener at Norway Lutheran Church, where she was a lifelong member. They were married for nearly nineteen years and were given the ultimate blessing when their daughter Taylor was born in 2004. Another proud moment came when Jenny escorted her father on the Honor Flight to Washington D.C. in 2015. Always unassuming, Jenny will be remembered fondly for her great service to her community, her beautiful smile, her dedication to her work and coworkers, and most of all, her great love and devotion to her family. Jennifer will be dearly missed by her husband, Brian; her daughter, Taylor; her mother, Jean Jacobson; brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law; nieces, nephews, other relatives, her Racine Police family and many dear friends. Jennifer was preceded in death by her father, Phil Jacobson on September 8, 2019 and her grandparents, Gilbert Bud and Norma Fries, and Robin and Leta Jacobson. A Memorial service will be held at Norway Lutheran Church, 6321 Heg Park Rd, Wind Lake, on Monday March 2, 2020, 11:00 a.m., with Pastors Kristie and Mark Jaramillo presiding. Interment will follow at Norway Cemetery. Relatives and friends may meet with the family at the church on Sunday March 1, 2020 from 2:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. and at the church on Monday from 9:30 a.m. until 10:45 a.m. Memorials to the Jennifer J. Diener Women in Law Enforcement Scholarship Fund to be used for scholarships for young women entering Law Enforcement have been suggested. The family extends a special thank you to the surgical ICU at Froedtert Memorial Hospital for all of their compassionate care and to the entire community for all of the outpouring of love and support. MARESH-MEREDITH AND ACKLAM FUNERAL HOME 803 MAIN ST., RACINE, WI (262) 634-7888 Please send condolences to The US Embassy on Sunday said it did not have any objection to the presence of Chief Minister and his deputy during US First Lady Melania Trump's visit to a Delhi government school, but at the same time appreciated their "recognition that it is not a political event". Delhi government sources on Saturday said Kejriwal and Sisodia will not attend the event as their names were dropped from the guest list. "While US Embassy had no objection to the presence of CM and Deputy CM, we appreciate their recognition that this isn't a political event and that it's best to ensure focus is on education, school, and students," a spokesperson in the US embassy said following a media query on the issue. Melania, wife of US President Donald Trump, is scheduled to visit the school on Monday to watch "happiness classes" and interact with the students. The sources in Delhi government said the US embassy communicated to the city administration on Saturday morning that names of Kejriwal and Sisodia do not figure in the list of invitees for the event. According to the original schedule, Kejriwal and Sisodia were to welcome Melania at the school and brief her about rationale behind introduction of happiness classes as well as Delhi government's overall reform initiatives in the education sector. Expressing anguish over exclusion of names of the two leaders from the event, Aam Aadmi Party spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj said it has been a "protocol" and "convention" that state leaders are present when any foreign leader attends events in their states. He also alleged that the names of Kejriwal and Sisodia have been dropped from the guest list at the behest of the BJP-led central government. When asked about the issue of Kejriwal not being part of the guest list for Melania's visit to the Delhi school, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said that there shouldn't be any "low-level politics or petty politics" on issues which are of interest. The Delhi government introduced the happiness curriculum in July, 2018. As per the curriculum, students studying in classes I-VIII at Delhi government schools spend 45 minutes every day to attend "happiness classes" where they participate in activities like storytelling, meditation and question and answer sessions. Similarly, for nursery and kindergarten students, the classes are held twice a week. The Arvind Kejriwal-led government has been spending a large chunk of its budget on education in the city. Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons Guwahati/IBNS: Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that a section of people of the country has now developed a habit of criticizing anything related to Hindus and India. Reacting over the ongoing protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, the Assam minister said that, these people have developed a habit of criticizing anything which is related to Hindu, anything related to India. I think that should be stopped. A few days back, somebody has shouted Pakistan Zindabad during a protest rally, Himanta Biswa Sarma said. Recently, a 19-year-old college student had shouted Pakistan Zindabad slogan during an anti-CAA meeting in Bengaluru in which All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) Chief Asaduddin Owaisi was also present. The Assam Finance minister said that If the intellectuals or the citizens of India dont stop it now, then these will become a fashion. So before it becomes a style statement, fashion statement, all these elements should be handled firmly and they should be dealt according to the law, Sarma said. (By Hemanta Kumar Nath, Guwahati) (Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons) Mayor London Breeds admission that she accepted $5,600 in assistance from former Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru was a major lapse in judgment and likely a violation of city rules barring the acceptance of gifts from subordinates as well. But it wont result in her being removed from office. There is an ethical violation, and I think the Ethics Commission could move on that, but I dont see any kind of criminal violation, former Ethics Commission President Peter Keane said. Breed is in hot water for having Nuru who she once dated take care of repairing her car last year and providing her with a rental car while the work was being done. In most cases, a fine issued by the city Ethics Commission or the state Fair Political Practices Commission for such a violation is three times the amount in question. So Breeds decision to let Nuru put up the $5,600 would cost her about $16,800. But given the local commissions track record, it will also take months or even years before a final determination is made. Although with something this high profile, I would think there would be pressure to move faster, Keane said. Whatever the two commissions might decide, it wont lead to Breeds removal from office. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. I dont think it rises to that level, Keane said. Besides, under the City Charter, the only person who can remove or suspend a local official from office is the mayor. And chances are Breed isnt going to remove herself. The only way to remove a mayor by voter recall. San Francisco Chronicle columnist Phil Matier appears Sundays and Wednesdays. Matier can be seen on the KGO-TV morning and evening news and can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call 415-777-8815, or email pmatier@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @philmatier A day ahead of United States President Donald Trump's visit to India, the Congress on Sunday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi whether he would raise with him the issue of easing of the H-1B visas for Indians, the restoration of Generalised System of Preference (GSP) status and the security concerns vis-a-vis the Taliban. Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala wondered why Prime Minister Modi was 'silent' on his 'India First' policy as President Trump talked of 'America First'. He asked whether Modi would ensure cheaper oil for India after it stopped buying oil from Iran in view of US-imposed sanctions and if Indian steel exports would get a boost when New Delhi commits to $3 billion in defence purchases. "As President Trump arrives tomorrow on February 24, relevant questions on national interest must be asked by every Indian and resolved amicably in India's interests," Surjewala said in a video. He said the Trump government's restrictive immigration policies has clamped down on H-1B visas and one should not forget that 70 percent of all H-1B visas are given to Indian professionals -- IT and others. The number of Indians getting visas is 60,000, who go to the US to contribute to the American economy as also back home to India's economy, he said. "Trump government's restrictive immigration policies have hit H-1B visas. Indians get 70 pc of 85,000 H-1B visas. Now, Rejection Rate for India has increased from 6 pc in 2015 to 24 pc in 2019, especially for IT professionals. "Post the '10-million people' gala event, will Prime Minister Modi take care of national interest and tell President Trump to go easy and permit H-1B visas for Indians, so that our young Indians, our IT professional can contribute to America's growth as also to India's growth story," Surjewala asked. He said as the US prepares to sign a deal with the Taliban on February 29, what about India's red lines. "Have we forgotten IC-814 hijacking and release of terrorist Masood Azhar in Kandhar, who's JeM then attacked Parliament and Pulwama? As gala bash unfolds, Will Modiji raise our national security concerns," he said. "We sincerely hope India's interests will not be compromised on account of a deal in Afghanistan." Surjewala said India must also raise its concern about any such deal respecting and honouring the democratic and constitutional process including the just-elected Ashraf Ghani government in Afghanistan. "What about the new deal and the new Taliban respecting the democratic process as also the human rights and rights of women in Afghanistan? What about this new deal not creating a space for the terror network thriving in Afghanistan," he asked, citing the Islamic State, the 'Haqqani' network, the Al Qaeda and the Jaish-e-Mohammad. The Congress leader said the US removed India from the duty-free imports regime i.e GSP (generalised system of preferences) in June last year, hitting USD 5.6 billion Indian exports to the US. "Post 'Howdy Modi' and 'Namaste Trump' gala events, Will PM ensure restoration of GSP status," he asked. "As fest continues in Ahmedabad, Will Modiji secure cheaper oil for India," he added. The Congress leader alleged that India's exports of $761 million of steel to the US fell by 50 per cent to $372 million as the Trump government hiked tariffs on import by 25 per cent. "As India commits to USD 3 billion defense purchases, why zero relief for India's export of steel," he asked. "I think it needs to be resolved in favour of India's steel industry, in favour of getting more revenue, in favour of creating more employment," Surjewala said. US President Trump is on a visit to India from February 24 and 25. Jamie Hale/The Oregonian Some 500,000 years ago, the earth cracked open at what is today near the border of Oregon and California, spewing out lava that covered the landscape and scorched all that lay in its path. What we know today as Lava Beds National Monument is a natural volcanic wonder that has seen much activity in recent and ancient history. Its several caves and desert trails are full of stories, many of them tragic, some literally etched into stone. Lava Beds was originally inhabited by the Modoc people, whose life and culture were attuned to the high desert environment. As white settlers arrived in the area, they forced the Modocs out, resulting in bloodshed on what had long been sacred land. Now in the hands of the National Park Service, the area has been adapted for recreational use. Trails are now carved into the desert scrubland. Ladders help hikers explore the ancient caves. Much of the land is protected as vital habitat for plants and animals, including the sensitive bat populations that hibernate in some of the caves. Remnants of the Modoc people still remain, in the form of petroglyphs caved into cliff walls and pictographs painted at cave entrances. They're not only left alone but protected by the park service, alongside placards describing the violence, keeping alive reminders of both the beauty and bloodshed this landscape has seen. Here's what to see and do, as you explore the Lava Beds National Monument: Don't Edit Jamie Hale/The Oregonian VISITOR CENTER Before exploring Lava Beds, you'll first need to stop off at the visitor center at the south end of the park. This is where you pay the $25 entrance fee and pick up a free permit to explore any of the park's caves. The visitor center also houses a small museum, restroom and gift shop. If you have any clothing or gear taken in other caves, rangers will help you disinfect it to prevent the spread of the devastating white-nose syndrome among the local bat populations. Don't Edit Jamie Hale/The Oregonian PETROGLYPHS AND PICTOGRAPHS The area that we today call Lava Beds was clearly a popular stop in prehistoric times. Three places in the park contain evidence of ancient cultural history: Petroglyph Point, Big Painted Cave and Symbol Bridge. Petroglyph Point is located at the far northeastern corner of the park, home to dozens of rock carvings protected by a chain-link fence. Big Painted Cave and Symbol Bridge are neighboring attractions near the visitor center, where painted symbols are found on boulders and cave walls near the entrances. According to the park service, the petroglyphs could be up to 6,000 years old, while the pictographs date to some 1,500 years ago. The park is within the traditional territory of the Modoc people, and remains a sacred place for those of Modoc-Klamath descent. Don't Edit Jamie Hale/The Oregonian CAVES Lava Beds has more than 20 caves to explore, from easy excursions to serious adventures. The caves were all created by lava flows between 10,500 and 65,000 years ago, according to the park. Now, they're home to bats, woodrats and other dark-environment critters as well as the humans who come exploring year-round. Some caves undergo seasonal closures to protect hibernating bat populations, so if you want to see every cave you'll have to return during another season. Also remember to disinfect any clothing and gear that you've taken into other caves, a process you can go through when you pick up a caving permit at the visitor center. Make sure you bring a flashlight, warm clothing and closed-toed shoes if you're going to explore any caves (flashlights are loaned out for free at the visitor center). If you plan on entering the more difficult caves where you'll need to crawl through small openings, bring a helmet, gloves and kneepads. Don't Edit Jamie Hale/The Oregonian HIKING Lava Beds has 13 above-ground hiking trails to explore, including short excursions and all-day adventures. Check out the Schonchin Butte Trail (.7 miles), Gillem Bluff Trail (.7 miles), Three Sisters Trail loop hike (10 miles) or the massive Lyons Trail (9.4 miles one way). Remember that this is an arid desert environment that can be dangerous to explore bring a good pair of hiking shoes, sun protection and plenty of water. Also mind any wilderness areas, which carry additional restrictions. Don't Edit Don't Edit Jamie Hale/The Oregonian HISTORY The Lava Beds National Monument is home to some more recent human history. Within the park itself, visitors can Thomas-Wright Battlefield and Captain Jack's Stronghold, two sites involved in the forced removal of the Modoc people by white settlers. The "battlefield" was the site of a decisive Modoc victory over the U.S. Army, according to the park, while the "stronghold" is an area of lava-carved trenches where the Modoc people took refuge as they fended off removal. Just outside of the park in the town of Tulelake, visitors can see the site of Camp Tule Lake, a Japanese internment camp from World War II. A small memorial sits on the side of the highway, where a chain-link fence keeps people out of the area. Park officials said a new visitor center was being built at the site of the old internment camp, and should be open by this spring. Don't Edit Jamie Hale/The Oregonian WILDLIFE Lava Beds borders the Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge, which as part of the broader Klamath Basin is known for its abundance of waterfowl, songbirds and raptors. In winter, the area hosts the largest concentration of bald eagles in the continental U.S., which can be seen at Tule Lake and nearby Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge. There are two wildlife overlooks within Lava Beds, located along the park's northern boundary. You can also expect to see wildlife in the sagebrush-filled interior of the park, including mule deer, jack rabbits, bobcats and badgers. It's also home to some creatures you might not want to come across, like mountain lions and rattlesnakes. Don't Edit CAMPING There is one campground at the national monument, the Indian Well Campground located near the visitor center. The 43 campsites are first-come, first-served, and each costs $10 per night. One group site at the campground accommodates 15 to 40 campers for $3 per person, and can be reserved in advance. Free backcountry camping is also allowed within the park, with restrictions near developed areas and caves. Fires are prohibited and no water is available in the backcountry. To get to Lava Beds National Monument, take U.S. Route 97 south from Klamath Falls to Oregon Route 140 east. Follow the highway for 6 miles, then turn right onto Oregon Route 39. In 10 miles, turn right onto Merrill Pit Road, then cross into California and turn left onto California State Route 161. In 3.6 miles, turn right onto Hill Road and continue onto the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway, taking it south past Tule Lake into the park. Follow signs to the visitor center. Don't Edit Don't Edit Jamie Hale/The Oregonian MORE SOUTHERN OREGON Bald eagles flock to southern Oregon border 17 beautiful views of Crater Lake Oregon Caves are a true natural wonder Don't Edit Don't Edit --Jamie Hale | jhale@oregonian.com | @HaleJamesB Advertisement Satellite images show the enormous plume of dust stretching from the Sahara that has blanketed the Canary Islands forcing hundreds of flights to be cancelled and throwing travel plans into chaos for thousands. All flights to the islands were cancelled at midday today by Spain's airport operator AENA due to poor visibility, and departures were also suspended. As many as 230 flights were suspended last night while at least 19 planes had to be diverted due to the storm. British holidaymakers are stranded at airports in the Canary Islands as flights are grounded for the foreseeable future, with many on their way back from half-term breaks. Many waited to find out whether their flight would be cancelled and passengers have posted photographs of people sitting on the floor waiting for more information. Customer service staff for the airports said that while no planes are flying, airports have remained open for passengers. One call centre worker said: 'People should contact their airline company to try and get accommodation for the night if their flight has been cancelled.' Meanwhile in the UK, flights out to the Canary Islands are being delayed or cancelled due to the sandstorm. A stunning satellite image has revealed the moment a Saharan sandstorm engulfed the Canary Islands, shrouding the islands in an orange haze and causing hundreds of flight cancellations A plane pictured stranded on the tarmac at Gran Canaria airport today after all flights were cancelled due to poor visibility Residents and holidaymakers have been pictured holding scarves and tissues to their faces on the islands to protect themselves from the storm's dust Hundreds of passengers were stranded in the islands airports today as flights were delayed and cancelled due to visibility. This group is pictured in Gran Canaria today, the main airports on the island Tourists wait to find out whether their flight has been cancelled at Gran Canaria's airport today A woman applies tear drops to a man affected by the smoke caused by several fires due to the hot waves of wind and dust, in Santa Ursula, Santa Cruz de Tenerife Flights from Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, North and South Tenerife Airports have been grounded due to the weather conditions. The satellite clip shows the sandstorm stretching across the ocean from the Moroccan coast before reaching the Canary Islands yesterday. It has continued to hover over the islands today. Another video also showed a Ryanair plane rocking as it attempted to land in the overcast conditions. Greg Horsman, 29, was on holiday with his girlfriend and his friends on a Tui cruise and was due to fly home to Manchester on Saturday evening. However, they have been forced to stay in Gran Canaria for another two nights due to the storm. He said: 'It's frustrating. We're just ready to be home. 'Last night we were in the airport for five hours and I was frustrated because Tui couldn't help us or do anything until the airport declared that they were closed which they did at 10.30pm. Hundreds of passengers were stuck in airports across the island today and yesterday as they waited to find out whether their flight would be cancelled. Pictured: passengers sitting on the floor at Las Palmas airport A street on the island is pictured shrouded in orange dust due to the storm. Authorities have advised those with respiratory problems to stay indoors Beaches overcast with a yellow haze have also been pictured on social media. One resident heralded the storm as the worst she has seen on the islands in 14 years 'Tui reps did give us updates when we asked but unfortunately it didn't seem they were getting much information quickly. 'We then spent the night there, most of us in our original cabins, then came back to the airport at 12.30pm and have been here since. 'We are being sent to a hotel tonight but we're not sure where we're going to yet.' Elsewhere, Britons have posted photographs of the orange sky on the islands as the wind continued to batter seaside towns. Michael Nixon, who is on holiday in Tenerife with his family to celebrate his 50th birthday and is due to fly home to Newcastle on Wednesday, said 'pink dust' had covered his rented apartment balcony. He said: 'It's all a bit surreal. A heavy mist came in last night followed by very strong gusty winds during the night. 'This morning we awoke to yellowish haze and strong winds. 'We ventured out but it's difficult to see with all of the sand in the air. 'We are slightly concerned that our flight home on Wednesday could be affected. 'The sky is still yellow. It's around 29C (84F) but visibility is around 200m.' Tim Crew, 69, had booked a holiday to Lanzarote with his family after cancelling their previous holiday to Hong Kong and Thailand because of the coronavirus outbreak. Their BA flight out of Gatwick Airport on Sunday has been cancelled and the family has been booked into a hotel. He said: 'It's one of those things really. If no one had talked to us and if there had been obvious problems and culpability, I'd probably be quite annoyed. Passengers queuing at Tenerife South airport. Meanwhile in the UK, flights out to the Canary Islands are being delayed or cancelled due to the sandstorm A Ryanair plane attempts to make a landing in the poor visibility. Flights to the islands were cancelled from midday today A storm carrying clouds of red sand from the Sahara has hit the Canary Islands, shrouding the region in a haze of orange. Pictured: A tourist dries off after a swim in Chica Beach at Puerto del Rosario, Fuerteventra 'But everyone's done the right thing. The pilot came out a few times and told us in person and apologised, saying they had no more news at the moment and they were going to send us to a hotel. 'It's not great, it's not how I planned it, it's not what I want, but these things happen.' Shipping traffic has also been suspended around the islands, reports Spanish newspaper El Pais. Spaced out landings were allowed at Tenerife Sur, Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura earlier this morning as Spain's national weather service warned of winds up to 75mph in the area until Monday. Authorities have issued a red alert for the islands and advised those with respiratory problems to stay indoors. Schools will also be closed all day Monday in response to the storm. Budget carrier Vueling, a subsidiary of IAG, said yesterday some of its services had been hit and advised passengers to check the status of their flights before heading to the airport. Spain's air navigation manager tweeted this afternoon that it was working with other countries to ensure 'no planes take off towards Canaries'. 'Safety is our first priority,' they said. 'The lack of visibility and dust storm forces us to suspend, for security, the air traffic entering the Canary archipelago. We are working with Morocco to redirect planes that the Canaries cannot take due to bad weather.' One resident heralded the storm as the worst she has experienced in 14 years of living on Fuertaventura. 'The sky has turned orange!', they said. A view of the runway during a sandstorm blown over from North Africa at Las Palmas Airport, Canary Islands, Gran Canaria on Saturday Authorities have issued a red alert for the area and encouraged residents to stay indoors if they have respiratory problems. The Ministry of Education has also announced that schools will be closed on Monday, reports El Pais. Residents have shared photos of streets and beaches shrouded in orange dust on social media. It comes as 250 residents on Gran Canaria evacuated themselves to the beaches, as fire swept through the area. Many were able to return to their homes this morning. The regional government declared a state of alert and advised people to keep doors and windows closed across the archipelago, while authorities in Lanzarote's capital Arrecife, cancelled all outdoor activities, including some carnival celebrations. Located around 60 miles off the coast of Morocco, the Canaries are a popular tourist destination for northern Europeans in search of winter sun. Grounded planes are seen parked on the tarmac during the sandstorm. The conditions have forced Spain's airport operator AENA to suspend all flights in and out of Gran Canaria and all flights leaving Tenerife on Saturday evening amid severely reduced visibility. Control tower is pictured amid clouds of red sand blown over from the Sahara Fuerteventura airport. Budget carrier Vueling, a subsidiary of IAG, said some of its services had been hit and advised passengers to check the status of their flights before heading to the airport Planes grounded at Gran Canaria airport. Spain's national weather service warned that winds of up to 75 mph (120 kph) are set to buffet the Canaries until Monday. Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote are likely to be the worst hit, the weather service said A woman covers her mouth during the sandstorm at Las Palmas Airport, Canary Islands on Saturday A plane is seen parked on a tarmac at Las Palmas Airport during the sandstorm blown over from North Africa on Saturday. The regional government declared a state of alert and advised people to keep doors and windows closed across the archipelago, while authorities in Lanzarote's capital Arrecife, cancelled all outdoor activities, including some carnival celebrations A cruise ship in Las Palmas port is barely visible as one of the worst Saharan dust storms in recent years reduces visibility to 400 metres and caused the cancellation of more than 200 flights on Saturday Which brings us back to the plan, put forward this month by the Climate Leadership Council, that would actually work. Supported by energy companies (including Total) and environmental groups alike, it would impose a steadily rising tax on carbon. That would lead to reduced consumption and increased innovation in alternatives, including battery storage for solar and wind power. To get buy-in from industry, the plan would do away with a lot of regulation but only so long as emissions were, in fact, going down. (Newser) The decision to allow 14 Americans with coronavirus to return to the US from Japan last week has left President Trump furious. The president was especially upset that he wasn't briefed, the New York Times reports. He wants to be seen as in control of the US response to the health scare, officials said, and considers keeping people out who've tested positive for the virus to be best way to protect the country. Trump, who has said he's a germophobe, had been told by aides that the Americans would stay quarantined overseas on the luxury liner Diamond Princess, per the Washington Post. Instead, the State Department, along with a health official, decided to return the American passengers to the US and put them in isolation here. Trump has since complained to administration officials, including acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney. story continues below The CDC isn't happy, either, and had its participation taken off the State Department news release about the return. The agency had advised that it was dangerous to put healthy people on the same plane as those who'd tested positive for COVID-19, even though they hadn't shown symptoms. A plastic-lined enclosure on the plane separated the two groups of passengers, per the Hill. As of Friday, the CDC said, 28 US residents have been brought home from the Diamond Princess. (Read more COVID-19 stories.) The police in Lagos on Sunday said they have rounded up 17 persons for violence during cult clashes at Ijora Badia and Ikorodu areas of the state. Bala Elkana, the state police spokesperson, said in a statement that five of the suspects were arrested on Friday at Badia, while 12 others were arrested on Sunday at Ikorodu. According to the statement, the Ijora Badia Police Station received a distress call that two rival cult groups were engaged in a supremacy battle. The police said the cult groups were armed with cutlasses and other dangerous weapons, with which they inflicted injuries on one another. The clash occurred at Iso Isu area Ijora Badia, the police spokesperson said. Police operatives from Ijora Badia Division and Special Strike Force on Social Miscreants from the Command Headquarters, Ikeja were mobilised to the area and five suspects were arrested, Mr Elkana said. The arrested suspects are Olaniyi Abiodun, 21; Emola Kamal, 20; Muritala Gbadeyanka,18; Kadiri Bashorun,28; and Adebayo Ebiesuwa,25. Mr Elkana, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, said the arrested suspects belong to Aiye and Eiye confraternities. In a similar development, the police said members of Aiye and Eiye Confraternities attacked each other at Ladega area Ikorodu on Sunday, where one of the members sustained severe injuries. Mr Elkana said officers from Ikorodu division, Shagamu Road, Ipakodo, Rapid Response Squad (RRS), and the Specia Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) were mobilised to the scene. The 24-year old Lateef Ganiyu who was seriously injured injured during the fight was rushed to General hospital Ikorodu, where he is currently receiving treatment, the police said. Twelve suspects were arrested on the scene. Mr Elkana said investigation is ongoing and the suspects will soon be charged to court. PREMIUM TIMES had earlier reported how the Lagos police arrested Sikiru Samuel, Aiye confraternity Kingpin and eight other suspected cultists in Ikorodu area of Lagos. Similarly, 86 cult suspects were arrested in January at Ikorodu area of Lagos. Mr Elkana affirmed that the Lagos Police Command is ready to rid Lagos of all cult elements. Stock investors have enjoyed one of the greatest bull runs in history. Since March 2009, when U.S. stocks hit bottom in the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis, the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX:^GSPC) -- a decent proxy for the performance of the U.S. stock market -- has gained an incredible 520% in total returns. Moreover, the U.S. economy is in relatively strong shape, with high employment and expectations that there's life left in this bull market. But at the same time, there are reasons to be concerned. The spread of coronavirus in China is already having major impacts, bringing travel and economic activity in major parts of the country to a grinding halt. The impact is already being felt in energy markets; the International Energy Agency is predicting the first quarterly decline in global oil demand in over a decade to start 2020. Whether coronavirus or something else entirely will finally bring economic growth to a halt, and send the market crashing, remains to be seen. But none other than Warren Buffett giving signs he's not a fan of stocks right now, with Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A)(NYSE:BRK.B) being a net seller of stocks last quarter. With some of those same concerns, I've also taken actions to prepare my portfolio for an eventual market crash. Here's my strategy To start, a little bit of background. I'm 43, and the majority of my wealth is in retirement accounts, as well as a taxable account focused on high-yield dividend stocks. Those investments are for things that will happen multiple decades from now, so it doesn't make sense for me to sell a large portion of my stock portfolio at this stage. Sure, I might get lucky with my timing and avoid short-term losses from a market downturn, but I'm more likely to just miss further market gains. As Motley Fool co-founder David Gardner has pointed out, the stock market goes up about two-thirds of the time, so time in the market continues to beat timing the market. In other words, I'm saying largely fully invested with my core portfolio holdings. As much as I think we could see a market downturn in the next year, particularly if Chinas economy -- both its consumption and its manufacturing output -- slows enough to affect the rest of the world, I realize its impossible to predict whether this will happen with any accuracy, or how it would affect stocks. Moreover, it's just as impossible to know when it would happen (if it does) or how much stocks could go up before eventually falling. There's nothing worse than sitting on the sidelines waiting for a 20% market decline, only to see it gain another 25% while you watch. So I intend to stay invested to a large degree This is how much cash I have in my portfolio right now As of this writing, after the market closed on Feb. 21, I have almost 5.2% of my entire equity portfolio in cash. In addition to that existing cash, my wife and I contribute roughly another 5% of our present portfolio value in new cash every year, and at present, only about three-fourths of those contributions are being invested into the stock market. That's not to say all that cash will stay cash, because even as the market continues going up, I'm still looking for opportunities to buy, and finding them, including high-yield dividend stocks that I can count on even during a market downturn. A little context goes a long way It may not seem like much, and in reality, 5% of my portfolio isn't a large amount. And for good reason: The best course of action almost all of the time, is to be invested. It's essentially impossible to time your way around market crashes, and then buy back in at the bottom. For most of us, it's simply better to make new investments regularly, and hold those investments through every sell-off and downturn, to profits on the other side. Basic asset allocation makes it clear that sitting on the sidelines is not an effective long-term wealth building strategy. Here's some context. This is what it looked like to hold stocks from the 2007 stock market peak, to the 2009 bottom: Now let's apply a healthy dose of time to that painful downturn: Doesn't look quite so painful as we get further away, does it? Sadly, far too many investors got out of the market because of the first chart and didn't enjoy any of the amazing gains since. That's why I don't keep a large amount of my portfolio in cash, even with the market regularly breaking records and another downturn eventually going to happen. Ready to act, but not too ready By keeping some cash on hand -- dry powder, if you prefer -- I have some ability to act to take advantage of the next market crash, or to a lesser degree, just a sell-off in a stock that I want to own. In the grand scheme of things, this small amount of money may not lead to life-changing gains, but it should prove a nice way to juice my returns by taking advantage of the next big sell-off. Most importantly, by keeping it a small portion of my portfolio, I won't end up harming my returns by keeping too much cash on the sidelines. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Masumi Suga (Bloomberg) Tokyo, Japan Sun, February 23, 2020 15:16 689 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad20661b005 2 World #Japan,#coronavirus,cruise-ship,passenger,infection Free A woman in her 60s has tested positive for the coronavirus after disembarking from the cruise ship docked in Yokohama following a two-week quarantine, according to a statement from the Tochigi prefecture. The patient, who tested negative for the virus during the quarantine Feb. 14 on board the Diamond Princess, returned to her home in Tochigi prefecture, near Tokyo, on Feb. 19, national broadcaster NHK reported. She developed a fever on Feb. 21 and was tested positive on Feb. 22, according to the statement. The patient is the first to be confirmed with the virus after disembarking from the vessel and comes amid increasing skepticism over Japans handling of the situation. Kentaro Iwata, a professor at Kobe University Hospital who said he boarded the cruise ship, criticized bureaucrats handling of the quarantine, saying infected and uninfected passengers were able to mix freely. More than 1,000 passengers left the virus-hit ship last week after the quarantine period. The vessel had the most infections anywhere outside China, with more than 600 confirmed cases and two deaths. The total infections in Japan excluding the cruise ship have climbed to more than 130, with cases spreading across the country. By Ellie Silverman, The Philadelphia Inquirer Terrez McCleary saw the news of one of the latest shooting victims in Philadelphia and started to cry. She didnt know the woman or her family, but McClearys 21-year-old daughter was murdered and every time she sees another homicide, she thinks of the pain. When its a woman who is killed, it hurts her even more. At one time women and children were considered safe. We were off-limits, said McCleary, 52, and cofounder of the group Moms Bonded by Grief. It isnt like that anymore. On Friday, a pregnant woman was fatally shot while in a vehicle on Ninth Street between Dauphin and York Streets and, after doctors performed an emergency C-section, her baby died, too. Her identity has not been revealed by police, who have described the woman as being in her 30s. Relatives of shooting victims and advocates said Saturday that if a pregnant woman can become a casualty of the citys soaring gun violence, then no one is safe. More than 500 children have been shot in Philadelphia since the beginning of 2015. While most of these children are between the ages of 13 and 17, Fridays shooting reminded residents of the recent young victims like 10-year-old Sameje OBranty, who was shot walking home from school; 11-month-old Yazeem Jenkins, who was shot while sitting in a car; and 2-year-old Nikolette Rivera, shot at home while in her mothers arms. Last year, 138 women were wounded or slain in gun violence in Philadelphia. In 2017, that number was 90. I think the code of the street has changed, said Melany Nelson, the executive director of Northwest Victim Services. Each time a shooting happens, especially ones that involve children, politicians, activists, relatives of victims, and city residents cry out for the violence to end. Then theres news of another homicide. In a statement on Friday nights shooting, Mayor Jim Kenney said he was also grieving this tragic loss. I want Philadelphians to know there is no more pressing issue for our administration than addressing the scourge of gun violence impacting our communities, and we are doing everything we can to address it, Kenney said. Amelia Pagan, an aunt of Nikolette Rivera, said its hard to have a sense of safety when hearing about bullets that seem to be indiscriminately hitting women and children. When her 16-year-old son and 17-year-old daughter leave their home near the Nicetown neighborhood of North Philadelphia every day, she worries. She tells them to be vigilant. Still, shes always scared. What happened with my niece, it happened in her home. Inside her home, Pagan said. Its not even in a selected area of the city now. Its just everywhere." Through Friday, 180 people had been shot in Philadelphia, a 15% increase from the same period last year. Hearing about the shooting of the pregnant woman, Yullio Robbins thought: Oh God, not again. Please, please, help us, help us, help our families. We need help in Philadelphia. Robbins, 60, of West Philadelphia, had been trying to mentally prepare herself for Sunday, the fourth anniversary of her son James murder. It is still unsolved. When she sees news like that of the pregnant womans shooting death, it puts her back to that dark place. Philadelphias new police commissioner, Danielle Outlaw, an Oakland native and the former chief in Portland, Ore., stepped into her new role Feb. 10 leading the 6,500-member department in a city battling record levels of gun violence that it hasnt seen since 2010. Though Outlaw could not be immediately reached Saturday, she previously told The Inquirer she wanted to bring a level of urgency to combating gun violence. She mentioned the citys plans to implement a new strategy this spring called group violence intervention, which refers to focusing law enforcement resources on a small population of potential offenders. When asked about specifics, she said: Its Day Three." I am very confident that in some period of time, in a very short period of time, I will have conducted an assessment of some kind, so we can roll something out, she told The Inquirer. Families of gun-violence victims had pleaded Thursday at a special committee hearing for City Council members and Outlaw to help them. They held signs with pictures of their children who were killed and appealed for the Police Department to solve murders that have remained unsolved for years. Crime is our No. 1 issue by far, Councilman Allan Domb said Saturday, repeating what he said two days earlier at the gun-violence hearing in City Hall. This is not an area we should cut back expenses on. We need to go forward and make sure we have the best of everything. The most important thing in anyones life is their safety. Every time a shooting happens, Aleida Garcia, 61, of South Philadelphia thinks about what the next 48 hours will be like for the affected family. She thinks of how relatives will be notified that their loved one is dead. (Garcia was at work when she heard about her son.) Then, a parent, partner, child, or another relative will go to the coroners office to identify the body. Then comes the funeral. You crumble and the world just falls down around, Garcia said. Her son Alejandro Rojas-Garcia was murdered in 2015. On Saturday, she was thinking of Friday nights shooting and how horrible it would be to see the mother and baby in a coffin. Garcia had been in the front row at Thursdays gun-violence hearing. She feels a responsibility to bring attention to the issue. That has included founding the National Homicide Justice Alliance. Theres a sense or urgency amongst survivors that this is a crisis, Garcia said. This retraumatizes us, but it also makes us want to continue to fight." There is a small cohort of psychologists in Ireland who work with child abusers and those caught with illegal pornographic material featuring children. Very few wish to talk on the record. "It's not worth the hassle of putting your head above the parapet," one of them tells Review, "you just get dog's abuse. "People say to me, 'Why would you want to help them? They're paedophiles, perverts, deviants. How could you?' But they're people, too, and do we, as a society, simply turn our backs on them? Should we not want to try to understand them? "And," she adds, "too often, we don't consider the whole gamut - from the person that views one illegal image and feels enormous shame and never does it again, to those who serially abuse. We don't ask why it's happening. Maybe we just don't want to go there." Last week, the distressing spectre of child pornography was thrown into public view once more with the news that An Garda Siochana has partnered with several internet service providers to prohibit access to websites showing such material. Expand Close Crackdown: Detective Chief Superintendent Declan Daly / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Crackdown: Detective Chief Superintendent Declan Daly BT Ireland, Eir Ireland, Sky Ireland, Tesco Mobile, Three Ireland and Vodafone Ireland signed a Memorandum of Understanding announcing their decision to block access to Interpol's 1,857 so-called 'worst of' websites that contain child abuse material. These websites contain images and videos which feature real children, who are, or appear to be, younger than 13 years old and the abuse is considered to be "severe". Subscribers who enter a web address that contains child abuse material will now be directed to the garda's 'stop page' which will notify the user that they are attempting to view illicit material. "Child abuse material on the internet is an exploitative and demeaning crime," according to Detective Chief Superintendent Declan Daly from the Garda National Protective Services Bureau. "It is a child abuse offence, which has pathways to the contact offending of children. Blocking child abuse imagery in Ireland protects children in our communities by reducing demand, it increases their protection and facilitates a concentration of policing resources towards those who seek to harm children online." But who are those people Daly is talking about? How common is paedophilia? What proportion of the population has a predilection for viewing sexual images of children? When do those tendencies first emerge? For Irish psychologist Dr Maggie Brennan, formerly of University College Cork and Interpol and now with the School of Psychology at Plymouth University in England, these are questions that have preoccupied her for the best part of 20 years. "People tend to use the term 'paedophile' for any person who has a sexual interest in children," she says, "but that's problematic because when we are taking about people who are paedophilic, we're talking about people who have a primary sexual attraction to children who are pre-pubescent [essentially children up to the age of 12]. Prevalence of paedophilia "Only about 50pc of those who commit sexual offences against children have a diagnosis of paedophilia attaching to them. There is another 50pc who commit offences against children who are not paedophilic by definition. The presentation of people who sexually abuse children is quite complex and doesn't just constitute people who have this primary attraction to children." There have been numerous studies looking at the prevalence of paedophilia in society, with some placing the rate as low as 0.5pc and others up to 10 times that amount, or 5pc. A German study from 2015 suggested the rate was closer to the latter figure, according to Brennan. "The study," she says, "surveyed almost 9,000 men in an anonymous online poll and they were asked whether or not they had some sort of sexual interest and 5.5pc of respondents said they either had a fantasy about a child or had paid a child for sexual services or travelled to another country with the intent of sexual contact with a child." When the figures are examined in detail, 4.1pc of all respondents said they had fantasies about sexual contact with pre-pubescent children - in other words, meeting the definition of paedophilia. And 1.7pc - roughly one out of every 50 men - said they had looked at illegal child pornography. Brennan says there is no reason to believe that rate is any different in Ireland. She says there are three distinct groups of people who present clinically in terms of their psychological and behavioural characteristics. "There are people who seem to engage exclusively and only with visual depictions or online materials that seem to represent sexual activity involving children. Then there's a group who engage solely in hands-on contact sexual offences against children. "And then we have this third group. We call them 'crossover offenders' and they're people who engage both in contact offences and also engage with child sexual exploitation and abuse material. And it's that latter group that present greatest risk to children, and they also display the highest rate of anti-social behaviour out of the three groups." Brennan says this is also the group that has the greatest likelihood of re-offending. "We need to identify this group as a matter of priority, especially as the internet has created a whole constellation of problems. There is something about the internet that is facilitating not just criminality but some sort of problematic dynamic in terms of a sexual interest in children." Dr David Glasgow is one of the UK's leading experts on paedophilia, with more than 30 years' experience. He says the advent of the internet over the past quarter-century has brought on significant challenges, but he says it is important to distinguish between those who use the internet as a tool to help them gain access to children - for contact sex offences - and those who use it for fantasy-driven behaviour. Low rate of recidivism "Non-contact internet offenders [those apprehended with child pornography, for instance] have a very low rate of recidivism and escalation [to hands-on sexual contact]," he says. "There are various studies suggesting [rates of recidivism] to be between 1pc and 6pc. "The problem when you talk about his sort of thing in public is that people get very worked up and agitated about it. It's not that I'm saying that internet offending is okay and it's not that I'm saying that we shouldn't be trying to restrict access to child pornography, but the vast majority of these men simply don't engage in hands-on contact abuse. "It's an important finding, I think. These men retreat to their rooms, wait for their families to go to bed - they are often much more well-established, respected members of the community - and they start to download pornography - initially mixed pornography [mostly adult-oriented] but eventually accessing illegal material. "I work primarily with people," he adds, "who have been through the criminal justice system and come out the other side and we then have to say, 'What investment is there going to be in preventing the man establishing a family, resuming his previous life, and having children with a new partner and so on? What we know is that the probability of him re-offending is relatively low, partly due to the shame and public exposure." Glasgow says those findings are rarely welcomed by the public. "The challenge is that everybody gets so angry about all of this, lumping everything in together, that we are losing an opportunity to learn something really important about what are the essential ingredients of contact offending. We're also taking a large number of men who have made a terrible mistake but not working out how to rehabilitate them afterwards." It's a sentiment echoed by the Dublin-based psychologist quoted at the beginning of this article. "People," she says, "say the punishment for being caught in possession of child pornography is too light - you have people getting community service, maybe, rather than a prison sentence - but let me tell you that the real punishment is only just beginning for them: it's being shunned in society, losing your job, having your family break up, possibly being physically assaulted. "This cohort [referred to as 'virtuous paedophiles' by some] are very different to those men who go out and engage in child sexual abuse themselves. But, as a society, we see them all as one and the same. The inconvenient truth is that's not the case. It's much more complex than that." Roots of paedophilia It is widely accepted among psychologists who work in this area that the roots of paedophilia and a sexual interest in older teens begin for most during teenage years. For paedophiles, the sexual awakening - focused on fellow children - doesn't develop into attraction for adults when they themselves reach adulthood. Most get stuck on the same-age boys or girls who first attracted them at the start of puberty, though some retain interest in far younger children. "People don't choose what arouses them - they discover it," Dr Fred Berlin, director of the Johns Hopkins Sex and Gender Clinic, told the New York Times. "No one grows up wanting to be a paedophile. The important thing, I think, is that people know that treatment is possible. There's a subgroup out there - they refer themselves here - and they are quite convinced that they do not want real-life sex with children." As scientists seek to understand how the disorder develops, there is growing consensus that the origin is largely biological. This view is based in part on studies pointing to subtle physical traits that have a higher incidence among paedophiles. "The biological clues attached to paedophilia demonstrate that its roots are prenatal," according to Dr James Cantor, director of the Toronto Sexuality Centre. "These are not genetic; they can be traced to specific periods of development in the womb." Psychological and environmental factors may also contribute, though it is not yet clear what those are or how they interact with developmental conditions. Intriguingly, a once-common presumption that paedophiles were themselves abused as children now has less support. Child victims are at far greater risk of future substance abuse, depression, persistent traumatic stress or criminal aggression than of becoming molesters. The vast majority of offenders deny any sex abuse in their childhood, even though they could garner sympathy in court by doing so, experts say. "A chaotic childhood increases the likelihood of a chaotic adulthood, of any kind," Canter says. David Glasgow, meanwhile, believes rehabilitation is possible but only if the offender truly wants to mend their ways. He says he has had dealings with clerical abusers over the years and says it has been very difficult to connect with them. "They tended to try to justify, to explain away, to thwart efforts to make them see what they had done," he recalls, adding that offenders who do not recognise that what they have done is wrong cannot be rehabilitated. "It's similar with so many areas in life: you have to want to help yourself, take ownership of what you've done and then explore the avenues that are open to you." South Sudans warring parties have once again declared an official end to the countrys brutal civil war that killed an estimated 400,000 people and displaced millions of others over the past six years. On Saturday, President Salva Kiir swore in opposition leader Riek Machar as his first deputy, narrowly meeting a twice delayed deadline to form a transitional coalition government as part of a power-sharing agreement signed in September 2018. Three other vice presidents were also sworn in two from the government and one from the opposition and a fifth from another opposition group is expected to be announced in the coming days. The transitional government will lead the country to elections in three years. Addressing the nation from the capital, Juba, Kiir urged the population to forgive one another like he and Machar did and assured the country that peace was now irreversible. It is no longer in the corner or on the way, he said on Saturday. Peace is here in Juba and it will spread to all corners of our country. Broken deals This is the bitter rivals latest attempt at peace since fighting erupted between forces loyal to Kiir and troops supporting Machar in 2013, two years after South Sudan gained independence from Sudan. Countless ceasefires have since been violated and a 2015 peace deal collapsed when renewed clashes broke out the next year, forcing Machar to flee the country on foot. While fighting largely subsided over the past year, the implementation of the 2018 agreement has been sluggish and fraught with a lack of funding and questionable political will. Two deadlines, in May and November, were missed due to unresolved key issues, including security arrangements and an agreement on the number of states. On Saturday, reactions among locals towards the new government were mixed. The nation was fragmented along tribal lines and their coming together is a key step towards uniting the country, said John Garang, a Juba resident. But Ayuel Chan, a local journalist with the state-owned South Sudan Broadcast Corporation, was more sceptical. Unless something drastic happens, there will [be] little change in the status quo, he said, striking a pessimistic tone over a scenario in which longtime government officials with a poor track record, including some who have held office since pre-independence, were re-elected. Major challenges While South Sudan observers are lauding Saturdays step as an important landmark, concerns linger over potential deadlock and dysfunction in the new government as well as a number of outstanding issues, Alan Boswell, a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, told Al Jazeera. Security arrangements in particular are a total mess, he said. The failure of the previous peace deal is largely attributed to inadequate security arrangements. As part of the latest peace deal, a unified force of at least 41,500 troops of opposition and government soldiers needed to unify into one national army, but that has not been realised. Both parties agreed that security will be provided by the president for Machar and all other signatories, said government spokesman Ateny Wek Ateny. Yet opposition spokesman Mabior Garang de Mabior told Al Jazeera they are seeking assurances in writing that the president will be able to guarantee the security of the various opposition groups in Juba. Then there is the contentious issue of the number of states. Last week, in a major concession Kiir described as painful, the government agreed to revert the country to 10 states instead of 32, which it established in 2015, in what many South Sudan analysts saw as an attempt to gerrymander the country along ethnic lines. But in the same statement last week, Kiir also announced the creation of three administrative areas, which Machar said he would not accept. Dan Sullivan, a senior advocate for human rights at Refugees International, welcomed the return to 10 states but cautioned it will no doubt create new challenges, including tensions over the loss of government positions, newly unresolved borders and the fate of three administrative areas that remain under dispute. Civilians deliberately starved Even if these issues are overcome, years of war have left the country in shambles, entrenched in corruption and human rights atrocities committed with impunity. A sobering report by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan last week said South Sudanese are being deliberately starved, systematically surveilled and silenced, arbitrarily arrested and detained and denied meaningful access to justice. The report found that government officials were implicated in the pillaging of public funds, while millions of dollars were diverted from the National Revenue Authority depleting resources that could have been used to help millions of vulnerable people. 200220105302156 The plundering of the public purse by officials is having a catastrophic impact on the humanitarian situation, the commission said in a statement. Seven-and-a-half million people are in need of aid, according to the UN. Almost 200,000 civilians shelter in the UN-protected sites across the country and more than 1.1 million people are facing severe hunger, according to recent figures by the government and the UN. Hospitals in Juba are often without electricity and staff go without regular pay, said Alexander Dimiti, director general of reproductive health. Seated in his office in the dark, Banak Joshua, the director of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, the body charged with helping the countrys 1.4 million internally displaced people, said the ministry often does not have enough money to buy fuel to power the generators. Recent flooding affecting almost one million people and an incoming locust invasion are exacerbating the dire situation, in particular the food crisis. The International Rescue Committee is seeing too many malnourished children in its clinics, said Celin Bore, the organisations deputy director of programmes in South Sudan, calling on the government to ramp up efforts and ensure humanitarians have access to areas previously unreachable due to violence. Repairing damage to take generations The formation of the transitional government followed intense pressure from the international community and foreign donors, who have been providing the bulk of South Sudans humanitarian needs. The international community is sick and tired and fed up with providing the government services that the government of South Sudan should be providing for its own people, Tibor Nagy, the United States assistant secretary of state for African affairs, said in a conference call in January. Moving forward, South Sudan observers are looking for a change. Rights groups have long accused the government of becoming increasingly intolerant and repressive, with Jehanne Henry, associate Africa director at Human Rights Watch, urging on Saturday the new administration to free abducted civilians and reform the abusive national security service. While an important test will be if Kiir and Machar can coexist peacefully, the real gauge will be whether the millions of refugees and internally displaced people feel confident enough to return, voluntarily and resettle in their homes, said Lauren Blanchard, an analyst with the US Congress. Many eyes will be on Juba, but it will be important to monitor how this peace deal is implemented beyond the capital, and in the areas hardest hit by the conflict, she said. But notable change will take time. Ending a war is one thing, said Boswell, from the Crisis Group. Piecing South Sudan back together and repairing the damage of this war will take generations. The coronavirus from China has dominated the headlines so far this year as Beijing struggles to get a handle on its spread. The wider market has largely written it off, but Chinese stocks have seen investor sentiment drop. While its true that the coronavirus is likely to dent Chinas economy and create challenges for its businesses, there are a handful of contrarian plays that make great buy-the-dip-candidates now. Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) stock is one such contrarian play that will likely pay off in the long term. alibaba stock Source: zhu difeng / Shutterstock.com Notably, when the firm released its earnings on Feb. 13, CEO Daniel Zhang admitted that the coronavirus presented a challenge. Zhang said the virus would, present near-term challenges to the development of Alibabas business across the board. Alibaba CFO Maggie Wu noted that, The means of production in the economy has been hampered by the delayed opening of offices, factories and stores. Because of that, Wu said revenue growth would struggle in the current quarter. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Theres no doubt that the current quarter is likely to be a rough one for Alibaba its Chinese peers. But the impact, at least for Alibaba, looks likely to be short term. Alibaba Stock Is a Buy Mark Schild, an assistant dean at Seaton Hall Universitys Stillman School of Business, told InvestorPlace in an email that he believes the e-commerce segment is likely to feel the smallest impact from the coronavirus outbreak. As with all companies, especially Asian companies, the Coronavirus must be paid attention to, as there is little question that parts of the economy may slow down, Schild wrote. However, retail/online shopping will most likely not be the first area to be hurt, just the opposite as fears of virus may keep people out of malls and on the computer. Story continues Schild says now that Alibaba has released its earnings report without any surprises, the general momentum of the markets should continue to benefit BABA shareholders. Susquehanna Investment Groups Shyam Patil took a similar tone, saying that the firms long-term growth story remains intact. He called Alibaba a China e-commerce category killer with a large secular growth opportunity ahead. Patil gave Alibaba stock a $260 price target. That represents 20% upside from where its trading today. Indeed, Alibabas third-quarter results before the virus were impressive. Sales were up nearly 40% from the previous year and the nations Singles Day saw record sales. On top of that, both revenue and earnings per share topped analyst estimates. On top of that, Alibabas cloud business showed promise as revenue rose more than 60%. So far, Alibabas cloud business has been confined to China, but the company says its planning to make its way overseas soon. If Alibabas cloud arm continues with this kind of momentum, it will likely become profitable sooner than expected. Those profits would boost the firms bottom line substantially. Alibaba Is on Sale Now The bottom line for Alibaba stock is, if you liked it before, then you should really like it now. Alibaba shares are trading at just 3 times the firms forecast earnings. Thats well below the S&P 500 average go 19.5. While the past four years have seen Alibabas share price more than triple, the firm still has further to fly. Morningstar noted that despite Alibabas exponential rise, the business still has a long growth runway. As of September 2019, the firm had 693 million active buyers. Thats roughly half of the nations entire population that means theres plenty of room for the firm to continue expanding its e-commerce market in the years to come. Plus, Alibabas impressive collection of customer data makes it one of the most desirable marketplaces. Morningstars R.J. Hottovy noted that Alibabas transition to a data-centric conglomerate has opened up a host of possibilities for future growth. Weve long thought that a strong network effect allows leading e-commerce players to extend into other growth avenues, and nowhere is that more evident than Alibaba. The Future of Alibaba Over the next few months, investors should expect turbulence among Chinese stocks. However, I believe investors have digested the impact of coronavirus on the e-commerce giant and are unlikely to punish the stock next quarter. Even if they do, that makes for another great entry point for long-term investors. Alibaba looks like a great long-term bet, coronavirus or not. Laura Hoy has a Finance degree from Duquesne University and has been writing about financial markets for the past 8 years. Her work can be seen in a variety of publications including InvestorPlace, Benzinga, Yahoo Finance and CCN. As of this writing, Laura Hoy did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. More From InvestorPlace The post Alibaba Is the Best Contrarian Coronavirus Pick Now appeared first on InvestorPlace. Weve passed more bills on gun safety in the last 30 days than weve done in the last 30 years, he said. And by the same token, I like to be able to say, You know, we did listen to the other side. We did dial a couple things back. We did say no to a couple people. Communication ceases between government and opposition By Malkhaz Matsaberidze Last week might emerge as a turning point for the future development of Georgian politics. At the beginning of the week, it seemed that talks about the electoral system would continue and an agreement of sorts would be reached. However, it was soon clear that the new wave of clashes between the ruling team and the opposition was just beginning with Ugulavas arrest on February 10th jeopardising the prospect of future talks between the government and the opposition.At the end of his visit to the US, Parliament Chairman Talakvadze made a new offer to the opposition- 100 MPs through the proportional system and 50 elected with majoritarian. He also stated that if the United Opposition didnt accept the offer, the elections would be held with the current mixed system (77 elected through proportional and 73-majoritarian). The United Opposition gathered to agree on their final proposal-135 MPs with proportional and 15 with majoritarian.After the congressmens letter to the government about the condition of democracy in Georgia and Talakvadzes apologetic visit to the US, there were reasonable expectations that the ruling party and the opposition would, in the end, achieve an agreement, but that was not the case. On February 10th, it became known that the Court of Georgia has sentenced Gigi Ugulava, one of the opposition leaders, to imprisonment for the third time. The opposition reacted acutely, stating that they stopped any form of dialogue regarding the electoral system as the government started political repression. They remembered Bidzina Ivanishvilis words from last week on how some of the opposition leaders would have to go to prison. It is expected that before the elections, Giga Bokeria, Nika Gvaramia, Mamuka Khazaradze, Badri Japaridze, and others may be arrested.The United Opposition started organising mass protests. They are going to visit different regions to increase the number of supporters and announced an upcoming rally on April 4th.The Georgian Dream called the opposition unconstructive for turning the talks about the electoral system down and anticipated that the elections will be held with the current system and that they will again enjoy the ruling majority. The Georgian Dream took the oppositions plan on the mass rallies calmly, believing that they cannot organise such a large-scale protest.The government is planning on activating its lobbyist politics in order to balance out the criticism expected from the West. It became known that the Georgian Dream party will pay one million dollars to American lobbyists, who are supposed to ensure political support for Georgia in the US. The Georgian Dream perhaps believes that the 2020 elections are also planned in the US and that American officials wont have much time for Georgia.However, after arresting Ugulava, the wave of criticism from the US and European Parliament was so harsh that already on February 12th, the Georgian Dream attempted to convince the opposition to renew talks about the electoral system. President Salome Zourabichvili also tried to act as a mediator but her attempts were all in vain. The United Opposition stated it doesnt trust the ruling party and thinks that the governments attempt to continue the talks are about balancing out Western criticism and use the situation to somehow make its offer (100/50) work. As a response, the Georgian Dream received a three-point ultimatum from the opposition: 1. Release Ugulava and stop the political repression. 2. Switch to the proportional system. 3. Create a new electoral commission.Last week, former presidents of Georgia were also active, the third president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, announced the creation of his headquarters (address: Saakashvilis Presidential Library), contributing more intrigue to the Georgian politics: Is Saakashvili going to create a new political party, is there a clash between him and his party? The former president does have a large number of supporters and his comeback to Georgian Politics will harm the Georgian Dream even more. At the same time, Saakashvili cannot act as a mediator about the electoral system due to his highly negative rankings in Georgia.Georgias fourth president, Giorgi Margvelashvili, initially appointed as president by Bidzina Ivanishvili, also announced his future political activity. Margvelashvili named the danger of losing the pro-Western path and switching to the Russian one because of the Georgian Dream as a reason for his coming back to politics. Margvelashvili is starting to consult with the United Opposition, with Mamuka Khazaradzes Lelo, and doesnt rule out the creation of his own party. Margvelashvilis return to politics might be followed by other former high-rank officials as well, such as former PM Kvirikashvili, and others. Kvirikashvili has already criticised Ugulavas sentencing.The political field of Georgian politics is still highly polarised and there is no sign of positive changes to come. A group of martial arts students perform during "The Legend of Shaolin 2018" show in Houston, Texas, the United States, on Nov. 11, 2018. Hundreds of Chinese and American audience marveled at the performance of Chinese Shaolin Kung Fu on Sunday in Houston, the fourth largest city in the United States. (Xinhua/Yi-Chin Lee) Xi said he is pleased to see those students write and learn Chinese so well, and hopes that they will continue to work hard, make greater progress and become young ambassadors for the friendship between the two peoples. BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping has written back to a group of U.S. elementary school students, encouraging them to continue their efforts to learn Chinese language and culture and contribute to promoting friendship between the two peoples. On the eve of the Spring Festival, 50 fourth-grade students from Cascade Elementary School in the U.S. state of Utah wrote New Year cards to Xi in Chinese, telling him about their Chinese language learning and personal hobbies, expressing their love for China and Chinese culture as well as their hope for a chance to visit China, and wishing "Grandpa Xi" a happy New Year. In his reply letter dated Feb. 15, Xi told the children that like the United States, China is a big country, that the Chinese civilization has a history of more than 5,000 years, and that the Chinese people are as hospitable as the American people. Children in Chinese traditional costumes prepare for the Chinese recital competition in Dallas, the United States, on Dec 14, 2019. (Photo by Dan Tian/Xinhua) He added that they can learn more about Chinese history and culture by learning the Chinese language, which is used by more than 1 billion people around the world. Xi said he is pleased to see those students write and learn Chinese so well, and hopes that they will continue to work hard, make greater progress and become young ambassadors for the friendship between the two peoples. Established in 1967, the public school is one of the first schools in Utah to offer a Chinese immersion program, which involves more than half of its students. Utah has one-fifth of all Chinese language learners in the United States. The state's Chinese immersion program began in 2009 and is now available in 76 elementary and secondary schools. With 'unflinchingly high standards', breathtaking prices and a roster of satisfied customers including Russian bankers and Arab sheiks, the cabinet maker David Linley & Co can rightfully claim to be the most prestigious furniture firm in Britain. There might be another reason, too, why the likes of Sir Elton John and Oprah Winfrey favour the London-based business and its brand of tasteful opulence, and that is because the man who oversees their purchases is no less a figure than the Earl of Snowdon, nephew to the Queen. As Linley & Co says, to pay 78,000 for a sofa is to invest in something 'quintessentially British'. It might then come as something of a surprise to the firm's wealthy clientele that the company isn't controlled by the Earl himself the son of Princess Margaret known professionally as David Linley but by an offshore firm whose main shareholder is a Malaysian tycoon with a brother at the heart of what has been described as the biggest corruption scandal in the world. Last week it was announced that the Earl of Snowdon and Serena (pictured together), his wife of 26 years, are to divorce, with a painful division of their assets, estimated at 40 million, no doubt to follow The Mail on Sunday has established that 76 per cent of the Earl's company is co-owned by investor and board member Nazir Razak and that Mr Razak is under investigation after his bank account was allegedly used for an illegal multi-million-pound payment from his brother Najib Razak, the disgraced former Prime Minister of Malaysia. Nazir insists that he has acted in good faith throughout and has pledged to cooperate fully with an anti-corruption investigation. Yesterday, he told The Mail on Sunday: 'When the alleged links between 1MDB [the Malaysian state investment fund at the centre of the investigation] and Najib's fund transfer surfaced in the media in April 2016, I took voluntary leave from my positions at CIMB [the Malaysian bank that held the money]. The idea that the funds that flowed through the account may have originated from 1MDB has been gut-wrenching for me.' Last week it was announced that the Earl of Snowdon and Serena, his wife of 26 years, are to divorce, with a painful division of their assets, estimated at 40 million, no doubt to follow. Known as Viscount Linley until the death of his bohemian photographer father in 2017, the Earl will be keeping a close eye on the corruption scandal in Malaysia an affair that has seen millions of pounds disappear from the state investment fund amid allegations that the missing loot has been spent on private jets and lavish parties. Scrutiny: The Earl of Snowdon with Nazir Razak at Linley Belgravia, London The latest accounts of Linley & Co show that it has substantial bank loans, that it has run up an operating loss of more than 3 million in the last two recorded years, and that, according to auditors, there is 'material uncertainty' over its future. Naturally, there is no sign of this in the glossy Linley catalogue, which displays items created from such exotic materials as quilted maple and fumed eucalyptus. The 78,000 Alba sofa, for example, 'is crafted with mango veneers and embellished with geometric patterns morphing into straight grain, featuring ornate marquetry of jasmine flowers in mother of pearl, quilted maple, figured sycamore and satinwood'. It seats two. Then there's a surfboard, featuring American walnut, ripple sycamore, fumed figured eucalyptus, dyed figured anegre (an African hardwood), dyed American tulipwood and birdseye maple. At 30,000, it promises to 'catch the eye both in and out of the water'. At the other end of the price range are 95 Linley Bricks in a choice of oak or walnut. Despite his seniority, the Earl is not a working Royal and was never a Royal Prince. But he was given the courtesy title Viscount Linley in the hope that he could find his own direction, and that is exactly what he has done. In 1981, at the age of 20, he established his own business making and selling upmarket furniture. At first, his choice of a life in 'trade' was derided in society circles, but such snobbery only made him more determined. Money, he once said, 'drives' him and 'always has'. In 1990, his mother gave him Les Jolies Eaux, a house with ten acres on Mustique, given to her as a wedding present by Lord Glenconner. It was her favourite place on earth but her son very controversially sold it seven years later for 2.4 million. An Aston Martin DB5 the famous James Bond model, this one purchased from actor Peter Sellers which had been given to Snowdon by his father, was sold, too. In 2006, four years after his mother's death, the Earl set about auctioning her belongings at Christie's, ostensibly to pay a 3 million inheritance tax bill. The sale raised 13.7 million. He even auctioned his mother's favourite Pietro Annigoni portrait of herself, a sister painting to the one of the Queen hanging in the National Portrait Gallery. Aware of its sentimental value, he ordered three copies from a specialist firm in Dorset for himself, for his sister and for the Queen. Yet when the hammer went down at 680,000, it emerged that the Earl himself had bought it. At first it was assumed he'd had second thoughts. His motives might have been more hard-headed, however. For it emerged that, examining the painting under a microscope, the copyists had made an astonishing discovery: the artist had hidden not just a tiny self-portrait in the painting but, hanging on a leaf, a glass tumbler containing a dark heart, referring to Princess Margaret. She had sat for Annigoni after her break-up with Group Captain Peter Townsend, the man she had hoped, as a young woman, to marry. With such emotional detail, the portrait was suddenly considered more valuable than the pre-sale estimate. In 1993, Snowdon had married Serena, whose father, the Earl of Harrington is said to have a 250 million fortune. For all its high profile, his company has not been hugely profitable. Hit by the 2008 financial crisis, the Earl announced that he had taken a 400,000 loan from Sergei Pugachev, once known as the Kremlin's banker. But Pugachev left the company in 2011 and, accused of embezzling 655 million by the Russian government, fled to France. An 'angel' investor, British yacht broker Jamie Edmiston, ploughed 4 million into the company. Then, in 2014, he sold 51 per cent to Overture Investments Limited, involving Malaysian banker Nazir Razak, and David Chua of Hong Kong. Today, Overture's holding stands at 76 per cent. The latest Linley accounts filed in 2018 confirm that 'M Razak... is regarded by the directors as the ultimate controlling party'. For how much longer this will be the case remains to be seen, as Razak has had to deal with the fall-out from his brother's actions and is accused of facilitating an illegal payment from Najib. As Prime Minister, Najib had launched the Malaysian state investment fund known as 1MDB, saying it would strengthen the country's economy. But prosecutors now say he stole 3.5 billion to fund a lavish lifestyle with his wife Rosmah Mansor. According to US and Malaysian prosecutors, the money lined the pockets of a few powerful individuals and was used to buy luxury real estate, a private jet, Van Gogh and Monet artworks. It has been alleged that the Malaysian funds were also improperly used to fund Leonardo DiCaprio's Oscar-nominated film The Wolf Of Wall Street, the plot of which is coincidentally based on fraud. Najib is facing corruption charges including criminal breach of trust, abuse of power and money laundering. He denies the allegations. In October, it emerged that the bank account of his brother Nazir had received 4.7 million (25.7 million RM) in 2013 from the fund. Nazir insists that he acted in good faith and has pledged to co-operate fully with the anti-corruption investigation. He says that he didn't spend a penny of the money he received and believed it was legitimately transferred for the purposes of political donations to help with his brother's 2013 election campaign. He has since taken voluntary leave of his position as chairman of CIMB, the Malaysian bank that held the money, but remains a director of David Linley Holdings and a visiting research fellow in transformational leadership at Oxford University's Blavatnik School of Government. Yesterday, he told The Mail on Sunday: 'When the alleged links between 1MDB and Najib's fund transfer surfaced in the media in April 2016, I took voluntary leave from my positions at CIMB in order for the boards of CIMB Group and CIMB Bank to conduct a full review of what transpired. 'They did so with the help of an accounting firm and a legal firm. I was subsequently cleared and invited back to the board. 'I have been a vocal and frequent critic of 1MDB, and the idea that the funds that flowed through the account may have originated from 1MDB has been gut wrenching for me. I intend to engage with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to resolve this matter. I fully respect the work that they are doing to recover 1MDB funds, and will assist as best as I can.' David Linley & Co made no comment when approached. Nazir, a Chelsea fan who has been staying in Britain to pursue his work at Oxford University, recently travelled to Morocco for a family holiday. 'At last some sun! Half-term escape from stormy UK,' he writes on his Instagram page. Escaping the clouds now looming over the luxury furniture business might not be so straightforward. The occupants used 120 mm and 82 mm mortars, grenade launchers, machine guns and small arms During the current day in the Donbas, fighters times violated the ceasefire ten times, using the weapons prohibited by the Minsk agreements. The press service of the JFO headquarters reported that. So, six shellings were recorded in the Donetsk region. In the Luhansk region, militants carried out four shelling. On February 21, no losses were observed among the personnel of the Joint Forces. As we reported before, Russian armed mercenaries shelled the graveyard in the city of Popasna. "The Ukrainian side of the Joint Control and Coordination Centre reports a cynical attack by the armed units of the Russian Federation on the inhabited locality, with the use of Minsk-banned weaponry", reads the message. Over a dozen of graves were damaged in the shelling. Earlier, Deputy Spokesperson of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany Ulrike Demmer said that German government condemned the attack on Ukrainian positions, which was carried out by militants in Donbas on February 18, and calls for an investigation into the armed incident. Demmer also emphasized the need to investigate this armed incident. According to Deputy Government Spokesperson, it should be conducted by an independent authority, and the OSCE mission should gain unimpeded access to it. Key funders of the campus development, Tauranga City Council, Bay of Plenty Regional Council and TECT supported the Tauranga Tertiary Campus Charitable Trust to fund three scholarships ranging in value from $1,000 to $23,000 per year, for twenty students to study at the University of Waikato in Tauranga. The Tauranga Campus First-in-Family Scholarship was designed to assist students from families with no history of tertiary study to embark on their university journey. The Tauranga Campus Returning Student Scholarship will enable students to continue on with their second or third year of tertiary education. The Tauranga Campus Research Masters Scholarship is awarded to a student undertaking a masters thesis. TECT General Manager Wayne Werder says the scholarships provide an opportunity for students to pursue tertiary education with reduced financial burden. We are proud to have been one of the key funders that made the Tauranga Campus a reality, and now through these scholarships we are making tertiary education more accessible to our local community, encouraging continued education, and supporting excellence. Master of Science (Research) student Anita Lewis was thrilled to be selected as the inaugural recipient of the Tauranga Campus Research Masters Scholarship. Without the financial boost, she would have been forced to put her postgraduate studies on hold and search for a job instead which, given the importance of her research on microplastics pollution in the Bay of Plenty, wouldve been a huge loss for the region. Law student Britney Moore is the inaugural recipient of the The Acorn Foundation Beverly Perszyk Scholarship and also received a Tauranga Campus First-in-Family Scholarship. When I was looking at scholarships, I aimed high and decided that if I get this one, Ill know that this is the path I need to follow, says Anita. I want to use science to make a difference and am grateful for the support to be able to continue my studies with the University of Waikato in Tauranga. Third-year teaching student Jake Angus is one of ten recipients of a Tauranga Campus Returning Student Scholarship. The popular takatapui gender diverse student, with iwi affiliations to Ngai Te Rangi, Ngati Ranginui, Ngapuhi and Tainui, currently juggles four jobs alongside his studies, is involved with the Mana Ake Ki Tauranga Moana Maori student group, and has taken on a new role as the Waikato Students Union board director representing the Tauranga student cohort. Jake says that receiving the TTCCT scholarship means the world to him. I am constantly concerned with my ever-increasing student loan debt so having some of that pressure relieved in my final year of study has given me immense peace of mind, says Jake. Three further scholarships were awarded by the Acorn Foundation. The Acorn Foundation Beverly Perszyk Scholarship is a two-year scholarship of $3,000, assisting a student from a family with no history of tertiary study to participate in a university education. Law student Britney Moore, of Ngati Porou and Te Aitanga-A-Mahaki descent, was the inaugural recipient of the scholarship and also received a Tauranga Campus First-in-Family Scholarship. I still cant get my head around it, says Britney. Im beyond words I havent ever had something this good happen to me. Britney was born and raised in Gisborne by her single mother Megan, whom she credits with instilling in her the importance of education, despite not finishing high school herself. Mum is my greatest supporter and has always pushed me to go to uni because she never did, says Britney. The former Gisborne Girls High School student says she was also fortunate to have strong support from her teachers who encouraged her to aim high and pursue a study path in Law. I am determined to succeed in gaining a university qualification and be a role model for my younger sister, my whanau and other young people in Gisborne, says Britney. My goal is to one day be able to give back to my community and stand proud as a young Maori woman and future New Zealand lawyer. Two other Acorn Foundation scholarships were awarded on the night. The Acorn Foundation Adult Learner Scholarship, a one-year scholarship of $3,000 assisting an adult female student to study at the campus was awarded to Nikki Wade, a masters student in the Applied Community Psychology programme. The 13th Acorn Foundation Eva Trowbridge Scholarship, a one-year $3,000 scholarship for an adult student 25 years and over, to study at the campus, was awarded to Ebony Kahukura who is undertaking the Te Tohu Paetai programme so that she can deliver a total immersion Te Reo learning environment in primary school. Acorn donors are proud to support areas of the greatest needs in our community and are also committed to rewarding excellence. These three young women are incredibly deserving recipients of these scholarships, and we are thrilled to be able to provide a hand up as they undertake study at the University of Waikato Tauranga campus, says Acorn Foundation General Manager Lori Luke. University of Waikato Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Alister Jones was delighted to attend the awards evening held at the Tauranga campus. Its wonderful to have the community supporting students access to and success in university education, says Alister. Third-year teaching student Jake Angus is one of ten recipients of a Tauranga Campus Returning Student Scholarship. The home of a key Togo opposition candidate was surrounded by security forces just hours after polls closed Saturday in elections widely expected to see President Faure Gnassingbe claim a fourth term in power. Troops could be seen outside the house of Agbeyome Kodjo, considered an important challenger in the electoral race, as the government confirmed the move and said it was for "his own safety". "We are largely in the lead everywhere, my house is surrounded by soldiers," Kodjo told AFP. A large contingent of security forces were blocking all access to the property in the capital Lome, according to AFP journalists at the scene. Military roadblocks were being put up elsewhere in the city, while internet connections appeared to be sporadically interrupted. Polls closed at 1600 GMT Saturday after what had been a peaceful election day with a moderate turnout. Gnassingbe, who was running against six other candidates, has led the West African country of eight million people since 2005 following the death of his father Gnassingbe Eyadema, who ruled with an iron fist for 38 years. Kodjo is seen as a potential dark horse in the polls after winning the backing of an influential former Catholic archbishop. A former prime minister who served under Gnassingbe's father, he appeared to have gained ground during the electoral campaign. "The Togolese want change, they want an alternative," he said early Saturday as he voted in Lome. "And when we see all this mobilisation and all the methods of fraud put in place by the government, if at the end of the election, the government dares to say that it has won, imagine the rest." The Togo security minister Yark Damehame said both Kodjo's home and that of the former archbishop had been surrounded as a precaution. "We have received reports that he is at risk of an attack on his house by unruly individuals, but I cannot tell you from which side," he said. - Opposition challenge - Results are expected early next week according to electoral officials. The six opposition candidates have suggested they will unite against the president if the vote goes to a second round, which would happen within 15 days of the result announcement if none of the candidates achieves a majority. Gnassingbe travelled to the family's home region of Kara to vote, and called on Togolese to "express your choice in complete freedom for the sake of democracy". Main opposition leader Jean-Pierre Fabre of the National Alliance for Change came second at the last two elections but has failed to keep the opposition united. He called on the people to vote in numbers "to prevent fraud and allow for a second round". In Be, an opposition district of Lome that normally goes to Fabre's ANC party, some voters shouted to observers that they had "given our votes to Agbeyome". The authorities faced major protests in 2017 and 2018 demanding an end to five decades of dynastic rule that have failed to lift many out of poverty. But the demonstrations petered out in the face of government repression and squabbles among the opposition. Last year, Gnassingbe pushed through constitutional changes allowing him to run again -- and potentially remain in office until 2030. In Lome earlier in the day some voters expressed hope for change. "We suffer too much in Togo, this time it has to change," said Eric, a driver in his 30s. "I am not going to tell you who I will vote for, but this time we don't want to be cheated of victory." - Observers removed - This week, 500 local observers lost their accreditation, accused of interfering in the electoral process, and the system of electronic security of the results was cancelled at the last moment by the Independent National Electoral Commission. However, some 315 international observers are deployed, mainly from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union, with many African states supporting the incumbent. "Where we were, the offices opened on time, the voters were there, the staff and the equipment were there, so we hope everything will continue to go well," Hery Rajaonarimanpianina, head of the AU mission and former Madagascar president, told AFP earlier. Stability and security are central to Gnassingbe's message as Togo eyes the jihadist violence rocking its northern neighbour Burkina Faso. The country has so far managed to prevent the bloodshed spilling over and its army and intelligence service are among the most effective in the region. Polls closed at 1600 GMT Saturday after what had been a peaceful election day with a moderate turnout Togo President Faure Gnassingbe, whose family has ruled Togo since 1967, is the frontrunner Results are expected early next week Opposition leader Jean-Pierre Fabre cast his vote in Lome London, Feb 23 : The UK's Home Secretary Priti Patel has been accused of bullying senior civil servants over the last five years, a media report said. The Sun newspaper in its report on Saturday quoted officials in the civil service as saying that they first raised concerns about her behaviour when she was an Employment Minister at the Department for Work and Pensions between 2015 and 2016. Further allegations were made in 2017 when she was International Development Secretary amid claims of a "pattern" of unacceptable behaviour, the report said. The allegations come after it emerged that Patel had tried to oust her most senior civil servant, Philip Rutnam, amid accusations that she had bullied and belittled officials in the department, according to the London-based newspaper. Meanwhile, Downing Street said that no "formal" complaint had been made against Patel and sources close to the Home Secretary said that they "completely refute" the allegations. But a senior Department for International Development official told The Times: "She was reviled in Dfid for her rudeness and insensitivity. She could not have been more hated for the way she treated people. She was just vile." But Nadhim Zahawi, a Business Minister, defended Patel saying she was "utterly professional" and "works day and night", The Sun newspaper report said. Asked whether the home secretary was a bully, he said: "No, I don't think she is at all. I've worked with Priti in the past on several campaigns. I've known her literally for 25 years. She is a brilliant, collegiate team player." Patel entered the cabinet as International Development Secretary in 2016. A year later she was forced to resign after lying to then Prime Minister Theresa May about a holiday she took to Israel during which she met Benjamin Netanyahu without notifying the Foreign Office. When Boris Johnson became Prime Minister last year, he appointed her Home Secretary. The Australian Catholic University has become the third and final institution to sign a $50 million deal with the Ramsay Centre, and will offer a Western civilisation degree at its North Sydney campus from next year. The money will fund 150 scholarships over five years, worth about $30,000 each, and academics to teach the great books-style course, in which small groups of students study key texts from the western tradition in depth. Australian Catholic University Vice-Chancellor Greg Craven, who has signed a deal with the Ramsay Centre to offer a western civilisation degree. Credit: The agreement comes more than two years after the Ramsay Centre first asked universities to apply for the funding and after controversial negotiations with some of the country's most elite institutions failed. Australian Catholic University vice chancellor Greg Craven has been a vocal defender of the centre during the fiery public debate, in which some academics accused the Ramsay board of Euro-centrism and of trying to push conservative views on campuses. A day after Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) launched a "drive" against suspected illegal Bangladeshis in Pune, a person from a minority community on Sunday filed a complaint application with police alleging that some workers of the party barged into his house and harassed him. The alleged incident occurred on Saturday under Sahakar Nagar police station limits. "Upon suspicion that some people living in the area were illegal Bangladeshi nationals, we asked police to inquire them. The suspicious residents were then brought to the police station. They were released after an inquiry in evening," said an MNS leader. A senior police officer said when MNS workers were on their way to the area, police marshals also went there. "Police brought some persons the MNS claimed to be Bangladeshis to the police station and verified their credentials. We found that none of them was an illegal migrant," he said. However, one of them alleged that some workers of the MNS had barged into his house and labelled him as a Bangladeshi national though he hailed from West Bengal, he said. "I tried to convince them that I am not a Bangladeshi. I am an Indian citizen and showed them all the documents, but they did not listen to me and later took me to the police station," the man said. "Police verified all my documents and also spoke to my relatives in West Bengal," he said. The man filed a complaint application with Sahakar Nagar police station seeking action against MNS workers. Addressing a rally of MNS workers in Mumbai on February 9, MNS chief Raj Thackeray demanded eviction of illegal Pakistani and Bangladeshi "infiltrators" from India. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ever since US President Donald Trumps visit to India has been confirmed, several controversies have erupted. First, authorities in Ahmedabad built a wall to hide slums and poverty during Trumps roadshow in the city. Secondly, many slum-dwellers were served eviction notice in the city of Gujarat and in Agra, authorities released water into ecologically dead Yamuna to make it appear clean when Trump visits Taj Mahal with the First Lady Melania Trump. Now, to prevent a monkey attack on the US President, five langurs have been added to his security team for langurs keep monkeys at bay. Despite heavy security arrangement, it seemed difficult to prevent a monkey attack, a menace in the city of Agra. The security agencies are worried about monkeys who create misery. To tackle it, the security agencies have deployed five langurs (long-tailed monkeys) on the route of Trump's convoy. The US President and his wife Melania Trump are scheduled to visit Taj Mahal on February 24. Heavy security arrangements have been made. According to sources, the internal security of Trump and his family is being handled by the American Secret Services, 10 companies of paramilitary forces, 10 companies of PAC and NSG commandos have been deployed for the external security. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) have for the first time given mud-cap treatment to the graves of Emperor Shahjahan and Empress Mumtaz Mahal. Also, for Trump's visit to India, the government is all set to spend around 80 crore-85 crore ($11-12 million) on preparations for the visit by the American president that is likely to last around three hours, reported Reuters. On Tuesday, Trump said he wanted "a very big trade deal with India. I don't know if it will be done before the election. We're not treated very well by India, but I happen to like Prime Minister Modi a lot." Despite this, the Modi government is leaving no stone unturned to make the two-day event a grand affair. And leading the charge is Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Two groups clashed and pelted stones in north Delhis Maujpur area, a stones throw away from Jaffrabad, the venue of fresh anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests (CAA) on Sunday afternoon, said officials. Senior Delhi police official said the stone pelting took place for a short period before it was brought into control by the police. We brought the situation under control quickly, said Alok Kumar, joint commissioner of police (eastern range). Another officer said police fired a few rounds of tear gases to disperse the clashing groups. WATCH | Delhi: Clashes near new CAA protest site in Jaffrabad; metro stations shut Some people have been reportedly injured in the stone pelting and police continued to monitor the situation which was tense. The clashes, news reports said, took place between a group in support of CAA and one opposed to it, near Maujpur Chowk. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) also decided to close the entry & exit gates of Maujpur-Babarpur station at around 5 pm on Sunday after the stone pelting. The Maujpur - Babarpur Metro Station is located on the Pink Line of the Delhi Metro. At a nearby site in Jaffrabad, protests by about 500 people, mostly women, against the CAA and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) was continuing. The protestors who gathered there on Saturday night have also blocked a major road. Additional security was deployed in the Jaffrabad metro station area The women, carrying the national tricolour and raising slogans of aazadi, said they would not move from the site till the Centre revoked Citizenship (Amendment) Act, PTI had reported. They also tied a blue band on their arm and also raised Jai Bhim slogans. The women had blocked road No. 66 which connects Seelampur to Maujpur and Yamuna Vihar. Another protest against the CAA is already on near the main Seelampur road and Kardampuri. The protest at Jaffrabad began even as efforts are on to clear a road blocked by anti-CAA and anti-NRC protesters at Shaheen Bagh in Southeast Delhi for over two months. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON This may become Britains wettest February for 30 years. Storms Ciara and Dennis have come and gone, and more foul weather may follow. The Environment Agency issued 90 flood warnings and 153 alerts yesterday. Parts of central England, Wales and the North have been severely affected, and the worst of the weather may spread. Amidst these battering storms, where is the Prime Minister? Therein lies a tale. Boris Johnson spent most of last week at Chevening. (Not Chequers, please note.) He didnt leave it to visit weather-beaten areas and the floods victims. It is claimed in the Sunday Times today ever a useful source of information about Camp Johnson that he has asked for shorter memos: no more than four pages, or hes never going to read it. Two pages is preferable. A Whitehall claims that the Prime Minister is running government by ADHD. It seems to us that the very opposite is true. Johnsons decision to stick it out at Chevening is part of a bigger picture one that also features the boycott of The Today programme and Good Morning Britain, the row with Kay Burley, and the to-and-fro about moving some lobby meetings. To put it at its starkest, Downing Street is telling a big slice of the media to get stuffed. Not so long ago, it would put the Prime Minister, whoever he or she might have been at the time, front of house more and more. Flood visits offer a classic example. Pre-election, Johnson visited flood-stricken south Yorkshire, where the inevitable followed: he was asked to apologise and heckled by locals. Or at least thats the part of his trip which the media highlighted. But that was before the following months general election and the new Conservative majority of 80. So no more. In essence, Number Ten wants to get government back to the tone of the pre-Blair era when the Prime Minister was seen less and other Ministers did more. It argues that George Eustice, who has been out and about, is a perfectly good visiting Minister. His department leads on floods (at least when its raining). Hes very experienced in his field. If any policy changes are needed, they are unlikely to miss his eye. And he should have his day in the sun, so not to speak, and the opportunity to apply a little balm and comfort. There may also be an element of Johnson seeking to avoid the downbeat remember his slowness to return to Britain during the London riots of 2011 but it is not the main decision-driver. The media doesnt like not setting the terms of coverage, and is fighting back. Hence the cry of Wheres Boris? And articles like this one last week by the political Editor of the Daily Mail. To which Downing Streets response has been: tough. Its take is that much of the media is a bit of a busted flush. The run-up to the election and the campaign itself featured a mass of stories critical of Johnson and the Conservatives: the boy on the floor of a Leeds hospital, claims that the Prime Minister hid in a cupboard, groping allegations from his past, and goodness knows what besides. None of it stopped Johnson from winning the election by a near-landslide, and Number Ten concentrating on getting its message out on YouTube and Facebook, as this site has reported before. So to say that this is government by Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is simply wrong. Hyperactivity and Johnson dont really belong in the same sentence. This government may well not be strategic though it is just a bit too early to be sure but it is certainly not leaping, contorting itself or straining when the media asks it to jump. The policy wont be sustainable in electoral conditions, and so wont carry on indefinitely. And it may yet be that the Prime Minister changes his mind and sends for his wellies. But for the moment, he can see the media off. Wheres Boris Johnson? Jeremy Corbyn tweeted forlornly yesterday, after his own visit to flood victims. To which George Osbornes reply was: In Downing Street where you put him. Members of the Akali Dal will stage a protest against violence inflicted by Pakistan on its minority communities, including Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, and Ahmadiyya Muslims, at Jantar Mantar here on Sunday afternoon. The protest, which starts at 12 noon today, is taking place ahead of US President Donald Trump's upcoming visit to India. In the protest, the Akali Dal will urge the visiting dignitary to take note of the situation and act against Pakistan. Recent incidents such as the abduction, forced marriage and religious conversion of Jagjit Kaur -- daughter of the Granthi of Nanakana Sahib Gurdwara, vandalisation of Hindu temples in parts of Sindh's Ghotki and human rights atrocities on Balochs, Sikhs, Christians, and Ahmadiyya communities have sparked a furore in India, with several political leaders across parties seeking action against the perpetrators. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) UPPER DARBY Township council approved an ordinance Wednesday expanding the mayors power to remove members of boards and commissions, before approving the removal of a slate of previous appointees a move which one now-former appointee may challenge in county Common Pleas Court. In an 8-1 party line vote during the regular meeting, the Democratic-controlled council approved amending the township administrative code to add the clause, The Mayor shall have the ability to appoint and remove members of all Township authorities, boards, and commissions, with or without cause, subject to Council approval under the powers of the mayor. Republican Councilman Donald Bonnett cast the lone dissenting vote. Republicans Lisa Faraglia and Thomas Wagner were not in attendance. The move came as Democrats consolidated their power in the township, which had been ruled by Republicans for decades. Solicitor Sean Kilkenny stated during the Feb. 5 committee meeting and again Wednesday the ordinance was drafted after police pension board and civil service commission member Mr. (Francis J.) Catania, was contesting the mayors ability to remove somebody. He asked specifically where in Upper Darby law did it say that, with Kilkenny then proposing the amendment of the administrative code to mayor and council. Catania served in both positions since 1998. We also found out that Mr. Catania was in violation of the civil service rules because he not only was serving on the police pension board, he was serving on the civil service commission and simultaneously on a Delaware County board, he said. Catania, a Republican, serves as a member of the Delaware County Authority. Ive got 30 days to challenge the ordinance and Im reviewing it. If I feel I have sufficient grounds Im going to challenge it, Catania said Friday. During the meeting, Bonnett questioned the allowance of removal with or without cause in the ordinance when the townships home rule charter requires cause for removal of a council member or mayor. Regarding the approval of council, which Kilkenny called a safeguard, Bonnett said, I dont think its morally correct to be able to pull somebody from a board or commission when they have served diligently for a period of time, a lot of time, volunteer time and all of a sudden, at the whim of perhaps a group of council members and the mayor, that person is pulled from that position. During discussion of the following resolution on removals and appoints, also passed 8-1 on party line, Bonnett said, I do believe this has political overtones. Township Chief Administrative Officer Vincent Rongione said that in an unprecedented fashion, this is a bipartisan group of appointees. Stating he understood Bonnetts perspective, he said, This administrations gone out of their way to make a bipartisan group of appointees and were proud of that. The resolution removed a group of board and commission members appointed under previous Republican administrations. It removed Inderjit Bains, John Dowd, and Catania from the civil service commission, appointing Karen OBrien to a six-year term, Alex Brown to five years, and Rap Curry to four, all terms expiring Dec. 31. Andrew Hayman was appointed as an alternate member to the zoning hearing board with a three year term. James Glatts was removed from the fire pension board, with David Haman, Rongione and John McMullan were appointed to indefinite terms. Catania and former township CAO Thomas Judge Jr. were removed from the police pension board, with John Rooney and Shannon Farmer appointed to an indefinite term. It is a naked power grab, lets call it what it is. Its a naked power grab, Catania said Friday. He questioned a matter of policy with the ordinance, saying there should be independence between board and commission members from those who appointed them. Its not supposed a situation where board/commission members get the mayors permission for every decision. Maybe they should get rid of the boards and commissions and just have the mayor make the decision. In a written statement Friday, Kilkenny said Mr. Catanias willful disregard of the Rules of the Upper Darby Civil Service Commission may have put its actions in legal jeopardy. In a Feb. 16 email, Kilkenny notified Catania of his legal reasoning that he was in violation of Upper Darby Civil Service Commission Rule 201 which states he could not serve on the Civil Service Commission, Police Pension Board, and Delaware County Authority. Unfortunately although he was given three days of notice, Mr. Catania did not reply to my email or voice his concerns at Wednesdays public meeting. Catania responded that on the issue of serving on multiple boards as a volunteer no court has said it was a conflict. At best its an unresolved issue. No appellate court has decided that issue, what would be the benefit of precluding people from volunteering for jobs in different communities?, he said. I dont hold an office of the township, I hold an office of the trust the police pension trust, he said, noting the volunteer nature of the civil service commission and Delaware County Authority, and that he is not serving as an elected official or employee. The explanatory notes of the governors office-issued Civil Service Guide for Pennsylvania Municipalities for clauses similar to the cited Upper Darby commission rule state The stated goal of this section has been to avoid the holding of dual offices by public officers, as opposed to public employees, not addressing the level of unpaid volunteers. Kilkenny said Friday that the ordinance affirms the mayors power in the administrative code and that I do not, as a lawyer, want Upper Darby Township to be a gray area. I dont want any of our appointments to deal with ambiguity. He does not want Upper Darby to be a test case in this scenario to go to commonwealth or state supreme court to test Mr. Catanias contention. Married At First Sight's Mishel Karen left partner Steve Burley squirming at Sunday's commitment ceremony by reading a list of things he'd 'banned' her from doing. The 48-year-old slammed her partner in front of the group and relationship experts for 'trying to control' her, before dumping him and choosing to leave the show. However, Steve, 51, chose to stay in the experiment, meaning she's now forced to spend another week by his side to try and work things out. She's had enough! MAFS' Mishel Karen (L) left partner Steve Burley (R) squirming at Sunday's commitment ceremony by reading a list of things he'd 'banned' her from doing Mishel and Steve first clashed during last week's dinner party, where the Melbourne barbershop owner silenced his 'wife' as he argued with Michael Goonan. Reflecting on their fall out, Steve said: 'I wanted to have a conversation with Michael, it was agreed that I would take control of that conversation. Mishel tried to interject, and I [held my hand up to her]. I started getting accused of telling her to shut up. 'I found that offensive, so I raised my voice. I didn't apologise to Mishel, no. I didn't think there was anything to apologise for.' 'I'm not allowed to say I'm going to wee or poo, I have to say I'm going to use the bathroom': Mishel, 48, slammed Steve, 51, in front of the group for trying to 'control' her Stunned: Mishel's list stunned the group, with Hayley Vernon, Jonethen Musulin and Connie Crayden (pictured) looking shocked Mishel then explained her side of the argument, with Steve interrupting her. She said: 'When he started to raise his voice, that was out of line... Am I allowed to say my bit, or not? He tells me to be quiet all of the time. I'm not a child, I'm a 48-year-old woman. I'm not dumb, even though he thinks that I am. 'I am very aware of the way you try to control me... I have a list of stuff.' The mum-of-two continued: 'I'm not allowed to swear among my words. I'm not allowed to say I'm going to wee or poo, I have to say I'm going to use the bathroom.' 'There are certain things that I'm not doing right, but I'm not perfect': Steve said he's only asked his 'wife' not to swear as he 'doesn't appreciate when the words are directed at me' Not over yet! After Mishel then chose to leave the experiment, Steve chose to stay, meaning she's now forced to spend another week by his side to try and work things out Steve denied all of this, saying: 'I'm sorry, but I don't talk over her. If she wants to swear, the reason I said I don't appreciate that is if the words are directed at me. 'Yes there are certain things that I'm not doing right, but I'm not perfect. I have been on my own for so long that I've maybe started to think that what I'm doing is always the right thing, but I know it's not.' As Mishel then chose to leave the social experiment, Steve chose to stay. He explained: 'When I wrote my vows, I said too many people give up too quickly - let's not be those people. I think there is something worth fighting for here.' Married At First Sight continues Monday at 7:30pm on Channel Nine Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Manila, Philippines Sun, February 23, 2020 08:48 689 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad20660c1eb 2 SE Asia Philippines,virus,health,epidemic,COVID-19,Japan,China Free Families of hundreds of Filipino crew members still stuck on board the coronavirus-stricken Diamond Princess cruise ship are increasingly worried for their relatives' health, as the Philippines postponed on Saturday a scheduled trip to bring them home. The vessel, moored off the Japanese coast in Yokohama near Tokyo, has the biggest cluster of coronavirus infections outside the Chinese epicenter, with over 600 cases confirmed among the 3,700 passengers and crew. While hundreds of travelers have disembarked more than 1,000 crew remain including over 400 Filipinos whose return on Sunday has been delayed until Japan clears them to travel, the Philippines said Saturday. "[The task force] is adjusting the schedule out of an abundance of caution with a view of safeguarding the health and safety of our OFs (overseas Filipinos) onboard," the health department said in a statement. Adding to the families' worry, a Philippine foreign ministry official said Saturday 49 Filipinos on board have tested positive for the virus, two of whom were successfully treated and discharged from the hospital. Norma Fajardo, whose daughter is part of the Diamond Princess security team, said the crew have been well treated and cared for, but she is worried her work makes her particularly vulnerable to the virus. "We couldn't do anything because she works in security so she has to monitor passengers," Fajardo told AFP. "We're worried. She could get infected anytime," she added. Fajardo said crew who get sick are allowed to rest, but those without symptoms were encouraged to continue working. Esther Rivera whose son is a ship photographer has urged the Philippine government to bring them home. "I hope they get pulled out from the ship because they are infecting each other there," Rivera said. Once flown home, the repatriated Filipinos will be quarantined for two weeks in a northern Philippine facility previously used to house athletes in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games. Japan has faced mounting criticism for its quarantine arrangements as passengers disperse across the world. The cruise ship was quarantined on Feb. 5 after a passenger who disembarked in Hong Kong tested positive for the virus but many crew were not isolated because they were needed to keep the vessel running. Some were preparing food and delivering meals to cabins, leading some critics to charge they were inadvertently spreading the virus throughout the boat. Princess Cruises President Jan Swartz has written a letter to the crew, saying the firm was "deeply grateful and incredibly proud of all of you." Around 10 million Filipinos work abroad and the money they send home spurs the local economy where many still live in deep poverty despite the country's robust growth. The government has for decades hailed overseas workers as modern heroes, but advocacy groups have highlighted these Filipinos' vulnerability in troubled countries, or during epidemics. Elisabeth Moss suffers more eloquently than any actor I can think of. Since breaking through playing the angsty daughter of fictional US President Jed Bartlett in The West Wing, she's battled doggedly against the blithe sexism of 1950s ad executives in Mad Men, struggled with mental illness in Top of the Lake, schemed to overthrow the hideous sexism of a dystopian regime in The Handmaid's Tale. Moss has done comedy, but not often, and that broad, expressive face and huge, moistening eyes seem purpose-built to express anguish. She expresses it early and often in Leigh Whannell's Invisible Man, a clever update of HG Wells classic horror story that shifts the emphasis from the disappearing male to his unfortunate female partner. Moss is Cecilia Kass, girlfriend of Adrian Griffin, a multi-millionaire tech genius who lives in palatial splendour in an ultra-modern home in northern California. It's got sea views and everything, and Cecilia ought to be happy, but instead she lives in terror of Griffin's controlling mania and violent rages. One night she escapes, and seeks help from her sister: shortly afterwards, she is told that Griffin committed suicide. Only he didn't, and soon Cecilia reaches the awful conclusion that he's alive, has found a way to make himself invisible, and is watching her. Whannell has great fun playing with the tropes of invisibility - floating kitchen implements, moving furniture, cameras pointed at empty corners - and there's a Hitchcockian swagger to the way he handles his suspense. But none of it would work without Moss, who often has to fight a shadow and makes her invisible stalker seem thrillingly real. She's brilliant in it, but then with Moss, that's pretty much a given. There's nothing remotely angsty about the person I meet in London's Soho Hotel: it's early but Moss is cheerful, friendly, chatty, casually dressed. In fact, she's staring out the window when I say hello, remembering a stint living in London a decade or so ago. "I think I remember that pub," she says pointing. "Was I in it? I stayed here for about six months, when I was doing a play called The Children's Hour. But I lived right on the corner of Shaftesbury Avenue and Charing Cross, so it was like living in Times Square - what was I thinking? Nice apartment though." She was intrigued, she tells me, when she first read Whannell's script for this film. "Those first 10 pages or so, where she's sneaking out of the house, I was like, 'oh my God what is this, what have they done with the Invisible Man', and you're just riveted and you're going why is she trying to be so quiet, where's she going, why is she trying to get out of there. I just thought that set up was so brilliant, I wish I could write a screenplay like that, you know, it's like 'oh, it's such a f**king good idea." In updating the original Wells' story, Whannell has cleverly shifted the focus from the character of the mad, invisible scientist to the unfortunate woman he torments, and I am not the first person to have noticed a pointed reference to the classic thriller, Gaslight. "Oh 100pc, yeah, I watched Gaslight for this film - I'd seen it before, but to me I was like, this is not Invisible Man this is Gaslight, that's what we're making." Given the fact that she's in virtually every frame, and sometimes all alone, it must have been a pressurised shoot for her. Video of the Day "Well actually I prefer to be as involved as possible," she says. "I've done a couple of things in the past where you come in for your couple of days and then you leave. I don't really like that, because it's really hard to stay with something when you're in and out. So the fact that I was there every single day and in almost every single scene actually was helpful, because I just kept going." Most of the film's creepiest moments happen in a small suburban house where Cecilia has taken refuge. "We spent three weeks in that house, which was on a set in a studio in Sydney, and then the last two days of shooting were not there, and on our first day out of that studio me, Leigh were like, 'okay, I feel so much better', like we had started to go a little crazy in that set, in that confined space, and we had started to get a little bit depressed and go a little nuts." Was it hard, inhabiting a character that exists in a constant state of tension? "Yeah, but I was more challenged by the physical stuff to be honest, the psychological stuff and the acting part I really enjoy, so that wasn't too bad." And as an actress, she does do more than her fair share of suffering. "Yeah, that's right, I'm used to suffering!" From the appalling travails of June in Handmaid's Tale to the psychological traumas endured by her characters in Top of the Lake and hard-hitting recent films like The Kitchen and Her Smell, we're used to seeing Moss in extremis. But she actually prefers a romcom. "Yeah, speaking of London, I would love to do like a Richard Curtis film, you know. I think he's one of the only ones doing it well, and that's my favourite genre. I've seen everything, I've seen all of his movies, I've seen every single romantic comedy ever made, even the sh*tty ones. I love the old ones, I mean my first love was Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, you know, the Cary Grant films, Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire musicals, that's what I love." Acting comes naturally to Moss, and she's been doing it for a very long time. How did she start? "I was like six, I guess, and I was doing The Sound of Music at my ballet school. I don't know why that was happening exactly, but I was playing the littlest one, Gretl, is it? And an agent came and asked my mom did I want to do auditions, and my mom was like 'do you want to do that', and I was like 'sure'. Then it kept going and she kind of just kept checking back and being like 'do you still want to do it?' And I did. I just loved it, I don't know how to describe why." Unlike a lot of actors, Moss isn't particularly bothered about having to watch herself on screen. "I'm a producer on Handmaid's Tale, so I have to watch everything and that got me used to it. But being a producer on something definitely helps because you can change those things, you can mix it. I get to change what I don't like. So I don't mind that but I hate public speaking, it's like a weird little thing, it terrifies me, my whole body shakes and even last night we had to introduce a screening in Paris, and I'm up there and I'm just trying to stop my knees from wobbling." The fourth season of The Handmaid's Tale begins shooting in a couple of weeks, and the pressure is starting to mount. "On all my breaks here I'm on the phone with the director and other producers, yeah, because we're in hard prep now." The impact of the series based on Margaret Atwood's novel has been extraordinary, especially in the US, where its tale of a dark, post-democratic America where women are used as vassal breeders has chimed eerily with the arrival of a bombastic, misogynistic and not especially democratic president "I don't think the airing date has been announced yet," she says, "but it's a very interesting year for it to be airing, isn't it? It's kind of crazy. I can't believe it's like election year all over again already - it does feel like it's gone by so fast - in a painful way!" Having played so many iconic characters, does she have a favourite? "Oh no I couldn't, because in a way they're like different parts of me. Peggy [Olson, from Mad Men] will always be special for me: we spent about nine years doing the seven seasons, so I did it from 23 to 32. That's a very long time in your life and a very formative time in your life as well. It's all your growing-up period, so I have an attachment to that character because of that. But who do I like playing? I don't know if I could play Peggy any more, I don't know who she would be now, so now June is my favourite. It changes, depending on the day." On my way to the interview I've passed a newsagent and been depressed by the prurient headlines about the death of TV presenter Caroline Flack. I ask Moss if she's heard. She hasn't so I fill her in, then wonder how carefully she treads in the social media jungle, given that The Handmaid's Tale in particular attracts such furious traffic. "Well first of all, that is terrible," she says, shaking her head. "God, that's awful. From my point of view, I've been doing this for 30 years, as we've said, and I've gotten whatever I am, famous or whatever, really slowly, over like a really long time. So you know I was 17 when I started West Wing, so like at 18 started getting recognised a little bit, but then that was five years before Mad Men even started, so it's been so gradual that I do feel like it has allowed me to kind of take those baby steps and get stronger. "I was lucky, I was given the time to get used to it, and it's allowed me to figure out what to avoid. I like Instagram a lot, that's the only thing I'm on, but even then you've just got to manage it, and if you feel like you get into a place where you're like, 'oh that hurts when that happens', then you remove yourself from that situation. I have a very thick skin." Pakistan on Sunday said that it has declared a medical emergency and temporarily closed its border with Iran to counter the threat of coronavirus from across the border. Iran has so far witnessed eight deaths and 43 cases of infection due to the novel coronavirus. The deadly disease, which initially broke out in China, has caused 2,442 deaths and infected 76,936 people in 31 provincial-level regions of the Communist nation. Balochistan Home Minister Mir Ziaullah Langove said that Pakistan's border with Iran in Balochistan province was temporarily closed. We have closed the border. The measure was taken due to the threat of coronavirus," Langove told reporters here. The provincial government of Balochistan said that the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has set up a 100-bed tent hospital at the border town of Taftan. "All people coming from Iran are being screened by the medical teams deputed at the border crossing, a statement issued by the provincial government said. Langove said Balochistan has also imposed ban on the travel of pilgrims from Pakistan into Iran by road. Thousands of Shiite Pakistanis travel to Iran every year to visit various religious sites. Six districts of Balochistan including Chaghi, Washuk, Panjgur, Kech and Gwadar are on the border with Iran. However, most of the legal traffic comes through Taftan in Chaghi. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico -- PGA TOUR rookie Viktor Hovland shot an 8-under 64 on Saturday to take a one-stroke lead into the final round of the windy Puerto Rico Open. Related: Leaderboard | Hovland in position to join fellow phenoms with win "Hopefully, I just continue doing what I have been doing the first three days," Hovland said. "It would be unbelievable to have won on the tour already, but I'm just worried about tomorrow. Hopefully, I can hit some good shots and make some putts.'" The 22-year-old Norwegian starred at Oklahoma State, winning the 2018 U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach, then sweeping low amateur honors at the Masters and U.S. Open. He birdied all four par-5 holes at Coco Beach, the last on the 18th for a back-nine 31 and 18-under 198 total. "I played really well today, kind of the same round as the last two, just been playing really solid off the tee and been hitting a lot of really good iron shots into the greens," Hovland said. "Early on in the round I didn't really make that many putts, but I did a really good job of just staying calm. Thankfully, on the back nine I started making a couple putts and got me going." One Shawnee Mission Teacher's Resignation Has Made A Big Statement In A Viral Way With less than four months remaining in the school year, a teary-eyed Amanda Coffman explained why she would no longer be in the hallways to greet students at the morning bell. The Indian Woods Middle School teacher stood before the Shawnee Mission School Board and announced her resignation - effective immediately. Or maybe she quit to soon in order to garner the spotlight . . . Here's follow-up that might or might not help the public decide. Read more: A 36-year-old man was killed and his two family members were injured as their car fell into a gorge in Himachal Pradesh's Shimla district on Sunday, the police said. The incident took place at Kariyal Ghat village near Mundaghat, Superintendent of Police Omapati Jamwal said. Nitin Sharma, a resident of Gajeha Kufar village, was killed in the accident while his wife Monika and sister Pooja were injured, the SP said. The injured have been admitted to IGMC hospital in Shimla, he said, adding a case in connection with the incident has been registered at Dhalli police station. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Jobs in India are divided into two groups -- ones that have six days working and one that have five days working. Employees looking to join are often looking for the latter as one more day to unwind and relax in a week is the most perfect thing. Reuters However, in case you didnt know, various companies are looking to extend this to a day further -- with a four-day work routine, where people work for 10 hours each day from Monday to Thursday. I know it sounds too good to be true, but it actually is. Various companies in the US and other countries around the world have adopted this work routine and surprisingly, it has helped the company get more productive. Yes, it sounds odd how working one day less can help generate more work, but it surprisingly does. Spike in recruitment According to a recent report in NPR, a fast-food joint dubbed Shake Shack started with a 32-hour-week. In the smaller time frame, Shake Shack is just asking them to get work done in that time frame. It has been testing this since over a year and a half now, and since then theyve seen a considerable spike in recruitment. According to Shake Shacks President Tara Comonte, the staff likes that this gives them the ability to take their child to school one day or pay a day less for babysitting/ daycare. More sales, happy employees During November, Even Microsoft tried four-days a week trial last summer and saw a whopping 40 percent improvement in productivity -- quantified in sales per employee. The shortened weeks also led to more efficient meetings, happier workers. Reuters One day off as an incentive for better productivity Another company in the New Zealand called Perpetual Guardian decided to take this switch after seeing the impact on the mental health of the employees as well as their families. They started with a batch of 240 employees and partnered with academic researchers in Auckland that looked at the effects of working four days a week. They saw that shortening the timing resulted in better productivity per hour and them getting less distracted. And in case they lost productivity -- the company would shift them back to a five-day working. So many, in order to earn another day off worked harder. Authorities trying to make this the norm Even authorities are working to bring the four-day working routine through a legal path. In the US, a Washington State senator introduced a bill to make 32-hour weeks a standard. Even the prime minister in Russia Dimitry Mehedev is working to make four-day working weeks a norm. A seven-year-old boy died in a Kolkata hospital on Sunday, four days after he and his friends were injured in an explosion of crude bombs, they had mistaken for balls. Two of his friends are still undergoing treatment in two different government hospitals in the city. One of them, aged 12, was shifted to SSKM hospitals trauma care centre on Sunday morning. My son died on Sunday morning. He suffered from severe burns all over his body, said the father of the deceased on Sunday. He added, Some Trinamool Congress (TMC) men stored the bombs at the house. We couldnt say anything out of fear. We had asked the children not to go to that part of the house but they did not listen. Local TMC MLA Shyamal Mondal said the party and the administration would not spare anyone, irrespective of their political affiliation. Our party is standing by the families of the children and taking care of all their financial needs. The police and the administration are investigating the case with a free hand. If a criminal thinks of saving own skin by using TMC as a shelter, the person would be proven wrong, Mondal said. The incident happened at Ghutiari Sharif, about 40 kilometers south of Kolkata, in South 24-Parganas district on Tuesday evening. The children were playing in the backyard of the house situated at the Railgate area in Ghutiari Sharif, when the accident happened. The police later recovered three bags full of crude bombs from the house. Jibantala police stations officer-in-charge Subhas Ghosh said the owner of the house where the bombs were found, Rajjak Sardar, had been arrested. Sardar had rented the house to the victims family. The police are looking out for those who stored the bombs at Sardars residence. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state unit president Dilip Ghosh said the incident once again revealed how no resident of the state was safe under the TMC rule. Bombs can go off anywhere, anytime, killing anyone. This would not change until the Mamata Banerjee government goes, Ghosh said. A 23-year-old man in Florida has been arrested after he allegedly shot dead his roommate while 'negligently handling' a firearm'. Anthonny Mendez has been charged with manslaughter in the shooting death of Savannah Leigh Threatts in Kissimmee on Friday, according to a report from the Osceola County Sheriff's Office posted on social media. Officers had been called to a residence on Pickering Drive in the Sherwood Forrest RV resort community on a report of a shooting on Friday. Anthonny Mendez, 23, was charged in the shooting death of a roommate and friend, Savannah Leigh Threatts in Kissimmee on Friday Savannah Leigh Threatts is pictured from a social media post. She was found shot dead by officers responding to a report of a shooting in Kissimmee on Friday The officers said that upon arrival Threatts already was deceased. Authorities did not indicate where she was shot. They also did not say what kind of weapon was used, or whether it had been recovered. Investigators descended on the scene after the fatal shooting, WESH reports. Several sheriff's office vehicles were parked outside a pastel green home inside the recreational vehicle community. Crime scene tape was visible, wrapped from the mirror of a car parked in the driveway to the home's rainfall gutters to keep anyone from entering or leaving the home while an investigation was underway. Mendez also was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and violation of probation. A sheriff's deputy leaning into a patrol car window held a cell phone, either taking photos or revealing something that was on the screen. Sheriff's office vehicles were parked outside a pastel green home inside the Sherwood Forrest RV resort community in Kissimmee on Friday, where Savannah Leigh Threatts was fatally shot Crime scene tape was visible tied to the home where Savannah Leigh Threatts was fatally shot inside the Sherwood Forrest RV resort community in Kissimmee on Friday A sheriff's deputy leaning into a patrol car window held a cell phone, either taking photos or revealing something on the screen to an unknown occupant held in the backseat cage It was not clear if it was Mendez who was seated in the backseat cage of the car. He was taken to the the Osceola County Jail, said the sheriff's office. Mendez was being held on zero bond, pending his initial appearance on the charges he faces. A woman saying she was related to Threatts in a social media post mourned her passing. An image of Savannah Leigh Threatts posted on social media mourning her loss after she was found shot dead by officers responding to a report of a shooting in Kissimmee on Friday Savannah Leigh Threatts poses near a television showing a scene from a Harry Potter film in an image posted on social media after she was found shot dead by officers responding to a report of a shooting in Kissimmee on Friday An image of Savannah Leigh Threatts posted on social media mourning her loss shows her seated at a dining table The woman had posted several images of Threatts on Facebook. She writes in the post a message to an uncle 'to keep your head up.' One of the images show Threatts smiling while a television is playing an scene from a Harry Potter film. Threatts appears to be seated at at dining table in another image. The woman who posted the images did not immediately respond when DailyMail.com reached out. New Delhi: Protest a mostly women gathering against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) outside Jaffrabad metro station in Delhi continues on Sunday (February 23). The crowd of more than a 1000 women began protesting on Saturday night and a large number of police officials were deployed at the site. DCP (North-East) Ved Prakash Surya is also present at the spot, reported news agency ANI. In a tweet, the DMRC said that trains will not halt at this station. Road no. 66 which connects Seelampur to Maujpur and Yamuna Vihar has been blocked. And the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has closed the entry and exit at Jaffrabad Metro station. While a protest is already going on near the main Seelampur road and Kardampuri against the amended citizenship act. The protesters claimed that this was just a move to intensify the movement against the new citizenship law and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Also, they were seeking reservation for Dalits. Shadab, one of the protesters said, "We have blocked the road in order to protest and we will not move from the site till the Centre revokes the draconian law." The protesters were seen wearing `NO NRC' caps and were raising slogans of "azadi". They will take out a foot march from Jafrabad road to Rajghat today, but the Delhi Police has not issued them permission for the march. Similar scenes were witnessed in December 2019 when thousands of protesters holding placards and national flags raised slogans against the CAA. Several metro stations were under lockdown and Section 144 was imposed. The CAA grants citizenship to refugees from Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain and Parsi communities fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh who entered India on or before 31, 2014. The Uttar Pradesh Police on Friday (February 21) opened the road from Kalindi Kunj to Faridabad and Jaitpur briefly before shutting it down again. The UP Police was removing the barricades from this route on Friday morning. But the road has been closed again. This route goes from over Mahamaya flyover in Noida to Delhi and Faridabad. However, the road to Delhi's Sarita Vihar and Jasola through Jamia Nagar and Shaheen Bagh is still closed. The road along the banks of the canal can be followed towards Jaitpur, Madan Pur Khadar to Faridabad via Sarita Vihar. The protests at Shaheen Bagh gained nationwide attention due to a continued sit-in stir by people, especially Muslim women against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Population Register and National Register of Citizens. The peaceful demonstration has been underway for more than two months now. Vineet Upadhyay By Express News Service DEHRADUN: Modi government's flagship scheme 'Ujjwala Yojana' to provide LPG cylinders to families below the poverty line, has failed in Uttarakhand as over 99 per cent of the connection holders are not able to refill their cylinders. Out of a total of 3.72 lakh connections across 13 districts of the hill state, only over 3500 connection holders have been able to refill their cylinders. Madan Kaushik, state cabinet minister and spokesperson for the government said, "The connections were distributed to the women to make their life easy and we are committed that the purpose is fulfilled." Reasons behind such an abysmal rate of refills are cited as spiking rates of the LPG cylinders, non-availability of centers for the refill, lack of delivery persons to the houses of connection holders due to tough hilly terrain and others. Biennial report of Forest Survey of India in December 2019 revealed that Uttarakhand has still uses 4,076 tonnes of firewood annually as fuel for various purposes including cooking. Vandana Devi from Khedgaanv of Tehri district said, "The rates of the cylinder have been increasing constantly and now it costs around Rs 900. We are unable to refill it as we do not have money. The government should roll back the increment." Deepa Devi from Mayali of Rudraprayag said, "Even after we get the cylinder, cost of transportation using a vehicle or a mule costs additional Rs 100-300 which is not affordable for us." Last week, cooking gas LPG price was increased by Rs 144.5 per cylinder. However, to protect the consumers from the burn, the government almost doubled the subsidy per cylinder. The government on LPG cylinders has been increased from Rs 153.86 per cylinder to Rs 291.48. Maximum connection holders are in Haridwar with 1.09 lakh women followed by Udham Singh Nagar with 93,275 Ujjawala connections, Dehradun with 47,139, Tehri (21,668), Almora (20,000), Pithoragarh (14,117), Uttarkashi (13,000), Nainital (12,634), Bageshwar (11,119), Chamoli (9,563), Champawat (7741), Rudraprayag (6567) and Pauri (6200). Out of this, only 3500 connections applied for a refill on a regular basis, said officials from Indian Oil Corporation, the agency responsible for the distribution of the LPG in Uttarakhand. Prabhat Verma, deputy general manager, IOC said, "We get requests for over 3500 refill under Ujjawal scheme across Uttarakhand. The refilled cylinders are delivered to the agencies from where those are distributed to the connection holders." The government of the Republic of Armenia (RA) will adopt a decision to suspend communication with Iran for two weeks, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan informed on Facebook today. "Based on Article 16 of the RA Law on State Border, which deals with the temporary termination of communication along the state border in the event of the risk of the spread of infectious diseases, the government will adopt a special detached decision to suspend communication with the Islamic Republic of Iran for two weeks," he wrote, above all. In particular, the Iran-Armenia air communication and the entry of people to Armenia through the Meghri border crossing will be stopped. I would also like to inform you that the meeting of the Coronavirus Spread Prevention Committee meeting will be held tomorrow morning, during which we will discuss our future steps, possible scenarios, and the measures stemming from them." BEAUMONT While clear skies, parades and good food brought thousands of Southeast Texans to downtown Beaumont, those in attendance seemed most excited about how the new location gave Mardi Gras and its attendees more space. Families began to setup along the parade route around noon, while other filed into the fair grounds to eat, play games and enjoy rides. The amount of space at the fair ground stood out to attendees who also went to past Mardi Gras in Port Arthur, where the event was held for nearly 30 years. Ive been to the Mardi Gras events for the past three years, Valerie Thomas, of Beaumont, said. The Port Arthur one was good, but there is more space here. Its easier to navigate without bumping ingot to people. Kyle Martin, of Beaumont, said he enjoyed spending the afternoon with his two granddaughters, ages 6 and 3. We brought the grand babies to ride rides and they are really fired up about it, Kyle Martin, of Beaumont, said. Its been great so far. It was easy to get in and out. We want to watch the parade later. My wife and I took our kids to Port Arthur when it was there. Last year, when the parade came through, it got stalled right where we were standing. It was a little disappointing. I really like the atmosphere here so far. Its a good event and it is good for Beaumont. The festivities even drew the attention from a Newton couple looking for something fun to do. More Information At a glance What: Mardi Gras Southeast Texas When: Noon to 8 tonight Where: Downtown Events Centre, 700 Crockett St., Beaumont Tickets: $10 Details: mardigrastx.com See More Collapse Im looking forward to eating some crawfish, Sean Reed said. We were just bored and wanted to do something this weekend, so we decided to come on down. Reed said he did not know if he would attend the concerts later in the evening, but became excited when he found out about one performer. Oh, Vanilla Ice is here? If he does Ice Ice Baby, Im there, he said. Laura Childress, Mardi Gras of Southeast Texas President, said the first three days of the event were a success. (Saturdays) weather was excellent, she said. We have been very busy, which is a good thing. Childress said she was also excited about the amount of space provided by the new location. The location has been a great improvement, she said. People are able to get up close and experience more things. In the past, people would be three or four rows deep and it would be hard to move around. The city staff have made this much better than we ever anticipated. We have been excited about our new additions like the royalty parade. Estimates for the number of people who have attended the event were not available as of Saturday evening, Childress said. chris.moore@beaumontenterprise.com twitter.com/chris_moore09 Indias first coronavirus patient, who was discharged from Keralas Thrissur Medical College Hospital on Thursday, has said she never expected to be infected when she left China in January. But once she was tested positive, she was confident about her recovery even as she was concerned about her family and others she had interacted with. The 24-year-old said while leaving China, she never expected the pandemic to become so serious. She added when the situation deteriorated, she decided to leave China on her own. My parents were worried. On January 22, I managed to get a ticket for Kolkata for the next day. But the same night, the Chinese authorities stopped all public transport in Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, and put it under a lockdown. I, along with some of my friends, rushed to the railway station the same night and managed to get into the last train to the nearest airport, she said. She added she had taken enough precautions while travelling and that her college was closed for a week when she left. January is Chinese vacation time and we were planning to stay there to concentrate more on studies. But I had to leave along with six of my friends. Two days after reaching home in Kerala, she developed fever and throat infection. I immediately alerted the medical authorities, who were monitoring me, and got myself admitted. When I tested positive, I was mentally prepared. And this experience made me stronger. The student spent 24 days at an isolation ward from January 27 to February 20. She added she knew that isolation was the best option. If coronavirus affects a healthy person, it does not cause many problems. But for immuno-compromised, it can be life-threatening. The mortality rate in just 2% and in our climate, this might not spread. The student said most of the medical staff and doctors treating her stayed at the hospital to treat her. Their dedication and concern really moved me. I was allowed to make calls and that eased some pressure. I finished some books also. Once or twice, I was emotionally down but health inspector, Sheebha, and my counsellor, Neeu Prabha, helped me immensely. She said she was in regular touch with her family members while she was in isolation. Since internet connection was there, I was aware of what was happening outside. She said her phone kept her busy and added when she was admitted to the hospital, she was aware she would be away for a long time. The student said killing time was a problem. I used to get whatever food I asked for. There were no restrictions. She said the hospital staff was specially trained and very friendly. When I was about to leave, they were the happiest lot. She said she wants to serve the states people, who prayed for her recovery, after completing her studies. The 24-year-old medical student said she never lost hope and was sure she will bounce back. She said she is now more resolute and positive. I am charged with positive energy now. I never felt I was alone in the isolation ward. Many prayed for me. My respect for the medical profession has increased manifold now, she said. The 24-year-old praised Kerala health minister K K Shailaja, who would call her and her mother to give them strength. She would tell me that you are not alone and the whole state is with you. The state government has done a stupendous job that really helped prevent infections. I really salute it. She said she did not want to speak about the situation she witnessed in China but admitted that there was panic and desperation around. I do not want to trigger any more panic, she said and added she will go to China after the situation improves to resume her studies. She said she was not scared when the WHO declared coronavirus a health emergency because she was aware of the nature of the disease. In China also, a majority of the casualties involved physically weaker people. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Bay of Plenty Our client has plenty of work in the pipeline and as such they are in need of hammerhands for an immediate start.The successful... View or Apply on GoodWork.co.nz Ive Arrived! In the Bitterroot Star, on Feb. 19th, I was called a Feminazi because of my hokey hyphenated last name. There are several reasons for the hyphen, but the only one of real significance is that almost 36 years ago, when I asked my prospective husband, Robert Thomas, how he felt about it, he replied that he was looking forward to being married to Mary Fahnestock, not Mary Thomas. Similarly, when I asked if he minds that I prefer to wear my hair very short, he said, Its your hair. Thats a man I can love, respect, and share my life with. As for the term itself, it must have been invented by a man or men who were afraid of intelligent, strong-minded women and of losing their patriarchal power. Nazi has come to mean someone who is racist (sexist?) and authoritarian, as in power-hungry. Surely that suits our current administration more than yours truly. Such labels and name-calling are tools of last resort aimed at avoiding any discussion one is afraid of losing. The same short letter pointed out that our current president is not a politician, like Mr. Smith in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, as I had suggested, but a businessman, implying, I think, that he is attuned to the economy, not to the tricky world of politics. Really? How far apart are those two worlds when the sole focus is self-aggrandizement, of which he is an outstanding example? Which brings me to our American fascination with outlaws, gangsters, con men, and crooks in general, such as Butch Cassidy, Bonnie and Clyde, Jessie James, Billy the Kid, Al Capone, the Godfather, Roger Stone, and (dare I say it?) our current president, who makes a specialty of flouting both honorable traditions and the laws that are supposed to help us all live together honorably and constructively in this democratic republic. Are we fascinated because they get away with so much? Until they dont? Ultimately what they get away with is money and/or power, and I just dont see how that benefits you and me in our day-to-day world except perhaps by distracting us from focusing on day-to-day problems that they cant or wont help us fix. So I have a sign in my yard showing an American flag underlined by the statement HONESTY MATTERS, because I think it does. The idea came from someone in Granite County, and I had 10 made so that I can share with anyone who wants to stand up and agree. I still have a couple in case you know me and would like one. And if you decide to have your own made, perhaps even to share, bigskypromotions@gmail.com can help you. Whether I agree with them or not, I am grateful to this paper and to the people who write letters to the editor, because we are, I believe, standing up and trying to be honest in public, which is more than can be said for many of our leaders right now. Mary Fahnestock-Thomas, Hamilton Love 3 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 3 Cau Pagoda is a famous tourist site in Hoi An ancient city in Quang Nam province. (Photo: VNA) According to the municipal Bureau of Culture and Information, among over 10,000 overnight visitors in Hoi An, 90 percent are foreigners, and the occupancy rate stands at about 50 percent. Nguyen Van Son, Vice Chairman of the Hoi An city Peoples Committee, said the city has instructed relevant sectors to guide local lodging providers, travel companies and management boards of tourism sites to employ measures against the new coronavirus. Inter-sectoral working groups have been set up to inspect the performance of accommodations and restaurants in the work, he added. During a field trip to Hoi An on February 22nd, Chairman of the provincial Peoples Committee Le Tri Thanh said the city has remained a bright spot in tourism in the region and the country as well. He called for efforts to ensure Quang Nam and Hoi An in particular is a safe and friendly tourism destination. Hoi An has been known in the international market with various names like Lam Ap, Faifo, Hoai Pho and Hoi An. The only Southeast Asian port-market in Vietnam and very rare in the world, Hoi An keeps almost intact 1,360 architectural relics like streets, houses, assembly halls, communal houses, pagodas, shrines, clan houses, ancient wells and tombs. They bear both the Vietnamese traditional art characteristics and the convergence of eastern and western cultures. Through centuries, yet customs and practices, rites, cultural and belief activities as well as traditional foods of Hoi An are still kept and preserved along with generations of ancient street dwellers. Hoi An also boasts a natural environment which is healthy and peaceful with small suburban villages engaged in crafts like carpentry and pottery. The cultural and economic exchanges that ran from the 16th to the 19th centuries have left in Hoi An ancient town most of the forms of Vietnams ancient architectures, grouping traditional national arts enriched with sketches of foreign arts. Hoi An is the only case in Vietnam and among the very rare cases in the world. With its values, Hoi An has been recognised by the UNESCO as a worlds cultural legacy and honoured by many famous travel magazines. In July 2019, with 90.39 points, Hoi An was elected by the Travel and Leisure travel magazine as the most attractive city in the world in the year. It is also the first tourist site in Vietnam honoured by the Google Doodle./. The meeting was part of the committees efforts to create a fair and competitive investment environment for all developers in 2020 and the time ahead. According to Nguyen Thanh Phong, Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City Peoples Committee, urgent solutions will soon be proposed to help developers stabilise their business and continue to participate in a programme to improve the citys landscape. Phong said the city will focus on the development of leading enterprises and developers which can help improve the city's competitiveness. The local authorities must understand developers difficulties and join hands to decrease those difficulties. The city cannot develop without the success of investors. Thus local authorities must share all difficulties burdening developers and must try their best to alleviate them, Phong said. He requested local departments to present more drastic solutions to improve the business environment within the tenets of current laws and regulations to serve developers. Recently, the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association and real estate developers have been petitioning the Committee, asking for help to wipe out red tape keeping projects delayed. According to Le Hoang Chau, chairman of the association, the real estate market of the city is now in a difficult situation. These difficulties, however, are temporary and are not part of the normal course of events. "The reasons of these difficulties were the overlapping legal framework and the implementation of legal documentation at the grassroots levels, Chau said. The Sun Avenue project located in District 2 developed by Novaland A representative of Novaland, one of the biggest real estate developers in the southern provinces, said that with the help and support from local authorities, many of its difficulties have been dispelled at several projects. Among those are the Co Giang residential project located at 100 Co Giang Street in District 1. This project was handed over land by the local authorities along with the construction permit. The other project was a complex of trading centre, office, offitel, and apartments at 151-155 Ben Van Don Street in District 4. The land use tax for this project was adjusted by the Ho Chi Minh Citys Department of Natural Resources and Environment after a long wait. Another apartment tower located at Thao Dien commune of District 2 and an partment tower located at Dien Bien Phu Street of Binh Thanh district have also been granted land use right certificates. Meanwhile, the high rise building located at 67 Mai Chi Tho Road, District 2 and seven other projects located in Phu Nhuan district were also being reviewed and proposed for granting land use right certificates by the authorities. With the desire to break though current difficulties and promote the development of the real estate market, Novaland believes that the government and relevant authorities will accompany developers, soon releasing guidelines and instructions to solve current difficulties and problems. Novaland also wishes local authorities would allow developers to quickly resume their projects to strengthen the supply of products to real estate market and meet the accommodation and investment needs of the people, thereby improving social security and contributing to the state budget. Novaland is one of Vietnam's premier real estate developers operating in the southern provinces. The company holds and develop about 4,900 hectares, a factor that is key for real estate developers to continuously launch new products. "Novaland pursues a long-term vision in Vietnam and we see the current red tape and legal difficulties besetting the market as nothing but a temporary hindrance," said a representative from Novaland. "When the real estate legislation is clear and completed, the market will quickly return to activity, Novaland will then be able to release pent-up supply to meet the rising demand at the soonest timeline." President Trump and his allies want us to see his Russian backing as a partisan controversy, a paranoid fantasy, a deep-state hoax anything other than what it is: an established fact. Hence their reaction to intelligence that the Kremlin favors and intends to support Trumps re-election, which is being treated as a lie and an outrage rather than an utterly unsurprising corollary of everything we already know. In a classified briefing last week, a senior official reportedly told members of the House Intelligence Committee that the nations intelligence agencies believe Vladimir Putins government has developed a preference for Trumps re-election and will interfere in the Democratic primaries as well as the general election to make it so. Trump responded by firing acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire, who left the post after just six months this week, and replacing him with a loyalist. Republican members of the House committee challenged the reliability of the underlying intelligence, the New York Times reported, while Trump worried that Democrats could use it against him. What apparently wasnt among these officials foremost concerns was the prospect that a hostile foreign government could meddle in an American presidential election for the second time in four years. Sen. Bernie Sanders, who was reportedly been informed that the Russian government is also seeking to advance his campaign for the Democratic nomination, at least offered an unequivocal acknowledgment and condemnation of such interference the likes of which have never been heard from the president. My message to Putin is clear: Stay out of American elections, and as president I will make sure that you do, the Vermont senator told the Washington Post. In 2016, Russia used internet propaganda to sow division in our country, and my understanding is that they are doing it again in 2020. Instead of defending the country against a continuing foreign attack, however, our current commander in chief intends to attack anyone with the temerity to mention it to Congress or the public. Moreover, according to Axios, the presidents new head of personnel has asked to be informed of any government employees harboring anti-Trump sentiments. This outburst of McCarthyism follows a White House purge of officials who testified in the House impeachment inquiry. Such developments leave little mystery as to Putins rationale. Trump has wrought havoc throughout the U.S. government for three years, accumulating record rates of turnover in senior positions, imposing the longest federal shutdown in history, and robbing agencies of experience and judgment. At the same time, he has frayed Western alliances such as NATO and undermined international trade and other institutions. Whats a Russian dictator not to like? The Kremlins 2016 interference is a matter of long-standing intelligence consensus as well as 25 indictments of Russian intelligence agents and other nationals stemming from Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigation. Nothing about Trumps ensuing administration has been likely to make Putin regret this effort or hesitate to repeat it. Even Trumps reaction to the interference, which has been to deny it and blame it on another Russian nemesis, Ukraine, was remarkably aligned with the Kremlins goals. Muellers team showed that Trumps campaign welcomed and embraced Russias election interference four years ago, and the impeachment inquiry caught him bullying Ukraine toward a similar course last year. Now he is using the power of the presidency to enable the foreign collusion that is likely already under way. 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. Cardiff Blues staged a remarkable second-half comeback to beat Benetton 34-24 and keep their Pro 14 play-off hopes alive. Blues were easily second best in the first half to trail 19-7 but four second-half tries kept them in play-off contention though they remain eight points behind third-placed Scarlets. Jason Harries, Garyn Smith, Ryan Edwards, Seb Davies and Lewis Jones scored tries for Blues with Jason Tovey converting three and adding a penalty. Benetton earned a losing bonus point by scoring four tries. Toa Halafihi scored two of them, Ian Keatley and Irne Herbst the others. Keatley also converted two. After a scrappy opening 10 minutes, Benetton took the lead with an excellent try. Melbourne-born wing Monty Ioane tore the home defence to ribbons to provide skipper Keatley with an easy run-in. Keatleys conversion rebounded back off a post before Blues produced their only threatening attack of the first quarter. Forwards Olly Robinson and Liam Belcher made strong bursts into the heart of the Italian defence but inaccurate handling from Blues saw the move break down. After 21 minutes, Treviso scored a second try after Keatleys kick had secured a line-out in the opposition 22. From there, the visitors pack rumbled forwards for lock Herbst to score. Keatley converted before Blues responded with a period of pressure, which culminated in Harries outflanking the cover defence to score. Tovey converted with a splendid touchline kick before Keatley missed a straightforward penalty, with his kick again coming back off a post. Blues received an injury blow when prop Rhys Gill was led off with a shoulder problem before they suffered another setback when powerful Benetton number eight Halafihi crashed over from close range. Keatley converted to give his side a well-deserved 19-7 half-time lead before Blues showed some urgency to reduce the arrears when Smith ran strongly to score. Cardiff were now rejuvenated and aided by a yellow card for Keatley for a deliberate knock-on, they drew level. A clever crossfield kick from Tovey was collected by Edwards to score before Tovey slammed over another touchline conversion. Tovey then missed a long-range penalty so it was 19-19 going into the final quarter before Benetton regained the lead through a second try from the impressive Halafihi. Despite this score, Blues continued to dominate the second half and were rewarded with match-winning tries from Davies and Jones, with a late penalty from Tovey completing their comeback. Sofia Richie jetted to the east coast this weekend to celebrate a pals' birthday. And the 21-year-old star looked super glam on a night out on Saturday as she showed off some skin in a plunging bodysuit under a very chic white suit. Sofia looked runway ready as she checked her phone while heading to dinner in New York. White hot: Sofia Richie looked super glam on a night out with pals in New York on Saturday night The daughter of soul icon Lionel Richie wore her locks up high and tied with a black bow and carried a gold box clutch. The blonde beauty left boyfriend Scott Disick back home in Los Angeles and was out with friends for the fun night out. Meanwhile it's been revealed that Sofia and Scott 'bicker' at times but 'always end up fine'. The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star is so 'comfortable' with the model that they make up pretty quickly after arguing with one another as they would 'rather be together than apart'. Stepping out: The 21-year-old wore a plunging bodysuit under a stylish cream suit So glam: Sofia's look was complete with bronze eye makeup and a metallic clutch A source told E! News: 'They bicker at times but things are ok with them. They make empty threats that it's over and then they get back together. They are comfortable together, so it's easy to say things that you don't mean. They have drama but always end up fine. 'They spend a lot of time together and can sometimes push each other's buttons. Sofia will take her stuff and leave for a day or two. They know they would rather be together than apart.' Meanwhile, it was previously claimed that Scott and Sofia are 'so committed to one another'. A source said of the couple: 'Right now, Scott and Sofia aren't thinking about marriage or getting engaged and it's not a big topic of conversation. They are so committed to one another and neither of them are going anywhere. Party time: The reality star was celebrating a pal's birthday in the Big Apple 'Scott has done a complete 180 from when he was younger and with Kourtney, and has grown up a lot.' The reality star - who has Mason, 10, Penelope, seven, and Reign, five, with his ex-girlfriend Kourtney Kardashian - is also looking to form a 'close bond' with Sofia's famous father Lionel Richie, because he 'recognizes the importance' of family. A separate source added: 'Since Scott is a father himself, he recognizes the importance of a close bond with his children and would never want to harm the relationship between Lionel and Sofia, especially because Scott's parents have both passed away. 'He values family above all else and will always look to build a bond with Sofia and her family, and would never want to detract from it.' US President Donald Trump on Sunday said he would put his name on the peace deal with the Taliban if a week went by without major violence in Afghanistan. US and Taliban negotiators agreed this week to finalize the pact on February 29 if a seven-day cooling-off period was observed. The truce took effect on Friday night. "I want to see how this period of a week works out. If it works out over the next less-than-a-week, I would put my name on it," US president told reporters outside the White House. Trump, who headed out to India on Sunday, said the nonviolence period had been holding up. He said that 19 years after the US sent troops to Afghanistan it was time to go home and suggested that the Taliban were tired of fighting. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) President Donald Trump said an apparent leak on Russian interference in the 2020 election was designed to hurt Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) before calling for an investigation. Before leaving on a trip to India, the president told reporters at the White House that nobody briefed [him] about that at all when he was asked about the alleged Kremlin interference to bolster Sanderss campaign. Trump then offered critical words to a longtime congressional foe. They leaked it, Adam Schiff and his group, they leaked it to the papers. They ought to investigate Adam Schiff for leaking that information, Trump said, referring to House Intelligence Chairman Schiff, a Democrat from California. He should not be leaking information out of Intelligence. Schiff served as the lead architect during Trumps impeachment inquiry and lead prosecutor during the subsequent trial in the Senate, which resulted in the presidents acquittal. Schiffs panel also held a public hearing with former special counsel Robert Mueller, who led a two-year investigation into whether Russia helped Trump win the election in 2016, but Muellers report ultimately concluded that Moscow didnt collude with Trumps campaign at all. I think what it could be is, you know, the Democrats are treating Bernie Sanders very unfairly and it sounds to me like a leak from Adam Schiff because they dont want Bernie Sanders to represent them. It sounds like its [2016] all over again for Bernie Sanders, Trump told reporters on Sunday. Following his 2016 victory, Trump accused the Democratic Party of favoring former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over Sanders. In response to Trumps accusation, Schiff accused the president of deflection. He wrote, You welcomed Russian help in 2016, tried to coerce Ukraines help in 2019, and wont protect our elections in 2020. Now you fired your intel chief for briefing Congress about it. Youve betrayed America. Again. Sanders, meanwhile, netted a significant victory in Nevada, meaning that he now has the most delegates of any Democratic candidates. After Nevada is the South Carolina primary, and days later, its the ever-important Super Tuesday vote, where the greatest number of states are set to cast their ballots. Trumps comments came after Robert OBrien, the White House national security adviser, dismissed claims that the Russians are interfering in the 2020 election. I havent seen any intelligence to support the reports that were leaked out of the House. But its just hard to comment on that because, again, I wasnt there, Robert OBrien told CBS Newss Face the Nation on Sunday morning. I think this is the same old story that weve heard before. Weve been very tough on Russia, and weve been great on election security. So I think its a nonstory, he also told ABCs This Week on Sunday. Schiffs office hasnt responded to a request for comment. From The Epoch Times They both also were used for storage. The Norton Building in Lockport, built in 1850, housed grain and other materials related to shipping along the canal, while just a few miles south whats now known as the Old Joliet Prison, which dates to 1858, housed people judged to be miscreants. At least three Mali soldiers were killed and five wounded Sunday in a suspected jihadist attack on an army camp in the far north of the country, the Malian military said. The outpost in Bambara Maoude, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) south of the city of Timbuktu "was the object at about 0500 GMT of a terrorist attack," the military said on Twitter. "During this attack, we regret to report a provisional toll of three dead, five wounded, together with material damage," it said. "The wounded were airlifted to Sevare... the outpost remains under the control of the armed forces." "Three of our men fell Sunday during a jihadist attack in Bambara Maoude," a military official told AFP from Timbuktu earlier. A local official confirmed the toll of three soldiers dead and said two more were missing. According to another local official, "the terrorists left, taking vehicles and military equipment with them... together with the bodies of two of their comrades." The attack is the latest in a long series of deadly incidents in Mali's north, where French forces said Friday they had killed about 50 jihadists so far this month. Earlier this month 40 people, including nine soldiers, died in a spate of attacks in central Mali, with most of the deaths apparently caused by inter-ethnic violence which also plagues the country. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) LOS ANGELES -- It started with a stick -- that much everybody can agree on. A Korean stock boy wielded the stick at a black patron inside a Leimert Park liquor store late on a Sunday afternoon. In some tellings, the customer was rudely chased away for being short a nickel -- another instance of the Korean-owned store mistreating the surrounding African American community. In others, the man was drunk and making his third booze run of the day, and the employee denied him service, as required by law. The incident in late 2017 pitted the stores longtime elderly Korean shopkeeper against a band of black activists who voiced familiar complaints about outsiders taking advantage of the scarcity of retail options in South L.A. It snowballed into a months-long boycott and protests and unnerved the neighborhood, the Korean community and a city that keenly remembers how similar tensions a quarter century ago culminated with Los Angeles up in flames. In time, one party would be driven out of town and the other would claim victory, with city and community officials scrambling to draw up a plan to prevent such tensions in the future. And to everyone involved, it was a reminder that the embers of the 1992 L.A. riots still smolder in communities where economic disparities and racial and cultural misunderstandings never went away. Kevin Wharton Price, left, founder of the Africa Town Coalition, and fellow members Abron Farley, Jr., center, and William "Billion" Campbell, shout to drivers and pedestrians to consider renaming the Los Angeles neighborhood of Leimert Park, "Africa Town," on May 16, 2018. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times/TNS)TNS The protesters A half-dozen members of the Africa Town Coalition were holding their weekly food bank in Leimert Park, passing out meals and produce, when someone ran over and told them about the skirmish at Huberts Liquor. They were regulars in the area, chanting black empowerment slogans and soliciting donations for food and school supply giveaways. Primarily middle-aged men, they belonged to the generation that came of age in Los Angeles during the collective ire of 1992, with the political angst but without the organizational prowess or scale of the Black Lives Matter movement. For years, they had protested and boycotted businesses they believed had disrespected the community: a Walmart, a Boost Mobile, a Wienerschnitzel. When they heard about Huberts, they kicked into action and announced a grand closing of the store. They made signs -- Our $$s count. Respect Black Power -- waved the black nationalist flag and brought out the bullhorn, blocking customers from entering the store. The protests tapped into long-held complaints about Huberts -- the prices a dollar or two higher than at big-box stores, the short treatment from employees who didnt seem to live in or care about the neighborhood, the row of photos taped on the bulletproof glass of suspected shoplifters. They didnt know much about the owner, a diminutive woman who spoke faltering English, but it almost didnt matter. To them, she was yet another outsider profiting off the neighborhood. "They would add 5 cents more than necessary. For a lot of people, 5 cents is a big deal," said Eschelle Washington, 38. Protests and boycotts were tried and true methods for the group. William "Billion" Campbell, 49, staged his first protest in his 20s when a convenience store clerk yelled at him and his cousin for reading comic books without buying them. The clerk apologized after two days. "We have the right to hold them accountable and choke off their finances," said Kevin Wharton Price, one of the group's leaders. "Irregardless of how people view our methods, our methodology is sound and successful." Hubert's is in the heart of Leimert Park, one of Los Angeles' last remaining historically black neighborhoods, an area the group was advocating to get renamed "Africa Town." Protesters cried out to customers that the store "does not deserve the black and the brown dollars." At one heated demonstration, Price and Campbell were briefly detained but not charged, and returned the next day to protest. After weeks, when they felt their complaints were falling on deaf ears, they took the protest to Koreatown. The signs they carried didn't mince words: "No More Korean Merchant Parasites." The owner It almost felt like fate that Soon Yoon had ended up in Leimert Park. She had arrived in the U.S. with little to her name. She first worked at a gas station, then sold tamales and menudo in Canoga Park before she saved up enough to buy a liquor store in East L.A. When her husband left her for a younger woman, the store became a lifeline for Yoon and her two children. During the L.A. riots, dozens of Korean-owned liquor stores were burned to the ground. By then a single mother in her 50s, Yoon planned to move on to something safer, maybe a coin laundry, and sold her store. But one day she missed her normal exit off the 10 Freeway and somehow ended up in Leimert Park. She saw a busy liquor store for sale and soon bought it with a Small Business Administration loan. For two decades, Yoon said, she thought she had a good relationship with the community. Save for some kids who would run out with a can of this or that a couple times a year, she had little trouble. Her prices weren't cheap, but an extra 2% or 3% markup was a business decision many shopkeepers made to take advantage of the lack of competition and compensate for what they believed was the risk of doing business in poorer, higher-crime areas. "People think we're raking it in, but they don't see the 10 to 15 hours a day we put in, the loans we took out and the hard work we do," said Mike Kim, president of the Southern California Korean American Grocers Association. "They only think of the money we take away." Yoon had regulars with whom she exchanged warm greetings, who would come in for their morning paper or a snack after performances at a nearby theater let out. Now and then she paid a neighborhood guy down on his luck to sweep her parking lot. One man called her "mama-san," and she would come out from behind the counter to give him a hug. Through the area merchants association, she donated to programs at nearby Crenshaw High. The man who was chased out of the store with the stick also was a regular, the neighborhood drunk whose poison of choice is beer, Yoon said. She was watching through a security camera from the back when the trouble started. When Yoon came out front to see what was going on, one of the women who took issue with the stock boy's behavior threw water at her. A handful of protesters returned the next day with their signs and bullhorns, and again the day after that. What started with complaints about one man's mistreatment evolved into a litany of grievances, blaming all of the area's social ills on the store and the liquor it sells. The protests continued for weeks, then months. Police officers repeatedly came by to keep the crowd from getting out of hand, but said they couldn't stop the group from rallying on public streets. By December 2017, after months of on-and-off protests and lists of demands, Yoon's daughter, concerned for her 79-year-old mother, began imploring her to leave it all behind. Ruth Harlins, center, in scarf, grandmother of Latasha Harlins, along with other family and community members, raise candles to the heavens in memory of Latasha on the 25th anniversary of her shooting death along Figueroa Street in Los Angeles on March 16, 2016. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times/TNS)TNS The mediators Alarmed by the protests, a store employee called the Korean American Federation, a community group that serves and represents first-generation, non-English-speaking immigrants. Emile Mack, the federation's vice president and a retired Los Angeles Fire Department official, said he could see the dispute from both perspectives. An adoptee from South Korea raised by black parents in South L.A., he grew up going to a corner liquor store a lot like Hubert's for chips and soda in the '60s and '70s. Using his connections, he assembled a group to talk out the situation -- representatives from the First African Methodist Episcopal Church, mayors office, City Council and Assembly. The group began meeting at a church and later at City Hall, going over demands from the protesters. Mack realized the situation at Hubert's was a sign that, however much leaders of the black and Korean communities were holding joint events and posing for photo ops, among many Angelenos, stereotypes and misunderstandings persisted. "The people that are actually in the community don't have much better understanding or relationship than they did back in '92," he said. "'Koreans, they're just here taking our money. African Americans come in and they steal from us.' ... Basic things you could've heard 25 years ago, still being thought by most people in the community." Back then, nearly half the liquor stores in South L.A. were owned by Korean immigrants drawn by cheap rent, the minimal English required and a stock that doesn't go bad. They set up shop in neighborhoods they didn't understand at a time when crime was at an all-time high, police presence was heightened and black communities felt under siege. Tensions rose in 1991 when a 15-year-old girl, Latasha Harlins, was shot in the back of her head by a Korean shopkeeper who suspected her of shoplifting. The hostility turned to rage when Soon Ja Du, convicted of manslaughter, was sentenced to probation. When South L.A. erupted in riots after the Rodney King verdict the following year, more than 2,300 Korean-owned businesses were looted and burned down. In many ways, the Korean-owned liquor stores that still dot South L.A. today are a snapshot from the early 1990s. The majority of the owners are still first-generation immigrants whose children have gone on to more lucrative professions. Most of the customers also remain economically disenfranchised -- if not worse off -- compared with the rest of the city. To Kirkpatrick Tyler, the mayor's field representative for South L.A., it seemed as if everyone involved in the Hubert's dispute simply wanted to be heard and acknowledged. He tried to act as a translator of sorts, "listening to people and putting what they're saying in a palatable format that other people can understand." "It's an uncomfortable space," he said. "It's about how do we make the decision, 'Let's stay in this space and talk to each other.'" After spending hours with the protesters and speaking extensively with Yoon, the owner, Mack drafted a response to the Africa Town Coalition's demands. Yoon offered to participate in cultural sensitivity training and assist with local substance abuse programs; she agreed to offer more than just liquor and to make a monthly donation to the coalition's food program. Mack noted that Yoon already had been sponsoring nearby youth programs and that she had previously employed a black clerk for eight years until he retired, and had been trying to hire others since. Yoon had already removed the photos of alleged shoplifters. In December 2017, as Mack and the protesters were going back and forth about what changes should be made at the store, Yoon quietly sold the business to another Korean owner. Mack said she felt she was being portrayed in an unfairly negative light. "It was really troubling her obviously," he said. "It was just getting to be too much." Yoon later said that she felt pressured to sell for far less than what Hubert's was worth. Some of her regulars, she added, implored her to stay, offering to call the police on the protesters on her behalf. She believes it was outsiders, not the community, who pushed her out. "I never lost the neighborhood's heart," she said. A customer, reflected in the storefront window of the Hubert's Liquor Store, stands in front of the store in Los Angeles' Leimert Park neighborhood on May 16, 2018. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times/TNS)TNS The aftermath The protests continued for about a month after the ownership change, but eventually faded away. Since then, Huberts has become a symbol of both progress and stagnation. Simon Choi, the new owner, lowered prices, cleaned up the store's appearance and began stocking more fresh produce. He holds barbecues in the parking lot, donates beverages every week to Africa Town Coalition's food giveaway for homeless people and donates $100 monthly to support the group's activities. This fall, Choi also bought a new leaf blower for a neighborhood beautification project. The Africa Town Coalition, the Korean American Federation and Mayor Eric Garcetti's office have explored using lessons from what happened at Hubert's elsewhere in Los Angeles. They talked of creating a "cultural competency" workshop for business owners to teach them communication skills and the historical context for specific communities, possibly devising a score that would be posted at each store like restaurant sanitation ratings. But after several meetings, working groups and proposals, the effort has fizzled, with a new South L.A. representative for Garcetti's office and the community groups moving on to other issues. Mack said recently that until fundamental inequalities are improved, another situation like Hubert's probably awaits in some other corner of Los Angeles. "Unless there are changes that allow the smaller business to be acquired by the average person, it's still going to be difficult," he said. "I don't think the changes have been made that make black ownership any more viable today than it was 25 years ago." This fall, there was one final piece of unfinished business from the battle over Hubert's. Kevin Wharton Price, one of the protest leaders, walked into a downtown courthouse in November wearing a faded Africa Town sweatshirt. He had come to address the 2-year-old warrant he had received after demonstrating at the store. The penalty: a $400 fine. To Price, it was worth it for Leimert Park. Besides, he said, he plans to let it go to collections anyway. ___ (c)2020 Los Angeles Times Visit the Los Angeles Times at www.latimes.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. No matter which Democratic presidential candidate ends up at the top of the ticket, remember this in the upcoming election: President Trumps 2021 budget proposal is the most accurate encapsulation of what hes running on more lies. Forget the promises of insurance for everybody, or his vow that We will not be touching your Social Security or Medicare in Fiscal 2021 Budget. Its all there, in black and white. We have his budget, and it shows hes been lying. Again. Heres what Trump proposes: Cut programs like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid that everyday Americans rely on; increase the rolls of the uninsured; and defund crucial efforts to keep our air and water safe and fight the spread of infectious diseases. His budget is a living, breathing fact check on his fake policy priorities, in the words of Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York. If that all sounds good to you, give Republicans back control of the House, so they can do Trumps bidding. But if not, his budget is one of the best arguments for re-electing Democrats to Congress. Many of its horrors could become reality, if not for the seats that people like Tom Malinowski or Mikie Sherrill picked up in moderate districts. Start with the entitlement programs that Trump repeatedly vowed not to touch. Over the next decade, his budget calls for half a trillion dollars in cuts to Medicare, $25 billion in cuts to Social Security and $920 billion in cuts to Medicaid. Granted, the Medicare cuts are aimed at doctors and hospitals. Somehow, with less money, the budget claims there will be no reductions in services offered or eligibility. His attack on Social Security benefits are direct, and would cause immediate hardship. People in no condition to go back to work, given the severity of their disabilities, would have a significantly harder time qualifying for benefits. And his harsh cuts to Medicaid are a big deal, as Trump fights in court to kill the Affordable Care Act, kicking millions off insurance and eliminating protections for people with pre-existing conditions. What do you trust more: The cold, hard numbers in his budget, or his string of lofty promises? Watch what he does, not what he says, as Malinowski puts it whether your loved one has a pre-existing condition like cancer or relies on Social Security. Trump also promised to balance the budget, which isnt happening either. Instead, he offers more record deficits, while extending his tax cuts for millionaires and wealthy corporations. The cuts land on programs for the poor like food stamps, and even rental and heating aid for the elderly. Hed slash $170 billion from student loan forgiveness and as much as a quarter of the Environmental Protection Agencys budget, savaging funding for Superfund cleanup. That hits close to home, since New Jersey has more toxic sites than any other state. Hed cut efforts to respond to disease outbreaks, too, even as were in the midst of a global panic over coronavirus. But Trump does have money to spare for some pet projects: The wall Mexico was supposed to pay for, and a fairly large increase for NASAs effort to send Americans back to the moon, and then Mars. A worthy investment, as long as hes the first one sent into orbit. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook. The 30th meeting of the ASEAN Inter-Governmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) took place in Hanoi from February 18-21. At the event (Photo: vov) Ambassador Nguyen Thai Yen Huong, Vietnams AICHR representative and Chair of AICHR 2020, chaired the event. It was the first activity during Vietnams tenure in the post in order to review the progress of AICHRs priority programmes and reports on rights regarding education, environment, women, children and people with disabilities in tandem with priorities in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030. The meeting also discussed the building of a working plan for the 2021-2025 period and AICHRs priority programmes for 2021, measures to enhance working efficiency of AICHR and its relations with partners so as to further step up the promotion and protection of human rights in the region. In its role as AICHR Chair, Vietnam actively and proactively pushed for important agenda to promote and protect human rights in line with AICRHs terms of reference and ASEAN Charter. Vietnam also continued upholding the spirit of solidarity, responsibility and cooperation among ASEAN member states, contributing to building a cohesive and responsive ASEAN in line with theme of ASEAN Chairmanship Year 2020. ASEAN member states pledged to work closely with Vietnam to help fulfil important tasks this year. The next meeting of AICHR is scheduled in April at the ASEAN Secretariats headquarters in Jakarta, Indonesia./.VNA MADISON The state Assembly walked back a bill Thursday that would have allowed bars across Wisconsin to stay open later during the Democratic National Convention this summer, tweaking the proposal to allow extended hours only for taverns in the southeastern corner of the state before passing it on to the Senate. The convention is scheduled for July 13-16 in Milwaukee. Groups representing the states bars, restaurants and tourism industries are preparing for an influx of 50,000 visitors. Lawmakers originally proposed a bill allowing bars across the state to remain open until 4 a.m. during the four nights of the convention, following the lead of Ohio and Pennsylvania. Both states allowed for later bar hours when the national conventions went to their states in 2016. Wisconsin bars currently must close at 2 a.m. on weekdays and 2:30 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. The proposal to extend hours ran into trouble in the state Senate; Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, said senators were concerned about increased drunken driving and questions about why bars can stay open later for the convention but not other events. Assembly Republicans amended the bill Thursday, the last day of the chambers biennial session, to limit the extended hours to bars in 14 southeastern Wisconsin counties: Kenosha, Racine, Walworth, Rock, Milwaukee, Waukesha, Jefferson, Dane, Ozaukee, Washington, Dodge, Columbia, Sheboygan, and Fond du Lac. Municipalities within those counties would have to pass a resolution allowing extended hours before they could take effect in those jurisdictions. Legislators also inserted new language increasing the safe ride program surcharge on drunken driving violations from $50 to $75. The Tavern League of Wisconsin runs the program, which provides free rides home from bars. The bills author, state Rep. Rob Swearingen, R-Rhinelander, is a former Tavern League president. The Assembly passed the bill 85-12, sending it to the Senate, which is expected to reconvene in the final week of March. Its unclear whether the changes will be enough to get it through that house. Alec Zimmerman, a spokesman for Fitzgerald, didnt immediately respond to an email late Thursday evening inquiring about the bills chances. Taking a shot Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said Thursday the later bar time would be great for the states economy and give Democrats, who he says are clearly out of touch with reality, a chance to grab a drink after they return to their hotels late at night. Vos took particular aim at Bernie Sanders, the Vermont senator who won Wisconsin in 2016 and is among the front-runners in the Democratic presidential field this year. There are a lot of people in the state, who once they hear him speak, are going to say I need a drink, Vos said. There are a lot of people in the state, who once they hear (Bernie Sanders) speak, are going to say I need a drink. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 0 For years, the writer had her husbands headstone in her home a reminder that the suffering she endured was real. I remember when the headstone finally arrived. I could see it from the street as I pulled into the cemetery, a grey rectangle above a patch of red clay. My chest tightened as I walked up to his grave, the tiny American flags I had placed around it months before waving in the wind. I sat next to the grave and watched ants march into a hole I imagined led straight to my husband. It made me think of disappearing, of his lifeless body, of the time that had passed since I buried him, and of the effect time has on bodies. I winced. I began reading the words etched in granite, the same ones I struggled to write on the headstone paperwork months before. His first name, his middle name, his last, a sigh of relief. And then, my relief turned to disappointment. Persian Gulf, it read instead of Operation Iraqi Freedom. His Purple Heart had not been mentioned, either. I was devastated. Neglect, I believe, is what killed my husband, and he was continuing to be neglected even after his death. The bomb and the pain meds My husband was born to a hardworking family, a pull your bootstraps up family, a God-fearing family. His mama worked at Dollar General for as long as he could remember and loved him, her firstborn, more than anything in the world. His daddy was a truck driver and gone a lot to make ends meet. A quiet and kind man, he liked to remind us all how proud he was of his oldest son. It is true that my husband, one of four children, was proud to join the Marine Corps after high school. It gave him purpose great pride, even to serve his country. But it is also true that, born poor, he was not given many options in life. The military had insurance, scholarships, decent pay, a steady home things he was not used to having. The Marine Corps made sense for him. Three years before he would sign his life away, the United States went to war with Afghanistan. And a year after that, he would go to war in Iraq. A bomb took his leg on his second deployment. The pain meds took his life. He was 25 years old when his body was found. The headstone I am unsure why I ever felt attached to that headstone. I remember the nerve it took to fill out the proper paperwork to get the headstone in the first place. I was 24, and the first question on the form read: NAME OF DECEASED TO BE INSCRIBED ON HEADSTONE OR MARKER. I imagined my husbands name, 22 symbols that formed three words meant to represent him. I imagined his face when I first met him, a 13-year-old boy born and raised in the same small town his daddy was, a gap-toothed smile, a Southpark t-shirt with one of the cartoons main characters, Cartman, on the front and the words Im Not Fat, Im Big Boned! I wrote his name on the line, and it was official. He was dead. I was a widow. Maybe I had been attached to the headstone before it even arrived. It took months if I remember correctly, and it felt like torture. Day after day I visited only to find a blank grave. It looked so unloved. I hated myself for not filling out the paperwork sooner. He had been buried for months before I had gathered enough nerve to even print it out. Then I had to read the questions. Then answer them. Then find a fax machine. Fax it. I could hardly feed myself after planning his funeral and burying him. It was all too much. So when the paperwork was finally sent, it felt like a major accomplishment, something I could be proud of. I returned home, drew a bath, cried in it until the water went cold. Maybe it is that his name was so permanently scrawled into stone, and that means something somehow. Doesnt it? His name, a cluster of words that hardly exist in the world any more, exist so permanently on this otherwise meaningless artefact and somehow, somehow, somehow it brings him into existence again, too. Maybe? I know its weight like I know his hands on my cheeks before he would kiss me. I know the coolness of its stone-like I knew the warmth of his skin. The bright grey, the hard edges, his prominent nose, his deep, brown eyes. They are connected somehow. [Illustration by Jawahir Al-Naimi/Al Jazeera] The widows I had to fill out the same damned paperwork I dreaded doing the first time. Print. Read. Answer. Fax. Wait. It was even more excruciating the second time, my sadness and dread now met with rage. Again, it took months for the new headstone to arrive. I visited him as often as I could, each time hoping to find a new stone with the correct war on it. But then, when it finally arrived, there was no moment of relief, because the new error was immediately obvious: It had been placed at the foot of his grave, the original one still at the head. Now, he looked unloved, I thought. I thought about the senseless war that led us here, about every doctor that ignored me when I said I thought he might be addicted to the pain medications they had prescribed him, about finally being told about his death almost 24 hours after they found his body. Distressed or enraged or somewhere in between, I called the only two people I was certain would get it, Tara and Kristin, whose names I have changed for privacy. I had met them on a retreat for military widows only months after my husband died. I had just turned 25, and they were both years younger. We all went to New Orleans with a nonprofit called The American Widow Project. It was a give back retreat where we helped rebuild a house that had been ravaged by Hurricane Katrina. We put up drywall, we painted, we sanded and scraped, whatever we could with the limited carpentry knowledge we had. We were very young women who had experienced great loss in a city that had experienced so much more of it. In New Orleans, I learned that helping others and finding a community are powerful when navigating immense sadness. We were there to rebuild a home for a stranger but, in the process, we also built bonds that would help us survive our own grief. Though the widows in the group were from all over the country, Tara, Kristin, and I lived within an hour of each other so we not only stayed in contact but became very close. We gave ourselves a name the beach widows for our proximity to the Gulf Coast. My husbands honour I felt nobody understood me like they did and nobody ever would. We shared something sacred: An understanding of the world that most would not learn until they were aged or, at least, until their brains were fully developed. We had buried our beloveds. We had had to say final goodbyes to our most important people then learn to navigate the majority of our lives without them. I need your help, I told the beach widows. When I explained the problem with the dual headstones, they met my sadness and rage with their own and I suddenly felt powerful. We would be like Valkyrie in the night sent by Odin to protect warriors and guide the worthy slain to Valhalla. If nobody else would protect my husbands honour, if nobody else would fight for his peaceful rest, we would. When are we gonna do this? they said. I arrived at the cemetery early. I wanted to spend some time alone with my husband. We took shots: One for me, then one poured over his grave. An older woman walked by and nodded with a stiff smile. I watched her and wondered if she was there to see her husband, too, but instead of stopping at a grave, she just walked slowly along each row of them, reading about the people buried there. By the time the beach widows arrived, the woman was gone. Tara swung open her car door. I have wine, she said and I popped open my boot. Trust and control We sat around his grave, sipping Cabernet from red Solo cups, waiting for night to fall. We watched the sun set behind the pines, watched the pines transform from their familiar three-dimensional forms into smooth, black silhouettes, into ghosts. When only a glow was left on the horizon and we were certain it was dark enough that people driving by could not see us from the road, we got on all fours and felt around the gritty dirt for the bottom edges of the headstone. It was deeper than it looked and the dry clay proved difficult to penetrate with bare fingers. I shouldve brought a shovel, I said, certain we had been defeated. Tara, without flinching, pulled a wine bottle opener out of her back pocket as if she had done this before, as if this was exactly why she had brought it. Screw this, she said, plunging the metal into the clay, removing one tiny shovel-full at a time pieces of chestnut hair sticking to the sweat of her forehead until we were able to fit our fingers underneath. On three, I said. The widows nodded, then: One, two, lift! It took all three of us to carry the headstone to my car. As usual, it was a mess, especially my boot, so I had had to push aside shoes and bills and purses and beach gear to make room. We stared at the headstone, our hands on our hips, Kid Cudis Day N Nite playing so loud my car vibrated to the beat. Seeing the block of stone with my husbands name on it inside the boot of my car surrounded by so many of my ridiculous things felt wrong as if we had thrown his body back there. But it also felt powerful. For the first time after my husbands death, I felt like I had gained some control over my grief. Not only that, but I had trusted these women and they did not disappoint. I had been let down so many times that I was not sure I could trust anyone. I had felt alone for so long. I realised that night that I had just needed to find the right people. With the beach widows, I was not alone. Widow humour I carried the headstone with me for six years. I could not imagine it alone in a rubbish bin, alone in the woods, alone as I imagined him in that hole in the ground. Instead, it stayed in my home, usually on the back porch next to a couple of plastic chairs the last owner of the place had left behind. I made sure to keep it somewhere visible. I liked the weirdness of it. It made me feel safe, like admitting a flaw before someone calls you out on it. When the beach widows came over, we would take turns making jokes about what I could do with it. I think it would make a great coffee table, Kristin offered once. I mean, what a conversation starter. I say put it at your front door. F**k welcome mats. Itll scare away the people you dont like anyway, Tara said. Its perfect. We all laughed. We called this widow humour and we mostly kept it to ourselves, only using it on others when we wanted them to feel uncomfortable or leave us alone. It is true, too, that the headstone made me feel more normal. For so long, grief ran my life. I could hardly drive without having to pull over so the tears could dry up. Everything reminded me of my husband, and sometimes the sadness was so vast I felt lost in it, like floating in infinite space, flailing for something solid to hold onto only there was nothing. Everyone continued living their lives after his death, the Earth continued to orbit the sun, and I was stuck in a world of suffering and sadness. Seeing that headstone weighted to the ground like an anchor, reminded me that my suffering was real. My husband did die. I did have a reason to be sad. It made me feel grounded, so I held onto it. [Illustration by Jawahir Al-Naimi/Al Jazeera] A bond of terrible circumstance And then, six years after my husbands death, I lost it when I moved across the country. At first, I did not notice. For years, I somehow forgot I ever had the thing. When I finally did remember it, I was devastated but not because it was gone. I was ashamed that I had become so detached from it that I had lost it. What I realised was, in some ways, the headstone was entangled with my grief. As my grief disappeared so, too, did the headstone. I was shocked that I had hardly noticed that either had left. I wondered if I was a bad widow to be happy, to be free of the weight I had been carrying for so long. Everyone talks about how to deal with grief, but nobody talks about how to feel once it is gone. My friendship with the beach widows faded, too. The life we shared together as young widows splintered into three new ones, all heading in different directions as relationships often do at that age. In that way, I suppose, we were very normal. Tara found love again, had two beautiful children, and moved across the country to a large piece of land in the middle of the mountains far from where we first met. Kristin graduated with a biology degree but not before meeting her future husband in the university library. She stayed close to the beach we named ourselves after and gave birth to a chubby-cheeked daughter. I moved to my dream state of Oregon with a man I love dearly. I got my MFA in non-fiction and am pursuing my dream of being a writer and farmer. We are all thriving on our own. Maybe we will find each other again in our new lives. Or, maybe we found each other exactly when we were supposed to and those few years together are all we will ever have. Though it makes me sad to admit we are not as connected as we once were, I am also thankful. What this means is we made it. We survived the grief that bonded us, and we no longer carry the kind of weight it takes three people to hold. The hard truth is, we do not need each other any more. Still, when I go back to visit my husbands grave, I am grateful for the beach widows and our bond of terrible circumstance, those years of clinging to each other for hope, that night at the cemetery when we drank wine from red solo cups then dug up a headstone and carried it to the boot of my car. By Express News Service BHOPAL: Dalit grooms being forced to step down from horses by upper caste men or their marriage processions being attacked by powerful men isn't new in Madhya Pradesh. But now, for Dalits, carrying processions to celebrate birthdays of family members too isn't safe as a parade of one Laxman Ahirwar's family was allegedly attacked by a group of men armed with swords and rods in Sagar district on Saturday late night. No one was hurt in the attack carried out by a group led by one Sachin Ghosi, who is apparently linked to illicit liquor mafia. A video taken from the rear side of the birthday parade, which shows the family being attacked, has gone viral online. While confirming the incident, Sagar district police superintendent Amit Sanghi said the prime accused and aides have been booked for criminal assault under IPC sections and also under provisions of SC/ST Atrocities (Prevention) Act. "The prime accused Sachin Ghosi was arrested on Sunday," Sanghi told Express. Caste divisions in Bundelkhand region are much more prevalent than other parts of Madhya Pradesh. A few weeks back, a Dalit youth Dhan Prasad was allegedly burnt alive by a group of men from minority community in Sagar district. Five to six men were arrested in the matter. Crawfish concierge at Ritz-Carlton New Orleans. Source: Ritz-Carlton New Orleans Pantelis Evangelou is a guest services manager at the London Marriott Park Lane, but to young guests, he may be better known as the hotel's teddy bear butler. The hotel offers a teddy-bear themed concierge service to children that is included with suite bookings or available as an add-on for a fee of roughly $50. After a child chooses an option from the hotel's menu of 11 themed bears, Evangelou arrives at the door with a stuffed animal ready for adoption. "It's up to me to make the introductions, which means that I need to know the names and stories behind each and every bear, as well as their unique characteristics," he said, noting that the available bears range from airline pilots to traditional London Beefeaters, the ceremonial guardians at the Tower of London. The hotel concierge has traditionally been the all-knowing go-to for guests seeking insider knowledge of a city and access to coveted theater tickets or dinner reservations. But now, travelers get can tips and recommendations for restaurants and attractions in a new city from their smartphones. So rather than ditch the concierge desk completely, "hotels are now training their concierges to offer novel, customized, high value and proprietary services to delight their guests and keep them coming back," said Chekitan Dev, a professor at Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration. Teddy Bear Partnership with Hamleys and London Marriott Hotel Park Lane. Source: Wonderhatch The trend comes at a time when hotels are faced with growing competition from the home-sharing industry with the likes of Airbnb and Expedia Group's Vrbo. Offering niche services is a low-cost way to stand out to the customer and also drive additional revenue. The services can be free or cost guests up to a few hundred dollars. Travelers booking hotel stays will now find concierge and butler services available for everything from caring for pets and choosing a cannabis experience to using the in-room fireplace. As an example, Dev cites his stay at The Benjamin in New York City, where the sleep concierge helped him get a good night's sleep by providing special pillows to help with back pain, a humidifier to counter dry air and a white noise machine. Many other hotels are offering curated services that are equally hyper-focused and offbeat. The surf concierge at the Westin Los Angeles Airport gives surfing lessons, while a crawfish concierge offers peeling assistance during events at the Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans. In Canada, the skate concierge at the Westin Ottawa leads free guided scenic skate tours along sections of the Rideau Canal Skateway, while the Fairmont Vancouver Airport's fish valet makes sure prized catches are properly stored in a special on-site freezer during layovers. "Specialty concierge services aren't new," says hotel industry analyst Bjorn Hanson, "But in the last three or four years the trend has been an increased number of categories, an increased number of hotels and resorts offering these services and an increased sophistication in how the services are delivered." The trend is also for these services to be labeled as "concierge" even though they may not be delivered by a certified concierge. "I have no idea what a cannabis concierge or a fish concierge might be doing because we don't see that in our organization, said Sara-ann Kasner, CEO and founder of the National Concierge Association, an industry trade group. "But I can tell you that using the title of concierge is a smart business move because people really do believe concierges have the inside scoop on everything." Raffles Hotels & Resorts locations in Paris, Istanbul, Warsaw and Jakarta have art concierges on staff who conduct free tours of the hotels' museum-quality art collections. And as the curator of curiosity at Gateway Canyons Resort & Spa in Colorado, Zebulon Miracle gives history and geology tours, including dinosaur track excursions, for $35 to $250 per person. "There are so many great stories and fascinating science found in the canyon country," said Miracle. "If my team does their job right, guests will leave not only knowing more about the area but will also be inspired to become curious about their own homes." Zebulon Miracle, Curator of Curiosity at Gateway Canyons Resort and Spa Source: Curiosity at Gateway Canyons Resort and Spa The "single system of laws" is the greatest need for environmental issues as they are not hindered by national and international borders, Chief Justice of India (CJI) S A Bobde said on Sunday. Speaking at the valedictory session of the International Judges' Conference on 'Judiciary and the Changing World', the CJI also referred to the challenges faced by the judiciary and said the constitutions are not meant "only to check people in power but also empower those who have been deprived of it". Referring to commonality of environmental issues, Justice Bobde said, "Environmental issues cannot be hindered by national and international borders. Water and wind flow seamlessly across the earth and even under it. The growth of vegetation affects animals and man, and a man affects both". "Perhaps there is the greatest need for single system of laws in this regard. It is said that human beings are seeds as well as parasites to the earth. We take much more than we give back to the earth," he said. The "commitment to dispensation of justice" is the common thread which binds judges across the world, he said, adding that the common challenge before the judiciary globally was to ensure "a gender just world". Justice Bobde said that "judiciary is the guardian of constitutional values and serves to counter-balance populist forces in a commitment to the rule of law". The inherent role of the judiciary to take active measures to "women within the judicial fold". "We have learnt from the illuminating session on the judiciary and gender justice that incremental measures are only the first step towards championing the cause of gender equality," he said. He said the Indian Supreme Court is responsible for upholding the rights of over 1.3 billion people and has been providing copies of its judgements in nine vernacular languages as desired by President Ram Nath Kovind. "We have more approximately 17,500 courts. In a country where over 22 languages and several thousand dialects are spoken, the Supreme Court has mandated the translation of its judgments into nine languages," he said, adding "The provision of judgments in vernacular languages makes accessible to people from diverse linguistic backgrounds." He said the judgements of the Supreme Court have been cited by four other courts of the world and India has served as a "beacon of hope" to independent and developing nations.He said that "As we look to the future, a significant consideration in the delivery of justice is the protection and preservation of the environment in the dispensation of justice. In one of the cases before us, we have held that 'The present generation has no right to impede the safety and wellbeing of the next generation or the generation to come thereafter'," he said. The CJI referred to utilisation of technology in facilating delivery of justice in remote parts of India. "In India, we are utilising technology in innovative ways to facilitate and assist the delivery of justice. Indian courts are located across the length and breadth of our vast country. "As part of the e-Courts project in India, we have ensured that no matter where a judicial officer is located, from the remote mountain tops of the Himalayas to the sandy beaches of Kerala, they are electronically connected to the national judicial data grid," he said. He said that smart phone technology and telecommunications connectivity can be used to streamline delivery of service and summons. The CJI said that the Indian judiciary is exploring the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to automate simple tasks associated with the administration of justice. "With the speed of reading 1 million characters per second, the volume of any data for any purpose whether research or analysis, becomes easy to deal with. But it must be treated as a tool and its introduction into the judicial system must be done with hesitation and caution," he said. He said use of AI "probably never will" negate the human supremacy. Referring to benefits of globalisation, he said that however, it has posed "the greatest challenges to the judiciaries" across the world also. "The widespread use of technology has also brought with it concerns over mass data collection and an individual's right to privacy," he said. "I hope that in the future, not only will this conference become a regular feature of the judicial calendar across the world, but a shining symbol of a global network of guardians against injustice," the CJI said in his concluding remarks. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A medical worker prepares a flu vaccine for a student in a middle school in Xian, China on November 9, 2009. China Photos | Getty Images The coronavirus outbreak is bringing attention to the fast-growing vaccine industry. The vaccine market has grown sixfold over the past two decades, worth more than $35 billion today, according to AB Bernstein. The firm said the industry has consolidated to four big players that account for about 85% of the market British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline, French pharmaceutical company Sanofi, and U.S.-based Merck and Pfizer. "For every dollar invested in vaccination in the world's 94 lowest-income countries, the net return is $44. Hard to argue against," Wimal Kapadia, Bernstein's analyst, said in a note. "This oligopoly has been built through significant market consolidation driven primarily by the complexities of the manufacturing and supply chain." These companies have jumped into the race to combat the deadly coronavirus, working on vaccine or drug programs. Investors have been flocking to some biotech names amid market volatility in hopes that their initiatives to develop treatment and prevention for the coronavirus could come to fruition at some point. Sanofi is teaming up with the U.S. government to develop a vaccine for the new virus, hoping its work on the 2003 SARS outbreak could speed up the process. GlaxoSmithKline said this month it is partnering with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations for a vaccine program. Still, any commercial treatment for the coronavirus could be years away. Experts have warned despite recent advances, the public shouldn't expect a coronavirus vaccine to hit the market until early next year. The Bernstein analyst said Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline both have a stable vaccine portfolio, including shingles, flu, pertussis and polio vaccines, that will keep driving revenue. Merck's vaccine business generated $8.4 billion of revenues in 2019, the segment has been growing at an annual rate of 9% since 2010, according to Bernstein. Its human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil 9 will be "the biggest selling vaccine of all time," Kapadia said. "Gardasil 9 will take over the HPV market given competition is limited - supply is the only decelerator." As previously reported by LBREPORT.com, the "Committee on Behalf of Working Families To Support Tunua Thrash-Ntuk for Council 2020, Sponsored by Labor Organizations" amassed a $125,000 war chest from three sources: $50,000 from the UniteHere! Local 11 PAC; $50,000 from United Food & Commercial Workers; and $25,000 from Dignity CA SEIU 2015 PAC. As of Feb. 15, it had spent $54,086 of that sum to support Ms. Thrash-Ntuk. Sponsor Sponsor The "Ethical Leadership PAC Supporting Al Austin and Dee Andrews for City Council 2020" spent $12,510 (from sources below) in political activities since Jan. 1 to re-elect Austin. (Vice Mayor Andrews received the lion's share of the PAC's spending, details separately in a 6tth district Follow the Money report.) The "Ethical Leadership" PAC collected $46,000 in the second half of 2019 from contributors including the CA Apt. Ass'n ($2,000), CREPAC (CA Real Estate: $40,000) and the LB Area Chamber of Commerce ($2,000) from which it spent $26,000 to support 1st dist. Council candidate Mariela Salgado (who finished second to Mary Zendejas in November 2019.) Council incumbents Andrews and Austin both cast Sept. 19, 2017 votes against Council enactment of "Claudia's Law," a hotel-worker protective ordinance that would have assisted labor efforts (primarily by the UniteHere! union) to organize unrepresented LB hotel workers. The measure was opposed by LB hotel industry/hospitality interests and narrowly failed on a 4-5 vote (Yes: Gonzalez, Pearce, Uranga, Richardson; No: Price, Supernaw, Mungo, Andrews, Austin) The "Ethical Leadaership PAC" supporting Austin and Andrews received the following sums from the following sources:: : California Real Estate PAC (CA Ass'n of Realtors): $30,000 (Feb 19) Long Beach Yellow Cab Cooperative :$4,900 (Feb. 19) City Light & Power: $4,000 (Feb. 13) Janet Watt: (owns Little Owl School): $10,000 (Feb. 13) Laurence Watt:(owns Renew Landscape Mgm't): $10,000 (Feb. 13) Long Beach Hotel Properties, LLC: $15,000 (Jan. 28) Long Beach Lifeguard Ass'n: $5,000 (Jan. 28) John Molina: $7,500 (Jan. 29) California Apartment Ass'n Independent Expenditure Committee: $5,000 (Feb. 4) Metropolitan Stevedore Company: $5,000 (Feb. 4) Signal Hill Petroleum: $5,000 (Feb. 4) AES: $2,500 (Jan. 7) Long Beach Collective Ass'n: $1,000 (Jan. 22) BNSF Railway: $3,500 (Dec. 28) Edison Int'l & Affiliated Companies: $7,500.(Dec. 28) Sin ce Jan. 1, a second independent expenditure committee, "Neighbors for a Better Long Beach." collected $17,000 from which it spent $16,644 to support Austin (and spent $36,247 to support electing Cindy Allen in the 2nd Council district.) The PAC's 2020 contributors include: Signal Hill Petroleum ($5,000) Long Beach Hotel Properties, Inc. ($5,000) Lyon Management Group ($2.500) Shoreline Village Enterprises ($5,000) Sponsor Sponsor Sponsor Support really independent news in Long Beach. No one in LBREPORT.com's ownership, reporting or editorial decision-making has ties to development interests, advocacy groups or other special interests; or is seeking or receiving benefits of City development-related decisions; or holds a City Hall appointive position; or has contributed sums to political campaigns for Long Beach incumbents or challengers. LBREPORT.com isn't part of an out of town corporate cluster and no one its ownership, editorial or publishing decisionmaking has been part of the governing board of any City government body or other entity on whose policies we report. LBREPORT.com is reader and advertiser supported. You can help keep really independent news in LB similar to the way people support NPR and PBS stations. We're not non-profit so it's not tax deductible but $49.95 (less than an annual dollar a week) helps keep us online. View the discussion thread. blog comments powered by Disqus Recommend LBREPORT.com to your Facebook friends: Follow LBReport.com with: Twitter Facebook RSS Return To Front Page Contact us: mail@LBReport.com Historically, French voters have declined to look into the private lives of their politicians. Which, for the most part, has been just as well. But politics in France are currently being roiled by the withdrawal of Benjamin Griveaux, a close ally of President Macron, from his campaign for Mayor of Paris. [Adult content alert] Griveauxs withdrawal was prompted by publication of a video of him masturbating. The London Times reports: The roots of the scandal lie in 2018, when Griveaux, who was then a government spokesman, encountered [Alexandra] de Taddeo, a student, online and sent her a video of him masturbating. Lets stop right here. Anyone dumb enough to send such a video to a young woman he recently met online has no business being the Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, let alone Paris. Ms. Taddeo is now under arrestthe French know how to protect their politiciansbut it turns out that she isnt the real culprit. Rather, there is a Russian angle. Her boyfriend Pyotr Pavlensky, a [Russian] performance artist who made his name with stunts such as nailing his scrotum to Red Square and setting fire to the front door of the Lubyanka, the headquarters of Russias security services, took the video from their shared computer and posted it online: In interviews last week, [Pyotr Pavlensky] said that after de Taddeo had told him about the video, he suggested last October that she put it online but she refused. He then waited until she had gone out and copied it from their shared computer to a USB stick. On February 13, with the mayoral campaign in full swing, he posted it on Pornopolitique, a website he set up last November. A link to the site was retweeted and the images spread. Pavlensky, who was also questioned by police over allegations that he had stabbed someone at a party, claimed he wanted to expose the hypocrisy of a politician who put his happy family life at the heart of his campaign. It may also have been an attempt to discredit Macron, with whom Griveaux had been close for years. Conspiracy theorists see a Kremlin plot, an idea encouraged by the French president. In a speech last weekend to a security conference in Munich, a day after Griveaux resigned, he attacked Russia for its online efforts to destabilise France and western democracy. That doesnt seem likely, given that Pavlensky fled Russia in 2017 after his various stunts there. Another question is whether the French are getting puritanical: Griveauxs fall also prompted debate about the extent to which France, traditionally respectful of the private lives and peccadillos of its leaders, is adopting the moralising ways of the puritanical Anglo-Saxons. How puritanical can you get? Cant a married guy send a woman he met online a video of himself masturbating without his political career crashing down around his ears? This was exactly the kind of thing the Puritans tried to crack down on. There are several morals that might be drawn from this episode. One practical lesson might be, master the freaking technology if you are going to use it: [Griveaux] reportedly used a function of Facebook Messenger meant to make images disappear soon after they have been received, but de Taddeo stored them on her computer. Shockingly, this is possible. Those who dont understand this shouldnt seek high political office. Or, alternatively, they might not want to share obscene videos. Newsham said the victims were found in a hallway of the four-story brick apartment house. He said there were indications that one or more of them may have been targeted, but no motive in the shootings was given. The Taliban in Afghanistan are tired of fighting and want to make a peace deal with the US, President Donald Trump said on Sunday as he left for his maiden visit to India during which the two countries will significantly ramp up the defence and strategic ties. Just before his departure for India, Trump told reporters at the White House that the time had to come for the US troops to "come home". The President said he would sign a peace deal with the Taliban if it worked out over the next week. "I want to see how this period of a week works out. If it works out over the next less-than-a-week, I would put my name on it," he said. "Time to come home. The Taliban want to make a deal too. They're tired of fighting," he said. Trump's remarks came a day after the US and the Afghan Taliban started a seven-day partial truce ahead of a possible peace deal to end more than 18-year-long war, raising hopes for a resolution to America's longest war. The agreement struck during negotiations between the US and the Taliban, if maintained, may secure a peace deal that would lead to a withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan. In November, Trump announced the resumption of peace talks with the Taliban, but refused to give a timeline for the drawdown of the US troops from Afghanistan, as he made an unannounced visit to American soldiers stationed in the war-torn country. After nine rounds of negotiations with the Taliban, Trump announced in September that he was calling the peace talks off after a US service member was killed in a suicide attack in Afghanistan's capital, Kabul. The US currently has less than 14,000 troops in Afghanistan, but military officials would not confirm the exact number. Trump is accompanied by First Lady Melania, daughter Ivanka, son-in-law Jared Kushner and the top brass of his administration on his maiden visit to India. During his visit, the two countries are expect to significantly ramp up bilateral defence and strategic ties. The nearly 36-hour-long visit by Trump is also set to send across a clear message of growing congruence of interests on major geopolitical developments in the region and beyond, particularly when China has been expanding its military might and economic clout. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) It has been 150 days since this campaign began and look where we are. I have so much to thank you for. 150 days ago, the mainstream media was busy patting Democrats on the back for their diverse field of presidential candidates. What happened, Democrats? Meanwhile, here in the most conservative district in America, Republicans are lining up to support an African-American conservative for Congress. I was born in Odessa, and, after my mom passed, was taken in by a family here in Midland. I took the values I learned early on with me to Washington where I advised Republican leaders on foreign affairs. But if you watch a Democrat presidential debate (I do not recommend it), you will get to hear the all-white cast call us all racists. You will get to hear Bernie Sanders promise to shut down West Texas on his first day in office. You might get to hear Michael Bloomberg tell us his story about how it is easy to farm. He said he could teach anyone: just dig a hole and put a seed in and cover it up, he said. Democrats are so out of touch that they do not know where their meals come from, they do not know how their private jets and limos are built and fueled. If they could wipe all of us Trump-supporting flyover-people off the map, they would. And that is exactly what their policies will do if we let them back in. Meanwhile, the man the Democrats hate the most, President Donald Trump, has brought the economy up and the unemployment rate down to historic lows. And the statistic the president is most proud of lowering is the African American unemployment rate to its best number since records have been kept. Trump has done what no other president ever accomplished. But if one of those Democrats on the debate stage takes office, they erase all those gains with the stroke of a pen. We cannot let that happen. I kicked off my campaign with a video highlighting advice my mom gave me in a recording before she died. If you have not seen it, go to YouTube and search for Brandon Batch: West Texas Changed My Life. It will take you less than 5 minutes. Just days ago, that video about my life, filmed here in Midland and Odessa, took the top national awards in the Oscars of American politics (you can tell it is not the actual Oscars because Republicans can win). My video won because it has an optimistic message about how you can accomplish anything if you believe in yourself and work hard. That is a Republican value, and it is the polar opposite of what democrats believe. Republican voters across our district share my conservative values and have allowed me to steadily move up through ranks 10 candidates to now be in the top two. With your continued support, I will move to the runoff after the March 3 primary. In that primary, I will continue to talk about how we must support the Constitution, defend the Second Amendment, protect innocent life, secure our borders and defend American free enterprise, like the oil and gas industry -- which made America energy independent and safe. I guess people say every election is historic. But this time, the Democrats leading presidential candidate is explicitly saying he is going to eliminate your job on his first day in office. We would be fools not to take him at his word So, I encourage you to vote. I encourage you to vote for me because I will expose the lie of the entire Democrat philosophy of government the very minute I walk on the House floor. And I will be a strong conservative voice for the people who keep America fed, and warm and economically strong. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Authorities allege that a 23-year-old man used graffiti to vandalize expressway underpasses, stores, a truck and other properties from the North to South shores of Staten Island. Dylan Farley, 23, of Seymour Avenue, Port Richmond, was arrested on Tuesday in connection with 10 incidents, according to police and the criminal complaint. Farley allegedly scrawled tags including NEZA and NZ at prominent locations throughout the borough from last April through February, and even targeted a restaurant on Christmas Day. Nearly all of the vandalism was committed under the cover of darkness, either late at night or before sunrise in the morning, according to the criminal complaint. The suspect allegedly used blue, black, yellow and white spray paint to mar two underpasses along the West Shore Expressway at Meredith Avenue and South Avenue in Travis on Feb. 4 around 5 a.m., according to the criminal complaint. A truck at Alfonzos Pastry Shoppe, 1899 Victory Blvd., Westerleigh, was defaced with black spray paint by Farley at about 3 a.m. on Jan. 16, according to the criminal complaint. White, orange, blue and black colors of spray paint were emblazoned by Farley on city Department of Sanitation dumpsters on Greaves Avenue in the vicinity of the Great Kills Little League around 12 a.m. on Jan. 10, according to the criminal complaint. Authorities claim that Farley sprayed yellow paint to damage the side wall of a storefront at 343 Broadway in West Brighton on Jan. 5 at about 10 p.m. White spray paint allegedly was used by the suspect to despoil a metal gate at Vincents Deli & Pizzeria at 500 Henderson Ave. on Dec. 25 at 12 a.m., according to the criminal criminal complaint. In the 2200 block of Richmond Avenue near Travis Avenue, Farley allegedly applied black spray paint to an electrical box on Dec. 22. Department of Transportation boxes allegedly were defaced on two occasions when white marker was doodled at Jewett and Ravenhurst avenues at around noon on Sept. 20, and on Port Richmond Avenue near Hooker Place on April 4. Farley allegedly sullied a metal roll-down gate for a convenience store at 927 Post Ave. on an undisclosed date. The suspect has been charged with 10 counts each of making graffiti and criminal mischief. He is on supervised release and due to appear in Criminal Court on Monday, according to public records. An attorney for the suspect did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Franck Iovene (Agence France-Presse) Rome, Italy Sun, February 23, 2020 18:06 689 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad20661c93e 2 Art & Culture rome,Italy,tomb,archeology,history,Romulus Free An ancient tomb thought to belong to Rome's founder Romulus was presented to the world on Friday, after months of investigation by history sleuths. The 6th century BC stone sarcophagus, with an accompanying circular altar, was discovered under the Forum in the heart of Italy's capital over a century ago -- but experts could not agree on whether or not it belonged to the fabled figure. According to legend, Romulus founded the city after killing his twin brother Remus. The brothers had been raised by a she-wolf -- the symbol of Rome shows them sucking at her teats -- but later fell out over where to build the new metropolis. Historians have long been divided not only over whether the pair actually existed, but if so where Romulus' body -- which was reportedly dismembered after his death by angry senators -- may have been buried. The tomb was found in the 19th century and was known to specialists at the time but was forgotten until new digs within the past year. The Colosseum Archaeological Park, which manages the Forum where the sarcophagus lies, said recent clues all pointed to it being the founder's tomb, in what it labelled an "extraordinary discovery". Still, archaeologists called for caution, saying it was impossible to scientifically confirm -- and no bones were found inside the sarcophagus. "It's only a suggestion based on ancient sources, all of which speak of the presence of the tomb of Romulus in this area of the Forum," Patrizia Fortini, who was charged with the dig, told AFP. "It's certainly an important monument. The shape of the chest reminds us of a memorial, a place of remembrance, but what it really was, we can't say." Read also: Like roads, many genetic lineages led to ancient Rome 'Rome's political birth' Romulus, made popular by writers such as Livy, Ovid and Plutarch, is said to have ploughed a square furrow around the Palatine Hill to demarcate the walls of the future city. When a mocking Remus hopped over the "wall" to prove how ineffective it would be against invaders, his brother killed him. A team of scientists carrying out a dig in the late 1980s discovered a long, deep gash marked by large stones, which they claimed was the "sacred furrow" ploughed by Romulus. Legend has it he went on to establish the Roman senate and rule as the city's first king for nearly 40 years, before disappearing into thin air one day while out inspecting his troops. Some versions of the tale have him taken up to heaven by the god of war but others have him brutally murdered by jealous senators, who tore him limb from limb and scattered his body parts across the city. There may have been no body to bury. In any case, Romulus acquired a cult following, making it more than plausible that the ancient city built a shrine to its beloved -- and possibly mythical -- founder. "Whether Romulus existed or not is not important," archaeologist Paolo Carafa told AFP. "What matters is that this figure is considered by the ancients to mark the political birth of the city." Topics : rome Italy tomb archeology history Romulus A Northern Ireland veteran killed himself after being quizzed by police as part of the legal witch-hunt into British troops. His death came as four elderly veterans were dragged before investigators over deaths during the Troubles in recent days, it can be revealed. Eddie Spud Murphy, of 1st battalion, Royal Highland Fusiliers, was blown up by the IRA during his Army service but survived. The father-of-three, 50, who also carried out a tour of Iraq, was found dead by his wife last Thursday. Veterans said his death came as he was being investigated over his actions by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). They said the threat of prosecution had left him feeling anxious and stressed. Last night his friends said the legal witch-hunt into British troops had to stop, with veterans saying their comrades were cracking up under the pressure. Eddie Spud Murphy, who was blown up by the IRA and also carried out a tour of Iraq, was found dead by his wife last Thursday at the age of 50 Last night his friends said the legal witch-hunt into British troops who served in the province had to stop, with veterans saying their comrades were cracking up under the pressure The Mail can reveal that four elderly NI veterans, understood to be in their 60s and 70s, have also been interviewed under caution in the last few days. The men, who served in the undercover Military Reaction Force in the 1970s, were quizzed over allegations of collusion with paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland. It comes after Boris Johnson signed off on new historical legacy unit that is expected to re-investigate all deaths during the troubles at the cost of as much as 350million. In the latest Stormont deal, the government pledged to set up the controversial Historical Investigations Unit (HIU) within 100 days to look into Troubles killings. The Prime Minister has said that he will protect troops from unfair prosecution but it is still unclear how. Defence minister Johnny Mercer has pledged to find a way to end the witch-hunt by mid-March. Experts say the HIU will take at least three years to set up and could run for over a decade, resulting in hundreds of veterans waiting years for a knock on the door. In the latest Stormont deal, the government pledged to set up the controversial Historical Investigations Unit (HIU) within 100 days to look into Troubles killings Andrew Sayers, who served in the army during the 70s in Northern Ireland said: This is the first case I know of where you can attribute legal action of being a cause of depression and suicide. You can see a clear cause and effect cycle here. Veterans who already have been investigated and cleared now see no end to their persecution but suicide. From their viewpoint they see no one they can turn to. They are just cracking up under the pressure of it. Their faith in the legal system has gone. Theyre on the edge. Mr Sayers, now an activist who is helping veterans facing prosecution, said: There are a lot of folks who are emotionally distraught and feeling very vulnerable. You just need to look at the suicides. Referring to the upcoming investigation by the HIU, he said: The scale of it is going to be vast, it will make Iraq look like nothing. He said that four veterans had been questioned under caution in the last two weeks over deaths in Northern Ireland during the 70s. The Government is facing calls to end a 'witch-hunt' against veterans, following the suicide of a Northern Ireland soldier whose actions during the Troubles were being investigated. Pictured: British soldiers on patrol in 1985 in Northern Ireland Mr Murphy, who worked for a water company after owning a taxi firm in Dorking, Surrey, had tried to kill himself 3 times before he took his own life last week, his friends said. They feared the pressure he felt at being investigated may have contributed to the tragedy. Ben Ejbili, one of his former employees, said: He was a lovely man. The kindest man you can ever meet. He had been a soldier in Northern Ireland and during the Gulf War. He was struggling with his army past but rarely talked about it. Everyone in Dorking loved Eddie. Former Colour Sergeant Trevor Coult said: Im hearing that he was suffering from anxiety and stress brought on by investigations into this service during the Troubles. Veterans who served during the Troubles are riddled with injuries and stress and putting them on trial is the same as making them relive the trauma over and over again and its got to stop. One of Mr Murphys friends said on Twitter: My friend took his life today. He served in N. Ireland, was blown up by the IRA and fortunate to survive. More recently he was subject to the historic inquiry witch-hunt. He tried to take his life 3 times before, this time he succeeded. A victim of the IRA. RIP Spud. He said his whole family served in the army, adding: This is so tragic. His daughter, Zoe Murphy-Fawcett, posted on social media: Thank you to everyone for your kind words on this incredibly hard day. My family and I are so thankful. Rest in peace at last dad, I love you, always. One former veteran who served with him tweeted: I was proud to know and serve with you Spud Murphy. A young, dedicated soldier. He added: End the witch-hunt of veterans. Another added: This needs to stop. My dad was there on that (Bloody) Sunday in Ireland. And I dont want these witch-hunts spreading further and further. This needs to stop. Johnny Mercer, the veterans minister, wrote on Twitter to offer his condolences and promised the Government was working quickly to protect British soldiers from being forced through trials decades after serving their country Ken Funston of victims group SEFF, whose brother was murdered in 1984, by the IRA, said that the current body looking into the Troubles the Legacy Investigations Branch had spent two years investigating the actions of the MRF. Its no surprise that four have been questioned under caution, he said. It was alleged that soldiers from the undercover unit, disbanded in 1973, used by the British army killed unarmed civilians. The MRF consisted of about 40 men handpicked from across the British army and they were plain-clothed soldiers carrying out round-the-clock patrols of west Belfast. They were tasked with hunting down IRA members but it was alleged they shot unarmed civilians. Mr Funston said: The worry is, what is next? A number of people have been investigated again and again and again. That is why it is vexatious as there have been so many knocks on the door. When is it going to stop? He questioned whether the money set aside for legacy investigations will be fairly used and proportionally investigate deaths at the hands of terrorists. NI veteran, Charlie, who served in the Royal Engineers in the 70s, has set up a local veterans community group which has helped dozens of Northern Ireland veterans. He said: If they were involved in a firefight then they are worried (about getting a knock on the door). That worry gets in amongst everything else in their heads and youve got nightmares, panic attacks just because youve served Queen and country. The 69-year-old, who has not been quizzed by the police yet but will rip up any letter he gets through the door, said he had tried to commit suicide twice. He said: I still have nightmares now. We were shot and we were bombed. I can still feel the heat that came through vehicle when the bomb went off. He said given what he and his comrades dealt with, he felt disgusted at their treatment now. Defence minister Johnny Mercer tweeted: I am aware of this, and my heart goes out to this individual and his family. This Prime Minister has promised legislation to end vexatious and repeated prosecution of veterans without new evidence. He tasked me to do it. By 18th March. And we will. A spokesman from the PSNI said they did not comment on named individuals. For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123, visit a local branch or go to www.samaritans.org In his Nevada victory speech, Bernie promised that all Americans will pay for Democrat mistakes, subsidizing not only citizens but also illegal aliens. Milton Friedman, who was so focused on economics that he forgot that nations need a shared culture to function, believed open borders represented the free flow of both financial and human capital. Friedman, however, drew a single bright line when it came to open borders --no welfare: Immigration is a particularly difficult subject. There is no doubt that free and open immigration is the right policy in a libertarian state, but in a welfare state it is a different story: the supply of immigrants will become infinite. Your proposal that someone only be able to come for employment is a good one but it would not solve the problem completely. The real hitch is in denying social benefits to the immigrants who are here. That is very hard to do, much harder than you would think as we have found out in California. Bernie Sanders has no time for that economic reality: Bernie Sanders: illegal immigrants are "entitled" to the same government benefits as citizenshttps://t.co/5kIzM6tsHb pic.twitter.com/8bPchYM7nM RNC Research (@RNCResearch) February 22, 2020 Today we got 500,000 people sleeping out on the streets of America. Today we have 18 million families paying 50% of their limited incomes for housing. Today we have hundreds of thousands of bright young people who cannot afford to get a higher education. Today we have 45 million paying a student debt that many of them cannot afford to pay. So, what our campaign is about and what our administration will be about is rethinking America, understanding that all of our people when I say all, I also mean the undocumented in this country that all of our people are entitled to basic human rights. Democrats once understood that illegal aliens depress working-class wages. Thats why Democrats used to oppose open borders. In 1974, even Bernie sang a different song about illegal laborers: The Vermont senator and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, as a gadfly political candidate in 1974, railed against the presence of 351 Jamaican guest workers in his state's apple orchards, which were seeing a record harvest. For socialist Sanders, then 33, the situation supported his contention that businesses were yet again selling out U.S. residents in favor of cheap labor. [snip] Back in 1974, Sanders's rhetorical target was local orchard owners. Vermonters, in their view, were unwilling to do the grueling work, which involved carrying around a ladder and heavy bucket of apples for eight hours a day. The orchard owners said that Jamaicans had more flexibility and experience in agricultural work. Unlike native Vermonters, they were under no expectation of permanent employment. [snip] "With the Vermont unemployment rate one of the highest in the nation, I could never support importing foreign workers when our own people are out of work," said Sanders, who was collecting unemployment insurance at the time. Bernie has changed his tune, as have all the other Democrats who once opposed open borders, because they need new voters especially voters escaping disastrous socialist economies in pursuit of better, more profitable socialism. That may not be their express mindset but many of them, given the chance to vote, whether legally or illegally, are drawn to socialism. Whats most pernicious about Bernies promises is that hes forcing all Americans to pay for failed Democrat policies. Rental housing stock in Democrat strongholds is expensive because they embraced rent control and impaired landlords' abilities to evict non-paying tenants. Housing stock in Democrat-run regions is expensive because of restrictive zoning and insane limitations in service to anthropogenic climate change. The homeless are multiplying on the streets because Democrats invite them in by providing them with free food, free drugs, and the promise that they wont be harassed or arrested because of their anti-social behavior. Democrats also pushed to close the institutions that once housed the severely mentally ill, leaving them on the streets. (Watch the following video only if you have a strong stomach.) Higher education is more expensive because Democrat-run colleges have drastically increased their institutions administrative employees while leaving the same number of teachers. These costly administrative increases are all in service to diversity mania. And finally, speaking of higher education, students voluntarily take on this debt. No one makes them acquire $300,000 in debt at a university with an endowment bigger than the GDP of foreign countries in order to acquire a degree in LGBTQ puppetry. Lori Vallow, also known as Lori Daybell, the mother of two Idaho children missing since September, was arrested in Hawaii on Feb. 20, 2020. (Kauai Police Department) Mother of Missing Idaho Kids Arrested in Hawaii, Held on $5 Million Bail Lori Vallow, the woman wanted by Idaho authorities in connection to the disappearance of two children, was arrested in Hawaii, officials announced. The 46-year-old was arrested by the Kauai Police Department on a warrant that was issued out of Madison County, Idaho. Her bail is set at $5 million. She was wanted in the disappearance of 7-year-old son Joshua JJ Vallow and 17-year-old Tylee Ryan, and, according to a probable cause affidavit, Vallow had allegedly instructed a friend to lie about the boy staying with her in Arizona, KTVB reported. First of all, we wish to thank the public for the massive outpouring of concern regarding this case, Kauai Chief of Police Todd G. Raybuck said in a statement. We also want to thank everyone for their patience while investigators worked diligently to comprehensively gather everything they needed in order to obtain this arrest warrant. Rexburg Police Detective Ron Ball said he and another detective spoke to Vallow on Nov. 26. She told them that JJ was staying in Gilbert, Arizona, with a friend, Melanie Gibb. JJ Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 17, were last seen in September. (Rexburg Police Department) Gibb eventually contacted the police department on Dec. 6 and said Vallow and her husband, Chad Daybell, called her and asked her to lie about JJ staying with her. This further establishes that the statement made to law enforcement by Lori Vallow on November 26, 2019 was false and that Lori Vallow knew it was false, Ball wrote. Vallow is facing multiple charges, including desertion and nonsupport of dependent children, said police. She appeared at a court hearing on Feb. 21 in Kauai and is due back in court on March 2 before shes expected to be extradited to Idaho, ABC News reported. A police affidavit also said that police found no evidence or verification of anyone providing for the housing, food, clothing, education, or medical care for the children since around September, ABC reported. Tylee and JJ were last seen in September. JJs grandmother was the first to report him missing on Nov. 25, prompting authorities to perform a welfare check on the child. Police then executed search warrants at three apartments that were connected to the case, Fox News reported. JJ was last seen attending Kennedy Elementary School in Rexburg on Sept. 23 before Vallow took her son out of class, saying she would homeschool him. Tylee Ryan was last seen on surveillance footage near the entrance of Yellowstone National Park, Fox reported. JJ is described as a white male with brown hair and brown eyes, standing at around 40 and weighing 50 pounds. Tylee is described as a white female with blonde hair and blue eyes, standing at 50 and weighing about 160 pounds. FCA India, which had a runaway success with its sole locally made SUV Jeep Compass launched in July 2017 but has tapered off the momentum since then, is "very serious with its operations here" and will produce two-three models from the Ranjangaon facility near Pune, Maharashtra, from next year. The American company will also shortly bring its iconic brand Wrangler Rubicon to the domestic market as early as this quarter, a top company official has said. Playing on the pricing side and technology, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles had launched its fully-locally made Jeep Compass in July 2017 with a starting price of Rs 14.95 lakh, and the vehicle became so popular that within 10 months, the company recovered its investment of USD 250 million from Jeep sales, a first for any foreign auto brand here and especially for an American brand as both their other US brands GM and Ford have failed miserably twice here. Today, over 50,000 Jeep Compasses are plying on roads, while the company has also shipped as many as 17,000 units to around 15 key right-hand drive markets, including Britain, Japan and Australia. "We are very serious with our operations here. We consider the current fall in the volume as a blip and we are very sure it will pass. The headquarters are very happy with us. We have had a huge success and are sure to repeat it again here," Datta told PTI in an interview. On the need for more models, which is critical for the volume game, Datta said, "We fully understand to be more successful we need more models which, so far, we could not have. So, beginning next year, we will have more than two more Jeep models being rolled out from the Ranjangaon facility." FCA has seen its volume plunge by around 30 per cent from its 2018 peak, as consumers have been in a wait-and-watch mode for almost two years now due to the rash of regulatory changes on one hand, and banks and NBFCs have been keeping away from the market for too long now. The USD 3-million industry, primarily entry models-driven, as a whole has seen the volume plunge almost 9 per cent so far this year. Despite the drop, they are still selling 900-1,000 units a month, he added, and so is exports. Whether the company will look at rolling in any luxury hatchbacks and sedans here, Datta answered in the negative saying they "want to be an SUV-only brand in the foreseeable future", as he believes that the future of premium SUVs is bright here. "We are committed to stay in India for long and we are looking at every spoke in the wheel to ensure we are successful again and the headquarters is willing to invest hundreds of millions of dollars more to build our business here," said Datta, who took over the India operations last September, and an FCA veteran having spent over two decades at its global operations. Apart from launching more models, FCA is also widening its reach, which is 17 full-fledged sales centres and 80 mini centres now, he said adding that another area they are working on building the brand is focusing on merchandise and accessories. On bringing in Wrangler Rubicon, which will be priced upwards of Rs 72 lakh, he said, "The demand for the iconic Rubicon is so high that we are already sold out for months." From its CBU (completely built units) stable, the Jeep Wrangler has been the best-seller among all accounting for 67 per cent of the volume, since its entry into the domestic market in August 2016. On the transition to BS-VI, Datta said that as of the first week of February, the entire range of the Jeep Compass has been moved to the new emission norms and that they have no inventory issue with the BS-IV models at all. The BS-VI Compass comes at a higher price tag of 5-7 per cent or Rs 25,000-1,10,000 depending on the model, he said. In June 2019, FCA rolled out the first BS-VI powertrain for both its petrol and diesel variants. Currently, the demand is more for diesel AMT (automatic manual transmission) models. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Group has been around the globe for the past seven decades, designing, engineering, manufacturing and selling brands like the Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Fiat Professional, Jeep, Lancia, Ram, and SRT and the luxury Maserati. In the components sector, it operates through Teksid and Comau, and in after-sales services, under the Mopar brand name. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The impeachment and trial of Donald Trump has come and gone. In an age of instantaneous news and opinion, that's not surprising. But now's the time to reflect and see if anyone learned anything. The first lesson is that being a vile person, and a serial liar, are not grounds for conviction in an impeachment trial. A great deal of the intensity of feeling on the left comes from Trump's awful and dishonest behavior, and it was and is both things. Removal from office isn't the remedy for that, any more than niceness and honesty are shields for high crimes and misdemeanors. The second lesson is that the law and evidence at trial was not as strong as it should have been. The charge stemming from Trump's treatment of Ukraine came down to whether he illegally withheld military aid approved by the Congress. That was probably but not certainly a convictable offense, But compared to Nixon's abuses of power using the FBI, CIA, IRS, bribery and more, it was thin soup, constitutionally. And the evidence itself was skimpy largely because Trump refused to let Congress see the proof. What would have happened if the House had enforced its subpoenas before impeaching him? He would have had to produce better evidence or contemptuously refuse to do so. Either way his transgressions would have been clearer. The third lesson is that Congress has lost its way as a check and balance on executive power, especially the Senate. The decision to refuse to call witnesses, specifically John Bolton, was dereliction of duty and left the process and the American people without a full record. Even if senators concluded that what Trump did was bad, but not convictable, they had an obligation to hear all the evidence. The Senate set a precedent that will haunt the nation. The fourth lesson is that Trump thinks the verdict empowers him to continue the vile behavior, the lies, and the abuses of power. Put aside the attacks on Justice Department career employees, or the regular fabrications that we now tolerate. The pardons are a terrifying preview of what's to come. I have no objection to sentence reductions, for the powerful and unpowerful alike. Incarceration is overused. But the choice of Rod Blagojevich, Michael Milken, Bernard Kerik and several others shows a presidential sympathy for bribery and other economic crimes that cannot be supported. In themselves, the pardons are awful. As a prelude to pardons for Roger Stone, Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort or other Trump-related criminals, they are scary indeed. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. The fifth lesson is nothing new. The American political system is the final arbiter of grand questions of law and democratic norms. For all the distortions of wealth and social media, we will determine what is acceptable and what is not. For over two centuries, that system has functioned reasonably well. It may not survive 2020. Richard Brodsky is a former state Assembly member. CHICAGO Illinois State Police are investigating a shooting reported early Sunday morning on I-94 northbound at 79th Street. Police responded to the call of a shooting at 12:12 a.m. Sunday and found an abandoned vehicle and property damage at the scene, according to an ISP news release. Police believe multiple people fled from the abandoned car. Officers later interviewed two victims at an area hospital who told police they were involved in an expressway shooting, according to the release. A male driver and female passenger sustained non-life threatening injuries from apparent gunshot wounds, police said. All northbound lanes of the Dan Ryan Expressway were closed for investigation between 79th and 76th streets between 12:39 a.m. and 3:14 a.m., police said. No suspects have been taken into custody, according to the news release, as ISP continues to investigate. The authorities were on Sunday forced to suspend Internet services in Aligarh after four people, including two police personnel, were injured in clashes between anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protesters and police amid incidents of arson and stone-throwing. District magistrate Chandra Bhushan Singh said police fired teargas shells to disperse a mob for indulging in vandalisation of property and throwing stones at security personnel. He added the internet services were suspended as a precautionary measure. Singh said the violence broke out when police were trying to evict some women protestors holding a sit-in. We told them that women protestors were already holding a protest at Eidgah and they would not be permitted to hold another such protest near Kotwali, said Singh. He added even as efforts were underway to convince the women to leave the area, the stone-throwing started. Singh said an electricity department transformer was set afire but police managed to douse the flames before they could spread. He described the situation as tense but under control. An intense patrolling of the affected areas is underway and the police are trying to trace out those who were instigating the women protestors... News agency Press Trust of India said a 22-year-old mans father and brother told police that he suffered bullet injury when a miscreant fired amid the clashes between police and protesters. Tariq, the 22-year-old, was admitted to a hospital, where doctors described his condition as serious. The clashes broke out shortly after a Bhim Army-led march by hundreds of anti-CAA protesters heading to the district collectorate earlier were stopped midway by police and Rapid Action Force. Stopped by police, the protesters headed towards the Eidgah area in the city, where another group of anti-CAA women protestors had been holding an indefinite sit-in. As the Bhim Army-led protestors, including women, were stopped by police from moving ahead after they crossed over the Katpula Bridge from the old city, they joined women protesters in the Eidgah area. The protesters had taken out the march on a call by Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar. Aligarhs senior police superintendent, Rajmuni, earlier told journalists that following the abortive march, a First Information Report has been lodged against three people for trying to violate prohibitory orders and breach of peace. He added he was monitoring the situation arising out of the anti-CAA protests. The CAA was passed in December to fast-track the citizenship process for non-Muslims, who have entered India from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh before 2015. It has triggered protests across the country. Opponents of the law insist it is discriminatory and unconstitutional as it leaves out the Muslims and links faith to citizenship in a secular country. They say it could result in the expulsion or detentions of the Muslims unable to provide the documentation if the law is seen in the context of a proposed pan-India National Register of Citizens. (With Agency Inputs) SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Ritwika Mitra By NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has found that allocations to beneficiaries of schemes meant for the Scheduled Castes are fragmented in the absence of a database, resulting in underutilisation of funds. It has now started a phase-wise review of the Development Action Plan for SCs (DAPSC) under which ministries allocate funds for SCs. There is a need to maintain database of SC beneficiaries across schemes for monitoring and output... The review so far has observed that PM-Kisan scheme has benefitted SC farmers, Social Justice and Empowerment Secretary R Subrahmanyam said. The allocation for many schemes was being made on notional basis and it would not have any credible impact, the ministry said. The database of the SC beneficiaries in various schemes is not being maintained, and expenditure is being booked under DAPSC based on the SC population. It is essential that this database is maintained for proper monitoring of the outputs and outcomes, according to the minutes of the February 20 meeting. The animal husbandry and dairying department should stop the existing system of making notional allocation, it recommended. Instead, a sub-scheme may be formulated under the National Plan for Dairy Development by forming dairy cooperatives in each state for SC farmers to benefit directly. Another recommendation said the fisheries department needs additional allocation for focussed approach. Ten districts would be identified for innovative interventions to benefit SC households. The ministry recommended the department of agricultural research and education to improve the productivity of land. Police have traced the brother of a 35-year-old online trader who allegedly killed himself after strangling his wife and two children at their rented apartment in Taloja. They have also sent tissue samples of all four deceased to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), Kalina to confirm the cause of death. The bodies of the trader, his 30-year-old wife and their daughter aged eight, and son aged seven, were discovered in a decomposed state on Saturday. Police suspect the family died on or after January 2, as the two children had attended school on that day. We sent tissue and bone samples to the Kalina Forensic Science Laboratory, and collected other pieces of evidence from the house. However, the autopsies of the bodies have not revealed much. We will record statements of their neighbours for more clues, said Kashinath Chavan, senior inspector at Taloja police station. Police officers traced the traders younger brother in Delhi with the help of the Delhi Police. Police will record the brothers statement upon his arrival in Navi Mumbai as it may reveal if the deceased was going through financial duress or personal issues. The deaths came to light after the landlord of the flat, where the family lived since September 2019, visited the apartment to collect pending rent for the past two months. The landlord had sent reminders to the mans phone on the eighth of both the months, but they were not marked seen. The deceaseds last last seen status was dated December 28. His profile picture on the app was also disturbing. It had an image depicting Death asking a last wish with a response saying, You are Late. They [the family] barely interacted with anyone except for courteous greetings. The occupants of the other three apartments on their floor did not smell anything [decomposing bodies] as they [the neighbours] would remain outside almost all day, the chairman of the housing society said. The society also checked footages of the 48 CCTV cameras but found no clues as the system keeps a backup of only 15 days. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Workers wearing protective suits spray disinfectant as a precaution against the coronavirus at a market in Bupyeong, South Korea, Monday, Feb. 24, 2020. South Korea reported another large jump in new virus cases Monday a day after the the president called for "unprecedented, powerful" steps to combat the outbreak that is increasingly confounding attempts to stop the spread. (Lee Jong-chul/Newsis via AP) Read more The coronavirus is a body blow to the Chinese economy, which will soon be felt across the globe. Our economy is more insulated from the impact of the virus, but it is not immune. On one level, this is difficult to understand. About 75,000 mostly Chinese have been infected by the virus and more than 2,000 have died. This is wrenching for the sick and their families, but it barely registers compared with the millions that are infected and tens of thousands that die here in the U.S. each year from common influenza. How is it that COVID-19, as it has been officially named, is doing so much economic damage? The virus first struck at the end of last year in Wuhan, China, a region of 11 million people. While modest in size for China, that is more than the population of New York City. Many global manufacturers have operations in Wuhan, and it is a major Chinese transportation and distribution hub. Wuhan is literally locked down as it grapples with the virus. Few are working. To get a sense of scale, consider what would happen to the U.S. economy if all of Illinois were out of commission. Activity in much of the rest of China has been severely disrupted. Exacerbating the pandemonium is that most Chinese were away visiting family for the Lunar New Year holiday when the virus took hold and have been unable to get back home. Schools are also closed, and it will be difficult for workers to get back on the job until the schools reopen. Chinese officials will also most certainly prefer to err on the side of caution when re-opening schools and other facilities rather than risk reigniting the outbreak. Although China appears to be slowly reopening for business, it will take weeks if not months to get back to full speed. And this assumes the virus plays out by the summer as virologists are cautiously expecting, given the trajectory the similar SARS virus took nearly 20 years ago. While the SARS pandemic made front-page news, it had little impact on the global economy. Not so with COVID-19, whose economic fallout is already widespread. China was a bit player in the global economy when SARS hit. Today, it is an economic powerhouse. China is the second largest global economy after the U.S., accounting for one-sixth of everything produced on the planet. Chinese business travel and tourism have all but stopped; global airlines and cruise lines are not going to China. This is a huge problem for major travel destinations, including here at home. About three million Chinese tourists come to the U.S. each year, and they are among the biggest spenders of any foreign tourists. Retailers in New York City, Miami and San Francisco are already feeling it. Shuttered Chinese factories are also a problem for countries and companies fastened into Chinas manufacturing supply chain. Apple, Nike and General Motors are some prominent examples. Shortages of some goods will likely result this spring, meaning higher prices for things we buy at Walmart and on Amazon. U.S. exports to China will suffer, given slumping Chinese demand. China is supposed to ramp up its imports of U.S. products as part of the so-called Phase One trade deal signed by the two countries late last year. How much the Chinese would actually purchase from the U.S. was already an open question. Given COVID-19, it is even more questionable. Because China is the biggest buyer of many of the worlds commodities, including oil, copper, soybeans and pork, and will be buying a lot less of these and many other things, prices are slumping. We will pay less at the gas pump, which is a plus, but it will be hard on the energy, mining and agricultural industries. Global businesses already have a lot to grapple with. There is the ongoing trade war with China, Brexit, and the economic policy implications of the fast-approaching U.S. presidential election. COVID-19 is now another on their long list of concerns, making it even more likely that already cautious business executives will continue to sit on new investment and expansion plans. Stock and bond investors have largely shrugged off the risks, so far. This may change quickly once companies begin reporting what the virus has done to their sales and profits. With stock prices trading near record highs, investors dont appear ready for bad news from the companies they are invested in. COVID-19 came out of nowhere. It may be what economists call a black swan a rare and inherently unforeseeable event with severe consequences. The admirable global effort to contain the virus is reason to be optimistic that this black swan wont fly. However, given the fragility of the global economy before the virus was even on the scene, it is prudent to be prepared if it does. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio came out swinging against Pete Buttigieg on Saturday night after the former South Bend, Indiana, mayor sharply attacked Sen. Bernie Sanders following the Nevada caucuses. Shortly after the Nevada caucuses were called for Sanders on Saturday, Buttigieg warned Democrats to take a sober look at whats at stake before we rush to nominate Sen. Sanders. Buttigieg also attacked Sanders as the leader of an inflexible ideological revolution that leaves out most Democrats. We can prioritize either ideological purity or inclusive victory. We can either call people names online or we can call them into our movement. We can either tighten a narrow and hardcore base or open the tent to a new, broad, big-hearted American coalition. Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) February 23, 2020 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement De Blasio, who endorsed Sanders earlier this month, was having none of it and called on the former mayor to show a bit of humility. And hey @PeteButtigieg, try to not be so smug when you just got your ass kicked. You know how we form a winning coalition to beat Trump? With a true multi-racial coalition of working Americans: something @BernieSanders has proven he can do + you havent, De Blasio tweeted. Dude, show some humility. Buttigiegs speech in Nevada amounted to his sharpest attack against Sanders yet and appeared to mark an effort by the former mayor to try to make the Democratic primary a two-man race, notes Politico. But Buttigieg spoke before it was clear by just how large of a margin Sanders won in Nevada. With 60 percent of precincts reporting, Sanders obtained 46 percent of the vote while former Vice President Joe Biden was a distant second place with 19.6 percent and Buttigieg with 15.3 percent. Google is now officially warning against sideloading Google services, the Play Store and other well-known Google apps on newer Honor and Huawei smartphones. While the announcement only affects those handsets that Google has not certified because of ongoing US sanctions, like the Mate 30 Pro, Honor and Huawei are planning to announce new smartphones in the coming days and weeks. Hence, you should be aware that Google is probably not an option on these upcoming handsets. 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 Google is apparently bombarded by people asking about how to install GMS on newer Honor and Huawei smartphones. If you are unaware, Honor and Huawei smartphones that have been released after May 16, 2019 do not come pre-installed with any Google apps. This applies to all regions. There are some exceptions to this, like the Honor 9X and the refreshed P30 Pro, but these were certified before US sanctions took effect. We should point out that GMS will continue to work on existing Honor and Huawei smartphones like the View 20 or P30 series, for example. Huawei has confirmed that these devices will still receive OS upgrades, too. While there have been multiple workarounds to bring Google Play Services, the Google Play Store and Gmail to devices like the Mate 30 Pro in recent months, Google remained quiet on the matter. Now, it has now stated the Android Help Community, and is actively warning against sideloading GMS onto uncertified handsets. In short, Google stresses that individuals cannot guarantee that sideloaded APKs have not been tampered with in some way. These could have been enriched with malware, for example. Uncertified devices will lack Google Play Protect certification too, which will present problems when installing certain apps. You may encounter SafetyNet issues with services like Pokemon Go and Google Pay, too. Theoretically, individual handsets can be Google Play Protect certified. However, it remains to be seen whether Google will allow this, or if it will eventually block this method of bringing Google Play Protect certification to devices like the Mate 30 Pro. Only a few handsets are currently affected by this issue. However, Huawei and Honor are both due to bring new smartphones to Europe in the coming days and weeks. Honor has teased the 9X Pro and View 30 series, for example, while it is already known that Huawei will unveil the P40 and P40 Pro soon. None of these will be certified by Google, so there is no official route to installing GMS. This applies to apps that rely-on GMS or are exclusive to the Google Play Store, too. The Global Educational Supplies and Solutions (GESS), the worlds leading education show, will feature more than 50 product launches when it opens this week in Dubai, UAE, said event organisers. The launches will cover a broad spectrum of products and solutions - from gadgets and devices to learning solutions, as well as traditional school, lab equipment and learning gears that are all designed to make teaching and learning more effective. There will also be a proliferation of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augment Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) products that highlight the most recent developments in these exciting fields that are geared toward education. GESS is a UAE-home grown brand that has become so successful weve expanded it to key education markets around the world, said Matt Thompson, project director, Tarsus, organisers of the event, scheduled on February 25-27 at the Dubai World Trade Centre. This region has remained attractive for education-focused companies, added Thompson. The Dubai show is part of GESS global portfolio of education conferences and exhibitions that includes Indonesia and Turkey as well as summits in Africa. The show is being held in partnership with the UAEs Ministry of Education. It is also supported by the Ministry of Education Bahrain, Ministry of Education Saudi Arabia, Arab Bureau of Education for Gulf States (ABEGS), British Schools in the Middle East (BSME) and Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) as Knowledge Partner. GESS Dubai has become the premier platform for doing business in the education sector in the Middle East, enabling companies and brand to showcase their products and solutions to key decision makers from schools through to colleges and universities. In addition to its exhibition component, GESS Dubai will be featuring over 300 free of charge and CPD-certified workshops and presentations from world leading experts in education, technology, leadership and training, neuroscience and others. Hussain Ibrahim Al Hammadi, the UAE Minister of Education, will be delivering the welcome remarks to kick off the conference, headlined by an impressive line-up of keynote speakers, this years edition of GESS Dubai will be highlighted by game-changers who are looking to transform the teaching and learning experiences in schools throughout the region. Expo 2020 Dubai will also be on the spotlight as Marjan Faraidooni, chief pavilions and exhibitions officer, presents the immersive journeys that students can visit at the site in what she says will be the school trip of a lifetime. TradeArabia News Service The NHS is introducing drive-through coronavirus tests where people are checked for the disease from the comfort of their car, as part of efforts to ease pressure on hospitals. The method is being rolled out alongside home testing, where NHS staff, including nurses and paramedics, will visit people in their own homes. It comes as dozens of evacuees from coronavirus-stricken cruise ship the Diamond Princess begin their two-week quarantine in the UK. St Thomas' Hospital in London. The NHS is introducing drive-through coronavirus tests to ease pressure on hospitals The new 'drive thru' scheme will be launched in central London and involves those getting tested for the virus to drive to designated health centre car parks, where nurses in full Hazmat suits will be able to swab people through the car window. The Central London Community Healthcare NHS trust will launch the scheme from Monday. If successful, it will be rolled out more widely across the UK. Only patients referred by NHS 111 will be sent to the drive thru service, with potential patients thought to be seriously ill excluded, the Telegraph reports. Security outside the buildings at Arrowe Park Hospital, where passengers that have been repatriated to the UK from a cruise ship hit by the coronavirus in Yokohama, Japan, will be quarantined for 14 days to protect against the spread of the illness Staff in high-visibility jackets at the facility at Arrowe Park Hospital on Merseyside The initiative was formed following concerns that hospitals could become overwhelmed by the number of people getting tested for the disease. The NHS has carried out 6,152 tests of the coronavirus. Meanwhile the number of confirmed cases in the UK sits at nine. Meanwhile evacuees from the Diamond Princess cruise ship begin their two-week quarantine in the UK and are settling in at an accommodation block at Arrowe Park hospital on the Wirral - their home for the next 14 days. The group - reportedly made up of 30 Britons and two Irish nationals - will undergo regular health checks while in quarantine. Meanwhile, a group who have spent the past two weeks holed up in a centre in Milton Keynes are due to be allowed home on Sunday. British Diamond Princess evacuees arrive at Boscombe Down airfield on a repatriation flight from Tokyo on February 22 Around 150 people, who arrived in the UK on February 9 on an evacuation flight from the virus-hit Chinese city of Wuhan, have been staying at the Kents Hill Park training and conference centre. They too will have been regularly tested and as of Saturday afternoon the Department of Health said no new cases of coronavirus had been detected in the UK. All of those who arrived at Arrowe Park tested negative to having Covid-19 before flying back to the UK on a repatriation flight. The four Britons on board the Diamond Princess who have recently tested positive for coronavirus were not on the flight. More than 78,000 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed across the world, the majority of which are in China. World Health Organisation statistics on Saturday showed there had been more than 2,400 deaths in China and 11 elsewhere. (Newser) South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Sunday he was putting his country on code "Red," its highest alert for infectious diseases, and ordered officials to take unprecedented, powerful steps to fight the coronavirus outbreak that has infected more than 600 people in the country, mostly in the last few days. The step was last taken in 2009. Under the alert, authorities can order the temporary closure of schools and reduce public transportation and flights to and from South Korea. Moon said that the outbreak has reached a crucial watershed, and that the next few days will be critical. We shouldnt be bound by regulations and hesitate to take unprecedented, powerful measures, he said. South Korea announced 169 more cases of the virus, bringing the countrys total to 602. The country also reported three more fatalities, raising its death toll to six. Elsewhere, per the AP: story continues below In Italys northern Lombardy region, which includes the nations financial capital, Milan, the governor announced Sunday that the number of confirmed cases in the region stood at 89. Italy now has 132 cases, including two deaths. Venice, which is full of tourists for Carnival events, reported its first two cases, said Veneto Gov. Luca Zaia, whose region includes the lagoon city. Mainland China reported 648 new infections for a total of 76,936. The daily death toll fell slightly to 97. In all, 2,442 people have died. The number of new Chinese cases has seesawed daily but has remained under 1,000 for the past four days. The central Chinese city of Wuhan and other parts of Hubei province, where the outbreak first emerged in December, remain under lockdown. More than 80% of the country's cases are in Hubei, where the death toll has also been higher than in the rest of the nation. Meanwhile, a diplomatic row erupted after Israel turned back a Korean Air flight with 188 passengers that landed at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport Saturday evening after authorities allowed only 11 Israelis to enter the country. The plane returned to South Korea with the rest on Sunday. Seouls Foreign Ministry said it was closely monitoring the incident and providing active consular assistance to South Koreans in Israel. (Read more coronavirus stories.) Wall Street giant Morgan Stanley stunned global markets with its $13billion (10billion) takeover of online broker E*Trade last week. Naturally, the City rumour mill went into overdrive and financiers, brokers and fund managers wondered who might be next. Could one of the other big banks possibly be interested in buying British fund supermarket Hargreaves Lansdown, given it is the biggest online player in the UK? Hargreaves Lansdown is the biggest online platform for investing in the UK If a Barclays or Goldman Sachs does decide to make a swoop they might run into a brick wall in the form of Peter Hargreaves, the company's founder who is no longer on the board but still its largest shareholder. Asked whether the company could be a takeover target, Hargreaves said 'it depends on price'. But Hargreaves, 73, who still has a 24 per cent stake after cashing in millions earlier this month, added: 'I can't see why I would be tempted to sell my stake. I'm not sure I would be that keen on seeing Hargreaves Lansdown acquired as I would quite like to have my name on a FTSE 100 company in perpetuity.' That sounds rather like it would be a tough sell. While Serco may start paying dividends again, others fear for Hammerson's shareholder payout. On Friday, the owner of the Bullring in Birmingham sold its out-of-town retail parks for 455million to pay off debt. Rival shopping centre owner Intu faces its own crisis as it struggles to raise 1 billion. But could Hammerson go one step further this week? Scribblers at Peel Hunt think the company could take the axe to the dividend to preserve its cash. They said: 'We see this as a prudent and necessary step as the business continues to navigate its way through the changing retail landscape.' Shares in AB Dynamics, the AIM-listed car testing company, have slammed into reverse since its annual results at the end of November. The slump was caused by concerns about falling margins and prompted a raft of downgrades to forecasts for this year. Now, it appears the hedge funds are hoping for further pain. Lombard Odier and JP Morgan have become the first investors to take out major bets against AB Dynamics' shares. The short positions a way of profiting from share price falls are worth just over 5million based on the company's 460million market value. Outsourcer Serco hasn't paid a dividend for six years. But could the dry spell for investors be about to end? Speculation has been mounting that after years of hunkering down, Serco, which runs prisons, could unveil a dividend alongside Wednesday's annual results. UBS's number-crunchers think the time might be right. 'Having not paid a dividend since 2014, we believe Serco could restart a small payout with the 2019 results,' they speculated. It would be good news at last for Serco's loyal shareholders who have stuck by the company through the electronic tagging scandal and emergency fundraise. Think of Gandhi ready to embrace death to nurse 23 poor freed indentured labour living in ghettoes, who were hardly likely to survive Think of Gandhi, a 35-year-old young man with a wife and several children, ready to embrace death to nurse 23 poor freed indentured labour living in ghettoes, who were hardly likely to survive. Think of the moral influence he exerted, which inspired other young men to rush to nurse the dying men at the risk of losing their own lives. And ,in 1904 , Gandhi had not become a Mahatma. He was a failed barrister in India, who had gone to help Indian businessmen for making a living. It was his humanity which made this ordinary, conservative Hindu evolve into a great human being in history. Gandhiji used to nurse lepers when there was no treatment for the disease. It was a highly contagious disease, which was also considered a stigma. --- *Former national president, People's Union for Civil Liberties. Source: Author's Facebook timeline There was no treatment for plague and death was a certainty .When plague struck a locality,the villages or towns were deserted and the people shifted to hutments erected far away to escape almost certain death. But if one was infected, death was inescapable.Think of Gandhi, a 35-year-old young man with a wife and several children, ready to embrace death to nurse 23 poor freed indentured labour living in ghettoes, who were hardly likely to survive.Think of the moral influence he exerted, which inspired other young men to rush to nurse the dying men at the risk of losing their own lives. And ,in 1904 , Gandhi had not become a Mahatma. He was a failed barrister in India, who had gone to help Indian businessmen for making a living.It was his humanity which made this ordinary, conservative Hindu evolve into a great human being in history. Gandhiji used to nurse lepers when there was no treatment for the disease. It was a highly contagious disease, which was also considered a stigma.--- The worldwide panic following the outbreak of coronavirus has further strengthened my belief that Gandhiji was one of the greatest human beings in human history like Christ and Buddha. He was so great not because of his politics or political ideology but his great humanity. Pakistan is not bringing back her citizens from China fearing an outbreak in the country. Thousands are not being allowed to disembark from the ships coming from China. Anyone returning from China to his country is being quarantined and tested to ascertain whether s/he is infected .The precaution is legitimate for savings others from infection and death.But the worldwide panic takes me back nearly 115-120 years ago to South Africa, where Gandhiji had gone to help Gujarati businessmen with their cases, but ended up taking up the fight against injustice and their humiliation.It was in March, 1904, that Gandhiji received information that 23 poor Indians (who were freed indentured labour) were down with black plague in a ghetto near Johannesburg. He rushed there with four of his Indian assistants (who were bachelors ). An Indian doctor helped and a white nurse was provided by the authorities. They shifted all of 23 plague patients to an unoccupied building and nursed them day and night.With the permission of the doctor, Gandhiji tried his 'earth treatment' on three of the patients. Out of 23 patients only two survived (who had received his earth treatment). The white nurse also died , but Gandhiji and his team of four or five Indians survived. Of course, Gandhiji must have attributed it to God's grace. Srei Infrastructure Finance, one of the country's leading NBFCs, on Sunday said the sector, which is passing through a liquidity crisis, should be able to raise resources on a sustained basis. The government and the regulator, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), should come out with more clarity for raising medium-to-long-term funds by the non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), the firm's chairman Hemant Kanoria said. "The basic raw material for the non-banking finance companies and banks, is money. The NBFCs should be able to raise resources on a sustained basis for conducting their businesses," Kanoria told PTI. In a bid to address the liquidity issue, the government has taken some steps through the "partial guarantee scheme" for interim funding. "Raising resources by NBFCs from the public is a limited option and done from time to time. It depends on the profile of the NBFC concerned. The main structural issue needs to be addressed," Kanoria said. Talking about the city-based company, he said lending activity is getting affected due to liquidity issues. "Funding has become very slow. This has affected credit offtake and flow of loans to infrastructure and the MSME sector. However, equipment finance is slowly picking up," he said. Regarding the outlook for the current fiscal ending March 31, 2020, Kanoria said that the growth in terms of disbursement will be muted, but the company will remain profitable. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-24 00:36:08|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close KATHMANDU, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- A few hundreds of Nepali people from different walks of life including school students on Sunday expressed solidarity with China in its fight against the COVID-19 outbreak. A special public event was organized here at the Basantapur Durbar Square, an UNESCO World Heritage Site, to express love, support and best wishes to the Chinese people to contain the epidemic. The event jointly organized by the Nepal-China Friendship Society and the Foundation for Transhimalayan Research and Studies collected the signatures and best wishes from the public and lighted candles in the form of text "Pray for China" as solidarity. Addressing the ceremony, former Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation and Head of Foundation for Transhimalayan Research and Studies Ananda Prasad Pokharel said that the novel coronoavirus is not just the problem of China, but of the entire world. "China is not alone in this struggle. As a close friend and neighbor, we are with China at this difficult hour. Through this program, the Nepali people are sending their love and wishes to China to fight the outbreak," Pokharel told Xinhua on the spot. Recalling the assistance provided by China to Nepal in the difficult times like during the devastating earthquake of 2015, Pokharel expressed confidence that the Chinese government will soon win this battle. Prabin Khatiwada, a former engineering student at Wuhan, was among the participants who said "I feel sad to learn about Wuhan, from where I received my Masters degree last year. I am here to express solidarity with China and the Chinese people." "Long Live the Nepal-China Friendship, its our bond of relationship," a banner with the slogan was carried by some two dozen students from Laligurans Batika Secondary School, who shared that they were attending the event to send encouragement to the Chinese people. "Blessings from Norway to China," a female Norwegian tourist wrote in the signature spot. Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis will attend a meeting of the EU General Affairs Council (GAC) on 25 February, in Brussels. On the GAC agenda are preparations for the European Council meeting of 26-27 March 2020, the next steps in the post-Brexit EU-UK relationship, and a presentation of the European Commission work programme for 2020. On Wednesday, 26 February, the Alternate Minister will meet in Paris with the French Deputy Foreign Minister for European Affairs, Amelie de Montchalin. Their talks will focus on bilateral political and economic relations, EU enlargement and the new methodology for accession negotiations, the new Multiannual Financial Framework, implementation of Rule of Law, the Conference on the Future of Europe, and the migration issue. Hundreds rally for justice at Thammasat THAILAND: Hundreds of people gathered at the Tha Prachan campus of Thammasat University last night (Feb 22) to demand a return of justice in the country following the dissolution of the Future Forward Party. politics By Bangkok Post Sunday 23 February 2020, 09:03AM Participants light candles during a pro-democracy rally at the Tha Prachan campus of Thammasat University last night (Feb 22). Photo: Aekarach Sattaburuth The call went out earlier in the day via a message posted on the Facebook page of the Student Union of Thailand, inviting people to join a flash mob starting at 5:30 pm. Social critic Sulak Siviraraksa and former human rights commissioner Ankhana Neelapaijit were among the participants, numbering over 500. Organisers prepared two large blank banners for people to write on to express their feelings. In less than 30 minutes, the banners were filled with messages expressing discontent with the government led by Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha and what they perceive as injustice in society. The gathering came just a day after the Constitutional Court dissolved the Future Forward Party over an irregular loan. The anti-establishment party won 6.3 million votes in the last election and was highly popular with young voters. Its banned leaders have vowed to continue their campaign outside Parliament for the reforms that Future Forward espouses. As plainclothes police looked on, students took turns on stage to decry the failure of the government, injustice, curbs on freedom, the sluggish economy and efforts by the former military junta to prolong its grip on power. All of them said the disagreed with the charter courts ruling and said they felt independent organisations had bowed to dictatorship. It doesnt matter who the people elect - Thai Rak Thai, People Power Party or Future Forward - they all ended up being disbanded. Maybe we should try electing Palang Pracharath so it too is dissolved, a speaker said, referring to the main party in the governing coalition. The participants subsequently shouted: Prayut out! and Down with dictatorship. Long Live Democracy. The latter were the last words of Krong Jandawong, a teacher and Seri Thai activist from Sakhon Nakhon province, before facing a firing squad ordered by Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat in 1961. Ater that, the students read poems encouraging people to fight on until power truly belongs to them. Later, candles were lit and they sang the songs For the Masses and Saeng Dao Hang Sattha by Jit Pumisak, a young leftist scholar who was killed in 1966. The participants cleared the area and collected garbage before dispersing at around 6:30pm. Parallel activities were also held by Student Union of Thailand affiliates in several provinces including Chiang Mai, Phitsanulok and Pattani. Some asked people to wear black and carry #SAVEDEMOCRACY posters. Others gathered to read statements and listen to pro-democracy music. On Friday (Feb 21), the student union issued a statement strongly condemning the dissolution of Future Forward. The disbandment lacks legitimacy both in terms of content and process ... so much so that it can hardly be called a justice process, it said. It also noted that the dissolution took place just three days before a no-confidence debate, thus undermining checks and balances in Parliament. The ruling date was also suspiciously set for Feb 21 just hours after the House confirmed that the censure debate woud begin on Feb 24, read the statement. The Future Forward Movement, as it is known now that it is no longer a political party, does not plan to be silent in any case. In a message on its Facebook page, it said spokesperson Pannika Wanich would stage an internationally scandalous no-confidence event at its Thon Buri coordination centre from 1pm today (Feb 23). BAGHDAD Iranian top commander Qasem Soleimani and his right-hand man Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis were the prayer-beads thread of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units (PMU). When they were killed by a US drone strike Jan. 3, the thread was ripped and the PMU factions were scattered. Iran is now struggling to reorganize the military network in order to maintain its power in the first and most important station of its regional network along the Shiite crescent. The PMU announced Feb. 20 the appointment of Abu Fadak al-Mohammadawi to Muhandis' position as the PMU's chief of staff. Mohammadawi is a former military leader in Kataib Hezbollah who left the PMU a few years ago due to disagreement with other leaders. Muhandis had become the PMUs chief of staff a few months before his assassination. He also served as the deputy head of the organization since its establishment in 2014; now, Abu Ali al-Basri has been named deputy head. The PMU is trying to get approval of these designations from caretaker prime minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, who remains in office until the prime minister-designate forms his Cabinet and is approved by parliament. Four PMU factions known to be close to top Shiite cleric Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani have expressed their objection to Mohammadawi's appointment, calling upon all PMU factions to integrate into state forces under the command of the prime minister as commander in chief of the armed forces. They are the Al-Abbas combat division, the Ali Akbar Brigade, the Imam Ali Division and the Ansar Marhaia Brigade. This is an indicator of the fragmentation that has taken place in the PMU following the deaths of Soleimani and Muhandis. Now the question is whether these moves can return the PMU to the where it is again united under one umbrella dominated by Iran. The PMU is made up of about 70 militias, which were brought under the PMU umbrella in 2014 by then-Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, with direct Iranian support, in order to fight back against the Islamic State, which has taken over vast areas of Iraq. The entire PMU was under the influence of Soleimani. Because of the sectarianism that has been prevalent in the PMU and because many militias have fought outside Iran, the PMU has been the center of controversy since its creation among the Iraqi public. The PMU is now under greater scrutiny amid the loss of its unifying leader and the Iraqi protests that began in October; many protesters are opposed to Iranian influence in Iraq. Iran, which has been a big PMU benefactor, has used the PMU as a powerful instrument for maintaining Irans influence in the Shiite Crescent. Iran is now working to develop and implement strategies to reunite the organization; chief among these has been the search for a common leader, who has to meet a series of requirements that make it an almost impossible mission for Iran. Although Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei immediately announced Brig. Gen. Esmail Ghaani as Soleimanis successor to lead the Quds Force, Ghaani does not have the diplomatic charisma and networks to be an effective leader of the PMU. Due to the recent anti-Iranian sentiment arising from the recent protests in Lebanon and Iraq, Iran realizes the new PMU leader must be an extremely loyal Arab who can disguise Irans shadow influence among the Iraqi public. Muqtada al-Sadr was invited Jan. 13 to a meeting in Qom that was also attended by Sadrs rivals in the PMU organization in the hopes that Sadr might crack down on the protest movement and even eventually become the de facto leader of the PMU. Following the meeting, Sadr called for a million-man march against the US presence in Iraq, which was welcomed widely by all other PMU factions despite the strong disagreements between them. However, Baghdads Tahrir Square protesters rejected Sadrs call to participate in the march. Soon after, Sadr stepped forward in leading the PMU in cracking down on the protests in Baghdad and Najaf, which resulted in the killing of nearly a dozen protesters. This raised strong criticism against him and even led Sistani to take action against Sadr, leading Sadr to withdraw his people from the protest squarers. Following these events, Sadrs popularity among Iraqis declined, eliminating him from Irans list of possible PMU leader. Another option for Iran is giving the lead to Hezbollah, which has been Iran's strongest regional ally for years, fighting on behalf of Tehran in Lebanon and Syria and helping the Iraqi PMU and Yemeni Houthis. Reuters published a report Feb. 12 indicating that Hezbollah was called immediately after Soleimani's death to play a key role in leading the PMU. Al-Monitor had learned from a senior military source who asked to remain anonymous that senior Hezbollah cleric Muhammad Kawtharani has been visiting Iraq on a regular basis, meeting with various PMU factions in order to build coordination network between them and avoid disagreements that could affect the unity of the already fragmented organization. The source told Al-Monitor that Iran assigned Kawtharani to guide Iraqi militias until Iran chose a permanent successor to fulfill Soleimani's role working with the PMUs in Iraq. Although Kawtharani was raised in Iraq and did his seminary studies in Najaf (where he was born) and is known and is respected by the militia groups, he will have great challenges when it comes to commanding PMU leaders. For now, the militia leaders are cooperating with Kawtharani due to pressure from Tehran. Iran might also rely on Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, a Lebanese cleric respected by many Iraqis; however, Nasrallahs inability to travel to Iraq greatly limits this option. PMU factions' delegations have been visiting Beirut to meet Nasrallah regularly during the past month. They have also started publishing photos of their leaders' meeting with Nasrallah. For example, Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba leaders published photos of the group's leader, Akram Kaabi, meeting with Nasrallah, showing a close connection that might help the PMU to reunite again around the Nasrallah axis. Nujaba announced Feb. 16, in conjunction with the recent attack on the US Embassy in Baghdad, that it has started the countdown to take action against US troops in Iraq. Nasrallah had asked the PMU to avenge Muhandis' killing a few hours before Nujaba's warning. Meanwhile, some prominent PMU leaders are also competing over the organization's leadership. Kaabi, Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada leader Abu Alaa al-Walai and the Badr organizations Hadi al-Amiri have been traveling to Tehran to attend meetings with commanders of Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and other senior leaders to gain their trust and support. Michael Knights, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told Al-Monitor, Iran will likely split up the portfolio that Soleimani controlled. The IRGC Quds Force and Ministry of Intelligence will share duties to a greater extent in Iraq. Within the IRGC, Soleimanis role will split between Quds Force commander Esmail Ghaani, his deputy Mohammad Hejazi and Iranian Ambassador to Iraq Iraj Masjedi. The above indicates that it will be difficult for Iran, if not impossible, to find fitting replacements for Soleimani and Muhandis. Soleimani and Muhandis were the backbones of the PMU, uniting multiple factions under one umbrella. These factions were established at different times and circumstances and do not share the same goals and ideology, not to mention the great disputes between them over economic interests in Iraq. In fact, Soleimani and Muhandis were responsible for uniting them all together. While Soleimani spoke modest Arabic, Muhandis spoke fluent Persian and was extremely dedicated to the ideology of velayat e-faqih [clerical rule by Khamenei] and in many interviews, he described his relationship with Soleimani as being only a soldier for the Quds Force leader. It will be very difficult to re-create the mutually supporting power base of Soleimani and Muhandis, which was a powerful double act. The PMU is unlikely to unite under a second-tier player like Abu Ali al-Basri, a Badr official who is making a play to become a new chief of staff with many of Muhandis powers, Knights said before Basri was named deputy chief of the PMU. Due to the current circumstances, the PMU will face great challenges in the near future in recovering from the loss of its leader, putting Iran in a very difficult position amid the ongoing protests and continuing political crisis. (Newser) Pete Buttigieg's campaign has a few requests of a Nevada State Democratic Party "in light of material irregularities" in state caucuses still being tallied, CNN reports. The campaign asks the party to "release early vote and in-person vote totals by precinct," "correct any outstanding second alignment errors identified by presidential campaigns," and "explain anomalies in the data." Team Buttigieg is the first to doubt the Nevada results thatwith 60% of precincts countedhave Sen. Bernie Sanders ahead with a crushing 46%, followed by Joe Biden (19.6%), Buttigieg (15.3%), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (10.1%), and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (4.8%), per the New York Times. story continues below So this is about challenging Biden for second rather than Sanders for first, as the Buttigieg letter makes clear. But does it hold any water? Politico notes there's been talk of some precinct volunteers and voters getting confused about how Nevada's early voting was included in individual precinct results. It was also the state caucuses' first try at early voting, and nearly 75,000 took part. Meanwhile, state party official Molly Forgey has responded thusly to the Buttigieg letter: "We never indicated we would release a separate breakdown of early vote and in-person attendees by precinct and will not change our reporting process now," she writes in part. "As laid out in our recount guidance, there is a formal method for requesting a challenge of results." (Read more Nevada caucus stories.) Kim Brent / Beaumont Enterprise Voters in the Hardin-Jefferson ISD should have enough reasons to approve a $25 million bond issue in the May local elections. The district was ravaged by Tropical Storm Harvey in 2017, and that damage simply must be fixed. Two years out, that goal is even more important. Yet the damage caused by Harvey actually could result in a special boost for the district. If the bond issue is approved, and if the district gets up to $35 million for renovation from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the combination of the two would be especially beneficial. The district could leverage both sources of funding to take a combined leap forward that wouldnt be possible otherwise. Irelands top three political parties are continuing to seek a form of coalition to form a government. Fianna Fail, Sinn Fein and Fine Gael finished in an almost dead heat following the recent general election, all far short of being able to form a government alone. Talks between the parties have been ongoing over the last two weeks to agree a coalition deal. Fianna Fail and Fine Gael are clearly looking towards forming a government together. It is laughable to suggest this represents change. Sinn Fein voters will not be disrespected or excluded by the two Establishment parties.@PadraigMacL #twip pic.twitter.com/sdKSjbiGfF Sinn Fein (@sinnfeinireland) February 23, 2020 Fianna Fail emerged with 38 TDs, a total which has reduced to 37 following the re-election of Sean O Fearghail as speaker. Sinn Fein also has 37 TDs while Fine Gael has 35 significantly short of the 80 required to form a government. Both Fianna Fail and Fine Gael have ruled out forming a government with Sinn Fein. Fine Gael TD Helen McEntee said there should be no link between an army council and a political party. She made the comment on RTEs The Week in Politics a few days after Garda Commissioner Drew Harris referred to the provisional IRA army councils continuing influence on Sinn Fein. Ms McEntee said people have to respect the fact that Fine Gael will not work with Sinn Fein. Fianna Fails Mary Butler also told the programme she has concerns about the governance of Sinn Fein. She referred to three remaining options, including a left-leaning minority government, a coalition or another general election. She said there must be compromise between parties when talks begin on Tuesday, but she said a coalition with Sinn Fein is a red line for Fianna Fail. Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin and Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar are set to meet for talks next week while Sinn Fein has announced plans to hold a series of regional rallies over the next fortnight. Sinn Fein TD Padraig MacLochlainn criticised the prospect of the Fianna Fail/Fine Gael coalition. Fianna Fail and Fine Gael are clearly looking to move to form a new government together, he told This Week In Politics. That is absolutely laughable if they mean that is change. The people clearly said that Fianna Fail and Fine Gael had failed to deliver on the key issues of health, housing and also the issue of money in ordinary workers pockets. These two parties coming together, determined to coalesce, is an insult to the vote that just took place and I think particularly for Fianna Fail, who claim to be a social democratic party, it is laughable the direction they are going. Mr MacLochlainn also told the programme that the IRA had gone and was not coming back. In August 1994 we had the IRA ceasefire, that is over 25 years ago, I was 21 years of age at that time. My father was an IRA prisoner, my uncle was an IRA prisoner and our family and many others said move away from armed struggle and embrace the political process, he said. Now 25 years on we are still dealing with this absolute nonsense that is thrown up again and again. What I want to say here very clearly is over 700,000 people voted for my party in the recent past. In the Westminster and the Dail elections. Our mandate has a right to be respected, the vote for positive change in terms of health, housing, the fact that families are struggling to get by every week, they are the real issues. The IRA has gone, they are not coming back and that is the reality. It is an odd state of affairs when Network 10, home of Neighbours, Dancing With The Stars, Young Talent Time and It's a Knockout, positions itself as more left-wing than The Guardian. But media in 2020 is nothing if not a whole bunch of weird. Such political positioning makes sense for a membership-funded newspaper founded after the 1819 Peterloo massacre, but little sense for a free-to-air network reliant on attracting a mass audience more concerned whether the new Bachelor will be as cute as astrophysicist Matt. The Project hosts Waleed Aly, Carrie Bickmore and Pete Helliar. Credit:Network Ten Ten has long had a progressive vibe, seemingly a good fit for the youth network. But lately it seems amplified by The Project and a tendency for Ten presenters to wander off the reservation on social media. At this point, two years after the CBS bought Ten, and two months after the $39 billion Viacom-CBS remerger, it is worth asking: does any of this make good business sense? Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-23 23:46:01|Editor: yan Video Player Close KUNMING, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- After a 22-month-pregnancy, a 32-year-old Asian elephant delivered a healthy calf in a breeding and rescue center in southwest China's Yunnan Province. According to center staff, the mother elephant, named Pingzai, gave birth to the female calf, weighing 85 kg and 94 cm in height, at 8:16 a.m., Saturday. "The calf was able to stand on its own within 40 minutes of the delivery and was taken good care of by its mother," said Bao Mingwei from the center, adding that both of them are healthy and under observation. In April 2018, Pingzai naturally mated with a male elephant in the center. Since then, the experienced staff have coddled the elephant with extra care and helped her to deliver. Since its establishment in 2008, the center has rescued more than 20 wild elephants, eleven of which are still receiving medical care in the center. The center has delivered nine calves so far. Asian elephants are under first-class state protection in China. There are about 300 Asian elephants, mostly in Yunnan. Harry Dunn, 19, died when his motorbike collided with a car outside RAF Croughton - PA The family of Harry Dunn has called for Julian Assange not to be extradited as long as the US refuses to send the suspect in the teenager's death back to the UK. They have accused the American government of "demonstrating an extraordinary amount of hypocrisy" in seeking the extradition of the Wikileaks founder, despite rejecting a request for Anne Sacoolas to return to Britain. Mr Dunn, 19, died when his motorbike collided with a car outside RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire on August 27. Ms Sacoolas, 42, the wife of an intelligence official based at the US military base, claimed diplomatic immunity and was able to return to her home country, sparking an international controversy. The US refused an extradition request for Ms Sacoolas last month. Mr Dunn's family is calling on Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to halt the extradition process for Assange, ahead of the beginning of the first full court hearing on Monday. The Mail on Sunday quoted Radd Seiger, the Dunn family spokesman, as saying: "Despite its disgraceful refusal to extradite Anne Sacoolas, the US continues to seek the extradition of people in the UK such as Julian Assange. In doing so, they are demonstrating an extraordinary amount of hypocrisy. "As Dominic Raab told us when we met with him on January 27, 'we are reviewing all options'. We want him now to exercise the option of not extraditing Julian Assange to the US." Assange, 48, is being held in Belmarsh Prison in south-east London and is wanted in the US to face 18 charges over the publication of US cables a decade ago. If found guilty he could face a 175-year prison sentence. Mr Dunn's family has previously called for the Duke of York to co-operate with law enforcement in the US amid allegations around the royal's friendship with billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. At a press conference earlier this month, Mr Seiger joined a lawyer for alleged victims of Epstein to call for both Mrs Sacoolas to return to the UK and Andrew to face questioning from the FBI in the US. Allegations about Andrew have surfaced from Virginia Giuffre, who claims she was trafficked by Epstein and alleges the duke slept with her on three separate occasions, including when she was 17 - still a minor under US law. Andrew strenuously denies the allegations. Bong Joon-ho, director of Oscar-winning "Parasite," laughs during a press conference in Seoul, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020. Bong said Wednesday "the biggest pleasure and the most significant meaning" that the film has brought to him was its success in many countries although the audiences might feel uncomfortable with his explicit description of a bitter wealth disparity in modern society. AP By Bae Sung-eun and David Tizzard The results of their health checks will be made public. Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) says it will inform the public on the daily basis about the health status of the evacuees from China, who have been placed under observation in Poltava region. "We'll report their status every day. Secondly, their samples will be taken every day. The first sample was taken yesterday. And their results will be made public. We're not going to hide anything, because there's nothing to hide. The information should be open, public society should know what is happening," NSDC Secretary Oleksiy Danilov said in an interview for the TV news service TSN. Read alsoUkraine's Health Ministry won't change quarantine period for evacuees from China Information was not classified from the very start of the evacuation, he said. According to him, four locations were shortlisted as a facility for the accommodation of the evacuees. "Certain decisions were made depending on certain processes. When they claim the plane [used to evacuate Ukrainian and foreign citizens from China's Wuhan on February 20] was circling over Kharkiv they should not make things up as the explanation was simple the weather was bad for it to land there. And that's it. There were no deliberate secrets. They [the authorities] simply did not expect that there would be such a public perception of the situations," he said. As UNIAN reported earlier, a plane with 45 Ukrainians and 27 foreigners evacuated from China's Wuhan amid the outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus arrived in Ukraine on February 20. The evacuees were then bussed to the town of Novi Sanzhary in Poltava region and accommodated at a local medical center, which is within the Ukrainian Interior Ministry's jurisdiction, for 14-day observation. On Saturday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray took a swipe at US President Donald Trump's much-speculated visit to India asking how it would help in making India a 'superpower'? The Shiv Sena leader also stated that the country needed 'human resources' along with 'capital investment' to become a 'superpower.' Read: POTUS Donald Trump's India visit a stand-alone affair - No Pakistan, No Afghanistan US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will be on a two-day visit to India on February 24 and 25. Trump, who will be on a two-day visit to India, along with First Lady Melania Trump, is expected to attend an event at the Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad along the lines of the 'Howdy Modi' function that was held in Texas for Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September last year. "US President Donald Trump is coming to India in a few days, but how is that going to make us a superpower? Along with capital investment, we need human resource as well," Thackeray said at a book launch event in Mumbai on Saturday. Read: 'India set to finalise long-pending defence deal with US during Trump's visit': Sources 'Dil Ki Baat different from Mann Ki Baat' Uddhav Thackeray along with NCP chief Sharad Pawar, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad and renowned lyricist Javed Akhtar attended the book launch event of former Maharashtra Chief Minister late Abdul Rahman Antule. At the event, Uddhav managed to take a swipe at PM Modi as well, passing a snide remark at PM's monthly radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat.' Abdul Rahman Antule's book is a collection of letters that he had written to his wife. Uddhav talked about how Antulay was a good friend of Sena founder late Bal Thackeray and described the book as "dil ki baat which is different from mann ki baat". "The letters are written from the heart and there is a lot of difference between 'Mann Ki Baat' and 'Dil ki baat' which come straight from the heart," Uddhav Thackeray said. Read: Shiv Sena slams Ujjain SP for insulting 'shiv ling' in a dance performance at IPS meet Read: Shiv Sena sounds 'Chalo Ayodhya' bugle: Here are details of Uddhav Thackeray's Mar 7 visit (With Agency Inputs) The Supreme Court-appointed interlocutor to initiate talks with protesters at Shaheen Bagh, Wajahat Habibullah has submitted an affidavit in the top court saying that the protest is largely peaceful and blamed the police for the "unnecessarily blocking the roads" The former Chief Information Officer submitted that the police have blocked five points around Shaheen Bagh and that if these police blockades are removed then traffic will become normal. He also recommended that the government should speak to the protestors regarding CAA, NPR and NRC. The hearing on the matter is scheduled to be held tomorrow by a two-judge bench. Here are some key points from his submission: * The protest is peaceful. * Police have blocked five points around Shaheen Bagh. * If these blockades are removed then traffic will become normal. * Police have unnecessarily blocked the roads causing problem to the people. * School vans and ambulances are allowed to pass through the roads after checking by police. * Govt should speak to the protestors regarding CAA, NPR and NRC. The apex court had appointed a panel to reach out to the protesters at the south Delhi site on Wednesday (February 19) to hold talks with them. Apart from Habibullah, the panel includes advocates Sanjay Hegde and Sadhana Ramachandran. The SC-appointed panel visited Shaheen Bagh on February 19-20 to hold talks with anti-CAA protesters to persuade them to shift their agitation to an alternate venue but failed to break the deadlock. On the matter of opening the road, the protesters have taken the negotiators to show them the alternative routes which have been closed by the police. Protests have been going on at Shaheen Bagh since December 15 last year against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) due to which Kalindi Kunj road has been shut for traffic movement. The last two days of the Venice Carnival have been canceled amid concern about a growing number of coronavirus cases in Italy. Milans Fashion Week will also have limited access as authorities canceled lots of public events in several cities in order to try to contain the spread of the new virus. The number of confirmed cases in Italy soared to 152, making it the largest focus of infections outside Asia. Three people have died. Officials in Italy are concerned because they havent been able to track down the source of the virus that appears to be spreading quickly in the north of the country. Advertisement I was surprised by this explosion of cases, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte told state broadcaster RAI. We will do everything we can to contain the contagion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement South Korea, meanwhile, said it was raising its national threat level to red alert, the highest possible, after 169 new cases were confirmed Sunday, bringing the total number of confirmed infections to 602, including six deaths. More than half of those found to have been infected in South Korea were members of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, which is often described as a cult by its critics. The South Korean government temporarily shut down Shincheonjis 1,100 churches to try to prevent the virus from spreading further. There is also increased concern in the Middle East as Iran confirmed 43 cases and eight deaths in the country, prompting Afghanistan, Armenia, Pakistan, and Turkey to close their borders with Iran. Experts say that, considering the death rate of the COVID-19 virus, which seems to kill about one in 50 people who are infected, Iran likely has far more cases than it is reporting. China, meanwhile, reported 648 new infections, but only 18 of those were outside Hubei province. PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) Shots and tear gas were fired Sunday near the presidential palace in Haitis capital, Port-au-Prince, during a protest organized by police officers demanding better pay and working conditions. Officers told The Associated Press that at least three police officers were wounded. It was not immediately clear who fired the shots or the tear gas during the protest, which coincided with the start of Carnival celebrations. A stage built by the Ministry of Defense and guarded by the army was also set on fire, a witness told Reuters. The protest was one of several that police officers have organized since the end of last year as the perennially poor country struggles with a prolonged economic and political crisis. Some protesters wore cream and blue police uniforms and carried guns, but had their faces covered, as they marched from the upscale Delmas neighborhood toward the large Champ de Mars public square, the main site for Carnival. The leftist bias at our colleges and universities has many harmful effects. Let's look at a few. At University of California, Davis, last month, a mathematics professor faced considerable backlash over her opposition to the requirement for faculty "diversity statements." University of California, San Diego, requires job applicants to admit to the "barriers" preventing women and minorities from full participation in campus life. At American University, a history professor recently wrote a book in which he advocates repealing the Second Amendment. A Rutgers University professor said, "Watching the Iowa Caucus is a sickening display of the over-representation of whiteness." University of California, Berkeley, professor and former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich chimed in to say: "Think about this: Iowa is 90.7% white. Iowa is now the only state with a lifetime voting ban for people with a felony conviction. Black people make up 4% of Iowa's population but 26% of the prison population. How is this representative of our electorate?" A Williams College professor said he would advocate for social justice to be included in math textbooks. Students at Wayne State University no longer have to take a single math course to graduate; however, they may soon be required to take a diversity course. US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will depart for their high profile visit to India from the Joint Base in Maryland today evening. The President will depart from Washington at 19:30 hours (IST) and will have a stopover at Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. At 11:55 p.m. (local time in Germany) or 4:25 a.m. (IST), the dignitary will depart from Germany to Ahmedabad in India. The US President, along with his family and a ministerial delegation will be in India for around 36 hours. During the visit, he is scheduled to participate in a roadshow with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and address a gathering at the Motera Stadium. On Monday evening, the President and his family will be visiting the Taj Mahal in Agra. According to sources, Prime Minister Modi will not accompany the US President and First Lady during their visit to the Taj. "The visit to Taj Mahal in Agra by the US President and the First Lady will afford them the opportunity to view the historical monument suitably. Therefore, no official engagements or presence of senior dignitaries from the Indian side is envisaged there (Agra)," government sources told ANI. The US President will receive a ceremonial welcome in New Delhi on Tuesday and visit the Rajghat. In the afternoon, Trump will participate in delegation-level talks and is expected to sign agreements in the defence sector. In the evening, the US President will further meet Vice President Venkaiah Naidu and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar here at the Hyderabad House. His trip will end following a state dinner hosted by President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) 2020 was a year marked by hardships and challenges, but the Fauquier community has proven resilient. The Fauquier Times is honored to serve as your community companion. To say thank you for your continued support, wed like to offer all our subscribers -- new or returning -- 4 WEEKS FREE DIGITAL AND PRINT ACCESS. We understand the importance of working to keep our community strong and connected. As we move forward together into 2021, it will take commitment, communication, creativity, and a strong connection with those who are most affected by the stories we cover. We are dedicated to providing the reliable, local journalism you have come to expect. We are committed to serving you with renewed energy and growing resources. Let the Fauquier Times be your community companion throughout 2021, and for many years to come. A Lancaster County man is facing charges after police say he threw and killed a dog. Daniel G. Tucker, 31, of New Holland, is now facing charges of cruelty to animals. According to New Holland police, officers were called to conduct a welfare check on Tucker, who lives at a home on South Custer Avenue, around 10:46 p.m. Friday. There was no answer when police knocked, but through the door window, an officer could see a border collie who appeared to be dead, police say. Officers eventually entered the home and confirmed the dog was deceased. They found Tucker asleep upstairs. Tucker admitted he threw the dog after it had bitten him, police say. He was taken into custody, arraigned and committed to Lancaster County Prison with bail set at $5,000 cash. 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. OLYMPIA Washington lawmakers likely wont vote to expel Washington Rep. Matt Shea from the Legislature, according to a statement by House Speaker Laurie Jinkins, D-Tacoma. A House-commissioned investigation released in December concluded that Shea, a Republican from Spokane Valley, planned and participated in domestic terrorism with his involvement in three government standoffs, including the one at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge outside of Burns in Harney County. The Oregonian/OregonLive reported at the time of the 2016 standoff that Shea and other lawmakers had visited the refuge. After the release of the House report which was forwarded to the U.S. Attorneys Office and FBI House Republicans suspended Shea from their caucus. The suspension cost Shea access to political staff and committee assignments. But no Republicans this week were willing to sign on to a letter circulated by Democrats calling for an expulsion vote. A vote to expel Shea would need GOP support to reach the required two-thirds majority. It is profoundly disappointing and, I believe, destructive to the institution that not a single Republican member of the House signed the letter, Jinkins said in a statement. House Democrats believe, uniformly, that Rep. Sheas acts to promote political violence warrant expulsion. Shea has denied the reports conclusions, calling them false allegations and criticizing the investigation as a Marxist smear campaign. He has refused calls to resign and intends to run for reelection. In her statement, Jinkins said she will not spend another minute trying to convince my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to stand up for what is right. There are 20 days left in this session, and Im focused on addressing the needs across our state and finishing on time, she said. Ill let future actions be decided after weve done our work here for the people of Washington state. -- The Seattle Times By PTI INDORE: Amid controversy over a circular, since scrapped, in Madhya Pradesh that set sterilisation targets for male multi-purpose health workers, government data showed participation of men in family planning initiatives was steadily decreasing. It showed that vasectomy numbers had gone down from 9,957 in 2015-16 to 7,270 in FY 2016-17, 3,719 in 2017-18 and 2,925 in 2018-19 in the state. In the current fiscal, as on January 30 this year, the number of vasectomies performed in MP stood at 2,514, the data revealed. Experts said the fall was due to lack of awareness coupled with a male-dominated mindset, leading to a serious gender gap in the context of family planning operations in MP. Renowned sterilisation specialist Dr Lalitmohan Pant, who claims to have carried out the highest number of family planning operations worldwide, told PTI on Sunday, "In last 38 years, I have performed 3.85 lakh sterilisation operations, of which only 13,600 (3-4 per cent) were vasectomy operations." "Most men still feel their physical strength and manhood will be reduced if they undergo sterilisation. In reality nothing of this sort happens. I myself underwent a sterilisation operation about 25 years back and I work for about 12 hours a day today," said the 64-year-old surgeon, who is with MP's health department. He said most women had to undergo sterilisation operations because their husbands were unwilling to get vasectomized. As per the 2011 Census, there were 3.76 crore men and 3.50 crore women in MP. On February 11, the MP unit of the National Health Mission (NHM) had directed each male MPHW to get at least one man sterilised by March 31 this year, failing which their salaries would be withheld and they would be given compulsory retirement. It had created a stir and had to be withdrawn by the Congress-led Kamal Nath government. An Garda Siochana at the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) are urging the public to be aware of social media enabled Fraud. As in all frauds, the goal of the fraudster is to deceive victims into parting with their money or to reveal access details to their bank accounts or credit cards. The most recent fraud reported is targeting customers of a banking institution via advertisements on Facebook. The advertisement refers to internet banking and invites the customer to take a tour of the system for a small reward (15 or 30) The customer clicks on the link, to a 'Fake' log in page. The customer enters their login details these details are now in the hands of the Fraudster. The Fraudster takes control of the account, and sets up a new Beneficiary on the account, to whom money can be transferred The customers will receive an automated text or SMS from the bank, with a code to authorise the addition of the Beneficiary to the account. The customer will then enter the code into the Fake account which is captured by the Fraudsters, or intercepted via malware on a computer, laptop or mobile phone. The bank account can then be emptied within minutes. Warning signs: The warning signs include, Social Media advertisements offering rewards to people, who must take some action that will reveal their Bank account details or Credit Card numbers and access codes to same To get the reward, the customer must click on a link in the advertisements that will bring them to their bank log in page The customer is then required to login to their bank account in order to get the reward, thus revealing their log in details and password or pin number or other code Public Warning: Detective Chief Superintendent Lordan of the GNECB has called on members of the public to stop and think before clicking on these social media links Be very weary of advertisements offering a reward that leads you to a situation where you have to reveal your financial details, even if it appears to be a genuine Bank website Do not click on links in the advertisement Check with the bank or other organisation apparently offering the reward by searching for that bank or organisation online and independently of the link in the advertisement. If the genuine website is not clearly offering the advertisement for a reward the social media advertisement is a fraud. Your money has been protected by a simple check. Detective Chief Superintendent Lordan would also like to remind the public to never share banking details, pin numbers or passwords with unknown persons online, by text, SMS, over the phone or any other way. "Trust your instincts if it sounds like it is too good to be true, it is probably not true. Never download or install a file from an unknown or suspicious source. If in doubt, don't do it," he said. Sandalwood is all set to make a movie on Indian Air Force Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman. 'Challenging Star Darshan is expected to play the coveted role of the heroic officer who was captured by Pakistan Army during an IAF conducted airstrike on a terror camp at Balakot. He received a grand welcome back home after being released by the enemy nation. On Friday evening, producer Munirathna had organized a grand success party in Bengaluru to celebrate 100 days of his historical saga Kurukshetra. At the gala event, Munirathna announced that he would be making a film on the heroics of the national hero Commander Abhinandan. He went on to add that Abhishek Ambareesh would be playing an important role in the movie. The big-ticket project is expected to go on the floors in the latter half of the year. For the uninitiated, D boss Darshan played the part of Duryodhana in 2019s blockbuster hit Kurukshetra. The grand announcement and collaboration of Darshan with his Kurukshetra team has got the actors fans very excited. They took to social media to convey their happiness to see the Kannada superstar as a fighter pilot. In the meantime, Darshans highly anticipated next Roberrt is all set to release in Telugu as well. The highly anticipated action extravaganza has received a thunderous response from netizens with its latest teaser going viral online. It is also being reported that the makers are in talks to release the film in other languages, including Tamil, Malayalam, and Hindi. Directed by Tharun Sudhir, Roberrt is all set to hit the silver screens on April 9. ALSO READ: Darshan And Jaggesh Offer Help And Aid To Veteran Actor Killer Venkatesh ALSO READ: No More Birthday Celebrations At Darshans House After A Cop Was Allegedly Assaulted By Fans PR-Inside.com: 2020-02-23 05:02:10 Milrem Robotics Introduces at UMEX 2020 its Unmanned Ground Vehicle Especially Designed for Hot Climates More information Gert Hankewitz Export Director gert.hankewitz@milrem.com Milrem Robotics, one of the leading manufacturers of unmanned ground vehicles (UGV) introduces at UMEX 2020 its mission proven, fifth generation THeMIS UGV designed to assist soldiers on the battlefield while enhancing their combat effectiveness. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200222005 The THeMIS UGV has been especially designed to withstand harsh environments and hot climates. It has proven itself in Mali, Africa where it has been deployed since early 2019 during the French lead anti-insurgent operation Barkhane. (Photo: Business Wire) The THeMIS UGV has been especially designed to withstand harsh environments and hot climates. It has proven itself in Mali, Africa where it has been deployed since early 2019 during the French lead anti-insurgent operation Barkhane. The vehicle has driven more than 1000 km during various missions in one of the toughest regions in the world with lava rock soil, loose sand and high temperatures reaching 50 C in the shade. We are pleased to be back in Abu Dhabi, where just a few years ago we tested the prototype of our unmanned vehicle for durability in hot conditions. Today we are presenting a mature and robust product that has proven itself in extreme hot climates and, as our clients have already determined, will greatly enhance warfighting capabilities, stated Kuldar Vaarsi, CEO of Milrem Robotics. The THeMIS UGV is in serial production and has already been delivered to France, US, UK, Netherlands and Norway in logistics configuration intended to provide combat support and carry supplies with an option to integrate additional kinetic or non-kinetic payloads. This tracked multipurpose UGV can be equipped with remote weapon systems, tethered drones, C-IED solutions and ISR sensors. With the possibility to mount various payloads the UGV acts as a force multiplier. The THeMIS has become the industry standard UGV sought out for various payload integration projects. Together with partners like Kongsberg, FN Herstal, MBDA, ST Engineering and EOS more than a dozen different systems have already been integrated, Vaarsi stated. Live firing tests have been conducted with five different weapon systems, including the JAVELIN anti-tank missile system. The fifth generation THeMIS incorporates NATO STANAG standards in the vehicles architecture, safety, air transportability, power offload and other aspects. In addition, the UGV has been equipped with autonomous functions including point-to-point navigation, obstacle detection and avoidance, enabling it to follow dismounted troops, patrol a perimeter, provide front line resupply and evacuate casualties with minimal intervention by the operator. Watch the THeMIS operate in Mali here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dZkZV_GNPc View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200222005 A Sydney man has taken Coles to court for refusing to pack his grocery bags. Lance Tyrrell, 64, has shopped at his Coles in Greenacre, in Sydneys southwest, for many years, but ran into a problem with staff after single-use plastic bags were phased out of supermarkets in NSW in 2018. Mr Tyrrell continued to reuse the single-use bags during his trips to the grocery chains store despite the introduction of reusable plastic bags. But one day, Mr Tyrrell claimed to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal staff refused to pack his old bags, which he said wasnt an issue before reusables were introduced. Coles told the tribunal staff didnt pack the bags for Mr Tyrrell because they werent clean. Mr Tyrrell claimed staff didnt tell him the bags werent clean. Lance Tyrrell claims Coles staff wouldn't pack his single use plastic bags like the one pictured here. Source: AAP (file pic) Some of them were just saying straight out, Im sorry. They werent saying anything that they were dirty or whatever, he said. They were saying Sorry, you cant use those bags, you actually have to buy our new ones. The 64-year-old claimed Coles discriminated against him due to his disability and age. Mr Tyrrell took his complaint before the Anti-Discrimination Board. The boards president noted Mr Tyrrell has several physical disabilities which included tendinitis, chronic back pain and the need for a walking stick. The board escalated this to the tribunal after the complaint couldnt be resolved at reconciliation. Mr Tyrrell claimed Coles acted discriminately adding he is unable to access the stores home delivery service. He also provided some of his single-use plastic bags, which he claimed were clean, as evidence. A witness, who gave a statutory declaration, said Mr Tyrrells bags are clean and smell of lavender. He reuses them and are free of damage with no holes. He washes them each time he uses them, he said. Story continues The witness added Lance is well known to me and of impeccable character. Dirty and wrinkled up bags Store manager Eliaz Housil told the tribunal in a statement Mr Tyrrells bags were dirty and wrinkled up when visiting the store in December 2018. The tribunal disregarded this as in dispute due to the bags provided as evidence. Coles said it doesnt force customers to pay 15c for reusable bags unless they want to. Bags can be reused as long as they are clean and not torn, the supermarket told the tribunal. The supermarket added Mr Tyrrell can use any bags he wishes as long as they are clean and while there isnt any obligation for staff to pack his bags, if they wont Mr Housil has agreed to do so if hes available. Mr Tyrrell was also offered the reusable 15c bags for free but turned them down because these bags do not suit his needs due to his disability. He said the new bags are too big and things jump around in them and they can get broken or shift and they flop around his legs. He added even the smaller ones are too large. Coles has offered to give Mr Tyrrell reusable bags for free. Source: AAP (file pic) Many supermarkets offered free reusable plastic bags as part of the transition period between the move from single-use to reusable ones. The tribunal found Mr Tyrrell is disabled and considered on occasions, due to the bags provided as evidence, he had brought a number to the store in good condition. However, the tribunal couldnt uphold Mr Tyrrells discrimination claim. It cited three reasons - the first being the determination no requirement or condition was placed upon staff to refuse to pack Mr Tyrrells bags whether they were clean or damaged. Many supermarkets gave away reusable bags for a period such as indicated by this sign. Mr Tyrrell received some but claims he couldn't use them. Source: AAP (file pic) Secondly, it was determined whether the bags were dirty or not as a difference of opinion between Mr Tyrrell and supermarket staff. The tribunal also considered there may have been teething issues with staff not knowing whether to pack Mr Tyrrells bags during the period where reusables were introduced. It was noted Mr Tyrell has not actually tested whether the staff will pack his small grey bags outside the transition period. Mr Tyrrell also could have obtained another bag small enough and light enough to be suitable to his purposes. Mr Tyrrell did not provide any evidence, statistical or otherwise, as to the proportion of shoppers without the relevant disability who are able to comply with the alleged requirement or condition of presenting with bags other than the small grey bags compared with those who have the relevant disability, the tribunal said. We are not satisfied in the absence of evidence that it could be said that a substantially higher proportion of shoppers who do not have Mr Tyrrells disability are able to comply with the requirement or condition that they present with a bag other than the small grey bags. The claim was dismissed. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play. Former Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah has told the Supreme Court the protest at Shaheen Bagh here against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) was peaceful and inconvenience being caused to commuters was due to barricades "unnecessarily" put by police on roads far away from the site. The same stand has been taken by social activist Syed Bahadur Abbas Naqvi and Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Azad in their joint affidavit filed in the apex court in the matter. Habibullah, Azad and Naqvi have jointly filed an intervention application in the apex court which is seized of the matter. Habibullah had visited the protest site at Shaheen Bagh pursuant to the direction by a bench of Justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph. The bench is scheduled to hear the matter on Monday. The top court is hearing pleas seeking removal of protestors from Shaheen Bagh and ensuring smooth traffic flow in the area. The apex court had earlier said that though people have a fundamental right to protest "peacefully and lawfully", it was troubled by the blocking of a public road at Shaheen Bagh as it might lead to a "chaotic situation". In his affidavit filed in the top court, Habibullah has contended that "Shaheen Bagh stands tall as a firm example of peaceful dignified dissent, more so in the face of various instances of state-sponsored violence on similar dissents across India. "We have been sad and mute witnesses to police brutality and negative typecasting of a particular community across the country. Crushing dissent instead of entering into a dialogue is the new norm, but it is alien to our Constitution," he has claimed. Naqvi and Azad, in their joint affidavit, have alleged that "the present ruling dispensation, at the behest of its political masters, had devised a strategy of extinguishing these protests by falsely attributing violence and acts of vandalism to peaceful protestors". They have also said that police has "unnecessarily" barricaded numerous roads that "have no connection with the protest" and are at a great distance from the site, thereby, "abdicating their responsibilities and duties and wrongly laying the blame on the protest". "It is these barricading of unconnected roads that has led to a chaotic situation," Habibullah has claimed and added that if the barricades are removed from the 10 points he has mentioned in the affidavit, "the chaos complained of in the petition would cease". In a separate affidavit, Naqvi and Azad have claimed the issue of inconvenience to commuters has been "deliberately orchestrated by the police" by blocking all the surrounding roads as well as the arterial roads connecting Delhi, Noida and Faridabad. They have further alleged that one of the petitions has been filed by lawyer Amit Shani, who is an active member and supporter of BJP posing as a concerned citizen, as his place of residence, office and direct route of daily commute are nowhere near Shaheen Bagh. Habibullah, in his affidavit, has also stated that the protestors have asked him to convey to the apex court that their dissent "was out of desperation and compulsion" as they see the CAA, Population Register (NPR) and Register of Citizens (NRC) as a "death knell" for their and future generations' survival and existence. The other concerns voiced by the protestors were that CAA and the intention behind it, as publicly voiced by those in power, "has struck a deep fear into the hearts of many poor and under-privileged citizens of India". He has said, "The assembly is peaceful. The question of their security is also crucial. Any attempt to forcibly shift them from the present site would compromise their safety." Restrictions have been imposed on the Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch and the Okhla underpass, which were closed on December 15 last year due to protests against CAA and The apex court was hearing an appeal filed by Sahni, who had first approached the Delhi High Court seeking directions to to ensure smooth traffic flow on the Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch, which was blocked by anti-CAA protesters on December 15 last year. Separately, former BJP MLA Nand Kishore Garg has filed a plea in the apex court seeking directions to authorities to remove protestors from Shaheen Bagh. The number of listed militants in Kashmir has come down to less than 250, while 25 terrorists were killed by security forces in nearly a dozen operations in the first two months of this year Srinagar: The number of listed militants in Kashmir has come down to less than 250, while 25 terrorists were killed by security forces in nearly a dozen operations in the first two months of this year, Director General of Jammu and Kashmir Police Dilbag Singh said on Saturday. He also said there has been confirmation of only three militants infiltrating into the Valley through the International Border so far this year. "The number of listed militants has come down from what it was earlier. Around 240 to 250 listed militants are there in the valley," the DGP told reporters at a press conference. He said in the last two months, the number of reported and confirmed infiltrated militants is three. "One of them a JeM militant was killed in an operation in Tral recently, Singh added. He said nearly a dozen successful operations have taken place till now in 2020, which included 10 in the Kashmir valley and two in the Jammu region. "Till now, 25 terrorists have been killed in these operations. Nine terrorist operatives have been arrested in the valley, while three or four in Jammu. More than 40 OGWs (overground workers) -- who were involved in promoting and supporting terror activities in some form or the other -- have been arrested," the DGP said. Referring to the misuse of social media through virtual private networks (VPNs), Singh said more cases had come to the fore and police was acting tough against them. "More cases of misuse of social media have come to the fore. Waseem Dar, a resident of Handwara, was arrested for posting some irresponsible content on (social) media with intent to instigate the public sentiment. We are taking notice of such incidents and action will be taken," he said. Asked about an SSP-rank officer receiving threats on social media, Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kashmir, Vijay Kumar, who flanked the DGP at the presser, said police will take action against the person. "The account name (from which threat was received) is Hafiz Suhail. We have verified and the user's real name is Suhail Wali, a resident of Dalipora Pulwama. We conducted a search at his house but his parents told us he is presently in Dubai. A case will be registered against him and we will take further action," the IGP said. To a question about the security arrangements for a proposed march by Kashmiri Pandits, the DGP said, "First, there should be a permission by the civil administration and when that is there, we will take adequate precautions." SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of - South Koreas president said Sunday that he was putting his country on its highest alert for infectious diseases, ordering officials to take unprecedented, powerful steps to fight a soaring viral outbreak, while a continent away in Italy, authorities battled to contain Europe's first major outbreak of the virus. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 22/2/2020 (689 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. This Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020, photo released by Xinhua News Agency, shows medical workers in protective suits at a coronavirus detection lab in Wuhan in central China's Hubei Province. The fresh national figures for the disease that emerged in China in December came as the number of viral infections soared mostly in and around the southeastern city of Daegu, where they were linked to a local church and a hospital. (Cheng Min/Xinhua via AP) SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of - South Koreas president said Sunday that he was putting his country on its highest alert for infectious diseases, ordering officials to take unprecedented, powerful steps to fight a soaring viral outbreak, while a continent away in Italy, authorities battled to contain Europe's first major outbreak of the virus. China also reported hundreds more infections for a total of about 77,000, and Iran raised its death toll from the virus to eight the highest toll outside of China. While the number of patients worldwide is increasing, some virus clusters have shown no link to China and experts are struggling to trace where those clusters started. The Iranian health ministry said there were now 43 confirmed cases in Iran, which did not report its first case of the virus until Wednesday. In Italys northern Lombardy region, which includes the nations financial capital, Milan, the governor announced Sunday that the number of confirmed cases stood at 110. Italy now has 152 cases, the largest number outside of Asia, including three deaths, the most recent on Sunday. A man wears a face mask as he rides a bicycle along a mostly empty street in Beijing, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020. South Korea on Saturday reported an eight-fold jump in viral infections in four days to 433, most of them linked to a church and a hospital in and around the country's fourth-largest city, where health workers scrambled to screen thousands of worshipers. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) Venice, which is full of tourists for Carnival events, reported its first two cases, said Veneto Gov. Luca Zaia, whose region includes the lagoon city. It wasn't immediately known if the two infected had participated in Carnival festivities. As Italy scrambled to check the spread of the virus, authorities announced that all Carnival events had been called off as well as major league soccer matches in the stricken region. Cinemas and theatres were also ordered shuttered, including Milan's legendary La Scala. Warning that Chinas virus epidemic is still grim and complex, President Xi Jinping called for more efforts to stop the outbreak, revive industry and prevent the disease from disrupting spring planting of crops. Xi defended the ruling Communist Partys response as timely and effective in a video conference with officials in charge of anti-disease work, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. The current epidemic situation is still grim and complex, Xinhua cited Xi as saying. Prevention and control are at the most critical stage. Visitors wearing face masks watch their smartphone near the display of South Korea's capital Seoul logo in downtown Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2020. South Korea and China both reported a rise in new virus cases on Sunday, as the South Korean prime minister warned that the fast-spreading outbreak linked to a local church and a hospital in the country's southeast had entered a "more grave stage." (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man) South Korean President Moon Jae-in said his government had increased its anti-virus alert level by one notch to Red, the highest level, in response to the spread of the disease that has infected more than 600 people in the country, mostly in the last few days. The step was last taken in 2009 to guard against a novel influenza outbreak that killed more than 260 people in South Korea. Under the highest alert level, authorities can order the temporary closure of schools and reduce the operation of public transportation and flights to and from South Korea. Moons education minister, Yoo Eun-hae, said later Sunday that the new school year for kindergartens, elementary, middle and high schools in South Korea has been put off by one week and will start on March 9. Moon said the outbreak has reached a crucial watershed, and that the next few days will be critical. We shouldnt be bound by regulations and hesitate to take unprecedented, powerful measures, he said. South Korea announced 169 more cases of the new virus, bringing the countrys total to 602. It also reported three more fatalities, raising its death toll to six. Mainland China reported 648 new infections for a total of 76,936. The daily death toll fell slightly to 97. In all, 2,442 people have died in the country from COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. A member of the medical team takes a rest outside a hospital in Daegu, South Korea, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2020. South Korea's president has put his country on its highest alert for infectious diseases, saying Sunday that officials should take "unprecedented, powerful" steps to fight a viral outbreak. (Im Hwa-young/Yonhap via AP) The number of new Chinese cases has seesawed daily but has remained under 1,000 for the past four days. Several changes to how infections are counted, however, have made it difficult to draw conclusions from the figures. The central Chinese city of Wuhan and other parts of Hubei province, where the outbreak first emerged in December, remain under lockdown. More than 80% of the country's cases are in Hubei, where the death toll has also been higher than the rest of the nation. Most of the South Korean cases have been reported in the country's fourth-largest city, Daegu, and the surrounding area. According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, some 320 cases have also been confirmed to have links to a branch of the local Shincheonji church in Daegu, which has become the biggest cluster of viral infections in South Korea. Shincheonji, which has been viewed as a cult movement by mainstream Christian organizations, tried to defend itself from growing public anger directed at the church. In a video statement posted on its website, church spokesman Simon Kim said Shincheonji has shut down all its 1,100 local churches and other facilities since one of its church members tested positive for the virus on Feb. 18, the first patient in Daegu. Workers wearing protective gear spray disinfectant as a precaution against the COVID-19 coronavirus in a local market in Daegu, South Korea, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2020. South Korea's president has put the country on its highest alert for infectious diseases and says officials should take "unprecedented, powerful" steps to fight a viral outbreak. (Im Hwa-young/Yonhap via AP) Earlier Sunday, Daegu Mayor Kwon Yong-jin said there were concerns that the number of those infected in the city could see yet another massive increase because authorities were launching intensive examinations of church members with virus-related symptoms. Meanwhile. a cruise ship passenger who had been hospitalized after testing positive for the new virus died on Sunday, the third fatality from the Diamond Princess, Japan's health ministry said. The ministry also announced 57 more cases of infections from the ship, including 55 crew members still on board and two passengers who had infected roommates and are in a prolonged quarantine at a government facility. With the new cases, 691 people have been infected on the ship, or nearly one-fifth of its 3,711 passengers and crew. Japan has confirmed a total of 838 cases and four deaths from the virus, including those on the ship. Meanwhile, a diplomatic row erupted after Israel turned back a South Korean airliner, underscoring fear and tensions over the fast-spreading outbreak. A poster detailing precautions to take against the coronavirus is seen at a bus station in Goyang, South Korea, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2020. South Korea's president has put the country on its highest alert for infectious diseases and says officials should take "unprecedented, powerful" steps to fight a viral outbreak. The signs read "Precautions against the coronavirus." (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) A Korean Air flight with 188 passengers that landed at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport Saturday evening was taxied away from the terminal while authorities allowed only 11 Israelis to enter the country. The plane returned to South Korea with the rest of the passengers on Sunday, according to airline officials. Seouls Foreign Ministry said Sunday that it was closely monitoring the incident and providing active consular assistance to South Koreans staying in Israel. It said it will evacuate South Korean tourists from Israel if necessary. Yonhap news agency cited South Korea's Foreign Ministry as registering a strong protest with the Israeli government. South Korea earlier informed Israel that a group of tourists who travelled to Israel and the West Bank for a week this month tested positive for the virus upon returning home. Israeli and Palestinian health authorities asked people who were in close contact with the tourists to quarantine themselves. South Korean health authorities said Sunday that 18 of the 39 South Koreans who had made the group pilgrimage later tested positive for the virus. She said the 21 others were being tested. Forty-one Catholic churches in their neighbourhoods halted Sunday Masses and other gatherings. Israel's Foreign Ministry issued travel warnings to South Korea and Japan due to the coronavirus, and the Health Ministry ordered Israelis returning from those countries to remain in home quarantine, as previously ordered for those returning from Hong Kong, China, Macau, Thailand and Singapore. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be adding more restrictions on entry to Israel from additional countries, including Australia and Italy. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Jordan said it was denying entry of non-Jordanians coming from Iran and South Korea, on top of a previous ban on those coming from China. Nationals arriving from those countries will be quarantined. Downtown Daegu was mostly deserted Sunday, with shelves at some supermarkets and stores empty. Many restaurants, bars, real-estate offices and tour agencies shut down as traffic nosedived and people stayed home, ordering food and supplies online. Kim Mi-yeon, who opened her cake shop in Daegu on Sunday despite worries about infection, said she received only one group of customers. Im also worried about being infected, but I still opened my shop today to make a living, she said by phone. On weekends, I used to hire five part-time employees, but I've recently told all of them not to come. How can I hire them at a time when I have fewer then 10 customers a day? ___ Associated Press journalists Yanan Wang and Henry Hou in Beijing, Frances D'Emilio in Rome, Ilan Ben Zion in Jerusalem, Fares Akram in Amman, Jordan, and Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report. Malaysian politics is set for a new twist again. Barely two years after switching camps to win the elections in May 2018, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad is reportedly working with old allies to form a new government that will now exclude the man in place to be his successor. Anwar Ibrahim forged an alliance with arch rival Mahathir to topple the party that had led the nation since its independence. Despite pledges to hand power to Anwar, the 94-year-old premier has repeatedly taken a stance to only step down after resolving problems inherited by the previous administration - in spite of Anwar's "understanding" it should take place around May this year. Now, Anwar says some members of his own party are working with Mahathir's to shake up the ruling Pakatan Harapan or PH coalition, and had met with the country's king on Sunday. "Right now we are waiting for information," Anwar said in response to a question at a Sunday event streamed on Facebook. "But we know there's an attempt to topple PH to form a new government," he added, pointing to "former friends" in Mahathir's party and those who may have defected from his own camp. A spokesperson for Mahathir's Bersatu party couldn't immediately be reached for comment on Anwar's remarks. Mahathir could be working together again with the United Malays National Organisation or UMNO, the party he once led and defected from, and which he later helped defeat in a stunning victory in 2018. It could also bring fresh political tumult to the Southeast Asian nation, and deter investors looking for stability at a time when the global coronavirus epidemic and trade wars are hurting growth. "It's a sell signal," said Stephen Innes, chief market strategist at Axicorp Ltd. "The current situation will likely mean there will be horse-trading going on and that may be more likely to boost spending rather than fiscal prudence and, perhaps, the risk here is more massive deficits. But the more parties involved, the more complicated the horse-trading." The Malaysian benchmark stock index has fallen 17% since the 2018 elections, making it one of the 10 worst-performers globally. While the monarchy's role in Malaysia is largely ceremonial, the king retains some discretionary powers and political leaders typically meet the ruler before announcing major political changes. Mahathir wasn't present at the meeting with the king or a dinner later attended by many party leaders from ruling and opposition groups. Should he break ties with Anwar, Mahathir would need alliances with UMNO and another opposition group, Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party or PAS, because he wouldn't have enough parliamentary seats to retain power without them. He must have the support from 112 out of 222 members of parliament. Anwar's People's Justice Party, or PKR, has 50 seats in parliament, and it's not clear how many will stick with him. Azmin Ali, deputy president of the party, was reported to have met with the king on Sunday. Azmin, who is also economic affairs minister, has at times been publicly at odds with Anwar. The ethnic Chinese-dominated Democratic Action Party, also part of the ruling coalition, has 42 seats and it isn't known where their loyalties lie, though they weren't mentioned as being in audience with the king on Sunday. DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng is Malaysia's finance minister, and his role may be replaced if the party isn't part of the new government. Bersatu has 26 seats, and another ruling coalition party, Amanah, has 11. UMNO and PAS have 56 between them, while some parties in the states of Sabah and Sarawak are expected to support Mahathir. "We've been through worse before," a visibly-tired Anwar, 72, said on Sunday. "This is just a small test." The relationship between Anwar and Mahathir has been marked by decades of bitterness and public attacks, stemming from Mahathir's decision during a prior stint in power to sack Anwar as his deputy amid a dispute on how best to respond to the Asian financial crisis two decades ago. After he was fired in 1998, Anwar was jailed in the majority Muslim nation for committing sodomy and abusing power, charges he denied. He was convicted in 2014 - during former Prime Minister Najib Razak's rule - on a subsequent sodomy charge and jailed in 2015 when his appeal was denied. Anwar was pardoned by the king a week after 2018 election victory and thanked Mahathir for his help in getting released. Mahathir had promised during the election campaign to stand aside for Anwar once he was free but almost immediately pushed back the potential timeline by a number of years. Questions on the timeline for the handover of power never ceased, fraying the ruling alliance and making it harder for the government to focus on fulfilling campaign pledges. At a Friday press conference, Mahathir said he had unanimous agreement from Pakatan Harapan leaders to stay in power through the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings later this year, which Malaysia is hosting. He said he held the prerogative to decide whether to step down at all. Anwar, who was at the media briefing, concurred and said he would need to be patient. "We have been most moderate in our approach, always supportive, and almost god-like in our level of patience," Anwar said on Sunday. He referenced the legend of a deity with a magic arrow and said, "at the right moment, we will use our magic arrow." - - - Bloomberg's Philip J. Heijmans contributed to this report. Even before he was announced the winner in Nevada, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders was already shifting his attention to Super Tuesday and putting on a push to win Texas and San Antonio specifically. Were going to win the Democratic primary in Texas, the Vermont senator said to a roar from more than 3,000 people at the Cowboys Dancehall. The president gets very upset easily so dont tell him that were going to beat him here in Texas. Seeking safety: Civilians flee from Idlib toward the north to find safety inside Syria near the border with Turkey. Photo: AP Photo It was their fourth attempt to cross. The smugglers trafficking them across the rocky plains of north-western Syria had been repeatedly spooked. On one occasion, the Syrian refugees were shot at by Turkish border police. But when they finally made it, having fled Assad regime barrel bombs and Russian air strikes to the safe haven of Turkey, there was little relief. "Arriving here was one of the worst feelings," Ahmed Barish says as he clutches his 18-month-old son tight. "I already had a country," he says. "We sacrificed a lot for this revolution, coming here, we've lost all of that." Ahmed is one of the lucky ones. More than 900,000 people have been uprooted in recent weeks as the forces of Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, push deep into the last remaining rebel-held slice of Syria. Most are crammed up against a border wall separating Syria from Turkey, living in makeshift shelters or sleeping out in freezing rain and sleet. From the safety of a small apartment in the Turkish city of Gaziantep, 48km from the border, Ahmed recalls scrambling through a small tunnel under the concrete barrier with the help of the smugglers. He remembers his coat snagging as he climbed a barbed-wire fence, the whole time shielding his son Firas from the cold. Eventually, the group piled into the back of a pickup truck with Turkish licence plates. The driver demanded an extra $100 from each of them to take them to the town of Kilis - exhausted, they all paid up. Ahmed is 25 but could pass for twice that. In January, the regime neared his home in Saraqib. After eight years of war, it was time to leave. He moved his family to the border town of Azaz and sought out a smuggler. Ahmed left money with a friend in Syria, only paying once he reached Turkey. One Friday evening last month, they were taken to a border village from where they trudged through the mountains with 13 others. At one point a baby started to cry. "They told the mother she would be left to die, if she didn't shut the baby up - there was no humanity," he says. "The baby's name was Hanan, I can still hear the mother whispering it." The recent Idlib offensive by Syrian troops is the largest displacement crisis in the near decade-long war. While hundreds of thousands remain trapped on the Syrian side of the border, a handful have thrown themselves into the hands of smugglers. Would-be Isil recruits and refugees once crisscrossed the border between Turkey and Syria. They traded places with such ease that some rebels were known to cross out of Syria for an afternoon's rest. That porous border is no more. In 2018, Turkey completed a wall stretching more than 400 miles along the frontier. Now the concrete serpent snakes its way through valleys and along ridges, guard towers and cameras scanning the undergrowth for any sign of those trying to cross. Many in Idlib fear the Assad regime, but, with the wall holding strong and Ankara unwilling to allow refugees in, they are left in a desperate sprawl along the border. A lack of housing and tents has forced thousands to live under trees and in half-built buildings. As the temperature dropped below freezing last week, NGOs reported cases of infants freezing to death. The journey is expensive. Ahmed paid in US dollars - $3,600 for himself, his wife and child. It is also dangerous. Border guards are known to open fire on those attempting to cross. Smugglers affiliated to what remains of the Free Syrian Army have found great opportunity in the offensive. Several contacted by reporters quoted prices of more than $3,000 per person. They send lower-paying clients to better-guarded parts of the border, using them as a diversion for those paying the top rate. "They are as bad as the regime, as bad as Isil. You are talking about pure evil here," says Ahmed. In the warmth of their apartment, Firas is restless in his father's arms. He slept through much of the crossing. "He does not know what he experienced," Ahmed says. "We are out now, that's the important thing." Turkey hosts three million refugees, but the welcome they once received is gone. Ankara want the Syrians sent home, and is insistent they will not open borders for this latest crisis. Since arriving just over three weeks ago, life in Turkey has offered up new worries for Ahmed. As undocumented Syrians, he and his family are liable for deportation at any moment. Coming to Turkey was supposed to bring an end to Ahmed's troubles. He resisted fleeing for almost eight years, now he is afraid he may be sent back. "Even when I'm in the supermarket, I'm looking over my shoulder. If I see the police in the street, I cross the road, I worry my landlord might turn me in. If they send us back to Idlib, I don't have the money to get us out again - we'll be finished," he says. Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021] Pariah India: A free-market democracy falling apart By Shashi Tharoor exclusively for the Sunday Times in Sri Lanka View(s): View(s): NEW DELHI After India launched far-reaching economic reforms in 1991, its stature in the world rose steadily. The country was already recognised as a thriving democracy and an example to the world of how to manage diversity in a free and open society. Its enhanced economic clout and the size of its increasingly prosperous market added to its appeal. Its self-branding as the worlds fastest-growing free-market democracy worked; world leaders queuing up to visit New Delhi became a burden for a generation of diplomatic protocol officers. But in recent months, it has all begun to fall apart. The reason is not hard to find. Indias domestic political environment has turned toxic under Prime Minister Narendra Modis Hindu nationalist government, owing to a train of divisive, socially discriminatory policies, accompanied by incendiary political rhetoric bordering on Islamophobia. Moreover, a series of disastrous economic decisions notably demonetisation and the botched implementation of a nationwide Goods and Services Tax put many small entrepreneurs out of business and threw millions of people out of work, further convulsing Indian society. And economic failure has only driven Modis Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to double down on its political agenda, animated by the prejudices of its Hindutva ideology. In particular, a series of decisions suggests the depth of the alienation, stoked by BJP policies and attitudes, of Indias 180-million strong Muslim population. In recent years, the BJP has criminalised an Islamic form of divorce, talaq-e-biddat; abolished the autonomy enjoyed by Indias only Muslim-majority state, Jammu and Kashmir; campaigned for and celebrated a Supreme Court judgment awarding the site of a destroyed mosque to Hindus; and amended Indias citizenship laws to give fast-track citizenship only to non-Muslim refugees and migrants from three neighboring countries. These actions sparked weeks of protest across the country and have subverted Indias pluralist secularism. And if that wasnt bad enough, the heavy-handed and brutal response to protests in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, where 27 Muslim protestors were shot dead, campuses invaded, and students assaulted, has shaken Indias reputation as a democracy to be admired. The Rising India narrative rested on the economys performance and potential, and on Indias success at managing its internal differences democratically and largely peacefully. Rapid economic growth opened up new opportunities for cooperation with foreign countries: neighbors wanted to take advantage of their proximity, while major powers saw a useful partner worth courting. The contrast with Chinas rise as an authoritarian state was implicit. The Indian system, many felt, was not only more attractive, but also worked just as well. No longer. Thanks to BJPs divisive sectarianism, driven by narrow party-political goals, Indias stature in the world has never been lower. The recent developments have embarrassed Indias friends in the neighboring Muslim countries of Bangladesh and Afghanistan, shaken the confidence of foreign investors, antagonised influential members of the US Congress, and earned the government a chorus of disapproval. Major foreign newspapers, whether on the right (like the Wall Street Journal or the Financial Times) or the left (like the Guardian and the Washington Post) have published critical editorials about India in recent months. The drumbeat of daily reporting and commentaries is relentlessly negative. At home, even neutral figures known for their habitual reticence on political matters have expressed alarm. Former Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon recently described the governments amendment to the Citizenship Act as a self-inflicted goal that has isolated India and resulted in the country being routinely mentioned alongside Pakistan as an intolerant state. The divisive policies of the government, he added, has given our adversaries platforms to attack us and left India with no international support apart from a section of the Indian diaspora and some extreme right Members of the European Parliament. Several world leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the visiting Norwegian king, Harald V, and chiefs of United Nations agencies on human rights and refugees, have criticised the governments recent moves. For the first time in over 40 years, Kashmir was discussed in the UN Security Council. The bipartisan consensus on strong bilateral relations that has existed in the United States for 25 years, irrespective of the government in Delhi or Washington, has been broken. What the world thinks matters more than ever before, not least because India is far more dependent on external trade and investment. Foreign investment requires trust and faith in the future, which is fast eroding. The world increasingly sees India as an intolerant, narrow-minded country. Its credit ratings have been downgraded. Seven countries have issued travel warnings. The Indian economys stumbling performance and its domestic political divides have created new foreign-policy challenges in an increasingly difficult external environment, with a transactional President Donald Trump taking a cost-benefit view of the US-India relationship and Chinese President Xi Jinping strengthening his support for Indias hostile neighbor, Pakistan. Amid a period of domestic and global unpredictability, Indias place in the twenty-first-century world, which once seemed so promising, is again being called into question. The Indian government shows little sign of waking up to the consequences of its domestic policies. It seems to assume that a country of 1.3 billion people with the worlds fifth-largest economy, a member of the G20 and the BRICS, cannot be ignored. It consoles itself that its actions still garner popular support in India. But an India that is perceived as bigoted, with a government that, intoxicated by intolerant majoritarianism, is willfully driving sectarian wedges between its people, can forget about the global embrace on which its future depends. Shashi Tharoor, a former UN under-secretary-general and former Indian Minister of State for External Affairs and Minister of State for Human Resource Development, is an MP for the Indian National Congress. Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2020. www.project-syndicate.org Chinese President Xi Jinping has called the ongoing coronavirus epidemic the largest public health emergency since the founding of the country under Communist rule in 1949. The coronavirus (covid-19) outbreak has killed over 2,400 people, infected more than 77,000 and slowed down the worlds second largest economy in barely weeks since its severity was acknowledged and containment measures were implemented by Beijing in the third week of January. Hundreds of millions in China are currently facing restrictions on their movement in some way or the other across the country the epicentre Hubei province is sealed off and under a lockdown. This is a crisis for us and it is a big test, he said at a meeting on Sunday. The Covid-19 outbreak is a major public health emergency that spreads fastest, causes the most extensive infection, and is the most difficult to contain in the country since the founding of the Peoples Republic of China, Xi was quoted as saying by the official news agency, Xinhua. The epidemic situation remains grim and complex and it is now a most crucial moment to curb the spread, Xi said. Xi gave the speech during, what the state media called, an unprecedented meeting of the ruling Communist Party of Chinas (CPC) top leadership including all members of the powerful seven-member CPC politburos standing committee. Thousands more provincial and local leaders were connected to the meeting via video conferencing. Xis statement comes in the backdrop of mounting fears of the virulent virus spreading rapidly in countries geographically apart like South Korea, Italy and Iran, which recorded its eighth death from the pathogen. Xi said it was necessary to learn from obvious shortcomings exposed during Chinas response to the outbreak, which is said to have spread outwards from the Chinese central city of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei, the province worst hit by the epidemic. Xi said that the epidemic will inevitably deal a relatively big blow to Chinas economic and social development. In general, the fundamentals of Chinas long-term sound economic growth remain unchanged, Xi said. China has seen a slow return to work since an extended forced by the escalating outbreak from Hubei to all provinces and regions in China -- Chinese New Year (CNY) break, as officials urged the public to avoid gatherings and stay at home. Those living in low-risk areas should return to regular life as soon as possible, Xi said, calling for new fiscal measures to help smaller businesses that have been hit hard by the outbreak. Shannon Airport in Fredericksburg, Virginia is pictured above. Google Street View Ryan Guy Parker was arrested on Wednesday after being accused of taking a plane for a joyride despite not having a pilot's license. The incident happened in September 2018, with witnesses saying Parker flew in poor conditions, came dangerously close to fuel tanks, and made a rough landing. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. An airport worker was arrested this week, after federal prosecutors accused him of taking a plane for a joyride back in 2018, despite the fact he didn't have a pilot's license. According to the affidavit filed on February 4, Ryan Guy Parker "knowingly and willfully" took off in an aircraft at Shannon Airport in Fredericksburg, Virginia on September 27, 2018. Several witnesses who were at the airport said Parker flew in poor conditions and came with 50 feet of fuel tanks, which would have been like a "bomb going off at the airport" if he had struck them, One witness said that the aircraft Parker was flying, a Teratorn Tierra II, was "a bucket of bolts" that was unsafe. After flying around for about 10 to 15 minutes, Parker "bounced the airplane on landing and spun out." One of the witnesses said they recognized Parker because he used to run an airplane washing business at the airport. After landing, Parker told one of the witnesses that "he had been working on the aircraft when the throttle became stuck, causing him to go airborne," according to the affidavit. But speaking to witnesses later, he confessed to flying other planes before without a license. The investigator also wrote in the affidavit that it's believed Parker flew another aircraft at another airport in Fredericksburg just a couple of weeks before the September 27 incident. However, he's only being prosecuted for this one instance. Story continues Parker was arrested on Wednesday and charged with flying without a license. Read the original article on Business Insider A woman was punched and knocked unconscious after she stepped in to defend her Chinese friend who was accused of carrying coronavirus. Trainee lawyer Meera Solanki, from Solihull, was out with friends celebrating her 29th birthday at Birmingham's Ana Rocha Bar and Gallery on Frederick Street. Miss Solanki was inside the venue with her friends including Mandy Huang, 28, who was visiting from London, when the group were targeted by a group of Asian men. Trainee lawyer Meera Solanki, from Solihull (left) with friend Mandy Huang, 28, from London (right) Trainee lawyer Meera Solanki (pictured), from Solihull, was out with friends celebrating her 29th birthday The friends left the bar after Miss Solanki said she was repeatedly harassed by one of the men who later followed the three women out of the venue at around 2am on Sunday 9 February. Miss Solanki said: 'I was having birthday drinks with a group of of girls and guys including Chinese friends. 'There were a group of Asian men inside the venue - one of them kept coming up to me and harassing me. He seemed to have a problem with me being an Indian girl with a multi-racial group of friends,' she told The Sunday Mercury. Meera Solanki (left) pictured with Mandy Huang (right), 28, who was visiting from London for Miss Solanki's 29th birthday Miss Solanki added: 'We tried to ignore him, even when he tried to spit at one of my friends. 'Towards the end of the night - there was just the three of us girls left including my Chinese friend Mandy. She continued: 'The man came over again and was being aggressive so we left but he followed us. Miss Solanki was inside Birmingham's Ana Rocha Bar and Gallery (pictured file image) on Frederick Street with her friends when the group were targeted by a group of Asian men 'For some reason he got really angry with her. He started abusing her calling her a dirty c****. 'He said 'take your f****** coronavirus and take it back home.' Miss Solanki told how she was 'shocked and angry' and shouted at the man to stop while she tried to push him away. 'He punched me in the head, I hit the pavement and was knocked unconcious,' Miss Solanki said. An ambulance was called to the scene and a witness said: 'What I saw was beyond despicable. A totally vicious assault.' Miss Solanki spent six hours at Heartlands Hospital where she was treated with concussion and was off work for a week. She added: 'I was so shocked and horrified by his aggressive behaviour and horrific words. 'As I lay unconscious he continued to threaten my friends and abuse them before walking away calmly with his group of friends who did nothing to stop him or help me.' A member of a Birmingham based Anglo-Chinese group said yesterday paranoia surrounding the disease has led to unease and confrontation. West Midlands Police have launched an appeal to find the thug responsible for the shocking violence. There are 400,000 Chinese people living in England and Wales. Reports of coronavirus violence has already surfaced in Newcastle, York and Manchester. A spokeswoman for Birmingham Chinese Society, set up to foster relations between the city's Western and East Asian residents, said: 'There has always been abuse. The virus has given some individuals a reason for that abuse.' She explained: 'We wear masks to protect others from our coughs and sneezes. Some wear them as a protection against pollution. Some women wear them because they don't want to be seen without make-up. We do it to protect others, not ourselves.' A manager at Ana Rocha Bar confirmed the attack had taken place outside his premises, but said he was unaware what sparked the violence. The popular venue has CCTV of the incident. Co-owner of popular Chinatown restaurants Wing Wah and Caffe Dorian Chan said: 'I have heard of similar attacks based on people's shocking racism after the coronavirus outbreak. 'Thankfully, this attack has been reported to the police. And it's vital there is a proper investigation.' A West Midlands Police spokeswoman said: 'We're investigating after a woman was assaulted after another was racially abused in Frederick Street, Hockley, around 2am on Sunday February 9. 'A man made racist marks to one woman and after he was asked to stop he punched another female, in her 20s, in the face. 'She was temporarily knocked unconscious but escaped without serious injury. 'The attacker is described as Asian, 5ft 8ins tall, of large build and was wearing a flat cap and hoodie at the time. 'Anyone with information can contact us via Live Chat at west-midlands.police.uk between 8am and midnight or call 101 anytime. Quote crime reference number 20BW/39330Q/20.' West Midlands Ambulance Services said: 'We were called at 2:03am on February 9 to reports of an assault at an address on Frederick Street. An off-duty paramedic was already at the scene with the patient. 'The woman didn't want to be taken to accident and emergency, so our crews were stood down.' (Bloomberg) -- The European Unions first post-Brexit summit descended into acrimony as squabbling over the blocs trillion-euro budget exposed the fault lines holding back its geopolitical ambition. After a 28-hour gathering in Brussels, EU leaders conceded it was impossible to agree on a seven-year fiscal plan amid differences over spending. Theyll have to reconvene sometime before the end-2020 deadline. Unfortunately today weve observed that it wasnt possible to reach an agreement, European Council President Charles Michel said Friday. Weve worked very hard but we need more time. The budget is a cornerstone of EU policy that lets farmers compete against imports from the developing world, helps poorer states catch up with the rich ones and underpins projects that bind the union together. But its also a lightning rod for tensions. After three years of uncharacteristic unity during the Brexit negotiations, passions among the 27 member states are once again running high. Leaders spent the much of the summit in different groups as they sought to strike alliances over the budgets size and fine print. Meanwhile, technical officials from each country were on standby, armed with laptops and notepads to sift through new proposals. But for all their ambition to project an image of the EU as a united global superpower, its leaders spent the better part of two days bickering over fractions of a percentage point of the blocs output. Ive heard enough of red lines today, Angela Merkel said after the meeting, voicing her frustration over the manner in which negotiations were conducted. When its eventually sealed, the final accord will signal whether Europe is prepared to spend more collectively to further its goals, whether it wants to prioritize innovation over handouts to traditional industries and whether it will wield its financial muscle to force member-states like Hungary and Poland to respect the rule-of-law. The scrap for cash to fund agriculture and regional development -- as well as newer issues like climate change and migration -- was further complicated by the U.K.s departure, which leaves a hole of as much as 75 billion euros ($80 billion). Story continues Two Camps The EU split into two camps: net beneficiaries in the south and east seeking higher spending, and net payers in the north wary of a backlash at home for agreeing to chip in more. The Netherlands, Austria, Denmark and Sweden, known as the Frugal Four, were joined by Germany in arguing to keep the spending ceiling at 1% of the blocs gross national income. They also pushed for a permanent system of rebates granted for the largest net contributors. On the other side, a group of around 16 southern and eastern nations see regional funding as key to helping them catch up with wealthier neighbors and want rebates phased out or abolished. They sought an expenditure ceiling nearer the 1.1% put forward by the European Commission. Some even clung to the European Parliaments 1.3% proposal. It was disappointing, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said, echoing sentiments voiced by many leaders. We need a balance between national interests and those of the union. We cant present a vision thats not backed by budgetary commitments and you cant do that on 1%. A deal needs to be struck before year-end to avoid a freeze in some spending for 2021 -- including funding for poorer regions. We now have to let the dust settle, EU Budget Commissioner Johannes Hahntold reporters. Then we have to look into the figures and see what has to be done. --With assistance from Katharina Rosskopf, Irina Vilcu, Nikos Chrysoloras, John Follain, Jonathan Stearns, Ania Nussbaum, Lyubov Pronina, Ian Wishart and Maria Tadeo. To contact the reporters on this story: Viktoria Dendrinou in Brussels at vdendrinou@bloomberg.net;Arne Delfs in Berlin at adelfs@bloomberg.net;Jasmina Kuzmanovic in Zagreb at jkuzmanovic@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Sills at bsills@bloomberg.net, Andrew Langley, Richard Bravo For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. NEW ORLEANS - A man was struck and killed by a Mardi Gras float during a raucous weekend street parade in New Orleans, becoming the second person in days killed along a parade route during this year's Carnival season, authorities said. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 22/2/2020 (689 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A police officer works the scene where a man was reportedly hit and killed by a float of the Krewe of Endymion parade in the runup to Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020. A person was struck by a float and fatally injured Saturday evening during one of the iconic parades of the Mardi Gras season in New Orleans, authorities said. It was the second death in days to mar this year's Carnival festivities. (Max Becherer/The Advocate via AP) NEW ORLEANS - A man was struck and killed by a Mardi Gras float during a raucous weekend street parade in New Orleans, becoming the second person in days killed along a parade route during this year's Carnival season, authorities said. The man was fatally injured Saturday evening as the popular Krewe of Endymion was rolling, New Orleans police said in a statement. He was pronounced dead at the scene, and the Orleans Parish Coroner's Office was to release his name and cause of death after completing an autopsy and notifying his family. The remainder of Endymion's parade was scrapped Saturday evening. Police said 13 floats had already gone ahead when the accident occurred with the 14th float in the formation. Remaining floats that followed, along with marching groups, were diverted from the accident scene on Canal Street, a wide route popular with parade viewers in the Mississippi River port city. Over one thousand members of the Krewe of Muses celebrates its 20th year as it rolls on 26 floats on the uptown route with the theme '2020 Visions-NostradaMuse Sees All' in New Orleans, La. Friday, Feb. 21, 2020. Featured floats are: The shoe, the Sirens, the Bathtub, Muses Ducks and the Goddessy float. (Max Becherer/The Advocate via AP) The float, with its gaudy lights still twinkling, was cordoned off by police on horseback and on foot. All around, streets were strewn with tossed bead necklaces and trinkets thrown from the floats. The death prompted an outpouring of sympathy from other parade participants, who were working quickly to adjust their parades. The Krewe of Orpheus extends its heartfelt sympathy to the families of those whose lives were lost in the recent parade incidents, Krewe of Orpheus Captain Sonny Borey said in a statement, echoing those of other parade participants Sunday. The fatality came as New Orleans was mourning the death of a 58-year-old woman who witnesses said was run over by a parade float Wednesday night. Over one thousand members of the Krewe of Muses celebrates its 20th year as it rolls on 26 floats on the uptown route with the theme '2020 Visions-NostradaMuse Sees All' in New Orleans, La. Friday, Feb. 21, 2020. (Max Becherer/The Advocate via AP) Mayor LaToya Cantrell said the Louisiana city was grieving. To be confronted with such tragedy a second time at the height of our Carnival celebrations seems an unimaginable burden to bear. The City and the people of New Orleans will come together, we will grieve together, and we will persevere together, Cantrell said in a statement. On Sunday, Cantrell re-emphasized the need for safety precautions and said the issue will be examined in the coming days. In the weeks and months ahead, we will be looking at further changes that need to be made to make our routes and our celebrations more safe but the work starts right now," she said in a statement. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Adding to the safety concerns, a person riding on a float in the Thoth parade in New Orleans fell Sunday from a lower level and was injured. City officials tweeted via NOLA Ready, an emergency preparedness site, that the float rider was in stable condition at a trauma centre. That person wasn't immediately identified. Wednesday's fatality had occurred during the parade of the Mystic Krewe of Nyx, an all-female Carnival group. Witnesses said the woman, New Orleans native Geraldine Carmouche, had apparently tried to cross between two parts of a tandem float and tripped over a hitch connecting the sections. The New Orleans Police Department tweeted later Sunday that it was banning all tandem floats, with the exception of large ones lighted with generators, from rolling in parades this festival season. Tandem floats, similar to the one involved in Saturday's incident, are multiple floats connected together and pulled by one tractor. The Carnival season is nearing its traditional all-out Fat Tuesday celebration, the raucous climax of a week or more of parades and partying. The deaths also come just a year after a car sped into a bicycle lane near a parade route, hitting nine people and killing two bicyclists not far from where the Krewe of Endymion formation had just passed. A man identified as the driver was subsequently charged with two counts of vehicular homicide. Before this year, the most recent Carnival float-related fatality in Louisiana happened in 2009, when a 23-year-old rider fell from a float and in front of its wheels in Carencro, about 120 miles (195 kilometres) west of New Orleans. And in 2008, a rider getting off a three-part float after the Krewe of Endymion parade in New Orleans was killed when the float lurched forward and the third section ran over him, according to police. ISTANBUL, Feb 22 (Reuters) - A member of Turkey's military was killed in Syria's Idlib region in a bomb attack by Syrian government forces, a regional governorate said on Saturday, the sixteenth soldier killed there so far this month. The Gaziantep Governorate said the victim was a tank mechanic. Turkey has sent thousands of troops and military equipment to the region south of its border to head off a push in recent weeks by government forces to retake the rebel-held territory after nine years of war. (Reporting by Jonathan Spicer and Irem Koca) The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Virginia Gamba, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children, Najat Maalla Mjid, and the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Adama Dieng, deplore the continued reports of human rights abuses committed against civilians including women and children in the South-West and North-West regions of Cameroon. We are deeply concerned about reports of violence, including the 14 February attack on Ngarbuh village in the Northwest region that left 23 civilians dead, including 15 children. The four officials deplored continued reports of attacks against civilians including extra-judicial killings, torture, arbitrary arrests and property destruction, as well as retaliatory attacks, abductions, rape and other forms of sexual violence, disproportionately affecting women and children in the south-west and north-west regions of Cameroon and forcing many to flee their homes. Children continue to be particularly affected by the crisis with reports of attacks on schools, extensive school closures in the affected regions and thousands of children out of school. Information received on the recruitment and use of children by armed actors and the detention of children for their actual or alleged association with armed actors raise further protection concerns. Hundreds of thousands of people are reported to be displaced in the affected regions and the lack of security has further exacerbated the plight of marginalized and vulnerable groups. It is urgent to prevent further violence and to protect all women, girls, boys and men from grave violations of international humanitarian and human rights law. Severely constrained humanitarian access and limited resources for service-providers has reduced the availability of sexual and reproductive healthcare for women, including urgent treatment for survivors of sexual violence, they said. The four senior officials called on the Cameroonian Government to discharge its primary responsibility to protect its population by addressing the root causes of violence and ensuring that victims of the attacks, are provided with the appropriate protection and assistance. They further called on the authorities to fully investigate and hold accountable those responsible for the serious violations and abuses that have been committed. We urge the Government of Cameroon to ensure full respect for human rights, including the rights of women and children, and to ensure that the humanitarian needs of civilians are met. Furthermore, we remind the Government that children associated with armed groups should be considered primarily as victims and their detention used only as a last resort and for the shortest period of time. We also emphasize that all forms of sexual violence are categorically prohibited under international humanitarian and human rights law. The United Nations offers its support and assistance to the authorities in Cameroon to address this situation and improve protection and service-delivery for civilians in affected areas, and for those who have been forcibly displaced. Advertisement Britain is set for its wettest February in 30 years as the country braced itself for yet more heavy rain this weekend. Stormy weather will bring further misery to communities still suffering from two weeks of downpours as concerns grow that more flood defences will buckle under the strain. An average 5.5in of rain has fallen across the UK so far this month but experts fear the figure could surpass the second highest record of 6.6in, which was set in 2014. According to Met Office records, the wettest ever February was in 1990 with an average rainfall of 7.6in. The Met Office warned that even a small amount of rain in areas deluged as Storms Ciara and Dennis ravaged the country could lead to yet more flooding owing to such wet ground (pictured is high tide at Whitby in North Yorkshire) A plane was photographed struggling to land easily at Leeds Bradford Airport as storm clouds seemed to gather With vast swathes of South Wales and central and northern England still recovering from the impact of Storms Ciara and Dennis, heavy showers and high winds have brought more flooding and warnings of worse to come. In the Yorkshire Dales, the village of Horton-in-Ribblesdale was cut off for six hours and a fire crew had to help locals. Thomas Millman, 57, landlord of the Crown pub, said it was the worst flooding he had seen in 40 years in the village. 'It swept in very, very quickly and I was forced to shut the pub at 9pm on Friday. We put sandbags outside, which has fortunately stopped it flooding. With vast swathes of South Wales and central and northern England still recovering from the impact of Storms Ciara and Dennis, heavy showers and high winds have brought more flooding and warnings of worse to come. Pictured: flooded roads in Upton-upon-Severn The Environment Agency said that river levels have exceeded existing records with the Colne, Ribble, Calder, Aire, Trent, Severn, Wye, Lugg and Derwent among the many rivers where records have been broken The Environment Agency sets up pumps to quell the levels of the River Lugg in Mordiford, Herefordshire, as a third consecutive weekend of stormy weather is bringing further flooding misery to already sodden communities One cyclist was less fortunate, trudging through floodwaters in North Wales as the river's banks burst once again Water continues to surround Upton upon Severn, Worcestershire, as more rain in northern England could lead to further flooding in already sensitive areas, the Met Office has said Although today will bring further rain, strong gusts and even snow on higher ground, Met Office forecasters said the conditions were not bad enough for a named storm. Pictured: people take shelter as waves crash in at high tide at Whitby, North Yorkshire 'But some people haven't been so lucky. The water was waist high on the main road and I know lots of people had to leave their homes. This is the third weekend on the trot it's been this bad. I don't remember weather like this.' The Environment Agency issued 90 flood warnings and 153 alerts yesterday, covering areas from Wiltshire to Cumbria. Two severe flood warnings meaning an imminent danger to life remain in place for the River Lugg at Hampton Bishop, near Hereford. Although today will bring further rain, strong gusts and even snow on higher ground, Met Office forecasters said the conditions were not bad enough for a named storm. Flooded pitches at Upton-upon-Severn rugby club, as a third consecutive weekend of stormy weather is bringing further flooding misery to already sodden communities Luke Miall, a meteorologist at the Met Office, has warned that 'even small amounts of rain could lead to some further flooding just because the ground is so wet after the recent wet weather that we've been seeing' (pictured, flooding in Oxford today) The River Thames in Oxford breeches its banks after the heavy rainfall, flooding the surrounding parks, allotments and fields in the Botley area Flooding in Oxford today Heavy rain, strong winds and flooding caused by Storm Dennis has wreaked havoc with homeowners and commuters this week, but it has also affected revellers trying to enjoy a night out in Leeds Forecaster Marco Petagna warned of high winds in the North and another band of stormy weather sweeping in from the South-West today. Yellow weather warnings have been issued for rain in parts of Wales today, with 2.4in expected in some upland areas. Another storm system was expected to move across the whole of the UK tonight with high winds, rain and snow across Scotland and parts of northern England. Dale and Cindy Ekdahl got into the grain bin safety business more than a decade ago. It started, Dale recalls, after a 13-year-old boy died not far from their farm in western Minnesota. The boy had been buried in grain, a common type of accident: Shifting grain inside the bin smothers a person whos pulled under. Those tall silver grain bins are ubiquitous in farm country. Theyre used to store the fall harvest but can also be dangerous. Each year, dozens of grain bin accidents happen across the country. Many are fatal. The Edkahls have developed a way to rescue people who fall in to grain bins and they hope state officials will do something to ensure that farms across the state have equipment on hand that could help prevent accidents altogether. After the 13-year-olds death, a local fire department asked Dale Ekdahl, who had worked as a safety consultant, to build gear rescuers could use to help save someone trapped in the quicksand-like grain. ADVERTISEMENT Other grain bin rescue gear existed on the market, but Ekdahl worked with the firefighters to make what they considered to be a better system. He built a set of curved metal shields about six feet tall that could be inserted into the grain, forming a circle around the trapped person. The smooth metal shields create a barrier that allows rescuers to dig the person out and prevent the grain from covering them. It worked and Ekdahl now sells the equipment. He and his family have trained first responders from 22 states on how to conduct grain bin rescues. This winter, business is booming. The Ekdahls are hearing from fire departments concerned about all the wet corn brought in across the Midwest in the fall, when soggy fields and early snow forced a late harvest. "Just a crappy fall. Wet, wet grain everywhere," Ekdahl said. "We see it in our business. We have orders after orders after orders coming in now. We never have orders this time of year." Grain thats put in a bin while still wet is the most common cause of grain silo accidents, Ekdahl said. Wet corn can create clumps that make it difficult to load the grain from the bin into trucks when its hauled to market. When that happens, someone has to enter the bin and break up the chunks. Grain can shift, trapping the person, and sometimes suffocating them. According to the state Department of Agriculture, at least eight people died in grain bin accidents last year in Minnesota. Researchers at Purdue University have been tracking these accidents for decades. Minnesota is among the three states with the largest number of cases, along with Iowa and Indiana. Grain bin accidents which the researchers believe are under-reported by at least 30 percent can include falls, asphyxiation from toxic fumes and getting caught in machinery. In Minnesota, 114 of the 193 accidents the researchers have tracked since 1962 involved people getting caught in the grain itself. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz proclaimed this week "Grain Bin Safety Week" to draw attention to the issue. ADVERTISEMENT Losing sleep over grain bin accidents On their farm near Erdahl, a half-hour south of Fergus Falls, Cindy and Dale Ekdahl built an indoor training facility to teach grain bin safety, and how to use the rescue equipment. They regularly hold classes for firefighters and people who work for commercial grain elevators. Volunteers are buried waist-deep in a roofless grain bin. Rescuers practice removing them while others watch from walkways around the bin. On a whiteboard in the office is a list of 22 cases over the past decade in which the Ekdahls say people were successfully rescued by first responders using their equipment. But the Ekdahls are frustrated. Theyd prefer to get to a point where safety practices are so standardized that theres no need for grain bin rescues and no need for their rescue equipment. And theyre hoping state lawmakers, which began the 2020 legislative session last week, will agree. "We're not doing enough, because they keep having accidents, people keep dying," Dale Ekdahl said. "Nothing weve done ever slows down the death rate." Cindy Ekdahl said she loses sleep every time she hears about someone dying in a grain bin because they werent using protective safety gear. "A lot of times, I cry," she said, "because when it's just cutting corners so preventable it just makes me sad." Many grain bin deaths happen on farms, and not at grain elevators. Large grain-handling companies are required to follow specific safety procedures. But Dale Ekdahl said individual farmers arent subject to those regulations, and often cut corners: entering a grain bin alone when conditions are dangerous; not wearing a safety harness; attached to a rope to keep them from getting buried in the grain. ADVERTISEMENT So the Ekdahls are widening their focus to put more emphasis on preventing the situations that require a rescue. They want to get safety gear in the hands of farmers, because on the farm is where most grain bin accidents happen. They want state lawmakers to create incentives for farmers to buy safety equipment and for agri-businesses to underwrite some of the cost. "Safety does not have to be expensive. It does not have to be time-consuming. You just have to use your common sense," Cindy Ekdahl said. Dale Edkahl said he believes the solution is education and encouraging farmers to be safer around grain bins. His company has assembled a farm safety kit, with supplies like a safety harness, a rope, a face mask and a walkie-talkie to call for help. They sell for about $300 each. Ekdahl wants agribusiness and government to provide some incentive for farmers to buy and use safety gear, whether from his company or anywhere else. The Edkahls acknowledge such a move could mean more business for them. But Dale Ekdahl said he doesnt care where farmers get their safety equipment his company isnt the only one that sells it as long as they have it and use it. The couple is about ready to retire, he said and, at this point, Cindy Edkahl, who owns the business, is tired of training rescuers after a tragedy. She wants to change the persistence of fatal grain bin accidents, year after year, across the country. "With what we do, we always come in after the fact. It would just be nice to do something to prevent those things from happening," she said. Dale insists he doesnt care where farmers get safety gear, but he wants them to think about the cost of cutting corners when it comes to grain bin safety. "If it saves one life, just one, it would be worth having 10,000 of them out there," Dale Ekdahl said, "if you could just save one life." Ekdahl testified Tuesday before the Minnesota Senate Agriculture, Rural Development, and Housing Policy committee. This story originally appeared at: https://www.mprnews.org/story/2020/02/19/experts-call-for-action-on-grain-bin-deaths-in-farm-country of story Questions or requests? Contact MPR News editor Meg Martin at newspartners@mpr.org 2019 Minnesota Public Radio. All rights reserved. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said on Friday there were no investigations into Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, the former National Security Council aide who testified in President Donald Trump's impeachment trial and was fired by the White House along with his twin brother. On Tuesday, Trump said the military may consider disciplining Vindman, who provided some of the most damaging testimony during an investigation by the U.S. House of Representatives of Trump's dealings with Ukraine. "There's no investigations of him," McCarthy said during an event at the National Press Club. Vindman is back at the Army and will be heading to a military college in the summer. Vindman was escorted from the White House last week as was his twin brother, Yevgeny, who worked as a lawyer at the NSC and is also a lieutenant colonel. "We sent him on his way to a much different location and the military can handle him any way they want," Trump said. Asked if he was suggesting that Vindman face disciplinary action, Trump said that would be up to the military. "If you look at what happened ... they're going to certainly, I would imagine, take a look at that," Trump said. Vindman, then the NSC's top Ukraine expert, testified that Trumps request for an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden, a potential Democratic political rival in the 2020 presidential election, and his son Hunter during a July phone call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was improper. The call led to the Republican president being impeached in the Democratic-controlled House and later acquitted in the Republican-majority Senate. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who was formerly the army secretary until taking the top Pentagon post, said in November that Vindman should not fear retaliation over his testimony. (Reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by Tom Brown) OTTAWAFederal officials lost or possibly destroyed sensitive records about the case of a naval officer convicted of selling secrets to Russia, an investigation by Canadas information commissioner has found. The commissioners probe, which involved the countrys top public servant and the prime ministers national-security adviser, left key questions unanswered because the classified records about the spy case could not be located. The episode began seven years ago when The Canadian Press filed an Access to Information Act request with the Privy Council Office for briefing notes, emails and reports about the case of Jeffrey Delisle from a three-week period in the spring of 2013. Delisle, a troubled junior naval officer, had been sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to passing classified western intelligence to Russia in exchange for cash on a regular basis for more than four years. The access law, intended to ensure government transparency, allows people who pay a $5 fee to ask for a wide array of federal documents, with some specific exceptions. The Privy Council Office, the apex of the federal bureaucracy, responded in August 2013 that the records concerning Delisle would be entirely withheld from release because they dealt with matters such as investigations, international relations and detection of subversive or hostile activities. The Canadian Press complained the following month to the information commissioner, an ombudsman for users of the law who has the power to review documents and decide whether they have been properly withheld. The events that followed were detailed this month in a letter to the news agency from information commissioner Caroline Maynard. The commissioners office asked in 2013 for an uncensored copy of the files to examine and the Privy Council Office said arrangements would be made for an investigator to view the sensitive records on site. However, it appears more than five years passed before the commissioners office followed up. In July 2019, the deputy director of the Privy Council Office corporate-services branch told one of the commissioners investigators the documents had most likely been inadvertently destroyed. Maynard then issued an order to Greta Bossenmaier, the national security and intelligence adviser to the prime minister at the time, to produce the records a move aimed at determining whether they had indeed been purged. In late November, the Privy Council Offices director of Access to Information replied on Bossenmaiers behalf that the Privy Council Office could neither locate the records nor confirm if they had been destroyed. The director provided a few more clues: in 2013, an access analyst viewed the records in a secure area of the offices security and intelligence secretariat. They were then placed in a folder that appears to have been returned to a different cabinet. Should the documents be located, PCO will inform your office, he wrote. As the PCO had still not confirmed the status of the documents, Maynard asked Privy Council clerk Ian Shugart in a Dec. 30, 2019, letter to provide any existing records by Jan. 20. I also urged the clerk to ensure that PCO take the necessary steps to guarantee that all records relevant to ongoing (Access to Information) complaints are properly stored, says Maynards letter to The Canadian Press. The Privy Council Offices assistant deputy minister replied to Maynard last month that the records could not be found and called the matter an isolated incident. Since the incident, the PCO has committed to ensuring a more rigorous approach is taken with such requests, said Pierre-Alain Bujold, a Privy Council Office spokesman. The PCO says it now directs officials to make copies of sensitive documents, ensure the request number is prominently displayed, and place the file in a centralized vault for safekeeping and future reference. Natalie Bartlett, a spokeswoman for Maynard, declined to comment, saying the access law doesnt allow the office to discuss an investigation unless and until it is published in a report. In her letter to The Canadian Press, Maynard, who became commissioner in March 2018, apologized for the delay in investigating the complaint. Your complaint has brought to the fore both the importance of institutions proper identification and preservation of responsive records, as well as the importance of conducting timely investigations. Maynard said that upon her appointment she instituted measures to ensure older complaints continue to be actively pursued and that files do not remain unassigned for lengthy periods of time. She added that in this case, without the records, I cannot effectively assess whether PCO was justified in refusing access, in whole or in part, under the act, nor can I prospectively recommend that information, incapable of being located, be disclosed. Iran has ordered the closure of schools and universities in two cities hit by a coronavirus outbreak that has killed five people in the country the highest number outside Asia. The move came as Iranian authorities reported one more death among 10 new cases of the virus. The COVID-19 outbreak in Iran first surfaced on Wednesday, when authorities said it claimed the lives of two elderly people in Qom, a Shia holy city south of the capital. They were the first confirmed deaths from the disease in the Middle East. "We have 10 new confirmed cases of COVID-19," Iran's health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour told state television on Saturday. "One of the new cases has unfortunately passed away," he added, noting that eight of them had been hospitalised in Qom and two in Tehran, without specifying where the death occurred. Specialised tests The latest cases take to 28 the total number of confirmed infections in Iran. According to Iran's Mehr News Agency, Jahanpour added that among thousands of people who have visited the medical centres across the country, 785 patients have been hospitalised for more specialised tests. Iran's Government Spokesman Ali Rabiyee announced on Thursday that a headquarters had been set up to take due measures to counter the outbreak of coronavirus epidemic. The government with its full capacity and sensitivity will follow up anti-coronavirus measures, Ali Rabiyee posted on his Twitter page. Earlier on, Minoo Mohraz, an Iranian health ministry official, said without elaborating that the virus possibly came from Chinese workers who work in Qom and traveled to China. Fears for the Coronavirus coincided with parliamentary elections on Friday, possibly influencing the turnout. Released from hospital According to Mehr News Agency, Iran signed a contract with an unnamed Chinese company in 2018 to build a 30 megawatt solar power plant in Qom province in 2018. According to figures published by the Chinese National Health Commission on 22 February, there are now a total of 76,288 reports of confirmed cases and 2,345 deaths in 31 provincial-level regions in China. A total of 20,659 patients was released from hospital ofter being cured. Outside China, Japan has the highest number with 751 infected and 3 dead, followed by South Korea (433 and 3 dead) and Singaport (89 cases). Italy reported its first death and a sudden surge in cases (30) and locked down ten towns in the north of the country. Four Indian crew members of the Diamond Princess cruise ship, moored off the Japan coast, have tested positive for Coronavirus (COVID-19), the Indian embassy in Japan informed on Sunday. The latest additions have taken the total number of Indians infected with the virus on the vessel to 12. The four individuals had undergone tests for the virus along with others still onboard the docked ship. @IndianEmbTokyo hoped that no additional Indian nationals onboard #DiamondPrincess would test positive for #COVID19. Unfortunately, results received as of 1200 JST include 4 Indian crew members having tested positive. All 12 Indians are responding well to treatment. @MEAIndia India in Japan (@IndianEmbTokyo) February 23, 2020 READ | South Korea Reports 2 More Deaths Due To Coronavirus, Total Cases Rise To 556 12 Indians infected The embassy also said that the 12 Indians infected are undergoing treatment and responding well to it. Earlier, eight Indians were tested positive for the COVID-19. On Saturday, the embassy had said that Indians still on board the Diamond Princess will be tested for the virus infection along with others after all the healthy passengers have disembarked. All Indian nationals, amongst others, onboard #DiamondPrincess will be tested for #COVID19 by Japanese authorities, after all passengers disembarked yesterday. @IndianEmbTokyo sincerely hopes that none will show any sign of #COVID19, enabling further facilitation. @MEAIndia India in Japan (@IndianEmbTokyo) February 22, 2020 READ | Coronavirus: Quarantined Diamond Princess To Set Sail Soon After Thorough Cleaning Steady disembarkations Passengers showing no signs of the deadly disease started deboarding the Diamond Princess after the quarantine period ended last week. Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said that over 1,000 passengers and crew will remain on board the ship after the disembarkations. On Saturday, around 100 more passengers, who were in close contact with the infected people on board, were allowed the deboard the ship. READ | Father Of 24-yr-old Stuck On Coronavirus Hit Diamond Princess Writes Letter To PM Modi The sailing infection A total of 138 Indians, including 132 crew and 6 passengers, were among the 3,711 people, onboard the ship when it docked at the Yokohama port, near Tokyo, on February 3. It was quarantined after a passenger who disembarked last month in Hong Kong was found to be the carrier of the disease. The ship has the largest cluster of COVID-19 cases outside China. Two former passengers of the ship have also died. (With PTI inputs) READ | Italy: Confirmed Coronavirus Cases Soar To 80 As Country Reports Second Death Precinct Properties New Zealand Limited (NZSE:PCT) just released its latest half-year results and things are looking bullish. It was a solid earnings report, with revenues and statutory earnings per share (EPS) both coming in strong. Revenues were 13% higher than analysts had forecast, at NZ$54m, while EPS were NZ$0.15 beating analyst models by 29%. 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've gathered the most recent statutory forecasts to see whether analysts have changed their earnings models, following these results. Check out our latest analysis for Precinct Properties New Zealand NZSE:PCT Past and Future Earnings, February 22nd 2020 Taking into account the latest results, the current consensus, from the six analysts covering Precinct Properties New Zealand, is for revenues of NZ$121.5m in 2020, which would reflect an uncomfortable 18% reduction in Precinct Properties New Zealand's sales over the past 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are expected to crater 34% to NZ$0.11 in the same period. Yet prior to the latest earnings, analysts had been forecasting revenues of NZ$122.9m and earnings per share (EPS) of NZ$0.11 in 2020. Analysts seem to have become more bullish on the business, judging by their new earnings per share estimates. The consensus price target was unchanged at NZ$1.83, implying that the improved earnings outlook is not expected to have a long term impact on value creation for shareholders. There's another way to think about price targets though, and that's to look at the range of price targets put forward by analysts, because a wide range of estimates could suggest a diverse view on possible outcomes for the business. The most optimistic Precinct Properties New Zealand analyst has a price target of NZ$2.07 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at NZ$1.52. Still, with such a tight range of estimates, it suggests analysts have a pretty good idea of what they think the company is worth. Story continues Further, we can compare these estimates to past performance, and see how Precinct Properties New Zealand forecasts compare to the wider market's forecast performance. One obvious concern is that although revenues are forecast to continue shrinking, the expected 18% decline next year is substantially more severe than the 4.9% annual decline over the past five years. Compare this with our data on other companies (with analyst coverage) in a similar industry, which in aggregate are forecast to see their revenue decline 3.8% per year. It seems clear that while revenues are expected to continue declining, analysts also expect the downturn to be more severe than that of the wider market. The Bottom Line The biggest takeaway for us from these new estimates is that the consensus upgraded its earnings per share estimates, showing a clear improvement in sentiment around Precinct Properties New Zealand's earnings potential next year. Fortunately, analysts also reconfirmed their revenue estimates, suggesting sales are tracking in line with expectations - although our data does suggest that Precinct Properties New Zealand's revenues are expected to perform worse than the wider market. The consensus price target held steady at NZ$1.83, 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 Precinct Properties New Zealand. Long-term earnings power is much more important than next year's profits. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for Precinct Properties New Zealand going out to 2023, and you can see them free on our platform here.. It might also be worth considering whether Precinct Properties New Zealand's debt load is appropriate, using our debt analysis tools on the Simply Wall St 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. She has been hopping between shows at this season's Milan Fashion Week. And Emily Ratajkowski cut a glamorous figure as she joined her friend Bella Hadid at the Fondazione Prada exhibition in the Italian city on Sunday. The actress, 28, displayed her stellar sense of style for the day, donning a golden yellow coat with a matching belt. Pals: Emily Ratajkowski, 28, cut a glamorous figure as she joined her friend Bella Hadid, 23, at the Fondazione Prada exhibition in the Italian city on Sunday Emily wore a low-cut top along with a pair of skintight black trousers while she added height to her frame with white knee-high boots from one of her favorite brands Zara. Accessorising with a black clutch bag, the Gone Girl star also sported a pair of dark sunglasses for the day by Versace Eyewear. Looking every inch the style maven as she made her way to the event, Emily completed her look by letting her brunette locks fall loose down her shoulders. Bella, 23, opted for a 90s-inspired look, donning a brown top with a matching miniskirt and trousers. Looking good: The actress displayed her stellar sense of style for the day, donning a golden yellow coat with a matching belt, and a pair of white knee-high boots from Zara The catwalk star also sported a pair of leopard print shoes along with a knee-length black leather jacket. Styling her brunette tresses into an updo, Bella also wore a pair of thick-rimmed glasses with a yellow tint from Post Malone x Arnette. Donning gold hoop earrings, the model completed her look for the day with a silver shimmering necklace. Fun: Emily has been hopping between shows at this season's Milan Fashion Week (pictured with Donatella Versace in February 2020) Emily was recently in Jamaica on Valentine's Day with her husband, the hunky Uncut Gems producer Sebastian Bear-McClard. They were joined by their pal Josh Ostrovsky and his new influencer second wife Caitlin King. Emily got married in February 2018 after a whirlwind romance and engagement to Sebastian. She made a splash with her surprise courthouse marriage to Sebastian in New York City, wearing a $200 (154) Zara trouser suit. Emily recently starred in a Super Bowl block-party themed advert for Babe, Josh's canned Rose brand for which she is 'Chief Of Taste.' Josh and Emily co-starred in the ad with none other than Diplo, the DJ and songwriter whose real name is Thomas Wesley Pentz. Emily got married in February 2018 after a whirlwind romance and engagement to Sebastian. She made a splash with her surprise courthouse marriage to Sebastian in New York City, wearing a $200 (154) Zara trouser suit. Fugitive gangster Ravi Pujari has been arrested in South Africa and being brought to India by a team of officials, including senior IPS officers from Karnataka, a top police official said on Sunday. Pujari, wanted in many cases including extortion and murder and been on the run for over 15 years, was deported to Senegal, from where he had jumped bail last year, and extradited. (We are) coming with him from Senegal. Now in Paris. (We are) coming by Air France and (would be) there (in India) by midnight, the police official, part of the team, told PTI. Pujari, was likely to be brought here by Monday morning, police sources said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) [The suit was] made in two parts, joined at the waist by a round iron band, over which the rubber-cloth was so well secured as to be quite watertight. The head was covered by a hood, concealing all but the eyes, mouth and nose. In the back of the headpiece, there was an air-chamber, which, when filled, gave the voyager a very comfortable pillow. Along the sides were two more large air-chambers, and still a couple below, to support the legs. They expressed the wish during meetings with a delegation of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) led by Secretary of the CPV Central Committee and head of the Party Central Committees Commission for Internal Affairs Phan Dinh Trac, who are on a Singapore visit from February 17-22. The visit was made at the invitation of Singapores Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, as part of a programme held in memory of late Singaporean President S R Nathan. While in Singapore, the delegation held meetings and working sessions with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong; Deputy PM, Finance Minister and leader of the ruling Peoples Action Party (PAP) Heng Swee Keat, and other high-ranking officials of the country. Singaporean leaders welcomed the visit of the Vietnamese delegation which took place when the Singapore-Vietnam strategic partnership is thriving in all fields. Speaking highly of Vietnams achievements over the years, they voiced their belief that under the leadership of the CPV, Vietnam has sufficient conditions for stronger development in the coming time, thereby raising the countrys position and role in regional and international arenas. For his part, Trac underlined that the CPV and the Vietnamese Government always view Singapore as a leading economic and long-term strategic partner in the countrys foreign policy. Vietnam hopes to develop the bilateral strategic partnership in a comprehensive and effective manner across all spheres, from politics, security-national defence, economy, trade to legal building and crime prevention, among others, he added. The two sides need to efficiently implement current agreements and cooperation mechanisms, thus boosting their cooperation through government-to-government, party-to-party and people-to-people channels, he requested. He voiced his hope that Singapore will keep up its important role and voice to strengthen solidarity and cooperation in ASEAN, and bring into play the blocs central role to maintain peace, security, order and stability in the region and the world. At the meetings, the two sides also exchanged views on situations in the region and the world, along with the importance of maintaining peace, stability and security in the East Sea and settling disputes by peaceful measures, in line with international law while ensuring freedom, security and safety of navigation and aviation. Both sides laid stress on the importance of experience sharing between the CPV and the PAP in party building and enhancement of capacity and combat readiness for members. They agreed that party-to-party exchanges will continue to serve as a stable political foundation to develop the Vietnam-Singapore relations in the coming time. Officials of Vietnam and Singapore discussed orientations and measures of cooperation in jurisdiction reform and completion of the legal system, as well as in jurisdiction support, anti-corruption, crime prevention and security-order maintenance. They consented to bolster information exchanges and training for personnel in the future. The Vietnamese party delegation also attended a working session with Sembcorp, one of the Singapores major corporations investing in Vietnam. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 23) A Filipino in Singapore has tested positive for the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the first confirmed case involving a Filipino in the country, the Department of Foreign Affairs said. The DFA said the Filipino is in isolation in Singapore's National Centre for Infectious Diseases, citing the Embassy of the Philippines in Singapore. "[Singapore] health officials to monitor the condition and well-being of our kababayan," said DFA Undersecretary Brigido Dulay on Twitter. The global death toll from novel coronavirus is at 2,458. As of Sunday noon, Singapore had at least 89 confirmed cases. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa goes about claiming to be a brainiac in health related matters and international diplomacy. He and his Minority friends held a press conference and gave an ultimatum to the Akufo-Addo administration to evacuate Ghanaian students in Wuhan where the deadly coronavirus is said to be very prevalent. They have been relentless in their calls to have these students transported back home despite the fact that the World Health Organization and other relevant bodies in Ghana have raised issues with the dangers associated with the ailment. The Chinese ambassador has cautioned against lifting the Ghanaians in Wuhan back home due to the dangers associated with it. He also indicates that the Chinese government is taking care of the situation and if any Ghanaian gets affected, he would have the best of care. The coronavirus epidemic has already thrown global trade into disarray while infection cases continue to be reported across the globe. It has led to Serie A matches being postponed in Italy. It can safely be concluded that the virus is spreading through these evacuation exercises. More than 400 coronavirus patients are currently being treated in South Korea. Samsung's manufacturing plans have been hit by the epidemic as well. The company is shutting down a smartphone plant in Gumi City as an employee was confirmed to have been infected by the virus. Both of Samsung's foldable phones, the Galaxy Fold and the recently launched Galaxy Z Flip phones are manufactured at the Gumi plant. Okudzeto Ablakwa and his friends would want to review their position on this matter because events across the world have proven that it is not idyllic to evacuate citizens when a country's healthcare system is not that robust. Even the economic powerhouses who also have better healthcare systems are struggling with this global threat. The penchant to score cheap political points out of serious, national issues by the NDC has been dealt a hefty blow as far as this coronavirus is concerned. Ablakwa and his troops have displayed a gross level of impotency in this crusade. P.K. Sarpong, Whispers from the Corridors of the Thinking Place. Source: P.K.Sarpong, Whispers from the Corridors of the Thinking Place. 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 by Ngoc Lan Two confirmed cases have been reported, but 11 people are under observation. Chinese tourists have crossed the border into Vietnam for the Lunar New Year, but many have decided to stay home believing that this will limit their risk of contracting the virus. For Vietnamese and foreign experts, the country could become the second most infected. Hanoi (AsiaNews) Vietnamese authorities are struggling to contain the new coronavirus outbreak that is spreading across the country. The latter has led to a pneumonia outbreak in Wuhan, the capital of Chinas Hubei province. However, for ordinary Vietnamese as well as experts, the control measures imposed by the government on the regions bordering with China are inadequate. So far, two cases of contagion have been confirmed in Vietnam. An unidentified man and son, both from the Chinese province of Hubei, have been placed in an isolated area for treatment at the Cho Ray hospital in Ho Chi Minh City. According to the doctors, the two are in stable condition and their fever is dropping. The mans wife, who is the mother of the boy, is under close surveillance. She travelled to Vietnam with her husband from Wuhan, but hasnt shown any symptoms of the infection. Yesterday, the second day of Tet, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, the Health Ministry began a round of meetings to see how best to prevent the contagion from spreading. An agreement between Vietnam and China has been in place for years allowing Chinese nationals to enter Vietnam without a visa. For this New Year, many Chinese have already travelled to Vietnam to visit places like Hai Phong, Nha Trang, a Lat, Mui Ne, a Nang and Phu Quoc. However, their number is much lower. Tens of thousands have decided to stay home on the belief that this will reduce their risk of contracting the coronavirus. So far, some over 2,700 cases of pneumonia and 81 deaths have been recorded in China. On 22 January, a flight from Wuhan with 218 Chinese nationals on board landed in a Nang. Local health authorities report that they have not shown any symptoms of the infection; for this reason, they were able to continue their tour to Nha Trang, a city in Khanh Hoa province. According to a local business involved in the tourist sector, the high number of Chinese tourists coming to the area makes it hard to implement any controls to fight the spread of the virus. The authorities are expected to step up efforts against the outbreak. On Saturday, the Health Ministry issued directives to provincial and city authorities along the border with China, requiring travellers who cross the border to make a statement about their medical condition. Meanwhile, the authorities in a Nang have announced that 11 Chinese nationals have been placed under observation because they show a high fever. The people in question have had contacts with pneumonia patients. The group includes six Chinese citizens, four Vietnamese, and another Chinese tourist from Hunan who was intercepted at the airport two days ago. Several experts, Vietnamese and foreign, are feeding the fears of the population about the lack of effective measures by the Vietnamese government. In their view, if the authorities do not implement in time policies that protect human health, if they dont increase controls or close border crossings with China, Vietnam will likely become the second country in terms of coronavirus cases in the Asia-Pacific region. WARNING: This article has sexually explicit content. Concerned citizens all over the country are joining the resistance to what the sexual-radical Left calls "comprehensive sex education" (CSE). One such group is Informed Parents of Washington (IPOW), who describe themselves as "a coalition of parents dedicated to fighting Comprehensive Sexxx Education in our schools and legislation that [infringes on] parental rights." They point out that 58% of participants in a statewide survey said they do not want CSE mandated in the schools. But the Democrats controlling the state Legislature are ignoring the will of the people. From IPOW: Currently, Washington State Legislators have introduced 4 bills to mandate CSE to every school in Washington, grades K-12. While ... districts will not be mandated to use one particular curriculum ... we provide examples from each of the most popular choices. Make no mistake, they are all bad. We are not against sexual education, but we are absolutely against the inappropriate, pleasure based components within CSE that we feel harm our children[.] ... Elementary age children do not need to learn about masturbation. Teens should not be told that the pull out method is more effective than they think. Kids should not be taught that sexting is as innocent as watching a movie together, schools should not be suggesting co-bathing as an alternative. We maintain that because CSE is not appropriate for any child, it should not be given as an option to opt-in or opt-out[.] ... We reject the Legislature's false attempt at appeasement by offering to allow kids to "opt-out" because we know that is never truly an option. It is impossible to guarantee that subjects will not be brought up in other classes and one can never opt out from the talk amongst students. Another IPOW post explains: OPT OUT DOESN'T WORK! Not only does Laurie Dils, Sexual Health Education Program Supervisor for the state of Washington, want to teach your children about sexual pleasure, she wants to weave comprehensive sexual education into other subject areas. For example, "Romeo and Juliet." Good for these parents to oppose CSE. But really, any "sex education" in the schools should be opposed! All any high school student needs is a basic human physiology class. Many conservatives don't grasp that allowing anything beyond that opens the door to abuse by Planned Parenthood and LGBT activist messages (always in the name of "safety"). But the capitulation to "good" sex ed came long ago. And so, we've arrived at the sexualized school culture described by two young girls below. They went to the Washington State House on Feb. 20 to testify against S.B. 5395 (which would make CSE mandatory in all public schools). These 8th-grade girls were subjected in earlier grades to a curriculum called FLASH (Family Life and Sexual Health). Planned Parenthood has contributed materials to that CSE curriculum (and others). In grades 46, for example, boys and girls (in class together) will learn to properly name their genitals: penis, scrotum, labia, vulva, vagina. They will fill in a worksheet including the terms circumcision, conception, ejaculation, erection, genitals, intercourse, nocturnal emission, semen, sperm, etc. (See more details here.) It's a great way to break down modesty and get young children thinking and talking about sex during the school day. Here's just one paragraph from the FLASH curriculum for grades 46: Intercourse is the kind of sexual touch when the penis is in the vagina. It is sometimes called "vaginal intercourse" or "lovemaking"...but "lovemaking" can mean different things to different people. [Hint, hint...like anal intercourse?] Ejaculation is what you call it when semen, the fluid carrying sperm, comes out of the penis. If he ejaculates during intercourse or even if he ejaculates onto her labia, without ever putting the penis inside sperm can swim up into her uterus[.] (p. 1213) No wonder little boys are grabbing at the girls' crotches during recess. My sources with IPOW, Kim Wendt and Randall Rathbun, preserved the testimony of the two 8th-grade girls. Though they weren't allowed to testify before the Education Committee at the Feb. 20 hearing, they read their statements afterward at the State House. They describe how the whole school culture was changed because of the sex ed. Here's what one girl described: In 6th grade our school started the FLASH curriculum. I will never forget the day our MALE teacher taught us what intercourse was. That was mortifying. We had to sit and hear very personal things with boys constantly joking about it. It made me feel violated, like I was just an object. Since the sex ed curriculum started, those kinds of things go on all year long. Sexual comments are common. Boys will even grab girls' butts at school, including mine. When addressed, they simply move on to someone else. I want it to stop but if you say anything you are made fun of and no one takes you seriously. This is wrong but everyone seems to just accept it and girls suffer in silence. Sexual harassment is being tolerated and actually encouraged by the culture that has been fueled by sex being in every day at school. Girls already have a hard time being respected and having sex discussed every day just makes it hard. I, and many others, prefer to have these sensitive discussions at home with those we trust, not in front of our peers and teachers. And by the way, opting out is not really an option. Anyone who does that gets teased and bullied even more. This really should be an elective class that you CHOOSE to take. Why can't it be that way? We should have a choice. In my other class we are learning about our first amendment rights. I am supposed to have the right to exercise my religious freedom yet every day I am being forced to go against it in order to pass a class. I am a pastor's daughter. Where are my rights? Where is my right to have safe boundaries? I don't want this mandated on me and I certainly can't imagine making younger kids go through this. Today I ask you to guarantee that ALL kids' voices are heard. Please vote no and give us a real choice, a choice to keep our honor. The second girl told of her experience: I'd like to tell you what the sex education curriculum has done to our school in the last couple years. Feeling violated is our new norm. Sexual harassment is the new norm. Lack of respect is the new norm. Graphic details, pornographic images, and inappropriate assignments have become a part of every day. Sex has now become the main topic of every conversation from the start of the school day to the end. Boys make lewd and demeaning comments and it's treated like no big deal, after all it's just our homework right? This is very confusing and the whole culture in our school has turned toxic, especially to girls. Imagine if your classroom activity for the day was to play bingo with words like sperm, erection, and ejaculation and your homework was to look up "penis too large" on the Internet. This is disturbing and very embarrassing but I don't get to say no. I don't get to have boundaries. The lines between sexual harassment and sex ed class are very blurry. Think about this: It is now ok for male teachers to talk to us about sex and every aspect of it when just a few years ago that would have gotten them fired. And if a boy tells us to "Look up page 34," is that harassment or discussion about homework? Where is the line? We have lost our ability to advocate for ourselves and demand better. Sex is very private and should be handled with respect. But that's not happening in our schools. We deserve safe boundaries and we need you to provide them. After all, we have to live with the laws you pass. Please vote no on this bill and protect our dignity. A high school sophomore who spoke at the hearing opposed the bill for the same reasons (at 47:20 in the State House video). Following her classmates' exposure to 5th-grade sex ed, "[d]egrading sexual jokes were made about my body, constantly. I felt confused and violated[.] ... It didn't empower me nor educate me as a future woman[.]" Pro-family citizens gather before the Washington State House on Feb. 20, 2020 in opposition to mandated "comprehensive sex education." (Photo: Kenny Smith.) The resistance is growing. Radio talk show host Todd Herman (in Seattle) posted this (Feb. 11, 2020) about the CSE curricula: I asked a career law enforcement official, Jim Fuda, of Crime Stoppers Global Solutions (which fights sex trafficking) what he thought of some of the so-called "Sex-Ed" "curriculum" the Democrats are trying to force into schools. Jim agrees it sounds like grooming; Jim said he would have his hands around the throat of a man who said these things to kids. I DEMAND A REAL PROTEST FROM REPUBLICANS ON THIS. Here are some ideas: 1. READ THIS TRASH INTO THE LEGISLATIVE RECORD if the Dems block it, scream it into the record. Make them physically remove you from the House chambers: we are literally talking about a program that ERASES the natural boundaries kids have about talking to random adults about sex acts. 2. GET EVERY REPUBLICAN MEMBER TO DO FACEBOOK LIVES: Show the pictures they want our kids to see! The pictures are porn and parents who see them will FREAK. The media is HIDING THESE BILLS. GO AROUND THE MEDIA[.] ... If Republicans sit passively by while this trash is passed I see no reason to support the party[.] OK, Republican legislators. Where are you on this? Why aren't you helping us out? How about overturning all those laws (in almost every state) that exempt schools from obscenity bans? All sex ed in the schools not just CSE is obscenity. It has become downright pornographic. It is grooming the next generation for any act imaginable. Amy Contrada is with MassResistance and author of Mitt Romney's Deception. Coronavirus outbreaks have continued to grow in China for a long time. To avoid this virus in India, the central government is also preparing to check flights coming from Nepal, Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia at airports. The decision was taken in a high-level meeting chaired by Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba on Saturday. According to the official statement on the virus, in addition to secretaries of health and family welfare, civil aviation, defense, information and broadcasting, representatives of foreign, home, ITBP and army were also present in the meeting. Citizens have also been advised not to travel to Singapore non-essential. The statement said that so far 21,805 passengers were kept under observation. Apart from this, three lakh 97 thousand 152 aircraft passengers and nine thousand six hundred 95 people who reached the beaches were investigated. Apart from this, spiritual guru Sadguru Jaggi Vasudev said in his statement that the corona virus spread from China also affected the Mahashivratri festival in India. Groups from China, Japan and Singapore were barred under orders from the Ministry of Health. It was regrettable, but they joined us through live webcast. Here, Mahashivratri festival is celebrated on a large scale at the Isha Yoga Center in Sadhguru. Thousands of foreign devotees also participate in it. Also Read: Amulya Leon was threatened, Ram Sena worker declares reward of 10 lakhs UP CM Yogi arrives Ayodhya, will soon meet Manhat Nritya Gopal Das US targets Russia, blames it for spreading confusion about coronavirus Domestic electricity rates may increase, distribution companies incurring continuous losses February 24, 2018 left a hole in the hearts of Bollywood cinephilles. It was the day that one of the most enigmatic actresses of the Hindi film industry, Sridevi passed away due to accidental drowning. Mid-Day has reported that Sridevi's husband Boney Kapoor and their daughter Janhvi Kapoor held a puja to mark her second death anniversary. Khushi could not make it to the puja because she is abroad studying. Later in the day, Boney may announce the details of the reboot to her iconic movie Mr. India, as a tribute to her. A few days back, filmmaker Ali Abbas Zafar had taken to Twitter to announce the remake of Mr. India with a trilogy film series. However, Mr. India's original director Shekar Kapur expressed his disappointment with the announcement. He took to Twitter to write that no one sought his permission to make Mr. India 2. He speculated that the makers must be using the title only to get a big opening weekend because the original creators of a film must give permission to use the same story and characters. In his latest tweet, Shekar questioned how there can be another Mogambo. Sharing a picture of Amrish Puri as the iconic character Mogambo, he wrote, "Kya Kaha? Mr India 2 ?? Is duniya mein koi aur Mogambo bhi hai ??" (sic). Kya Kaha? Mr India 2 ?? Is duniya mein koi aur Mogambo bhi hai ?? pic.twitter.com/Q0Bk6B8Vlq Shekhar Kapur (@shekharkapur) February 23, 2020 It only remains to be seen whether Boney Kapoor will give his blessing to the film by making an announcement in its favour. Last year too, the Kapoor family had held a puja for Sridevi, not on February 24, but on February 14. The rituals were done in her maternal home in Chennai, and it was attended by Boney, Janhvi, Khushi and other members of the Kapoor family including Anil and Sanjay Kapoor. ALSO READ: Shekhar Kapur Is Unhappy With Mr India 2 Announcement! ALSO READ: Boney Kapoor Reveals Which One Of His Kids Is The Apple Of His Eye And Which One Is The Brightest! The Special Task Force (STF) of the city police on Sunday arrested four drug peddler and seized Yaba tablets from them. They arrested persons have been identified as Md Fakir Ahamad, 32, Md Amirul SK, 34, Md Atiur Rahaman, 43, Mohd Ziaur Rahman, 33. According to an official release, Indian currency notes amounting to Rs 4 lakh was also recovered from their possession. The present market value of the seized Yaba drugs has been pegged at Rs 3.6 crore in the international grey market, added the release. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Did you know that keeping your food cold hurts the climate? Refrigerators, air conditioning units and dehumidifiers use greenhouse gases called hydrofluorocarbons that trap at least a thousand times more heat over the same time period than carbon dioxide, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Thats why California passed legislation to cut these gases significantly by 2030. Now, in an effort to meet that goal, it plans to take another step: Banning all but the most climate-friendly fluids in large cooling systems, although it will come at a cost for grocery stores and other businesses. Our goal is to develop an enforceable regulation that minimizes costs on end-users and at the same time minimizes noncompliance, Melanie Turner, a spokeswoman for the California Air Resources Board, said in an email. She noted the regulation is still in draft form; public comment begins in June. Starting in 2022, new cooling systems with more than 50 pounds of refrigerant fluids an amount usually used in supermarkets, ice rinks and cafeterias will face the first limits on the potency of the greenhouse gases they can emit if the new rule is approved. Companies with existing cooling system would have to reduce their global warming more gradually. In 2023, stationary air conditioning systems will also have a new threshold for the climate impact of their fluids, although less strict than fridges. That would affect new and replaced equipment, from portable units, window and wall units, to other systems used in residential and commercial settings. The problematic gases can escape after devices are disposed of, or during their lifetime if there is a leak. Businesses said the air board worked with them to reach common ground on future regulations but its still expensive. Under current regulations, facilities need to register and pay fees for their cooling systems, conduct leak inspections, repair and keep records. But under the new code, they would have to buy certain kinds of systems. While the new plan is an improvement, it still represents a significant financial burden for California supermarkets, Morgan Smith, manager of Programs & Operations at the North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council, said in an email. Refrigeration systems in newly constructed supermarkets can cost $1 million to $2 million (meaning a $1 million incentive to help the industry comply with new regulations in the governors budget this year wont go far). Companies may have to spend approximately 20% more up front for a new system to comply with the updated regulations, the board said. Grocery stores have slim profit margins, the industry says, so theyll feel the impact. Kelly Ash, vice president of government relations with the California Grocers Association, which represents grocery supply companies and retailers, said frugality is keeping stores in communities where thats helping to prevent a potential food desert situation. Every penny counts, she added. Grocers are highly competitive and try to keep prices low, but have to balance that with higher labor costs as the minimum wage rises, Ash said. Their recruiting costs are also high since they tend to have large numbers of part-time and seasonal employees. Manny Nazerian, service manager at Vartans Refrigeration Inc. in San Francisco, which installs fridges around the Bay Area, said the new fluids that California may require cost three times as much nearly $300 for 22 pounds versus $100. Systems can last for years. Some businesses said they wont be affected. Dave Higgins, marketing director at Rainbow Grocery in San Francisco, said the business already replaced its fridges in 2014 to be more energy-efficient. Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes Industry experts said it can be hard to keep up with ever-evolving regulations, and changing them even a couple of years in advance isnt always enough warning. Were trying to keep up as much as we can, but its a lot to change, especially when we have a good system going on, and we have everything switching over, we have to carry more refrigerants in our service vehicles, its a little tough for a company, Nazerian said. Nazerian was also concerned about the safety of refrigerant alternatives, like propane, which is highly flammable. The air board said there are regulations about how much propane as a refrigerant substitute is safe, and many supermarkets already use it because of high energy efficiency and lower utility bills. Other stakeholders said there werent yet viable alternative fluids for dehumidifiers approved by the Environmental Protection Agency which could make the product unavailable to consumers if not addressed. The board said replacements are being developed, although it can take time for approval, but room ACs similar to dehumidifiers are already on the market using alternatives. These new regulations arent the first steps (the state already banned two of the most high-polluting refrigerants) and they wont be the last. Californias restrictions mirror a global treaty called the Kigali Amendment, which took effect last year but is not ratified by the U.S., which sets goals for a global phaseout of cooling fluids. Theres currently a bipartisan bill pending in Congress to make the same changes nationally. Were just preparing the industry for what the reality is, Glen Gallagher, an air board staff member, said at a public meeting in January. Mallory Moench is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mallory.moench@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @mallorymoench Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified the source for the statistic that hydrofluorocarbons trap at least a thousand times more heat over the same time period as carbon dioxide. It is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. On the eve of US President Donald Trump's visit to India, State Bank of India Managing Director Dinesh Khara has said such bilateral visits create tremendous goodwill and offer opportunities to New Delhi and Washington to spot opportunities for each other, irrespective of whether any deals are signed or not. Trump arrives in India Monday for the state visit and will be accompanied by a high-level delegation including First Lady Melania Trump, the President's daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner. Such kind of visits creates a whole lot of goodwill and such kind of goodwill is a very important aspect when it comes to developing trade. Treaty or no treaty, but the confidence level itself generates enough amount of trade, Khara told PTI in an exclusive interview here. He said that such high-level bilateral visits help both sides to understand each other better, such visits also offer an opportunity to spot opportunities for each other. So maybe irrespective of the trade deal, this will be a positive for both the countries. India and the US were looking to sign a trade deal during Trump's visit but the US President said that he is "saving the big deal" with India for later and does not know if it will be signed before the presidential election in November. On India and the US not signing a trade deal during the Trump visit, Khara said that such kind of decisions involve a whole lot of patience and quite comprehensive analysis. Such (trade) decisions might take time but the outcomes normally seen after such a long deliberation are generally good. So maybe it's a matter of time, but eventually it might turn out to be good for the economies. Khara added that the perspective gets built in all these high-level bilateral visits goes a long way in terms of resolving issues. Unless there is a perspective, the vexed issues don't get resolved. Talking to reporters at the Joint Base Andrews outside Washington last week, Trump had said We can have a trade deal with India, but I''m really saving the big deal for later on. "We''re doing a very big trade deal with India. We''ll have it. I don''t know if it''ll be done before the election, but we''ll have a very big deal with India," he said. During his interaction with journalists, Trump once again voiced his concern over US-India trade relations. "We''re not treated very well by India," the US president said. India is demanding exemption from high duties imposed by the US on certain steel and aluminium products, resumption of export benefits to certain domestic products under their Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), greater market access for its products from sectors including agriculture, automobile, auto components and engineering. On the other hand, the US wants greater market access for its farm and manufacturing products, dairy items and medical devices, and cut on import duties on some ICT products. The US has also raised concerns over high trade deficit with India which was USD 16.9 billion in 2018-19. Trump praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said he is looking forward to his visit to India. "I happen to like Prime Minister Modi a lot," Trump said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-23 08:03:53|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close A member of the samba school "Barroca Zona Sul" takes part in the carnival parade in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Feb. 21, 2020. (Photo by Rahel Patrasso/Xinhua) SAO PAULO, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Sao Paulo Carnival has kicked off with samba schools paying tribute to history and cultural diversity. The parade on Friday night at Sao Paulo Sambadrome saw a grand production by Mancha Verde school, current champion of the Sao Paulo Carnival parades, which portrayed the history of humanity. The Tom Maior school presented the theme, "It's a matter of black," a phrase that has been reclaimed by Brazilians of African descent from its original derogatory meaning, with a float paying tribute to Marielle Franco, a black councilor killed in Rio de Janeiro in 2018. The Barroca Zona Sul school honored Brazilians of African descent with their tribute to Tereza de Benguela, a quilombola leader who lived in the state of Mato Grosso during the 18th century. The Dragoes da Real school explored the concept of happiness in its many forms, paying homage to everything from the music of Beethoven to the performances of actor Charlie Chaplin. The parade, broadcast in 70 countries of the world, is the prelude to the Rio de Janeiro Sambadrome, which will be held on March 1-2. There will be another parade on Saturday night, when around 2,500 people are expected to meld traditional Brazilian rhythms with costumes and scenery inspired by China. The feared activist investor who has taken on hospitals operator NMC Health a member of the prestigious FTSE 100 and litigation finance firm Burford Capital has set out plans to expand and target more UK companies. In his most open interview to date, Carson Block, the founder of US short-selling firm Muddy Waters, reveals how his tough upbringing shaped him as a thick-skinned investor. He says the UK is ripe for short-selling where investors bet against companies whose shares they believe to be overpriced and set to fall heavily. And, in a revelation that will send shudders through the City, the American reveals he has a number of new targets already lined up. Carson Block says the UK is ripe for short selling Speaking to The Mail on Sunday, he also tells of plans to expand, moving his firm from California to New York, and reveals that he feels sorry for private investors who have been ripped off by poorly or negligently-run firms. Block has become the world's best-known activist short-seller. These not only place bets against firms, but publish damning reasons in reports for all to see. He has risen to prominence in Britain in the past six months after targeting NMC, which runs hospitals in the Middle East, and Burford, listed on the London Stock Exchange's junior AIM market. He typically targets firms he believes have suspect accounting. Burford's share price slumped in August after a Muddy Waters report, while shares in NMC have collapsed by nearly 70 per cent since Block's firm released its report in December last year, wiping 3.8billion off its value and putting it on course for ejection from the FTSE 100 index of blue-chip London-listed shares. Muddy Waters said it had 'serious doubts' about NMC's financial statements, accused it of 'manipulating' its balance sheet and said it had the 'hallmarks of significant fraud'. NMC denied this but launched an investigation. The report kicked off a series of events leading to the resignation of the company's co-chairman and founder last week. It emerged that Indian-born tycoon BR Shetty may have misreported his stake in NMC to the stock market. The company is still waiting for Shetty to clarify his shareholding after it was revealed that an Abu Dhabi bank may have sold 92million of shares it previously said were owned by Shetty. NMC's share value has plummeted 70% since Block's firm released its report in December last year, wiping 3.8billion off its value There is confusion after some of his stock was pledged to other investors and banks as security for loans. Block says: 'We made clear we think there are serious internal control and governance issues at NMC. This is incontrovertible proof. But is it more than that?' He suspects NMC might have undisclosed debt, saying: 'I think the debt that's collateralised by these share pledges has been used to inflate profits at NMC. 'Some people took that initial report and felt it was a compendium of all the problems this company could possibly have and that we looked everywhere. 'That is completely wrong. I don't know how deep the rot goes here.' Block says he 'couldn't have predicted' exactly how the NMC attack would play out, but says he is not surprised 'there are lots of skeletons in the closet of NMC'. 'In terms of whether I feel vindicated, people will see in these events what they want to see,' Block says, adding that some investors think, despite the issues, 'there's still a real business here'. He adds: 'But there are other people and I think this is the correct view who will say "man, there were some serious issues at this company as far as I'm concerned the company has no more credibility and is uninvestible".' Born in the USA: Block had a tough upbringing in New Jersey - a state made famous in the music of Bruce Springsteen (pictured) - after his parents divorced Block, 43, who is married with two young children, has made his fortune 'shorting' firms a legal, recognised trading tactic where investors borrow shares, sell them, buy them back at a lower price before returning them to the lender, pocketing the difference. But the controversial investor who admits that activist short-sellers are usually 'socially awkward people' and 'outsiders' attracts plenty of criticism. This normally comes from investors who hold shares in the companies he is attacking, but also from the companies themselves. Burford said his short attack had 'the hallmarks of market manipulation'. Block says: 'The criticism doesn't bother me. Maybe the hardest part is sometimes controlling my urge to answer in a snarky way. I do this because this is my personality. 'As I went through school growing up, I was saying things that were unpopular and challenging people in ways that made them uncomfortable. So I'm used to the sniping and criticism. If you're thin-skinned and feel this is a great idea for you, it probably isn't.' Block says he had a tough upbringing in New Jersey. His parents divorced when he was six and he went on to live with his father as a teenager. He says: 'I had to grow up pretty quickly but it also made me something of a target for derision. It was a very wealthy town and people didn't get divorces as often. So at a young age, parents were concerned about their kids hanging out with me. I didn't make it better because I swore a lot.' His father, a former equity analyst and polio survivor, had a speech impediment. But Block says his father 'never let that cow him' and 'didn't care what people thought about him'. He adds: 'There's a lot of good in that and perhaps that's a big part of what enables me to do what I do now.' However, Block's attitude got him into trouble. At elementary school, he was told he held the record for detentions. He says: 'My father thought that was funny because he viewed himself as so anti-establishment. He viewed it as a badge of honour and so did I as a result. It didn't really get better.' Block studied business and finance at university in California, then worked in investments with his father, analysing firms during the dotcom boom. He says: 'We were lied to by a procession of management. The largest companies in the world were being shown to be frauds. I wanted to be an investor, I had a passion for it, but just felt that the public markets were infested with bad actors.' So he went into law and became a lawyer in Shanghai to further his ambitions in business, but after just a year, he helped a friend set up a self-storage business in China, which Block then took over. While running it, his father asked him to take a look at a Chinese company listed in the US called Orient Paper. What Block found was 'complete fraud'. He compiled a report, sent it out to people he had worked with and it attracted huge attention, and the share price dived. He was then deluged with requests from investors, and decided to form a business, focusing initially on Chinese companies. Five years later he began managing other people's money. Now, after making waves in the UK with NMC and Burford, he is planning to expand his firm beyond activist short-selling. A move this year from California to New York is on the cards for Block and his nine-strong team. He says: 'My desire over the next couple of years is to diversify my fund management business away a little bit from activist short-selling so we don't always rely on punching companies in the face to generate income. It would be nice to have a broader range of strategies.' Block has his sights on several targets and sees opportunities in the UK after his recent success. 'We're looking at names in a few markets, and the UK is one of those markets where there are some names we're poking at,' he says, stopping short of naming them. Block says the UK is a good market for activism, adding: 'There is much more of a culture of open debate and freedom of speech. Nothing in the world compares with the first amendment and even the UK's culture can be a little bit deferential to the old boys' club, but I do see the UK as a jurisdiction that thinks public debate and reasonable dissent is valuable.' That contrasts with other European countries, where short-sellers are viewed less favourably. The French regulator, for instance, launched an investigation into Muddy Waters after it raised questions about the financial health of supermarket group Casino. He attacks the German regulator, which has opened investigations into several short-sellers and newspaper reporters, accusing them of potential market manipulation over reports of suspected accounting irregularities into payments company Wirecard. 'When it comes to the Wirecard affair, you might as well be accusing a company in Zimbabwe of corruption and fraud, because nobody in Germany seems to care. It's absolutely stunning,' he says. But he is defensive of regulators generally, though they have come in for criticism over a string of recent high-profile scandals. He argues their job is to punish wrongdoing, saying: 'Regulators are not there to be prophylactics preventing problematic companies from listing.' Block says he feels sorry for private investors, but only those 'scammed by management', not burned by his short attacks. His message to them is be aware the odds are stacked against them. He says: 'When companies lie that's a problem, but by the same token if you understand you are the least sophisticated market participant, I don't know you should be putting meaningful money to work here.' Google has announced that Google AI would not recognize the person in the pictures and logos, present in the database, as male or female. Instead, the tool will use person as a tag in pictures if there would be any human being.According to Business Insider , Google Vision API sent an email to all of its customers about this new development. In the email, the company said that will recognize all genders as PEOPLE because AI cannot judge the gender through appearance or what the people are wearing and secondly, it is against the code of AI to create gender biases. The rule was mentioned in the mail.We checked the development and found out that there was a lack of tags of male and female (see the attached image below for reference).The company asked developers to comment on it. The majority of them found it positive development but one complained about why AI could not recognize if I could recognize 99 percent of the person is male or female.Currently, the major topic of discussion is the bias created by AI. The developers complain that AI misidentifies people according to their color. Besides, there were complaints that Google Vision API misidentify trans people and sexuality of a person. Moreover, it was discussed that some pictures have more tag of females than males or vice versa. Yet, it was found out that there are biased dataset of cooking in some tools in which algorithms predict that person is women even it is male in numerous pictures by 68 percent.Therefore, the development was appreciated by a fellow tech policy of Mozilla, Frederike Kaltheuner, who called it positive while others found it exemplary step for others.Read next: Artificial Intelligence: Good Versus Evil (infographic) The tragic events in Brisbane resulting in the deaths of Hannah Clarke and her three young children has, again, shone light on the shocking extent and nature of violence against women and children in Australia. This tragedy among many others demonstrates the need for urgent and intensive responses from the nation, including a review of current legal and non-legal responses to violence against women and children to ensure their safety and access to support. Hannah Clarke with her three children Laianah, Aaliyah and Trey aged between three and six. Credit:Facebook - Stacey Roberts Many women do not report abuse because they fear the perpetrator, the legal process, not being believed, or further endangering their lives. For those who do report, debate abounds as to whether justice processes are adequately meeting the needs of victims of violence by intimate partners especially when it comes to providing remedies that facilitate recovery. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 23, ARMENPRESS. Armenia will shut down its border with neighboring Iran for two weeks in a latest countermeasure to prevent the novel coronavirus outbreak from entering Armenia. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in a statement that the emergency decision will be made in pursuance of Article 16 of the Law on State Border. Particularly, the Iran-Armenia air communication and the entry of people to Armenia through the Meghri Border Crossing Point will be suspended, he said. The ban will be effective for two weeks. Pashinyan said that the Commission on Preventing the Spread of Coronavirus, the governments task force operating since January 31, will convene a session on Monday to discuss further measures, possible scenarios and related actions. In any case I find it necessary to underscore that there are no reasons to spread panic. Such actions are harmful in all cases, the PM said. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and 192 concerned Nigerians have filed a lawsuit asking the Federal High Court in Abuja to restrain and stop Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, Speaker of the House of Representatives and all members of the House from spending an estimated N5.04 billion to buy 400 exotic cars for principal officers and members. SERAP is also seeking a court order to restrain and stop the National Assembly Service Commission from releasing any public funds to the House of Representatives to buy 400 Toyota Camry 2020 model cars estimated to cost $35,130 per car, until an impact assessment of the spending on access to public services and goods like education, security, health and clean water, is carried out. In the suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/205/2020 filed last Friday, SERAP and the concerned Nigerians argue that: Nigerians have a right to honest and faithful performance by their public officials including lawmakers, as public officials owe a fiduciary duty to the general citizenry. All those who hold the strings of political power and power over spending of Nigerias commonwealth have a duty to answer for their conduct when call upon to do so by Nigerians. The plaintiffs also argue that: It is illegal and unconstitutional for members of the House of Representatives to choose to buy expensive and exotic cars while encouraging Nigerians to tighten their belts and to patronize Nigerian brands. It is also illegal for members to reject cheaper and equally reliable options. According to the plaintiffs, If the members of House of Representatives take their duties to the most vulnerable and disadvantaged among us seriously, including their duties to judiciously spend public funds, they would not have voted to spend over $35,000 per car, especially given the current economic and financial realities of Nigeria. There is chronic poverty in Nigeria and many state governments are unable to pay salaries of workers and pensions. Unless the reliefs sought are granted, the House of Representatives will spend over N5 billion of public funds to buy the exotic cars at the expense of many Nigerians living in poverty and misery. The plaintiffs are asking the court to determine Whether the proposed plan and resolution by the House of Representatives to buy 400 exotic cars for principal officers and members amounting to over Five Billion Naira in total, is not in breach of Section 57[4] of the Public Procurement Act 2007, the oath of office, and Paragraph 1 of Code of Conduct for Public Officers [Fifth Schedule Part 1] of the Nigerian Constitution of 1999 [as amended]. The suit, filed on behalf of SERAP and the concerned Nigerians by their lawyers Kolawole Oluwadare and Opeyemi Owolabi, read in part: Members of the House of Representatives are either unaware of the constitutional and statutory provisions on their fiduciary duties and judicious use of public funds or deliberately glossing over these provisions. It is also apparent that, besides elevating their personal interests over and above the public interests, members of the House of Representatives have shown insensitivity to the plight of Nigerians, thereby violating section 14 (2)(b) of the Nigerian Constitution of 1999, to the effect that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government and its institutions. It is public knowledge that members of the House of Representatives receive huge sums of money as monthly allowances and severance pay on conclusion of their respective terms at the National Assembly. It is rational that many Nigerians are calling for a review downward of the sum proposed to buy cars for members. There is no better time for any government/public institution to take issues of security and welfare/wellbeing of Nigerians seriously due to rampant kidnapping, banditry and terrorism in many parts of the country than now. This case raises issues of public interests, national interest, public concern, social justice, good governance, transparency and accountability. The House of Representatives during an executive session held on 5th February, 2020 reportedly passed a resolution that 400 Toyota Camry 2020 cars be purchased as official vehicles for 360 members and other persons, including top management staff, Chief of Staff to the two presiding officers, as well as some of their special advisers and assistants. About Three Billion was voted to buy cars for members of the House of Representatives in 2016. The sum of N128 billion was budgeted and allocated to the National Assembly in the approved 2019 national budget. The plaintiffs are seeking the following reliefs: Mike Pihl Pihl is owner of Mike Pihl Logging and president of the TimberUnity association. I started out picking strawberries for our neighbors at 6 years old and graduated to picking black caps at 10. I moved on to hauling hay and working on a dairy. By the time I graduated from high school, I had a tractor, attachments and a combine all bought with cash! After graduating, the logging bug got a hold of me. After working both locally and in Southeast Alaska, I saved my money and paid cash for my first logging machine at 22. Today, 38 years later, Im in the fight of my life. Oregon legislators are taking another run at passing a cap-and-trade bill this year, after last years attempt failed. This time, its Senate Bill 1530, which is very similar to last years House Bill 2020 and has the same bottom line Oregonians are going to pay a lot more. How much more? Its hard to say. The bill keeps changing. Whether and how soon youll pay depends on where you live. But even the supporters of the bill say that people who live and work in the Portland metro area will see their gas costs go up 20 cents per gallon starting in 2022. It will keep going up in the years afterward. Imagine that paying 20 cents more a gallon for gas in the first year alone. For companies like mine, the increased gas costs could bankrupt us. Plus, our utility rates would rise as well. The bill talks about tax credits that my company would likely be eligible for. But what good are tax credits that come a year or more after Ive spent the money? How many documents will I need to show them? You better believe it when I say we need to protect our home and planet. But taxing and regulating timber operators out of business is no way to accomplish that task. Thats why last year, when legislators were talking about HB 2020, a group of us in rural Oregon many in the timber industry who were very concerned about the bills impact on their communities and their jobs came together and formed TimberUnity. We rallied twice in Salem during the 2019 legislative session to voice our concerns about the cap and trade bill. Fortunately, we were successful, and HB 2020 was defeated. But here we are again, now that the Legislature brought back a brand-new cap-and-trade bill in 2020. And like last years bill, SB 1530 has an emergency clause. I found out that when the Oregon Legislature uses an emergency clause in a bill, it means that Oregonians cant refer the bill to the voters for approval. Most Oregonians dont appreciate that we already have thousands of carbon eating machines in Oregon. Theyre called fir trees, and they do their work all day, every day. Ive harvested thousands of those trees in my career and replanted many more trees than Ive harvested its the law, and it works well. Share your opinion Submit your essay of 500-700 words on a highly topical issue or a theme of particular relevance to the Pacific Northwest, Oregon and the Portland area to commentary@oregonian.com. Please include your email and phone number for verification. The goal of the legislators sponsoring the cap-and-trade bill is to force Oregonians away from gas powered engines and into electric vehicles. I have no problem with electric vehicles, but they dont make electric machines for most jobs in my industry, and most Oregonians cant afford an electric car for their day-to-day activities. In rural Oregon, electric cars are difficult to use, due to the long distances that people travel each day. We just arent the same as people in big cities with short commutes. If you add the costs of a new cap-and-trade bill to the corporate activity tax that the Oregon Legislature approved last year, companies like mine wont make it. I already missed paying myself many times last year after paying my employees and business expenses, because of the increased taxes and fees from the Oregon Legislature. I dont want a handout I just dont want to be run out of business because of new taxes and fees crafted by the Legislature each year. Please, give small business a break. The very best family-wage jobs in rural Oregon are once again on the line. On February 6, TimberUnity held another rally at the Capitol in Salem. This time, we had hundreds of trucks and thousands of rural Oregonians in attendance all concerned stewards of the land, and all petrified of losing the last of our high paying rural jobs. And well keep coming back as long as we have to. We all care about the environment, but cap and trade is a bad idea. If the Oregon Legislature is going to pass SB 1530, the least it can do is send the bill to the Oregon voters and let us make our case to all Oregon voters. Once they understand what the bill does to their rural neighbors, theyll join us and demand a better solution. Donald Trump will be treated to the view of a sanitised version of an Indian city when he arrives here in Ahmedabad on Monday afternoon for the start of a two-day state visit that is also his and Melania Trumps first to the country. Furious last-minute preparations continued over the weekend as 22km of streets leading from the airport to a brand new, worlds-largest, cricket stadium were cleared of litter, widened, given a fresh lick of paint and lined with metal barriers. Stray cows were loaded into yellow cattle trucks, to be taken outside the city limits and released, while tens of thousands of police and security personnel patrolled roads, including some riding in formation mounted on camels. The Trumps are expected to touch down in Air Force One around 1pm local time, where they will be met by prime minister Narendra Modi and then led past a roadshow of stages representing the 28 states of India, culminating in a Namaste Trump rally in the 110,000-capacity Motera stadium. But while giant billboards along the route to the stadium proclaim the meeting in Modis home state to be one of two dynamic personalities [on] one momentous occasion, not everyone in the city is happy with either the expense or methods of the vast clear-up operation. It is estimated that up to 1.5 million of Ahmedabads 7 million people live in informal, slum housing or on the streets, and homeless daily labourers told The Independent they had been repeatedly displaced, at times violently, by police clearing the way for Trumps roadshow. Tulsi, a 55-year-old construction worker and grandfather, said he and his family were threatened with sticks and shoved by armed police clearing the road, while municipal workers confiscated and destroyed their blankets and clothing. We voted for Modi for chief minister [of Gujarat, the state of which Ahmedabad is the former capital] and twice as prime minister, and this is how he thanks us, said Tulsi, holding back tears. I cant get a regular job, the pay for daily work is not good, and now I have to keep moving from place to place every other day with the kids. This [visit] is just adding to our problems. Security has been bolstered across India ahead of Trump's visit (AFP via Getty Images) Tulsis daughter-in-law, Santosh, said the place they had been moved to had no water, so she had to walk half a kilometre with her young daughters to bathe. It is dangerous for women, she said. Especially having to move around with the children. I am scared for them. The Indian authorities are estimated to have spent some 11m on preparations just in Ahmedabad, where the Trumps are only expected to spend around three hours of their 34-hour stay in India. After the stadium rally, they fly on to see the sunset at the Taj Mahal outside Agra, before a round of high-level trade talks in Delhi on Tuesday. The expenditure for the Ahmedabad leg is estimated to be the equivalent of around 1.5 per cent of the entire states annual home ministry budget. They could have spent that money on something better, on helping the poor, said Tulsi. For that amount they could have provided for so many people. Of all people I thought our prime minister, a tea-seller from Gujarat, would have understood this. Asked if he would vote for Modi again, he said no. Protests against India's new citizenship law Show all 15 1 /15 Protests against India's new citizenship law Protests against India's new citizenship law Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti activists take part in a torch light procession to protest against the government's Citizenship Amendment Bill, in Guwahati AFP via Getty Protests against India's new citizenship law Police clash with protesters during demonstrations against India's new citizenship law in Lucknow AFP via Getty Protests against India's new citizenship law Muslim women raise their hands and shout slogans during a protest rally held by the Muslim community against India's new citizenship law in Bangalore AFP via Getty Protests against India's new citizenship law Young protesters shout slogans and demonstrate with their body painted during a demonstration against India's new citizenship law AFP via Getty Protests against India's new citizenship law A woman holds a placard at a protest outside Jamia Millia Islamia university over Indias new citizenship law in New Delhi AFP via Getty Protests against India's new citizenship law A policeman looks at protesters from leftist groups trying to break through a barricade as they demonstrate against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and India's new citizenship law in Kolkata AFP via Getty Protests against India's new citizenship law Police beat protesters with sticks during a demonstration against India's new citizenship law in Lucknow AFP via Getty Protests against India's new citizenship law A man holds a placard as he shouts slogans to protest against India's new citizenship law, during a demonstration in New Delhi AFP via Getty Protests against India's new citizenship law Protesters stand with a large Indian flag by the Jama Masjid mosque at a demonstration against Indias new citizenship law in New Delhi AFP via Getty Protests against India's new citizenship law AFP via Getty Protests against India's new citizenship law A protester from Shaheen Bagh, with an Indian map painted on his face, takes part in a demonstration against India's new citizenship law at Jantar Mantar AFP via Getty Protests against India's new citizenship law Muslim women drink chai (tea) on a street in front of a wall covered with posters and graffitis to protest against India's new citizenship law, during a demonstration in Mumbai AFP via Getty Protests against India's new citizenship law Members of the Karnataka Reserve Police Force swing their sticks to beat two men on a scooter who rode too close to a barricade set up on a street in Mangalore, amid heightened security due to protests over Indias new citizenship law AFP via Getty Protests against India's new citizenship law The deserted Shaheen Bagh area, that has been blocked off by demonstrators AFP via Getty Protests against India's new citizenship law Students from various colleges under the aegis of National Students Union of India (NSUI) hold a national flag during a protest rally against India's new citizenship law in Bangalore AFP via Getty Part of the money has gone towards a brand new, hastily constructed 700m-long wall, more than 6ft high in some places, that residents say is being used to obscure the view of slums along the roadshow route. Speaking from a shack behind the wall, Sardar Saraniya told AFP Modi was hiding us behind here. Were made invisible. So the gutter we live in, Trump wont see us. Thats why theyre building this. Residents told Reuters they had been offered 200 Indian rupees (2.15) to turn out as cheering spectators along the motorcade route, echoing reports that people were to be bussed in from outside the city and paid to attend. Trump has said he is expecting between 6 and 10 million people to greet him, though Indian officials have said they estimate only around 100,000 in addition to the stadium guests. Saraniya, a slum resident and father of three, said Trump was our guest, and we will welcome him if we can see him. But he added: Priority should be given to us at least the basics should be provided. I wake up every morning and think about how I am going to earn enough money to feed my children. There was last-minute uncertainty on Sunday over whether the Trumps would visit the ashram in Ahmedabad where Mahatma Gandhi lived for 13 years, launching Indias independence movement. Officials there said the site was receiving a general facelift in case the decision was made to include it as a stop. Modi has brought several world leaders to Ahmedabad during previous state visits, all of whom have taken the time to visit the ashram. But in terms of the scale of the security operation, Trumps was definitely the biggest in recent history, said Mayank Chavda, the police inspector general in charge of overseeing the roadshow much bigger than the visits of Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, Israels Benjamin Netanyahu or the Chinese president Xi Jinping in 2014. Chavda told The Independent in an interview that he felt very happy and very lucky that Ahmedabad was chosen for the stadium rally, Indias reciprocation for the Howdy Modi event held to honour the Indian prime minister last September in Texas. The new wall, he said, was being built because of security reasons, and was a long-pending project. And asked about concerns that the citys homeless were being forcibly moved out during the clear-up, he said: It is fake news. No one has been forced to move by police, you show me the place [where this happened]. Anyone who has moved, they did so of their own [volition]. After the pomp and extravagance of the Ahmedabad leg, Tuesdays trade talks are being framed by the Indian government as the main event of the state visit, where it had been hoped real breakthroughs would be made to improve strategic cooperation and reduce trade tariffs between the two countries. A billboard featuring President Trump and first lady Melania Trump erected to welcome them ahead of their visit to the Taj Mahal (AP) But hopes of a meaningful trade deal have waned, particularly since Trumps comments last week that were not treated very well by India ... Theyve been hitting us very hard for many, many years [on trade]. The US president did hastily add: I really like Prime Minister Modi. The personal rapport built over eight past meetings did not mean Trump would shy away from mentioning the growing international concerns at authoritarian moves by Modis Hindu nationalist government, a senior White House official told reporters in a conference call on Friday. Since his second landslide election victory last May, Modi has moved to strip Muslim-majority Kashmir of its autonomy, start plans for construction of a Hindu temple on the controversial site of a torn-down mosque, and amend citizenship laws in a way that excludes Muslims. Michael Kugelman, deputy director of the Asia programme at the US-based Wilson Centre, described the Trump visit as a useful distraction for Modi, who has been facing some of the most sustained, widespread protests India has seen in decades in response to these changes. Trump will raise these issues, particularly the religious freedom issue, which is extremely important to this administration, the White House official said. And I think that the president will talk about these issues in his meetings with Prime Minister Modi and note that the world is looking to India to continue to uphold its democratic traditions [and] respect for religious minorities. (RCom) on Sunday said a meeting of the company's committee of creditors is scheduled to be held on Monday. "The 18th meeting of committee of creditors (CoC) of Ltd is scheduled to be convened on Monday, February 24, 2020," RCom said in a regulatory filing. No other details were disclosed. According to sources, the CoC on Monday will put to a vote asset bids received from UV Asset Reconstruction Company and from which lenders are expected to recover around Rs 23,000 crore. UV Asset Reconstruction Company is learnt to have placed a bid of around Rs 14,700 crore, while has made an offer of Rs 4,700 crore for tower and fibre assets of Reliance Infratel Ltd. There will also be a clawback of Rs 4,300 crore of priority payments made to Chinese and Indian creditors. Jio placed bid for tower and fibre assets of Reliance Infratel Ltd (RITL) and UVARC for assets of RCom and Reliance Telecom Ltd. RCom's secured debt is estimated to be around Rs 33,000 crore. Lenders submitted claims of around Rs 49,000 crore in August. has put all of its assets on sale that include spectrum holding of 122 megahertz (MHz), tower business, optical fibre network and data centres. According to an order by the National Company Law Tribunal, the CoC had to complete the entire process by January 10 but it sought extension in deadline. The resolution professional, Deloitte, is expected to file resolution plan with the NCLT Mumbai on March 5. RCom in the past had tried to sell assets to various companies, including Reliance Jio, to clear debt but the deals did not crystallise. cancelled agreement to buy RCom assets, including spectrum, as it did not want to bear the past liabilities of the debt-ridden firm. Later, the insolvency proceedings against RCom started on a plea filed by Swedish telecom gear maker Ericsson after the company failed to clear its dues. Brad Galloways online conversations with those spewing xenophobic or white power messages start casually. Hey, you wanna chat? he might write. You dont want to scare them off right away, he says. Galloway doesnt reach out to just anyone. Hell suss out their social media profile first, selecting only those showing signs of vulnerability a crack in the hateful armour. For example, they could be, like, all over Twitter saying, The government left me behind Im all alone. Some simply ignore him. Others blow him off with not-so-kind words. But as long as they keep talking, hell keep trying. They want to feel like theyve told you off, but then they want to have a conversation to convince you that theyre right, he says. Fine, Ill listen, whatever. Its part of the work, right? Theyre now engaging with me and not some guy in a hate group. Galloway, 39, of Abbotsford, B.C., is part of a small, fledgling network of ex-extremists or formers who provide mentorship both on and offline to people careening down a path toward violent extremism or who are seeking to escape its clutches. Sometimes, hell approach them; other times theyll be referred to him. He doesnt have a graduate degree in psychology or social work. But he does possess a unique body of knowledge and a certain street cred having spent 13 years as a bomber jacket-wearing skinhead, first in Ontario and then in British Columbia. Galloway and other formers admit that a lot of the intervention work they do is fly by the seat of your pants, which is why they are joining calls for greater standardization and collaboration with professional social workers and psychologists. Its difficult to measure the effectiveness of these programs, Galloway told a national security conference in Vancouver in November. Theres intensifying criticism surrounding it. Some critics question whether formers should be involved in intervention work at all. An article in the Atlantic magazine last September titled Should We Listen to Former Extremists? highlighted some of the potential shortcomings in having formers from neo-Nazi or jihadist movements involved in deradicalization. They included the fact that what radicalizes one person doesnt necessarily radicalize another so any formers personal experience might not be persuasive to anyone else. The article also raised the concern that formers might be doing intervention work when theyre still dealing with unresolved personal problems. At best, the current approach to helping extremists deradicalize is an imprecise science, according to a recent report by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a global think-tank. The report said that while formers possess valuable insider knowledge and are well-positioned to build trust with radicalized people because of their shared experiences, there is a lack of independent evaluations measuring the success of such efforts. Ghayda Hassan, a psychology professor at Universite du Quebec a Montreal, is hoping to change that. She is the director of the Canadian Practitioners Network for the Prevention of Radicalization and Extremist Violence, an umbrella group funded by Public Safety Canada. It is carrying out an in-depth study of intervention programs across Canada to figure out what works and what doesnt, as well as a systematic review of academic literature on deradicalization programs from around the world. And the role of formers is part of that evaluation. Theres no question formers possess insight into the forces both social and personal that can lead to extremism and potential violence, Hassan said. But before they start mentoring others, she said, its important that formers really understand the reasons they joined an extremist group, why they left, and how their experience can help others. The last thing anyone wants is for a former to start mentoring someone and have the experience trigger some kind of trauma within them that could derail the intervention, Hassan said. I think it has its positive aspects. And it also has challenges that need to be addressed. The review comes as the online recruitment efforts of extremist groups are drawing increased scrutiny. Researchers Ryan Scrivens and Amarnath Amarasingam recently collaborated on a study that looked at the content of the Facebook pages of 30 of the most prominent right-wing extremist groups in Canada. The two, from Michigan State University and Queens University, respectively, found the pages generally centred around themes related to the threat posed by Islam and the need to preserve white heritage. The sites made heavy use of memes and unreliable news sources to launch attacks on non-whites, Jews, gay people and feminists, they wrote. What is clear is that the online space is vibrant and buzzing with hateful and xenophobic content, especially on widely used social media sites like Facebook, and adherents are forming transnational alliances, promoting each others content and world view. Brad Galloway once belonged to that world. As he sits at a coffee shop on a drizzly afternoon, its difficult to square the soft-spoken father of three with the Nazi-saluting, shaved-head thug of his past. And he wasnt some low-level associate; he worked his way up to become a chapter leader. It started in the late 1990s. Galloway was in his late teens when he was recruited at a pub by someone he knew from school. He said he never really bought into the racism stuff, but that he did fall for the anti-government rhetoric and heavy metal music. Galloway said there was a sense of belonging, a brotherhood, plus a tough-guy persona to boot. It was the promise of: Youll be someone now. To be allowed into parties, he had to look the part you cant look like a liberal, he was told. A bomber jacket and Doc Martens boots soon followed. Tattoos, including one of the Red Ensign flag on his arm, came later. (Once Canadas de facto flag, until it was replaced with the Maple Leaf in 1965, the Red Ensign has since become a popular symbol within the white nationalist movement a throwback to a time when Canada was much less diverse.) But Galloway also wrestled internally with the fact that his job as a mall security guard in the heart of Toronto put him in contact with people he was supposed to hate, but actually liked. It was really weird, he recalled. I was working with a Jamaican dude and around gay people in retail. After work, Im hanging around these skinhead types. When a near-fatal street brawl with Vietnamese gang members sent him to hospital one night, he was treated by an Orthodox Jewish doctor. As he looks back on that episode, the doctors compassion for him a guy wearing a swastika-adorned shirt is clear. But back then, his mind was on more superficial things. At that point, it enhanced my prowess in the movement, getting in a fight with those guys, going to the hospital, sacrificing my blood for the race. After moving to B.C. in the early 2000s and becoming chapter leader of the Oregon-based skinhead group Volksfront, whose goal was to build an all-white homeland in the Pacific Northwest, Galloway continued to have conflicting emotions. He remembers helping an acquaintance who was Chinese get a security job. The acquaintance was so grateful that he gave Galloway a watch. In 2011, Galloway finally broke from the group. Hed grown tired of the ego-driven infighting. And one day, two skinheads from a rival gang showed up at his home. Theyre at my house saying they want to end Volksfront or end me or violently remove me from the mix of the movement, he said in a CBC documentary last year. And I look over, theres my daughter banging on the glass. His wife gave him an ultimatum: leave the group or lose your family. While he didnt get much grief from other members when he left, rewiring his brain after all the hate hed been exposed to took time. It felt like it was more of a process than I could deal with, he said. A friend suggested he check out a group called Life After Hate. Based in Chicago, Life After Hate is a non-profit made up of people who once belonged to the white power movement but, according to promotional materials, got out before it destroyed us and those we love. One of the organizations co-founders, B.C. native Tony McAleer, a one-time member of the White Aryan Resistance, became Galloways mentor. McAleer told the Star that, usually, its childhood emotional trauma that drives people into violent extremism. For Galloway, losing a friend in a car accident was one in a series of traumatic events in his childhood that he thinks may have led him astray. Human beings are motivated by two sorts of primary drives: to feel safe and to feel loved, McAleer said. And if we dont get those in a healthy way, well go get them somewhere else. Related to that trauma is what he calls a feeling of toxic shame a feeling of not being good enough or smart enough, of being worthless or unlovable. So people overcompensate to mask the shame. Whats the word thats the opposite of shame, McAleer asks, before answering: Pride. For some, that can translate into white pride. In a book he published last year called The Cure For Hate: A Former White Supremacists Journey From Violent Extremism to Radical Compassion, McAleer described how he walked in on his father having an affair with another woman when he was 10 and how that filled him with shame, anger, guilt, and most of all, betrayal. (The Star excerpted the book in October.) His grades fell and he started getting in trouble in school. In his teens, he started to rebel against everything and everyone and joined the punk and skinhead crowd. McAleer says when it comes to mentoring someone who wants to leave a hate group, the process is less about tearing down the groups ideology than it is about addressing these sorts of underlying issues that made them susceptible to that ideology in the first place. Youre not giving that person a pass necessarily, but you do want to give them space to express their grievances, he says. If you remove someones fear and anger, then the ideology doesnt make as much sense anymore. The process of deradicalization can be an isolating one, he says. When you join an extremist group, youre basically excommunicating yourself from your loved ones. When you decide to leave that group, youre excommunicating yourself again. McAleer calls this time period the void. Friends, family and society are not sitting there with open arms to welcome us back, he said. You dont have a social circle, you dont have an identity necessarily. Thats where he said formers can play an important role in offering the support of community and helping a person rebuild their identity. In Galloways case, he covered up his tattoos, returned to school and is now close to completing an undergraduate degree in criminology. He got hired as a research and intervention specialist at the Organization for the Prevention of Violence, an Alberta-based non-governmental organization. He also started making public speaking appearances about violent extremism and became a volunteer mentor at Life After Hate. As a mentor, Galloway said he takes the same non-judgmental approach that McAleer took with him. The biggest thing I do is I never try to challenge their ideology from the onset, he says. Thats because he knows how ingrained those thoughts can be. Youre never going to get anywhere by telling someone dont think this way. Im apolitical when it comes to dealing with clients. Despite the certainty of the formers that they can help, skepticism about their usefulness persists. In a 2014 research article, Liz Fekete, director of the Institute of Race Relations, a British think-tank, wrote that intervention programs in Europe that use formers are built on the shakiest of intellectual and ethical foundations and have a tendency to view people who join neo-Nazi groups as lost sheep who come from troubled backgrounds and are searching for identity. She expressed doubt about their claims of success and noted the way they tended to focus on clients grievances instead of their ideologies. Too often, she said, people who leave hate groups are too quickly invited to workshops and conferences where theyre treated like experts in violence prevention and attain an almost rock-star status. Leaving the scene is not in and of itself proof that a person has dealt with his ideology or come to terms with his actions; this needs to be examined in a far more sustained and sensitive manner, she wrote in the article, published in the journal Race & Class. In an email, Fekete clarified shes not saying there can never be a role for formers in intervention work, but wrote: I would say that formers must have atoned for any racist violence they carried out in the past, before they can possibly be seen as partners in any anti-racist project. They need to be 100 per cent honest about this, recognizing and apologizing to all they have victimized in the past. In his book, McAleer devotes a whole section to atonement. He describes meeting a Holocaust survivor at a convention and telling her how regretful he felt for once being a Holocaust denier. He also writes about attending a house party and feeling compelled to tell a group of gay men how ashamed he was that he and his crew once chased a gay man into a construction site and threw stones at him. It is true, McAleer told the Star, that leaving a group is only a first step not the full desired outcome. Ideally, you want a former to go back and heal the community they once harmed. But you can only encourage them to go as far as they want to go, he said. Depending on the individual, the process of deradicalization and atonement can take many forms, Galloway said. Theres no linear process. He cites one man hes been mentoring for three years. Hes disengaged from a group, but hes not ideologically disengaged. For Lauren Manning of Whitby, Ont., the process of deprogramming took three years because her ideology was so closely tied to her identity. Manning, now 29, spent five years attached to the skinhead movement first with a group loosely associated with Blood and Honour and then with Hammerskin Nation. It started when she was 17. She met a guy in an online forum devoted to death metal and he asked her if she was NS (a Nazi socialist) or just into NSBM (Nazi socialist black metal). The music, she replied. He asked her what her heritage was. She told him English, Irish and Italian. A fine European background, she recalls him saying. Like Galloway, Manning remembers feeling a sense of belonging: someone was actually interested in her. She had a close relationship with her father, but he died when she was 16. She had started binge-drinking and even self-harming. She was craving structure. One day she went to Toronto to see the guy shed met online. They were walking through the Oakwood-Vaughan district when he pointed out how diversity had wiped out the complexion of the neighbourhood. See this influence here? Pretty soon its going to migrate out your way, she says he told her. As she became more involved, Manning got 1488 tattooed on her neck. A ubiquitous hate symbol in the white supremacist world, the first two numbers represent the 14 words in the white nationalist creed: We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children. The 88 stands for Heil Hitler. Mannings mom told her she had to choose between her family or her friends. So she moved out. Manning said members of the group would go on vandalism sprees, spray-painting hate symbols including swastikas on storefronts or throwing rocks through windows. Once, she got a concussion when members jumped her because they thought shed ratted them out. Not even that would dissuade her from joining a larger skinhead group, the Hammerskins, who flirted with the idea of segregation and wanted to build their own all-white community. Manning said she mostly enjoyed the white power concerts they threw in legion halls. She said she relished being one of the few women in the mosh pit, but disliked how members held traditional views about gender roles. She had zero interest in getting married or having children. The last straw came when a friend and fellow skinhead was murdered and his mother wrote something on an anti-racism blog that Manning would never forget: I lost my son when he became involved in these groups and now Ive lost him forever. Separating from the group was a little rough. Manning decided to document on Facebook the process of removing her 1488 tattoo. An old skinhead friend called her a traitor. Her mother, however, welcomed her back home. And she started to make new friends, including people of colour. But shaking the racist thoughts took time. When shed see people of colour, her mind immediately turned to a racial slur. It made her feel terrible. You know how if you listen to a song over and over again, then it gets stuck in your head? Thats pretty much what listening to constant racial slurs and hateful narratives is like. But like Galloway, Manning has slowly rebuilt her identity. She now works in construction. In her spare time, she does public speaking events and has mentored a handful of people referred to her by Life After Hate. The mentoring, she said, has taught her how to be a good listener and how to be patient. I had to lose the defensive attitude and the aggressive one, too. She often asks her clients what do you want to be in the future? and then helps them figure out how to get there. You have to remain non-judgmental and non-political. (The goal) is to bring out the human in them, their true personality. Its just buried. But are former far-right extremists experts on fascism? Fekete, the British think-tank director, said she questions that idea. I think those who experience racism and fascism know the taste and feel of racism and more about what fascism actually is, than far-right extremists, many of whom still have blind spots. Benjamin Ducol, deputy director of Montreals Center for the Prevention of Radicalization Leading to Violence, has heard these concerns before. When his centre hired a former right-wing extremist to be on its staff, it was controversial. But a radicalized person who is seeking help, more often than not, is distrustful of professionals, Ducol said. A former can step in and help break the ice and be their first connection to the system. They have instant credibility in the eyes of the client because they possess a bulls--- firewall. The centre now employs three formers, not only for intervention work, but to help with video projects, education materials and training. John McCoy, executive director of Albertas Organization for the Prevention of Violence, acknowledges the science of deradicalization is far from settled. But he said his gut feeling tells him that when individuals are ready to exit an extremist group, formers can play an important role by walking them through the experience and telling them what to expect. Ultimately, the most effective formers will probably require professional training in areas like social work to be reputable and effective in the long term. McAleer concedes this point in his book, saying untrained formers are best used in the early stages of someones disengagement or deradicalization. Professionals can take over from there to help with the longer-term self-reflection and healing. It is important to know where the role of the former begins, but its more important to know where it ends. Galloway says theres no better feeling than when someone hes mentored drops him a note to say, Thanks for the inspiration I left (the group). Theres lots of critics theyre like, Formers, why would we want to deal with these people? These people are like the worst people. Well, people can change. People can legitimately change. Clarification - Aug. 11, 2020: A photo caption was edited from a previous version to include more information about the Celtic cross. Read more about: A Northeast Portland restaurant was robbed at gunpoint just before lunchtime Sunday morning, and a person was assaulted, according to the Portland Police Bureau. Police are still looking for the suspect. According to a woman who answered the phone Sunday, Josephs Deli on Northeast Halsey Street between 111th and 112th avenues was the scene of the robbery. Portland Police Bureau said no shots had been fired, though one victim was injured after being struck in the face by the robber. That person did not require an ambulance, police said. This story will be updated. -- Lizzy Acker 503-221-8052, lacker@oregonian.com, @lizzzyacker Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. National security adviser Robert O'Brien, listens as President Donald Trump addresses the nation from the White House on the ballistic missile strike that Iran launched against Iraqi air bases housing U.S. troops in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 8, 2020. (Alex Brandon/AP) Trump Adviser Disputes Intelligence Claims of Russian Election Interference Robert OBrien, the White House national security adviser, dismissed claims that the Russians are interfering in the 2020 election or are attempting to help President Donald Trumps reelection campaign. I havent seen any intelligence to support the reports that were leaked out of the House. But its just hard to comment on that because, again, I wasnt there, Robert OBrien told CBS Newss Face the Nation on Sunday morning. Those leaks, he noted, were released from a hearing conducted by the House Intelligence Committee, led by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.). I havent seen any intelligence that would back up what Im reading in the papers, he said. Earlier this month, intelligence officials told bipartisan members of the Intelligence panel about alleged election interference on behalf of Russia, according to reports. Republicans asked for evidence. Those reports claimed intelligence officials then briefed the White House on election security. From what I understand about the report I get this second hand, but from Republican congressmen that were in the committee, there was no intelligence behind it, OBrien said. I think this is the same old story that weve heard before. Weve been very tough on Russia, and weve been great on election security. So I think its a nonstory, he also told ABCs This Week on Sunday. On Friday, after reports on the alleged interference surfaced, Trump was similarly dismissive, saying it was part of a Democratic-led plan to undermine his presidency. Trump wrote on Twitter that it is merely another misinformation campaign is being launched by Democrats in Congress. He added in another post: Be careful of Russia, Russia, Russia. The Kremlin said that new allegations that Russia is trying to influence the 2020 election are false. President Donald Trump walks to board Air Force One prior to departure from Daytona Beach International Airport in Daytona Beach, Florida, on Feb. 16, 2020. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images) These are more paranoid announcements which, to our regret, will multiply as we get closer to the [U.S.] election, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Reuters. They have nothing to do with the truth. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the 2020 Democrat with the greatest number of delegates, responded to reports that Russia was trying to boost his campaign. The intelligence community is telling us they are interfering in this campaign, right now, in 2020. And what I say to Mr. Putin, if elected president, trust me you are not going to be interfering in American elections, Sanders told reporters in California on Friday. Russias alleged interference triggered a two-year-long investigation headed by then-special counsel Robert Mueller. Last year, he found no conclusive evidence of coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign. The comments from the national security adviser came as the president announced that Richard Grenell, the U.S. ambassador to Germany, would serve as his acting director of national intelligence. Kabul, Feb 23 : The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has said that it was "extremely concerned" over the two man contenders -- President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah -- disputing the results of the September 2019 presidential election. Ghani was declared the winner of the election held on September 28, 2019 but his main challenger Abdullah has rejected the result and has appointed his own provincial governors, reports Efe news. In a statement on Saturday, the UNAMA said that it was "extremely concerned by the events that are ongoing to replace government officials". It noted that the country was at a critical moment in a peace process with the start of a period of reduced violence with the Taliban. "Resorting to force or any other unlawful means at the very time that efforts are ongoing to realize a reduction in violence - with the expectation that it can lead to the start of intra-Afghan negotiations on peace - jeopardizes the population's hope for peace," the statement added. "UNAMA calls on all parties to exercise restraint and address their grievances through dialogue and respect for the constitutional order." The reduction of hostilities for a week was a preliminary step to signing an agreement between the Taliban and the US on February 29, which is expected to open the door to an intra-Afghan peace process in the war-torn country. But the announcement this week of the election results has sparked a political crisis with Abdullah denouncing the result and declaring himself the winner in the elections. "Unfortunately the electoral bodies could not perform," Murtaza Eshraqi, a spokesman for Abdullah's team, told Efe. He said that the party had appointed its own provincial governors in a number of provinces and would continue to do so. "Our Stability and Partnership electoral team has announced its victory in the elections after the election bodies failed to respect the laws and rules to separate fraudulent votes from the clean votes of the people, and we are committed to defend the clean votes of the people. "New governors have been introduced and installed in a few provinces and this process will continue in several other provinces as well," he added. The situation is reminiscent of what happened after 2014 presidential elections in Afghanistan when Abdullah refused to accept the results and triggered a period of crisis and political instability that lasted for months. The crisis did not end until the formation of a National Unity Government was agreed with the US, with Ghani as president and Abdullah leading the government. New Delhi, Feb 23 : Twenty-four hours before the Trumps land in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he is "looking forward" to welcoming US President Donald Trump. Retweeting a video by Vijay Rupani, Chief Minister of Gujarat, where Trump will land first, Modi said: "India looks forward to welcoming @POTUS @realDonaldTrump. It is an honour that he will be with us tomorrow, starting with the historic programme in Ahmedabad!" Earlier, the Gujarat Chief Minister tweeted a video where people from all languages were seen excited about the Trump visit and drawing a parallel between Modi's 'Make in India' and Trump's 'Make America Great Again' slogans. The video aimed to showcase India's rich diversity. Rupani said: "Entire Gujarat speaks in one voice- #NamasteTrump!" Trump will arrive in Ahmedabad on Monday where he will deliver a speech at Sardar Patel Stadium with Modi. With Modi, the US President and First Lady Melania Trump will then head to Agra where they will visit the Taj Mahal. Later in the day, they will fly to New Delhi and have a full programme on Tuesday. The US on Saturday officially confirmed that a 12-person delegation will accompany President Trump and First Lady Melania during their two-day trip to India from February 24. Taking note of the surfacing of a video showing Dr Poonam Bhargava, a gynaecologist at Panchkula civil hospital, seeking Rs 20,000 for aborting a female foetus, Haryana health minister Anil Vij on Sunday ordered the doctors suspension. I have taken action against the doctor and suspended her, Vij told reporters on being asked about the matter while he was meeting residents during a Janta Darbar at his house in Ambala Cantonment. Vij was apprised of the case in the morning after multiple media reports highlighted it, said an official from Vijs Ambala office. The video was submitted to the hospitals chief medical officer (CMO) by a Chandigarh resident, who met Dr Bhargava and told her that his wife was pregnant with their third girl child and they wanted to abort it. In response, the doctor offered to carry out the abortion at her house in exchange for Rs 20,000, and asked the man not to reveal the matter to anyone. While estimating the foetus to be four months old, in the video, the doctor is seen sharing that she will have to execute a normal delivery to remove the foetus. The man had told the CMO that he was introduced to Dr Bhargava by another woman employee at the hospital with whom he had first discussed his wifes pregnancy. Mobile app for farmers connecting markets to make better deals View(s): While technology is booming and new inventions are coming into place, the agricultural sector is also flourishing with new methods of harvesting and farmer friendly apps to make their lives much easier. The Technical Assistance to the Modernisation of Agriculture Programme in Sri Lanka (TAMAP) funded by the EU and implemented by the consulting company, Ecorys Nederland B.V., is driven by its purpose of assisting the government of Sri Lanka to move towards sustainable and productive agriculture. TAMAP has supported the development of an electronic market place in agriculture in line with the governments e-agriculture strategy. As a result of this work Govipola, an agricultural trading platform and improved market information system was launched recently at the Movenpick Hotel in Colombo. Worldwide there is interest in developing agricultural marketplaces online with the aim of helping farmers to connect more directly to markets in real time and help them make better deals, stated Frank Hess, Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation to Sri Lanka. The Govipola app helps farmers to market their goods to potential buyers while providing market information. This in turn helps to strengthen our goal of developing a vibrant agricultural sector in Sri Lanka, he added. The app is developed by Croptronix, a Sri Lankan company, Govipola began as an online wantboard, which is a place where people post their text-based buy and sell offers in a way similar to the way newspaper advertisements work. Today the app, with over 15,000 generic downloads across the country, helps farmers in marketing their goods on a digital platform with easy access to real time market data. The app also offers convenience to buyers by providing options such as search filtering and notifications and thereby shortening the lengthy process of finding goods. As part of its continuous development process, the app is now ready to offer a match-making engine allowing suppliers to easily connect with interested buyers. The interaction with a potential trading partner may happen via the app or a direct call using the call-to-action button embedded in the system. With this simple approach the app links the farmer directly to an exporter, trader or a consumer. The apps user-friendly interface, three-language support and dynamic alert system also prove to be of immense value to users. The order-matching feature allows the user to get his or her listing directly matched with a corresponding order without the need to perform a lengthy search and read through all the posts placed on the marketplace. Every matched order allows opening of a direct confirmation channel for trade in line with conditions agreed upon by the parties. (RM) Suzie Monaghan works with her inspiring father in the clothing business he founded 60 years ago, writes Rowena Walsh When Suzie Monaghan was a teenager, she worked in her parents shop to earn pocket money. She never thought for a single moment that, decades later, she would be back happily working side by side with her father, Tom. Now in his early 90s, Tom Monaghan is Irelands oldest retailer. He founded Monaghans Cashmere with his wife Teresa in the former Grafton Arcade in Dublin in 1960 and this year they are celebrating six decades in business. Tom still comes to the store six days a week. I collect him in the morning, we come in together and we go home together, says Suzie. She says that her father has never thought about retirement and she believes that continuing to work has sustained him in mind, body, and spirit. Dads mind is incredibly sharp, says Suzie. I always say that he has three books in him because he has so much to teach us in business and in life in general. Hes an incredible listener, teacher, person. He has been a great mentor to Suzie since she went back to work after having her two children, Hayley and Eddie, now 22 and 20, respectively. Suzie found out she was pregnant six months after she got married. At the time I was thinking this is happening so fast, but now Im delighted because I feel that at my age is a great age for my kids to be adults. I think we connect very well, and theyre very open with me. She says that she was very fortunate to stay at home when her children were born. By the time Hayley was 16, however, Suzie was beginning to feel low. I felt like I had no place anymore. As the children got older, they needed me less. As much as I love coffee with the girls, I found myself getting bored, and I needed to do something else. Her father asked if she would consider working in the family business and she accepted his offer. It wasnt what she had envisaged for herself years previously, but she loved the shop and she thinks it wasnt as hard for her going back into the workplace as it might be for others. I have my mentors Dad and John Reilly, director of Monaghans surrounding me, she says, theres a lot of comfort in that. She also thinks that your 50s is a great time to embark on a second career and that youre never too old to listen to your father. I make notes on what my father tells me. The business has been around for 60 years, they know what theyre talking about. Sometimes we think that we know better, we dont. Times change, so you add your element to it, but the basics are always the same a business is a business no matter what kind of business it is. Three generations of the Monaghan family are now involved, and Suzie says that her daughter Hayley now wears the cashmere I wore when I was her age. You keep it because the quality is so good, it just goes on and on. A few years ago, one of her fathers customers, a man from Texas, came into Monaghans with a jumper he had bought in 1960, the year the shop opened. Before she had her children, Suzie had worked in interior design and loved exercising her creative muscle. She now flexes it with her own label called Suzie Monaghan Cashmere. You do have those moments of oh my God, I hope this works out because this is all on my head. But Dad gave me the chance and thankfully its all worked out. Im currently designing my collection for 2020. She says that its all about nostalgia, in tribute to her mother who died late last year. I thought after Mum having Alzheimers for so long that when she did pass, that it wouldnt be as hard as it is. I miss her desperately, but she was an incredible woman and I always think now what would Mum do? Click here to read the full article. The Berlinale in recent years has been a prime launching pad for Italian films directed by women, which though fewer in number to their male counterparts, make up a considerable portion of the countrys representation on the festival circuit Alice Rohrwacher (Happy as Lazzaro) at Cannes, Susanna Nicchiarelli (Nico) at Venice, and Berlin regular Laura Bispuri (Daughter of Mine) are all festival faves. Here is a compendium of new and upcoming Italian films and TV series directed by women including two (out of nine Italian titles overall) in Berlin this year. More from Variety Ordinary Justice This first feature by Chiara Bellosi, who previously made several docs, looks at a day in a Turin courthouse where the lives of two women and a young girl on opposite sides of a murder case intersect. In Berlin, Generation 14Plus. Faith An observational doc by Valentina Pedicini is about a reclusive spiritual sect of kung fu practitioners in an isolated community in rural Italy led by a domineering man known as the Master. It has been making a splash since it premiered in Amsterdam at IDFA in November. In Berlin, Critics Week. Simple Women Chiara Maltas feature film debut is about the infatuation of a young female filmmaker, played by Jasmine Trinca (Fortunata), with a washed-up indie star Elina Lowensohn (playing herself) whom she runs into by chance on a Rome sidewalk. She decides to make a film about her set in Bucharest and things take a strange turn. This film with an experimental aesthetic opened Torontos Discovery program last year. Miss Marx An English-language biopic starring Romola Garai as Karl Marxs younger daughter Eleanor, one the first women to approach the themes of feminism, is from Italian director Susanna Nicchiarelli (Nico, 1988), and is now in post. Story continues Magari (If Only) This sentimental comedy set in the mid-1980s about the disconnect felt by kids with divorced parents is directed by Ginevra Elkann, making her debut after cutting her teeth as a producer of bold projects including Noaz Deshes White Shadow and Babak Jalalis Frontier Blues. Pic opened last years Locarno Film Festival to positive reviews and will be soon be released in Italy. Nevia A semiautobiographical drama set in a trailer park on the outskirts of Naples, Nevia marks the assured debut of Nunzia De Stefano, former wife and close collaborator of Matteo Garrone, who produced. Her tale of a 17-year-old whose life changes when the circus comes to town launched at Venices Horizons section and has since been making the festival rounds. Occhi Blu (Blue Eyes) Actor Michela Cescon is making her directorial debut with this revenge noir set in Romes criminal underworld. The pic stars Valeria Golino and is produced by Carlo Cresto-Dina (Ordinary Justice). Its currently shooting. Chiara Ferragni Unposted An Amazon Prime documentary by Roman director Elisa Amoruso is about Italian fashion blogger-entrepreneur Chiara Ferragni, who has some 17 million Instagram followers. It scored 1.6 million ($1.7 million) in its September three-day release in Italian movie theaters. Amoruso is now in post on her first fiction feature, Maledetta Primavera, a coming-of-age drama, and is in prep on a series based on a bestselling Italian novel Fedelta, which translates as Faithfulness, about romantic dilemmas of a Milanese couple in their 30s. Luna Nera Netflixs third Italian original series is a fantasy rooted in historical reality about a group of women accused of being witches in 17th century Italy. The innovative show, now streaming, is directed by Francesca Comencini (Gomorrah the series), Nichiarelli and Paola Randi. Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Clashes broke out between the police and anti-CAA protesters in Aligarh's old city area late Sunday after, after the police tried to evict a group of women agitators. A 22-year-old man was shot and seriously injured by a "miscreant" during violent clashes between the police and anti-CAA protesters in Aligarh's old city area on Sunday. The father and brother of the wounded man identified as Tariq told police that he was shot after a "miscreant" opened fire amid the clashes. Tariq's father said his son was standing in front of his home when he was shot by a miscreant whom he recognised. Tariq was admitted to Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). Doctors said he took a bullet in the stomach and described his condition as "serious". The violence occurred at the spot where some women protesters were holding a dharna since Saturday on the Mohamed Ali Road leading to the Kotwali Police Station with the police trying to evict protesters, Singh said. The trouble began when the police, around 5 pm, tried to persuade women protesters at Upper Kot to leave. "We told them that women protesters were already holding a protest at Eidgah and they would not be permitted to hold another such protest near Kotwali," said Singh. He added, "Even as efforts were underway to convince women to leave the area with prominent Muslim citizens of the area, including the Sahar Mufti Abdul Khalid trying to defuse the situation, mayhem broke out out and (stone-pelting) started.." The police fired tear gas to disperse the mob indulging in vandalism and throwing stones at personnel in upper Kot area of the Kotwali Police Station, police sources told PTI. The protesters pelted stones at personnel and also tried to set ablaze a transformer near the Jama Masjid, Aligarh district magistrate Chandrabhushan Singh told ANI. Describing the situation in Upper Kot area as "tense but under control" Singh said, "An intense patrolling of the affected areas is underway and the police are trying to trace those who were "instigating" the women protesters at Upper Kot since yesterday" The Aligarh district magistrate ordered that the internet services be suspended in the city till midnight. Chandra Bhushan Singh, Aligarh District Magistrate (DM): Internet services suspended in the city area of Aligarh district. https://t.co/9LYKZnGgzB ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) February 23, 2020 There were reports of some injured, but the exact number is yet to ascertained, Singh said. Earlier in the day, a Bhim Army-led march by hundreds of anti-CAA protesters heading to the district collectorate earlier was stopped midway by police and Rapid Action Force jawans. The protesters had taken out the march on a call by Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Aazad. After being stopped by the police, the protesters had headed towards the Eidgah area in the city where another group of anti-CAA women protesters has been holding an indefinite dharna in the Eidgah area for the past three weeks. Aligarh SSP Rajmuni, who took the charge only last night, earlier told media that following the abortive march, an FIR has been lodged against three persons at the Delhi Gate police station for trying to violate prohibitory orders and breach peace in the city. The new SSP said he was monitoring the situation arising out of the anti-CAA protests, going on both at the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and the old city area. He had said our "channels of communications with protesters are going to remain open but it does not mean we will allow anybody disturb the city's law and order". With inputs from agencies Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-23 20:27:32|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close BEIJING, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- China is capable of offsetting the economic impact of the novel coronavirus outbreak with ample monetary policy tools, a senior official with the central bank has said, pledging to further lower borrowing costs while keeping liquidity at a reasonable and ample level. Liu Guoqiang, vice governor of the People's Bank of China, said the epidemic's pressure on the economy will be short-lived and will not change the country's sound economic fundamentals. The positive elements in the economy are gathering steam, he said, citing robust growth in epidemic-control sectors, a relief of potential in new industries and new businesses, ample market supply and calmer market sentiment. Liu said in the short term, the novel coronavirus outbreak will rattle certain aspects of the economy such as loan growth, consumer prices and debt ratio. For instance, fewer outdoor activities and work resumption delay would discourage the borrowing demand of consumers and certain industries. But the impact is temporary and will fade with progress being made in epidemic control and factories gradually returning to work, he said. Liu said the central bank would continue to keep liquidity at a reasonable and ample level, push for reform of loan prime rate (LPR), China's new market-oriented benchmark lending rate, and lower borrowing costs to ease the financing strain for smaller companies. The one-year LRP fell Thursday to 4.05 percent from 4.15 percent a month earlier, while the above-five-year LPR fell five basis points from the previous reading to 4.75 percent, a boost to market liquidity and a boon for small firms amid the country's fight against the epidemic. Adjustment in the benchmark deposit rate will be subject to future economic fundamentals such as economic growth and consumer prices, he said. The central bank will next make proper counter-cyclical adjustments, implement the prudent monetary policy in a flexible and appropriate manner and improve the monetary transmission mechanism via reforms to manage short-term downward economic pressure, said Liu. Meanwhile, China will avoid adopting a deluge of strong stimulus policies to minimize the epidemic's impact on the economy and keep the economy running in a reasonable range, he said. China's new yuan-denominated loans hit 3.34 trillion yuan (475.78 billion U.S. dollars) in January, a year-on-year rise of 110.9 billion yuan, central bank data showed on Thursday. The M2, a broad measure of money supply that covers cash in circulation and all deposits, rose 8.4 percent year on year to 202.31 trillion yuan at the end of January. Thich Quang Do, a dissident Buddhist monk who has effectively been under house arrest since 2003 and was nominated multiple times for the Nobel Peace Prize, has died aged 93. Head of the banned Unified Buddist Church of Vietnam (UBCV), the vocal patriarch was born in 1928 in Thai Binh province and spent most of his life advocating for religious freedom and human rights in communist-run Vietnam. His staunch activism landed him under what was effectively house arrest in Ho Chi Minh City in 2003, where he was under constant surveillance. Do died on Saturday night at Tu Hieu pagoda, UBCV announced on Sunday morning. According to his will signed on April 2019, Do requested a "simple funeral, not more than three days". "After the cremation, my ashes will be scattered at sea," said the statement quoting his will. The UBCV also requested for followers not to bring money, as is customary for Vietnamese funerals. "There will be no final words, no biographies, no emotional showings... just praying." Do has long been a thorn on the side for communist-run Vietnam, and he has been nominated multiple times for the Nobel Peace Prize for his vocal advocacy for democracy. In 2001, he wrote an "Appeal for Democracy", and also called on northern and southern dissidents to drop their cultural differences and unite in 2005. He received Norway's Rafto human rights award the following year for "his personal courage and perseverance through three decades of peaceful opposition against the communist regime in Vietnam". The UBVC has been banned since the early 1980s when it refused to join the state-sanctioned Vietnam Buddhist Church. Vietnam has long had an uneasy relationship with organised religion. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) recommended to the State Department that Vietnam be designated as a "country of particular concern", citing "systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Will not allow another Shaheen Bagh: Kapil Mishra told rally before clashes near Jaffrabad India pti-PTI New Delhi, Feb 23: Roads are being blocked by those against the CAA to cut off 35 lakh people in Jaffrabad and neighbouring areas from other parts of the city, Delhi BJP leader Kapil Mishra told a gathering on Sunday, demanding that police remove the protesters within three days. Mishra led a demonstration before clashes erupted between pro and anti-CAA groups near Jaffrabad in northeast Delhi where a large number of people who have been protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act had blocked a road since Saturday night. Police fired tear gas shells as members of the two groups pelted stones at each other in Maujpur. For security reasons, the entry and exit gates of the Maujpur-Babarpur metro station were closed. "They want to cut off 35 lakh people by blocking the roads. Is this the way to protest against anything? We will not allow the area to be turned into Shaheen Bagh," Mishra said. Mishra issued an ultimatum to the police to clear the roads and warned people will be back if the anti-CAA protesters are not removed. "Nearly 35 lakh people are affected by these roadblocks. They have no other way to cross the Yamuna. Had I not led them to protest the roadblocks, they would have taken to streets themselves," Mishra told PTI. A former MLA from nearby Karawal Nagar, Mishra had asked people to gather at Maujpur Chowk in support of the CAA in reply to the roadblock by those protesting against the new citizenship law. The anti-CAA protesters, including women, had blocked the road near Jaffrabad metro station on Saturday. Another road in Bhajanpura Chandbagh was also blocked by a group of protesters. Mishra said the people were "frustrated" due to roadblocks as it disconnected them from rest of Delhi. Taking to Twitter, Mishra said, "We have given a three-day ultimatum to the Delhi Police to get the road cleared. Get the Jafrabad and Chandbagh road cleared". In a video tweeted by him where he can be seen addressing the gathering, Mishra said, "They (protesters) want to create trouble in Delhi. That''s why they have closed the roads. That''s why they have created a riot-like situation here. We have not pelted any stone". "Till US President is in India, we are leaving the area peacefully. After that we won''t listen to you (police) if the roads are not vacated by then," he told the gathering. Mishra said he gave ultimatum to police as those gathered at Maujpur Chowk would not leave the place unless some "concrete" assurance was offered to them. Mishra unsuccessfully contested recent Assembly poll from Model Town constituency in recent Assembly poll. He was banned from campaigning for some days due to terming the polls as India-Pakistan contest. He is known for his hardline views against anti-CAA protests that he often expresses through his tweets. Protesters at Shaheen Bagh pushed for the Supreme Court to hear petitions on the contentious new citizenship law as the central government had not engaged with them to understand their concerns over the law and a possible national register of citizens (NRC). They are also anguished at being labelled traitors and Pakistanis. These were among the points highlighted by former chief information commissioner (CIC) Wajahat Habibullah, in an affidavit filed with the Supreme Court. Habibullah is one of the three interlocutors, the others being senior lawyers Sanjay Hegde, Sadhna Ramachandran, appointed by the apex court to find a solution to the protests at Shaheen Bagh. Habibullah is an intervenor in a plea before the Supreme Court by advocate Amit Sahni and BJP leader Nand Kishore Garg seeking lifting of road blockade at Shaheen Bagh. In his affidavit, the former CIC told the court that the women at the protest site had requested him to place their view point before the court. The protestors, the affidavit said, reaffirmed that they are proud citizens of the country. That while they are proud citizens of the country, they are deeply hurt at being abused and labelled as anti-national/outsiders/ traitors/ Pakistanis in various political speeches as well as a section of the media. The protesting ladies were expressing peaceful dissent against the citizenship amendment Act (CAA) since the controversial steps on CAA along with the National Register of Citizens could sound the death knell for their survival and existence, the affidavit stated. They said that they chose the particular site for protest because it gives them the much required security because it is flanked on both sides by the Shaheen Bagh colony. Therefore, the chances of threatened attacks on them are considerably less than they would have been if the protest had been held at any place away from the present site. Besides detailing the concerns expressed by the protestors, Habibullah also stated that after personal inspection, he found that the police has unnecessarily barricaded roads unconnected to the protest and are wrongly laying the blame on the protest. It is these barricading of unconnected roads that has led to a chaotic situation, Habibullah submitted. The protestors at Shaheen Bagh are opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which was passed on December 12, 2019. The CAA amends Section 2 of the Citizenship Act, 1955, which defines illegal migrants by adding a proviso to Section 2 (1)(b). As per this new proviso, any person belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian communities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan, and who have been exempted by the Central Government under the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 or the Foreigners Act, 1946, shall not be treated as illegal migrant. Consequently, such persons shall be eligible to apply for citizenship by naturalisation, which is laid down under Section 6 of the 1955 act. However, the Muslim community did not find a place in the proviso thereby excluding Muslim illegal migrants from availing the opportunity to apply for Indian citizenship, a benefit which was extended to illegal migrants from the other six communities by this amendment. The exclusion of Muslim community from the proviso has led to widespread protests across the country, as has the linking of citizenship with religion. There have also been protests against a proposed all-India National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the potential problems in the two working in combination. Shaheen Bagh has been the epicenter of such protests in the national capital. Advocate Amit Sahni and BJP leader Nand Kishore Garg had moved the Supreme Court seeking lift of road blockade in the Shaheen Bagh Kalindi Kunj stretch. Sahni in his plea stated that the road closure at Shaheen bagh causes great inconvenience to 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. Sahni stated that while people have the right to protest, the same is subject to reasonable restrictions and protestors cannot be allowed to occupy public roads indefinitely. The Supreme Court had tasked senior advocate Sanjay Hegde and advocate Sadhana Ramachandran to mediate with the protestors and come to a constructive solution to resolve the issue. The court remarked that while right to protest is a fundamental right, such demonstrations and protests cannot be held on public roads for indefinite period. The court had also given liberty to Habibullahs counsel to discuss the issue of road blockade with the protesters. OTTAWA - Federal officials lost or possibly destroyed sensitive records about the case of a naval officer convicted of selling secrets to Russia, an investigation by Canada's information commissioner has found. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 23/2/2020 (689 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Sub-Lt. Jeffrey Paul Delisle is escorted by sheriffs from Nova Scotia provincial court in Halifax on Friday, Feb. 8, 2013. Federal officials lost or possibly destroyed sensitive records about the case of a naval officer convicted of selling secrets to Russia, an investigation by Canada's information commissioner has found. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan OTTAWA - Federal officials lost or possibly destroyed sensitive records about the case of a naval officer convicted of selling secrets to Russia, an investigation by Canada's information commissioner has found. The commissioner's probe, which involved the country's top public servant and the prime minister's national-security adviser, left key questions unanswered because the classified records about the spy case could not be located. The episode began seven years ago when The Canadian Press filed an Access to Information Act request with the Privy Council Office for briefing notes, emails and reports about the case of Jeffrey Delisle from a three-week period in the spring of 2013. Delisle, a troubled junior naval officer, had been sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to passing classified western intelligence to Russia in exchange for cash on a regular basis for more than four years. The access law, intended to ensure government transparency, allows people who pay a $5 fee to ask for a wide array of federal documents, with some specific exceptions. The Privy Council Office, the apex of the federal bureaucracy, responded in August 2013 that the records concerning Delisle would be entirely withheld from release because they dealt with matters such as investigations, international relations and detection of subversive or hostile activities. The Canadian Press complained the following month to the information commissioner, an ombudsman for users of the law who has the power to review documents and decide whether they have been properly withheld. The events that followed were detailed this month in a letter to the news agency from information commissioner Caroline Maynard. The commissioner's office asked in 2013 for an uncensored copy of the files to examine and the Privy Council Office said arrangements would be made for an investigator to view the sensitive records on site. However, it appears more than five years passed before the commissioner's office followed up. In July 2019, the deputy director of the Privy Council Office corporate-services branch told one of the commissioner's investigators the documents had "most likely" been inadvertently destroyed. Maynard then issued an order to Greta Bossenmaier, the national security and intelligence adviser to the prime minister at the time, to produce the records a move aimed at determining whether they had indeed been purged. In late November, the Privy Council Office's director of Access to Information replied on Bossenmaier's behalf that the Privy Council Office could neither locate the records nor confirm if they had been destroyed. The director provided a few more clues: in 2013, an access analyst viewed the records in a secure area of the office's security and intelligence secretariat. They were then placed in a folder that appears to have been returned to a different cabinet. "Should the documents be located, PCO will inform your office," he wrote. As the PCO had still not confirmed the status of the documents, Maynard asked Privy Council clerk Ian Shugart in a Dec. 30, 2019, letter to provide any existing records by Jan. 20. "I also urged the clerk to ensure that PCO take the necessary steps to guarantee that all records relevant to ongoing (Access to Information) complaints are properly stored," says Maynard's letter to The Canadian Press. The Privy Council Office's assistant deputy minister replied to Maynard last month that the records could not be found and called the matter "an isolated incident." Since the incident, the PCO "has committed to ensuring a more rigorous approach" is taken with such requests, said Pierre-Alain Bujold, a Privy Council Office spokesman. The PCO says it now directs officials to make copies of sensitive documents, ensure the request number is prominently displayed, and place the file in a centralized vault for safekeeping and future reference. Natalie Bartlett, a spokeswoman for Maynard, declined to comment, saying the access law doesn't allow the office to discuss an investigation unless and until it is published in a report. In her letter to The Canadian Press, Maynard, who became commissioner in March 2018, apologized for the delay in investigating the complaint. "Your complaint has brought to the fore both the importance of institutions' proper identification and preservation of responsive records, as well as the importance of conducting timely investigations." Maynard said that upon her appointment she instituted measures to ensure older complaints "continue to be actively pursued and that files do not remain unassigned for lengthy periods of time." She added that in this case, without the records, "I cannot effectively assess whether PCO was justified in refusing access, in whole or in part, under the act, nor can I prospectively recommend that information, incapable of being located, be disclosed." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 23, 2020. Follow @JimBronskill on Twitter Ahead of the budget session of Maharashtra Assembly, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray held a closed door meeting with NCP president Sharad Pawar and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar at his official residence here on Sunday. The leaders arrived at a consensus on communicating to the Centre about "objectionable parts" of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the National Population Register (NPR) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), a senior state leader said. This comes against the backdrop of Thackeray's recent statement that he had no problems with the NPR and nobody should be afraid over the CAA. The Sena's stand appeared at variance with that of the NCP and the Congress, which are its alliance partners in the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government. The meeting, held at the CM's official residence 'Varsha' on Sunday, focused on two issues - implementation of the CAA, NPR and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state, and the budget session beginning on Monday, the leader said. "There has been a consensus on communicating to the Centre about objectionable parts of the CAA, NPR and NRC. The leaders also discussed the possible issues which may be raised in the budget session. The three-party government is trying to avoid issues that would hamper the coalition during the budget session," the leader said on condition of anonymity. After meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi on Friday, Thackeray said no one needs to fear about the CAA as it is not meant for throwing anyone out of the country. He had also said an atmosphere is being created in the country that the NRC is "dangerous" for Muslims, but added that the exercise will not be carried out in Maharashtra. He had later also met Congress President Sonia Gandhi, veteran BJP leader L K Advani and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the national capital. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The worst cabinet secretary in U.S. history wants another shot at wrecking our schools help us stop her If you were in need of a perfect metaphor for how the Department of Education operates when its being run by the nations foremost opponent to public education, check out this post by Eclectablogs Mitchell Robinson. Youll learn that a Betsy DeVos-sanctioned accreditation agency apparently gave approval to operate for Reagan National University in South Dakota, a university with no students, faculty, administration, or facilities. The only point of this so-called educational institution, it seems, is to get away with a massive bait and switch. Sound familiar? Born billionaire Betsy DeVos only took her first job in government and the first job of her life because she saw the opportunity shes waited for her whole life, a national platform to wage war against public schools, which she calls government schools because she hates them, and a president willing to let big donors do whatever they want. Everyone knows DeVos and her family have given millions to Republicans. No one is exactly sure what her Erik Prince brother did to help the Trumps swipe the 2016 election. But we can be sure that theyre going to whatever they can to get Trump and Betsy a second term, when the guardrails that help kept her from assailing her own budget and the fundamental promise of a public education, could wither away, when we should be doing everything we can to make schools more equal, less segregated and generally better funded. Mitchell does his darnedest in between being a full-time educator and father to keep track of the worst things Betsy DeVos has done in office. And in 2020, well see her assailing us from both inside the government and in our elections, with her familys continued support to Trump and Republicans like the missing John James, who is likely to take on Michigans Senator Gary Peters. Both her and her money will be on the campaign trail. Weve been warning and informing America about the DeVos family, our states Koch family, for years. And we need your help to keep doing it through the 2020 election. Please consider making a donation today to help keep strong, vibrant, effective blogging alive and well here at Eclectablog. You can use the handy PayPal form at the top of the right sidebar to make a one-time donation via Paypal in the amount of your choice. Second, you can send a check (which avoids Paypal taking out a percentage of your donation) to Chris Savage, P.O. Box 32, Dexter, MI 48130. Please make the check payable to Eclectablog. Want to make a monthly donation? Enter the amount you want to pay each month: $ USD Sign up for If you simply arent able to make a donation of any kind (and we appreciate support at ALL levels), please continue to share our posts throughout all of your social media platforms to ensure that the hard work of our most excellent staff is seen by as many folks as possible. The top prosecutor had earlier denied allegations that Zaki had been tortured in detention Egyptian prosecutors have renewed the detention for another 15 days of researcher Patrick George Zaki, who was arrested earlier this month over charges including "broadcasting false news." Zaki, a postgraduate student at Bologna University in Italy, is a researcher at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), a prominent rights organisation. Zaki was detained at Cairo International Airport on 7 February after he arrived for a family visit, his lawyers said at the time. Zaki is accused of "broadcasting false news", "disturbing security and social peace," and using his Facebook account to "to promote the use of violence and terrorism," according to the prosecutor's office. Zaki's arrest sparked condemnation in Italy, with calls for his release by rights organisations both at home and abroad, including a call for his immediate release made by European Parliament President David Sassoli. Last week, Egypts top prosecutor denied allegations that Zaki was tortured during his detention, saying he "did not testify to being subjected to any harm or abuse" and that there were "no visible injuries" on him. In September, prosecutors issued an arrest warrant and ordered the search of Zaki's home. His residence was searched by state security forces, who later presented to the prosecution printed documents of posts from his Facebook account inciting against state institutions and figures, the prosecutor's office had said. An appeals court in his home city of Mansoura in the Nile Delta rejected an appeal filed by Zaki against his first detention order and upheld the prosecutions decision. Search Keywords: Short link: LUCKNOW Another law student of a private university was arrested on Sunday for his alleged involvement in the murder of an engineering dropout Prashant Singh, 25, outside a guarded group housing society, Alakhnanda Apartments, in posh Gomti Nagar extension on Thursday. The police had so far arrested three youths in the case, but the key accused Arpan Shukla, who allegedly stabbed the engineering dropout, and five others involved in the crime, were still at large. Assistant commissioner of police (ACP), Gomti Nagar, Santosh Kumar Singh said the arrested accused was identified as Tarun Singh, 19, a law student of a private university in Chinhat. He said Taruns father is a prominent businessman of Jaunpur district. Taruns father and other family members have been informed about his arrest in the murder case, he added. He said the CCTV footage of the incident showed that Tarun was present at the crime scene along with key accused Arpan Shukla. The ACP said three teams were working for the arrest of the six other people whose names surfaced in the investigation. The two persons arrested earlier in the case included law student Abhishek Pandey of the same university and Aman Bahadur, a passout of the same university. Pandey is son of a prominent astrologer of the city while Aman is son of a former BSP MLA Shamsher Bahadur Singh, he said. So far, involvement of at least nine people had come to fore in the incident. Three of them had been arrested while efforts were on for the arrest of six others including Arpan Shukla, Nikhil, Vimal Singh, Abdul Ghani Khan, Anjani Yadav and Hardik Kumar, said the ACP. Police investigation revealed that Prashant Singhs murder was the fallout of a dispute between two groups of students and former students of the private university. The two groups had a scuffle during a party at a restaurant in Safedabad on Lucknow-Barabanki border a few days ago and that was the trigger behind Thursdays murder. Prashant was stabbed to death in broad daylight by the assailants at the entrance of Alakhnanda Apartments when he came in an SUV to meet a person known to him. Senator Bernie Sanders cruised to victory in the Nevada caucuses, heartening his supporters and stoking alarm among moderates who fear he is too liberal and would lose to President Donald Trump. Takeaways from the Nevada caucuses: SANDERS PRESIDENTIAL BID GETS ROCKET FUEL Sanders convincing win means there is no longer an asterisk next to his status as the front-runner in the race. He proved his strength with a broad coalition that included Latino voters, union members and African Americans. Now Sanders claims three victories in a row heading into South Carolina next Saturday, and more important, Super Tuesday on March 3 when about one-third of the delegates needed for the nomination are at stake. The biggest prizes that day, California and Texas, look a lot like Nevada demographically. READ| Trump congratulates Bernie Sanders for his victory in Nevada caucuses Another advantage: His opponents remain splintered and, with the exception of billionaire former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg, under-funded to compete across such a vast terrain. But now there will be extraordinary pressure to try to consolidate moderate support in an effort to stop Sanders rise. And Sen. Elizabeth Warren will have a decision to make on how much she tries to draw separation from Sanders since they are both competing for the progressive vote. There is at least one strong note of caution about Sanders success. In Iowa and New Hampshire he didnt seem to grow the electorate substantially. Data is still out in Nevada. BUTTIGIEG ISSUES WARNING ABOUT SANDERS Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg ran well behind Sanders, but he tried to cast himself as the strongest alternative to Sanders. In language uncharacteristically blunt, Buttigieg issued a warning to Democrats about the perils of nominating Sanders, whom he characterized as inflexible and whose ideas are not in the American mainstream. Sen. Sanders believes in an inflexible, ideological revolution that leaves out most Democrats, not to mention most Americans, Buttigieg told supporters. He held himself out as the only viable alternative. We can prioritize either ideological purity or inclusive victory, Buttigieg said. He added: Sen. Sanders sees capitalism as the root of all evil. Hed go beyond reform and reorder the economy in ways most Democrats let alone most Americans dont support. Despite his forceful argument, theres a serious risk to Buttigieg in the upcoming calendar. He will have to win over black voters in South Carolina, then pivot to a multistate primary with comparatively limited resources. Buttigieg put out a plea for $13 million from donors before Super Tuesday. The former mayor of a city of 100,000 has repeatedly defied the odds in the presidential nominating contests, but the odds are getting longer. BIDEN HAS HIS BACK AGAINST A FIREWALL Former Vice President Joe Biden was hoping Nevada would turn things around for him after a disastrous showing in Iowa and then New Hampshire. He argued that hed do better in a more diverse state. But Biden again lost badly even as he told supporters at a union hall, Were alive and coming back and were gonna win. His last and best hope may be to win in South Carolina next Saturday. Hes counting on his support among the states black voters they could make up two-thirds of the voters to serve as his firewall. If Biden doesnt win South Carolina, the rationale for his candidacy will much harder to maintain. In Las Vegas, he tried out a new rallying cry: I aint a socialist. I aint a plutocrat. Im a Democrat. And Im proud of it. Party loyalty may be all Biden has left. READ| Bernie Sanders calls Saudi Royals 'murderous thugs', opines on Iran & Palestine-Israel MAYBE CULINARY ISNT ALL-POWERFUL AFTER ALL The 60,000-member Culinary Workers Local 226 represents workers in the casinos on the Las Vegas strip, and its routinely described, correctly, as the most powerful force in the states Democratic politics. But its not omnipotent. Culinary didnt want Sanders to win. It has strongly opposed his Medicare for All plan, warning its members that it would eliminate their own generous health plan. Some observers thought the union might end up backing Biden. But after the former vice presidents embarrassing performances in Iowa and New Hampshire, Culinary instead stayed neutral. The calls from leadership went unheeded by many. Sanders had strong showings in some caucuses in casinos where crowds of Culinary members chanted the Vermont senators name and powered him to wins in most casinos. Culinary is driven by its members, many of whom are Sanders supporters, and there was no consensus among the rest about what they should do. Leadership decided to refrain from a divisive fight, helping pave the way for Sanders win. Its a reminder that even in places like Nevada with strong political institutions, those institutions ultimately derive their power from voters. NO BOUNCE FOR KLOBUCHAR Sen. Amy Klobuchar produced one of the few surprises of the race when she surged to a third-place finish in New Hampshire, announced that she had raised more than $12 million, and vowed to prove her doubters wrong. Her momentum proved short-lived. She finished well behind the leading candidates, and in the process, prompted questions about her viability. But in a speech to supporters in her home state of Minnesota, she was defiant and said she would continue. She even tried to make a virtue of the fact that Trump mentioned her name at a rally. By the way, for the first time ever, he mentioned me at a rally, she said. You know Ive arrived now. You know they must be worried. Probably not. Time is running out for candidates who havent finished higher than third in any contest. That also applies to Warren, also desperately needs a win. Her strong debate performance came after much of the state had already cast early votes. NOT A GREAT RETURN ON INVESTMENT Tom Steyer, the billionaire who made his fortune running a hedge fund, bet heavily in Nevada, more than $12 million on advertising, and lost big, finishing sixth. Steyer has made strong appeals to minority voters, but in Nevada, failed decisively. Famous Gujarati delicacy 'khaman' has made its way into the menu of the high tea to be offered to United States President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania during their brief visit to Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad on Monday. Apart from khaman, the VVIPs from the US and their delegation will be offered broccoli and corn samosa, apple pie, kaju katli and a variety of teas to choose from, said chef Suresh Khanna of Ahmedabad's Fortune Landmark Hotel. Khanna, a celebrity chef, has been given the task of preparing food for Trump and his delegation during their visit to the Sabarmati Ashram on Monday afternoon. "Tomorrow is an important day for all of us at Fortune Landmark Hotel. We have prepared a high tea menu for them. Khaman is a famous Gujarati delicacy. We will prepare light steam khaman for Donald Trump," Khanna told reporters in Ahmedabad. "Other items include apple pie, broccoli and corn samosa, kaju katli and different types of tea, such as green and lemon tea," he added. The popular chef has prepared food for visiting foreign dignitaries in the past too. He has also cooked meals for former President A P J Abdul Kalam, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu among others. Several Bollywood celebrities including Amitabh Bachchan and Shilpa Shetty also vouch for Khanna's culinary magic. Khanna is a winner of National Culinary Award in 1990. "It is a great pleasure to cook for US President and Prime Minister Modi ji. We have a whole team working on the menu which has been ordered by the government. "We have planned to steam the food items and boil them. We will go easy on the spices," Khanna told ANI. Trump, after his arrival in Ahmedabad from Washington on Monday afternoon, will visit the Ashram, also known as Gandhi Ashram, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Ashram trustees have informed the media that Trump and Modi would spend around 15 minutes there before proceeding to the 'Namaste Trump' event at Motera Stadium. Trump would leave for Agra at around 3.30 pm. -- with ANI inputs Hyderabad: It was a Peepli Live moment for a Dalit labourer, Ramdas Ahirwar, when the media flocked to him for interviews after he met the then US President Barack Obama and wife Michelle during their first visit to India in December, 2010. The Obamas showered praises on the Ahirwars, feted them and left with an assurance to help Ahirwar set up a college in his native Katera village near Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh, which he had requested for. The Obamas returned in January 2015, specifically had the Ahirwars invited and had a lengthy conversation with them. Ramdas Ahirwar once again sought Obamas intervention for setting up the college and even offered his seven-bhiga land for the purpose. Obama then gave his word that he would extend help in the form of a donation for the college. While the Obamas failed to keep up their word, the Narendra Modi-led Central government to whom Ahirwar made repeated requests also ignored him. The then UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, who too had showered praises on the Ahirwars, failed to come to his rescue and the Dalit labourers dream of having a college in his native, still remains a dream. With 48 hours to go before Air Force One ferrying US President Donald Trump touches down in India, Ahirwar gets angry when asked what his expectations are from Trumps maiden visit to the country, given the hype surrounding his visit and with the Centres PR machinery in an overdrive claiming that Trumps visit is a big deal for Indians. Dono baar (in 2010 and 2015), US embassy ne lambi kaali gadi bheji thi hum ko ghar se pick up karne ke liye....Obamaji aur Michelle ji ne hamari khoob tareef ki aur donation dene ki baat kahi thi... lekin college ka kuch nahi hua. sab bhool gaye (The US embassy sent their car (limousine) to pick us up and showered praises on us but all of them forgot about the college), he recalls while speaking to this newspaper over telephone from New Delhi. With his financial worsening, Ahirwar, who is a stone-cutter, said he is now finding it difficult to make ends meet. Ahirwar has kept the souvenirs he had received from Obama, which he once threatened to return, in his attempt to draw Obamas attention to the plight of poor parents who cannot afford primary education for their children. I wanted to return them as I was tired of writing to the Modi government seeking their intervention to construct the college in UP. In fact it was Obamaji who suggested back then that I pursue the matter with the Centre. But Modiji too did not bother, Ahirwar said, while working on the construction of a nala (drain) in a slum in Delhi. Though the former US President may not have helped him setting up the college and he does not expect any help either from the Trumps, Ahirwar said he has a direct connection with the White House. I had gifted Obamaji a photo of Mahakal in Ujjain during my last interaction with him, which lasted 23 minutes. The US authorities informed me that the photo adorns the walls of the White House. Interestingly, Ahirwars son Vishal met Obama during his visit to India in 2017, when he was no longer the President, and requested him for a job here. He is still unemployed. 7.4k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard After Trump accused Adam Schiff of being the leaker of the Sanders/Russia briefing, Chairman Schiff destroyed Trump. Trump told reporters, I have not been briefed on that at all. Nobody told me about it. They leaked it Adam Schiff and his group, they leaked it to the papers as usual. They ought to investigate Adam Schiff for leaking that information. He should not be leaking information out of intelligence. They ought to investigate Adam Schiff. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Schiff responded on Twitter: Nice deflection, Mr. President. But your false claims fool no one. You welcomed Russian help in 2016, tried to coerce Ukraines help in 2019, and wont protect our elections in 2020. Now you fired your intel chief for briefing Congress about it. Youve betrayed America. Again. https://t.co/WlMDaz8stF Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) February 23, 2020 Chairman Schiff was correct. Trump is floating a false claim distraction. The President is doing everything that he can think of to take attention away from the fact that Russians interfered for him in 2016. He tried to get Ukraine to interfere and help in 2019, and the Russians are interfering for Trump in 2020. Trumps call for an investigation into Schiff is another attempt by the president to pass the blame for his own behavior on to his opponents. Nobody is fooled the real criminal who is soliciting election interference from Russia is Donald Trump. TORRINGTON First responders pulled six people out of Burr Mountain Pond Sunday morning, after the thin ice they were on gave way. Five ice anglers went into the water or became stuck, according to Torrington Fire Chief Peter Towey. The sixth person was a bystander who tried to reach those in trouble but also became stuck on the ice. Fire department personnel from Torrington and Winsted arrived on scene at 385 Burr Mountain Road 11:20 a.m. Once there, firefighters suited up in ice rescue suits before they traversed the unstable and breaking ice to reach the victims who were located about 100 yards offshore, Towey said. Four people were originally reported as having fallen through the ice. All six people were rescued off the extremely unstable ice within about 40 minutes, Towey said. LifeStar helicopters were sent to transport two of the patients, but staff at the LifeStar center did not say where the patients were taken. Two other patients were taken to the hospital by ambulance, Towey said. One firefighter was taken to the hospital for over-exertion but is expected to return to service. A volunteer crew was called in from Harwinton to cover any other calls in Torrington while personnel worked to save those stuck on the ice. The ice fishing equipment could not be recovered because of safety concerns. This was a very difficult and physically demanding rescue effort by all personnel involved, Towey said. Personnel involved performed admirably in challenging conditions. The melting ice led to a similar rescue at Mount Tom State Park in Washington, where two people were rescued by bystanders after they went through the ice while fishing. The ice is extremely unstable and must be avoided at this time, Towey said. Everyone is reminded that the ice is thin and unstable due to the warm weather and are advised to remain off it. A Brazilian transgender dancer has shattered a Carnival parade taboo to star as the 'godmother of the drummers' in Sao Paulo - fulfilling a dream nearly three decades old. Camila Prins, 40, first realised she wanted to be a woman at a Carnival party aged 11, when she and the other boys were allowed to dress like a girl as part of the burlesque festivities. Now, in the final minutes of Saturday, she became the first transgender woman to lead the drum section of a top samba school in either of the renowned Carnival parades put on in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Prins was hand-picked to be 'godmother' of the Colorado do Bras samba school's drum section, an iconic role fought over by dozens of models and TV celebrities. Transgender godmother Camila Prins, representing the Colorado do Bras samba school, performs at Carnival in the Sambadrome in Sao Paulo, Brazil on Saturday Prins, 40, was hand-picked to be 'godmother' of the Colorado do Bras samba school's drum section, an iconic role fought over by dozens of models and TV celebrities Her duty was to dance infectiously for 65 minutes in front of the drummers, using her legs to drive their rhythm while judges assessed the school's parade. 'Gorgeous women wanted to be here. I'm very excited because this shows we can be anywhere. We can be godmother of the drummers, we can be owners of a samba school,' Prins said before the parade. 'Soon they will see many other transgender girls, who will find it easier than I did.' Colorado do Bras, which rose to Sao Paulo's top samba league only two years ago, made a bold decision in picking Prins for the role, despite Brazil's Carnival being a party at which few things have never been tried. Transgender people remain something of a taboo among Brazilians, even in Sao Paulo, the country's most cosmopolitan city and host to the world's largest gay pride parade. Brazil has more slayings of transvestites and transgender people than any country in the world. In 2019, 124 were killed, 21 of them in Sao Paulo state. As godmother of the drum section, Prins teamed up with a drum queen who has a similar role, and together they worked to dazzle fans in the Sambadrome bleachers with their beauty and sex appeal. Prins (pictured) gets her make up done prior to performing for Colorado do Bras samba school in Sao Paulo Her duty was to dance infectiously for 65 minutes in front of the drummers, using her legs to drive their rhythm while judges assessed the school's parade Prins said she was counting on her penetrating brown eyes, long blond hair, strong legs, open smile and imposing breasts to help win points from the judges. Colorado do Bras finished the 2019 parade in 11th place, only two spots above the cutoff for being relegated back to a lower league. Directors of the samba school decided to try for something different this year, since the group has fewer resources than richer samba schools. Its floats and costumes were clearly less luxurious than the main challengers for the title. Keila Simpson, president of Brazil's National Association of Transvestites and Transsexuals, was happy Prins secured her prominent Carnival role, and said their community aims to make cases like hers the new normal. 'We have to be proud of Camila and hope her symbolic message allows us to think of reducing violence against trans people. Why can people celebrate her at the Sambadrome while trans people on the street are subject to violence?' Simpson said. 'We don't have data, but there are many violent cases against us during Carnival. Because there's more of us outside, there's more attacks.' Colorado do Bras, which rose to Sao Paulo's top samba league only two years ago, made a bold decision in picking Prins for the role Keila Simpson, president of Brazil's National Association of Transvestites and Transsexuals, was happy Prins secured her prominent Carnival role Sao Paulo is trying to root out persecution of LGBT people during Carnival, and this year set up 20 tents spread among major street parties to handle cases of violence against the community. Psychologists, police officers and social workers are on hand until Wednesday for revelers who are victimized. English teacher Alessandra Salvador, a transgender woman who encouraged revelers to come to the city hall tent at the LGBT street party Minhoqueens, said she was excited by Prins' selection. 'I don't even watch parades that much, but this year I will when she is on,' Salvador said. 'It is good to see one of us being talked up. We don't get it so often. If we don't get that in Carnival, we won't get it anywhere else.' Its been a long road for Prins to reach the big leagues. She has worked as a professional dancer for 20 years and, though she lives in a small town in Switzerland with her husband, practices her steps at home all year and listens to samba incessantly. Prins' first time dancing as a samba school's godmother came in 2018, in the second division of Sao Paulo's Carnival league (Pictured: Prins on Saturday) As Carnival nears, she splits her dance routine with ab workouts and squats at a gym, then makes her annual return to Brazil. Prin' first time dancing as a samba school's godmother came in 2018, in the second division of Sao Paulo's Carnival league. 'Many people turned their backs, because they thought I shouldn't be there. They thought it was a role for a woman,' Prins said. 'Little by little I won them over with a lot of respect and true dancing.' Prins said her friends in Switzerland feared for her because of the increase in violence against transgender people, and because of the rise of far-right political groups in Brazil. She said she was worried about an increase in hateful comments aimed at LGBT people since President Jair Bolsonaro took office on January 1, but she planned to keep her smile and march on. Just before midnight, when Colorado do Bras finally started its parade, a TV Globo reporter approached a tearful Prins in front of her drummers. She was already the most talked about of all 2,200 members of the samba school, even more than eight young topless women dressed as 'goddesses of the sea.' 'I feel so blessed this is happening. I came here to hold my banner and dance samba to the face of prejudice, for all the LGBT community,' she said. 'Trans girls, I am sure your day will come, too. I am just the first, many more of you will follow.' Kelsey Nicole Vasquez and Cameron Coursey Sorensen were married Feb. 22 at Sandy Creek Ranch, which is owned by the grooms parents, in New Ulm, Texas. Paul C. Sorensen, the grooms father, who became a Universal Life minister for the event, officiated. The bride, 28, is a commercial banker with J.P. Morgan in Houston. She graduated from Trinity University in San Antonio, from which she also received a masters degree in health care administration. She is a daughter of Christann M. Vasquez and Scott S. Vasquez of Austin, Texas. The brides father is a lawyer in private practice in Austin. Her mother, who also works in Austin, is chief operating officer at Ascension Texas, a health care system headquartered in St. Louis. The groom, 29, works for Tube Supply, a Houston-based, family owned, mechanical steel tube and bar distributor that serves the oil and gas industry. He graduated from the University of Tulsa. He is a son of Stacia Sorenson and Mr. Sorensen of Houston. The grooms father is the founder of Tube Supply. His mother is a stay-at-home parent. The couple met in 2007 as students at Episcopal High School in Houston. Four years ago, Kirsten Ashman and her boyfriend David took a sightseeing trip to London, ending up in the heart of the capital. When, in the late afternoon, a man with a clipboard asked whether they'd like to take a selfie for display on the giant screens at Piccadilly Circus, as part of a 'promotional exercise', they excitedly agreed. Once the photo was taken on David's phone Kirsten realised she'd left her own mobile in a nearby restaurant, so hared off to find it, leaving David strict instructions to watch the screens for their picture. Alex Jones, 33, decided to propose to her boyfriend, Phil Pearson, 34, but found 'quite a lot of scepticism about women proposing to men' (pictured together during the proposal) At least, that was what Kirsten pretended to do. In fact, the whole day from an early morning start near Maidenhead, Berkshire, to this precisely timed moment as the sun dipped romantically over the West End had been planned like a military exercise. What David saw on the screens was not a selfie of the two of them, but rather a montage of pictures from throughout their relationship, plus a heartfelt love letter from Kirsten. As he watched understandably shocked nearby 'buskers' began playing a song he'd put on a mix tape for Kirsten when they began dating. Suddenly, several members of the pair's families stepped out of the crowds where they'd been hiding, then Kirsten, got down on one knee No, this was no ordinary day out in London. The date was February 29, 2016, and this was Kirsten's spectacular leap-year marriage proposal to David, worth 2,500, and meticulously organised by Daisy Amodio, one of a new breed of relationship expert, the proposal planner. As the leap-year 'loophole' rolls around again on Saturday, we should, of course, expect a spike in the number of women asking men to marry them. Data for December 2019 from online community site Pinterest shows a 113 per cent increase in searches for 'how to propose to a boy' and a 217 per cent increase in searches for 'girl proposing boy' when compared with the previous year. And yet these days, asking for a partner's hand in marriage is no simple business. Often a proposal is expected to be not just sweet or romantic, but an extravagant 'event' too. Four years ago, Kirsten Ashman and her boyfriend David took a sightseeing trip to London, ending up in the heart of the capital (pictured before the proposal) Proposal planning has boomed as a result, with packages offered by Daisy's company, The Proposers, starting at 1,000 for a fully planned perfect moment. The average spend is between 2,500 and 5,000, and the most expensive she's ever organised cost an extraordinary 800,000 for a world tour that took in Disneyland Paris, the billboards in New York's Times Square and culminated with the proposal being beamed on to Niagara Falls at night. This year, she says, alongside the usual male clientele, 'a significant number' of women have asked for help. 'We've had twice the number of enquiries from women than we did around the last leap year,' she says. Not that all women are waiting around for men to pop the question more of them are doing the asking year-on-year, and at any time, she says. Amanda Brown, director of The One Romance proposal-planning agency, reports a similar pattern. A man with a clipboard asked whether Kirsten and David would like to take a selfie for display on the giant screens (pictured) at Piccadilly Circus, they excitedly agreed What David saw on the screens was not a selfie of the two of them, but rather a montage of pictures from throughout their relationship, plus a heartfelt love letter from Kirsten 'Over the past few years we've seen a huge increase in calls from women wanting to propose,' she says. 'In the last week alone, I've had enquiries from three women, and I can only imagine that the numbers will continue to grow. 'It really wouldn't surprise me if this time next year, we were helping as many women as men create memorable proposals.' For Kirsten, now 36, the decision to take matters into her own hands and make 40-year-old David an honest man was an easy one. They'd been together nine years and lived under the same roof, but somehow with busy lives and big jobs in telecoms and finance, they'd never got round to marriage. As David watched understandably shocked nearby 'buskers' began playing a song he'd put on a mix tape for Kirsten when they began dating (pictured, Kirsten's proposal) And yet she knew it was on David's mind. 'On holiday he'd even look at diamonds in jewellery shops. 'I could see he was stressing about it as he's a perfectionist and didn't want to get it wrong. 'You shouldn't have to have a special day where you're allowed to propose,' she says, 'but as marriage is quite traditional, I thought I should follow the tradition of women proposing on a leap year.' When New Year's Day 2016 came around and she still didn't have a ring on her finger, Kirsten made her plans. 'I thought if you've waited this long, it has to be a big deal, and if I was going to take this away from him, I needed to make a good job of it.' The moment itself was every bit as lovely as she'd hoped. 'I couldn't see his face while he was watching the video on the big screens, and I had no idea what he was thinking. 'Then, as the video ended, I ran back to him, got down on one knee, and asked him to marry me. He said, 'Of course!' 'I stood up and he was crying it was a lot more emotional than I had expected. We both knew this was coming, but when you do it, it is a big deal.' Kirsten admits that David got a bit of stick from his friends, but their families were thrilled. The couple married in August 2017 and now have a little girl, Sofia, 20 months. Alex, who works for a hotel group, and Phil, a manager at an engineering company, live in St Albans, Hertfordshire The stigma surrounding women asking men for their hand is fading, believes Amanda Brown, and the introduction of civil partnerships for heterosexual couples is likely to speed its end. However it's not dead yet, says Jade Beer, author of The Almost Wife and former editor of Brides. When the magazine canvassed reader opinion on women popping the question, 'the collective female view was overwhelmingly that, while it was brave, it was 'stealing' the man's job, undermining him, and opening him up to ridicule from friends and colleagues'. For Alex Jones, 33, this sounded familiar. When, last year, she decided to propose to her boyfriend, Phil Pearson, 34, she looked online for inspiration and found 'quite a lot of scepticism about women proposing to men'. 'I think some women worry that, as it's not the societal norm, they will be judged negatively,' she says. The couple met through a mutual friend and have been together for almost three years 'But from my point of view, I couldn't think of a better way of showing him how much I loved him and how much he meant to me.' Alex, who works for a hotel group, and Phil, a manager at an engineering company, live in St Albans, Hertfordshire. They met through a mutual friend and have been together for almost three years. 'We talk about everything together and we'd both always said we'd love to get married and start a family. 'He'd actually mentioned a couple of times that he would love me to propose to him,' says Alex. She admits she's a 'very detail- orientated' person who 'hates surprises', so it would have been hard for Phil to propose. 'We'd joked about him proposing and how he'd never get away with doing anything elaborate as I'd be questioning everything.' And so in May 2019, two years to the day they first got together, Alex decided to propose to Phil. According to Amanda Brown, this sort of thoughtful attention to detail is typical of the women for whom she plans proposals. 'In general the women we work with spend longer talking to us about their relationship than the men do, and are more interested in how they can incorporate personalised elements into their proposals. 'They'll remember everything the exact words that were used when they first said I love you, the colour of the tie he was wearing when they first met, his mum's favourite flower . . . whereas men just don't seem to recall these minuscule details in the same way.' The proposal that Amanda's company helped Alex create on a speedboat on the Thames in London was carefully designed to incorporate Phil's passions: the water, boats, even his love of fine cheese. According to proposal organiser Amanda Brown (pictured), thoughtful attention to detail is typical of the women for whom she plans proposals Alex booked a riverfront room at The Savoy for the night, telling Phil she'd won the stay in a competition at work. She booked a massage for Phil while she got ready, and then told him that a river cruise, complete with champagne and a Fortnum & Mason cheese hamper, was part of the prize. 'He didn't click at any point. On the boat he was chatting away to the captain, while I was a bundle of nerves,' says Alex. 'I'd decided to propose with a watch, instead of a ring, as a watch can represent timeless love. A lot of people had said it was a good way to ask a man. 'Phil is a big watch collector and I knew there was a particular watch he'd always hankered after, so that was the one I chose.' But even when it came to the big moment, Phil still didn't seem to realise what was going on. 'There was no space for me to get down on one knee so I sort of mumbled something about how amazing it was, and how I hoped we'd have many more experiences like this in future. 'He just asked me why I was being so sentimental. Finally I got him to look at me, and I said, 'Will you marry me?' 'His first response was, 'Are you serious?' I told him that I was and then I produced the watch from my handbag. 'He was so distracted by that, it took him a while, but when he realised that I was still waiting, he said, 'The answer is obviously yes!' ' They are now planning their wedding for August this year. Kirsten Ashman believes any woman contemplating popping the question to her man this year should throw caution to the wind and go for it. She's very much in favour of using a proposal planner, too. Daisy Amodio (pictured) is one of a new breed of relationship expert, the proposal planner 'Fair play to anyone who organises their own proposal, but I could never have done what I did on my own. It was amazing to be able to hand over the details to someone else and just let them deal with it.' If that sounds appealing, it's not too late to ask for help on the 29th either. The planners we spoke to said that while the most elaborate proposals can take months to plan, in the past they've been able to help would-be grooms (who tend to be more last minute than would-be brides) create a magical experience with only a few days' notice. Alex advises any other wannabe female proposers to keep their mind on why they're doing it. 'I knew it was the right thing for our relationship, but it's not the norm and I had to stop myself worrying about what other people thought. 'I had to remember it was about what Phil wanted and how he would perceive it.' Former Brides editor Jade Beer agrees. 'It's antiquated to stick to the notion that a proposal can only be delivered by a man on bended knee unless of course that is your fantasy. 'In which case, great. Hold out for it. But if it isn't, join the growing ranks of women who are doing it themselves, not because they are oddly brave, but because they want to and it feels right.' Sparkling water has always been the virtuous choice when it comes to drinking, but that now looks set to change. Last summer, hard seltzer basically fizzy water laced with alcohol and flavoured with fruit went crazy in the U.S., so much so that there was a reported shortage. Now its hitting UK shelves. Low in calories, carbs and sugar, its healthy credentials are clearly appealing to younger, health-conscious drinkers. The leading American brand, White Claw, racked up sales of more than 1 billion last year, and it expects to launch in the UK later this year. Last summer, hard seltzer basically fizzy water laced with alcohol and flavoured with fruit went crazy in the U.S., so much so that there was a reported shortage (file image) However, unlike the alcopops that appeared on the scene in the mid-Nineties, you can forget rainbow colours and sickly sweet flavours: this is clean drinking in a can. For example, a bottle of Smirnoff Ice has more than 220 calories. Compare that with a typical can of boozy water, which has less than half that, with little or no added sugar, and its no surprise theyre going down a storm with the wellness crowd. But do these new drinks really deliver a healthy buzz, or are they just alcopops with a modern makeover? The Mails drinks expert HELEN McGINN puts them to the test GINGER KICK Bodega Bay Hard Seltzer Apple with Ginger and Acai Berry, 250ml, 2, sainsburys.co.uk Founder Charlie Markland describes Bodega Bay as the natural choice for healthy hedonists. Ticking all the boxes gluten-free, vegan-friendly, and with no added sugar, sweeteners, sulphites or colours this is just 72 calories per can. Bodega Bay Hard Seltzer Apple with Ginger and Acai Berry, 250ml, 2, sainsburys.co.uk As Charlie points out, thats 80 per cent less sugar per millilitre than fruit cider, and half the calories of most wines or beers. This flavour is 4 per cent alcohol and clear in colour with a slightly strange sour apple smell. On first taste it reminds me of penny sweets, but then the ginger kicks in. 4/5 GUILT-FREE ZING Mikes Hard Lemon Sparkling Water, 330ml, 1.80, ocado.com Following its success in the U.S., this brewery-owned brand has recently hit UK shelves and its healthy credentials are writ large on the can. It comes in three flavours, lemon, lime and black cherry, and is gluten and sugar-free, with just 99 calories per can. Mikes Hard Lemon Sparkling Water, 330ml, 1.80, ocado.com Made from purified water and five-times-distilled spirit, it packs a subtle punch at 5 per cent alcohol. But whats really impressive is the clean, crisp flavour. And it doesnt skimp on the lemon so much so that its a bit of a cheek-sucker to begin with. Properly refreshing. 4/5 CARB-FREE CITRUS DRTY White Citrus, 330ml, 2.25, 31dover.com This offering was created by friends Matija Pisk and Oli Clements, former colleagues at a big drinks company who first came across boozy water on a trip to the U.S. in 2018 and recognised its appeal as a low-calorie alternative to beer. DRTY comes in two flavours: White Citrus and Raspberry Rose. Its made with a carbohydrate-free alcohol base, sparkling water and natural flavours. DRTY White Citrus, 330ml, 2.25, 31dover.com At just 4 per cent alcohol, there are 90 calories per can and its gluten-free. Unlike most, this is slightly cloudy rather than clear. It smells and tastes of grapefruit and manages to stay on the right side of fresh without being too sharp. Its dangerously easy to drink, so be warned. 5/5 BERRY BOOZY Oskar Blues Wild Basin Black Raspberry Boozy Sparkling Water, 355ml, 2.99, honestbrew.co.uk One of the few American brands to make it over here to date, this is made by the Oskar Blues Brewery in Colorado. Named after an unspoiled spot along the St Vrain River, where the water is sourced, its healthy credentials are plastered across the front of the can 100 calories, gluten-free, 0g sugar, 1g carbs but it definitely has a fun rather than fuss-free feel to the design. Oskar Blues Wild Basin Black Raspberry Boozy Sparkling Water, 355ml, 2.99, honestbrew.co.uk And its got more of an alcopop nose to it (I blame the berries), so it feels a bit sweeter and rounder compared with some of the others. Its also 5 per cent alcohol, while most of them are only 4 per cent, so it doesnt feel quite so virtuous either. 2/5 SCANDI SPRITZ Balans Mandarin, 250ml, 1.50, tesco.com Billed as the UKs first Aqua Spritz, this good-looking Swedish brand has only 60 calories per can, is naturally flavoured, gluten-free and vegan-friendly. The firm behind the brand is Swedish fruit cider giant Kopparberg, perhaps demonstrating just how seriously its taking this new drinks category. There are a couple of flavour choices: mandarin or lime. Balans Mandarin, 250ml, 1.50, tesco.com Smelling more like tinned than fresh fruit, the flavours on the palate are surprisingly quite subtle. It doesnt leave you feeling like youre drinking a naff alcopop, rather something altogether more sophisticated, and, yes, even a little bit healthy. Except for the 4 per cent alcohol, of course. 3/5 TRENDY TIPPLE Spark Lemon, Lime & Mint, four x 240ml cans, 12, spark-drink.com Coming in at only 65 calories per can, this carries 3g carbs and has no added sugars or sweeteners. Spark Lemon, Lime & Mint, four x 240ml cans, 12, spark-drink.com You can choose from two flavour variants: Lemon, Lime & Mint and Mixed Berry and they certainly look the trendy, modern part. The Lemon, Lime & Mint flavour is the more refreshing of the two, with a good balance of bubbles and natural-tasting flavours. This small, independent start-up is struggling to cope with demand, so its worth stocking up quickly if you can. 4/5 South Sudan rebel leader Riek Machar was sworn in as first vice president on Saturday, formally rejoining the government in the latest bid to bring peace to a nation ravaged by war. President Salva Kiir hailed the official ending of war and said peace was now irreversible as the new unity government was formed after more than a year of delays and bickering over crucial issues. It is the third time that bitter foes Machar and Kiir will attempt to rule together and the pair have many differences yet to iron out as they form a government that is a cornerstone of a September 2018 peace deal. For the people of South Sudan, I want to assure you that we will work together to end your suffering, Machar said after taking the oath and embracing Kiir. The rebel leader returns as first vice president in a transition government which will serve for 36 months. Four other vice presidents from the current regime and other opposition groups will also form part of a bloated government of 35 ministers, in addition to 550 lawmakers. The rivals started out as president and deputy at independence in 2011 but Kiir sacked Machar in 2013 and later accused him of attempting a coup against him, sparking a war characterised by ethnic bloodshed between Kiirs Dinka and Machars Nuer communities. We must forgive one another and reconcile. I also appeal to the people of Dinka and Nuer to forgive one another, said Kiir. A 2015 peace deal brought Machar back as vice president and he returned to Juba amid heavy security. When that deal fell apart in July 2016, the capital was plunged into a brutal battle between rival armies and Machar was forced to flee on foot. Necessary sacrifices The ensuing war drew in new parts of the country and other local grievances and disputes came to the fore. After six years of war some 380,000 people have died, four million fled their homes and more than half the population is facing severe hunger. The economy of the oil-rich nation is shattered, infrastructure barely exists, and millions of children are out of school. The September peace deal has lead to the longest period of relative calm since 2013 but fighting continues between government and holdout rebel groups in the Central Equatoria region. Bloody localised conflicts between communities in the absence of a functioning state have soared. Machar on Saturday hailed the strengthening of the South Sudanese pound on the back of the formation of the unity government from 320 to 220 pounds to the dollar, saying this is the dividend of peace. And, with around 190,000 people still cowering in United Nations protection camps around the country, the UN special envoy to South Sudan David Shearer said he believed that we will see lots of people once displaced moving back to their homes. Kiir and Machar had come under increased pressure from the region and the United States to put aside their differences and form the government. African Union chief Moussa Faki said in a statement they had shown political maturity by making the necessary sacrifices and compromise Much more to work through The formation of the unity government was postponed twice by a failure to move forward on forming a unified army, carving out state borders and creating a protection force to assure Machars security. A compromise by Kiir to cut to 10 the number of states, which he increased unilaterally to 32 after independence, was seen as key in moving towards the creation of the government. However the opposition remains reticent about an additional three administrative areas pushed through by Kiir. Kiirs compromise on the states issue paved the way for the two sides to finally move forward, even if the parties have much more to work through in the coming weeks, months, and years, Alan Boswell, a South Sudan expert with the International Crisis Group (ICG), told AFP. UN experts say Kiir and Machar are both responsible for most of the violence committed during the war. A report from a UN rights probe released this week delivered a damning indictment of predatory and unaccountable elites who had gone so far as to deliberately starve civilians in pursuit of their war. It said corruption had robbed the state of precious resources and made several officials extremely wealthy at the expense of millions of starving civilians. Human Rights Watch Africa director Jehanne Henry urged the new government to quickly set out a human rights agenda that includes reforming the abusive national security service, freeing abducted civilians held by armed groups, and establishing a hybrid war crimes court in partnership with the African Union. An 85-year-old father, along with other family members, is eagerly awaiting the release of his son Asgar Ali from a detention camp in Assam on completion of three years there in July this year. The Supreme Court had ruled last year that those foreigners who have spent over three years in detention centres in Assam can be released on two Indian sureties of Rs 1 lakh each along with the submission of verifiable address and biometric information. Asgar, who worked as a carpenter in Guwahati Since 1980, was sent to Goalpara Detention Camp by the State Foreign Tribunal in July 2017. Family members of Asgar, including his paralysed father Mohammed Jariff, living in Kolkata's Park Circus area have been anxiously waiting for him to be back home following the apex court's order last year. Asgar's younger brother Arshad said: "My family has been residing in Kolkata for ages. We have voter ID cards and have been voting as citizens. My elder brother worked in Assam and earned good money." Speaking about the family's ordeals, Asghar's sister Rajia said: "My father's name was Seikh Moral on the voter list. People used to taunt him because of his name. He changed his name to Mohammed Jariff in his voter ID card and Aadhaar card in 2008 by making an affidavit and that created trouble for us. We had sent all relevant documents to the tribunal but they didn't listen to us." The family had moved the Supreme Court after they lost case in the High Court, but the direction from the apex court has raised their hopes that Asgar, who was the only bread earner of the family, will be back home soon. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Dubai (AFP) - Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula on Sunday confirmed the death of its leader Qassim al-Rimi and appointed a successor, weeks after the US said it had "eliminated" the Islamist militant chief, SITE Intelligence group said. The announcement came in an audio speech delivered by AQAP religious official Hamid bin Hamoud al-Tamimi, said the group which monitors jihadist networks worldwide. "In his speech, Tamimi spoke at length about Rimi and his jihadi journey, and stated that Khalid bin Umar Batarfi is the new leader of AQAP," it said. SITE said Batarfi has appeared in many AQAP videos over the past several years and appeared to have been Rimi's deputy and group spokesman. President Donald Trump announced Rimi's death earlier this month, saying he had been killed in a US "counterterrorism operation in Yemen". That announcement came shortly after AQAP claimed responsibility for the December 6 mass shooting at a US naval base 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 thrived in the chaos of years of civil war between Yemen's Saudi-backed government and Shiite Huthi rebels. "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 at the time. "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." - Weakest in a decade - Trump did not give any details about the circumstances or the timing of the operation, but the US has waged a long-running drone war against the leaders of the Yemen-based AQAP. Rimi had himself succeeded Nasir al-Wuhayshi, who was killed in a US drone strike in Yemen in June 2015. Story continues AQAP has carried out operations against both the Huthis and government forces as well as sporadic attacks abroad, including on the offices of the French satirical publication Charlie Hebdo in 2015. But analysts say its abilities on the ground have dwindled, although it still inspires attacks carried out by "lone wolf" jihadists or former operatives. After the years of lethal drone strikes, it is also running out of leadership material with name recognition or charisma, they said. "AQAP is at its weakest point in a decade, at least in terms of its identity as a coherent group with a primarily religious ideology," said Elisabeth Kendall, a researcher at the University of Oxford. "Its dream of establishing an Islamic state in Yemen lies in tatters," she said. "At its peak in 2015-16, it had taken advantage of the countrys descent into war to recruit broadly, fill its coffers, and establish a proto-state... "Today, however, the AQAP core struggles to hold even a small patch of territory," she said in a study published by the Washington Institute. Kendall said Batarfi and other leadership contenders all had "multi-million-dollar bounties on their heads, leaving them with minimal room to manoeuvre, let alone revive AQAP to its heyday". Yemen has been wracked by conflict since 2015, when a Saudi-led coalition intervened after the Iran-backed Huthis seized control of the capital Sanaa. The conflict has since killed tens of thousands of people, relief agencies say, and triggered what the United Nations terms the world's worst humanitarian crisis with millions displaced and in need of aid. By Express News Service RAIPUR: The budget session Chhattisgarh Assembly to start from Monday is expected to be stormy as the opposition parties have geared-up launch an attack on the ruling Congress government on issues of paddy, liquor prohibition, law & order situation, elephant menace among others. Besides the session seems all set to adopt a resolution against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, which would be opposed by the BJP. The Bhupesh Baghel cabinet passed a resolution on January 30 against CAA after holding a deliberation on it and later urged the Centre to withdraw it. The Assembly session beginning from February 24 will continue till April 1 with 22 sittings. The chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, who also hold finance portfolio, will present the budget for the fiscal year 2020-21 during the session. Workers wearing protective gears help clean each other's suits after disinfecting as a precaution against the coronavirus at a subway station in Seoul, Friday, Feb. 21, 2020. AP South Korea's public health authorities were on heightened alert on Sunday as three of the country's deaths from the new coronavirus have been linked to a hospital in the southeastern city of Cheongdo. The country's fourth coronavirus death was reported earlier in the day from Daenam Hospital in Cheongdo, located around 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, where the authorities imposed so-called cohort isolation, a special quarantine measure to take care of patients with the same disease in a group. Having confirmed the country's first COVID-19 case on Jan. 20, South Korea has focused on curbing the spread of the virus. And it's now confronted with another urgent task of combating fatalities. The hospital reported a cluster outbreak of the potentially fatal illness, with more than 110 people, including nine medical staff, found to be infected with the novel coronavirus. Among the four deaths reported so far in South Korea in connection with the epidemic, three were patients at the hospital, all of whom were in their 50s or 60s. The other one was a 41-year-old who was found dead at his home in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-23 18:05:13|Editor: yhy Video Player Close South Korean President Moon Jae-in (C) speaks at an emergency government meeting to tackle the virus spread in Seoul, South Korea, Feb. 23, 2020. South Korea raised its four-tier virus alert to the highest "red" level on Sunday amid the soaring COVID-19 cases in recent days. As of 4:00 p.m. local time, the number of infected patients totaled 602, up 169 from the previous day. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) has updated the figure twice a day at 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. local time. The death toll rose from two to five. (NEWSIS/Handout via Xinhua) SEOUL, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- South Korea raised its four-tier virus alert to the highest "red" level on Sunday as the number of COVID-19 infection cases soared to 602 in recent days with the death toll rising to five. South Korean President Moon Jae-in chaired an emergency government meeting to tackle the virus spread, saying the infectious disease alert would be lifted to the highest level in order to strengthen the overall response system. It marked the first time since the outbreak of the Influenza A (H1N1) in 2009 that the government issued the highest alert. Under the red alert, the government is allowed to take tighter quarantine measures such as a ban on group activities and an order to temporarily close schools. The education ministry ordered all pre-schools, primary and secondary schools nationwide to delay the opening day of the first semester by one week to March 9. It would consider further measures according to future situations. President Moon said "a few days from now" would be a moment of great significance to combat the virus, ordering all government officials to take "unprecedented powerful" measures regardless of existing regulations. As of 4:00 p.m. local time, the number of infected patients totaled 602, up 169 from the prior day. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) has updated the data twice a day at 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. local time. Of the total patients, 494 were residents in Daegu, about 300 km southeast of the capital Seoul, and its surrounding North Gyeongsang province. A total of 329 cases were linked to the church services of a minor religious group, called Sincheonji, in Daegu. The other 111 cases were traced to Daenam Hospital in Cheongdo county, just south of Daegu. At the hospital, the first and second deaths from the COVID-19 virus were reported on Wednesday and Friday. The third death posthumously tested positive on Saturday. Two more deaths were confirmed earlier in the day, raising the death toll to five. The number of COVID-19 infections rose sharply in recent days, after 402 new cases were reported from Wednesday to Saturday. Since Jan. 3, the country has tested more than 25,000 people, among whom 17,520 tested negative for the COVID-19 virus and 8,057 were being checked. Students participate in activities at Tibet University, Sept 12, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua] BEIJING, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- President Xi Jinping has encouraged medical students of Tibet University to develop strong skills and serve the people at the primary level ahead of the Tibetan New Year. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks Friday when answering a letter from 17 students who are interning at Peking University Shougang Hospital in Beijing. He also extended festive greetings and best wishes to the students as well as the people of all ethnic groups living in Tibetan areas. Xi said that he was very gratified to learn that the 17 students have not only improved their basic clinical skills but also strengthened their belief in devoting themselves to Tibet's medical and health undertakings during their internship in Beijing. In the ongoing fight against the novel coronavirus, medical workers from military and local hospitals are fighting fearlessly on the frontline and have exemplified angels in white's lofty spirit of healing the wounded and rescuing the dying with their actions. "I believe you will follow their example and strive to become good doctors trusted by the Party and the people," said Xi in the reply letter, expressing the hope that the students will cherish their study time, sharpen their ability, go to places where they are most needed after graduation and work for the wellbeing of the people, particularly those at the primary level. The 17 students enrolled in clinical medicine at the School of Medicine of Tibet University in 2015 began their 11-month internship at the Peking University Shougang Hospital in June 2019 under a university aid project. In a recent letter to Xi, the students reported on their attainments during the internship and expressed their gratitude to the Party and the country, and their resolution to serve the motherland and contribute to their hometown. Hamish Blake and Andy Lee have inked a deal with US broadcaster NBC to have their hit show True Story with Hamish & Andy adapted for American audiences. The American adaptation will see stars Ed Helms (The Office) and Randall Park (Always Be My Maybe) take on the hosting roles once held by Hamish and Andy. NBC's version of True Story will see actors will reenact wacky true stories told by everyday Americans. American dream! Hamish Blake and Andy Lee have inked a deal with US broadcaster NBC to have their hit show True Story with Hamish & Andy adapted for American audiences 'I can't wait to bring True Story to American audiences with my buddy, Randall Park,' said Ed of the upcoming six-episode series. 'It's an incredibly warm, hilarious and kind-spirited show that celebrates the lost art of laughing at ourselves with a little help from epic reenactments.' Randall added: 'I'm so excited to be a part of a show that combines three of my favorite things: great stories from real people, my pal Ed Helms and couches. Local stars: The American adaptation will see stars Ed Helms (The Office) and Randall Park (Always Be My Maybe) take on the hosting roles once held by Hamish and Andy. Pictured left Ed Helms, right Randall Park Ed and Randall previously worked together on an episode of The Office in 2012. Hamish and Andy will Executive Produce the show alongside Tim Bartley, Ryan Shelton, Ed Helms, Mike Falbo and Nicolle Yaron. True Story with Hamish & Andy first aired on Nine in June 2017, with Roughly 1.282 million viewers tuning into the premiere. Success story: True Story with Hamish & Andy first aired on Nine in June 2017, with Roughly 1.282 million viewers tuning into the premiere. Pictured: Hamish Blake and Andy Lee in 2019 At the time, True Story co-creator Ryan Shelton told Today that the show's success came as a surprise to producers. 'We hoped it [would be a success] and we wanted a lot of people to watch it. It's awesome,' Ryan said. 'When the morning the ratings came out, myself and Tim Bartley (co-creator) got on a plane ... and just before take off we said 'ratings aren't a big deal,' and then when we landed and saw that it did really well we were just all about the ratings.' True Story with Hamish & Andy was renewed for a second season in July 2018, and returned to screens in August 2018. The International Halal Accreditation Forum (IHAF), the world's pioneering halal accreditation platform, announces its participation in the largest and longest-running food and beverage show in the world, the Gulf Food 2020 Gulfood, which will be held from February 16 to 20 in Dubai. IHAF will be participating with Emirates Authority for Standardisation & Metrology (ESMA) to showcase the opportunities in the global halal food industry and economy and highlight the importance of harmonised standards in the halal trade; alongside 5,000 exhibitors from across the world. This year, the global event is expected to receive over 100,000 visitors from 200 countries, as well as more than 100 speakers and live attractions. IHAF will be highlighting strategic halal trade facilitation and discuss the benefits of easing the halal global trade through unified halal standards, which were established to allow smooth international halal trade. Since inception, IHAF was able to attract the interest from international community which end up of 37 member bodies in 34 countries joining IHAF in a very short period of time. This in order to eliminate the barriers in the global halal trade. The current IHAF member countries include: (alphabetical order) Argentina, Australia, Belarus, Brazil, Bulgaria, Columbia, Costa Rica, Egypt, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Libya, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic Of Korea, Russia, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sudan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and the United States of America. Dr Rehab Feraj Al Ameri, Secretary General of IHAF said: IHAF knows that to accomplish our common objectives, which go hand-in-hand with the World Trade Organisation, we must achieve greater cooperation among partners and other concerned parties in the halal system. It is for this reason that we would like also to thank ESMA for their support during Gulfood 2020. Our participation at this global innovative event is a step towards developing and unifying the halal food trade. With a participation from more than 200 countries and 120 country pavilions, this gives IHAF an opportunity to reach to maximum countries and support the growth of Halal food industry, she added. -- Tradearabia News Service A complaint was filed on Sunday against Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) workers for allegedly 'trespassing houses of minorities and harassing them, by calling them 'Bangladeshis'. The complaint was lodged at Sahakar Nagar Police Station in Pune. Roshan Noorhasan Sheikh, the complainant, told ANI, "Yesterday morning, MNS workers barged into my house and they started calling me 'Bangladeshi'. I showed them my documents and told them that I belong to West Bengal but they continued to call me 'Bangladeshi'." Advocate, Tasuf Sheikh who helped Roshan to file the complaint, termed the act as "unconstitutional". "Yesterday MNS workers trespassed into three Muslim houses in Balajinagar and called them 'Bangladeshi'. It is against the law. It is unconstitutional. We are requesting police to take strict action against MNS workers," the advocate said. Meanwhile, MNS city chief Ajay Shinde said, "When police had caught several 'Bangladeshis' residing illegally in the city, nobody had raised questions then. We have informed the police and local administration but nobody has taken us seriously. So, we were forced to act on our own. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Lucknow, Feb 23 : Shia Muslim body 'Majlis-e-Ulama-e-Hind', has refuted reports that its General Secretary Maulana Kalbe Jawad Naqvi had any role in the Bharat Bandh call given by Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad for Sunday. The clarification comes in the wake of the Maulana's name being linked to the Bharat Bandh call. A statement issued by the organisation states that the leading Shia cleric, who holds wide sway over the community, has not given a Bharat Bandh call for February 23 as claimed in some quarters. It also states that he did not have any kind of advisory role in the planning of the shutdown. Sunday's Bharat Bandh call by the Bhim Army saw protests in several places, with some violence being reported from Delhi and Aligarh. T he Environment Secretary has defended Boris Johnson for defying calls to visit flood-stricken communities in the wake of Storm Dennis. George Eustice insisted the Prime Minister had raised incoming storms as the first thing on his agenda after being appointed to the role in the recent reshuffle. The PM has faced criticism for remaining in the Foreign Secretarys Chevening country estate in Kent rather than visiting regions including Yorkshire, South Wales and the Midlands. Its not true that the Prime Ministers not been engaged in this, Mr Eustice told Skys Sophy Ridge On Sunday. From the very moment he appointed me hes been engaged. The Cabinet minister insisted the Government is not a one-man show and said the national response centre has been stood up to tackle the devastation. Mr Eustice was pressed on why the PM has not been seen in public in nine days, in stark contrast to during flooding in the election period when he visited Yorkshire and called an emergency Cobra meeting. He said that was because election campaigning rules meant there was less ministerial involvement, so there was seen to be something of a slow start. Thats why, because of the criticism, the Prime Minister in that instance did stand up Cobra, he said, adding that it has not been necessary this time because of the existing national flood response centre. We didnt need to stand up a separate Cabinet Office infrastructure in the form of Cobra because you already had one dedicated to floods that was operating. Sadly, Im not surprised but I do think that its the duty of the Prime Minister to be there in places where there are difficulties, whether there is an election or not, Mr Corbyn said during a visit to south Wales. Welsh Labour MPs directly appealed to Chancellor Rishi Sunak on Sunday for a one-off grant of 30 million to pay for repairs across the Rhondda Cynon Taff area. https://www.aish.com/jw/me/Turning-Human-Rights-into-a-Bad-Joke.html The U.N. anti-Israel blacklist asserts that the most basic essentials food, water, transportation, communication raise particular human rights concerns. If you want to understand just how outrageous the U.N. blacklist of businesses operating in Israeli settlements really is, forget for a moment about its anti-Israel bias and its warping of international law, important though these issues are. Instead, simply evaluate it on its own terms, as a compilation of companies engaged in activities that raised particular human rights concerns. So what horrendous activities do these 112 companies engage in? Well, there are several supermarket chains, which sell groceries to both Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank, Golan Heights and eastern Jerusalem. There are several fuel companies, which operate gas stations where both Israelis and Palestinians fill up their cars. There are several bus and rail companies, which provide public transportation used by Israelis and Palestinians alike. There are phone companies (cell and landline) that provide general communications services. There are banks, which provide basic banking services. Theres a water company, which provides potable drinking water and sewage solutions. There are also several food and clothing manufacturers, like General Mills, Angel Bakeries and Delta Galil, whose crime seems to consist of nothing but the fact that their cereals, bread and underwear can be found on supermarket shelves in the West Bank, Golan Heights and eastern Jerusalem. Almost all the companies on the blacklist simply provide the most fundamental human necessities food, water, transportation, communication. In short, almost all the companies on the blacklist simply provide the most fundamental human necessities food, water, transportation, communication. Some of these are defined by the United Nations itself as inalienable rights: Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that everyone has a right to food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services; theres no asterisk saying except for settlers. Others, like transportation and communication, arent considered rights, but they are considered positive goods in any other context. In contrast, the United Nations couldnt find a single company engaged in captivity of the Palestinian financial and economic markets or practices that disadvantage Palestinian enterprises, including through restrictions on movement, administrative and legal constraints something that might actually raise human-rights concerns. And only three were involved in providing surveillance and identification equipment for settlements, the wall and checkpoints directly linked with settlements, which at least sounds sinister if you dont realize that such equipment is merely intended to prevent terrorists from slaughtering children in their beds (see the Fogel family , Hallel Ariel and many others). To realize how absurd this list is, try a simple thought experiment. Syrian and Russian soldiers have been slaughtering civilians in Syria on an almost daily basis for nine years now; the death toll is more than half a million and counting. But does anyone think the supermarkets that sell these soldiers food or the water company that supplies their bases with running water are engaged in activities that raised particular human rights concerns? Of course not; we believe that even the worst murderers are entitled to food, water and clothing. Thats precisely why all countries provide such basics to criminals in jail. Human-rights violations used to refer to grave crimes like murder, rape and ethnic cleansing. But now, along comes the U.N. Human Rights Council and says that actually, even the most essential human activities food, water, transportation, communication raise particular human rights concerns. This turns the very idea of human rights concerns into a bad joke: If every human activity is a human rights concern, then nothing is. But the absurdity doesnt end there. In a press statement accompanying the blacklist, the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights wrote, While the settlements as such are regarded as illegal under international law, this report does not provide a legal characterization of the activities in question, or of business enterprises involvement in them. Or in plain English, the activities in question arent illegal, nor are businesses violating international law by engaging them (since Im analyzing the document strictly on its own terms, Ill ignore its mischaracterization of the settlements themselves as illegal). Hitherto, human-rights violations have been illegal under both international law and the legal codes of all Western countries (think murder, torture or rape). But its impossible to criminalize every ordinary human activity. Thats precisely why, as legal scholar Eugene Kontorovich has noted , international law doesnt actually prohibit doing business in occupied territory a position repeatedly upheld by European courts. But now along comes the United Nations and says that actually, many things can be perfectly legal despite raising particular human rights concerns. So go ahead and violate human rights to your hearts content. There has been a lot of concern among Israel and its supporters that the blacklist will lead to boycotts and sanctions on the included companies. Thats one reason for the wall-to-wall condemnation it has elicited in Israel (the other being its patently discriminatory targeting of Israel; somehow, the United Nations hasnt bothered publishing blacklists of companies operating in occupied northern Cyprus, occupied Western Sahara or any other occupied territory). Even the most left-wing of Israels Jewish parties, the Labor-Gesher-Meretz joint ticket, assailed the lists publication unequivocally. The real danger comes from the way this blacklist cheapens the very idea of human rights. Yet precisely because most of the targeted companies are basic service providers, the economic impact will likely be small. Most of these companies neither export and nor attract much foreign investment. And since their businesses depend almost exclusively on selling or providing services to Israelis (and Palestinians), the only way to boycott them would be for the boycotters to actually move to Israel. Rather, the real danger comes from the way this blacklist cheapens the very idea of human rights. According to the U.N. Human Rights Council, there is effectively no difference between mass murder and selling groceries; both raise particular human rights concerns. Thats a standard that no minimally moral human being could take seriously. It turns human rights concerns into a laughingstock, and thereby undermines respect for all human rights, even the genuine ones. And, as always, the biggest losers will be all the people worldwide suffering murder, torture, rape and other genuine abuses. For their cries will be drowned out by the din of the U.N.s lofty crusade against supermarkets and gas stations. Evelyn Gordon is a journalist and commentator living in Israel. Postmasters fear the closure of hundreds of post offices and the withdrawal of services will cost local economies billions. They warn that this will have a devastating impact in rural areas and on local economies. More than 7.6bn in social welfare payments are made through post offices. However, An Post's contract with the Department of Social Protection to provide the service is up for renewal next year. There are a total of 952 post offices nationwide. However, only one third of these are viewed as commercially viable. Another third are seen as unsustainable and a further 300 post offices are hovering between viable and unviable, according to the Irish Postmasters' Union (IPU). It fears that between 300 and 400 post offices are at risk of closure. The IPU has called for the introduction of a public service obligation for the post office network, saying it needs State support to survive. It has also called for the network to become a focal point for all State business, such as applying for services, identification cards and issuing driving licences. An Post says the network is well positioned to deliver such services. IPU general secretary Ned O'Hara said post offices losing the social welfare payments contract would devastate small urban and rural economies. "The multiplier effect from the social welfare payments being paid at post offices is crucial. Losing that is a death knell for small local traders because much of that money is often spent locally," he said. Others, such as the Public Banking Forum of Ireland, have called for the sector to be reformed by expanding services and adapting the post office model to incorporate not-for-profit community banking. Similar models have proven to be a success in New Zealand and Germany. Postmaster Sean Fogarty, who has run a post office in Ballymore Eustace, Co Kildare, for more than two decades, is worried about his future because of declining footfall. His post office is incorporated with a small convenience store. Six months ago he built on a cafe and before that he tried other innovative methods to boost business. He knows further change is needed. A crucial portion of his business comes from issuing social welfare payments. Mr Fogarty said he would have to consider shutting his post office if An Post loses the social welfare contract when it is put up for tender next year. "If the rest of the shop and the cafe is going to do more to sustain my business then I am not going to have a post office that is costing me money to keep it. I will have to weigh up if we can afford to keep it," he said. Tabs for students: Education Ministry to go ahead with less Tabs Out of 200,000 Tabs ordered from China only 96,919 Tabs to be bought View(s): View(s): The Education Ministry had decided to go ahead with a part of the proposed project of providing Tabs for students, but will be scrapping the rest of the project on the grounds it was a waste of money. Out of the 200,000 Tabs ordered from China the Ministry will buy only 96,919 Tabs. A senior ministry official said agreements have been signed for this to take place, while the rest of the order will be cancelled. The cost of the 96,919 tabs will be around Rs three billion. Since the agreement had been signed the ministry was not in a position to cancel the order as the assembling process had begun and the required charging racks had already been dispatched to Sri Lanka, the official said. If the agreement was withdrawn, the government would lose the tabs and would have to pay a penalty for the cancellation, he added. We had no other option, and we were compelled to go ahead with buying a part of the order, he said. The Ministry hopes to submit two proposals on the distribution of these tabs. One of them will about the distribution of Tabs to 1300 schools which do not have desktop computers or laptops, so these schools could substitute Tabs for a computer lab. The other proposal will about the distribution of Tabs to National schools and teachers who are being trained. Students will not be able to take the Tabs home, and the estimated usage period is around three years. The Education Ministry has not made plans to continue with the project thereafter. The Ministry hopes to send a team to China after the Coronavirus issue is resolved, to check and approve the Tabs Sri Lanka will be buying. The original proposal to provide Tabs to schools was proposed by the 2015 UNF Government to meet an election promise. But due to issues raised by former President Maithripala Sirisena, the Government could not go ahead with the project. The former President rejected the project claiming it was too expensive, and not useful for students. He also said they could be misused. But former Education Minister Akila Virja Kariyawasam strongly defended the project saying Tabs would be useful for digital learning. - DW Head of the Georgian National Centre for Disease Control Amiran Gamkrelidze reported yesterday that the worsening of epidemiological situation in Iran amid the coronavirus outbreak is a serious concern for Georgia, as the number of infections is increasing there. Amiran Gamkrelidze said, the special council in Georgia, that has been meeting for a couple of days no, will make a decision whether to temporarily suspend direct flights with Iran or not. Meanwhile, the Georgian Foreign Ministry has addressed the citizens to refrain from visiting Iran in near future, while those who are currently there, can contact the Georgian Embassy in Tehran, Agenda,ge reports. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has reported that a total of 18 cases were confirmed in Iran, including four deaths in the holy Shiite city of Qom, where most of those diagnosed are also located. It said, two elderly patients died in the city earlier this week after testing positive for the virus. Wells Fargo has agreed to pay $3 billion to settle criminal charges and a civil action stemming from its widespread mistreatment of customers in its community bank over a 14-year period, the Justice Department announced on Friday. From 2002 to 2016, employees used fraud to meet impossible sales goals. They opened millions of accounts in customers names without their knowledge, signed unwitting account holders up for credit cards and bill payment programs, created fake personal identification numbers, forged signatures and even secretly transferred customers money. In court papers, prosecutors described a pressure-cooker environment at the bank, where low-level employees were squeezed tighter and tighter each year by sales goals that senior executives methodically raised, ignoring signs that they were unrealistic. The few employees and managers who did meet sales goals by any means were held up as examples for the rest of the workforce to follow. This case illustrates a complete failure of leadership at multiple levels within the bank, Nick Hanna, U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, said in a statement. Wells Fargo traded its hard-earned reputation for short-term profits, and harmed untold numbers of customers along the way. Now the bank is grappling with the lingering consequences. Part of Fridays deal, which includes a $500 million fine by the Securities and Exchange Commission, is a deferred prosecution agreement, a pact with prosecutors that could expose the bank to charges if it engages in new criminal activity. We are committing all necessary resources to ensure that nothing like this happens again, Wells Fargo CEO Charles Scharf said in a statement on Friday. The penalty, while large, is not record breaking. In 2015, a judge ordered BNP Paribas to pay nearly $9 billion for sanctions violations. Fridays fine is not even the largest against Wells Fargo. In 2012, when the countrys five largest banks paid a total of $26 billion to state and federal authorities to settle investigations into their mortgage lending practices in the years leading up to the 2008 financial crisis, Wells Fargos portion was $5.35 billion. Including Fridays penalty, the bank has paid more than $18 billion in fines for misconduct since the financial crisis. Wells Fargos profits last year totaled nearly $20 billion. Senior Justice Department officials told journalists in a briefing on Friday that the banks payments to other authorities, including $1 billion in fines to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in 2018, were a mitigating factor in determining how much it would owe in the current settlement. The practices for which Wells Fargo is being punished in the current deal which includes an admission by the bank that it falsified banking records are not the only misbehavior the bank has revealed since 2016. Since they came to light in a settlement with California authorities and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the bank has also admitted it charged mortgage customers unnecessary fees and forced auto loan borrowers to buy insurance they did not need. Those matters are not part of Fridays deal, and Justice Department officials declined to comment on whether they intended to take more action. Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes Wells Fargo is still under investigation by the consumer bureau over its practice of abruptly closing customers accounts, and has said in regulatory filings that the authorities are looking into improper fees it charged wealth management customers. Fridays deal is also unrelated to a continuing criminal investigation of former Wells Fargo executives individual roles in the sales practices scandal. On Jan. 23, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency fined former top executives millions of dollars each for overseeing the bank while it abused customers. A former Wells Fargo chief executive, John Stumpf, agreed to pay $17.5 million, while others are fighting the cases brought by the regulator. One of them, Carrie Tolstedt, Wells Fargos former head of retail banking, faces a $25 million fine. Justice Department officials said the settlement also did not include similar conduct that fell outside the 14-year period. In early 2018, the Federal Reserve imposed growth restrictions on Wells Fargo that will be lifted only after the bank has shown its regulators that it has made significant changes to prevent bad behavior like the fake account scandal. Since taking over in October, Scharf has not offered any hints about when that goal might be accomplished. Emily Flitter is a New York Times writer. City Hall Reporter Monique 'Mo' Brand joined the Herald in May 2019. Before that, she covered border coverage and county government in Arizona. She also worked as a reporter in Kerrville, Los Angeles, and Norfolk Virginia. The U.S. Navy veteran grew up in Killeen. Bharat Bandh Today: High alert in UP, Bihar's Darbhanga as Bhim Army Chief's call for shutdown India oi-Madhuri Adnal New Delhi, February 22: The call for Bharat bandh by Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad on Sunday, February 23, against the Supreme Court's ruling on the reservation in appointments and promotions in public posts has seen widespread support from several social and political outfits. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court has said that there is "no fundamental right which inheres in an individual to claim reservation in promotions". "In view of the law laid down by this Court, there is no doubt that the State Government is not bound to make reservations... No mandamus can be issued by the Court directing the State Government to provide reservations," a bench comprising Justices L Nageswara Rao and Hemant Gupta held. This was seen by many as a step towards ending reservation for Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and OBCs. Following the apex court's observation, Azad, who recently got out on bail, called for a 'Bharat bandh' to build pressure on the government to bring an ordinance to nullify the ruling. NEWS AT NOON FEB 23rd, 2020 In Bihar, Lalu Prasad Yadav's RJD Upendra Kushwaha-led Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP), Jitan Ram Manjhi's Hindustani Awami Morcha, and Pappu Yadav's Jan Adhikar Party have lent their support. Ahead of the protest, Azad said that the dream of "Hindu Rashtra" will never be fulfilled. "With Bharat Bandh, the country's Bahujan Samaj will send a message that RSS and BJP will never succeed in making Hindu Rashtra. We will make India of Ambedkar's dream," Azad tweeted. In reply, Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Thawarchand Gehlot had told Parliament that the Centre was not a party in the SC, adding that the top court order pertained to a decision of the Uttarakhand government taken in 2012 when the Congress was in power in the state. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, February 23, 2020, 9:18 [IST] Parenthood brings tears, tantrums, chaos and the kids can get messy too. At last, Giovanna Fletcher is the motherhood guru we can all relate to Styling: Holly Elgeti. Make-up: Michelle Campbell at Frank Agency using Suqqu. Hair: Fabio Nogueira at Frank Agency using Sachajuan. Jumper, & Other Stories. Trousers, Debenhams. Earrings and necklace, Annoushka With her honest approach to parenting and how it doesnt always live up to our rose-tinted expectations Giovanna Fletcher has become something of a mum guru to her 1.3 million Instagram fans. The 35-year-old, who is married to Tom Fletcher of pop band McFly, regularly posts the chaotic, frizzy-haired reality of raising their three boys (Buzz, five, Buddy, four, and Max, 18 months). And while she insists shes a guru who knows nothing about what shes doing, her success suggests otherwise. Her 2017 book Happy Mum, Happy Baby was a bestseller, and spawned the podcast series of the same name, on which she interviews celebrities such as Davina McCall and Amanda Holden about their experiences of motherhood. Now Gi (as everyone calls her) is publishing her second book, Letters on Motherhood. What began as scribbles documenting her pregnancy with Buzz evolved into a collection of heartfelt letters. Not only does she write to Tom who she has been with since she was 13 but to their sons, her mum and even her body. Gi and Tom are famous for their online baby videos, which have had more than 30 million YouTube views. One, in 2018, showed the family making a snowman and decorating it with a scan to announce her pregnancy with Max. What it didnt show was how Gi was really feeling. In her new book, she admits feeling sick when she found out she was unexpectedly pregnant with her third child. I showed the test to Tom and its telling that he was overjoyed but my reaction was to cry, she says. I was so knackered. Tom and I had always said wed like to have a third, but we were thinking maybe in a couple of years when, career-wise, I could take a step back from work. I was daunted. Although she and Tom now love having three children, Gis not tempted to try for a fourth. Never say never Max happening was the best thing ever but physically Im done. In person, Gi feels like a friend, so its no surprise that on her Happy Mum, Happy Baby tour she was besieged by emotional mums wanting to confess their darkest moments. Statistics show that the leading cause of death in the first year of motherhood is suicide, so you think, Weve got to talk, she says. Only good can come out of people sharing experiences, so that they can understand their feelings are normal. For example, if Id seen you two days ago Id have said, I am the worst mum ever. Wed had a difficult night the kids all cried. Then, when theyd gone to bed, I cried. Luckily Gi has her own mum gang to support her, including her best friend, TV presenter Emma Willis, who she describes as my McBusted wife after Emmas husband Matt played in the hybrid band McBusted with Tom. The Fletchers are soon moving to a house close to Emmas in Hertfordshire. Their older children (Emma has three aged ten, eight and three) already attend the same school. They love it, says Gi. Emma and I messaged each other recently, You do realise were the boring ones, whereas Matt and Tom are the fun ones. Gi also spent time with the Duchess of Cambridge in Birmingham last month when Kate launched her new initiative Five Big Questions, a UK-wide survey that aims to help improve early childhood. It was an honour to be invited by the Duchess, says Gi, then to spend more time with her a couple of weeks later in a nursery in London. Its been incredible to watch her meeting parents and carers and hear her discuss the importance of early years an area shes clearly passionate about. It was a wonderful insight into her warmth and charm. But Gi is well aware of the fortunate position she and Tom are in now. Sadly, they both know the cruel reality of losing a much yearned-for baby, having had a miscarriage at six weeks before conceiving second son Buddy. Ive heard miscarriage referred to as the loneliest grief. It is. Its so insular. So personal. So soul-crushing. Helping the Duchess of Cambridge promote her early years survey at a London nursery last month Until recently, the couple relied on Toms parents (his dads a former factory worker, his mum worked with children with special needs) for childcare, but this year they hired a nanny. We wanted Toms parents to live their own lives, says Gi. But it is weird saying you have a nanny. If you come from a working-class background theres a stigma attached to that word, which is ridiculous because most of us need childcare. Gi is the daughter of Mario Senior, an Italian cafe owner, and mum Kim, and grew up in Essex with her sister Giorgina and brother Mario, who you might have seen in The Only Way Is Essex. She met Tom when they were pupils at Sylvia Young Theatre School. They were on and off until the age of 18 when they became an established couple. We just seemed to fit. While McFly became superstars, touring the world, Gi was at drama school pretending to be a penguin. But I wasnt jealous of Tom, she says. We were solid. I felt that if hes going to cheat then hell cheat and worrying wont help. Having married almost eight years ago, theyve stuck together weathering Toms self-confessed mental-health issues. Weve had our ups and downs, and of course we bicker, usually about whos had the least sleep. But we know more about each other than we know about ourselves. It is hard right now. A friend recently said, At the moment, with young children, you are at the toughest stage of your relationship. There are elements of us clinging on to each other, riding that storm. Lifes good, but you have to fit in moments of celebration when its not just about work and children. With such a positive attitude, I predict that time will come sooner than she thinks. Giovanna in six Most used emoji? Laughing face Your karaoke song? I Will Survive, though I havent done it for years Favourite tipple? Red wine its made with grapes so counts as one of my five a day The last person you texted? The window cleaner Love is Blooming wonderful Whod play you in a film of your life? Helena Bonham Carter Giovannas latest book Letters on Motherhood is published by Michael Joseph, price 16.99 to order a copy for 13.60 (a 20 per cent discount) with free p&p until 31 March, go to mailshop.co.uk or call 01603 648155. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 23) It has been three years since Senator Leila de Lima surrendered to authorities over illegal drug charges and remained in prison, but the opposition lawmaker said she feels "free." "Today, I declare myself free. For though I may be physically detained, my mind is freer than it has ever been," she said in a statement on Sunday. "Thus, I am not a victim. I am not merely a survivor. I am not just a fighter. I am a defender." She maintained that the drug charges against her were "trumped-up" and vowed to continue to defend democracy against the "weaponization of law." However, in January, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said De Lima's continued stay in jail and delayed trial is her own doing. Guevarra said the senator could have petitioned for bail and used other legal remedies to fight for her freedom. He added that they could not hold weekly hearings on her case because she keeps questioning court orders. De Lima once called Guevarra a "good choice" when Duterte appointed him in his post in 2018. De Lima, who is also a staunch critic of President Rodrigo Duterte's administration and his controversial war on drugs, had received support from several human rights groups and even US senators demanding for her release. The Palace even cited the US government's recent actions against the Philippines over the "illegal detention" of the senator, for terminating the Visiting Forces Agreement with the Western nation. US President Donald Trump in December signed a measure where a provision prohibits the entry of "foreign government officials involved in the wrongful imprisonment...of Senator Leila de Lima, who was arrested in the Philippines in 2017." Almost a year into Duterte's presidency, De Lima was accused of abetting illegal drug trade in the New Bilibid Prison while she was Justice Secretary from 2010 to 2015 and was subsequently arrested. She continues to be a regular subject of the President's tirades. The three drug-related cases against De Lima are still pending before the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court. Not long after the first results began rolling in, a super PAC supporting Mr. Buttigieg announced it was buying TV ads in Super Tuesday states. Mr. Bidens campaign manager declared that the Biden comeback had just begun. Senator Amy Klobuchar dropped from her New Hampshire showing yet claimed to have exceeded expectations. And Ms. Warrens campaign manager said her performance at last weeks debate would prove more important than the actual election. Translation: No one is about to quit this race. And the longer all the alternative candidates remain, the longer Mr. Sanders can keep carrying states and consolidating his own coalition without a singular rival. The Nevada results reinforce the reality that this fragmented field is putting Bernie Sanders on pace to amass an insurmountable delegate lead, said Kevin Sheekey, the campaign manager for Mr. Bloomberg. Each has their own arguments for staying. Mr. Biden, who carried black voters in Nevada, is the best positioned to beat Mr. Sanders in an upcoming state (South Carolina). Mr. Buttigieg has had the strongest showings overall besides Mr. Sanders. Ms. Warren, whose campaign announced a $21 million haul for February, argues she has the money and organization to compete. Mr. Bloomberg has his billions. Ms. Klobuchars path which is taking her to Fargo, N.D., on Sunday seems less clear and may be more about grabbing spare delegates than the nomination. The collective impact is clear. A remarkable six candidates all had at least 12 percent of the vote among voters over 45 in Nevada, an almost impossibly even level of fracture. Joe Bidens best finish yet is still second place This is an opinion column. When Ive written about Alabamas worst-in-the-nation open records law, Ive emphasized that access to those documents is not a media privilege. The right to inspect public records and take copies upon request is supposed to be guaranteed for all citizens. Its for everybody. But many of the requests that get denied or ignored are media requests and those requests are in the publics interest, too. Take, for example, a request made by WBRC in August 2017. Ill swallow my professional jealousy and tell you its a good one. Fox 6 reporters wanted to know whether Birminghams ShotSpotter system was working and worth the money the city was paying for it. ShotSpotter is a third-party system that triangulates the sound of gunshots for the police department and in that data are all sorts of potential stories of public interest. Is your neighborhood safe? How does it compare to other neighborhoods? Are gunshots in the city on the rise or decline? And probably the most important question: Is ShotSpotter worth the money the city pays for it? So in 2017, Fox 6 requested the data, the citys contract with ShotSpotter and correspondence the city had with ShotSpotter. And if youre wondering why Im writing about a records request submitted almost three years ago, its because the city still hasnt turned over any of that stuff. At first, the mayors office told Fox 6 it could have the information but that was under Birmingham Mayor William Bells administration. Before Fox 6 got what it was looking for, Birmingham got a new mayor, Randall Woodfin. And then those folks at Fox 6 got a whole lot of nothing. In May 2018, Fox 6 asked the Woodfin administration for this information again. The only thing they got back was an email from Woodfins public information office, Rick Journey, saying he had received the request. Another year and a half goes by. More nothing. I should note here that the Woodfin administration has a record of stonewalling and ignoring legitimate public information requests, despite Woodfins claims to value transparency. In January of this year, Fox 6 began sending letters threatening to sue. The Woodfin administration then denied the request, citing an exemption in the open records law that protects security information. This would be a good time to remind you that the documents Woodfins administration is denying (which Bells administration said were public) include the citys contract with ShotSpotter. Vendor contracts are a bright red line here, because if those contracts arent public information, then theres no way for anyone not me, not my media competitors, not those nosy members of the public I love for how they butt into governments business, not anybody to know what our government pays for. Thats a big problem. About the only thing we know about this system now is that it costs $2.6 million. When I asked the mayors office why it was keeping these documents secret, this was their response: The records requested are records concerning security measures or systems, and/or are records relating to, or having an impact upon, the security or safety of persons, structures or facilities, the public disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to be detrimental to the public safety or welfare, and disclosure of which would otherwise be detrimental to the best interests of the public. Or to put it another way, the mayors office thinks you knowing where people illegally discharge guns would be a threat to your safety. If that sounds like hogwash, youre on to something, and theres something else you need to know. ShotSpotter does not like people other than its customers having access to its data, and in a 2015 Customer Success Training Bulletin, the company advised cities on how to deny such requests. However, not all of ShotSpotters customers keep this information secret. Miami, Minneapolis, and Baltimore all make some degree of this information public, including contracts, and in Washington, D.C., you can download ShotSpotter data directly from the citys website. So why not Birmingham? First, because the City of Birmingham has broken trust with its citizens. It isnt protecting its citizens interest here; its protecting the company it pays millions of dollars of taxpayers money. The mayor signed a secret contract and that should alarm everyone who lives in the city. And second, because Alabamas Open Records Act is broken. Under Alabama, all citizens are supposed to have a right to inspect public documents. But the law doesnt prevent local governments and state agencies from ignoring requests for years or denying requests for spurious reasons. And all anyone on the short end of this broken law can do is to sue something that can quickly costs tens of thousands of dollars, something most folks cant afford. But theres something you can do. This year, state Sen. Cam Ward is sponsoring a bill to rewrite the Alabama Open Records Act. His bill would add teeth to the law, like setting deadlines for responses, mandating reasonable costs for copies and, most importantly, creating an appeals process thats affordable for everyone. The bill is modeled on laws in other states, like Florida and Tennessee that despite the plaintive cries of Alabama municipal and county lobbyists who have opposed this bill still function just fine, only better. That bill goes before the Alabama Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday at 1 p.m. You can let your lawmakers know you support it. Write them. Call them. Yell if you have to. Yell loud enough that even the ShotSpotter can hear you. Kyle Whitmire is the state political columnist for the Alabama Media Group. You can follow his work on his Facebook page, The War on Dumb. And on Twitter. And on Instagram. The Alberta government has resolved a First Nation's concerns over the Teck Frontier mine, eliminating one obstacle that could have blocked the project's approval. However, the deal may not matter after the Vancouver-based Teck Resources signalled late Sunday it was no longer planning to proceed with the oilsands project. The provincial government and the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) reached an agreement over the weekend after a bitter public dispute between the two parties. The down-to-the-wire negotiations ended ahead of an expected decision from the Liberal government this week on the fate of the $20.6-billion mega-mine. "Given the recent discussions with the Alberta government and their fresh and positive approach," Chief Allan Adam said in a news release. "We reconfirm our support of the project and encourage the Canadian government to approve the project without further delay." Adam said his nation and the Alberta government have agreed on a "comprehensive and meaningful package of action items," but the news release didn't state what those items are. ACFN had accused the province of Alberta dragging their feet on the Dene nation's concerns over water, bison habitat and the need for financial compensation for treaty rights. The provincial government said that it has been in dialogue with the nation and accused the band's Chief Adam of being primarily concerned with money. Each accused the other of delays that could block the project. In July, a federal-provincial environmental panel recommended the approval of the Teck Frontier mine. The mine would disturb 292 square kilometres of pristine wetlands and boreal forest an area half the size of the city of Edmonton over its 40-year lifespan, although Vancouver-based Teck Resources would not begin mining the whole area all at once. Two weeks ago, CBC obtained a letter Adam wrote to federal Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson. The letter stated it was unlikely ACFN's concerns would be resolved within the prescribed timelines. This disagreement, a federal government source told CBC then, would weigh on the government's decision to approve the mine. Story continues The end to this public battle gives opponents of Teck Frontier one less argument. Conversely, it arms the project's cheerleaders with the backing to honestly say all 14 Alberta Metis and First Nations in the immediate sphere of the project support it. Another band in the shadow of the project, the Mikisew Cree First Nation, also issued a press release Friday reiterating its support. The Liberal caucus is divided over the issue. Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith told CBC Radio's The House Canada would not be able to meet its net-zero emission target by 2050 if Teck Frontier was approved. On that front, it was announced Friday that Alberta Environment Minister Jason Nixon would enforce a cap on oilsands emissions, which may alleviate concerns over Teck Frontier's greenhouse gas footprint. Teck has estimated the project would emit about four million tonnes of direct carbon emissions per year. One environmental group, the Oilsands Environmental Coalition (OSEC), estimated that it would be the equivalent of adding 891,000 cars to roadways. In a statement of his own, Alberta Environment Minister Jason Nixon celebrated the resolution. "I am again calling on the federal government to approve the Teck Frontier mine project, given that the major concerns raised by the Joint Review Panel have been addressed," Nixon said. "The opportunity that this project presents for our Indigenous communities, our province and the thousands of jobs it would create cannot be killed for political reasons. This project has played by the rules. It has followed the process. It's time to get it done." When Santa Feans were debating what to do with the Railyard after the city purchased it in the 1990s in part to save it from commercial development art galleries were not part of the discussion. Santa Fe already had its Canyon Road, and a lot more space for galleries on and around the Plaza. The Railyard was envisioned, more or less, as new urban center for locals, since the Plaza (and Canyon Road) had become so dominated, for better or worse, by the tourist trade. Its been slow to develop, but the Railyard is getting closer to the original vision. The Violet Crown cinema and a locally owned brew pub are thriving. The Farmers Market is beloved community institution and its indoor space is used for quinceaneras and weddings. The Railyard plaza under the iconic water tower hosts numerous and diverse free concerts over the summer that attract thousands. After a major stumble with the first residential project in the Railyard condos that only the wealthy could afford, definitely not something the general public was calling out for on public land apartments have been added. The units dont meet city standards for affordable housing, but theyre not so expensive that theyre considered exclusive, either. And more local businesses are expected soon, now that bankruptcy issues for the centerpiece Market Station building have been resolved. But, yes, upscale art galleries also have become part of the Railyard mix. Its apparently inevitable, again for better or worse, that if theres attractive space in Santa Fe, galleries will find and fill it. In this case, it could be argued the galleries represent gentrification of a once ramshackle area, although they didnt replace older homes or businesses. Now, on the edge of the Railyard, state government is converting the old state archives building into a new modern art museum, in part thanks to $4 million from donors after whom the museum will be named. The Vladem Contemporary museum is a great idea. This will be a public place. A top-notch museum for modern art is a next step in Santa Fes growth as a major arts center. And its good that the state Department of Cultural Affairs fought off efforts to squelch a distinctive, modern design for the building itself. But theres a rub. The building design calls for the removal of Multi-Cultural, the large-scale mural that Gilberto Guzman, leading an all-star team of local artists, created in the 1980s on a wall of the archives building facing Guadalupe Street. Guzman and several dozen others gathered outside the building last weekend to call for saving the mural, which is more than 100 feet long and 18 feet tall. Those who want to save the artwork say removal amounts to more gentrification and would continue a trend toward wiping out key pieces of local culture and history. Probably underlying the controversy is the question of whether the new museum will feature New Mexico-centric art like Guzmans or will cater more to the coastal tastemakers of the modern art world. But it would be bad, and probably racist, to suggest a modern art museum, per se, is somehow incompatible with local culture. We do after all have the Contemporary Spanish Market, featuring modern art and crafts, every summer. State officials say Guzmans mural is in bad shape, would be costly to restore and needs to come down. It can be commemorated, they say, with a scaled-down recreation inside the new museum or pieces of the original. A projection of the mural has also been discussed. A new mural wouldnt last more than 10 years, the state says. Interestingly, both sides agree that outdoor murals like Guzmans arent intended to be permanent. Multi-Cultural has been around for more than three decades and was last updated in the 1990s. So there may be room for compromise here, with some help from the city or the Railyard management. Commemorate Multi-Cultural with panels, a projection or giant photographs inside the new museum. But find another prominent spot for a new mural that likewise honors Santa Fes traditional cultures, as in Guzmans work, or even more impressively, the more flamboyant mural by Federico Vigil in the Santa Fe County Commissions chambers. In the Railyard, a big mural developed as a community project with the help of serious artists could provide a wonderful offset to the simple, industrial architectural style that has developed there. Multi-Cultural has had its run and it shouldnt be forgotten. But maybe something new and just as beloved can come out of the debate over its pending demise. Zenith Bank Plc has announced result for the year ended December 31, 2019, with profit after tax of N208.8 billion, achieving the feat as the first Nigerian bank to cross the N200 billion mark. According to the banks audited financial results for the 2019 financial year released in Lagos on Friday, profit after tax rose by 8% to N208.8 billion from the N193 billion recorded in the previous year. The group also recorded a growth in gross earnings of 5% rising to N662.3 billion from N630.3 billion reported in the previous year. This growth was driven by the 29% increase in non-interest income from N179.9 billion in 2018 to N231.1 billion in 2019. Fees on electronic products continues to grow significantly with a 108% Year on Year (YoY) growth from N20.4 billion in 2018 to N42.5 billion in the current year. The bank in a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES said the increase in the figures was a validation of the banks retail transformation strategy which continues to deliver impressive results. Profit before tax also increased by 5% growing from N232 billion to N243 billion in the current year, arising from topline growth and continued focus on cost optimisation strategies. Cost-to-income ratio moderated from 49.3% to 48.8%. The drive for cheaper retail deposits coupled with the low interest yield environment helped reduce the cost of funding from 3.1% to 3.0%. However this also affected net interest margin which reduced from 8.9% to 8.2% in the current year due to re-pricing of interest bearing assets. Although returns on equity and assets held steady YoY at 23.8% and 3.4% respectively, the Group still delivered an improved Earnings per Share (EPS) which grew 8% from N6.15 to N6.65 in the current year. The bank said it increased its share of the market as it secured increased customer deposits across the corporate and retail space as deposits grew by 15% to close at N4.26 trillion. Total assets also increased by 7% from N5.96 trillion to N6.35 trillion. The Group created new viable risk assets as gross loans grew by 22% from N2.016 trillion to N2.462 trillion. This was executed prudently at a low cost of risk of 1.1% and a significant reduction in the non-performing loan ratio from 4.98% to 4.30%. Prudential ratios such as liquidity and capital adequacy ratios also remained above regulatory thresholds at 57.3% and 22.0% respectively. The bank has announced a proposed final dividend pay-out of N2.50 per share, bringing the total dividend to N2.80 per share. In 2020, the Group remains strategically positioned to capture the opportunities in the corporate and retail segments, while efficiently managing costs and expanding further its retail franchise employing digital assets and innovation. Zenith Bank was voted as the Best Commercial Bank in Nigeria 2019 by the World Finance and the Most Valuable Banking Brand in Nigeria 2019 by The Banker. The bank was also recognized as Bank of the Year and Best Bank in Retail Banking at the 2019 BusinessDay Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BOFI) Awards, and was ranked as the Best Digital Bank in Nigeria 2019 by Agusto & Co. Most recently, the Bank emerged as the Bank of the Decade (Peoples Choice) at the Thisday Awards 2020. NEW DELHI: Amid the ongoing debate among the Congress leaders over the leadership issues, senior leader Shashi Tharoor on Sunday (February 23) said that it is important to end the lingering uncertainty over a long-term president in order to revive the party. Talking to PTI, the Thiruvananthapuram MP remarked that it was up to former Congress president Rahul Gandhi to decide if he wishes to return at the helm of affairs, but if he decides against returning then the party must find an "active and full-time leadership" to revive the party as the nation expects. Tharoor said the process of electing some members of the party's highest decision-making body will usher in a dynamic leadership team with a credible mandate to work together to address the organisational challenges. Asserting that the Congress is the indispensable national alternative to the "divisive policies" of the BJP, Tharoor said, "The immediate cause of worry for many of us is that there appears to be a growing perception in the eyes of the public that we, as a political entity, are adrift." This is naturally driving some voters towards considering other political options and the most recent example of this was seen in Delhi, where the voters chose to side primarily with the AAP and to a smaller extent with the BJP, leaving the Congress with naught, he said. "This is where the compelling case for urgently addressing this perception in the eyes of the public comes from -- and for that matter, changing the attitude of the media, which is repeatedly writing us off dismissively," Tharoor said. "But for us to do so, we do need to fix our current leadership issues. We need to start with a longer-term, as opposed to interim, Congress president, as well as the 'elected' membership of the Working Committee," the former Union minister said. Tharoor said he is an advocate for free and transparent elections within the party for these positions as such a process would significantly add to their credibility and legitimacy. The CWC found an excellent interim solution in Sonia Gandhi, but the party cannot indefinitely keep depending on and burdening a president who had only just relinquished the job less than two years ago, he said, adding that it is neither fair to her, nor to the voters. He also said the repeated question of 'Gandhi or non-Gandhi' as party president was "missing the wood for the trees". "The larger concern and the need of the hour is to find a new president and leadership, and I am confident that if we do so through a participatory, transparent and democratic electoral process internally, the workers will at the end of the day throw their might and energy behind whoever emerges as the winning candidate," he said. Asked if the problem remains that of "who will bell the cat" and raise leadership issues with the Gandhi family, Tharoor said, "I don't think the issue at hand is specifically about not being able to raise these concerns with members of the Gandhi family." "It is of critical importance that we delay no further and work together to move forward. Resolving the uncertainty about long-term leadership is an indispensable aspect of our process of revival. It must be given foremost priority," Tharoor said. Talking about the party's conundrum over whether to convince Rahul Gandhi to come back or move on, Tharoor said Gandhi will always hold a special place at the core of the party and the rank and file of the party are pretty unanimous in their belief that he has the vision to rally the party together and take it forward. "This is why most of us were keen for him to continue and stay on in this role after the elections, because while we respected his desire to publicly offer accountability for our defeat, we still felt that there is no one better to ensure the much needed process of revival that is needed for the party," he said. At the end of the day, just as his resignation was a personal decision, the question of his return is one as well, he said. Pitching for election of CWC members, Tharoor pointed out there are three categories of members -- elected members, permanent invitees and special invitees. "All three are currently named by the high command, but I believe it would be healthy for the party if the 'elected members' were actually elected," he said. Tharoor hoped that those who are currently against the idea of elections for CWC recognise that a participatory electoral process, which channels the wishes of the members of the AICC plus PCC delegates ? some 10,000 workers in all ? is an exercise in inner-party democracy that will strengthen the party. It could also have other beneficial effects such as increasing the national interest in the party, he said. Asked if Rahul Gandhi is not convinced on coming back as chief should Priyanka Gandhi Vadra take on the leadership role, Tharoor said he was neither for nor against any Congress leader who might want to put their name forward. "I certainly hope that she will throw her name in the ring when the call for elections for the post of party president are officially declared," Tharoor said. Priyanka Gandhi has a natural charisma and also comes with organisational experience, he said. "But at the end of the day this will be her personal decision and we must respect that," he said. Tharoor had backed Sandeep Dikshit last week in asserting that the leadership issue needs to be laid to rest immediately. Sonia Gandhi was appointed as the interim Congress president in August last year after Rahul Gandhi resigned taking moral responsibility for the party's Lok Sabha poll debacle. Sydney, Feb 23 : More than half of young women in Australia experience some form of sexually-related personal distress -- feeling guilty, embarrassed, stressed or unhappy about their sex lives. A study conducted Monash University reported, for the first time, an overall picture of the sexual wellbeing of Australian women between the ages of 18 and 39. Results showed 50.2 per cent of young Australian women experienced some form of sexually-related personal distress, with one in five women having at least one female sexual dysfunction (FSD). A concerning 29.6 per cent of women experienced sexually-related personal distress without dysfunction, and 20.6 per cent had at least one FSD. The most common problem was low sexual self-image, which caused distress for 11 per cent of study participants. Arousal, desire, orgasm and responsiveness dysfunction affected 9 per cent, 8 per cent, 7.9 per cent and 3.4 per cent of the study cohort, respectively, revealed the findings published in the international journal, Fertility and Sterility. "It is of great concern that one in five young women have an apparent sexual dysfunction and half of all women within this age group experience sexually-related personal distress," said Susan Davis, senior author and Professor of Women's Health at Monash University. "This is a wake-up call to the community and signals the importance of health professionals being open and adequately prepared to discuss young women's sexual health concerns." The study, funded by Grollo Ruzzene Foundation, recruited 6,986 women aged 18-39 years, living in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. All women completed a questionnaire that assessed their sexual wellbeing in terms of desire, arousal, responsiveness, orgasm, and self-image. Participants also evaluated whether they had sexually-associated personal distress and provided extensive demographic information. Sexual self-image dysfunction was associated with being overweight, obese, living together with partner, not married, married and breastfeeding. Professor Davis said if untreated, sexually-related personal distress and FSD could impact relationships and overall quality of life as women aged. Women who habitually monitored their appearance, and for whom appearance determined their level of physical self-worth, reported being less sexually assertive and more self-conscious during intimacy, and experienced lower sexual satisfaction. A Palo Alto couple rescued Saturday after spending almost eight days stranded in dense vegetation in Marin County about a half-mile from their Inverness rental cabin were reported in "great spirits" Saturday afternoon, about six hours after they were found, the Marin County Sheriff's Office said. The Sheriff's Office released photos of Carol Kiparsky, 77, and her husband Ian Irwin, 72, in their hospital beds. Kiparsky was showing a "thumbs up" sign. A Marin County Sheriff's sergeant on Saturday called the couple's rescue "a miracle." "They are in great spirits and want to thank every single person who has kept them in their thoughts," the Sheriff's Office said in a tweet about 2 1/2 hours after a news conference announcing the couple had been found about 10:10 a.m. Saturday in thick underbrush in a drainage area near Tomales Bay. Marin County Sheriff's Sgt. Brenton Schneider said the couple - who had brought no food or water, or cell phones, with them on their Feb. 14 hike near their rental cabin - most likely survived the week by drinking water from a puddle near where they were stranded. They were found in vegetation so thick that rescuers had to crawl to get to them, said Schneider. The couple were in an "implausible" place, he said, and that it was difficult for rescuers to get through that undergrowth. At Saturday's news conference, at least two dozen members of Marin Search and Rescue and others who had helped with the search stood behind Schneider. Just a day earlier, the search had been described as a "recovery effort," as hopes for the couple's survival had waned. "Regardless of what we called it, the people standing behind me kept doing what they do," said Schneider. Dozens of air samples taken Saturday at more than 50 spots throughout the McClymonds High School campus school buildings showed no evidence of airborne trichloroethylene, an industrial solvent, in the air, a state environmental officer said. That comes two days after the halocarbon chemical compound was found in the groundwater near the school, at 2607 Myrtle St. in West Oakland. State and Alameda County experts say the trichloroethylene , or TCE, in the groundwater came from some still-undetermined location near the McClymonds campus. There are several known locations in the neighborhood where TCE is an issue. "There is no indication of TCE in any of the areas we have tested so far," said Cheryl Prowell, a senior hazardous substances engineer with the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, in a statement released by the Oakland Unified School District. School district officials said the air testing is expected to continue at least through this coming week. OUSD officials hope McClymonds' 350 students will be back in class Tuesday or Wednesday, at a location (or more than one) yet to be determined. A woman was killed and a man critically injured Saturday night after being struck by a car about a mile southwest of downtown San Jose, police said. Police were called at about 7 p.m. to the intersection of San Carlos Street and Brooklyn Avenue, where the two people were struck by a 2018 Ford Focus as they both were in a crosswalk, San Jose police Officer Gina Tepoorten said. Both pedestrians were taken to a local hospital, where the woman was pronounced dead a short time later, Tepoorten said. The man sustained life-threatening injuries and remained hospitalized Saturday night. The woman driving the Focus remained at the scene of the accident and is cooperating with the investigation, Tepoorten said. Neither alcohol nor drugs appear to be a factor in the crash, she said. The female victim's identity will be released by the Santa Clara County Coroner's Office after they confirm the victim's identity and notify next of kin. This is San Jose's fourth fatal collision of 2020, Tepoorten said. A 29-year-old American Canyon man faces charges of attempted murder, arson, domestic violence and resisting arrest after he allegedly set a Vallejo garage on fire at the residence of a woman he had previously dated, police said. At about 5:14 a.m. Saturday, Vallejo firefighters received a report of a structure fire in the 100 block of Spencer Street, and found the detached garage in flames. The fire did not spread to the main house, in which a woman and her 72-year-old mother were asleep inside of the main residence. Both females got out of the house unharmed, police said. Firefighters quickly determined the garage had been purposely set on fire, and that an attempt may have been made to set the house on fire, as well. Vallejo Police detectives identified Neil Coates as the suspect in the arson. Police said Coates and the female victim had previously been involved in a dating relationship. Police said Coates returned and attempted to force his way into the home. During this process, Coates physically assaulted the female victim; police returned to the house, and Coates physically resisted officers before being taken into custody. On Saturday, almost two years after breaking ground, Dublin officials unveiled the city's new police station, which will also include a much larger Emergency Operations Center and briefing/training room. The new Dublin police headquarters, at the corner of Clark Avenue and Dublin Boulevard, will anchor the city's new Public Safety Complex, which also includes the existing Alameda County Fire Department administrative offices. Also part of the new complex is a 17-foot aluminum sculpture, "Ribbon," by Gordon Huether, that honors the local police and fire agencies. The Dublin City Council approved the bid to build the station in February 2018, with an anticipated construction cost of $15 million. The lower level of the current Dublin Police Services headquarters at Dublin Civic Center will be transformed into a future Cultural Arts Center, while City of Dublin Parks and Community Services staff will move into the upper level of the former police building. A 24-year-old man was booked early Saturday morning on charges of attempted murder and burglary after breaking into his ex-girlfriend's Fairfield apartment and stabbing someone inside, police said. Police credited a witness who called 9-1-1 early Saturday morning with helping lead officers to where Jacob Travis was. Police said Travis broke into his ex-girlfriend's Gregory Street apartment at about 11:15 p.m. Friday, and got into a fight with one of several people inside. Police said Travis stabbed that person several times; the victim was taken to an area hospital for treatment, and that victim is expected to make a full recovery. A Fairfield resident called police about 1 a.m. Saturday saying Travis was near Pennsylvania Street and Tabor Avenue. Travis was soon located and arrested as he tried to flee and hide from officers, police said. Travis was booked into the Solano County Jail in Fairfield on suspicion of attempted murder and burglary. The 2019 National Community Survey shows Walnut Creek residents love their downtown, schools, open spaces and general quality of life, and don't like the city's traffic congestion or lack of affordable housing. The National Community Survey was carried out in 240 U.S. cities in summer 2019. About 550 Walnut Creek households responded to the survey by the Colorado-based National Resource Center. Walnut Creek respondents said they are also pleased with their local government and city services, but find it difficult to drive around, park, use public transportation, bicycle around the city, or find affordable housing. More than 90 percent of those surveyed rated Walnut Creek as an "excellent" or "good" place to live. Also scoring at 90 percent approval or higher on the overall survey were the city's overall image, its neighborhoods, the city's overall appearance and as a place to raise children. Walnut Creek's downtown, once a person is there and has found parking, got great marks from locals. Ninety percent of survey respondents praised Walnut Creek's vibrant downtown, and 93 percent the city's shopping opportunities. City parks, recreation centers and programs and special events all scored at 86 percent or higher. Perhaps not surprisingly, scores were generally lower on the "getting there" piece. Survey scores on traffic- and transit-related issues, including traffic flow, travel by car or bicycle, public parking and public transportation all rated at under 50 percent among those surveyed. Sunday will be partly cloudy. Highs will be in the mid 50s to the lower 60s. West winds will be 10 to 20 mph. Sunday night will be mostly clear before becoming partly cloudy. Lows will be in the mid 40s to the lower 50s. Northwest winds will be 10 to 20 mph. Monday will be sunny. Highs will be in the upper 50s to the mid 60s. North winds will be around 5 mph, increasing to west winds of 5 to 15 mph in the afternoon. Copyright 2020 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Voters in Tajikistan go to the polls on March 1 to cast ballots in parliamentary elections. Seven parties are registered to compete, but everyone already knows that President Emomali Rahmons party -- the Peoples Democratic Party of Tajikistan -- will win the most seats. But there are some interesting side stories in this campaign, such as the notable absence of the Islamic Renaissance Party (IRPT), once the second largest party in the country, but now banned and declared an extremist group. The only genuine opposition party left in the race, the Social Democratic Party of Tajikistan, is trying to win some seats in parliament with leader Rahmatillo Zoirov saying he has met with voters more than 60 times -- not an easy feat in Tajikistan. And some analysts are looking closely to see if there are any clues in these parliamentary elections as to what might happen later this year when Tajikistan holds a presidential poll. Incumbent Rahmon, in power since 1992 and currently 67 years old, will seek reelection -- or possibly opt to hand over the title of president to a hand-picked successor. RFE/RL's Media-Relations Manager Muhammad Tahir moderated a discussion on the upcoming elections and what might be in store later this year. Taking part in the discussion this week were: from Arlington, Virginia, Anthony Bowyer, Eurasia adviser at the International Foundation for Electoral Systems; from Poland, Muhamadjon Kabirov of the Foundation for Intercultural Integration, and also the nephew of IRPT leader Muhiddin Kabiri; and from RFE/RLs Tajik Service, known locally as Ozodi, Sirojiddin Tolibov. Ive watched Tajikistans elections for a while now, so I had a comment or two to throw in. Listen to the podcast above or subscribe to the Majlis on iTunes or on Google Podcasts. Concurs repetat pentru selectarea unei companii sociologice, care sa efectueze un studiu tematic "Barometrul opiniei publice in domeniul schimbarilor climatice" At least 18 Americans who returned home from a quarantined cruise ship are infected with the new virus, bringing the number of cases in the U.S. to 35, health officials said Friday. More confirmed cases are likely among the returned passengers from the Diamond Princess which had been quarantined in Japan, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. More than 300 passengers were flown back to the U.S. last weekend and are now quarantined for two weeks at military bases and hospitals. The U.S. tally dates back to January 21 and includes three people who were evacuated from the central China city of Wuhan, where the outbreak began. The rest are mostly travelers who fell ill after trips to China; two spread it to their spouses. New traveler cases were announced this week in California, including one person in Humboldt County, who is said to be doing well and in isolation at home. On Friday, Sacramento County officials said a resident who returned from China earlier this month has tested positive. More than 76,000 cases have been reported worldwide, mostly in China. Of the U.S. patients, some have recovered. Others are being treated in special isolation units in hospitals. The virus causes a flu-like illness and can cause pneumonia. We're not seeing community spread in the United States yet, the CDC's Dr. Nancy Messonnier said during a Friday briefing for reporters. It's possible, even likely, it will eventually happen. The CDC is adapting its 2017 guidelines for preventing pandemic flu for use if the virus starts spreading widely in the United States, Messonnier said. Closing schools and canceling gatherings could become necessary. To detect whether the virus already is spreading silently beyond the known cases, the CDC is adding testing to the network that normally tracks flu. When a patient sample tests negative for flu, lab workers will check it for the new virus. That additional testing will begin next week, Messonnier said. Nearly all the Americans evacuated from Wuhan are no longer in quarantine. The ship passengers are quarantined at military bases and hospitals in California, Texas and Nebraska. Additionally, anyone who has been in mainland China in the past two weeks is being asked to quarantine themselves when they return home and watch for symptoms of the illness fever, cough and shortness of breath. PPP comes to the rescue of failed state entities View(s): Rising public debt and spending rationalisation has prompted the present government to bring public-private partnership (PPP) to the forefront in revitalising loss-making and defunct state-owned enterprises. The Ministry of Small and Medium Business and Enterprise Development, Industries and Supply chain Management will be reviving all crippled state owned entities through PPPs, a senior official of the ministry said. The government has made it clear that it would not subsidise loss- making and debt-ridden state-owned corporations and enterprises. Under this initiative, the Kahatagaha Graphite Lanka Ltd will be restructured with the involvement of a private investor. The ministry will call competitive bids to find a prospective private investor to add value to the mined graphite at the Kahatagaha mine. At least 65 70 metric tons of graphite per month is excavated at the Kahatagaha mine. Sri Lanka supplies only 7 per cent of the graphite requirement in the global market. The government has recognised value addition as the only way to enhance the export value of graphite and the cabinet had approved the proposal to seek expressions of interest from prospective investors. A senior official revealed that although the world market price of one metric ton of Kahatagaha graphite was US$ 2000, 1 kg of graphene, an extract from graphite, could be sold for $5000. If Sri Lanka could be able to produce graphene adding value to graphite, it would be a gold mine for the country, he said. A PPP arrangement has been proposed for the development of export value added products made from mineral sands mined by Lanka Mineral Sands Ltd. Eastern Valaichchenai Paper Mills and North Saltern are also in the pipeline for restricting process of the present government. The Sri Lanka army has been entrusted with the task of renovating the Valaichchenai Paper Mills and the work is now underway. The Ceylon Ceramic Corporation factory at Oddusudan, in the Mullaithivu area will be re-invigorated, through a joint-venture operation with Samson Rajarata Tile Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of the DSI Samson Group. According to Ministry sources the government will continue to own the unit while teaming up with Samson Rajarata Tile in the production process. (BS) STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A retired NYPD detective allegedly committed suicide at his Long Island home, according to a New York Post report. Officer Daniel Shirreffs, 46, died in an apparent suicide on Thursday, law enforcement sources told the post. He was a member of the NYPD for over 20 years, the Post reported. His death comes only days after veteran detective Paul Federico, 53, died of an apparent suicide in Queens. Federico was the first active officer to die of a suicide in 2020. A retired 78-year-old NYPD officer shot himself inside of his Graniteville home Jan. 2, the Advance previously reported. In 2019 the NYPD witnessed a tragic trend of 10 suicides that former Police Commissioner James P. ONeill defined as a mental health crisis. Three of those officers were from Staten Island. Michael Caddy, 29, an officer in the 121st Precinct, died on June 14. Sgt. Terrance McAvoy died on July 18. Edward Rosa, a retired transit cop, took his own life near the Eltingville Transit Center in September. An obituary for Shirreffs online asked for donations to be made to TUNNEL2TOWERS.ORG in lieu of flowers. The National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 1-800-273-8255; additionally, the NYPD lists multiple mental health resources for its employees. Former Executive Director of Standard Chartered Bank, Alex Mould, has challenged the Resident Representative of International Monetary Fund (IMF) claim that Ghana's debt servicing ratio to revenue for 2019 was around 30 percent. According to the financial expert, the figure quoted by the IMF representative was not accurate. "It should rather be approximately 60%, the former Banker noted. He calculated that, based on MoFEP data on Ghana's 2019 Fiscals released in February 2020, Ghana's interest payment was around GHC20 billion with debt amortization (foreign debt alone) being about GHC11 billion. "So adding interest and principal amortization (however, only for foreign debt) total debt service for 2019 was around GHC31 billion. And, according to the Ghana Revenue Authority, domestic revenue collected for 2019 was GHC52 billion, Mr. Mould who is also the immediate past Chief Executive of Ghana National Petroleum Corporation clarified. "So in the ratio form; debt servicing to domestic revenue is 31:52 (in GHC). This, in percentage-wise, total debt servicing to domestic revenue will be approximately 60%. "Even if he was referring to only interest payment in the debt service number, which ordinarily includes debt principal amortization, the interest-only-debt-service to domestic revenue is approximately 40% for 2019," he stressed. Meanwhile, the IMF rep, Dr. Albert Touna-Mama, speaking at the recent Graphic Business/Stanbic Bank Breakfast meeting, described the 30% debt servicing to revenue as twice as much compared to countries of similar features. He further revealed that government total debt position at DEC 31, 2019 was GH215 billion, describing it as worrying the borrowing rate of Ghana. When we think about debt and borrowing, I want to talk about the fact that we dont only measure it with respect to GDP. An important metric that we look at and in the case of Ghana is a metric that is of concern, that is, debt service to revenue. We use debt service to revenue as a proxy of how sustainable the debt of Ghana is. At the moment, that ratio is close 30 percent. When we take that for countries of similar features, it should be below 18 percent. This is twice as much as what it should be. So, of course, we are concerned about the borrowing of Ghana, he explained. The World Bank has cautioned Ghana against heaping its external debt stating that the country is currently rated as a moderate to high-risk debt distressed country. It further warned that Ghana must tread cautiously in order not to cross acceptable thresholds of debt sustainability. Consequently, the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, announced in the 2019 budget that the government is projecting to achieve GH67.1 billion in total revenue, representing 16.9 percent of GDP, in the 2020 fiscal year. He noted that the country is expected to use GH21.7 billion which translates to about 5.4 percent of GDP to service interest on its debt. Of this amount, he further said domestic interest payments will constitute about 76.3 percent and amount to GH16.6 billion. Source: Isaac Kwame Owusu/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. Featured Video On the eve of a high-level delegation's visit to Saudi Arabia to seek capital for various sectors in the state, the Andhra Pradesh government on Sunday said Rs 22,000 crore worth investments have been made from June 2019 while another Rs 30,000 crore was in the pipeline. Led by Zulfi Ravdjee, the state government's special representative for middle-east and far-east countries, the delegation would tour Saudi Arabia from February 24 to 27 to "attract FDIs in sectors like agriculture, food processing, pharmaceuticals, oil and petrochemicals and information technology." "We will be following up on all investments that were negotiated during the previous Chandrababu Naidu regime. Many (of them) materialized but we have to take them to the logical end," a top official told PTI. Though oil giant Saudi Aramco was supposed to be a largest investor, particularly in the PCPIR in Visakhapatnam, it went away to Maharashtra. Now that the Jagan Mohan Reddy government is seeking to revive the PCPIR project, fresh investment opportunities are being explored from Saudi Arabia. "We are making fresh headway in Saudi Arabia. There are several major project proposals in the pipeline and in the final stages. We will pursue them and possibly seal the deals," the top official, who did not want to be quoted, said. Meanwhile, Industry Special Chief Secretary Rajat Bhargava said in a statement that 39 large and mega units started their operations in the state since June 2019 with an investment of Rs 20,000 crore and providing employment to 33,000 people. He said eight large and mega units at an outlay of Rs 7,916 crore and employment potential of 4,086 were under trail production stage while eight more units with an investment of Rs 8,663 crore and employment potential of 14,205 were in the machinery erection stage. In addition, 6,572 MSME units were established with an investment of Rs 1,840 crore providing employment to 49,001 persons. "We are following a focused approach to attract industries into the state. We have a robust development agenda focusing on natural competitive advantages the state holds and beyond. We are working on a new industrial policy with a focus on faster clearances and transparency and accountability in land allotments," the Special Chief Secretary added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Incidents of stone-pelting took place at Delhi's Maujpur area on Sunday evening as clashes broke out between two groups, some distance away from Jaffrabad where a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act has been underway since last night. Delhi's Maujpur area witnessed incidents of stone-pelting on Sunday evening as clashes broke out between two groups. The violence occurred close to a site in Jaffrabad where a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act had been underway since Saturday night. Delhi: Stone pelting between two groups in Maujpur area, tear gas shells fired by Police. pic.twitter.com/Yj3mCFSsYk ANI (@ANI) February 23, 2020 Security forces have been deployed in the area. The police fired tear gas and erected barricades in order to bring the situation under control. The entry and exit gates of the Maujpur-Babarpur Metro station have been closed. Security Update Entry & exit gates of Maujpur-Babarpur are closed. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (@OfficialDMRC) February 23, 2020 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kapil Mishra had called a gathering near the Maujpur traffic signal in support of the amended citizenship law, following which a second group had assembled in the area. Later in the afternoon, a clash erupted between the two groups. Taking to Twitter, Mishra said, "We have given a three-day ultimatum to the Delhi Police to get the road cleared. Get the Jafrrabad and Chandbagh road cleared". In a video tweeted by him, where he can be seen addressing the gathering, Mishra blamed the anti-CAA protesters for creating a "riot-like situation". "They (protesters) want to create trouble in Delhi. That's why they have closed the roads. That's why they have created a riot-like situation here. We have not pelted any stone," he said. "Till US President (Donald Trump) is in India, we are leaving the area peacefully. After that we won't listen to you (police) if the roads are not vacated by then," he told the gathering. Aman Sharma (22), a student and resident of Maujpur who was part of the group accompanying Mishra, said they were holding a protest against the closure of roads by those opposing the CAA. "At around 2:30 pm, they (anti-CAA protesters) started pelting stones and glass bottles," PTI quoted him as saying. With inputs from agencies The man who was punched 12 times in the head by a Camden police officer in 2018 filed a federal civil lawsuit on Friday that claims excessive force was used during his arrest. Edward Minguela claims excessive force was used when he was held down and repeatedly punched in the head by Camden police officer Nicholas Romantino. Police previously said they had stopped Minguela because they received a tip about a man matching Minguelas description having a gun, but no weapon was found on him. Romantino was acquitted last year of falsifying records after the U.S. Attorneys Office brought charges against him. The U.S. Attorneys Office re-tried Romantino over the summer on an excessive force civil rights charge after jurors initially deadlocked during his first trial. He was later found not guilty. Minguelas suit claims officers persuaded him not to go to the hospital after he was punched in exchange for not charging him with assault. He was charged with resisting arrest and obstruction of justice instead and went to the hospital on his own the following day, the suit says. The fox has been guarding the henhouse, said Minguelas attorney, Devon M. Jacob, which explains why the Camden County Prosecutors Office continues to pursue false criminal charges against Edward Minguela but declined to prosecute Nicholas Romantino for throwing Minguela to the ground and punching him in the back of his head 12 times. Police spokesman Dan Keashen told NJ Advance Media that Romantino is still suspended without pay. The officer in question has been suspended without pay since the incident took place and the agency is currently proceeding with our (internal affairs)deliberations, Keashen said. Otherwise we dont comment on pending litigation. The Camden County Prosecutors Office said it does not comment on pending litigation as well and the county did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday evening. The suit names as defendants Romantino, three other officers, former Camden Police Chief J. Scott Thomson, former county prosecutor Mary Eva Colalillo and the county. The suit also names the current police chief, Joseph Wysocki, who was deputy chief at the time of the incident. The Camden County Prosecutors Office never filed charges against the Romatino, but a spokesman for the Camden County Police Department initially said in 2018 that video of the arrest was very troubling and not consistent with our policy, training and standards. Jacob, the attorney for Minguela, said it was in the former county prosecutors best interest to clear Romantino of wrongdoing, but not Minguela. The suit claims the former county prosecutor refused to dismiss Minguelas charges in order to have leverage against him if he ever decided to sue. The suit claims that Camden police officer Odise Carr never intervened to stop Romantino from punching Minguela as he was being held down by two other officers: Brandon Gallagher and Anthony Agus. The police chief, deputy chief and county prosecutor at the time fostered an environment where police officers felt comfortable using excessive force and joking about excess force out in the open, the suit claims. Body camera footage obtained by NJ Advance Media showed Romantino showing his swollen knuckles to an officer after Minguelas arrest. One cop says, "That guy. He's always giving us a hard time, that guy." "Not anymore," Romantino is heard saying as officers chuckle in the background. Minguela was told that the assault charge he was threatened with would have been filed against him because Romantino injured his hand while repeatedly punching the back of his head, the suit claims. The suit calls for monetary damages as well as a written and oral apology from the defendants. Rebecca Panico may be reached at rpanico@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @BeccaPanico. By IANS NEW DELHI: Supreme Court's Justice DY Chandrachud on Sunday praised President Ram Nath Kovind for his vast experience in matters of law and statecraft. During his welcome address at the International Judicial Conference, organised by the apex court, he said: "Presence of President of India in our midst today is of special significance. Before assuming the highest constitutional office the President was a senior member of the Supreme Court Bar until the call of the nation carved out a course for the future. Role of a judge requires legal and constitutional statesmanship. The President's vast experience in matters of law and state imparts to his presence a unique significance for us." Justice Chandrachud also said that privacy, in this digital age, is facing a crucial challenge from hackers, private firms and government. Citing the role of judiciary in this scenario, he stressed that it is tasked to balance the right to privacy with other rights, and then supplement existing legislative frameworks. He also cited the critical issues connected with the possibility of serious data breach, which involves the misuse of personal information. "Vast silos of data may be used to profile people and to discriminate against vulnerable groups... there is a chilling effect on free speech and disclosure of information," he said. He emphasised that this imposes a new challenge on the judiciary as, in an age where technology governs many aspects of our lives, is privacy an illusion. "The digital world has been ushered in at a pace which the incremental change of judicial decisions can scarcely match. Our Constitution protects the right to personal freedom, human dignity and liberty. "This has the potential to seriously threaten the rights of individuals to keep their personal and sensitive information private and to control how their information is used," he said. Justice Chandrachud also spoke on the significance of artificial intelligence. "....How comfortable are we with artificial intelligence telling us whether an offender who seeks bail is likely to be a repeat offender?" he said. Justice Chandrachud, who is in line to become the Chief Justice in 2022, said that the judges needs to see how to apply the standard of proportionality, created in pre-digital age, in the backdrop of complexities of the digital age. Explaining the significance of this conference, he said in many jurisdictions worldwide, judges are drawn from Bar or upon a career progression. "Lawyering gives to the individual a steady stream of new information on which new thoughts and ideas can evolve. Crowded court house corridors are a vibrant space for dialogue and social contacts. In contrast, judges lead a staid and some would say an isolated life. The lively bustle of court corridors is replaced almost overnight by the calm and quiet of judicial chambers. Hence experiences such as those gained by such conferences rekindle the joy of being surrounded by ideas, opinion and open the windows of our chambers and our mind to jurisdictions across the world." Hundreds of high-definition CCTV cameras with night vision have been installed across the Sardar Patel Marg where hotel ITC Maurya is located New Delhi: ITC Maurya, the hotel where US President Donald Trump will check-in on Monday, has been brought under an unprecedented security cover with anti-sabotage teams involving the Army and paramilitary conducting checks on the routes to be taken by the visiting dignitary. Security agencies are also working in close coordination with the US Secret Service, officials said. Anti-drone detachment of NSG, snipers, elite SWAT commandos, kite catchers, canine units, sharp shooters on high-rise buildings and Parakram vans have also been deployed along the routes and areas in and around the hotel where Trump will be staying, they said. Police personnel from six districts have been deployed for the security arrangements and nearly 40 companies of Central Armed Police Forces have been pressed into action. Hundreds of high-definition CCTV cameras with night vision have been installed across the Sardar Patel Marg where hotel ITC Maurya is located to monitor the situation round-the-clock, the officials said. Five years ago, when Trump's predecessor Barack Obama visited the national capital, the Delhi Police had rented 605 CCTV cameras and spent more than Rs one crore in hiring, installing and later removing them. In view of the spiralling tensions between Iran and the US, there is a higher security threat this time and the agencies are more "cautious and alert" than ever, the sources said. A senior police officer said, "We have also requested the anti-sabotage checking teams from paramilitary and army. They have been regularly conducting anti-sabotage checks along every route to be taken by the US President during his visit here". Besides the multi-layer security cover, elaborate arrangements have been made by the Delhi Police, including placement of double barricading on all the roads where Trump's convoy is likely to pass, officials said, adding that aerial surveillance of the route will also be conducted as part of the security measures. Jersey barriers (modular concrete or plastic barriers placed to organise traffic into lanes) will also be put up on the route, a senior police official said. Delhi Police is also working in close coordination with civic bodies. The route leading to a Delhi government school where US first lady Melania Trump is scheduled to pay a visit will also be under a high security cover, according to officials. Trees have been trimmed according to the directions of the security agencies as part of the protocol. Meetings have also been held with US security agents on the elaborate security arrangements in place. At the ITC Maurya, a three-layer security will be in place. The hotel, located in Diplomatic Enclave in Chanakyapuri, will have police personnel in plain clothes patrolling every floor. Delhi Police's security wing personnel will form part of the inner cordon that will work in close coordination with the United States Secret Service. The security wing of the Delhi Police is a specialised unit tasked with the security of VIPs and visiting foreign dignitaries. The second layer of security will be deployed around the hotel's lobby area, parking, lawn area and the pool area, while the third one will comprise police personnel from the district police. There is a large stretch of green ridge area opposite the hotel and security personnel will be deployed there as well. Even at the neighbouring Taj Palace hotel, security personnel are maintaining a tight vigil. The floor where the Grand Presidential Suite is located at the ITC Maurya is out of bounds for most hotel staff owing to the elaborate security arrangements. Sources said security arrangements at the hotel have been underway for the last two weeks with NSG commandos and Delhi Police personnel surveying every floor on a daily basis. Officials from the US embassy are also monitoring the preparations with all details being kept under wraps. The sources added that the hotel will be out of bounds for other guests during the time Trump and his entourage will be there, and all the 438 rooms of the five-star property have been booked. Mobile phone services were restored across swathes of Taliban-contested areas of Afghanistan over the weekend as a partial truce with the militants held for a second day. The Taliban, US and Afghan forces are currently overseeing a week-long reduction in violence that kicked off on Saturday. The commitment has seen fighting drop dramatically and is set to pave the way for an American withdrawal deal to be signed later this week. There have been reports of small clashes in rural areas, but no major attacks that have long defined the conflict have erupted. In general we do see (a reduction in violence), acting interior minister Masood Andrabi told AFP. The lull in violence allowed telecom operators to begin restoring networks across the country that have long been hampered by fighting. Around 730 cell towers have restarted, said Naqeebullah Sailab, vice chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of Afghanistan. There are towers which started operating after almost five years. Two separate officials with knowledge of the countrys telecoms industry in northern Afghanistan also confirmed that mobile networks were being restored in insurgent-hit areas. The Taliban have long targeted Afghanistans private telecom firms, kidnapping engineers, destroying transmission masts and forcing regular coverage blackouts in volatile areas to avoid detection of their fighters. Afghanistan boasts millions of mobile users in a population of 30 million, with the fast-growing industry employing around 200,000 people and earning strong revenue in an otherwise moribund economy. Thousands of telecommunication towers, however, are in insurgency-hit areas and vulnerable to attacks. The partial truce is expected to set the conditions for Washington and the insurgents to sign a deal in Doha on February 29 that could, ultimately, pull US troops out after more than 18 years and launch war-weary Afghanistan into an uncertain future. A successful week would demonstrate that the Taliban have command and control of their forces, and it would also be a show of good faith before signing any deal. The partial truce has also given a much-needed respite to civilians who have borne the brunt of the gruesome war. The UNs Afghanistan mission reported Saturday that more than 10,000 people had been killed or wounded in 2019 alone. As fighting eased across the country, Afghans took to the streets to enjoy the relative calm. In their southern stronghold of Helmand, Taliban fighters mingled with locals, small peace demonstrations took place across the country, and a bicycle race was held in the eastern city of Jalalabad. Washington has been in talks with the Taliban for more than a year to secure a deal which would see it would pull about half of the 12,000-13,000 troops currently in Afghanistan out. In return, the Taliban would give security guarantees and a promise to hold peace talks with the government in Kabul. John Muldrow was shot and paralyzed in 1999. Before he was able to get help from a city program, he dragged himself, and his wheelchair, up and down the stairs of his South Philadelphia home. Read more Victoria Wylie wants the kids on her youth commission to understand the reality of gun violence, because she worries they don't see the full picture. They know gunfire is routine in many of their neighborhoods. They hear about nameless victims who either live or die. And that's where their understanding of the possibilities ends. Except, as the story by my colleague David Gambacorta and me shows, for many of the estimated 116,255 people who are shot in the United States every year, the shell casings from the bullets that tear into their flesh and shatter their spines aren't the only things that end up in the cracks and shadows of the gun violence epidemic. Cracks and shadows like the ones John Muldrow, 39, invited Wylie's kids into recently as he spoke to them about life after being shot. Muldrow was shot and paralyzed when he was 19. He prepared to die that night, he said. What he was never prepared for was the daily struggle of a lifelong disability. Or the emotional and financial burden as he and his mother embarked on a bureaucratic scavenger hunt for resources. It wasn't until 2013, after 14 years of dragging his body, and his wheelchair, up and down the front steps of his South Philadelphia home and into the living room, that he was able to get a ramp and a chair lift. After nearly two decades with few to no services, a city program his mother helped him find finally allowed him to go upstairs in the home they share. "If there are programs that can help you faster, they're not putting it out there," he said. Exactly. And yet the messages came rolling in as soon as I posted a preview online of our story about this country's forgotten paralyzed gunshot survivors: Had we heard of this program over here, that program over there? How could we not know about this program over here and that program over there? Here's how. For our story, we spoke to more than a dozen paralyzed gunshot victims. Over many years, I've talked to countless more and almost unanimously they've echoed Muldrow's experience: If there is help beyond the handful of government programs with long waits and limited funds, that is news to those who need them most. And no matter how fantastic your intentions or your program, if the people you aim (and are paid) to help don't know about you, there is a problem. After 20 years of being a Columbine survivor, Richard Castaldo's mom, Connie Michalik, had a simple, almost incredulous question: Are there programs that could help us? There are some, but not nearly enough. In the last few days, I've learned of a few more: A couple of crowdsourcing programs that help survivors, Gun Violence Survivors Foundation and Help Hope Live, which started more than 30 years ago as a way to help organ transplant patients but has grown to include spinal cord injuries. Temple Occupational Therapy students have provided volunteer support to some families. On Dec. 11, the Special Olympics is hosting an "Inclusion Forum" in Philadelphia that the Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities said will address some of the access issues we brought up in the story, But (deep breath, y'all) it's not open to the public. There are a lot of things that need to happen for this forgotten population. Hospitals need to start tracking these types of injuries. Only the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania could provide us with the number of gunshot paralysis cases it has had: at least 85 since 2012. The best suggestion I've heard to help the victims in a meaningful way is Columbine survivor Jami Amo's idea of taxing guns. A national clearinghouse with services and resources available is beyond long overdue. But at the very least, the people and programs that aim to help this population need to do a much better job at reaching and helping them, past handing them a booklet with programs that might be able to help. During our reporting, I heard more than once that you can only hold people's hands so much through the process. I heard that from people whose jobs should be exactly that. We have a whole population that we owe more to. Some hand-holding to the few options they now have is the absolute least we can do. Because, as Muldrow said, "There are plenty more people like me out there." And with more than 1,250 people in Philadelphia shot this year alone, there are only going to be more. It wasnt until nightfall yesterday that I was able to rationalize that maybe it was good I couldnt be in the crowd for Saturdays ribbon-cutting of our National Medal of Honor Heritage Center. Who wants to see some guy in a wheelchair, blubbering with emotion and sloppy in my repose, over the presence of 13 Medal of Honor recipients in the greatest display of patriotism our city has ever sparked? I mean, really. Then again, its going to be awhile before I can talk Bill Raines and his crowd into my back room idea because we all know there are some mighty deserving men and women who deserve The Medal but as it should be coming close means no cigar. Life aint fair fair is where you take your favorite pig in the summertime. Yet wouldnt it be a wonderous thing if we had maybe a beer keg and a Coke box out of the spotlight where we could hang some pictures of guys like Chuck Pitman, a three-star Marine general who died at the age of 84 a little over a week ago. So, youll know, there is a picture of Chuck in darn near every bar in Pensacola Beach. Not because he drank some swill there, yet with total respect. And if you think thats strong, try to avoid his face in New Orleans, where he very famously borrowed a big Chinook helicopter and risked his life as well as a storied career to save dozens of would-be victims from a serial shooter known as Mark Essex back in 1973. Think of this: Whats wrong with a Runner-Up Room? Yes, we could get the NMHHC to create a Runner-Up Room where proud patriots could submit a $50 fee, or whatever, to honor the deserving hero they love with a one-month berth on the bulletin board in the Runner-Up Room under the same roof that houses our nations biggest heroes. After a month well return the picture with an authentic certificate that announces their personal hero slept and passed muster and that, yes, it is our belief they are most definitely a runner up. No, we cannot in good conscience take any undesirables under the same roof as our anointed but if ever there was a bonafide and legitimate runner-up, it would be on this day Lt. General Charles (Chuck) Pitman USMC Ret. On a quiet Sunday like this one, but on Jan. 7, 1973 in New Orleans, the devil within a mentally-ill Black Panther named Mark Essex, took his .44 caliber sniper carbine into what was an 18-story Howard Johnsons Motor Lodge, and unleashed a mass murder that only some 40 years later would our nation even begin to grasp. Essex, who had recently been ordered out of the Navy with behavioral problems, had planned his attack to kill white people with cunning. He murdered the hotels manager and assistant manager, as well as a young doctor and his wife who were on their honeymoon. As he quickly made his way to the top of the tall building, the fiendish Essex stopped only to soak two telephone books with lighter fluid and set them ablaze under the drapes in two rooms, opening the sliding doors wide so the billowing smoke would attract the first responders. Barricading himself on the roof when he could duck behind thick concrete pillars for easy cover, he didnt have long to wait. As police and firemen arrived, he shot three dead from his high spot and easily sighted in on anyone who dared approach the hotel. Within minutes local television crews were live and one guy who happened to be watching was a Marine, Chuck Pitman. A Lt. Colonel at the time, Pitman, age 37, oversaw a Marine air unit stationed in Belle Chasse, about three air miles from The Big Easy. He thought, "We've got to do something. Those people need help out there." Pitman had one of his men call the New Orleans Police Department, offering help, and almost immediately they called back, asking for a spotlight. Pitman requested permission to take a twin-rooter Chinook into the city, but before No, came back, the Lt. Colonel borrowed a CH-46 Sea Knight, got another pilot and two air crew and were on their way. Pitman walked casually into the police command post, and while the police were able, Pitman knew war. The shooter has the high ground until we go higher. About five NOPD sharp shooters jumped into a helicopter and, as Pitman weaved the machine between downtown skyscraper on a foggy and miserable afternoon, the cops and the murderer traded rounds for hours. When the chopper would make a pass, Essex jumped under cover every time. Finally, as darkness heeded the thickening fog, Pitman told his passengers to hold on tight as he finished yet another sweep over the hotel, he snatched that CH-46 under so much power it shuttered and Pitman executed the tightest U-turn in an afternoon of helicopter heroics. Suddenly they leveled on the deer-in-the-headlights Essex out in the open he deserted his cover by 6-8 feet. Mark Essex killed a total of nine people, including five policemen, and wounded 13 others. A Marine helicopter stopped it. And as Chuck Pitman returned to base, a hero in the eyes of the entire city, the NOPD and the entire United States, he soon was awaiting a court-martial. He was strictly prohibited from using military personnel or aircraft for anything other than a rescue mission (like evacuating flood victims). The New Orleans Police Department made him an Honorary Captain for his bravery and courage and, while every Marine who ever met the man adores him, the Corps instigated court-martial proceedings for taking an unauthorized chopper, unauthorized personnel (a fellow pilot, a couple of crew members) and engaging in a heckuva firefight of all things -- with a deranged Black Panther. The shooter, obviously deeply mentally distressed, had brutally killed five NOPD officers by the time Chuck and his machine got into town. Not until Pitman tricked the shooter with a magnificent U-turn, did the cops aboard and on roof tops put over 200 bullets into his lousy carcass within less than a minute. There is no room for any doubt, from the FBI, the Marine Corps, the still-reeling public, that it was Pitman and his CH-46 that squelched the horror. But the Marines were unyielding at first. When word got out that, according to the rules, a court-martial was the Marine Corps way, a Democratic Congressman from Louisiana, Edwin Herbert, reminded everybody that he was the Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and he wasnt about to put up with such no-count foolishness. The Marines agreed completely yet Pitmans superior at the time, laughed delightedly with the quip, He originated the Dont ask for permission, just beg forgiveness. concept. Lt. General Charles H. Pitman was adopted out of a Chicago orphanage and, again due to fate, flew solo when he was 14 years old. Just five years later he graduated from Navy Flight School in Pensacola and, until he retired in 1990, he flew over 12,000 hours in every type of aircraft the Marine Corps could roll onto the tarmac. He flew for three tours in Viet Nam, having to land in enemy territory seven different times due to withering enemy fire. The last time a 50-caliber bullet almost took off his leg. He also was involved in Operation Eagle Claw, the attempted rescue of the American hostages in Tehran in 1980. He commanded an Air Wing and was the Deputy Chief of Staff for Marine Corps Aviation. He earned the Silver Star, four Distinguished Flying Crosses, a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. There was the Navy Commendation medal with a Combat V, the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with silver star and 65 Air Medals. But for all his achievements in uniform, Pitman is best known for ignoring military protocol and breaking a bunch of regulations so he could save the lives of our First Responders. How do we say thank you, and honor his name? The best story was when pilot Pitman was awarded the Silver Star for extracting 16 reconnaissance soldiers off a mountain in Viet Nam. The weather was prohibitive, the enemy fire intense and it was pitch-black dark, but he landed the back wheels on a bluff while the front two-thirds of the airship hung suspended over the cliff. (read the commendation below) What he was known for was his sheer courage and selflessness on the battlefield, said retired Corps Colonel Chris Holzworth. No one could match his courage. Others described him as a Marines Marine. Ed Rouse, who is in the Marine Corps League in Pensacola, said simply, He was a Marines general. He wasnt pompous about anything. Hed walk up to us and say, My name is Chuck and wed be, Yessir, General, and hed say, No, Im just Chuck but he had this presence He was like a father to all of us. When he retired, hed show up for everything. He wanted to be part of everything, especially if it had to do with the Marines, but he was greatly loved and admired in the community. He was very down-to-earth but you could see the charisma, the great sense of character he had. He was a tremendous influence on men, women, children we all just loved him. Lt. General Charles Pitman (Lt. Generals wear three stars) will be buried on March 9 in Quantico, Va. (Im still betting Arlington) While he was never awarded The Medal of Honor, I bet if we compared his total dash that pause between his birthdate and his last day on earth Chuck Pitman gave a lot more than he got, this more than most men still alive. Im not hinting he should be enshrined, Im saying that if hed been at the sparkling new center today, with all the heroes and official types, there would have been several in the crowd who would have loved to go to the back room where another True American Hero would have a snapshot pinned to the wall. Im thinking they would relish the tale of him borrowing a CH-46 twin-rotor and out-foxing a serial killer with it. Wait, theres more Im betting a dollar to your dime every true Medal of Honor winner would have done the exact same thing. A Marine sees what must be done and then does it. Semper Fidelis, General Pitman, or in the words of another, Well done, my good and faithful servant. royexum@aol.com Tony Hetherington is Financial Mail on Sunday's ace investigator, fighting readers corners, revealing the truth that lies behind closed doors and winning victories for those who have been left out-of-pocket. Find out how to contact him below. D.M. writes: My wife and I made a claim over a delay to our flight with BH Air on a Balkan Holidays vacation. The plane was damaged by ground crew at Burgas in Bulgaria, so our flight home was 17 hours late. Sadly, making our claim has been like running through mud. Under EU Regulation 261, we should each receive 40 (33). Balkan Holidays confirmed what you told me, saying that its airline partner BH Air decided it was unsafe to take off from Burgas after an accident on the tarmac damaged the aircraft's undercarriage. A private jet was sent to pick up a spare part, and passengers were given a meal and overnight accommodation while the aircraft was repaired. But the blunt fact is that you were 17 hours late in arriving home, so it would not be unreasonable to expect some compensation. People whose flights are delayed are not always entitled to compensation under EU Regulation 261 EU Regulation 261 does let airlines off the hook if delays are caused by extraordinary circumstances beyond their control, such as aircraft being damaged by a flock of birds, or struck by lightning, or grounded by extreme weather. But I would have thought that damage by ground crew would be covered as, like flight crew, they are the airport's and airline's responsibility. However, the Civil Aviation Authority has confirmed that BH Air is correct. A spokesman told me that a problem that should have been spotted during routine maintenance would warrant compensation, but a one-off accident involving ground crew would not be the airline's fault. We're watching you Two South London men awaiting trial on fraud charges have been ordered to hand over 8.6million after they failed to persuade the High Court they were not bound by a deal reached with the liquidator of their investment firm. Omari Bowers and Andrew Skeene ran GFI Consultants Ltd, which used the name Global Forestry Investments. The firm was wound up in 2014 and the liquidator won a court order to freeze assets worth more than 10million. Bowers and Skeene contested this, and in November 2018 a compromise settlement was agreed under which they would make large monthly payments to the liquidator. However, in July last year the Serious Fraud Office charged both men with conspiracy to defraud, forgery and misconduct during the winding-up of their business. Skeene was arrested at Heathrow Airport in June and Bowers was arrested at Gatwick Airport in October. The pair argued the settlement was confidential and, as the liquidator had given a copy to the SFO, they should no longer be bound by it. At the High Court in London on Tuesday, Judge Philip Kramer rejected their claim and ordered them to stick to the deal and pay over 8.6million. As both men are awaiting trial, there are legal restrictions on what can be published, but I can say that I reported on their scheme to invest in teak trees in Brazil as long ago as 2011. 47k bill for new build that's yet to file plans Ms H.V. writes: In January 2018, my son Michael paid a deposit on an off-plan new build apartment in Smithfield Square, Birmingham. The developer, Prosperity Wealth & Developments Ltd, promised a building time of 24 months, and Michael has dutifully paid instalments every month while renting accommodation and waiting for his new apartment. Last year, though, we discovered that there was still no planning permission for the scheme, so he put in a claim for the 47,000 he has paid so far. But the developer wants to retain 6,599, and has asked him to sign a document agreeing to this before it releases the remaining 40,000 or so. This is a shoddy way to treat a young man trying to buy his first home. This week, Tony helps a young man who paid instalments for a new build flat that won't be ready. On further investigation, the development doesn't even have planning permission Birmingham seems to be going through a real regeneration as far as developments are concerned, and the Smithfield site is just part of this. You gave me a copy of Michael's reservation form, showing that he was buying a two-bedroom apartment with an estimated completion date of January 2020. By December last year he had paid a deposit and two years of monthly instalments, but was offered a refund of only 40,250. The terms of the deal do not set a timetable for the development, but promotional material does indeed say the apartments should have been ready in January. In fact, though it is aware of the scheme, Birmingham council has yet to receive a detailed planning application, so work has not begun. I was prepared to argue this made the deal one-sided, as Prosperity Wealth could have clung on to Michael's cash for ever, saying the agreement did not set a rigid timetable. And if no planning application was filed, Michael would never be able to reclaim anything. But no argument was needed. I asked Prosperity Wealth's boss Joe Billingham to look into what you said. He and his company are experienced developers in a number of cities, and he told me: 'Smithfield has been a longer journey than anticipated. But we have a live pre-application with Birmingham City Council. The primary delay has been around BCC's desire for a single application for the project a 1.5 billion regeneration to include the residential, commercial, retail and public realm alongside the typical public-private sector collaboration delays experienced on projects of this magnitude.' The off-plan prices were set at a discount to the expected values of the finished flats, making them more suitable to long-term investors hoping to rent them out, rather than first-time buyers keen to move in as soon as possible. According to Prosperity Wealth, an email to Michael in January 2018 explained there could be bumps in the road to development. The bottom line is that Prosperity Wealth has given Michael three options. He can sit it out and wait for his flat. Or he can take back the instalments but leave the deposit, entitling him to an apartment at the discounted price when building is complete. Or he can take back all his money, surrendering his right to the discounted price. Michael has chosen the third option, and I have told Prosperity Wealth, so he will now be getting 46,850. A good result all round. If you believe you are the victim of financial wrongdoing, write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TS or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk. Because of the high volume of enquiries, personal replies cannot be given. Please send only copies of original documents, which we regret cannot be returned. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Al Araf and Anton Aliabbas (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, February 24 2020 Point of no return: Members of the Glorious Pluralist Volunteer Front (Barabaja) rally outside Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on Feb. 10 to ask the government to block the return of about 600 Indonesians the group believes are Islamic State sympathizers. The government has bowed to the demand. (Antara/Wahyu Putro A.) President Joko Jokowi Widodo finally decided not to repatriate the Islamic State (IS) sympathizers due to their potential security threat to the public. According to Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko, the government has stripped them of their citizenship, rendering them stateless. The fight against terrorism clearly may justify such a policy. Nevertheless, terrorism can only be prevented, tackled and narrowed in its movement and space through comprehensive state policies that promote democratic political life, social welfare and the upholding of justice. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,000/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman in a personal aside during his testimony at the recent impeachment trial reassured his father who emigrated from the Soviet Union forty years ago that telling the truth would be honored in the United States. Vindman said, Dont worry. This is not Russia. As an expert in Soviet and Russian Studies, I disagree. America today is looking more and more like Russia. The current presidents cult of personality is reminiscent of Stalin who demanded total loyalty from those serving him and from all the Russian people. Stalin did not tolerate any views that differed from his. Revenge firings (and worse) of anyone who was disloyal were daily occurrences in Russia. Millions were sent to labor camps (gulags) and others just disappeared. Scholars who studied Russian politics, Kremlinologists, were able to tell who had lost the favor of the supreme leader by comparing photos taken in Red Square during May Day Parades. Although photo shop technology had not been invented in the Soviet period, it was obvious that certain individuals just disappeared from the official photos and were never heard from again. Fear of speaking the truth was as pervasive among those serving in the Soviet government as it is today in the Trump administration, Defense Department, Intelligence Services, and State Department. This should be America, not Russia. Diane Z. Sand, Susquehanna Township Priti Patel has been hit with new 'bullying' claims as it emerges an immigration boss quit over 'major run-ins' with the Home Secretary. It comes as Ms Patel had already been accused of belittling Home Office civil servants. According to Union sources, the director general of UK Visas and Immigration and HM Passport Office Mark Thomson was prompted to resign from his role following 'uncomfortable' demands by the Home Secretary. Director general of UK Visas and Immigration and HM Passport Office Mark Thomson (pictured) was prompted to resign from his role following 'uncomfortable' demands by the Home Secretary Priti Patel has been hit with new 'bullying' claims as it emerges an immigration boss quit over 'major run-ins' with the Home Secretary Mick Jones of the Public and Commercial Services Union told the Guardian: 'He's indicated to our reps that it was mainly because they had had major run-ins. 'It was clear that [Patel] had come in and was trying to do things that they [Home Office officials] just weren't comfortable with and [Thomson] sort of said 'I'm off then'.' According to the publication, Thomson told colleagues he was leaving his position one month after Ms Patel started as Home Secretary. It comes following a report in The Times containing claims of 'bullying' by the Home Secretary which span a five year period and relate to her previous ministerial roles at the Department for Work and Pensions and then the Department for International Development. Former ministers and officials alleged that she had 'dressed down' staff in front of their colleagues and asked: 'Why is everyone so f***ing useless?' It was also claimed that she had sent 'aggressive' emails to staff in the 'middle of the night'. Sir Philip Rutnam, permanent secretary at the Home Office, is facing a backlash over his handling of the Windrush scandal Ms Patel is said to have tried to move him out of the department after they clashed over her attempts to make changes under Boris Johnson's leadership Ms Patel's allies have vehemently denied the bullying accusations and claimed the Home Secretary was the victim of 'malicious gossip'. Meanwhile, a top civil servant who Priti Patel tried to get rid of is facing a furious backlash amid claims he 'obstructed' successive home secretaries. Ms Patel is said to have tried to move permanent secretary Sir Philip Rutnam out of the department after they clashed over her attempts to make changes under Boris Johnson's leadership. Sir Philip previously faced calls for him to resign in 2018 over the Home Office's handling of the Windrush scandal. Now former Home Office insiders have accused the mandarin of being 'nowhere to be seen' during the crisis despite being 'paid more than the prime minister'. Atal Bihari Vajpayee described the United States (US) and India as natural allies. We share the same ethos and values that our two nations have consistently nurtured through democratic institutions. We value our democratic tradition, and work towards encouraging more and more countries in that direction. After Indias Independence, more than 60 countries have secured independence. A majority of them followed Indias path of peaceful resistance, and also emerged as democratic States. The democratic world is shrinking today. At least two dozen countries have turned authoritarian in the last couple of decades. Terrorism, authoritarianism and violence have returned to the world stage. The rise of a multipolar world has led to a scenario where democratic and responsible powers such as the US and India have to come together to uphold the larger objectives of global peace, democratic liberalism and shared prosperity. In the first five decades of Indias Independence, there was hardly any steam in this relationship. Just three American presidents Dwight Eisenhower in 1959, Richard Nixon in 1969, and Jimmy Carter in 1978 came to India in the first 50 years. The credit goes to Vajpayee for injecting life into the relationship. Bill Clinton and George W Bush came in 2000 and 2006 respectively, and Barack Obama visited twice in 2010 and 2015. Donald Trump will be the fifth US President to visit India in the last two decades. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken this relationship to a new high. Under Modi, India has shed its reticence and come forward in an unorthodox manner to register its ambition to grow as an influential and responsible global power. At a time when the global power axis is shifting to Indias neighbourhood, and democracies world over are wilting under the pressure of authoritarian and terrorist regimes, Indias rise as the worlds largest democracy, asserting its place and role, is a historic development. India is the most stable and strong country in the worlds most happening region of the Indo-Pacific. Nothing is more urgent and important for global peace, stability and prosperity today than striving to manage the Indo-Pacific region. Indias role will be unassailable in that. Both India and the US realise this. Ties between the US and India have to fulfil this historic necessity. President Trumps visit must be seen from this perspective. Stand alone visits of US Presidents are rare. Trump chose to pay an exclusive visit to India for two days. It shows the important place that India enjoys in the US scheme of things. Under Modi, India has adopted the policy of de-hyphenation in its international relations. Indias enhanced relations with America need not be seen as the emergence of any new club. Instead, it is a reiteration of Indias commitment to democracy and global peace, as also a reassurance to the other democratic States in the world. It is ironical that the neo-liberal establishment in the world no longer sees democracies as worthy of their support. The elitist democracies that the liberals have championed after the Second World War have now given way to popular democracies. State after State is electing leaders that defy the convoluted liberal worldview. The liberals are up in arms against these leaders. Modi in Delhi or Boris Johnson in London or Trump in Washington DC are not particularly the kind of leaders that liberals would like democracies to throw up. These leaders are the products of real popular mandates, uninfluenced by the elitist liberal institutions such as the media, academia and think tank circuits. And they dont hesitate to challenge the hegemony of the liberal elite. The liberals are clearly rattled and angry. Nancy Pelosis ripping and shredding of President Trumps speech copy publicly is a classic case of liberal outrage. For them, it is no longer democracy in danger; it is democracy is the danger. Their new argument is, individual rights and popular will are at war with each other. Leaders elected through popular mandate are being branded as populist demagogues and their countries as illiberal democracies. Popular will is described as a post-truth phenomenon; the Internet and social media are branded as the villains; and liberal scholars such as Yascha Mounk author books with titles such as The people vs democracy: Why our freedom is in danger & how to save it. These new cheerleaders of authoritarianism and anti-people regimes, whose favourite feeding grounds are anarchist agitations like the one in Shaheen Bagh, are the ones criticising Trumps visit. Like any other bilateral visit, Trumps visit too will have many important outcomes in areas such as defence, trade, energy and people-to-people relations. Trump is known for his transactional approach. Modi is known for his steadfastness in securing the nations interests. If an important trade deal is delayed, it goes to the credit of both the leaders for their commitment to the interests of their respective countries. Yet, the visit and talks go on because the relationship transcends trade, commerce and so on. It signifies the marching together of the worlds largest democracy and the worlds richest and most powerful democracy as a bulwark against authoritarianism, terrorism and liberal-sponsored anarchy in the world. That is the larger message that the coming together of Trump-Modi duo the sixth time in last one year conveys to the world. Ram Madhav is national general secretary, Bharatiya Janata Party, and director, India Foundation The views expressed are personal A FILIPINO in Singapore tested positive for coronavirus disease (Covid-19), Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Civilian Security and Consular Concerns Brigido Dulay said Sunday, February 23. This is the first confirmed Covid-19 case involving a Filipino in Singapore. The patient is in isolation at Singapore's National Centre for Infectious Diseases and is in stable condition, Dulay said in a post on Twitter Sunday. Dulay said the Philippine Embassy in Singapore is in close contact with Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. "SG (Singapore) health officials to monitor the condition and well-being of our kababayan," Dulay added. On Saturday, February 22, a second Filipino in United Arab Emirates was confirmed positive with Covid-19, the Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi reported. The 34-year old Filipino is reported to be in stable condition. The first Filipino case in UAE, a 43-year-old Filipino, has been transferred to another medical facility and is being closely monitored as his condition is not improving, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement. "The Embassy maintains close coordination with the UAE authorities, assuring that our kababayan is being given maximum care and support," the DFA added. Including the two Filipinos, there are a total of 11 Covid-19 cases in the UAE, according to its Ministry of Health and Prevention. In Japan, where a cruise ship was placed under quarantine for 14 days until February 19, a total of 55 Filipinos were reported to have been found positive for Covid-19, Locsin said. Dulay, on the other hand, said 49 Filipinos tested positive for the virus as of Saturday. Of the 49, two have recovered and have been discharged from Japanese hospitals. Covid-19 is a respiratory illness caused by the infectious pathogen novel coronavirus. As of Saturday, the World Health Organization said a total of 77,794 individuals worldwide have been infected, including 76,392 in China. Of the total, 2,348 have died from the disease in China while 11 others have died across 28 countries. (NJN/SunStar Philippines) Hands-On Help A flood in the Midwest helped LimnoTech find its charitable purpose. by Cynthia Furlong Reynolds From the February, 2020 issue "We're not just a place to work and earn a wage," says CEO Paul Freedman, who co-founded the environmental consulting company in 1975 after working on water issues at the U-M. ("Limno" is Greek for "fresh water.") With projects that range from cleaning up PFAS contamination in Michigan to restoring rivers in Texas, "our firm isn't always visible within the community," he says. "But we're a part of this community, and we want to be engaged within our community." So in 1991 the company challenged its employees to come up with creative ways to contribute to local charities. "For two years, we batted around ideas," recalls volunteer coordinator Kathy Hall. "Then in 1993, when the Midwest had widespread flooding--and water is our focus--we started a fundraising campaign to help the people affected by the floods. "We found we really liked having a vested interest in a charitable project," says Hall, an environmental scientist. The result was what they call an "employee-seeded" giving program. Approximately fifty people work at LimnoTech's headquarters in Avis Farms, and another twenty-five are scattered between offices in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and Minneapolis. "At the end of each year, employees submit proposals for projects they are passionate about and would like to champion," Hall explains. "We select twelve, one for each month." Often speakers are invited into the office to discuss the focus, organization, or need. "Our priorities are to get involved," Hall says. "We like to do something together--serve a meal, rehab a house, walk in support of a cause, paddle a canoe along a river. I give Paul and our management team a lot of credit for their support. Several times the company has matched donations." "Not everyone sponsors a charity, but everyone takes part," Freedman says. "I would guess that over the year, the majority of employees has at some time sponsored and/or helped organize at least one of the monthly charities ... We're not trying to replace people's individual giving programs or replace ...continued below... United Way. Our goal is to engage the staff in community interests and feel connected to each other and the community."Last year LimnoTech held barbecues and build days for Habitat for Humanity, then donated supplies, household goods and clothing for the home's new occupants. At the suggestion of the company's L.A. office manager, a literacy tutor, they raised money and awareness for local literacy programs. Every other April their efforts support the Humane Society; they've worn pajamas to work and been served milk and cookies while enjoying Puppy Play Time.In 2019, they also learned about how the B.A. Rudolph Foundation works to empower women and how the Hope Clinic's Hope for Hearing program helps community members who have lost their hearing. They enjoyed crockpot soup lunches while they supported Food Gatherers, provided funds for Christmas gifts under the sponsorship of SOS Community Services, and walked in support of the Foundation for Suicide Prevention."One colleague's brother took his life, so we had a speaker visit us to discuss signs of suicide," Hall explains. "He came up with the idea of a silent auction for singing telegrams. Many of our colleagues joined him in the Out of Darkness Walk, in Detroit and other cities."In addition to the monthly fundraisers, twice a month employees deliver meals to the elderly and infirm as part of Meals on Wheels. And their daily coffee and tea donations have raised more than $7,000 for other local charities.In recent years, LimnoTech has averaged between $15,000 and $20,000 in annual contributions beyond United Way, Hall estimates. Since the program's beginning, Freedman says, employees have poured more than $500,000 into their communities--"and we have no idea how many volunteer hours have gone into projects and programs."In February, volunteers will help out at the MISSION/Purple House homeless center. Every March, they support the March of Dimes, an event championed by an employee who lost a child at birth.[Originally published in February, 2020.] Former Vice President Joe Biden is complaining that billionaire hedge-funder Tom Steyer is cutting his support among African American voters in South Carolina as he declined to predict he would get the endorsement of a key powerbroker in the state. Biden's comments come as he tries to use what appears to be a second-pace showing in Nevada to inject new energy into his campaign and try to score his first win in South Carolina. 'What's happening is you have Steyer spending hundreds of millions, tens of thousands of dollars, millions of dollars, out campaigning there. And so I think a lot is happening in terms of the amount of money being spent by the billionaires to try to cut into the African-American vote,' Biden told CBS' 'Face the Nation. 'I think that has a lot to do with it,' he groused. But Biden said he thinks Steyer won't do any better in South Carolina than he did in Nevada, where he spent millions and didn't net a single delegate. 'I think we're gonna do well, and I think we're going to go on to Super Tuesday and do very well,' former Vice President Joe Biden said of his chances in South Carolina. Biden speaks to members during Sunday services at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, South Carolina, U.S., February 23, 2020 Former Vice President Joe Biden's lead over Sen. Bernie Sanders was down to 5 points in a new CBS / YouGov poll Sunday 'I think the same amount he took in Nevada. Nothing,' Biden said on the campaign trail in South Carolina Sunday. But Biden wouldn't predict he will get the coveted endorsement of Rep. James C. Clyburn on Wednesday. Clyburn is a towering figure in South Carolina politics and a leader in the Congressional Black Caucus. 'Im not counting on anything,' he said, though he said a nod from Clyburn 'will be a big deal.' Biden's lead over Sen. Bernie Sanders is just 5 percentage points in South Carolina, as senior Democrats raised concerns about the dangers of having a self-described democratic socialist at the top of the ticket. Centrists are scrambling to use the state to try to stop Sanders' rise with some observers predicting he could have the nomination essentially in hand after Super Tuesday. Biden was leading Sanders by 28 to 23 in a new CBS / YouGov poll released Sunday, a day after Sanders trounced rivals in the Nevada caucuses. It was unclear whether Sanders' run of successes in Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada would continue to give him a lift, in a state where Biden has campaigned heavily and has strong support among the state's African American voters. Biden told supporters in Las Vegas Saturday night: 'We're alive and we're coming back and we're going to win.' He added: 'I think we're in a position now to move on in a way that we haven't been until this moment. I think we're going to go, we're going to win in South Carolina, and then Super Tuesday and we are on our way.' 'I aint a socialist. I aint a plutocrat. Im a Democrat,' Biden said. Democratic Rep. James C. Clyburn of South Carolina, a powerbroker in the state, told ABC's 'This Week' Sanders' could pose a 'real burden for us.' Clyburn, the House Majority Whip, said voters were 'pretty leery about that title socialist.' Biden came in second to Sen. Bernie Sanders in the Nevada caucuses Saturday Democratic Rep. James C. Clyburn of South Carolina, a powerbroker in the state, told ABC's 'This Week' Sanders' could pose a 'real burden for us' Democratic U.S. presidential candidate and former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, his granddaughter Finnegan Biden and wife Jill Biden, take part in Sunday services at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, South Carolina, U.S., February 23, 2020 Democratic U.S. presidential candidate and former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden talks with Rev. Isaac Holt during Sunday services at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, South Carolina. Earlier, Biden complained that Tom Steyer was cutting into his African American support with big ad buys He added: 'Its going to be tough to hold onto these jobs if you have to make the case for accepting a self-proclaimed Democratic socialist.' Biden was set to visit a black church in Charleston on Sunday as he fires up his campaign in the final week. Biden resisted calling the state his own 'firewall' when asked about it on CBS' 'Face the Nation.' 'You said it, my firewall,' Biden told interviewer Margaret Brennan. 'I said I'm going to do well there. And I'll do well there and I'll do well-beyond there as well,' Biden said. 'I think we're gonna do well, and I think we're going to go on to Super Tuesday and do very well,' he said, after scoring a second-place finish in Nevada behind Sanders. Sanders predicted in a Saturday nigh victory speech that his multi-racial coalition would 'sweep this country.' Biden had led Sanders by as much as 28 points in the poll this fall. Now, he plans to spend every day of the coming week in the state to campaign. 'We have a long way to go here,' former Democratic National Committee chair and past presidential candidate Howard Dean cautioned on CNN. Sanders held his victory rally in Texas, one of a group of states that hold voting on Super Tuesday, where he has the potential to solidify support among a divided field. Democrats meet on the debate stage again on Tuesday, this time in Charleston. Steyer, a hedge funder and philanthropist, continues to be a factor in South Carolina, where he has spent heavily, despite failing to break through in Nevada despite a similar ad blitz. He got no delegates and about 4 per cent of the vote. 'I think I have done best with black people. I have done best with Latinos. I think that when we get to the diverse Democratic electorate, when we get to the diversity that is America and the Democratic Party, I do a lot better,' Steyer told 'Fox News Sunday.' 'So South Carolina happens to be a place that has a pretty high concentration of African-Americans. And those happen to be people that I talk to a lot and have a lot of have a long history of working with,' he said. Buttigieg held campaign events in South Carolina and northern Virginia on Sunday. Before an overflow crowd at a high school in Arlington, Buttigieg kept up his hits on Sanders. I respect my friend Sen. Sanders. I believe the ideals he talks about are ideal we all share. But I also believe that the way we will build the movement that to defeat Donald Trump is to call them into our tent, not to call them names online.' 'We can do this together, we have to do this together,' he said, reaching out to independents and Republicans. He called for 'mobilizing, not polarizing' the American majority he said wants to defeat Trump. He spoke about the need to keep the House and take over the Senate. 'We dare not ignore, we dare not dismiss, and we absolutely dare not attack those voices in the Democratic party focusing on keeping those seats in the right hands, because the next president is going to need that in order to get any of our big bold ideas done,' Buttigieg said. Rajesh Kumar Thakur By Express News Service PATNA: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar once again reiterated that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) will not be implemented in Bihar. Lambasting the opposition, Kumar said that people were being misled and diverted by the opposition in the name of CAA and NRC. "I know, the opposition will not succeed in misleading the minority people further as truth has started coming out. The opposition is also poking the minority people out of political interests," he alleged, adding that the interests of minority people are totally safe and protected in the NDA government. ALSO READ: Bihar becomes first NDA-ruled state to pass resolution against NRC He also categorically stated that the NPR (National Population Report) will not be implemented with its changed form. "The NPR will be implemented in Bihar in its old form of 2010 without any new addition, which can cause either suspicion or confusion the people," he strongly said. He said this while addressing the people of minority sections in Darbhanga on Sunday, where he laid down foundation stones for various projects, worth Rs 100 crore for the minority people at the Maulana Azad Urdu University. He further assured them by saying: "I am determined to open All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) and the airport. I have never compromised on development in Bihar...". He claimed that his government has never overlooked the interests of the minority and will not let anything bad happen to them. "I am taking guarantee of this," he said. Hemet Police Department A 20-year-old woman and her 18-year-old boyfriend were arrested in Las Vegas on Thursday after the womans three roommates were found dead inside their shared home in Hemet, California. Hemet police Chief Eddie Pust on Friday told reporters that Jordan Destinee Guzman, and her boyfriend, Anthony Damion McCloud, were apprehended in connection to the triple homicidewhich allegedly stemmed from a dispute over the rental agreement. The three victims46-year-old Wendy Araiza, her 21-year-old daughter Genesis Araiza, and Trinity Clyde, the 18-year-old girlfriend of Wendys sonwere found dead Wednesday evening after officials received a call about a woman lying in a pool of blood. According to KABC, officials said they died of blunt force trauma and strangulation. Stabbing was also present, but its unclear if a knife was used. The father of one of the victims reportedly walked into the home while Guzman and McCloud were still therebut the pair fled the scene in Clydes car, which was also found in Las Vegas. A family member of Araiza, Cheryl Mead, said they were trying to get Guzman to move out of the house. I guess that this is how she retaliated, which is pretty horrific, Mead told KABC. Pust told reporters that police still didnt know if the horrific, egregious crime was interrupted or if Guzman and McCloud were going to continue their alleged killing spree. According to news station KCAL 9, he said the investigation was still active. Guzmans mother said the women let her stay in the home so her daughter could get back on her feet, and claimed Guzman was scared of McCloud. She also told KCAL 9 that her daughter was previously asked to leave other homes and did so without incident. We cant be more sorry to the families that have lost their family members, she said. Guzman and McCloud face three counts of murder and are currently being held on $2 million bail at a Nevada jail. Police say they will soon be extradited to Riverside County, California. Story continues Read more at The Daily Beast. Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now! Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more. Pakistani fidayeen Mohammed Ajmal Kasab was given a Hindu identity and masquerade as a student from Bengaluru. Kasab was among the group of 10 that carried out a terror attack on Mumbai in November 2008, and the lone Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist to be captured alive. They were given Hindu names and red-coloured strings to tie on their wrists. In his memories 'Let Me Say It Now', retired IPS officer Rakesh Maria, who as Mumbai Crime Branch-CID chief investigated 26/11 terror attacks, spoke about this in detail. According to Maria, the LeT wanted him to be killed as a Bengaluru resident Samir Dinesh Chaudhari, with a "red thread" tied around his wrist to portray the attack as a case of Hindu terror, but their plan apparently did not succeed and the police nabbed Kasab, who hailed from Faridkot in Pakistan. "....There would have been screaming headlines on newspapers claiming how Hindu terrorists have attacked Mumbai. Over the top, TV journalists would have made a beeline for Bengalaru to interview his family and neighbours...," Maria writes. It needs to be mentioned here that Kasab in his confessional statement has mentioned about the Hindu identity, a fact that was later corroborated by secret agent David Coleman Headley, a Pakistani-American. ".....As per the pre-decided plan, Kaahfa gave us I-cards with Hindu names. My I-card showed that I am a student of Arunodaya Degree College, Bangalore and my name was Sameer Chaudhari, son of Dinesh Chaudhari...," Kasab had stated during his confession before a Mumbai magistrate's court. Headley, while deposing before special court through video conferencing, had said he visited Mumbai's Siddhivinayak Temple, made video of premises and purchased 15-20 wrist bands (sacred thread) for 26/11 attackers so that they would look like Indians, as a cover up of their identities. "When I returned to Pakistan, I gave those bands (sacred threads) to Sajid Mir who thought it was a good idea," he had said. Mary Lou Mc Donald claims that the "IRA doesn't exist". Thank God and all the Holy Saints for that - we can all now sleep soundly. Her pronouncement was uttered with such unblinking conviction that it's hard not to take her at her word, so let us all do just that. She might wish to answer when they stopped existing, just to put our minds further at rest. After all, it wouldn't do to have the Boys of the Old Brigade sniffing around the Cabinet table anytime soon tainting all those shiny new TDs. We know (even if she doesn't) that they still existed in 2007 when Paul Quinn was beaten to death, because Conor Murphy told the public he had ''received assurances'' that the IRA were not involved, and he obviously believed this (even if we didn't). They hadn't gone away in 2013 either, when Gerry Adams travelled with Austin Stack in a blacked-out van to meet an IRA representative who provided a statement saying that the organisation admitted responsibility for his father Brian's murder. We know they were still kicking around in 2015 after the murder of Belfast man Kevin McGuigan, because the former Northern Irish Chief Constable George Hamilton told us that although they were not on a "war footing", the army council was still in existence then and individual IRA members were responsible. So, when exactly did they disband? And more importantly, how does McDonald know this? Who told her? The Sinn Fein leader also informs us that the Sinn Fein leadership run Sinn Fein. Good to know. In future we all know to hold the party collectively responsible the next time an IRA atrocity blows up, excuse the pun, and Sinn Fein dances on the head of a pin in its response. Can't blame the IRA for that, now. Gerry Adams, writing in his blog last Friday about "shadowy friggers", raises further questions for those of us seeking answers to the timing of the mysterious disappearance of the IRA by detailing a litany of events that senior republicans, some of them former IRA men - including Padraic Wilson, Bobby Storey, Martin Lynch and Spike Murray - had appeared at as part of various Sinn Fein negotiating teams with successive British and Irish governments. Were any of these men -with the exception of Lynch, now the ''six-county political director'' - elected at a SF Ard Fheis to their Ard Chomhairle? If not, why exactly are they negotiating on behalf of the party in highly sensitive matters such as legacy, with governments? Who appointed them and what role have they been playing? And why these men and not capable figures like Eoin O Broin and Pearse Doherty, who actually do have a mandate from voters? These are legitimate questions, given that some of those named have featured prominently in the news over the years, yet not as Sinn Fein spokespeople. The least you can expect from any political party is accountability. It's hard to hold people accountable if they appear in backroom negotiations and rarely, if ever, are in front of a camera answering questions. Separately, I believe that former members of paramilitary groups are capable of contributing to society. They are entitled to rebuild their lives and work in their communities, and plenty do. That does not extend, though, to people who do not take responsibility, who continue to cover up atrocities and smear victims, and who continue to serve - in 2020 - as members of an army council which still exists, according to the Garda Commissioner, who agrees with a previous report stating they effectively run SF with an ''overarching strategy''. An organisation which is reported by those of reputable standing to still have intelligence gathering and fundraising departments. What's that all about? Is it the case that the so-far unnamed greying old men of the IRA need to play Dad's Army to feel important? Or is this small cabal of clearly influential people really who you are casting your vote for when you think you are voting for SF? And why are people like Micheal Martin and Leo Varadkar being personally maligned for raising these concerns? The bigger question for everyone is this: McDonald is clearly an effective performer who is adept at the rough and tumble of politics. Why exactly do the army council of the IRA feel they need to stay around to control the party which she is supposed to be the leader of? She does not believe that is the case, and so, should have no problem stating that unelected IRA godfathers have no place directing politics, or sticking their nebs into future government business. We would all benefit if they retired disgracefully, and disbanded into the shadows for good. A Korean airplane which arrived from Korea is pictured after landing at Ben Gurion International Airport on Feb. 22, 2020. Israel refused to allow some 200 non-Israelis to disembark from a plane which arrived from Korea, as part of measures against the new coronavirus. AFP The South Korean government said Sunday it has lodged a complaint with Israel over its abrupt entry ban against South Koreans over concerns about the new coronavirus. On Saturday, Israel refused to allow around 200 foreigners to enter the country without any prior notice after they landed in Tel Aviv on a Korean Air flight. The measure came as South Koreans who recently made a group pilgrimage to Israel were found to have been infected with COVID-19. Seoul's foreign ministry soon contacted the Israeli government and asked it to permit their entry. Israel, however, rejected the request, forcing some 130 South Koreans to head back to Incheon International Airport on the KE957 plane. The ministry voiced regret over Israel's measure and demanded that such an incident not occur again, according an official. Senior Tories have warned Boris Johnson that granting Huawei a role in the UK's 5G network amounts to 'handing the keys to large parts of the country over to China'. Pressure is now growing on the Prime Minister to reverse his decision to green light the Chinese tech giant to help build the communications grid. David Davis, the former Brexit secretary, today urged the government to go back to the drawing board after the US warned it could harm intelligence sharing arrangements. Writing for the Mail On Sunday, Mr Davis said the Huawei move represented the 'worst intelligence decision since MI6's recruitment of Kim Philby' as he claimed it could enable Beijing to seize control of core infrastructure like dams and air traffic control. This morning he doubled down on these warnings as he told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show: 'We're handing the keys to large parts of the country over to China. David Davis, the former Brexit secretary, today urged the government to go back to reverse its decision to hire Huawei (pictured on the Andrew Marr Show) Pressure is now growing on the Prime Minister to reverse his decision to green light the Chinese tech giant to build the communications grid Senior Tories have warned the move would 'hand the keys to large parts of the country over to China,' and its President Xi Jinping (pictured) '5G in the future is going to be everything. It's going to be from traffic light controls to your medical records. 'From your telephone and your video, right through to the operation of the infrastructures, water and electricity. 'Now that is going to be completely throughout our society.' Told that UK security services had assured the government that the decision to involve Huawei was safe, Mr Davis said he believed spies were 'underestimating the size of the problem'. His intervention comes after fellow former Tory Cabinet minister Owen Paterson described the government's approach to Huawei as 'incomprehensible'. Big beasts including foreign affairs committee chairman Tom Tugendhat, former defence secretary Penny Mordaunt and former party leader Iain Duncan Smith have also all lined up to condemn the decision. Donald Trump's acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney (pair pictured at White House) will lead the delegation to Britain to convey the President's concerns directly with the Prime Minister and urge him to reconsider The White House has urged its allies not to do business with Huawei because of security concerns. The company has always denied that it poses a security risk. Britain's move to plow ahead regardless has soured relations between Washington and London, with President Trump reportedly incandescent. While Mr Johnson's refusal to be strong-armed by the President has won him some plaudits in the UK, it could derail his much-mooted post-Brexit trade deal with America. Mick Mulvaney, the White Houses's acting chief of staff, last week led a delegation to Number 10 shortly and is understood to have given his UK counterparts a 'b******ing over Huawei. Discussions over the UK's 5G network are believed to have dominated the trip at the expense of preliminary trade talks, which were bumped down the agenda. Australia, also a close ally of the UK, has weighed in behind the US to caution against enlisting Huawei. Following the decision to press ahead late last month, the Australian intelligence and security committee scrapped a planned visit to meet Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab. The jingo, perhaps lingo, in London today is, FU EU 2021 by Victor Cherubim There are of course, some situations where showing your emotions may not serve you well. But that is not the case in UK after the euphoria of Brexit on 31 January 2020. We have London house prices rebound in the Boris Bounce. House prices enjoyed a 2.3 % rise to 484,000 after a 2019 full of falls, according to the Office of National Statistics. Is it Mojo or Bojo, as the property market has turned a corner and is shaking off its post-EU referendum anxieties, with first time buyers either going for flat share or playing the Game of Zones, choosing their London Underground enviable Zones wisely. We had on 20 February 2020, a brand new feel plasticy20 Note, issued by the Bank of England with two brand new identity features, one a hologram image change which shows the words change between Twenty and Pounds, as you tilt the note from side to side and the second, with a see-through window as you check the foil. Blue and Gold on the front of the note and Silver on the back. The only other paper note that remains is the 50.00 Pound Note in circulation since 2 November 2011.It will be also replaced by a new polymer by the end of 2021. Cashless, who says? Whilst Sweden and some of the Scandinavian countries are going cashless with four out of five purchases made electronically or by debit card, with even public toilets going digital, the picture is very different in Southern Europe. Italy for example, three fourths of all consumer purchases are still paid for in hard cash. They like the feel of cash in their pockets. This perhaps, is due to the low confidence in the authorities and the banking system. But a cash free society would lead to increased security and would cut cash handling costs. A struggle is also taking place in Europe? Amid all the uncertainties in banks and money, we hear of the Frugal Four of Europe, Denmark, Austria, Sweden and the Netherlands, have dug their heels over the next European Budget running from 2021 to 2027, insisting they want a limit of 1% of economic output, refusing to pay more to make up for the loss of Britains fees to leave, while their less developed nations want to keep generous aid flowing. Whilst the EU is no closer to a deal after Thursday all night session, a feature in Europe trying to bridge divisions between the richer and poorer nations over what to spend, the Bank of Boris however, is confidently assuring the world that the UK Budget will take place on 11 March 2020 as planned even with a change of Chancellors. Talking about cash, has the EU lost its marbles? We were also told that after three years of impressive focus in its Brexit negotiations, Brussels is now cherry picking in its demand for return of the Elgin Marbles which was lawfully or unlawfully removed from the Parthenon during the then Ottoman government in Athens. Perhaps, this is a quid pro quo for a future trade deal with Britain, which according to government reports will not be part of the negotiations? Who knows? Bouncing Ball Britain? What nobody shouts about is that the Europeans are investing in Britain in a big way. We hear of Polish Billionaire Dominika Kulczyk has splashed out 57.5 m for a mansion in Knightsbridge near Harrods. The new rules on immigration published days ago by Home Secretary, Priti Patel, who admitted that her parents would not have been allowed to settle in UK, under her own rules, are based on the Australian points system. These job offers to migrants will be restricted but will attract the worlds skilled. This happens to be Boris bouncing ball. Is it getting immigrants to do his job? Why not is a lesson for Sri Lanka? Ola, London! Ride the Change An advert by O Ola, the newest Car support system in London, in competition states, that no one will ever get into the wrong car with their security start code. This echoes the confidence to tackle anything and everything in UK today. By Michael P. Downey Ah well, it was a huge night at the Oscars with Bong Joon-ho sweeping the major categories, including best picture and best director, for "Parasite." It is, of course, very popular here in Korea. Anything that is produced in Korea and is recognized internationally is a great source of pride. The movie itself is an indictment of the rigidly, stratified social, and class reality in Korea. The question is: Is it an accurate portrayal? Maybe so but it has all the elements of identity politics so I cringe at the message. Modern-day Korea, after its miraculous rise to an economic and cultural powerhouse after the devastation of colonialism and war, is facing an identity crisis. If one's value is based solely on having lots of things, then lots of people are going to be unhappy. Many folks are finding themselves stacking up at the bottom while the wealthy and elite are enjoying life in full view of the rest. How annoying. Those stacking up at the bottom, at first glance, are the young people. After sacrificing their carefree youth on the altar of academic success, even if they get into a top university, their future is not guaranteed. Korean society is nothing if not hyper competitive. That getting a prestigious well-paying job isn't easy. Men are often outcompeted in school and in the job market. They are unemployed and under-employed. They are not attractive to more successful women and often give up on romance. An increasing number of women don't want to get married and some men simply can't get married. The result is the dismal declining birthrate. Good thing there are video games or young men wouldn't know what to do with their lives. Just below the surface are the less than young who also have reached the limit of their ability to compete. Folks often are stuck working in regular jobs, God forbid, with no clear path for advancement. Then there are the elderly who sell food stuffs on the sidewalk or collect recyclables. Those that do so have no expectations of a fine car, upscale apartment, or trips abroad. From what I've observed they just carry on in quiet dignity. Such social and economic inequality could be said to be the inevitable result of modern free-market economies. A hundred years ago 98 percent of Koreans were equally poor. Today there is a wide gap between the have-it-alls at the top and the rest of us. It just is not fair, is it? What really pisses folks off is: those at the top are often perceived as being there because of some form of privileged status. If their grandparents were rumored to have been part of those who collaborated with the Japanese during the dark night of colonialism, then you have got a perfectly good reason to hate them. The real cause of inequality is not so obvious. In any culture or society, some folks are going to rise to the top, whether due to talent, ability, luck, or power. Many more people are going to stack up at or near the bottom. In terms of wealth, accumulation of material, and even status, there doesn't seem to be a simple solution. It is clear that radical solutions like Marxism and its kid brother socialism are not going to solve the problem. We already know through bloody experience that these radical utopian visions don't solve the problem of inequality but just put the most psychotic murderers at the top. It's an undeniable fact that we live in a world that is much better than the one our forefathers inhabited 100 or more years ago. Yet for a lot of us we are still not content or satisfied. This should give us a hint that contentment or even happiness doesn't come primarily from material things. If you are like me, you want your life to mean something. Sure, we need the material things that sustain us in our shuffle across this mortal coil but if we expect them to make us happy we're likely to be disappointed. If we value others and ourselves by how much we have and the social status that owning things conveys, we will become foolishly envious, resentful, angry, and under the right circumstances, murderous. On the other hand, if we value character and virtue in ourselves and in others the most, then we are more likely to strive for the best but avoid the envy and resentment that comes from blaming others for where I am. This point of view is primarily found in the realm of religion. Most religion is concerned with redemption, salvation, and justification. Folks often turn to religion because of the deep-seated feeling that I am not enough, not all I should be, and thus in need of redemption. A good example is Marxism. You probably never thought that communism was about salvation but it is. The entire system is built on a view of the history of class struggle. The reason you are miserable is because you are being oppressed by someone. Redemption is to eliminate the enemies of your class. Problem is, you never run out of enemies. With religion, Christianity in particular, the problem is me. I'm the sinner, I've fallen short of my aim, and redemption starts when I repent and re-aim. We've been contesting the details for a long time now. I've got no problem with movies dealing with and pointing out problems in society. It's their job. I surely don't think we should jump to the easy answer that the government has the solution to complicated issues like social and economic inequality. Instead, I believe the answers have to come from the individual. We each have to find value in our lives by developing our character, pursuing virtue, and taking responsibility for ourselves and the world around us. Congratulations Bong Joon-ho on your achievement. If you want to study English, I'm available and I've got a great novel about Korea that could be your next project. Michael P. Downey (mpdowney308@gmail.com) is an author and teacher living in South Korea. In his free time he is a human rights activist primarily working with refugees from North Korea. As a volunteer English teacher and speech coach (with Teach North Korean Refugees) he is endeavoring to give them a voice by assisting them in telling their stories. 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #8 Posted on 23 February 2020 by John Hartz Story of the Week... Opinion of the Week... El Nino/La Nina Update... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... SkS Week in Review... Poster of the Week... Story of the Week... Climate change leads to more violence against women, girls Rape, domestic violence, forced marriages: A new study shows the effects of climate change are leading to an increase in violence against girls and women in many corners of the world. Woman waiting for food distribution in Kenya Ntoya Sande was 13 years old when she got married against her will. "I was sent to be married because of a shortage of food in the house," she said. Her parents used to have a small piece of land, but floods wiped out their harvest. "I tried to negotiate, to tell my parents that I wasn't ready, that I didn't want to get married, but they told me that I had to because that would mean one mouth less at the table." Sande lives in Malawi's Nsanje province. Her story is one of thousands of cases highlighted in a recent study from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Two years in the making, the report is the largest and most comprehensive study to date on the effects of climate change and environmental degradation on gender-based violence. "This study shows us that the damage humanity is inflicting on nature can also fuel violence against women around the world a link that has so far been largely overlooked," said Grethel Aguilar, IUCN's acting director general. "This study adds to the urgency of halting environmental degradation alongside action to stop gender-based violence in all its forms, and demonstrates that the two issues often need to be addressed together." Climate change leads to more violence against women, girls by Jeanette Cwienk, Environment, Deutsche Welle (DW), Feb 20. 2020 Opinion of the Week... With every flood, public anger over the climate crisis is surging The fossil-fuel companies know theyll face increased social stigma unless they change Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire. These storms have gone beyond the point of simply being storms now, each blurring into the next to create a strangely end-of-days feeling. Photograph: Ben Stansall/AFP via Getty Images Sometimes it has felt as if the rain might never stop. These storms have gone beyond the point of simply being storms now, each blurring into the next to create a strangely end-of-days feeling. Everything is freakishly sodden and swollen, and while the rural flood plain on which I live fortunately hasnt flooded anything like as badly as some, the rivers are rising alarmingly. Yet still the lashing winds and biblical downpours keep coming. Suddenly the 40 Days of Action campaign that Extinction Rebellion (XR) will launch on Ash Wednesday (26 February), encouraging people to reflect on the environmental consequences of their actions in a kind of green Lent, feels ominously well named. With every flood, public anger over the climate crisis is surging, Opinion by Gaby Hinsliff, Comment is Free, Guardian, Feb 22, 2020 El Nino/La Nina Update... Synopsis: ENSO-neutral is favored through Northern Hemisphere spring 2020 (~60% chance), continuing through summer 2020 (~50% chance). Source: ENSO Diagnostic Discussion, NOAA' s Climate Prediction Center, Feb 13, 2020 Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... How much would planting 1 trillion trees slow global warming? (Dana) (Dana) Can you change your cranky uncle's mind? (John Cook) (John Cook) SkS New Research for Week #8 (Doug Bostrom) (Doug Bostrom) Different Crises: Coronavirus & Climate Change (Climate Adam) (Climate Adam) 'What's the best kind of car for the climate?' (Sara Peach) (Sara Peach) 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #9 (John Hartz) (John Hartz) 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #9 (John Hartz) Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review... The Catholic Diocese of Oakland has placed an embattled priest on leave and opened a new investigation into a sexual misconduct allegation against him after The Chronicle informed church officials of a 2002 complaint by a parishioner who says he groped her. The discipline came after the diocese had previously told this newspaper that the Rev. George Alengadan who has been moved out of two parishes since July after five women came forward alleging sexual harassment and Alameda police opened a criminal probe had no earlier allegations of sexual impropriety. The parents of the alleged victim said they reported the 2002 fondling allegations to the diocese in the immediate aftermath, deciding against going to police because they trusted the church to handle it internally. But they said they never received a response. The mother again alerted the diocese of the complaint in 2016, sending an email to Bishop Michael C. Barber, but said again nothing was done. It was only after an inquiry from The Chronicle and a series of articles about its controversial reassignment of the 67-year-old priest that the diocese acknowledged the earlier claim. In a town hall at Christ the King Church in Pleasant Hill on Wednesday night, furious parishioners fumed at how the diocese had quietly moved the priest there, many asking how the church could continue such actions almost two decades after the Catholic priest sex abuse scandal broke in Boston. Diocese Chancellor Stephen Wilcox apologized for the handling of Alengadan, telling a room of about 100 parishioners he should have known better. I dont think this is rocket science, Wilcox explained to the crowd about how the diocese plans to improve its transparency. Apparently it is! one woman yelled from the pews. The Chronicle spoke exclusively to the woman who said she was inappropriately touched by Alengadan in 2002. Now 37 and living in the Bay Area with her husband and two children, she said she decided to go public with her story after reading recent articles about Alameda police investigating Alengadan over allegations sexual in nature by at least one woman and the diocese moving the priest between parishes. An Alameda police lieutenant said the criminal probe was still two to three weeks from conclusion. In July, four employees and one volunteer at St. Joseph Basilica in Alameda made sexual harassment claims against Alengadan. Last fall, the diocese conducted its own investigation and found the priest engaged in inappropriate conduct of a sexual nature with the four employees and one volunteer, leading to his resignation from his post there. The diocese has not offered any details of those claims. 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. In general, The Chronicle also does not name victims of alleged sexual assault unless they inform us they wish to be identified. Our detailed policy governing the use of such sources, including the use of pseudonyms, is available on SFChronicle.com. See More Collapse The Chronicle has been unable to reach Alengadan. The diocese said it would forward requests for comment to the priests attorney. Alengadan has had a high profile in the diocese, serving as a pastor at three parishes. In 2017, Barber named him one of the dioceses outstanding clergy. He sat on the bishops Priests Personnel Board, a sounding board for the bishop, and also worked as director of priests and deacon formation in the chancery office. Three relatives of the woman who told The Chronicle about the 2002 incident said she confided in them shortly afterward and they corroborated her account of its aftermath in separate phone conversations. The family also shared a copy of a 2016 email that summarized her allegations and complained about the dioceses failure to respond. The Chronicle, following its ethics policy, is not naming the woman or her family members because she is the victim of an alleged sexual assault. I thought, OK, if this is still happening, now I should say something, she said. I shouldve done this years ago. In 2002, the woman said, she asked Alengadan, who was head pastor of St. Ambrose Church in Berkeley at the time, to officiate at her wedding the next year. Alengadan had close ties with her family and was part of their close-knit Catholic Indian community. He and her parents both came from the southern Indian state of Kerala, and Alengadan had baptized the womans youngest brother. I looked at him as my uncle, said the woman, who was 20 at the time. On the evening she went to see him at St. Ambrose, she said, he said goodbye to church employees as they left and then asked if she wanted to see his study in the rectory. After she followed him upstairs, she said, He hugged me and then groped me. His hand was on my breast as we were hugging. He called her sweet child and sweet girl, she said, and then told her about a surgical scar near his groin. I asked him about it and he tried to put my hand down his pants, she said. She could tell he had an erection and she said he apologized about it. He said he didnt mean anything by it and kept saying, Youre my sister. As they walked down the stairs afterward, the woman said, she was frightened and thought in the worst case she could push him down. After they signed the marriage papers, she quickly left, she said. Once home, she said, she cried and told family members, including her fiance. In the following days, she decided to confront Alengadan by phone and had her fiance listen in. I told Father Alengadan what he did was wrong and he said he prayed on it and, Please forgive me, I was wrong, the woman recalled. I told him I dont want him around my family and dont do this to anyone else. I forgave him, stupidly. Her fiance, now her husband, corroborated her recollection of the call and the priest repeatedly apologizing. I was pretty upset, and I wanted to take matters into my own hands, he said. But with their wedding nearing, the couple decided to focus on that. The couple replaced Alengadan as the officiant for their wedding in 2003, a decision the woman said was not welcomed by some in her community who revere priests. Her mother and father also confronted Alengadan by phone in the days after the rectory incident, the parents said, and told The Chronicle he cried and apologized. We were so upset, the mother said in a phone interview. Just so upset. I was just beside myself. It just felt like such a betrayal of trust. The mother said she also called the diocese in the days after the incident, and she and her husband were asked to meet with a nun and a priest at its Oakland offices. We didnt report to police, which is what we shouldve done, the mother said. They kept asking if a police complaint had been lodged. The mother and father said they were promised an investigation at the meeting, held only months after the Boston Globe published a watershed series of articles about Catholic priest abuse cover-ups. But after not hearing back from anyone, the mother said, she reached the nun and was told there wasnt much to be done because it did not involve a child and there was no police complaint. 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 mother did not remember the names of the nun and priest. The diocese did not address her claims in its email response to The Chronicles questions about the incident, but spokeswoman Helen Osman said that correspondence is part of the new investigation. In subsequent years, Alengadan dropped from the familys social circles, they said, leaving them hopeful the diocese resolved the alleged Berkeley rectory incident. In 2016, however, the womans parents were invited to the wedding of a family friend and found Alengadan officiating. The mother sent a scathing email to Bishop Barber, which she shared with The Chronicle. She said she never received a response. In the email, she reiterated the details of her daughters 2002 sexual misconduct allegations and asked: Why does the Church not take the complaints of its faithful seriously? If we had not been so naive at that time and reported his misbehavior to the police, instead of just going to the church and keeping things under wraps, I'm sure the diocese would have paid heed to us. As a mother and grandmother my faith is shaken and I feel hopelessly betrayed. Because of this incident our childrens faith in the Catholic Church is lost and I dont blame them, she wrote. The young couple left the church once they were married. At Wednesdays meeting, Wilcox made the first public comment by the diocese about the 2002 claim and said Barber took away Alengadans priestly duties after The Chronicles inquiry. The bishop, Wilcox said, felt that allegation was different from the sexual harassment claims made in Alameda last summer. The mothers 2016 email to Barber was found in a general email box, Wilcox said, not the bishops personal email inbox. He said a secretary responded to the mothers email asking for more information to move it forward, but the original email was not printed out, filed or forwarded to diocesesan officials. The mother said she never received an email response. Until a new investigation is finished and delivered to Barber, Alengadan will not be able to present himself in public as a priest, which includes he can not celebrate Mass or other sacraments, the diocese explained in its statement to The Chronicle. The needs of victims and survivors, and the protection of children and vulnerable adults are our first priority. Wilcox said the diocese has started to rewrite its procedures for handling accusations against priests made by adults. Currently, he said, the diocese has strict procedures in place only for allegations involving children and vulnerable adults. On Wednesday, Wilcox also spoke about the lack of transparency surrounding Alengadans movements over the past seven months, as the diocese shuttled him from St. Joseph Basilica in Alameda to Christ the King to receive counseling and training. The chancellor said an announcement of the dioceses findings at the Alameda church was read at Mass and to staff, but nothing was put in writing to avoid a press event. The Rev. Paulson Mundanmani, pastor of Christ the King, spoke briefly Wednesday, at first saying he invited Alengadan to his parish with no knowledge of the reason behind his move. But he later acknowledged he knew it was because of sexual harassment complaints, but trusted the dioceses decision to keep him as a priest in good standing and invited him to stay. After angry parishioner complaints in January and subsequent newspaper reports, Alengadan was removed from the Pleasant Hill rectory. Barber offered his own residence as a place to stay, Wilcox said, but the priest chose to move in with friends. Barber, who received heavy criticism at Wednesdays forum, was not in attendance. He was at a New Mexico retreat, Wilcox said. Melanie Sakoda, a member of SNAP, a group that advocates for survivors of abuse by Catholic priests, said she is concerned but not surprised by the dioceses actions. I hope that anyone who has knowledge of any prior incidents will notify the police not the diocese immediately, she said. I also hope that law enforcement will use their power to seize diocesan records on Father Alengadan. Matthias Gafni is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: matthias.gafni@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @mgafni Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe recently claimed that available renewable energy, which could help the government to meet electricity demand, is a red herring that does not exist. Speaking at a press conference, Mantashe said there are reports of available renewable energy, but he is not aware of it. This story that there is a lot of renewable energy somewhere where is it, this available energy? Mantashe asked. He added that he has not had anybody who has come to the Department of Energy who said we have available energy and want to offer it to you. I dont have those people, he said. I hear it from everybody else, except the Department of Energy, which means to me that it is not a reality, but a red herring. Thats it, Mantashe said. That is how I look at it, it is a red herring. The idea that there is available energy, but the state does not want to use it. Where is it? Why dont you bring it? he added. He questioned why institutions with additional energy capacity talk to everybody except the Department of Energy. It is a red herring there is no such energy, he said. A lot of renewable energy is available Energy Expert and EE Business Intelligence MD Chris Yelland told MyBroadband that renewable energy holds tremendous potential for South Africa. He said it already contributes 2,000MW to the grid with the potential to be rapidly increased in a short period of time. Yelland said embedded rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems can make a big contribution to South Africas energy needs thousands of megawatts in the short term. He added that there is a lot of available renewable energy solar and wind which can help to alleviate the energy shortage which the country is experiencing. One of the easiest ways to bring additional power onto the grid is to allow businesses and households with solar installations to feed back into the grid. Yelland explained that PV systems at factories and businesses are typically used during weekdays, which means that a lot of additional capacity is available during the weekend. There is also a lot of additional solar power from businesses and households which can be fed back into the grid during weekdays. The current regulatory regime, however, blocks the use of this additional power. And the person who should unblock it is Mantashe. Additional renewable energy has been offered to the government Mantashes claim that nobody has offered the Department of Energy available energy is also not accurate. The South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) said in December that current wind farms in South Africa can immediately add 500MW to the grid. This is, however, blocked due to Maximum Export Capacity (MEC) regulations which apply to all wind farms. Wind farms can only export the pre-agreed maximum capacity into the grid, and any additional energy is therefore wasted. The same holds for solar power producers which can immediately deliver excess capacity and easily scale up production. The South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA) recently said up to 2,000MW of small-scale capacity can be added to the grid over the next year if the regulations were changed. Yelland told MyBroadband that this additional renewable energy holds tremendous potential as the government can acquire it at a big discount. This means that there is a lot of additional renewable energy capacity which can be purposed at a low rate. However, government regulations prevent this from happening. The government blocking additional energy Additionally, South African farmers have the land and the incentive to install small-scale solar farms which can cover most of their electricity needs but the government is blocking it. Excess electricity can also be fed into the South African grid which can help to alleviate load-shedding during times of Eskom shortages. A Carte Blanche expose showed that some solar installations are standing idle because NERSA has not granted permission to farmers to use these solar installations. The incompetence and red tape from the government and NERSA are hurting farmers, especially those who have invested in solar farms. They now have to pay off the solar farms without any benefits, because they are prevented from connecting this valuable power source to the grid. The photos below show two solar farms which are ready to provide electricity to farmers and the South African grid, but which are prevented from doing so because of red tape. SAWEA calls for release of wind power into the national grid Interview Now read: The government and regulator are preventing farmers from using solar power Bernie Sanders Cements Front-Runner Status With Landslide Win in Nevada Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) scored a landslide victory at the Nevada caucuses on Feb. 22, defeating a field of five rivals and raising the possibility of a socialist front runner in the race to face President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election. Sanders won more than half the popular vote and 46 percent of the vote with 60 percent of the precincts reporting as of 2 p.m. on Feb. 23. Former vice president Joe Biden, who had led the Democratic field in national polling for over a year before plunging late last month, held a distant second place with 19.6 percent of the vote. Sanders, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, added uncertainty to the race by defeating even the opponents who had shifted their policy proposals as far left as his own socialist agenda. Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) trailed in third and fourth place with 15.3 percent and 10.1 percent, respectively. With the consequential Super Tuesday coming up on March 3, the results from Nevada solidify Sanders as the front runner after he won the popular votes in both New Hampshire and Iowa. In terms of delegates to be sent to the national convention, Sanders tied with Buttigieg in New Hampshire and lost by one delegate in Iowa. More than a third of all the delegates for the Democratic National Convention will be determined on Super Tuesday. First we won the popular vote in Iowa. Then we won the New Hampshire primary. And now we have won the Nevada caucus, Sanders wrote on Twitter after the results were called. Lets go forward together and win it all. Sanders, a self-described socialist who once honeymooned in the Soviet Union, is running on a far-left agenda. His Medicare for All and Green New Deal policies would cost American taxpayers up to $93 trillion over the course of a decade, according to estimates by the American Action Forum. In Nevada, Sanders proved his strength with a broad coalition that included Latino voters, union members, and African Americans. The results are significant for Super Tuesday, when the biggest delegate counts are to be won in California and Texas, which are demographically similar to Nevada. In terms of funding, Sanders holds a major advantage over all candidates except billionaire Michael Bloomberg. Buttigieg, who shared front-runner status with Sanders until the Nevada caucuses, attacked the Vermont senator and positioned himself as the only viable choice. Sen. Sanders believes in an inflexible, ideological revolution that leaves out most Democrats, not to mention most Americans, Buttigieg told supporters. Sen. Sanders sees capitalism as the root of all evil. Hed go beyond reform and reorder the economy in ways most Democratslet alone most Americansdont support. Nevada proved to be a major disappointment for Biden, who is now counting on the South Carolina primary on Feb. 29 to reestablish himself before Super Tuesday. Biden was in third place in both Iowa and New Hampshire, far behind Sanders and Buttigieg. Were alive and coming back, and were gonna win, Biden told supporters in Las Vegas. Biden is counting on his support among South Carolinas black voters, who could make up as much as two-thirds of the electorate in the state. Facing a dual threat from Sanders and Bloomberg, Biden tried out a new rallying cry in Las Vegas: I aint a socialist. I aint a plutocrat. Im a Democrat. And Im proud of it. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who produced one of the few surprises of the race when she surged to a third-place finish in New Hampshire, announced that she had raised more than $12 million, and vowed to prove her doubters wrong. Her momentum, however, proved to be short-lived. She finished well behind the leading candidates, and in the process, prompted questions about her viability. But in a speech to supporters in her home state of Minnesota, she was defiant and said she would continue, and even touted the fact that Trump mentioned her at a rally. By the way, for the first time ever, he mentioned me at a rally, she said. You know Ive arrived now. You know they must be worried. Time is running out for candidates who havent finished higher than third in any contest. That also applies to Warren, who at this point desperately needs a win. Her strong debate performance came after much of the state had already cast early votes. Tom Steyer, the billionaire who made his fortune running a hedge fund, bet heavily on Nevada, with more than $12 million on advertising, and lost big, finishing sixth. Steyer has made strong appeals to minority voters, but in Nevada, failed decisively. But Steyers impact on the race could come next week in South Carolina, where he has spent even more money. Polls show that he has made significant inroads with African American voters. That wouldnt be good news for Biden, who is counting on those votes to resuscitate his campaign. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Obama-Era DHS Whistleblower Haney Found Dead of Gunshot Wound, Police Say Officials have begun an investigation after former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) whistleblower Philip Haney was found dead on Feb. 21 of a gunshot wound, according to local authorities. Haney, 66, an outspoken critic of the Obama administration, alleged that the government shut down a surveillance program that could have prevented the 2015 Islamic terrorist attack in San Bernardino, California. The Amador County Sheriffs office confirmed to the Washington Examiner that they responded to reports on Feb. 21 of a male with a gunshot wound, about 40 miles east of Sacramento. At approximately 1012 hours, deputies and detectives responded to the area of Highway 124 and Highway 16 in Plymouth to the report of a male subject on the ground with a gunshot wound, they said in a statement. Upon their arrival, they located and identified 66-year-old Philip Haney, who was deceased and appeared to have suffered a single self-inflicted gunshot wound. A firearm was located next to Haney and his vehicle. This investigation is active and ongoing. No further details will be released at this time. A statement from Frank Gaffney, the executive chairman of the Center for Security Policy, described Haney as one of our most brilliant, most dedicated and most devout comrades-in-arms. While the details are sketchy at the moment, Phil went missing on Wednesday in the area he called home in northern California to which he returned after the passing of his beloved wife, Francesca, following a long struggle with a series of terrible health afflictions. On Friday morning, a sheriffs deputy finally found his body with a gunshot wound to the chest, the statement read. As of now, we have no word about suspects or motives. It is hard to overstate the magnitude of this loss to the cause of freedom. In 2015, Haney told Fox News that the Obama administration had shut down a program Haney had been developing to probe a collection of global networks that were helping radical Islamists infiltrate the United States. He focused mostly on identifying and tracking members of the al-Huda and Tablighi Jamaat groups, offshoots of the radical Deobandi school of Islam. But a year after he started, Haney said he and the others involved in the program were visited by the State Department and the Homeland Security Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. The officials told him that the tracking was problematic because the organizations werent designated as terrorist ones, that tracking the persons related to them was a violation of their civil liberties, and subsequently shut the investigation down. Sixty-seven of his records were deletedincluding one into an organization that had ties to a mosque in Riverside, California, that Syed Farook, one of the perpetrators of the San Bernardino attack, attended. Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, targeted a San Bernardino County Department of Public Health training event and Christmas party of about 80 employees in a rented banquet room, killing 14 people and seriously injuring 22 others. Haney said at the time that if he had been allowed to continue the program, it could have thwarted the attack. Either Syed would have been put on the no-fly list because association with that mosque, and/or the K-1 visa that his wife was given, may have been denied because of his association with a known organization, Haney said. The DHS at the time said that Haneys story had many holes, although a subsequent investigation cleared him of any wrongdoing. Following Haneys death, Fox News contributor Sara Carter wrote on Twitter on Feb. 22 asking people to pray for his family. Somebody I deeply respected and considered a friend Phil Haneya DHS whistleblower during the Obama Admin was apparently killed yesterday in Southern California, Carter wrote. Pray for his family and pray they find the person who murdered him. Zachary Stieber contributed to this report. Indore BJP MLA Ramesh Mendola on Saturday attacked Congress government in the state over the new excise policy, which proposed delivery of liquor at the doorstep and said that the ruling party wants to convert the state into Italy. "Congress government started selling online liquor. It seems that at the behest of some Italian people, Congress wants to convert MP into Italy. Italy is one of the three largest producers of wine in the world. Kamal Nath, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Did you want this change in MP?" Mendola tweeted. Under the new excise policy of the Madhya Pradesh government for 2020-21, the supply of liquor will be done online. Around 2,544 country liquor shops and 1,061 foreign liquor shops will also come up in the state in order to increase revenue. "In order to increase revenue in the proposed excise system for the year 2020-21, 2,544 country liquor shops and 1,061 foreign liquor shops will be executed with 25 per cent increase in the annual value of the previous year. The supply of foreign liquor will be done online," a government release said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Chevron Corp.s future growth prospects may be dimming after the oil explorer pumped more crude than it discovered or bought last year, eroding its portfolio of untapped fields. New finds, acquisitions and expansions of existing oil and natural gas holdings were equivalent to just 44% of the companys 2019 production, according to a regulatory filing on Friday. That was Chevrons poorest performance in that important metric since 2010. The measure, known as the reserves-replacement ratio, is key for investors because it helps them gauge whether an oil driller is doing enough to sustain future production that underpins everything from dividends to buybacks to acquisitions. READ: Facing tumbling profits, Exxon, Chevron focus on Permian For Chevron, whose stock outperformed all other supermajor oil producers last year, the reserves data signals the company may be struggling to locate untouched caches of oil and gas as investors turn increasingly skeptical of the industrys sustainability. Chevron also wrote down the value of U.S. gas assets last year as prices for the fuel collapsed. Shell, Exxon Royal Dutch Shell Plc said last month that it replaced just 65% of its 2019 output with new discoveries and purchases. And some analysts expect Exxon Mobil Corp. to take a writedown on some fields when it discloses reserves data in coming weeks. Chevron CEO Mike Wirth made financial discipline his mantra upon taking the top job two years ago. But analysts have questioned whether the company has sufficient projects-in-waiting to increase production through the late 2020s. Like his predecessors at the California crude giant, Wirth has been reluctant to invest in renewable energy sources that typically generate thinner profits and are unfamiliar to Chevrons engineers and geologists. Subscribe to the FuelFix Newsletter: Get energy, oil, and gas news updates each weekday. Even within the fossil-fuel arena, Chevron has few major investments planned beyond the middle of the decade. Chevron is not nearly as reliant on large-scale oil and gas projects to generate cash in the future, preferring low-risk shale drilling, Wirth said last month. He is due to update investors on the companys strategy and goals on March 3. Chevron noted that 70% of its worldwide reserves are concentrated in three countries: the U.S., Australia and Kazakhstan. That level of geographic concentration may give rise to concern among investors because it signals increased vulnerability to legislative changes or regional conflict. --With assistance from Joe Carroll. Voters in Tajikistan go to the polls on March 1 to cast ballots in parliamentary elections. Some analysts are looking closely to see if there are any clues as to what might happen later this year when Tajikistan holds a presidential election. Mumbai, Feb 23 : Actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas, who walked the ramp at the 15th Blenders Pride Fashion Tour paid her tribute to late fashion designer Wendell Rodricks by saying that he was the pioneer and a visionary of Indian fashion and he forever will be missed. "It's only apt on a night like this, in the presence of so many luminaries from the Indian fashion industry that we remember Wendell Rodricks. He was the pioneer, he was a visionary of Indian fashion and he will always and forever be missed," said Priyanka. Rodricks was reportedly scheduled to showcase his work at the fashion event. The hour-long event kickstarted with Priyanka, a brand representative for Blenders Pride, walking the ramp. The models then walked the ramp and showcased the latest in Indian fashion by honouring the event's theme 'The Pride Of India', which aimed to portray blending of Indian cultures. Sharing her feeling being a part of the event, Priyanka said, "I would like to welcome you at 15 years of a legacy. I am extremely excited to be here tonight. It is 15th edition of the Blenders Pride Fashion Tour. I have been fortunate enough to be with them for 10 years. This is my one decade anniversary as well." On the work front, Priyanka will next be seen in the Netflix film "The White Tiger" along with Rajkummar Rao. -IANS iv/vnc/adr/ Quang Ninh will allow cruise ships from Covid-19 infected areas to dock, but crew members and passengers must stay on board. The northern province, home to the UNESCO world heritage site of Ha Long Bay, decided Friday that all ships that have docked in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau have to follow strict quarantine procedures on arrival. Upon arrival all crew members and passengers on board must have their health checked, and will have to stay on board. They "are definitely not allowed to disembark," local authorities declared. For ships coming from areas free from the virus, owners and operators must duly supply the provinces tourism department, border guard and customs department with specific information of their voyages along with the lists of passengers and crew, at least 10 days prior to arrival. The provincial health department will then work with related agencies to decide whether people on board are medically eligible to disembark. Once they complete their Quang Ninh tours, the provincial tourism department will collect information on all passengers and staff of service and tourism companies who have served the visitors. The move aims to allow authorities to continue monitoring every passenger and crew member as well as those that have come into direct contact with them for 14 days after the ships leave Quang Ninh. On February 13, Quang Ninh, which shares a border with China, denied the Aida Vita cruise ship permission to dock over fears of Covid-19 infections. With over 1,100 European tourists, the ship was scheduled to dock at Cai Lan Port in Ha Long Town, home to Ha Long Bay. Following the denial, the cruise ship management canceled the entire tour of Vietnam, which included Ha Long, Da Nang, Nha Trang and Ho Chi Minh City. The ship had departed from Bali in Indonesia on January 17 and visited nine ports en route to Quang Ninh, excluding mainland China and Hong Kong. Four days later, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam admonished Quang Ninh authorities for turning the cruise ship away. Warning other localities not to repeat this act, Dam said that while they need to strictly implement immigration and quarantine procedures with respect to foreign visitors and vehicles coming from epidemic-affected areas, they must ensure these do not affect tourism and other business activities. Quang Ninh's decision came amidst rising fears after hundreds of passengers on board cruise ship Diamond Princess were found to be infected by the new coronavirus. It had visited Chan May Port in Thua Thien-Hue Province on January 27 before docking at Ha Long International Cruise Port a day later. Diamond Princess, operated by Princess Cruise under British-American Carnival Corporation & Plc., was placed under two-week quarantine on arrival at Japan's Yokohama City on February 3 after dozens of passengers tested positive for Covid-19 caused by the novel coronavirus. So far, the ship has reported more than 600 infections and two deaths. Recently, MS Westerdam, operated by Carnival Corporations Holland America Line, carrying 1,455 passengers and 802 crew members, was turned away by Japan, Taiwan, Guam, the Philippines, and Thailand over fears some on board may be infected by the virus. After floating at sea for nearly two weeks, the vessel was finally allowed to dock at a Cambodian port Thursday. Later, an American passenger reportedly tested positive for the virus. Vietnam has recorded 16 infections so far, of whom 15 have been discharged from hospitals after repeatedly testing negative for the new coronavirus. The country declared the Covid-19 outbreak an epidemic on February 1. WHO said last week that the nation has responded well to the epidemic from the very outset, preventing its spread. The global death toll of the Covid-19 outbreak has reached more than 2,400 and infections topped over 78,000, mainly in China. JACKSON, Wyo. | A former federal wildlife health chief says the National Elk Refuge's plans to reduce feeding are "likely to fail" and it's doubtful they'd slow the spread of disease. It would be better to start the planning process from scratch, says U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service retiree Tom Roffe, who personally worked the elk feeding issue "for decades." Roffe summarized his concerns in a 17-page review of the refuge's "step-down" plan that he submitted last fall, while the plans were in draft form. The plans are now final and facing a lawsuit. Roffe told the News&Guide in an interview that he views the step-down plan as essentially a "delay" tactic with no chance of success. "It's laudable they try to do this," Roffe said, "but the constraints upon the step-down plan by the bison and elk management plan near the end of its lifespan are simply insurmountable." "What they wrote here, honestly looks like a delaying tactic to me," he said. "You have a 15-year plan that is 13 years into the running, and so the plan is due for review in 2022. Yet they issue the step-down plan that requires, according to their statement, a minimum of five years and more realistically a decade to prove its efficacy." Trends from the past decade have hurt the National Elk Refuge's chances at achieving its 13-year-old marching orders to reduce feeding. The Jackson herd is right around its 11,000-animal goal which is included in the 2007 plan but the herd has redistributed, and in some recent winters the herd has relied more on the refuge than at any point in its history. While Roffe was employed by Fish and Wildlife, his technical reports went into the 2007 "bison and elk management plan" that established goals the step-down plan seeks to meet. Those objectives include achieving a no-feeding regime during average-severity winters. The document also set goals for habitat conservation, elk and bison populations (5,000 and 500) and disease management. The step-down plan is narrower, and the issues of elk distribution and disease are considered outside its scope. "Management attempts to reduce reliance on feeding are severely limited by this approach," Roffe wrote in his review. Because the step-down plans don't delve into approaches and strategies that would enhance the chance of success, he argues it would better to begin a "comprehensive review" of the 2007 bison and elk plan and to start that process this year. Proposed changes to the 108-year-old refuge feeding program have been contested by the state of Wyoming and its Game and Fish Department, which haggled over the modifications and requested changes to the draft plans for years. Game and Fish Commissioner and La Barge resident Mike Schmid told the News&Guide Tuesday that he doesn't see the need for any change. "I'm just not in agreement with shutting down the feeding there on the refuge," Schmid said. "I think it's a Jackson Hole institution, and I think a lot of people enjoy that and a lot of tourism revolves around that." Schmid also disagrees with the modest changes contemplated by the step-down plan because, he said, they move the refuge in a no-feeding direction. The plans start with taking elk off alfalfa earlier in the spring, by about a week. The overall goal is to reduce bison and elk "fed days" the number of animals multiplied by the number of days they're fed by 50%. Roffe's critique was prepared on behalf of Earthjustice, the environmental law firm that's suing the refuge for allegedly violating a judge's ruling and an array of federal laws. Earthjustice's lawsuit cites Roffe's critique several times, criticizing Fish and Wildlife for deference to the state while ignoring advice from a former employee. "The agency's step-down plan defines success at a level of reduced feeding that would still leave nearly half of the Jackson elk herd 5,000 elk densely concentrated on artificial feedlines for more than 50 days each winter," Earthjustice's complaint states. "According to Dr. Thomas Roffe ... this level of artificial feeding 'still leaves a substantial risk of catastrophic disease propagation' in the Jackson elk herd. Nevertheless, the service failed to consider this critical issue, much less to heed, or even acknowledge, Dr. Roffe's warning." The complaint was filed on behalf of the Sierra Club, the National Wildlife Refuge Association and Defenders of Wildlife and asks a federal judge to force the Fish and Wildlife Service to compel a "lawful, objective and science-based plan" to phase out the 108-year-old feeding program "within the shortest practicable period of time." Roffe's critique faults the refuge step-down plan for not establishing goals for disease spread and prevalence. A separate plan is in the works on that front, but it has not been publicized. "The step-down plan simply assumes all disease is density dependent and any reduction in feeding reduces density thereby reducing disease prevalence and transmission risk," Roffe wrote. "However, this simplistic assumption is unlikely valid." Diseases are unique, and each has its own "certain lower threshold" of density necessary for transmission to be significantly interrupted, the critique says. Chronic wasting disease, first found in Jackson Hole in fall 2018, is one malady that he argues is not being properly prepared for. "Chronic wasting disease, the problem with it is it's a chronic, slow, insidious creeping disease," Roffe said in the interview. "It moves through slowly. ... and it's on a protracted, decades-long epidemic curve." Roffe recommended that state and federal agencies continue working together to come up with a plan that eliminates feeding and is acceptable to all parties involved. If that effort fails, he said, the federal government should pursue its goals on its own. "As unpalatable as it sounds, the refuge and (Grand Teton National Park) should unilaterally undertake a program to decrease and eliminate wildlife feeding in the foreseeable future," Roffe said. "I told them that back in 2007." The "backbone" to go at it alone, Roffe said, seems to be lacking. If collaboration on the feeding plans leads the Fish and Wildlife Service toward policies that are incompatible with its mission and guiding laws, he said, the federal government might as well give the state of Wyoming the National Elk Refuge. "Don't make it a Fish and Wildlife Service refuge," Roffe said. "Make it an elk-feeding ground run by the state of Wyoming." You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Boris Johnson has promoted the first swathe of rising-star female MPs from the 2019 intake. Fourteen Tories first elected in December have been appointed as parliamentary private secretaries technically the first rung of the ministerial ladder, but in reality just lowly bag carriers to Cabinet Ministers. However, what is most notable is that theyre all women. Boris Johnson has promoted the first swathe of rising-star female MPs from the 2019 intake And although there are lots of younger MPs in the new intake, the appointments are all confined to those aged over 30 and, most significantly, those newbies who have peacocked to build up an eye-catching public profile have been snubbed. This months reshuffle also starkly exposed a shortage of women with enough experience for the front line. That said, there is a group of very miffed male MPs who feel overlooked too. And its not just those young men in a hurry who are grumbling the middle-aged middle benches have been snubbed. The Cabinet is the youngest ever, without a single member over 56. The average age is 47, with Robert Jenrick the baby at 38 and Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Attorney General Suella Braverman both under 40. No government for old men, moans one Conservative MP with a bus pass. Robert Jenrick is the baby at age 38 and Chancellor Rishi Sunak (above) and Attorney General Suella Braverman both under 40 Westminster's news hounds have been very sniffy about Boris Johnsons regular press conferences with schoolchildren, complaining of no such access for seasoned scribes. But thats not the end of it. Following a furious row during the Election campaign, when the Prime Minister refused to be grilled by the BBCs Andrew Neil, I hear a child with the same name as the forensic Scottish interrogator is being sought for a YouTube interview with the PM. If a kid called Andrew Neil cant be found, well do it with one called Andrew and one called Neil, says my mole. Britain's date with destiny Somewhere in a cupboard in Whitehall are all 1,984 worth of Get Ready for Brexit on 31 October mugs ordered before that deadline slipped. But better late than never. A new mug, bearing these messages on the front and back, has been commissioned for No 10 staff. Well, they say Britain was built on tea A new mug, bearing these messages on the front and back, has been commissioned for No 10 staff The shoes are well and truly off in the race to be Labours next deputy leader, with enemies of the hapless Richard Burgon saying he cant tie his own shoelaces so has to wear slip-ons. Sadly, less than five minutes of picture research by The Mail on Sunday reveals this to be a shocking smear. Revenge is a dish best served in ermine. I hear that Parliaments magisterial former clerk Lord Lisvane, who quit during a bitter feud with ex-Commons Speaker John Bercow, is the favourite to get the job of House of Lords Speaker where Bercow is, of course, desperate for a seat. The diplomat nicknamed Baroness Brazen is seeking a second term in charge of the union of 54 nations A tricky dilemma for Prince Charles with the Government attempting to oust Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland. The diplomat nicknamed Baroness Brazen is seeking a second term in charge of the union of 54 nations, despite hotly denied allegations of profligate spending which have led the UK, Australia and New Zealand to suspend their funding of the organisation. Given that Charles is said to be a big fan of Lady Scotland and has privately defended her, the future King is now on a collision course with Ministers. US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin attends a session at the Congres center during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, on January 21, 2020. The strength of the U.S. economy will prove to be an important factor when voters head to the polls in November, according to U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, despite a slew of headwinds that could weigh on growth this year. Mnuchin warned earlier this month that U.S. growth may not hit Trump's pledged 3% growth in GDP (gross domestic product) in 2020. Speaking to CNBC at the G-20 Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Sunday, Mnuchin said disruptions at Boeing could cause a 50 basis point drag on growth, compounded by General Motors strikes and the potential impact of the coronavirus outbreak. "But the real impact in terms of the American economy, wages are going up, more jobs are being created and more people are coming back into the workforce than ever before," Mnuchin told CNBC's Hadley Gamble. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-23 12:25:20|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The novel coronavirus "occurred naturally from animals to people" rather than being "made in some biological weapon research," a leading U.S. epidemiologist has said, refuting a conspiracy theory on the origin of the virus to support Chinese health professionals. "I reject that theory out of hand. Based on what we know, it's more likely it's something that originated in animal and then made it into people, just like the case of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) and MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome)," Arthur Reingold, an epidemiologist at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley), said in a recent interview. Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease, some U.S. politicians have spread rumors about the virus. Senator Tom Cotton recently suggested that the coronavirus might have been created in a biological laboratory in China. "I really don't think it was made in some biological weapon research. I think it occurred naturally from animals to people," said Reingold, also the division head of epidemiology and biostatistics at UC Berkeley, who dedicates himself to the prevention and control of infectious diseases. William Schaffner, medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, a Washington-based organization holds a similar opinion. "As far as I know, no reputable scientist has raised that question. There are now some scientific data that would indicate that this is a natural phenomenon just as SARS or MERS was," he said during a phone interview. The conspiracy theory has also provoked backlash from international scientists. The medical journal, The Lancet, criticized it as something hampering the fight against the COVID-19. "The ease through which inaccuracies and conspiracies can be repeated and perpetuated via social media and conventional outlets puts public health at a constant disadvantage," said the journal in an editorial published on Saturday. The rescue of a married couple in their 70s who had been lost in the woods for more than a week is being hailed as a miracle by authorities in Northern California, who had given up hope of finding them alive. Carol Kiparsky, 77, and her husband, Ian Irwin, 72, were located in a densely forested area near a bay about 30 miles north of San Francisco on Saturday, two days after the Marin County Sheriffs Office had switched from search mode into a recovery mission. The Palo Alto couple had been missing since leaving their vacation cottage and getting lost on a Valentines Day hike. They were airlifted by helicopter to get treatment for what Sheriffs Sgt. Brenton Schneider described as slight hypothermia but were otherwise doing well. Search efforts that involved hundreds of people, boats, a plane, drones and trained dogs around the bayside town of Inverness failed to yield results until the couple was heard calling for help Saturday morning, a few miles from their vacation lodging. In these undated photos released by the Marin County Sheriff's Office are Carol Kiparsky and Ian Irwin, the married couple who vanished during a getaway in the woods of Northern California on Valentine's Day and were found more than a week later Saturday. Schneider said they survived by drinking water from a puddle and may have fallen near the drainage area where they were found. At the time, Kiparsky was missing a shoe and Irwin did not have a jacket. This is a miracle, said Schneider, who added, They thought this was the end for them. Questions remain: Why did it take months to issue an Amber Alert for missing Tennessee toddler Evelyn Boswell? At one point, Kiparsky set out on her own to seek help, tying pieces of her scarf to branches to point the way back to her husband. They had gone on the hike without food or water and left their cellphones and wallets behind. Those were reported missing by housekeepers after the couple failed to check out of their cottage as scheduled on Feb. 15. Their car was parked outside. Update from Carol Kiparsky and Ian Irwin. They are in great spirits and want to thank every single person who has kept them in their thoughts. On behalf of the Irwin and Kiparsky family, Thank You. pic.twitter.com/t3OS6rgas7 Marin County Sheriff (@MarinSheriff) February 23, 2020 After days of exhaustive searching, the sheriffs office acknowledged the likelihood it wouldnt succeed with a Thursday news release that said, We believe that our extensive search efforts with every resource that has been available to us would have located Carol and Ian if they were responsive or in an area accessible by foot on land. Story continues On Saturday, they were happy to be wrong. The rescue of Kiparsky, the author of several books on language, and Irwin, a leading Parkinsons researcher, capped a hectic but ultimately rewarding week for search teams in Marin County. On Tuesday, they found another missing man in his 70s, Robert Bennett, alive with the help of two dogs a day after he had a stroke and fell during a hike. Contributing: The Associated Press A big shout out to @sonomasheriff for the amazingly quick response, professionalism, and their ability to get Carol and Ian to the medics the fastest way possible. pic.twitter.com/jr7RwuiPII Marin County Sheriff (@MarinSheriff) February 22, 2020 This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: California couple found in 'miracle' rescue after Valentine's Day hike It's one thing to be a fan of someone's work and a completely different thing to cross the limits and become the "creepy guy" in the news. Well, Rakesh Sharma chose to be the latter. He's now being asked to stay at least 200 yards away from the Apple's CEO Tim Cook. Who Is This Rakesh Sharma? Rakesh Sharma, who likes to go by the name "Rocky" is a San Francisco resident. Honestly, the details about this 41-year-old man are quite scarce at the moment, but we do know a lot about the things he has done. Reuters According to the folks over at the Cult of Mac, who first reported about Rakesh being sued by Apple, Rakesh has been asked to stay away from Tim Cook, Apple security officer William Burns and a bunch of other Apple employees. The company received this restraining order against Rakesh recently and it's valid through March 3. The documents filed in the court say that Rakesh portrayed "erratic, threatening and bizarre behavior" towards Apple employees, including Tim Cook himself. What's more bizarre is that he even attempted to enter Cook's house twice. Where Did It All Begin? Reuters He first showed up in December when he decided to trespass Tim Cook's property in Palo Alto. He had entered through the closed without the permission to deliver flowers and a bottle of champagne to Tim Cook. Some people might say it's a kind gesture, but showing up without permission is just creepy. The next time he showed up at Cook's property, he rang the doorbell but left before the police arrived. You would think he would have stopped at that but that's not all. He also ended up tagging Cook in his "sexualized and inappropriate photos". As mentioned earlier, Tim Cook isn't the only victim. But other Apple employees including Burns also complained against Sharma. Sharma is also accused of making threatening comments against other Apple employees. It looks like Sharma called Apple's technical support and made some serious threatening remarks. Now that's just atrocious. Accusing Tim & Getting Restrained Reuters Sharma then ended up accusing Cook of using guns and threatening to kill him. "I don't use ammunition but I know people who do," he said while accusing Apple to have him killed when he was in a hospital. The company noted that Sharma made other such comments and hence decided to sue him. Now that Apple has received a restraining order, Sharma can't visit Apple's offices i.e., headquarters at 1 Apple Park Way and 1 Infinite Loop in Cupertino. He's not allowed to be found near Cook's Palo Alto residence too. Heck, the order prevents Sharma from visiting all Apple corporate locations as well as Apple retail locations in Cupertino, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, and San Jose. It's been very hard to find and track Rakesh at this moment, but we'll definitely be learning more about him. There'll be more news about this on March 3 during the court hearing, so keep following MensXP for that. Source: Cult Of Mac Progressive firebrand Bernie Sanders earned a decisive victory Saturday in the Nevada caucuses, solidifying his frontrunner status in the race to choose the Democratic nominee who faces President Donald Trump in Novembers election. His win is a substantial accomplishment in a state seen as an important bellwether because it is the first diverse electorate to weigh in on the 2020 presidential race. It also shows that Sanders has been able to broaden a coalition beyond the narrow limits of leftist voters, refuting the argument used by several moderates in the race that he would not be able to bridge the divide between progressives and centrists. By late Saturday with official results slowly trickling in, Sanders was comfortably ahead with some 22 percent of precincts reporting. The 78-year-old senator from Vermont was leading with about 46 percent, followed by former vice president Joe Biden at 23 percent. South Bend, Indianas former mayor Pete Buttigieg, who scored a shock narrow win in Iowa to start the race nearly three weeks ago, stood at a distant third a 13 percent. The two female US senators in the running, progressive Elizabeth Warren and pragmatist Amy Klobuchar, were well back, in single digits. Sanders was quick to claim victory, saying his multi-generational, multi-racial coalition that won Nevada is going to sweep this country. His progressive policies, including universal health care, higher taxes on the wealthy and corporations, and raising the minimum wage have struck a chord with millions of Americans. The American people are sick and tired of a government which is based on greed, corruption, and lies. They want an administration which is based on the principles of justice, he told a raucous rally, which responded with chants of Bernie! Bernie! Bernie! Sanders was speaking in El Paso, Texas, one of the 14 states that votes on Super Tuesday on March 3. Buttigieg congratulated Sanders on his Nevada victory. But the moderate, 38-year-old military veteran offered a stern warning against picking a self-described democratic socialist who sees capitalism as the root of all evil to go up against the populist Trump. Senator Sanders believes in an inflexible, ideological revolution that leaves out most Democrats, not to mention most Americans, Buttigieg said in remarks that took on a surprisingly coarse tone. With Sanders coming in virtually tied for first in Iowa and then winning New Hampshire last week, he is in the drivers seat against his seven rivals as the race turns toward South Carolina and then Super Tuesday. Looks like Crazy Bernie is doing well in the Great State of Nevada, Trump tweeted, maligning other candidates before adding: Congratulations Bernie, & dont let them take it away from you! With the race soon taking on a national dynamic, several candidates like Klobuchar, Warren or congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard will be under pressure to decide whether they fight on or throw in the towel. Coming back The centrist Biden, desperate to right a listing ship after miserable showings in the first two states, told supporters he feels really good about his Nevada finish and shouldnt be counted out. Were alive and were coming back, the onetime frontrunner insisted. Were going on to South Carolina to win and then were going to take this back! South Carolina has a majority black Democratic electorate, and Biden leads polling there, riding his popularity among African Americans due in part to his eight years as popular president Barack Obamas deputy. Sanders leads national polls with an average of 28 percent support. That is 11 points ahead of Biden and 13 points clear of billionaire media tycoon Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York who skipped campaigning in the four early states, including Nevada, in order to focus on Super Tuesday. Sanders has been largely unchecked by opponents who have focused more on blunting the advance of Bloomberg, who has poured a staggering $438 million of his personal fortune, an all-time record, into campaign advertising. Warren, speaking late Saturday at a large rally in Washington state which votes on March 10, pledged to stay in the fight despite a third straight mediocre showing. She repeated her attacks on Bloomberg, accusing him of seeking to buy this election. In Las Vegas, caucuses were held in several of the citys world-famous casinos and hotels, as well as dusty desert towns. Keen to avoid the drawn-out embarrassment of the Iowa caucus, which relied on flawed technology to relay results, Nevada officials pivoted to a low-tech system that involved phoning in results to hotlines and backing them up with photographs of the tabulations. The process was considerably slower than four years ago, but appeared to be relatively smooth. Seen above is a thermal power plant in Sipat, India. Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction participated in the construction of the plant. Courtesy of Doosan By Nam Hyun-woo Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction will liquidate its castings and forgings plant in Romania as shipbuilding, offshore plants and energy industries are suffering a protracted slowdown that has dealt a serious blow to the company's profitability. The move is the latest in Doosan Heavy's efforts to downsize its business and workforce, which comes amid growing uncertainties over the company's overall portfolio. Doosan Heavy has been striving to come up with an exit strategy from its concentration on coal and nuclear power, but industry officials raised concern that industrial trends are changing faster than the company's efforts to keep up with them. According to Doosan Heavy, its subsidiary Doosan IMGB will shut down its plant in Romania and withdraw from the business. Doosan IMGB manufactures castings and forgings for power generation and shipbuilding components. Doosan Heavy said it decided to do so because "it is is difficult to see growth potential in the plant due to the slowdown in the power generation and shipbuilding markets." In 2006, Doosan Heavy acquired IMGB from Norway's Kvaerner for 14.5 billion won, and planned to grow Doosan IMGB as its manufacturing base in Europe. However, the company has logged losses for multiple years since then due to the sluggish market environment. This is Doosan Heavy's latest move in downsizing its businesses. On Feb. 18, the company said it would launch a voluntary retirement program for 2,600 employees aged over 45. They account for nearly 40 percent of the company's payroll. The company said "Doosan Heavy has faced difficulties in its operation amid slowdown in the global power generation market and domestic uncertainties." It added it made various efforts to diversify its portfolio but it became inevitable for the company to launch job cuts. An LNG turbine built by Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction / Courtesy of Doosan Heavy With a food testing laboratory, elaborate security systems, uber luxurious amenities such as an ornate private drawing room and spa and floor butlers, the mansion-like Grand Presidential Suite of the ITC Maurya here that has played host to a number of heads of states is all set to welcome US President Donald Trump on Monday. The premium hotel also has an air quality monitoring system and ensures that its guests breathe air that is "as fresh as mountain breeze", according to its website. The two-bedroom Grand Presidential Suite, known as 'Chanakya', has hosted several heads of states including former US presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and George W Bush. It has a private drawing room, a private terrace, a gym and a dining area along with a private entrance, a parking boulevard, a high speed elevator, elaborate security systems and a presidential floor butler, according to the hotel's website. The website describes the 'Chanakya' suite as "a two-bedroom mansion of luxury with silk panelled walls, dark wood flooring and magnificent artwork". It says the suite boasts of a reception area, a large living room, a study, a peacock-themed 12-seater private dining room, an opulent bathroom with mother of pearl accessories and imperial dcor and a mini spa and gymnasium. "With the latest in technology, the suite has 55" high definition TV's and IPOD docking station. Exclusive access to a business courtyard, The Summit Lounge and Boardroom, provide an oasis where affairs of the state can be discussed in complete privacy," it says. The suite also has the facility of a microbiological laboratory for food testing. According to sources, the floor where the Grand Presidential Suite is located has been cordoned off by security personnel for the last two weeks. The entire hotel will be out of bounds for other guests as all the rooms have been booked for Trump's entourage. When Barack Obama had stayed at the same suite at the ITC Maurya in 2015, he was served food from the hotel's rooftop European restaurant West View where he had dined with top CEOs from India and the US on January 26. The dinner was hosted at the Grand Presidential Floor. Obama had also used the private gym at the suite. For Trump's visit, a three-layer security arrangement will be in place at the five-star property. An officer said the hotel, located in Diplomatic Enclave in Chanakyapuri, has 438 rooms and its every floor will have police personnel in plainclothes. US First Lady Melania Trump, the President's daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner will be part of the high-level delegation accompanying him during his visit to India. The delegation also includes Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. The US president will arrive in Ahmedabad on February 24 for a less than 36-hour trip to India. From Ahmedabad, he will travel to Agra to visit the Taj Mahal before arriving at the national capital for the main leg of the visit. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Days after a video of an American Airlines passenger repeatedly punching a reclined seat in front of him kicked an international debate, Ministry of Civil Aviation of India issued a guide to "Etiquettes of Flying" on Twitter on Saturday. "A little bit of basic good manners and respect are always worth a thumbs up. Your seat is not a sleeper berth. Don't be inconsiderate of other people's space," read the tweet of Civil Aviation. Urging passengers to be more "careful" about reclining their seats, the ministry wrote: "With the limited space you have, if you must recline, do it carefully. Always think about the people around you because no one wants your head in their laps." Some flyers on Twitter, however, weren't convinced by the Ministry's advice. Reclining seats were meant for reclined, they argued. Recliner seats are meant for reclining. Either increase the space between two rows of seats by reducing total seat capacity or do away with reclining totally at the cost of passenger comfort. Suggest authorities to look at making air travel more comfortable in economy class. P.K.R Nair (@NairPKR) February 22, 2020 Are you travelled with your Mom with age of 70 for 18 hrs flight ??? Then you will change the opinion Girish V Nair (@GirishVNair1) February 22, 2020 A recliner is meant to recline and have not seen a seat recline to the extent your image shows. If airlines has taken care how much to recline, and the passenger knows when to recline, then it's a period and no dramas. Ambarish S N (@ambarish_sn) February 22, 2020 Instead of teachin etiquettes to passengers, why dont you make technical regulations so that you control reclining and space between seats? MarathiNagrik (@meetmeat05) February 22, 2020 While others agreed with the Ministry's take on the seat reclining to some degree. Absolutely Right ! Thanks Ministry of Civil Aviation authority. I really felt sorry for the Traveller sitting behind was so uncomfortable. Nashville Krug (@KrugNashville) February 22, 2020 It's not about how much. Even if its 10 degrees, you can suddenly smack the guy behind you right in the face!The one reclining, needs to let person behind them know, before moving an inch!! Anistone (@Anistone6) February 22, 2020 On February 8, Wendi Williams, a teacher from Virginia Beach, tweeted about her ordeal when she took a flight from New Orleans to Charlotte on January 31. She wrote that a passenger sitting behind her punched the seat several times after Wendi reclined it. To add to it, she also complained about the flight attendants response to her troubles. @America34365159 After much consideration, and exhausting every opportunity for #AmericanAirlines to do the right thing, Ive decided to share my assault, from the passenger behind me, and the further threats, from an American Airline flight attendant-gave him a complimentary rum wendi (@steelersfanOG) February 8, 2020 In a series of tweets, she wrote, He punched my seat about 9 times then I started videoing. The flight attendant didnt look at the video and took his side. She gave me a passenger disturbance notice & threatened to have me escorted off the plane! My crime was reclining my seat. He punched my seat about 9 times then I started videoing. The flight attendant didnt look at the video and took his side. She gave me a passenger disturbance notice & threatened to have me escorted off the plane! My crime was reclining my seat. wendi (@steelersfanOG) February 8, 2020 She also pointed out that when the man asked her to straighten the seat so that he could eat, she agreed. However, when she reclined the seat after he was done eating, it resulted in the punches from the co-passenger. As a reaction, Wendi decided to film the complete incident. On an American Airlines enquiry, Wendi gave information about her flight and seat. She also revealed that she has lost time at work, and took several visits to the doctor. An American Airlines spokesperson said, We are aware of a customer dispute that transpired on American Eagle flight 4392, operated by Republic Airways on January 31st. The airlines said that they are looking into the matter. Here's the viral video from the incident: The four contenders in the 2020 race of the Democratic Party to the white house are Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, and Elizabeth Warren. They remain the same after the Nevada caucuses but Bernie Sanders is way ahead of the others. He secured 44.6 percent of the vote, while former vice president Joe Biden had only 19.5 percent. The last two, Pete Buttigieg and Elizabeth Warren, appear to be also-rans at the moment. Bernie Sanders had a good run in the New Hampshire primary and a strong showing in the Iowa caucuses. Obviously, he is inching ahead and could become the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party. He will have the responsibility of denying a second term to Donald Trump. Bernie Sanders wins the Democratic caucuses in Nevada, cementing his front-runner status. Sanders also won in New Hampshire and finished essentially tied with Pete Buttigieg in Iowa. https://t.co/IGmTRTQLiq The Associated Press (@AP) February 23, 2020 Sky News quotes Bernie Sanders as telling the crowd, "We're going to win here in Texas, we're going to win across the country because the American people are sick and tired of a president who lies all of the time. He added that Americans are not happy with a government that thrives on greed, corruption, and lies. He also said the people want an administration that will offer all-round justice covering the economy, environment, and race. He made plenty of promises related to education and healthcare. He also mentioned about leaving a clean environment that would be a healthy and habitable planet for our future generations. On the subject of healthcare, he said, In America, you should not go bankrupt because you're struggling with cancer." How Bernie Sanders fared in Nevada An analysis carried out by a polling agency reveals that the largest share of whites and non-white caucus votes went to the Vermont senator. Discuss this news on Eunomia On a rough estimate, the majority of Hispanic caucus-goers voted for him. They constitute nearly one-third of Nevada's population. When it comes to the African-American voters, the support for Sanders was less than for Joe Biden. What mattered was the ability of Bernie Sanders to win the trust of a large share of women and men. They included white college-educated women who could play an important role for Democrats in November's presidential election. Sen. Bernie Sanders will win a decisive victory in Nevada's Democratic caucuses, CNN projects, solidifying his position as the race's front-runner https://t.co/7O0yKSUzzI pic.twitter.com/NCa8pDEt5C CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) February 23, 2020 Sky News goes on to explain the preference of voters on the issues that included healthcare, climate change, income inequality, and foreign policy. In the opinion of a majority of Democratic Nevada caucus-goers (nearly 43 percent), healthcare matters the most to them. Then comes climate change, followed by income inequality and foreign policy. A correspondent of a news channel says: "Bernie Sanders campaign is clearly generating the most enthusiasm and that is translating into votes. Opinion polls do suggest he can beat Donald Trump. Bernie Sanders dominates Nevada According to the Los Angeles Times, Bernie Sanders is inching ahead towards the winning post. He has won Nevada presidential caucuses by a huge margin. He is on top of a still-large Democratic field. The victory of the Vermont senator was no surprise. His huge margin and depth of support indicate his possibilities. Former Vice President Joe Biden was a distant second in Nevada. He would now have to prepare for the next round in South Carolina to find out whom the voters there prefer. Sanders was a strong favorite in Nevada given his ardent following among younger voters and Latinos as well as residual support from his 2016 White House bid. Vermont senator Bernie Sanders could challenge Trump In the beginning, there were many hopefuls and the list has gradually reduced with the top four being Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, and Elizabeth Warren. At one point in time, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren were top contenders and one of them was expected to get the nod of the Democratic Party. However, after Nevada caucus, Sanders has surged ahead leaving Warren behind. The Vermont senator had suffered some health problems in the initial stages but he has recovered. By Anna Watanabe, KYODO NEWS - Feb 23, 2020 - 15:02 | World, Feature, All The mayor of Christchurch offered a formal apology on Sunday to families, including from Japan, who lost loved ones in the collapse of a six-story building in a 2011 earthquake. Mayor Lianne Dalziel, who took office in 2013, met privately with the families in the central New Zealand city's Arts Centre to convey the apology. Of the 185 people across the city who died in the magnitude 6.3 earthquake, 115 were in the Canterbury Television Building which crumbled to the ground in seconds, including 28 Japanese students attending an English-language school on the building's third floor. Kazuo Horita, whose 19-year-old daughter Megumi died in the building collapse, said after the meeting that he felt as though a weight had been lifted from his shoulders after waiting so long to hear an apology. (Kazuo (C) and Seiko Horita(L)) "I'm grateful the mayor showed humanity and apologized in person, rather than simply in writing," Horita, 65, said. "I think the mayor understood the importance of apologizing in person." Together with his wife, Seiko, 60, he has traveled to Christchurch every year to mark the anniversary of Megumi's death. Other Japanese also traveled to Christchurch to hear the apology at the invitation of the mayor, who wrote to bereaved families late last year. Dalziel, who is scheduled to travel to Japan to provide a similar apology to bereaved families in Tokyo on Tuesday, refused to comment on the contents of the meeting, saying all communication with the families is private. (Kikuo (front R) and Chizuko Suzuki (2nd from R)) But Maan Alkaisi, spokesperson for an organization of bereaved families, the CTV Families Group, told reporters that the apology included a recognition by the city council that the building's design was flawed. "It's an acknowledgement that for us, for the CTV Building in particular, the design was wrong and should not have been permitted," said Alkaisi, who lost his wife in the collapse. "It's an acknowledgement that something went wrong and (it) is documented now in the history of Christchurch that things should have been done differently and that the city council acknowledges some wrongdoing." A 2012 inquiry into the collapse found Christchurch City Council should not have provided a building permit as the structure did not meet prevailing standards when it was built in 1986. Investigations also found council staff who inspected the building following a previous earthquake in September 2010 were not engineers, and should not have deemed it safe to occupy. (Mayor Lianne Dalziel) While many bereaved family members who attended Sunday's apology were grateful for the mayor's words, they are still fighting for criminal charges to be brought against the building's engineers. "Today was an admission that the design of these buildings were wrong, should not have been permitted, but justice and accountability and closure is another chapter that we're still fighting for," Alkaisi said. In 2017, New Zealand police said they would not pursue a criminal prosecution in relation to the building collapse, citing a lack of evidence to secure a conviction in court. On Saturday, following a public memorial service for the ninth anniversary of the quake, Alkaisi told Kyodo News that families from Japan have also written to the New Zealand solicitor general questioning the decision not to seek prosecution. "Families in Japan with families here in New Zealand are essentially trying to communicate all the concerns and worries between us and channel it to the government so that we show that this has not only national but also international significance," he said. Related coverage: Couple dreams of revitalizing Fukushima with Jersey milk Kobe marks quarter-century anniversary of massive quake disaster Japan defense planes arrive in Australia to help fight bushfires 22.02.2020 LISTEN In collaboration with the Finnish Foundation for Media and Development (VIKES) with funding from the European Mission for Somalia, the Federation of Somali Journalists (FESOJ) has concluded two-day training workshop for twenty-five young female journalists from various independent media outlets and journalism students in Jowhar, Hirshabelle State of Somalia from 20 to 21 February 2020. The objective of the training was to improve the capacity of female reporters working in Hirshabelle and was mainly focused on-camera skills including video camera recording and editing, photojournalism and television reporting, empowering working women journalists, ethics of media, and other significant themes. The State Minister for Women Affairs of Hirshabelle state Madam Sadiya Mohamed Nur, who officially opened the training, said that women journalists can play a role in creating a platform for women whose ambitions are to join the politics and also marginalized women voices to be heard. On several occasions, I have seen women who made valuable statements and speeches at meetings, but unfortunately when the media were reporting on the event to the public, men voices were only preferred and used, so the presence of female journalists will encourage women voice to be heard, Madam Sadiya said. This training is part of a series of women journalist training in which FESOJ and VIKES conducted several cities including Mogadishu, Garowe, and Kismayo. With the support of the European Union Mission in Somalia. We are also planning in the near future to conduct similar training in the cities of Baidoa and Dhusamreeb, FESOJ Secretary-General Mohamed Ibrahim Moalimuu said. At universities and media schools, girls are so active in journalism study, but in the newsrooms the number of girls is small. We would like girls to hold senior positions in the media Moalimuu added. The training was co-facilitated by two female professional journalists who had media background & experience, Mr. Maryam Omar Ali and Amina Ahmed Ali who shared their experience, knowledge and significant topics regarding training themes with the trainees. BJP National General Secretary Ram Madhav on Sunday said that all the people in his party want the situation in Jammu and Kashmir to become conducive for normal political activity to resume. Keeping the situation of J-K in mind, the government has invoked certain Sections for detention of some leaders there. As the situation improves and things noramlise, everybody will be allowed to do their political activity. We are all wanting the situation in Jammu and Kashmir to become so very conducive for normal political activity to resume, Madhav told ANI. Madhav was reacting to defence minister Rajnath Singhs statement to a media organisation in which the latter said that he was praying for the early release of three former chief ministers of Jammu and Kashmir from their detention. The nullification of Article 370 last year stripped Jammu & Kashmir of its special status. It resulted in a communications blackout and a lockdown. Hundreds of politicians and activists were detained to prevent protests against the move. (With inputs from Agencies) Dialpad, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of a cloud-native business communications platform powered by Voice Intelligence (ViTM), has launched Dialpad for Startups. Dialpad for Startups is a program designed to support emerging companies with free and discounted seats of all Dialpad products. By utilizing its platform, the basics of communication are covered, allowing for talk, text, and video to leverage and expand connections. Built on the Google Cloud Platform, Dialpads product suite covers the full range of modern business communications needs with Dialpad Talk, Support, Sell, and UberConference, all powered by Voice Intelligence (ViTM). Led by Craig Walker, CEO, the company serves more than 62,000 businesses including WeWork, Uber, Motorola Solutions, Domo and Xero. Investors include Amasia, Andreessen Horowitz, Felicis Ventures, GV, ICONIQ Capital, Salesforce Ventures, Scale Ventures, Section 32, Softbank, and Work-Bench. FinSMEs 23/02/2020 US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump departed for their maiden two-day visit to India from Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on Sunday. The visiting dignitaries will have a stopover at Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany and will reach Ahmedabad on Monday. Ahead of his departure from Washington DC, the US President told reporters that he looks forward to being with "millions and millions" of the Indian people. "I look forward to being with the people of India. We will be with millions and millions of people. I get along very well with the Prime Minister. He is a friend of mine. Prime Minister Modi told me this will be the biggest event they have ever had," Trump told reporters here. The US President, along with his family, and a ministerial delegation will be in India for around 36 hours. During the visit, he is scheduled to participate in a roadshow with Modi and address a gathering at the Motera Stadium. From Ahmedabad, the US President and the First Lady will make a brief stop at Agra where they will visit the Taj Mahal at around 5:15 pm, before departing for the national capital later in the day for the main leg of the trip. On the morning of February 25, the US President will first receive a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhawan at 10 am as per the protocol. From there, he will go to the Rajghat to pay homage at the samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi. This will be followed by both, restricted, and delegation-level talks between Trump and Modi at the Hyderabad House in the national capital on Tuesday afternoon. The talks would be followed by the exchange of agreements and Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) between the two countries. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Oregon voters approved the law in 1934, when the Ku Klux Klan was a powerful influence in the state and anti-immigrant sentiment was high. The measure applies only to felonies that are not first-degree murder cases. Legal experts say that allowing nonunanimous convictions raises the risk that jurors from racial, ethnic or religious minorities will be ignored by a majority that knows it can return a verdict without them thereby denying the jurors a fair hearing and the defendants a fair trial. Oregons population is about 85 percent white, and most people convicted by nonunanimous juries there are white as well. But Aliza B. Kaplan, director of the Criminal Justice Reform Clinic Oregon at Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, who has studied the history of nonunanimous juries, said the impact of the law in an overwhelmingly white state is that racial minorities rarely have juries of their peers. If the Supreme Court rules that divided jury verdicts violate the Sixth Amendment guarantee of a fair trial, Oregon might be forced to rethink large parts of its criminal justice system, including jury instructions, lawyers tactics when picking jurors as well as potentially thousands of previous convictions by divided juries. Victims rights groups in Oregon say they also have concerns that ending nonunanimous jury convictions would lead to far more hung juries and mistrials, forcing victims to testify multiple times. Erin Greenwald, president of the Oregon Crime Victims Law Center, said some people worry that prosecutors faced with a more difficult path to winning convictions might simply elect not to pursue certain cases. We already have very low rates of prosecutions for sex crimes, and I can see in prosecutors minds why it might be too difficult to get a conviction, so they decide not to prosecute a case, said Ms. Greenwald, who is herself a former prosecutor. For crime victims, this is going to be more challenging and difficult. Planning how a city will grow and change is hard work especially in already built-out communities. And a new document, the Guidebook for Great Communities, looks at that conundrum in more than 140 pages, attempting to boil down a lexicon of city planning jargon for the everyday citizen. Senior city planner Stephen Pearce said Calgary is looking to the future, especially because the size of Canadian households continues to shrink the city can't keep building communities as they were conceived 50 to 60 years ago. "Calgary will be growing both up and, and outward," Pearce said. "So, we're looking to balance that growth creating communities that have more options for housing, more options for services for places to shop. That means, you know, kind of a little bit more intensity." Helen Pike/ CBC The directive in the guidebook's chapters is to build up already built-out communities. It means the Calgary of the future should have more density, more styles of housing, and more transportation choices to support the growing population. But while it calls for more intensity or density, Pearce said it's still imperative the city feels walkable, and that buildings are constructed in a way that is still "human scale" not imposing. "It's not something that just happens tomorrow," Pearce said. "It's something that we work together to bring into the communities and those things kind of change incrementally over a matter of decades." Pearce added the city is looking at the policy to enable choice that meets citizens' needs whether that's affordability, choice or flexibility. Courtesy/City of Calgary Leslie Evans, executive director at the Federation of Calgary Communities, said this means a complete overhaul of how planning is done and understood. For some communities, it's concerning. While she said the plan to create more options and communities for everybody is great, some of the guidebook's principles are broad and lack focus. Story continues "What we need is we need certainty for developers, we need certainty for city planners, and we need certainty for people who live, work and play in those communities," Evans said. "Right now, there's a lot of uncertainty because the language in the guidebook is very broad. It's an enabling language. It's not like it used to be." "It's frustrating, the conversations have always been around, where are we putting density but nothing on the flipside." - Erin Joslin, Ramsay Community Association Erin Joslin is with the Ramsay Community Association. She said some of those concerns centre around funding and directives about community investments that would give the document teeth and appeal for communities taking on density. "It's frustrating. The conversations have always been around, where are we putting density, but nothing on the flipside," Joslin said. "Let's get some great bike connections from Ramsey to the rest of the city or pedestrian connections." And while the document does talk about transportation choice, green spaces and more amenities, Evans with the federation said there is fear about where the funding for those upgrades will come from. "How do we fund growth and change?" Evans said. "Funding is not just about park benches or rec centres, but it's about safety, transit, the streetscape in our community's minds, it's missing some key things." 'Great communities for everyone' The guidebook builds on the Municipal Development Plan (MDP), another city directive adopted in 2009. When council approved that plan, it was to create a vision for how the city develops over the next 30 to 60 years an important plan for the future. "We think about a city that can adapt to changes," Pearce said. "Some of the environmental changes, economic changes, and when we think about that households are changing generally." He said this document is the menu, or building blocks, that will make up local area plans yet another set of documents that will prescribe the community's vision for how an area will evolve. For example, where densification is appropriate, and how it is appropriate. These local area plans will combine several communities into a single plan. Previously, the city had more than 200 planning documents about planning and development in Calgary and Pearce said this process will help simplify and update those area visions. "[The guidebook] is a way of making it easier to start that conversation, because you've got a foundation to work from," Pearce said. "And then you can build on top of that." Joslin with the Ramsay Community Association said as a volunteer, she can't keep up with the guidebook a living document. "The number of hours required to like, follow that document, while also being highly engaged in your Local Area Plan, has just been unprecedented," Joslin said. "Right now, I would just like to see, you know, a finished document, but I don't think we're ready to be at that point yet." And she said that uncertainty makes it difficult to work on the Local Area Plan. Some happy to see a shift in the city's planning process Kourtney Branagan is the president of the Haysboro Community Association. The south Calgary community is currently using the guidebook to inform its Local Area Plan. And working closely with the document, she said she's come to understand and appreciate it. "What I see is opportunity, I see choice," Branagan said. "We have an aging baby boomer population, who are occupying a lot of our established neighbourhoods, for them to make a move within their community doesn't exist especially a lateral move." She said everything innovates over time, including housing. And for her, the guidebook is innovating based on the expertise and best practices planners have gathered from what's working in other cities. Know the impacts, get engaged, community leaders say One of the big concerns right now, coming from the federation, is how the city is engaging citizens on this document and whether Calgarians understand how important it is to be involved in the whole process. "We've actually been engaging in trying to help people understand the guidebook," Evans said. "Citizens are an essential part of the planning process in Calgary, and while they may not understand the technicality of all the planning things they're the ones that experience the community." The federation has been holding events to engage community associations. And the city has also been engaging citizens with a display at the Central Library. Those engagement activities will continue until the end of February. The Guidebook for Great Communities will be presented to a council committee on March 4 and go through an approval process. Wanted gangster Ravi Pujari, who was arrested in South Africa was brought to India on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday. Pujari wanted in India for over 200 cases of serious crime including murder and extortion was brought to India by a team of senior officials and arrived at the Kempegowda International Airport here. He will be produced in court on Monday, Additional Director-General of Police (ADGAP) Amar Kumar Pandey told reporters here. Pujari was extradited from Senegal on February 22 pursuant to an extradition request made by India in early 2019. "He is physically fit. Questioning will begin from tomorrow. First, we have to take him to the magistrate. He will be produced before the court tomorrow. He is supporting our investigation and answering questions," Pandey said. Pujari, who parted ways with underworld don Chhota Rajan had jumped bail after he was arrested in Senegal in 2019 and had escaped to South Africa, where he was involved in drug trafficking and extortion. According to the sources in Indian intelligence, Ravi Pujari was hiding with a false identity of Anthony Fernandes, a Burkina Faso passport holder, in a remote village in South Africa. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) WHO experts travel to Wuhan for COVID-19 investigation BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Some members of the China-World Health Organization (WHO) joint expert team traveled to Wuhan Saturday to investigate the COVID-19 outbreak, the National Health Commission said. The experts will have discussions with Wuhan's health authorities and visit medical and health institutions, the commission said. The joint expert team began its work in China on Feb. 16 and has finished investigation in Beijing, Guangdong Province and Sichuan Province. A production line employee is pictured working at the AMES Company's shovel manufacturing factory in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, on June 29, 2017. (Reuters/Tim Aeppel) Coronavirus Hits Supply Chains, Saps US Business Activity Coronavirus-related supply chain disruption is taking its toll on U.S. firms, with a recent survey of company purchasing managers showing a slump in business activity in February thats being blamed in part on the spread of the disease. The deterioration was in part linked to the coronavirus outbreak, manifesting itself in weakened demand across sectors such as travel and tourism, as well as via falling exports and supply chain disruptions, said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit, which on Feb. 21 published its Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) report. Other factors weighing on business activity include reluctance by companies to spend on equipment and labor because of worries about a broader economic slowdown and uncertainty ahead of the U.S. presidential elections in November, the data firm noted. The IHS composite PMI, which tracks both the manufacturing and services sectors, dropped to 49.6, the lowest in 76 months, from a reading of 53.3 in January. A reading of 50 is the threshold between expansion and contraction, with lower numbers associated with a drop in business activity. The manufacturing sector barely escaped a slip into contraction, with the manufacturing PMI coming in at 50.8, the lowest since August and down from 51.9 in January. Meanwhile, the services sector PMI dropped to 49.4 this month, the lowest since October 2013 and the first time since 2016 the index slipped into contraction territory. Small Business Disruption While big corporations have dominated the virus-related business disruption headlinesan example being Apples recent earnings downgrade announcement that caused its stock to dip and drove broader risk asset selloffssmall businesses in the United States may be just as vulnerable. Small businesses, particularly retail, will likely see an issue in regards to keeping inventory, said Brandon Renfro, assistant professor of finance at East Texas Baptist University, in an emailed statement to The Epoch Times. If factories in China are shut down, that means the local retailers who carry products manufactured in China cant restock. For a very small business, the issue is even worse because what large corporations call quarterly profits, small business call food and utilities money. They just often arent as capable of weathering a squeeze. Its just a broken-down supply chain, Becky Feinberg-Galvez, owner of Shop4ties, told The Wall Street Journal, adding that the company had to turn away dozens of orders for its productswhich include custom-branded neckties and shirts manufactured in Chinadue to supply-chain disruption. Feinberg-Galvez told the publication that one Chinese subcontractor the firm relies on has been shut down completely, while the factories of two other partners were operating at below 50 percent capacity. Now, U.S. firms may more seriously consider onshoring manufacturing capacity in order to limit further disruption from global supply unpredictability, said Jimmy Hinton, senior managing director at Transwestern, in an emailed statement to The Epoch Times. Hinton noted that may lead to a rush by retailers to stockpile inventory as a hedge against more disruption. Retailer strategy may tilt to over-stocking products, improving both capacity utilization of warehousing space and potentially increasing demand for related space across strategic logistics-driven markets, he said. G-20 Overshadowed by Virus Worries Finance leaders of the worlds top 20 economies wrapped up their two-day meeting Feb. 23 that was dominated by growing concern over the widening fallout from the coronavirus outbreak. The Group of 20 finance ministers and central bank heads faced a sober presentation by the International Monetary Fund, which predicted that the epidemic would shave 0.1 percentage point off global growth. In our current baseline scenario, announced policies are implemented, and Chinas economy would return to normal in the second quarter. As a result, the impact on the world economy would be relatively minor and short-lived, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Feb. 22. But we are also looking at more dire scenarios where the spread of the virus continues for longer and more globally, and the growth consequences are more protracted, she added. Reuters contributed to this report. Detectives are investigating four inner-city crime scenes after a 24-year-old knife-wielding man was dramatically shot dead by police after chasing two tourists down Brisbane's Mary Street on Sunday morning. Witnesses said they counted six shots fired in Mary Street just after 10am, and forensic officers identified bullet fragments in the city street. The forensic scene where police shot a man dead outside the Westin Hotel on Mary Street in Brisbane's CBD on Sunday. Credit:AAP Police believe the incidents have been captured on CCTV cameras, Detective Superintendent Tony Fleming confirmed. "We have officers looking at that now," he said. Click here to read the full article. Charlatan Director: Agnieszka Holland The true story of Czech healer Jan Mikolasek, who enjoyed protection under the Nazis and the Communists, but then fell from favor. Sales: Films Boutique Berlinale Special Gala The Earth Is Blue as an Orange Director: Iryna Tsilyk Budding cinematographer Myroslava lives in the middle of the Ukraine war zone. She sets out to make a film with her family, one that can offer them new perspectives, in this documentary. Sales: CAT&Docs Generation 14plus More from Variety The Exit of the Trains Directors: Radu Jude, Adrian Cioflanca This documentary follows an atrocity against Jews in 1941 in which the majority of the perpetrators were Romanian. Sales: MicroFilm Forum FREM Director: Viera Cakanyova This doc is an unsettling poetic reflection on our view of the natural world, and the limits of anthropocentric thinking. Sales: Hypermarket Film Forum Kill It and Leave This Town Director: Mariusz Wilczynski A visually powerful labyrinth of memories and feelings, this animated autobiography is an irreverent and uninhibited journey through personal and collective memory. Sales: Bombonierka Encounters Malmkrog Director: Cristi Puiu Guests at the mansion of man of the world Nikolai discuss death, the Antichrist, history and rule, progress and morality. Sales: Shellac Encounters Mare Director: Andrea Staka Mare looks after her family on a shoestring budget, but its not just material things she is lacking. When a chance encounter rekindles her libido, she does not hold back. Sales: Be for Films Panorama Nomera (Numbers) Directors: Oleg Sentsov, Akhtem Seitablaiev Ten figures walk around in a circle. All they have is a number. The Great Zero monitors them. Sales: Latido Films Berlinale Special Story continues Otac (Father) Director: Srdan Golubovic Nikolas children are taken away from him after social services decide that he is too poor to provide them with a decent living environment. He sets off on foot to lodge a complaint in Belgrade, Serbia. Sales: The Match Factory Panorama Servants Director: Ivan Ostrochovsky Two young seminarians have to decide whether to remain faithful to their vocation and idealism or to bow to pressure from the secret police. Sales: Loco Films Encounters Uppercase Print Director: Radu Jude In 1981, a teenager scribbles anti-Nicolae Ceausescu slogans on the walls of buildings. The Securitates investigation of the case and its surveillance records reveal the regimes repressive nature. Sales: Best Friend Forever Forum Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Oppo A31 may launch in India soon: Report It seems like Oppo may launch a new budget smartphone in India soon. According to a report by 91Mobiles, the company may launch the Oppo A31 smartphone in the country soon. The website has posted a picture that not only suggests that the phone will launch soon but also some of the deals that buyers can expect. As per the image, the phone will be available in Fantasy White, and A Mystery Black. Further, buyers can get a five percent cash back on the purchase of the device using a credit/debit cards from ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, IDFC Bank and Yes Bank. Further, buyers can also be able to make the purchase using a Bajaj Finserv card. On top of this, users may also get Jio data benefits of up to 7,050. The Oppo A31 has already been launched in Indonesia. The device packs a 6.5-inch display with a waterdrop display with an HD+ resolution. It is powered by a MediaTek Helio P95 Soc and is available in 4GB and 6GB variants. Users also get two storage variants namely 64GB and 128GB. In terms of optics, the device packs a triple-rear camera setup with a 12MP primary camera, a 2MP sensor with a macro lens and a 2MP sensor used or sensing depth. At the front is an 8MP unit. Other features of the phone include a 4230mAh battery. It is not yet known if Oppo will launch all variants or what the final prince of the phone in India will be. A few royal fans remember the terrifying moment that someone tried to assassinate Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth. But the one detail they may not realize is how the queen was more concerned with soothing her startled horse than she was with narrowly avoiding death. But thats not even the craziest part. It turns out there have been multiple attempts on the queens life over the decades, including another shooting the same year that was covered up for decades. Someone tried to shoot the queen during the Trooping the Colour celebration Queen Elizabeth II riding Burmese | Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images Marcus Simon Sarjeant, 17, fired six blanks at Queen Elizabeth as she proudly rode her favorite horse, Burmese, during the annual Trooping the Colour celebration on June 13, 1981. After his arrest, Sarjeant explained his twisted motives, saying, I wanted to be famous. I wanted to be somebody. Rather than worrying about herself, Her Majesty immediately turned to Burmese to calm him down amidst the commotion. And its a good thing the queen had nerves of steel, because there would be another assassination attempt by another teenager just a few months later. Queen Elizabeth was almost assassinated by a teenager the same year Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip | Anwar Hussein/Getty Images Thankfully, he didnt have great aim. But that doesnt make the assassination attempt against Her Majesty any less tragic. On Oct. 14, 1981, a 17-year-old terrorist named Christopher John Lewis took shots at the queen from a fifth-floor building in Dunedin, New Zealand as she and Prince Philip exited their Rolls Royce. At the time, British newspapers were told the sound they heard was a firecracker or a sign falling over. No one knew that Queen Elizabeth was the target of a terrible plot until decades later. Lewis didnt have clear motives for targeting the queen Its not entirely clear how the police caught him, but Lewis was questioned a total of eight times in connection with the crime. The New York Times reported that the teenager had a history of violence including armed robbery, arson, and animal torture. He was also a huge fan of infamous cult leader Charles Manson. Ultimately, he was charged with the lesser sentence of possessing a firearm and firing it in public, though a memo said, Lewis did indeed originally intend to assassinate the queen. He committed suicide in prison in 1997 while awaiting trial on a different murder charge. There was a third assassination attempt Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip | George Freston/Fox Photos/Getty Images Unfortunately, the two shooting incidents werent the only times Queen Elizabeth was targeted. An incident called the Lithgow Plot occurred back in 1970 while Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip were on a royal tour in Australia. The perpetrators supposedly rolled a large wooden log onto the train tracks directly in the path of Her Majestys route. If their plot worked, the train would have derailed and smashed into an embankment. But thankfully for everyone on board, the train was moving unusually slowly and did not go off the tracks. Like the other Australian attempt, the incident was covered up in the news due to an agreement with law enforcement. The investigation was closed without any arrests. Its an unnecessary consequence of being so famous. But clearly Queen Elizabeth has moved past the incidents and hopefully beefed up security in the meantime. BRENTWOOD (BCN) A mysterious caped caper led to jail for a suspect in a flag theft at the Brentwood Press newspaper office Wednesday. A report on social media from the Brentwood Police Department told the tale of the arrest of 39-year-old Carlos Cervantes. The suspect was seen snatching the California state flag flying above the newspaper's entrance at 248 Oak St. in downtown Brentwood. With the help of witnesses, police patrolling nearby were able to locate Cervantes, who had ridden off on his bicycle with the flag tied around him like a cape. The police Facebook posting thanked the help from citizens that lead to the caper's end in justice. The newspaper did not reply to questions about the incident. Copyright 2020 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. People display signs in support of Wuhan, China, at the centre of the coronavirus outbreak, during the Lunar New Year parade in New York's Chinatown in early February: (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey) Misinformation and exaggeration about the coronavirus have led to a wave of racist attacks on Asian Americans across the US. The attacks are both physical and verbal, and there are also cases of people either from East Asia, or of East Asian descent, being turned away from businesses. Incidents include a racist tirade against a Thai woman on the LA subway; a vicious assault on an Asian woman on the New York subway; and two hotels in Indiana refusing to accomodate Asian guests. In addition, CNN reports a major downturn in business at Chinese restaurants in New York, with some seeing only 30 per cent of the usual number of customers. The attacks and cases of discrimination are happening despite the very small number of coronavirus cases in the US, and against the background of the high number of deaths from flu this season. At last count there were 35 cases of coronavirus in the US, and no deaths. All cases have either travelled to China or been in close contact with someone that had. Since 29 September an estimated 12,000 people in the US have died from the flu according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. In addition to racist attacks against Asian people, there have also been disturbing scenes in Ukraine where dozens of protesters clashed with police and hurled stones at buses carrying people who were evacuated from China over fears about the outbreak. Story continues Globally, there have been almost 77,923 cases of coronavirus and 2,362 deaths as of Saturday. Read more South Korea coronavirus cases double in one day Trump furious as coronavirus-infected Americans fly home Chinese citizens trapped at home by coronavirus feel the strain Coronavirus: FBI stockpiles hand sanitiser to prepare for pandemic Time running out to stop global spread of coronavirus WHO warns The Planetary Society Our Vision Know the cosmos and our place within it. Our Mission Empowering the world's citizens to advance space science and exploration. US president Donald Trump on Sunday left for India, looking forward to a big event with millions and millions of people, referring to the Namaste Trump rally in Ahmedabad, where he will reach on Monday morning to kick off a whirlwind first state visit to India that will take him next to Agra and New Delhi. I hear its going to be a big event, the president told reporters at the White House. Some people say the biggest event theyve ever had in India. Thats what the prime minister told me, this will be the biggest event theyve ever had. Many millions and millions of people, he said of the crowd size he is expecting to see. ALSO WATCH | Heavy security, Modi-Trump banners: Sabarmati Gandhi Ashram prepares for visit The president also said he committed to this trip a very long time ago and reiterated his close friendship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying the two of them get along very well. Hours before, the president retweeted a meme showing him as the lead character from the 2015 blockbuster Bahubali slaying enemies, romancing the leading lady. Look so forward to being with my great friends in INDIA! the president wrote with the retweet of the meme that went viral. The minute-long meme titled USA and India United! : has Trumps face superimposed on the leading character, who is fighting enemies (which enemies does he expect to take on in India?), riding a horse, and riding a chariot with a character with first lady Melania Trumps face superimposed. Prime Minister Narendra Modi or his face makes a guest appearance as well. And for a brief moment, the character with the Trump mask, has Don Trump Jr and Ivanka Trump on its shoulder. All of this with a song from Bahubali playing in the background, in Hindi. Not certain if the president can read, write or speak Hindi, but he did try for a campaign video he shot in 2016 for his race for the White House. Abki baar, Trump sarkar, he was to say. The ad was meant to reach out to Indian American voters, a small but prosperous and increasingly influential constituency. The punchline was modeled on Prime Minister Narendra Modis campaign slogan, Abki baar Modi sarkar. As Hindustan Times reported at the time, getting those four words right took some effort 12 takes, as aides and family stood around, waiting patiently. Shortly before taking off, taking off for India, Ivanka Trump, the president eldest daughter and adviser who is travelling with the president, tweeted that she was looking forward to returning to India, two years after her 2017 visit, to to celebrate that the grand friendship between the worlds two largest democracies has never been stronger. Trump is accompanied by first lady Melania Trump on this trip, and Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner and several top officials from his administration, will stop for a short break at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany and then take off for the second leg of the flight to Ahmedabad. They will be in New Delhi later in the day, via a stop in Agra. This is Trumps first visit to India as president, and the seventh by an American president. He was in Mumbai in 2014 on business, the launch Trump Tower with a local partner. Even back then, with the presidency nowhere in sight, he had spoken effusively of India and Prime Minister Modi, calling them both amazing in an interview with NDTV. Several other memes featuring Trumps face (its actually that) have been going around on internet, but none of them had the presidents endorsement, as the Bahubali meme. More auto glass claims are filed in Arizona than any state in the nation. The National Insurance Crime Bureau says theres something fishy about that. Howard Handler, government affairs director for NICB, said he doesnt believe Arizona highways have that much more loose gravel than roads in other states. There is also a lot gravel in California, Texas and New Mexico, Handler said. Think of Texas. Theres a lot of gravel there and the state is four times larger than Arizona and there are fewer claims. Arizona policyholders filed 2,655,567 auto glass claims from 2015 to 2019, the NICB says. Thats more than California, with 5.5 times the population, and No. 4 Texas, with four times more people. Annually, the number of Arizona auto glass claims climbed to 594,320 in 2019 from 470,136 in 2015. The bureau issued a press release last week saying that the 26% increase in the past five years suggests that Arizonas high number is being driven by fraud schemes. The organization supports legislation that would impose restrictions on businesses that use assignment of benefit forms to pursue claims against carriers. The problem is these companies are turning this into a lucrative business by inflating the insurance claim, and collecting the money for themselves, Handler said. The NCIB said fraudulent auto glass companies approach people at car washes and grocery store parking lots, or even by going door-to-door. They often offer free steak dinners or gift cards to policyholders who sign over their rights. Handler said hes seen companies with advertisements that offer rebates of up to $500 to consumers who sign AOB agreements. Handler said Arizona statutes are part of the problem. Many states prohibit third parties from offering policyholders any inducements to sign assignment of benefit forms. Arizona does not. House Bill 2441 by Rep. John Allen would change that by barring third parties from offering any gift or compensation as an incentive to sign an assignment agreement. The bill would also require parties to notify insurers of such agreements within three days, give notice of any litigation at least 15 days in advance, and imposes other limits and restrictions. The bill was heard in the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee on Friday, but the bill was held over. Handler said Arizona insurance statutes are also unique in that they require insurers to offer a policies with a zero deductible for safety devices, including auto glass. He said Florida has similar statutes and auto glass fraud is also a major issue there. At least one major carrier is fighting auto glass claims in court. Berkshire Harthaways Geico last year filed several lawsuits against auto glass repair companies at the U.S. District Court in Phoenix. A suit filed against Advantage Auto Glass says the company submitted thousands of fraudulent claims for windshields and related parts. Advantage submitted documents with forged signatures and invoices for work that wasnt performed, Geico says. The most recent was filed Wednesday against Auto Glass Express seeks to recover more than $950,000 for submitting bills for illusory windshield replacements. Consumers have also complained about the tactics used by auto glass repairers, according to a report by 3 On Your Side, a Phoenix television program. The cited a complaint by Sara Perkins who alleges she was promised a $120 if she hired A & E Auto Glass to replace her cracked windshield, but the money never came. The TV station said nearly 100 other customers have lodged similar complaints. A & E owner Eric Solheim told the TV station that he got behind on his payments to customers because he was defrauded by scammers who copied the account number and routing number on his companys checks. He said 3 On My Side that he had paid nearly all of the money that he owed. But Solheim may need to save some cash. Geico has filed a suit against him and his auto glass company, alleging that he submitted claims for work that was not performed. Photo courtesy of NFIB. Four more Indian crew members on board a cruise ship moored off the Japan coast have tested positive for the coronavirus and those who are not found to be infected would be facilitated to travel back home once all the results are declared, the Indian embassy said on Sunday. With the fresh infections, the total number of Indians infected with the virus on the vessel rose to 12, the embassy said. Passengers showing no signs of the deadly disease started deboarding the ship, Diamond Princess, after the quarantine period ended last week. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said that over 1,000 passengers and crew will remain on board the ship after the disembarkations. On Saturday, around 100 more passengers, who were in close contact with the infected people on board, were allowed the deboard the ship. "Unfortunately, results received as of 1200 JST (Japan Standard Time) include 4 Indian crew members having tested positive," the Indian embassy tweeted. Earlier, eight Indians were tested positive for the COVID-19. "All 12 Indians are responding well to treatment," the mission said. The Indian embassy said that the Japanese authorities have confirmed that samples from all passengers on board the ship collected for the test are being processed. "All results expected by 25/26 Feb. Indian nationals on the ship, who would not test positive, will be facilitated by Indian Embassy soon after," it tweeted. The embassy had on Saturday said that Indians, who are still on board the ship, will be tested for the virus infection along with others after all the healthy passengers have disembarked. "All Indian nationals, amongst others, on board Diamond Princess will be tested for COVID-19 by Japanese authorities, after all passengers disembarked yesterday (Friday)," it said. A total of 138 Indians, including 132 crew and 6 passengers, were among the 3,711 people, on board the ship when it docked at the Yokohama port, near Tokyo, on February 3. It was quarantined after a passenger who disembarked last month in Hong Kong was found to be the carrier of the disease. The ship has the largest cluster of COVID-19 cases outside China. Two former passengers of the ship have also died. According to an AP report on Saturday, with the latest disembarkation, a 14-day quarantine is expected to start for those still on board as many of them did not undergo isolation because they were needed to keep the ship running. Ninety-seven more people died in China due to coronavirus, taking the death toll to 2,442, while the confirmed cases rose to 76,936, officials said on Sunday. A team of WHO experts also visited the worst-affected Wuhan city in Hubei province to conduct a detailed probe about the virus which reportedly originated from a seafood market in the city in December last year. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Jacy Lewis/Reporter-Telegram This past weekend many of our local newspapers published their elections section in advance of early voting for the March primary. Having worked in the political realm for many years, I pore over these as I research candidates for whom I want to vote. Most of the responses provided as well as the candidates opinion pieces they submitted are what I would normally expect except for one provided by Casey Gray, candidate for US Congress District 11. As I read the piece Casey submitted, I was intrigued by his story and his positions. This prompted me to go to his campaign website and Facebook page. I was stunned when I saw his list of positions and his thoughtful, detailed approach to solving these issues that are so important to our region and nation. Never have I seen someone running for office who has singlehandedly researched the issues and provided a detailed approach to solving them. At this point, I realized this is no ordinary candidate. There is no fluff or hyperbole in what he is saying. It is rational and common sense, something which is so desperately lacking in todays elections. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-23 08:25:23|Editor: mingmei Video Player Close Head nurse Sun Chun is seen at an ICU ward of the First Hospital of Wuhan City in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Feb. 22, 2020. Sun Chun is among the first batch of medical workers dispatched from the First Hospital to the makeshift hospital of Leishenshan (Thunder God Mountain) in Wuhan, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak. After finishing the work at Leishenshan, she returned to the First Hospital and remained in the frontline of fighting against the virus. By now, she has taken care of some 167 COVID-19 patients with various degrees of symptoms. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu) A former royal protection officer has claimed Prince Andrew may not have stayed at home on the night he is accused of having sex with teenage trafficking victim Virginia Giuffre. The officer said Andrew may have returned to Buckingham Palace in the early hours of March 11, when he said he was at home after taking his daughter to Woking's Pizza Express. In an interview with the Mail on Sunday, the officer recalled the Prince arriving by car at the Palace and claimed he shouted at guards when the gates weren't opened quickly enough. He told the newspaper he believes it could have been the same evening the Duke is accused of having sex with Ms Giuffre, then Virginia Roberts, at the home of socialist Ghislaine Maxwell. Maxwell, Prince Andrew and Virginia Roberts at Maxwells London townhouse in 2001; Ms Giuffre, who was 17 at the time, alleges she was coerced into having sex with Andrew after being flown to London by serial paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who died last year. Andrew categorically denies he had any form of sexual contact or relationship with Ms Giuffre, and told Emily Maitlis on BBC's Newsnight that it "couldn't have happened" because he was at home the night in question. He said: "I was at home, I was with the children and I'd taken Beatrice to a Pizza Express in Woking for a party at I suppose four or five in the afternoon. "And then because the Duchess was away, we have a simple rule in the family that when one is away the other one is there." Prince Andrew speaking about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein on BBC Newsnight / PA It was assumed that when Andrew said he was at home, he meant Sunninghill Park, in Berkshire, which he shared with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson and their daughters. It is around 10 miles from Woking, in Surrey. But speaking to the Mail on Sunday, the officer said the night he recalled Andrew shouting at Buckingham Palace guards could be the same night he is accused of having sex with Ms Giuffre. Buckingham Palace / PA Wire/PA Images The officer, who spoke to the newspaper on the condition of anonymity, had an "exemplary" 23-year career with Metropolitan Police and refused payment for the interview, saying that he just wanted to "see justice done", the newspaper said. He said he wants to access his shift roster and other documents to make sure his account is accurate and is planning on using data protection and freedom of information laws to obtain them from Metropolitan Police. He said: "Having considered Prince Andrew's alibi with my own recollections, it is my belief that the abusive confrontation with the royal could have been in the early hours of Sunday March 11, 2001. "To be 100 per cent certain I would like access to my duty roster for that month. I believe I have a right to know my own shift patterns." Virginia Giuffre on BBC Panorama / AP He added: "After seeing the BBC interview, it dawned on me that the abusive incident I experienced could cast doubt on Prince Andrew's alibi if it were the same night." A spokeswoman for Metropolitan Police told the Standard the former officer is "entitled to submit his subject access request which will then be considered". She added: "We are not prepared to discuss records that we may or may not hold regarding matters of protection. We are not conducting a criminal investigation." Andrew categorically denies he had any form of sexual contact or relationship with Ms Giuffre. Buckingham Palace previously branded the allegations false and without any foundation, stating: Any suggestion of impropriety with underage minors by the duke was categorically untrue. Forensic, the crime thriller that features Tovino Thomas in the lead role, is one of the most-anticipated upcoming projects of Malayalam cinema. The movie, which is directed by newcomer duo Akhil Paul-Anas Khan, revolves around the forensic department of Kerala government. Reportedly, Forensic has now got a release date. As per the latest reports, the Tovino Thomas-starrer will be released all over the UAE-GCC region on February 28, Friday. The makers revealed the exciting news through the official social media pages of Forensic, recently. However, the Kerala release date of the much-awaited crime thriller is yet to be finalised. As reported earlier, the Kerala film producers have jointly decided to not release the Malayalam films in Kerala, the rest of India, and overseas releasing centers on the same day. According to the sources, the producers decided to take this big step to prevent the increasing piracy issues in the Malayalam film industry. Forensic, which was majorly shot at the various locations of Palakkad district, features Mamta Mohandas as the female lead. The actress is appearing in the role of a police officer who investigates the murder case in the movie. The Tovino-starrer will also feature Reba Monica John, who was last seen in the Vijay starrer Bigil, in a pivotal role. Akhil Paul, one of the directors of Forensic has earlier teamed up with Tovino Thomas for the popular movie 7th Day, as a scriptwriter. The crime thriller features an extensive star cast including Renji Panicker, Saiju Kurup, Prathap Pothen, Anil Murali, Giju John, Dhanesh Anand, Anwar Shereef, and so on in the supporting roles. Akhil George handles the cinematography of the project while Shameer Mohammed handles editing. Forensic is jointly produced by Navis Xaviour, and Siju Mathew under the banners of Juvis Productions and Raju Malliath's Ragam Movies. By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 02/23/2020 ADVERTISEMENT FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON THE ALL-NEW GOOGLE NEWS! Reality TV World is now available on the all-new Google News app and website. Click here to visit our Google News page, and then click FOLLOW to add us as a news source! ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade. star Michael Watson has revealed he didn't trust his wife Meka Jones when they moved in together.During Wednesday night's episode of : Unfiltered, Michael watched a clip back of himself explaining to Meka how he desires physical intimacy in relationships not just for the act of sex itself but rather because he was adopted and missed out on motherly affection.Michael said being intimate was about that close connection and being vulnerable, but Meka called him out for contradicting himself."Do you trust Meka?" Unfiltered host Jamie Otis asked Michael.After hesitating and letting out an audible sigh, Michael replied, "Umm, no.""I don't. I think with the move-in, it just kind of made things easier, but the moment where I felt like I was crying and being vulnerable and stepped up to share a piece of myself that I hadn't yet shared with my wife, there was really no level of care or comfort that was given to me in that situation.""It kind of just felt like I was alone and by myself on an island," Michael added.star Taylor Dunklin joined Michael on Unfiltered and chimed in, "Maybe [Meka] would show that emotion if she could trust you. So it's just you guys are not, like, seeing eye to eye."Jamie pointed out there seemed to be a communication issue between Michael and Meka.For Meka's part, she didn't trust Michael either because of an alleged ultimatum he had given her off camera while they were flying on a plane to Panama for their honeymoon.Meka alleged that Michael had said if they didn't consummate their marriage by the end of the honeymoon, he would probably want out of their relationship.(Meka was upset because Michael had told her loved ones he had no expectations for sex and would patiently follow Meka's lead).Meka firmly stood by what she had heard once cameras turned back on, but Michael wouldn't confirm or deny on the show what his exact words were.Instead, Michael just insisted he was trying to be direct and straightforward with his wife in their discussion about intimacy in order to avoid problems or confusion in the future."Michael, what's it like hearing that Meka doesn't trust you? Do you think you did anything to take that trust away?" Jamie asked on Unfiltered."At this point in the marriage, I think there were definitely mistakes that I made in the marriage that kind of delayed our level of trust," Michael said."And I think that's the hard part. We're really trying to adjust on the fly, and sometimes that's really hard to do when you really don't know where the other person is coming from and you're still trying to figure out exactly how that looks up and how that's going to show up for you."Jamie also asked Michael's co-star Zach Justice to offer his thoughts on Michael and Meka's conversation about physical intimacy."So clearly both of their communication styles are wildly different. We've seen a couple of times now where Michael -- and we just heard him talking -- he's very cerebral. He's very kind of aware of how to organize his thoughts," Zach explained."And I think with trust being so tangible, I don't think he can trust his ability to communicate to her and her actually hear him. Because every time he says something to her about his vulnerability and feelings, she has an answer waiting to reply."Zach added, "And she's very combative and defensive."Taylor, however, stood up for Meka and told Zach, "You see combative but I see defensive because you already broke my trust, so now I'm being defensive. I don't see her being combative."Jamie pointed out Meka is a "confident woman" and so she may come across as combative just because she says what's on her mind.Jamie then asked Michael whether he was holding out hope for the success of his relationship with Meka."I mean, definitely," Michael responded."I think, like I said, we definitely had a rough go the first week but we still decided to move forward and move in together and kind of reconfigure out our relationship.""And even after this hurdle," he continued, "it's again, just about getting back to the foundation and figuring out -- to Zach's point -- the best way to communicate so everybody feels like they're being heard. So yeah."Following their disagreement in Panama on 's tenth season, Meka and Michael determined they wanted their marriage to work and so they enjoyed an excursion and started to bond on a friendship level.Michael told his wife he was really beginning to care for her and had high hopes for their relationship.When the couple returned to Washington, D.C. they continued to get to know each other better and both determined they'd like to wear their wedding rings again as a sign of commitment. The couple then had fun together hosting a party for their family and friends at their new apartment.'s tenth season also stars Taylor's husband Brandon Reid and Zach's wife Mindy Shiben as well as Katie Conrad and Derek Sherman and Jessica Studer and Austin Hurd currently airs on Wednesday nights at 8PM ET/PT on Lifetime.To read jaw-dropping spoilers on how Michael and Meka's marriage turned out and whether they're still together, click here Interested in more news? Join our Married at First Sight Facebook Group Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-24 05:40:43|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close Libya's UN-backed Interior Minister Fathi Bashaga speaks at a press conference in Tripoli, Libya, on Feb. 23, 2020. Fathi Bashaga on Sunday said that armed groups obstruct and extort security services in the capital Tripoli. (Photo by Hamza Turkia/Xinhua) TRIPOLI, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Libya's UN-backed Interior Minister Fathi Bashaga on Sunday said that armed groups obstruct and extort security services in the capital Tripoli. "Militias in Tripoli attack institutions and obstruct the government, using their powers being part of security agencies. They do not answer to the law or the instructions of the Attorney General," Bashaga told a press conference in the capital Tripoli. This is an act that can be described as "organized crime," and those who commit this crime will be pursued, the minister said. "It is unfortunate that a security service is extorted by some militias. A militia captured Naji al-Zubi, a competent officer of the Tripoli Security Directorate," Bashaga said. Local media said that al-Zubi has been captured by a militia in Tripoli, accusing him of treason and working for the rival eastern-based army, which is engaged in a deadly armed conflict against the UN-backed government over control of Tripoli. The minister also pointed out that there is significant financial corruption in his ministry worth more than 710 million U.S. dollars. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Aadityanath on Sunday described the country's present generation as a "lucky" one for being part of the struggle for having a Lord Ram temple in Ayodhya and being witness to its construction. The chief minister made the remark during his first visit to the temple town after the September 9 verdict of the Supreme Court last year on the Ayodhya dispute that resolved the centuries-old tangle and subsequent setting up of a trust by the central government to oversee the construction of the temple. The chief minister was here to inaugurate a health fair, Mukhya Mantri Aarogya Mela, at Suraj Kund in Darshan Nagar area of Faizabad. Addressing a gathering of Hindu seers after inaugurating the Health Fair, Aditynath said, "Many generations perished in the struggle for the Ram Janambhoomi in last 500 years, but our generation is lucky as we have been the part of the Ram Janambhoomi struggle and we will see the Ram Mandir coming up." Commenting on the apex court's verdict over the Ayodhya dispute, the chief minister said, "The Supreme Court has shown its judicial power to the world by its verdict over the issue of Ram Mandir." The chief minister also hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government "for delivering what he promised" including nullification of Article 370 and revocation of Jammu and Kashmir's special status. "I always told saints of Ayodhya to have trust in Prime Minister Modi as under his leadership, we will achieve our goal of having a Ram Mandir in Ayodhya." "Under Prime Minister Modi's leadership, India is emerging as a power in the world. The prime minister abrogated Article 370 and prohibited the practice of triple talaq," he said. "He also amended the Citizenship law to create a completely transparent system of giving shelter to the suffering humanity of the world, and under his strong leadership, a way has been paved for the construction of grand temple of Bhagvan Shri Ram in Ayodhya," the chief minister added. In Ayodhya, Adityanath also visited the residence of a Dalit community man, Mahaveer, with whom he had lunch when he had come to the temple town during 2019 Lok Sabha elections after being banned by the Election Commission from electioneering. "When I was banned by the Election commission, I came to visit Hanumangarhi Temple in Ayodhya, where Mahaveer invited me to his house." "Mahaveer showed me his four-room pucca house built under Pradhan Mantri Aawaas Yojna, before this he had a Kuccha house," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A member of the House of Representatives, Onofiok Luke, has mourned a young entertainer, Godwin Thomas, who was shot dead November last year at a traditional marriage in Akwa Ibom State allegedly by a police officer. The unidentified police officer was said to have accompanied the groom who is a driver to Akwa Ibom governor, Udom Emmanuel. Mr Emmanuel attended the marriage ceremony and had left before the killing, the police said. People familiar with the incident told PREMIUM TIMES that the governors driver, Bassey Edet Bassey, was being driven out of the event venue at the end of the ceremony when the victim, Mr Thomas, rushed to the car, held it and began begging him for money. He was said to have been shot at a close range by a police officer who had warned him to back off. You came, you hustled, you left under tragic circumstances, the federal lawmaker, Mr Luke, said in a Facebook post on Thursday a few hours after the slain entertainer was buried in Etinan. Mr Luke represents Etinan Federal Constituency. Late Mr Thomas was his constituent. The lawmaker said in the Facebook post that he was doing his best to ensure that Mr Thomas death was not in vain. As your representative in the National Assembly working with your representative in the state Assembly Rt. Hon. Aniefiok Dennis, we are doing our best to ensure that your death is not in vain. Adieu, Our Supporter and show boy. When PREMIUM TIMES, Saturday, contacted Mr Luke, a former speaker of Akwa Ibom House of Assembly, to find out what steps were being taken to bring Mr Thomas killer to justice, he said would not comment on the matter since it was a subject of investigation. PREMIUM TIMES spoke with the representative of Etinan State Constituency, Akwa Ibom House of Assembly, Aniefiok Dennis (the victim was his constituent). You know we are not the police, Mr Dennis said. I took the matter to the floor of the House during plenary and the House of Assembly which I belong condemned the killing of the poor boy. It was a very unfortunate incident. I was following it up with the police, they were carrying on with the investigation. You know there is not much I can do, they (police) have to do their job. Mr Dennis, who said there is now an autopsy report to aid in the investigation, urged the police to conclude their investigation and ensure that justice is done. I dont think they (the police) are making reasonable progress, the lawmaker said when asked to assess the progress of police investigation. I am concerned because he (the victim) is somebody I knew personally, he was from my ward, and we have been working together, a strong party boy. I would not accept the matter being swept under the carpet, he said. The police in Akwa Ibom said the killing was being investigated. There were police personnel from within the state and neighbouring states on escort duties, the police said. Governor Emmanuel is said to have been enraged over the killing and has asked that the culprit be prosecuted. The attorney general of Akwa Ibom State, Uwemedimo Nwoko, in January, told PREMIUM TIMES what could be done to obtain justice in the case. Normally when a thing like that happens, the victims family or other people that are interested would pursue the police, write a petition to the commissioner of police or the inspector general or the AIG and say this person was killed in indefensible circumstances and then call for investigation. If the police refuse to investigate, call in civil society organisations to demand an investigation and, of course, they would generate the heat and the police would investigate. It is after investigation that the matter now comes to the office of the attorney general and I will prosecute, Mr Nwoko said. Advertisements Let the family of the deceased raise a petition. If I have a petition on my table as attorney general, copied to me, I will write to the police that I have received this kind of complaint, please investigate it and let us have a report. Since that incident happened I have not heard anything about it till today. I have been told that it wasnt even the policemen in the governors convoy that did that. I felt quite sad, I see no reason why whosoever was responsible should not be prosecuted. The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce &Industry, SCCI, recently held, in cooperation with the Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (Sewa), an expanded consultative meeting with the sectoral business groups to review and listen to their comments, proposals, and challenges facing them towards achieving the best results in supporting economic work in the Emirate of Sharjah. The meeting comes as part of the SCCIs commitment to the interests of private business sectors to develop its activities and preserve the earnings of its members and ensure adequate representation of the largest segment of those affiliated to these sectors. Held at the SCCI headquarters, the meeting was attended by Abdullah Sultan Al Owais, the SCCIs Chairman, Dr Eng. Rashid Al Leem, Chairman, Sewa, SCCIs Director-General, Mohammad Ahmed Amin Al-Awadi, in addition to the chairmen and members of the sectoral business groups working under the SCCIs umbrella. While welcoming the attendees, Al Owais explained that the meeting is part of the joint keenness between SCCI and Sewa to enhance permanent communication with representatives of the private sector in the emirate to get acquainted with the reality of the various economic sectors, to pave the way for them to have more competition in the local, regional and global markets, and to exchange views on the most important challenges that may arise, as well as to explore all opportunities that enhance Sharjahs economic competitiveness. Al Owais shed light on the SCCIs constant keenness to harness the efforts of all its departments and institutions to serve the interests of the sectoral business groups, follow up on their actions and recommendations, and support their innovative initiatives, considering the importance and role of these groups in economic development and the development of private business sectors. Thanking and appreciating the rapid response and permanent cooperation of Sewa to listen directly to the demands of the private sector in the emirate, the SCCIs Chairman underlined that this cooperation would help identify the challenges facing the private sector and learn about its aspirations, to develop plans and programs for better services to all sectors in the Emirate of Sharjah. Dr Eng Al Leem pointed to the harmony between government authorities and the private sector to provide the best services to the residents of the Emirate of Sharjah, pursuant to the directives of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the UAE Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah. Sewa is always keen to listen to the ideas and comments of partners and to know their needs to develop innovative initiatives. This is achieved by introducing them to Sewas initiatives and programmes aimed at empowering the business environment and enhancing the role of the private sector, added Al Leem. He reiterated the importance of holding such periodic meetings with heads and representatives of the various economic sectors to learn about their demands and suggestions and to develop joint work plans ensuring the continuity of development and prosperity process in the Emirate of Sharjah. Al Leem went on saying: Sewa works as per a transparent and flexible policy and is keen on building strategic relationships with private sector institutions, especially the SME. At Sewa, we are committed to best practices and the highest standards of transparency in our relationship with our partners and clients, besides adopting a culture of creativity and innovation to develop services and raise their efficiency. We, in the meantime, hope that our partners will commit to these standards to build long-term cooperative relationships in a way that helps achieve our shared vision to enhance Sharjahs position and competitiveness in all fields. The Sewas Chairman commended the SCCIs role in supporting the business environment and boosting coordination between government agencies and the private sector. In an immediate response to the demands of real estate representatives to reconsider the value of insurance for the Sewas services for villas and homes, Al-Lim issued a decision to reduce the insurance value of these groups by 50% to encourage the sector to grow. He pointed out that this reflects Sewas strategy to provide the best services and commit to its social responsibility, through which it provided several community initiatives including, the Consult Me Before You Begin initiative, energy efficiency initiatives, flexible payment methods including installment dues, water leakage detection, smart meters, an integrated team to receive suggestions and ideas from the public, an initiative to communicate directly with the chairman through the website, among other initiatives. While heads and representatives of the sectoral business groups expressed their appreciation for the efforts of SCCI and Sewa to hold this meeting that helps enhance strategic relationships. They also stressed that Sewa provides many services and opens its doors to pioneering projects and innovative ideas, appreciating the SCCI vital role in achieving the interests of the business sector in Sharjah. By supporting the sectoral business groups, the SCCI strives to enhance communication between the business sector, the Chamber and the public sector. This would help confront challenges and take advantage of available opportunities in forming an integrated structure catering to the needs and aspirations of economic sectors and supporting efforts to achieve sustainable development.-- Tradearabia News Service Washington: Just a few months ago it seemed unlikely verging on implausible, yet here we are: Bernie Sanders is on track to win the Democratic Party's presidential nomination. It's well past time for people to take the 78-year old democratic socialist seriously - not just as Donald Trump's most likely opponent in November but as a potential president of the United States. "We're going to win this election," said Bernie Sanders, in San Antonio, Texas, after the Nevada caucus. Credit:AP Could a man so left wing and so old really be a serious contender for the presidency - especially given he had a heart attack in October? Yes he could, and he is. To his benefit, Sanders has been chronically underestimated throughout his long political career and that continues to this day. MIAMI - Tens of millions of people who have chosen not to vote in recent U.S. elections could be headed to the polls this November in a massive wave that would change the look and feel of the presidential contest, according to a newly published study of "chronic non-voters." The sweeping survey of thousands of inactive voters and eligible but unregistered adults, commissioned last summer by the Miami-based John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, found that roughly half of those interviewed were "absolutely certain" they'll vote in 2020. And given estimates that 100 million eligible adults skipped the last presidential election, that could mean a surge of unlikely voters. But a sudden uptick in participation wouldn't necessarily benefit one party. The number of voters who said they'll vote to reelect Trump was roughly the same as those who said they'll vote for his eventual Democratic opponent. "All things being equal, it should be a wash," said Fernand Amandi, the Miami-based pollster whose firm conducted the study from July to August. "But if one side manages to out-hustle the other with this group, that could be an advantage. It comes down to the fundamentals of what kind of campaigns are run, and persuasion." The last time Americans elected a president, more than 130 million people voted. But the turnout rate in 2016 dropped as millions of people chose not to participate. ADVERTISEMENT In order to better understand why so many people stayed home, the Knight Foundation commissioned Bendixen & Amandi International to speak with 14,000 people about everything from how they feel about politics to their household income. The ensuing study - a massive endeavor developed with the help of a nine-person review committee - included a national survey of 4,000 adults who participated in one or fewer of the last six presidential and midterm elections, and polls across 10 battleground states, including Florida. The national study found that people who chose not to vote varied widely in terms of demographics and income levels. It also supported findings from previous studies that a plurality of people who skip elections choose not to vote simply because they don't like the candidates. But, on the heels of a midterm election with the highest turnout in more than 100 years, more than half of non-voters surveyed said they're "absolutely certain" they'll vote in November. Among those who plan to vote, the largest factor motivating their decision to participate this year was Trump, regardless of whether they support or oppose the president. "I expect there to be higher turnout. There's no doubt about that," said Michael McDonald, a University of Florida associate professor of political science who tracks voter turnout. "We've seen across the board an unusual interest in elections" since 2016. The findings of the Knight Foundation survey could be seen as good news for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, the emerging front-runner for the Democratic nomination. Sanders' strategy includes a plan to "expand the electorate" by convincing young people and disillusioned voters to support a candidate who has spent decades catering to the working class. After the Iowa caucuses, Sanders noted repeatedly that even though turnout was less than he'd hoped, young people participated in greater numbers than in 2016. "That's a huge voter turnout. And we do that all over the country," Sanders asserted the following Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union." But of those surveyed, the number likely to vote for Trump was roughly equal to the number planning to vote for the eventual Democratic nominee. And in Florida, a key battleground state that Trump likely must win to remain in power, the numbers favored the president, with 36% of Floridians surveyed supporting Trump and 31% supporting the Democratic nominee. ADVERTISEMENT "There's a stereotype out there that if non-voters all turned up to the polls, it would be a big win for Democrats. That's not what we found here," said Evette Alexander, the Knight Foundation's director of learning and impact. Trump won in 2016 thanks in part to support from unlikely voters. And the Republican National Committee has invested millions in a data operation that allows Republicans to use reams of data about voters to "micro-target" them with digital ads tailored to address their individual concerns and needs. "It's one thing to know (voters) are out there. It's another to know who they are and how to get them," Rick Gorka, deputy communications director for the RNC, said in an interview. "There's no other data program out there that matches what we're doing, and we have to have the ground game to go out and capture those voters." McDonald cautioned that some percentage of people who say they plan to vote in 2020 will change their minds, decide they're too busy or end up falling ill - all reasons people have cited in recent Census studies for not voting. McDonald, who was not part of the study, also noted that turnout in the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary hasn't supported expectations of historic turnout in November. But he also pointed out that more than 1 million people have voted by mail in California ahead of the state's March 3 primary, and said data has over time supported the study's findings that the portion of the American electorate that doesn't vote is as evenly divided as those who do. "We could be in for a very close general election," he said. --- ADVERTISEMENT (c)2020 Miami Herald Visit Miami Herald at www.miamiherald.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday alleged that NCP chief Sharad Pawar was trying to implicate "Hindutvawadis" (Hindutva supporters) in the Koregaon Bhima violence case despite the absence of any concrete evidence. Fadnavis made the allegation while talking to reporters a day before the Budget session of the Maharashtra legislature commences. "During my tenure, the state home department had carried out a thorough probe into the Koregaon Bhima violence case," the former chief minister, who also held the home portfolio then, said. "NCP chief Sharad Pawar's first reaction on the violence was that Hindutvawadis were behind it. But police did not find any evidence to back up his claims," he said. "The entire investigation and its progress has not been objected either by the Bombay High Court or by the Supreme Court. Still by setting up a separate SIT, Pawar wants to implicate Hindutvawadis in the Koregaon Bhima violence incident," Fadnavis alleged. According to Pune police, the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, was supported by Maoists and inflammatory speeches made at the event led to caste violence at Koregaon Bhima war memorial in the district the next day. Right wing leaders Milind Ekbote and Sambhaji Bhide are accused in Koregaon Bhima case. The Pune Police have arrested Left-leaning activists Sudhir Dhawale, Rona Wilson, Surendra Gadling, Mahesh Raut, Shoma Sen, Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves, Sudha Bharadwaj and Varavara Rao in the Elgar Parishad case for their alleged Maoist links. Pawar had earlier termed the arrest of activists in the Elgar Parishad case as "wrong" and "vengeful", and demanded that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) be set up to probe the action taken by the Pune police. Replying to a query over it, Fadnavis said, "The Maharashtra police have found a strong evidence that urban Naxal issue is not restricted to Maharashtra alone. It has spread in other parts of the country as well. Hence handing over its probe to the NIA is a welcome move of Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray." The Centre had last month transferred the probe into the Elgar Parishad case from the Pune Police to the NIA, a move then criticised by the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government of Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress. However, the state government had later changed its stand and said that it had no objection to the central agency taking over the probe. Meanwhile, Fadnavis welcomed the the Maharashtra government's stand on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR). "NPR is a part of the central act and no one can say that its certain questions will be omitted in the state. The most important fact is that joint parliamentary committee has cleared it, hence Congress can no longer stay away from it," he said. His statement comes two days after Uddhav Thackeray met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and some other leaders in Delhi. After meeting Modi, Thackeray had told reporters that one needs to fear about the CAA as it is not meant for throwing anyone out of the country. He had also said that the Centre has already made its stand clear in Parliament that NRC will not be implemented across the country. "An atmosphere is being created about NRC that it is going to be dangerous for Muslims," Thackeray had said. He had also said thatR is not meant to drive anybody out of the country. However, the Congress and the NCP, along with some other opposition parties, have been critical of the CAA-NPR- NRC, and the matter has created discord among the Maharashtra alliance partners. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Wild boar attacks five people in UPs Tandeda village India oi-PTI Muzaffarnagar (UP), Feb 23: At least five people, including a Class X student and an elderly woman, were injured after being attacked by a wild boar in a village here, police said. The incident happened in Tandeda village under Kakroli police station limits of the district on Saturday, they said. The boar is said to have entered the village from a nearby jungle and attacked several people. NEWS AT 3 PM, FEBRUARY 23rd , 2020..... The injured were identified as Manish (16), Jumerati (55), Indervir Singh, Shahnawaz and Nyaju. All of them received treatment. Later, the boar returned to the jungle. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. With Bernie Sanders romping in Nevada, we come to it again. The insurgent candidate, armored against normal political forces and equipped with a passionate following, leads a field of more conventional party politicians. His early-state successes have given him a clear path to a plurality of pledged convention delegates. And his rivals are dividing the votes that might derail him while what remains of the party establishment day by day proves itself irrelevant. As with Donald Trump in 2016, so with Sanders so far in 2020. The characters are different, but the same dynamics are in play. The Democratic Party, no less than the Republican Party, looks like a derelict ship awaiting capture by a band of pirates. The center-left establishment, no less than its GOP counterpart, seems old, exhausted, promising to mildly reform a status quo that an intense and motivated portion of its base regards as too decadent to be worth preserving. And the party actors who dont want to see Sanders nominated are finding, like NeverTrumpers before them, that its awfully hard to stop a candidate if you cant agree on the alternative. The repetition is far enough advanced that a replay of 2016 may be inevitable. But theres still time for conservatives who opposed Trump to offer some advice to Democrats who want to nominate someone other than the Vermont socialist. So here are three lessons for PleaseNotBernie from the wreckage that was NeverTrump: You need candidates who arent actually winning primaries to drop out. The fatal conceit of establishment politicians facing an insurgency is that because the insurgent has obvious weaknesses, they should hang around and hang around, piling up third-place finishes and minor delegate hauls, in the hopes of gaining something. What they are actually likely to gain is blame, irrelevance or both; just ask those noted influencers Jeb Bush and John Kasich. So if you are, say, Amy Klobuchar, the fact that you have a solid case for your own electability is not a reason to stick around for Super Tuesday if you finish behind Pete Buttigieg in South Carolina as well as in Nevada. If youre Buttigieg, your strong Iowan and New Hampshire performances arent a reason to stay in if its clear you cant compete nationally with Michael Bloomberg and Joe Biden. If youre Biden, if you lose South Carolina you should drop out the next day. And so on. None of this means that simply consolidating the field will stop Bernie; he might well win a head-to-head race, too. But giving him five or six opponents in every contest makes the solidity of his core support an insurmountable advantage. And if you can narrow the field, the second lesson comes into play. Against an unconventional front-runner, unconventional measures are required. In the case of Trump, the person most willing to think this way was Ted Cruz, who made a serious bid to induce Marco Rubio to join him in an anti-Trump unity ticket. Would this have ultimately worked? Quite possibly not, but it was a brighter idea than the path that Rubio ultimately took passionately bemoaning Trumps ascent but refusing to gamble boldly in response. There isnt an obvious unity ticket equivalent for the non-Sanders Democrats, but the dynamic between Bloomberg, Biden and Buttigieg is worth watching. They are all positioned as moderate alternatives to the Sanders revolution, and after South Carolina and Super Tuesday one of them may look a lot more viable than the others. In which case two of the Bs swiftly dropping out and just as swiftly campaigning and fundraising for (or simply funding, in Bloombergs case) the third might be the only chance at a not-Sanders consolidation. And that chance is worth taking because of the third lesson. You probably cant stop a plurality candidate at a contested convention. And thats especially true if he has a clear delegate lead. I spent the early months of 2016 arguing otherwise, but the party system I was defending is pretty obviously dead. Theres little stomach among party officialdom to work against a candidate who wins the most primary votes, and voters themselves are unlikely to sustain rival candidacies if theyre clearly just playing for a brokered convention. I suspect that this is what doomed Cruz, in the end: Between his victory in Wisconsin and his campaign-ending defeat in Indiana, part of the anti-Trump coalition seemed to become exhausted by the idea of a convention fight that at best would end with Trump trying to split the party and voted strategically to end the race early instead. The Democrats delegate apportionment rules do make a contested convention more likely, but Bernie is better-liked by most Democrats than Trump was by Republicans at this stage in 16. So my bet is that history will repeat itself: A world where Sanders is on track to get a clear delegate plurality in late March is probably a world where he gets a majority by May. Which means that the long game of delegate accumulation and superdelegate machination is probably irrelevant, and the only question is whether its possible to unite a not-Sanders vote across the first three Tuesdays in March. To quote an ancient NeverTrump proverb: Good luck with that. Officers of Commissioner's Task Force (South Zone) team along with Kanchanbagh police apprehended two men for trying to sell fake tiger skin, nails, and teeth on Friday. The accused allegedly tried to pass off goat hide as tiger skin and was caught along with his associate. Both have been involved in various crimes in the past as well. The prime accused Shaik Mohammed Musthaq used to work as a marketing executive at a perfume store and later started selling artificial flowers. Further investigations in the case are underway. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) When it comes down to it, investors are focused on a single factor: a stocks ability to deliver returns. As Wall Street observers gauge the strength of a particular investment opportunity, often, they will filter out the noise and instead, concentrate their attention on its long-term growth prospects. We are referring to whether or not a name can achieve sustainable growth over the long haul, handsomely rewarding investors in the years to come. So, with this goal in mind, whats the first step for investors ready to get down to business? Its narrowing down the multitude of tickers traded in the public market to a select few that represent the pick of the bunch. To make it into this exclusive group, these names should not only have strong long-term growth narratives, but also the analyst communitys support. Setting out on our own search, we used TipRanks Stock Screener tool to pinpoint 3 stocks that have earned Strong Buy consensus ratings from the analysts and boast substantial upside potential from current levels. Lets get started. Selecta Biosciences (SELB) Selecta Biosciences believes that its ImmTOR immune tolerance platform can help patients fight rare diseases. Currently, biologic drugs can trigger neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) that work against the therapy, but ImmTOR technology allows for immune tolerance of the therapy. With this biotech already having gained 107% over the last twelve months, investors want to know if theres more fuel left in the tank. According to Mizuho Securities analyst Difei Yang, the answer is yes. She highlights the COMPARE trial as being the driving force behind her bullish thesis. The Phase 2 clinical trial is evaluating its lead candidate, SEL-212, in patients with chronic refractory gout, specifically looking at its efficacy in resolving symptoms like flares and gouty arthritis. Based on earlier clinical data, a combined therapy of ImmTOR and pegadricase, the current uricase therapy approved by the FDA, was able to reduce the occurrence of gout flares. As a result, the data allowed SEL-212 to proceed to a head-to-head COMPARE trial, the enrollment of which was completed back in December. Story continues Yang argues that the encouraging interim data increases the therapys likelihood of FDA approval. When looking at the big picture, she is optimistic about the platform as it may lead to a re-dosing of gene therapy. Additionally, she points out that the company was able to cut its financing overhang. Given Yangs high hopes for SELB, it makes sense that she stayed with the bulls. Not only did she maintain a Buy rating, but she also bumped up the price target from $4 to $7. This new target conveys her confidence in the biotechs ability to climb 66% higher over the next year. (To watch Yangs track record, click here) What does the rest of the Street have to say? As it turns out, when it comes to SELB, other analysts are also on board. With 5 Buy ratings assigned in the last three months compared to no Holds or Sells, the word on the Street is that the stock is a Strong Buy. Not to mention the $8.67 average price target puts the potential twelve-month gain at 105%. (See Selecta stock analysis on TipRanks) Ocular Therapeutix (OCUL) This biopharma uses a hydrogel platform to develop innovative treatments for various eye diseases. While its DEXTENZA insert has received FDA approval for the treatment of inflammation and pain following ophthalmic surgery, analysts point to its development pipeline as being capable of driving further growth on top of its already posted 57% one-year rise. On February 7, the company released data from the Phase 1 clinical trial for its OTX-TIC candidate at the Glaucoma 360 conference in San Francisco. The trial is studying the long acting travoprost intracameral implants ability to reduce intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients with primary open angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. The data readout was a major positive for the company, as the candidate was not only able to lower IOP levels very fast, but it also sustained these reduced levels for significant periods of time, 18 months in one case. Adding to the good news, OTX-TIC was found to be well tolerated and safe, with no serious adverse events reported. It should also be noted that OCUL has kicked off the third and fourth cohort enrollment for the Phase 1 trial, and it will continue to monitor the first two cohorts long-term. This trial outcome has certainly impressed Wall Street analysts, namely Yi Chen of H.C. Wainwright. Thanks to the positive data announced so far, the five-star analyst argues that the candidate is more likely to receive approval from the FDA, increasing the pobability from 20% to 30%. To this end, Chen boosted the price target by $2 in addition to reiterating his Buy recommendation. At $8, the new target implies that shares could surge 42% over the next year. (To watch Chens track record, click here) Like the H.C. Wainwright analyst, Piper Sandlers Joseph Catanzaro believes that the data was promising enough to warrant a price target increase. Along with his Overweight rating, the four-star analyst lifted the price target from $5.50 to $7. (To watch Catanzaros track record, click here) When looking at other analyst activity, it has been relatively quiet as only one other analyst has published a recent review. That being said, the call was also bullish, making the consensus rating a Strong Buy. Given the $7.33 average price target, a 30% twelve-month gain could be in the cards. (See Ocular Therapeutix stock analysis on TipRanks) Lithia Motors (LAD) Switching gears now, we move on to Lithia Motors, one of the largest car retailers in the U.S. While the name has taken some heat recently, several analysts still see more growth in store for the company, which has already posted a 46% twelve-month gain. In 2019, Lithia became the broadest coast-to-coast car retail network after it expanded its reach to include 92% of the U.S. Currently, the companys physical network is comprised of 189 stores located across the U.S., with 21 brands of vehicles being represented in California alone. That being said, the auto retailer isnt finished growing just yet. Last week, Lithia announced that it had acquired two Lexus stores in Sacramento and Roseville, California. According to statements from President and CEO Bryan DeBoer, these two locations could see revenue reach $160 million. Craig-Hallum analyst Ryan Sigdahl doesnt dispute the fact that the temporary pressure on margins caused him to assume a lower premium to comps. He does remind investors, though, that overall, the companys most recent quarter was solid. During the quarter, Lithia Motors was able to generate strong 7% year-over-year same-store sales growth in a slowing SAAR environment as a result of strength in its used vehicle business. Additionally, the analyst argues that the reason its profits took a hit was its integration of recent acquisitions and its efforts to position itself for a banner year of growth. In line with his optimistic approach, Sigdahl tells investors that the recent weakness presents an attractive entry-point. Along with his Buy rating, though, the analyst did reduce the price target from $200 to $170. However, the target still leaves room for a possible twelve-month gain of 31%. (To watch Sigdahls track record, click here) Looking at the consensus breakdown, it appears that other Wall Street pros are on the same page. As 100% of the analysts that have issued a recent recommendation see the stock as a Buy, the message is clear: LAD is a Strong Buy. On top of this, the $168 average price target suggests 30% upside potential. (See Lithia Motors stock analysis on TipRanks) The Delhi Police on Sunday said it has arrested an Afghan national accused of using a fake UK visa in 2014 on his Indian passport which he had obtained in 2013 by allegedly using forged voter ID and other documents. The District Investigation Unit (DIU) attached to the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport on February 20, arrested Charan Singh Sachdeva, 48, also known as Karan Singh, six years after an FIR was lodged in connection with use of fake UK visa. According to the police, in June 2014, 11 people, consisting of two families, had flown from IGI Airport to Moscow, Russia where they procured a UK visa from an agent and tried to travel to UK via Turkey. However, in Turkey the immigration authorities found something suspicious with their visas and on July 4, 2014 they were deported back to India. On arrival here, they were quizzed by the immigration authorities and the passengers revealed that they had procured the visa from an agent in Moscow, police said. Thereafter, their passports were seized and were sent to the British High Commission for verification of the visas. The High Commission in its report said the visas were forged and subsequently, an FIR was registered on July 22, 2014 against the passengers in question for the offences of cheating and impersonation under the IPC for using a fake visa, police said. It said that during the investigation, passport verification reports from Regional Passport Offices in Jalandhar, Punjab and R K Puram here, where the passengers supposedly resided, were called for and ticket details were also obtained. However, efforts to trace them were not successful, as none of the passengers in question were residing at the addresses given in their passports, police said and added that it also found that all of them were Afghan nationals who got Indian passports on the basis of forged Indian nationality documents. Subsequently, a team of officers from DIU-IGI led by ACP (Crime/DIU) Sunil Kumar Singh, and under the overall supervision of DCP Sanjay Bhatia, was constituted. Police said that on February 20, the team arrested Sachdeva and on being interrogated he stated he was an Afghan national and had obtained the Indian passport in 2013 by paying Rs five lakh to an agent for fake identity and Indian nationality documents. "Investigation of the case is in progress and search for other co-accused is on," police said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Naval forces from the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen on Sunday foiled an "imminent terrorist" attack by the Iran-aligned Houthi movement in the southern Red Sea, a major commercial shipping channel, the Saudi-led coalition said. The forces destroyed an unmanned boat laden with explosives that was launched from Hodeidah province in western Yemen, coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Malki said in a statement on Saudi state news agency SPA, without identifying the targets. There was no immediate confirmation from the Houthi movement which has been battling the Sunni Muslim military coalition since 2015 in a conflict that is largely seen in the region as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and arch-foe Shi'ite Iran. Yemen lies along the Bab al-Mandeb strait at the southern mouth of the Red Sea, one of the most important trade routes for oil tankers heading from the Middle East to Europe. Malki said the planned attack posed a threat to regional and international security and maritime trade. He said the use of Hodeidah for operations was a "glaring violation" of a U.N.-led peace deal in the disputed port city that was agreed between the Saudi-backed Yemeni government and the Houthis in December 2018. Saudi Arabia paused oil shipments through Bab al-Mandeb for more than a week in 2018 after the Houthis attacked two ships in the waterway. The Western-backed coalition intervened in Yemen to try to restore the internationally recognised government that was ousted from power in the capital Sanaa in late 2014 by the Houthis, who now control most major urban centres. Search Keywords: Short link: TUCSON, Ariz.The most astonishing thing that audience members report about Shen Yun Performing Arts may be something other than its gravity-defying dance technique, its full, live-orchestra, or its mesmerizing colors. Some theatergoers actually feel healed in some way or another after they watch the performance. Many attribute this to the positive energy the performers exude; others, to the higher power depicted in the performances storytelling dances. Tonight, at the Tucson Music Hall in Arizona, Michelle Virginia Burger felt her heart heal as she took in the classical Chinese dance performance that had brought its full-scale production there from New York. Burger is a mother, a realtor, a home designer and a builder who owns three companies in Southern Arizona. It was her first time seeing Shen Yun, but she was certain it wouldnt be her last after how moving and enriching she found it to be. [Shen Yun] is astonishing. Its better than I could have imagined and I imagined quite a bit actually. So its beautiful, its touching, and I feel like Im being rude because I cant clap half of the time. Im on the verge of tears, or Im laughing, or just so touched, just really extraordinary, Burger said. Shen Yun is on a mission to revive traditional Chinese culture through the performing arts. Some of its roughly 20 vignettes feature core themes that made Chinas 5,000-year-old civilization what it was: spiritual beliefs, moral principles, heavenly beings, and colorful legends. They also depict scenes from modern-day China where a full-scale persecution is taking place by the communist regime against those who still revere the spiritual aspects that made China what it once was. Oh my goodness, the whole theme about religious persecution just was touching and so powerful, Burger said, and particularly the dance about the two brothers, was amazing. I had tears pouring down my face the entire time, and while you were discussing it, as I was reading the program, it was just an incredibly powerful story, and I intend to, as much as I possibly can, help get the word out on that. It is very important I think. Abetting the Wicked is a dance story about two brothers who find themselves on opposite sides of the persecution, with one brother working for the Chinese Communist Party, the entity responsible for the campaign against innocents, while the other brother attempts to protect innocent lives. Falun Dafa practitioners are especially targeted by the ongoing persecution in China and appear as characters in Shen Yuns performance. In fact, Shen Yun artists themselves practice this ancient spiritual discipline and attribute their own stage energy and skills to its profound impact. Burger admired this aspect of Shen Yun and wanted to know more about Falun Dafa herself. I think its wonderful. Id like to get the book and read it myself. I studied different religions cause I like to respect anybody I possibly can. Ive read the Tao Te Qing, Ive read works of Buddha, Ive read the book of Mormon, Ive read the Bible, Ive read several things. And I would love to get that [Falun Dafa book] in my library as well, she said. You know, I actually came here with a bit of a heavy heart. And as I was watching, and as I was listening, I could feel my heart healing. It was very powerful. Its really amazing. Virginia Burger You know, I actually came here with a bit of a heavy heart. And as I was watching, and as I was listening, I could feel my heart healing. It was very powerful. Its really amazing. I have done quite a bit of meditation myself. My children are in martial arts, and so its something that I invited into my life on a regular basis, but this was extremely powerful, Burger said, thinking back to the performance she had just seen and its effect on her. The businesswoman was eager to share her experience of Shen Yun with people she knows, and bring her family along next time. This was my first [Shen Yun] performance, and Ive been meaning to do it for years, but something always came up. And I think this is going to become not only a tradition for myself but also for my family. Im going to insist that they come every year from now on. 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. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-23 13:12:26|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close by Xinhua Writers Bai Xu, Yue Dongxing CANBERRA, Feb, 23 (Xinhua) -- The China stage at the annual Australian National Multicultural Festival in 2020 was less glitzy, as actors and actresses in China were unable to come due to the COVID-19 outbreak. However, it seemed to attract more visitors this year, who signed their names and left encouraging words on a banner bearing the slogan: Be Strong, China! This year sees the 24th version of the National Multicultural Festival, one of the largest events of its kind in Australia which ran from Friday to Sunday. As of Saturday noon, the banner has collected more than 500 signatures in less than a day. "Good luck Wuhan, hopefully a cure or vaccine is found soon," wrote Julie Bennett, a doctor who wanted to send a message that China is not alone combating the epidemic. "It's a sad situation. We support all our friends and brothers and sisters in China," Bennett told Xinhua, adding she also would like to send a message to the Chinese combating the epidemic: "You are not alone." "Be strong Wuhan," Alice Yeardley wrote carefully in Chinese characters. She is a student from the Australian National University and has several Chinese schoolmates who were not able to return for the new semester due to the epidemic. "Hope everything gets better in the future," she said. "Dear Wuhan, I am sorry for your pain and grief," Natasha Cross wrote. The librarian had studied with people from China before and said they were all lovely people. Louise Salway signed with her young children Joey and Delilah. "My daughter has got a teacher from China," she said. "We understand it must be really hard for people (in China) at the moment, but we support you." Kylie Gibson who worked for the Department of Defense has planned to go to China this year before her trip was canceled. "We love you and give you strength. Visit you soon," she wrote. The three-day event saw local residents at different ages and with different skin colors coming to sign on the banner. According to Robert Johnson, a Chinese Australian Liberal candidate who initiated the campaign, more than 2,000 people have signed as of Saturday evening. Some people thanked Wuhan and China for their efforts to contain the epidemic, while others expressed their wishes. Johnson showed Xinhua signatures of David Hurley, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, and his wife Linda. "We would like to send the banner ultimately to Wuhan to let people there know that we in Canberra are with them," he told Xinhua. The banner signing was not the only event to show people's support to China. The Chinese lion and dragon dancers are the first squad among all groups participating in the street parade on Saturday, which drew over 2,000 performers representing different cultures. Before they started, the Chinese performers shouted "Be Strong China, Be Strong Wuhan." Volunteers held a box in the street, where some visitors donated for Wuhan. "We congratulate the Chinese government for all that you're doing to manage the situation, and we look forward to or being resolved very soon," said Alistair Coe, leader of the Liberal Party in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). He noted that more than 160 languages are spoken in Canberra and a very important component of the city is the Chinese community. "We have a wonderful Chinese community in Canberra," he said. "We're blessed to have an extraordinary contribution in so many different sectors." This view was shared by ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr who told Xinhua that the National Multicultural Festival is an event that brings people from all over the world to celebrate cultural diversity. "We understand just how difficult it is in China at the moment. So we encourage everyone to stay strong and to be passionate," he said. "I'm sure that the world health authorities and Chinese health authorities will be continuing to work to contain the virus and create a vaccine, and we do hope that things will return to normal as soon as possible...The future will be bright once we get through." "I was touched by the Chinese communities here showing their love and support to those affected by the COVID-19 epidemic," said Wang Xining, minister of the Chinese Embassy to Australia. He said the embassy received messages from Australian people of all walks of life, including businessmen, headmasters from universities, and politicians. "I am sure that under the leadership of our government, the epidemic could be quickly contained, and may our relationship with Australia see a new opportunity of development afterwards," Wang said. Fugitive gangster Ravi Pujari who is wanted in many heinous crimes, including murder and extortion, was brought in the early hours of Monday from Senegal via France to Bengaluru, police said. "Yes, we have brought him," a police officer told PTI requesting anonymity. The gangster was nabbed in South Africa in a joint operation by the SA police and Senegal security agencies and was later extradited to Senegal, said police sources. On learning about his arrest in Senegal, a team of police officers, including Additional Director General of Police Amar Kumar Pandey and Joint Police Commissioner Sandeep Patil went to Senegal to bring him. The team completed the extradition process and finally brought him to by an Air France flight. The don was arrested by the Senegal authorities last year and the India police tried it's best to catch hold of him but failed as a local court there granted him bail. The gangster then jumped the bail and fled Senegal and had holed up in South Africa, said police sources. The gangster was allegedly involved in many heinous crimes and had set up his network in Karnataka. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Add CoolSocial badge. Show it by adding this HTML code on your site: Smart1host.com scored 48 Social Media Impact. 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A Facebook page link can be found in the homepage or in the robots.txt file. The URL of the found Facebook page. The total number of people who like website Facebook page. Twitter account link TWITTER PAGE LINK NOT FOUND A 'devoted super mum' has tragically drowned after risking her own life to save her little girl from a strong rip at a notoriously dangerous New Zealand beach. Kelsi Wood was at Baylys Beach in Northland's Kaipara region with her family on Thursday afternoon when she got into trouble in the water while trying to rescue her seven-year-old daughter. She was rushed to hospital in a critical condition, where her life support was turned off on Friday morning. Her young daughter only suffered minor injuries. Kelsi Wood has been remembered as a' devoted super mum' with a bubbly personality New Zealand Police described Ms Wood's death as an absolute tragedy, which has been referred to the Coroner. Ms Wood leaves behind three young children aged nine, seven and five. A Givealittle fund-raising page set up in honour of the 'devoted super mum' has raised almost $18,000 within 24 hours. 'Kelsi was working at Dargaville Kindergarten where she was loved by the children, parents and colleagues, known for her infectious bubbly personality and her devotion to her friends and family,' the page states. 'Donations will go towards covering her funeral costs, any remaining money will go towards the children's future schooling needs. Ms Wood's Facebook page has been flooded with heartfelt tributes. A fundraising page set up in honour of Kelsi (pictured) has raised almost $18,000 so far Baylys Beach (pictured) on New Zealand's North Island is a notoriously dangerous beach 'You were a soul sister to so many of us. Nearly nine years ago you came into our lives, a bubbly and vibrant breath of life. You will forever be missed and never forgotten,' one friend wrote. Ms Wood's best friend added: 'The last 24 hours have been like a bad dream I keep trying to wake up from. She is an amazing single super mum of three and is going to be so badly missed by all.' The tragedy also rocked the Dargaville Primary School community, where her children attend. 'It has been a difficult day for staff who have had the challenging role of communicating this tragic incident with their children,' the school posted on Friday. 'Our school would like to reassure our community that we will remain open and all the appropriate support is in place to help students and staff through this time.' Kelsi (pictured) drowned while trying to save her seven-year-old daughter from a strong rip Ms Wood's mother Susan Fowlie described her as a strong and fiercely independent woman with an intelligent mind and an incredible mother who loved unconditionally.' 'I am so heartbroken. She leaves behind three beautiful children family members, partner and friends....we are lost for words,' Ms Fowlie told the New Zealand Herald. 'She was amazing....I will miss her for the rest of my days.' Ms Wood's funeral is this Wednesday and will be buried next to her father. Ms Wood is the latest swimmer to drown at the notoriously dangerous beach. A teenager died there in 2012, at Baylys Beach while two men drowned in separate incidents within a week of each other in early 2006. The Baylys Beach Society has placed a rahui to restrict access to the beach out of respect of Ms Wood, which remains in place until Monday. Austria halted all train traffic to and from Italy following fears that a train on Sunday night had two people on board who may have been infected with the COVID-19 virus, authorities said. The train was stopped at the Brenner crossing on the Italian side, Austrian Interior Minister Karl Nehammer said, according to Austrian broadcaster ORF. The train came from Venice in Italy and was on its way to Munich. Austria, which shares its southern border with Italy has expressed concern about the recent outbreak of the virus in the north of the country. The region has seen the number of infected people in the country soar to at least 152, the most outside Asia. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Agra: A view of the Taj Mahal on the eve of US President Donald Trump's visit to Agra, on Feb 23, 2020. (Photo: IANS) Image Source: Sandeep Mahankal/IANS Agra, Feb 23 : A day ahead of the US President Donald Trump's brief visit to the City of the Taj, huge billboards and cut-outs of him and Prime Minister Narendra Modi dotted the historic city on Sunday, including the airport and other public places. According to authorities, hundreds of hoardings and cut-outs of Trump and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi had been put across across the city, especially the 13-km route from the airport to the Taj Mahal. The US President and his entourage will take the route on February 24 evening to visit the Taj. The US First Family will spend about an hour at the world-famous monument to love before sunset. Meanwhile, the work to give final touches to the 17th century monument is still underway and was slated to be completed by Sunday evening. The work of putting up hoardings -- with welcome messages for the visiting dignitary and his entourage -- as well as cut-outs was still on and expected to be completed by early Monday morning. A senior officer said: "We are covering underconstruction buildings enroute with huge billboards to ensure there are no odd visuals." While quite a few billboards show Trump and Modi shaking hands and captioned 'Two great nations. One great friendship' and 'Namaste Trump, February 24', others have messages like 'Trump, welcome to the land of Lord Ram' and 'Welcome to the land of great opportunities'. A huge billboard near the Taj Mahal complex near its eastern gate has the images of Trump and his wife and reads 'His Excellency Donald Trump, President of the United States of America, Her Excellency Melania Trump First Lady of the United States of America, Welcoming you on behalf of the 1.35 billion people of India'. Trump is scheduled to visit India on February 24 and 25 along with wife Melania Trump, daughter Ivanka Trump, and son-in-law Jared Kushner and a galaxy of top US officials. The couple will spend the first day of the visit in Gujarat's Ahmedabad and Uttar Pradesh's Agra before moving to Delhi for the official reception and bilateral talks. This is Donald Trump's first State Visit to India and also the first standalone visit by a US President to India. Before Trump, US President Bill Clinton visited Agra in March 2000 and Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1959. (Anand Singh can be contacted at anand.s@ians.in) (Newser) In Nevada, it was no contest. Bernie Sanders cruised to an easy win, with the AP and the major networks calling the race as soon as the very first precincts reported. Those results, here via CNN, showed why: Sanders, 46.6% Joe Biden, 19.2% Pete Buttigieg, 15.4% Elizabeth Warren, 10.3% Amy Klobuchar, 4.5% Tom Steyer, 3.8% Tulsi Gabbard, 0.1% story continues below The win for Sanders follows his victory in New Hampshire and his virtual tie in Iowa, thus giving him clear frontrunner bragging rights. Biden, meanwhile, declared himself back in the 2020 race after disappointing results in the earlier states. "We're alive and we're coming back and we're gonna win," he told supporters. Mike Bloomberg was not on the ballot. President Trump weighed in on the race before it was called: "Looks like Crazy Bernie is doing well in the Great State of Nevada," he tweeted. "Biden & the rest look weak, & no way Mini Mike can restart his campaign after the worst debate performance in the history of Presidential Debates. Congratulations Bernie, & dont let them take it away from you!" (Read more Bernie Sanders 2020 stories.) Here are todays top news, analysis and opinion curated for you at this hour. Know all about the latest news and other news updates from Hindustan Times. Ahead of Trumps visit, airlines asks flyers to reach Ahmedabad airport early Vistara, IndiGo and SpiceJet have an issued an advisory to passengers to reach the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport ahead of time as they expect traffic congestion from 8am to 4pm on Monday, according to the news agency. Read more Hurt at being labelled Pakistanis, Shaheen Bagh protesters tell SC The affidavit listed the concerns and the views of the women who reaffirmed that they are proud citizens of the country and conveyed their anguish at being labeled as anti-national and Pakistanis. Read more Tharoor takes a wordy jibe at Ahmedabad wall built for Trump visit Tharoor was the latest to take a jibe at authorities who have been deflecting criticism over the wall, saying the decision to construct the boundary wall and Trumps visit are not connected. Read more Its an honour: PM Modi tweets ahead of Donald Trumps India visit The United States president, First Lady Melania Trump and a high-level delegation will fly into the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad before noon on Monday. Read more Schools in Kashmir to reopen Monday, 6 months after Art 370 was scrapped Students and their parents seem upbeat this time about reopening of schools. Read more Jabra Elite 75t review: The best wireless earbuds for its price Jabras Elite 75t wireless earbuds turned out to be pretty impressive. Heres our review on why these earbuds are a value for money. Read more Malaika Arora looks like a proper patola in this Sangeeta Kilachand sari Malaika was looking gorgeous in the authentic, vintage patan patola saree adorned with intricate marodi embroidery as she walked the red carpet at the Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival.Read more Sonam Kapoor confirms dad Anil Kapoor has discussed Mr India announcement with brother Boney Kapoor: We are all still very confused Sonam Kapoor on Sunday confirmed that her father, Anil Kapoor, has discussed the sudden announcement of a planned Mr India trilogy with brother Boney Kapoor, the producer. Read more India vs New Zealand: 9 innings, 201 runs, one 50 - Virat Kohlis lean patch dents Indias prospects His 123 in Perth 2018 still remains his best effort in away Tests in the last 2 years - in the 7 Tests since the England tour, the Indian captain has scored 439 runs at an average of 33 which includes one hundred and 3 fifties. Read more Murdered mother Hannah Clarke's courageous last moments have been revealed after she was ambushed and burned alive by her estranged husband, snatching away her dreams of becoming a police officer. Simon Farmer - a family friend who was with Hannah in the Intensive Care Unit when she died after suffering burns to 97 per cent of her body - described the devoted mother's final minutes alive in gut-wrenching detail. 'She hung in there ... Until the last heartbeat brought a tidal wave of grief and anger,' he wrote on social media. 'You should all know how strong she was, she fought so hard.' Ms Clarke, 31, died after Rowan Baxter, 42, set her car on fire while she was dropping their children Laianah, aged four, Aaliyah, six, and Trey, three, off at school. Ms Clarke and her children, Laianah (bottom) Aaliyah (top) and Trey (held by his mother) were killed at the hands of their father Family Image of Hannah Clarke critically injured standing with Rowan Baxter who died in the car fire along with the three children The three youngsters died at the scene. Their father then killed himself beside the car when he knew his evil deed was done. Hannah was rushed to hospital, with Mr Farmer saying the only part of his friend that was not burnt was her foot. 'We were in the ICU and we knew there was no hope,' the father-of-three told The Australian. Family friend Simon Farmer with his wife Lou and two of their children 'The nurse held up the footprint and said, "This is all we could get". He said Hannah's remaining footprint will serve as a key message in her legacy: Small Steps for Hannah. 'It was just an incredibly powerful moment,' he said. Sergeant David Beard shared the 31-year-old's dreams of becoming a police officer at a vigil held on Sunday evening in Brisbane to mourn the loss of the family-of-four. Hannah had spoken about her plans at a Police Citizens Youth Club while visiting a friend the day before she burned to death. Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll said Hannah's courage and heroism were the makings of an excellent officer. 'Right through to her passing, Hannah showed amazing courage and heroism, ensuring that she gave our police and emergency services at the scene a detailed statement of the horrific events that unfolded, leading to the death of her three children and ultimately herself,' Commissioner Carroll said. 'The nurse held up the footprint and said, "This is all we could get",' said Simon Farmer - a family friend who was with Hannah in the Intensive Care Unit when she died Community members laid flowers by crosses bearing the names of Hannah and her children at the vigil Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk (left), parents to Hannah Clarke Lloyd and Suzanne Clarke (centre), and Police commissioner Katarina Carroll (right) at the vigil 'Hannah's determination to provide our police the information they needed to ensure justice should be served truly encapsulates the sort of person Hannah was. She was strong, she was determined, she was courageous. 'How lucky we would have been in the Queensland Police to have welcomed someone with those attributes into our policing family.' Three days before the quadruple murder-suicide, Baxter told a friend he wouldn't do 'anything stupid', the Sydney Morning Herald reported. The pair spoke for two hours as the friend feared Baxter was suicidal after his estranged wife Hannah Clarke took out a Domestic Violence Order against him. During the conversation Baxter revealed he was devastated that he was not allowed to see his children. Talking about Ms Clarke, he said 'she can do whatever she wants to me but don't take my kids away from me, that's all I've got left in life,' the friend told the newspaper. The friend also revealed that when they parted ways after the meet-up he warned Baxter not to 'do anything stupid'. A police officer speaks during a vigil to remember murdered mother. Thousands of mourners attended the event Lloyd Clarke is comforted by his son Nat at the community vigil for his daughter Hannah and her three children 'The last thing I said to him as he was walking away was "mate, don't do anything stupid" and he sort of turned as he was walking away and he just said "no mate, I'm not going to do anything stupid." I was sort of thinking that he might self-harm,' he said. The friend said that Baxter was suffering extreme depression that drove him to become a 'monster' three days later. 'If someone told me Rowan was capable of that, I would say, no way, not to his kids. He loved his kids more than anything else in the world,' the friend said. More than 1000 mourners gathered at the vigil at Whites Hill State College in Camp Hill - just blocks away from the murder scene. Dressed in pink - Hannah's favourite colour - her father Lloyd Clarke and brother, Nat, thanked the crowd for their support at the vigil on Sunday evening. 'We would have felt lost without all your support,' the distraught father said. 'I don't know how we can repay such kindness.' He described the past week as the 'hardest of their life'. Hannah Clarke's brother Nathaniel Clarke holds back the tears while holding his young son during the vigil for his murdered sister Lloyd and Suzanne Clarke, parents to Hannah Clarke, break down at a vigil to remember their murdered daughter 'We may not know you all, but you embraced our family when our whole world collapsed and for that we are genuinely grateful,' he said. 'While dealing with this truly difficult time, my family and I are forever thankful to our neighbours and those who were first on the scene who tried to desperately help Hannah and the children. 'You selflessly and without hesitation did what you could to save them. I don't know how we can repay such kindness, other than to say we will be eternally grateful. You have restored out faith that there are many good and decent people in the world.' Mr Clarke spoke about his pride over everything his daughter managed to achieve before her life was cut short. He also reflected on the joy his three grandchildren brought to his life. Many who addressed the crowd spoke of Hannah's courage and love. Hannah Clarke stands at the beach with her daughters Laianah and Aaliyah Crosses bearing the names of the mother and youngsters who were burned alive by their father are swarmed with flowers from mourners While many tried to remember the best of Ms Clarke and her children, many could not hide their grief over one of worst acts of domestic violence Australia has ever seen. A mass of flowers and children's toys were laid at the front of the vigil, while hundreds of condolence messages have been written by a community still in shock. Nikki Brookes was a friend of Ms Clarke, and had to hold back tears as she addressed the crowd. She called for the community to not turn a blind eye to domestic violence. 'We are a nation in pain,' she said. 'Don't back away from your friends for the sake of convenience. More than 1000 people turn out for a vigil for Hannah Clarke and her three children Aaliyah, 6, Laianah, 4, and Trey, 3, in Brisbane The family's car (pictured) is removed from the scene in Camp Hill, Brisbane, after Hannah Clarke and her three children were set alight inside 'Time's up on domestic violence.' Baxter doused their car in petrol and set it alight while Hannah was dropping the children off at school. The youngsters died at the scene while Hannah succumbed to her horrific burns in hospital later that day. Baxter stabbed himself in the chest and died from his injuries. The Story Bridge, Victoria Bridge and City Hall in Brisbane were also lit with pink lights to honour the family. The Story Bridge in Brisbane is seen lit up in pink in memory of Hannah Clarke and her children. Pink was her favourite colour The Victoria bridge is seen lit up in pink in the Brisbane CBD in honour of Hannah Clarke and her three children who were doused in petrol and set alight The venue where the vigil was held was Hannah's former school. She was the school captain with the So You Think You Can Dance 2008 winner Jack Chambers. 'Such heartbreaking news yesterday. A monstrous crime that makes you sick to your stomach! Hannah and I were school captains back in our last year of school, 15 yrs ago,' he wrote on Facebook in a moving tribute. 'That would be the last time I had actually seen or spoken to Hannah Clarke - so while I didn't know her in our adult life, I will always remember her as the kind, strong and driven teenager she was. If you want to show your support to the Clarke family, you can donate below.' For 24/7 confidential support, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 THE ADVENTURES OF MAUD WEST by Susannah Stapleton (Picador 9.99, 320pp) THE ADVENTURES OF MAUD WEST by Susannah Stapleton (Picador 9.99, 320pp) There is no shortage of female detectives in fiction, from Agatha Christies Miss Marple to Dorothy L. Sayers Harriet Vane. But had these imaginary sleuths any counterparts in real life? Exploring the archives, historical researcher Susannah Stapleton came across the redoubtable figure of Maud West, whose newspaper advertisements described her as a Lady Detective who would undertake private enquiries and delicate matters. Maud proved to be a brilliant self-publicist an international traveller and mistress of disguise, who kept a revolver, hypodermic syringe and vial of dope in her overnight bag, and published sensational accounts of her exploits in the newspapers. But what was the reality behind the dashing figure? Stapletons swift-paced and thrilling account reveals a tale with as many twists and turns as any sleuth story. THE REMARKABLE LIFE OF THE SKIN by Monty Lyman (Penguin 9.99, 304pp) THE REMARKABLE LIFE OF THE SKIN by Monty Lyman (Penguin 9.99, 304pp) Our skin is a beautiful mystery, cloaked in feelings, opinions and questions. Dr Monty Lymans interest in skin began when he was an 18-year-old medical student and suffered a bout of eczema, which has shadowed me ever since. Our skin, he argues, is invisible in plain sight. On an average human body it covers two square metres and weighs 9 kg, but it wasnt considered an organ until the 18th century, and is still often overlooked by the medical profession. Dr Lyman quotes a colleague who describes skin as the wrapping paper that covers the presents. In fact, it is our most communicative organ a book, in which scars, wrinkles and tattoos tell our story and can be read by others. Beautifully written, revealing and surprising, this is a fascinating guide to the secret life of skin. THE BEEKEEPER OF ALEPPO by Christy Lefteri (Manilla Press 8.99, 384pp) THE BEEKEEPER OF ALEPPO by Christy Lefteri (Manilla Press 8.99, 384pp) In 2016 and 2017, Christy Lefteri worked as a volunteer in a refugee centre in Athens, helping families who had fled Syria and Afghanistan. Overwhelmed by their accounts of survival and loss, Christy was inspired to write the story of Nuri, a Syrian beekeeper, and his wife, Afra, who was blinded by an explosion in which their son, Sami, was killed. The novel unfolds in flashback, as Nuri and Afra, now living in temporary accommodation in a British seaside town, recall their former life in Aleppo, the events that drove them to leave their once beautiful home and the terrifying journey that brought them to the UK, where they are waiting to hear if their application for asylum will be granted. In vivid, haunting prose, this bestseller describes the anguish of the millions of refugees fleeing war and persecution. Pope Francis during the Angelus in the southern Italian city of Bari urges the actors involved in the Syrian conflict and the international community to silence the noise of weapons and to listen to the cries of the weak and defenseless. By Lydia OKane During his Angelus address in the Italian city of Bari on Sunday the Popes thoughts turned to the people of north-western Syria. Syria, a huge tragedy He said, that while they were gathered to pray and reflect on peace and the fate of the peoples of the Mediterranean, a huge tragedy was taking place on the other side of this sea. In a heartfelt appeal, Pope Francis urged the actors involved in the Syrian conflict and the international community to silence the noise of weapons and to listen to the cries of the weak and defenseless. He also appealed for self-interests to be put aside in order to safeguard the lives of civilians and the many innocent children who are paying the price. Let us pray to the Lord, the Pope said, that he may move hearts and that all may overcome the logic of conflict, hatred and revenge in order to rediscover themselves as brothers and sisters of one Father, who makes the sun rise over the good and the bad. The Pontiff prayed that guided by the Holy Spirit, new relationships would be built, inspired by understanding, acceptance and patience, thus creating the conditions for experiencing the joy of the Gospel and spreading it in every environment of life. The Popes words on Sunday came after the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Friday for an immediate cease-fire in Syrias war-torn Idlib province to avoid he said, an uncontrollable escalation. The human cost of conflict The United Nations estimates that around 2.8 million people in northwest Syria, require humanitarian assistance. The vast majority of which are women and children. For almost a year, Syrian ground offensives have targeted a de-escalation zone in Idlib, and this month Turkish and Syrian forces have clashed repeatedly. Mr Guterres stressed that this man-made humanitarian nightmare for the long-suffering people of Syria must stop. It must stop now. Earlier this month, during the Angelus in St. Peters Square, Pope Francis launched a renewed appeal for the international community to protect the many people suffering in northwestern Syria. Pope thanks Bishops of the Mediterranean Before the recitation of the Marian prayer, Pope Francis thanked from the bottom of his heart all the Bishops and all those who participated in this meeting on the Mediterranean. You have contributed, he said, to the growth of the culture of encounter and dialogue in this region so important for peace in the world. As an existing print subscriber it is easy to get FREE access to all our online content. When you click get started below it will walk you through creating an online account to attach your print subscription number to. After your account is created it will ask you to either add a subscription for online access or click on the print subscriber button. Click the print subscriber button header and it will open a dropdown, now click on get started. The page will reload and you will be prompted to enter an account number and a zip code. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO USE THE NUMBER OFF OF THE MOST RECENT ISSUE OR ANYTHING AFTER JANUARY 28, 2019 TO GAIN ACCESS! OLD ACCOUNT NUMBERS WILL NOT WORK The account number and zip code are easily available on your most recent issue of the High Plains Journal or Midwest Ag Journal in the address fields as is shown here. Sometimes the account number has extra zero's in front of it, just ignore those. MCC review committee: Strings attached to $480m grant View(s): The government has been advised to be cautious in ratifying the Millennium Challenge Corporations (MCC) grant of US$480 to Sri Lanka as key conditions laid down in the compact would erode the countrys sovereign rights. The 4-member expert committee appointed to review the MCC grant has issued this warning in their preliminary report presented to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Monday. The committee has concluded that the MCC compact with all strings attached to it was detrimental to the country as some of its provisions gave an upper hand to the US, the Business Times reliably learnt. The compact is not just another contract; it is a treaty with the US Government which is represented by the MCC, and the Government of Sri Lanka. Committee Chairman Prof. Lalithsiri Gunaruwan of the University of Colombo told the Business Times that they have evaluated the pros and cons of the MCC grant and made their recommendations to the President. The government could arrive at a decision on MCC compact by considering the observations and recommendations in the report devised after two months of deliberations with relevant stake holders, public representatives, some selected experts and intellectuals, he added. Prof. Gunaruwan noted that they have submitted their recommendations proposing safety clauses to the agreement in their preliminary report which was completed after an in-depth study on the MCC compact. He said the committee received a large number of public representations while a comprehensive report will be submitted later. The larger part of the MCC Compactthe $350 million transport projectfocuses on modernising bus transport and improving traffic management systems, which would contribute towards crucial improvements in public transport and provide tangible benefits to the poor. A small land projectenvisaged amounting to $67 millionseeks to improve the land administration policy in Sri Lanka. Specifically, it seeks to map and survey state lands, strengthen government capacity and provide help with the digitisation of deeds. Never before has Sri Lanka received such a huge amount of grants from any bilateral or multilateral agencies for the implementation of projects that could prove game-changer for this country, an eminent economic expert said. He noted that this opportunity should not be lost as it is the last chance for Sri Lanka to get a grant, not a loan, before becoming an upper-middle income country from a lower-middle income country under World Banks latest country income classifications for the 2020 fiscal year. (BS) CLEVELAND, Ohio A lifetime of memories defy nearly a centurys passage of time in photo albums stacked on Rev. Horst Hoyers dining room table. The photos tell the story of a man who lived under five different political regimes, including Nazi Germany and Communist East Germany. The images follow his journey to the U.S. where he became pastor of Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tremont, serving in that post for 55 years. The pictures change from black-and-white to color in scenes of his marriage, family life and work with a long list of Cleveland groups to aid the hungry, the poor, the sick and disenfranchised. There are photographic glimpses of his association with Cleveland mayors, business leaders, civic officials, ethnic groups and celebrities. The photos dont fully capture a deeply religious man who is always ready with a smile, a joke, a helping hand and a seemingly endless supply of anecdotes rolling like seasoned chestnuts to feed a conversational fire. But stories also can accompany each photograph, told with German-accented relish by Hoyer, who still delivers a monthly service in his homeland language at the church on Scranton Road, that will honor his 90th birthday today. Dictatorship to democracy to divinity A group of small children in 1930s Gotha, Germany, stare into the camera. Hoyer places his hand over the photo. I cannot look at this, he says. The group includes one of his former childhood playmates who was Jewish and doomed for the gas chamber during World War II. Hoyer was brought into a grim world that would get even grimmer. His father was a musician who supported his wife and only child by working as a mechanic, playing with a band at nightclubs on weekends. (Music would later become a big part of his sons life, mastering five instruments, designing a new organ for Immanuel Lutheran and founding the churchs Brass Choir, which he still directs.) As Adolf Hitler rose to power and Nazi Germany launched World War II, families took sides. Politically, my mothers family were right-wingers, but not active. But my father was total anti-Hitler. I was afraid he would end up in one of the [concentration] camps. He was very outspoken, Hoyer says. Like all German children, Hoyer was forced to join the Hitler Youth organization, and learned how to repair vehicles, a skill that came in handy when he came to Cleveland and could fix his own car. He survived 11 Allied air raids on his city, including two very close calls as buildings exploded around him. He also stayed active in the local Lutheran church, which asked him if he would like to join the ministry. Its not that I didnt want to, but I was unable to speak in public, says Hoyer. So in my prayer I says, God, if you want me to do that, you have to turn me totally around. And my dear wife of 63 years, who passed away last October, once said, Dont ask the Lord anymore, because you never shut up. His plans after the war to attend a university were quashed when he learned that hed have to sign a loyalty oath to the government and Communist doctrine, which I couldnt do, Hoyer says. He was able to get to West Berlin (before the wall dividing that city was built), and then to Lutheran seminaries in West Germany. One of his American seminary roommates talked Hoyer into continuing his studies in the U.S., and he graduated from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis in 1955 with a masters in Divinity. He was ordained a year later. In one of his numerous God-moves-in-mysterious-ways stories, Hoyer says Immanuel Lutheran, which had served the citys German and Lutheran immigrant community since 1879, contacted the St. Louis seminary with an urgent request for someone who could conduct services in German. So Hoyer came to Cleveland in 1954, where he met and married Marilynn, became pastor of Immanuel Lutheran, raised a family and launched a citywide mission to help people. That effort included founding a hunger and crisis center at the church, serving on the mayors Commission on Aging, Lutheran Childrens Aid and Family Services and the Council for Economic Opportunities where he helped develop programs for home health aides and established a minibus for residents lacking access to transportation. He also was a volunteer chaplain at the Port of Cleveland for 29 years, and took to the airwaves with religious radio programs in German. Hoyer was honored by Congress, Cleveland mayors, Ohio governors and county commissioners. He was awarded Germanys highest civilian honor, the Cross of Merit, for his contributions to German culture, and ministry to the hungry and homeless. But it all came at a price. I spent more time outside of the church than I did inside, at a cost to my family, Hoyer says. He and his wife adopted four children, three of whom recently said they understood the need for their fathers extra work. There has always been the motivation to prove himself, says his son, Jon Hoyer, of Cleveland. His son believes that the grim war years enhanced his fathers character. He is the eternal optimist. He took those negative experiences and really turned them on their head. Thats what made him so resilient. His sister, Margaret Akbar, of Chippewa Lake, says what he went through in the war kind of connected him to people, and taking care of people. The Hoyers second daughter, Annette OBrien, of Medina, says that one of the biggest lessons she learned from him was to look out for other people, to be kind and persevere. No matter what happens to you in life, the Lord will find a way. A time for reflection Hoyer surveys his basement tabletop domain of trains, tracks and miniature buildings replicating those in German villages, that is both a longtime hobby and nostalgia on wheels. It gives me a feeling that Im home in Germany again, he says, almost wistfully. The time has come in his life for a little reflection. But when asked about his proudest accomplishment, he shrugs. I didnt accomplish anything. To me, it was the Lord God who used me to serve him, Hoyer says. Ok, he is pretty proud of the 39-rank pipe organ he designed for the church in 1964. Thats my baby, says Hoyer. Yet even the organ offers a spiritual lesson. The instruments pipes come in all different sizes, made from various materials, but, says Hoyer, they harmonize, they dont fight each other. I wish all people were that way. The church is still very much a part of his life, and Hoyer leads public tours of the historic structure. The former pastor is remembered fondly at the church. Ive met many pastors in my life, but he is so dedicated to people, he loves people, he loves solving problems. We dont have many people like that anymore, says current Pastor Jerry Witt-Jablonski. His observation is echoed by Jill Kershner, the churchs administrative assistant. Oh gosh, pastor Hoyer is Immanuel Lutheran church. Ive never met anyone like him. He is genuine, he is kind, he is compassionate. Looking back on his life, even Hoyer is somewhat mystified. I dont know how I ever did it, he says. Whats next? Downsizing, Hoyer says. Making sure my family doesnt have too much work to do when the Lord calls. Im on Gods waiting list. I have to wait for my number to come up. Then, he says that his drivers license expires next year. Going to renew it? Oh sure, Hoyer says with a confident grin. Other stories by Brian Albrecht: https://www.cleveland.com/news/2020/02/dr-checklist-bows-in-for-second-act-at-university-hospitals-in-cleveland.html https://www.cleveland.com/news/g66l-2019/12/0b4530ec81353/bighearted-blooms-sows-cheer-in-nursing-homes-hospitals-with-floral-acts-of-kindness.html https://www.cleveland.com/news/g66l-2019/09/068e16c616149/replacing-chemistry-with-biology-solon-firm-cultivates-problemsolving-products-with-worldwide-impact-.html https://www.cleveland.com/news/g66l-2019/11/76513d7c199894/lake-eries-green-monster-climate-change-adds-pressure-to-prevent-toxic-algal-blooms.html https://www.cleveland.com/news/g66l-2019/07/ccc77618777599/harold-brown-one-of-the-last-tuskegee-airmen-recalls-battling-for-victory-and-equality.html Kakoli Mukherjee By Express News Service The corridors of MCRHRD Institute in Jubilee Hills look almost deserted till you hear old Hindi songs wafting out of Ambedkar Hall. A group of people, bent intently over paper sheets, infuse life into mythological figures with paint brushes and organic colours. Prakash Joshi, a Phad painting artist and a recipient of the National Award in 2009, instructs the participants, which consists of a group of IPS officers. The workshop was conducted by Spic Macay heritage club. Phad means reading out a story in Rajasthani. Its the worlds longest traditional painting which is narrated with music. The local deities, which are being painted, are Pabuji and Devnarayan. The former is believed to be the incarnation of Lakshman and the latter of Vishnu, says Prakash. He belongs to the Joshi clan of Chippa caste in Rajasthan who have been engaged in this profession 10th century. Talking more about the local deities, Prakash says: Devnarayan sits on a snake and his horse is green. Pabujis horse is black. The Bhopa community of Rajasthan narrates stories from Phad, accompanied by dancing. Pabuji is believed to have brought camels to Rajasthan. Since the local deities are not known outside Rajasthan, I incorporate stories from mythology and history too in the paintings. The artist rues that there are only 10-15 Phad artists left in the world. The reason behind this dwindling number is that our forefathers wanted to keep the skill confined to their own bloodline. During those days, there were fewer means of earning a living, and the ancestors believed that if the skills passed on to other families, it would affect their business. That is why, daughters were never taught the art. Today, I teach whoever is willing to learn. We are trying our best to make people more aware about this art form. I conduct workshops and lectures all over the world. When asked about the biggest challenge he faced in his journey, the artist says: The most difficult and rewarding part of my career was introducing miniature forms of Phad paintings. I have brought the measurements down from inches to centimeters. I received the national award for making the smallest Phad in the world, which depicted the story of Pabuji. IPS officer Priyanka Kashyap, who was one of the participants, said: Since we are on the field most of the time, sitting down and creating something beautiful is a stress-buster. Its a way of being just in the moment, and stirs of memories of childhood. All about Phad What: Phad painting denotes a large cloth scroll on which the legends of Rajasthani deities Pabuji and Devnarayan are painted. Making: Painters prefer hand-woven coarse cotton cloth, which is processed by applying a paste of wheat/rice flour and gum. The paints are made from gum, powdered earthen colours, water and Indigo. Colour code: Orange is used to paint limbs or torsos of figures, yellow for ornaments, green for vegetation and trees, brown for architectural structures, red for royal clothing and flags, blue for water bodies and curtains Prahar Janshakti Party leader shot dead in Maharashtra's Akot When the sun sets, members from Bhopa community erect the scroll, perform the pooja and sing the scenes, accompanied by musical instruments Jantar and Rawan Hatta. The scroll is rolled up when the sun rises. Crap Shoot: Caucusing at the Bellagio Commentary LAS VEGAS Snake eyes, boxcars or eight the hard way? It bordered on the surreal. In fact it crossed over. At Las Vegas upscale Hotel Bellagio, employees and others were set to caucus away Saturday, largelyit was expectedin favor of socialist Bernie Sanders, not more than fifty yards from the hotels casino where a minimum bet at the craps table is $100 and goes up from there in multiples that might make even Mike Bloomberg hesitate. Well, maybe not. Nevertheless, it gives you a true sense of what old Bern means by income inequality, even if his method of ending it leaves a lot to be desired. Meanwhile, that craps analogy weirdly applies to all the roughly 250 caucuses taking place across Nevada because the system really is a crap shoot in the true sense of that hoary phrase, mixed in with a little poker. Call it jacks to open, trips to win. Dont believe me? If its a tie between two candidates at one of the precincts, a mint deck of cards is unwrapped (just like at the 21 table), cut a minimum of seven times and then drawn by representatives of the candidates. Aces are high, in case youre interested, and, in the event of a tie, spades win, clubs lose. Does this sound like democracy? Not to me. But at least the Nevadans, unlike the Iowans, have early voting, assuming the iPads work (but on latest report theyre not being used anymore). It was sort of a secret-ish ballot for the early voters who were asked to rank the candidates from one to five on an aforementioned iPad. This was not, mind you, for Best Strip Billboard, which goes hands down to that other billionaire Tom Steyer who greets you as you drive into town with a flasher outdoing such standbys as Mariah Carey or the Blue Man Group. No, this was about the presidency and if your early ballot was for a candidate who ultimately does not receive the requisite 15 percent at his or her site, then your number two vote counts and so on. Follow this? If not, dont play craps. If youre beginning to detect Im a bit cynical about the caucus system in general, maybe you should play crapsbut remember, nobody wins in the long run. But it is the caucus system that is on trial here in Nevada after having failed miserably in Iowa. A woman I spoke with representing the Culinary Workersthe key union hereabouts that has famously demurred from choosing a candidate because they differ from Bernie, whom they would normally adore, on healthcaredisagreed. A caucus veteran, she sees these events as an opportunity for people to express themselves, like at the kitchen table, she said. I just listened. The Bellagio being, well, The Bellagio, it is clearly by far the favorite venue for the press to cover the caucuses in general. Not surprisingly, typing a half hour before the start, there are more reporters than caucus goers, even though there are plenty of employees at this very large hotel who have been given time off to vote. Dozens of press people are here, TV cameras everywhere. Drive to one of the many precincts even an hour out of Vegas and I doubt youd see any press. Democratic Party chair Tom Perez has even arrived here before the caucus and was immediately surrounded by the press gaggle. Its surprising he would show his face, given the incoming he took after the Iowa debacle that included demands for his resignation. If Nevada turns into another nightmare, he might not be able to resist them. Well know tonight. Update: Bellagio goes huge for Bernie. Shouts literally ring out, drowning out everyone. Delegate count from this precinct: Sanders, 32; Biden, 19; others, zip. More soon. Roger L. Simon is senior political columnist with The Epoch Times. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. SUNNYVALE (BCN) Police in Sunnyvale on Wednesday arrested a man in connection with several crimes including human trafficking. Michael Lewis, 39, of Vallejo, was arrested on suspicion of human trafficking, domestic violence, vandalism and destruction of a cellphone when calling 911, according to the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety. MORE: Vallejo police officer cleared in 2018 deadly shooting On Feb.2 at 11:40 p.m., officers received a 911 call reporting a physical altercation between a man and a woman that occurred in the 700 block of North Mathilda Avenue. Responding officers located a woman who reported that Lewis, who had fled the area before officers arrived, had physically assaulted her. The victim also reported she was a victim of human trafficking and had been forced to work as a sex worker for Lewis. Police obtained a warrant for Lewis' arrest, and he was located Wednesday in the Sacramento area and taken into custody. 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. Breakthrough in quest for anti-viral drug for COVID-19? By Kumudini Hettiarachchi and Ruqyyaha Deane Crucial study by IBMBB scientists could point the way 4 hits from around 3,500 FDA-approved compounds for other diseases View(s): View(s): A study by scientists attached to the University of Colombo has pointed the way towards possible medications that could be used in the battle against the new coronavirus. Our study will go online today after which it will be picked up by a scientific journal, Dr. Sameera R. Samarakoon of the Institute of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology & Biotechnology (IBMBB) of the University of Colombo told the Sunday Times. Instead of trying out untested compounds, Dr. Samarakoon and team members Prof. Kamani Tennekoon and Dr. Kanishka Senathilake had decided to look at the tested compounds for diseases already approved by the Food and Drug Authority (FDA) of America. There are about 3,500 such compounds and we got four hits, says Dr. Samarakoon with excitement, hoping that Sri Lanka could work with countries such as China and America in taking it forward by initiating trials in a clinical setting. In a different turn of events on Wednesday, at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID), Angoda, it was time for smiles, hugs and selfies as the Chinese woman tourist who was the single imported case of the new coronavirus in Sri Lanka left for China. Greeted with a bouquet of flowers by Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi and top officials including the Director-General of Health Services, Dr. Anil Jasinghe, she placed a tray of flowers at the Budu Medura, before being discharged from the hospital. She communicated with those present through an App which acted as the translator. NIIDs Consultant Physician Dr. Eranga Narangoda told the Sunday Times that he and his team looked after the Chinese patient from January 25 until February 19, when she left for home in China. (See box) Off Thurstan Road, meanwhile, seated within the IBMBB building Dr. Samarakoon and his team were on a different track. Dr. Samarakoon who is engaged in testing anti-cancer compounds was giving thought to adapting the set-up already in place for such testing, for the urgent need of fighting the disease COVID-19. Before detailing the study and the modus operandi of viruses, he points out how there is a rush to find a vaccine rather than testing compounds to produce anti-viral medication. This is because finding anti-viral medication is time-consuming and may yield results only in about 5-10 years. So, what Dr. Samarakoon did was without trying out new and untested compounds which would have to go through the rigorous processes of testing for toxicity etc pick up the FDA-approved drugs which had already gone through stringent testing. The testing before a new drug is introduced includes the initial step of using computer models. If it passes the first stage, then testing is done on cell cultures and animals in a pre-clinical drug trial. If it passes those as well, the drug would be used in human clinical trials. New drugs need to be tested and trialled for safety, effectiveness and dosage before they can be prescribed to patients. Next, Dr. Samarakoon opens up the complex world of molecules and RNA (ribonucleic acid) and explains that Chinese scientists had come up with the viral genome (RNA) of the new coronavirus. The genome in the new coronavirus (named SARS-CoV-2) is a complete set of RNA which contains all the information needed to build and maintain it. In humans, a copy of the entire genome, more than 3 billion DNA base pairs, is contained in all cells that have a nucleus. While in humans, these cells can divide by themselves and grow, in viruses they cannot reproduce by themselves. Dr. Samarakoon explains how a virus, when it enters (infects) a susceptible human cell can direct that cell machinery to produce more viruses, each consisting of nucleic acid and an outer shell of protein. Viral replication involves attachment to a host cell, penetration, uncoating, replication, assembly and release. During attachment and penetration, the virus attaches itself to a host cell and injects its genetic material into it; during uncoating, replication and assembly, the viral RNA incorporates itself into the host cells genetic material and induces it to replicate the viral genome. During release, the newly-created viruses are released to the other cells of the host. Spotlighting what they did in the IBMBB laboratory, Dr. Samarakoon says how they made a model of the virus protein which is involved in causing the infection process in humans. Thereafter, they set about trying to block that activity, using the FDA-approved compound list. We did the computational analysis and found that four can inhibit or bind with the protein to stop its infective process, he said, adding that a few compounds have good affinity with the protein. Yes, we believe it is a breakthrough, adds Dr. Samarakoon. How NIID managed the patient Explaining the management of the Chinese woman tourist who was detected with the new coronavirus (COVID-19 disease), NIIDs Consultant Physician Dr. Eranga Narangoda said that her symptoms were fever, phlegm and body aches and pains. She had also lost her appetite. Admitted to Ward 4, initially we treated her with an anti-viral medication but when on the 4th day there was a worsening of her symptoms, we were a little worried and started her on a five-day antibiotic regimen, he said pointing out that sometimes a viral infection is followed by a bacterial infection and the antibiotic was for that. The patient became asymptomatic (not showing symptoms) by the 5th day. She was discharged only after two tests conducted by the Medical Research Institute (MRI) came negative indicating that she was clear of the virus, it is learnt. State-of-art technology at National Influenza Centre can detect 16 viruses in one go Sri Lanka now has state-of-the-art PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) technology to detect many viruses in one go rather than going through the tedious process of testing one virus after another which is also very time consuming. We can test for 16 viruses simultaneously, revealed Consultant Medical Virologist Dr. Jude Jayamaha of the National Influenza Centre, Department of Virology, Medical Research Institute (MRI), Colombo. He lists the 16 viruses as: Influenza A & B; Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) A & B; Parainfluenza 1, 2, 3 & 4; Adenovirus; Human metapneumovirus A & B; Rhinovirus; and the human coronavirus 4 types. This assay is very useful in detecting an outbreak (a cluster) in the early phase or respiratory distress/atypical pneumonia even in a severe case, he said, explaining that PCR technology is widely used in molecular biology to rapidly make millions to billions of copies of a specific DNA or RNA (like in the case of the new coronavirus) sample, allowing scientists to take a very small sample and amplify it to a large enough amount to study in detail. As per the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations, samples from patients suspected to be struck down by COVID-19 were tested with this panel, he added. Dan Hooker punches Paul Felder at UFC Auckland Dan the Hitman Hooker escaped the UFC on ESPN+ 26 main event with a narrow split-decision victory on Saturday in Auckland, New Zealand, but may have retired Paul Felder in the process. Felder was sitting at No. 6 in the lightweight division heading into the bout. A victory may have put him in the cat-bird seat in regard to a lightweight title shot, but the loss put the 35-year-old in a tough position for a climb back into title contention. It may have put an end to his career. I knew it was close. I felt like I hurt him a lot in the fight. I felt like I busted him up pretty good, but that might be it for me. I have a four-year-old at home that misses me like heck every time I go away like this, Felder said after the fight, Hooker immediately grasping and raising Felders arm to his home country crowd. Hooker started off with a solid strategy, staying at distance and picking at Felders lead leg with low kicks. Every round was close, but the first was clearly a nod in Hookers favor as he quickly bruised Felders lead leg. Felder started faster in round two, trying to make up ground, but Hooker kept after his lead leg attacks early in the round and got the better of the punches. The fight evened out in the last half of the round. The third frame was fairly even, but Felder landed more of the harder shots, stepping up the power in his leg kicks and landing the spinning back kick, as well as snapping some hard jabs. Hooker remained at range, trying to stick shots and dart out, but Felder edged ahead with his power shots. Felder had a great fourth round, landing powerful punch combinations and fighting off Hookers grappling. He landed hard elbows in the clinch and blasted Hooker with some brutal punch combinations and a stiff jab that slowed the Kiwi fighter. The fifth round was a brutal back-and-forth affair with both men giving everything they had to try and win the fight, the damage of the earlier rounds worn on their faces. Edging close to what could have easily been called a draw, Hooker scored a takedown in the final minute of the fight that may have been the deciding factor for the judges. Story continues After five rounds, Hooker edged out a narrow split-decision victory. Two of the judges scored it 48-47 for Hooker, while the other judge gave the 48-47 nod to Felder. Knowing that he may have been Felders final opponent, Hooker said, Its an honor man. Hes a tough son of a gun." But he quickly moved on to his next target, Ive got my eye on someone. A battle of the highlight reel. I want Justin Gaethje. Jimmy Crute makes quick work of Michal Oleksiejczuk Jimmy Crute wasted no time in the UFC Auckland co-main event, disposing of Michal Oleksiejczuk just 3:29 into the first round. Crute clinched and pressed Oleksiejczuk up against the fence frequently throughout the first three minutes of the round before eventually putting him on the canvas. A short time later, Crute worked his way to side control and locked on a Kimura. A few moments later and Oleksiejczuk was tapping out and Crute was moving to an 11-1 record, rebounding from a loss to Misha Cirkunov last year. Yao Xiaonin stakes her claim in the UFC strawweight division Yao Xiaonin continued her climb up the starwweight ranks, scoring a lopsided decision over former title challenger Karolina Kowalkiewicz. Xiaonin controlled the bout, taking Kowalkiewicz down on several occasions and outlanding her on the feet en route to unanimous scores of 30-26 from all three judges. TRENDING > Dana White stumps for President Donald Trump in Colorado: This guy is so loyal UFC on ESPN+ 26: Felder vs. Hooker Fight Card Main Card Dan Hooker def. Paul Felder by split decision (47-48, 48-47, 48-47) Jim Crute def. Micha Oleksiejczuk by submission (Kimura) at 3:29, R1 Yan Xiaonan def. Karolina Kowalkiewicz by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26) Marcos Rogerio de Lima def. Ben Sosoli by TKO (punches) at 1:28, R1 Brad Riddell def. Magomed Mustafaev by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) Zubaira Tukhugov def. Kevin Aguilar by TKO (punches) at 3:21, R1 Prelims Jalin Turner def. Josh Culibao by TKO (punches) at 3:01, R2 Jake Matthews def. Emil Meek by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) Song Kenan def. Callan Potter by KO (punches) at 2:20, R1 Kai Kara-France def. Tyson Nam by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) Angela Hill def. Loma Lookboonmee by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) Priscila Cachoeira def. Shana Dobson by KO (punch) at 0:40, R1 (Photo courtesy of UFC) The Narcotics Control Bureau has arrested three foreigners with heroin worth Rs 60 crore, officials said on Sunday. While two women from Mozambique were nabbed after they landed at Indira Gandhi International Airport allegedly with 10 kg heroin, a man from Ivory Coast and living in Greater Noida was arrested under the NDPS Act on the inputs provided by the women, said NCB Delhi Zone Director K P S Malhotra. "The agency has busted a supply chain of heroin trafficking which was routed from Afghanistan to India via Mozambique and South Africa," he said. "14.5 kg of high grade heroin worth an estimated Rs 60 crore has been seized." This is a new route or to say 'reverse trafficking' of Afghan-produced heroin as it normally is trafficked to western parts of the globe after being sent to Mozambique. "In this case the heroin, after reaching Mozambique, was trafficked to India," Malhotra said. The two women told us they picked the contraband from Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, and were supposed to hand it over to the receiver in sector 106 of Greater Noida. The man from Ivory Coast was arrested after raids at his Greater Noida residence and over 4 kg heroin was recovered from his place, the NCB director said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) As President Trump said following that Democratic presidential debate last week, its not that easy to do what he did in 2016. That barb was aimed at fellow New York billionaire Mike Bloomberg, who was dismantled by the other Democrats on a debate stage in Las Vegas last week. But it also applies to the other New York City native in this scrum, Bernie Sanders. The primary lesson of that debate was that Bloomberg, who first gained elective office as a moderate Republican, retains the political views of a moderate Republican. Hes a Democratic Mitt Romney, but a Mitt Romney with non-disclosure agreements who has used terms like fat broads and horse-faced lesbians. That wont do in a Democratic Party base that has moved to the left in reaction to Trumps success in recruiting the right. Nonetheless, Bloombergs assessment of the partys current situation in that debate was prophetic. After the other candidates had gone on about the various aspects of the economy ripe for government takeover, Bloomberg declared, I can't think of a way that would make it easier for Donald Trump to get re-elected than listening to this conversation. It's ridiculous. We're not going to throw out capitalism. We tried. Other countries tried that. It was called communism, and it just didn't work. I suspect that all of my fellow conservatives watching nodded their heads in agreement. But most of us wont be voting in Democratic primaries. Some will, however. In the Feb. 29 South Carolina primary, for example, there will be no Republican side of the ballot. Trump has already been declared the party choice. Thats prompted Republicans to start an Operation Chaos encouraging GOP voters to cross over and vote for the candidate they deem easiest for Trump to beat in November: Sanders. Leading Democrats have come to the same conclusion. And the Democratic National Committee has adopted a rather clever strategy that is likely to deny Sanders the nomination while giving him an equal opportunity to win it. That strategy was to remove the ability of the 771 so-called super-delegates party leaders, elected officials and so forth to vote on the first ballot. That in turn means that any candidate who gets a simple majority 1,991 of 2,376 total delegates - wins the nomination. Can Sanders do that? Hes welcome to try. But if he comes up short, he cant complain that he didnt get a fair shot. Hes complaining anyway. The most telling moment of the debate came when the candidates were asked whether they would support changing the rules to nominate the candidate with the most delegates, but not necessarily a majority. At the moment, polls show that candidate is likely to be Sanders. So guess what he said when the candidates were polled on whether they would support changing the rules? The person who has the most votes should become the nominee, he said. The others all said they prefer to let the process work out, as Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar put it. Klobuchar clearly likes her chances of being the anybody-but-Bernie candidate in the event this goes to a second ballot. But then so does former South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg, who actually held a small lead in delegates at the time of the debate after surprisingly good finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire. Those two spent the evening throwing elbows at each other. That infighting will only become more intense now that it seems likely that Bloombergs billions wont clear the field of contenders. Actually, things were quite a bit easier for Trump in the last cycle. There were eight states that awarded Republican delegates on a winner-take-all basis. In Florida, for example, Trump won all the delegates when he won the popular vote. But the Democratic states dole out delegates on a proportional basis. If you check Nate Silvers statistical-analysis site 538.com, youll see Sanders is projected to win the popular vote in the Florida by a plurality. But that would give him not all the delegates, just a mere 65 out of the 219 available. The rest would be spread among the other contenders. The math works out pretty much the same in other states, with Sanders projected by Silver to come up more than 400 delegates short of that majority he would need for a first-ballot victory. Any protests will fall on some deaf DNC ears. The party used to require a two-thirds majority for nomination. Thats what led to that overnight convention deadlock in 1932 that finally ended in Franklin Roosevelts favor. Party leaders certainly wont bend the rules for a candidate whos barely even a Democrat. The effect of all this is to create two alternatives that should gladden the hearts of Republicans. One is that Sanders wins the nomination. The other is that Sanders loses it. Either way, the Democrats are making things easier for The Donald. UPDATE - THE REAL WINNER WAS MAYOR PETE: The early reporting on the Nevada caucuses left out the only category that counts: Total delegates won. My fellow journalists seem to have forgotten that it was Pete Buttigieg, not Bernie Sanders, who had a lead in delegates going in. Hes now running a very strong second if the available calculations are correct. It looks like Sanders now has 33 pledged delegates to Mayor Petes approximately 28. I have no idea why my fellow pundits are pronouncing that an insurmountable lead. Its not. Its a recipe for a brokered convention. One commentator who gets that is Lara M. Brown. Check this excellent article from the Hill in which Brown does the math and points out that Sanders has a problem in the south - perhaps an insurmountable one: "While it is true that Sanders (I-Vt.) may net more delegates out of California than his competitors, the broader logic fails to consider the remainder of the Super Tuesday states and the severe weakness of Sanders in the South. Six of the 15 nomination contests slated for Super Tuesday are in the South (Alabama, Arkansas, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia). Collectively, they contain more pledged delegates (584) than California (415). "Sanderss 2016 Super Tuesday performance suggests that currently he is unlikely to reach the 15 percent threshold in the popular vote in southern states on March 3. Were this to occur, Sanders would not win any southern delegates and likely would be relegated to third (or worse) once all of the Super Tuesday contests are final. " As it now stands, only Mayor Pete has shown he could compete with Sanders in scoring delegates in the first three primary states. Expect him to keep pounding on that as he tries to claim the anybody-but-Bernie spot. New Delhi: A group of Shaheen Bagh protesters on Saturday opened the Noida-Kalindi Kunj Road that had been blocked since December 15-16 last year, only to be closed soon afterwards by another group of protesters. "A little earlier today, Road No. 9 was reopened by a group of protesters, but later it was closed by another group. Again, a group of protesters has reopened a small stretch, however, still, there's no clarity if all protesters have consent on this," DCP Souteast, Rajendra Prasad Meena said. Thousands of people, the majority of them women, have been holding a sit-in protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the proposed NRC at Delhi's Shaheen Bagh area since mid-December last year. Recently the Supreme Court-appointed senior advocates Sanjay Hedge and Sadhana Ramachandran as interlocutors to talk with the protesters here and urge them to clear the road. Sadhana Ramachandran has been coming to Shaheen Bagh to talk to the protesters continuously for the past three days. She arrived at Shaheen Bagh at 10:30 am and told the protesters that if the road here doesn't get cleared then the interlocutors won't be able to help them. "We were facing a problem to drop our children to the school. Now that the road has opened, it will be easy for all of us," said Akram Qureshi, a commuter who was passing by the road after the barricades were removed today. Ishu who was coming from Faridabad told ANI, "The commuters are facing problems but the protesters also have their issues. I would like to request them that blocking roads won't help. They should listen to what the Supreme Court is saying and I believe that their concerns will be heard." The two interlocutors on Friday urged the Shaheen Bagh protesters to clear the road and "make way to the hearts". The apex court will further hear the matter on February 24. The last of the three students diagnosed with novel coronavirus (Covid-19) in Kerala after returning from the epicentre of the outbreak in Wuhan in January left for home after being declared disease free on Friday, even as the World Health Organisation said data from China continues to show a decline in new cases in the country. Yet the threat of a pandemic remains high with a worldwide surge in cases with no clear link to China, which has confirmed asymptomatic transmission of the infection that has now been reported in 27 countries. A 20-year-old woman from Wuhan who had no symptoms travelled 675 km north to Anyang and infected five relatives, Chinese scientists reported this week. After her relatives developed Covid-19 pneumonia, she was isolated but initially tested negative for the virus. Follow-up tests showed she was positive for Covid-19 despite her having a normal chest CT and being free fever, stomach or respiratory symptoms, such as cough or sore throat, according to doctors at the Peoples Hospital of Zhengzhou University in Henan Province in China. All novel outbreaks are a public health concern because humans have no immunity against a new disease. The coronavirus family of viruses cause about a third of all common colds (rhinoviruses, adenoviruses, and viruses also cause the common cold), but severe disease is caused by Sars (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and Mers (Middle East respiratory syndrome), which had a death rate of about 10% in 2003 and 30% 2012, respectively. Genetic analyses shows Covid-19 shares 79.5% of genetic sequence with Sars coronavirus, accrding tot he journal Nature, with the two also having the same cell entry receptor that attaches to the membrane of the host cell to cause infection. Covid-19 has 96.2% homology to a bat coronavirus, but the intermediate species between bats and humans has yet to be identified. For Sars it was civet cats, for Mers it is camels. Covid-19, however, spreads more easily than Sars or Mers, which is what is what has made it so difficult to contain, more so because new evidence shows infected people apparently healthy can also infect others. The clinical of fever and dry cough in the majority of patients, with about a third developing shortness of breath, and some reporting headache, sore throat, and diarrhoea. The known routes of transmission are through droplets in the air by coughing and sneezing, close personal contact including touch, touching an object or surface contaminated with the virus and then touching your mouth, nose or eyes before washing your hands, and in rare cases, faecal contamination. The incubation period (time between getting infected and showing symptoms) is reported to be 5.2 days, but it is known to last up to 14 days, which is the reason people exposed to the virus are asked to stay quarantined for at least two weeks. With new evidence proving transmission begins during the asymptomatic phase, tracking the source of the infection is increasingly getting more difficult as the infection spreads beyond 27 countries to cause localised outbreaks in communities. Though the number of infections outside mainland China is a little over 12,000, the rate of secondary and tertiary transmission is increasing. Apart from the confirmed cases from travellers to Wuhan and on cruise ships, countries including Singapore, Japan, Thailand, South Korea and Italy and have identified clusters of locally transmitted cases. The WHO has cautioned that despite new infections reducing in China, its still unclear which way the pandemic will go. With global air travel increasing 10-fold since the last Sars epidemic in 2003, countries must stay vigilant to track and contain the infection. Despite huge funding committed for vaccine development, the world is unlikely to get a vaccine before 18 months. Till knowledge gaps remain in understanding virus behaviour, old-fashioned containment measures of diagnosis, surveillance, quarantine, supportive treatment, transparent data sharing, and global partnerships are the only shield against the new infection. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The first new state park campground on the coast in 30 years will feature ocean frontage from coastal bluff tops on Monterey Bay and likely sellout dates available the moment it opens in 2022. The location is the Fort Ord Dunes State Park, which has 4 miles of stellar ocean beach on Monterey Bay and is located near Marina, roughly south of Moss Landing and north of Monterey. Fort Ord Dunes, the former military unit, opened 10 years ago with little supporting infrastructure and is one of a handful of state parks providing free parking and access. It gets overlooked because there is no direct turnoff to parking off Highway 1, as is available at most state parks along the Pacific Coast Highway. This landscape provides some of the best views of coastal dunes anywhere in the state, said Brent Marshall, district superintendent for State Parks. Many Californians lack access to parks, open spaces and natural and cultural amenities. Creating a new campground will help make these dynamic sand dunes accessible to all. The campground will be sited at a spot called Bunker 4 and designed with three separate units, said Adeline Yee at State Parks headquarters. One unit will have 45 RV sites, including drive-through sites, with hookups for electricity and water, according to the plan. Another is designed for family camping, with 40 sites for tents and small, self-contained RVs. A third area will have walk-in sites for backpack-style campers and also will be available for cyclists, such as those riding Highway 1. According to a planning document, a boardwalk will allow access to the beach, without damage crossing sensitive dunes. The shore here is a gentle, curving white sand beachfront, fronted by clear, turquoise water, backed by sloping cliffs and bluffs. The beach extends for miles in both directions. In addition, two overlooks will be built that provide fantastic 360-degree panorama views, according to the document, where visitors will be able to take in views across Monterey Bay in one direction, and historic Fort Ord in the other, along with oceanfront cities Sand City, Seaside and Monterey. One of the overlooks will be in the campground at a crest that overlooks Monterey Bay. The other will be just south of the campground near an old guard tower from Fort Ords military past, which overlooks the nearby bluffs, dunes and coastal hills. The park right now When you arrive in the area, there is no direct turnoff from Highway 1 to parking and access. Fort Ord Dunes is located right beside the highway, but to get there, once you take the exit for Lightfighter Drive, it is a short, circuitous route to the park (Garmin, Google and State Parks all provide slightly different directions). To get there, you exit to the west, loop back over the highway to the east, then after jogging north for a mile, drive back west over the highway to parking. More Information If you want to go Location: Ford Ord Dunes State Park is on the shore of Monterey Bay near Marina, south of Moss Landing and north of Monterey. Cost: Parking, access is free; as facilities are developed, a day-use fee is anticipated. Facilities: Chemical toilets are available. Dogs: Leashed dogs are permitted on roads. No dogs on beach. Beach fires: No campfires or bonfires are permitted on beach or in park. Camping: A new campground is planned for 2021. State park campgrounds on Monterey Bay are available to the north at Sunset, Manresa, Seacliff and New Brighton state beaches; reserve at www.reservecalifornia.com. Contacts: Fort Ord Dunes State Park, Monterey District Headquarters, 831-649-2836, www.parks.ca.gov. How to get there Coast route: From Half Moon Bay, take Highway 1 for 48 miles to Santa Cruz (pass the McDonald's and continue 0.6 of a mile, stay left) to signed junction for Highway 1. Turn left (still Highway 1) and drive 36.1 miles to Marina and E xit 406 for Lightfighter Drive. Take that exit onto Lightfighter and loop east over the highway for 0.2 mile to 2nd Avenue. Turn left on 2nd and go 0.4 of a mile to Divarty Street. Turn left on Divarty and go 0.3 mile to 1st. Turn right on 1st and continue 0.3 of a mile to 5th Street (it jogs to the left) and continue on 5th for 0.4 mile to 8th Street. Turn left and drive 0.3 of a mile (west over the highway) to parking on the right. Inland route: From San Francisco Peninsula, take I nterstate 280 south to Highway 85 South (signed for Gilroy). Take Highway 85 south for 7.7 miles to Exit 11A for Highway 17 South (signed for Santa Cruz). Take that exit, merge onto Highway 17 South and drive 21.5 miles to the exit for Highway 1 South (signed for Monterey). Take that exit and merge onto Highway 1 and drive 34.6 miles to Marina and exit 406 for Lightfighter Drive. Take that exit onto Lightfighter and loop east over the highway for 0.2 of a mile to 2nd Avenue. Turn left on 2nd and go 0.4 of a mile to Divarty Street. Turn left on Divarty and go 0.3 of a mile to 1st. Turn right on 1st and continue 0.3 of a mile to 5th Street (it jogs to the left) and continue on 5th for 0.4 of a mile to 8th Street. Turn left and drive 0.3 of a mile (west over the highway) to parking on the right. Distances: 15 miles from Moss Landing, 38 miles from Santa Cruz, 57 miles from Los Gatos, 80 miles from Woodside, 87 miles from Half Moon Bay, 95 miles from Dublin, 110 miles from downtown San Francisco, 113 miles from Walnut Creek, 117 miles from Sausalito. See More Collapse The best first trip is on a boardwalk, built to protect the dunes from foot traffic, which leads about 1,500 feet to a viewing platform perched on the edge of the bluffs. You get a panorama of Monterey Bay and out to sea, up and down the beach, with the chance to sight the spouts of whales, plus passing boats, ships and shorebirds. Most then take a trail down to the beach. This is the kind of place where you can take a seat, have a picnic, and watch the gentle waves lap at the beach as if it were the beginning of time. You can play tag with the waves, go for a walk or a hike that feels like it extends to forever. It seems that those who walk a bit can have the place all to themselves. To the nearby east, the Fort Ord National Monument, operated by the Bureau of Land Management, is better known, spans 14,000 acres with 86 miles of old roads and trails, and is excellent for mountain biking. No camping, however, is permitted now here, either. With so little infrastructure available, a visit to Fort Ord Dunes now captures a moment in time, before the park becomes famous for Highway 1 campers from across America. To put the demand for state park camping in perspective, turn the clock back 15 years, when the reservation system was a time bomb free-for-all. Some years, 12,000 to 15,000 reservations for dates in July and August were made in single days, Jan. 2 and Feb. 1, respectively, when campsites first became available for entire months. The future Despite demand, the cost to build new campgrounds with present-day environmental regulations under the California Environmental Quality Act, especially for restrooms with water, showers and sewer systems, put them out of reach for the perpetually cash-strapped California Department of Parks. Weve got about 15,000 campsites in state parks, said Deputy Director Roy Stearns back in 2004. Our planners say we could easily fill 20,000. You either have to work the system or know all the places. The new campground and associate infrastructure at Ford Ord Dunes is projected to cost $22 million and is being paid for with bond money from Proposition 84, from 2006. The process has taken years because of the depth of plans and permits, according to State Parks. The project is being put out to bid this spring and construction is scheduled to begin this fall. The price of a standard state park campsite is $35 per night, a rare opportunity compared with the cost of a hotel in Monterey, where $300 and up has become typical. That will also put sites at the new campground in immediate demand, not only for those in the Bay Area and Northern California, but for those across America who have the dream of touring Highway 1 in an RV, camping along the way. To even the playing field for campsite reservations, the old start your engines launch dates of the first day of the month has been abandoned. In the new system for state parks with reservecalifornia.com, reservations are available for six months in advance to the day, 24 hours per day. That means the alarm goes off each night at 12:01 a.m., rather than one day per month in winter. The state park campgrounds on Monterey Bay, Sunset, Manresa, Seacliff and New Brighton state beaches are among the fastest to sell out in the state. The new campground at Fort Ord Dunes will likely join in the rush. Tom Stienstra is The Chronicles outdoor writer. Email: tstienstra@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @StienstraTom Dissolution on March 2, Parliamentary elections on April 25; SLFP set to go into oblivion after nominations UNP faces uphill task as election approaches; Premadasa-led alliance members make contradictory statements over symbol Two of the countrys oldest political parties the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the United National Party (UNP) face bad forebodings with Parliamentary elections now set for April 25. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is to dissolve Parliament at midnight on March 2. Nominations are to be held between March 12 and 19. A later date for the polls, it has been found, was not possible since the Muslims fasting month of Ramadan is expected to begin on April 26, or the next day, based on the sighting of the moon. Thereafter, comes Vesak in May. The first casualty is the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). It is now history that the partys then General Secretary Maithripala Sirisena sat for a meal of hoppers and seeni sambol with his leader Mahinda Rajapaksa one night in November 2014. The next day, he shocked him by declaring he would be the common candidate of a UNP-led coalition at the January 2015 presidential elections. More shocks came when Sirisena defeated his leader to become the President. Rajapaksa not only gave up his Presidency but also handed over the SLFP leadership to Sirisena. The first strike back by Rajapaksas came when Basil, the main strategist, was instrumental in forming the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) and teamed up with likeminded allies. At the February 2018 local polls, the SLPP polled 40.47 percent of the votes becoming the biggest winner in 340 local councils where 8,327 members were elected. The second was the United National Party (UNP) with 24.42 percent votes and the SLFP-led United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) won a mere 12.10 percent. Thus, the SLPP had made a strong footprint in the countrys political landscape from a vote base of 15.7 million then. The SLPP had substantially eaten into the SLFP votes apart from a little floating votes to garner that win. In the four and half years that followed under his reign, Sirisena made scathing attacks on the Rajapaksa-led alliance, then known as the Joint Opposition. On June 21, 2015 at a meeting in Nuwara Eliya he called them traitors to the SLFP. On September 30, 2019 he declared at a meeting in Kurunegala that his party would be willing to support presidential candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa but would not agree on contesting under the SLPPs Pohottuwa (budding lotus flower) symbol. This was at the presidential election. That support he and his party, in fact, decided to extend. The Central Committee of the SLFP approved it. Even after that, under pressure from the Sajith Premadasa faction of the UNP, Sirisena declared he would remain neutral. He did, though senior SLPP leaders charged that he leaned towards supporting Premadasa and helped him in many ways before and during the presidential election campaign. In 2018, he asked Premadasa if he would like to be the Prime Minister instead of Ranil Wickremesinghe, and when Premadasa opted not to take up the offer, Sirisena embarked on a suicidal political course by unconstitutionally offering the job to Mahinda Rajapaksa. Historic blow to SLFP Now, like the empire striking back, the Rajapaksas have hit back at Maithripala Sirisena and the SLFP. That credit goes to the SLPP architect and strategist Basil. In what is a historic turn of events this week, Sirisena not only agreed to come under the Rajapaksa fold but also to accept the SLPP symbol to contest the upcoming parliamentary elections. After the nominations, at least for a period of five years, officially the name of the SLFP or their symbol will not be heard countrywide. This is after weeping buckets full of tears in the past four and half years to save the SLFP from the traitors. This change was to come about when Sirisena and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa held talks at Temple Trees last Tuesday. As our headline last week revealed, SLPP and allies may contest sans SLFP was borne by the strong belief that Sirisena and his SLFP leaders would not accept the tough conditions there would be no position of a co-leader in the Sri Lanka Nidhas Podujana Sandanaya and the SLFP would have to contest under the Pohottuwa symbol. There was also pressure from SLPP parliamentarians to go it alone with their other allies. Contrary to expectations, they surrendered without any conditions. To top it up, Sirisena even pledged to ensure a two thirds victory. For the SLPPers, important enough, it would be foolish to shut the door on any party which wants to join their alliance on their terms. This could even be the UNP. Events took a different turn ahead of the Tuesdays meeting between two former Presidents. It was a telephone call Basil Rajapaksa, now General Secretary of the Alliance, received from a senior official of the Election Commission. He was informed that the deadline, in terms of the Parliamentary Elections Act, for registration of parties was 4 p.m. on February 17 (Monday). Official advertisements too had been published. Hence, parties were required to submit their applications before this date. Thus, it was not possible to wait till the outcome of Tuesdays meeting. Basil Rajapaksa was involved in a bout of telephone diplomacy. The issue before him was to get the partners to agree on the party as well as the symbol. In doing so, there was a different approach for some time now by the SLPP. It had signed individual MoUs with partner political parties and had to thus seek the concurrence of their leaders. When he telephoned Communist Party leader D.E.W. Gunasekera, for example, he was in Galle. Almost all were contactable by telephone. Talks with other partner leaders went off smoothly. The dialogue with SLFP leaders went back and forth for a while. That was because issues had to be clarified. An accord was reached. Whilst Sirisena agreed together with his other SLFP leaders that they were willing to contest under the Pohottuwa symbol, Basil Rajapaksa had borrowed a leaf from the UNP. He offered the ceremonial title of Chairman to Maithripala Sirisena and the Deputy Chairman to Mahajana Eksath Peramuna leader Dinesh Gunawardena. Both are titular positions and helps only in protocol during meetings and other occasions. In fairness to Minister Gunawardena, however, he was not jockeying for titles. He had to be given a title since Sirisena was given one. This is much the same way then President J.R. Jayewardene picked N.G.P. Panditharatne as Chairman of the UNP. He had played a more substantive role as Chairman of the Mahaweli Authority. Later, Harsha Abeywardene was appointed. A.C.S. Hameed was a Chairman. Malik Samarawickrema has since served as Chairman and the position is now held by Kabir Hashim, a Premadasa loyalist. According to the Election Commission, already 70 political parties have been registered. There were 175 new applications. The figure could be even higher because some applications have been sent by registered post and the Commission is yet to receive them. The new applicants will have to meet criteria such as proving that they have been politically active during the past and adduce proof of their membership. The registration of the Sri Lanka Nidhahas Podujana Sandanaya has been made in terms of Section 8 of the Parliamentary Elections Act. Provisions under which it has been registered make clear it is a political party with a list containing the alliance partners. This is in addition to the SLPP being registered separately. The only party that has been left out for legal reasons is Udaya Gammanpilas Pivithuru Hela Urumaya. Technically they are not a partner of the SLPP-led alliance. SLFP General Secretary Dayasiri Jayasekera told the Sunday Times, We have registered the Sri Lanka Nidhas Podujana Sandanaya as a political party with the Elections Commission. The registration of the party did not require to register a symbol. The alliance has been formed separately. That is something within the parties in the alliance. Even the United National Front (UNF) in 2015 contested in the same manner. Thus, the SLPP also remains registered separately as a party by the Elections Commission. In terms of the Parliamentary Elections Act, the provision dealing with Recognised political parties to comply with certain requirements says: (1) It shall be the duty of the Secretary of every recognised political party to submit to the Commission a copy of the Constitution of such party together with a list of the office bearers of such party and a copy of the political programme of such party (a) in the case of a recognised political party referred to in subsection (2) of section 7, within three months from the date of coming into operation of this Act; and (b) in the case of any other recognised political party, within three months from the date on which such party is entitled to be treated as a recognised political party under paragraph (a) of subsection (5) of section 7. (2) Every recognised political party shall hold a general meeting once a year or as specified in the Constitution of the party. The procedure to be followed at such meeting shall be specified in such Constitution. (3) Where a recognised political party amends its Constitution or changes its Office bearers, the Secretary of such party shall, before the expiry of a period of thirty days from the date of such amendment or change, inform the Commission in writing of such amendment or change. (4) A copy of the annual statement of accounts of every recognised political party audited by a registered auditor shall be submitted to the Commission. (5) Every recognised political party shall be entitled to State assistance as provided for in the relevant written laws applicable to the conduct of elections. Although the accord between Premier Rajapaksa and SLFP leader Sirisena came earlier, their Tuesday meeting did take place at Temple Trees and lasted just 15 minutes. Sirisena remained in a sombre mood and chipped in occasionally. Immediately thereafter, the leaders of the Sandanaya held their weekly Tuesday meeting also at Temple Trees. They went over the decisions taken before the Sandanaya has been registered separately as a political party. This is in addition to the SLPP where Sagara Kariyawasam will function as General Secretary. It is Kariyawasam who will sign all nomination papers and not Basil Rajapsksa who will only function as Secretary of the Sandanaya. When it came to the confirmation of the SLNPS symbol, it was Sirisena who proposed that it should be the Pohottuwa. Explaining the backdrop to the Pohottuwa symbol, Basil Rajapaksa said that there were similarities of sorts even with the naming of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA). Although they went as TNA, in official documents they are referred to as the Ilankai Thamil Arasu Katchi or ITAK. Accompanying Sirisena for the meeting were Dayasiri Jayasekera, SLFP General Secretary and Anuradhapura District SLFP parliamentarian Duminda Dissanayake. During a discussion on a proposal to allow partner parties like Douglas Devanandas Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) to contest under their own symbol, the duo opposed the move. Others on Sirisenas side were Nimal Siripala de Silva, Dayasiri Jayasekera and Mahinda Amaraweera. With Premier Rajapaksa were Basil Rajapaksa, Dullas Allahapperuma, Gamini Lokuge, C B Ratnayake, Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, Dew Gunasekera and Vasudeva Nanayakkara and the Ven. Athureliya Rathana. A little-known fact is the concern about an unknown number of SLFP parliamentarians who want to quit the party and join the SLPP. They are keeping their moves secret until the nominations are concluded. Among the reasons fear that their plans to quit would deny them candidature. Most feel that it would be difficult for them to win if they continue to be members of the SLFP. Therefore, after receiving the nominations to contest now under the Pohottuwa symbol, they want to make public announcements that they were no more SLFPers. The recent moves by the SLFP-led by Sirisena, together with the impending crossovers, will have a debilitating effect on the party. It was just two months ago that the partys Central Committee decided to conduct a fund-raising campaign for the parliamentary elections. This shows funding for polls propaganda would be less. With the partys popularity at low ebb, more of its grassroots level members are seeking SLPP membership. It is relevant to note that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa does not hold any official position in the Sri Lanka Nidhas Podujana Peramuna. That leaves Premier Rajapaksa and brother Basil to play key roles on behalf of the SLPP. Yet, the President hosted Sirisena and senior SLFP members to lunch last Friday at the banquet room of the Presidential Secretariat. Cafe Spectator on Page 4 gives details of how they exchanged some critical comments at each other amidst banter. Swan symbol The saga in the United National Party (UNP) continues with different parliamentarians making different statements on the status of the crisis within. This is whilst the man who holds the key to all these issues, leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, left Friday to Southern India on a two-day visit. He is due to return on Sunday. Factually, the Sajith Premadasa faction has reached accord with their adversaries, a group backing leader Wickremesinghe. At an informal meeting on Thursday evening attended by Premadasa and Ravi Karunanayake, it was agreed that the former could use the Swan symbol to contest the parliamentary elections in an alliance named Jathika Samagi Jana Balavegaya or National United Peoples Force. Premadasa will lead this alliance whose General Secretary will be Ranjith Madduma Bandara. The latter will sign the nomination papers of candidates. However, such nominations by each constituent partner of the alliance will be subject to approval by Wickremesinghe, as the partner leader and leader of the UNP. Whilst this remains the position now, the likelihood of it changing between now and the dissolution of Parliament cannot still be ruled out. Firstly, the allotment of the Swan symbol by the Election Commission will come only after a gazette notification dissolving Parliament is published. In the light of consent by those holding the registration of the party, such a matter does not involve any controversy. However, Wickremesinghe loyalists contend that the legal aspects of a UNP member contesting the parliamentary elections under another party and symbol were now being studied, a source said. This is to determine whether there were any impediments in the UNP constitution. However, Premadasa loyalists claim that such matters were stumbling blocks placed by leader Wickremesinghe. One of them opined that if the arrangement does violate the UNP Constitution, there was no other way but contest on the UNP ticket. That will no doubt place would-be partners of the alliance, like the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) and Sri Lanka Muslin Congress, among others, in a spot. After seeking the ouster of Wickremesinghe from the position of the Leader of the Opposition and failing to remove him from leadership of the UNP, they could become isolated. However, one party leader who did not wish to be named declared We have no worries. We are confident our plans will work out. Premadasa loyalist and General Secretary designate of the new alliance, Ranjith Madduma Bandara told the Sunday Times, We have already formed the alliance and everyone in the United National Party has agreed to contest under the alliance. There is no issue regarding the symbol because we have agreed to contest under the swan symbol. Even the UNP General Secretary Akila Viraj Kariyawasam has agreed to that. We will change the symbol to swan once the election is called. We are now waiting to contest the election under the swan symbol. The UNPs Kalutara District MP and Premadasa loyalist Ajith Perera added, We have been successful in forming the alliance. We are 100 percent sure that we are contesting under the swan symbol. The first issue was whether we could obtain this symbol or not. We got the authority from relevant party members to contest under the symbol. Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa heads the Nomination Board and is working on the nomination list. He will give nominations to our party members and activists. Premadasa was given the leadership of the Jathika Jana Samagi Balavegaya while the General Secretary position was given to Ranjith Madduma Bandara. Other than the UNP, the polls line up for major players is becoming clear. SLFP General Secretary Jayasekera told the Sunday Times, President Rajapaksa, Premier Mahinda Rajapaksa and brother Basil know very well the benefits that will accrue as a result of our alliance. there are others who seem to be unaware. They are only thinking of the preference votes they will receive. Jayasekera said that his party would hold talks with the SLPP to determine how many candidates they will allocate for the SLFP at the parliamentary elections. Thereafter, we will make a strong request to the SLPP to deal with those who will try to break up the preference votes. For Basil Rajapaksa, who has remained the key strategist for the SLPP, he has not only politically neutralised the SLFP but also brought its leader Maithripala Sirisena and others under the direct control of SLPP leader Premier Rajapaksa again. Thus, it has been a costly home coming for Sirisena though he will probably have little difficulty winning his Polonnaruwa seat. He abandoned the SLFP to join hands with the UNP to become President. Having ended his tenure, he has now abandoned the SLFP to serve the SLPP. There are other critical issues that are also staring Sirisena in the face. That is between now and the nominations not to mention the elections. To say it mildly, he would have to surmount them before people cast their votes. The feuding UNP, which has to make as much success as possible from the jaws of defeat, is facing an uphill task. If the UNPers earlier blamed Ranil Wickremesinghe, for the crisis in the party, they are also now blaming Premadasa as well. This is for prevaricating and thus demoralising those backing him and the party. The coming weeks will show whether he has made any gain or pushed the UNP to an abyss with leader Wickremesinghe. Lanka withdrawing only from co-sponsorship of US-backed resolution: Dinesh There will be no move to withdraw from the US-backed resolution on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Foreign Relations Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, told the Sunday Times yesterday adding that there has been a lot of confusion over the matter. Our immediate priority, he said, is to withdraw Sri Lanka from being a co-sponsor of the resolution. That is on the grounds that such a co-sponsorship has not been approved by either the Cabinet of Ministers or endorsed by the Parliament. Even former President Maithripala Sirisena has told us that he was not consulted by then Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, before he announced the co-sponsorship when the resolution was moved by the United States. This has caused irreparable harm to the country and shown our troops in bad light, he added. The fact that the government was considering pulling out of the co-sponsorship was reported in these columns. Mangala Samaraweera tweeted yesterday that Sri Lankas great leap backwards: Within the first 100 days of the GR regime the economy is in shambles, reconciliation in tatters and now with the withdrawal of the Geneva 30/1 we face international isolation and pariah status. Minister Gunawardena leaves for Geneva on Tuesday and will place the new governments case before the Human Rights Council. Foreign Secretary Ravinatha Ariyasinha left for Geneva on Friday. There has been a lot of confusion over a so-called withdrawal from the resolution (30/), the Foreign Relations Minister pointed out. In the light of a moratorium last year on matters relating to the resolution, he said, there will be no voting when the UN Human Rights Council discusses the report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Such voting will come only next year when the moratorium ends and the resolution comes up again, he said. At that point of time, he told the Sunday Times, what we want to do is make a declaration that we want the closure of the resolution on the grounds that it violated Sri Lankas constitution. He said the fact that over 50 percent of Sri Lankans voted President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to office endorsed this. Minister Gunawardena revealed that he had met the Colombo envoys of member countries that adopted the resolution and told them about this proposed closure on the grounds that neither the Cabinet nor Parliament has given sanction to such a move. It must, however, not be mistaken as our refusal to work with the United Nations, the Human Rights Council and all other UN agencies. There will be no change in such practices. Our troops will serve in UN peacekeeping forces among other matters, he added. A UN official, who spoke on grounds of anonymity from Geneva, clarified the issue further by saying there is no provision or procedures in the UNHRC system to withdraw a resolution moved by one country being dismissed by another. The only way is to defeat the resolution by a vote which requires the majority support of member countries. Elaborating on this aspect, a diplomatic source in Colombo said such an intended withdrawal, however, does not preclude member countries from moving another resolution. However, that too would require majority vote. Foreign Relations Minister Gunawardena said that this is the first time the UNHCR has adopted a country specific resolution. That by itself is an insult to an independent and sovereign nation. In a copy of an Advance Unedited Version of the report ahead of the Council sessions, the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights (OCHCR) says among its conclusions: The High Commissioner is concerned that the failure to ensure accountability for past violations and to undertake comprehensive security sector reform to dismantle the structures that facilitated them, means that the people of Sri Lanka, from all communities, have no guarantee that violations will not recur. Such failure alienates victims and their communities, instilling distrust in the State, and can potentially fuel further cycles of violence. The High Commissioner urges the Government to promptly investigate and prosecute all allegations of torture and other gross human rights violations, and to give the highest priority to ensuring accountability for long-standing emblematic cases. The High Commissioner encourages the Government to urgently proceed with the review and repeal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act and to engage with the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism and the United Nations, as well as with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, in finalizing a new legislation that is compliant with international human rights norms and standards. The Foreign Relations Ministry in Colombo said it wants to declare the Governments commitment to achieve sustainable peace through an inclusive, domestically designed and executed reconciliation and accountability process, including through the appropriate adaptation of existing mechanisms, in line with the Governments policy framework. This would comprise the appointment of a Commission of Inquiry (COI) headed by a Justice of the Supreme Court, to review the reports of previous Sri Lankan COIs which investigated alleged violations of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (IHL), to assess the status of implementation of their recommendations and to propose deliverable measures to implement them keeping in line with the new Governments policy. The two-day Jammu and Kashmir Global Investors summit 2020 is likely to be held in the twin cities of Srinagar and Jammu on May 26-27 with Prime Minister Narendra Modi scheduled to attend the mega event. Modi will inaugurate the Summit on May 26 while Home Minister Amit Shah has been approached for concluding ceremony which is scheduled to take place in Jammu on May 27, sources said and added that Shahs participation was not confirmed so far. Once the participation of Shah is confirmed as the Union Territory (UT) government was keen for his presence, the formal announcement of dates and participation of the VVIPs in the summit will be made, they said. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Commerce and Railways Minister Piyush Goyal and Union Minister of State in the Prime Ministers Office (PMO) Jitendra Singh are also likely to attend the Summit and chair different sessions. A senior government official said the venues for the Summit, first major event post abrogation of special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 and bifurcation of the erstwhile state into two Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh, will be decided in consultation with security agencies shortly. He said the UT government was expecting Expression of Interest (EoI) in investments amounting to Rs 50,000 crore. But the proposals might be filtered and confined between Rs 10,000 crore to Rs 15,000 crore initially as it would require a lot of infrastructure development to meet the requirements of the industrialists, the official said. He added that the government has created land bank of 6000 acres in J&K for the investment purposes which will be increased with the increase in demand. The Summit is being held with an aim to exhibit investment opportunities available in the newly formed UT of J&K in tourism, film tourism, horticulture, post harvest management, agro and food processing, mulberry production for silk, health and pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, IT/ ITes, renewable energy, infrastructure and real estate, handloom and handicraft, and education sectors. The UT government has already identified Rs 2000 crore worth non-binding Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) in Kolkata, Rs 850 crore in Bengaluru and Rs 2100 crore in Mumbai during road-shows held this month. Further road-shows have been planned at Hyderabad, Chennai and Ahmedabad during next fortnight. The road shows are aimed to allow prospective investors have a dialogue on the immense investment opportunities presented by the verdant region. Jammu and Kashmir Trade Promotion Organisation (JKTPO), a nodal agency, is working in tandem with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Ernst and Young and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), to make the event a success. The Munich Security Conference (MSC), which ended recently, served to notch up unease in diplomatic and security circles. Some 35 heads of state joined 500 politicians, officials, busybodies and spies trying to figure out what westlessness" means. It is a term that has been used with increased frequency, of late. It has plenty to do with the state of the Wests economies. Developed nations are baring their teeth and claws because their trade models are crumbling and new ones are not emerging on command. The post-World War II institutions set up by Western powers, whether they be the Bretton Woods twins, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund or the United Nations (UN). The worlds free trade policeman World Trade Organization (WTO) is defending bilateral onslaughts. Food, water, climate, health and education are the new strategic" issues. A failure to weaponize and monetize them seems to form a significant part of the Wests restlessness. Westlessness is a calibrated distraction, with sections of influential media uncritically absorbing it. This is an opportunity for India. It is not time to make politically inane statements like this is New Delhis time. Rather, this is the time to back ambition with ground work within the country and overseas. Brexit has left people perplexed in Europe. Europeans on the continent, ever cautious with les anglais (suspecting London of perpetually leaning towards Washington), wondered what would come next. Thats now done and dusted. So are the long and dreary will-they-wont-they Brexit negotiations that left people scurrying for passports, documents and answers that did not exist for their questions. New rules will not kick in till 2021, but economic disruption is only to be expected. What does this mean for India, a country the British Empire plundered to fuel its industrial revolution? To paraphrase foreign minister S. Jaishankars words at the MSC, India is the worlds economic, political and security net. Translated, that also means come, trade freely and fairly with the worlds largest democracy". Westlessness, if handled well, can be Indias path, especially when the European Union (EU) and the rest of the world is looking East. In Indias favour is democracy. What goes against India is the lack of self-confidence, not among its people, but displayed by a government that still hesitates to go out and seize the many openings with a firmness the country deserves. Trade between India and the EU as a bloc is on the rise, as also between the country and the EUs heavyweights, France and Germany. Both are Nato countries, have different political views on geopolitics, diverging on such matters as their West Asia policy, and are members of the UN permanent five (P5). With its diversity, thus, the EU could offer India much leverage in world affairs. The EUs relationship with China and Russia are notable, too. All considered, it is critical for New Delhi to engage the EU in this moment of westlessness. Europeans understand it better than Washington and, its spokesperson, London. In 2017, total trade between India and the EU was valued at 118 billion. Indias exports of goods and services were worth 41 billion and 16.6 billion, respectively. Imports of goods and services, on the other hand, was worth 44 billion and 17.1 billion, respectively. In 2018, India was the EUs ninth largest trading partner. Its exports to the EU were placed at over 45.8 billion in 2018, up sharply from 22.6 billion back in 2006. Total goods trade between India and the EU was worth 92 billion in 2018, accounting for 12.9% of Indias total trade and 2.3% of the EUs total trade. The story in services is just as impressive. India is now the fourth largest exporter of services to the EU and the sixth largest destination for EUs services exports. Commercial ties have grown in other ways as well. The EUs share in foreign investment inflows into India more than doubled from 8% to 18% over the last decade. Of all EU countries, Germany, the UK and France accounted for about half the trade volume between India and the EU before the UK snapped away from the common market. Consider Indias trade relationship with each of these countries. Begin with France. Bilateral trade in goods between India and France increased from a shade above 10.7 billion in 2017 to over 11.5 billion in 2018. This volume has actually more than doubled in less than a decade, up from nearly 5.4 billion back in 2009. Indian exports to the country exceeded imports by 463 million in 2018. Now take Germany. Relations between Bonn and New Delhi are strong and growing, with total trade in goods in 2018 valued at 23.8 billion. Indias exports and imports in goods were worth 8.2 billion and 15.6 billion, respectively. With the UK, the goods and services that India exported were worth almost 12.9 billion in 2018, up from about 12.05 billion in 2017, while the countrys imports from the UK were worth 7.9 billion in 2018, up from a bit over 6.6 billion in the previous year. Taken together, that amounts to a bilateral trade relationship worth around 20.8 billion in 2018. The UK is a key export market for India. Numbers tell stories. Your turn, New Delhi. Chitra Subramaniam is an award-winning journalist and author Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Never miss a story! Stay connected and informed with Mint. Download our App Now!! Topics The 37-year-old actor kick-started the fashion event by walking the ramp in a sensuous black gown accentuated with a metallic belt and complementary statement earrings. (Photo: ANI) Mumbai: Priyanka Chopra Jonas walked the ramp for the 15th milestone edition of Blenders Pride Fashion Tour Finale. The actor looked stunning on stage as she sashayed down the ramp even as she celebrated her decade long association with the brand. The 37-year-old actor kick-started the fashion event by walking the ramp in a sensuous black gown accentuated with a metallic belt and complementary statement earrings. Addressing the audience, Priyanka said: "This is the 15th edition of the Blenders Pride Fashion Tour, and I have been fortunate enough to be with them for ten years... This is my one decade anniversary as well." "What started as an idea to showcase Indian fashion has today become one of the premier events in this country. It's a testament of the brand's passion, commitment and loyalty to promote Indian fashion," she said. Priyanka also paid tribute to Goa designer Wendell Rodricks whose recent untimely death left the fashion industry in shock. She said, "It's only apt on a night like this in the presence of so many luminaries from the Indian fashion industry that we remember Wendell Rodricks. He was a pioneer. He was a visionary of Indian fashion and he will always and forever be missed." The fashion event showcased exquisite creations of 14 acclaimed Indian designers. Haitian police demanding better working conditions shot up the army headquarters Sunday, the head of the armed forces said. Media reports said six people were wounded in the attack in Port-au-Prince. "We are under siege. We are coming under fire with all kinds of weapons -- assault rifles, Molotov cocktails, tear gas," General Jodel Lessage told AFP. He said soldiers had returned fire but did not give an injury toll, nor could he say how many people were at the army headquarters, near the presidential palace, at the time of the attack. For months, Haitian police have been demanding better working conditions, in particular the right to form a union so as to ensure transparency in talks with the police hierarchy. Last week, some officers took to the street, blocking them and setting fire to cars. On Saturday, President Jovenel Moise announced measures designed to ease the crisis, including the creation of a compensation fund for families of police who die in the line of duty and a fund to provide officers with insurance. Haiti has witnessed a spike in kidnappings for ransom since the beginning of the year and fighting between rival crime gangs, which regularly set up roadblocks on Haitian highways. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With the US in a presidential election year, its likely that regional equations will remain locked until it becomes clear who will occupy the White House come January 2021 US President Donald Trump delivered his third State of the Union Address 5 February, in which he praised the might, glory and economic prosperity of the United States. A few days later, across the Atlantic, the Munich Security Conference opened its 56th Annual Conference, with no less than 35 heads of states and governments, in addition to foreign ministers, ministers of defence and senior officials from across the world, in attendance. The state of the West was the major theme. However, Middle Eastern questions took centre stage. For the last one hundred years, or more, the Middle East has been one of the major battlegrounds for the great powers. It still is. Developments in northern Syria were a major discussion point, insofar as they touch on the Russian role in the Levant and in the larger region. Meanwhile, the ongoing confrontation between the United States and Iran was looming as each country tried to gain support and rally allies behind their respective positions. Last but not least, how the international community will deal with the complex security environment in North Africa, in light of the standstill in the Libyan conflict, was another flash point at the Munich Conference. The conclusions of the conference this year were not as rosy as the overly-optimistic picture President Trump depicted in his State of the Union address. Does the State of the Region differ from one year ago? Will it be different one year hence? If we take the situation in Syria as a starting point, the main parties have remained locked in their respective positions, save the Syrian government, supported by Russia, that has been gaining ground in face of fierce resistance from Turkey and Turkish-backed armed groups, some of which are included on the United Nations list of terrorist organisations. The steady advances of the Syrian Army in northwest Syria has put a serious strain on Russian-Turkish cooperation in Syria a development that was quickly seized upon by the United States. The US State Department sent Ambassador James Jeffrey to confer with Turkish officials in a sign of solidarity with Turkey. Even though Turkish-Russian relations are being tested as never before in the last few years, still the two countries have strategic interests in common, at least in the medium term. That was proven when the Turkish foreign minister, after his meeting with his Russian counterpart last Saturday in Munich, said that differences between the two governments on one issue does not mean that the two would sacrifice their larger strategic cooperation in other important areas. He stressed that Turkey will not change its mind on installing Russian S-400 air defence systems. The next few weeks will be a litmus test of how resilient Turkish-Russian relations will prove to be. In Libya, these relations are being tested again. The two governments are supporting two opposing warring camps. Russia is providing political and material support to Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, whereas Turkey has deployed military advisers in Tripoli to shore up the besieged internationally-recognised government of Fayez Al-Sarraj. Last week, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution calling for a permanent ceasefire in Libya. But Haftar said that he is not going to abide by this resolution, and he would keep on attempting to enter Tripoli, and this regardless of international warnings that this would lead to a bloodbath. Furthermore, even if he succeeds in taking control of the capital city, there is no way he would be able to keep control over Tripoli in face of the forces that would challenge him. In the Gulf, the US-Iran standoff does not look like it is going to end anytime soon. At the Munich Security Conference, the Iranian foreign minister opened a window of opportunity, however limited, by emphasising that his government would be willing to roll back its decisions to increase uranium enrichment beyond the limits set by the Iranian nuclear accord of July 2015, if the E-3 referring to the three European powers that are parties to the nuclear deal with Iran (Great Britain, France and Germany) would honour their economic commitments towards Iran, as stipulated in the nuclear accord. Needless to say, these three European powers face a quandary on how to keep Iran in the accord by providing it with some economic incentives, and trying to square this with the American maximum pressure campaign against Iran. This dilemma will remain unresolved until the Trump administration and Iran reach a compromise through third-party mediation. The Omanis seem to be working on a formula that would satisfy the minimum requirements of both without the Iranians losing face. Last week, the Omani minister of state for external affairs met with the Iranian foreign minister in Munich, in their second meeting in the last few weeks. In a year of presidential elections in the United States, President Trump needs a foreign policy success, and getting Iran to compromise would be considered as one. That could be possible if the Iranians reach the conclusion that President Trump has a strong chance of being re-elected. If not, they would prefer to wait for a new US administration. Regional and Arab powers, including Egypt, have been entangled in a regional stand-off without clear signs that the raging conflict could be settled politically. The entrenched pattern of alliances that has existed for the last 10 years has failed to find the grand political bargain that could put the region on a more constructive and peaceful path. Nothing on the horizon seems to indicate that this status quo will change soon. On the other hand, the regional power that has gained from the status quo has been Israel. The Trump administration, that has failed to come up with policies that favour the long-term interests of peace and security in the Middle East, has copied the textbook of the Israeli extreme right as to the future of the West Bank and the ultimate geographic borders of the Jewish state. The US Peace Plan that was announced 28 January at the White House is the biggest strategic prize that Israel has ever received from any great power even from past US administrations. The State of the Region will, probably, be on hold, with tactical gains here and there for entangled parties on the regional chessboard, at least until the swearing-in of the new American president. The writer is former assistant foreign minister. *A version of this article appears in print in the 20 February, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly. Search Keywords: Short link: Washington, Feb 23 : US President Donald Trump's National Security Adviser (NSA) Robert O'Brien said that he had not seen any evidence that Russia will help Trump get reelected. ABC News released the transcript of O'Brien's interview to be broadcast on Sunday, during which O'Brien said that he did not know about Russian's potential interference in the 2020 US election, Xinhua news agency reported. "I haven't seen any intelligence that Russia is doing anything to attempt to get President Trump reelected," O'Brien said. "And our message to the Russians is stay out of the US elections. We've been very tough on Russia and we've been great on election security," he added. O'Brien's comments came after The New York Times reported earlier this week that intelligence officials recently briefed the House Intelligence Committee about Russia interfering in the presidential race to get Trump reelected. Trump rejected the media report in a Friday tweet, calling it a "misinformation campaign" launched by Democratic lawmakers in the Congress. https://www.aish.com/jw/s/Stranded-in-London-Ontario.html You never know the impact of one act of kindness. Last week I landed in an airport in Texas. It was pouring outside and Rabbi Menachem Block, who had invited me to speak, met me at the airport. My talk was scheduled for that evening in his synagogue, the Chabad of Plano, Collin County. As we drove, I looked around and asked, "Rabbi Block, how did you end up here? Were you born here? No, he replied with a smile. I actually grew up in a place I doubt that you've heard of. London, Ontario. London, Ontario? I couldn't believe it. Rabbi, have I got a story to tell you! It happened 35 years ago in London, Ontario and I'll never forget it." When my eldest son was just a toddler, my husband and I traveled to Toronto, Canada on a Friday morning. We wouldn't normally fly on a Friday but since this was the summer, Shabbos was late and the trip was short, so we figured all would be good. Midair, the pilot made an announcement. There was a terrible windstorm and the Toronto airport was closed. We had no choice but to fly to London. There was so much upheaval amongst the passengers, some thought we were flying to London, England. Who had even heard of this place in Ontario? Shabbos was coming. There was absolutely no way this would work for us. A few minutes later the pilot told us that no one would be able to get off the plane until bus arrangements to Toronto were secured and customs officials completed their plans to process everyone and their luggage. Everyone would need to sit tight and wait. My husband and I looked at each other, wide eyed. Shabbos was coming. There was absolutely no way this would work for us. By the time we would land it would be close to Shabbos. We needed to get off the plane as soon as possible. We called over the flight attendant and were told that the only way we could disembark right away would be if we declared a medical emergency. And we would be forfeiting not only the ride to Toronto but we would have to get off the plane minus our luggage. That means no clothing, no more diapers for my toddler, no food besides the few snacks we had. Nothing. But the sun was setting soon and there was no stopping Shabbos. We knew what we needed to do. I was expecting so I declared a medical necessity to leave. The moment the plane touched the runway, we carried our son, our hand luggage, left the plane and all its passengers behind. We looked around. We were standing in the middle of a cornfield. The heat was sweltering. Where in the world were we? What would we do? We walked into the tiny terminal. There was not a soul to be seen. Now what? I sat down on one of the empty chairs, holding my little boy and started to cry. My husband tried to calm me but what would we eat? How would I care for my son? What kind of Shabbos would this be? A woman appeared behind one of the ticket counters. After asking us about our situation she said that she thinks she knows of one Jewish couple in town. Would we want her to call them? She added that he was a professor at University of Western Ontario. We were doubtful. A professor? Does he know about Shabbos observance? Does he keep kosher? Who knows who these people are? And we would be strangers to them, too. The women found the professors number and dialed. We explained our situation, wary of the voice on the other end. Hesitantly, we asked, "Do you keep Shabbos? Are you kosher?" We heard a wonderful laugh filled with joy. "Shalom aleichem! Come join us for Shabbos! We will be so happy to have Shabbos guests!" A few moments later we found ourselves in the home of a most welcoming couple. They somehow secured diapers for our son, gave us fresh clothing to change into, iced drinks and warm smiles. Incredibly, we felt at home. The professor had much Torah wisdom to share throughout the meal. There were all types of interesting people joining; Jews who were tasting Shabbos for the very first time. The professors wife had more than enough delicious food even though we were unplanned guests. It was only after Shabbos that we discovered the great kindness of this couple. They had given us their very own bedroom to sleep in because it was the only one with air conditioning. They slept in an airless room so that we would be comfortable. We were touched to our core. We had never experienced such hospitality. After Shabbos they arranged our transportation to Toronto. We were touched to our core. We had never experienced such hospitality, in the spirit of Abraham and Sarah in the barren desert. So Rabbi Block, I said, I do know London, Ontario." Rabbi Block was silent for a moment. His eyes glistened. That professor? That was my father. You actually stayed in my home and spent Shabbos with my parents! I was speechless. I called my husband and said, London, Ontario, tell me what comes to mind? Without a pause, my husband recalled the professor, his wife and their mitzvah that remains in our hearts till today. I had not known that Dr. Yitzchok Block had received his PhD from Harvard, was a brilliant scholar, and when offered a professorship in London, Ontario he had truly wanted to become a rabbi, instead. What will we do there? Dr. Block and his wife Laya asked the Lubavitcher Rebbe. You will find what there is to be done, the Rebbe said. We are placed on this earth to create a legacy, to make a difference, to shine our light. We can't realize the impact we have with just one deed, one good word, one Shabbos. But here we are, 35 years later and the kindness has never been forgotten. Who knows what we can do today that will sprinkle our magic for years to come? Second, Sanders is the only candidate who has the financial structure an enormous pool of low-dollar donors who can compete with Bloomberg, if not on a level playing field. Sanders has raised more ($133 million, as of the end of January) and spent more ($116 million) than any non-billionaire candidate. He had nearly $17 million on hand at the end of January, while his rivals were running out of fuel; Biden and Buttigieg had about $7 million each, Klobuchar and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) even less. When you're facing a cancer diagnosis with an average survival span of 12 to 18 months, every milestone is a victory. That makes each wedding invitation, graduation announcement and birthday photo that UCI neuro-oncologist Dr. Daniela Bota receives from her patients a cherished validation of her 12 years of groundbreaking research on glioblastoma multiforme, the most aggressive form of brain cancer. "Because of our work, these people have been able to move on with their lives," she says. Bota has pushed the boundaries of innovation in her quest to increase the survival rates of individuals with brain tumors, especially glioblastomas. The esteemed physician-scientist has taken a truly comprehensive approach to battling this rare disease, which has a five year survival rate of only 10 percent and claimed the lives of U.S. Sens. Ted Kennedy and John McCain. Bota has conducted clinical trials of multiple cutting-edge treatments that are improving the quantity as well as the quality of life for glioblastoma patients at UCI and beyond. 'So much potential, so much growth' Bota grew up in Romania, in a family of engineers. It was assumed she'd follow them into the profession she was a national mathematics champion in her youth but Bota had another path in mind. "I wanted to make a more significant contribution," she says. "I wanted to combine my analytical side with a place where I could help others. I ended up becoming an M.D.-Ph.D. to blend both." At USC, Bota earned a doctorate in molecular biology, focusing on neural degeneration. She then went to the University of Kansas for medical school and a residency in neurology. During her shifts, Bota found herself caring for people with brain tumors and discovered a new direction for her medical career. The generosity and gratitude of brain tumor patients make it so rewarding to care for them. I see it again and again at UCI. Many of these patients have a terminal diagnosis, but they're volunteering their time and energy to participate in our clinical trials to help us build a better treatment and, hopefully, in the future, a cure." Dr. Daniela Bota, UCI neuro-oncologist After a neuro-oncology fellowship at Duke University, Bota joined the faculty of UCI's School of Medicine and the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center in November 2007. "Both my career and UCI in general have grown so tremendously over the dozen years since," says Bota, who's now co-director of the UCI Health Comprehensive Brain Tumor Program. "There has been so much potential, so much growth, so many changes and so much scientific revolution helping us move forward in so many different directions. It's a very exciting time." A comprehensive approach The word "comprehensive" carries significant weight in the realm of cancer care centers. The "comprehensive" designation from the National Cancer Institute recognizes an added depth and breadth of research that bridges multiple scientific areas. Just 51 cancer centers in the U.S. carry the designation; the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center is the only one in Orange County. "We offer one of the most innovative and complex portfolios of clinical trials anywhere in the world," Bota says. Her own multipronged attack against glioblastoma multiforme reflects the center's comprehensive approach. Bota's work on the experimental drug marizomib has generated significant attention and hope. Unlike traditional chemotherapy drugs, marizomib can penetrate the blood-brain barrier the filtering mechanism that prevents many blood-borne substances from passing into brain tissues and inhibit cancer growth without causing damage to other parts of the brain. Over the past 12 years, Bota has shepherded marizomib from preclinical development all the way through a 700-person international phase III clinical trial now underway. "We have a number of patients from our clinical trials who are surviving this tumor for longer periods of time than usually expected," she says. Amanda Johnson, a 32-year-old freelance writer in Mission Viejo, has been receiving marizomib for two years under Bota's care. Her large glioblastoma tumor which straddled both sides of her brain has shrunk so much that it's no longer measurable. She has returned to work on her novel and even joined a gym. "I feel so happy just to be alive," Johnson says. Larry Johnson, her father, told Fox News, "I don't think [Amanda] has come to realize how important her survival is to other people and families who are going to find themselves in a similar situation." Bota strives to reach a point where such cases will be so commonplace that they don't make the news. "That's what success looks like not having a prominent publication or being part of a game-changing discovery," she says. "It's having patients like Amanda still be here and doing well." Vaccine trials and right to try To achieve that goal, Bota tenaciously pursues multiple avenues of treatment. She has been a leader in the use of Optune, a device worn on the head that generates an electrical field that disrupts the growth of cancer cells. "We were among the first in the country to explore and use this technology," Bota says. "Now we're working with physicians from other countries to help them adopt it in their practices." She is also spearheading two clinical trials on cancer vaccines. "Brain tumors hide behind the blood-brain barrier, so the body doesn't recognize them as not being a normal part of the body," Bota explains. "With our vaccines, we extract cellular markers from the patient's tumor and inject them back into the patient to stimulate the immune system to recognize those tumors, attack them and, if possible, eliminate them." She adds: "Both studies have been well-received in our neuro-oncological community, which is highly promising. And a significant benefit is that the vaccines function with minimal or no toxicity." In January 2019, one of Bota's patients who was ineligible for both clinical trials was able to access one of the vaccines through the first successful application of the national Right to Try Act. Passed in May 2018, it allows people with terminal illnesses, in consultation with their doctors, to seek treatment with experimental drugs not yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration directly from pharmaceutical companies. "The law puts patients in charge of their care; they initiate contact with the manufacturer and request therapy," Bota says. "It gives patients who don't qualify for clinical trials another option." "We offer one of the most innovative and complex portfolios of clinical trials anywhere in the world." Sharing her expertise Bota eagerly offers her knowledge beyond the doors of the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. Whenever she and her husband, Robert, a local psychiatrist, travel back to their home country of Romania, she consults with medical colleagues there, as there are no certified neuro-oncologists in the nation. On days when the couple work on their farm in the Transylvanian Alps, locals come to them often on foot for medical advice. The two hope to eventually establish a clinic in the area. "I want to make sure that Romania also benefits from my medical expertise," Bota says. Back on campus, in her capacity as senior associate dean for clinical research, she uses her vast clinical trial experience to help colleagues in UCI's School of Medicine advance their own research projects into the clinical arena. "I'm excited by the ability to impact the lives of so many people through this role," Bota says. "Whether it's for burns or vascular disorders or other conditions, people come to UCI for the same reason: We can offer what community hospitals cannot. Being able to make that happen, to create new options for our patients, is what wakes me up in the morning." Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-24 01:35:15|Editor: yan Video Player Close CAIRO, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said on Sunday that Egypt is free from any COVID-19 case as his government is fully transparent about the infection, the Egyptian cabinet said in a statement. Madbouly's remarks came during his cabinet meeting to follow up the protective measures against the novel coronavirus. The meeting was attended by the ministers of health, information, social solidarity, trade and industry, civil aviation and others. During the meeting, Egyptian Health Minister Hala Zayed reaffirmed that the foreign national announced on Feb. 14 as Egypt's first coronavirus case was later tested negative for it. She noted that the foreign national is still in hospital until the end of the 14-day quarantine period. "Utmost alert has been raised in all quarantine departments for air, sea and land entries," said the Egyptian health minister during the meeting. In late January, Egypt sent 10 tons of medical supplies to China as a sign of solidarity with the Asian country in its battle against the novel coronavirus. By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 02/22/2020 ADVERTISEMENT FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON THE ALL-NEW GOOGLE NEWS! Reality TV World is now available on the all-new Google News app and website. Click here to visit our Google News page, and then click FOLLOW to add us as a news source! ADVERTISEMENT Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade. star Taylor Dunklin has revealed she was actually relieved when Brandon Reid chose not to move in with her after they returned home from their Panama honeymoon.Once Taylor returned to the United States following her honeymoon, Brandon seemed to disappear and was nowhere to be found.One thing was for sure though: Brandon chose not to move in with Taylor in the neutral apartment the show had provided for them as a couple in Washington, D.C."Did you agree with that decision or did you want him to move in and try to work on things?" host Jamie Otis asked Taylor on Wednesday night's episode of : Unfiltered."Honestly, the fact he wasn't living with me at that moment, I was very relieved," Taylor admitted."I was truly relieved that we didn't have to spend the first night together."Taylor, however, said she'd totally expect Brandon to live with her had their relationship been on the right track."But if I was on better terms with Brandon, then he would have to move in," Taylor shared. "Like, it doesn't say anything to his commitment."Although Taylor and Brandon appeared to have a blast on their honeymoon after tying the knot, their time together in Panama wasn't without a couple of bumps in the road.Brandon seemed to ignore Taylor for almost a full day after she woke him up with a camera in his face one morning. He claimed her ambush gave him a panic attack because he's a private and reserved guy.And on the last day of their honeymoon, Brandon had a meltdown over the production team following him around and trying to film his every move.Brandon apparently left Taylor with the responsibility of packing up his belongings -- including the passport he had left behind -- in their hotel room and picking up the pieces of their relationship.Once the pair reunited in a van outside of the hotel, which was about to head to the airport in Panama, Brandon cussed Taylor out and ranted and raved."Taylor, how does it feel knowing that your relationship is in this type of a state only one week into your marriage?" Jamie asked on Unfiltered."Honestly, at the airport, I mean, I feel like I didn't even want to talk to him again, at all. Like I had nothing, no words, to say," Taylor confessed of Brandon."It was just the beginning of the eight weeks [of the experiment]."Taylor said it was "really hard" for her to maintain hope after Brandon's outburst, which apparently shocked all of the couple's co-stars as well.Taylor liked the sweet, thoughtful and kind side of Brandon, but she said she wanted nothing to do with the temperamental, disrespectful and rude side he had shown production."You know, everybody tells me, 'This isn't the Brandon they chose,' and it's just like, well maybe there's still hope for that Brandon that they chose," Taylor shared."Because I wouldn't choose someone like this for me."In the latest episode of 's tenth season, Brandon apologized to Taylor for his actions and revealed he was sleeping at the couple's apartment -- but in a different bedroom.Brandon, however, received a lot of heat from Taylor's friends and family when the married couple hosted a house-warming party. Brandon just wanted to move forward from the incident and try to better his relationship, which prompted Taylor to stand up for her husband and give him another chance.also stars Michael Watson and Meka Jones Zach Justice and Mindy Shiben Katie Conrad and Derek Sherman , and Jessica Studer and Austin Hurd currently airs on Wednesday nights at 8PM ET/PT on Lifetime.To read jaw-dropping spoilers on how Brandon and Taylor's marriage turned out and whether they're still together, click here Interested in more news? Join our Married at First Sight Facebook Group Nigeria: 5 churches burned, many Christians killed in Boko Haram invasion Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment More than 100 Boko Haram militants opened fire sporadically and indiscriminately and set churches and houses on fire, killing many people, in the town of Garkida in Gombi area of the northeastern state of Adamawa, according to initial reports. At least five churches were destroyed, including two houses of worship belonging to the Church of the Brethren denomination, an Anglican Communion church, and a church and a separate office of Living Faith Church. There are unconfirmed reports of possible abductions. Riding on about 60 motorbikes, with two men each carrying AK47s and RPGs, and accompanied by roughly 20 mounted gun trucks, the Boko Haram militants arrived from the Sambisa Forest area on Friday evening, according to Save the Persecuted Christians. Nigerian security forces initially fought with the attackers but had to retreat for reinforcement. The militants then advanced to neighboring towns and carried out attacks. Civilians fled to a nearby mountain area and into bushes. Garkida is currently on fire many people have been killed and their houses covered with smoke, TheCable quoted a source as saying. People ran to hide inside the mountains while they watched their houses being burnt by the insurgents, a resident added. The Catholic Women's Conference, an annual large gathering in Gardika, was scheduled for Friday evening and the women were still arriving when the attack took place. The attack possibly carried on until at least Saturday, when ait.live reported that the insurgents are exchanging gun fire with the local vigilante and security operatives deployed to the area. Earlier this month, suspected Boko Haram militants burned and killed at least 30 people, including a pregnant woman and her baby, and abducted others in northeast Nigeria and the Lake Chad region. The militants set the sleeping travelers on fire in the Auno village of Borno state as they were camping out for the night after missing an evening curfew in the state capital of Maiduguri, about 10 miles away. Boko Haram is an Islamic militant insurgency responsible for killing tens of thousands and displacing millions in the last decade-plus. The terrorist group pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in 2016 but soon splintered after Islamic State leadership tried to replace Boko Harams leader, Abubakar Shekau. Although the Nigerian government claims to have defeated Boko Haram militarily, Boko Haram and its offshoot Islamic State West Africa Province continue to carry out attacks in Borno. Boko Haram over the years has abducted hundreds of school girls. The group has also abducted pastors and others in attempts to raise funds through ransom payments. Last month, Boko Haram executed Rev. Lawan Andimi, chairman of the Christian Association of Nigerias chapter in the Michika Local Government Area of Adamawa State. Andimi was kidnapped in early January and was seen in a ransom video praising God before his death. Also in January, the Islamic State released a propaganda video purporting to show the killing of a Nigerian Christian university student by a child soldier. In December, the Islamic State faction claimed to have killed 11 Christian aid workers in Nigeria in retaliation for the killing of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Femi Fani-Kayode, a former Nigerian Minister of Culture and Tourism, and Aviation, recently accused former U.S. President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton of their sheer wickedness in helping Boko Haram by funding and supporting the 2015 election of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, who later canceled contracts to eradicate the terrorists, LifeSite reported. What Obama, John Kerry and Hillary Clinton did to Nigeria by funding and supporting Buhari in the 2015 presidential election and helping Boko Haram in 2014/2015 was sheer wickedness and the blood of all those killed by the Buhari administration, his Fulani herdsmen and Boko Haram over the last 5 years are on their hands, Fani-Kayode wrote on Facebook. The Nigerian government has faced international criticism for an ineffective response to the increasing violence carried out by Boko Haram factions and Fulani radical attacks. Insecurity has led to Nigeria becoming one of the most dangerous countries to live in the world. As Nigeria ranks as the 12th worst country in the world on Open Doors USAs 2020 World Watch List of countries where Christians are most severely persecuted, Nigeria was added to the U.S. State Departments special watch list of countries that tolerate or engage in severe violations of religious freedom in December. The magnitude 5.7 earthquake kills nine people and leaves 37 others wounded, according to Turkeys health minister. At least nine people were killed and 37 others injured in Turkeys Van province following an earthquake early on Sunday, the countrys health minister has said. Nine of the injured are in serious condition, Fahrettin Koca said. Earlier, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said three of those killed were children, adding that some 1,066 buildings collapsed. The Disaster and Emergency Management Authority had begun rescue work, Soylu said. Search and rescue efforts are ongoing, he said. The magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck the Turkey-Iran border region, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said. The quake had a depth of 5km (3.1 miles), the EMSC said. Turkish public broadcaster TRT World said it affected about 43 villages in Turkey, which has a history of powerful earthquakes. TRT said damage inspection teams had been dispatched to the region. There were also reports of building collapse in the Turkish city of Van. Al Jazeeras Hashem Ahelbarra, reporting from Hatay in southern Turkey, said authorities are racing against time to reach those affected by the earthquake. Authorities say they are concerned that many people might be trapped in the rubble. Rescue operations are under way. Dozens of mountainous villages have been affected. The area is one of the most seismically active areas in the world, he said. Iranian officials said emergency teams have been sent to the affected areas. Wreckage of a mud-brick construction is seen after tremors from a 5.7 magnitude earthquake centred in northwestern Iran were also felt in Turkeys Van province [Anadolu/Getty Images] Our rescue teams have been dispatched to the area. So far, we had no reports of damage or fatalities in the area, which is not a populated area in Irans West Azerbaijan province, an Iranian official told the state television. But another local official said: It is very likely that there will be casualties and damages, Irans state television reported. Crisscrossed by major fault lines, Iran and Turkey are among the most earthquake-prone countries in the world. An earthquake last month in eastern Turkey killed more than 40 people while another in Iran had caused structural damage to homes without causing any fatalities. Parikshit Luthra After weeks of speculation, it is now clear that no trade deal would be signed during US President Donald Trump's first visit to India next week. However, during negotiations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Trump are likely to make a commitment to a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (FTA). A senior diplomat privy to trade negotiations said, "We do not want to rush into a trade deal during this visit. Any deal between India and the US will have a long-term impact. We would rather look to the future and seek win-win solutions". India and the US have been negotiating a trade pact for over a year now and sources say that USTR Robert Lighthizer and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal have developed a good understanding. Sources confirmed that in the ongoing negotiations, India has asked for the restoration of Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) benefits and greater market access for Indian products. India has also offered tariff concessions on Harley Davidson motorcycles as part of the trade talks. Reacting to Trump's remarks about unfair treatment, a source said, "Our tariffs are not higher than other developing countries. Countries such as South Korea and Japan have higher tariffs. India is a developing country which will have other requirements." Defence pacts likely India and the US could sign a deal worth $2.6 billion for 24 MH60 Rome multi-mission helicopters for the Indian Navy. At least 8-10 deals including a $1.8 billion deal for NASAM air defence system for Delhi and a $930-million deal for six Apache attack helicopters for the Indian Air Force are also in the final stages of negotiations. "These deals are part of ongoing talks and cannot be linked to the outcome of the visit. However, some of them like the deal for navy helicopters may come through during the visit," said a source. President Trump would arrive in India with a large delegation that includes US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney and Senior Advisor to President Jared Kushner. Trump would be in India for only 36 hours. While addressing the media ahead of Trumps visit, India's Foreign Secretary Harshvardhan Shringla said: "The US is Indias largest trading partner in goods and services combined, and the overall bilateral trade increased by over 10 percent per annum over the past two years to reach $142 billion in 2018; it is expected to cross $150 billion for the first time this year." Hydrocarbon imports from the US have risen to $7 billion in the last two years. The US is India's sixth-largest source of crude oil imports. President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump would receive a grand welcome at Ahmedabad and the 22-m-long roadshow to the Motera stadium would be full of cultural performances. "As many as 28 stages representing the various parts of the country are being set up along the route, in what is being called the India Road Show. The route will also feature decorations depicting different events in the life of Gandhiji," the foreign secretary said. Sources told CNBC TV18 that India and the US will sign a joint vision document that will guide relations in the months to come but there will be no deals or agreements signed during the visit. Israel tonight pounded targets surrounding Damascus, prompting a volley of anti-aircraft fire in return, sending tremors through the Syrian capital. In a rare acknowledgement of operations in neighbouring Syria, Israel said its warplanes attacked targets of the Palestinian militant Islamic Jihad group south of Damascus in addition to sites in the Gaza Strip. Syria reported an Israeli attack near Damascus International Airport and said its air defences confronted Israeli rockets coming from the direction of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. It said the defenders intercepted or shot down most of them. Residents said multiple explosions shook Damascus for about 15 minutes as air defences fired back. A ball of fire is seen following an Israel airstrike at Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip early on Sunday In a rare move, the Israeli military claimed responsibility through a spokesman on Twitter, saying it staged a series of strikes targeting the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad in Syria and the Gaza Strip Light in the sky is seen in Damascus as the Syrian defence forces said it shot Israeli rockets from the sky A rocket is seen in the sky over the Syrian capital of Damascus in the early hours of Monday The smoke trail of a rocket, fired by Palestinian militants, flying over the Gaza Strip. Palestinian militants in Gaza pounded Israel with rockets Sunday after Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian suspected of placing a bomb near the border Israel said its strikes 'were carried out in response to the attempted attack this morning on the security fence (in Gaza) and the launching of rockets from the Gaza Strip at Israel.' It said the sites attacked were used for 'research and development of armaments' that are manufactured in Syria and the Gaza Strip. It said the sites also produce dozens of kilograms of rocket fuel each month. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the Syrian conflict, said the explosions resulted from Israeli bombing of suspected Iranian-backed militias in the vicinity of Damascus International Airport. Israel frequently strikes at targets inside Syria, but has largely refrained from public admissions of its covert military operations there. Iran is an ally of Damascus and has offered military advisers and sent militiamen and material support to help President Bashar Assad's government forces in the nine-year civil war. Israel's iron Dome anti-missile system fires interception missiles as rockets are launched from Gaza towards Israel Iron Dome anti-missile system fires interception missiles as rockets are launched from Gaza towards Israel, in the city of Ashkelon A ball of fire is seen following an Israel airstrike at Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip Israel considers Iran a national security threat and says it won't tolerate Iran's presence on its borders. In November, Israel targeted two senior Islamic Jihad commanders in a simultaneous attack, killing one in the Gaza Strip and missing the second in Syria. At the time, Israeli warplanes fired three missiles at the home of Akram al-Ajouri, a member of Islamic Jihad's leadership living in exile. He was not harmed, but his son and granddaughter were killed. Anirban Ganguly By This year a disturbing pattern was again seen in West Bengal during the Saraswati Puja. The students of Chauhata Adarsha Vidyapith in Basirhat, who were demanding the resumption of the puja, were assaulted by locals. Those who had attacked them in this Muslim-dominated area, were determined to prevent them from observing Saraswati Puja. The teacher, Ganesh Sardar, who had demanded that the puja should also be observed and not only Nabi Dibas, the birthday of the Prophet, had to be locked in a toilet to save him from the mob. This has become pattern in the last few years in West Bengal in which Hindus are being prevented from observing religious days and occasions, especially in areas in which they are a minority. No national media will make this news, since West Bengal is not a BJP-ruled state. Human rights activists, historians such as Ramchandra Guha and filmmakers such as Aparna Sen are silent on this. They will not protest, nor write letters, nor will offer satyagraha since doing this will not get them publicity. They oppose CAA, oppose the granting of citizenship to hapless Bengali Hindu refugees who have been persecuted in East Bengal and East Pakistan, but are silent when Hindus of West Bengal demand that their right to practice their religion be protected. The self-styled poets of West Bengal, the likes of Subodh Sarkar and Joy Goswami, who had loudly opposed CAA by standing beside West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and had, in rhythm with her, said Chi-Chi against the granting of citizenship to Bengali Hindu refugees, have been silent on this. In the past too they had kept quiet and looked the other way when Hindus were being prevented, in many areas in West Bengal, from observing Durga Puja. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, then BJP national president, used to refer to this peculiar and anti-democratic situation created in the state by the ruling Trinamool Congress and the CMs appeasement politics, where Durga Pujas and Saraswati Pujas are obstructed, where Ram Navami processions are attacked, and worshippers are either heckled or imprisoned. Puja committees had to repeatedly take recourse to courts to protect their religious rights. Meanwhile, one saw how during the anti-CAA violence in December, stations were set on fire, ordinary people affected and violence unleashed on Hindu villages, especially in districts such as Murshidabad. It is ironical to note that in a state such as West Bengal, which historically was created so that Bengali Hindus could live in peace with dignity and not be pushed into Pakistan after Partition, a situation has arisen in which the Bengali Hindus, especially in rural West Bengal, feel insecure. The question is, how far will they be pushed because one political party is resorting to blind appeasement politics? The Communist parties are not far behind. They seem to have arrived at an undeclared understanding with the TMC in perfecting appeasement and vote-bank politics. In an unheard-of development, the Communists and extreme and radical leftists were seen obstructing the distribution of Bhagavad Gita during the just-concluded Kolkata Book Fair and obstructing people from entering the stall run by the Visva Hindu Parishad. They had no problem with people distributing the Koran or the Bible. No champions of secularism have spoken out against this discrimination. The CM was silent because she has now decided to support and supply political oxygen to the Left and between themselves and many intellectuals who speak of safeguarding the spirit of democracy, a stoic silence has been maintained on such blatantly intolerant behaviour. The people of West Bengal will have to decide if this is the Bengal that they want for themselves and their future generations. (Anirban Ganguly is Director, Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation and can be contacted on Twitter @anirbanganguly) Supreme Court Justice Sonia Wise Latina Sotomayor once was explicit that she values feelings over the law. She is discovering to her chagrin that this approach does not work when a majority of Justices believe in the Constitution. On Friday, her frustration erupted in an angry dissent attacking her colleagues for partisanship. In 2009, Sotomayor gave a speech trumpeting life experience rather than the Constitution and the law as her guiding judicial principles: Justice O'Connor has often been cited as saying that a wise old man and wise old woman will reach the same conclusion in deciding cases. I am not so sure Justice O'Connor is the author of that line since Professor Resnik attributes that line to Supreme Court Justice Coyle. I am also not so sure that I agree with the statement. First, as Professor Martha Minnow has noted, there can never be a universal definition of wise. Second, I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life. Sotomayor disavowed the speech during her nomination hearing. Nevertheless, her a navel-gazing analysis was at the forefront when she wrote a dissent accusing her strict constructionist Supreme Court colleagues of improperly favoring the Trump administration. To understand her dissent, you need to know about a January concurrence from Justice Gorsuch. Gorsuch wrote a strong rebuke to lower courts that have routinely issued blanket injunctions against the Trump administration, rather than limiting themselves to the parties before them: But when a court goes further than that, ordering the government to take (or not take) some action with respect to those who are strangers to the suit, it is hard to see how the court could still be acting in the judicial role of resolving cases and controversies. Injunctions like these thus raise serious questions about the scope of courts' equitable powers under Article III. Given Gorsuchs powerful Article III argument against overly-broad injunctions, its appropriate that, in Wolf v. Cook County, the Supreme Court stayed a state-wide preliminary injunction in a case challenging the Trump administrations new rules refusing admission to immigrants likely to be public charges. (Under the old rule, only cash payments were public charges; under the new rule, all public benefits are public charges.) Cook County challenged the rule change and the lower court, rather than issuing an injunction as to Cook County, issued the injunction to cover all of Illinois. The government sought to stay the injunction and the Supreme Court agreed. Sotomayors dissent angrily said courts have always been able to issue nationwide injunctions and its unfair to reverse that practice. Its really unfair when the injunction applies only to one State. And its super unfair when the appellate court will hear the matter within a short time and the government doesnt make a good substantive argument. And the worst thing of all is that the policy benefited one litigant over all others i.e., the Trump administration that has for years now been at the mercy of every two-bit resistance district court judge. By contrast, said Sotomayor, the Court often refuses to issue stays of executions, even though the harm of a wrongful execution really is irremediable. In this regard, she misses that the Article III argument that Gorsuch advanced to stop global injunctions is inapplicable when a single petitioners case is at issue. Hers is an apples and oranges argument. The principle that the Courts majority advanced in Wolf is that lower courts have authority only over the case before them, which is always the case with an individual's execution. End of story. Although Sotomayors dissent was foolish and poorly written, it was a battle cry to Slate Magazine: Put simply: When some of the most despised and powerless among us ask the Supreme Court to spare their lives, the conservative justices turn a cold shoulder. When the Trump administration demands permission to implement some cruel, nativist, and potentially unlawful immigration restrictions, the conservatives bend over backward to give it everything it wants. There is nothing fair and balanced about the courts double standard that favors the government over everyone else. And, as Sotomayor implies, this flagrant bias creates the disturbing impression that the Trump administration has a majority of the court in its pocket. Article III Supreme Court justices following the Constitution. Wise Latinas and leftist online writers delve deep into victim politics and Trump Derangement Syndrome. In November, think very carefully whether you want more justices like Gorsuch on the Court, in which case you must vote for Trump, or more justices like Sotomayor, which is what a Bernie presidency promises. The head of the worlds largest coal port says it must transition away from the fossil fuel and diversify Newcastles economy before its too late, but controversial NSW government policy is stopping it. As the government worked to improve its climate policy following a summer of drought and bushfires, Port of Newcastle chief executive Craig Carmody said $2 billion of private investment was waiting for the green light to develop a container terminal and move the Hunter away from coal. Port of Newcastle chief executive Craig Carmody says the company must transition away from coal before it's too late. Credit:Ian Kirkwood However, a once-secret facet of the Baird governments 2013-14 port privatisation deal which would force Newcastle to compensate its competitors if it transported more than 30,000 containers a year could keep the local economy tethered to coal for decades. Mr Carmody said the port had about 15 years to transition away from the resource, which makes up more than 95 per cent of its exports. He added that a changing climate and struggling regional sector compounded the situation. Haiti - FLASH : 15 armored vehicles land in Haiti Friday evening, at Toussaint Louverture International Airport, President Jovenel Moise accompanied by, among others, the Prime Minister ai Jean Michel Lapin, the Director General ai of the National Police of Haiti (PNH), Rameau Normil and head of the Armed Forces of Haiti (FAd'H), received 15 armored vehicles ordered by the Government and whose announcement was made on January 22 last https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-29835-haiti-flash-the-pnh-will-be-equipped-with-armored-vehicles-and-weapons-of-war.html The arrival of these new armored vehicles, will allow the police to be better equipped in the fight against the armed gangs which sow mourning in the population underlined the Head of State, who was careful not to mention the cost of this military equipment. It now remains to receive weapons of war to equip special units of the PNH, weapons also mentioned last January, to have a firepower equivalent to that of the Gangs and with these armored vehicles, a distinctly tactical advantage superior on the ground. See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-29835-haiti-flash-the-pnh-will-be-equipped-with-armored-vehicles-and-weapons-of-war.html https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-28898-icihaiti-taiwan-donation-of-about-30-tactical-off-road-vehicles-to-the-pnh.html TB/ HaitiLibre Valsad : , Feb 23 (IANS) Gujarat beat Goa and became the first team to reach Ranji Trophy 2019-20 semifinals, while Saurashtra moved closer to seal a place in the final four as the fourth day of the quarterfinal came to an end. Karnataka, meanwhile, stretched their lead past 250 and extended the advantage against Jammu and Kashmir. Bengal, meanwhile, strengthened their position in a game against Odisha. Here's how the action unfolded on Sunday: The Parthiv Patel-led Gujarat sealed a place in the semifinals after a 464-run win over Goa in Valsad. Gujarat added 41 runs to their overnight score and declared at 199/6, setting a mammoth 629-run target for Goa. While Bhargav Merai scored 50, Samit Gohil scored 72, Lakshay Garg picked up four wickets for Goa. Gujarat then struck thrice in quick succession and reduced Goa to 13/3 before Suyash Prabhudessai and Snehal Kauthankar added 81 runs together. However, Gujarat managed to break the stand before the tea interval, dismissing Kauthankar. While Prabhudessai scored 66, Siddharth Desai and Arzan Nagwaswalla scalped five and four wickets respectively as Gujarat bowled out Goa for 164 to win the match with a day to spare. At the CSR Sharma College Ground in Ongole, Saurashtra consolidated their position in the quarterfinal clash against Andhra. Having taken a 283-run lead in the first innings, Saurashtra ended the fourth day at 375/9, extending their overall lead to 658 runs. While Avi Barot scored 54, Prerak Mankad and Dharmendrasinh Jadeja scored 85 and 60 runs, respectively. Saurashtra were 198/6 at one stage in their second innings. However, from thereon, they added 173 runs, losing three wickets to move closer to 380-run mark. In Jammu, M Prasidh Krishna picked up four wickets as Karnataka, after scoring 206, limited Jammu and Kashmir to 192 to secure a 14-run lead. The Parvez Rasool-led side, who were 88/2 as the proceedings began on the fourth day, lost eight wickets for 104 runs. Karnataka enjoyed a solid start in the second innings as the openers - Ravikumar Samarath and Devdutt Padikkal - put up a 53-run stand. While skipper Karun Nair got out for 15, Samarth and Karnataka's first-innings top scorer, K.V. Siddharth, who remained unbeaten on 75 on Day 4, added 98 runs together before Samarth got out for 74. Manish Pandey then scored a run-a-ball 35 before Karnataka ended the day at 245/4, leading Jammu and Kashmir by 259 runs. In the Bengal versus Odisha quarterfinal in Cuttack, Bengal, which had taken an 82-run lead in the first innings, extended their overall lead to 443 runs. Bengal, who resumed the day's play at 79/2, rode on fifties from Abhishek Kumar Raman, Shreevats Goswami and Shahbaz Ahmed and ended the day at 361/7. While Bengal lost Manoj Tiwary and Anustup Majumdar early on day four, the pair of Abhishek Kumar Raman and Goswami put up a 102-run stand before the former got out for 67. Goswami then added 57 runs with Shahbaz before being dismissed for 78. However, Shahbaz and Arnab Nandi's 78-run stand helped Bengal go past 350. The US embassy issued a clarification on Sunday over Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and deputy CM Manish Sisodias omission from the list of dignitaries invited for US first lady Melania Trumps Tuesday visit to a Delhi government school to witness a happiness class in motion, said news agency ANI. Embassys clarification comes amid a political war over the issue that has pitched the BJP against the opposition parties including the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which runs the Delhi government, credited with the much publicized and acclaimed educational reforms at the centre of the VVIP visit. While US Embassy had no objection to the presence of CM & Deputy CM, we appreciate their recognition that this isnt a political event & that its best to ensure focus is on education, school, & students, ANI quoted US embassy as saying. Embassys statement is significant in the light of AAP alleging BJPs hand behind the omissions and the latter claiming innocence saying it didnt pick the names, which was a prerogative of the American embassy as per the protocol. Before their names were dropped, it was believed that Kejriwal and Sisodia will welcome Melania Trump at the school and brief her on the curriculum, which was introduced by the Delhi government in all its schools in July 2018 and includes meditation, storytelling, other activities aimed at de-stressing students and question-answer sessions. But the CMs office was informed of the change on Saturday morning triggering speculations and blame game. The BJP hit back at AAP accusing it of petty politics on important occasions. It said the government of India represented all Indians and political affiliations should not count on such occasions. Embassys statement could be viewed as unusual by many since the controversy concerns purely concerns domestic politics. US President Donald Trump, accompanied by wife Melania, daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner and a high-level delegation, will arrive in Ahmedabad around noon on 24 February. New Delhi: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia are unlikely to be present when US First Lady Melania Trump visits a Delhi government-run school in the National Capital on 25 February, according to sources. As per the original schedule, both Kejriwal and Sisodia were to accompany Melania Trump during her visit to the school, people familiar with the matter said. The Delhi chief minister and his deputy were also to brief Melania about the "happiness curriculum" introduced by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, sources said. When contacted, a US embassy spokesperson referred the query on the matter to the Delhi government. There was no immediate reaction from the Delhi government. US President Donald Trump, accompanied by wife Melania, daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner and a high-level delegation, will arrive in Ahmedabad around noon on 24 February for a less than 36-hour-long trip to India. From Ahmedabad, the delegation will travel to Agra before arriving at the National Capital for the main leg of the visit. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-24 06:28:50|Editor: yan Video Player Close CAIRO, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- "A friend in need is a friend indeed," said an Egyptian renowned journalist and writer who leads an initiative in Egypt to express solidarity with China in its battle against the novel coronavirus. Kamal Gaballa, an Egyptian columnist at state-run Al-Ahram newspaper and writer of the book "70 Years of Miracles" about China, spearheads an initiative through his supportive articles in solidarity with China and his field visits to the Chinese workers at the construction sites in joint projects in Egypt. He wrote earlier this month articles published by Al-Ahram entitled "Effective initiative in solidarity with China" and "If China sneezes, global economy gets a flu," highlighting China's huge contribution to world economy and the necessity to support China in fighting COVID-19. The epidemic that appeared in Wuhan city of central China's Hubei Province has claimed the lives of more than 2,300 Chinese so far. "I wrote another article released today entitled 'Stay strong China! Hold on Wuhan!' This is a slogan chanted by all people who love China worldwide," Gaballa told Xinhua on Sunday following the release of his article. He said that he launched his initiative to express solidarity with China because China is a friendly state that has always been supportive of developing countries and stretching hands for cooperation with them via joint development projects. Gaballa's latest article reads: "while China is vigorously fighting against COVID-19, I have received tens of phone calls from Egyptian organization and NGOs and emails from ordinary people, expressing their solidarity with China in response to what I called for two weeks ago, when I urged for popular initiatives in solidarity with China." The article states that China is Egypt's largest trade partner, and highlights that Chinese and Egyptian hands are currently working together in the construction of 20 skyscrapers in the Egyptian new administrative capital city eastern Cairo. Gaballa has recently made a field visit to the site of the project, talked with Chinese workers and engineers, spent the night in their camps, had breakfast and lunch with them and expressed solidarity with them and with all the Chinese people in their battle against the new epidemic. Gaballa says in his latest article that the growing relations of comprehensive strategic partnership between Egypt and China "have wonderfully reflected on the close cooperation between the concerned authorities of both countries to take protective measures against coronavirus." He also hailed Egypt's solidarity with China through sending 10 tons of medical supplies to the Asian country, considering it "a symbolic gift to the Chinese people." The Egyptian columnist vowed to continue his initiative to mobilize the Egyptian public opinion to express solidarity with China during the ongoing hardship. In his article "If China sneezes, global economy gets a flu," Gaballa emphasized that "China's massive financial and human resources cannot be beaten by the mere appearance of viruses." "Meanwhile, economists expect that the economic impact of coronavirus will be limited to the first quarter of the current year. The Chinese economy will flourish again once the virus is put under control," the article quotes economists as saying. The Egyptian columnist stressed that China plays a great role in global development, particularly in favor of developing states in Africa and the Arab region, including Egypt. "Individuals, not only states, should express gratefulness to China for its support of their countries. It is time for the whole world to show support to China, even by a word of solidarity," Gaballa told Xinhua. Hugh Jackman's wife Deborra-Lee Furness is set to return to Neighbours - 35 years after she played Linda Fielding on the iconic Channel Seven soap. As reported by the Herald Sun this week, the 63-year-old will step into the role of director for three episodes. The episodes will feature a storyline about adoption- something very close to Deborra-Lee's heart. Return to Ramsay Street: Hugh Jackman's wife Deborra-Lee Furness, 63, (pictured) is set to return to Neighbours to direct three episodes about adoption Deborra-Lee is the founder of non-profit Adopt Change, a grassroots advocacy group for children in out-of-home care. 'People know and love these characters, they know these character's lives and it (this storyline) is representing real life,' Deborra-Lee told the publication. '[It shows] what happens to people in Australia when they try to adopt.' she said. What a throwback! Her return to Ramsay Street comes 35 years after she played Linda Fielding on the iconic Channel Seven soap. Pictured on Neighbours in 1985 'They (Neighbours) have worked with my team at Adopt Change, we have nuanced the storyline so it has integrity,' she added. According to figures published on Adopt Change there are 50,000 children in foster care in Australia, with only 315 adoptions taking place in 2017. Deborra-Lee has spoken candidly about her adoption journey with husband Hugh Jackman and their two children: Oscar, 18, and Ava, 13. Loving family: The Australian-born star has spoken openly about her experience of adopting the couple's children: Oscar, 18, and Ava, 13. Pictured in 2012 Speaking to Stellar magazine in April of last year, Deborra-Lee with her saying the 'universe had a plan in place' for her family. Despite initially starting the adoption process in Australia, she was forced to continue the process in the US, where laws are less draconian. 'Those who knew that Hugh and I had adopted our children Oscar and Ava in the US would come up to me in the street and ask: 'Why is it so hard to adopt in Australia?' Advocate: 'Those who knew that Hugh and I had adopted our children Oscar and Ava in the US would come up to me in the street and ask: 'Why is it so hard to adopt in Australia?' Speaking to Channel Nine in December last year, Deborra-Lee spoke about how Australians can support children who have 'aged out' of foster care. 'You don't have to adopt a child to be involved here. Reach out to a kid transitioning from foster care [to] going to college, hopefully,' she said. She added: 'Give them a computer, ring them up to see how their grades are, just to let them know someone cares.' And he supported a scholarship project, run with the help of an Israeli scholar, that uncovered a rare, 1,000-year-old Hebrew Bible. But Mr. el-Sisis embrace of Egyptian Jews is also awkward and laced with contradictions. The visit of 180 Jews took place under a news media blackout, with no coverage in Egyptian outlets, and amid iron-tight security by Egyptian officials who at times outnumbered their visitors. Although Mr. el-Sisi paints himself as a moderate, he has done little to counteract anti-Semitism in Egyptian society, where Jews are often conflated with Israel, and where many young Egyptians know little of their countrys Jewish past and how it ended. Im full of questions, said Philippe Ismalun, who fled Egypt after his father was arrested during the 1967 Middle East war. After so many years of Jews being told that Egypt is not their country, not their home, it was puzzling to see the government spend so much money and effort on renovating the synagogue. In part, the answer is politics. Perhaps 16 Egyptian Jews remain in Egypt six in Cairo and another 10 in Alexandria, mostly in their 70s and 80s, according to community leaders in both cities. The government says it is rescuing their synagogues and cemeteries so Jewish heritage can take its rightful place alongside Egypts Pharaonic, Coptic and Islamic civilizations. The spread of COVID-19 has caused business disruption in Vietnam since the first case was announced in late January. The hardest hit areas include tourism and associated services, cross-border trade, manufacturing and agribusiness, among other sectors. IFC is supporting Vietnamese businesses by increasing trade limits for four client commercial banks including An Binh Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ABBank), Tien Phong Commercial Joint Stock Bank (TPBank), Vietnam International Commercial Joint Stock Bank (VIB) and Vietnam Prosperity Joint Stock Commercial Bank (VPB). The increased total limit of US$ 294 million will enable these banks capacity to cover payment risks in granting trade financing to local companies, mostly small and medium enterprises, IFC said in its press release on February 21. VIB welcomes this timely and meaningful initiative to cope with possible liquidity constraints and de-risking trends during this challenging period, said VIBs Chief Executive Officer Han Ngoc Vu. IFCs guarantee will help local banks significantly extend trade finance to more importers and exporters, some of which are credit-constrained and rely on bank trade facilities to manage cash flows and purchase raw inputs. This initiative follows the State Bank of Vietnams call to financial institutions to support local businesses, which may be affected by the coronavirus outbreak particularly those in trade and supply chain linkages. Leveraging IFCs global experience in responding to several economic crises in the past, the decision to increase trade limits is an effort to ensure continued trade flows during this challenging phase. The expanded trade finance line will help mitigate trade finance risks, thus softening the impact of COVID-19 on the Vietnamese economy and the private sector, said Mehmet Mumcuoglu, IFC Financial Institutions Group Manager for East Asia and the Pacific. Following this initiative, IFC is also exploring other expanded interventions to extend its support to Vietnam to mitigate the economic impact of COVID-19 and help the nation sustain robust economic growth, said Kyle Kelhofer, IFC Country Manager for Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. The Centre is working on a two-pronged strategy to aid the crisis-ridden telecom industry by rationalising tax and levies for long-term sustenance of the strategic sector that will follow an immediate bailout package to avert the present crisis involving the payment of ~1.47 lakh crore adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues before March 17, officials aware of the developments said on Sunday. In order to boost the sector in the long run, the government is considering proposals such as reduction in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on telecom equipment and services from 18% to 12%, slashing the levy on the Universal Service Obligation (USO) from 5% to 3% and expeditiously refunding input tax credits worth about ~36,000 crore, two officials from separate ministries said on condition of anonymity. Instant refund of input tax credit is unlikely as this would require the approval of the GST Council, but immediate bailout may include other measures such as a soft loan, possibly from the accumulated USO Fund, which is more than ~50,000 crore, one of the officials said. Hindustan Times on Friday reported that the government was considering an immediate bailout package to salvage stressed telcos, particularly two private telecom operators, Airtel and Vodafone Idea, including a review of the calculation of the amount owed by them and allowing them to pay part of the AGR revenue in instalments. The USO Fund is used to create telecom infrastructure and offer telecom services in inaccessible and non-profitable areas. The USO Fund was established from April 1, 2002. The USO levy is decided by the government in consultation with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) as a percentage of a telcos revenue share. At present, telcos pay a license fee of 8% of the adjusted gross revenue, inclusive of the USO levy, which is 5% of the AGR. Private companies have shown their intent to pay AGR dues after the Supreme Court on February 14 directed the Department of Telecommunications and companies to comply with its October order to pay the AGR dues. Until last week, Airtel paid ~10,000 crore and Vodafone Idea paid a total of ~3,500 crore in two instalments. According to the SC verdict, the telcos were expected to pay AGR dues of about ~1.47 lakh crore by January 23, 2020. Airtel owes around ~35,000 crore and Vodafone Idea about ~55,000 crore. The government is keen to offer a bailout package before the next hearing of the Supreme Court, which is on March 17, the officials said. The government is considering various options because it wants to prevent any telco from going out of business, something that would, given the size and importance of these firms, adversely affect the investors sentiment, restrict consumers choice and increase stress in the banking sector. As per an Inter-Ministerial Group report in August 2017, the total debt of the telecom industry was ~7.88 lakh crore that included exposures of Indian banks. The government has also sought legal opinion in the light of the recent verdict of the Supreme Court before it takes a final call soon, the officials said. As reported by HT on Friday, at least three senior cabinet ministers are directly involved in this matter. Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Mittal on Thursday met telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. Any package will be announced only after intensive consultations among them, the officials said. AGR is an unprecedented crisis for industry, which is being dealt with by government, Mittal was quoted as saying by news agency PTI on Thursday. Mittal and Vodafone Idea chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla had met finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman individually on Wednesday. The second official mentioned above said the Digital Communications Commission or (DCC) on Sunday discussed the financial package. The government had re-designated the Telecom Commission as DCC in 2018, which is chaired by the telecom secretary and its part-time members include the CEO of NITI Aayog, secretary economic affairs (finance ministry), the secretary in the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) and the industry secretary. DCC advises the government in formulating telecom policies, budget for the department of telecom, and implementation of the governments policies pertaining to telecommunications. Spokespersons of the finance ministry, ministry of telecom, law ministry, Vodafone Idea and Airtel declined to comment on the matter. Former finance secretary Subhash Chandra Garg said: India needs a healthy and competitive telecom sector. It would be in national interest if Vodafone Idea survives as a strong player. He said that the closure of any firm would mean non-performing assets (NPAs) getting transmitted to banks. The duopoly of Jio-Airtel would not be in the interest of the country. India needs a healthy and competitive telecom sector, he added. At the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in December, Birla had said that Vodafone Idea would have to shut shop if the company does not get any relief. If we are not getting anything, then I think it is the end of story for Vodafone Idea... They (government) have publicly stated that they want three players from the private sector and one player from the public sector, so I think we can expect much more stimulus from the government because it is required by the sector to survive, he said. Australian commemorative stamps, August 1, 1981. The marriage of Lady Diana's parents was dissolved in 1969 and her mother has since married a wealthy businessman, Mr Peter Shand Kydd. The Shand Kydds have a property, Bloomfield, near Yass, NSW, and it was there Lady Diana went earlier this month for a holiday although the Shand Kydds denied her presence there. The Shand Kydds could not be contacted last night and it is believed they are returning to England. After the wedding, the girl who has been dubbed "Lady Di" by the popular press will become Her Royal Highness, the Princess of Wales. Already her life is to change rapidly. Mr Shea said she would leave her kindergarten work immediately and would move out of her flat. Mr Shea said "The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh have both known Lady Diana Spencer for some time and are delighted at the engagement." The Prince has given his bride to-be a sapphire and diamond engagement ring. It is understood that the Prince proposed to Lady Diana at the beginning of February, shortly before she left for a holiday with her mother at Yass on February 6. The Prince told the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at Sandringham. Lady Diana gave the news to her mother before she left Australia to return to London on February 17. "The Charles and Diana badges are selling out fast at The Badges Shop in Crystal Palace Arcade, Sydney. Shop assistant Phillipa Aldridge with a bowler hat displaying the badges." June 25, 1981 Credit:Barry John Stevens The brief announcement from Buckingham Palace said: "It is with the greatest pleasure that the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh announce the betrothal of their beloved son, the Prince of Wales, to the Lady Diana Spencer, daughter of the Earl Spencer and the Honourable Mrs Shand Kydd." Mr Shea said that in the last few days news of the engagement had been given to the other members of the Royal Family, to the Prime Minister, Mrs Thatcher, the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Foot, Commonwealth Heads of State, and Heads of Government and the Archbishop of Canterbury. A Privy Council meeting will be held to formally approve the marriage. Prince Charles's plans to go on a five-week tour of New Zealand, Australia, Venezuela and the United Slates are unchanged at the moment, Mr Shea said. He will be in Sydney on April 16. "But there is no present intention that Lady Diana should accompany him," he added. Mr Shea said the first meeting the pair could recall although they probably met in childhood was in November, 1977, at Althorp, near Northampton. Mr Fraser, in his announcement to Parliament, said that on behalf of the Government and all Australians "I welcome the announcement with great pleasure and extend congratulations and good wishes to Prince Charles and Lady Diana. "Australian people hold Prince Charles in special regard. "From the completion of his schooling here as a young man, and his subsequent five visits to Australia, we have come to recognise and applaud his sense of humour and his dedication; his outgoing personality and his concern for people. Loading "Prince Charles will be visiting Australia again later this year and he will be given a warm welcome. I do mot know when we might have the great pleasure of welcoming Lady Diana to Australia but whenever that is, I am certain that the welcome will be equally warm, equally affectionate." The Leader of the Opposition, Mr Hayden, also offered congratulations on behalf of the Opposition. The announcement ended months of speculation over the most publicised courtship ever conducted by a future British monarch. Despite the strenuous attempts of the Royal Family, courtiers, officials and friends to shield the couple from the media's attention, their romance has been front page news throughout the world. For sale Grandeur Sweets, a cupcake shop in Merrillville, is looking to sell to new owners after more than three years. The bakery known for its Neapolitan, red velvet, German chocolate and 7-Up pound cakes and strawberry cheesecake is located at 7606 Broadway in Merrillville. "It is our sincerest regret that we inform you that after 3 1/2 years of business, Grandeur Sweets LLC has decided to sell our bakery," the cupcake shop posted on Facebook. "The decision to sell our bakery wasn't an easy one. We can't fully express our deep gratitude for your business and your support. It has been a pleasure to serve you. Thanks to all our customers who took the time out to do a review that made us a 'top bakery' with a 4.9 rating. We don't take that for granted. We will continue to be open until we sell our bakery." Grandeur Sweets said it's a turnkey operation where anyone could walk in and take over. "Looking for a buyer who wants to buy a bakery that's already established, with a great customer base, great location, plenty of parking and a busy plaza," the business said on Facebook. "All you have to do is moving in and start baking." For more information, call 219-525-5468. Open Suttle Bistro, a restaurant and bar that often hosts live jazz, opened last fall in Gary's lakefront Miller neighborhood. The eatery and nightspot moved into the space at 6039 Miller Ave. that was formerly occupied by The Fab 4 Restaurant and Yellow Submarine Lounge. Adorned with comic book covers on the walls, the restaurant offers American cuisine like burgers, sandwiches, chicken and starters. Sample items include chicken and waffles, a salmon burger, potstickers, bone-in wings and fried green tomatoes. The small family-run business also serves beer, wine, martinis and margaritas. It's open late on the weekends, when it often hosts live music. Suttle Bistro is open from 5-10 p.m. Monday, Thursday and Sunday, from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday. For more information, call 219-290-6900 or find the business on Facebook. Haiti - Bahamas : A Haitian student sentenced to 3 years in prison for attempted fraud 29-year-old Haitian student Jamesly Fils-Aime who appeared on Thursday February 20 before the Principal Magistrate Carolyn Vogt-Evans was sentenced to 3 years in prison after pleading guilty for trying to obtain Bahamian nationality with false documents. Fils-Aime was arrested in the Bahamas by immigration authorities on January 28, 2020 when he arrived at the airport, in possession of a passport (which was not his) bearing the photo and name of "Johnny Tannis", from a Bahamian status application and a birth certificate. After being questioned in the presence of an interpreter, he revealed his real identity and told the police that he had given this false name on the advice of his aunt in order to obtain Bahamian status. He pleaded guilty to all charges. When he appeared in court, speaking through a translator, Jamesly Fils-Aime in tears said he explained to the judge that he was studying agriculture in Haiti and was due to graduate in December "I want to say sorry to the Bahamian community and Haitian community in The Bahamas [...] My heart is breaking to find myself in this position like this", he declared adding "Im sorry that I made this error. That will never happen again because that was not my intention." However, Magistrate Vogt-Evans said that while sympathizing with Fils-Aime's plight, she believed that a university educated man should be better informed of the immigration laws of the Bahamas and understand the consequences of his choices "[...] This is not just a simple illegal landing or overstaying case [...] you had false documents and you would have presented those documents to the authorities and then you would have lied to the authorities in The Bahamas [...] You are aware of the security and health issues that we face. You are aware of the economic strain of foreigners on The Commonwealth of The Bahamas. The Bahamas must protect its country. The greatest gift a Bahamian can have is citizenship. You dare to steal that and for that you must be punished [...] The court must send a clear message to would be offenders that that will not be tolerated." Jamesly Fils-Aime was sentenced to 3 years in prison and was informed that he had the right to appeal this sentence. He was sent to the Bahamas Correctional Department to serve his sentence, after which he will be deported to Haiti. SL/ HaitiLibre Meghan McCain is one of five co-hosts on The View. She is the most conservative panelist on the talk show and continuously makes headlines. The Republican supporter is hard on her convictions and is not afraid to stand behind an idea that is not the most popular. McCain not only riles up liberals but she recently made fellow conservative women upset. Meghan McCain and Donald Trump | Lou Rocco/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images / Mario Tama/Getty Images How did Meghan McCain offend conservatives? Florida congressman Matt Gaetz was a guest on The View this week. If you follow politics, you know hes one of Donald Trumps biggest supporters. During his interview, McCain brought up the issue of how the POTUS was going to bring in conservative women to rally behind him. The thing that I dont understand because Im not a Trumper I think that everyone knows that very clearly, McCain said. Policy-wise [Trumps] been great on many things life, military, economy but his character issues are still what holds me, and especially so many conservative women, back from going full-throttle with him. The part that Republicans had an issue with was when McCain said that Trump would have an issue with college-educated women to vote for him. Who the HELL does @MeghanMcCain think she is arrogantly implying that women who support Trump are weak & uneducated? Well guess what Mrs. McCain This VERY strong independent woman (who youd NEVER survive a debate with) has MORE college degrees under her belt than YOU do! pic.twitter.com/IxUSvjitJZ Mrs.Newell (@MrsNewell888) February 20, 2020 Fans blast Meghan McCain Following McCains comment, conservatives took to social media to slam her for implying Trump backers were uneducated. She may not have meant to come across as such a condescending b*** to some of her viewers but just because a woman supports Trump doesnt make her uneducated or submissive to the male gender. Were fully capable of thinking for ourselves Meghan, a viewer tweeted. Hey Meg, your college education does not mean you actually have any sense, a fan said. College-educated, difference between you and me, I live in middle America hanging with the average people, you live in New York hanging with elitist. I am strong, highly-independent, have a 4-year degree and I am voting for Trump, a Twitter user added. Facts over feelings Meghan. The very policies that President Trump is implementing, that you claim to favor, are more important to us college-educated women that his brash persona, another viewer commented. She lives in her little bubble world and doesnt realize that young-educated women on college campuses support Trump, another fan said. Not to mention, all women who have life experience not garnered in some college setting. Meghan McCain needs a reality check. Us women live in the real world. Meghan McCain has been extra lately Fans of The View have witnessed that McCain has been on edge lately. With Michael Bloomberg rising in the polls, the conservative co-host has bad major blow-ups. During a heated debate with Joy Behar, McCain lost it and Whoopi Goldberg had to send to commercial break. What? Am I supposed to give Bloomberg a pass? McCain questioned. Not on this show, not with this host. Behar then asked who she was voting for and all hell broke loose. Who I vote for is none of your business but I am not voting for Trump and I am sure as hell not voting for Bloomberg, McCain shouted back. Then youre not going to vote, Behar said. Its none of your business, McCain repeated. To break the tense environment, Goldberg sent to break so everybody could cool down. The View airs weekdays at 11 a.m. ET and 10 a.m. PT/CT. The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, at a meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) at the INEC headquarters, Abuja, subtly blamed political parties for the determination of elections results and pronouncement of winners contrary to INEC record by the courts. The INEC chairman cautioned political parties to play according to the rules and ensure the upholding of democratic values in the electoral process. Prof. Yakubu,therefore, challenged political parties to eschew from illicit practices that would degenerate into the determination of results of elections by the courts in subsequent elections. In the preparations for the governorship elections in Edo and Ondo states scheduled for September 19 and October 10, respectively, Prof. Yakubu bemoaned the legal tussles which made the Supreme Court determine the winners of elections in some states. The INEC chairman admonished that the court could still determine results of elections of political parties continue to hold arbitrary primary elections, including improper screening of aspirants before nominating candidates for elections. He noted that this has caused protracted litigations. Prof. Yakubu, subsequently, remarked: The end of tenure governorship elections in Edo and Ondo are holding later in the year. ALSO READ: Bayelsa: APC returns to Supreme Court Given recent experience with some governorship elections, political parties need to do more to avoid the conduct of acrimonious primaries or failure to observe due diligence in the screening of their candidates, resulting in protracted litigations and eventual determination of the outcome of elections by orders of the court. The INEC chairman enjoined political parties to be conscious of the two critical dates in the timetable released by INEC recently. Party primaries for the democratic election and nomination of candidates for the Governorship election in Edo State must be held from June 2-27, adding, The date for Ondo State is July 2-25. We will also rigorously monitor the primaries and where necessary, apply sanctions as provided by law, Prof. Yakubu said. PV: 0 Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-24 00:15:05|Editor: yan Video Player Close BANGKOK, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Five suspected southern insurgents were shot dead by security forces on a mountain in Thailand's restive south. The clash took place in the southern border province of Narathiwat on Sunday. The security forces also seized five M16 assault rifles, one HK rifle and some supplies belonging to the insurgency group, said Col. Pramote Prom-in, spokesman of the army's southern command. Pramote also said that check points have been set up to check all passing vehicles for insurgents. Police and troops in Narathiwat have been put on high alert for precaution against possible revenge attacks by insurgents. Sunday's clash has been the biggest since separatist insurgents killed 15 people in twin attacks in nearby Yala province on Nov. 5 last year. Pramote told the media that he will investigate into whether the five men killed on Sunday were also involved in the Yala attacks. A key test for Sanders will come on Super Tuesday in Texas, where Latinos rejected him in 2016 for Clinton. But here is the dilemma for the divided moderates: Roughly two-thirds of Nevada caucus-goers said their priority was to find a candidate who could beat Trump, and Sanders received less than a quarter of their preferences. But the rest of that beat-Trump-above-all crowd was relatively evenly scattered across the candidacies of Biden, Buttigieg, and then Warren and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.). Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Lima, Peru Sun, February 23, 2020 16:05 689 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad20661b20b 2 Art & Culture Peru,Inca,culture,history,manuscript Free Peru unveiled a priceless manuscript containing the memoirs of former Inca leaders that had disappeared during Chile's occupation of Lima during the 1879-84 Pacific War. The manuscript -- called "Memories of the Peruvian monarchy or outline of the Inca's history" -- was written in the 1830s by Justo Apu Sahuaraura Inca (1775-1853), a descendant of the Inca emperor Huayna Capac (1493-1525). "The value of this document from 1838 is incalculable. It was always considered an extremely rare jewel of a document, we don't have another of its type," Gerardo Trillo, director of the Protection of Collections at Lima's National Library, told AFP about the manuscript that was found in Brazil. Sahuaraura was a member of the indigenous nobility in Cusco, the old Inca capital, and dedicated his time to preserving the memory of the Inca empire, which lasted 100 years between the 15th and 16th centuries and covered a vast area from the south of Colombia to the center of Chile. The author styled himself as "the last descendant of the Inca's imperial line". In the manuscript he traced Inca history until the arrival in South America of the Spanish colonizers, using now extinct documents. The text includes information about Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, the son of a Spanish conquistador and Inca noblewoman, thought to be the first mixed-race person in the history of the Americas. Read also: Archaeologists find remains of 227 sacrificed children in Peru The manuscript also includes accounts of the Spanish conquest of Cusco, as well as an Inca chronology. "It's a pretty rare and strange manuscript because it has colored sheets that represent the different Incas," said Trillo. He said the manuscript was stolen from the National Library during the Chilean occupation of Lima from 1881-83, a war that pitted Peru and Bolivia against Chile. Chile has returned more than 4,500 books taken from Peru's National Library during the occupation. However, this manuscript was acquired in 1970 by Brazilian private collectors, who agreed in November to return it to its rightful owners. "It took a decade of negotiation for this manuscript to be returned," said Trillo. It has since been digitalized and can be consulted online. Topics : Peru Inca culture history manuscript This comic insight chronicles the making and the unmaking of a racist, told with heartfelt affection and warmth, a journey specific to her own experiences and universal to many. She's Back! Carolyn Meyer, author of fiction and non-fiction for children and young adults, decided that sixty books were enough, and two years ago she launched a new career as a comedian and storyteller. Her solo show, Dont Call Me Young Lady!, played for more than a dozen sold-out performances at The Cell before heading to New York in October for the United Solo Theatre Festival. With a stone-cold gaze and comic insight, The Old White Lady Tells It chronicles the making and the unmaking of a racist, from the naming of her first puppy at the age of four, through the writing of a college essay that would bring cheers from the KKK, and to ultimately standing in front of a black congregation on a Sunday morning. Told with heart-felt affection and warmth, Meyer takes a writers surgical precision to growing up in America, a journey specific to her own experiences but also universal to the experiences of many people. The show plays SundaysFebruary 23rd, March 1st and March 8th at The Cell Theatre, 700 First Street NW in Downtown Albuquerque. The performance starts at 4pm. Tickets are $20 and can be ordered at www.forumabq.com. United States President Donald Trump and First lady Melania Trump are likely to be accorded a traditional welcome complete with the traditional 'teeka', garlands and stole at the ITC Maurya here on Monday night, sources said. The five-star hotel, symbolised by the distinctive logo of hands folded in the traditional 'Namaste', will harp on its own branding and the fact that 'Namaste Trump' has been trending all over. The entire hotel will resonate with the theme of 'Namaste'. According to the sources, the President of the United States (POTUS) and First Lady of the United States (FLOTUS) will be welcomed with traditional 'teeka', 'thali' laden with flowers and stoles after they arrive at the hotel on Monday. They said women dressed in traditional attire will greet the Trumps. A similar traditional Indian welcome was accorded to former US president Barack Obama when he came to India twice, once during 2010 and the second time in 2015, as the chief guest of India's Republic Day celebrations. The Trumps will be staying in the Grand Presidential Suite, known as 'Chanakya'. The suite has hosted several heads of states including former US presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and George W Bush. The premium hotel, however, remained tight-lipped about the special arrangements made to welcome the Trumps. A multi-tier security arrangement comprising the Delhi Police, US Secret Service and other agencies is in place in the national capital. At the five-star property, a three-layer security will be in place. The hotel, located in Diplomatic Enclave in Chanakyapuri, will have police personnel in plain clothes patrolling every floor. The US President's daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner will also be part of the high-level delegation accompanying him during his visit to India. The US president will arrive in Ahmedabad on February 24 for a little less than 36-hour India trip. From Ahmedabad, the US president will travel to Agra to have a glimpse of the iconic Taj Mahal. The Trump family will spend about an hour at the Taj Mahal before sunset. Then they will leave for Delhi for the main leg of the visit. On the morning of February 25, Trump and the First Lady would be accorded a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan. From there, they would go to Rajghat to pay homage at the 'samadhi' of Mahatma Gandhi. It would be followed by restricted and delegation-level talks between Trump and Modi at Hyderabad House. Egyptian Grammy-winning music producer Fathy Salama and members of his band Sharkiat will feature Islamic Sufi chanter Mahmoud El-Tohamy and a number of his musicians in another 'Sufism vs Modernism' resceduled concert on 23 March at the Cairo Opera House. This is the sixth concert of its kind since Salama first introduced El-Tohamy at the Cairo Opera House on 25 September 2018, with the last concert held on 26 September 2019 at the New York University (NYU) Art Centre in Abu Dhabi. "This project is evolving with time and I am always keen to introduce new things in each concert," Salama told Ahram Online on Sunday, revealing that the Sufism vs Modernism project has also been invited by acclaimed Norwich band the Source to perform in a collaborative concert this Summer in Oslo. The godfather of many first-row indie bands and musicians, Salama, who played a vital role in shaping mainstream pop in the 1970s and 1980s, has paid special attention to traditional Islamic music since he formed Sharkiat in the 1980s, winning the Grammy and BBC awards for another Sufi project with Senegal's music icon Youssou NDour. "The Sufism vs Modernism project proves that our authentic heritage and folklore contains all that is needed to reach an international audience with enough hard work," Salama added. Salamas set of keyboards mix jazzy chordal progressions with electronic sounds in a revolutionary fusion that blends pop, hip hop and rock grooves with traditionally Arabic lead solos. Message of tolerance to humanity Sufism is a very old mystical trend that exists in both Sunni and Shia Islam, but is rejected by conservatives. Sufism has its own forms of traditional music that are normally used as part of the ritual practices of zikr, remembering God, and praising the Prophet Mohammed and his family. "The international success of the Sufism vs Modernism project proves that Islam's message of peace is for the whole of humanity," El-Tohamy told Ahram Online. The son of the famous Sufi chanter Sheikh Yassin El-Tohamy, Mahmoud mastered the deep-rooted Islamic musical art from early childhood, following in his father's footsteps. El-Tohamy made headlines recently for his campaign against the Mahragan music genre. "I hope the authorities pay more attention to supporting arts that could give an honourable presentation of our nation's culture away from the immodesty forced upon us lately," he demanded. Besides founding and heading the Egyptian Association of Religious Hymns and Litanies, the 41-year-old chanter also runs an Islamic chanting school and is keen to develop the classic form of chanting via exposure to other international forms, sometimes eliciting criticism from his hardcore crowd. "The international language of music speaks directly to the heart," El-Tohamy said, adding that he aims to spread the Islamic Sufi culture of tolerance. In Thursday's concert, the musicians will include Salama's friend and percussionist Ayman Sedky, tabla master Ramadan Mansour, guitarist Ziad Hisham, Ziad Essam, who will be switching between guitar and oud, bassist Peter Laurence from Sharkiat, and violinist Emad, along with vocals from the El-Tohamy troupe. Programme Monday 23 March at 8pm (Resceduled) Small Hall, Cairo Opera House, Zamalek According to senior AP officials, the total allocable state cadre employees in power utilities were 6,102 on the date of bifurcation of the erstwhile State of Andhra Pradesh. Vijayawada: Power utilities of Andhra Pradesh are hoping that the one-man Justice Dharmadhikari committee would take the right decision on the long-pending allocation of employees between power companies of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The committee is scheduled to hold a high-level meeting in New Delhi on Sunday to take a final call on allocation of employees between the two Telugu states. Senior officials of AP power utilities, including energy secretary Srikant Nagulapalli, have proceeded to New Delhi for presenting a strong case before the committee. According to senior AP officials, the total allocable state cadre employees in power utilities were 6,102 on the date of bifurcation of the erstwhile State of Andhra Pradesh. AP had to accept employees in the 58:42 ratio as per the population of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. This was despite Telangana consuming 54 percent of power. The allocable employees were decided in accordance with provisions of the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014 and three government orders (GOs) were issued in this regard. However, Telangana companies unilaterally relieved 1,157 employees citing their AP nativity. In accordance with High Court orders, 613 of the 1,157 employees opted for AP and 502 chose Telangana. The remaining 42 did not exercise any option. Subsequently, another 229 persons, both allocable and un-allocable of Telangana nativity self-relieved themselves from AP and they were unilaterally allowed to join Telangana. AP officials maintain that the acts of Telangana power utilities relieving 1,157 employees and allowing 229 employees to join are highly irregular and against law. But the report of Justice Dharmadhikari on December 26, 2019 attempts to legalise the two irregular actions of Telangana utilities. The committee recommended that of the 1,157 employees, 655, including 613 employees who opted for AP and 42 who have not conveyed their choice, should be re-allotted to power utilities in Andhra Pradesh. This is highly objectionable as it would significantly add to the financial burden of AP utilities, potentially hampering their functioning, a senior official said. Moreover, the committee has remained silent on the issue of 3,552 employees who are on order to serve with AP utilities. It has also not considered the case of 256 employees who were working with AP utilities but had voluntarily opted to work for Telangana utilities owing to special conditions. U.S. President Donald Trump's national-security adviser says he has seen no intelligence indicating that Russia is attempting to help the president's reelection campaign. The comments by Robert O'Brien on February 22 came days after multiple media outlets reported that U.S. intelligence officials briefed lawmakers that Moscow was taking covert steps to boost the campaigns of Trump and of Democratic front-runner Senator Bernie Sanders. Trump angrily condemned the press reports about his campaign as "another misinformation" effort by Democrats in Congress. Sanders reacted to reports of Moscow aiding his campaign by blasting President Vladimir Putin as a "thug" and telling him to stay out of U.S. elections. OBriens remarks were released in a transcript of an interview to be broadcast on February 23 with ABC TV's This Week with George Stephanopoulos program. The national-security adviser gets pretty good access to our intelligence," O'Brien said. I haven't seen any intelligence that Russia is doing anything to attempt to get President Trump reelected. AP quoted an intelligence source familiar with the briefing as saying that lawmakers were not told that Russia was working to aid Trumps campaign but that some of them concluded that from what they were told. O'Brien also denied the news reports that Trump forced out former acting national intelligence director Joseph Maguire because of anger over the briefing. He said Maguire's time as acting director was to expire in early March and that Trump needed someone who had already been confirmed by the Senate to temporarily replace him. Trump replaced him with current U.S. ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, who is considered a strong Trump loyalist. Ambassador Grenell is there for a temporary period of time, O'Brien said, adding that Trump would soon announce someone to be rapidly confirmed by the Senate as full-time director. Meanwhile, Sanders confirmed that he had been told by U.S. intelligence officials about a month ago that Russia appeared to be engaging in disinformation and propaganda campaigns to help his 2020 campaign. I don't care, frankly, who Putin wants to be president. My message to Putin is clear: Stay out of American elections, and as president I will make sure that you do, the 78-year-old Vermont senator said in a statement. Unlike Donald Trump, I do not consider Vladimir Putin a good friend. He is an autocratic thug who is attempting to destroy democracy and crush dissent in Russia, the statement said. With reporting by AP and Reuters Flash Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi met with Ethiopian prime minister's special envoy Hailemariam Desalegn here on Saturday, where they discussed the issue about the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). The ethiopian envoy reviewed the GERD issue in light of what has been agreed upon so far in the framework of the tripartite negotiations between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan, Egyptian Presidential Spokesman Bassam Rady said in a statement. For his part, Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi stressed Egypt's commitment to working on the success of the tripartite talks sponsored by Washington, the statement added. Upstream Nile Basin country Ethiopia started building its grand hydropower dam in 2011 on the Blue Nile, while Egypt, a downstream country, is concerned that the dam might affect its 55.5-billion-cubic-meter annual share of Nile water. Egypt's fellow downstream country Sudan eyes future benefits from the GERD construction despite Egyptian concerns. After years of fruitless ministerial talks between the three countries, fresh rounds of negotiations have been resumed in Washington under U.S. sponsorship and a final agreement is expected to be concluded in late February. "The agreement would open vast horizons for cooperation, coordination and joint development between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan and mark a new stage for the development of relations between them," Sisi was quoted as saying by the statement. Filling the reservoir, whose total capacity is 74 billion cubic meters, may take several years. The longer the better for Egypt to avoid the negative effects of water shortage, which is a main point of their talks. The Egyptian president emphasized that the anticipated agreement "would maintain balance of interests between all parties." The GERD is expected to produce over 6,000 megawatts of electricity and become Africa's largest hydropower dam upon completion. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has repeatedly vowed not to harm Egypt's share of Nile water via the GERD. Describing the biodiversity of India as a unique treasure for humankind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his monthly Mann ki Baat radio address on Sunday, urged people to preserve and conserve it. The more you know, the more you realise the magnitude of what you do not know. Our biodiversity too is a unique treasure for the entire human kind. We have to preserve it, conserve it and explore further, he said. Laying emphasis on the importance of conservation, the PM quoted Tamil poetess Avvaiyar , What we know is just a handful of sand. What we do not know is like a universe in itself. Referring to the discovery of a new fish species in Meghalaya, he said, It a matter of joy that India, and especially Meghalaya, is home to a rare species. It lends a new facet to Indias biodiversity. We are surrounded by many such mysteries... The PM narrated stories of courage to convey that age and disability cannot be a hurdle in achieving goals. Citing the example of 105-year-old Bhagirathi Amma who cleared level 4 examination in Kerala and 12-year-old Kamya Karthikeyan who scaled Mount Aconcagua in South America, Modi said, If we wish to progress in life, we should develop ourselves, if we wish to achieve something in life, the first pre-condition for that is the student within us must never die. Modi said there are several examples to show that women are breaking age-old shackles and attaining new heights. Entrepreneurship of women, daughters of our country, their courage, are a matter of pride for each one of us. I would particularly like to share with you, the achievement of 12-year-old daughter Kamya Karthikeyan, Modi said. In a bid to boost scientific temper, the PM talked about the Indian Space Research Organisation which facilitates the viewing of rocket launches at Sriharikota. Children, youth in India are increasingly taking a keen interest in Science and Technology. When I was in Bengaluru during Chandrayan-2, I witnessed immense enthusiasm and fervour on part of children present there. There was no sign of drowsiness from any angle, he said He also hailed the use of a mixture of 10 per cent Indian bio-jet fuel in an IAF AN-32 aircraft that took off from Lehs Kushok Bakula Rimpoche airport saying, such efforts will not only help bring down carbon emissions but also reduce the countrys dependence on imported crude oil. The PM also extended wishes to students who will be appearing for their annual examinations over the next few weeks. (With inputs from Agencies) State-run telecom firm BSNL's employee unions have called for a nationwide hunger strike on Monday, to protest against delay in execution of the Rs 69,000-crore revival package announced by the government. "The All Unions and Associations of (AUAB) is organising a country-wide hunger strike on February 24, 2020. This hunger strike is being organised to demand the expeditious implementation of the Union Cabinet's revival package in respect of BSNL, as well as to demand settlement of the grievances of the employees," AUAB said in a statement. In October 2019, the central government approved a Rs 68,751-crore revival package for loss-making and MTNL, including 4G spectrum allocation and voluntary retirement scheme (VRS), as well as their merger. AUAB, , said the salient feature of the revival package is the allotment of 4G spectrum, the issuing of sovereign guarantee for raising funds to the tune of Rs 15,000 crore, with share of at Rs 8,500 crore and Rs 6,500 crore for MTNL, by way of issuing long-term bonds, monetisation of assets and implementation of a VRS. "Out of these, only the VRS has been implemented, through which 78,569 BSNL employees have been sent home. It is extremely disturbing to note that, even after the lapse of nearly 4 months, 4G spectrum has not been allotted to BSNL," statement said. It added that the government has not yet issued the sovereign guarantee to BSNL, to enable it to raise Rs 8,500 crore, by way of issuing long-term bonds. "The process of monetisation of BSNL's assets is also moving at snail's pace. The Supreme Court of India's judgment, with regards to the calculation of the AGR, has caused uncertainties in the telecom sector, due to which banks are also unwilling to extend the much-needed loans to BSNL," the statement said. The BSNL employees' body said that due to the delay in the allotment of 4G spectrum and also due to the non-availability of funds, it is understood that BSNL's 4G service is not likely to be launched before the end of 2020. "This delay is much against the spirit of the Union Cabinet, in approving the revival package for BSNL. The attention of the Minister of Communications (Ravi Shankar Prasad) has already been drawn to the need to provide BSNL with the much-needed working capital. However, nothing has happened," the statement said. AUAB said that despite the relief package, employees are not getting on time and the wages of the contract workers have not been paid for the past 10 months. "Under these circumstances, the AUAB has already organised country-wide lunch-hour demonstrations on February 11, 2020. In continuation of this, hunger strikes are being organised throughout the country on February 24 to urge the Department of Telecommunications and the BSNL management to take expeditious actions," AUAB said. Irans confirmed death toll from the new coronavirus rose to eight on Sunday, the highest outside China, sending neighbouring countries scrambling to contain the outbreak. Four immediate neighbours of the Islamic republicTurkey, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Armeniasaid on Sunday they would close land borders, while three imposed restrictions on air traffic, amid growing regional concerns about the spread of the virus. Iraqi and Kuwaiti authorities have already banned travel to and from Iran. Lebanon has confirmed its first casea 45-year-old Lebanese woman who had travelled from Qom in Iranand Israel on Sunday quarantined at home nearly 200 school pupils who came into contact with South Korean tourists who contracted the virus. Iran reported three more novel coronavirus deaths Sunday among 15 new cases in the past 24 hours, taking its total number of fatalities to eight and infections to 43. Four new COVID-19 cases surfaced in Tehran, seven in the holy city of Qom, two in Gilan and one each in Markazi and Tonekabon, health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said. Authorities have ordered the closure of schools, universities and other educational centres in 14 provinces across the country as a preventive measure. Art events, concerts and film shows have been banned for a week. We are on the frontlines, we need help, the head of Qoms medical sciences university, Mohammadreza Ghadir, said on state television. Major implications To prevent the spread of the novel #coronavirus and protect the public, Afghanistan suspends all passenger movement (air and ground) to and from Iran, the office of the National Security Council of Afghanistan tweeted. A provincial official in Pakistan and the nations Frontier Corps, for their part, confirmed the country had sealed the land border with Iran. Both Afghanistan and Pakistan share long, porous borders with Iran that are often used by smugglers and human traffickers, while millions of Afghan refugees live in the Islamic republicraising fears that the virus could easily spread over the border. Story continues Turkey said it would temporarily close its land border with Iran, while air traffic from Iran would be halted but departures to the country continue. Late on Sunday, Armenias Prime Minister Nikol Pachinian announced his country was both suspending flights and entry via the sole land border checkpoint with Iran. Chinathe epicentre of the outbreakreported another 97 deaths in its daily update Sunday, taking its total to 2,442, plus 648 new infections. Nearly 80,000 people have been infected worldwide, the vast majority in China. But official figures indicate the death rate is proportionately much higher in Iran than China, standing at nearly one in five of the confirmed infections. Irans Health Minister Saeed Namaki said the treatment of COVID-19 cases would be free. In every city, one hospital will be dedicated to treating coronavirus cases, he said, adding that this number would be greater in bigger cities like Tehran. But academics expressed concern over the ability of Irancurrently grappling with a major economic crisis and hit by swingeing US sanctionsto contain the outbreak. It is unlikely that Iran will have the resources and facilities to adequately identify cases and adequately manage them if case numbers are large, said Paul Hunter, a medical professor at Britains University of East Anglia. He also noted that the region was already grappling with multiple conflicts. During armed conflicts, borders between countries become porous... and health care facilities are often targeted and destroyed, he said. Other regional countries on Sunday also took major precautionary measures to counter the virus potentially spreading from Iran. Jordan said it would bar entry to citizens of China, Iran and South Korea and other foreigners travelling from those countries. (AFP) Supporters of Togo President Faure Gnassingbe claimed Sunday that he had won re-election after his main challenger said he could stage an upset despite "revelations of fraud". A widely-expected win by the incumbent would extend more than a half century of dynastic rule over the West African nation by Gnassingbe's family despite broad disillusionment over its failure to drag many out of poverty. After voting ended on Saturday, troops briefly surrounded the homes of opposition candidate Agbeyome Kodjo and a key ally in a move the authorities said was for their "own safety". Kodjo, a former prime minister and head of the national assembly, had emerged as a dark horse challenger looking to stop Gnassingbe's bid for a fourth term in office. But Gilbert Bawara, minister of public functions and a strong supporter of the president, told AFP Sunday: "The lead of President Faure Gnassingbe is well above 50 percent, and even more than 60 percent. "Victory is assured but it is up to the Ceni to independently proclaim the results," he added in reference to the national electoral commission. "We are optimistic and anticipate a clear victory in the first round" of voting, the minister said. Bawara downplayed Internet cuts and disruption to social media networks since vote counting began on Saturday, laying blame on mobile telephone operators Togocel and Moov and remarking: "These things happen." After security forces lifted a blockade of Kodjo's house on Saturday, the challenger told media: "I have the conviction that in the coming week, I will lead this country. Last May, Gnassingbe oversaw an overhaul of the constitution that allowed him to run this year -- and potentially remain in office until 2030. By PIUS UTOMI EKPEI (AFP) "Considering the revelations of fraud which marked this ballot, it is impossible for the outgoing candidate to be elected in the first round." Kodjo claimed the authorities had used ballot stuffing, fake polling stations and people casting multiple votes to skew the results in the incumbent's favour. He said figures from various polling stations showed he was in the lead in the capital Lome and the coastal region and had "good scores" in other areas. The election commission is expected to release the official provisional results early in the week. Situation calm Bawara told AFP Sunday that reports from polling offices across the country "indicate an unbeatable lead" for Gnassingbe. A source in the president's office added that "UNIR (the ruling party) has held onto all its traditional strongholds and has even done better everywhere, including in difficult areas in the south and in Lome." Main challenger Agbeyome Kodjo claims the ballot was fraudulent. By PIUS UTOMI EKPEI (AFP/File) The situation around Lome was calm Sunday morning, an AFP journalist reported. Internet connections appeared to be sporadically interrupted however. Gnassingbe has led the country of eight million people since taking over in 2005 following the death of his father Gnassingbe Eyadema, who ruled with an iron fist for 38 years. Kodjo, who served as premier under Gnassingbe's father, gained ground during the campaign after winning the backing of an influential former Catholic archbishop. The authorities banned hundreds of local observers from monitoring the election and cancelled the system of electronic security at the last moment. If President Gnassingbe fails to win an outright majority, the vote will go to a second round. By PIUS UTOMI EKPEI (AFP) Some 300 international observers were deployed, mainly from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union, with many African states supporting the incumbent. Six opposition challengers have suggested they will unite against Gnassingbe if he fails to win an outright majority and the election goes to a second round. In 2017 and 2018, Togolese authorities faced major protests demanding an end to the family's five-decade rule. Despite economic growth of around five percent, around half of Togo lives on less than $1.90 per day. But the demonstrations faded in the face of government repression and squabbles among the opposition. In May, Gnassingbe oversaw an overhaul of the constitution that allowed him to run this year -- and potentially remain in office until 2030. Stability and security are central to the president's message as jihadist violence rocks northern neighbour Burkina Faso. Togo has so far managed to prevent the bloodshed spilling over and its army and intelligence service are considered to be among the most effective in the region. JERUSALEM - The Israel military said early Monday that it struck Palestinian militants targets in Gaza and Syria in response to rockets fired toward southern Israel on Sunday evening, hours after Israel said it killed a Palestinian militant who tried to place a bomb along the Israel-Gaza barrier fence. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group claimed responsibility for the rocket barrages. Palestinians were furious over the image of the mans lifeless body dangling off the front of an Israeli bulldozer that crossed into Gaza to retrieve it. There was also criticism in Gaza of the territorys Hamas rulers for not responding. The Israeli military reported air raid sirens throughout southern Israel and said at least 20 rockets had been fired. There were no reports of damage or injuries on the Israeli side, but it was the heaviest barrage of rockets from the Gaza Strip in several months. Air raid sirens continued into the evening, and Israels Home Front Command ordered the suspension of classes in Israeli schools in southern Israeli communities near the Gaza Strip on Monday and prohibited large gatherings. In response to the rocket fire, the Israeli military said aircraft struck dozens of Islamic Jihad terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip and a facility belonging to the militant group outside Damascus. The Gaza health ministry reported that four Palestinians were treated at the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City for wounds caused by the Israeli strikes. Islamic Jihad said in a statement that the airstrikes on Damascus killed two of its members, identifying them as Salim Salim, 24, and Ziad Mansour, 23. It did not disclose their nationalities or elaborate on their roles. It vowed to respond to the deaths of its members. Israel and the Islamic Jihad group engaged in a heavy round of fighting last November after the Israeli military killed a top Islamic Jihad commander. Since then, Israel and Gazas more powerful Hamas group have been working through Egyptian mediators to cement an informal cease-fire. But Islamic Jihad has continued to try to carry out attacks. Islamic Jihad said the man killed along the border was a militant. Israel said the man was planting explosives along the border fence. Amateur video on Palestinian social media showed an Israeli bulldozer crossing into Gaza and then lifting up his body. Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman, accused the Israeli military of abusing the dead body, saying that it bears the consequences of the ugly crime. The military said it was removing the body in a way that prevented further danger to those around. But the images generated widespread anger in Gaza, where it was seen as a provocation and violation of Islamic principles that call for respect for the dead. It also sparked criticism of Hamas on social media, with people accusing the group of appearing weak and allowing Israel to operate with impunity inside Gazas territory. One image on social media showed a picture of Jesus draped with a Palestinian flag hanging off the front of a bulldozer. Israeli Defence Minister Naftali Bennett rejected the criticism, noting that Hamas has been holding the bodies of two Israeli soldiers since they were killed in the 2014 Gaza war. I back the military, which killed the terrorists and collected the body, he said. Thats what should be done and that is what was done. The incident comes amid a relative lull along the security fence separating Israel from Gaza. Last week, Israel announced it would provide hundreds of additional work permits for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, in a new step aimed at solidifying an informal cease-fire with the Hamas. Tens of thousands of Gazans used to work in Israel. But Israel virtually sealed the border when it joined Egypt in imposing a crippling blockade on Gaza after Hamas seized power in the strip from rival Palestinian forces in 2007. The blockade, along with three wars between Hamas and Israel, has devastated the economy in Gaza, where unemployment is over 50%. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-23 15:01:42|Editor: yhy Video Player Close by Pankaj Yadav NEW DELHI, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- The stage is all set in India for the two-day visit of U.S. President Donald Trump on Feb. 24-25. The 36-hour visit is Trump's first to India as the U.S. president. He visited the South Asian country as a businessman before. Trump's Air Force One airplane is expected to touch down at the airport in Ahmedabad, a city in western coastal state of Gujarat, before noon on Monday, and he will depart back to Washington the Tuesday evening. The highlights of Trump's visit are the massive road show to welcome him in Ahmedabad which will culminate in a huge reception by nearly 100,000 Indians, the sunset visit to the world heritage site the "Taj Mahal," and his high-level deliberations and industry meetings in Delhi on Tuesday. The visit assumes significance even as it comes in the election year in the United States. Zorawar Daulet Singh, Adjunct Fellow at the Delhi-based Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS), said that with the U.S. entering a new election cycle, it is unlikely any major outcomes will be possible on trade or regional security issues, "where differences on market access and Afghanistan are still very much on the minds of policymakers." Though Trump has categorically mentioned that a trade deal was not possible, but anticipation remains high in India ahead of his visit. Considering what has appeared in the Indian media over the past few days in the run-up to the visit, focus remains on trade, defence and Afghanistan. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, who has been negotiating with Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, is not a part of Trump's delegation, but U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross would be in New Delhi. It is anticipated that the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), a reduced tariff system which has been withdrawn by the United States from India, would be among the subjects to be discussed on the table. A number of agreements and MoUs, including on counter-terrorism, intellectual property rights, space and medical cooperation, are also likely to be exchanged during Trump's visit, official sources said. But what has attracted media's attention is a 500-meter wall that has been erected along the route from Ahmadabad Airport to the Stadium to apparently to hide thousands of slums, thereby evoking public criticism. Local government officials claimed that the wall was built for "security reasons." According to the U.S. experts, defence deals up to 3 billion U.S. dollars are likely to be announced after the delegation-level and one-to-one talks between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump conclude on Tuesday. The United States remains India's second biggest trade partner after China, and has also grown as a big defence partner in the recent past. The Modi cabinet has already cleared a 2.4-billion-U.S. dollar deal for buying 24 military helicopters from the U.S. firm Lockheed Martin. According to India's Foreign Secretary, the overall bilateral trade increased by over 10 percent per annum over the past two years to reach 142 billion U.S. dollars in 2018. And, it is expected to cross 150 billion U.S. dollars for the first time this year. Prasanta Mazumdar By Express News Service GUWAHATI: The equations surrounding the upcoming elections to the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) in Assam are fast changing. Amidst speculations that the four factions of erstwhile insurgent group National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), which were among the signatories of third Bodo peace accord, will float a political party or back the regional United Peoples Party Liberal (UPPL), it now appears that at least three factions will lend their support to ruling Bodoland Peoples Front (BPF). At a peace meeting, the Peoples Joint Action Committee for Bodoland Movement convener Gorjon Mushahary claimed that the NDFB Dhirendra Bodo faction, B Saoraigwra faction and Ranjan Daimary faction would back the BPF in the polls. It is more or less certain that the fourth faction, led by Gobinda Basumatary, will side with the UPPL. BPF leader and Assam Minister Pramila Rani Brahma, however, expressed ignorance on the move of the NDFB factions. An observer, who closely follows the Bodo politics, claimed that it was still not certain that the three NDFB factions would be with the BPF. These erstwhile rebel groups hold sway in Bodo areas and their support to any political party means a lot. I really dont know if they (three NDFB factions) are going to back the BPF, Brahma told this newspaper. She expressed unhappiness over the suspense created by the BJP, which heads the states three-party ruling coalition, on its alliance with the BPF. Despite being an ally, the BJP has not yet made it clear on if it will align with the BPF in the BTC elections. Brahma said, The BJP feels it is going to gain a lot by aligning with the UPPL. It is unfortunate that despite being an ally of the BPF, they are weighing options. Given the suspense over BJP-BPF alliance and the fast-paced political developments, it would indeed be a huge morale booster if the three NDFB factions swim with the BPF which is facing an anti-incumbency wave. The BPF has been in power in the BTC ever since the autonomous councils creation in 2003 following the Centres signing of second Bodo peace accord with erstwhile insurgent group Bodo Liberation Tigers which BPF and BTC chief Hagrama Mohilary headed. The BTC will see a triangular contest among BPF, UPPL and the third force that is led by sitting independent Kokrajhar MP, Naba Sarania. The UPPL received a shot in the arms recently after Pramod Bodo, a signatory of the third Bodo accord and former president of All Bodo Students Union, had joined the party three days ago. Meanwhile, ahead of the polls, violence has returned to Bodo areas. In two back-to-back incidents of violence, the miscreants had attacked the car of BTC chiefs wife and killed a BPF supporter. By Jane Chung SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea raised its infectious disease alert to its highest level on Sunday as confirmed coronavirus cases in the country jumped to 602 and the death toll rose to six. More than half the new cases are linked to a church in the southeastern city of Daegu after a 61-year-old woman known as "Patient 31" who attended services there tested positive for the virus last week. The woman had no recent record of overseas travel. South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Sunday that the government had raised the country's disease alert by one notch to the fourth and highest level in a bid to contain a surge in new cases. The Korea Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention (KCDC) said the number of infections had jumped by 169. Of the total confirmed cases, more than 300 were linked to the Shincheonji Church of Jesus congregation in Daegu. The escalation in the alert level allows the government to send extra resources to Daegu city and Cheongdo county, which were designated "special care zones" on Friday. The alert level also enables the government to forcibly prevent public activities and order the temporary closure of schools, the health ministry said. The ministry also said Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun will take charge of policy decisions related to the virus outbreak, which is the first time the country's prime minister has intervened to take over from a minister in this way. "The coronavirus virus is more contagious and spreads quickly during the early stage of the outbreak, and therefore preemptive measures are needed considering a possibility that the virus could develop to a nationwide spread from a community spread, health minister Park Neung-hoo told a news conference. "We believe a week to 10 days will be crucial to determine the spread of the coronavirus." Education minister Yoo Eun-hae told the news conference that kindergartens, elementary and secondary schools will start the new semester one week later on March 9, from March 2. Story continues The last time South Korea raised the alert level to "red" was 11 years ago during the Influenza A or H1N1 outbreak, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency said. Earlier on Sunday, the ruling Democratic Party asked the government for an extra budget and also to free up emergency funds from the existing budget worth 3.4 trillion won ($2.82 billion) to tackle the outbreak. Parliament would hold a plenary session on Monday to discuss further measures, according to Yonhap. South Korea's earlier cases were linked to China but the new infections centre on Daegu, a city of about 2.5 million, and a hospital in Cheongdo, a county with about 43,000 people. Kim Simon, a spokesman from the Shincheonji Church, said on Youtube on Sunday that the church would make all-out efforts to curb the virus' spread and closely cooperate with health authorities. Since the first confirmed case on Jan. 20, six people have died from the virus in South Korea, with three deaths reported on Sunday. TRAVEL ADVISORY The U.S. State Department on Saturday raised its travel advisory level for South Korea from 1 to 2, the second of four ratings, which asks travelers to avoid contact with sick people. Seventeen South Korean Catholics from North Gyeongsang Province and their tour guide in Seoul who had gone on a pilgrimage to Israel earlier this month were confirmed to have been infected with the virus, KCDC said. Israeli and Palestinian authorities sought to allay fears of a potential local outbreak after learning that South Korean pilgrims who had toured some of the holy land's most popular sites were later found to be carrying the virus. South Koreans on board a Korean Air flight were refused entry at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion International airport on Saturday evening due to concerns over the virus, South Korea's foreign ministry said on Sunday. "As the measure was taken without notice in advance by Israel, we have lodged a complaint for causing inconveniences to our travelers and asked to prevent a recurrence," the ministry said, adding Israeli counterparts had promised to cooperate with South Korea. Meanwhile, Catholic churches in the cities of Daegu, Gwangju and elsewhere have suspended mass and other gatherings. The coronavirus originated in China and has spread to more than two dozen countries. China has reported 76,936 cases and 2,442 deaths so far. ($1 = 1,206.9100 won) (Additional reporting by Hyonhee Shin, Sangmi Cha, Chaeyoun Won and Dogyun Kim in Seoul and Ari Rabinovitch and Dan Williams in Jerusalem; Editing by Sam Holmes/Jacqueline Wong/Jane Merriman) A California sorority girl has revealed in a new book how she became a CIA agent, foiled al-Qaeda plots around the world after 9/11, and interviewed captured terrorists in the Middle East. Tracy Walder writes in her memoir, 'The Unexpected Spy: From CIA to The FBI, My Secret Life Taking Down Some of the World's Most Notorious Terrorists',. that when she first arrived at the University of Southern California in 1996, she pursued the normal undergraduate experience by rushing Delta Gamma and easily 'blended into the crowd' of other young co-eds. She thrived in university Greek life, where she was elected vice president of social standards, partied with close friends and would have decorated her room completely in pink if not for her roommate's protests. Walder, whose a news-junkie and a lover of history, initially planned to become a school teacher until she met CIA recruiter at a jobs fair during her junior year. Tracy Walder (pictured) temporarily left behind her dreams of becoming a teacher to join the CIA - and later the FBI - where she would become an expert in Al Qaeda and confronting captured terrorist associates in the Middle East At the time, Walder was dressed in a pink top, flip flops and was pushing along a Huffy bike when the recruiter asked her the life-changing question, New York Post reports. 'Do you want to be in the CIA?' he asked, after Walder handed him a resume. 'Yes, I do,' she said. Walder recalls the surprising moment in the upcoming memoir, which is co-authored by Jessive Anya Blau. She goes on to detail how CIA would put her through series of intense interviews, including two lie-detector tests. The agency also interviewed four of her sorority sisters, before they ultimately welcomed her into the ranks of the agency's elite. At just 21-years-old, she began her career with the CIA in 2000. In time, Walder become an expert on al Qaeda, interviewed terrorist associates in the Middle East and was well-versed in chemical weapons. Walder (right), pictured with two of her Delta Gamma sorority sisters, attended the University of Southern California and soon became apart of the student Greek culture Despite becoming entrenched in the world of terrorist networks at the CIA, Walder wrote that she had feared Osama bin Laden for several years after watching a TV interview with him in 1997. Those fears suddenly became tangible after al-Qaeda's attach on 9/11, which killed nearly 3,000 people. Walder said she remembers watching live footage of American Airlines Flight 77 tragically crashing into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. She wrote: 'The plane might as well have crashed into the south side of my body. The pain, the guilt, the sense that my failures were resulting in lives lost ... erased all other thoughts.' The 9/11 attacks pushed the CIA to step up the country's frontlines, prompting them to assign Walder to an elite counterterrorism unit solely created to stop al-Qaeda. 'I was ready to even the score,' she wrote. Walder traveled the world in her efforts to foil al-Qaeda's plans, flitting from Europe to the Middle East and Africa. She describes dealing with a myriad of challenges, including exhaustion, homesickness and sexism at the hands of men who dubbed her 'Malibu Barbie'. Family holidays with her parents in Los Angeles were pushed to the side and Walder worked a rigorous seven-day week. After the 9/11 attacks in the United States, Walder (pictuerd) joined an elite counterterrorism unit that sent her to Europe, the Middle East and Africa to stop al Qaeda efforts However, Walder said the White House was only interested in gaining information that connected al-Qaeda to former Iranian President Saddam Hussein. Unfortunately, there was none. 'The whole thing felt like a nutty fun-house game,' Walder wrote. 'No matter what we reported to the administration, they turned it around, turned it inside out, and spat it back out with some non-truth.' Meanwhile, she was beginning to have thoughts of settling down and questioned if she could have a family as a spy. Impulsively, Walder applied for a position at the Federal Bureau of Investigation and got in. While in the FBI, Walder made a name for herself by unveiling a Chinese husband-and-wife team who were sending military secrets to China. Operatives Chi and Rebecca Mak had lived in Los Angeles since the 1970s. 'The Unexpected Spy: From CIA to The FBI, My Secret Life Taking Down Some of the World's Most Notorious Terrorists' will be released on February 25 Chi worked for Power Paragon, a company that developed products for the U.S. Navy, while Walder conducted her investigation. The couple usually kept to themselves and ate their meals on newspapers. It was Walder's job to sift through their garbage for clues. Within the Mak's trash, Walder, with the help of a Chinese translator, would find an eye-opening piece of information. Between the greasy pages of discarded newspaper, they found a 'tasking list [that] clearly identified classified materials that Mak was supposed to supply the Chinese government.' Chi had been stealing U.S. secrets for decades. While Walder excelled at her work, her time at the FBI proved to be a bad fit and described the agency as a boys' club. 'I was The Girl,' she wrote, saying that she experienced bullying and hazing from sexist training officers. In one incident, she was disciplined for wearing a suit that was deemed 'distracting.' Walder spent 15 months with the FBI and notes that 'currently, there are a dozen women who have filed a complaint against the[m] with the Equal Employment Commission.' In the following years, she's since given up her government job and has relocated Dallas, Texas, where she works as a history teacher at an all-girls school. Fighting terrorism was what originally inspired her, but now she's taken on a new mission of encouraging girls to pursue intelligence roles and deconstruct the agency's culture. As the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) Sunday morning shut down the entry and exit of the Jaffrabad station in Northeast Delhi after protesters against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) gathered around the station, BJP leader Kapil Mishra said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was right in calling the Shaheen Bagh protest an experiment. Stage is being set up in Jaffrabad. Another area where the law of India will not be followed. Modi ji rightly said that Shaheen Bagh was an experiment. Be ready for road blockage, streets, markets, neighborhoods will also be blocked one by one. Keep quiet till they do not knock on your door, Mishra wrote on Twitter attaching a video of a stage being constructed. WATCH | Delhi: Clashes near new CAA protest site in Jaffrabad; metro stations shut Prime Minister Modi, at an election rally in Delhi earlier this month, had said that the protests against CAA in Shaheen Bagh is not a coincidence, but an experiment by the Opposition parties to disturb the peaceful environment in the national capital. Mishra, who was the BJP candidate from Model Town, lost badly in the just concluded Delhi election. The protest at Jaffrabad caught the police unaware Saturday night when about 500 people, mostly women, gathered there to protest against the CAA and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and blocked a major road. On Sunday, Delhi Police deployed additional personnel around the Jaffrabad metro station area as women continued their protest against the CAA. There was already heavy security deployment, including women police personnel, in the area when the protest began Saturday night. The women, carrying the national tricolour and raising slogans of aazadi, said they would not move from the site till the Centre revoked Citizenship (Amendment) Act, PTI had reported. They also tied a blue band on their arm and also raised Jai Bhim slogans. The women had blocked road No. 66 which connects Seelampur to Maujpur and Yamuna Vihar. Another protest against the CAA is already on near the main Seelampur road and Kardampuri. The protest at Jaffrabad began even as efforts are on to clear a road blocked by anti-CAA and anti-NRC protesters at Shaheen Bagh in Southeast Delhi for over two months. The protesters have blocked the road connecting Southeast Delhi and Noida. The Supreme Court has appointed mediators to find a way to end the impasse. Protesters say the CAA which fast tracks citizenship for illegal non-Muslim migrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh is unconstitutional, divisive and discriminatory because it makes religion a test of citizenship. The Gratiaen has its day in Jaffna By Yomal Senerath-Yapa Last Sunday saw 20 enthusiastic participants attending Shyam Selvadurais workshop on creative writing which was followed by Arun Welandawe- Prematillekes play Blowhards:Tea/Coffee and a dynamic public discussion View(s): View(s): We were none of us alien to the sunny Jaffna peninsula- indeed some of us had our roots within its arid soil. But it was the first time the Gratiaen had gone North. The Gratiaen Trust established by Michael Ondaatje to recognise and promote creative writing in English, had long wanted to reach more beyond Colombo but the funds were lacking. This year, with the John Keells Foundation generously covering costs and with the University of Jaffnas Department of English and Linguistics on board, an outreach programme was possible and where better than Jaffna- a twilight city looking to recover eclipsed glory? Cruising past gopurams with candy striped walls and ubiquitous girls on bicycles, the Gratiaen team was ready for the day- a long one with a creative writing workshop and a play, hosted by the University of Jaffna. The news that Shyam Selvadurai was holding a creative writing workshop had drawn full response- and 20 people had been handpicked- on literary merit. The author of Funny Boy and Hungry Ghost from Canada was as avid for the chance as his acolytes. Shyam loves to nurture young writers, guiding them to explore and hone their own creativity. The workshop held last Sunday, was concerned with different points of view used in narration. It was like tunnelling into the back of a writers mind. It is easy to be dismissive about the importance of who is talking: surely the story is what is central? Soon, Shyam had everyone thinking otherwise. The workshop was punctuated with lots of writing practice. Talking to the participants, one felt there was a jolt of happy surprise to know that by imbibing the correct techniques, creative writing could be effectively learnt- and that it is not an arcane gift for a few-nor an unmapped wilderness to fear. Sumithri Sivapalan (24) told me that the workshop was valuable to her because of the writing exercises- which made them describe sensory experiences. Describing people we know by drawing on all the five senses- not just sight but even touch and smell- that was a stimulating challenge. Sanjutha Thiraviyanayagam from the University of Jaffna was struck by Shyams deft analysis of advantages and disadvantages in different points of view. Using the skills I have learnt, I want to be a social commentator, she said and use the language to be helpful to the people. Prasanya Vijeraja (25) from Batticaloa, studies at the Jaffna University. The techniques she learnt, she hopes, will help her write better but also to become an English teacher, because in Batticaloa we dont have English literature teachers. Atchutha Yogarajah (33) from Vavuniya teaches students following English for their HND. He says that learning the advantages and disadvantages of each point of view in narrative was important- because then we can use those limitations too in a positive way. Maheswaralingam Gunasingaraja (24) who wants to be a professor and a lawyer, says Shyams tips will help him write his autobiography. The Gratiaen also brought to Jaffna a short play by the 2018 Gratiaen prize winner Arun Welandawe-Prematilleke. The evening of the Gratiaens day in Jaffna was a performance of Aruns Blowhards: Tea/Coffee at the universitys Kailasapathy Hall. The play, first performed in 2013, is a duad of ironic monologues- Anuk and Shehani (played by Ruvin de Silva and Thanuja Jayawardene) talking about why he loves tea and why she prefers coffee. The two speak a familiar diction. Anuk, back from the USA, savours his cuppa (with deep slurps) and each sip makes him more Sri Lankan, he says. He is mortified with himself for having bathed in coffee when in the USA. How could he- when he is Sri Lankan? He is also now trying to speak Tamil, his mother tongue, and is enamoured by the postcard beauty of tea pluckers- the thangachchis with dirty, dark brown hands against the verdant green. This very postcard image horrifies Shehani. She boycotts tea with horror and swigs coffee which she hates- because tea is the blood and sweat of those poor people, burning in the sun. She now takes the bus though her family has a driver. The born-again tea drinker and the anti-tea crusader seem to speak for two different causes but in the end they are privileged kids who assuage gilded guilt with hopelessly idealistic viewpoints. The play ran for some 12 minutes. The discussion that followed captivated the hundred-strong audience. Joining Arun and his cast on stage were moderator Vasuki Rajasingham, academic, Ayathurai Santhan, a bilingual writer several times shortlisted for the Gratiaen, and Shyam. The inactivity of Anuk and Shehani in the play begged the question can anything at all be done for the suffering? and ergo, whether art itself can make a difference for humanity. Shyam was of the view that art itself cannot change things- but it can indeed support a human movement of change. The talk meandered to propagandist literature- one dimensional so not good enough for Shyam while Arun threw in that you should leave everything with more questions than you have answers for; something that wants to give you an answer is not interested in telling a story! The conversation engaged in politics, theatre and art in general- a dynamic discussion which though bilingual was followed by everyone. Mylvaganam Suryasekeran (78) of Jaffna said of the evening the play was excellent- it addressed issues faced by Sri Lankans in a subtle way- satirically. Its meant not for the masses but for the decision-makers of our society- the Colombo 7 audiences. They dont understand the language of justice so ridicule is the way to get the message across to them. Shantha Arulananthan left Jaffna in her youth. It was serendipitous for her to come back from Bristol in the UK on holiday and walk into the Kailasapathy to see a play from Colombo. Though she had little sympathy with the characters who enthuse or rant in their ivory towers- she found the play carefully constructed, while addressing many issues. Harin Amirthanathan from Negombo has seen the play three times- and each time read a fresh meaning to Shehanis line change is going to happen and other politically portentous lines. But he was blown off his feet by the Jaffna audiences response. Oh gosh! They were exploring so many avenues I am so glad they showed it here. Software professional Nalayini Gunanayagam (66) now spends time between California and Jaffna. She thinks many of us are like Anuk and Shehani- commenting on things- but scared to take the next step. When you buy shares in a company, it's worth keeping in mind the possibility that it could fail, and you could lose your money. But on a lighter note, a good company can see its share price rise well over 100%. One great example is James Cropper PLC (LON:CRPR) which saw its share price drive 188% higher over five years. Check out our latest analysis for James Cropper 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...' 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. During five years of share price growth, James Cropper achieved compound earnings per share (EPS) growth of 7.0% per year. This EPS growth is slower than the share price growth of 24% per year, over the same period. So it's fair to assume the market has a higher opinion of the business than it did five years ago. And that's hardly shocking given the track record of growth. This optimism is visible in its fairly high P/E ratio of 46.05. You can see below how EPS has changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image). AIM:CRPR Past and Future Earnings, February 23rd 2020 We like that insiders have been buying shares in the last twelve months. Having said that, most people consider earnings and revenue growth trends to be a more meaningful guide to the business. Dive deeper into the earnings by checking this interactive graph of James Cropper's earnings, revenue and cash flow. 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. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. In the case of James Cropper, it has a TSR of 205% for the last 5 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. This is largely a result of its dividend payments! Story continues A Different Perspective It's nice to see that James Cropper shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 38% over the last year. That's including the dividend. That gain is better than the annual TSR over five years, which is 25%. Therefore it seems like sentiment around the company has been positive lately. Someone with an optimistic perspective could view the recent improvement in TSR as indicating that the business itself is getting better with time. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand James Cropper better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for James Cropper that you should be aware of before investing here. If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them). Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on GB exchanges. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading. The Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI) has warned that any decision to encash bank guarantees will be "disastrous" for the telecom industry, which only has three private players. "Any move to encash bank guarantees will precipitate an already precarious situation," COAI Director General, Rajan Mathews told news agency PTI. Mathews termed the 'test checks' being proposed by the telecom department to examine deviation in calculation of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues by telecom companies as a "standard audit procedure". The Department of Telecom (DoT) needs to ensure consistency among its different circles on calculation of dues to minimise any differences, he said. While amounts need to be finalised as soon as possible, operators should also be given a fair opportunity to explain the deviations in calculation, Mathews said. "There should be consistency amongst all LSAs (Licensed Service Areas) of the DoT (Department of Telecommunications) on how the amounts are calculated, so the differences are minimised," Mathews added. His comment came days after the government said it will conduct 'test check' for any one year (of telcos' dues) to examine variances between telecom companies' assessment and the government's own calculation of AGR liabilities. In wake of deepening crisis in the telecom sector, the government is trying to strike a balance between complying with the Supreme Court order on AGR dues, ensuring health of the sector and safeguarding consumer interest. As per report, the DoT will start test check with companies which have already claimed they have made full and final settlement towards their statutory liabilities, like Tata Teleservices. As per DoT estimates, 15 entities owe the government Rs 1.47 lakh crore - Rs 92,642 crore in unpaid licence fee and another Rs 55,054 crore in outstanding spectrum usage charges. Vodafone Idea, which owes over Rs 53,000 crore in dues, has made a total payment of Rs 3,500 crore. While Bharti Airtel has paid 10,000 crore, Tata Teleservices has made a payment of Rs 2,197 crore. By Chitranjan Kumar with PTI inputs Also Read: Sunil Mittal meets Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad amid 'unprecedented' AGR crisis Also Read: CRISIL slashes Vodafone Idea's debt rating over AGR blow In the mostly smaller towns where the virus has been detected, checkpoints have been set up designed to prevent most people from entering or leaving. Video from the closed-off hot spot towns showed abandoned piazzas, boarded-up mini-markets and closure signs even on churches. Residents who went outside were largely wearing masks, and in one of the few supermarkets in the area that remained open, the line stretched out the door. Philip Leder, a biologist who helped decipher the genetic code and discovered a genetic cause of cancer, died on Feb. 2 at his home in Chestnut Hill, Mass. He was 85. The cause was complications of Parkinsons disease, his son Benjamin Z. Leder said. Dr. Leder helped accomplish the final step in deciphering the genetic code early in his career. In immunology, he went on to help unravel the genetic mechanisms behind the great diversity of antibody molecules. He then discovered that the misregulation of a gene that guides the growth of cells was a major cause of cancer. Dr. Leder was a postdoctoral student at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., in 1962 when nine years after the structure of DNA was discovered he was recruited by Marshall Nirenberg. The two men entered a furious race by biologists around the world to solve the genetic code, the means whereby successive units of DNA specify the order of the amino acids, the building blocks of protein. Amid much theoretical speculation about how this might work, Dr. Nirenberg chanced upon a practical approach to the problem: feeding synthetic strands of RNA DNAs messaging system to living cells and seeing which amino acids were summoned to the protein-making machinery. Toronto police say no one was injured after a person in a vehicle shot at another vehicle containing two children in the Bridle Path on Saturday. Police were called to Timberglade Court and the Bridle Path, just east of Bayview Avenue in North York shortly before 2:45 p.m. for reports of sounds of gunshots heard. When they arrived, they located a vehicle that was shot at twice. Police say there were two kids in the car at the time of the shooting. A Toronto police spokesperson said they were unable to locate a suspect. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-23 20:17:30|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BAGHDAD, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Deputy Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament Hassan al-Kaabi said that the parliament will hold a session on Wednesday to vote on the lineup of the cabinet of Prime Minister-designate Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi, the Iraqi official television reported Sunday. "The session of the Council of Representatives (parliament) to give confidence to the government of Mohammad Tawfiq Allawi will be held on Wednesday," al-Kaabi told the state-run Iraqiya channel. Al-Kaabi also told the channel that the parliament speaker and his two deputies will hold a meeting to discuss Allawi's government program and the biographies of its ministers on Monday. On Feb. 19, Allawi called on the parliament to hold an extraordinary session to vote on his cabinet's lineup. Allawi has pledged to form a competent government beyond sectarian quotas and political parties. Pakistan Railways has inaugurated the first ever freight train service that will transit cargo from port city of Karachi to Kandahar in Afghanistan. Pakistan Railways Chairman Habib-ur-Rehman Gilani inaugurated the train on Saturday which departed from the Pakistan International Container Terminal in Karachi with 35 containers on board for the country's southwest Chaman city bordering Afghanistan. From there, the goods will be shifted across the border via road, the Nation reported. The chairman said the launching of the freight train is one of the major achievements for Pakistan during the ongoing calendar year, which has been termed as Freight Year' aimed at enhancing the revenue generation via transportation of goods through cargo services, the report said. "The project will help increase the revenue of Pakistan Railways and will also reduce the heavy traffic flow from major roads and highways, besides providing cheap and smooth cargo services to traders with little loss risks in terms of damages, the official was quoted as saying. The cargo will reach the Afghan border in 48 hours, the report said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A small stretch of the road closed for over two months in Shaheen Bagh due to an anti-citizenship law protest was "opened" by a group of demonstrators on Saturday, though police barricades continued on one side. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) R P Meena said, "Road number 9 in Shaheen Bagh was reopened by a group of protesters, but later it was closed by another group." However, locals later said the road was again reopened by protesters in the evening. Protesters claimed that they "opened" the stretch, which would allow passage between Noida and south Delhi, at around 5 pm near the protest site, but the Delhi Police and the Noida police were continuing the barricade from one side restricting access to commuters. The Delhi Police had maintained that it has barricaded adjacent roads due to security reasons. The development came after three days of talks between the Supreme Court-appointed interlocutors -- senior advocates Sanjay Hegde and Sadhana Ramachandran -- and the protesters over the issue of difficulty to commuters due to blocking of roads. Ramachandran reached the protest site on Saturday around 10 am and spoke to the protesters. The road, which connects Noida to southeast Delhi and further to Faridabad in Haryana, was closed for traffic in the wake of the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) protest at Shaheen Bagh since December 15. Only emergency vehicles like ambulances and school buses are being allowed to pass through the stretch, the police said. Taseer Ahmed, one of the protesters, said that the road, known as Thokar number 9, was already open partially. "The barricades were placed on this stretch, but two-wheelers were already passing through the road. Thokar number 9 passes through Abul Fazal Enclave, Okhla and Jamia Millia Islamia. One side of the varsity has already been closed and the traffic is moving on single side and it is not possible for heavy vehicles, even for four-wheelers, to pass through that varsity road," Ahmed said. According to the police, the protesters briefly opened a small portion of a road leading to Kalindi Kunj so that locals can pass through it with their two wheelers. The Noida Traffic Police, however, also continued the restrictions on the Uttar Pradesh side of the road, an official told PTI. "When the protesters were asked by the interlocutor to open the one side of the road where the protest is going on, they gave their demands, including safety and security of the protesters, notices should be removed from the protesters and the protest site must be covered with aluminium sheet, to them," Ahmed added. After the talks on Friday, Hegde had said the protesters, in principle, were not fundamentally against opening of the non-protest side of the road if their security could be guaranteed in writing by the Delhi Police under suitable orders of the apex court. "It was being alleged repeatedly that the protestors have blocked the Kalindi Kunj road, which leads to Noida Sector 37. So, today it was decided that this allegation has to be done away with and the route was opened," Sonu Warsi, a protestor, said. "The decision was also taken to give a gift to the Supreme Court-appointed interlocutors, whose interaction and mediation has helped reopen the case. We have opened the road and it is now up to the Delhi Police and UP police to decide which vehicles they will allow," he added. "We have no idea how the Thokar number 9 will help the commuters when the barricades already present on other side. For ambulances, school buses and other emergency vehicles, the passage was already opened," Naushad Ahmed, another protester said. Warsaw: The Auschwitz Memorial has criticised Amazon for fictitious depictions of the Holocaust in its Prime series Hunters and for selling books of Nazi propaganda. Seventy-five years after the liberation of the Nazi German Auschwitz death camp by Soviet troops, world leaders and activists have called for action against rising anti-Semitism. Al Pacino, the star of Amazon Prime Video series Hunters, at the premiere in Los Angeles last week. Credit:AP Hunters, released on Friday and starring Al Pacino, features a team of Nazi hunters in 1970s New York who discover that hundreds of escaped Nazis are living in the United States. However, the series has faced accusations of bad taste, particularly for depicting fictional atrocities in Nazi death camps, such as a game of human chess in which people are killed when a piece is taken. Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday arrived in Ahmedabad to review the final preparations for the visit of US President Donald Trump to the city on February 24. Trump is scheduled to take part in a roadshow with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and address a gathering at the Motera Stadium here. The US President is also scheduled to visit the Sabarmati Ashram. Three special chairs have been placed in the Ashram on the riverside for PM Modi, Donald Trump and his wife Melania. On Sunday, security officials from the state and central agencies as well as US secret service reached the Ashram to oversee the security details. Donald Trump and his wife Melania will depart for their high profile visit to India from the Joint Base in Maryland today evening. The US President, along with his family and a ministerial delegation will be in India for around 36 hours. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) First thing's first: Table of Contents Disclaimer. Prequel. The Plots i. The Unreleased One - "The Fantastic Four" ii. The Second Try "Fantastic Four" (2004) + Sequel ("Fantasic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer") iii. The Trank Try (2015) ("F4ntastic") iv. The Fantastic Future (202X) Prequel - The Plots: i. The First Try - "The Fantastic Four" (1994) "They didn't say I had to make a big movie." And he did not! ii. The Second Try ("Fantastic Four") + Its Sequel ("Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer") Chris Columbus ("Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone") in 95 Raja Gosnell ("Show Dogs") in 99 Peyton Reed ("Ant-Man") Fun Fact: Chris Evans went on to basically lead the revised Marvel Cinematic Universe as Captain America. As you very well know. Reed and Sue are going to be married. Cosmic Science! Silver Surfer switches some powers around. Doom isn't a statue anymore and, and teams up with one of the biggest villains in the world, the US Military, to find and stop the Surfer. And said military forces the Four to work with Doom. There's a fight, Doom takes the Surfer's board and makes some cool stuff. Surfer tells Sue that the reason he looks for planets for Galactus to eat is so that his planet is not destroyed in turn. The Four Fight him Sue dies, the Surfer saves her, and fights Galactus, which explodes the planet and the Surfer allegedly. And Sue and Reed get married iii. The Trank Try ("Fantastic Four", Or, affectionately, "F4ntastic") "A year ago I had a fantastic version of this. And it would've recieved [sic] great reviews. You'll probably never see it. That's reality though."[ That 'state of mind' being 'The multiple fights with 20th Century Fox and allegedly Miles Teller himself'. After all, don't we all remember:"A year ago I had a fantastic version of this. And it would've recieved [] great reviews. You'll probably never see it. That's reality though."[ src Fun Fact: As part of the Rescue Johnny Storm Initiative, Michael B. Jordan also joined the MCU as Erik Killmonger in "Black Panther" 3 years later. Fun fact - This is the only film ieteration that does not have Alicia Masters, as the 2005 version had Kerry Wasington as the character. Maybe she was intended for a sequel... which was supposed to come out June 9th, 2017. It did not. Instead, we got "The Mummy"! iv. The Fantastic Future Moving on, The Fantastic Four are considered to be Marvel's First Family of superheroes. Unfortunately, their story on the big screen has not been easy.: I have not read a single Fantastic Four comic in my life. I've just watched all these idiot movies.So, the plots for 3 out of 4 movies are basically the same - Richards and Doom are science rivals, they both love Sue Storm, Johnny is there, Ben is there, there's an expirement that goes wrong, people get powers, Doom is evil, they beat him. Fine.There are a few minor changes between the films.The film was (cheaply) made simply because the rights would expire on December 31st, 1992, the literal day the OP was born, after the rights were bought in 1986 for Neue Constantin film company by one Bernd Eichinger. 1 ] The actors themselves thought they were making a legit, theatrically released movie, not an ashcan copy. I mean, does thislook official to YOU? [ src Marvel Comics paid for the negative, and it never officially saw the light of day...However.Technically, thisshow on television. Once. On premium movie channels in about 2017. I know because I saw it on DirectTV, and it was never shown again.Not like you can't just check it out on Youtube illegally anyway. It's been leaked for a good 13 years or so.Arguably, this is the one most true to the source material (allegedly, again, I have not read any of these comics) - Kind of weird, and funny. Not taking itself seriously, unlike....you'll see. I mean, for fuck's sake, one person is a rock dude.A lot of directors went through being attached to this -But it was Tim Story ("Taxi") who won the film in the end, and it released on July 8th, 2005. There were some script rewrites, as it was very similar to "The Incredibles" at points. It was corny, not funny, kind of strange. Remember that bit where Ben stops a man from committing suicide? A little at odds with Johnny's witticisms.FF received mixed reviews, but it was successful enough ($330m worldwide) to warrant a film sequel - The only one to exist in the film franchise. Simon Kinberg wrote uncredited drafts of the script for the first film ...and he would be back to write for the Fantastic Four once again.The film lost the Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film to...."Revenge of the Sith". Oof, talk about picking your poison.Let me summarize film #2, "Rise of the Silver Surfer", released on June 15th, 2007:In maybe his first recognizeable role to millenials, Andre Braugher ("Brooklyn 99") was cast as General Hager.- There was a promotional gimmick - 40k quarters, minted in 2005 as part of the 50 State Quarters program. They would have the Silver Surfer on one side with the URL to the movie's website. The U.S Mint told them this was breaking the law by making currency into your private advertising. [ src ] Apparently, some are on eBay.On a budget of 130$m, it's 289$m budget worldwide was not enough to warrant a third film.The first 2 tries were met with mild interest, and eventual disconcern. But here! People had faith that it could be passable. After all, Josh Trank had made Chronicle, and this was the second in probably a long collaboration with Michael B Jordan. There was great talent here. Surely, it would not let us down on August 7th, 2015!Yeah, about that.With no preview showings, people had a fair idea of what to expect if the studio had no confidence. a 3D version was scrapped late in development. I'm not even sure there was a damn premiere for this. They did show up to promote the film at 2015's SDCC.But internet movie pundits took the oppertunity to sharpen their knives and their non-existant wit, as this film became the laughingstock of the year. I remember a section of my own review simply beingI myself saw this on opening day, in a crowded theater that I still firmly believe is the best crowd I have ever seen a movie with. I distinctly remember a man shouting 'HOLY SHIT!' when Doom killed Dr. Baxter.The director himself, Josh Trank, only saw the finished movie in full in November of 2019 -I guess he turned it off before the... only battle in the film [ src ]:And that's how I feel about it. There are good qualities, such as...oh! That bit of body horror in the middle. That was creepy, and it's been hinted at time and time and time again that the entire movie was supposed to be more like that, which would have fit. #ReleaseTheTrankCut Kinberg wrote this script as well.Because we have to keep hoping that someone, somewhere, will make a capable Fantastic Four movie (That is not "The Incredibles"), of course there's probably a new one in development. Especially now that Disney owns 20th Century Fox, and thus the cinematic rights to the First Family of Marvel."Bah," I say, "You're not going to catch me watching any more of these damn movies, no matter who you cast."One man is already campainging to be Mr. Fantastic...CIA Bootlicker John Krasinski"The defense rests." I say.However. The other popular casting is his wife as Sue Storm. If you don't know who she is, it's Live Action Disney Legend Emily Blunt."Damn." I say, because I am a fan of hers. "That would actually work. I still want her to be Captain Marvel (nothing personal, Brie)."But alas, we shall see.: Me, suffering by watching these movies, the other sources are linked in the post at their appropriate segments. Police used tear gas to disperse large crowds in Indias capital of New Delhi on Sunday in the latest eruption of violence at protests over a new citizenship law, police officials said. Hundreds of people supporting the new law clashed with those opposing it, with the two groups pelting each other with stones in the Maujpur area in the northeastern part of the city, according to television footage. There must be some miscreants who want to spoil the peace in the area. We will identify them and take action against them, Alok Kumar, a senior Delhi police official, told reporters about the protest. The situation is under control now, he added. The protest comes just a day before U.S. President Donald Trump begins a two-day visit to India, where he is expected to raise the issue of religious freedom in the country with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Indias Citizenship Amendment Act, which eases the path for non-Muslims from neighboring Muslim-majority nations to gain citizenship, has triggered weeks of sometimes violent protests against Modis government. The Indian law is seen by opponents as discriminating against Muslims and has deepened concerns that Modis administration is undermining Indias secular traditions. Modis ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party denies any bias against the countrys 180 million Muslims. On Sunday, a separate protest also erupted in the northern Indian city of Aligarh, where protesters threw stones at the police, state administration official Chandra Bhushan Singh said. The internet in the area had been suspended until midnight, he added. Search Keywords: Short link: Headquarters of Lime Asset Management are seen in this captured image from the company's official website, Sunday. Korea Times file Bachelor in Paradise star Ashley Iaconetti has some thoughts on who the next bachelorette should be. She also has some thoughts on who the bachelorette shouldnt be, e.g. Hannah Brown. Ashley Iaconetti | Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic Its too soon to repeat now, she told Life & Style of another Brown Bachelorette season. But, eventually, Iaconetti would like to see the former beauty pageant queen find love on TV again. I would love to see Hannah be the Bachelorette again in a couple of years, she told the publication. I dont want people to get Hannah burnout. Ashley Iaconetti and Jared Haibon think Andi Dorfman should be the bachelorette Iaconetti and her husband, Jared Haibon, recently told the publication theyre down for Andi Dorfman round two. And theyre also down for Nick Viall to be a contestant on her season. Wed want to see Nick on the show as many times as possible, said Iaconetti. Haibon admits it probably would never happen in a million years, but hes absolutely here for it. Iaconetti thinks, especially after Peter Webers Bachelor season, fans are hoping for an older lead and older contestants. She is going to turn 33 in the spring, and I think it would be nice to see a girl of that age, she explained. Andi killed it as Bachelorette the first time, so why not do it twice with her? Iaconetti feels Dorfman is witty, whip-smart, stunning and wont put up with crap. The perfect woman for the job. When Dorfman spoke to Life & Style about appearing in the lead role again she seemed hesitant. You either do [it] and it works out for you, or you move on from it, she said, adding that the experience may be a one-shot thing. Tayshia Adams would be a really good choice for The Bachelorette Tayshia Adams from Colton Underwoods season of The Bachelor is another possibility for the lead role. Iaconetti feels shed be a really good choice. She is just so likable Shes just pretty fantastic, Iaconetti told Life & Style of Adams. I dont think anybody has met Tayshia and been like, Eh, shes mediocre, she added. Her husband agrees: Tayshia is a really good pick. Adams appeared on the most recent season of Bachelor in Paradise and while she didnt leave Mexico in a relationship she and John Paul Jones from Browns season gave it a shot post-filming. However, they split a few months later. Host Chris Harrison says the lead role could very possibly go to an alum. We are big believers in there is no terrible idea, unless someones obviously married or in a relationship, he told Life & Style. But, if theyre not taken, and if theyre single, theyre a viable candidate. Read more: Well, It Looks Like Hannah Brown Will Probably Not Be The Next Bachelorette VANCOUVER - British Columbia's attorney general hopes an inquiry into money laundering will answer lingering questions about how the criminal activity flourished in the province and identify those who allowed it to happen. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 23/2/2020 (689 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. British Columbia Attorney General David Eby listens during a news conference in Vancouver, on Friday May 24, 2019. British Columbia's attorney general hopes an inquiry into money laundering will answer lingering questions about how the criminal activity flourished in the province and identify specific people who allowed it to happen. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck VANCOUVER - British Columbia's attorney general hopes an inquiry into money laundering will answer lingering questions about how the criminal activity flourished in the province and identify those who allowed it to happen. David Eby's government commissioned three reports that revealed B.C.'s gambling, real estate and luxury car industries were hotbeds for dirty money, but he said an inquiry will be able to dig deeper because it can compel witnesses to speak. "There are a number of people, myself included, who have unanswered questions about how things got as bad as they did, what warnings were ignored, who was profiting from these systems, how did they work exactly and are there other steps the government should be taking," Eby said in an interview. Inquiry hearings led by commissioner Austin Cullen begin Monday with opening arguments from more than a dozen participants, including the federal government, B.C. Lottery Corp. and B.C. Real Estate Association. The inquiry will reconvene in May for a money laundering overview and to quantify the extent of the problem in B.C., before main hearings are held from September through December to dig into specific industries and government responses. Eby has been pushing for action on money laundering since he was an Opposition member and said he first became concerned about it while working as a lawyer in Vancouver's impoverished Downtown Eastside neighbourhood. "I watched many of my clients, who were badly addicted to drugs and mentally ill, scraping together money to buy drugs," he said. "I knew the money was going somewhere and it was a lot of money." People carrying bags of cash into casinos were treated as VIPs with "total impunity," he said, while police were spending a great deal of time on his former clients in the Downtown Eastside. The NDP government has made several changes since taking power in 2017, including the creation of a public registry of property owners so those investing in real estate can't hide behind numbered companies. It has also pressed the federal government for action. With a provincial election expected next year, it's fair to ask whether the inquiry is in part political, given that the reports commissioned by the NDP have indicated money laundering worsened under the B.C. Liberals' watch between 2009 and 2015. Eby argued that most B.C. residents already know the previous government, at best, turned a blind eye, and at worst, recognized dirty money was generating revenue, dismantled a police unit responsible for the problem and increased betting limits. "There's sort of a broad sense that something went very wrong in government, but the individuals who made the decisions, those specific people who were involved, have not really been held accountable," Eby said. The Opposition Liberals were unavailable for comment but Leader Andrew Wilkinson has said previously that the former government embarked on a plan to contain the problem, but criminals found ways to work around it. As for the federal government, Eby said on some fronts it has made good progress, including rewriting some Criminal Code sections to make it easier to prosecute money laundering and improving some information sharing from Fintrac, the Financial Transaction and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada. "But in other ways I've been incredibly disappointed with the response from the federal government," he said, noting that it announced funding increases last year to the RCMP and Revenue Canada. "That money, although it was announced many, many months ago, has not arrived in any way, shape or form in the province." The office of federal Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said in a statement that the previous Conservative government cut half a billion dollars from the RCMP budget, which led to the abolishment of all 12 proceeds of crime units. Blair's office said his government, in contrast, earmarked over $172 million in the 2019 budget for the RCMP, CRA and Fintrac and announced the forthcoming creation of both an enforcement team and a Centre of Excellence. "Our government remains firm: criminals should not be able to hide their money in Canada," it said. Peter German, a former senior Mountie who wrote two of the three reports that helped expose the problem in B.C., said his work was not a fault-finding exercise, so if the inquiry wants to hold people accountable it can use its powers of subpoena to do so. "If you wanted to subpoena members of organized crime and put them on the stand, you can do that," he said. The third report estimated that $5 billion was laundered through B.C. real estate in 2018. Co-author Tsur Somerville, a University of B.C. professor, said it was dismaying to see the extent to which the problem had been effectively ignored for many years. "We should care about money laundering whether or not it has any effect on real estate," he added. "We should care about money laundering because it's a vehicle by which (people engaging in) illegal activities are allowed to access their ill-gotten gains." Inquiries are sometimes criticized as too costly and lengthy, but Simon Tremblay, a former prosecutor on the Charbonneau Commission, said the probe into corruption in public construction contracts was the best investment Quebec ever made. It cost $45 million but recovered as much as $150 million in public funds, he said, and led to many arrests. "Obviously, the government has to make sure that the recommendations are followed," he said. "But knowing a bit about what's happening in your province, it's going to be very costly for the political party in power to ignore the eventual recommendations by the commissioner." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 23, 2020. Note to readers: This is a corrected story. An earlier version contained an incorrect statement from the federal government that said half a million dollars had been cut from the RCMP budget. Please log in to keep reading. {{featured_button_text}} Enjoy unlimited articles at one of our lowest prices ever. Here are todays top news, analysis and opinion curated for you at this hour. Know all about the latest news and other news updates from Hindustan Times. Indo-Pacific ties, Afghanistan focus of Modi, Trump meeting With both the US and India committed to freedom of navigation in the South China Sea and demilitarization of the area, both leaders will exchange notes on how to operationalize the Indo-Pacific strategy with PM Modi keen to totally involve ASEAN countries, particularly Singapore, to reinforce the QUAD initiative. Read more Reported as video went viral: Rajasthan Dalit man violated with screwdriver The 23-year-old Dalit man from Rajasthans Nagaur district ,who was beaten up and violated with a petrol-laced screwdriver by a group of Rajputs, says the incident would have gone unreported had the video not leaked on social media sites because he wouldnt have dared to complain to the police. Read more PM Modi wants definition of hate speech expanded Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi has proposed that inflammatory speeches made to instigate inter-regional clashes be included in the definition of hate speech to maintain the honour and dignity of Indian citizens, two government officials, who refused to be named, told Hindustan Times. Read more Looking forward to...: Donald Trump retweets morphed Baahubali video Hours before he departs for his much-anticipated visit to India, US President Donald Trump on Saturday (local time) said he is looking forward to being with his great friends in the country. Read more India vs New Zealand: Ishant Sharma equals Zaheer Khan in elite Test list with fifer in Wellington India fast bowler Ishant Sharma achieved a huge milestone on Sunday when he completed a five-wicket haul on Day 3 of the the 1st Test against New Zealand in Wellington. The right-arm seamer had dismissed Tom Blundell, Tom Latham and Ross Taylor on Day 2. Read more Ayushmann rejected 5-6 films before Vicky Donor, I knew I wouldnt get a second chance Ayushmann Khurrana has revealed he rejected 5-6 films to pick the right project for his Bollywood debut as he had to make sure that his first film was special. Read more Airbnb is offering discounts on 'creepy' bugs that 'listen out for parties' and send text alerts to hosts' phones when guests get too rowdy. Under the 'party prevention' section of its website, the home rental service says it wants to offer discounts on listening devices until April to 'protect your space, maintain the privacy of your guests, and preserve your relationship with neighbours'. It comes after homes rented out through the app have been trashed by guests throwing wild parties. Airbnb is offering discounts on devices that monitor sounds in hosts' houses, but say that guests must be made of their presence before making a booking The Minut is offered with more than 30 per cent off at $99 (76.42) while Noise Aware's Indoor Sensor (right) is offered at 25 per cent off for $149 (115) Devices on the list include Noise Aware's Indoor sensor, at a 25 per cent discount to $149 (115), which listens out for sustained sound level, and the Minut, at a 34 per cent discount at $99 (76.42), which monitors noise alongside temperature, motion and humidity inside a host home. The Roomonitor, which will alert your phone and guests' phones to high levels of noise, if offered at better than half price for $39 (30). The devices do not record sounds but, instead, monitor noise levels. They are listening for sustained sounds above 70 decibels, which could indicate a party is taking place. Sounds at 60 to 70 decibels tend to be produced by loud TVs or stereos, while sounds around 50 to 60 decibels are produced by a conversation. The offer comes after homes rented out through the app have been trashed by guests and turned into the venues for large, raucous parties. This home in Levenshulme, Manchester, was left in tatters after it was rented out through the app and used as the host site of an 18th birthday party A property in Levenshulme, Manchester, was also destroyed by guests in April 2019 after it was rented out through the app for an 18th birthday party. Residents living nearby said the property's windows were shaking as the party spilled onto the street. A mansion in Chelsea was left with 445,000 of damage in April 2017, after guests used it to host a party of up to 500 people. The owner Michael Howard, 67, rented out the house to what he thought was a family of four. He filed claims for damages with the High Court at the end of last year, saying Airbnb had only offered to refund him 102,586. This property in Chelsea, London, was left with 445,000 of damage after as many as 500 people allegedly came to a party at the address. The owners thought they were renting to a family of four Privacy groups have branded Airbnb's decision to offer listening devices at discounts as 'creepy'. Security company CyberCare UK's spokesman Kez Garner said the monitors could give 'false positives', such as if a baby was crying. 'I'm a landlord and I wouldn't want to do it with my long-term tenants,' he told The Times. 'I have to trust that they're going to use the property in the right way. People expect privacy in houses and hotels; you wouldn't expect to be monitored. 'Even if I was having a wild party, I would rather the property owner was not getting alerts. If they are doing that, what else are they able to see and hear?' The deputy director of Fight for the Future, a digital rights advocacy website, told Vice News: 'We're hurtling towards a world where almost everything we own is monitoring us in some way.' Airbnb says on its website that hosts have to let guests know about any devices in the property, and should do this through their 'home rules'. 'If a host discloses the device after booking, Airbnb will allow the guest to cancel the reservation and receive a refund,' they said. 'Host cancellation penalties may apply.' 'We prohibit any security cameras and other recording devices that are in or that observe the interior of certain private spaces (Such as bedrooms and bathrooms), regardless of whether they've been disclosed.' MailOnline has contacted Airbnb for comment. Three people, including one Chinese national, have been killed and three others seriously injured after a crane collapsed at a construction site in the southern Vietnamese province of Binh Duong on Saturday. The accident occurred at around 10:45 am at the construction site of a workshop of Polytex Far Eastern Company, located in Bau Bang Industrial Park in the namesake district. A group of workers were doing their job when the giant construction crane started shaking before giving way. The collapse happened so fast that many of the workers were unable to get out of harms way. Part of the crane is on the ground following the incident in Binh Duong Province on February 22, 2020. Photo: Ba Son / Tuoi Tre Ambulances and medics arrived at the site shortly after but three people, including two Vietnamese and one Chinese, had already died. Three others victims were in a critical condition and have been taken to the hospital for emergency treatment. Police in Bau Bang District confirmed on the afternoon of the same day they had launched an investigation to determine the cause of the accident. An ambulance arrives at the scene of the accident in Binh Duong Province on February 22, 2020. Photo: Ba Son / Tuoi Tre Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! New Delhi: There won't be any changes to the Ram Temple which will be built on the model proposed by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) almost 30 years ago, confirmed Champat Rai, General Secretary of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirtha Kshetra Trust. On Friday, the President of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust Nritya Gopal Das had said that the construction of the Ram temple is expected to begin in the next six months, as reported by news agency PTI. As the construction of the Ram mandir begins the Ram Lalla idol will be shifted to a fibre temple. The devotees can seek blessings through a bulletproof glass. This fibre temple is being made in Kolkata. VHP Vice President Champat Rai at Ayodhya's Karsewakpuram said, "A five-feet long and wide fibre temple is under construction at Kolkata. There won't be any changes in the Ram temple model." He added, "People who are talking about making changes to the model do not want the Ram temple to be constructed as any changes to the model will delay the construction of the Ram mandir." Meanwhile, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath will tour Ayodhya where he will meet with the saints and will visit Ram Lalla. He is also scheduled to meet the President of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, Nritya Gopal Das. The Trust, which has seven members, five nominated members and three trustees, was formed in accordance with the Supreme Court verdict on the Ayodhya dispute in November 2019. The incident took place at the Ana Rocha Bar and Gallery in Birmingham. (Google) A woman was savagely beaten in Birmingham after defending her Chinese friend from being racially abused over the coronavirus outbreak. Meera Solanki, from Solihull, was punched and knocked unconscious while celebrating her birthday at Ana Rocha Bar and Gallery in the city centre earlier this month. The 29-year-old said her Chinese friend Mandy Huang, 28, was subjected to racist abuse by a man who was with a group of Asian men. According to The Sunday Mercury, the unidentified attacker spat at Ms Solanki and later started hurling insults at Ms Huang. West Midlands Police have launched an investigation. (Getty) For some reason he got really angry with her. He started abusing her calling her a dirty c****, Ms Solanki told the newspaper. He said take your f****** coronavirus and take it back home. He punched me in the head, I hit the pavement and was knocked unconcious, Miss Solanki said. READ MORE FROM YAHOO NEWS UK: She added: I was so shocked and horrified by his aggressive behaviour and horrific words. As I lay unconscious he continued to threaten my friends and abuse them before walking away calmly with his group of friends who did nothing to stop him or help me. Miss Solanki spent six hours at Heartlands Hospital where she was treated with concussion and was off work for a week. West Midlands Police have launched an appeal to find the thug responsible for the shocking violence. A police spokeswoman said: We're investigating after a woman was assaulted after another was racially abused in Frederick Street, Hockley, around 2am on Sunday February 9. A man made racist marks to one woman and after he was asked to stop he punched another female, in her 20s, in the face. She was temporarily knocked unconscious but escaped without serious injury. The attacker is described as Asian, 5ft 8ins tall, of large build and was wearing a flat cap and hoodie at the time. NASA selects proposals for student aeronautics, space projects In partnership with NASA's Space Grant project and Arizona Space Grant Consortium will allow students to participate in designing, building, and flying entry-level balloon payloads. NASA has awarded more than $39.8 million through the agencys National Space Grant College and Fellowship Project to increase student and faculty engagement in STEM at community colleges, technical schools and universities across the nation. Each award has a four-year performance period and a maximum value of $760,000 for fiscal year 2020. NASA awarded funds to 52 proposals aimed at attracting and retaining more students from institutions of higher education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics programs. Awardees plan to use the funds to increase diversity and inclusion in STEM fields. Each selected submission aligns with goals of both the NASA mission directorates and the agencys Office of STEM Engagement to enable contributions to NASAs work; build a diverse, skilled future STEM workforce; and strengthen understanding of STEM through powerful connections at NASA. One awardee, the Arizona Space Grant Consortium, will provide funding for the Arizona STEM Challenges to Educate New Discoverers (ASCEND) program, which will allow students to participate in designing, building, and flying entry-level balloon payloads. Through each payload and launch, students will collect and study data while building excitement for careers in STEM. The ASCEND program will promote NASA and Space Grant to underrepresented student populations. On the East Coast, the Georgia Space Grant Consortium will bring internship opportunities to students from West Georgia Technical College and Atlanta Metropolitan State College. Both colleges will offer two local-industry internships during the fall and spring semesters. Students from Atlanta Metropolitan State College enrolled in the Engineering Transfer associate degree program will be eligible to apply, as well. Nebraska Space Grant Consortium will continue offering project-based learning opportunities to students from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. As part of the program, participating college students will be able to compete in the Lunabotic challenge at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Working in teams, students will be tasked with creating an operational robot to demonstrate techniques and technology for mining minerals on the Moon a real-world problem NASA must solve in the agencys Moon to Mars exploration initiative and its Artemis program. This month, the NASA Space Grant Consortium celebrates its 30th anniversary of inspiring the next generation of explorers. NASA Space Grant Consortia operates in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. In addition, NASA partners with more than 1,000 affiliates, including colleges, universities, industry, museums, science centers, nonprofit organizations, and state and local agencies, to enrich science and engineering education, research and public outreach efforts for NASA's aeronautics and space projects. The National Space Grant College and Fellowship Project is managed by NASAs Office of STEM Engagement. Through NASAs higher education program and funding, the agency continues its tradition of investing in STEM education with the goal of developing authentic learning opportunities that are relevant to NASAs mission. These investments develop the skills needed to achieve the nation's exploration goals through a robust, diverse STEM workforce. For more information about the awards and proposals funded, visit: https://go.nasa.gov/2ujeqEB For more information about the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Project, visit: https://go.nasa.gov/37zZEb3 For more information about NASA's education programs, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/stem/highereducation/index.html A photo of a grumpy looking baby moments after being born has gone viral online. The hilarious pic shows the newborn girl giving the doctor the death stare as he tries to make her cry - she was born with the surly look on her face! "She opened her eyes wide, but did not cry," the photographer said. "The doctor even had to say, 'cry, Isa!' She made that serious expression and only started crying after the umbilical cord was cut." "Childbirth is a unique moment and deserves to be recorded." By Marty Denzer Catholic Key Associate Editor KANSAS CITY - The annual White Mass for the Healing Professions was held Feb. 15 at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in Kansas City. Named for the white coats and uniforms traditionally worn by members of the medical community, the joint-diocesan Mass was celebrated by Bishop James Johnston, Jr., of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Candy Gunther Brown, a professor of religious studies at Indiana University at Bloomington, warned that may change. Over the past five years or so, she said, some Christian, conservative groups have begun speaking out against practices such as meditation in schools. These activists argue mindfulness programs violate the constitutionally mandated separation of church and state, Brown said, because they expose students to Buddhist or Hindu ideologies. It is easy to blame parents when their teenage sons are caught making derogatory remarks about women, or taking photographs up girls' skirts. But if students attend a school where most of their peers behave in the same way, largely permitted by the school culture, it is not as simple as pointing the finger at mum and dad. Four Corners exposed in detail last week the incredibly sexist environment at St Kevins College in Melbourne, where students have reportedly chanted sexist limericks on public transport, rapped about "f---ing" the "bitches" at a sister school and engaged in upskirting. Interviewed for the program, old boy Finley Tobin called for better education for students about respecting women, saying of the sexist chants and toxic culture: I feel that we should have been given the education to know that thats not OK, and to call it out when it happens. Students from St Kevin's College were filmed singing a sexist song on a tram. We cannot ask individual young people and their families to entirely shoulder the responsibility for widespread cultural change. To relegate these issues to the purview of the home essentially reflects the situation we have now, with no, or limited, relationships and sex education and clearly this model is not working. The kind of education Tobin was calling for is focused on encouraging young people to come together and consider and interrogate the cultures of their communities. It then equips them with the skills to stand up those cultures if they are rotten. Giving young people these tools should form part of any relationships and sex education program. Such programs must go beyond puberty and condoms on bananas and interrogate the very cultural foundations upon which our rates of sexual violence are built. Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre (OCEC) will host the first Oman Maritime Confex, the first of its kind in the Sultanate taking a holistic view of the capabilities of the marine resources in terms of the blue economy. The event will held under the patronage of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries from March 9 to March 12. Statistics obtained from various economic sectors related to the maritime industry indicate a continuous growth in these sectors. Self-sufficiency from fisheries was (193 per cent) in 2017. Omani ports witnessed a good growth and the growth in number of tourists to Sultan Qaboos Port reached 41 per cent in 2016. Gross volume of loaded goods at Sohar Port increased to 1.654 million tonnes. This groundbreaking event a conference with a concurrent exhibition - has more than 50 participating members and ten renowned local and international speakers, who are here to highlight the booming maritime sector of Oman that ranges from fisheries and tourism; and shipping and logistics; research and development; and how these industries continue to make substantial contributions to the economy of the sultanate and that of other nations. Oman Maritime Confex is also a platform to connect various industries in this sphere to improve, discuss and exchange experiences. The conference is a tool to facilitate the development of projects, discuss the scope of investments in sectors such as maritime history, statistics & information, research, fisheries, marine professions, customs, shipping, packaging export, fishing and boat tools and accessories and tourism. The exhibition showcases pioneering solutions relating to fisheries and fish farming as well as latest technologies, innovations and services that meet the demands of the industry including ship building, sailing, fishing and sailing equipment. Said Al Shanfari, CEO of OCEC, said: Oman has already taken promising strides in a new economic era. The country has upheld and valued its natural resources and taken steps to derive benefits from these, but in a rational manner, without harming the environment. However, the country sees great possibilities in balancing ages-old tradition, nature and business successfully. As the name suggests, Maritime Confex, is a conference and exhibition, and the first-ever such event to the hosted in Oman. This event reflects Oman's commitment to a future that is not heavily reliant on oil revenues. Oman's people and its policy makers know that the country has, till now, only tapped the tip of the non-oil opportunities that it is blessed with. Oman has beauty, a great investment climate, and age-old maritime history. This event will definitely be a boost for the maritime sector, he added. The Oman Maritime Confex, organized by the OCEC in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and Fishery and the sponsorship of Omani Business Services Center (Tasaheel) and Oman LNG and Sacvia Expo, will be of interest to government entities, individuals and businesses operating in the sector. TradeArabia News Service Clashes broke out between police and anti-CAA protesters indulging in arson and stone-pelting in the old city area here on Sunday, during which a 22-year-old man was shot at and injured by a miscreant, said officials. With protesters indulging in vandalisation of property and throwing stones at security personnel in upper Kot area under Kotwali police station area, the police fired teargas shells to disperse the mob, said District Magistrate Chandra Bhushan Singh. Following the violence, the adminstration also suspended internet services in the city till midnight today as a precautionary measure, Singh added. Deputy Inspector General of Police ( range) Preetinder Singh, meanwhile, told PTI that police have also detained some persons after the violence. The protesters have been evicted from their "dharna" site, he added. DM Singh said the violence broke out at a spot on the Mohamed Ali Road leading to the Kotwali police station where some women protestors were holding a dharna since Saturday with the police trying to evict protesters from there. The trouble began around 5 pm when the police tried to persuade women protestors at Upper Kot near Kotwali to evict them from the road, he said. "We told them that women protestors were already holding a dharna at Eidgah and they would not be permitted to hold another such protest near Kotwali," said Singh. He said "even as efforts were underway to convince women to leave the area with prominent Muslim citizens of the area, including the Sahar mufti Abdul Khalid trying to defuse the situation, mayhem broke out and brick-batting started.." The district magistrate said police used tear gas shells to disperse the mob. "An electricity department transformer was set afire but police managed to douse the flames before they could spread," he said. Describing the situation in Upper Kot area as "tense but under control" Singh said "an intense patrolling of the affected areas is underway and the police are trying to trace out those who were "instigating" the women protestors at Upper Kot since yesterday" There were also reports of injuries to some people but the exact number of those injured in clashes is yet to ascertained, said official sources. One of the injured included 22-year-old man Tariq, whose father and brother told police that he suffered the bullet injury after a "miscreant" opened fire at him amid clashes between police and protesters. Tariq was admitted at Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital at Aligarh Muslim University here, where doctors described his condition as "serious". The victim has suffered the bullet injury in stomach, they said. Tariq's father told police at the hospital in presence of this PTI reporter that his son was standing in front of his house when he was shot at by a miscreant whom he recognises. DIG Preetinder Singh told PTI that the police resorted to "use of force" after protesters targeted them with heavy stone-pelting. "Some of the anti-CAA protestors at city's Turkmaan Gate area pelted stones at a police jeep, after which police used force and pushed them back. Some people have been detained. The CCTV footage is being examined. Strict action will be initiated against guilty persons," he said. "A protest was going on near Kotwali police station (in Aligarh), and women were staging protests. There was a rumour that police have arrested someone after which people started pelting stones on police vehicles and damaged them. "Police used force to disperse the protestors, and the protesters were evicted from the site," he added. The clashes in the old city area broke out shortly after a Bhim Army-led march by hundreds of anti-CAA protesters heading to the district collectorate earlier were stopped midway by police and Rapid Action Force jawans. Stopped by police, the protesters, however, had headed towards the Eidgah area in the city where another group of anti-CAA women protestors had been holding an indefinite dharna for the past three weeks. As the Bhim Army-led protestors, including women, were stopped by police from moving ahead after they crossed the Katpula Bridge from the old city, they decided to join women protesters in Eidgah area. The protesters had taken out the march on a call by Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar. Aligarh SSP Rajmuni, who took over the charge as the district police only last night, had earlier told mediapersons that following the abortive march, an FIR has been lodged against three persons at the Delhi Gate police station for trying to violate prohibitory orders and breach peace in the city. The new SSP said he was monitoring the situation arising out of the anti-CAA protests, going on both at the AMU and the old city area. He had said our "channels of communications with protesters are going to remain open but it does not mean we will allow anybody to disturb the city's law and order". Police in North Macedonia say they have discovered 47 migrants in an abandoned truck in the southwest region of the Balkan country near the borders of Bulgaria and Greece. Police said on February 22 that the parked truck was found late the previous night with migrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq inside. The driver had already left when police arrived, officials said. Authorities said the migrants entered the country from Greece and that they plan to deport them back there. The discovery comes just more than a week after police said they found 53 migrants in a truck, also in the southeastern border region near Greece and Bulgaria. Police arrested the driver, who is suspected of being part of a trafficking gang. It said 37 of the migrants were Afghans, 12 were Pakistanis, two were Indians, and there was one Iraqi and one Egyptian. The driver was identified as a 43-year-old citizen of North Macedonia. The migrants, who are believed to have entered the country illegally from Greece, were sent to detention centers in the capital, Skopje, and the border town of Gevgelija pending trial. They were also expected to be deported back to Greece. Although the so-called Balkan Route from Greece to Western Europe has been closed since 2015, thousands of migrants still try to make their way up north by paying smugglers. Officials in North Macedonia tried further to dramatically reduce the flow of migrants, many of them Afghan, in 2016, blaming the next country on the route, Serbia, for locking down their mutual border. The United Nations refugee agency said last year that nearly 71 million people were displaced worldwide in 2018 by war, persecution, and other violence -- an increase of more than 2 million from 2017 and the highest level in almost 70 years. The most "forcibly displaced" refugees have come from Syria, at 6.7 million, followed by Afghanistan at 2.7 million. The discovery of migrants in abandoned vans or trucks has become a relatively common occurrence in North Macedonia. The country's police say in the first three weeks of the year, a total of 1,365 migrants who had entered the country illegally were spotted. Last year, police stopped more than 24,500 migrants from crossing the borders illegally into neighboring countries. Meanwhile, in a separate case, a court in the capital, Skopje, gave a two-year suspended sentence to a German man and an Italian woman convicted of trying to smuggle three people into North Macedonia from Greece last month with false identification papers. With reporting by RFE/RL's Balkan Service, AP, and dpa She shot to fame when appearing in 2015's scariest film, The Witch, and is now wowing audiences as the starring role in period drama Emma. And Anya Taylor-Joy, 23, was every bit the leading lady when she stepped out in New York on Saturday night in a cutting edge ensemble. The stunning actress cut a quirky figure in a fun slogan t-shirt paired with tight PVC leggings in a burgundy shade as well as toughening things up in army boots. Gorgeous: Anya Taylor-Joy, 23, was every bit the leading lady when she stepped out in New York on Saturday night Anya looked sensational as she stepped out in the edgy ensemble which combined a mishmash of styles with a perfect finish. The Witch star wore a pinstriped over coat and matched her ensemble with burgundy Dr. Martens. The natural beauty highlighted her porcelain complexion and angular features with a pop of blush and a scarlet pout. She pushed back her bright blonde locks with black sunglasses and wore a couple of silver chains around her neck. Flawless: The stunning actress cut a quirky figure in a fun slogan t-shirt paired with tight PVC leggings in a burgundy shade Emma is the latest adaptation of the iconic Jane Austen novel. It tells the story of the 'handsome, clever and rich' Emma Woodhouse who spends her time meddling in the love lives of her friends and those around her. The film also stars Bill Nighy, Miranda Hart and Mia Goth, and is the directorial debut for fashion photographer Autumn de Wilde. Stylish: The Witch star wore a pin stripped over coat and matched her ensemble with burgundy Doc Martins Anya has spoken openly about the film's level of male nudity, and recently said that they 'weren't shy' about including such racy scenes in the picture. Speaking on the UK chat show Lorraine, she explained that there is a scene in the film when Lovesick star Johnny Flynn - who plays George Knightley - rips off his clothes in a nod to the famous Colin Firth scene in Pride and Prejudice. She said: 'We weren't shy about [male nudity] in the film. We thought it was about time that we utilise the female gaze! It was time for that.' Big star: Anya stars as the 'handsome, clever and rich' Emma Woodhouse in her latest flick which was released February 14 Stepping out: She pushed back her bright blonde locks with black sunglasses and wore a couple of silver chains around her neck Rising star: Anya shot to fame when appearing in 2015's scariest film, The Witch, and is now wowing audiences as the starring role in the period drama Of the period drama and the choice for the male costumes, Anya went on: 'It was also interesting, because no one really knows how the men got dressed... 'You see a lot of scenes of women pulling the corsets and all of that, but the whole production of men getting dressed too, you couldn't do it by yourself if you were wealthy, and so it was interesting.' Anya's rise to fame began when she was 16 on a shopping trip to Harrods, when she was spotted by Sarah Doukas, the founder of Storm Models and the woman who similarly discovered Kate Moss. After embarking on a catwalk career, ambitious Anya broke into the film business in 2015 in the horror movie The Witch. New role: The latest adaptation of the iconic Jane Austen novel also stars Bill Nighy, Miranda Hart and Mia Goth, and is the directorial debut for fashion photographer Autumn de Wilde Wilfred Tassang Capture d'ecran All nine of the ten separatist kingpins arrested at the Nera Hotel in Abuja on January 5, 2018 and serving a life sentence at the Yaounde Principal Prison have distanced themselves from one of theirs, Tassang Wilfred, following his missive to Prof. Maurice Kamto, President of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement. "This lying Professor is worse than Paul Biya. Avoid him," Tassang had said of Professor Kamto in a message that went viral February 12, 2020. In a disclaimer dated February 18, 2020, his other prison mates said Tassangs views are in no way a reflection of what they stand for. The said disclaimer carries the signatures of: Julius Ayuk Tabe, Nfor Ngala Nfor, Barrister Shufai Blaise Sevidzem Berinyuy, Barrister Eyambe Elias Ebai, Dr. Fidelis Ndeh Che, Dr Egbe Ntui Ogork, Dr. Cornelius Njikimbi Kwanga, Dr. Kimeng Henry Tata and Prof. Cheh Augustine Awasum. The disclaimer addressed to Kamto reads: We read with some consternation an open letter allegedly from Mr. Tassang Wilfred writing from Prison Principale Yaounde early last week, in which he cast aspersions on the person and character of the President of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement, Prof. Maurice Kamto. "We, members of the Ambazonian leadership in detention write to distance ourselves from that write up. The views expressed by Mr. Tassang are in no way a reflection of what we stand for. We have the utmost respect for Prof Kamto as a person and as a leader of the main opposition party in La Republique du Cameroun. "We remain committed to an independent and sovereign Southern Cameroons recognized under international laws based on UN resolutions 1514 and 1608. We add our voice to growing calls from the international community for a mediated dialogue between La Republique du Cameroun and Southern Cameroons in a neutral territory. What Tassang said of Kamto Maurice Kamto, Chairman of the CRM party, unfortunate candidate of the 2018 presidential elections of LRC and former inmate of the Prison Principale Kondengui, Yaounde, is known as one of the best legal minds of his country, and well celebrated around the world and within UN circles for the sharpness of his wit. For a reminder, this learned professor led LRC's legal representation in the case pitting Nigeria and the former over the Bakassi Peninsula at the ICJ. Cameroun's victory over Nigeria was largely attributed to him. Little wonder that he was rewarded with a junior ministerial portfolio at the Ministry of Justice after that feat. It is also said to his credit that it was under his watch that plans were made to decimate the Common Law system in Cameroun, seeing for a start, the flooding of the two regions with francophone huissiers de justice, or bailiffs, which functions are carried out in our territory by lawyers. One would expect that this Professor of Law would be the first to cry foul when the law, local or international, is rubbished by the Yaounde junta he wants to unseat. Shockingly, Prof. Kamto who is well schooled on the history of the Cameroons and is an authority of international law, will not accept the truth about the history of the Southern Cameroons, neither will he acknowledge the international right to self-determination granted every people. Is there anything professorial in any man who cannot face the truth, and uphold it? 48 hours after their release from Kondengui, the professor's partner and ally, Albert Dzongang, declared on TV that the best thing that happened to them in prison was that they established a rapprochement with the Ambazonian leadership in jail, whatever that meant. Could there have been a rapprochement if the two parties didn't meet and talk? Is it not therefore very unprofessorial that Kamto would declare that he and his team never discussed with the Ambazonian leaders in detention? Why will he lie? For the records, the professor lied. I bring this clarification so that those Ambazonians who are falling head over heels to be received by him in the diaspora may know that this man is to be avoided like a flea. It was at the Professor's request and insistence that a team of four, led by Sisiku Julius AyukTabe met with his own team. I don't know why the man of law will lie, but this singular action confirms what Sisiku had told him and his men earlier; you all are like Paul Biya, that is, if anyone was in doubt of that. My opinion about PhDs and Professors who cannot uphold the truth, and especially when they are professors of law, is that they are not worth one Amba coin. Concerning LRC's Wonderboy, I tell you Ambazonia, run away from him. We have not been able to get Chairman Fru Ndi to endorse the restoration quest, how think us that we can do so with a Kamto? The man doesn't even flatter us, he doesn't think we are worth humouring. What does Kamto want from Ambazonia? That we support him unseat Paul Biya so that he can, in turn, further enshrine our servitude, or if you will, special slave status. If with their little education, Ahidjo, and then Paul Biya could reduce us to this, how much more will this most witted professor of Law accomplish? Not that our case has flaws; there is no loophole in the truth. For the icing on the cake, one of ours who visited us in jail here was ready to tell us and in the presence of the horse, Albert Dzongang, that this brother and political ally of Kamto's requested on live TV broadcast that the Yaounde junta should kill us, (Sisiku AyukTabe and his nine brothers being secretly detained at SED at the time). These are not the kind of people we can fool around with in the name of seeking for sympathisers. Of course we will negotiate with Kamto if he becomes leader of LRC tomorrow, but we should not deceive ourselves; Kamto will be a more formidable adversary than Paul Biya. This lying Professor is worse than Paul Biya. Avoid him. Did you know, as a country we spend more protecting our pets than we do protecting our income. Some 25% of households who have a pet, have bought an insurance policy for them, but less than 10% of the workforce in Ireland, have any form of income protection. We protect our homes, our cars, our lives because we have to, but we largely ignore our income. Its the runt of the insurance litter but hard to think of an area thats more important to protect. From a financial perspective, everything we do and plan for i.e. retiring, buying a home, paying off a mortgage, putting kids through college etc. is predicated on us staying healthy and earning an income, but what happens if that came to an end? It would be fairly difficult to pay a mortgage, utilities, food, transportation costs, clothes if 60% of your income is wiped out. If youre a single income household earning 50,000, your monthly income is about 3,353 net per month. And for many couples, its a struggle to make ends meet on that salary and not much left over at the end of the month. Imagine what it would be like, if that income became 1,464 and how difficult it would be then? Because thats the amount that couple would be in receipt of each month from the state, if their salary wasnt protected, and they were unable to work due to an accident or illness. When it comes to income protection cover, when people have to pay for it themselves i.e. its not covered by their employer, they dont see its value. They view it as an extra non-essential expense, and money they could use on something else. Its something they think they dont need, but data would suggest otherwise. One person in Ireland is diagnosed with a form of cancer every three minutes. And if they have it, and need to cut back on outgoings, insurance premiums are the low-hanging fruit of monthly budgets and tend to be one of the first things people cancel, because its easy to. They suffer from what the 2017 Noble Prize winner in Economics, Robert Thaler, describes as self-control issues. He says they arise when choices and their consequences are separated over time. What hes saying is that because you are paying for something each month, something that you may not benefit from for years or maybe never, you lose sight of how important insurance cover actually is. And when the need arises and you need that cover, you cant just buy it then, its too late. It happened to a friend of mine who was self-employed. He had an income protection policy in place which was the right thing to do, but over time every month it was debited from his account; it annoyed him because he didnt see any immediate benefit. When things got tight, it was the first thing he cancelled, and then Murphys Law kicked in, because two months later he suffered an illness which required surgery and about five months of rehabilitation which was five months of zero income. If he just held on to that policy, he wouldnt now be in arrears on his mortgage and wouldnt have compromised his health further by rushing back to work. The lessons learned are that you shouldnt take your health or income for granted. Your ability to work and earn an income is your most important asset. It pays for everything from that Friday night takeaway, your weekly shopping, your summer holidays, the clothes you and your children wear. If you are an employee, I would recommend you check with your employer to see if they provide this form of cover. A lot of employers do, and if yours does, then great, its a super benefit to have. Now is the time to refamiliarise yourself with what it is and how much youre covered for, if youre unsure. Some people mistakenly believe their employer will pay their salary if theyre out of work and then find out, they wont. So, dont assume anything and find out if they will pay it or not, and if they do, what percentage of your salary is paid and for how long. They may cover you for six months, but what happens then? What happens then is that you have to put in place a policy that will cover you. And when taking out a policy like this, it can replace your income if you never returned to work ever again, up until the age you choose the cover for i.e. until youre 60 or 65 years old. There are two things I like about these type of policies. (A) it pays out an income if youre unable to work and doesnt specify exact illnesses or injuries you have to suffer from, unlike serious illness policies - the most common form of illnesses that insurance companies have paid out in recent years for people who have income protection policies by the way are, back related injuries, orthopaedic conditions, psychological issues, cancer and neurological disorders. And (b) the premiums paid towards these policies qualify for tax relief at your marginal rate of tax up to a maximum of 10% of your annual income. The cost of a policy will depend on the level of cover you need, the deferred period (this is the period during which no payment will be made after a claim and can range from eight to 52 weeks) and your job. Your job is very important and affects your premium, because some jobs are perceived as riskier than others. And insurance companies put jobs into different classes, and charge different premiums depending which you fall into. There are some jobs, insurance companies wont even cover people for. In summary, this is a very important form of cover to have in place, particularly for the self-employed, or those in employment whose employer doesnt provide any form of cover in the event of their absence from work due because of accident or illness. Having this form of financial protection in place is that safety blanket people need in the event they are unable to work and earn an income. It allows them to focus on their rehabilitation without the stress of worrying about money. And we know the pressure of not having money being paid by an employer anymore, weighs so heavily on people, that it makes them even sicker. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders won a sweeping victory in Saturdays Democratic Party caucuses in Nevada, defeating his closest rival, former Vice President Joe Biden, by a two-to-one margin and amassing 46 percent of the county convention delegates in an eight-candidate field. The victory makes Sanders a strong front-runner to win the Democratic nomination ahead of the March 3 Super Tuesday contests, in which nearly 1,400 convention delegates will be selected. Sanders is leading in the two largest states voting March 3, California and Texas, and is on track to win delegates in all of the more than 160 congressional districts where voting will take place. More than 110,000 people cast ballots in the Nevada caucuses, with the final total likely to break the previous record, set in 2008 when Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton fought to a near-draw in the state. Sanders support in the initial voteessentially the popular vote among caucus-goerswas 33 percent, compared to 17 percent for Biden, 16 percent for Pete Buttigieg, former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and 13 percent for Senator Elizabeth Warren. Senator Amy Klobuchar was in fifth place, with 10 percent, and billionaire Tom Steyer, who pumped $15 million into television advertising in the thinly-populated state, trailed with 9 percent. The breadth and depth of the support for Sanders was summed up in this paragraph from the New York Times a newspaper that has intransigently opposed Sanders throughout his political career, and recently endorsed Senator Elizabeth Warren and Senator Amy Klobuchar for the nomination. After noting the failure of several other candidates to win support among diverse sections of the population, the Times admitted: Only Mr. Sanders, with his uncompromising message that working-class Americans affected by injustice can unite across ethnic identity, has shown traction in both predominantly white Iowa and New Hampshire and the more black and brown Nevada. According to entrance polls, in which voters were interviewed as they went into caucus sites, Sanders won virtually every demographicyoung, middle-aged and old, white, Latino and Asian, very liberal, liberal and moderate. African-American voters, about 10 percent of the total in Nevada, placed him second, narrowly behind Biden. Sanders won despite two major political provocations carried out over the past week, engineered by the Democratic Party establishment with the assistance of the intelligence agencies and the corporate media. The week before the vote was dominated by claims from the leadership of Culinary Workers Local 226, the giant local union whose members constitute the bulk of the workforce at the Las Vegas casinos and hotels, that Sanders advocacy of Medicare for all would take away their union-sponsored health insurance. The rank-and-file workers ignored this big lie campaign, as Sanders won seven of the nine caucus sites set up on the Las Vegas Strip for workers to cast votes during their work shifts, and tied Biden in the eighth. There were anecdotal reports of union officials trying to convince workers to remove their Unidos con Sanders stickers and the workers refusing. On Friday, on the eve of the caucuses, came an even bigger provocationclaims from US intelligence agencies, trumpeted by the media, that Russian President Vladimir Putin was intervening in the US presidential campaign to support Sanders. These claims were made with no evidence, consisting of mere assertions citing mostly unnamed intelligence officials. About two-thirds of the caucus vote had already been cast in early voting, before the claims about Russian interference were broadcast. But there is every indication that the only effect of this campaign was to anger Sanders voters and make them more determined to support himas shown both in the entrance polling and in interviews with voters lined up to enter the caucus sites. The trade unions, which have for decades imposed concessions onto their rank-and-file membership while granting large salaries and perks to their officials, are reviled by broad sections of the American working class. And the statements of the US intelligence agencies, who fabricated the justification for the war in Iraq, are treated with equal skepticism. Sanders delivered a victory speech, not in Nevada, but in San Antonio, Texas, where he was campaigning ahead of the March 3 vote. He made no mention of any of his rivals for the Democratic nomination, but gave what amounted to a general election campaign speech directed against Trump, focusing on the growth of economic inequality and social injustice in America. He declared, Healthcare is a human right, not a privilege, called for reliance on science, not right-wing extremism in addressing climate change, and identified himself as the son of an immigrant who would on the first day, rescind all Trump executive orders and end the demonization of immigrants. The response to Sanders victory on the part of the Democratic Party establishment and its media backers has been to double down on the narrative that Sanders is a communist whose campaign is being supported by Russian President Vladimir Putin in order to deliver the general election to President Trump. The most explicit statements came from media pundits drawn from the right-wing of the Democratic Party. Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, also former chief of staff in the Obama White House, declared, politics is about picking your opponent, saying that Putin and Trump were backing Sanders because he would insure a sweeping Republican victory both in the presidential election and in the Senate and House of Representatives. On MSNBC, in a scene of near-frenzy against Sanders, Chris Matthews, a former top congressional Democratic aide, compared Sanders victory in Nevada to the Nazi defeat of France in 1940. Matthews has previously suggested that the victory of a self-proclaimed socialist would lead to executions in Central Park. Another MSNBC contributor, Joy Reid, spoke in worried tones of the sheer unadulterated rage of young voters. Theyre turning the tables over and they dont care what the potential result is. Theyre the hungriest, she said. No one is as hungry, angry, enraged and determined as Sanders voters. Democrats need to sober up and figure out what the hell they are going to do about that. Two of Sanders rivals gave concession speeches which, far from congratulating the Nevada winner, presented him as an existential threat. Former Vice President Biden, in a typically garbled statement, claimed a comeback for finishing second, after fourth-place and fifth-place finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire. Yall did it for me, he told supporters in Las Vegas. I aint a socialist. Im not a plutocrat. Im a Democrat, and proud of it. Buttigieg, a former naval intelligence officer deployed in Afghanistan, let loose an extremely right-wing diatribe, declaring, Senator Sanders believes in an inflexible ideological revolution that leaves out most Democrats, not to mention most Americans. He explicitly decried Sanders vision of capitalism as the root of all evil, and his call for policies that would go beyond reform and reorder the economy in ways that most Democrats, not to mention most Americans, dont support. The clear meaning of Buttigiegs comments was a message to the Democratic Party establishment and the financial aristocracy to get behind his campaign as the only way of preventing social upheaval. He warned that Sanders was engaged in consolidating one extreme faction, while he advocated growing an American majority that is united not only by who we are against. Translated into plain language, he was calling for an end to attacks on the billionaires, and urging the billionairesincluding, by implication, Democratic candidate Michael Bloombergto give him their support. The Bloomberg campaign, in its turn, argued for all other moderate Democrats to unite behind him. An internal campaign projection was leaked to the Washington Post forecasting that Sanders would win big on Super Tuesday, with primaries that day delivering him a lead of 350 to 400 out of 1,357 delegates set to be awarded unless race dynamics change. The Post reported that a private poll paid for by a rival presidential candidate, likely Bloomberg, had tested the following negative message: Bernie Sanders is a socialist who supports un-American, big government plans that will spend trillions of dollars, lead to higher taxes, and destroy our way of life. Sanders, as he has throughout his political career, is adapting to these intensifying pressures from the Democratic establishment and the corporate elite. A campaign co-chairman, Representative Ro Khanna of California, told the Post that the senator was not going to have an iron fist if he became the nominee, and would allow Democratic congressional and Senate candidates to openly oppose his policies if they thought it necessary for their own campaigns. Khanna claimed Sanders economic program could win support in affluent suburban areas that shifted to the Democrats in the 2018 congressional election. You can talk about these issues in a way that is pro-economic growth. You can talk about these policies in a way that is pro-business, he said. What I believe is that he is going to get extraordinary turnout for our party at the top of the ticket. He is going to connect with working class voters who Trump took from us last time, and then every candidate can tailor their message to their districts. Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce says his airline's unmatched safety reputation positions it to negotiate a cut-price deal with Boeing for a new fleet of 737MAX aircraft when the grounded jet returns to the skies. The airline is preparing to make a multibillion-dollar aircraft order this year to replace its fleet of 75 older model 737s, and is weighing up Boeing's offering against Airbus' hugely popular A320neo family of jets. Mr Joyce said Boeing remained a contender, despite the 737MAX now being grounded for almost a year following two deadly crashes and its "New Mid-market Aircraft" (NMA) concept going back to the drawing board. Qantas itself will put the [MAX] aircraft through its own lens to make sure were comfortable with it," Mr Joyce told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. "If you look at it from an opportunity point of view, given the aircraft is going to be very safe, what will Boeing do to get the safest airline in the world to buy the aircraft?" Qantas says it needs to place an order for replacement short-haul aircraft this year in order to start receiving them from this middle of this decade. Analysts expect the order to total around $5 billion. Boeing paused production of the 737MAX in December, as it waits for re-certification by the US Federal Aviation Administration and other airline authorities. The best-selling aircraft was grounded after two crashes linked to new flight control software killed 346 people in Ethiopia and Indonesia. Airbus will be pushing Qantas to buy its A320neo family aircraft. Qantas already has 109 of those jets on order for its low-cost arm Jetstar, with 18 set for delivery over the next two years. However it has also signalled some of these aircraft could end up flying with Qantas' red tail. Mr Joyce has for several years expressed interest in being the launch customer of Boeing's proposed NMA, also referred to as the 797. The proposed twin-aisle jet was to seat around 250 passengers, compared to 174 on Qantas' 737s, letting the airline grow capacity on the traffic-choked Sydney to Melbourne route without adding airport slots. Story continues However Boeing's new CEO David Calhoun last month said it was taking the NMA back to the drawing board to reconsider the shifting aeroplane market, and flight control design in light of the MAX crisis. Mr Joyce said that he spoke last week to Boeing's commercial aircraft CEO, Stan Deal, about the revised project and to push for specifications that would meet Qantas' needs. "Boeing are working with us for what wed like to see in the specs of the aircraft and he was very engaged in making sure he gets those inputs," Mr Joyce said. Teal Group aerospace analyst Richard Aboulafia said lingering customer concerns about the 737MAX's safety would not influence airlines' purchasing decisions, and it was "very much a possibility" for Qantas. "But right now Airbus has an advantage, due largely to the A321s capabilities," he said. Like most other global airlines, Qantas has been rocked by the coronavirus outbreak, which has severely dented demand for air travel around Asia. Qantas said last week it expected the health crisis to deliver a $150 million blow to its profit this year, and was cutting flights to Asia by 15 per cent at least until the end of May. It cut domestic flights by 2 per cent and flights to New Zealand by 6 per cent. The International Air Transport Association said on Friday that the virus would cause global air travel to fall for the first time in a decade and cost airlines $29.3 billion in revenue ($44 billion). This story was originally published in the Sydney Morning Herald. Read the original story here. Have Sheriff Offices in North Carolina, possibly even Beaufort County's Sheriff Office, become too political in the discharging of their sworn constitutional duties? No, the sheriff is a constitutional officer. Yes, the Sheriff Office, on strong occasion, often reverts back to political patronage in the dispensation of their sworn constitutional duties. Barbara Elaine Smith was born on Aug. 24, 1949, in Everson, Pa. Her father, William, was a steelworker. Her mother, Florence (Claybrook) Smith, was a part-time maid with a flair for interior decorating that she had once hoped to make her career. From early childhood, Ms. Smith was a whirlwind. I inherited a paper route, I sold magazines, had lemonade stands, I was a candy striper and into fund-raising, she told The New York Times in 2011. Ive always enjoyed being busy. With her father, a Jehovahs Witness, she went door to door distributing copies of the magazines The Watchtower and Awake! and learned valuable lessons along the way. One thing about being a Jehovahs Witness, she often said, you learn to talk to people. When she was barred from joining the Future Homemakers of America because of her race, she started her own home-economics club and named herself president. In high school she saw an advertisement for the John Robert Powers modeling school and pestered her father to allow her to attend. When she convinced him that it was a finishing school, he relented. She raised the tuition money by babysitting. After graduating from high school, Ms. Smith modeled for department stores in Pittsburgh and got a job as a ground hostess with TWA. Her first big break came in 1969, when she won a place at the Ebony Fashion Fair, a show that traveled to 77 cities across the United States. Along the way she shortened her first name to B. Property owners who live in areas where school referendums are in place will particularly feel the impact of the increased assessed valuations since the two are so intertwined, Snyder said. These areas include Valparaiso Community Schools, Duneland School Corp., Metropolitan School District, Boone Township School District and Union Township School Corp. Other factors that come into play when calculating individual tax bills include deductions and tax caps, Urbanik said. Those calculations are currently underway in preparation for tax bills to be mailed out in April. "We're deep in that process now," she said. There were 4,500 properties sold last year in Porter County, which Snyder said is the largest figure he can remember. Pricing was also strong. "The sales show us where the assessments should be," he said. "So if the sales in a neighborhood are higher than assessments, assessments will go up." Peter Novak, chief executive officer with the Greater Northwest Indiana Association of Realtors, said his figures show a slight decrease in home sales that were part of the multiple listings last year in Porter County. Egypt's House of Representatives approved in principle on Sunday new government-drafted amendments to the Prisons Regulation Law (396/1956). The parliament speaker said the amendment will be sent to the State Council to be revised in legal and constitutional terms, after which it will be put up for a final vote. Bahaaeddin Abu Shoqa, the head of parliament's legislative and constitutional affairs committee, told MPs that the amendment mainly aims to regulate the release of prisoners convicted of organising illegal public gatherings, terrorism, drug trafficking and money laundering. Abu Shoqa indicated that MPs were keen to ensure the amendments are in line with Article 56 of the constitution, which states that prisons are places for rehabilitation and shall be subject to judiciary supervision, and where all actions inconsistent with human dignity or which endanger human health shall be prohibited. "The law shall regulate the provisions of reform and rehabilitation of convicted persons and facilitate decent lives for them after their release," said Abu Shoqa, citing Article 56. A seven-page report prepared by the House's legislative and constitutional affairs committee and the human rights committee indicates that the laws on prisons (396/1956), drug trafficking (182/1960), terrorism (94/2015), and money laundering (94/2002) will be amended to impose a ban on the "conditional release" of defendants serving prison sentences in crimes related to organising illegal public gatherings, carrying out terrorist acts, trafficking drugs and laundering money. "The current law on regulating prisons bans defendants convicted of drug trafficking crimes only from being released," stated the report. "As stated by the law regulating prisons, the term 'conditional release' means that those who are serving freedom-restricting sentences can be released on three conditions: they must have served more than half their sentence; exhibit good behaviour and manners; and that they do not pose a threat to public security once released," said the report. The report indicated that MPs from the legislative and constitutional affairs committee and the human rights committee approved the new amendment, agreeing that it aims to cover a legislative loophole which allowed some criminals to win judicial rulings to be conditionally released. "The new amendment is in line with international conventions on human rights and helps protect society from serious crimes such as drug trafficking and organising illegal gatherings," said the report. Search Keywords: Short link: Curfew in Ahmedabad extended till 6am on May 21; Night curfew to continue in 36 cities for another 3 days Into the deep: Ahmedabads Science City gets a boost! Nature Park, Aquatic, Robotic Galleries and more! Donald Trump India visit: List of US Presidents who visited India International pti-PTI Washington, Feb 23: Donald Trump will be the sixth US president ever to travel to India and the first one to land in Ahmedabad, where he will be joined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for an unprecedented roadshow and a historic joint address before a record crowd of more than one lakh people. Trump on Sunday left for his maiden visit to India for talks with the top Indian leadership during which the two countries are expected to significantly ramp up bilateral relations, especially in the defence and strategic ties. When Air Force One touches down Ahmedabad on Monday, he will become the fourth consecutive American president to visit India, reflecting on the new phase of bonhomie in the 21st century between the two largest democracies of the world. And he is only second White House occupant to travel to India in their first term. Barack Obama was the first US president to do so in 2010. Obama visited India twice in 2010 and 2015. Dwight D Eisenhower Dwight D Eisenhower was the first US President to visit India in 1959. Richard Nixon travelled to India in 1969 and Jimmy Carter in 1978. Bill Clinton visited India in 2000 and George W Bush in 2006. President Eisenhower's historic visit to India from December 9 to 15 launched the bilateral relationship at an important period just over a decade after India's own independence. Through meetings with Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, the two sides affirmed the desire to foster a strong bilateral relationship and cooperate on shared values, including world peace, The Asia Group said. 'On this trip I have been talking a lot about America's deep desire for peace. [...] As far as the longing and aspirations of peoples are involved, we know we are one. [...] The people to people is what will save the world," Eisenhower then said. Eisenhower addressed both houses of Parliament and delivered an address at the US Embassy in New Delhi. He received an Honorary Doctor of Law from the University of Delhi, participated in the inauguration of the World Agricultural Fair, and attended a civic reception hosted by the City of New Delhi. Tensions over US tacit support for Pakistan and close ties with Pakistani General Yahya Khan loomed over President Richard Nixon's short visit to India from July 31 to August 1, 1969. President Nixon While President Nixon sought to build trust, the lack of personal chemistry with the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi dampened progress. These tensions would only deepen as India and Pakistan progressed toward conflict, which escalated into the Bangladesh War of Independence in 1971, The Asia Group said in a report released ahead of the visit. In New Delhi for less than one day, Nixon met with Indira Gandhi at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. No official statements or speeches were published from the visit. President Carter President Carter visited India from January 1 to 3, 1978, soon after Janata Party leader Morarji Desai succeeded Indira Gandhi as the prime minister. During his visit, Carter sought to ease tensions between the US and India, which had escalated during the 1971 Bangladesh War of Independence and India's 1974 nuclear weapons tests. However, Carter's attempt to urge India to sign the Nuclear NonProliferation Treaty blunted significant progress, The Asia Group, a strategy and capital advisory group based in Washington DC, said. Carter met Prime Minister Desai and addressed both houses of Parliament. He visited a village in Haryana, which soon after adopted the name "Carterpuri." The two sides released a memorandum of conversation between the leaders, as well as President Carter's remarks before the Indian Parliament. Bill Clinton Following a period of intense diplomatic engagement with India and Pakistan to deescalate the 1999 Kargil War, Bill Clinton visited India from March 19 to 25, 2000. 'His watershed visit saw the two sides advance a higher level of ambition and outline new areas of bilateral cooperation across economic and strategic pillars. The diplomatic breakthrough also coincided with the rise of the Indian American diaspora in the United States, which strengthened the growing people-to-people ties between the two countries," The Asia Group said. Traveling with his wife Hillary and daughter Chelsea, the Clintons visited New Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Hyderabad, and Mumbai. Clinton and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee issued an expansive joint statement, in which both sides pledged to enhance cooperation. Clinton also addressed both houses of Parliament and committed to strengthening ties as strategic partners. George Bush During his visit from March 1 to 3, 2006, President George Bush's visit charted new opportunities for substantive bilateral cooperation. 'Notably, the two countries finalised the framework the US-India Civil Nuclear Agreement, which affirmed the US acceptance of India as a nuclear power. Progress during the visit also reflected growing bipartisan support for the relationship and view that supporting India's rise was in the US interest - particularly amid China's growing regional influence," The Asia Group said. Bush gave remarks on the US-India relationship at Purana Qila in New Delhi. President Obama Obama's first visit to India from November 6 to 9, 2010 elevated the country as a strategic partner and critical focus in the foreign policy pivot to Asia. 'The two sides made progress across the strategic and trade pillars of the relationship. Notably, President Obama backed India's bid to join the United Nations Security Council," The Asia Group said. The two sides also agreed to USD 14.9 billion worth of trade deals and relaxed select trade restrictions and Obama addressed a joint session of the Parliament. Obama created history when he visited India for the second time in 2015 - the first by a sitting US president - from January 24 to 27. 'The visit solidified the strong relationship between the two leaders and enabled them to chart historic progress on defence, clean energy, and climate change," The Asia Group said. Sunrise host Natalie Barr has broken down in tears while listening to the closest friends of murdered mother Hannah Clarke discuss their favourite memories of her. Ms Clarke, 31, was killed alongside her three children by her estranged husband Rowan Baxter, 42, who set her car on fire while she was preparing to do the school drop off. Ms Clarke's close friends appeared on Sunrise on Monday to raise awareness about domestic abuse and pay tribute to their 'hilarious friend' and 'incredible mother'. Barr began welling up as the women begged the Australian public not to forget Ms Clarke and her story. Family: Fitness trainer Hannah Clarke is pictured with her children Aaliyah, six, Laianah, four, and Trey, three 'The message is we have to make a change, we can't let their faces fade. Not this time, not another family, not another tragedy,' the women said together. Barr promised nobody would forget as she thanked the women for speaking up. 'Thank you so much for talking to us, this has touched the nation. Our hearts go out to the whole family,' Barr said through tears. Barr also choked back tears as she struggled to pay respect to Ms Clarke's parents, Suzanne and Lloyd, and said nobody could quite understand their grief. Barr choked back tears throughout the interview, describing the murder-suicide as 'just so sad' 'What do you say, its so sad... Its terrible,' she later said to her co-host David Koch. Nikki Brooks, Ms Clarke's best friend of 17 years, said her favourite memory with the mother-of-three was the day she chose to leave her abusive husband. 'We came back to my place and the kids played. When they went to sleep we got drunk off margaritas and toasted to a fresh start.' Ms Brooks said 'by the time they're abusive husbands, we're already dancing with the devil and its too late.' Ms Clarke pictured with her three children before all four were brutally killed by Rowan Baxter Nikki Brooks (left) and Lou Farmer (right) appeared on the show to discuss their friend and raise awareness about domestic violence She and Ms Clarke's other close friend Lou Farmer planned a touching vigil on Sunday, where more than 1,000 mourners turned out to pay tribute to the family. One of her friends made an emotional speech, saying Ms Clarke 'loved hard, and laughed every single day.' Ms Farmer said she 'wasn't surprised at all' by the turnout. 'What happened was absolutely horrific. Even though it was rain and the weather wasn't great, that's a reflection of the true impact this has had on all of us. 'She was just the most amazing mum,' she said. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk (left), parents to Hannah Clarke Lloyd and Suzanne Clarke (centre), and Police commissioner Katarina Carroll (right) at the vigil 'What you saw of photos was exactly how it was. She lived for her kids, she was hilarious. She did everything for those kids and they absolutely adored her.' The vigil was held at Whites Hill State College in Camp Hill - just blocks away from the murder scene. Dressed in pink - Ms Clarke's favourite colour - her father Lloyd Clarke and brother, Nat, thanked the crowd for their support. 'We would have felt lost without all your support,' the distraught father said. 'I don't know how we can repay such kindness.' A police officer speaks during a vigil to remember murdered mother. Thousands of mourners attended the event He described the past week as the 'hardest of their life'. 'We may not know you all, but you embraced our family when our whole world collapsed and for that we are genuinely grateful,' he said. 'While dealing with this truly difficult time, my family and I are forever thankful to our neighbours and those who were first on the scene who tried to desperately help Hannah and the children. 'You selflessly and without hesitation did what you could to save them. I don't know how we can repay such kindness, other than to say we will be eternally grateful. You have restored out faith that there are many good and decent people in the world.' Community members laid flowers by crosses bearing the names of Hannah and her children at the vigil LOS ANGELES - To marijuana industry boosters and Santa Barbara County officials, Barry Brand was one of the "good players," a longtime Gerbera daisy grower who pitched cannabis as just a new type of flower in the greenhouse. When county officials gave reporters a tour of a licensed grow last year, they picked Brand's operation on Foothill Road to showcase how their regulations were working and would make it all but impossible to divert marijuana to the black market. Last month the Santa Barbara County sheriff revealed a crease in this tidy snapshot. On Jan. 22, detectives served a search warrant at the farm and reported finding a stash of more than 100 gallons of concentrated cannabis oil, an extraction lab and evidence of "off-book" sales" - all illegal. "They were considered to be sort of the models," said Bernard Melekian, the former undersheriff who became the county's cannabis czar last month. He chuckled about his predecessor taking The Times on a tour of the farm in May. "I realize there is a certain irony there." He added that the tracking system is "nowhere near up and running" and had nothing to do with the sheriff's search. ADVERTISEMENT Lionel Neff, a critic of the proliferation of cannabis in the area, said "no one was surprised" by the raid at Brand's Arroyo Verde farm, one of many operations accused of fouling the air in Carpinteria. "If they were good operators, they would have taken the community into account from the beginning." Neff is hopeful that the raid is a sign that Melekian is going to take a harder look at the politically connected farmers than county officials have in the past. Brand, 57, is a prominent member of one of the two Dutch families - the Brands and Van Wingerdens - who brought the cut-flower industry to the Carpinteria Valley decades ago. The clans are intertwined and now growing marijuana in their numerous sprawling greenhouses north of town. Barry Brand has been an influential figure in this town of just 13,000. He is active in the Lions and Rotary clubs, and was one the 15 members of the industry group CARP Growers (Cannabis Assn. for Responsible Producers). In August, the group agreed to donate $189,000 to the Carpinteria Unified School District. In September, he and his wife co-hosted a fundraiser for the local Girls Inc. and donated $10,000 for their table. The gala brought in over $250,000. The Jan. 22 raid highlights how little officials knew about the operations they approved for state licensing. In the last two years, county supervisors voted to allow grows of unlimited size and number, with little or no vetting, turning a county famous for its wine-tasting and scenic coastline into California's new and unexpected breadbasket of marijuana cultivation. Brand and other growers were heavily involved in developing the cannabis policy, hiring lobbyists, attorneys and communications firms, making donations to political campaigns. Brand contributed $10,000 to the two county supervisors leading the effort: $8,000 to Das Williams and $2,000 to Steve Lavagnino. ADVERTISEMENT The unregulated rush of planting sparked clashes from the south coast to Santa Maria. In this seaside town, neighbors and school children complained about the plant's skunk-like odor, while other residents and some businesses counter that the jobs and tax revenue are good for the local economy. By summer of last year, growers in Santa Barbara County had obtained more state licenses than places like Humboldt and Mendocino. Humboldt now slightly edges out Santa Barbara, which after a backlash put a cap on the total number of acres that could be cultivated with pot countywide. On Jan. 20, attorneys for a coalition of critics of the industry sent a letter to the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles asking to launch "an investigation of commercial cannabis cultivators that are operating within 1,000 feet of schools." The petition sought enforcement against the county, under the Civil Rights Act, citing "pernicious impacts near schools attended by predominantly Hispanic children." When The Times toured the facility, Dennis Bozanich, the county executive who worked with supervisors to create the cannabis policy, said a tracking system and regular inspections would make it difficult for growers to divert even 2% of their crop to the black market. Brand's manager, who asked not to be named at the time, was more skeptical. "Depending on how the operator wants to game the system, I'm sure there are ways to do it," he said. "All of this depends on a partnership between the good operators and the county and the state." The stated goal of Santa Barbara's cultivation program was to bring tens of millions in tax revenue. But the Board of Supervisors, guided by Bozanich, Williams and Lavagnio, created a system with loopholes. For one, they voted for a 4% tax on gross receipts instead of a tax based on licensed square footage of the crop. Because the county has no access to the state tracking data, and growers operate in a cash world with little or no banking records, the tax collector's office has had to rely on their word about how much they made. ADVERTISEMENT Consultants said in February 2018 that the county could expect to collect between $15 million and $22 million annually from the 47 acres licensed to grow at that point. Nearly six times that number of acres, 275, are licensed now, records show. But in the last year and a half, the county received only $9.76 million. As an indicator to how much of the cannabis is flooding the underground market: Sheriff searches of 29 unlicensed operators and 15 licensed ones turned up $294 million worth of illegal product, Melekian said. And with multiple crop cycles, those operators could have had several times that amount over the course of a year. At the same time, licensed growers reported only $167 million in legal revenue in the last fiscal year to the county. Sheriff's spokeswoman Raquel Zick said the investigation into Brand was continuing. The sheriff searched Brand's four parcels on suspicion that he was "growing and processing marijuana outside of the licensed parcel as well as possessing and selling cannabis crude (oil) without a license." Detectives discovered "off-book (black market) marijuana sales associated with the farm," a small volatile extrication lab, about 20 pounds of illegally stored cannabis and "1,000 pounds of cannabis crude." That amount of crude oil sold wholesale would be worth between $1.1 million to $1.6 million in California's legal market, much more out of state, according to industry insiders. CARP Growers, which was heavily involved in crafting the county's marijuana policy, said Brand resigned his membership after the raid. Brand did not return calls and emails seeking comment. Just four days before the sheriff's search, Brand opened his farm to 100 "community members" for a tour that presumably did not include the extraction lab, which are known to explode, if not done to professional standards. "We love to share how our plants have helped bring relief to those in need," Brand told Coastal View magazine. "I had a great day sharing our wonderful farm with the public." --- (c)2020 Los Angeles Times Visit the Los Angeles Times at www.latimes.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. ----- The Supreme Court has upheld an award for piped gas distribution network in Chennai and Tiruvallur districts in Tamil Nadu to a Gujarat-based firm by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB). A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and Hemant Gupta dismissed the appeal filed by Limited and others and justified the action of PNGRB saying that calling the bidders with the highest composite scores cannot be faulted. The Board had granted the award for piped gas distribution network in Puducherry to AG & P LNG, in Chennai and Tiruvallur districts to Torrent Gas Private Limited and to SKN Haryana in Kanchipuram district in 2018. The top court said there is no merit in the submission that there was a breach of the principles of "natural justice" in calling only the bidders with the highest composite score to explain the reasonableness of their bids. "In the present situation, when the Board decided to call the bidders with the highest composite score in order to allow them an opportunity to explain reasonableness of their bid, the administrative decision taken by the Board cannot be faulted as being in violation of the principles of natural justice," it said. The bench said if the Board Note of July 23, 2018 on the reasonability of bidding parameters was to be construed in the manner in which the applicants had urged, the automatic disqualification of bidders based on a criterion introduced by the Board Note would raise serious doubts about its fairness and legality. "This is because the Board Note was not notified to bidders as a basis for the evaluation of bids before the date for the submission of the bids had closed. To disqualify a bidder on the basis of a criterion which was not notified and of which bidders had no knowledge would be arbitrary and would constitute an infraction of Article 14. "The Board was thus correct in determining that the automatic disqualification of a bid on the basis of a criterion specified in the Board Note (which was never notified to the bidders) would not be legally correct. Hence, it would be reasonable to interpret the Board Note dated July 23, 2018 as being the formulation of a guideline for the Board," the bench said. The Board Note adopted the Census 2011 data on the total number of households as the basis for computing the minimum and maximum limits for the purpose of determining unreasonably low or unreasonably high quotes. The apex court said that the course of action, which the Board followed, of calling the bidders with the highest composite scores in different geographical areas to justify their bids in terms of their reasonableness cannot be faulted. "On the contrary, if the Board had rejected these bids solely on the ground that they were above the limit of 100 per cent of households under the 2011 Census data, the decision would have been seriously flawed for having applied a criterion which was not a part of the Regulations, was not embodied in the Bid Document and in any event, was not notified to bidders before they had submitted their bids," the bench said. Torrent Gas Private Limited was declared as the successful bidder for GAs 51, 61 and 62 respectively on August 30, 2018. On September 6, 2018, Limited wrote to the Board requesting a copy of the decision with respect to the issuance of Letter Of Intents (LOIs) for the above three GAs. Subsequently, the Board uploaded the details of the successful bidders under the ninth CGD round on its website on September 14, 2018. On September 19, 2018, an appeal was filed before the Appellate Tribunal For Electricity (APTEL) by Limited, aggrieved by the decision to award LOIs, in respect of Puducherry, Kanchipuram, Chennai and Tiruvallur districts on the ground that the successful bids were beyond the unreasonably high limit adopted by the Board. The appeal also contended that the Board issued the LOIs without uploading the decision on the website and without communicating it to Adani Gas Limited. Following the proceedings by Adani Gas Limited, IMC Limited also filed proceedings before the APTEL challenging the grant of authorisation by the Board in respect of Kanchipuram district. On February 28, 2019, the APTEL pronounced a split decision. While the chairperson allowed the appeals filed by Adani Gas Limited and IMC Limited, the Member Technical (Petroleum and Natural Gas) dismissed the appeals. Due to the divergence of opinion between the Chairperson and Member Technical (Petroleum and Natural Gas), the appeals were referred to the Judicial Member of the APTEL. The Judicial Member recused from hearing the appeal on March 7, 2019, as a result of which proceedings reached the apex court. Anil Swarup By The Babri Masjid is in the news again. Consequent to the Supreme Court judgement, the Government has now constituted a trust for the construction of the Ram temple. Some of the members of the trust include those that are facing trial in the Babri Masjid demolition case. Kalyan Singh was the UP Chief Minister when the Masjid came down. He is obviously not on the trust or the committee constituted for construction of the temple but is one of the accused in the demolition case. The Babri Masjid was a bone of contention between the two communities for decades. The structure was apparently built during 1520-29 CE by Mir Baqi on the orders of the Mughal emperor, Babar, but the dispute surfaced during the 19th century. The mosque was located on a hill known as Ramkot. The Hindus believed that there was a pre-existing temple at the site that was destroyed by Baqi. They also believed that Lord Ram was born here. This belief emanates from documents of Sawai Jai Singh. In Kapad-Dwar collection in the City Palace Museum of Jaipur, there is a sketch map of the Babri Masjid site. Map portrays an open courtyard and a structure resembling the Babri Masjid with three domes. The courtyard is mentioned as Janmasthan and shows a Ram Chabutra. A group of Hindu ascetics occupied the site in 1853 and claimed ownership over the structure. After a Hindu-Muslim clash in 1855, a boundary wall was constructed to prevent disputes. Thereafter, Hindus prayed on the raised platform and Muslims offered prayers in the inner courtyard.In 1877, Syed Mohammad Asghar, the guardian of the structure, filed a petition with the Faizabad Commissioner requesting for restraint on Hindus who had raised a chabutra on the spot regarded as the birthplace of Ram. The dispute thus acquired a legal dimension. A nine-day recital of the Ram Charitramanas was organized by the Akhil Bharatiya Ramayan Mahasabha in December 1949 just outside the mosque. On December 23 morning, the event organisers announced that idols of Ram and Sita had appeared miraculously and exhorted Hindus to come for darshan. Given the sensitivity of the issue, the government declared the mosque a disputed area and locked the gates. The unlocking of the gates took place in 1986, when all Hindus were given access to the site. A massive campaign was subsequently launched to build a Ram temple at the site. It was against this background that the Bharatiya Janata Party, under the leadership of Kalyan Singh, came to power in Uttar Pradesh in 1991 and I was appointed as the Director, Information and Public Relations.Singh took on his job in right earnest. He was concerned about the Ram mandir issue but on assuming office, he made his intentions clear to provide an honest and purposeful governance. He was keen on conveying a message that he meant business. His vision went much beyond the mandir. His objective was to build a new and vibrant Uttar Pradesh. A list of officers with honest credentials for critical posts like District Magistrates and Secretaries of Departments was drawn up at his behest. Certain social evils like mass copying in school examinations were sought to be reined in. Cabinet meetings would go on for hours, discussing policies on various issues before taking a final call. He got a set of extremely bright officers like Sanjay Aggarwal and Anant Kumar Singh (both later became Secretaries to the Centre), to his secretariat. He left no stone unturned to achieve his objective. Improvements were clearly in evidence in the form of delivery of services at the field level and in the posting of competent officers. These officers were provided security of tenure and necessary backing to implement the policies. Steps that were taken to prevent mass copying in examinations were unprecedented. He did want a grand temple at Ayodhya and was diligently working towards a peaceful and amicable consensus. There were indeed a few options emerging. One such option was the construction of a new masjid close to the site. He even gave the example of the shifting of mosques when the Aswan Dam was being constructed in Egypt. This idea was gradually gaining currency. He was engaging intensively with all stakeholders but he was totally against the aggressive posturing that was the hallmark of right-wing religious organizations. Ironically, what emerged in the Supreme Court judgment was the solution that Singh had been working on and attempting. What happened on December 6, 1992 shocked him as well. Those who believe that Singh was the man behind this demolition overlook the fact that he had an absolute majority in the Assembly. Why would he want to bring his own government down in case the Babri Masjid was demolished? He would have known the consequences of demolition. Any person would have known that. In his repeated interactions with the Central leadership, he argued against the congregation of kar sevaks at the site. This became evident on December 6 during his conversation with the then Rajasthan Chief Minister, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat. I was present when this conversation took place. Singh was livid. He reiterated that he was against such a congregation but he was over-ruled and no one listened to him. His reservation about such a congregation was not based on any apprehension of a mishap. He was somehow convinced that the structure would never come down in the manner it finally did. He was opposed to the congregation in July as well but fortunately no untoward incident happened then. It was a long conversation in which Singh did most of the talking. One argument often raised against Singh is why Central forces that were stationed nearby to handle the situation were not allowed. It is a fact that Singh didnt permit the Central forces to take over or seek their assistance, but it does not automatically imply that he did not allow the Central forces to come in because he wanted the demolition to take place. A similar event had taken place in July and it went off peacefully. Singh believed that, as in July, the kar sevaks would go back after performing pooja and that no harm would come to the masjid. But, on this occasion he was wrong. The structure came down and, with it, came down his government. (This is an extract from the authors forthcoming book Ethical dilemmas of a civil servant) [February 23, 2020] Broadband Services in Saudi Arabia Set to Receive Significant Boost From New Open Access Initiative In a first-of-its-kind initiative led by Saudi Arabia's telecoms regulator, the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC), all the six Telecom Service Providers in Saudi Arabia signed an open access agreement guaranteeing the provision of fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) broadband services through any subscriber-selected service provider, independent of fiber infrastructure ownership. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200223005027/en/ Broadband Services in Saudi Arabia Set to Receive Significant Boost From New Open Access Initiative (Graphic: AETOSWire) The agreement was signed on February 23rd by te CEOs of STC, Mobily, Zain, Etihad Atheeb Telecom (News - Alert) (GO), Integrated Telecom Company (ITC) and Integrated Dawiyat. The initiative aims to encourage competition, attract investment, and increase broadband subscriptions by improving service quality and consumer choice. In the global telecoms industry, it is the first time that a telecom regulator is the main driver of the signing of a nation-wide active infrastructure sharing agreement among all operators in the market, both access seekers and access providers. Dr. Mohammed Al Tamimi, governor of the CITC, commented, "The adoption of an open access model will increase the use of our fiber-optic infrastructure through the development of commercial agreements that make it easier for subscribers to move from one provider to another." The governor commended the level of cooperation between participating telecoms companies throughout the development of the open access initiative. Over ten commercial agreements were signed between the operators after the completion of over 90 workshops regulated by the Fiber Bitstream (News - Alert) Rules and Guidelines published by the CITC in November 2019. The Kingdom's digital transformation has accelerated significantly since the launch of Vision 2030, with its ICT sector valued at $28.7 billion, the largest in the Arab world. According to the International Telecommunication Union, Saudi Arabia has an internet penetration rate of 93% versus the global average of 53%. Additionally, the Kingdom was the first adopter of commercial 5G technology in the region and the third largest globally, and recently jumped 92 places to 13th in global rankings for internet speed, with an average download speed of 55.6 Mbps. *Source (News - Alert): AETOSWire View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200223005027/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] 100 years ago Boy discovers body Emerson E. Lawrence, 70, who lived with his niece and her husband on Second Avenue in Watervliet, was found dead in a chair in his bedroom, but not by his family members. Franz Robatur, a neighborhood boy passing on the street, stared at the motionless figure of Lawrence bowed over in a chair as if sleeping in a second-floor window for some time Tuesday morning before realizing something was wrong and running to the home's front door. After being alerted, Lawrence's relatives rushed upstairs to find him dead, but fully dressed. The coroner concluded the cause of death was heart failure. His niece remembered hearing him moving about the room as late as 10 p.m. the night before. Times Union, Feb. 24, 1920 50 years ago Library building being razed The final page in the life of Albany's historic John V.L. Pruyn Library had been written. Demolition of the 70-year-old structure at North Pearl Street and Clinton Avenue had begun to make way for the Sheridan Valley Interchange of the Riverfront Arterial, which would run along the west side of the Hudson River north beyond the new Patroon Island Bridge to Watervliet. Debate on the library's fate had gone on for several years since the announcement about seven years earlier of the construction of the interchange, with a petition presented to Gov. Nelson Rockefeller in 1965 to save the building. Named for John Van Schaick Lansing Pruyn, U.S. congressman and chancellor of the State University of New York from 1862-77, it marked the site of his birth. The building had been designed by Albany architect Marcus T. Reynolds as a reproduction of a 17th-century Dutch guild hall. Times Union, Feb. 24, 1970 Looking Back is compiled by C.J. Lais and Azra Haqqie. For questions about this feature or to submit information about historic events, contact Tim Blydenburgh, 518-454-5421 or tblydenburgh@timesunion.com. Miguelina Sepulveda, 45, of Pennsauken, N.J., protests the suspension of the municipal elections in the Dominican Republic last weekend. We have corruption in our country and we just want justice, she said. Read more It started around 3 p.m. with a couple dozen people huddled near the corner of American and Somerset in the citys Fairhill section. An hour later, a couple hundred had descended on the scene, waving and wearing Dominican Republic flags, chanting pro-democracy and anti-corruption slogans and shutting down all southbound traffic in a rowdy show of support for free elections in the Caribbean nation that has been roiled by botched municipal elections. I always vote. Thats why Im here," said Paola Castillo, who has been living in the United States for 12 years and traveled from Reading to join Saturdays protest. Its not about the government or the opposition. Its about the people. Its our democracy. Thats what we care about. It was the sixth consecutive day that Dominicans and Dominican Americans protested in streets and parks there, in the U.S., and elsewhere. The international outcry was sparked by suspended municipal elections last Sunday due to what authorities said was a software glitch with the electronic voting system. Many voters, however, suspect that the election was halted to benefit the governing Dominican Liberation Party (PLD, in Spanish). Since 2004, Dominicans living abroad have been eligible to vote if they register with the local Central Election Board. Last Sunday, the election board (JCE, for its acronym in Spanish) suspended voting four hours after it began, after reports that opposition-party candidates were not appearing on the electronic ballots. Standing on a concrete barricade Saturday afternoon, Juan Cruz of South Philly was shooting video of the protest with his phone and watching earlier, larger events in Barcelona, Spain, and in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. Its everywhere, he said. Cruz said hes concerned that the voting irregularities in last weekends municipal elections could be repeated in the countrys presidential election in May, when Philly Dominicans would be able to cast their votes. We are trying to do this to prevent that from happening, said Cruz, who has been living in the United States for 10 years. We need someone we can trust. The electronic system was used in 18 cities and regions with high population density, accounting for 62.4% of the electorate. Paper ballots were to be used elsewhere. More than 7.4 million voters were due to vote to elect 3,849 positions in 158 municipalities across the Dominican Republic. Julio Cesar Castanos Guzman, president of the JCE, addressed the issue at a news conference the day of the election and admitted that nearly half of the electronic ballot machines were not working correctly. A leaked video from the moment when the board members discussed the issue suggested that the JCE never ran tests of the electronic ballot machines although the JCE had informed the public that the test runs of the automatic voting system were successful in July, August, and September 2019, and January of this year. The new voting system cost $19 million. It was the first time in Dominican history that an election has been suspended. Despite the announcement Friday that the Organization of American States (OAS) would investigate the circumstances of the suspended election, the ordeal has led to outrage among Dominican populations, especially youth on the island and abroad. Im here representing my family. We want fairness, said Henry Peralta, a first-generation Dominican from South Jersey. They were only showing the party in power. We want answers. There are a bunch of things going on that are completely illegal and we have to let people know." At Saturdays rally, the crowd railed against corruption in the Dominican Republic, chanting, No pica pollo, a reference to the ruling partys practice of buying fried chicken for the poor in exchange for their vote. They also chanted Lo votamos, lo sacamos they voted them in and they can vote them out. According to JCEs last report on Dominicans voting abroad, there are 589,497 registered to vote in 58 countries around the world, up by 6.5% from the last presidential election registration process in 2016. The largest percentage of voters is in the United States with 369,922 voters registered (73.85%), including more than 31,000 in Puerto Rico, followed by Spain with 73,660 (14.71%). Dominicans locally and around the United States are requesting a thorough and transparent investigation into the cause for suspending the municipal elections on Sunday, and demand that all of JCEs board members step down for negligence and corruption. Massachusetts demonstrations in Lawrence and Boston took place Friday. On Saturday, demonstrations occurred simultaneously in New York City and Philadelphia in the U.S., in Barcelona and in London. Protests in Providence, R.I., and San Francisco are planned for Sunday, along with one in Toronto. Others have already taken place in Italy and Switzerland. The JCE has called for new municipal elections March 15 with paper ballots. Several opposition leaders objected to the use of electronic voting due to fears software could be manipulated. Luis De La Cruz of North Philadelphia said his native country needs to fix its election process in time for the May presidential election. We dont live there, but were still Dominican. We care about what happens there, De La Cruz said. I dont care about what party you belong to. We just want democracy. India on Sunday responded to Chinas concerns about restrictions on the export of medical supplies needed to combat the Coronavirus outbreak by saying a one-time exemption had been granted. The spokesperson of the Chinese embassy, Ji Rong, had pointed to complaints from Chinese medical institutions, charity organisations and local authorities that India had prohibited the export of medical products they had purchased and said India should handle Chinas much-needed items in a cooperative and constructive way. Ji pointed out the World Health Organisation (WHO) has repeatedly not recommended (or) even opposed any travel and trade restrictions. She said China hoped the Indian side could review the epidemic situation in an objective, rational and calm manner and resume normal personnel exchanges and trade between our two countries as soon as possible. ALSO WATCH | FM Nirmala Sitharaman on Coronavirus economic impact on India Soon after, external affairs ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the precautions taken by India were in accordance with WHOs advisory about the Coronavirus outbreak. Some restrictions have been imposed on the export of certain medical equipment in view of the fact that these items are in short supply here too. Just like any other country, India with a billion-plus population has the responsibility to take necessary measures to combat the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak, which if not properly managed can become a global risk, he said. Kumar added, However, responding to the needs of our Chinese friends, the government had allowed a one-time exemption for the export of some items which had been restricted for export. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had written to President Xi Jinping and offered assistance, and as a humanitarian gesture, a gift reflecting the solidarity of the people of India with the people of China was to be delivered to Wuhan by a special flight, he said. We have called upon the Chinese authorities to allow Indian citizens and those of our neighbouring countries to return by the same flight. We hope that they will give it positive consideration, Kumar said. The Indian side had on Saturday accused the Chinese side of deliberately delaying clearance for the third flight to Wuhan, at the epicentre of the outbreak, to deliver medical supplies and to bring back some 100 Indian nationals. The police in Anambra State have arrested a man for allegedly raping six underaged boys in the state. The man according to the police was arrested in Awka, the state capital, and has confessed to sleeping with the boys who are between the ages of 10 and 14 years. According to the police spokesman, Haruna Mohammed, the man, who hails from Cross River State, blamed his actions on demons. Mr Haruna said: On February 21 at about 3:27pm, following a tip-off, police detectives attached to B Division Awka arrested one Emmanuel Bassey m aged 38years of Abi LGA of Cross Rivers State but resides at Ngozika Housing Estates, Awka. Suspect allegedly had unlawful carnal knowledge against the order of nature with over six small boys of between 10 and 14 years on different occasions. Mr Haruna said the suspect has equally made a voluntary confessional statement to the police and blamed his act on demons. Mr Haruna noted that the scene of the crime was visited by police detectives and the six victims have been taken to the hospital for medical examination. Consequently,the Commissioner of Police, John Abang, has ordered for immediate transfer of the case to the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for discreet investigation after which suspect would be charged to court for prosecution, he added. The police also said they rescued a 10 years old girl who was stolen from her parents and sold for N800,000. According to Mr Haruna, the child was allegedly stolen from Akwa Ibom State since 2018 and sold to a couple in Anambra State The spokesman said the couple who bought the child have been arrested adding that they changed the girls name from Favour Asuquo to Faith Ezeugwu. On February 21, a girl child of about 10 years old reasonably suspected to have been stolen from Akwa Ibom State since 2018 and sold to a couple in Anambra State at the rate of Eight Hundred Thousand Naira (#800,000) was rescued by Police detectives attached to 33 division, Onitsha following intelligence report. Preliminary investigation revealed that the childs original name was Favour Asuqwo before her new parents the suspects who are now in police custody gave her a new name as Faith Ezeukwu after they allegedly bought her from her captors presently at large. In view of the foregoing, you are kindly requested to disseminate this massage through your medium to enable biological parents or close relatives of the victim identify her, he said. Mr Haruna said anyone with useful information about the rescued child should report at the 33 Police Station Onitsha or contact the spokesperson, Anambra State Police Command headquarters, Awka. A new study from University of Michigan biologists presents the first genetic evidence of resistance in some bats to white-nose syndrome, a deadly fungal disease that has decimated some North American bat populations. The study involved northern Michigan populations of the little brown bat, one of the most common bats in eastern North America prior to the arrival of white-nose syndrome in 2006. Since then, some populations of the small, insect-eating bat have experienced declines of more than 90%. U-M researchers collected tissue samples from wild little brown bats that survived the disease, as well as individuals killed by the fungal pathogen. They compared the genetic makeup of the two groups and found differences in genes associated with regulating arousal from hibernation, the breakdown of fats and echolocation. "Because we found differences in genes associated with regulating hibernation and breakdown of fats, it could be that bats that are genetically predisposed to be a little bit fatter or to sleep more deeply are less susceptible to the disease," said U-M's Giorgia Auteri, first author of a paper scheduled for publication Feb. 20 in the journal Scientific Reports. "Changes at these genes are suggestive of evolutionary adaptation, given that white-nose syndrome causes bats to arouse with unusual frequency from winter hibernation, contributing to premature depletion of fat reserves," said Auteri, a doctoral student in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology who conducted the study for her dissertation. The other author of the Scientific Reports paper is U-M biologist Lacey Knowles, Auteri's faculty adviser. advertisement While the study was small -- involving tissue samples from 25 little brown bats killed by white-nose syndrome and nine bats that survived the disease -- the authors say their sample size is large enough to detect genetic changes driven by natural selection. A larger follow-up study is underway, expanding both the number of bats and the areas affected by the disease, to develop a fuller picture of adaptive change that may be key to the species' survival. The fungal pathogen that causes white-nose syndrome was inadvertently introduced in the northeastern United States in 2006 and is currently spreading across the continent. Thirteen species of North American bats are currently affected, with some populations experiencing losses of 90-100%. The disease is named for a distinctive fungal growth around the muzzles and on the wings of hibernating bats. The U-M team's study area is Michigan's northern Lower Peninsula and Upper Peninsula. White-nose syndrome fungus was first detected there in 2014, and its arrival allowed the researchers to study the pathogen's initial evolutionary impact. For the study, the U-M researchers collected tissue samples from dead little brown bats found in or near hibernation sites during the winter. The hibernation sites were concentrated in the western Upper Peninsula and primarily consisted of abandoned iron and copper mines. advertisement During the summer, they also collected small tissue samples from survivors that emerged successfully from hibernation despite exposure to the disease. Surviving bats had healing wing lesions or scars from the fungus. In the laboratory, DNA was extracted from the tissues and sequenced, and the sequences were mapped to a previously generated reference genome for the species. A genome scan was conducted to test for evidence of evolutionary changes in response to white-nose syndrome. The researchers found significant differences in three genes associated with arousal from hibernation (GABARB1), breakdown of fats (cGMP-PK1) and echolocation (FOXP2), as well as a fourth gene (PLA2G7) that regulates the release of histamines from mast cells. "The function of one gene we identified hints that summer activities such as hunting via echolocation may be an important determinant of which individuals survive the winter infection period," Auteri said. "This suggests that conservation of summer foraging habitat -- not just winter hibernation sites -- may promote population recovery in bats affected by white-nose syndrome." The observed genetic differences are suggestive of very rapid -- though not unprecedented -- evolutionary adaptation driven by natural selection, according to Auteri and Knowles. "This apparent adaptation occurred very quickly, involves genes with a variety of functions which likely act across seasons in order to contribute to survivorship, and has taken place despite an observable reduction in genetic diversity associated with population declines," said Knowles, a professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and a curator at the U-M Museum of Zoology. Auteri and Knowles said it's too soon to say how the evolutionary changes they uncovered are likely to affect the little brown bat's prospects. After all, these bats have suffered dramatic population declines, and low population sizes inherently make a species more vulnerable to further perturbations. "But we're finding the hint that there could be these genetic changes that are occurring that might provide some type of survival in the future," Knowles said. "So as these variants increase, there's some hope that these bats are not all going to die from the disease itself." Because little brown bats only have one pup per year, recovery of the species would likely take a long time, according to Auteri and Knowles. Due to population losses, little brown bats have been listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and by the federal government of Canada, with a similar decision by the U.S. government pending. Stone pelting started between pro and anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protesters in Delhi's Jafrabad on Sunday (February 23). Earlier on Sunday, hundreds of women blocked a road in Jafrabad and vowed not to end the protest till the Centre revokes the CAA and the National Register of Citizens. The sit-in forced Delhi Metro Rail Corporation to block the entry and exit gates of Jaffrabad Metro station on Sunday morning after more than 500 protesters blocked the road below the Metro line and vowed not to end the agitation till the BJP-led government at the Centre revokes the CAA and the National Register of Citizens. The stone pelting started after a group of CAA supporters reached near the protest site and started raising slogans in favour of the CAA. It is still unclear that which side started pelting stones first but the situation turned ugly within no time as both sides started pelting at each other. Live TV The entry and exit gates of Maujpur and Babarpur metro stations have been closed due to the violence. Some people have been reportedly injured in the stone-pelting and police and paramilitary forces have been deployed in the area to monitor the situation. Alok Kumar, Joint Commissioner of Police (Eastern Range) said the situation is under control now but people from both sides are on the streets. He added that police officials are in touch with local leaders in order to restore normalcy in the area. Unnecessary vitamin D testing dropped dramatically in Canada after payment stopped, but Choosing Wisely guidelines also had an impact in both U.S. and Canada The old story of a farmer trying to get a stubborn mule to pull a wagon by dangling a carrot in front of its nose, or hitting its rump with a stick, may not seem to have much to do with the practice of medicine. But a new study suggests that when it comes to making the best use of health care dollars, it will take a combination of carrots and sticks to move things forward. The study looks at the effects of two initiatives that aimed to reduce the use of two blood tests that experts consider "low value" for most patients: Routine vitamin D tests, and an unnecessary thyroid test for tracking thyroid hormone levels. After an organization that advises the health care system in Ontario, Canada reported in 2010 that population-based Vitamin D screening does not improve outcomes, the province's health plan for all residents declared it wouldn't pay for low-value vitamin D tests. Soon after, the rate of testing dropped nearly 93 percent, the study shows. Patients who had a condition or medication that might lower their vitamin D levels could still get tested. But in the U.S., where no such payment change took place, 2.6 million unnecessary vitamin D screening tests happened in just one year, according to the researchers from the University of Michigan, University of Toronto and VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System who published the new findings in JAMA Internal Medicine. A few years later, as part of an education campaign called Choosing Wisely, physician professional societies issued recommendations on when not to use Vitamin D and T3 testing. And while use of the test in Ontario dropped an additional 4.5%, the use in U.S. patients covered by Veterans Health benefits or commercial insurance dropped about 14%. "Our study found small reductions in the use of unnecessary vitamin D screenings in response to recommendations from the Choosing Wisely campaign, but much greater reductions in Ontario when recommendations were complemented by policy change," says Eve Kerr, M.D., M.P.H., senior author of the new paper and a professor in the U-M Department of Internal Medicine. "The biggest lesson is that while recommendations alone can work to reduce low value care, recommendations have greater impact when they are reinforced by changes to policy and practice." Improving value Kerr heads a program at the U-M Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation called the Michigan Program on Value Enhancement. She and her colleagues used the same Choosing Wisely guideline to build an alert for clinicians who had ordered a vitamin D test of low potential value into the electronic health record at Michigan Medicine, U-M's academic medical center. In 2018, they reported that this guideline-based "carrot" had led to a positive and sustained change in orders for low-value vitamin D tests. James Henderson, Ph.D., the first author of the new paper, assistant director of MPrOVE and a data science consultant at U-M's Consulting for Statistics, Computing and Analytics Research unit, notes that the new paper's findings show that Choosing Wisely recommendations for T3 testing did not appear to have had the desired impact. T3 testing, which is no longer recommended for patients with known thyroid issues because a test called TSH is more accurate, did not decline in either the U.S. or Canada after Choosing Wisely guidelines were issued. In fact, in the study population of U.S. patients with private insurance, the rate of testing actually went up slightly. Handle with care Kerr, Henderson and their colleagues from IHPI and the VA Center for Clinical Management Research note that policy decisions for low-value care - including payment changes - must be made with care, to avoid problems with access to that type of care for patients who could benefit. For instance, the Ontario payment change exempted patients who have bone or digestive disorders that can change vitamin D levels, and patients who take certain medications that can change vitamin D absorption from food and supplements. "Payment policies are not the only effective means for reducing low-value care," says Kerr. "Indeed, sometimes restricting payment may be too blunt an approach and could lead to underuse." She adds, "Other effective policies that can be coupled with recommendations include population based education programs, communication approaches to help patients and physicians make more patient-centered decisions, decision support for doctors about low-value care, and most importantly, culture change initiatives that emphasize the responsibility of health care institutions, clinicians, and patients to provide and seek high-value, evidence-based care while avoiding low-value services." ### In addition to Kerr and Henderson, the study's authors are; Rob Holleman, M.P.H. and Mandi L. Klamerus, M.P.H. of the VA CCMR, and Zachary Bouck, M.P.H., Cherry Chu, MSc; Robin Santiago, MSc and R. Sacha Bhatia, MD, MBA of the Institute for Health Systems Solutions and Virtual Care at Women's College Hospital in Toronto, which is affiliated with the University of Toronto, where Bouck is a student and Bhatia is an associate professor of medicine. Reference: JAMA Internal Medicine, doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2019.7143 To get an appreciation of 29-year-old Aneles torment, one must start from the beginning of her tragic story. Her recollection begins on February 17, 2018 at a house she and her husband rented in Pumula, Bulawayo. She vividly remembers that on that fateful Saturday afternoon they had invited family friends for belated Valentines Day festivities, which included drinking and braaing. Her mind captured every bit of it as if part of her knew that she would no longer be able to enjoy her husbands embrace and romance for long. Anele and her husband were a typical married couple. He worked the regular 9-5 job, while she took care of their three-year-old son. During weekends, he often enjoyed downing the wise waters, but this did not affect their unions bliss in any way. The couple, who were married in 2015, would infrequently argue, but their verbal spats would often be innocuous. It, however, changed two weeks after the Valentines Day get-together when some family friends visited on a Saturday for a few drinks with her husband. Later, the merry team of imbibers decided to take their bingeing to a local pub. Around midnight, Anele, who refused to share her last name with The Sunday Mail, was awoken by loud knocks on the door. I think he knocked for a long time because when I opened the door he started beating me up. I was shocked because he had never laid a hand on me before, she said. I tried to ask why he was beating me but he kept hitting me with fists and open palms. I ran to the kitchen and I grabbed a knife to scare him off, but I accidentally stabbed him on the side. He staggered and collapsed. I was so scared that I called out to our neighbours. The scale of the tragedy overwhelmed her and she lost consciousness, only to wake up to ambulance sirens, hovering police officers and a wailing mother-in-law. The neighbours had called the ambulance but it arrived too late. They then called Aneles mother-in-law and the police. It all seemed surreal as she tried to process the fact that she had ended the life of her Sthandwa, as she used to call him. Anele was handcuffed and sent to Mlondolozi Female Prison, which was to become her new home awaiting trial. She was subsequently condemned to spend a quarter of a century behind bars. It has been roughly two years since her world came crashing down on her. The fact that she has served only two of her lengthy 25-year sentence pales in comparison to the guilt and torment that haunts her every night. Her mind keeps replaying and trying to make sense of all the events that took place from that last Valentines celebration to the day she took the life of the love of her life. She still has many unanswered questions. What had caused her husbands sudden inexplicable violent behaviour? Had he taken drugs? She says her State-appointed lawyer failed to convince the High Court that a man who had no history of violence suddenly became threatening. Anele was recently transferred to Chikurubi Female Prison. Here, she was met with an annual tradition Valentines music and dance celebrations that many inmates look forward to every year. But for Anele, the mere mention of Valentines Day is traumatic for her. She has since been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. We used to celebrate this day with my husband. Up to now I still cannot understand what happened. I cannot accept it, she said on the sidelines of Valentines Day celebrations held at Chikurubi Female Prison recently. Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services public relations officer Superintendent Meya Khanyezi said such events are meant to be therapeutic for inmates. We have noticed there is a big gap between female inmates and society. So we are trying to do a lot of initiatives to involve the society. There is a lot of stigma. When a woman commits a crime, society, the husband and in-laws all abandon her. We now work with several organisations to host events such as these. Music and dance is therapeutic to inmates, she said. The celebrations are usually organised by a local voluntary organisation, Heart of a Woman Trust. Ms Verna Zisengwe, the founder, said the initiative was meant to reassure inmates that society still loves them. We held a Zumba fitness fundraiser to mobilise funds to give them a Valentines Day treat. We try to help whenever we can to make their lives pleasant during incarceration. This was just our gesture to show some love to them this Valentines, she said. Congratulations, nslrelief.com got a very good Social Media Impact Score! Show it by adding this HTML code on your site: Nslrelief.com scored 68 Social Media Impact. Social Media Impact score is a measure of how much a site is popular on social networks. 3.5/5.0 Stars by Social Team This CoolSocial report was updated on 9 Oct 2013, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. nslrelief.com is very popular in Twitter and Facebook. It has 53 twitter followers. Furthermore its facebook page has 11 likes. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared, liked or recommended the nslrelief homepage on Facebook + the total number of page likes (if nslrelief has a Facebook fan page). The total number of people who shared the nslrelief homepage on Google Plus by a google +1 button. The total number of people who shared the nslrelief homepage on Delicious. The total number of people who shared the nslrelief homepage on StumbleUpon. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared the nslrelief homepage on Twitter + the total number of nslrelief followers (if nslrelief has a Twitter account). Basic Information PAGE TITLE Student Loan Relief, Student Loan Help and Student Loan Consolidation! DESCRIPTION If you' re looking for student loan relief, student loan help, or student loan consolidation, National Student Loan Relief is the place for you. KEYWORDS OTHER KEYWORDS student, student loan, forgiveness, loan forgiveness, relief, loans, student loan relief The URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the address of the site. CoolSocial advanced keyword analysis tool is able to detect and analyze every keyword on each page of a site. The description meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. The title found in the head section of the homepage. The keywords meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. Domain and Server DOCTYPE HTML 5.0 CHARSET AND LANGUAGE English (United States) UTF-8English (United States) DETECTED LANGUAGE English English SERVER Apache OPERATIVE SYSTEM Linux Linux Represents HTML declared type (e.g.: XHTML 1.1, HTML 4.0, the new HTML 5.0) The language of nslrelief.com as detected by CoolSocial algorithms. Type of server and offered services. Character set and language of the site. Operative System running on the server. Site Traffic trend during the last year. Only available for sites ranked <= 100000 in the world. Referring domains for nslrelief.com by MajesticSeo. High values are a sign of site importance over the web and on web engines. Facebook link FACEBOOK PAGE LINK FOUND FACEBOOK PAGE www.facebook.com/nationalstudentloanrelief DESCRIPTION student loan debt consolidation LIKES 11 PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT 1 PAGE TYPE Bank/financial institution TIMELINE PAGE TIMELINE The URL of the found Facebook page. The type of Facebook page. The total number of people who like website Facebook page. A Facebook page link can be found in the homepage or in the robots.txt file. The description of the Facebook page describes website and its services to the social media users. Facebook Timeline is the new layout of Facebook pages. The total number of people who tagged or talked about website Facebook page in the last 7-10 days. Twitter account link TWITTER PAGE LINK FOUND TWITTER PAGE twitter.com/#!/nslrelief DESCRIPTION ACCOUNT CREATED ON 10 Apr 2013 LOCATION TWEETS 116 FOLLOWERS 53 LISTED 0 715 SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Arguing to center LGBTQ people in contemporary discussions about, and activism for, civil rights, certainly risks igniting an inflammatory comparative oppressions debate about which groups are most marginalized and under assault in U.S. society. Racism is alive and well in America. Voter suppression efforts, particularly against African Americans, are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to disenfranchising African Americans. White nationalism and more pervasive and often less dramatic and thoroughgoing institutionalized white supremacy, endorsed and encouraged by the highest office in the land, validate a reign of terror and more general de-valuing of the lives of people of color, particularly African Americans, in the U.S. Immigrants of color are being caged and criminalized. And one could go onunfortunately, on and on. When it comes to equal rights, and hence civil rights, for women, well, Virginia just recently became the 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, and the ERA still faces substantial obstaclesand heated defiancein making its way into the Constitution. Our nation still trembles, indeed inflames, when it comes to validating this simple statement statement in the ERA : Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of sex. And, of course, the all-out assault on abortion rights underscores the ongoing assault on womens civil rights. And yet, while it is indisputable that women and people of color have been denied civil rights, their personhood has nonetheless been acknowledged in civil rights legislation. The 1964 Civil Rights Act outlawed discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. This language does not include, apparently, LGBTQ people. The Supreme Court is currently deliberating a case brought heard last October arguing that the word sex should include sexual orientation and gender identity. While the verdict is not in, a good portion of the justices discussion and questions seemed less than promising for the cases success. For example, Justice Samuel Alito at one point responded to attorney Pamela Karlan, representing two of the plaintiffs, Youre trying to change the meaning of what Congress understood sex to mean in 1964. But beyond the question of whether or not LGBTQ people will find their collective personhood recognized and protected in U.S. law, active efforts are alive and well across the nation and in the Trump administration to exclude LGBTQ from already existing legal protections, rolling back rights already granted. The Iowa GOP, for example, recently filed a bill to remove transgender people from the states civil rights protections. These rights were written into law for LGBTQ people in 2007 when the state added sexual orientation and gender identity to its anti-discrimination law. According to Alex Bollinger, reporting for LGBTQ Nation, passage of the bill would make it the first state to give civil rights protections to transgender people or any class at all and then take them away. Passage of the bill would mean one could be fired, denied housing, and more, simply for being transgender, for being who you are. In fact, transgender people in America are already enduringand have persistently endured the consequences of this lack of protection. Last December Lola Fadulu, in The New York Times, wrote an extensive piece chronicling the Trump administrations myriad rollbacks of Obama-era executive orders. The piece begins with the story of Nicolas Talbott, a transgender graduate student at Kent State University who is also enrolled in the Reserve Officers Training Corps program. Because of Trumps ban on transgender people in the military, Talbott was informed that he could stay in the program but would not be eligible to actually become an officer and would also no longer be eligible for the health insurance and student loan forgiveness he had been promised and which others in the program received. Fadulu provides a laundry list of such rollbacks and consequences individuals have suffered. The onslaught on LBGTQ people, and transgender people in particular, is intensifying and widespread, and they are being written out of the law. Or else negatively written into it. The Governor of Tennessee recently signed legislation enabling foster care agencies to discriminate against LGBTQ parents. Back in 2017, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos began rolling back Obama-era protections for transgender students, denying them equal protection in their schools. And, of course, the nations Attorney General William Barr freely denounces LGBTQ people in the name of religious liberty. Heres Barr, enumerating in a recent speech at Notre dame law School what he sees as the secular assault on religious liberty: The first front relates to the content of public school curriculum. Many states are adopting curriculum that is incompatible with traditional religious principles according to which parents are attempting to raise their children. They often do so without any opt out for religious families. Thus, for example, New Jersey recently passed a law requiring public schools to adopt an LGBT curriculum that many feel is inconsistent with traditional Christian teaching. Similar laws have been passed in California and Illinois. And the Orange County Board of Education in California issued an opinion that parents who disagree with the instructional materials related to gender, gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation may not excuse their children from this instruction. Hatred of LGBTQ people is being legalized, actually written into law, such that they have no legal grounds to challenge discrimination or to seek protection. Law and language dont always materialize into reality. Historically, when it comes to marginalizing women and people of color nd denying them the rights of liberty, life and equal protection, the law and language havent served. But they are there and not unimportant. Getting Civil Rights language and law for LGBTQ people matters. Isla Fisher had a delightful encounter with one of her biggest fans on Saturday - a gorgeous little piglet. The 44-year-old actress shared an Instagram snap in which she is cuddling up to the cute pink critter on a film set. The Australian actress, who was rugged up in a huge brown puffer jacket and black woolen jumper, absolutely beamed at her new piggy pal. So cute! Isla Fisher (right) had a delightful encounter with one of her biggest fans on Saturday - a gorgeous little piglet. She shared the above snap, taken on set, to Instagram Isla had on a full face of makeup, clearly ready for a day in front of the camera, and had her hair loosely pulled back with a butterfly clip. The pig, who was on a lead, regarded her warmly as the pair made a fast connection. The Now You See Me actress captioned the adorable snap: 'Not all my fans smell amazing!' The Now You See Me actress captioned the adorable snap: 'Not all my fans smell amazing!' The stunning redhead recently celebrated her 44th birthday with a selfie showing off her youthful visage. 'This is what 44 looks like,' the Confessions of a Shopaholic actress wrote in the caption, referencing her age. Fellow Australian A-lister Naomi Watts was quick to chime in, making a comment below the photo. Youthful: The stunning redhead recently celebrated her 44th birthday with a selfie showing off her youthful visage. 'This is what 44 looks like,' she captioned the snap (pictured) 'Liar! That is what 17 looks like! Happy birthday to the bestest, smaaahtest, funniest of em all,' she commented. The former Home and Away alum is a mum to three young children with her husband-of-10-years, Sacha Baron Cohen, 48. The Aussie expat currently resides in Los Angeles with Sacha and their children, Olive, 12, Elula, eight, and Montgomery, four. Online quotes will help you get in touch with the best offers on the market and obtain an advantageous deal, said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company Using online estimates will tell the policyholders if they still pay fair prices for their coverage. Comparing prices from multiple companies will help drivers have a better view of the market. When shopping online, it is important to follow the next tips: Compare prices every six months. Insurance rates are based on multiple factors that may change a lot in 6 months. Legislation changes, recent callbacks, increased criminality or extreme phenomena frequency will modify the prices. Also, major life events influence costs. Check prices before renewing the contract. If the new rates seem too high, and there is no reason for that, ask the insurer to provide some explanations. Do not forget that some companies practice price optimization tactics. Getting online quotes will help drivers get better rates. Online quotes will help drivers save money. Online forms will help drivers customize an affordable policy. These forms take into consideration multiple options and coverage limits. The user can simulate various scenarios and their respective prices. Online questionnaires also provide a list of discounts. Based on the added info, some questionnaires will highlight the available discounts. They will be automatically applied during the quote process. Some questionnaires will even offer to help you get more discounts. Usually, there will be a big button named Search for more discounts. Making several coverage changes will help drivers save money. There is a wide range of discounts and customization options that will help drivers save money. For example, the Paid-In-Full discount may help drivers save as much as 10-15%. Bundling auto with home insurance can lower the costs by as much as 20%. Compare-autoinsurance.org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. For more information, free quotes and money-saving tips, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.org/. An artist from Chandigarh has made a portrait of the US President Donald Trump on a single piece of almond, which is less than an inch in size. Aman Singh Gulati, a Guinness Book of World Record holder for making paintings and portraits on almonds, has made a colourful and smiling photo of the US President. Ahead of US President Donald Trump's visit to India, an artist based out of Tamil Nadu named M Elanchezian has also carved a special portrait of US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Modi on a watermelon. Along with their portrait, Elanchezian also carved 'the world's wonder' Taj Mahal on the summer fruit. Donald Trump and Melania Trump along with daughter Ivanka Trump will visit India on February 24-25. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Email To : Multiple e-mail addresses must be separated with a comma character(maximum 200 characters) Email To is required. Your Full Name: (optional) Your Email Address: Your Email Address is required. MUMBAI/Bengaluru: Gangster Ravi Pujari, a wanted accused in 51 cases in Mumbai including murder, extortion and shootouts over the past 24 years, will be brought to India from South Africa on Monday. Pujari has been named in at least 200 cases across the country. He was arrested in Senegal in West Africa in January 2019. He jumped bail and fled to South Africa, where he was involved in a drug trafficking and extortion racket. According to Indian intelligence officials, Pujari had assumed the identity of Anthony Fernandes in a remote South African village and held a Burkina Faso passport. On a tip-off from Indias external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing, a Senegal police team flew to South Africa last week and caught the 52-year-old gangster. He was being brought to the country by a team of officials, including senior Indian Police Service officers from his home state of Karnataka, where he is wanted in 79 cases. [We are] coming with him [Pujari] from Senegal. Now in Paris. [We are] coming by Air France and [would be] there [in India] by midnight, a police official, who is part of the team, told PTI. The National Investigation Agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Research and Analysis Wing would join the investigation, officials said. A Karnataka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, He [Pujari] is being brought to the country even as we speak and is likely to land in the early hours of Monday. Teams involving ADGP [additional director general of police] Amar Kumar Pandey and joint commissioner of police Sandeep Patil are involved in the mission, apart from a few department officials from Mangaluru who have tracked him and his family for years. Officials said extraordinary precautions were being taken, given his record. We want to keep this quiet till he is on our soil, the police officer cited above said. After his arrest in Senegal, the Mumbai crime branchs anti-extortion cell (AEC) compiled a dossier with details of 20 cases against him in the city for his extradition. The selected cases were mostly registered under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Act, said an AEC official. All case papers were written in Marathi and were translated in English, which took at least two months. Apart from the documents, we collected biometric proof, including DNA samples collected from his family. The crime branch then handed over the compiled documents to the additional chief secretary (home), who sent them to Union home ministry to start the extradition process. A Mumbai crime branch officer said the police in Karnataka, Kerala, and Gujarat have also prepared similar dossiers, which were submitted to the ministry that sent them to the authorities in Senegal. Hundreds of Buddhist monks on Sunday offered a special prayer in Bihar to contain the impact of deadly coronavirus in China. The coronavirus has killed more than 2,300 in China and has infected nearly 20,000 others globally. The virus originated from Wuhan in Hubei province in December last year and has since then spread to various parts around the world. Several countries including India have airlifted their citizens from the coronavirus-hit Chinese city. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tesco Ireland is proud to confirm it has reached a monumental fundraising milestone having raised 5 million over the course of its five-year partnership with CHI at Temple Street with stores across Leitrim raising a whopping 81,493.00 throughout this period. The funds raised to date have helped the hospital to buy over 270 pieces of vital medical equipment for patients including ultrasound scanners, patient monitors and respiratory equipment. Tesco Ireland first chose Temple Street as its Charity Partner in 2014 following a selection process guided by Tesco colleagues nationwide and since then has grown to become one of the largest fundraising achievements in the private sector in Ireland. Tesco is also announcing a further extension to its partnership for one-year for 2020 and continuing with its ambition of purchasing much-needed equipment to aid the treatment of sick children with the aim of raising an additional 1 million. Over the past five years, Tesco Ireland and its 13,000 colleagues have passionately rolled out a dedicated programme of fundraising initiatives that include the Great Irish Bake for Temple Street, in-store face-painting and activity days as well as Halloween parties in aid of Trick or Treat for Temple Street. The fundraising initiatives are fully colleague led and customer supported. In April 2019 in one day alone, Tesco colleagues and customers in Leitrim raised 893.00 in aid of Temple Street as part of their annual Great Irish Bake initiative. These funds specifically helped Temple Street to purchase specialised Ophthalmology YAG Laser which is used to improve a patients vision after cataract surgery. To date, Tesco customers have generously supported five annual Great Irish Bakes in aid of Temple Street, purchasing approximately 15,000 buns per year. Since 2016, Tesco has sold over 300,000 Charity bouquets with a 1 donation from each sale going towards the hospital. During festive seasons, Tesco sold 100,000 of their much-loved plush toys Cedric the Bear and Jingles the Penguin with proceeds going towards Temple Street. In addition, dedicated Tesco colleagues have generously donated over 70,000 hours of their time fundraising for Temple Street. Speaking about the fundraising milestone, Kari Daniels, Chief Executive, Tesco Ireland said: Over the past five years, the Tesco Ireland Charity Partner Programme has inspired and motived our colleagues and customers to pool our strengths and passion in support of a cause that is close to all of our hearts. Were firm believers that every little help makes a big difference, and our colleague-lead fundraising is living proof of this. I want to thank our colleagues and customers in Leitrim who have been so supportive of our efforts and I want to heartily commend the dedication of every single member of the Temple Street team for the steadfast work they do every day to look after sick children with pride, skill and compassion. We have big plans for our work with the hospital for 2020 and look forward to bringing those to life this year. Denise Fitzgerald, Chief Executive, Temple Street Foundation commented: We are truly honoured that Tesco is extending our charity partnership for another year and I want to congratulate everyone involved on reaching such a momentous fundraising milestone. As a direct result of their support over the past five years, funds have been invested where they are needed most right across the hospital, directly benefitting sick children and their families who depend on Temple Street to provide the urgent care they need. Put simply, these funds have helped to save lives and for that we commend Tesco colleagues for their dedication and Tesco customers or their loyalty and generosity. Each year Temple Street treats over 147,000 children from across the country. For thousands of children who need specialised care, Temple Street is the only hospital in which they can be treated. Through this Tesco charity partner programme, Tesco colleagues and customers have helped children from all over Ireland get better and be real life heroes. Health minister of Japan has apologised after a woman who was allowed to disembark coronavirus-stricken cruise ship tested positive for the virulent virus on February 23. The woman believed to be in her 60s was allowed to leave the Diamond Princess on Wednesday after a two week quarantine period was found to be positive after a test in Tochigi Prefecture, north of Tokyo, as per reports. Katsunobu Kato, the health minister told a news conference in Tokyo on Saturday evening that 23 people who had disembarked on Wednesday and Thursday had not carried any further since before Feb 5, and the ministry is trying to locate them for retests. READ: Hong Kongers Make Their Own Face Masks Amid Global Shortages To Battle Coronavirus Over 2,400 dead in China Kato said that they deeply apologise for the situation caused due to their negligence. He added that necessary preventive measures will be taken to contain the spread of the virus. Amid the unprecedented coronavirus outbreak, the death toll in China rose to over 2,400 as 96 more people died in Hubei province, according to Hubei's health commission. The authorities further also reported 630 new confirmed cases which brought the total within China to nearly 77,000. However, China has also reported a significant decline in new cases as well as deaths caused by the deadly virus. READ: Hong Kong Department Of Health Gives Virus Update Virus spread more than 25 countries First detected in the city of Wuhan, in Hubei Province of China, the virus outbreak has now spread across more than 25 countries since December 2019. More than 1,700 people have recovered from the disease, whereas, nearly 12,500 coronavirus patients have by now been discharged from hospitals. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has dubbed the virus as COVID-19. Even though China announced a significant drop in new infected cases, reports have indicated that the number of cases has surged in South Korea, Iran, Italy and Lebanon. The World Health Organisation has reportedly welcomed the decline in new cases in China but continues to be concerned about the growing number of infections in other countries. The real disturbing trend, as reported by WHO, is that the new cases have no links to China such as travel history or contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19, prompting the mystery around how these individuals were infected. READ: Coronavirus Outbreak: Air India Cancels Flights To Shanghai, Hong Kong Till June 30 READ: First Batch Of Passengers From Japan's Cruise Ship Arrive In Hong Kong The White House is about to turn to Congress and request emergency funds in an attempt to curb the coronavirus outbreak, four people with knowledge of the request told Politico. So far, the vast majority of cases of the respiratory virus are in China where it originated, but it has been spreading across the globe, and over 30 people are infected in the United States. Because scientists know so little about the virus, including its incubation time, they're worried an outbreak could eventually hit the U.S. But it looks like the amount the White House plans to ask for $1 billion might be lower than some public health officials consider necessary, per Politico. If that's all there is, it could reportedly be exhausted swiftly by vaccine development, lab tests, and other investments. For comparison, the Obama administration requested $6 billion to fight Ebola in 2014 and received $5.4 billion. One White House official told Politico the amount is still subject to change, however. Read more at Politico. More stories from theweek.com Harvard scientist predicts coronavirus will infect up to 70 percent of humanity Warren Buffett says he'd 'certainly' vote for Mike Bloomberg, but will have to 'see what happens' with Bernie Sanders Don't panic about Bernie Historian Joseph Carvalho III, former executive director of the Springfield Museums Association, is author of John Browns Transformation: The Springfield Years, 1846-1849 in the Winter 2020 issue of Westfield State Universitys Historical Journal of Massachusetts. The 50-page article with illustrations offers new insight into how Browns time in Springfield, which early on was an important stop on the Underground Railroad, helped shape his militant opposition to slavery and his assault on the federal armory of Harpers Ferry in what is now West Virginia, as well as earlier attacks by him and his followers on pro-slavery advocates in Kansas. His militant actions cost the lives of three of his own sons and led to his execution at a time when laws - particularly the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 - allowing escaped slaves to be hunted and returned to their owners helped to radicalize a broader range of individuals to engage in efforts to abolish slavery. Carvalhos piece expands on prior accounts, including his own, on how Springfield, where Brown was a partner in a wool grading business whose rented warehouse became a hiding place for fugitive slaves, contributed to the militant path Brown would take in his efforts to end the institution of slavery in the country. It highlights some of the anti-slavery leaders among the citys African American residents, as well as others, who early on were radical in their opposition to what was referred to among abolitionists as Slave Power - the political and economic influence of slave owners - whom Brown encountered as well as the fact that the city had been part of the Underground Railroad since the 1830s. Brown returned to the city in 1851 to form the Springfield branch of his militia that included more than two dozen men and women. Sharing aspects of his research, Carvalho said, Much has been written about the abolitionist John Brown since his hanging at Harpers Ferry in 1859." His biographers mention his time in Springfield in terms of his failed wool business," Carvalho said. "A number of them have referred to his involvement in the Underground Railroad and his organizing of the U.S. League of Gileadites, an extra-legal anti-slavery militia in Springfield. My article documents the fact that John Brown was welcomed into a fully former and capably led African-American community which had already existed in Springfield prior to Browns arrival in Springfield. He added, John Browns attitude towards slavery was influenced by black leaders such as Free Churchs - todays St. Johns Congregational - ministers, especially Rev. John Newton Mars who always preached militant response to the Slave Power in America. In fact, Rev. Mars and other Springfield African-American leaders had already begun organizing themselves into a self-defense association prior to John Browns return to Springfield when he helped organize the League of Gileadites, Carvalho said. My research has also emphasized the importance of John Browns meeting with Frederick Douglass in Springfield, a seminal moment where John Brown convinced Douglass that American slavery could not be ended through peaceful means. This all elevates the importance of John Browns Springfield experience and its effect on his future activities in Kansas, and Harpers Ferry. Browns 1859 assault, intended to arms slaves and eventually establish their own community in the mountains of Maryland and Virginia, failed after two days with the death of many of Browns men and the arrival of military forces under Colonel Robert E. Lee. The wounded, Connecticut-born abolitionist who grew up in Ohio was tried and executed for treason and murder at the age of 59. His hanging served to deepen divisions within the country around the practice of slavery, and history has portrayed his militancy as an abolitionist at times as born out of a religious fanaticism as well as a moral righteousness built on opposition to laws that continued to allow African Americans to be treated as property. As Carvalho notes in his piece, Browns actions in Kansas and at Harpers Ferry were both flash points in the countrys evolution toward Civil War that lead to Emancipation. Brown, who lived among Springfields African American residents, is reported to have written before his execution, I, John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away but with blood. Carvalhos article contains an editorial, which appeared Dec. 1, 1859, the day before Browns execution, in the Springfield Republican by editor and publisher Samuel Bowles II, and reads in part, A brave old man goes to the gallows for what he considered a patriotic and Christian deed, in which he had no personal objects to accomplish, but sacrificed property and life to a benevolent purpose. Frederick Douglass, who escaped slavery in Maryland and whom Brown met in Springfield in 1847, is quoted as saying, though a white gentleman, Brown is in sympathy with the black man, and as deeply interested in our cause, as though his own soul had been pierce with the iron of slavery." Brown, whose father had also opposed slavery, would have been 46 when he came to Springfield. He had remarried after the death of his first wife and had fathered a number of children, one of whom died of consumption as an infant and is buried in Springfield. Springfields role in fighting to end slavery Massachusetts became one of the first states to effectively abolish it in 1783 has long been an area of specialty for Carvalho. He is one of the main contributing authors to The Struggle for Freedom, the History of African Americans in Western Massachusetts that was published in 2012 as part of The Republicans Heritage series. His second edition of Black Families in Hampden County, Massachusetts 16501865 was published by the New England Historic Genealogical Society in 2011. By Angel Krasimirov SOFIA (Reuters) - Fewer than 200 far-right activists gathered in downtown Sofia on Saturday after the country's top court upheld the city mayor's ban on their annual torchlight procession honouring a Bulgarian general who led a pro-Nazi organization in the 1930s and 1940s. Held every February since 2003, the Lukov March - which attracts right-wing extremists from various parts of Europe and Bulgarian youths - has been repeatedly banned by the Sofia municipality in recent years, but until now the prohibition had been overturned by the Supreme Court. This year the activists were restricted to the laying of wreaths at the house where pro-Nazi General Hristo Lukov, who served as Bulgaria's minister of war from 1935-1938, was killed. Lukov was known for fostering close ties with senior Nazi officials in Germany. He pushed through a Bulgarian law modelled on the 1935 Nuremberg Laws in Germany that stripped Jews of their civic rights. Far-right groups from Germany, Sweden, Hungary, Estonia and other countries have joined the Lukov March in previous years. On Friday, police in the German city of Dortmund stopped nine far-right activists from boarding a flight to Sofia, where they had intended to take part in the annual parade. The passports of the nine were temporarily confiscated, police said in a statement. A few hundred people gathered at a counter-protest under the motto "No Nazis on the streets" in central Sofia a few hours before the procession. The Lukov March has prompted concern in local media about the rise of the far-right in the Balkan state. Bulgaria's government, most of its political parties and several Jewish organisations, including the World Jewish Congress, had called for the march to be suspended. Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva said that the ideologies of behind the Lukov March and a shooting in the German town of Hanau, where nine people were killed on Wednesday, were little different. Story continues "I also make a connection with the Lukov March, which unfortunately takes place in Bulgaria," Zaharieva said. "I call on the young people not to blindly believe in ideologies that are against humanity, because that is not much different from what happened in Hanau. There was nothing democratic and legal about neo-Nazi chants." Bulgaria fought in World War Two on Germany's side, though the government of King Boris III refused Adolf Hitler's demand to deport the country's Jews to death camps in Nazi-occupied Poland and elsewhere. (Reporting by Angel Krasimirov; Editing by Alex Richardson) WASHTENAW COUNTY, MI -- The Washtenaw County Health Department inspected more than 200 restaurants and food service facilities in January, and seven had three or more serious violations. Leftys Cheesesteak in Ypsilanti received five priority violations the most serious violation most likely to lead to food-borne illness, per state law. Six other restaurants around the county received priority violations during routine inspections. Inspectors visit restaurants twice per year, typically unannounced, according to the county. Issues deemed priority and priority foundation, a mid-level violation, must be corrected at the time of inspection or within 10 days. If diners have a complaint about a restaurant or experienced suspected foodborne illness, they may call Environmental Health at 734-222-3800. Below is a searchable table of January 2020 inspection results. You can search by restaurant name or city, or you can click the search button without selecting either restaurant name or city to get a list of all results. Each of the columns in the table is sortable by clicking on the column header. Database by Scott Levin. Sorry, but your browser does not support frames. You can follow this link to search the Washtenaw County Public Health Department's restaurant inspection reports to see specific details about the violations noted by the inspectors. A description of the different types of violations can be found at the end of this post. Here are excerpts from the January 2020 restaurant inspection reports of the restaurants with the largest number of priority violations. Corrections were fixed during the routine inspection or by a noted follow-up inspection: Leftys Cheesesteak, 505 S. Huron St., Ypsilanti, inspected Jan. 22: The restaurant was found using unapproved bleach in the dishwashing process and in wiping buckets. Restaurants must use bleach for sanitizing surfaces that contact food, but the bleach must be EPA registered. An inspector found raw beef stored above and next to ready-to-eat food. It was corrected by moving the patties to the bottom shelf, where meat should be stored. The restaurants mop sink faucet was moveable and could be left in the sink below the flood rim. Restaurants must have a faucet that is airgapped from the spout of the faucet from the rim of the mop sink at all times. An inspector found cleaning chemicals stored on a shelf next to and above single-use utensils in the storage area. Restaurants must keep chemicals away from food surfaces and serving tools. It was corrected by moving the cleaning products away from the utensils. An employee incorrectly washed utensils by placing dish soap and bleach in a container, used a scrubber dipped in the soap and bleach solution to clean a container and did not sanitize container. Health inspectors instructed management to teach employees the correct method: wash dishes with soap, rinse dishes with clean water, dip dishes in approved chlorine sanitizer and allow dishes to air dry. One Bowl Restaurant, 1220 S. University Ave. Suite 101, Ann Arbor, inspected Jan. 16: Officials saw an employee holding cooked chicken in their bare hands. Food law requires employees to handle ready-to-eat food with a barrier such as gloves or tongs. Notes from the follow-up inspection on Jan. 30 show the violation was corrected. An inspector found a two-liter bottle of soda submerged in the ice machine. Ice used for cooling cannot be used for consumption. The violation was corrected by the follow-up inspection. Two five-gallon buckets of Pho soup were stored at the incorrect temperature from improper cooling. The restaurant discarded the soups during the inspection. The inspector noted raw chicken stored above cooked chicken in the walk-in cooler. They also saw raw chicken above raw beef and fish and in the drawer prep cooler. Raw food should be stored below ready-to-eat foods and raw chicken should be stored below raw fish and beef. The violation was corrected by the follow-up inspection. Chinese Tonite Restaurant, 1127 S. Main St., Chelsea, inspected Jan. 17: An inspector found entire contents of the loading cooler several degrees above the required 41 degrees for about two and a half hours. The restaurant corrected this during the inspection by putting dry ice in the cooler to bring the temperature down while waiting for a repair person. An inspector saw the restaurant re-using or storing food in multiple metal cans. Some cans were in poor condition. Employees corrected the violation by discarding the food in the bad cans and transferring the rest into food grade plastic containers, according to the report. Health officials saw an employee use bare hands to put fried food into a bag. The restaurant corrected it by throwing out the food and instructing the employee to wash hands and use gloves after food is cooked. Haabs Restaurant, 18 W. Michigan Ave., Ypsilanti, inspected Jan. 17: The inspector saw several moldy lemons in the walk-in cooler in the basement. The inspector noted this violation was observed at a previous inspection and required the owners to submit a risk control plan to the health department. Restaurant officials threw out the lemons at the time of the inspection. Co-owner David Kabat said the spoiled produce was a small amount among hundreds of items of produce. Chemical sanitizer concentration used in the industrial dishwasher was 0 parts-per-million. Food law requires the concentration to be between 50 and 100 ppm, or according to the manufacturers instructions. Kabat said the dishwasher was fixed the day of the inspection. The inspector noticed the dishwasher disposing of water onto the floor, not into a drain. Kabat said the dishwasher was fixed the day of the inspection. Red Brick Kitchen and Bar, 8093 Main St., Dexter, inspected Jan. 9: An inspector noticed several foods still in coolers past their expiration date, including pesto, ranch, cheeses, egg whites, prime rib and more. The restaurant threw out the food. A bucket and a six-inch deep pan of tomato basil soup was found several degrees warmer than the required temperature of ready-to-eat food in a cooler. The restaurant threw out the food. Several chemical-based sanitizers were found near foods in the kitchen. Toxic chemicals must be stored below and away from food and food-contact surfaces to minimize contamination risks. The restaurant moved the chemical cleaners to the appropriate areas. Satchels BBQ, 3035 Washtenaw Ave., Ann Arbor, inspected Jan. 22: An inspector saw an employee incorrectly washing dishes in a sink with sanitizing liquid, only dipping the dish in the sanitizer for about two seconds before placing it on the drying rack. Food inspectors say dishes must be completely submerged for 30 seconds. The employee corrected the violation by following the described method. The inspector believed the walk-in cooler started to increase in temperature, but it is unclear as to how long the cooler has been starting to rise in temperature, according to the violation. The owner serviced the cooler and added coolant by the follow-up inspection on Jan. 29. A self-serve container of cut lemons in the dining area did not have tongs nor a cover. Employees covered the lemons and set out tongs for customer use. Taste Kitchen, 521 E. Liberty St., Ann Arbor, inspected Jan. 7: An inspector found octopus stored up to nine degrees higher than the required cold holding temperature for unprepared food in a container but determined the container was over-filled and causing the temperature issue. The employee unstacked the octopus. Ice wands, used in food cooling, were found laying on a shelf in a freezer without a cover to protect the food contact surfaces. Restaurants should protect anything that may touch food later to prevent contamination. The ice and espresso machines did not have airgaps and piping for the machines had fallen into a floor drain. County health department officials inspect all food service establishments and report any violations online. There are three levels of violations, according to Michigan food regulations: The company, which has over 1,100 employees and is based in San Francisco, had been expected to pursue an initial public offering. But after the rocky I.P.O. of Uber and the failure of WeWorks planned offering, some companies have instead pursued the surer path of a sale rather than face potentially skeptical investors. Last month, another successful fintech start-up, Plaid, sold itself to Visa for $5.3 billion rather than stage an I.P.O. Plaids business is also focused on consumer data, serving as the middlemen between the big financial firms that have that data and the start-ups that need it. The deal negotiations were earlier reported by The Wall Street Journal. Credit Karma was started in 2007 by Kenneth Lin, the current chief executive, and two co-founders, after Mr. Lin had trouble acquiring his own credit score. Until about a decade ago, consumers generally had to buy a credit score directly from the three major credit bureaus. Otherwise, the most likely opportunity for individuals to get a sense of their creditworthiness came just as they were applying for a loan when it was too late to do anything to improve their lot. Signing up for the site became a rite of passage for Americans looking to get their credit score in shape to apply for a mortgage. In addition to providing credit scores from TransUnion and Equifax, Credit Karma offers advice on how the scores could be improved by doing things like lowering credit card balances. The company made its money by offering its customers new credit cards and online loans, based on their credit scores. When customers accepted the offers, Credit Karma would receive payments of a few hundred dollars, though it closely guarded the details of these deals. Police are investigating a self-inflicted shooting Saturday at the Woodland Park Range, authorities said. Mayor Keith Kazmark posted about the incident on Facebook Saturday evening. It happened around 5 p.m., according to police. The wounded 40-year-old man was taken to the Saint Josephs Regional Medical Center in Paterson, the post said. According to TapInto, the victim who is yet to be identified by authorities is from Connecticut. The range reopened Sunday, but representatives declined to comment. The investigation is ongoing. Tennyson Donnie Coleman may be reached at tcoleman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @TennysonTV. Find him on Facebook. Both units have a long and illustrious military history and this weekend members of the BC Dragoons and Rocky Mountain Rangers got together for a training exercise. Area residents most likely heard the exercises that used blank rounds to simulate the combat assaults by both units at the Vernon military camp. The Kelowna-based BCDs are an armoured unit, while the Rangers out of Kamloops are an infantry unit. The joint exercise was the product of BCD Lt.-Col. Kevin Mead and RMR Lt.-Col. Amadeo Vecchio. It has been decades since the two units conducted exercises together and the troops ran through several scenarios to better mesh as a fighting force. It's our soldiers coming together and sharing some skills, said Vecchio. There is a bit of a learning curve for everybody because we haven't worked together in a lot of years, but I think it is a wonderful institution and hopefully there will be more to follow, said Vecchio, adding joining the military is one of the greatest calls you can answer. Mead said there are lots of reasons to become a Canadian soldier. At the end of the day, it's the ability to contribute to something greater than yourself. I think that is really why most of us join, said Mead. Added Vecchio, It's being twice the citizen. It's serving your country domestically when situations arise and overseas on expeditionary operations. I think it is one of the greatest callings. The World Economic Forum has published a list of the world's 25 oldest democracies. Democracy, a word which has its origins in the Greek language, stands for the people ('Demos') and power ('Cratos') - the power of the people. The Greek introduced a form of democracy, in which men who were eligible to vote were allowed to participate, in the 6th century before Christ. The fact Greece was then not really a people's nation or country in the modern sense explains why they are not in first place on the list. Equally, both Iceland's and the Isle of Man's parliaments are more than 1.000 years old. However, Iceland only claimed its independence from Denmark in 1944 and Isle Of Man is self-governing, but does not qualify as a country. The World Economic Forum list has created a list of criteria* each country has to meet, the main ones being, amongst others, the fact the executive has to be elected directly or indirectly by voters. It also has to be answerable to its voters or a legislation. The elections also have to be free and fair, and the majority of adult men has to be eligible to vote. In addition, the democracy has to have existed on a continuous basis. France, for instance, has seen its fifth republic since the revolution, however there have been moments in history where its democracy was interrupted, such as during the times of Napoleon or the Vichy-regimen. Based on the list of criteria, the USA, with the introduction of its constitution in 1789, is in first place as the oldest democracy in the world, and its democracy is the only one to be older than 200 years. Switzerland is in second place (171 years), New Zealand in third (162), Canada in fourth (152 years), Great Britain in fifth (134) and Luxembourg in sixth (129 years)**. Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway and Australia are also in the top ten. Upon closer analysis of the dates, it shows that numerous countries became a democracy following WWII, Japan being one example. * According to the WEF, the criteria is far from perfect, partly due to the fact they did not take into consideration the right to vote for different ethnic groups or women. ** An exhibition celebrating the 100th anniversary of the general right to vote is currently on at the MNHA. Speaking at the meeting, Secretary of the Lao-based Party Committee Nguyen Ba Hung recalled the glorious 90-year history of the CPV, as well as noted with pride the great victories of the Vietnamese revolution and the strong and comprehensive development of the country taking place presently. He emphasised that all party members in Laos always have great confidence in the Party, strive to study and follow President Ho Chi Minh's ideology, morality and style, and exert efforts to fulfill all assigned tasks. Meanwhile, Quach Thi Thu Phuong, a student who is studying in Laos affirmed the resolve of the Vietnamese youth to uphold the tradition of older generations, study and work harder to contribute to the nations development. Also at the ceremony, Prof. Dr Nguyen Ngoc Ha, Vice Director of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics also presented a speech on the glorious history of the CPV over the past 90 years. On the occasion, a number of collectives and individuals the Lao-based Party Committee received certificates of merits for their outstanding achievements over the past years. Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg's campaign has written the Nevada state Democratic party to complain of 'irregularities' in the system used to mesh early votes and caucus day results. His complaint, voiced in a letter from deputy campaign manager Hari Sevugan, said the process of merging the counts was 'plagued with errors and inconsistencies' and follows chaos that accompanied the counting of the Iowa caucus results last month. It came as the latest count put him closely behind former Vice President Joe Biden in the bid for second-place bragging rights. Biden had 18.6 per cent of the vote in the latest totals, trailed by Buttigieg at 18.4 per cent with 60 per cent of precincts reporting on the 'final alignment,' after candidates who didn't reach 15 per cent viability threshold were realigned. Before realignment, Biden had 19.6 per cent support, and Buttigieg had 15.3 per cent report. The campaign cited instances where people running caucuses did not appear to follow rules that could have allowed candidates to pick up more support on a second round of voting. He asked the state party to 'release early vote and in-person vote totals by precinct.' Sevugan also asked the party to 'correct any outstanding second alignment errors identified by presidential campaigns, including ours' and 'explain anomalies in the data.' Pete Buttigieg slammed Bernie Sanders Saturday in his post-caucus remarks, claiming he would create an 'inflexible' system that would exclude more moderate Democrats The process involved integrating four days of early voting with the caucus count. The letter asked the state Democratic Party to address more than 200 reports of problems allocating votes Saturday. 'Currently our data shows that this is a razor thin margin for second place in Nevada,' Sevugan wrote. 'And due to irregularities and a number of unresolved questions we have raised with the Nevada Democratic Party, it's unclear what the final results will be.' The campaign is calling for the party to release more detail of the votes and address concerns before releasing final results. Sevugan says the campaign's own data shows a 'razor thin' margin for second place and questioned whether the 'irregularities and a number of unresolved questions' could change the final results. Party spokeswoman Molly Forgey said the party is continuing to verify and report results and is not going to offer a more detailed breakdown than it already planned to provide. Forgey says "there is a formal method for requesting a challenge of results" laid out in the partys recount guidance. The partys rules say any request for a recount must be filed by 5 p.m. Monday. Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., right, with his wife Jane, speaks during a campaign event in San Antonio, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020. Sanders was the clear winner on Saturday Nevada Caucus workers tally votes and report them to the Nevada Democratic Party through an Ipad in the Nevada Democratic Caucus at Liberty High School in Henderson, Nevada, U.S. February 22, 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg hugs his husband Chasten Buttigieg after speaking at a caucus night event, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020, in Las Vegas Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg speaks at First Baptist Church on Sunday, Feb. 23, 2020, in Charleston, S.C. Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during services, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2020, at the Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, S.C. He was ahead of Buttigieg in returns released as of Sunday The latest results show Sanders running away the the lead, with 46 per cent support, and networks were able to call the race Saturday even before the battle for second place was sorted out. Buttigieg used his Saturday rally in Las Vegas to take several hits at Sanders, who has a path to the nomination that he could solidify by Super Tuesday. Buttigieg claimed that the 78-year-old Vermont senator is proposing an 'inflexible, ideological revolution' that would not include moderate Democrats and those who believe in capitalism Although he congratulated his competitor on the massive victory, Buttigieg also reminded a room full of his supporters of Sanders' more radical ideals, like a single-payer healthcare system. 'I congratulate Senator Sanders on a strong showing today, and we certainly celebrate many of the same ideals,' Buttigieig admitted, although he rarely likens himself to the Democratic socialist candidate. 'But before we rush to nominate Senator Sanders, in our one shot to take on this president, let us take a sober look at stake for our party, for our values, and for those with the most to lose. There is so much on the line,' Buttigieg said. 'Senator Sanders believes in an inflexible, ideological revolution that leaves out most Democrats, not to mention most Americans,' Buttigieg told a crowd as Sanders emerged the victor of the Nevada caucuses Buttigieg hugs his husband Chasten as he drops to third place in Nevada with upwards of 10 per cent support Several networks called the caucus for Sanders after just 3 per cent reporting showed him with upwards of 50 per cent support He also suggested that Sanders would not be able to defeat Trump in November as the most progressive candidate in the race. Buttigieg continued to bring out his more moderate side as he slammed the Democratic socialist candidate for believing 'capitalism is the root of all evil.' 'Senator Sanders believes in an inflexible, ideological revolution that leaves out most Democrats, not to mention most Americans,' Buttigieg said Saturday night as caucus results were still trickling in. He also reminded supporters of his victory against Sanders in the first-in-the-nation caucus in Iowa at the beginning of this month. 'Ours is the only campaign that has beat Senator Sanders anywhere in the cycle,' he added, a reference to winning more nominating delegates than Sanders. In Iowa, Buttigieg earned a marginal victory when he received more support from precincts and emerged as the victor with one more delegate than Sanders. As the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana held an intimate rally in Nevada, he was showing up fourth in the caucuses with less than 10 per cent as results continued to pour in. His share would grow to 15 per cent of the vote. Former Clinton strategist James Carville declared that the Nevada Caucuses were going 'very well' for Vladimir Putin ahead of Senator Bernie Sanders being projected to win, making him the frontrunner for Democratic presidential nominee. Carville, who advised Hillary Clinton during her failed 2008 presidential campaign, claimed the caucus results proved Putin wanted 'Trump to win' when speaking with MSNBC on Saturday. 'Right now, it's about 1:15 Moscow time. This thing is going very well for Vladimir Putin. I promise you,' vouched Carville. 'He's probably staying up watching this right now. How you doing, Vlad?' Scroll down for video Carville, who advised Hillary Clinton during her failed 2008 presidential campaign, made his remarks when speaking with MSNBC on Saturday James Carville: Putin is trying to help Sen. Sanders because Putin wants President Trump to win. It's a straight line. "I don't think Sanders wants Putin to help ... I think they don't like this story, but the story is a fact." pic.twitter.com/YxOLhSACtA MSNBC (@MSNBC) February 22, 2020 The Kremlin on Friday denied Russia was interfering in the US presidential campaign to boost Trump's re-election chances, following reports that American intelligence officials warned Congress about the election threat last week The strategist - who once claimed former President Barack Obama was the candidate 'most likely to explode or implode' during the 08 election - did state that he does not believe 'Sanders wants Putin to help'. 'The happiest person right now is Vladimir Putin,' Carville said. 'I dont think Sanders wants Putin to help.' But he added that Putin was helping the senator from Vermont win because he wants 'Donald Trump to win'. 'I mean, it's a straight line. I don't think the Sanders campaign in any way is collusion or collaboration,' he added. 'I think they don't like this story, but the story is a fact, and the reason that the story is a fact is Putin is doing everything that he can to help Trump, including trying to get Sanders the Democratic nomination.' Carville stressed that it was important for the candidates in Monday's debate in South Carolina 'quit attacking each other and start talking about where this country is and how do you push it forward under some real choices that Democrats have to make,' in order to beat Trump. 'I dont know if us in the media are sufficiently telling people what are the risks that you are running by doing this,' Carville told MSNBC's Brian Williams. 'I think voters need to really be appraised of whats going on here. Hopefully, these candidates have the skill and are able to do this. 'Right now, it's about 1:15 Moscow time. This thing is going very well for Vladimir Putin. I promise you,' vouched Carville. 'He's probably staying up watching this right now. How you doing, Vlad?' Carville made the comments ahead of Bernie Sanders securing the Nevada caucus vote on Saturday 'Its obvious hes the frontrunner. Its obvious these other candidates have not sufficiently talked about him. Its obvious that hes never been vetted in the press. Im not seeing the full-part series in The New York Times or The Washington Post or NBC News. 'Were in a whole new ball game here, and this game could end a little after mid-March, and some candidates are going to have to make really hard decisions about who stays in and who gets out and where we go from here.' The strategist - who once claimed former President Barack Obama was the candidate 'most likely to explode or implode' during the 08 election - did state that he does not believe 'Sanders wants Putin to help' He insinuated that Green New Deal pusher Sanders would not be the candidate who could beat Trump. 'The entire theory that by expanding the electorate, increasing turnouts, you can win elections, is the equivalent of climate denying. When people say that, they are as stupid to a political scientist as a climate denier is to an atmospheric scientist,' he said in a nod to how Sanders has blasted Trump's denial of climate change. 'If youre voting for him because you think hell win the election, because hell galvanize heretofore sleepy parts of an electorate, then politically, youre a fool. 'And thats just a fact. Its no denying it, theres so much political science, so much research on this that its not even a debatable question. And if people are appraised of this, and they know that, and they want to do it as Democrats, thats their own business. But I dont think they have all the facts that they need before they make this judgment going forward.' When pointed out by MSNBCs Nicolle Wallace that what he was 'describing a lot what sounds like political suicide', Carville replied: 'It is.' He added that a Sanders win would be 'hitting the bottom'. Carville said: 'I dont know if us in the media are sufficiently telling people what are the risks that you are running by doing this. I think voters need to really be appraised of whats going on here. Hopefully, these candidates have the skill and are able to do this.' Left to right; Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg and Elizabeth Sanders Carville said it was important for the candidates in Monday's debate in South Carolina to 'quit attacking each other' and make decisions on how to beat Trump. Amy Klobuchar is pictured left. Tom Steyer is pictured right Sanders and Carville have butted heads in the past, with the presidential candidate calling the strategist a 'political hack' while speaking with Anderson Cooper on CNN earlier this month. He referred to Carville as being part of the 'Democratic establishment' that he is taking on in his campaign. Carville's remarks come as Sanders warned Russia on Friday to stay out of 2020 White House elections after US officials had told him Moscow was trying to aid his campaign in a classified briefing. 'The intelligence community is telling us they are interfering in this campaign, right now, in 2020. And what I say to Mr. Putin, if elected president, trust me you are not going to be interfering in American elections,' Sanders told reporters in Bakersfield, California. Sanders, 78, a democratic socialist US senator from Vermont, is considered the front-runner for the Democratic nomination. The Washington Post on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter, said US officials had told Sanders about the Russian effort and had also informed Republican President Donald Trump and US lawmakers. It was not clear what form the Russian assistance took, the paper said. Carville's remarks come as Sanders warned Russia on Friday to stay out of 2020 White House elections after US officials had told him Moscow was trying to aid his campaign in a classified briefing Sanders' campaign put out a statement which read: 'Unlike Donald Trump, I do not consider Vladimir Putin a good friend A congressional source confirmed intelligence officials have told lawmakers Russia appears to be engaging in disinformation and propaganda campaigns to boost the 2020 campaigns of both Sanders and Trump. The source, however, cautioned that the findings are very tentative. Sanders said he was briefed about a month ago. His campaign noted the briefing was classified. 'We were told that Russia, maybe other countries, are going to get involved in this campaign,' Sanders told reporters. 'Look, here is the message: To Russia, stay out of American elections.' 'What they are doing, by the way, the ugly thing that they are doing - and I've seen some of their tweets and stuff - is they try to divide us up,' he said. 'They are trying to cause chaos. They're trying to cause hatred in America.' Sanders' campaign put out a statement which read: 'Unlike Donald Trump, I do not consider Vladimir Putin a good friend. 'He is an autocratic thug who is attempting to destroy democracy and crush dissent in Russia. 'Lets be clear, the Russians want to undermine American democracy by dividing us up and, unlike the current president, I stand firmly against their efforts, and any other foreign power that wants to interfere in our election.' The Kremlin on Friday denied Russia was interfering in the US presidential campaign to boost Trump's re-election chances, following reports that American intelligence officials warned Congress about the election threat last week. 'These are more paranoid announcements which, to our regret, will multiply as we get closer to the (US) election,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. 'They have nothing to do with the truth.' US intelligence officials told members of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee in a classified briefing that Russia was again interfering in American politics ahead of November's election, as it did in 2016, a person familiar with the discussion told Reuters on Thursday. DAMASCUS, Syria - Israel struck multiple targets near the Syrian capital late Sunday, killing two members of a Palestinian militant faction and triggering anti-aircraft fire from the countrys air defences that shook Damascus. It was the latest attack by Israel on the war-ravaged country. A Syrian military statement reported an Israeli attack near Damascus International Airport and said its air defences confronted Israeli rockets coming from the direction of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. It said the defenders intercepted or shot down most of them. In a rare acknowledgment of operations in neighbouring Syria, Israel said its warplanes attacked targets of the Palestinian militant Islamic Jihad group south of Damascus in addition to sites in the Gaza Strip. It said the sites attacked were used for research and development of armaments that are manufactured in Syria and the Gaza Strip. It said the sites also produce dozens of kilograms of rocket fuel each month. The military said the attacks were carried out in response to the attempted attack this morning on the security fence (in Gaza) and the launching of rockets from the Gaza Strip at Israel. Islamic Jihad said in a statement that the airstrikes killed two of its members, identifying them as Salim Salim, 24, and Ziad Mansour, 23. It did not disclose their nationalities or elaborate on their roles. The militant group vowed to respond to the deaths of its members. Residents said multiple explosions shook Damascus for about 15 minutes as air defences fired back. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the Syrian conflict, said the explosions resulted from Israeli bombing of suspected Iranian-backed militias in the vicinity of Damascus International Airport. Israel frequently strikes at targets inside Syria, but has largely refrained from public admissions of its covert military operations there. Iran is an ally of Damascus and has offered military advisers and sent militiamen and material support to help President Bashar Assads government forces in the nine-year civil war. Israel considers Iran a national security threat and says it wont tolerate Irans presence on its borders. In November, Israel targeted two senior Islamic Jihad commanders in a simultaneous attack, killing one in the Gaza Strip and missing the second in Syria. At the time, Israeli warplanes fired three missiles at the home of Akram al-Ajouri, a member of Islamic Jihads leadership living in exile. He was not harmed, but his son and granddaughter were killed. ___ Associated Press writers Ilan Ben Zion in Jerusalem and Akram Fares in the Gaza Strip contributed to this report. Sunday marks the 75th anniversary of U.S. forces raising a flag on Iwo Jima, a brief moment in time captured in an iconic photograph that both recognized one of the World War II's bloodiest battles and became a symbol synonymous with the Marine Corps. On Feb. 23, 1945, the fighting on the small volcanic island of Iwo Jima had been raging for five days, with both American and Japanese forces suffering heavy casualties -- eventually more than 6,500 Americans and 21,000 Japanese troops would be killed over 36 days of fighting. PHOTO: U.S. Marines of the 28th Regiment, 5th Division, raise the American flag atop Mt. Suribachi, Iwo Jima on Feb. 23, 1945. The iconic Pulitzer Prize-winning photo was taken five days after the Marines landed on the island. (Joe Rosenthal/AP) That day, photographer Joe Rosenthal of The Associated Press hurriedly snapped a photo of six Marines who'd been ordered to raise a flag atop Mount Suribachi, the island's highest point. (MORE: Marine Corps again corrects who was in iconic Iwo Jima flag-raising photo) Appearing in newspapers nationwide, the photo became so popular it was made the centerpiece of a successful war bonds drive that included the six service members believed to have been in the photo. PHOTO: U.S. Marines of the 28th Regiment, fifth division, cheer and hold up their rifles after the second flag raising atop Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima, a volcanic Japanese island, on Feb. 23, 1945 during World War II. (Joe Rosenthal/AP) Rosenthals iconic photo won the Pulitzer Prize for Photography in 1945, just over two months after it was taken, and it became a life-sized model for the national U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia, which was dedicated in 1954. The flag-raising Rosenthal captured actually was the second one on Mount Suribachi that day, as a small American flag was ordered replaced with a larger one. PHOTO: U.S. Marines raise a large American flag to replace a smaller flag first raised at the summit of Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima, Feb. 23, 1945. (U.S. Marine Corps/National Archives) The separate flag-raisings and the fog of war led to some confusion around the identities of the six men seen in the photo. (MORE: Marines Acknowledge Man in Iconic 1945 Iwo Jima Photo Was Misidentified) In 2016 and 2019, the Marine Corps corrected the identities of two men long thought to have been in the photograph after being presented with new research collected by amateur historians. Their findings showed that Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class John Bradley actually was involved in the first flag-raising and that Marine Pfc. Rene Gagnon had helped carry larger flag up the mountain. Story continues PHOTO: Marine Corps Sgt. Bill Genaust, left, and Joe Rosenthal photograph U.S. Marines at the second flag-raising on Iwo Jima during World War II, Feb. 23, 1945. (Bob Campbell/U.S. Marine Corps) The six flag-raisers in the famous photo are now identified as: Cpl. Harlon Block, Pfc. Harold Keller, Pfc. Ira Hayes, Pfc. Harold Schultz, Pfc. Franklin Sousley and Sgt. Michael Strank. (MORE: 'Flags of Our Fathers' Author Convinced His Father Was Not in Iconic Iwo Jima Photo) The 75th anniversary of the taking of the photo is part of month-long commemorations that will culminate with a ceremony on Iwo Jima on March 27, the official end of the horrific battle. "Let us resolve once again to never let it happen again," Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Feb. 17 at a commemoration event at the National World War II Memorial in Washington. PHOTO: Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal poses with his camera on Iwo Jima, March 7, 1945. (U.S. Marine Corps/AP) Milley, whose father, Alexander, fought on Iwo Jima, said that visiting the island last year with his Japanese counterpart was a humbling experience. "Let us resolve that we're not going to have another great-power war, because the slaughter that is involved is beyond the imagination," he said. "It's beyond the pale." 75th anniversary of iconic photo of Iwo Jima flag raising originally appeared on abcnews.go.com New Delhi, Feb 23 : Its business as usual at Delhi's Shaheen Bagh, the venue of the ongoing protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, even after several rounds of talks between the protesters and the Supreme Court-appointed interlocutors. On a sunny Sunday, as the protests entered the 71st day, several speakers heaped praises on the people for their perseverance, expressing hope that the top court will listen to their voice on Monday. However, some protesters are apprehensive of the government's intention, saying that such protests should come up in each corner of the country. Speakers at the protest site kept coming, delivering endless speeches with crowd cheering every time something interesting is said. One speaker Jamal Khan, who came from Faridabad to support this cause, started his speech with 'Jai Hind', and spoke about freedom fighters Ram Prasad Bismil and Ashfaqullah who gave their lives for the freedom of the nation. He got huge cheers from the crowd when he said that those killed in Jallianwala Bagh massacre included Muslims as well. "Hum desh bachane nikle hain aau hamare saath chalen," (We have come out to save our country, come with us,) he said, to the loud cheers of some women who stood and said, "Inquilab Zindabad". "The fight is not about Muslims but for the Constitution and that is why Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar and other OBC leaders are with this movement," said another speaker. One of the banners held by a woman protester read in Sanskrit: "yatra nariyastu pujyante, ramente tatr devta," meaning "God exists where females are worshipped". Speakers also took jibes at the Prime Minister and the Home Minister as one speaker Furkan said, "two persons have made the nation suffer." When asked, Congress leader Parvez Alam Khan said, "The protest is organic and faceless and nobody can claim to be its leader. So without concrete assurance from the court, nobody is willing to move from here as people have lost faith in the government because of the contradictory statements being made." The interlocutors appointed by the Supreme Court held several parleys with the protesters but the road blockade issue has not yet been resolved. However, the protesters have opened an arterial road where traffic now can move towards Noida. The economic effects of the new coronavirus outbreak have spread from China all the way to the West Bank city of Hebron. Hebron is the largest Palestinian city. It is also the business center for the Palestinian territories. And, Chinese-made goods have flooded markets there for more than 20 years. Now, traders in Hebron are worried that they may have to change to more costly products if Chinas economic output falls because of the disease outbreak. If that happens, the traders will have to pass on higher prices to buyers in what is already a weak economy. China exports more goods than any other country. But the outbreak of the new coronavirus threatens to affect trade almost everywhere. The new coronavirus disease, recently named COVID-19, first appeared in central Chinas city of Wuhan in December. Since then, it has spread to more than 20 countries. No cases have been identified in Israel or the Palestinian territories. But merchants there have felt the economic effects of the disease. Samer Abu Eisha sells childrens clothes to stores in Hebron. He has been importing Chinese-made products for more than 20 years. He has a permit from Israel that lets him travel from Israel to the Chinese city of Guangzhou every two months. There, he orders products and oversees production. But business came to a halt last month as travel bans took effect in China. Israel and neighboring Jordan suspended all flights to China. Product orders have been delayed or frozen. And, Abu Eisha told the Associated Press, his agent in China has been ordered to stay inside his home because of the virus. Abu Eisha said if the situation continues, he will have to explore other choices. He said he might try Turkey. But business would not be the same. Its hard because all the raw materials also come from China, so things will be more expensive, he said. Abu Eisha estimates he will have to raise prices by 30 percent. But a poor economy and limited development mean that many Palestinians depend on low-cost imports. The economy here is terrible. In Palestine, its zero, or less than zero, Abu Eisha said. Dependence on imports In the 1990s, the Oslo Accord agreements between the Palestinians and Israel permitted the new Palestinian Authority to set trade policy in the territories. As a result, Palestinians bought Chinese goods. In 1998, $33 million in goods were imported. By 2018, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics reported that the total had grown to $425 million. The imports hurt local manufacturers, including Hebrons well-known shoemaking industry. Abdo Idrees is the head of Hebrons Chamber of Commerce. He said the number of factory workers making shoes had gone from 35,000 in the 1990s to fewer than 8,000 today. A visit to the Old City shows just how common Chinese imports are in Hebron. One seller said half of his souvenirs come from China. He recently went to a local trader to order more Chinese products, but none were available. He said Chinas closed. That will have a huge impact on my business if it continues, he said. Another seller in the market admitted that he offers Chinese goods, but blamed them for the decline in local industries. If they close China for a hundred years, it would be perfect, he said. You wouldnt see a single poor person around here, he added. Im Mario Ritter, Jr. Joseph Krauss and Mohammed Daraghmeh reported this story for the Associated Press. Mario Ritter Jr. adapted it for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. ________________________________________________ Words in This Story confined adj. put in a small space, unable to get out souvenir n. something kept as a reminder of a place visited impact n. a strong effect or result outbreak n. the appearance and spread of a disease merchant n. someone who sells products expensive adj. costly decline n. a decrease in something The Bureau of Marine /Maritime Protection has asked sailors to be proactive in the global war against the coronavirus, COVID-19. The pace at which the virus is spreading is alarming and it calls for calculated efforts on not only health professionals but also on sailors who man vessels, driving the global economy since 90% of worlds trade is done by the international shipping industry, according to BMMP A statement signed and issued to the Ghana News Agency by Mr Ajerigo James Akubilla, Director, BMW-Ghana, in Tema said due to the nature of their work, sailors were prone or susceptible to infections and therefore could be the channel for spreading the virus but should rather become the channel for subduing it. Sailors should be extra careful and stick to the advice of health professionals on board their vessels and the World Health Organization, it said. The Bureau, which was founded nearly half a century ago, to mount advocacy and action against marine pollution, said, There is an urgent need to address this concern, because it relates directly to the struggle for sustainable economic development. Maritime transport is crucial to the worlds economy as over (90%)of world trade is carried by sea trade and over 3.5 billion people worldwide depend on the ocean for meaningful and assured livelihood. " "The Bureau of Marine/Maritime Protection - Ghana is dedicated to addressing this new health challenge in creating public awareness and coordination of civil society intervention, "the statement said. The Bureau of Marine/Maritime Protection Ghana (BMMP-Ghana) is a non-profit civil society initiative by public-spirited marine/maritime professionals and seafarers. 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 Former banker Andy Hornby took over The Restaurant Group - which owns Frankie & Benny's and Wagamama - last August Former bank chief Andy Hornby will this week speed up drastic cuts to The Restaurant Group's struggling casual dining brands with Frankie & Benny's and Chiquito in the new boss's firing line. In his first major strategy update since joining in August last year, the one-time HBOS chief executive is expected to announce further disposals of restaurant sites that are underperforming in a tough period for the casual dining sector. Many are in out-of-town retail parks that are struggling to attract visitors. Other options include converting them to Wagamama, the star performer for The Restaurant Group (TRG), or simply ending the leases as they come up for renewal. Hornby will also announce plans for the US, where Wagamama has five sites. Investors are expecting potential expansion after a strategic review of its business there. One analyst said of TR's British 'leisure' portfolio, which also includes Garfunkel's and Coast to Coast: 'It is the wrong product, at the wrong price, in the wrong place.' TRG's three other divisions are pubs, airport outlets and Wagamama. TRG shares are down 40 per cent since the start of 2018, closing at 1.29 on Friday. The group has already cut its leisure dining sites from 368 to 352 as its battles for customers in a saturated market. It has set targets to leave half the remaining sites when leases come up for renewal or have a break clause. A third of its leisure portfolio primarily Frankie & Benny's sites have been identified as 'structurally unattractive' and are earmarked for closure. This week's update from Hornby is expected to accelerate the process of slimming down its dining brands as he battles to return the group to profit. Other options include converting them to Wagamama, the star performer for F&B's oweners The Restaurant Group, or simply ending the leases as they come up for renewal The company racked up a pre-tax loss of 88million for the first six months of 2019, compared with a 12million profit a year earlier, after taking a huge writedown on its leisure estate. Analysts expect full-year 2019 profits before tax of 74.7million but after exceptional costs it will post an overall loss. Stock broker Peel Hunt said this year's trading would be 'tough' and the best way to unlock value would be by 'accelerating an orderly exit from the leisure estate'. Hornby joined TRG from gambling giant GVC, his first time leading a public company after leaving HBOS after the taxpayer-backed bailout of the financial crisis. At GVC the owner of Ladbrokes Coral Hornby was joint chief operating officer but did not hold a position on the board. He could earn up to 3.9million for his first year at TRG. This month Hornby appointed his former colleague Mark Chambers, managing director of GVC's retail business, as head of TRG's leisure operation. Frankie & Benny's managing director Ollie Humphries is leaving the business. Across all four divisions, TRG has more than 650 sites in the UK, including pubs under the Brunning & Price brand. It bought Wagamama from its private equity owner Duke Street Capital in late 2018 for 559million. However, only 60 per cent of shareholders backed the takeover, due to anger at being forced to either participate in a deeply discounted rights issue or face steep losses on their investment. Stucky has given out all 160 skeins of yarn she set aside for the project. Shes been posting photos of the returned hats about 70 with more on the way to Facebook and collecting payment through PayPal. She also plans to sell the hats at her Winter Farmers Market booth on Saturday. The hats are made in a variety of sizes and designs. Stucky has sent yarn to people in 32 states and to Nova Scotia, Canada, paying more than $600 in postage out of her own pocket. Almost all of the knitters are strangers to Stucky, having heard about the project through Facebook. Shes been receiving thank you notes with the hats from people grateful to participate. Some of the knitters have been sending more than one hat to sell or including acrylic hats to be dropped off directly at the Warming Center for people to wear. The acrylic material is easier to care for than the wool. Stucky said she was not expecting the project to take off in the way it has. Its crazy to know one little sheep can bring all of these people together, Stucky said. In the 2018 midterms, Democrats took control of the House by winning swing districts in states like New Jersey, where four seats flipped. All four winners ran as centrists, with support for Obamacare at the heart of their pitch. It worked. Now, Sen. Bernie Sanders wants to throw out that playbook and go hard left, with plans to roughly double the size of the federal government, and hike taxes substantially on everyone earning more than $29,000 a year. Please, Democrats, dont do this. Why abandon a strategy that worked wonders in 2018, and choose this moment in history to place such a risky bet? Cant the revolution wait until the Mad King is gone? Rep. Tom Malinowski, D-7th, is one of the four freshman Democrats who took a Republican seat in the last election. He knows something about this dynamic. We win, and the country wins, if we nominate a candidate who unites the majority of Americans who are disgusted with Trumps leadership and divides the other side -- rather than a candidate who does the exact reverse, he says. Another Democrat in a swing district, promised anonymity, was blunt: If Sanders is the nominee, I will lose, the member said. I think a bunch would lose. Bernie would drag us right down. Bernies people say thats all wrong, that Sanders will work a new magic by energizing millions of dormant liberal voters, his core strength in the primaries. They look at 2016, and say Trump won because Hillary didnt generate enough excitement to get these voters off the couch. They look at national polls that show Bernie beating Trump, and ask, Why not? I was with Hillary in 2016 because I wanted to be pragmatic, says Patricia Campos Medina, the vice-chair of Sanders campaign in New Jersey. But there was no energy. Analilia Mejia, National Political Director for the Sanders campaign, says its the moderate candidates who are opening the door to a Trump win. Telling people nothing will fundamentally change, thats whats risky, she says. Thats a more dangerous prospect. Most Democrats are supporting moderate candidates, but their vote is split into four or five pieces. Bernie has managed to marginalize Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and so has the progressive wing mostly to himself. He could win the nomination that way, even without a majority, based on the simple argument that he got the most votes. But what about the general election? Start with this: Republican are rooting for Bernie. In South Carolina, where anyone can vote in Saturdays primary, Republican groups are asking their own people to vote in the Democratic primary and choose Sanders. Across the country, Republicans are already attacking Democratic rivals by attaching them to Sanders. Sanders offers that foil up and down the ballot for Republicans, and its one were going to take advantage of, Austin Chambers, president of the Republican State Leadership Committee, told Politico recently. I called Mike DuHaime, a leading Republican strategist and former political director of the Republican National Committee, to get a glimpse of GOP thinking. It boils down to this: Bring on Bernie! He plays this class warfare game and pretends its going to be a handful of billionaires who pay for all this, he says. But you cant double the size of government without doubling many peoples taxes. Bernies program is more radical than people think. He actually would double the size of the federal government, roughly. It accounts for about 20 percent of the gross domestic product, in an average year. Bernies plans would swell that to 37 percent, according to the bipartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. Medicare for All accounts for about half of his roughly $50 trillion in new spending over the next decade. Hed also guarantee everyone a job at $15 an hour, forgive college debt, boost Social Security benefits, and offer paid family leave. The list goes on. We can argue the merits of each program. And against the tax increases, you have to weigh the relief Medicare for All would offer, with no more health costs paid by individuals. By many accounts, total health costs would drop. Still, my problem with Bernie is that he has no plan to get from here to there. His socialist paradise sounds kind of nice to me. But none of this would pass Congress. This is all about winning the nomination. And for that, Bernie is prepared to risk four more years of Trump, unleashed. Imagine the attacks. Trump can use his overstuffed treasury to run ads in swing states claiming that Sanders wants to raise your taxes and take away your private health insurance, even if you like it. The problem is that is true. He can run ads calling Bernie a socialist, by quoting Bernie himself. We can expect the heart attack to come up regularly. Now imagine if Sanders has a second one. So far, no one has attacked Sanders with any vigor. The moderate Democrats are aiming their fire at each other, hoping to capture the partys center of gravity, and ceding the left to Sanders. And Republicans are rooting for him. We havent seen how vulnerable he is. Yet. Im losing sleep over this. Before Wednesdays debate, I thought that Mike Bloomberg might save the day, even though Im not a big fan, and I think we should be honest and call him an oligarch. His performance was beyond hopeless. God, I miss Cory Booker. But please, not Bernie. Hes losing to Trump in Wisconsin today by 7 points, and once voters in Pennsylvania understand he wants to kill the fracking industry, hes going to lose there, too. In Michigan, his tiny lead over Trump is within the margin of error. Most Democrats dont want to lurch so far left, judging by the primary votes. Why would anyone believe that most Americans would sign on? More: Tom Moran columns Tom Moran may be reached at tmoran@starledger.com or call (973) 836-4909. Follow him on Twitter @tomamoran. Find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook. The District is one of the last to vote in the Democratic presidential primary, and the Democratic primaries in key council races are tantamount to the general election in the deep-blue city. South Korean health officials spray disinfectant in front of the Daegu branch of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in the south-eastern city of Daegu on Friday (21 February). (PHOTO: Getty Images) SINGAPORE The Ministry of Health (MOH) has advised members of the public to avoid non-essential travel to Daegu city and Cheongdo county in South Korea following a spike in the number of COVID-19 coronavirus cases in the country. People have also been encouraged to continue to exercise caution when travelling to the rest of the Republic of Korea, said the ministry in a news release on Sunday (23 February). In view of the heightened risk of transmission from travellers arriving from Daegu and Cheongdo, the Multi-Ministry Taskforce has assessed that it is prudent to take additional precautionary measures to limit the potential risk that travellers arriving from these affected regions pose to Singapore, said MOH. The ministry noted that both places in South Korea have been designated as special care zones and that measures have been enacted there to reduce the risk of further transmission. Singapore residents who need to travel to the affected areas are advised to regularly check the MOH website (www.moh.gov.sg) for updates. Those in South Korea should also monitor developments and heed the advice of local authorities. Suspect case definition expanded As of Sunday, the ministrys definition of suspect cases will also be expanded to include persons with pneumonia or severe respiratory infection with breathlessness who have been to Daegu and Cheongdo with 14 days before the onset of symptoms. From 23 February, cases meeting the expanded definition above will be referred to hospitals for further assessment. Officers will also look out for such travellers with respiratory symptoms at the aerobridges for flights coming from South Korea and at immigration checks, said MOH. Travellers with recent travel history to Daegu and Cheongdo will be asked to identify themselves. Health advisory notices will also be issued to all travellers arriving at Changi Airport from South Korea to advise them on the precautionary measures to take while travelling to or arriving from the affected regions. Story continues The ministry added that the previously announced travel advisory for Singaporeans to defer all travel to Hubei Province and all non-essential travel to mainland China remains in place. 556 cases in South Korea In the release, MOH noted that as of noon on Sunday, South Korea had reported 556 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 306 linked to the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in Daegu and 114 from Daenam Hospital in Cheongdo. Five cases are not linked to any of the other cases. South Korea President Moon Jae-in also announced on Sunday that the country would be raising its disease alert by one notch to the highest level, according to global media reports. This came following the reporting of 169 new cases and three new coronavirus deaths taking the toll to five on the same day. Related stories: COVID-19: Singapore confirms three new cases; six-month-old infant discharged with mother COVID-19: $77m package for taxi, private-hire car drivers amid falling ridership COVID-19: Singapore confirms one new case, an SIT uni student; 10 discharged COVID-19: 5 Singaporeans on board Diamond Princess allowed to disembark On This Day When Gen. Ne Win Seized Domestic and International Banks in Myanmar The former Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) on Merchant Road, Yangon / then Rangoon Yangon On this day 57 years ago, military dictator General Ne Wins government nationalized domestic and foreign banks in Myanmar (then Burma), marking the beginning of a wave of nationalizations which plagued the country for decades. On Feb. 23, 1963, 31 banks 14 international banks (one of which had two branches outside Yangon, then Rangoon) including the Central Bank of India, Chartered Bank, the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, and 10 private, domestic banks (with multiple branches across the country) were nationalized. The nationalization of the banking sector came as part of Burmese Way to Socialism a year after the military coup led by Gen. Ne Win. Foreign banks were paid the amount of capital they originally brought into the country when they were established, but not reimbursed for their earnings since that date. The value of the property and cash seized totaled an estimated 896 million kyats with 30.4 million kyats handed out in compensation. Two Chinese banks, the Peoples Bank of China and Bank of Communications, did not accept the compensation and said they were donating the cash to the regime. The banks were renamed Peoples Bank Nos. 1 to 31. Military officers were appointed as general managers. Deputy military chief General Aung Gyi, who opposed the nationalization plan, resigned both from the government and the military. The relatively moderate Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev urged the military regime not to rush into nationalization. However, the regime continued with its nationalization plan. Twenty-four years after introducing the socialist banking system, which had the stated objective of rooting out capitalism for the victory of the working class, the country was listed on the least-developed countries list in 1987. Foreign banks were finally allowed to reopen branches more than 50 years after nationalization. Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko You may also like these stories: The Free British Colonial Library in Myanmar that Welcomed Everyone The Day Myanmar Lost an Influential Cartoonist Doradal, Colombia: Maria Jaramilla awoke in the middle of the night to the sound of her panicked mule. When she looked out across her small yard, her confusion turned to shock: A hippopotamus had wandered down her driveway and was inspecting her house. "It was a big fright for all of us," said Jaramilla, 41. Since that night in 2018, the hippos have kept coming - wandering down the back streets of rural Doradal, a small Colombian town a four-hour drive from Medellin. Occasionally a hippopotamus will appear on the local soccer pitch to graze. An estimated 80 hippopotamuses, perhaps more, live in the area around the Rio Magdalena, Colombia's principal river, which runs through the centre of the country. They're descendants of four hippos that were brought to the country by infamous drug lord Pablo Escobar for his personal collection. BIA expansion project to be spearheaded by Japanese firms View(s): The Cabinet has decided to award the expansion of the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) to Japanese firms after negotiations ended over a disagreement about the figures quoted for the project, which began under the former Government. In view of the high cost of the project, negotiations began between the Cabinet Negotiating Committee and the Japanese companies Taisei and Obayashi Corporation in August last year, to reduce the quoted figure of Rs 37. 9 billion. The former Government had proposed for the quoted figure to be reduced to accept the tender. Accordingly the companies had quoted a figure of Rs 2.8 billion less than the earlier figures quoted, enabling the Government to go ahead with the project. The former Government realised the engineering cost quoted was much higher than the average cost, Airport and Aviation Services Ltd Former Chairman Dhammika Ranatunga told the Sunday Times . Mr Ranatunga said the companies were advised to re-evaluate their figures and resubmit the projects proposal which was being funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). He said the companies were told international bids would be called if the figures were not revised. Airport Aviation Authority Chairman H.M.C. Nimalasiri told the Sunday Times the expansion of the air port was urgent as the current capacity was for six million passengers a year, but 10 million passengers were being handled annually. He also said the project is already overdue by about seven years. Based on research with a high level of applicability, Dr Pham Quang Cuong of Nanyang Technology University, set up Eureka Robotics, a startup specializing in providing robots to large corporations. Cuong and his co-workers at Nanyang University announced that their robot IkeaBot can assemble Ikea chairs, a task which requires complicated operations. Pham Quang Cuong (Source NTU Singapore) Cuongs IkeaBot can plan the motion, search for chair parts, and adjust contact force to carry out operations. Cuongs first studies did not have close relations to industrial robots. He studied computing science at Ecole Normale Superieure in France and obtained a doctorate in neuroscience at Paris VI University. Only when he was a postdoc fellow at Tokyo University did he begin studies on robotics. Cuong said his interdisciplinary knowledge in mathematics, physics and programming laid a firm foundation for him to develop robots. He focused on developing algorithms inspired by the principles of the nervous system operation to apply in robot programming. Many scientists also followed this trend to create superior algorithms and use less energy. However, later, he shifted to research on industrial robots. Cuong became a lecturer at Nanyang University and set up a research team on robotics, focusing on three spheres of studying - robot vision (image processing and recognition); motion planning (developing robots that can plan their own activities) and intensity (adjusting robots contact force). Cuong became a lecturer at Nanyang University and set up a research team on robotics, focusing on three spheres of studying - robot vision (image processing and recognition); motion planning (developing robots that can plan their own activities) and intensity (adjusting robots contact force). The development of the technologies can create smarter robots, which are different from the majority of industrial robots which can only do repetitive actions, Cuong explained. The initial result brought an opportunity to establish a startup to develop robots with practical applications. For many reasons, Cuong and his co-workers decided to set up a spinoff Eureka Robotics, belonging to Nanyang University, in 2018 to commercialize their research results themselves. One of the first achievements of Eureka Robotics is that its Archimedes Robot has been ordered by an American laser lens company. However, Cuong admitted that technology commercialization is a long and risky process. He has to decide how to price his products and which markets to focus on. In November 2019, Cuong and his team displayed their products at an exhibition in Japan and received good feedback. This promises to bring more clients from Japan in the future, and possibly from Vietnam. Cuong is the author of over 30 scientific articles published on ISI journals in 2011-2019. He said developing startups is his second goal, while his top priority task is carrying out basic research. Mai Lan Vietnamese scientist uses food fibers to prevent bowel cancer At the age of 30, Dr Tran Van Hung turned down a job opportunity in Japan and returned to Vietnam to work. He is the author of 16 SCI/SCIE articles published in Ranking Q1 international journals. Voters in German city-state Hamburg punished Chancellor Angela Merkel's crisis-racked conservatives and ejected the far right from parliament in a regional election Sunday, according to an exit poll. According to the Infratest exit poll, the biggest winners in Sunday's vote were the progressive, ecologist Greens. They more than doubled their score to over 25 percent after climate change shot to the top of Germany's political agenda in 2019. After weeks of intense political turmoil at national level, including never-before-seen cooperation between the centre and far right, some 57 percent had cast their vote by 4:00 pm (1500 GMT), two hours before the polls closed, election officials said on their website. The centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) defended its position as the strongest force with 37.5 percent, while shedding over eight points on 2015. By contrast, Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) lost more than four points, to 11.5 -- one of its worst-ever scores in any German region. The party has been sapped across Germany by a long-running leadership crisis, sharpened by its unprecedented apparent alliance with far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) earlier in February. AfD itself and the liberal Free Democrats (FDP) may both have failed to clear the five-percent hurdle needed to enter parliament, the poll suggested. With the marked boost for the Greens and grinding down of the formerly dominant CDU and SPD, Hamburg's results reflect in some respects the broader political picture of fragmentation visible in Germany-wide polls. But the prosperous port city with a proud left-of-centre tradition may also be the first state to deny AfD seats in parliament, just two years after it completed its sweep into all 16 German state legislatures in a post-World War II first for a far-right party. In many other parts of Germany, AfD polls in double digits, scoring above 20 percent in several recent state elections in the former communist east. That has been enough to throw sand in the gears of regional politics, with national repercussions. - Thuringia chaos - Earlier this month, Merkel's conservatives were shaken by the apparent alliance of their regional branch in eastern state Thuringia with AfD, voting in an FDP politician as state premier. The breach of a historic political taboo provoked a nationwide backlash against both the mainstream right-of-centre parties. As a result, CDU leader and Merkel's heir apparent Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer announced her resignation, throwing open the question of who will succeed the veteran chancellor following elections next year at the latest. She is set to announce Monday how the party will select a new leader or leadership team. Meanwhile the SPD can breathe easy after years of ever-grimmer federal and state election results that have seen nervous party members chew through multiple leaders. On the national level, the Greens appear to have claimed the party's former place as rivals to the CDU for the chancellorship. But in Hamburg its result is strong enough to allow incumbent mayor Peter Tschentscher, 54, to remain in office as head of a "red-green" coalition. - No island - While Hamburg's political make-up is unusual, events in the final week of campaigning showed that the port city is far from insulated from events in the rest of Germany and Europe. On Friday, Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg joined a massive "Fridays for Future" demonstration in Hamburg attended by around 10,000 people, according to police. Weekly marches across the country by the school strike movement last year helped force Berlin to raise its climate ambitions and fix a binding end to coal power generation by 2038 in law. At the same time, support for the Greens has surged across the country. Meanwhile, both the SPD and the Greens cancelled final campaign events on Thursday, after a racist gunman killed nine people with migrant backgrounds in the city of Hanau. People from across the political spectrum have blasted AfD in the wake of the killings, highlighting similarities between its politicians' anti-migrant rhetoric and the words of the gunman in a rambling "manifesto" he is believed to have posted online. Search Keywords: Short link: Looking forward to be with the people of India, United States President Donald Trump on Sunday left for a historic visit to the country, which officials said will 'demonstrate strong and enduring ties' between the two largest democracies of the world and significantly ramp up the defence and strategic ties. IMAGE: US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump prepare to board Air Force One as they depart Washington for India from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, US, on Sunday. Photograph: Alexander Drago/Reuters Trump is accompanied by First Lady Melania, daughter Ivanka, son-in-law Jared Kushner and the top brass of his administration. Just before his departure, Trump said he had committed to visit India long time back and he is looking forward to be with the people of India. "I look forward to being with the people of India. We are going to have many millions and millions of people. It's a long trip. I get along very well with Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi. He is a friend of mine, Trump told reporters outside the White House. "I had committed to this trip long time ago. I look forward to it. I hear it's going to be a big event..the biggest event they ever had in India. "That's what the Prime Minister told me. Its' the biggest event they ever had. It's going to be very exciting. I am going to be there for one night," said the US President in response to a question. Trump's maiden visit to India is expected to significantly ramp up bilateral defence and strategic ties but unlikely to produce tangible outcome in resolving thorny issues like trade tariffs. WATCH: President Trump speaks to media ahead of his visit to India The nearly 36-hour-long visit by Trump is also set to send across a clear message of growing congruence of interests on major geopolitical developments in the region and beyond, particularly when China has been expanding its military might and economic clout. 'We are wheels up for India, where @realDonaldTrump & @FLOTUS have a full agenda building upon our many shared values and strategic/economic interests. 'Looking forward to a trip meant to further demonstrate the strong and enduring ties between our two countries!' the White House tweeted. Trump will have a brief re-fuel stopover in Germany en route to India. IMAGE: President and First Lady board Air Force One. Photograph: Courtesy The White House/Instagram Trump, who is seeking re-election in the US presidential elections in November, will arrive on Monday around noon in Ahmedabad for the first leg of his maiden India trip during which he will visit Mahatma Gandhi's Sabarmati Ashram, take part in a roadshow with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and jointly address over one lakh people at a cricket stadium, before heading for Agra to see the iconic Taj Mahal with his wife Melania. Prime Minister Modi is expected to receive Trump at the airport. Trump will get a taste of India's cultural potpourri during his Gujarat itinerary which is high on symbolism, especially after the bonhomie between the two leaders at the 'Howdy, Modi!' event in Houston during the Indian prime minister's visit to the US in September 2019. The US president, who is scheduled to arrive at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International airport at around 11.40 am on Monday, will participate along with Modi in roadshows on his way from the airport to Sabarmti Ashram and from there to the newly-built Motera cricket stadium, where over one lakh people are expected to be present for the 'Namaste Trump' event. Dance groups and singers from different parts of the country will be performing on stages that are dotting the 22-km route of the 'India roadshow' in the city that has was been spruced up for Trump's visit. Huge billboards of the two leaders and replicas of historic places in Gujarat have also been placed along the roads where people will greet the two leaders. Over 10,000 police personnel, besides officials of the United States Secret Service, and personnel of the National Security Guards (NSG) and the Special Protection Group (SPG) have been deployed for the high profile visit. 'India looks forward to welcoming @POTUS @realDonaldTrump. It is an honour that he will be with us tomorrow, starting with the historic programme in Ahmedabad,' tweeted Modi. Trump, who is the seventh US president to visit India, too took to Twitter saying he was looking forward to being with his 'great friends' in India as he retweeted a video in which his face was superimposed on the hit Indian movie-character Bahubali, showing him as a great saviour. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will accompany Trump to the Sabarmati Ashram, which was home to Mahatma Gandhi from 1917-1930 during India's freedom struggle. Several world leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had visited Sabarmati Ashram in recent years. Ashram secretary Amrut Modi said that Trump will spend 15 minutes at the place. "Trump will visit the 'Hriday Kunj'. If he wishes, he will spin a charkha. We will also gift him a coffee-table book, and a book containing 150 quotations of Gandhi," the Ashram official said. Hriday Kunj is a room on the Ashram premises where Mahatma Gandhi and his wife Kasturba Gandhi had lived for 12 years between 1918 and 1930. The official said the US President would be briefed about Gandhiji and the importance of charkha (spinning wheel) as a symbol of self-reliance. IMAGE: Trump and Melania board Air Force One as they depart for India from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. Photograph: Alexander Drago/Reuters A cultural extravaganza will be organised at the Motera stadium during the 'Namaste Trump' event, where Trump and Modi will address the gathering. Bollywood singers Kailash Kher and Parthiv Gohil, and Gujarati folk singers like Kirtidan Gadhvi, Gita Rabari, Purushottam Upadhyay and Sairam Dave will perform at the stadium, officials of the Gujarat Cricket Association said. Students of various government and private schools have also been roped in to perform at cultural events and they have been practising for days, an official said. Billboard with slogans hailing Indo-US relations like 'the world's oldest democracy meets the world's largest democracy' and 'stronger friendship for a brighter future', and pictures of Trump and Modi walking together, shaking hands, and waving at the crowd during the 'Howdy Modi' event in the US last year have come up at prominent places. The city's civic body is leaving no stone unturned to make the roadshow a memorable experience for the dignitaries as well as the people of Gujarat. 'Hello Ahmedabad, Come,be a part of the 22 km long mega India Road Show. Lets showcase the best of Indian culture and diversity to the world. #Namaste Trump,' Ahmedabad Municipal Commissioner Vijay Nehra said in a tweet on Sunday A cut-out of the 12th century 'Kirti Toran' (a pair of columns supporting an arch), from Modi's hometown Vadnagar in Gujarat's Mehsana district, has also been put up outside the Ahmedabad airport to welcome Trump. As the city was buzzing with last-minute preparations, there were some minor hiccups. Two makeshift VVIP entry gates erected outside the newly-built cricket stadium in Motera collapsed due to gusty winds on Sunday morning, but no one was injured in both the incidents, officials said. Trump and his entourage will fly to Agra, which is all decked up for the visit with massive billboards and American and Indian flags displayed on all major roads. Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will welcome the US president on his arrival at the Kheria airport at 4.30 pm on Monday where a group of about 350 artistes will be performing. Huge security has been deployed across the city, especially along the nearly 13-km route to be taken by Trump's convoy from the airport to the Amarvilas hotel, and in and around the Taj. According to the official schedule, the US president will arrive with his family at the Taj Mahal complex at 5:15 pm on Monday and spend about an hour at the famed 17th century mausoleum, built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. He will then leave for Delhi for the main leg of the visit during which restricted and delegation-level talks between Trump and Modi will be at Hyderabad House on Tuesday. The eagerly awaited tour of India is expected to significantly ramp up bilateral defence and strategic ties but unlikely to produce tangible outcome in resolving thorny issues like trade tariffs. The nearly 36-hour-long visit by Trump is also set to send across a clear message of growing congruence of interests on major geopolitical developments in the region and beyond, particularly when China has been expanding its military and economic clout. As is Ahmedbad, the Agra administration has also been busy in the last few days giving the historic city a makeover, with streets spruced up, walls adorned with thematic paintings and lawns of iconic Taj Mahal beautified. IMAGE: Trump, who is the seventh US President to visit India, took to Twitter saying he was looking forward to being with his 'great friends' in India. Photograph: Yuri Gripas/Reuters From the Oberoi Amarvilas hotel situated near the East Gate of the Taj Mahal complex, the president, his family and members of high-level delegation accompanying him will move in eco-friendly golf carts to travel into the monument premises, officials said. As per Supreme Court directions, petrol or diesel operated vehicles are not permitted within 500 metres of the Taj Mahal's gate. In the main city, old roads were repaired, road-dividers painted afresh, illegal hoardings and posters removed, and walls along the route that President Trump will take decorated with painting reflecting the Brij culture and architectural heritage of Agra. Water was being sprayed regularly to ensure there is no dust. At the Taj Mahal premises, workers cleaned the marbles and sandstones while tourists made the most of the day as travel restrictions are to come into place in the city on Tuesday. Water has been continuously discharged into the polluted Yamuna in the last few days to improve its environmental condition, and its banks have been cleaned of plastic and other waste. In Taj Ganj, the area neighbouring the mausoleum, many shops are sporting uniform signboards. "About a week ago, the boards were changed to a uniform look for all shops to present a beautiful look. We are very excited about President Trump's visit," said Pawan Kumar, who runs a sweet shop. Guide Abdul Khan also gushed about the visit, saying it will 'boost Agra's stature and further increase tourism'. "The fountains have been thoroughly cleaned and flower pots are being put. Taj doesn't need any promotion, but an added spotlight will definitely enhance the glory of Taj and of Agra too," he said. On the morning of February 25, Trump and the First Lady would be accorded a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan. From there, they would go to Rajghat to pay homage at the 'samadhi' of Mahatma Gandhi. It would be followed by talks between Trump and Modi at Hyderabad House. Prime Minister Modi would host a lunch for the US president following the talks. In the afternoon, Trump is expected to attend certain private events at the US Embassy, including a roundtable with industry representatives. In the evening, the US president will meet President Ram Nath Kovind at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. A banquet will be hosted by Kovind. President Trump would depart from India later that evening. In their talks on Tuesday, Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are likely to focus on a wide variety of bilateral and regional issues including trade and investment, defence and security, counter-terrorism, energy security, religious freedom, proposed peace deal with Taliban in Afghanistan and situation in the Indo-Pacific, according to Indian and US officials. Trump is accompanied by a high-powered delegation comprising Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien and Energy Secretary Dan Broulliette. Trump's visit to India comes at a time when the country has been witnessing wide-spread protests against a new citizenship law and strain in New Delhi's ties with Islamabad over the Kashmir issue. Senior advisors to the President Stephen Miller, Dan Scavino, Chief of Staff to the First Lady Lindsay Reynolds, Assistant to the President and Special Representative for International Telecommunication Policy and Senior Advisor to the Chief of Staff Robert Blair, and White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham are the other members of the delegation. United States Ambassador to India Ken Juster is also part of the delegation. SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) The San Francisco Fire Department and the United States Coast Guard on Saturday responded to a boat in distress in the area of Mile Rock Beach in San Francisco. Firefighters said two adults were rescued and taken to a local hospital in stable condition. Fire Department marine units and Coast Guard marine and air units took part in the rescue operation. The incident was first reported by the San Francisco Fire Department at around 11 p.m. on Saturday. Information on the boat involved and the factors that led to the incident were not immediately available. Copyright 2020 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-23 19:53:27|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close by Keren Setton JERUSALEM, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Tensions on the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip have been high in recent weeks, although there has been a lull in overall violence. While many Israelis have voiced dissatisfaction with the government's policy towards the Hamas-ruled territory, it seems the government has decided against escalating the situation at the moment and is continuing indirect dialogue with Hamas in order to achieve an informal cease-fire. "It is a tactical policy aimed at maintaining quiet," said Ronit Marzan, a researcher of Palestinian society and politics from the University of Haifa, adding "it allows the government to manage the conflict while placating the residents on the border." "The strategic goal is to separate the Gaza Strip from the West Bank and prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state," she added. Last week, the Israeli defense mechanism in charge of civilian Palestinian affairs, COGAT, announced it was increasing the number of permits that will enable Gaza residents to enter Israel. Meanwhile, the Israeli military continues to respond with airstrikes after rocket fire or balloon-borne explosives. But Israeli residents in the south are growing increasingly impatient. "I would like to see the government reach a political solution," said Adele Raemer, a resident of an Israeli Kibbutz on the border with Gaza. For years, the residents in southern Israel have been subject to rocket fire from the Gaza Strip into their towns. After a massive Israeli offensive in the summer of 2014, this fire largely stopped for a few years. But, as the situation in Gaza got worse, rocket fire picked up and has intensified several times over the past two years. "There can be no longer-term truce or ceasefire as long as the issues in Gaza are addressed," Raemer told Xinhua, adding "it does not make sense to give in to their (Hamas') requests, when they are not holding up their part of the deal." Hamas is a militant group that does not recognize Israel's existence and has vowed to destruct it. It has conducted hundreds of violent attacks against Israelis. "We had years of quiet. Things could have been done, and issues could have been solved," said Raemer, adding that "the government wasted those years, and now it's a lot harder to make concessions and agreements when it looks like it's a result from violence from the other side." Before 2007, when Hamas violently took over control of the Gaza Strip from the hands of Palestinian Authority, tens of thousands of Palestinians living in Gaza were allowed to enter Israel for work. But since Hamas' takeover, Israel has imposed a strict blockade on the Gaza Strip. Unemployment rate in Gaza is at approximately 50 percent, according to reports. The recent easing of Israeli restrictions on the Gaza Strip shows an understanding amongst Israeli defense officials that the welfare of the Gaza Strip has a direct influence on the stability in the area. The talks between the two sides are mediated by Egypt and UN representatives. But in a recent TV interview, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said "We (Israel) are preparing surprises. I am in no rush to go to war...but we are preparing a huge surprise for Hamas, different than anything seen in the past." "Such statements damage the Israeli deterrence," said Alon Eviatar, an expert on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Netanyahu's statement must be seen in a political context. His response to violence from Hamas is seen by many in his camp as weak. "The image needs to be balanced, Israel is seen as willing to do anything in return for quiet," Eviatar added. "Of course Israel has plans for a major offensive against Gaza," Eviatar told Xinhua, emphasizing that "Israel will do everything to avoid this. There is an understanding in the current government that the damage from a wide scale military operation will be greater than the political price being paid at the moment." For now, Israel has chosen the path of managing the conflict rather than solving it. Netanyahu has said in the past that he is willing to pay a political price for deciding not to wage a massive offensive in Gaza. Regardless of the upcoming elections, it is difficult to find a political player in Israel, who will lead a dramatically different policy. "The current leadership has no real will to solve the conflict. They want to manage it and allow periodic outbursts of violence," said Marzan. The man who should have been king, newcomer Mike Bloomberg, was left looking like a beaten-up cigar store Indian. by Eric S. Margolis Good work, Democrats! In the Las Vegas debate, you blasted every target but Donald Trump. Instead of quivering in his Gucci loafers, the man who would be king was left dancing on air. Mike Bloomberg The man who should have been king, newcomer Mike Bloomberg, was left looking like a beaten-up cigar store Indian. He had not prepped for the debate and failed to dodge the obvious incoming missile attacks on him launched by a hissing Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg. Many veteran Republicans fear that TV promoter Trump will steamroll Warren, Buttigieg, Biden and Amy Klobuchar. They may be right. Trump had to be delighted by the no-prisoners Democratic debate that bloodied his opponents before he could even get to them. Bloomberg was totally unprepared for the savage attacks launched against him. He looked like a neophyte suffering from camera fright. I got a good read on Bloomberg when I had an intimate dinner with him some years ago. Rather than the stiff, unsmiling man we saw on TV in Las Vegas, in real life Bloomberg is clearly brilliant yet understated, charming, and endowed with a sharp sense of humor and quick wit. Bernie Sanders, who has three homes, blasted Bloomberg for being rich. This is a big sin to the Democrats who, like Hillary Clinton, pocketed millions in political support from big banks, unions and businesses under the cover of night or via bogus speaking fees and her fake foundation a scam emulated by Trump. The deeply corrupt Democratic National Committee, controlled by Hillary Clinton, rigged the vote that blocked Bernie Sanders during the last election. When news of this scandal emerged, Hillary kicked off the anti-Russian hysteria to divert attention from her chicanery. Yes, Bloomberg may be the 9th or 10th richest man in the world. But his net worth comes from ownership of one of our most successful and reliable financial news organizations that he built up from nothing, and that employs important numbers of men and women. The use of Bloomberg terminals saves forests of trees. Ignore Elizabeth Warrens cheap shots about women being called names like horse-faced lesbians or fat at his firm. Many men speak this way to one-another in casual talk. Women often do the same regarding men. The answer to this is to totally segregate the sexes, as in Saudi Arabia. Trying to whip up a war of the sexes is not going to make angry Elizabeth Warren president. She should stick to her commendable work with banking and voting rights. Its pretty clear after the shootout in Vegas that Joe Biden has used up his last chance. Black voters and unions wont save him. He looked old and very tired. But not as tired or off the mark as Mike Bloomberg. By contrast Bernie looked old, to be sure, but was full of beans. As a foreign affairs specialist, what really dismayed me was that there was only one significant mention of international policy. Thats when the abrasive, loud-mouthed Sen. Amy Klobuchar could not remember the name of the president of Mexico. For Gods sake, she on a senate committee that deals with Mexico. While our presidential debate focuses on overweight women and health care, the US and Russia have come terrifyingly close to open war in the Mideast. But barely any mention of this in the debates. Trump and his big money men from New York and Las Vegas are trying to push Iran into an air war. The US is seeking to overthrow the governments of Venezuela, Cuba, Syria, and Iran. Clashes between China and the US are a major danger. Former defense chief Sam Nunn warns the US and Russia are closer to a nuclear conflict than any time since the 1960s Cuban missile crisis. No matter. Americans want entertainers for their made-for-TV politicians. Poor, dignified Mr. Bloomberg didnt know he would face professional actors, not legislators. Georgian authorities have decided to restrict the movement of individuals to and from Iran due to the increase in the number of new coronavirus infections in Iran, News Georgia reports; this is said in a statement released today by the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia. The Georgian Foreign Ministry emphasized that by the decision of the government, the transportation of passengers from Iran to Georgia has been suspended at this stage, and the airlines will be able to transport planes to the Georgian airspace without passengers, so that tourists from Iran can return. The Georgian Foreign Ministry clarified that, at present, the land border will remain open, but there are strict restrictions at the countrys checkpoints. The statement also notes that they are closely cooperating with neighboring countries in this regard, the Georgian government continues to work with neighboring Armenia and Azerbaijan, and if necessary, restriction of movement by land is also not ruled out in the future. A woman is now in a fight for her life after she was shot in the head in a drive-by shooting at a Gulfton-area shopping mall. HPD investigators say that the shooting happened right before midnight at the 6100 block of Glenmont Saturday night. She's splashed out an estimated $35,000 on plastic surgery over the years, including DD breast implants. And I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! star Erin Barnett, 24, showed off the fruits of her surgeon's labours on Instagram this Sunday as she posed in an underboob-baring bikini top. The blonde reality star posed in the leopard-print bandeau, while positioning the camera at a strategically low angle. 'I love summer days!' I'm A Celebrity's Erin Barnett, 24, showed off extreme underboob in a tiny leopard-print bikini top on Sunday 'Sunny Sunday. I love summer days! But I can't wait for winter.... I prefer the cold weather,' Erin captioned the eye-popping selfie. She completed the caption by asking her fans about where she should take her next holiday with boyfriend Mick Russell. Revealing the news on Instagram in late January, Erin posed a before-and-after photo showing her weightloss alongside a poignant message on self-confidence. Weight loss: It comes after Erin (pictured) revealed how much weight she lost during her stint on the show, alongside a poignant message on self-confidence. (Left: 2020, Right: 2019) Erin wrote that she was previously 'ashamed' of her body, after having multiple surgeries following her endometriosis diagnosis a decade ago. 'I was really embarrassed to show everyone this before & after photo because I absolutely HATED myself for the way I looked,' she began. 'I became so insecure & unhappy! I preach about 'SELF LOVE' so much... but I couldn't even love myself or be okay with how my body changed from all those surgeries. Heartbreaking: Erin (pictured in October 2019) confirmed she didn't look at her body for three months prior to entering the jungle, convincing herself she looked 'so bad' that she didn't want anyone to see her 'I became super antisocial because I was embarrassed that I went up 2-3 sizes in my clothes. How pathetic, right?' She then confirmed she didn't look at her body for three months prior to entering the jungle, convincing herself she looked 'so bad' that she didn't want anyone to see her. 'Looking back now, I feel so ashamed I ever felt this away about myself & my body,' she continued. 'I felt disgusted in myself for trying to preach about loving your self & here I was... being a terrible role model for myself & others. I was literally fighting a battle I wouldn't win; physically or mentally.' Jungle stunner: Erin ditched the luxuries of Love Island for a stint in the jungle in 2020 Following her time on the show, Erin had a realisation that she didn't want her happiness to depend on her weight - adding that her mental health is just as important as her physical health. '2020 is all about learning from my past & finding ways to use my mistakes as fuel to make my future the best it can be,' she poignantly added. 'I posted this on my Instagram so I can come back and look at this before and after photo & the caption I've written if I am ever having a bit of a down day. 'Everyone has insecurities; just because you may think someone's insecurities are silly, don't be rude or mean with comments suggesting what they feel is 'wrong' just because you find it easier to accept things others can't.' Love Island's Connor Durman brushed off his recent drama during a night out with his pals after accusing his ex of selling snaps of him 'posing with white powder'. The reality star, 25, appeared in high spirits as he hit the town with Love Island alum Callum Jones, Anton Danyluk, Joe Garratt in Manchester on Saturday night. The night out comes just hours after a source told MailOnline Connor is convinced his ex-girlfriend Stevie-Leigh Pich revealed the images of him. Night out: Love Island's Connor Durman brushed off his recent drama during a night out with his pals after accusing his ex of selling snaps of him 'posing with white powder' Connor was dressed to impress in a white shirt and jumper teamed with a pair of skintight checked trousers and navy slip on shoes. Giving him a run for his money in the tight trouser department was season five Islander Anton, who was rocking a pair of cream trousers with a white polo neck. Meanwhile, Joe opted for an all black look and Callum showcased his glowing South African tan in a grey t-shirt, black jeans and a leather jacket. No worries! The reality star, 25, appeared in high spirits as he hit the town with Love Island alum Callum Jones, Anton Danyluk, Joe Garratt in Manchester on Saturday night Stepping out: The night out comes just hours after a source told MailOnline that Connor is convinced his ex-girlfriend Stevie-Leigh Pich revealed the images of him This comes after Connor accused his ex-girlfriend Stevie-Leigh of selling pictures of him 'posing with lines of white powder'. Images that emerged on Saturday show the reality star sitting shirtless in front of a table with white powder carefully arranged into lines in front of him. Sources revealed to MailOnline the former coffee bean salesman is 'convinced' 'jealous' Stevie-Leigh was the person who released the images of him. Model: Connor was dressed to impress in a white shirt and jumper teamed with a pair of skintight checked trousers and navy slip on shoes Since leaving the show, Connor has continued his romance with his villa love interest Sophie Piper, who he has recently begun exclusivity dating. A source close to Connor revealed: 'Connor is convinced this picture was released by his ex-girlfriend. It's no coincidence that this has come out the day after Sophie confirmed that she and Connor have gone exclusive. They added: 'He's moving on with life and wishes she'd do the same. Connor says Stevie is jealous that he made on to Love Island and she didn't and is now trying to get her own back.' This comes just weeks after Stevie-Leigh told MailOnline that watching Connor with other women on the dating show 'made her feel sick' as he professed that she still loved him at the time. Take a picture! Meanwhile, Joe opted for an all black look and Callum showcased his glowing South African tan in a grey t-shirt, black jeans and a leather jacket Claims: Connor accused his ex-girlfriend Stevie-Leigh of selling pictures of him 'posing with lines of white powder' Love life: Since leaving the show Connor has continued his romance with his villa love interest Sophie Piper, who he has recently begun exclusivity dating MailOnline have contacted Stevie-Leigh for comment and there is no suggestion that she was the one to release the image of Connor in question. Connor has been forced to apologise for the pictures and claimed it was a 'low point' in his life while living in Australia before appearing on the show. A representative for the star told MailOnline: 'Connor is very embarrassed that the picture has been made public as it was taken at a particularly low point in his life by someone he believed he could trust... Skintight! Giving him a run for his money in the tight trouser department was season five Islander Anton, who was rocking a pair of cream trousers with a white polo neck A source close to Connor revealed: 'Connor is convinced this picture was released by his ex-girlfriend. It's no coincidence that this has come out the day after Sophie confirmed that she and Connor have gone exclusive' 'But he takes full responsibility for his actions, and is sorry for any distress it may cause his friends and family. 'He is trying to put all this behind him and move forward with his life.' The image of Connor was obtained by The Sun, and a source told the publication: 'Connor was living in Australia last year and recreational drugs were sadly used. 'One of the reasons he left Australia and came back to the UK to be with his family is because he realised his life was spiralling out of control. He regrets his past and is now moving forward with his life. He is sorry.' They added: 'He's moving on with life and wishes she'd do the same. Connor says Stevie is jealous that he made on to Love Island and she didn't and is now trying to get her own back' Coca-Cola Amatil Limited (ASX:CCL) stock is about to trade ex-dividend in 2 days time. Investors can purchase shares before the 25th of February in order to be eligible for this dividend, which will be paid on the 15th of April. Coca-Cola Amatil's next dividend payment will be AU$0.26 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed AU$0.47 to shareholders. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that Coca-Cola Amatil has a trailing yield of 3.6% on the current share price of A$12.88. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. We need to see whether the dividend is covered by earnings and if it's growing. View our latest analysis for Coca-Cola Amatil Dividends are typically paid from company earnings. If a company pays more in dividends than it earned in profit, then the dividend could be unsustainable. Coca-Cola Amatil paid out 92% of its earnings, which is more than we're comfortable with, unless there are mitigating circumstances. That said, even highly profitable companies sometimes might not generate enough cash to pay the dividend, which is why we should always check if the dividend is covered by cash flow. It paid out 79% of its free cash flow as dividends, which is within usual limits but will limit the company's ability to lift the dividend if there's no growth. It's good to see that while Coca-Cola Amatil's dividends were not well covered by profits, at least they are affordable from a cash perspective. Still, if this were to happen repeatedly, we'd be concerned about whether the dividend is sustainable in a downturn. Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends. ASX:CCL Historical Dividend Yield, February 22nd 2020 Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing? Businesses with strong growth prospects usually make the best dividend payers, because it's easier to grow dividends when earnings per share are improving. If business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. With that in mind, we're encouraged by the steady growth at Coca-Cola Amatil, with earnings per share up 7.4% on average over the last five years. Story continues Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. In the past ten years, Coca-Cola Amatil has increased its dividend at approximately 0.8% a year on average. The Bottom Line Is Coca-Cola Amatil worth buying for its dividend? While earnings per share have been growing slowly, Coca-Cola Amatil is paying out an uncomfortably high percentage of its earnings. However it did pay out a lower percentage of its cashflow. Bottom line: Coca-Cola Amatil has some unfortunate characteristics that we think could lead to sub-optimal outcomes for dividend investors. Ever wonder what the future holds for Coca-Cola Amatil? See what the 13 analysts we track are forecasting, with this visualisation of its historical and future estimated earnings and cash flow A common investment mistake is buying the first interesting stock you see. Here you can find a list of promising dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading. A federal judge has granted a request to block temporarily the transfer of several dozen people who probably are infected with the new coronavirus from Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, where they have been under quarantine, to a closed facility in Orange County. The judge agreed Friday with the city of Costa Mesa, which sought to stop about 50 people recently evacuated passengers from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan from moving to the former Fairview Developmental Center. In its request to the court, the city said it was never notified of the 11th-hour plan ... to introduce people with a deadly and highly communicable disease to Fairview. The city described the facility as a dilapidated complex surrounded by residential neighborhoods ... with no security measures to keep quarantined individuals from the residents of Costa Mesa. The transfer plan, the city argued, would wreak havoc on the local economy, endangering local businesses and starving local governments of tax revenue. The temporary order will remain in place until Monday, when another hearing is scheduled. Costa Mesa Mayor Katrina Foley said in a statement that her top priority is the safety and security of this community. The city, Foley said, was not part of the process that led to Fairviews consideration for this use and has not been thoroughly advised. Nearly 78,000 people have been infected by the coronavirus, and more than 2,300 have died, the vast majority in China. But the United States has seen only isolated cases, all of them linked directly to China. Last month, an Orange County resident was reported as the first case of coronavirus in California. The person was treated at a hospital and has been released. Public health officials say the risk of infection to the general public remains low. There have been 35 cases of COVID-19 the illness caused by the virus reported in the U.S., including 18 confirmed cases among the evacuated cruise ship passengers. Five of those 18 people are being treated in isolation at Northern California hospitals. Many other former cruise passengers tested positive for the virus while in Japan, but are being retested by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The transfer of quarantined people from Travis to Costa Mesa was to have begun this weekend. About 300 passengers from the cruise ship, which had been held at a dock outside Yokohama, were evacuated to Travis and another military base in Texas last Sunday. They are expected to remain under quarantine for 14 days. After Costa Mesa sought the injunction, state health officials said the Fairview Developmental Center was one of the possible locations for isolating people testing positive for COVID-19. Anyone testing positive must be transferred from Travis, the California Health and Human Services Agency said Saturday. Many are not sick enough to need hospital care but must still must be isolated, the agency said. The state said federal authorities, who are in charge of the quarantine program, would provide robust security to ensure the safety and health of the surrounding community in Costa Mesa. The Orange County Health Care Agency, the countys public health department, said it supports the temporary halt. 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. As the local health department, it is our hope that we can engage in a more thoughtful and robust collaboration with our colleagues at the state and federal level to ensure the health and safety of Orange County residents is protected and next steps are clearly communicated to the public, Dr. Nichole Quick, county health officer, said in a statement. At a press conference Saturday, Michelle Steel, chairwoman of the Orange County Board of Supervisors, vowed to block the transfer. We dont need any more people, she said, referring to the previous patient treated in the county. Our public health safety is the most important part. ...Were going to work together and were going to stop this. Foley, the Costa Mesa mayor, said at the press conference that the city is exploring all legal options, but the federal government could potentially override state and local government authority. In its request to the court, Costa Mesa called itself a dense commercial and cultural center (with) one of the worlds highest-grossing shopping centers, South Coast Plaza ... a tourist destination for international high-end shoppers. Chronicle staff writer Roland Li contributed to this report. Steve Rubenstein is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: srubenstein@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SteveRubeSF Bernie Sanders has won the Nevada caucuses by an apparent landslide, propelling himself into solid frontrunner status among Democrats and moving his campaign one step closer to taking on Donald Trump in November. Less than six months after suffering a heart attack in the state as he was campaigning, the 78-year-old senator was forecast a massive win on the back of momentum driven by the support of young people and Latino voters. Early results showed Mr Sanders with double the number of votes of his nearest rival. Speaking before cheering supporters in San Antonio, Texas, where he had already moved on to campaign ahead of Super Tuesday, he repeated his criticism that Mr Trump was a pathological liar running a corrupt administration. He vowed his supporters could see real change if they continued to show up in the kind of numbers that had allowed him to make history by winning the popular vote in each three of the states to have voted a first for the Democratic Party. We won the Iowa caucus. We won the New Hampshire primary. Now, we have won the Nevada caucus, he declared, to roars and cheers. 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 So let me thank the people of Nevada for their support. In Nevada we have put together a multi-generational, multi-racial coalition that not only swept Nevada, but will sweep the country. Votes are still being formally counted but Mr Sanders' lead is so impressive that it is clear he will go on to win the first state in the West to vote. A fight quickly broke out over second place among Sanders' Democratic rivals. Former vice president Joe Biden's campaign was quick to insist they had the second highest number of votes, while Pete Buttigieg's team did the same. Regardless, the result will be a welcome relief to Mr Biden, who has been struggling to keep his campaign going. In an awkward moment on Saturday night, he went on camera to insist his campaign was 'still alive' but the crew cut him off before he could finish. I know we dont have the final results yet, but I feel really good, he said. You put me in a position, you know the press is ready to declare people dead quickly, but were alive and were coming back and were going to win. Joe Biden supporters sing Backstreet Boys song He added: I think were in the position now to move on in a way that we havent been until this moment. I think we are going to go, were going to win in South Carolina, and then Super Tuesday and we are on our way. Buttigieg, having come joint first in Iowa and a close second to Mr Sanders in New Hampshire has been struggling to maintain momentum. He looked set to at least finish ahead of Elizabeth Warren in fourth slot, and Amy Klobuchar in fifth. Mr Buttigieg, whose campaign has faced repeated questions as to whether its candidate could win the support of people of colour, warned against Mr Sanders nomination, even as he issued his congratulations. I congratulate senator Sanders on a strong showing today, Mr Buttigieg said. But before we rush to nominate senator Sander. Let us take a sober look at what is at stake. He added: We can prioritise either ideological purity or inclusive victory. We can either call people names online or we can call them into our movement. Elizabeth Warren, who enjoyed a popularity bounce on the back of a strong debate peformance, didn't look close to breaking into the top two spots. On Saturday night she took her campaign to Seattle where she congratulated Bernie on his win. The race has been called. Bernie has won, congratulations Bernie, she said, before insisting her fanbase is growing 'everywhere'. Meanwhile, Michael Bloomberg's campaign team was also keen to reiterate concerns of Sanders becoming the nominee, and blamed the 'fragmented field' for Mr Sanders' success. "This is a candidate who just declared war on the so-called Democratic Establishment. We are going to need Independents AND Republicans to defeat Trump attacking your own party is no way to get started. As Mike says, if we choose a candidate who appeals to a small base like Senator Sanders it will be a fatal error." Nevada, which has a Latino population of around 30 per cent, is seen a major test of candidates ability to win over voters of colour. Next week, South Carolina, with its large African American population, hold its primary. One of the little told stories of the 2020 race has been the way Mr Sanders has built support among people of colour over the last four years. That has particularly been true among Latino voters. In Nevada he had a huge ground operation, with up to 250 paid members of staff, along with countless volunteers. The Vermont senator said in recent months, his campaign in Nevada had knocked on 500,000 doors, no small feat in a state with a population of 3 million. Democratic Party officials in the state also no doubt sighed a huge sigh of relief after the poll went off without a hitch, a marked contrast to the voting debacle three weeks ago in Iowa. Despite Mr Sanders success, he remains some way from being able to feel comfortable that he is going to secure the nomination. On March 3, so-called Super Tuesday, more than 12 states hold their primaries. That will be the first indication of how much genuine support Michael Bloomberg has been able to secure with his non-traditional campaign, on which he has already spent $400m of his own money on political advertising. Of those to offer congratulations, of a kind, was Mr Trump. Looks like Crazy Bernie is doing well in the Great State of Nevada. Biden & the rest look weak, & no way Mini Mike can restart his campaign after the worst debate performance in the history of Presidential Debates, he tweeted. Congratulations Bernie, & dont let them take it away from you! Additional reporting by agencies EDMONTONLawyer Robert P. Lee is straining to hear the voice on the other end of his cellphone amid the hustle and bustle of the noisy Edmonton courthouse. Hes here with about 20 of his clients and supporters, almost all of whom are Indigenous. Two of them are talking to each other about their experiences in the provinces child-welfare system as Lee chats on the phone. The two men tower over the five-foot-four Lee and, as they talk, a uniformed Alberta sheriff walks over and asks if everything is OK. It wont get out of hand here; were all on the same team, one of the men, an older fellow with shoulder-length greying hair and a long, wooden cane jokingly responds. Sorry, I misread the body language, the sheriff explains, smiling as he wishes the men a good day. Lee leans in close and whispers in frustration: Do you think if I was with a bunch of white people that would have happened? For Lee and his clients, it can seem as though the fight for justice starts before they even get inside a courtroom. Lee has been suing the government on behalf of people who blame Albertas child-welfare system for abuse and neglect for more than 20 years. Most of his clients are Indigenous in Alberta, 69 per cent of children in government care are First Nations, Metis or Inuit. He runs a small private practice out of a cramped office in an industrial part of Edmonton, representing hundreds of individuals as part of several class-action lawsuits that are seeking millions of dollars in compensation. Some of those lawsuits have dragged on for more than 15 years. Lee says that delay is a symptom of an under-resourced system plagued by red tape and riddled with systemic inadequacies that prevent his clients from accessing fair and prompt trials. First, youre fighting the courts. Then youre fighting the judge. Then youre fighting child welfare. Then the child advocate. And then, sometimes, your own clients turn against you because the process takes so long, he says. Lee started his career in 1990 and had one of his first big wins against child welfare in 1997, in a case about a negligent investigation into child sexual abuse. It motivated him to keep fighting on behalf of people he believes were wronged by the government. If I had not had that judge and that case as my very first one, I wouldnt be doing this, Lee says. I would have just quit. But the victories are rare. Because of the complexity, scope and sensitivity of the cases Lee deals with, he spends much of his time dealing with procedural matters just to get his clients their day in court. Then theres the matter of getting paid. Lees clients are disproportionally affected by poverty. So he typically works without pay until a settlement is reached, which sometimes never happens. He says hes been working for free for about four years. How does he pay the bills? My wife works. Thats the answer, Lee says bluntly. He says its the stories he hears that drive him. Stories of social workers telling families theyre taking their child to McDonalds, only to remove them permanently from the home. A story about a 10-year-old girl who was gang raped. Or the case of Steven Morin, a seven-year-old boy who was forced to live with a convicted sex offender and suffered physical and sexual abuse for years. Lee is currently representing Morin in an $11-million lawsuit against the government of Alberta for sexual abuse suffered while living in foster care. The things I have seen on these files, its an outrage, Lee says. When you see that, how can you stop? Lee has been the subject of several complaints from the Law Society of Alberta related to his conduct in court, two of which were dismissed in 2016. In 2009, he was reprimanded for raising his voice in court, according to a Canadian Legal Information Institute document. We have found that Mr. Lee raised his voice and said, Well this man destroyed a womans life, and if my emotions get a little bit too much for me, I apologize to Mr. B, the document reads. In another instance, Lee was sanctioned for a meeting with opposing counsel during which he shouted at the top of his lungs, Have you no soul? On this day, Lee enters the courtroom wearing a black suit with a white shirt and a green and gold striped tie, his heavy winter boots clashing slightly with the rest of the outfit. Hes here making his case for why the government should pay the legal fees for his clients in advance of a class-action lawsuit hes pursuing. He argues these cases are special because they involve the government allegedly failing to meet its responsibility to vulnerable children. The three rows of benches behind him are packed full of clients and supporters, while a few individuals wearing suits and ties stand out from the crowd Lee says theyre there on behalf of the government. On the other side of the courtroom are three lawyers representing various provincial ministries and offices. They are arguing that Lee should be removed from the current lawsuit because he filed an affidavit in relation to the request for advance costs, making him both a witness and counsel, which they say is a conflict of interest. Lee, speaking gently but firmly, argues hes the only one with the breadth of knowledge and experience to see the lawsuit through. The main reason were here (and) the primary issue, is access to justice, he says. How can the people sitting here attending, and the hundreds of thousands others ... have those claims adjudicated? The last time they were in court for this matter was eight months ago. Since then, nothing has moved forward. Lee says that in his mind its an example of delay tactics government lawyers use so that contentious cases dont get heard in court. I look at Steve Morins case and I cant believe that its possible to lose. I just have to be able to get into the courtroom and to argue it, Lee says. In Alberta, criminal charges are thrown out if theyre not heard in a reasonable amount of time 18 to 30 months, depending on what level of court is hearing the case. There is no such rule for civil lawsuits. David Khan, leader of Albertas Liberal party and an Indigenous rights lawyer who has litigated in the same room as Lee and faced similar challenges, says it can be incredibly frustrating for clients with limited resources who go up against provincial justice ministries. I like to say theyre the biggest law firms in Canada with the most resources, Khan says. They have virtually unlimited resources to expend in defending lawsuits brought by plaintiffs of limited means. Muriel Stanley Venne, founder of the Institute for the Advancement of Aboriginal Women, told the Star about the organizations longstanding relationship with Lee. On several occasions, he has represented young mothers when no other lawyers would take their case, Venne says. Lee was a recipients of the organizations human rights award in 2009. I just found him so unrelenting, Venne says. The difference hes made in the lives of children and parents. Hes a very extraordinary person. In the courtroom, Justice Rob Graesser repeatedly asks the lawyer representing the government when hell be filing the application to have Lee removed as counsel. He notes how long the case has been dragging on. These matters are turning into a discouraging mess of infighting and counsels fighting against each other, the judge says. There are more pressing matters ... and with (more) scarce judicial time than having counsel fight with each other. Graesser says while he recognizes the courts have a formal process they must abide by, he also notes the challenges it presents for individuals seeking justice. Theyre watching in court and nothing (happens), he says, citing literature from 1762 which notes the delays in court litigation. Here we are 400 years later, and theres no change. He sets the next court date for April and the room erupts in applause. Thank you, your honour! one woman screams as she walks out. Outside the courtroom, the mood is celebratory. The government lawyers smile awkwardly as they scuttle past the large crowd assembled. Thank you all for coming, Lee says loudly to the group of clients and supporters. It makes a difference. Youre not numbers. Youre people. Morin is encouraged this day; the last time he was in court, his case was pushed back. Frustrated, he slammed the door upon exiting. More than eight Alberta sheriffs were called to apprehend him, but he had already left the building. I havent seen an up. That was a good sign of hope, a glimmer, Morin says. I think the courts are finally starting to realize the importance of cases like this. There have been some recent developments that Lee sees as encouraging signs that things are changing. He calls a 2016 Canadian Human Rights Tribunal decision that ruled the federal government must pay $40,000 to every First Nations child who was taken from their home on reserve a huge positive. But that settlement would also be woefully inadequate for some of his clients. You dont get $40,000 for being molested, Lee says. For Lee, it is and isnt all about money. Financial compensation is obviously something he believes his clients are entitled to. But he says thats not what motivates him. The reward for me has not been financial my remuneration comes from what you saw today, when we were in the cafeteria and Ive got 20 or 30 people there that appreciate what Im doing, Lee says. So this is just something Ive felt Ive had to do. For some inexplicable reason that my wife wonders about every day, I keep doing this. Omar Mosleh is an Edmonton-based reporter covering inner-city issues, affordable housing and reconciliation for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @OmarMosleh Read more about: Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-23 20:25:32|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close As a rising number of patients infected with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) have recovered and been discharged from hospitals in China, it is believed to be of great significance to scrutinize diagnosis and treatment plans, summarize experience in those cured cases, and share such information in a timely manner among various parties. Xinhua journalists have interviewed 18 recovered patients in 13 provincial-level regions in China, summing up several commonalities from their diagnosis and treatment experiences. by Xinhua writers Xu ruiqing, Xiong Lin, Shi Qingwei, Liu Yide, Li Kun BEIJING, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Nearly 23,000 patients infected with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) have so far recovered and been discharged from hospitals in China as the country makes progress in its fight against the epidemic. It is believed to be of great significance to scrutinize diagnosis and treatment plans, summarize experience in those cured cases, and share such information in a timely manner among various parties, in an effort to intensify medical treatment capability and effectively assist in epidemic prevention and control across the country. Xinhua journalists have interviewed 18 patients (some using only surnames for privacy) recovering from the coronavirus in 13 provincial-level regions in China, summing up several commonalities from their diagnosis and treatment experiences. EARLY DIAGNOSIS, TREATMENT Early identification, reporting, isolation, diagnosis, and treatment is one of the best and most effective ways to contain pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus. "I went to the hospital immediately after I had a fever, and was soon diagnosed with COVID-19," said a patient in north China's Tianjin Municipality. With intensive media coverage of the situation, the public has been aware of the urgency. "Therefore, I went for an examination immediately after symptom onset," the patient added. "I did the right thing as it helped me win very precious time for timely treatment." A patient receives a foot bath treatment in a bucket of decoction at an isolation ward of the Affiliated Hospital of Jiangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Nanchang, east China's Jiangxi Province, Feb. 18, 2020. (Xinhua/Hu Chenhuan) A 35-year-old resident surnamed Tang in east China's Shandong Province, returned to her hometown from Wuhan, the epicenter of the epidemic, on Jan. 22, one day before the megacity, with a population of over 10 million, decided to close all channels of leaving Wuhan to curb the spread of the deadly pathogen. "I knew the situation in Wuhan would become worse," Tang recalled. "On Feb. 23, I went to the hospital in my hometown and was confirmed to be infected with the virus." "Thanks to the early diagnosis, my symptoms were eased a lot after four days of treatment in hospital, and I was finally cured," said Tang. COMBINATION OF TCM, WESTERN MEDICINE Clinical experience has repeatedly proven that traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) combined with Western medicine plays an active and effective role in the treatment and recuperation of coronavirus patients. TCM and Western medicine have their respective focuses and complementary strengths in treating the novel coronavirus, according to Zhang Boli, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Engineering. Western medicine offers important life-supporting measures such as respiratory and circulatory assistance, while TCM focuses on improving patients' physical conditions and immune function, said Zhang. Medical staff work at a traditional Chinese medicine pharmacy in Weinan City, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Feb. 20, 2020. (Xinhua/Tao Ming) Hu Yaqi, a 26-year-old resident in Wuhan, was confirmed to be infected with COVID-19 on Jan. 24 when she passed by north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region during her train trip. She received the integrated treatment of TCM and Western medicine during her 14-day hospital stay. Ding, a university student, took two doses of TCM targeting fever, coughing and vomiting twice a day when receiving treatment at the Sixth People's Hospital of Shenyang, capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province. "I felt better a couple of days later. The TCM prescription helped a lot in improving my physical conditions and immune function," said Ding, who was cured and discharged from hospital on Feb. 9. Among the 22 recovered patients in the hospital, over 80 percent received the combined treatment of TCM and Western medicine, according to Yu Hong, an attending doctor with the hospital. Nationwide, over 75 percent of COVID-19 patients are receiving TCM treatment in Hubei and over 90 percent in other parts of China. STRONG MEDICAL SUPPORT Strong medical resource support, including excellent medical teams, specific treatment schemes, as well as timely psychological counseling, have been provided for these confirmed cases. After Li, a 46-year-old teacher in north China's Shaanxi Province, was admitted to hospital on Jan. 28, a medical team consisting of intensive care, infectious and TCM medicines was immediately set up, and a specific treatment plan was quickly formulated. To quell her fear of the unknown, psychological health services were offered. "Once we are emotionally unstable, psychological consultants and medics will come to talk with us and cheer us up," said Ma Lian, who was hospitalized with her three family members in northwest China's Qinghai Province in late January. The patient recovered from COVID-19 poses for a photo with health workers before her discharge from a hospital in Erdos, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Feb. 5, 2020. (Xinhua) The emotional stability of patients helps in the fight. The psychological counseling offers comfort for those infected and reduces their spiritual burden, according to Drolma, deputy head of the Fourth People's Hospital of Qinghai. To date, China has opened mental health hotlines for people who need help with psychological issues related to the epidemic. More such telephone- and internet-based counseling services have also been established across the country. "Trying to stay strong in mind, only in this way can you win the fight against the 'epidemic demon,'" said the recovered patient from Tianjin. TRUST AND COOPERATION "I almost had a nervous breakdown when I was diagnosed with the deadly COVID-19," said Su Ya, a university student who was cured at a designated hospital in southwest China's Guizhou Province. "Looking back, I was very grateful for those medical workers who helped me survive the hard time." Su was the first confirmed case in the city of Zunyi in Guizhou. The Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University quickly set up a medical team composed of critical care, respiratory, infectious, and TCM medicines to better provide medical treatment for her. Health workers escort a recovered COVID-19 patient (2nd L) leave the Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University in Zunyi, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 8, 2020. (Photo by Wang Hong/Xinhua) Seven doctors and dozens of nurses worked non-stop to take good care of Su. "She trusted us and was very cooperative with our treatment plan, which also gave us great confidence," said Ouyang Yao, a respiratory physician at the hospital. "Those medical workers deserve our heartfelt gratitude. I felt at ease having them around in the hospital," smiled Hu, the cured patient in Inner Mongolia. "Our common enemy is the novel coronavirus. The doctors and nurses fighting on the frontline risk their lives to help us. The least we can do is to give them trust and stand with them," said the 46-year-old teacher in Shaanxi. EMOTIONAL SUPPORT OF FAMILY, FRIENDS Yang and her 22-year-old daughter were both confirmed to be infected with COVID-19 on Jan. 24 in Liaoning. While many hospitalized patients were separated from their families to reduce the risk of infecting them, medics try to keep a family of patients staying together so that they can spiritually support each other during the treatment. "The hospital arranged my daughter and me to stay in one ward so that we could accompany and encourage each other," said Yang. They were admitted to the Sixth People's Hospital of Shenyang, and both were discharged from the hospital on Feb. 9. A health worker (C) escorts two recoverd COVID-19 patients leave Tianjin Haihe Hospital in Tianjin, north China, Feb. 8, 2020. (Xinhua/Li Ran) "I love you. Do not be afraid and stay strong," Li, the teacher in Shannxi, cried when she received a WeChat message from her elderly teacher. Also, Li's students and their parents also texted messages and made phone calls to encourage her. "My classmates donated money to me. Everyone cares about me," Li was very touched. "Their support motivated me to pull through." At the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University in east China's Zhejiang Province, Li also shared a ward with her husband. It only took her four days to recover. "I have trust in the hospital, the doctors, and my beloved one. I am waiting for him to recover and come home soon," said Li. (Xinhua reporters Xia Ke, Yu Wan, Yan Xiangling, Shuang Rui, Lin Juan, Yangchuk Dhadrun, He Wei, Liu Zhiqiang, Wang Jinyu, Dong Xiaohong, Lin Miaomiao, Chen Kaizi, and Hu Jiali also contributed to the report.) (Video reporters: Zhang Haizhou, Qiu Yi, Cen Zhilian, Xu Shunda, Cui Li, Yu Wan, Huang Guobao, Ye Jing; video editor: Zhao Xiaoqing) As social beliefs and values change over time, scientists have struggled with effectively communicating the facts of their research with the public. Now, a team of researchers from the University of Missouri and the University of Colorado believe scientists can gain trust with their audience by showing their human side. The researchers say it can be as simple as using "I" and first-person narratives to help establish a personal connection with the audience. The study was published in the journal PLOS ONE. Traditionally, scientists might not always consider the audience evaluating them when sharing the facts of their research, said SiSi Hu, a graduate instructor and research assistant in the Missouri School of Journalism and corresponding author on the study. "Most of the time the public understands what the scientist is presenting to them, but each person understands in their own way," Hu said. "Therefore, there needs to be a sense of mutual understanding -- the scientist must trust the audience as much as the audience trusts the scientist with his or her message." After completing a literature review of perceived authenticity, the team did not find any appropriate measures relating to science communication. Therefore, based on existing literature, they created a theory of perceived authenticity in science communication -- a scientist is someone with their own belief system beyond institutional affiliations, and their messaging reflects those values. Study participants tested the theory by completing a 19-question survey on authenticity. Survey questions were based on a description of published plant science research and a group of randomly assigned narrative messages attempting to explain that research. The group of messages included a story drawn from the real-life experiences of J. Chris Pires of how he became interested in plant science. Pires is a Curators Distinguished Professor in the Division of Biological Sciences in the MU College of Arts and Science, and an investigator in the Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center. Researchers found that if a scientist shares the story of the development of the origin of his or her interest in the subject through a first-person narrative -- without use of institutional affiliations -- people are more inclined to perceive him or her as authentic. Additionally, if a scientist only uses a first-person narrative, people are more inclined to perceive a scientist as authentic based on a feeling of connection. The team also found the narrative qualities of perceived authenticity align closely with existing literature on benevolence and integrity, two personality traits that can help an audience build trust with the person delivering the message. "We hope our findings will provide some wisdom, guidance and tools that scientists can use to enhance their communication of their research -- that is also accessible and will be trusted by the public," said Lise Saffran, director of the Master of Public Health program at the MU School of Health Professions, and lead author on the study. "People want to know the person talking to them is a human being with their own values and point of view, and that the message they share reflects those values." Ahead of US President Donald Trump's maiden visit to India, former Union minister and Congress leader Anand Sharma on Sunday said so far there are no positive indications that the high profile visit would yield any major outcomes. However, former external affairs minister S M Krishna feels the visit assumes importance as both the US and India need to nourish and maintain the relationship between them further. The US president and First Lady Melania Trump will be in India from February 24 to 25. The visit is important in relation to the fact that the US is a major power, but that is all, Sharma said. "So far I do not have any positive indication of any major outcome. It will be a continuation of defence and security cooperation, and a reaffirmation of our cooperation in space and nuclear sciences. It is ongoing and it will not be a new thing," Sharma, a former minister who handled external affairs under the Congress-led UPA 1, told PTI. Krishna, who was external affairs minister during the UPA and is now in the BJP, feels though Trump's visit comes in the US presidential election year and a sizeable Indian expatriate population will vote, but "it should not be looked at from the narrow prism of US President's election". "It needs to be looked at a larger perspective as to what is happening in the region," he said. Krishna said China will be closely monitoring the visit and the nature of talks that take place. "It is a very important visit. The US and India have a very close and fruitful relationship especially after the Nuclear Accord. We have moved strategically close to each other and it is important for us to nourish and maintain the relationship further," he told PTI. Asked about the possible outcomes, he said he was not privy to the agenda of Trump and Prime Minister Modi. But some treaties would surely be signed and some issues concerning the two countries would be taken up when a meeting of this kind takes place, Krishna said. "It need not necessarily be bilateral as the outcomes may have the kind of impact that concerns the region," he said noting that China and Pakistan would certainly be discussed. Congress leader Sharma claimed that during the visit, there would neither be any trade agreement nor restoration of India's status under the Generalized System of Preference (GSP) bracket which the country previously had. "There won't be any trade agreement. There won't be restoration of the GSP with all indications and the US making negative statements," he said. "By putting India in the bracket of developed countries list, the US would drastically cut down any of the access and even the H1B visas which were available to India as a developing country because the US has quotas. So let us see. Except for a helicopter deal, there appears nothing in the offing," Sharma said. He said "we would have to wait and see if there will be outcomes". On whether Trump's visit would mean anything with regard to Pakistan, he said it was unlikely. "US President Trump will give one message today and he will give another message tomorrow. He has done this in the past. Do not forget after the 'Howdy, Modi' event in Houston how he met Pakistan PM Imran Khan. So let us wait. They will not take an extreme position. "They need Pakistan also for what they are doing in Afghanistan," said the deputy leader of the Congress in Rajya Sabha. Sharma said the Trump visit should also not be seen as an attempt to balance the rise of China. "China is five times bigger than us. India is in no position to balance. The US has its own equations with China (which) one should not forget. They make noises but they reach agreements quickly. They have a trade agreement. Let us wait," the Congress leader said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) WASHINGTONU.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday that he has never been briefed about Russian efforts to help Bernie Sanders win the Democratic presidential nomination and he accused the Democratic chairman of the House Intelligence Committee of leaking election security information from a classified briefing. Sanders acknowledged on Friday that he was briefed last month by U.S. officials about Russian efforts to boost his chances to be the nominee against Trump in November. I read where Russia is helping Bernie Sanders, Trump told reporters before leaving on a trip to India. Nobody said it to me. Nobody said it to me at all. Nobody briefed me about that at all. ... They leaked it. He accused Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the committee chairman who played a lead role in Trumps impeachment, of leaking information from a classified briefing. Schiff and his group, they leaked it to the papers and as usual, Trump said. They ought to investigate Adam Schiff for leaking that information. He should not be leaking information out of intelligence. They ought to investigate Adam Schiff. Schiff said Trumps accusation was false. Nice deflection, Mr. President. But your false claims fool no one, Schiff tweeted. You welcomed Russian help in 2016, tried to coerce Ukraines help in 2019, and wont protect our elections in 2020. Schiff also claimed that Trump fired Joseph Maguire this past week as acting national intelligence director for briefing Congress about election interference from Russia. Youve betrayed America. Again, Schiff tweeted. A nearly two-year investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller concluded there was a sophisticated, Kremlin-led operation to sow division in the U.S. and upend the 2016 election by using cyberattacks and social media as weapons. Intelligence officials have warned Russia is doing the same in 2020. Trump, however, has remained skeptical about the Russian interference. Asked why Trump recently called Russian interference in the election another misinformation campaign that is being launched by Democrats in Congress, Marc Short, chief of staff for Vice-President Mike Pence, defended the president. Short told NBCs Meet the Press that Trump does want to stop foreign interference in the elections. Short also said Trump wants to have a briefing at the White House in the next couple weeks so we can tell the American people how were making sure that our voting is safer. Conflicting accounts emerged from the recent closed-door briefing that election security officials gave to the House committee on interference by Russia and other nations in the 2020 campaign. One intelligence official said that lawmakers were not told that Russia was working to directly aid Trump. But other people familiar with the meeting said they were told the Kremlin was looking to help Trumps candidacy. The people spoke on condition of anonymity to discussed the classified briefing. Its unclear whether the committee members were also briefed about Russian efforts to boost Sanders a move that could be seen as beneficial to Trumps re-election bid. I think what it could be is, you know, the Democrats are treating Bernie Sanders very unfairly and it sounds to me like a leak from Adam Schiff because they dont want Bernie Sanders to represent them, Trump told reporters on the South Lawn. Trumps national security adviser said Russia probably would favour Sanders. Theyd probably like him to be president, understandably, because he wants to spend money on social programs and probably would have to take it out of the military, Robert OBrien told CBS Face the Nation. OBrien claimed he had not seen any intelligence or analyses indicating that Russia was aiding Trump and neither had top leaders in the intelligence agencies. The national security adviser gets pretty good access to our intelligence, OBrien told ABCs This Week. All I know is that the Republicans on the side of the House hearing were unhappy with the hearing and said that there was no intelligence to back up what was being said, OBrien said. But heres the deal: I dont even know if whats been reported as being said (by the briefers) is true. You know those are leaks coming out of that hearing. OBrien also denied reports that Trump became angry when he was told about the briefing and that he confronted Maguire and subsequently replaced him with the U.S. ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell. OBrien said Trump was not angry with Maguire and would have liked Maguire to stay in government in a different role. He said Maguires time as acting director of national intelligence was up in early March and the White House needed an individual someone who had already been confirmed by the Senate to temporarily replace him. Ambassador Grenell is there for a temporary period of time, OBrien said, adding that Trump was expected to announce a nominee to be quickly confirmed by the Senate as full-time director. The president has said he is considering three or four candidates. Short said Trump was frustrated that election security officials went to brief the House Intelligence Committee before briefing him, but Short denied that Maguires exit was related to the congressional briefing. The presidents frustration was that he wasnt briefed before they were briefed, Short said. So you had midlevel people going up into a very partisan environment thats supposed to be behind closed doors. ... The presidents concern was exactly to say, Look, if you do that, theyre going to say that the Russians are trying to help Donald Trump, which is exactly what the leak said. On Tuesday night, former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg took his place on the Democratic debate stage. It was his first appearance at a debate, coming two weeks before his first appearance on the ballot (he skipped the first four primary states). It did not go well. Democratic presidential candidate and former New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg. Credit:AP The ill-prepared mega-billionaire withered in the face of attacks from his competitors, and a Morning Consult poll released on Friday showed a 20-point drop in his favourability ratings. But even if the Bloomberg experiment flops, his presence in the race has laid bare the deep fractures and thorny challenges facing the Democratic Party. First and foremost, Bloomberg, who has self-funded his race to the tune of $450 million over 12 weeks, embodies the problem of wealth inequality. In Tuesday's debate one moderator wryly asked if he should exist a reference to the left-wing contention that in a fair economic system, there would be no billionaires. By Express News Service BENGALURU: Hoping to replicate the success of the Vicky Kaushal starrer UriThe Surgical Strike, Sandalwood is planning a movie on Indian Air Force (IAF) Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was captured by Pakistan Army after his fighter aircraft was downed during a dogfight with the Pakistan Air Force. He was subsequently released. Challenging Star Darshan is expected to play Abhinandans role in the movie. On Friday evening, producer-turned-politician Munirathna had organised an event in Bengaluru to celebrate 100 days of his movie Kurakshetra which stars Darshan, Nikhil Kumaraswamy and others. Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa was also present. At the event, Munirathna made an announcement on making a movie based on the heroics of Wing Commander Abhinandan. He also mentioned that Abhishek Ambareesh will be playing a major role in the movie which is expected to go on the floors this year. Munirathana also said that fans of D-Boss, as Darshan, is also known, are eagerly waiting to watch their star in the role of Abhinandhan. Darshan got to play the role of a freedom fighter in Sangolli Rayanna. In Kurukshetra, he played the role of the mythological character Duryodhana, which was his long-time wish. In the movie on Abhinandhan, Darshans fans will get to see him in the role of fighter pilot. On February 26 last year, the IAF conducted an airstrike on a terror camp at Balakot deep inside Pakistan. This came two weeks after Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists rammed a car full of explosives into a CRPF convoy in Jammu and Kashmirs Pulwama district. Forty CRPF jawans were killed in the Pulwama attack. Bollywood celebrities Malaika Arora, Lara Dutta, Anil Kapoor and Aditya Roy Kapur graced the red carpet of LIVA Miss Diva 2020 grand finale here on Saturday night. For the evening, the stars, who turned esteemed judges, made head-turning fashion statements as they arrived for the event. Anil Kapoor rocked in a suit that he paired with a grey shirt and tie, while Aditya looked all dapper in the black suit that he paired with a printed shirt. Malaika Arora and Lara Dutta, on the other hand, stole the show with their dramatic outfits. Lara chose a beautiful purple metal robe coupled with drop-diamond earrings for the event and also shared her enthusiasm and eagerness to see contestants. "We've had the girls with us for almost a month, They have been absolutely incredible very raw young, amazing talent came out of the whole country. I can't wait to hopefully not just crown another Miss Diva but crown another successor that's gonna go on to become Miss Universe," Lara added. While Malaika who was in the mood for summer wore a yellow gown and said: "It's always wonderful to be a part of any event. It's great to be back. We've got amazing lineup." Designers Shivan and Narresh, and Nikhil Rishi Mehra also judged the grand finale. Earlier, actor Deepika Padukone delivered a message for the top 20 contestants of the Miss Diva 2020 which they shared on their official Twitter handle. "To all the contestants of Miss Diva, I wish you all the best. Don't worry about the end result. Just enjoy the process," Deepika said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In his 1913 book, Essays in Rebellion, British journalist Henry Nevinson illustrated an issue facing the Atlantic fishing trade. The problem: when shipped in tanks overseas, cod tended to be lethargic, torpid prone to inactivity, content to lie in comfort rapidly deteriorating in their flesh. The solution, devised by an enterprising fisherman, was to insert one catfish into each tank, ensuring that each cod came to market firm, brisk, and wholesome for the catfish is the demon of the deep, and keeps things lively. Nevinson thus introduced the concept of the catfish as a stimulating, corrective presence that forces its neighbouring creatures out of their inertia. Over a hundred years later, the term catfish has become a popular expression for social media users who, while pretending on the internet to be someone they are not, play the same kind of role. Watching the Democratic primary debate this week in Nevada, it became clear that former New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg is, himself, a catfish. Setting aside the unflattering comparison to Nevinsons demon of the deep, it now looks like Bloombergs greatest impact as a candidate will be in his capacity to jolt his competitors out of their lethargy. He may not come out on top characterizing his debate performance as disappointing would be kind but his candidacy will cull the field and refocus the race. For months, the democratic primary has felt underwhelming. Initially framed as a coronation of former vice-president Joe Biden, surprises along the way have culminated in Sen. Bernie Sanders firm dominance in most national polls. Virtually all pundits agree that position will erode as the field narrows to just one or two centrist alternatives to the Vermont senators staunch socialism. But the reality is, aside from Sanders proposed political revolution, none of the candidates has really caught anyones imagination. Biden seems to have fallen asleep at the wheel, Pete Buttigieg has yet to garner any serious support from crucial minority groups and Elizabeth Warrens emphasis on substance over style has left voters wondering whether she is up for a general election fight. But all of that changed on Wednesday night. For the first time, each candidate seemed energized, on their toes and unafraid to throw punches. Like a catfish among the cod, Bloomberg forced his stage mates to eschew their friendly demeanour and act like the competitors they are. Warren came for Bloomberg, Amy Klobuchar swung at Mayor Pete and perhaps most significantly, Sanders learned to defend himself from exactly the kinds of attacks that he would face from Donald Trump. Responding to Sanders ardent defence of democratic socialism, Bloomberg noted how wonderful the U.S. must be, considering the best-known socialist in the country happens to be a millionaire with three houses. Sanders was taken aback. The senator is used to attacks for his socialist views but has yet to experience any serious challenge to the working class bona fides, which have defined his entire political identity. His flustered response shows just how unfamiliar Bloombergs tactic was. No doubt the Sanders camp was taking notes. The similarities between Bloomberg and Trump both are defined by their wealth, brashness and New York City demeanour make the former mayor a perfect debate proxy for the president. And no one took better advantage of this than Warren, who spent most of the debate attacking Bloomberg. After months of Warrens restrained focus on policy solutions, many have wondered whether she could put up the fight necessary to take down Trump. Last week, she answered that question, explicitly comparing Bloomberg to Trump and tearing down Bloombergs history of hiding his tax returns, of harassing women and of supporting racist policies. For the first time, voters could see just how Warren scraps. She stuck to her principles, was articulate and proved that she can fight back without getting covered in mud. In reality, the rumble in Nevada may not make a difference: Bloombergs $400 million (U.S.) ad buy will reach millions more Americans than the debate did. Regardless, the catfish has been set loose in the tank. Jaime Watt is the executive chairman of Navigator Ltd. and a Conservative strategist. He is a freelance contributing columnist for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: is the executive chairman of Navigator Ltd. and a Conservative strategist. He is a freelance contributing columnist for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @jaimewatt Read more about: President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday hailed the efforts of the Indian judiciary in pursuing the 'cherished goal of gender justice' and said that the Supreme Court has always been 'pro-active and progressive'. IMAGE: President Ram Nath Kovind delivers the valedictory address at the International Judicial Conference being organised by the Supreme Court of India, in New Delhi, on Sunday. Photograph: PTI Photo Speaking at the International Judicial Conference 2020 'Judiciary and the Changing World', Kovind said the apex court has led 'progressive social transformation' and referred to the two decades old Vishaka guidelines for preventing sexual harassment of women at workplace and the recent direction that women officers in the Army be granted permanent commission and command postings. "In pursuing the cherished goal of gender justice, to mention one example, the Supreme Court of India has always been proactive and progressive," the President said. "From issuing guidelines on preventing sexual harassment in the workplace two decades ago to providing directives for granting equal status to women in the Army this month, the Supreme Court of India has led progressive social transformation," he said. The president expressed happiness that judgments of the Supreme Court are being now made available in nine vernacular languages to make them accessible to the common people and termed the effort as 'extraordinary' keeping in mind the linguistic diversity of the nation. "The Supreme Court of India also deserves admiration for carrying out many radical reforms that made justice more accessible to the common people. Landmark judgments passed by this court have strengthened the legal and constitutional framework of our country," Kovind said. "Its bench and bar are known for their legal scholarship and intellectual wisdom. What it has achieved is nothing less than a silent revolution in diagnosing and correcting the afflictions that adversely affected the justice delivery system," the president said. Kovind referred to the role of judiciary in harmonising environmental protection and sustainable development, which get a lot of attention in various countries. Dealing with the challenges faced by the judiciary in the wake of evolution of information technology, he said that new questions like data protection and right to privacy have emerged. "With the evolution of information technology, there have emerged new questions, for example, of data and privacy," Kovind said. "Finally, the all-important concern of sustainable development should command far more attention than it does today. You have held wide-ranging deliberations on these issues and suggested measures to overcome the challenges," the President said. Kovind said the selection of topics for working sessions of the conference could not have been more meaningful as these five aspects -- gender justice, contemporary perspectives on protection of constitutional values, dynamic interpretations of the Constitution in a changing world, harmonisation of environment protection vis-a-vis sustainable development and protection of Right to Privacy in the internet age. These aspects influence every member of the global community, he said. Observing that these five distinctly defined topics cover the matrix of challenges faced by the judiciary across the world, he said gender justice must remain high on the global agenda. "The past decade has witnessed a debate on rising populism in the context of constitutional values. This has, in turn, led many to take a fresh look at their founding documents, the Constitutions, again," he said. However, he said that, in recent years, the world has been changing very fast and in unforeseeable ways, and the role of judiciary is bound to be 'pivotal amid these dramatic transformations'. Referring to the recent move towards introducing an alternative dispute resolution mechanism which is expected to reduce burden on the court to a considerable extent, he said, "Dispute resolution through mediation and conciliation would help resolve the problem amicably in an effective manner instead of resorting to a lengthy litigation process." "To speed up the justice delivery, of late the Indian courts have been adapting to new technologies and also considering the potential of artificial intelligence. We have been using information technology to ensure hassle-free proceedings in the court in high-profile cases," he said. Kovind added that the Supreme Court is also actively considering the ways to make courts paperless. He said that deliberations in the conference would help strengthen the judicial system not only in India but also in other countries as well. Speaking on the occasion, Chief Justice of India (CJI) S A Bobde referred to the positive outcome of deliberations in the conference and said there has been a common thread which bind judges of various jurisdictions which is 'a commitment to dispensation of justice'. He said the judgments of the Supreme Court of India have been cited by other courts of the world and as a result, India has served as a 'beacon of hope' to independent and developing nations. The CJI also said that as per the desire of the president, the apex court has taken initiative to make available its judgments in nine vernacular languages to ensure that the poor and the deprived citizens are imparted justice. He further said that job of the judiciary is not only to check who are in power but to empower deprived citizens. Over 500 people, mostly women, sat on a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) near Delhis Jaffrabad metro station More than 500 people, mostly women, sat on a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) near Delhis Jaffrabad metro station. The protest began hours after a road, closed since two months due to the Shaheen Bagh protest, was opened for vehicular traffic. The protest in Jaffrabad began on Saturday night on Road number 66, which connects Seelampur with Maujpur and Yamuna Vihar, prompting the Delhi Metro authorities to close the entry and exit gates of the station. The women, carrying the tricolour and raising slogans of 'aazadi', said they would not move from the site till the Centre revokes the CAA. #WATCH Delhi: People continue to protest in Jaffrabad metro station area, against #CitizenshipAmendmentAct. Security has been deployed there. As per the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, entry and exit of Jaffrabad have been closed. Trains will not be halting at this station. pic.twitter.com/gOLTj9MUnG ANI (@ANI) February 23, 2020 Traffic was impacted in the area and the police was trying to talk to protesters to clear the road. Heavy security was deployed in the area even as protesters tied blue bands on their arms and also raised 'Jai Bhim' slogans. Social activist Faheem Baig told PTI that there was resentment among the people against the way the government was handling the issue. Meanwhile, Shamim Ahmed, a local cleric, engaged in talks with the protesters at Jaffrabad in an attempt to persuade them to leave the site. #WATCH Delhi: Heavy security deployed in Jaffrabad metro station area. Protesters are agitating near the metro station, in protest against #CitizenshipAmendmentAct. pic.twitter.com/6ZdYuqesEU ANI (@ANI) February 23, 2020 There is another protest underway near the main Seelampur road and Kardampuri area. These protests come at a time when the Supreme Court appointed interlocutors in an attempt to reach out to the anti-CAA protesters at Shaheen Bagh. The protest blocked a road connecting southeast Delhi and Noida. Following mediation between interlocutors and protesters, road number 9, a one-way route connecting Noida with Kalindi Kunj, was opened on Saturday. The Supreme Court on Monday had appointed two advocates Sadhana Ramachandran and Sanjay Hegde as interlocutors and will hear the matter next on 24 February. Protesters have been opposing CAA and NRC calling them unconstitutional, divisive and discriminatory, since they use religion as a basis for citizenship. With inputs from PTI By Associated Press TOKYO: A cruise ship passenger who had been hospitalized after testing positive for the new virus died on Sunday, the third fatality from the Diamond Princess, Japan's health ministry said. The ministry also announced 57 more cases of infections from the ship, including 55 crew members still on board and two passengers who had infected roommates and are in a prolonged quarantine at a government facility. With the new cases, 691 people have been infected on the ship, or nearly one-fifth of the ship's original population of 3,711. ALSO READ: Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe asks government to draft policy to combat Coronavirus Japan has confirmed a total of 826 cases and four deaths from the virus, which first emerged in China, including those on the ship. The latest fatality is a Japanese man in his 80s who was among the first group of people developing symptoms when Japanese health authorities ordered a 14-day quarantine of the ship on February 5, Masami Sakoi, a health ministry official, said at a televised news conference. The man already had symptoms when the ship returned to Yokohama near Tokyo for the quarantine and was taken to a hospital, according to a ministry statement. Three other people, all in their 80s, have died from the virus in Japan, including two former passengers of the ship. Dozens of confirmed cases that continue to be reported from the ship have prompted criticisms and concerns that Japan's quarantine might have been inadequate. ALSO READ: Coronavirus outbreak - 'Red' alert issued in South Korea as death toll rises to five Japanese officials say they did their best given the challenging situation on the ship and the large number of people they had to deal with. On Saturday, a former passenger in her 60s tested positive for the virus after getting off the ship and taking a train home. Her husband, who traveled with her, tested negative again. More than 100 cases outside of the ship have been confirmed across Japan. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, speaking at Sunday's government task force meeting, raised concerns about some cases of infection that are of unclear transmission routes. Abe said that Japan is at a crucial phase in preventing a widespread infection and that it is necessary to implement reliable and effective measures to stop the further spread of the virus. Japan's health minister, Katsunobu Kato, speaking to reporters later Sunday, said the situation in the country is "just about to hit an acceleration phase." By Matt Kennard and Mark Curtis and cross-posted from The Daily Maverick. It can further be revealed that Lady Emma Arbuthnot was appointed Chief Magistrate in Westminster on the advice of a Conservative government minister with whom she had attended a secretive meeting organised by one of these Foreign Office partner organisations two years before. Liz Truss, then Justice Secretary, advised the Queen to appoint Lady Arbuthnot in October 2016. Two years before, Truss who is now Trade Secretary and Lady Arbuthnot both attended an off-the-record two-day meeting in Bilbao, Spain. The expenses were covered by an organisation called Tertulias, chaired by Lady Arbuthnots husband Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom, a former Conservative defence minister with extensive links to the British military and intelligence community exposed by WikiLeaks. Tertulias, an annual forum held for political and corporate leaders in the UK and Spain, is regarded by the UK Foreign Office as one of its partnerships. The 2014 event in Bilbao was attended by David Lidington, the Minister for Europe, while the Foreign Office has in the past funded Lord Arbuthnots attendance at the forum. The Foreign Office has long taken a strong anti-Assange position, rejecting UN findings in his favour, refusing to recognise the political asylum given to him by Ecuador, and even labelling Assange a miserable little worm. Lady Arbuthnot also benefited financially from another trip with her husband in 2014, this time to Istanbul for the British-Turkish Tatlidil, a forum established by the UK and Turkish governments for high level individuals involved in politics and business. Both Tertulias and Tatlidil are secretive gatherings about which little is known and are not obviously connected but Declassified has discovered that the UK address of the two organisations has been the same. Lady Arbuthnot personally presided over Assanges case as judge from late 2017 until mid-2019, delivering two controversial rulings. Although she is no longer personally hearing the Assange extradition proceedings, she remains responsible for supporting and guiding the junior judges in her jurisdiction. Lady Arbuthnot has refused to declare any conflicts of interest in the case Continue reading the article SENECA FALLS, N.Y. -- The Cayuga Nation Council seized and knocked down several buildings Saturday in Seneca Falls. The council led by Clint Halftown, the Cayuga Nations federal representative, said it took back property that had been seized by an opposing faction in 2014. Some of the people who were kicked off of the properties also claim to lead the nation, the council said in a news release. Control of some of the properties that were razed -- including a gas station, daycare center and an ice cream stand -- have been under dispute for years as two factions have grappled to lead the nation. The Cayuga Nation...chose today to demolish certain buildings that it owned on these properties, the council said. It did so to eliminate certain public safety issues, and it does not want these buildings to become a target for any further friction in the community going forward. The opposing faction that controlled the buildings since 2014, the traditional Cayuga Nation Chiefs and Clan Mothers, called Saturdays destruction of the buildings viciously unlawful," in a statement from their counsel, Joe Heath. Halftowns faction filed a suit in state court to force the opposing faction off of nation-owned businesses in Seneca Falls. However, the state Court of Appeals declined in late October to force the opposing faction off of the disputed properties, ruling the court does not have jurisdiction to settle the property dispute. Four months later, Halftowns faction seized the properties it had a sued to control. Today, the Cayuga Nation has employed tribal law to detain persons who have violated that law, and the Nation has retaken possession of its properties, the council said. The nations new police force searched the properties, the council said, and seized drugs, guns and ammunition. One person was charged with possession of a substance suspected to be methamphetamine, the council said, and was arraigned by Cayuga Nation Judge Joseph Fahey. The case will be handled in the nations new criminal court, the council said. 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. Have a tip or a story idea? Contact Samantha House: shouse@syracuse.com | text/call (315) 466-4160 | Twitter | Facebook Toronto police say a 30-year-old man has turned himself in after a woman was killed in a hammer attack Friday evening. Police were called to the area of Sheppard Avenue East near Markham Road for a possible medical complaint. They say the victim, identified as 64-year-old Hang-Kam Annie Chiu of Scarborough, was walking east on Sheppard when she was hit by a man. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Police initially said that the incident was a shooting, but say that is no longer the case. Saad Akhtar, 30, of Scarborough, turned himself in at 42 Division and has been charged with first-degree murder. He appeared in court at Old City Hall Saturday morning, police say. The investigation is ongoing. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-23 12:14:18|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close RIYADH, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said here on Saturday that she expects China's economy to "return to normal in the second quarter" of 2020. "The Chinese authorities are working to mitigate the negative impact (of COVID-19) on the economy," Georgieva said, adding that she "had an excellent discussion" with Chinese senior officials. "In our current baseline scenario, announced policies are implemented and China's economy would return to normal in the second quarter," Georgieva said. "As a result, the impact on the world economy would be relatively minor and short-lived," she said at the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting. Georgieva also expressed her "deepest sympathies" to the people in China and other affected areas, saying "the IMF stands ready to help." To avoid more dire scenarios, "global cooperation is essential to the containment of the COVID-19 and its economic impact, particularly if the outbreak turns out to be more persistent and widespread," Georgieva said. She also warned of "the potential risk for fragile states and countries with weak health care systems." The women were threatened during the robbery Two women have been threatened by a man with a knife during a shop robbery in north Belfast. It happened shortly after 3pm on Saturday on Antrim Road. The man later made off with a sum of cash. Detective Sergeant Duffield said: "The man is described as being aged in his late twenties or early thirties, around 5 8 in height and of medium build. He was wearing a blue/navy jacket with the hood up, and navy track bottoms. "This was a terrifying ordeal, which has left the members of staff understandably badly shaken. "I am appealing to anyone who was in the area, who witnessed any suspicious activity, or who may have captured dash cam footage, to get in touch on 101 quoting reference number 1102 of 22/02/20." Information can also be provided to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, which is 100% anonymous and gives people the power to speak up and stop crime. Athlone resident Brendan Grehan pushes a wheelbarrow through flood water in Athlone, Co Westmeath (Brian Lawless/PA) Preparations have been made ahead of expected heavy rainfall on Sunday night. Met Eireann has issued a status yellow rainfall warning for 19 counties across Ireland from 8pm on Sunday to 8am on Monday. The forecast heavy rain on Sunday night is expected to lead to accumulations of between 20 to 25mm which it is feared could lead to flooding. The rain is expected to be followed by sleet and snow. Some of the areas expected to be worst affected are towns along the River Shannon. Flooding remained in Athlone, Co Westmeath, on Sunday from earlier rain. Members of Westmeath County Council install an inflatable aqua dam in Athlone, Co Westmeath, as a status yellow rainfall warning was issued for 15 counties across Ireland (Brian Lawless/PA) Staff from Westmeath County Council were on the ground installing defence measures, including an inflatable aquadam. Minister of State at the Office of Public Works with responsibility for flooding, Kevin Boxer Moran, said the rivers water levels are expected to exceed the 10-year flood mark on Tuesday. Mr Moran visited Athlone on Sunday where he tweeted a video of efforts to protect a house in Ballykeeran with sandbags and a pump. He added that local authorities from Cavan to Limerick were on high alert. Meanwhile, Northern Ireland is set to be affected by a yellow warning for snow and rain on Monday morning, with some travel disruption likely. The Met Office alert comes into effect at midnight on Sunday until noon on Monday. Palestinian militants in Gaza pounded Israel with rockets Sunday after Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian suspected of placing a bomb near the border. The Israeli military said 20 unspecified projectiles had been fired and about 10 brought down by its Iron Dome missile defence system, without giving any immediate report of casualties. Gaza security sources reported outgoing rocket fire. Search Keywords: Short link: On Monday afternoon, the leader of the worlds most powerful country will touch down in Ahmedabad. For the next 36 hours India will roll out the red carpet for Donald Trump, beginning with a road show from the airport to the new cricket stadium in the company of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Coincidentally or otherwise, Gujarat is also the home to the Patels, who at one time dominated the motel trade in the USone facet of the soft power through which Indian expats, unlike their counterparts from across the border who find mention for less charitable reasons, have come to define themselves in the US. In fact, they have provided the glue with which the two democracies, one which is the oldest and the other, with its 1.3 billion population, the largest, have repaired their otherwise dysfunctional relationship. Ironically, it all started with the presidency of Bill Clinton, which actually by its errors of omission gave Pakistan a free pass to evolve as the global terror factorythe primary target was India, but within two years of Clintons errors of omissions struck home in the tragic developments of 9/11. Towards the end of his presidency Clinton, nudged on by a bunch of influential non-resident Indians or NRIs on the East coast, undertook a brief visit to India; even though he was a lame duck President the visit was significant as it acknowledged the big shift in Indias foreign policy undertaken by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee when he abandoned the non-aligned formula and embarked on a game changing bilateral relationship with the US. It was also the first visit by a US president in two decades. Till that moment, the NRIs, who were blamed for triggering the economic meltdown in 1991 when they voted with their feet and liquidated their foreign currency accounts held in India, had been treated as pariahs. It was, once again Vajpayee, who went out of the way and sought them out during his visits to the US as prime minister. It was also around this time that the Indian software story inspired by the likes of TCS, Infosys and Wipro, was beginning to shape the Indian narrative in the US. Such was the impact that almost inevitably every Indian landing in the US got asked the question whether he or she was a techie". Under George W. Bush, who took over the presidency in 2001, India-US relations acquired a new hue; it was under his leadership that the US State Department did a rethink on its cold-war logic viewing India in a poor light. The tragic events of 9/11 brought home the fact that terrorists knew no borders as also the fact that Pakistan, despite being the recipient of so much of American largesse, was anything but a trustworthy ally. The emergence of China only renewed the American belief that a long-term relationship with India was a no-brainer. Exactly why the White House started going out of the way to acknowledge the Indian expat community, estimated in 2010 at around 3 million, including for the first time the lighting of a token lamp (diya) by the US President to mark the celebration of Diwali. Soft power opened doors, when diplomacy found it difficult to wear down the cold-war prejudices. No surprise then that the Bollywood musical Bombay Dreams, inspired by the music of A.R. Rahman, made its appearance on Broadway in 2004; just like Indian cuisine, including street food (kathi rolls) from Kolkata, began to find its place in the American culinary lexicon. Similarly, American entertainment began to reflect and showcase Indian characters, sometimes even as co-leads in television serials. More recently, the success of Howdy Modi hosted in Houston, Texas too rode on the support of NRIs. Not surprising then that now when it is the turn of Namaste Trump that the Indian expat is the bridge yet again, underlining the potential of soft power as a strategic tool of diplomacy. Anil Padmanabhan is managing editor of Mint and writes every week on the intersection of politics and economics. Comments are welcome at anil.p@livemint.com Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Never miss a story! Stay connected and informed with Mint. Download our App Now!! Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-24 06:07:47|Editor: yan Video Player Close JERUSALEM, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Israel's longest-serving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing the battle of his life, with crucial national elections to take place on March 2 and a corruption trial to be opened only two weeks later. Last July, Netanyahu became the longest-serving prime minister in Israel's history, surpassing David Ben-Gurion, Israel's founding father. His election campaign focuses on how his legacy will be remembered: as a great statesman and popular leader, known by his supporters as "King Bibi," as Bibi is Netanyahu's often-used nickname, or as a hedonistic leader involved in corruption. On March 17, his trial is scheduled to be opened at the Jerusalem District Court, marking the first time that an incumbent prime minister in Israel stands trial. General-Attorney Avichai Mandelblit indicted him with bribery, fraud, and breach of trust in three separate corruption cases. In two cases, Netanyahu is suspected of providing regulatory and financial benefits to business owners of large media and telecom corporations in return for favorable media coverage. In the other case, he allegedly received expensive cigars, champagne, and jewelry worth about 1 million new shekels (293,000 U.S. dollars) from Israeli tycoon and Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan. Netanyahu's father, Benzion, was a Polish-born historian and a member of the nationalistic Revisionist Zionism faction. In 1956, the Netanyahu family moved to the United States, where he spent his teenage years and attended high school. Netanyahu later returned to Israel to serve as a soldier and commander in an elite commando unit called Sayeret Matkal, before returning to the United States and obtaining academic degrees in architecture and business administration. In 1993, he won the Likud chairmanship, becoming the official leader of the party. He expressed strong opposition to the 1993 Oslo Accords, an interim framework agreement providing the Palestinian with self-government. In 1996, amid a wave of attacks by Palestinians which killed hundreds of Israelis, Netanyahu was elected as prime minister for the first time, beating Shimon Peres, Israel's former president. It was a razor-thin margin victory. Netanyahu became Israel's youngest prime minister but was criticized for his lack of experience. Despite Netanyahu's hawkish views against the Israeli-Palestinian diplomatic contacts, he negotiated with the Palestinian Authority (PA) in 1997 and signed a deal handing the control over some 80 percent of the West Bank city of Hebron to the PA. Netanyahu was defeated in 1999 by Ehud Barak, a left-wing politician and former army chief. His recent years have focused on Iran, highlighting the risk a nuclear Iran poses to Israel. The Iranian issue also shadowed his relations with former U.S. President Barack Obama, with a head-on collision between the two amid Netanyahu's hawkish view on the Iranian nuclear program negotiations and the conflict with the Palestinians. The relations with the United States saw a revival after President Donald Trump was elected. In May 2018, Trump moved the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The two leaders have close ties. Netanyahu fully endorses Trump's Mideast plan. Agra: Taj Mahal, the white marvel in marble built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal attracts visitors from all over the world, including many heads of state. US President Donald Trump is also set to visit it on Monday evening. But few know that yet another monument of love, albeit not so grandiose, stands forlorn in a corner of the city, craving attention. This monument is the Red Taj Mahal, built by a desolate Dutch woman in memory of her soldier husband in the 18th century. Architecturally it is no parallel to the Taj but the similarity between the two structures is that both were built out of love. The Red Taj Mahal is located adjacent to the national highway and MG Road in a graveyard known as John Sahab Ka Roza which traces its roots to Armenians. The stone engraving detailing its history is fading and it remains one of the numerous lesser known monuments eclipsed by the glitter of Taj. It is the tomb of John Hessing William who hailed from Utrecht in the Netherlands and was in military service with various rulers in India. When he died he was buried here. Not many know about it and a resident living in a hutment facing the graveyard says that it is a place where very few people come, that too at long intervals. The site is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India but tourists are mostly unaware about it. The tomb is almost a replica of the Taj Mahal with four minarets at four corners around a dome-shaped structure on an elevated platform, all in red sand stone. There are other tombs and graves in the cemetery with inscriptions in Armenian and Portuguese. It is believed that land for this cemetery was granted by Mughal Emperor Akbar, portraying Armenian presence in the city during the Mughal period. Hessing initially came to Ceylon (present day Sri Lanka) in military service of the Dutch East India Company in 1752, reveals the inscription on a stone within the tomb. He moved back to Holland after five years but returned to India in 1763 and served under the Nizam of Hyderabad before joining the Scindias and fought various battles for them. He was rewarded for his bravery during the battle of Bhondegaon near Agra in 1787. The inscription reveals that he later served under Dowlat Rao Scindia and became a colonel, bravely holding command of Agra Fort till his death in 1803. Historians say that his wife Ann Hessing built the Red Taj Mahal in his memory. The structure, which has graves of Hessings relatives in lower cloisters, is not only a throwback into history but also a scintillating example of the labour of love. An FIR was filed on Friday night against All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader and former MLA Waris Pathan at Kalaburagi rural police station for his controversial statement. The ex-MLA had said "15 karor musalman 100 pe bhari padega (15 crore Muslims are more than a match for the country's 100 crore Hindus) at a public meeting here on February 15. Kalaburagi City Police Commissioner M N Nagaraj said "Pathan has been booked under Sections 117 (abetting the commission of an offence by the public or by more than 10 persons), 153 (provocation with intent to cause riot) and 153a (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language) of Indian Penal Code (IPC)". The FIR has been filed one week late by advocate Shwetha Omprakash Rathod. "His remarks amount to creating hatred among the religions. She has lodged a complaint on Friday after she came to know about the provocative speech through social media," Swetha said in her complaint. Nagaraj said a probe will be conducted into the speech and Pathan will be called for interrogation, if need be. As soon as new channels aired his speech, Pathan took to twitter. He said, "I hereby wish to reiterate that I can never say anything intentionally or unintentionally that hurts the sentiments of any caste, community or gender." "I am proud Indian and respect the plurality of this country. But yes, I am angry just like many other Indians, who believe in the Constitution of the country, the sheer neglect by the Govt in addressing the issues concerning CAA/NRC and NPR against which people have been protesting across the country in a democratic way," he said. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-23 19:17:22|Editor: yhy Video Player Close WELLINGTON, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand's Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel on Sunday made an apology to families of the 2011 deadly earthquake victims. Christchurch held a grand memorial ceremony on Saturday in memory of the 185 victims spanning more than 20 nationalities, including 24 Chinese students, in the 6.3-magnitude earthquake that struck the city on Feb. 22, 2011. Dalziel made a formal apology to the families who lost their loved ones or were seriously injured in the earthquake due to the collapse of the CTV building and other constructions. A long-time inquiry shows building designers, engineers and the Christchurch City Council were all responsible for the construction failure. Dalziel, who have been mayor since 2013, met privately with the families in the Christchurch Arts Center to make the formal apology. In a letter to families, Dalziel said: "I have wanted to make this formal apology for a long time. I am acutely aware of the time it has taken to get to this point," according to local media. However, victim families' representatives said they need more than an apology, as they demand "justice and accountability". The Christchurch City Council has made changes in new building standards and council processes of inspecting and approving building permits, in order to prevent it happening again. International rescue teams arrived within 48 hours after the Feb. 22, 2011 quake. The Chinese government dispatched a 10-person search and rescue team which arrived 36 hours after the quake. The earthquake and aftershocks caused substantial destruction to Christchurch in 2011. Statistics showed more than 1,200 commercial buildings were destroyed, and around 90 percent of residential houses were damaged to varying degrees. Then-Prime Minister John Key described the disaster as "New Zealand's darkest day". It is estimated that the total cost for Christchurch's reconstruction will exceed 40 billion New Zealand dollars (25.4 billion U.S. dollars), which equals approximately 10 percent of New Zealand's GDP. Actors Ed Helms and Randall Park have joined hands for NBC's hybrid alternative-scripted series "True Story". The two actors will host the show in which everyday Americans will sit down with them to share their most extraordinary and unbelievably true stories, reported Deadline. The six-episode series is based on the Australian show "True Story with Hamish & Andy". The project hails from hails from Warner Horizon Unscripted Television. "I can't wait to bring True Story to American audiences with my buddy, Randall Park. It's an incredibly warm, hilarious and kind-spirited show that celebrates the lost art of laughing at ourselves... with a little help from epic reenactments," Helms, who will also serve as executive producer, said. Park said, "I'm so excited to be a part of a show that combines three of my favorite things: great stories from real people, my pal Ed Helms and couches." Nicolle Yaron will showrun the series and also executive produce it alongside Tim Bartley, Hamish Blake, Andy Lee, Ryan Shelton and Mike Falbo. "True Story" will be produced by Warner Horizon in association with Pacific Electric Picture Co and Universal Television Alternative Studio. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Famed model, restaurateur and lifestyle guru Barbara 'B.' Smith died aged 70 on Saturday after a seven-year battle with Alzheimer's disease. She is seen in a photo from the 1990s Famed model, restaurateur and lifestyle guru Barbara 'B.' Smith has died aged 70 after a seven-year battle with Alzheimer's disease. Smith died 'peacefully' in hospice care at home in Long Island, New York, on Saturday night, her husband Dan Gasby announced in a Facebook post. 'It is with great sadness that my daughter Dana and I announce the passing of my wife, Barbara Elaine Smith,' Gasby wrote. 'Thank you to all the friends and fans who supported B. and our family during her journey. Thank you to everyone for respecting our privacy during this agonizing time. 'Heaven is shining even brighter now that it is graced with B.'s dazzling and unforgettable smile.' Smith was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's in 2013 after she began suffering from frequent bouts of forgetfulness. Gasby, Smith's husband of 28 years, cared for her at their East Hampton home up until her death, with help from his daughter Dana and his girlfriend Alex Lerner, whom he began dating after his wife's Alzheimer's diagnosis. Smith's husband, Dan Gasby (above together in October 2016) announced her passing in a Facebook post on Saturday night. 'Heaven is shining even brighter now that it is graced with B.'s dazzling and unforgettable smile,' he wrote Smith is seen with her stepdaughter Dana at their home in Long Island on January 9, 2019 Smith was born in Pennsylvania and rose to fame as a model in the 1960s after signing with Wilhelmina modeling agency. In 1976 she became one of the first black women to grace the cover of Mademoiselle fashion magazine. She went on to open three eponymous restaurants in New York City, Long Island and Washington, DC. Smith built her lifestyle and media brand after landing her own talk show, 'B. Smith with Style', in 1997, which aired on NBC stations across the country. She introduced her own home collection at Bed Bath and Beyond in 2001 - the first line by an African-American woman to be sold by a national retailer. She also authored three home entertaining books and was often described as a 'black Martha Stewart' - a comparison she once called 'a little tired'. 'Martha Stewart has presented herself doing the things domestics and African Americans have done for years,' Smith said in a 1997 interview with New York magazine. 'We were always expected to redo the chairs and use everything in the garden. This is the legacy that I was left. Martha just got there first.' Smith rose to fame as a model in the 1960s after signing with Wilhelmina modeling agency. She is pictured at a charity event in Sag Harbor, New York, in July 1999 Smith became a household name with the launch of her talk show, 'B. Smith with Style', in 1997 The Pennsylvania-native (pictured in the 1990s) was often referred to as a 'black Martha Steward' - a comparison she once called 'a little tired In 2011, Smith appeared in 'Love, Loss and What I Wore', an off-Broadway play written by sisters Nora and Delia Ephron about the effect of fashion on women's lives. Two years later her career ground to a halt as she was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's at the age of 64. Gasby likened the early day's of Smith's battle with the disease to 'chewing glass'. 'She said to me one day, 'Dan, I feel broken, like there's something not right.' And then I started to notice things were becoming more repetitive,' he told Today last year. 'I had an inkling, but I wouldn't believe that it could be something as devastating, as catastrophic, as Alzheimer's.' Smith documented her experience in the 2016 book Before I Forget: Love, Hope, Help, and Acceptance in Our Fight Against Alzheimer's, which she penned with her husband and journalist Michael Shnayerson. She and her husband were dedicated to raising awareness of the disease, particularly its impacts on the African-American community. Gasby and Smith tied the knot in 1992. They are pictured together at a benefit in 2007 Smith's marriage to Gasby made headlines in late 2018 after he announced his relationship with Lerner, a Manhattan chef, who was helping to care for his ailing wife. In the face of fierce backlash over the new relationship, Gasby revealed that his wife had told him to move on with his life before her Alzheimer's worsened. Gasby faced backlash last year after he revealed that he had a girlfriend - Manhattan chef Alex Lerner (pictured together) - who was helping to care for his ailing wife 'They say I am disrespecting her. B. told me to live, to go on, as I've told her,' the 64-year-old told People Magazine in February 2019. He said that he and Smith discussed their futures and what to do if either of them became incapacitated while assembling their wills. 'B. asked me to go on with my life. Anyone who says B. didn't do that doesn't know B. We wanted each other to be happy,' Gasby said. 'What we would like people to know is that when somebody has Alzheimer's, how devastating it is, how 24/7 it is, how draining it is,' he added. Gasby refused to place his wife in a facility, and instead he cared for her at home with the help of his 33-year-old daughter Dana, whom Smith had adopted after they tied the knot in 1992. Gasby revealed that following Smith's diagnosis he grappled with depression and loneliness, but then met Lerner who had experience with Alzheimer's as she was caring for her father who had the disease. '[Lerner] was funny. The most important thing, she was kind. And we became friends, and that friendship got closer and closer,' he said on the Today show last February. Gasby is seen with his wife Smith (right) and girlfriend Lerner (left) in September 2018 Lerner is seen with Smith at the Long Island home she shared with her husband Gasby in January 2019 Gasby said he was speaking publicly about Lerner because that's what Smith wanted. The pair had been together for over a year at the time of that interview. 'Because that's what Barbara asked me to do, to talk about it. It spun out of control to 'I'm having an affair. This woman, because of who she is, is taking B's money. We're abusing B. B wouldn't want this.' These people have never even talked to B,' Gasby said. Lerner revealed that she had her reservations about the relationship, but in the end gave in. 'But after a while, I understood, or it seemed to me, as if I had met a man who has a child. In a sense that B. is now very child-like. And his responsibilities are almost those of a single father. Like, really being there 24/7. Taking care of every and all of her needs,' she said on Today. The Washington Post did a feature on the dynamic between Smith, Gasby and Lerner in January 2019. It included footage of the trio interacting at Smith and Gasby's home in East Hampton, where they all appeared happy and comfortable together. Gasby told the Post at the time that he wasn't sure if Smith understood the nature of his relationship with Lerner. 'If "This Is Us" and "Modern Family" came together, it would be us,' he said. On the evening before the Nevada caucus, a 67-year-old woman called Deborah Cole was having an emotional experience. Having driven 80 miles from her home in Mesquite, she was now at the Spring Reserve ampitheatre in Las Vegas as Bernie Sanders was about to speak. Her eyes barely flickered away from stage, and she grew passionate as she talked, especially when asked if she would vote for someone such as Michael Bloomberg if Sanders failed to secure the nomination. If the Democratic establishment wont let us have our candidate, Id rather vote green, she said. They think were stupid. In that exchange was contained the potential for both delight and disaster for Democrats, as they go about selecting a candidate to challenge Donald Trump. Sanders has established himself as the clear frontrunner after wins in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada, with the votes of young and enthusiastic supporters, much of if from people of colour. Yet the passion those people feel for the 78-year-old from Vermont, extends much less to other Democrats seeking the nomination. Of supporters of all the candidates, those who back Sanders say they are less likely to vote for the Democratic nominee if it is not their man. 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 Such loyalty is displayed not just conversations with people such as Cole, an accountant, but by several polls. One carried out in by Emerson Polling suggested only 53 per cent of current Sanders supporters said they will definitely support the eventual nominee. In contrast, at least 85 per cent of Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, and Elizabeth Warren supporters said they would vote whomever the party nominated. In interviews with Sanders supporters The Independent found the candidate most acceptable as a second choice was Elizabeth Warren, while the least acceptable was former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg. At the get out the vote rally on Friday, one couple disagreed fundamentally on this very issue. Shaun Richards said while did did not like the billionaire businessman, he would vote for anyone to try and and stop Trump. His partner, Jacqueline Bunge, said she could not bring herself to vote for Bloomberg, who aroused in her strong emotions and stern words. Why does this matter? In 2016, many supporters of Sanders were horrified at the prospect of voting for Hillary Clinton, who many believed was in the pay of Wall Street. Some said they would vote for down ticket candidates senators and congressman and such like on election day, and leave blank, or write the name of Sanders, where the ballot paper said Hillary Clinton. Some said they would vote for Trump, who at that time was presenting himself in terms not entirely dissimilar to Sanders, as someone who was not part of the establishment and would clean up the system. In the end, angered about the way some within the Democratic National Committee had sought to undermine Sanders and support Clinton revealed by hacked DNC emails published by Wikileaks and by presence of super delegates who gave crucial backing to Clinton, plenty could not bring themselves to support her. To his credit, at at the partys convention that summer in Philadelphia, Sanders did his duty in urging his supporters to now back Clinton. Bernie Sanders wins Nevada primary I understand many people here in this convention hall and around the country are disappointed about the final results of the nominating process. I think its fair to say that no one is more disappointed than I am, he said in one of the most powerful speeches of the political cycle. [But] this election is about and must be about the needs of the American people and the kind of future we create for our children and grandchildren. It was not enough. Polls suggest as many as 12 per cent of people who voted for Sanders in the primary, went for Trump in the general election. Given he only won the White House by 77,000 votes scattered across three states Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania it is impossible to know the impact of such defections. These are emotional, sensitive matters and people need to choose their language with care. Supporters of Sanders are angry when backers of other candidates accuse them of being potential wrecking balls in November. Their opposition to the likes of Bloomberg, who has spent $400m of his estimated $63bn fortune to self-fund his campaign, while Sanders has built his with the support of small donation from ordinary people, most commonly teachers, is understandable. On Friday night, Sanders said his campaigns average donation was just $18.53. He said he received cheques from employees at Walmart and Amazon, people who are earning low wages but who send 20 bucks or so to help bring change. And much of what Sanders says about the state of America is undeniably true. Inequality is vast and getting worse, the healthcare system is wasteful and inefficient, and too many people use GoFundMe campaigns to fund their healthcare. In cities such as San Francisco and Seattle, where corporations such as Amazon escape paying federal taxes, homelessness is out of control. People in tents gather under flyovers and new construction. The criminal justice system, by any measure, discriminates hugely against people of colour. As supporters of Sanders correctly point out, all of this means the stakes have never been higher. It also means Bernie Sanders needs to think very carefully what he will tell his supporters if he does not win the race he is currently leading. Stone pelting took place between two groups in Maujpur area of Delhi on Sunday due to which the police resorted to firing tear gas shells in order to disperse the mob. Maujpur area is close to Jaffrabad metro station area, where women are holding a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) amid heavy security. Meanwhile, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) informed the public that entry and exit gates of Maujpur and Babarpur metro stations have been closed. "Security Update: Entry and exit gates of Maujpur-Babarpur are closed," DMRC's tweet at around 5 pm on Sunday read. Earlier in the day, the entry and exit gates at Jaffrabad had been closed in the morning due to the anti-CAA protest. Protest against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the Register of Citizens (NRC), which began late evening on Saturday at Jaffrabad metro station continued today. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Today, Samsung Canada is excited to announce that the highly anticipated Galaxy Z Flip, a new, statement-making foldable smartphone, is now available in limited quantities across Canada. Already sold out in global markets including the U.S., France, and South Korea, the bold and stylish Galaxy Z Flip is changing the shape of the future for those who see cutting edge technology as a way to express themselves. Engineered with first-of-its-kind foldable glass, Galaxy Z Flip bends the laws of physics, and features a 6.7-inch display that folds into a stylish and compact form factor that fits in the palm of your hand: Style that Fits in Your Pocket Galaxy Z Flip folds into the size of a wallet, so you can easily fit it in your pocket or bag. When opened, its screen size nearly doubles to reveal a stunning 6.7-inch display. Turn heads with its stylish colour palette, sleek rounded corners, new Hideaway Hinge and forward fold that closes with a satisfying snap. Flex Mode Enjoy a custom-built user experience for Galaxy Z Flip's unique forward folding form factor. When the device is free-standing, the display automatically splits into two 4-inch screens so you can easily view images, contents or videos on the top half of the display, and control them on the bottom half - or open a second app for ultimate multitasking on the go. Game Changing Camera Galaxy Z Flip literally stands on its own so that you can capture more, from timed group shots to vivid nighttime content. Create content for your social media feeds from the best angle and enjoy video recording with a 16:9 ratio that's perfect for uploads to social media platforms, hands-free no tripod needed. Just open your device and place it on a table. When closed, quickly capture one-handed high-quality selfies using the rear camera without unfolding. Notifications on Your Terms Whether Galaxy Z Flip is closed, standing upright or open, never miss a text, call or reminder. When closed, check the date, time and battery status at a glance on the cover display. Get real-time notifications so you can easily answer a call without unfolding or respond to a text by simply tapping the notification and unfolding your Galaxy Z Flip. GALAXY Z FLIP CANADIAN PRICING AND AVAILABILITY: Starting February 21, 2020, the Galaxy Z Flip is available in Canada in limited quantities in both Mirror Purple and Mirror Black at Samsung Experience Stores, Samsung.com and at major carriers across Canada, for $1,819.99. For more information about the Galaxy Z Flip, visit: So... Z Flip, or Flip Z? I dunno about you, I get the naming convention they have is *LETTER* additive-feature... but I like thinking of the FLIPz!Anyways, it's now available in Canada as of Friday. Did you get one on pre-order? Did you rush out to a store to check it out? This foldable glass is apparently something to behold. WATCHING THE CALL OF THE WILD WITH AN AUDIENCE OF DOGS New Yorker To combat citrus greening, farmers are spraying medically important antibiotics on their trees The Counter Revealed: quarter of all tweets about climate crisis produced by bots Guardian (furzy) Sweden is now testing its digital version of cash, the e-krona MIT Technology Review Brexit Julian Assange Class Warfare 2020 I went on Tucker Carlsons show last night to discuss why the Russiagate playbook used against Trump is now being aimed at Bernie Sanders: pic.twitter.com/aWoENgf7SB Aaron Mate (@aaronjmate) 22 February 2020 The GOPs Silly Attempt to Boost a Liberal Candidate New Republic (re Silc) 737 MAX Syraqistan India #nCOVID-19 China? Big Brother IS Watching You Watch Trump Transition Antidote du Jour. Australian magpie as seen in Whangarei, NZ. Abundant in NZ. ~mgl: See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here In the first case, police said the victim was sitting in his parked car in a garage in the 1100 block of South Hayes Street about 10:25 p.m. when a robber with a gun knocked on his window. The victim got out and was assaulted. The victim screamed and the robber ran, police said. They said the victims injuries were minor. The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), said on Saturday that the repatriated money looted by the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, would be used for the development of critical infrastructure. Malami said in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations, Dr Umar Gwandu, there was no form of agreement to hand over $100m out of the latest tranche of the recovered $300m Abacha loot to Kebbi State Governor Atiku Bagudu or any third party interest. He said Bagudu was pursuing separate cases in court in the United States and the United Kingdom to assert his right in connection with the Abacha loot. He also said Nigeria was also cooperating with the US in the recovery of other assets including corruption proceeds linked to ex-Petroleum Resources Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke and her associates, and former Delta State Governor James Ibori as well as several others. The United States Department of Justice had alleged that the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari, was planning to hand over about $100m out of the Abacha loot to Bagudu. The Department of Justice made the claim in court documents filed before the District Court for the District of Columbia in Washington, according to Bloombergs reports. Bagudu, who is a close ally of Buhari, was indicted by the US Government for helping Abacha to transfer billions of dollars in the mid-90s. According to documents from the Department of Justice, Bagudu spent six months in detention in Texas while awaiting extradition to the Island of Jersey. However, before he was handed over for criminal trial in Jersey, he was said to have quickly agreed to return $163m to Nigeria and was released on bond to Nigeria where he was meant to be prosecuted for money laundering. In his second reaction within 24 hours to the widely reported plans by the Buhari regime to hand over $100m to Bagudu, Malami said the money would be used for infrastructural projects as agreed with the countries it was recovered. The AGF restated the money would be used for the Abuja-Kano Road, 2nd Niger Bridge and the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. He described as mischievous and pedestrian for anyone to seek to turn the law and the facts on its head on the matter of repatriation whose terms are clearly spelt out and agreed among the parties. He stated, This long-standing cooperation recently culminated in the successful signing of memorandum of understanding for the repatriation of over $300m looted assets associated with General Sani Abacha. It is pertinent to recall at this juncture that prior to the 2020 agreement with the United States and Island of Jersey, the Federal Government has signed an agreement for the return of over $300m in 2017 which was effectively deployed for the purpose for which it was agreed to be applied without any issue of reputation The FG is also negotiating the recovery of assets from several countries and the agreements for the recovery and the procedure for recovery are always presented to Federal Executive Council for approval and duly made public once the processes have been concluded. No third-party interest was captured in the memo that was approved by the council. The 2017 repatriated funds were deployed to the implementation of the Social Investment program and it is being monitored by civil society organisations across the country. He said the FG remains fully committed to continued cooperation with the US and other countries in a reciprocal manner. On the Bagudus link to the money, Malami said, It is well known that the US and the Bagudu family have been in court since 2014 over assets already rescinded under the 2003 Agreement. The matters are to be determined in UK and US courts. The Bagudu family assets in contention, which constitute a distinct and separate cause of action, do not have anything to do with the assets already recovered and being recovered under the Abacha 2014 non-prosecution agreement. The world's popular Nobel Peace Prize is very important for everyone. Vietnam Buddhist monk Thich Kwong Duk, who has been nominated several times for this award, died at the age of 93. He was a disgruntled monk. He spent most of his life advocating religious freedom and human rights run by the community. Earthquake felt on Turkish-Iran border, 7 died Thich Kwong was born in the Thai province of Vietnam in 1928. He was the head of the Banned Buddhist Monastery of Vietnam (UBCV). Thich Kwong, who called for human rights and religious freedom, was vocal against the Vietnam government. Due to his fanaticism, he was arrested in 2003. He was placed under house arrest. Since then he was constantly under police supervision. The UBVC was banned from the early 1980s when it refused to join the state-sanctioned Vietnam Buddhist Church. Questions on Trump raised again, opposition attacks for interfering in election of this country The Banned Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) gave official notice of his death on Saturday night. According to his signature on April 2019, Thich Kwong wanted 'my ashes to be scattered in the sea after the last cremation. No donations should be taken for my last trip. I will not have an autobiography, no emotional show... just praying.' Harry and Megan spoke about leaving royal title He always advocated a democratic system. He was nominated several times for the Nobel Peace Prize for his struggle for the establishment of democracy in Vietnam. He continued to fight for religious freedom. He kept demanding the independence of Buddhist monasteries. He continued to raise his voice against the government over human rights. For this reason, the Vietnam government put him under house arrest. The following year he received Norway's Ruffoto Human Rights Award for his personal courage and perseverance for three decades of peaceful protest against communist rule in Vietnam. US targets Russia, blames it for spreading confusion about coronavirus LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Feb, 2020 ) :Provincial Secretary Human Rights & Minorities Affairs (HR&MA) Dr Irshad Ahmed paid a surprise visit to the Central Jail of Faisalabad on Sunday. According to handout issued here, Jail Superintendent Noor Hassan Baghela briefed the provincial secretary regarding steps taken for welfare of prisoners. Dr Irshad also inspected kitchen, prison factory, library, filtration plant andhospital besides meeting with prisoners. He appreciated the establishment of a vocational training center in the jail. J ulian Assanges father has claimed his son was harassed in prison the day before his court battle against extradition is set to begin. John Shipton visited the WikiLeaks founder at Belmarsh Prison in south-east London for two hours on Sunday. Speaking to reporters afterwards outside, Mr Shipton said his son had his prison cell searched and demanded he be released on bail. For the life of me I cant understand why Julian Assange is in jail having committed no crime, with family here that he can come and live with, he said. Julian Assange protest: Father speaks of son's 'arbitrary detention' Bail ought to be given immediately if the extradition order isnt dropped. Julian had a harassment today. He goes to court tomorrow. They searched his cell this afternoon just before he came down to see us. This plague of malice that emanates from the Crown Prosecution Service to Julian Assange must stop immediately. Mr Shipton was accompanied on his visit by Greek economist Yanis Varoufakis, with both met by representatives from Reporters Without Borders as they left the prison. Julian Assange - In pictures 1 /30 Julian Assange - In pictures 2019 Julian Assange on his arrival at Westminster Magistrates court on April 11 Jack Taylor/Getty Images 2019 Julian Assange made a defiant gesture with his fist as he arrived at court AFP/Getty Images 2017 Julian Assange puts his fist in the air as he steps out to speak to the media from the balcony of the Embassy Of Ecuador Getty Images 2012 Protesters gather outside the Ecuadorian Embassy, where Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks is staying Getty Images 2012 Masked supporters of Julian Assange outside the Embassy of Ecuador in Knightsbridge Dominic Lipinski/PA 2010 Photographers hold cameras to the windows of a Serco prison van believed to be carrying WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange Reuters 2016 ulian Assange's cat, is adorned with a tie and collar inside the window of the Ecuadorian Embassy PA 2016 Pamela Anderson delivers lunch to Julian Assange at Embassy of Ecuador Getty Images 2010 Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is pictured through the heavily tinted windows of a police vehicle as he arrives at Westminster magistrates court in London AFP/Getty Images 2010 Jemima Kahn leaves the City of Westminster Magistrates Court after offering to stand as surety for Julian Assange Getty Images 2010 Julian Assange of the WikiLeaks website speaks to reporters in front of a Don McCullin Vietnam war photograph at The Front Line Club in London Getty Images 2010 Wikileaks founder Julian Assange gestures inside a prison van with red windows as he arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice Getty Images 2011 WikiLeaks website founder Julian Assange arrives at The High Court Getty Images 2011 Julian Assange, founder of the WikiLeaks website, shakes the hand of a supporter as he leaves Trafalgar Square after addressing the crowd during the 'Antiwar Mass Assembly' organised by the Stop the War Coalition Getty Images 2011 Journalist John Pilger and Julian Assange, founder of the WikiLeaks website, chat before addressing the crowd during the 'Antiwar Mass Assembly' organised by the Stop the War Coalition at Trafalgar Square Getty Images 2012 Placards are left by supporters of Julian Assange, the founder of the WikiLeaks whistle-blowing website, outside the Ecuadorian Embassy Getty Images 2015 WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange with Reverend Jesse Jackson outside the Embassy of Ecuador in London PA 2016 People attend a video conference of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the International Center for Advanced Communication Studies for Latin America (CIESPAL) auditorium in Quito AFP/Getty Images 2016 WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange holds up his new kitten at the Ecuadorian Embassy in central London WikiLeaks 2017 WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange during a press conference from inside the Ecuadorian embassy AP 2018 Supporters of Julian Assange outside Westminster Magistrates Court, London where a court decision is due on whether a UK arrest warrant against the WikiLeaks founder is still valid PA 2018 British hacker Lauri Love and his girlfriend Sylvia Mann are surrounded by media after visiting Wikileaks founder Julian Assange in the Ecuadorian embassy in London on 6th February 2018 AFP/Getty Images 2018 A cat named 'James' wearing a collar and tie yawns by the window of the Ecuadorian Embassy where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been for over five years on 6th February 2018 AFP/Getty Images Mr Shipton said it was distressing and very upsetting to see his son in jail, adding that he had told him his whole family would be supporting him. Mr Varoufakis said Assange was in a very dark place due to spending more than 20 hours a day in solitary confinement. Describing the Australian as a force of nature, he said he was not being allowed to exercise in the gym with other inmates. We have to stop this extradition in the interests of 300 years of modernity, 300 years of trying to establish human rights and civil liberties in the west and around the world, Mr Varoufakis added. Christophe Deloire, from Reporters Without Borders, said: The question is not are you part of the family or not, do you like Julian Assange or not. The question is that tomorrow in this courtroom, journalism will be in danger. Because if Assange would be extradited to the US, it would be the sign that journalism is considered as espionage and it would endanger all journalists who want to cover the lies of governments whatever the country. Former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis talks to the media as he leaves Belmarsh Prison after visiting Julian Assange (REUTERS) / Reuters Assange, 48, is wanted in the US on 18 charges over the publication of US cables a decade ago and if found guilty could face a 175-year prison sentence. He is accused of working with former US army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to leak hundreds of thousands of classified documents. He is being held in Belmarsh as he awaits the start of a full extradition hearing at the nearby Woolwich Crown Court on Monday. On Sunday evening, some Assange supporters were setting up tents by the side of the road outside the court building. Last week Mr Shipton warned his sons extradition would be akin to a death sentence. He addressed the hundreds of Assange supporters after they marched through central London to Parliament Square on Saturday to protest against his sons potential extradition. Musician Roger Waters, Mr Varoufakis and fashion designer Vivienne Westwood also gave speeches in support of Assange. More than 40 international legal experts have written to Prime Minister Boris Johnson demanding the rule of law be upheld before Assanges hearing on Monday, claiming he has not had proper access to his legal team. A 29-year-old man has appeared in court charged with stabbing a prayer leader at a London mosque. Raafat Maglad, 70, was attacked during afternoon prayers at London Central Mosque in Regent's Park on Thursday. Daniel Horton, of no fixed abode, has been charged with grievous bodily harm and possession of a bladed article. He spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth, and to state his nationality as British, when he appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Saturday. Horton was remanded in custody by District Judge Nina Tempia to appear at Southwark Crown Court on 20 March. Mr Maglad was taken to hospital with stab wounds but was later discharged, returning to the mosque for Friday prayers less than 24 hours after being attacked. Wearing a sling to support his right arm and surrounded by security, Mr Maglad told reporters on Friday: "I feel okay. This is my fate." Mayor of London Sadiq Khan visited the mosque on Friday in a show of support for Mr Maglad. Mr Khan said shortly after the incident that "every Londoner is entitled to feel safe in their place of worship and I want to reassure London's communities that acts of violence in our city will not be tolerated". He said extra police officers would be deployed in the area. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was "deeply saddened" at the attack, adding: "It's so awful that this should happen, especially in a place of worship." Scotland Yard has previously said it is not treating the stabbing as terror-related. JERUSALEM The Israel military said early Monday that it struck Palestinian militant targets in Gaza and Syria in response to rockets fired toward southern Israel on Sunday evening, hours after Israel said it killed a Palestinian militant who tried to place a bomb along the Israel-Gaza barrier fence. The Islamic Jihad militant group claimed responsibility for the rocket barrages. Palestinians were furious over the image of the mans lifeless body dangling off the front of an Israeli bulldozer that crossed into Gaza to retrieve it. A six-year-old missing girl was found dead on Sunday from bushes near a dargah in Uttar Pradesh's Bahraich district, police said. Hashmeen (6) had gone missing on Saturday night after her family paid a visit to Sayed Salar Masood Ghazi dargah here, they said. The parents lodged a missing complaint and she was found dead the following morning. The body has been sent for a post mortem, police added. A probe is on and no arrests have been made so far. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) LOWER CHEHALIS STATE FOREST, Wash. - Just south of Washington's State Capitol in Olympia, more than 20,000 acres of noble and Douglas fir trees blanket tall hillsides and valleys cut through by meandering streams. The sprawling, unmarked forest is indistinguishable from much of the Evergreen State's rugged terrain. This natural area, though, serves a very specific purpose. For the state, the land is essentially a bank account collecting interest, hundreds of millions of board-feet of timber, growing until it's ready for harvest. The money collected when all that timber is sold - on a staggered basis, as different stands mature - will pay for school construction throughout the state. Washington's Department of Natural Resources manages about 3 million acres like these, known as state trust lands. These lands, about half of which are forested, were granted by the federal government when Washington became a state in 1889, set aside to provide a long-term revenue source for schools. Another half-million acres of forest are managed by the agency on behalf of 330 rural counties and junior taxing districts such as libraries and fire districts. These governments turned land over to the state during the Great Depression, with the understanding that the state would return timber revenue to them. Many of these small governments rely on timber revenue to balance their budgets. State trust lands have long been a part of the nation's landscape, predominantly in 11 Western states - among them Colorado, Oregon and Wyoming. In total, they comprise more than 40 million acres, about the size of Florida. The system historically has provided revenue to schools and local communities. ADVERTISEMENT But now, the trust lands arrangement across the West has come under attack from all sides: by environmentalists who want to preserve habitat for endangered species, by governments that may want to sell the land to balance budgets and by companies that want more access for logging, grazing and other uses. In both Washington and Oregon, Endangered Species Act requirements have placed many acres of forest off-limits for logging, leading to dwindling revenue and frustration from the timber industry and many trust beneficiaries. The environmental community, meanwhile, thinks the species and habitat protections are far from adequate, and the long-standing funding model is outdated. "The system we currently have really isn't working for anyone," said Lisa Remlinger, evergreen forests program director with the advocacy group Washington Environmental Council. "It isn't working for rural communities, conservation or economic interests." The timber industry and many trust-dependent governments argue that the lands' legal purpose is to provide funding for public services, and that the obligation needs to be met before states consider other uses for the lands. "These forests were designed for (rural counties') benefit, not for the benefit of the state as a whole," said John DiLorenzo, the lead attorney for a group of rural Oregon counties currently embroiled in a legal battle with the state over harvest levels set by the Department of Forestry. "If you're going to change the rules and breach our contract," he said, "write us a check and move on." In Wyoming, some lawmakers want to sell or lease trust lands to encourage development, a way to make up for declining fossil fuel revenue. Many in that state's outdoors community fear the bill, sponsored by Speaker of the House Steve Harshman, a Republican, could end up putting prime hunting or fishing areas in private hands. An earlier version of the bill died in a Senate committee last year, and some opponents argue the state should not sell off assets for short-term profit. A study conducted by the Wilderness Society found that Utah sold off most of the 7.5 million acres of trust lands it was initially granted. ADVERTISEMENT And Colorado has frustrated its outdoor community by keeping most of its trust lands off-limits to the public. The vast majority of the state's trust lands are leased for agriculture and considered private, and the state has also leased some prime territory to exclusive private hunting clubs. Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, has pledged to open more of the lands to the public, and last year Colorado opened half a million acres to seasonal hunting and fishing, doubling the previous amount. Some states require permits to access trust lands, another way to generate revenue, noted Joel Webster, director of the Center for Western Lands, a project of the advocacy group Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. Although many states have seen conflicts over the role of trust lands, it's "more pronounced" in the Northwest right now, he said, given the legal battles taking place over forestry. "If people value conservation on these lands, they need to figure out how to get it done in a way that still supports the financial mandate of these lands to provide revenue," Webster said. "You've got to be true to the intent of these lands, while at the same time acknowledging the conservation need." In December, Washington finalized its plan to protect the marbled murrelet, a threatened seabird that flies inland to lay its egg in old-growth trees. The plan, which replaces an interim measure and is necessary for federal approval of future logging, reopens some lands for logging, while protecting other areas to provide a long-term habitat. The state has been sued by the timber industry and rural governments that say the plan will further reduce their dwindling timber funding, as well as by environmental groups, which say the plan will not prevent the continued decline of the species. The American Forest Resource Council, an Oregon-based timber industry group, is among the entities suing the state over its plan. "(The state) has a very strong fiduciary trust mandate to the beneficiaries," said Matt Comisky, the organization's Washington state manager. "We think they actually gave more to the conservation side than what they were legally required to." ADVERTISEMENT On the environmental side, Peter Goldman, director and managing attorney at the Washington Forest Law Center, said his organization thinks the plan does not set aside enough habitat to protect the bird. "(The timber industry) sued the state for doing too much," Goldman said, "and we sued the state for not doing enough." The Department of Natural Resources acknowledges it's in a tough position. The state trust lands legally exist to provide money for public services, so the agency must bring in as much revenue as it can. As a result, the state aims to set aside the bare minimum habitat to comply with federal conservation standards. "The tussle between the interests of the environmental community and the interests of rural communities and the timber industry and schools creates a tension," said Angus Brodie, the agency's deputy department supervisor for state uplands. "We have a duty to demonstrate that solutions are out there, and there is a place in the middle of that Venn diagram that we can operate." Perhaps no one feels that tension more than Chris Reykdal, the Washington state superintendent of public instruction. Reykdal voted in favor of the department's plan as a member of the Board of Natural Resources. He called the plan the "right middle ground to strike now," but one that still requires a long-term reconsideration of the funding model. "We have got to figure out a long-term strategy for these trust lands to address forest health," Reykdal said in an interview with Stateline, "but also provide revenue in a time where climate change is impacting what we can do." Trust lands' share of statewide education funding is shrinking, Reykdal acknowledged. Washington's school construction needs are about $1.3 billion per two-year budget cycle, he said, while trust lands provide only about $140 million over that time. The state spends about $15 billion every two years in K-12 education. Brodie said the department's new plan for the marbled murrelet is projected to financially harm 20 of the 330 local governments that get timber funding. The plan preserves roughly the same amount of acres as the state's previous model, but it concentrates the previously fragmented conservation areas, meaning new land will be open to logging in some regions while trust areas will be set aside for conservation in others. "The majority of the beneficiaries gained from this strategy," Brodie said. "The ones that have been negatively impacted as a result of this, that is an issue, because they're largely in rural and poor areas which have limited other tax base." Russ Pfeiffer-Hoyt serves as a school director in the Mount Baker School District, and he also chairs the Trust Lands Advisory Committee of the Washington State School Directors' Association. In recent years, he said, his district has counted on as much as $1.5 million of its $28 million budget to come from state trust lands. While trust revenue makes up a much smaller share of school budgets than it did in the past, he argued that it still matters. "The only way you could replace it under our current means of funding state programs would be through tax revenue," Pfeiffer-Hoyt said. "By shifting tax revenue, you merely shift revenue away from another vital service." Late last year in Oregon, a jury ruled in favor of local governments that had sued over cutbacks in trust land logging and ordered Oregon to pay those entities $1.1 billion for the shortfall in timber revenue. The verdict establishes Oregon's obligation to maximize logging revenue on the lands, giving the state's Department of Forestry little wiggle room for other forms of management - and demonstrating the tight legal parameters in which states operate as they face increasing pressure to amend their trust land operations. The agency says it plans to appeal the verdict and maintain its current "balanced" management model in the meantime. Both sides agree that sustainable forestry operations can be used as a revenue generator on some state lands. The amount of logging that both environmentalists and the timber industry would be OK with, though, seems irreconcilable. "It's not to say that folks managing the county budgets and looking out for the libraries and fire districts don't care about the marbled murrelet, and vice versa," said Kara Whittaker, senior scientist and policy analyst with the Washington Forest Law Center. "But we have opposing interests." That's why many environmentalists say it's time to find another way to fund schools and rural governments, while rethinking the role of trust lands. No clear model has yet emerged, but advocates say the onus is on lawmakers to provide new funding that eases the pressure on trust land revenue. The Washington agency convened a group, the Solutions Table, that gathers all sides to look for ways to bring in important funding while minding environmental interests. Meanwhile, the agency is analyzing income from all its trust lands to figure out which uses are most productive. The state brings in revenue from non-forested trust lands by leasing them for agriculture and grazing, commercial real estate, cell towers and renewable energy projects. --- (c)2020 Stateline.org Visit Stateline.org at www.stateline.org Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. ----- SEOUL, South Korea The coronavirus spread to more countries and the numbers of new cases and deaths outside of China climbed, with special concern focused on South Korea, where infections doubled in a single day raising fears that another Asian country was losing control of the escalating epidemic. By Saturday, the virus had been identified in two new countries, Lebanon and Israel, bringing the spread to 28 countries, with about 1,500 confirmed cases outside of China, where it originated. The death toll in Iran rose to six, the highest outside of China, and the number of confirmed cases there reached 28, though experts suggest that the real number is likely to be far higher. South Koreas prime minister, Chung Sye-kyun, called the situation in his country grave and urged citizens to cooperate with the government and avoid large political gatherings, which have continued in the capital, Seoul, despite a city ban. The government will sternly deal with acts that interfere with quarantine efforts, illegal hoarding of hygiene goods and acts that spark uneasiness through massive rallies, Mr. Chung warned in a nationally televised address. She never fails to make her mark on the runway. And once again Kaia Gerber didn't disappoint as she turned heads while walking in the Ports 1961 fashion show in Milan, Italy on Sunday. The model, 18, looked sensational in an elaborate draped gown as she showcased the brand's Fall/Winter collection during Milan Fashion Week. Angelic: Kaia Gerber didn't disappoint as she turned heads while walking in the Ports 1961 fashion show in Milan, Italy on Sunday The striking dress featured a black trim and was draped over Kaia's shoulder before being tied at her neck. The unusual number hid a majority of the star's slender frame, save for her arms and a hint of leg which was visible through a large split. Kaia's ethereal look was given an edgier feel with a pair of black calf-length boots, while she also sported a number of rings, a bejewelled bracelet and quirky cameo earrings. Allowing her showstopping number to do all the talking, Kaia's brunette tresses were simply styled into a centre parting. Work it: The model, 18, looked sensational in an elaborate draped gown as she showcased the brand's Fall/Winter collection during Milan Fashion Week While her stunning features were highlighted with a subtle palette of make-up. The catwalk Queen was later seen out and about in the Italian city after walking in the show. And Kaia was once again typically glamorous as she rocked a long tan coat worn over a white top and blue jeans. Different: The striking dress featured a black trim and was draped over Kaia's shoulder before being tied at her neck Style: Kaia's ethereal look was given an edgier feel with a pair of black calf-length boots, while she also sported a number of rings, a bejewelled bracelet and quirky cameo earrings She completed her look with black boots, dark sunglasses and a zebra print handbag. During Milan Fashion Week, Kaia has walked for brands including Prada, Fendi, Moschino and Max Mara. Earlier on Friday she led the models at Tod's runway show. The model made a bold style statement in an oversized beige coat and bright red tights on the catwalk. Keep it simple: Allowing her showstopping number to do all the talking, Kaia's brunette tresses were simply styled into a centre parting Fashionista: The unusual number hid a majority of the star's slender frame, save for her arms and a hint of leg which was visible through a large split Centre of attention: The brunette's stunning features were highlighted with a subtle palette of make-up She then joined the likes of Bella and Gigi Hadid, Kendall Jenner and Irina Shayk on the star-studded catwalk for Versace's Fall/Winter 2020 runway show. Before jetting to Italy, Kaia walked in numerous shows during both London and New York Fashion Weeks, earlier this month. The catwalk queen is the daughter of supermodel Cindy, 54, and male model turned businessman Rande Gerber, 57. Kaia made her runway debut in 2017 and has since become one of the world's most in-demand models. Stepping out: The catwalk Queen was later seen out and about in the Italian city after walking in the show Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-24 00:11:04|Editor: yan Video Player Close SHANGHAI, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- A C919 Chinese-produced large passenger jet landed in Shengli airport in Dongying city of east China's Shandong Province Sunday to conduct test flights. The No. 106 C919 aircraft left the Shanghai Pudong airport at 11:08 a.m. and arrived in Dongying at 1:07 p.m., said sources with the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), the manufacturer. The aircraft will conduct tests concerning the passenger cabin, lighting and external noises at Dongying and other test bases, the sources said. Meanwhile, China's domestically-developed ARJ21 regional aircraft are conducting intensive test flights, with the No.103 and No. 131 aircraft undergoing test flights Saturday at Shanghai's Pudong and Dachang airports, respectively. Trend With the state visit by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to Italy, the relations between the two countries have reached a new historical stage, Azerbaijani MP Hikmet Babaoglu told Trend. Italy is one of the leading countries of the EU, and Azerbaijan has established special relations with this country, the MP noted. The perfection of the political component contributes to the comprehensive development of relations between Azerbaijan and Italy, said Babaoglu. The MP noted that in general, among the EU member states, Italy is one of the most important economic partners of Azerbaijan. Mutual trade turnover amounted to $6 billion, added Babaoglu. The potential opportunities between the two countries, as well as the absence of any political obstacles to the further development of relations, promise even greater prospects. Italy invariably supports Azerbaijans territorial integrity. The statement of the heads of both states during the last meeting, as well as the fact that the joint declaration emphasizes bringing bilateral relations to a qualitatively new level, along with the further development of relations between Italy and Azerbaijan, will be a good example for the other EU member countries. The MP noted that Italy is leading in Europe in a number of areas of industry. The presence of special ties between the Sumgayit Industrial Park and Italian companies is no coincidence, Babaoglu said. All this determines new directions in the chemical industry. Products manufactured by chemical enterprises in the Sumgayit Industrial Park make up 14 percent of Azerbaijans non-oil sector, and this was made possible thanks to cooperation with Italian companies. Speaking about the economic component of relations between Italy and Azerbaijan, it should be emphasized that the trade turnover between the two states in the non-energy sphere amounts to nearly $1 billion, the MP added. At the same time, investment transactions worth about $10 billion have been implemented between companies and structures of the two countries. Babaoglu stressed that Italy is an extremely important country for promoting the interests of Azerbaijan in Europe, and the declaration of 2020 as the Year of Azerbaijani Culture in Italy during the state visit by the Azerbaijani president is no coincidence. Italy is also a major tourist country, said the MP. Milan is leading in Europe in a number of avant-garde trends, and in 2020 Azerbaijan will again present its culture, history, traditions and customs to Europe. On the other hand, megaprojects implemented by Azerbaijan play an important role in ensuring the energy security of Europe, in particular Italy. The last segment of the Southern Gas Corridor, that is, the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), ends in Italy, Babaoglu added. The end point of the pipeline through which Azerbaijani gas is transported to Europe, is located in Italy, and from there gas is planned to be distributed across the whole continent, which also speaks of special relations between the two countries. This will also form a new economic and political atmosphere, as well as have a positive impact on the relations of the countries, through the territory of which the pipeline passes, with Azerbaijan. Summarizing all the above mentioned factors, with an emphasis on about 20 documents signed during the Azerbaijani presidents state visit to Italy, it is safe to say that in the future the level and extent of cooperation between the two countries in economic, political, humanitarian, military and other spheres will grow even more, the MP said. The state visit by the Azerbaijani president to Italy in 2020 opened a new page in the relations between the two countries, and will further ensure the interests of both states. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz China has recently reported a significant decline in new cases as well as deaths of the Coronavirus on Saturday. While this seems like good news, world health officials have warned that it was still too early to make predictions concerning Coronavirus as the number of cases and deaths in other countries continue to rise. WHO worried about the growing number of cases in other nations Authorities in China on Friday announced only 397 new cases, which is a significant drop compared to 889 new infected cases on Thursday. However, reports have indicated that the number of cases has surged in South Korea, Iran, Italy and Lebanon. The World Health Organisation has reportedly welcomed the decline in new cases in China but continues to be concerned about the growing number of infections in other countries. The real disturbing trend, as reported by WHO, is that the new cases have no links to China such as travel history or contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19, prompting the mystery around how these individuals were infected. Read: South Korea Links Over Half Its Coronavirus Cases To Controversial Religious Organisation Read: India's Robust Health Surveillance Stalled Coronavirus Entry WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has claimed that the biggest fear for the organisation is that the virus will continue to spread to other countries and especially those with weaker health systems. Countries with weaker health systems need the 's focus & support now, due to the potential for #COVID19 to spread to those locations. We must take advantage of the window of opportunity we have to contain the outbreak. We don't want to look back later & regret failing to act. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) February 21, 2020 The World Health Organisation has called on the world to pledge $675 million in support of the most vulnerable countries. 13 African countries are seen as a priority by WHO because of their close links to China. According to WHO statistics, the virus is fatal in 2% of all cases while 80% remain mild and 20% of those infected are critical or severe. Read: Coronavirus: Mumbai Airport Starts Screening Passengers Arriving From Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam And Nepal Read: Iranian State TV Reports District Mayor Infected With Coronavirus, Official Denies Three airlines, including Vistara, IndiGo and SpiceJet, have asked their passengers travelling from Ahmedabad to arrive early at the airport on Monday in the view US president Donald Trumps arrival in the city, ANI reported on Sunday. Vistara, IndiGo and SpiceJet have an issued an advisory to passengers to reach the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport ahead of time as they expect traffic congestion from 8am to 4pm on Monday, according to the news agency. Before this, the Ahmedabad airports director had also issued a similar advisory, asking passengers to reach at least three hours ahead of scheduled departure time in the view of the tight security measures put in place for Trumps arrival. Passengers to carry hard copies of their flight itinerary based on which police authorities to facilitate their journey to the airport, Manoj Gangal was quoted as saying by ANI. Gangal also said that all flights arriving at and leaving the Ahmedabad airport will operate on schedule on February 24. All airport employees will have to go through security checks by police authorities, Gangal said. Airport employees will be facilitated by the police authorities for travelling, based on their Aerodrome Entry Permits (AEPs). Air force Onethe plane that carries the US presidentwill touch down at Ahmedabad airport on Monday at around noon and Trump will then embark on a 22-km long roadshow with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Prime Minister will be at the airport to welcome him. Armed with a bamboo sword, and cloaked in long black armor, a teacher faces his students in intense combat. This is the Japanese sport of kendo, and 70-year-old Shigeru Aoki is a master. And when he carries the Olympic torch this year he'll be representing his district in Fukuoka city as well as a martial art that's defined his whole life. Aoki has worn kendo's trademark mask with its menacing metal bars since he was 11-years-old. Kendo has been practiced in Japan for centuries. It's demanding and takes both physical vigor and pure patience. Aoki kept up his training upon joining the police force, where kendo is part of the curriculum. He went on to train future generations in the sport for over four decades. But underneath all the gear - is a less imposing figure. Aoki has wispy silver hair and a calm smile. One might not guess that he's one of the most skilled kendo masters in the country. In order to earn his eighth dan - or degree in English - Aoki passed an exam that 99% of kendo masters fail. (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) KENDO GRAND MASTER AND TEACHER, SHIGERU AOKI, TALKING ABOUT BECOMING EIGHTH GRADE HOLDER IN KENDO, SAYING: "When I passed the test, it was like I was walking on clouds. It was a feeling I can't describe, I was beyond happiness. All of the hard work I had put in paid off." Yet despite having reached the highest ranks of his sport in his adult life, Aoki still remembers what it was like to be a young boy with no idea about all he would accomplish. He was only 14 when the Olympics were last in Tokyo, back in 1964. (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) KENDO GRAND MASTER AND TEACHER, SHIGERU AOKI, SAYING: "When I was in the third year of middle school the Olympics came to Tokyo, and the Olympic torch bearer came nearby, and everyone at my middle school walked there to watch the torch relay. That day, the teacher told us: 'all of you will never see the Olympic torch ever again, so be sure to watch it closely.' I remember that moment very well." Fifty years later, not only will he see the torch again, he'll be bringing it back to Tokyo himself. A detailed investigation into Eskom revealed that it will take at least five years to get the power utilitys plants to a place where load-shedding is not needed. This is according to energy advisor Ted Blom, who was speaking to SABC News about the latest series of power cuts across the country. Blom said claims by Eskom and energy minister Gwede Mantashe that load-shedding will last for between 18-24 months are misguided. He said the energy minister is not close enough to Eskoms operations to know what is going on, and the new CEO Andre de Ruyter has not been there long enough to make accurate predictions. I have gone into the situation at Eskom in detail with an IMF (International Monetary Fund) subcontractor with vast experience, he said. Our estimate is that it will take at least five years under the Eskom scenario of refurbishing the boilers. Blom said this means there will be at least five years of load-shedding, adding that this the best-case scenario. Energy expert Mike Rossouw agrees. He told the Rapport that it will take at least five years for Eskoms network to be stabilised. Rossouw said poor habits have become the norm at Eskom, and to change this will take time and resources. The situation is aggravated by design faults at South Africas two largest power stations Medupi and Kusile. Rossouw said there was not nearly enough engineering design work done before the construction of these power stations, which is now costing the country dearly. Refurbishing the Eskom fleet Blom said his calculations and those of the IMF subcontractor showed that corruption, mismanagement, and inefficiencies have cost Eskom R1.4 trillion. To turn the power utility around, which includes refurbishing the Eskom fleet, will cost around R1.8 trillion. R600 billion will be needed to refurbish the genset, boilers, and furnaces, Blom said. It is currently not clear where this money will come from as the government is already grappling with a big budget deficit. How to stop load-shedding Blom said while it will take years to refurbish Eskoms power stations, there are ways to prevent load-shedding during this period. He said Eskom should create 5,000MW of space on the grid and use this additional capacity to take generating units offline for proper maintenance. I sent a written proposal to Eskom which can provide it with 200MW units to the total of 5GW within 48 hours, he said. This can happen immediately, provided that Eskom signs the right documents and the National Treasury provides guarantees. Blom is not hopeful that this will happen, however. I went to one meeting with Eskom, but they have not even read the email. Ted Blom interview Kim Byung-kwon, head of SK E&C Oil & Gas M&BD Group, shakes hands with WIKA Bitumen President Bambang at the signing ceremony for the two sides' strategic partnership in Indonesia on Feb. 12. Courtesy of SK E&C By Nam Hyun-woo SK Engineering & Construction (SK E&C) will team up with Indonesia's largest state-run construction firm to develop eco-friendly asphalt. According to the SK Group unit, it signed a technical services agreement and an MOU with PT Wijaya Karya (WIKA) in Jakarta, Feb. 12, to develop eco-friendly asphalt. Following the deal, SK E&C became the first Korean firm to jump into the Indonesian asphalt market, paving the way for the company to scale up other construction businesses in the country. WIKA's subsidiary WIKA Bitumen is running a plant producing high-value asphalt from natural rock asphalt. WIKA is seeking to upgrade the plant's current annual capacity of 2,000 tons and invest in large-scale production and commercialization. For this, SK E&C will analyze the plant's technological status for the first six months and provide upgrades and support for optimal operation and commercialization, the company said. After commercialization, SK E&C will secure licenses for the new technologies they jointly develop and build an asphalt plant that can produce 700,000 tons of eco-friendly asphalt a year on Buton Island in Indonesia by 2025. SK E&C will be in charge of the plant's front-end engineering design, procurement and construction. The company said it expects a significant import substitution impact for Indonesia, which currently imports approximately 1.45 million tons of asphalt every year. SK E&C has been cooperating on the project with WIKA since last year as it observed the growth potential for the Indonesian asphalt industry. The local government is growing the asphalt industry as a state project because the country's efforts to improve its road infrastructure is driving demand. With the deals, the two companies will combine their efforts from the initial stage of the project and cooperate in technology development, licensing, construction, operation and marketing. When the project reaches the commercial stage, it will not only create economic value and jobs but also improve the environment, SK E&C said, adding the two companies expect to expand their partnership in infrastructure, power generation and renewable energy businesses in Indonesia. "Following the strategic partnership with WIKA, SK E&C will spare no effort to carry out technology analysis and conduct projects successfully," an SK E&C official said. "Based on this, we plan to expand our Indonesian portfolio to cover more eco-friendly businesses." WIKA is a state-run builder established in 1960, and its main business is infrastructure construction. Editors note: Capitol Dispatch appears every Sunday during the legislative session. Three major gun control proposals stalled in the Legislature this week. They included a bill to limit magazine capacity, to which House Republicans had filed 120 amendments in what supporters called an attempt to slow and kill the measure. State Rep. Jim Walsh, an Aberdeen Republican whose district includes part of Cowlitz County, was particularly active in the fray, saying he submitted a host of amendments to the magazine capacity legislation. Two other measures that banned firearms defined as assault weapons and taxed ammunition also didnt make it to the floor for a vote. House Democrats, who are in the majority, decided not to call for a vote on the magazine limit before the cutoff at 5 p.m. on Wednesday for bills being voted out of their house of origin. Speaker of the House Laurie Jinkins, a Tacoma Democrat, told KING 5 News that the number of amendments would have meant debate could have lasted two weeks. And Attorney General Bob Ferguson said in a statement that Republican legislators have effectively filibustered the bill. In response to accusations that the amendments were a political stunt, Walsh responded, We knew what we were doing. We knew the gun control side isnt confident in floor debate on this issue. Of course that was part of it. But these amendments were not merely a stunt, he continued. All of our 120 amendments were dead serious. Rep. Ed Orcutt, a Kalama Republican, said running amendments is a reasonable way to fix bills, but he said I have a hard time believing you can fix a bill that compromises or infringes on someones Second Amendment. Attorney General Ferguson has argued that limiting magazine capacity would make it harder for people to carry out mass shootings. It took just 32 seconds for an individual armed with a 100-round double-drum magazine and an AR-15-style weapon to shoot 36 people before he was killed by law enforcement, Ferguson said in a December statement. That same rifle and magazine are perfectly legal to purchase in Washington state. That makes no sense. Orcutt responded that a more effective way to reduce mass shootings would be to address whats causing the violence, which is a lack of respect for human life and the laws designed to protect human life. That means enforcing current laws and not allowing repeat offenders to be out on the streets, he said. Walsh said magazines are inexpensive and easy to make and transfer. Therefore, trying to regulate them is ineffective. The idea that banning magazine capacity is some great control on spree killers is just shallow thought, he said. Its shallow logic and it betrays a real ignorance of the mechanics of firearms. As much as he disliked the ammunition tax, Walsh said that would be a more effective way to address mass shootings because it might increase the price of ammunition and make it harder for people to get. Walsh sounded elated with the results of Wednesdays cutoff, calling it a very good day and even posting a photo of himself on his Facebook page with the stack of amendments. However, nothing is truly dead until the session is over. House Democrats on Thursday submitted a zombie version of the high capacity magazine ban that would also implement a buy-back program. The new bill would repeal a tax preference for precious metal and coin collectors to fund the high-capacity magazine buy-back program. Because that program would affect the state budget, the bill faces different deadlines than policy bills. The tax incentive was established many years ago to encourage precious metals dealers to relocate back to Washington, Orcutt said. Legislators have considered repealing the incentive many times over the years to fund a variety of things, he said. The title of the new magazine capacity bill is a page and a half long. That is a political tactic that makes it difficult to file amendments that fit within the title of the bill, Walsh said. Nonetheless, he plans to push back. This is politics at highest level, he said. I respect the Speaker. Shes a smart woman and is aggressive, but we are on opposite sides of the spectrum on gun rights and property rights. We are going to have that fight at the highest level and this is what were here for. Love 11 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 3 Country's leading packaging company Uflex expects to complete its international expansion plan by next financial year, that will result in an increase in overseas contributions to the total revenue in the coming years, a company official has said. Uflex has made an investment of USD 301.7 million (approx Rs 2,167 crore), which includes - USD 86.5 million in Nigeria, USD 81.2 million in Hungary and USD 75 million in Russia. Besides, it has also invested USD 59 million on capacity expansion in Poland. "We are going to complete our expansion, which we have announced. FY21 is going to be another defining year as we would commission our new projects and look for higher revenues, profitability," Uflex Global CFO Rajesh Bhatia told PTI. In 2018-19, Uflex had reported a consolidated revenue of Rs 7,957.22 crore and standalone revenue of Rs 4,220.97 crore, which consisted mainly of domestic revenue. Besides, ramping up overseas expansion, Uflex is also focussing on capacity utlisation of the domestic manufacturing units at Noida, Jammu and new unit at Sanand, Gujarat and expects the domestic business to grow as well. The Noida-headquartered company aims to have a ratio of 55:45 between domestic and foreign contribution to its total revenue in the next two years. "We would have 45 per cent from overseas market and 55 per cent from the domestic market This would happen in two years, Bhatia said. Though in the foreign market, we are implementing projects, but at the same time, we will also have improvement in the capacity utilisation in India. Like our Sanand facility, is expected to do Rs 1,000 crore business itself, he added. In the overseas markets, Uflex produces plastic films only, while in the domestic market, it also manufactures packaging materials for several companies besides other products. Uflex, is shifting one of its production line from its Dubai plant to Russia. This would help the company save freight cost, he said. "Given that the energy prices are lower and there would be no sea freight from sending it from Dubai to Russia and there would be no import duty, all that augurs well for the margin," he said. The company is also expanding its Poland-based facility, which is operating at its full capacity from the past few years. "Initially we announced expansion of Hungry and Nigeria because the African market are the future for us," he said adding "Nigeria has a huge population and has an import consumption of poleyster films but there was no plant there and we were first one to latch that opportunity. Set up in 1985, Uflex has packaging facilities at multiple locations in India with installed capacity of around 1,35,000 TPA and has packaging film manufacturing facilities in India, UAE, Mexico Egypt, Poland and USA. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The sharp rise in cases and the geographical spread of the coronavirus outside China confirm WHO fears over dealing with the crisis, experts warned Sunday as they appealed for ever greater vigilance. "There has been a profound shift in the direction that COVID-19 (new coronavirus) is taking over the past 48 hours," said Professor Devi Sridhar, Director of the Global Health Governance Programme at the University of Edinburgh Medical School. "The WHO and its member state governments now need to be thinking about transitioning from containment to mitigation, ie. reducing the negative impacts of continued transmission," Sridhar warned. On Friday, World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had already sounded the alarm, saying the window to stem the virus was shrinking. "We are still in a phase where containment is possible... our window of opportunity is narrowing," he warned, adding if countries did not quickly mobilise to counter the virus spread, matters could get "messy." He also warned that Africa's poor health infrastructure left it vulnerable to the COVID-19 disease, which has spilled out of China to more than 25 countries. Those fears have been compounded by three fatalities in recent days in Italy -- where some 50,000 people are in lockdown -- eight in Iran and six in South Korea. The WHO has expressed concern at the apparent emergence of cases without a clear epidemiological link to China, where it emerged. - 'Anywhere in the world' - "It's what we call the passage to community transmission," said Professor Arnaud Fontanet, specialist in epidemiology of emerging diseases at France's Pasteur Institute. "That renders controlling it much more difficult and presages the risk of its introduction beyond China." Cases in both Lebanon and Canada appear to have emanated from Iran, for example, while, in Italy, scientists are puzzled that they cannot trace a link between several cases of sufferers with no apparent links to infected persons. "What is happening in Italy and South Korea and Iran could happen anywhere in the world," said Sridhar. Nathalie MacDermott, lecturer at King's College London, said "the evolving situation in South Korea, Iran and Italy is very concerning. "There has been the expectation that some countries might develop person to person transmission of SARS-COV2 following an imported case of infection from an affected country. "What is concerning is the lack of clear contact with such an individual in initiating clusters in these three countries, and particularly in Iran and Italy." MacDermott urged all countries to take prompt action "to try and contain these clusters before there is dissemination to large proportions of the population." "I think this is a new phase" in the propagation of the virus as new chains of transmission emerge from previously undetected cases, says Eric D'Ortenzio, epidemiologist at France's Inserm medical research institute. He likewise urged increased surveillance for any potential emergence of home-grown cases as well as areas known to be already affected by the outbreak. Bharatiya Janata Party leader Lanka Dinakaran on Sunday lashed out at Former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and said Congress party is slowly eroding the Indian culture and traditions and are running behind Italy. His remark comes after Dr Manmohan Singh on Saturday stated that nationalism and the slogan of 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' were being misused to construct a militant and purely emotional idea of India that excludes millions of residents and citizens. "Congress party is slowly eroding our culture, traditions, customs and running behind Italy. But, we all proud to say 'Bharat Mata ki Jai'," the BJP leader said. "It is unfortunate that Former Prime Minister recognised those who chant to pay tribute the glory of our motherland as a tendency of militant, but our responsibility is to honour our motherland with a purity of mind without any conditions," Dinakaran said. Dr Singh had described Nehru as a great visionary and said India's first Prime Minister laid the foundation for shaping India as a modern nation-state. In reply to Singh's earlier comment, the BJP leader said, "It is unfortunate that Manmohan Singh thinks that our county's history had started from Nehru family. The culture, traditions and customs of our country had emerged before Mughals and British. We recognise the sacrifices of thousands and lakhs the unnoticed heroes in the freedom struggle." Further, slamming the Congress, Dinakaran said, "We are unlike the Congress, which uses Mahatma Gandhi as a political opportunity, We show him as a role model for Swacha Bharath and we recognise Netaji Subash Chandra Bose, Bhagat Singh, Veer Savarkar as the role models to our nation along with Mahatma Gandhiji." The leader also stated that chanting "Bharat Mata Ki Jai" is a privilege. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Mikel Arteta admitted Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has erased any doubts about his commitment after Arsenal's captain led by example with a double in their 3-2 win against Everton on Sunday. For much of a troubled season Arsenal have been written off as also-rans in the battle to qualify for the Champions League. But, recovering from the wreckage of the Unai Emery era, their revival under Arteta is gathering pace. Rocked by Dominic Calvert-Lewin's first-minute goal at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal equalised through Eddie Nketiah and took the lead thanks to Aubameyang. Richarlison levelled for Everton to cap a dramatic first half, but Gabon striker Aubameyang had the final word seconds after the break. Gunners boss Arteta revealed he was not convinced about Aubameyang's mentality before he took charge, but watching his skipper tracking back to help defend in the closing stages won over the Spaniard. "Before I took over I had my questions about him but he showed his commitment. I wanted him to show if he wanted to do it and do it physically," Arteta said. "I'm so happy with him. He is scoring important goals and as a captain he is giving a great example to everyone else with the way he is working defensively." Arsenal climbed above Everton into ninth place and sit four points behind fifth-placed Manchester United. With second-placed Manchester City banned from European competitions for the next two years, as it stands finishing fifth could secure Champions League action pending the result of City's appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. There is growing belief at Arsenal that they could take advantage of the punishment for Arteta's former club. - 'Big expectations' - The Gunners are now unbeaten in their last 10 games in all competitions, including seven without defeat in the league after a second successive victory. "I'm really pleased with the performance. It's not easy to play three times in seven days, we got back late from Greece, and then to concede an early goal as well," Arteta said. "That asks questions of you. The team reacted really well. This is the reaction I am hoping for when we face disappointment. It's the best week since I've been here. " Qualifying for the Champions League would be a major boost to Arsenal's hopes of keeping Aubameyang, who has been linked with a move to Barcelona or Inter Milan. Arteta acknowledged Aubameyang has not found it easy to cope with Arsenal's reduced status since he arrived from Borussia Dortmund and he hopes a surge up the table will show the club's potential. "They are completely right to want him because he is a superb player. It's right that big teams like him. Hopefully we can convince him this is right place to be," Arteta said of the transfer talk. "I think it's been tough for him because he has big expectations. He wants to play in the biggest competitions and with the best players. We have to help him do that. He needs to feel fulfilled." Everton's first defeat in six league games was a frustration for boss Carlo Ancelotti given their sloppy defending. "I cannot say the performance was good because to be good you have to attack well, which we did, and defend well, which we didn't," Ancelotti said. "We conceded too easily. The first goal we were not in position defensively. The second and third were easy mistakes. What can I say? "We cannot be satisfied with this. To win at a top team you have to defend well. I don't know if it is a problem of mentality. We have to work on the balance of the team." Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was mobbed by Arsenal's celebrating stars The nation's chief medical officer told Australians there is no need for face masks and to go about their normal business only hours before Victoria's chief medical officer Doctor Brett Sutton said a coronavirus pandemic may be unavoidable. Dr Sutton took to Twitter on Sunday and in a six-part message said a surge in cases was "inevitable." "It's clear that with local transmission in several countries that a pandemic is very likely, if not inevitable. We are working rapidly on planning and surge with our health sector," Dr Sutton said. People wearing face masks to protect themselves from coronavirus are seen at Brisbane International Airport. Credit:AAP "Australia absolutely has world-class healthcare but even the best healthcare in the world is challenged during pandemics, so everyone will need to work together to ensure that should a pandemic eventuate, our services can function as effectively as possible. The February school break is just about over. Boo-hoo, kids. Were with the working parents who spent the past week scrambling to find child care, paying for expensive day camps, working from home or bringing their children into the office. Didnt schools just take two weeks off a mere six weeks ago? Wont they get another break in six weeks? Does anyone even remember why we have a February break? Oh, yeah. Because 1977. That winter, 43 years ago, Gov. Hugh Carey ordered New York schools to close for two weeks due to a shortage of natural gas to heat them. We knew things were serious when President Jimmy Carter, sporting a cardigan and sitting by the fire, asked Americans to turn down our thermostats and put on a sweater. The energy crisis eventually passed. February break never went away. The school calendar has been called one of the great clocks of our society. Just dont try to change it. Many have tried to lengthen the school year and the school day, to better compete with education systems around the world. Few have succeeded. Since the late 19th century, Americans have been conditioned to take a long break in the summer, when schools were stifling and sanitation was iffy, and shorter vacation periods in spring and fall, when farm kids were needed to help with the planting and harvest. More than 100 years later, the school calendar has barely adjusted to the realities of 21st century life: fewer stay-at-home parents, parents working multiple jobs, and less extended family nearby to help care for children. Time off from school can be a hardship for families at any time of year. A week off in February when days are short, money is tight and the weather stinks can be a glimpse into the parenting abyss. February break isnt unique to New York, but its not universal, either. For instance, Pennsylvania and Ohio schools take one day off for Presidents Day, but not the whole week. Were you able to take the family to Florida for the week? You had the run of the place because Florida kids were in school. Students who miss out on a week off in February make up for it by getting out of school weeks earlier than New York schoolchildren. (Some also start before Labor Day.) In the end, everyone gets at least 180 days of instruction. It just takes longer in New York. Abolishing February break might only shift parents child care problem to a different season but at least you could send the kids outside to play without worrying theyll get frostbite. We wouldnt weep to see February break go away. Itll never happen. Why would the people in charge of schools cheat themselves out of a week off? Parents, youll just have to patch it together until your children are old enough to stay home by themselves and a whole new set of worries kicks in. Cheer up, kids. Only six more weeks until April break. About Syracuse.com editorials Editorials represent the collective opinion of the Advance Media New York editorial board. Our opinions are independent of news coverage. Read our mission statement. Members of the editorial board are Tim Kennedy, Trish LaMonte, Jason Murray and Marie Morelli. To respond to this editorial: Post a comment below, or submit a letter or commentary to letters@syracuse.com. Read our submission guidelines. If you have questions about the Opinions & Editorials section, contact Marie Morelli, editorial/opinion leader, at mmorelli@syracuse.com Thanks for visiting Syracuse.com. Quality local journalism has never been more important, and your subscription matters. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work. The true crime wave shows no sign of stopping, with the recent success of true crime documentaries like Dont F**k with Cats, Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez, and McMillion$. Even Americas most famous reality star wants in on the action. The film Kim Kardashian West: The Justice Project, released in April 2020, will see its star investigate miscarriages of justice. New true crime podcasts crop up daily as well, chasing the success of Serial, My Favourite Murder or Crime Junkies by focusing on shocking or unusual offenders. Different newcomers hold different areas of interest: forensics, psychology, activism. Your average listener has an ever expanding universe of intrigue and mystery at their fingertips. The genre often faces accusations of sensationalism. You could argue that its cynical to profit from human suffering, or that it encourages worship of evil genius serial killers at the expense of their victims. The upcoming Whitechapel mural, designed to honour the five women murdered by Jack the Ripper, is one example of historians finding it necessary to turn the tide of murderer fans. Books, however, have the space to explore enthralling topics with context for the crimes and empathy towards the victims, if theyre done right. The ones weve listed here are gripping, thoroughly researched, and critically acclaimed. If you want to explore the world of written crime journalism, click through to the gallery. These books will prove to fans and newcomers alike that sometimes the truth is more sinister than fiction. Click through the gallery to see our picks: Bidens repetition in recent days of the story about an arrest in South Africa comes as he confronts challenging political headwinds. Once the national front-runner, he turned in disappointing results in Iowa and New Hampshire, two heavily white states, where he finished fourth and fifth, respectively. His campaign is banking on at least a second-place finish in Nevada on Saturday and a victory in South Carolina, two diverse states where voters of color play crucial roles. He regularly uses his remarks to try to connect with black voters, such as saying in Nevada and elsewhere that he was raised in the black church. Mum & Dad Joanna Trollope Macmillan 18.99 Trollopes classy new novel is set in Spain, to where Gus and Monica fled from his overbearing father in their 40s. In the decades since, theyve established a successful vineyard but their idyll has come at a cost: their two eldest children, damaged Sebastian and unhappy Katie, were left behind at an English boarding school, while their sunny youngest, Jake, grew up feeling Spanish. When Gus, now a septuagenarian, has a stroke, all three return to the fold with conflicting ideas about whats best for their parents. A meticulous family drama, bristling with resentment and regret. Hephzibah Anderson Amnesty Aravind Adiga Picador 16.99 Danny is a bright, Sri Lankan immigrant in Sydney, working as a cleaner but determined to better himself. Theres just one problem: he doesnt have a visa, and the Australian government is cracking down on illegal aliens. When one of his employers is murdered, he realises that he alone knows the probable killer and that his own life may be in danger as a result. But how can he persuade the police without risking deportation? Cramming its events into 11 hours, this is both a gripping thriller and an eye-opening account of an illegal workers paranoid existence. Anthony Gardner Apeirogon Colum McCann Bloomsbury 18.99 Rami is Israeli. Bassam is Palestinian. Both men have seen their daughters violently killed but, instead of revenge, seek reconciliation. Their blossoming friendship, under the aegis of a cross-communal organisation called the Parents Circle, forms the basis of this moving, if frustratingly bitty, novel. McCann is a discursive storyteller, darting hither and thither from migratory birds to Francois Mitterrand and the Old Testament. Nevertheless, there are passages of great eloquence and humanity, as well as much food for thought. Max Davidson Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-23 12:21:19|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close NEW DELHI, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Farmer in India have suffered a lot after a huge swarm of "Desert Locusts" hit standing crops in hundreds and thousands of hectares of agriculture fields in western states of Gujarat and Rajasthan, and also parts of adjoining state (towards the north) Punjab earlier this month. Crops of mustard, castor, cumin and wheat suffered the worst damage in these states. In Rajasthan, oilseed and cumin crops too were heavily damaged in the Jalore and Jaisalmer districts, while in Gujarat wheat crops in Banaskantha, Patan, Mehsana and Sabarkantha districts were the worst affected, say the official data released by the respective state governments. This was nearly after 26 years when the swarm of "Desert Locusts" had hit the agricultural crops in India in such large numbers. Considering the quantum of damage left behind the swarm attack, the state governments of Gujarat and Rajasthan have identified about 65,000 farmers (11,230 from Gujarat and 54,150 from Rajasthan) who will receive compensation, said the country's Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar. According to him, more than 168,000 hectares of land in the country had been affected by Locust attacks, with Rajasthan and Gujarat taking the worst hit. The Gujarat government allocated 32.76 crore Indian Rupees (around 4.6 million U.S. dollars) for farmers who suffered over 33 per cent of crop loss during the Locust attack. The compensation includes 13,500 Indian Rupees (193 U.S. dollars) per hectare from the State Disaster Relief Fund, and 5000 Indian Rupees (71 U.S. dollars) per hectare upto a maximum of two hectares from the state budget for each farmer. Rajasthan also set aside 90 crore Indian Rupees (12.7 million U.S. dollars), of which 86.21 crore Indian Rupees (around 12 million U.S. dollars) has already been paid to farmers, said the minister. Anil Sharma, who recently retired as "Plant Protection Officer (PPO)" from Rajasthan government said that this was nearly after 26 years when the swarm of "Desert Locusts" had hit the agricultural crops in India in such large numbers. Last time it had happened in 1993, he added. According to him, "Desert Locusts" is a global problem, as these insects affect as many as more than 60 countries and regions at different points of time in a year depending on the climate and wind direction. Rainwater had gathered in different parts of the arid desert that sprawls over Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Yemen after it was hit by Cyclone Mekunu in May 2018. This created favourable breeding conditions for desert locusts, said Sharma. "In October that year, the Arabian Peninsula was hit by Cyclone Luban, which created more favourable conditions for locusts to breed. In search of food, these Locusts then flew eastwards towards Pakistan and India. They come very suddenly. This insect is dreaded most by farmers across the world. The swarms are so thick that they even block sunlight," added the veteran expert on plant protection. He stated that while Locusts invasions on standing crops were normal, the current attack in India had been a "plague-like situation" not seen in recent times. According to Rajesh Kumar, the Plant Protection Officer at the "Locust Warning Organisation" in Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan was quoted as saying "As the swarm moves with the direction of the wind, it's very difficult to chalk out a plan to completely eliminate (them), which as a result leaves some farmers vulnerable to fend for themselves." ISS, the multinational Denmark-based facility services company, was hit with a malware that shuts down shared IT services worldwide. ISS, the Danish multinational services company announced it was hit with malware, in response to the incident the firm disabled access to shared IT services worldwide. ISS services include cleaning services, support services, property services, catering services, security services and facility management services. The computer systems of the company were disabled for a few days, the infection caused the disruption of the operations. Over 43,000 company employees were not able to access email or other online services. The incident took place on February 17th, the good news is that according to the company customer data has not been compromised. On 17 February 2020, ISS was the target of a malware attack. As a precautionary measure and as part of our standard operating procedure, we immediately disabled access to shared IT services across our sites and countries, which ensured the isolation of the incident. reads the announcement published by ISS. The root cause has been identified and we are working with forensic experts, our hosting provider and a special external task force to gradually restore our IT systems. Certain systems have already been restored. ISS World Group did not share details While ISS World is not sharing details of the attack, experts believe that company systems were infected with a ransomware. The incident response procedure implemented by the company suggests a ransomware infection that was mitigated with the shut down of online services. ISS World is investigating the incident, the company confirmed to have found the root cause of the security breach with the help of forensic experts. ISS Worlds website was restored on Friday morning, there is no news about the availability email and other online systems. Pierluigi Paganini Online automobile marketplace Droom will pump in about $100 million (about Rs 718 crore) this year towards further strengthening its technology offerings, marketing, and new initiatives, its founder and CEO Sandeep Aggarwal said. The company, which aims to touch $120 million (about Rs 862 crore) in net revenue by 2021, is also looking at expanding its international operations to six new markets including Indonesia, Vietnam, and the UAE this year. "We have earmarked a CAPEX (capital expenditure) of about $100 million this year. Of this, about $50 million will be towards marketing and promotion, $30 million for headcount and technology and roughly $20 million for new initiatives," Aggarwal told PTI. He added that the company has been working on keeping its cash burn low and is hopeful of also hitting profits by the end of the year. Aggarwal said the company has already established presence in three international markets and is looking at growing that further this year. Droom is looking at Indonesia, Philippines, and Vietnam in Southeast Asia and the UAE, Oman and Saudi Arabia in the Middle East. "While we are aggressively expanding our international presence, we are also deepening our presence within the Indian market as we believe this will continue to be the mainstay of our business. Less than 10 percent of our revenues will come from international operations," he said. The company also plans to raise about $150 million before it launches an initial public offering (IPO) in 2021. It has so far raised close to $125 million in six rounds of funding from investors like Lightbox, Beenext, Beenos, Digital Garage, Toyota Tsusho Corporation, and Integrated Assets Management. Droom had clocked a gross merchandise value of $1.2 billion on its platform with net revenue of $32 million in 2019. Its platform processed over 6.1 lakh orders last year. LAS VEGAS Bernie Sanders scored a commanding victory in Nevadas presidential caucuses on Saturday, cementing his status as the Democrats' national front-runner but escalating tensions over whether hes too liberal to defeat President Donald Trump. As Sanders celebrated, Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg vied for second and Elizabeth Warren trailed further behind. They were all seeking any possible momentum heading into next-up South Carolina and then Super Tuesday on March 3. Nevada's caucuses were the first chance for White House hopefuls to demonstrate appeal to a diverse group of voters in a state far more representative of the country as a whole than Iowa and New Hampshire. Sanders, a 78-year Vermont senator and self-described democratic socialist, won by rallying his fiercely loyal base and tapping into support from Nevadas large Latino community. In a show of confidence, Sanders left Nevada for Texas, which offers one of the biggest delegate troves in just 10 days on Super Tuesday. We are bringing our people together," he declared. In Nevada we have just brought together a multigenerational, multiracial coalition which is not only going to win in Nevada, its going to sweep this country. Saturday's win built on Sanders win earlier this month in the New Hampshire primary. He essentially tied for first place in the Iowa caucuses with Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who has sought to position himself as an ideological counter to Sanders unabashedly progressive politics. But for all the energy and attention devoted to the first three states, they award only a tiny fraction of the delegates needed to capture the nomination. After South Carolina, the contest becomes national in scope, putting a premium on candidates who have the resources to compete in states as large as California and Texas. While Sanders' victory in Nevada encouraged his supporters, it only deepened concern among establishment-minded Democratic leaders who fear he is too extreme to defeat Trump. Sanders for decades has been calling for transformative policies to address inequities in politics and the economy, none bigger than his signature Medicare for All health care plan that would replace the private insurance system with a government-run universal system. Trump gloated on social media, continuing his weeks-long push to sow discord between Sanders and his Democratic rivals. Looks like Crazy Bernie is doing well in the Great State of Nevada. Biden & the rest look weak, & no way Mini Mike can restart his campaign after the worst debate performance in the history of Presidential Debates. Congratulations Bernie, & dont let them take it away from you! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 22, 2020 Buttigieg congratulated Sanders, too, but then launched an aggressive verbal assault on the senator as too divisive. Before we rush to nominate Senator Sanders in our one shot to take on this president, lets take a sober look at what is at stake for our party, for our values and for those with so much to lose," he said. Senator Sanders believes in an inflexible, ideological revolution that leaves out most Democrats, not to mention most Americans. Biden also took aim at the Vermont senator as he claimed a success but not a victory in Nevada that would trigger a comeback. Without naming names, he took a swipe at Sanders and billionaire Mike Bloomberg, who wasn't on the Nevada ballot but has emerged as a threat to Biden in contests that begin next month. "I aint a socialist. Im not a plutocrat. Im a Democrat, Biden declared. Also in the fight: Warren, who desperately needed a spark to revive her stalled bid; billionaire Tom Steyer, who spent more than $12 million on Nevada television and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who hoped to prove her strong New Hampshire finish was no fluke. Klobuchar, campaigning in her home state of Minnesota Saturday night, claimed Nevada success no matter her poor showing. As usual I think we have exceeded expectations, she said. The first presidential contest in the West tested the candidates' strength with black and Latino voters for the first time in 2020. Nevadas population aligns more with the U.S. as a whole, compared with Iowa and New Hampshire: 29% Latino, 10% black and 9% Asian American and Pacific Islander. Former New York Mayor Bloomberg, who dominated the political conversation this week after a poor debate-stage debut, wasn't on the ballot. He's betting everything on a series of delegate-rich states that begin voting next month. The stakes were high for Nevada Democrats to avoid a repeat of the chaos in the still-unresolved Iowa caucuses, and it appeared Saturdays contest was largely successful. Unlike state primaries and the November election, which are run by government officials, caucuses are overseen by state parties. Nevada Democrats sought to minimize problems by creating multiple redundancies in their reporting system, relying on results called in by phone, a paper worksheet filled out by caucus organizers, a photo of that worksheet sent in by text message and electronic results captured with a Google form. In addition, it appeared Nevada Democrats were able to successfully navigate a complicated process for adding early voting to the caucus process. Nearly 75,000 people cast early ballots over a four-day period, and the party was able to process those in time for Saturday so they could be integrated into the in-person vote. At the Bellagio casino caucus site, 41-year-old Christian Nielsen, a scuba diver for the Cirque du Soleil show O, said he backed Sanders because he believes the country needs a major change in the White House. We need somebody in the White House who has been on the right side of history for their entire career, somebody who stands with the working class, and will make things more fair for everybody, Nielsen said. The Democrats' 2020 nomination fight shifted beyond Nevada even before the final results were known. Only Biden, Buttigieg and Steyer were still in the state when news of Sanders victory was announced. Sanders and Klobuchar spent the night in Super Tuesday states, and Buttigieg was headed to a third, Virginia. Warren, who began Saturday in Las Vegas, was to finish the day in Washington state, which hosts its election on March 10 but has already begun offering early voting. --By Steve Peoples, Michelle L. Price, Jonathan J. Cooper and Brian Slodysko A top Maoist carrying a total reward of Rs 11 lakh on his head died in the custody of Bihar police hours after he was brought from Jharkhand, a senior officer said on Sunday. Siddhu Koda, a 40-year-old CPI (Maoist) zonal commander, died at a hospital where he was admitted late Saturday night after he complained of pain in chest and abdomen, Deputy Inspector General of Police Manu Maharaj said. Koda, who hailed from Chakai block of Jamui district, was arrested Saturday morning from a railway station in Jharkhand's Dumka by an STF team comprising policemen from Patna and Jamui. He was wanted in about 70 serious cases including murder, robbery, kidnapping and extortion, Maharaj said. After being brought here, Koda was interrogated, the DIG said. Based on the information he provided, raids were conducted in various parts of naxal-affected Munger district leading to the seizure of a large number of arms and ammunition, Maharaj said. The Maoist, who carried a reward of Rs 1 lakh in Bihar and Rs 10 lakh in Jharkhand, complained of severe pain in chest and abdomen around 11 pm on Saturday. He was taken to Jamui Sadar Hospital where he died. Since he died in police custody, the post-mortem examination was conducted in presence of a magistrate as per rules, the DIG said. Maharaj did not divulge the details of the post-mortem report. He said Koda's family has been informed of his death and his body "may be disposed of in accordance with law" by the police if nobody comes forward to claim his mortal remains. Two automatic rifles an AK 47 and an INSAS have been seized from Koda at the time of his arrest. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) By IANS BENGALURU: All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Waris Pathan has been booked for allegedly making a hate speech at an anti-CAA rally in Karnataka's Kalaburagi, police said on Sunday. "We have booked a case against Pathan for reportedly making a hate speech at an anti-CAA rally in the city on February 15 and summoned him to appear before us for interrogation by February 29," Kalaburagi police commissioner M.N. Nagaraj told IANS on phone. Kalaburagi is about 580 kms north of Bengaluru in the southern state. The case was booked against the Mumbai-based Pathan under sections 153A and 117 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on a complaint by a local lawyer - Shwetha Omprakash Rathod that the former made provocative statements against the Hindu community. READ| Remember what happened in Gujarat: BJP MLC to AIMIM leader Waris Pathan "Though the organsiers took permission to hold a protest rally and a public meeting on last Saturday, we learnt from the complaint and a video footage of the event Pathan saying in Hindustani that '15 crore Muslims were more than a match to 100 crore Hindus' to the gathering," said Nagaraj. Pathan, 51, is a former legislator of the Hyderabad-based party from Mumbai's Byculla Assembly segment and a practicing lawyer in Maharashtra. The complaint also quoted Pathan bragging in Hindi and Urdu "to those saying we have only put our women at the forefront of the protest against the CAA, NRC and NPR...only our lionesses have come out till now and you are already sweating. Imagine what would happen if we all men come together. We are 15 crore, which can outweigh their 100 crore". On receiving police summons for questioning at Kalaburagi, Pathan told reporters in Mumbai on Saturday that he had no intention to hurt the sentiments of any community and blamed the media for twisting his speech to defame him, his party and the minority community. "I take back my words if they hurt anyone and apologise for the same," said Pathan, adding in a tweet that he was a proud Indian and respects the plurality of the country but was angry like many others who believe in the Constitution, with the government for imposing the CAA on the people. Criticising Pathan for his hate speech AIMIM president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi advised the former to refrain from making such provocative remarks in public. Disowning Pathan's speech and conduct, party's Maharashtra unit president and Aurangabad Lok Sabha member Imtiyaz Jaleel said his party does not endorse such offensive statements. "We will seek explanation from him (Pathan) on his remarks," said Jaleel, adding the party would give guidelines to its members on making public speeches. WASHINGTONIts been a running gag ever since she launched her bid to become president of the United States: Amy Klobuchar knows how to handle a Canadian winter. Not long after the Minnesota senators blizzard-bound campaign debut last year, a group of former U.S. and Canadian ambassadors gathered in Washington a city famous for running and hiding from the white stuff to discuss, among other things, their preferred nominee. Canadians love Amy Klobuchar look at the way she handled snow, joked former Canadian ambassador and Manitoba premier Gary Doer, who hosted Klobuchars 2013 swearing-in party on the Canadian Embassys rooftop patio. Gordon Giffin, U.S. ambassador to Canada under Bill Clinton, happened to be hosting his own reception for Klobuchar at his home in Atlanta the very next night. Were not expecting snow, he said, but I am expecting Amy Klobuchar to be the Democratic nominee. Bruce Heyman, who might never have been confirmed in the Senate as Barack Obamas Ottawa emissary without her help, calls Klobuchar the best hope for both the Democrats and the country. The solidarity is striking, particularly for a candidate whose challenges to get coverage have long extended well beyond the weather forecast in Minnesota. But her affinity for the Canada-U.S. file demonstrates why those hoping to reboot relations with the White House could do worse than the first female senator from the North Star State. She has spent more than a decade as co-chair of the Canada-U.S. Inter-Parliamentary Group, the panel of lawmakers from both sides of the border that works to identify shared interests at the legislative level. Shes also a devout free-trader with a deep understanding of Canadas priorities, thanks in part to the fact she can see Canada from her porch, as she likes to say. Social liberals might take comfort in her support for abortion and LGBTQ rights. For Giffin, it all comes down to that re-election embassy bash, which featured congressional movers and shakers from both sides of the aisle. It was actually a physical manifestation of the way Washington ought to work these days, Republicans dont go to Democrat swearing-in parties, Giffin recalled in an interview Friday. Gary and I have a common thread with Amy of seeing how she does politics and government the right way. She works with Democrats and Republicans, and she knows more than something about Canada. Heyman credits Klobuchar nobody knows the Canada-U.S. file better whos running for president, he says with breaking through a partisan deadlock on Capitol Hill and getting him confirmed by the Senate in 2014. During a subsequent gathering in Ottawa, he saw her bilateral bona fides up close. There we were, just a couple of months later, and who does she bring? She brings Republicans and Democrats and some of the most red Republicans and blue Democrats, he recalled. Ive seen her work across the aisle at a time when we are a country divided, and parties divided. But as the primary fight moves through Nevada and into South Carolina, with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders showing signs of pulling away from the pack and Super Tuesday looming on March 3, Klobuchar is facing an uphill struggle for traction with more diverse Black and Latino voters in the South. Money is becoming a challenge, too, as donors aim their largesse at the front-runners. For Giffin, a veteran of the U.S. political trenches, Klobuchar needs to catch a lucky break. The voters in South Carolina, no matter what their background or diversity might be, want to be for somebody whos got a chance to win the nomination first, and secondly to win the general election, he said. Im not by any means predicting that Amys going to be the next president of the United States. Id be thrilled if she was, and I think the country would be well-served if she was. I think shes impressing people as she goes along. Can lightning strike? I dont know. North of the border, shes still a stranger, a new online survey from the Angus Reid Institute suggests. Sanders was the choice of 28 per cent of respondents to both defeat Trump and herald an improvement in Canada-U.S. relations, besting second-place Joe Biden at 14 per cent. Klobuchar registered just four per cent, with fewer than a third of those surveyed even having an opinion of her. And that lucky break might have already happened: Klobuchars campaign found new life in New Hampshire, where she used the televised debate to promote her reputation as a moderate consensus-builder with a fighting chance against Donald Trump in critical states like Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. I dont have the biggest name up on this stage, I dont have the biggest bank account ... but I have a record of fighting for people, she said. Im asking you to believe that someone who totally believes in America can win this, because if you are tired of the extremes in our politics and the noise and the nonsense, you have a home with me. The ensuing momentum, paired with a continuing flurry of newspaper endorsements, painted a target on her back in the next contest in Nevada. Thats where fellow candidate Pete Buttigieg attacked her for supporting a bill to make English the national language and for blanking on the name of the president of Mexico. Are you trying to say that Im dumb? Are you mocking me here, Pete? Klobuchar retorted, shaken. Hes basically saying that I dont have the experience to be president of the United States. Fridays headline in the New York Times said it all: Klobuchar suddenly rises to rival worth attacking. WASHINGTONPresident Donald Trump was infuriated that 14 U.S. citizens who had tested positive for coronavirus were permitted to return this week to the United States, said two senior administration officials. The decision took the president, a self-declared germophobe, by surprise. Officials at the State Department decided to bring back the citizens, who had been quarantined on the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan, after consulting with a senior official at the Department of Health and Human Services. But officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention objected, concerned that the passengers, among hundreds of Americans being evacuated from the ship, could spread the virus. News organizations reported on the decision on Monday, and the passengers arrived in the United States that day. Trump, furious at not having been briefed on the Americans who had tested positive, relayed his anger to Alex Azar, the health and human services secretary, and other top officials. They then alerted the White House interagency task force on the coronavirus, which Azar oversees. One official said Trump views shutting the borders to infected people as critical to keeping the country safe and wants to be seen as managing a proper response. The top State Department official on the task force is Stephen Biegun, the deputy secretary of state. During the early legs of a four-day trip to the West Coast meant to bolster his re-election effort, Trump paid close attention to Fox News coverage of the Diamond Princess that played aboard Air Force One. Word of Trumps anger had already begun circulating among officials on Tuesday morning. The Washington Post first reported on it on Friday. In 2014, during an Ebola crisis in Africa, Trump, who was then a private citizen, angrily demanded that the Obama administration cancel flights and bar anyone infected with the virus from entering the country including American medical workers who had gone to Africa to help. KEEP THEM OUT OF HERE! he wrote in a July 31 tweet after learning that one American medical worker would be evacuated to Atlanta from Liberia. The U.S. cannot allow EBOLA infected people back, Trump wrote on Twitter the next day, adding: People that go to far away places to help out are great but must suffer the consequences! There have been at least 634 infections and two deaths from the Diamond Princess, which Japanese officials kept in isolation for two weeks at a port in Yokohama. That effort at a quarantine contributed to the virus rapid spread among passengers. The cluster from the ship is the largest concentration of coronavirus cases outside China, warranting its own category in data compiled by the World Health Organization. U.S. officials began a complex evacuation procedure for 328 passengers aboard the Diamond Princess on Sunday night. All had been examined by American medical experts and showed no symptoms of the coronavirus, Dr. William Walters, managing director of operational medicine at the State Department, and Dr. Robert Kadlec, assistant secretary for preparedness and response at the Department of Health and Human Services, said on Monday during a conference call with reporters. But as those passengers were bused to Haneda Airport in Tokyo early Monday morning, Japanese officials told American counterparts that laboratory tests for 14 passengers had come back positive, Walters said. The tests had been conducted two to three days earlier, but U.S. officials, believing the timing of the results would be unpredictable because of the volume of testing being done in Japan, began the evacuation without having all results in hand. American passengers who had already tested positive or who had displayed symptoms had been sent to hospitals in Japan, Walters said. After they learned that 14 passengers had tested positive, U.S. officials decided that the entire group set to leave Japan should be treated according to protocols the officials had developed for evacuees, Walters said. That meant continuing to transport those who had tested positive but putting them in isolation behind sheets of plastic about 10-feet tall at the rear of the two planes flying them back to the United States. Walters said on Monday that he and Kadlec reviewed the possible options after learning of the test results. Then the question was simply this: Are these evacuees? Walters said. And do we follow our protocol? And the answer to that was yes on both accounts. Kadlec added, We had additional expertise and experienced eyes on these people and monitoring through the flight. The planes landed at Travis Air Force Base in California and Lackland Air Force Base in Texas. Most of the 14 passengers who had tested positive were then flown to Omaha, Nebraska for treatment and monitoring by experts at the University of Nebraska. Since then, Japanese officials have informed U.S. officials that several other passengers among the 328 brought back had also tested positive for coronavirus. On Friday, U.S. officials said at least 34 people inside the United States have the virus 18 of them from the Diamond Princess. All of the 34 cases have been linked to overseas travel. There has been no sign yet of the virus spreading among communities in the United States. The State Department is closely monitoring U.S. citizens on board another cruise ship in Cambodia, the Westerdam, as well as Americans who have disembarked and are in hotels in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. Those Americans are expected to travel onward at some point. One 83-year-old American woman from the ship travelled to Malaysia and tested positive for coronavirus. Williams said Monday that 92 U.S. citizens were still on board the Westerdam, while another 260 were in hotels in the Cambodian capital. About 300 U.S. citizens had left the country, but only after testing by the government of Cambodias Ministry of Health, he said. When asked whether the United States was thinking about arranging evacuation flights for the hundreds of Americans in Cambodia or elsewhere, Walters did not offer a direct answer. He said the State Department was following very closely the situation of U.S. citizens in places where coronavirus is prevalent and of citizens who are having difficulty in returning to the United States because of the disruptions in the international airline industry, and flights, and so forth. Separately, State Department officials say that thousands of Russia-linked social media accounts are spreading disinformation about the coronavirus, including a conspiracy theory that the United States is behind the outbreak. American monitors first identified the campaign in mid-January. Agence France-Presse reported the assessment on Saturday. Russias intent is to sow discord and undermine U.S. institutions and alliances from within, including through covert and coercive malign influence campaigns, said Philip T. Reeker, the acting assistant secretary of state for Europe and Eurasia. By spreading disinformation about coronavirus, Russian malign actors are once again choosing to threaten public safety by distracting from the global health response. Read more about: Even if it's not a huge purchase, we think it was good to see that Uli Hacksell, the CEO, President & Director of Medivir AB (publ) (STO:MVIR B) recently shelled out kr291k to buy stock, at kr14.53 per share. Even though that isn't a massive buy, it did increase their holding by 69%, which is a arguably a good sign. Check out our latest analysis for Medivir Medivir Insider Transactions Over The Last Year While no particular insider transaction stood out, we can still look at the overall trading. While Medivir insiders bought shares last year, they didn't sell. They paid about kr13.78 on average. It's great to see insiders putting their own cash into the company's stock, albeit at below the recent share price (kr14.80). You can see the insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date! OM:MVIR B Recent Insider Trading, February 23rd 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 Medivir I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. From looking at our data, insiders own kr17m worth of Medivir stock, about 4.8% of the company. We prefer to see high levels of insider ownership. So What Do The Medivir Insider Transactions Indicate? The recent insider purchases are heartening. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. However, we note that the company didn't make a profit over the last twelve months, which makes us cautious. Given that insiders also own a fair bit of Medivir we think they are probably pretty confident of a bright future. Therefore, you should should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for Medivir. Story continues 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. WASHINGTON Before it disbanded, the federal commission chaired by then-Gov. Chris Christie made several recommendations on how to deal with the opioid crisis. Those lessons are being put to use as the Trump administration continues to address the problem, according to Jim Carroll, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. The main lesson was that law enforcement alone wont solve the problem, Carroll said in an interview. We have completely changed the way weve gone about this, Carroll said. Theres collaboration. Weve brought public health people into the office. Weve brought in additional law enforcement people. Hes already celebrated one victory: Age-adjusted drug overdose deaths declined for the first time in more than two decades, to 67,367 in 2018 from 70,237 in 2017, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That was a 4.1% drop. it shows people coming together working across the spectrum from prevention, treatment and law enforcement, Carroll said. New Jersey, though, was one of just five states that saw an increase in age-adjusted drug overdose deaths, to 2,900 in 2018 from 2,685 in 2017. The drug czar spoke to NJ Advance Media in advance of his address to the Law Enforcement Against Drugs conference in Atlantic City. The conference takes place Sunday through Tuesday. The Allentown-based organization focuses on keeping kids and adults away from drugs by providing training to law enforcement officers that they can use to work with community leaders, educators and others to set up programs that have a record of success. They are coming together to figure how to prevent drug use, Carroll said This is not a supply-side conference. This is a demand-side conference, reduce demand, reduce overdoses. President Donald Trump named Christie to chair the Presidents Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis, which held its first meeting in March 2017. The commission disbanded in Nov. 1 after delivering its recommendations. Many of those ideas were incorporated into legislation Trump signed in October 2018 that strengthened efforts to stop the flow of illegal narcotics, cut down on opioid prescriptions in favor of non-addictive painkillers, and expanded the use of medication-assistance treatment for addicts. Christie had made fighting addiction the chief focus of his final year as governor and remained involved after leaving office. The president trusted Governor Christie to work on this issue, Carroll said. Governor Christie understands the issue. It allowed us to think about the ways we were doing business. Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. (CNN) Concerns are growing over the global spread of the novel coronavirus after a spike in cases outside of mainland China among people with no connection to China or the city of Wuhan, ground zero for the outbreak. World Health Organization (WHO) director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Friday that there was still a chance to contain the Covid-19 virus, "but the window of opportunity is narrowing." The WHO has called on countries to continue containment measures while preparing for community transmission, he said, adding that the outbreak could still go in any direction. "We must not look back and regret that we failed to take advantage of the window of opportunity we have," he said. His words come as countries outside of China report a sharp increase of coronavirus cases -- particularly in South Korea and Iran. Italy has also reported its first death, raising fears of self-sustaining epidemics. Authorities in China's Hubei province confirmed an additional 366 cases of the virus on Friday, 45 fewer than the previous day, taking the total number of cases at the epicenter of the outbreak to over 63,400. The total number of cases in mainland China is now more than 76,200. The global death toll from the outbreak has reached 2,360, after 109 deaths were reported in mainland China Friday, including 106 in Hubei, nine fewer than the previous day. Outside of mainland China, 15 people have died from the coronavirus. Two new deaths were reported in Iran and one death in South Korea on Friday. More than 9,000 self-isolating in South Korea Outside China, the largest coronavirus outbreaks have been in South Korea and Japan, where hundreds of people were infected on the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which began disembarking passengers this week from Yokohama Bay. On Saturday, South Korea reported a jump of more than 140 additional cases, bringing the country's total to over 340, according to the South Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). The number of cases in South Korea has soared from 28 a week ago. Two patients who have been diagnosed with coronavirus have died in the country, where the outbreak is centered around the southern city of Daegu. About half of the country's cases are linked to the Shincheongji religious group in Daegu. On Saturday, South Korean health officials said that 9,300 members of the group will be tested and required to self-isolate as they try to get on top of the outbreak there. "We have secured a list of about 9,300 members of the relevant religious group, and we are preemptively enforcing self-isolation and facility isolation," said Kim Gang-lip, South Korea's vice minister of health, at a press briefing. More than 4,400 people from the list are already self-isolating and the ministry is conducting the first tests on 544 people who said they have respiratory symptoms, Kim said. In a statement released online on Friday, the Shincheongji religious group said it "deeply regrets" the coronavirus outbreak that occurred in their Daegu branch and said it was cooperating with local authorities. "Currently all of our church branches in the nation, including the main headquarters have stopped services, gatherings, and mission activity in churches and related spaces," the statement said. On Friday, the South Korean government designated Daegu and neighboring city Cheongdo as "special management areas" for infectious disease and have taken additional measures to control the outbreak, including shutting down public places in the capital, Seoul. Among the new cases, 92 have been linked to the Cheongdo Daenam hospital, in North Gyeongsang province, and four other cases connected to Daegu city involved members of the military. Cases rise in Middle East Attention has also turned to Iran, which only recently began reporting its first cases, and on Friday confirmed two additional deaths and 13 new infections. Iranian health officials said the source of the virus in the country could be a Chinese worker who works in the city of Qom, about 140 kilometers (87 miles) south of the capital Tehran, and had recently traveled to China. In total, four people have died in the country and 18 infections have been confirmed. Officials warned the coronavirus may have spread to every city in the country. "The spread of the coronavirus started in Qom and has reached other cities in the country like Tehran, Babol, Arak, Isfahan, Rasht and other cities due to people traveling. There is a possibility that it exists in all cities across the country," said Minnou Mohraz, a member of the National Committee for Infectious Diseases at the Ministry of Health. On Friday, Canada's chief public health officer, Theresa Tam, suggested further investigation was needed after a Canadian tested positive for the virus after returning from Iran. There was no indication that the patient had been to Qom. "Any important cases linked to Iran could be an indicator that there is more widespread transmission than we know about," Tam said. Iran's sudden jump in cases, Tam said, was a reminder that the novel coronavirus is a global issue and that there is the possibility that the virus could be present in countries that may not have the capacity to detect or contain it. On Friday, Lebanon and Israel both reported their first cases of coronavirus. Leaving the Diamond Princess Meanwhile, hundreds of people are finally disembarking the Diamond Princess cruise ship that has been quarantined in Japan's Yokohama for the past two weeks. On Friday, 253 people who tested negative for coronavirus left the ship, according to a news release from the Japanese health ministry. The disembarkation of passengers from the ship will continue at least through Saturday, a spokesperson for Princess Cruises told CNN. Japan, however, reported 12 new cases of coronavirus on Saturday, including three teenagers, bringing the number of cases in the country with no connection to the ship to 99, with 639 confirmed from the cruise ship. Cases have also increased in Singapore and Taiwan. In the United States, officials have confirmed 35 cases of novel coronavirus, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That includes 21 cases among repatriated individuals, as well as 14 other US cases. The 21 repatriated include 18 former passengers of the Diamond Princess, plus three who had been previously evacuated from China. The CDC said it will now track confirmed cases in two separate groups: people who have been repatriated, and those identified by the US public health network. This story was first published on CNN.com, "Fears over containing novel coronavirus grow as cases outside China spike" TYENDINAGA MOHAWK TERRITORY, Ont. - Protesters were reportedly given until the end of Sunday night to clear a blockade on Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory that's crippled the country's rail network. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 23/2/2020 (688 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A protester looks through a pair of binoculars from the closed train tracks in Tyendinaga, near Belleville, Ont., on Sunday Feb.23, 2020. The rail blockade is in support of the Wet'suwet'en who oppose work on a pipeline in northern B.C. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick TYENDINAGA MOHAWK TERRITORY, Ont. - Protesters were reportedly given until the end of Sunday night to clear a blockade on Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory that's crippled the country's rail network. Ontario Provincial Police and Canadian National informed protesters that they will face an investigation and possible charges if they don't clear the tracks in eastern Ontario by 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, according to multiple media reports. The barricade has shut down train traffic along a key corridor for more than two weeks. CN declined to comment on the reported move, and spokespeople with the OPP did not immediately respond. The barricades are a response to a move by the RCMP to clear protesters who had been blocking access to a pipeline worksite on Wet'suwet'en territory in northern British Columbia. Hereditary chiefs of the Wet'suwet'en Nation oppose the work on their traditional territory, despite support from elected band councils along the pipeline route. On Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said it was time for the barricades to come down and injunctions ordering the tracks cleared to be enforced. But Heredity Chief Na'moks, also known as John Ridsdale, said Sunday that Trudeau's "misinformed" and "antagonistic" speech had the opposite effect. "If the prime minister had not made that speech the Mohawks would have taken down everything," he said. "They were ready. We were on the phone." More rail-line protests sprung up over the weekend, even after Trudeau's stern words. A protester looks through a pair of binoculars from the closed train tracks in Tyendinaga, near Belleville, Ont., on Sunday, Feb.23, 2020. The rail blockade is in support of the Wet'suwet'en who oppose work on a pipeline in northern B.C. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick In Vancouver, protesters returned to the site of CN Rail tracks on the city's east side, but police spokesman Sgt. Aaron Roed said the gathering appeared to be a continuation of protests over the past few weeks. He said about 40 people were off to the side of the tracks, not blocking rail lines, and officers had informed them of an injunction already in place. Na'moks said all five hereditary chiefs are expected to meet in northern B.C. on Monday to plan their next steps and talks with the RCMP could resume on Thursday at the earliest. He said the chiefs will not budge from their demands for the Mounties to remove every component of a mobile unit from the 29-kilometre mark from Highway 16 before meeting with them. "The local constabulary can look after the patrols," Na'moks said of a detachment in nearby Houston. "The officers that they fly in and out on a seven-day basis is what we want gone from the territory." Dawn Roberts, a spokeswoman for the RCMP, said the mobile unit has been temporarily closed as discussions are underway with the deputy commissioner about its future. "This means that the buildings have been locked and secured and that the gates and the fence that's around that property has been locked," she said. Officers who were stationed at the unit are now conducting patrols of the area from the Houston detachment, about 40 minutes away, Roberts said, adding she is not aware of any plans by Mounties to meet with the chiefs on Thursday. The chiefs visited supporters this week in Tyendinaga and Kahnawake south of Montreal, and repeated that their conditions for talks to begin have not been met. Chief Woos, of the Grizzly House, told reporters in Kahnawake on Saturday that attempts to reach out to Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller have not been returned since Trudeau's announcement on Friday. "It seems to me like ever since Mr. Trudeau has made his announcement, the communication has ceased," Woos said. But senior cabinet ministers said Sunday the federal government remained ready to talk. Speaking Sunday on Global's news and political affairs series "The West Block," the minister for Crown-Indigenous relations styled conversations as productive and that all sides were making good progress. Carolyn Bennett said that "at no time have we stopped negotiations." She added later in the interview that "keeping the conversation open" along with the removal of the RCMP from the Wet'suwet'en territory are "really important criteria to getting us through this difficult patch and on to a good path." She said there are differing opinions within the Wet'suwet'en Nation, and it is the nation itself that has to sort out the divide. "Within the Wet'suwet'en community that there are differing opinions and matriarchs, there are people that are speaking up about their issues as well," Bennett told the program. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "The solution will be found in the Wet'suwet'en community as they come together with their vision of self-determination and how they can form a government and write their own laws." On CTV's "Question Period," Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said the barricades needed to come down and that the federal government is committed to dialogue. He urged the hereditary chiefs to come back to the table. "We all understand the importance of a peaceful resolution, but a speedy resolution, because the impact of these barricades is unacceptable, untenable," Blair said. "It can't be maintained because of the harm that it is causing and so we have confidence in the police to do the job peaceably." He said that it was the responsibility of the police in each jurisdiction to deal with the blockades and was cool to the idea of the federal government sending in the military to forcibly remove demonstrators. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 23, 2020. Advertisement The current study reveals a complex interplay between beneficial bacteria in the intestines, the maturation of lung tissues and the growth of immune cells in what the researchers call the gut-lung axis. It happens in neonates during an early and critical development window of the newborn lung, according to their report.Commensal bacteria from the gut stimulate the production of Type 3 innate lymphoid cells. This occurs in early alveolar cells called fibroblasts when biological cues from the gut stimulate production of a hormone called insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1). IGF1 orchestrates expansion and maturation of early pulmonary innate lymphoid cells, the study shows.When researchers deleted pulmonary IGF1 in the lungs of baby mice, it interrupted the biogenic development of Type 3 innate lymphoid cells and made the mice susceptible to lung infections and pneumonia. They confirmed this by analyzing the underdeveloped lungs of premature mouse pups and donated lung tissues from the families of premature human infants.The findings have potential clinical implications because premature infants are depleted of helpful gut bacteria by the need for oxygen ventilation to help them breath. This is exacerbated by what Deshmukh called a "double whammy" when the babies have to be administered antibiotics to fight their vulnerability to infection.The preclinical study on mice to test potential therapies will include administering helpful gut bacteria and pulmonary IGF1 to see if this stimulates to development of a robust immune defense. Deshmukh said therapeutic administration of commensal bacteria and the IGF1 hormone are both being tested clinical in humans for other medical conditions.Never Ending ChallengeAlthough medical science and technology continue to advance, premature birth and its complications remain a major challenge as the largest contributors to global infant death, according to the March of Dimes. In 2018, the most recent year statistically available, the preterm birth rate in the United States worsened for the fourth straight year, from 9.63 percent in 2015 to 10.02 percent in 2018.Bacterial pneumonia kills more than one million infants around the world each year, study authors note.Prior to the new study in Science Immunity the researchers published previous papers in Nature Medicine and Science Translational Medicine establishing the critical of role of the Gut-Lung Axis molecular interplay and the potentially harmful impact of aggressive antibiotic regimens in premature infants.Source: Eurekalert About 10:40 p.m. officers were called to a convenience store in the 8200 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue for a report of gunshots. They determined a man inside the store had shot through the door at another man who was approaching. It wasnt clear if the man outside was hit by any of the gunshots, but he began to return fire when the man in the store stepped outside, officials said. The mosques clerics had attracted around them a core of banned militant organisations including Al Qaeda and Jaish-i-Mohammad. Surely its time to recall how appeasing terrorism culminated in the horrific disaster of 2007. Thats when Islamabad became a battlefield above which thick smoke filled the sky for days. (Photo: ANI) Maulana Abdul Aziz of Lal Masjid fame is back on the scene. He is threatening a second round unless his demands are met. Negotiations are currently in process to placate him. One wonders if old memories have gotten lost. Or, instead, are they still so fresh that the authorities dare not refuse Azizs demands. Surely its time to recall how appeasing terrorism culminated in the horrific disaster of 2007. Thats when Islamabad became a battlefield above which thick smoke filled the sky for days. Led by Abdul Aziz and his brother Abdur Rashid Ghazi (later killed), Lal Masjid clerics had set out to create their version of an Islamic state in the city. On April 12, 2007, in an FM broadcast from an illegal transmitter on the mosques premises, they issued a chilling threat to the government: There will be suicide blasts in every nook and cranny of the country. We have weapons, grenades and we are experts in manufacturing bombs. We are not afraid of death. This was four months before the final showdown on July 4, 2007. The mosques clerics had attracted around them a core of banned militant organisations including Al Qaeda and Jaish-i-Mohammad. A state within a state, Lal Masjid was a magnet for fighters from Central Asian Republics. Inside the mosques premises, Ghazi and Aziz ran their own Islamic court. Here they received the Saudi Arabian ambassador and negotiated with the Chinese ambassador for the release of his countrys kidnapped nationals. For many months Gen. Musharrafs government looked the other way. Even as arms and fuel were being stockpiled inside the mosque and Jamia Hafsa students rampaged across Islamabad, the government rejected suggestions to cut off the mosque-madressah complexs electricity and gas supply, block its website, or shut down its illegal FM radio station. To this day, we do not know if this was cowardice or complicity. The softness shown to the mullahs left Islamabads residents bewildered. Clearly, the state had a hard fist because just months earlier the 80-year-old Oxford-educated Nawab Akbar Bugti had been killed by aerial bombardment in Kohlu, Balochistan. But on the Lal Masjid matter Musharrafs chief negotiator, Chaudhry Shujaat Husain, flatly ruled out the use of force. Speaking to the press he described the Burqa Brigade militants as our daughters with whom negotiations would continue and against whom no operation could be contemplated. The reader is asked to imagine the course of events had there been a similar uprising in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iran or Egypt. If their capitals had been taken over, their response would have been immediate and perhaps unforgivably brutal. On the other hand, Lal Masjid militants were needlessly pampered until the Chinese forced Musharraf to act. The rest became history. Islamabad shook to the sound of rockets and bombs and carnage followed. Ten SSG crack commandos were killed by the heavily fortified defenders and scores wounded. In an earlier suicide attack on a checkpoint near the mosque, over a dozen policemen died. On the side of Lal Masjid defenders the death count ran into hundreds. A massive cache of weapons was seized after the defenders were eliminated and placed in police custody. Weeks later, it disappeared mysteriously. It did not take long for the death of soldiers and policemen to be forgotten. No FIR was ever lodged by the authorities against Aziz and his companions. Sometime later, he walked out a free man and resumed his preaching. But many years later Khurram Zaki, a 40-year old civil rights activist from Karachi, decided to take on Azizs hate speech against Shias. He and his friends were to file an FIR but on May 7, 2016, just days after he declared his intent, he was gunned down by unknown assailants on a motorcycle. No normal state rewards those who once stood up against it in violent, armed insurrection and now threaten it again. Normal states do not reward those who kill their own soldiers and policemen. Surely such abnormal behaviour must have a cause. Could it be because no other country is particularly interested in reining in the Lal Masjid clerics? Let us note that last week the founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba, Hafiz Saeed, was convicted by an anti-terrorism court to two prison terms each of five-and-a-half years. The openly whispered secret is that the punishment came not because he deserves it but because this helps avoid Pakistan being blacklisted by the Financial Action Task Force. Even if true, this does not explain everything. We know that FATF carries a big stick and so one can slightly understand why Hafiz Saeed must be jailed for now. But, after great cost, Azizs stick had been whittled down to size. Why fear it? Why agree to give, as reported, `35 million and 20 kanals of expensive urban land? Certainly, the authorities refuse to negotiate with either the PTM or Baloch nationalists and prefer crushing to talking. Is there something different here? An answer of sorts could once be hazarded. Extra-state actors provided by Aziz and others were cheap, disposable tools for pursuing foreign policy objectives in Kashmir and Afghanistan. The strategy eventually backfired and Pakistan finally dumped it. Neighbouring countries now make fewer complaints compared to years ago. Confirming the shift, and presumably with the backing of the current Army establishment, Prime Minister Imran Khan famously tweeted on October 5, 2019, that anyone crossing the LoC from AJK to provide humanitarian aid or support for Kashmiri struggle will play into the hands of the Indian narrative. One doesnt doubt the sincerity of his statement. Pakistan is far more peaceful now that the age of extra-state actors has passed. So why continue kowtowing to Aziz and his kind? I am totally stumped. The authorities must explain why they are choosing to appease those who fought the state and killed its soldiers and policemen. They have to tell us why they are handling with velvet gloves those responsible for the tragic sufferings of 13 years ago. Else a second tragedy may not be far away. By arrangement with Dawn TLCs My 600-lb. Life follows the lives of individuals trying to escape their lives of morbid obesity. When one first takes the program in, its hard to look away. The cameras show each person in nearly every possible living situation: sleeping, grocery shopping, even in some situations, showing that episodes featured individual on the toilet. Dr. Younan Nowzaradan of TLCs My 600-lb Life via Instagram Each person featured on the reality show may start at a different weight and have different challenges. All, however, carry a shared hope in the medical professional who has brought about extraordinary transformations in other patients lives, bariatric surgeon Dr. Younan Nowzaradan. Heres what is known about the doctors net worth, plus his ethnic background. Dr. Nowzaradans ethnicity Dr. Nowzaradan is originally from Iran. Born in 1944, he earned his medical degree from the University of Tehran in 1970 and then on to the United States for advanced training. He finished his surgical internship at St. Johns Hospital in Detroit, specializing at first in general surgery and cardiac surgery. His skill was so impressive that he caught the eye of artificial heart implantation pioneer Dr. Denton Cooley. Eventually, Cooley recommended Nowzaradan for a fellowship at the Texas Heart Institute in 1976. The doctors tough love with his patients The doctor is famously tough with his patients, to the point of memes being made that poke fun at his comments, such as Youre not trying hard enough or You should have lost more weight by now. But the doctor knows his position requires someone in his patients lives to be strong and tough because, in many cases, their families are afraid to make their obese family member uncomfortable. Its a daily challenge to work with some patients that can be self-destructive, Nowzaradan told People in 2017. My job is not to get aggravated, but to find a way to motivate them to work hard to get to their goals. There are times where I think its necessary for some tough love and I have to be stern with them, so I show some of my concern and frustration. Even during those times, my job is to find a way to work with them to get their weight to a healthy place. They are the patient because they need help and its my job to help them no matter what. Dr. Nowzaradans net worth The 75-year-olds net worth is $6 million. His son, Jonathan, a filmmaker, played a big role in Dr. Nows jump to television. The father and sons first production together was called Half Ton Mum: Worlds Heaviest Woman featuring an 841-pound Austin-based patient. The patient, Renee Williams, received surgery, but died two weeks after. The way they described it was a race of the clock, Jonathan told the Austin Chronicle in 2007. Even though she had gastric bypass, a hearts pumping for a body that big. If shed had the surgery earlier, possibly she could have made it. As Dr. Now told People in their conversation, There have been a few patients I felt I could no longer help. I will always be available if they need me. If they wont stick to the program, at some point, I can longer help them and they are taking resources from someone else who needs it. A federal plan to house cruise ship passengers who tested positive for the coronavirus at a facility in Alabama was met with a resounding no thanks by state officials who may have forced authorities to shelve the idea. Globally, the death toll from the virus topped 2,600 on Sunday night, with more than 79,000 confirmed cases. The U.S. has 35 confirmed cases. The plan called for the FEMA Center for Domestic Preparedness in Anniston to be used as a coronavirus quarantine center for some American passengers evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship stuck in Japan. Most of the evacuees involved are housed now at military bases in Texas, Colorado and California. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services had said the center was selected because of its "unique facilities." Only patients with minor symptoms or none at all would go to Anniston under the plan. Any evacuees who become seriously ill would be taken to "pre-identified" hospitals, HHS said. The plan drew a quick and negative response from the mayor, the governor and multiple Alabama congressmen. "The people of Alabama DO NOT want the coronavirus brought here," Rep. Bradley Byrne said on Twitter. "Im fighting to bring this to a full stop. Leave these people in the place they came to, dont spread them around the US, and keep them OUT of Alabama. The risk is much too high." Third Diamond Princess passenger dies: 80-year-old Japanese man Rep. Mike Rogers said he had spoken with President Donald Trump, who Rogers said agreed that the HHS plan was the "wrong decision." Gov. Kay Ivey said Sunday that the HHS announcement was "inadvertently, and perhaps prematurely, sent." She said she learned through a series of conference calls that Anniston was being considered only as a backup plan and that no decision had been made to send anyone to Anniston. Ivey said her state wants to assist fellow Americans but cited "grave concerns" over how Anniston was chosen. Story continues "First and foremost, my priority is to protect the people of Alabama," Ivey said in a statement. "While locating these folks in Alabama is currently a backup plan, this is a serious issue and we need to be fully aware of the facts regarding the potential of housing them in Anniston." South Korea orders red alert Worldwide, South Korea went on its highest alert Sunday, reporting its sixth and seventh coronavirus deaths and announcing that cases have surpassed 760. President Moon Jae-in raised the virus alert level to red, the highest in its four-tier system, for the first time in more than a decade. Schools that were supposed to open in a week will be delayed until March 9. Health Minister Park Neung-hoo said the next seven or 10 days will be crucial in combating the virus. "The COVID-19 is spreading quickly, but it is limited within a specific region and group," Park said. China: Epidemic 'grim and complex' In China, President Xi Jinping pledged unrelenting efforts to control the outbreak that has killed more than 2,400 of his countrymen. "The epidemic situation remains grim and complex, and it is now a most crucial moment to curb the spread," Xi told state media. More than 77,000 of the infection cases are in mainland China. The silver lining: More than 24,000 of those patients have been confirmed as "totally recovered." Iran's death toll reaches 8 President Hassan Rouhani issued a decree setting up a national committee for managing the epidemic, which has killed eight people in the country the highest death toll outside China. Another 43 cases have been confirmed. Cultural centers, schools and universities in 14 provinces were ordered closed, and Turkey closed its border with Iran. Sylvie Briand, director of global infectious hazard preparedness at the World Health Organization, expressed concern over the "very rapid increase in a matter of a few days" in the country. Contributing: The Associated Press This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Coronavirus: Alabama balks at plan to house coronavirus patients A Belfast couple appearing on a new BBC programme about stinky homes wash their clothes only ONCE a month. Sarah and Jordan, who live among piles of rubbish, mouldy takeaway boxes and soiled underwear, will even buy new clothes instead of cleaning the ones they already own. The pair live with fellow couple Paddy and Ciaran and all four appear on BBC Three's Fight Dirty. The show pits the 'partners in grime' against another group nicknamed 'the party boys' - students Matthew, Lorcan, Gavin and Ronan - in a clean-up challenge. The rivals are tasked with sorting out the other group's home within five hours, with the winners walking away with a 1,000 prize. The boys live in a "fly-infested s***hole" with a sink that's often clogged with sick and a toilet that's seen better days, but they see no point in cleaning up because it'll just get messy again during one of their many wild parties. "If my mum or my dad were to walk into this house, they'd call me a disgrace. It's minging," Gavin admits. Expand Close Gavin described the boys' house as 'minging', admitting his parents would call him a 'disgrace' if they saw it. Pictured: their living room - Fight Dirty / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Gavin described the boys' house as 'minging', admitting his parents would call him a 'disgrace' if they saw it. Pictured: their living room - Fight Dirty Sarah, whose mum is a cleaner, lives by the motto 'out of sight, out of mind' and her house is so messy that takeaways often get lost among the rubbish. Worst of all, though, is the terrible smell. "You can feel it in your eyes and you can taste it, but you just have to sit in it," Sarah says. "We order takeaways, especially after a night out. You eat them in your room, then they just kind of get kicked about and then they just kind of aren't there anymore. Out of sight, out of mind - that's what I live by. "To be fair, a lot of the time this year we bought new clothes instead of cleaning." During the show, after Gavin discovers a pair of filthy boxer shorts in a bedroom, he describes them as "crusty, mouldy and stinking". Ronan adds: "He's done everything in those boxers." As the lads delve deeper into the room, they're horrified to find the remains of takeaways discarded months ago. There's also some serious debate over a box of mouldy food from Domino's, with no one quite sure if it was once chicken wings or potato wedges. "The smell is absolutely awful. Whoever owns that food is an absolute disgrace. I don't know how this person lives in here," Ronan says. Matthew adds: "That smell has scarred me for life. I thought we were bad, but this is next level." Expand Close Sarah and Jordan live among a mountain of rotting takeaways and rubbish - fight dirty / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Sarah and Jordan live among a mountain of rotting takeaways and rubbish - fight dirty Sarah and Jordan, meanwhile, just don't leave a mess in their own room - they spread it across the house and even use the oven to stash Buckfast rather than to cook food. Not that the party boys are much better: Sarah, Jordan, Paddy and Ciaran have to unblock their vomit-filled sink during the show. The toilet isn't exactly sparkling clean either. It's covered in excrement that Ronan says is the result of "Mexican food that didn't agree" with him. The programme is the brainchild of Chris Jones, founder and creative director of Nice One Productions. "I'm so happy and grateful that BBC Three are the first broadcaster to have backed our partnership with Fizz TV," Chris says. "They immediately saw the potential for big laughs and learnings in this filthy-to-fabulous format from Belfast." Fight Dirty is available to view now on the BBC iPlayer. The financial burden on health systems would drastically increase if new European expert guidelines for cholesterol-lowering treatment were implemented, according to a new simulation study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, published in the European Heart Journal. The findings highlight an urgent need for cost-effectiveness analysis given the current cost of the proposed treatment for very high-risk patients, the researchers say. In August 2019, the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and the European Atherosclerosis Society (EAS) recommended that low-density lipoproteins cholesterol levels (LDL-C), also described as the "bad" cholesterol, should be substantially lowered to prevent cardiovascular disease, especially in very high-risk patients. The guidelines carry significant weight for clinicians and authorities and are often used as a reference point for treatments in Europe and elsewhere. For patients with a very high risk of cardiovascular disease, such as those with a recent heart attack, the new guidelines recommend both lowering the LDL-C level by at least 50 percent and having a LDL-C level of less than 1.4 millimoles per liter of blood (mmol/L). This is a sharp reduction compared to previous guidelines presented three years earlier. To reach these targets, the organizations recommend combining lifestyle modifications with the low-cost cholesterol-lowering drugs statins and ezetimibe. If the LDL-C goal isn't reached despite the use of these therapies, adding a new type of high-cost cholesterol-lowering drug known as a PCSK9 inhibitor is recommended. In this study, the researchers predicted the implications of the new guidelines by calculating how many patients would be eligible for expanded therapy. Using Sweden's national registry for heart disease patients, SWEDEHEART, the researchers studied more than 25,000 people who suffered heart attacks between 2013 to 2017 and whose cholesterol levels were measured during follow-up visits after six to 10 weeks. The researchers found that more than 50 percent of the patients would be eligible for PCSK9 inhibitors as they would not have reached the LDL-C targets with only high-intensity statins and ezetimibe. When use of two currently approved PCSK9 inhibitor drugs (alirocumab or evolocumab) was simulated in those patients, around 90 percent of all patients attained the LDL-C target. The annual cost of treating a patient in Sweden with PCSK9 inhibitors is more than 4,500 euros compared to only around 30 euros with statins or ezetimibe. "PCSK9 inhibitors are clearly effective cholesterol-lowering drugs which may reduce the risk of cardiovascular events but they come at a substantial cost," says Ali Allahyari, resident physician in cardiology and doctoral student at the Department of Clinical Sciences, Danderyd Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, and first author of the study. "If half of the patients with heart attacks would be eligible for this drug, the financial burden on health systems throughout Europe and other countries using the ESC/EAS guidelines may be substantial unless the cost of treatment is reduced." Using previous analyses, the researchers looked at to what degree lowering one's bad cholesterol can help reduce the risk of having another severe cardiovascular episode. They estimated that using the PCSK9 inhibitor drug alirocumab to prevent one major adverse cardiovascular event, such as another heart attack, would cost around 846,000 euros in Sweden (8.9 million Swedish kronor). "Many new therapies are being tested and introduced in cardiovascular medicine today," says Peter Ueda, intern physician and postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Medicine in Solna who led the study. "Our analyses highlight yet another situation for which we need to consider what we deem reasonable in terms of the number of patients being treated, the expected health gains and cost." Billionaire Warren Buffett assured shareholders on Saturday that his Berkshire Hathaway empire, with holdings in major US firms, is ready for him and his longtime partner Charlie Munger, 96, to step down. Dubbed the 'Oracle of Omaha,' Buffett is known for his track record of brilliant investing but also for his folksy and humble persona, as well as his philanthropy. 'Charlie and I long ago entered the urgent zone,' Buffett, 89, quipped in his annual letter to shareholders. 'That's not exactly great news for us. But Berkshire shareholders need not worry: Your company is 100 percent prepared for our departure.' Billionaire Warren Buffett assured shareholders on Saturday that his Berkshire Hathaway empire, with holdings in major US firms, is ready for him and his longtime partner Charlie Munger, 96, to step down 'Berkshire shareholders need not worry: Your company is 100 percent prepared for our departure,' Buffett said of himself and Charlie Munger (pictured) Buffett, one of the world's richest men, cited several factors for his optimism. 'We possess skilled and devoted top managers for whom running Berkshire is far more than simply having a high-paying and/or prestigious job,' he said, adding that its assets are deployed in 'an extraordinary variety' of businesses. Though he did not name a successor, during an annual shareholders' meeting last May, Buffett gave a clue as to who might follow him, when he said that Gregory Able and Ajit Jain would in the near future join him and Munger on the stage to answer questions. Able, 57, and Jain, 67, had been promoted to the board of directors the previous year. 'Charlie and I have very pragmatic reasons for wanting to assure Berkshire's prosperity in the years following our exit,' Buffett said in the letter published Saturday. 'The Mungers have Berkshire holdings that dwarf any of the family's other investments, and I have a full 99 percent of my net worth lodged in Berkshire stock.' Buffett added that he has never sold any shares - and has no plans to do so. Berkshire Hathaway has holdings in companies including American Express, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Apple and Coca-Cola. It is also active in sectors like insurance, through Geico; rail, with BNSF; and energy, via PacifiCorp. It also has a stake in Amazon. Though he did not name a successor, during an annual shareholders' meeting last May, Buffett (right) gave a clue as to who might follow him, when he said that Gregory Able and Ajit Jain would in the near future join him and Munger (left) on the stage to answer questions Along with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda Gates, Buffett in 2010 launched the Giving Pledge, in which billionaires promise to give at least half their wealth to philanthropic causes. Last year Buffett announced that he had donated $3.6billion worth of Berkshire Hathaway stock to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and four other charities, meaning that he had given a total of about $34billion to the five foundations. He and Gates have expressed concern about America's severe wealth inequality. Forbes said in its rankings last year that Buffett was worth $82.5billion. He continues to live in a relatively modest house about 10 minutes outside downtown Omaha, Nebraska, that he bought in 1958. In the letter, Buffett underlined that his will directs executors and trustees 'not to sell any Berkshire shares'. The will orders that each year a portion of his Class A shares be converted to Class B shares that would then be distributed 'to various foundations,' Buffett said. 'I estimate that it will take 12 to 15 years for the entirety of the Berkshire shares I hold at my death to move into the market.' Buffett reported that Berkshire Hathaway's operating earnings were largely unchanged in 2019. WASHINGTON The United States once vowed to liberate Afghan women from the draconian repression of the Taliban, but a planned deal between the U.S. and the insurgents offers no protections for the country's women, who fear that their hard-won rights could be lost. The proposed U.S.-Taliban deal, which the Trump administration said Friday will be signed Feb. 29 after a partial truce goes into effect, would set out a timeline to withdraw American troops in exchange for the Taliban's renouncing terrorism and entering into peace talks with the Afghan government. But the agreement provides no guarantees to preserve women's rights or civil liberties enshrined in the country's constitution, which the insurgents do not recognize. The Trump administration, eager to pull U.S. troops out of America's longest war, is treating the issue as an internal matter to be hammered out among the Afghans in future peace talks, which are supposed to start once the U.S.-Taliban deal is signed. Image: Afghan women boxers The United States would "support whatever consensus the Afghans are able to reach about their future political and governing arrangements," Molly Phee, the U.S. deputy special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, said Tuesday at an event at a Washington think tank. For years, the U.S. promoted the idea of safeguarding Afghan women's rights as a part of the rationale for its fight against the Taliban, a cause first championed by President George W. Bush. But President Donald Trump's impatience with the U.S. troop presence in Afghanistan, and the uncertainty surrounding a potential peace process, could jeopardize two decades of progress for Afghan women, who have gained a foothold in the workplace and in political life, according to rights advocates, Afghan officials and former U.S. officials. "The question is whether peace will come on the backs of women," said Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, the author of "The Dressmaker of Khair Khana," about an Afghan woman's struggle for dignity under Taliban repression. Story continues Under the Taliban's extremist rule from 1996 to 2001, women were barred from attending school, holding jobs, taking part in politics and leaving their homes without male escorts. Violators were flogged in public, beaten or stoned to death. Since U.S.-led forces toppled the Taliban in 2001 after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, Afghan women have experienced a sea change in their status. In the past two decades, women have entered universities and the workplace in unprecedented numbers, with dozens of women holding seats in Parliament and thousands serving as teachers, doctors and even police officers. The country's culture also has evolved, with annual surveys showing that an overwhelming majority of Afghans now support women's right to work and to education. But in areas of the country where the Taliban retains control, women face severe restrictions and have come under attack for trying to go to school, according to human rights groups. "We've already seen the oppression of women and girls return where the Taliban has regained control," Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, said in an interview. "We should not risk unraveling the progress that's been made." Download the NBC News app for breaking news and politics Belquis Ahmadi, an Afghan-born human rights expert who has worked with the U.S. Agency for International Development, said she is concerned about the fate of women in a future peace settlement with the Taliban. To protect the progress that has been made, Ahmadi said, the U.S. and other foreign governments need to pressure the Taliban and the future Afghan government to uphold fundamental rights for women. "We, the international community especially the U.S. can and should use leverage over them," said Ahmadi, a senior program officer at the U.S. Institute for Peace. "What the Taliban want is recognition that they have evolved. I think we should not give them that recognition without abiding by rules and respecting international laws and treaties." Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other U.S. officials have said future U.S. and international aid will be contingent on Afghanistan's respecting rights for women and minorities. But the Trump administration has never made it clear whether the pullout of American troops would be contingent on a final peace deal or a commitment to preserving women's rights. The State Department did not respond to a request for comment. In the Qatari capital, Doha, an all-male Taliban delegation has held marathon talks with U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and other officials since November to work out the terms of the deal, which the Trump administration refers to as a peace agreement. "Unfortunately, Afghan women have been excluded from the process so far," Ahmadi said. When Shaheen grilled Pompeo in April over whether the administration was pushing the Taliban and the Afghan government to include women in the discussion, Pompeo said, "I hope the [Afghan] women will make themselves heard to their leadership." In the peace talks that are supposed to follow the signing of the U.S.-Taliban agreement, it's not clear whether women will play a prominent role in the government's delegation, which will include representatives from inside and outside the government. "I remain concerned about the future for Afghan women under any agreement with the Taliban, which is why I continue to press the administration to prioritize women's inclusion in this peace process," Shaheen said. "There is so much at stake." Image: Afghan women refugee in Pakistan The Taliban have offered vague suggestions that they will adopt a less draconian stance toward women than when they ruled Afghanistan, without offering details. "They will have all their rights. Whether it is right for education or it is right for work, they will have it according to Islamic rules," a Taliban spokesman, Sohail Shaheen, said in an interview last year. "So there will be no problem with that." Under the terms of the U.S.-Taliban deal, which have not been released yet, American troops likely would withdraw over a period of years. Once all U.S. troops depart, many military analysts and former U.S. officers say, the Kabul government will be hard-pressed to fend off the Taliban. It's not clear whether the U.S. would still carry out air strikes in an emergency. The Defense Department last year stopped releasing figures on how many districts were under government or Taliban control. The last reported numbers, in Jan. 30, 2019, showed that the government controlled only 53.8 percent of all districts, while 12 percent were under Taliban control or influence, with the remaining 34 percent contested. That marked an all-time low for the government. Despite the uncertainty over the country's future, Ahmadi said she has reason to be hopeful given the attitudes of younger Afghan women. "The women of today are very different than my generation. They have been loud and clear they won't go back to the traditional roles, to go back to the earlier era when they were subject to public humiliation, flogging and exclusion from social, political and economic rights," she said. Image: Intra Afghan Dialogue talks in the Qatari capital Doha The female Afghan ambassador to the U.S., Roya Rahmani, declined to comment on the implications of the U.S.-Taliban deal, but she said, "The women of Afghanistan are extremely resilient." After the U.S.-led intervention in Afghanistan following the 9/11 attacks, which ousted the Taliban regime for sheltering al Qaeda leaders, the Bush White House made the plight of Afghan women a top priority. First lady Laura Bush took over her husband's weekly radio address on Nov. 17, 2001, to draw attention to the plight of Afghan women, calling for international condemnation of the Taliban's repression. The State Department at the time issued a report on "the Taliban's War Against Women." President Barack Obama sought to scale back the U.S. military mission, but his first secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, highlighted women's issues and once said at a meeting of female activists in Kabul that any peace deal "can't come at the cost of women and women's lives." "Going back to 2001, the treatment of women by the Taliban in Afghanistan was one of the central tenets of engagement by the U.S. and coalition countries in Afghanistan," said Anita McBride, who served as chief of staff to Laura Bush and in other senior government posts. "Beyond defending ourselves and rooting out terrorism, there was a very real case for humanitarian assistance for women and children." Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump, who has led a global initiative to empower women, said via video at a conference on Afghan women in Kazakhstan in September 2018 that "the United States stands side by side with the brave Afghan women and girls as they strive to create a stable and prosperous future for their children and families." Afghan women have harbored fears for years that if the outside world lost interest in Afghanistan, their newly won rights would be lost, McBride said. One moment during the closing months of the Bush administration has stuck with McBride. The first lady held a farewell meeting with a group of female Afghan members of Parliament in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. "One of them stretched her arm across the table to take Mrs. Bush's hand and said, 'Please don't forget us.'" CORRECTION (Feb. 23, 2020, 7:55 p.m. ET): An earlier version of this article misspelled the last name of the U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan. He is Zalmay Khalilzad, not Zalmay Khailizad. Mark Twain once described the public library as the most enduring of memorials, a free center of intellectual and educational power accessible to old and young alike. Libraries today are seeking to keep it that way, with many offering a reprieve to those who fail to return their books on time. Last week, the Free Library of Philadelphia ended its policy of charging fines on overdue materials. It is one of several library systems, among them Los Angeles, Chicago, Denver and San Diego, that have adopted a no-fee or amnesty policy in recent years. In Philadelphia, lost or destroyed items need to be replaced before people can check out more books, said Siobhan A. Reardon, the director of the Free Library. However, in lieu of cash, the library also accepts new or gently used copies as replacements. Why? Libraries want the books and other materials back so other patrons can enjoy them, too. We watched other libraries go down this path with success, Ms. Reardon said in an interview. The new policy, she added, encourages people to keep coming to the library without absolving violators of their responsibility. You cant get another book until you return the one you have, she said. IT SEEMINGLY does not rain but pours for Vice President Constantino Chiwengas estranged wife Marry, with the beleaguered former model now also facing an attempted murder charge in South Africa, the Daily News reports. The move by South African authorities to pursue the case stems from stunning accusations that Marry allegedly wanted to kill her powerful husband in June last year, while he was gravely ill in a top hospital there. The development comes as Marry is facing similar allegations at the Harare Magistrates Court and as the Chiwengas are consumed by their public and bitter divorce proceedings. Besides the attempted murder charge, Marry is also facing serious accusations of money laundering, externalisation and fraud, over which she is currently out on bail of $50 000. Chiwengas lawyer, Wilson Manase, confirmed the South African development to the Daily News yesterday. Chiwengas lawyer, Wilson Manase, confirmed the South African development to the Daily News yesterday. First of all, a crime was committed in South Africa and the South African police got an interest in the docket. They then pursued those allegations and are in the process of investigating the case. The South African police will call for witnesses to give statements, he said. However, he flatly denied accusations that Chiwenga had decided to file the police case in South Africa when it became apparent that local courts had no jurisdiction to try a matter that was allegedly committed in a foreign land. Not at all. In terms of the law, if a matter is committed in South Africa, which has an effect in Zimbabwe, it can be tried in either of the two countries. There are case laws to that effect, he told the Daily News. On her part, Marrys lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa, while also confirming the South African development, had earlier said that Chiwenga had lodged the attempted murder charge there against his estranged wife. Our legal colleagues in South Africa have told us that he reported the case last Saturday. Other than that I have no further information pertaining to the said report, she said. In Zimbabwe where Marry is already on bail over the same attempted murder allegation the State has said that the charge arose after Chiwenga was airlifted to South Africa for medical attention on June 22 last year, after his health deteriorated dramatically. The State is further alleging that Marry had forced Chiwenga to stay at Sheraton Hotel in Pretoria for 24 hours thus denying him access to needed medical treatment. It further says on June 23, 2019, Marry allegedly kept on denying Chiwenga access to medical treatment and the security team in the end had to force their way in, to take him to Netcare Hospital. During the time when the complainant was admitted at the hospital, he (Chiwenga) was helpless and would rely on medical staff and the security personnel. On July 8, 2019 at about 20:00 hours, the accused came to the hospital with the intent to cause serious harm to the complainant, the State is alleging. She (Marry) ordered the security personnel to excuse her, alleging that she wanted privacy with the complainant. The security personnel went outside leaving the accused together with the complainant inside the ward. Whilst alone with the complainant, accused unlawfully removed the medical intra-venous giving set (equipment), as well as the central venous catheter which were inserted to the complainant, and the complainant started bleeding profusely, prosecutors allege further. The accused forced the complainant off the bed, held him by the hand and moved out from the ward before being intercepted by the security personnel at the exit door. The hospital staff were called by the security personnel and they re-connected the intra-venous giving set and the central venous catheter, and resuscitated the condition of the complainant. The accused disappeared from the hospital after the hospital staff was alerted by the security personnel. The accused had no right whatsoever to act in the manner she did, the State adds. However, while applying for bail at the High Court, Marry denied the allegations and said while Chiwenga was in China where he was receiving further treatment he even requested President Emmerson Mnangagwa to arrange for her to travel to see him, adding that the vice president had also allegedly sent US$30 000 for her personal upkeep and use. Marry said all this happened after the alleged attempted murder, adding that this was not synonymous with the States claims that she wanted to kill her husband. The former model also argued then that if the claims that she wanted to kill Chiwenga were true, the case could have been reported to the police in South Africa. Surely, a serious incident such as an attempt on the life of a sitting vice president with its potential to embarrass relations would have been reported in South Africa and investigated promptly. In her state, the applicant is alleged to have disappeared from the hospital. How this could have happened, without the aid of magic is not stated in the Form 242. Worse, is the fact that she returned home to Zimbabwe after taking her husband for further care. She did not disappear but stayed at the matrimonial home, for six months before charges were then brought contemporaneously with the filing of divorce proceedings. One is reminded of the saying that surely when a hyena wants to eat its children, it first accuses them of smelling like goats, Marry said. She also said that there was no report from the doctors who allegedly attended to Chiwenga and resuscitated him when she reportedly removed the intra-venous giving set and the central catheter. This is impossible because such reports do not exist, for the simple reason that the incident did not occur as alleged or at all. No doctor who respects his professional standing will be made to perjure himself. Laughable is the so-called last exhibit. The State says it has a photograph of a bloodied T-shirt that the vice president was wearing. Surely an exhibit of that nature, despite it being merely of circumstantial relevance would have been kept and safeguarded. A photograph of a bloodied T-shirt remains a photograph, it proves nothing and cannot override primary evidence, Marry said. She also said that she was still nursing wounds that she had suffered from an attempt on President Emmerson Mnangagwas life during a bombing incident at White City Stadium in Bulawayo in 2018. Kent Frasure was supposed to get off the cruise ship Diamond Princess around 10 a.m. Saturday, Tokyo time, to go to a quarantine facility. He handed over a suitcase with his and his wifes things, as well as the crutches he uses when not in a wheelchair after recently breaking his leg. But before he could get off the ship, officials told the Forest Grove man to go back to his room and wait for a phone call he could not miss. Back in the Diamond Princess suite he had occupied for more than a month, more than half of the time unable to leave for fear of catching or spreading a coronavirus that has already killed more than 2,000 people, Frasure waited. It was a very long seven hours, he said. It turned out Frasure wouldnt have to go to the quarantine site at all. Instead, hes now staying in a hotel on Tokyos west side, his movements no longer restricted. And the 42-year-old Intel technician is relieved. The food is good now, he said, he can stream Netflix on the internet, and the clock has started ticking on the 14 days before he can go back home. But the ordeal is not over. Kent Frasures wife, Rebecca Frasure, is still holed up in a Tokyo hospital, infected with the new coronavirus and waiting for the results of her most recent tests. The couple was separated Feb. 6, when he tested negative for the virus and stayed on the ship, and she tested positive despite showing no symptoms and was taken to a hospital. Now, she has to test negative twice in a row to be allowed out. The United States has been working overtime to prevent the outbreak from spreading in the United States, which as of Friday had 32 confirmed cases of COVID-19, the name given the new disease. That effort applies to the hundreds of Americans who were on the Diamond Princess, a cruise ship now docked south of Tokyo. The government is not taking any chances. Despite all efforts by the Japanese government and Carnival Cruise officials, passengers and crew are reasonably expected of having had exposure to COVID-19 while onboard the Diamond Princess, the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo told Kent Frasure in an email, explaining why the passengers were put on a Department of Homeland Security list that barred them from returning for 14 days. Kent Frasure has to send U.S. health officials detailed health information every day that he is off the ship, while for the most part confining himself to the walls of the hotel. And he cant visit his wife inside her hospital room, and he doesnt know when she will be free of the disease. Leaving the ship When the time came to leave the ship, Kent Frasure went down to the fourth floor of the cruise ship, which had a tarp-covered ramp to the dock. Japanese officials gave him a certificate that declared he had no coronavirus infection. He filled out customs and immigration paperwork and, in a wheelchair he rented in Japan for $500 a week, wheeled down the ramp and onto land. Two Japanese couples got off the ship with him, he said. It was dark and raining hard, and there was nobody there to greet him not even the throngs of media that have met other cruise ship passengers descending from the ship on other days. It was pretty unceremonious, he said. From there he took a 30-minute taxi ride to the hotel, where he was greeted by Princess Cruises staff and taken immediately to a make-shift check-in on the 14th floor, which he said was designated for people coming from the cruise ship. He now has a view of Mt. Fuji from the window of his room, which Princess Cruises is paying for, and he can order food from a real menu whenever he wants also paid for by the cruise company. While he isnt technically on quarantine at the hotel, he cant go back to the United States for 14 days after getting off the ship March 7 at the earliest, he said. Each of those days he has to send the CDC two temperature readings, according to an email the agency sent him, and he has to tell the agency if he gets a cough or starts having trouble breathing. The agency has asked him to practice social distancing by avoiding public transportation and crowded places. Kent Frasure said he was fine with that. Besides, he no longer has a wheelchair the rental company picked it up the morning after he returned and he would rather be traipsing around the city with his wife. Im not, like, going touring around Tokyo or anything, he said. But Kent Frasure did make one important visit the day after he got to the hotel: the hospital. Visiting his wife Rebecca Frasure has been in a Tokyo hospital since Feb. 6. She has repeatedly tested positive for COVID-19, even though she has felt fine and has had virtually no symptoms, she said. The hospital stay has been difficult and frustrating, she said, from the language barrier to the food she does not understand fish for breakfast is outside of her comfort zone to virtually no information from the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo about what happens next. So, Kent Frasure made visiting her one of his first orders of business. Around 11 a.m. Tokyo time on a sunny, warm Sunday, Kent Frasure put on a face mask, got in a taxi, and rode for about 30 minutes to the hospital and got out in the parking lot. He isnt allowed to visit his wifes room or go inside the ward where people with infections are being treated, he said. On the phone with his wife, he tried to figure out which side of the building her room was. She told him she could see a parking lot from her window. With a knee brace for support, Kent Frasure said he limped around the parking lot, until Rebecca said over the phone that she saw him. They waved at each other and he walked up to about 30 feet away from her window. They talked for about 15 minutes. Then Kent Frasure walked to a convenience store to do some shopping. He came back to the hospital, walked to the door of the infectious disease ward and pressed a button. Oh, Rebecca-San, staff said to Kent Frasure, using a Japanese honorific, when he said he was there for his wife. He gave staff a plastic bag of treats that included chips, chocolate and two small cups of Haagen-Dazs ice cream vanilla and cookie dough and asked that staff give the treats to Rebecca Frasure. It was really good to see her, he said, and actually make her day a little better. -- 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 Mail on Sunday's journalists have been nominated for a fabulous SEVENTEEN trophies in the prestigious annual Press Awards, known as the Oscars of journalism. The formidable team pictured here are nominated for individual awards. In addition, the MoS is shortlisted for Sunday Newspaper of the Year, You for Magazine of the Year, and our City and finance staff for the Business and Finance Team award. Small wonder the MoS is recognised when the paper is enjoying a huge wave of success. Our January circulation was 893,000 copies per week more on average than we sold in September, October, November and December with a year-on-year performance 4.4 per cent better than our audited rivals. We are by far the most read Sunday paper in Britain with 620 copies sold every minute on Sundays. Our agenda-setting exclusives have left other papers trailing. They include a devastating series of scoops about sex abuse accusations facing Prince Andrew with another major development reported today. Our agenda-setting exclusives have left other papers trailing. They include a devastating series of scoops about sex abuse accusations facing Prince Andrew (pictured) Our revelations about what the British Ambassador in Washington really thought about Donald Trump made headlines around the world and led to his resignation. You and Event are always the most-read Sunday magazines, and every week our readers are delighted, enraged, informed and entertained by fantastic writers including Peter Hitchens, Liz Jones, Piers Morgan, Craig Brown, Oliver Holt, Deborah Ross and Alexandra Shulman. The Society of Editors Press Awards winners will be announced on April 2. Our sister paper, the Daily Mail, is shortlisted in 22 categories, including Daily Newspaper of the Year. The oldest known Australian example of a communal type of Irish settlement has been 'unearthed' in a dusty paddock in rural South Australia. An extensive geophysical study of the Baker's Flat Irish settlement site near Kapunda has found the first -- and possibly largest -- clachan in Australia, says Flinders archaeologist Susan Arthure whose PhD investigations of Irish history and archaeology in SA led her to the site in what appears to be a featureless paddock near the former mining and farming community. "Clachans had actually died out in Ireland by the end of the nineteenth century but our research proves they continued in Australia, with this example the first to be fully described," says Irish-Australian archaeologist Ms Arthure. "We found a large, vibrant clachan settlement, now hidden beneath the surface of an empty farm paddock, which contains a wealth of materials to tell us a lot about the past," she says. "This traditional Irish settlement style, characterised by clusters of houses and outbuildings, highlights the way the new residents to this dry country worked together to make the best use of marginal land. "More than 500 Irish migrants created a community here. advertisement "Although outsiders looked at the settlement and judged it as chaotic and haphazard, in fact these Irish settlers were able to maintain a sustainable way of life by managing their animals communally and making joint decisions about how best to use the land. "Being able to control a large area of land allowed Irish traditions and customs to be maintained." Ms Arthure, who co-edited Irish South Australia: new histories and insights (Wakefield Press) says archaeology is not just about the ancient past. "The recent past is really fascinating, and many people in South Australia would be descendants of those early settlers of Baker's Flat and other Irish settlements in the Clare Valley and the Mid North." Flinders adjunct Associate Professor Lynley Wallis, a co-author of the latest Baker's Flat paper published in Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, says: "What we found with GPR and magnetometry surveys shows us that sometimes all is not what it seems." "When we arrived at the paddock, we had no idea about the paths, houses, yards, paddocks and fences hidden beneath the ground," Associate Professor Wallis says. University of Queensland geophysical archaeologist Dr Kelsey Lowe, another author on the paper, says that this is one of the largest surveys of its kind to be undertaken in Australia. "When we began to download the data and saw structures and enclosures appearing, it was a very exciting moment," Dr Lowe says. "We were also fortunate to have Dr Josh Feinberg, at the USA University of Minnesota, to assist us in analysing some of our samples." New Delhi, Feb 22 (UNI) Supreme Court-appointed interlocutor Sadhana Ramachandran and the anti-CAA protestors held talks at Shaheen Bagh for the fourth consecutive day on Saturday. "We are not saying that Shaheen Bagh should dismantle. Let's get that very clear. Shaheen Bagh kayam rahe (Let Shaheen Bagh continue)," Ramachandran, who went without the other interlocutor Sanjay Hegde to the protesting site, told the demonstrators today. However, the anti-CAA protestors were firm on their stand. They also demanded action against ministers for their controversial remarks. The families of those who died or injured during the agitation should be given compensation and the government should promise security for the protesters, they demanded. Tens of thousands of Italians prepared for a weeks-long quarantine in the countrys north on Sunday as nerves began to fray among the locals faced with new lockdown measures. Two people have died from the virus since Friday and more than a hundred cases have now been reported in Italy, most of them centred around the small town of Codogno, about 70 kilometres (43 miles) southeast of Milan. Over 50,000 residents in eleven towns -- 10 in Lombardy and one in the neighbouring region of Veneto -- now face what Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Saturday could be weeks of lockdown. Locals wearing face masks were already lined up outside a supermarket in the town of Casalpusterlengo, a 10 minute drive from Codogno, on Sunday morning. Shoppers were made to wait, then allowed to enter in groups of 40 inside the store to stock up on provisions. Although one woman in the crowd downplayed the virus, telling other shoppers it was not fatal if properly treated, others were less sanguine. Its inhuman, said one man who gave his name as Sante. Fighting over four sandwiches is just disgusting. Another woman, Emanuela, told AFP-TV that residents including her were nervous. Im really scared, were going through a really tough situation, said the woman, a nurse who works in the area. - Rising infections - Blockades were not yet erected, and cars could be seen driving in and around the area of Codogno and Casalpusterlengo, although police cars patrolled the area. It was not clear how authorities would impose the travel restrictions and whether residents would still be allowed to travel from town to town within the affected zones, without surpassing an outer limit. Were preparing to set up the checkpoints for the containment zone, a policewoman told AFP, saying that initially the perimeter would be narrow but could widen over time. Were about ten criminal police teams here, so nothing related to this kind of situation, but weve been called in from Bologna, Turin and Genoa to give a hand, she added. For now, the quarantine appears to be largely dependent on individuals to respect the system but the government said those found in violation could face fines and even three months in jail. The government has also said the army was prepared to step in if needed to enforce the perimeter. On Sunday, the head of the civil protection department, Angelo Borrelli, said during a press conference that thousands of beds were at the ready in military barracks or hotels to house quarantined or sick individuals, if needed. The number of those infected with the virus had now grown to 132, including the two people who died, Borrelli said. 22.02.2020 LISTEN NPP delegates in the Sunyani East constituency have showered praises on Lawyer Alfred Tuah-Yeboah, an aspiring Parliamentary Candidate for the area, for demonstrating a high sense of maturity in his campaign on the ticket of the party. They are particularly happy that Lawyer Alfred Tuah-Yeboahs campaign is devoid of insults, personal attacks and comments that could divide the rank and file of the party. The aspirant has been preaching peace and unity ahead of the parliamentary primaries and beyond. They have therefore assured the aspirant of their support and endorsement during the partys primaries slated for April 25. These came to light during separate interactions with NPP Electoral Area Co-ordinators, Polling Station Executives and other party functionaries within the Sunyani East constituency. Lawyer Alfred Tuah-Yeboahs campaign tour has already taken him to Yawhima, Kotokrom, New Dormaa, Abesim, Ohene-Djan, Adomako, Baakoniaba, Atuahene and Atronie, among other places. The delegates told the aspirant that they were touched by his commitment to party unity and his desire to build on what the incumbent PM has done so far. According to them, the party could effectively consolidate its electoral gains in the constituency by increasing its vote-margin only when there is peace and harmony among party members. Lawyer has made it known to us that the contest is not a do or die affair and that he is for peace and the advancement of the party structures from the Polling Station level to the Electoral Area as well as the Constituency level. If this is the way hes going to continue with his campaign, then its very encouraging, and its going to help him a lot, one delegate said. Another delegate added, Ill urge you (Lawyer Tuah-Yeboah) to continue preaching peace and unity because that is very important and its what were looking for. For his part, Lawyer Tuah-Yeboah thanked the delegates for their overwhelming reception accorded him and his entourage as well as their endorsement for his candidature. He repeated his plans to effectively resource the partys grassroots and also set-up a Revolving Fund for each Electoral Area to provide some financial support to members, especially those who need some capital injection into their businesses as well as start-up capital. Lawyer Tuah-Yeboah stated that the time has come for Constituency Office to be better resourced with motor-bikes and vehicles for effective party work while the Electoral Areas must also have offices and other resources for grassroot mobilization activities. Born in September 1975, Lawyer Alfred Tuah-Yeboah is currently the President of the Brong Ahafo Regional Bar Association. He holds MSc in Defence and International Politics from the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Accra. He completed his professional law course at the Ghana School of Law in 2002 after obtaining a degree in Accounting and Law from the University of Ghana, Legon in 2000. He also had his Diploma in Business Management in 2000 from ICS, Glasgow, Scotland. The young and affable lawyer has been a card-bearing member of the NPP since 1996 and has over the years held various positions in the party; including Deputy Regional Secretary of the party from 2010 to 2014 and currently member of NPP's Legal Committee in the Bono region. VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 22, 2020 / Mota Ventures Corp. (MOTA.CN)(FSE:1WZ:GR)(PEMTF) (the "Company" or "Mota") is pleased to announce a transition after the definitive close of First Class CBD acquisition, the Company's Board of Directors has appointed Ryan Dean Hoggan to Chief Executive Officer. The acquisition of First Class CBD coupled with the upcoming U.S. roll out of the Company's European CBD brand, Sativida, made the appointment of Mr. Hoggan to Chief Executive Officer a natural fit. Ryan brings a wealth of expertise to this role, being one of the founders of Unified Funding LLC and First Class CBD. Ryan is an experienced strategist, with a strong understanding of building high value consumer brands with significant annual revenue. Ryan's extensive background in the online e-commerce space will continue to drive the Company's rapid growth in the US and spearhead its expansion into the European market. The Company intends to continue its roll up strategy of acquiring profitable, well-known CBD brands globally. Mr. Hoggan brings more than 18 years of leadership, global business development and entrepreneurship experience in the health equipment, medical devices and natural health products sectors. Early in his career, Ryan took on a leadership role in his family business, HOGGAN Health Industries, where he led operations, business development and marketing efforts. After identifying an untapped niche in the market, he founded Hoggan Medical where he went on to launch over 100 health, fitness and medical device products and negotiated contracts with big and small customers including the Mayo Clinic, Boeing, Daimler AG and the Los Angeles Lakers (NBA). In 2014, Ryan discovered the power of CBD and essential oils - both personally and professionally - after a personal health scare prompted him to research and subsequently try holistic products to improve his health. The experience ultimately led him to become a Partner and President of Offer Space, LLC and Real Oil, LLC, two rapidly growing E-commerce and technology companies focused on serving U.S. based and international consumers in the CBD and natural health products market. In June 2019, Mr. Hoggan led a strategic divestiture of the businesses to Unified Funding, LLC to help continue an impressive growth trend. Through the operations of Unified Funding, LLC, the business has generated a database of over 4.5 million customer records and facilitated over $200 million in consumer transactions from more than one million paying customers in sectors such as beauty, nutrition and CBD products. Story continues Mr. Hoggan holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) from Westminster College, an MBA from The University of Arizona and a Master of Global Management (MGM) from the Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University. In connection with Ryan's appointment to CEO, Joel Shacker will transition to the role of President of the Company and will remain a member of the board of directors. "I am very excited to take on the CEO role at Mota and focus the operations on becoming a global E-commerce CBD company. I am also excited about the partnership between Unified and Sativida. Unified's extensive experience in the U.S. and strong logistics and supply chain will provide significant support for the launch of the Sativida line in the U.S. I believe through the direct-to-consumer online platforms we will become a leader in the CBD space. We plan to aggressively expand First Class's existing operations in the U.S. as well as launch a European expansion, which we anticipate will yield similar results to our U.S. operations last year," stated Ryan Hoggan, CEO of the Company. "We are extremely happy to have someone with Ryan's extensive experience stepping into this role. I am confident in his ability to execute on expanding operations and generating further revenue. I look forward to continuing to build the Company in my new role as President and to working with Ryan during his transition to CEO of Mota." stated Joel Shacker. About Mota Ventures Corp. Mota is seeking to become a vertically integrated global CBD brand. Its plan is to cultivate and extract CBD into high-quality value-added products from its Latin American operations and distribute it both domestically and internationally. Its existing operations in Colombia consist of a 2.5-hectare site that has optimal year-round growing conditions and access to all necessary infrastructure. Mota is looking to establish sales channels and a distribution network internationally through the acquisition of the Sativida and First Class CBD brands. Low cost production, coupled with international, direct to customer sales channels will provide the foundation for the success of Mota. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS MOTA VENTURES CORP. Joel Shacker President For further information, readers are encouraged to contact Joel Shacker, President & CEO at +604.423.4733 or by email at IR@motaventuresco.com or www.motaventuresco.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 press release, which has been prepared by management. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statement All statements in this press release, other than statements of historical fact, are "forward-looking information" with respect to the Company within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including with respect to the Company's rapid growth in the US and expansion into the European market, its plans to become a vertically integrated global CBD brand, its plans to cultivate and extract cannabis to produce CBD and high-quality value added CBD products in Latin America for distribution domestically and internationally and its plans to acquire revenue-producing CBD brands and operations in Europe and North America. The Company provides forward-looking statements for the purpose of conveying information about current expectations and plans relating to the future and readers are cautioned that such statements may not be appropriate for other purposes. By its nature, this information is subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that may be general or specific and which give rise to the possibility that expectations, forecasts, predictions, projections or conclusions will not prove to be accurate, that assumptions may not be correct and that objectives, strategic goals and priorities will not be achieved. These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited those identified and reported in the Company's public filings under the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise unless required by law. SOURCE: Mota Ventures Corp. View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/577441/Mota-Ventures-Announces-Transition-After-Definitive-Close-of-First-Class-CBD-Acquisition-Ryan-Hoggan-is-New-CEO Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg gave some personal and emotional advice to a nine-year old boy who asked for guidance on how to be brave and tell the world he is gay. The boy, Zachary Ro, was one of many people in the audience at the Colorado town hall in Denver on Saturday, who submitted written questions for Buttigieg ahead of his appearance. The pieces of paper were then put in a fishbowl, where Ro's was drawn and handed to Buttigieg to read out loud on stage. The boy, from Lone Tree, said he decided on the spur of the moment to write a question, which said: 'Thank you for being so brave. Would you help me tell the world I'm gay, too? I want to be brave like you.' SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO Zachary Ro, was one of many people in the audience at the Colorado town hall in Denver on Saturday, who submitted written questions for Buttigieg ahead of his appearance. HIs question was read out by Colorado Secretary of State, Jena Grisowld, left Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg speaks Zachary Ro on stage, who asked him: 'Would you help me tell the world I'm gay too?' While on stage, Buttigieg told Ro: 'I don't think you need a lot of advice for me on bravery. You seem pretty strong to me' The nine-year-old also gifted Buttigieg a rainbow bracelet, which he placed on his wrist and admired on stage Powerful moment (better audio): 9 year old Zachary Ro of Lone Tree asks @PeteButtigieg how he can be brave and tell people he is gay too pic.twitter.com/1aUbYM8cDM Joe St. George (@JoeStGeorge) February 23, 2020 As Buttigieg read out the question, Ro was then ushered on the stage by campaign staffers as people in the audience chanted, 'love means love'. The former South Bend mayor, who is openly gay and who made history in his campaign by winning the most delegate equivalents out of Iowa in his presidential campaign, turned to Ro and responded by complimenting the boy on his own bravery. 'I don't think you need a lot of advice for me on bravery. You seem pretty strong to me,' Buttigieg told him, in a question-and-answer captured on video. After the event, Ro - who was at the rally with his parents, told the Colorado Sun he felt 'inspired' by Buttigieg. 'It was exciting, and I felt really happy. I was glad I was able to tell everyone in the audience that I'm gay.' He added that he was 'kind of nervous, excited, proud' to get advice on stage in front of thousands of people. Buttigieg lauded Ro's bravery for speaking about the issue in front of a crowd full of people Ro told a local Fox News affiliate reporter he felt 'inspired' by Buttigieg for being gay and running for president at the same time Buttigieg, who is on the campaign trail with his husband Chasten, then spoke about his own decision to come out as gay. 'It took me a long time to figure out how to tell even my best friend that I was gay, let alone to go out there and tell the world and to see you willing to come to terms with who you are in a room full of 1,000 people, thousands of people you've never met that's, that's really something.' Buttigieg, who is on the campaign trail with his husband Chasten, also handed down some advice to Ro Chasten also met Ro backstage after the event, where he gave the boy a 'challenge coin' Buttigieg meets with his supports at the town hall in Denver on Saturday night The event was held at the Denver Airport Convention Center The crowd at the rally chanted 'love means love' as Ro was led on stage by Buttigieg campaign staffers The 38-year-old presidential candidate told Ro on stage that the decision to be open about his sexuality, 'won't always be easy'. 'But that's okay, because you know who you are. And that's really important, because you know who you are, you have the center of gravity that can hold you together when all kinds of chaos is happening around you,' Buttigieg said. 'When I was trying to figure out who I was, I was afraid that who I was might mean that I could never make a difference. And what wound up happening instead is that it's a huge part of the difference I get to make. 'I never could have seen that coming, and you'll never know whose life you might be affecting right now, just by standing here. There's a lot of power in that.' Democratic presidential candidate former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg stands on stage with his husband Chasten Buttigieg, right and his mother Anne Montgomery, center a primary night election rally in Nashua, N.H., Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2020 Ro, who made a bracelet for Buttigieg, was then ushered off stage as the crowd cheered again, and later me with Chasten Buttigieg backstage, who presented him with a challenge coin. Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold had picked Ro's question from the fishbowl, and stood on stage during the emotional moment. She told the Colorado Sun that the boy's question had come up randomly as she pulled the questions from the fishbowl. 'I was pulling from the top,' she told the publication. Ro's parents, who were also at the event, were at his side as local media interviewed him after he made his appearance on stage. His father, Young Ro, told the Colorado Sun he wants to be there for his son, and provide him with 'whatever he needs'. A Korean airplane which arrived from South Korea is pictured after landing at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday. Israel refused to allow some 200 non-Israelis to disembark from a plane which arrived from Korea as part of measures against the new coronavirus. / AFP-Yonhap By Kang Seung-woo As coronavirus infections have begun to rise rapidly here, some countries, including the United States, have issued recommendations to be cautious when considering travel to Korea. The U.S. State Department raised its alert level for travel to Korea to Level 2 on a four-level scale, Saturday, urging its citizens to exercise "increased caution" when traveling to the country. Previously, it was at Level 1 that called on citizens to exercise "normal precautions," while Levels 3 and 4 mean "reconsider travel" and "do not travel," respectively. "Sustained community spread has been reported in South Korea. Sustained community spread means that people in South Korea have been infected with the virus, but how or where they became infected is not known, and the spread is ongoing," it said in a statement. "Because older adults and those with chronic medical conditions may be at higher risk for severe disease, people in these groups should discuss travel with a healthcare provider and consider postponing nonessential travel. If suspected to have coronavirus in South Korea, you may face travel delays, quarantine, and extremely expensive medical costs." The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also elevated its alert to Level 2, which urges people to practice "enhanced precautions" in Korea. Iran's conservatives claimed victory Sunday in a general election marked by the lowest turnout since the 1979 Islamic Revolution amid public anger against the government, an economic downturn and the disqualification of half the candidates. A conservative resurgence would heap pressure on beleaguered President Hassan Rouhani and signal a shift from four years ago when reformists and moderates won a slender majority in parliament. The interior ministry announced results of 95 percent of the 208 constituencies in Friday's election, declaring the names of the winning candidates but without specifying their political affiliation. "Victory for the anti-American candidates, a new slap for Trump," crowed the ultra-conservative Kayhan newspaper. "The people have disqualified the reformists," it added, alluding to Rouhani's backers, who have been weakened by President Donald Trump pulling the US out of a landmark nuclear deal and by a slew of economic and political crises. Seventeen women were elected, the website of the government newspaper Iran said -- the same number as in the outgoing 290-seat parliament. Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli announced the participation rate was 42.6 percent -- the lowest in four decades. The election came two days after Iran announced its first cases of the deadly new coronavirus that emerged in China. "We held these elections when there were various incidents in the country: we had bad weather, there was this coronavirus disease, there was the plane crash," Rahmani Fazli said, referring to the January 3 downing of a Ukrainian airliner which killed 176 people. He said that in such a scenario "the turnout rate seems perfectly acceptable for us." A low participation had been widely forecast, as a conservative-dominated electoral watchdog disqualified about half of the 16,000-odd candidates, mostly moderates and reformists. The Fars news agency said a second round would be held in at least 11 constituencies. One woman candidate has qualified for the second round, Iran newspaper added. - 'Negative propaganda' - Voter apathy marked the polls, but Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei lauded the people's "huge participation" despite what he termed "negative propaganda" by foreign media. It "began a few months ago and grew larger approaching the election and in the past two days, under the pretext of this illness," he said. "Their media did not miss the slightest opportunity to discourage people from voting. (Our enemies) are even opposed to any election by the Iranian people," the leader added. Iran on Sunday reported three new coronavirus deaths, taking its toll to eight -- the highest in any country outside China. It said there were 43 COVID-19 virus infections nationwide. Authorities ordered the closure of schools, universities and other educational centres in 14 of Iran's 31 provinces from Sunday and said Tehran could be under quarantine, if necessary. Art events, concerts and film shows have been banned for a week across the country. In the past 24 hours, four new infections surfaced in Tehran, seven in the holy city of Qom -- where the country's first infections emerged -- two in Gilan and one each in Markazi and Tonekabon, health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said. "We are on the frontlines, we need help," said the head of Qom's medical sciences university, Mohammadreza Ghadir. "If I can say one thing, it is help Qom." - Free treatment - Iran's health minister, Saeed Namaki, said the treatment of COVID-19 cases would be free. "In every city, one hospital will be dedicated to treating coronavirus cases," he said, adding that this number would be greater in bigger cities like the capital. Tehran's city hall has ordered the closure of snack shops and water fountains in metro stations, officials said. Tehran municipality spokesman Gholamreza Mohammadi said buses and underground trains were being disinfected. Mohsen Hashemi, head of Tehran's municipal council, said, "If the number of infections increases in Tehran, the whole city will be quarantined." Posters were also put up across the sprawling city of eight million on Sunday, asking people not to shake hands as part of a coronavirus prevention campaign. Iran's cyberpolice meanwhile warned that anyone putting "fake clips" online related to the virus would be punished. The World Health Organization has expressed concern over the speed at which COVID-19 has spread in Iran, as well as it being exported from the Islamic republic to other countries, including Lebanon. Iran's general election was marked by the lowest turnout since the 1979 Islamic Revolution The COVID-19 outbreak has claimed the lives of eight people in the Islamic republic since Wednesday, the first deaths from the disease in the Middle East Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei lauded the people's 'huge participation' in the election, despite voter apathy marking the polls Iran's health minister, Saeed Namaki, said the treatment of COVID-19 cases would be free Al Pacino threw his support behind video streaming services, saying they give actors valuable rehearsal time that is so often missing from films. The critically-acclaimed actor, 79, who has a career spanning five decades, made his TV debut in Amazon Prime's Hunters this week, playing a Holocaust survivor who runs a network of Nazi hunters in 1970s New York. Speaking at Q&A in London, Pacino reflected on the benefits of working on a streaming service project, saying it was like the 'old days' of cinema, when he worked with directors like Sidney Lumet and Francis Ford Coppola. Al Pacino said that streaming services such as Amazon Prime and Netflix have brought back the freedom and excitement of 'the old days' of cinema ahead of his TV debut in Amazon Prime's Hunters. He is pictured here at the exclusive screening of Hunters, with co-star Logan Lerman (left) and writer David Weil (right) He said: 'You don't get rehearse anymore. Rehearsals are gone - if you've got a film that rehearses, let me know! It's become a privilege and a luxury to rehearse now. 'In the old days, when I did films with [Serpico director] Sidney Lumet and [Francis Ford] Coppola [the Godfather director] they rehearsed, we rehearsed for weeks on a film and you had a chance to understand the role in a different way. 'We were together for five months,' Pacino continued, talking about the cast of the Hunters. 'The difference is we had different directors, we had about six or seven different directors, which means you gotta learn to adjust to that in some ways and I kinda liked it, I gotta be honest with you, as they were acting as overseers in some way. Pacino with co-star Logan Lerman in Amazon Prime's Hunters, his first ever television role 'You know they were just a part of how this thing was gonna turn out. They were really open to us, about what we had to say and our thoughts, which is a really good experience. 'The writers were always there, no matter who the director was. We would sit around for hours discussing the scene and you could see the producers going "oh no" but we would do it, and we had that feeling at it was wonderful. 'On a film you're doing something in two hours. But here [in a series], you're doing something in 12 hours.' He also compared it to the experimental excitement he felt working with the avant garde New York City theatre company the Living Theatre, where he spent the early years of his career. Executive produced by Academy Award winner Jordan Peele, Hunters will be Pacino's second venture into working with a streaming service. This year he picked up his ninth Oscar nomination for his role in the Irishman, a Netflix original film co-starring Robert De Nero and Joe Pesci. Pacino compared the Hunters process to the experimental excitement he felt working with the avant garde New York City theatre company the Living Theatre, where he spent the early years of his career. is pictured here in a still from the show with co-star Logan Lerman Speaking about his new project, Pacino continued: '[Hunters] is a 12-hour film. Some of it is very tippy-top and some of it is pretty great and some of it is a little less. When you're doing 12 hours you need little respites each episode. 'But every episode clicks, but I love the freedom of it, I love the fact that it's so eccentric, it's so eclectic, it goes from one thing to another it's so strange sometimes you think "what the hell am I doing" but the character stories here are so interesting. 'With these people, with my colleagues here, we're forming a troop, your relationship with them gets closer, it becomes a team, you become a collective, I really believe them, which helps. Speaking about his long-spanning career, the star added that as an actor he is an 'emotional athlete'. 'We go through every emotion, every emotion you people feel, we go through. 'Sometimes that's trying but it's also it feels as though there's a fun in it, there's a part of it that's exercising things, getting in touch with your psyche and your emotion you want in your life. 'It's draining doing a days work, you get to a lot of places and your really exhausted. We could go on forever doing that. People say are you crazy, and I say, yeah we are.' Speaking about his cast, Pacino added: 'With these people, with my colleagues here, we're forming a troop, your relationship with them gets closer, it becomes a team, you become a collective, I really believe them, which helps'. Pictured from left, writer David Weil, stars Tiffany Boone, Logan Lerman, Al Pacino, Jerrika Hinton, Greg Austin and writer Nikki Toscano Holocaust tattoo was 'a helping hand in portraying a character' Al Pacino takes on the role of Holocaust survivor Meyer Offerman in the Amazon series which debuts on February 21. Hunters takes place in New York in 1977, where Pacino's character co-founded a Nazi hunting organisation after discovering high ranking Nazis living in the US. Throughout the show, Meyer is shown with a numbered tattoo on his arm. These were given to concentration camp prisoners during the Holocaust to identify them to officials in the camps. Nikki Toscano, Al Pacino, David Weil and Logan Lerman attend a screening and Q&A for Amazon Prime Video's upcoming Original series Hunters Speaking at the London premiere of the show, Pacino described his tattoo as 'a hand in helping portray a character, learning the accent and becoming that person'. He added: 'It was a reminder, it contributed to all the aspects of the character you are playing and how you absorb a character.' The show's David Weil added the series was 'a love letter to my grandmother', who survived the Holocaust. He said: 'Growing up and getting older, I struggled with that notion of birth right, legacy and responsibility. 'With so many survivors no longer with us, we are the next generation to tell this story in certain ways. [This show] is an exploration of my birthright, this desire to wear that vigilante cape, to get justice, to shed light on hidden crimes and truths. 'I just really wanted to see a Jewish superhero, represented by so many others in this eccentric, eclectic kind of way. So that was the genesis of it.' The show is based on true stories of individuals who took it upon themselves to hunt and track Nazis after the war. The cast includes Logan Lerman, Josh Radnor,Louis Ozawa Changchien, and Carol Kane. Advertisement Joe Biden is facing fresh scrutiny over claims that he was once arrested in South Africa while trying to visit Nelson Mandela in prison four deades ago. The story has been told on the campaign trail by the former vice president several times in the past two weeks as he attempts what would be a remarkable political comeback in the Democratic primary, claiming that he was detained in 1977 while visiting the country as a US Senator from Delaware. This day, 30 years ago, Nelson Mandela walked out of prison and entered into discussions about apartheid, Mr Biden said last week in South Carolina. I had the great honor of meeting him. I had the great honor of being arrested with our UN ambassador on the streets of Soweto trying to get to see him on Robbens Island. But a review of news reports and available evidence from that time conducted by the New York Times has cast doubt on Mr Bidens account, with no mentions of such an arrest being found in available news reports from that time. And, while South African arrest records are not easily attainable, a former US ambassador to the United Nations has said he does not find Mr Bidens tale to be credible. 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 No, I was never arrested and I dont think he was, either, said Andrew Young, who was the UN ambassador from 1977 to 1979, told the newspaper. Mr Young, who supports Mike Bloomberg, said that he finds it hard to believe that a sitting member of US Congress would have been arrested at that time. Now, people were being arrested in Washington, he said. I dont think there was ever a situation where congressmen were arrested in South Africa. The claims come as Mr Biden hopes to turn his political fortunes around in the 2020 Democratic primary, after two poor performances in Iowa and New Hampshire two majority white states that happen to vote first in the primary process. Mr Biden and his campaign have maintained that his path to victory includes a strong showing in South Carolina, where he has been viewed as having strong support from African American voters. He is also hoping for at least a second place finish in Nevada, which caucuses on Saturday. To bolster that support, Mr Biden has often turned to stories that bring his personal story closer to those experiences lived by black Americans, including claims that he was raised in a black church. Mandela, an anti-apartheid revolutionary who died in 2013 , was the first democratically elected president of South Africa and was the first black leader of that country. He was first arrested in 1962, and was held in several prisons over the next several decades until his release in 1990. Let's come together to tax tech giants, say G20 officials eyeing $100 bln boost German FM Scholz and Saudi FM al-Jadaan walk to the meeting hall in Riyadh By Michael Nienaber and Francesco Canepa RIYADH (Reuters) - Leading world economies must show unity in dealing with aggressive "tax optimisation" by global digital giants like Google, Amazon and Facebook, G20 officials said on Saturday. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is developing global rules by to make digital companies pay tax where they do business, rather than where they register subsidiaries. The OECD says this could boost national tax revenues by a total of $100 billion a year. The call for unity appeared directed mainly at the United States, home to the biggest tech companies, in an attempt to head off any stalling on the rules until after the U.S. presidential election in November. "There is no time to wait for elections," German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz told a tax seminar on the sidelines of a meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bankers. "This needs leadership in certain countries," Scholz said, looking directly at U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, sitting next to him at the seminar. The taxing of digital firms and the effect of the coronavirus outbreak on the global economy are among the hot topics being debated by G20 financial leaders, from the world's 20 largest economies, during their talks in Riyadh this weekend. The OECD wants to set a minimum effective level at which such companies would be taxed and seeks agreement by the start of July, with an endorsement by the G20 by the end of the year. "A coordinated answer is not the better way forward, but, given the alternatives, the only way forward," OECD head Angel Gurria told the seminar. A draft G20 communique, seen by Reuters, showed financial leaders will endorse the OECD approach to the issue in their final statement on Sunday, backing the need pay tax where business is conducted and the need for a minimum rate. They will also "reaffirm committment to reach a consensus based solution by end of 2020". Story continues The OECD efforts were stalled late last year by last-minute changes demanded by Washington, which many G20 officials view as reluctant to deal with a potentially politically tricky matter before the presidential election. Mnuchin said OECD countries were close to an agreement on the minimum tax level, which he said would also go a long way to resolving the issue of where tax is paid, although he warned that some aspects of the tax proposal could require approval by the U.S. Congress. "I think we all want to get this done by the end of the year, and that's the objective," Mnuchin told the seminar. Mnuchin sought to reassure G20 delegates that a U.S. proposal to add a "safe harbour" regime to the tax reform effort - which has drawn criticism from France and other countries - would not let companies simply opt out of paying taxes. "It's not an optional tax," he said. "You pay the safe harbor as opposed to paying something else. People may pay a little bit more in a safe harbor knowing they have tax certainty." U.S. officials say their proposal would help address lawmakers concerns and smooth passage of legislation that might be required for U.S. implementation of new global tax rules. In essence, they argue, it would allow a multinational enterprise to elect to pay more foreign tax in exchange for better terms in the event of disputes over taxes, and easier administrative procedures. But many questions remain. MORE CLARITY NEEDED French Finance Minster Bruno Le Maire told reporters it remained unclear exactly what the U.S. proposal would entail. "We're still in the process of assessing what it really means," he said, adding, "It's not a non-starter for the French government. It's fair and useful to give all the attention to this new proposal." European Union Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni told Reuters there was still hard work ahead. "Its good that there is a commitment to find a solution, but ... its not there," he said, adding that he would meet with Mnuchin for bilateral talks later Saturday. Scholz told reporters Germany remained sceptical. "I think we shouldn't start with letting companies choose which taxes they want to pay. This is leading to nowhere," he said. Several European countries, including France, Spain, Austria, Italy, Britain and Hungary either already have a plan for a digital tax or are working on one, creating the risk of a highly fragmented global system. "You cannot have in a global economy different national tax systems that conflict with each other," Mnuchin said. Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said on Feb. 14 he would be ready to pay more tax in Europe and would welcome a global OECD solution that would make the levies uniform. (Additional reporting by Michael Nienaber, Francesco Canepa, Leika Kihara and Jan Strupczewski; Writing by Jan Strupczewski and Andrea Shalal; Editing by Pravin Char and Frances Kerry) Flash Finland has "no concrete reason, or need, to disengage from co-operation with China, when it benefits both sides," said Finnish President Sauli Niinisto on Saturday in an interview with Finnish national television Yle. Niinisto made the remarks while commenting on the statement of U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper at the recent security policy forum in Munich, Germany saying that the friends of the United States should refrain from co-operation with China. When asked to comment on China's aim to become more influential in the future, Niinisto acknowledged that China is influencing economically. He said that concerns about China's influence result often actually from issues regarding operational culture, and the way Chinese do something. He underlined that those cultural differences, regarding the way things are done, are not dangerous in this respect. Discussing relations between Finland and China, He elaborated that "there have been differences between Finland and China now and then," but it has been possible to defuse them in a "calm way". Rawiri Waititi will stand for the Maori Party in Waiariki at Septembers General Election. The 39-year-year olds candidacy was today confirmed in Rotorua. Waiariki Maori Party Electorate Chair Verna Ohia-Gates said Rawiri was an outstanding choice and the team will be working extremely hard over the next six months to win the seat. I would also like to congratulate other candidates who put their names forward for selection. The decision has been made by the members of Waiariki, now it's time to get Rawiri back around the table, says Verna. Rawiri, a father of five, said he had no initial plans to get back into politics he stood for Labour in 2014. But being immersed in iwi politics; constantly having to push for the recognition of mana motuhake, coupled with the dubious dealings of Whanau Ora, Ihumatao and Oranga Tamariki, he and his whanau decided it was necessary for him to jump back in the ring. Ive seen the light, says Rawiri, of crossing over to the Maori Party. There is an imminent need, now more than ever that Maori have a voice who solely prioritises their aspirations and their needs and that is unapologetic about doing so. The Maori Party is the only party who can do that, says Rawiri. There is a new Maori generation breaking through, and were going to move ahead in this country but we have to be brave and courageous enough to believe in ourselves if were going to make a difference. There is an uprising in the air; an indigenous revolution here at home and across the globe. We will not stand still or keep silent anymore. Rawiri Waititi with Aunty Dame June Mariu In his profile statement, Rawiri wrote of his background and what inspires him. I am a mokopuna of the Waiariki iwi through my Te Whanau a Apanui, Ngai Tai, Te Whakatohea, Ngai Tuhoe, Ngati Awa, Te Arawa, Ngati Tuwharetoa, Ngai Te Rangi and Ngati Ranginui ancestry, says Rawiri. I believe in the Maori Partys direction, values and principles. I have strong beliefs in equality for all and am committed to representing and advocating for our people and Aotearoa whanui. Working as a Funding Advisor for Creative New Zealand, Rawiri was involved with evaluating and implementing strategies for the development of Maori arts in line with Creative New Zealand strategic goals and objectives. As such, I have significant experience in the creative arts sector. Being exposed to the high calibre of artists and art forms, has given me a great understanding of the importance of the preservation and maintenance of the creative arts, our taonga tuku iho and unleashing the potential of our peoples creativity and innovation in the arts sector. Being a native speaker of Te Reo Maori, Rawiri is committed to the preservation and maintenance of Te Reo. Maori and government must work together to ensure the preservation of the Maori language. He has also been involved in the development of integrated services approach to community and whanau development through Whanau Ora. It has given me a broad scope on the education, welfare, health, housing and justice sectors and how they can be integrated to empower whanau, says Rawiri. I come from a line of educators and esteemed Maori Leaders who have a history to progress their people; Uncle Hoani Retimana Waititi, Aunty Dame June Mariu to name two. Since a child, I was moulded to follow in the footsteps of my whanau and was raised as such by my Hapu. I have ingrained extremely strong beliefs regarding the importance of education. Rawiri spent the first half of his life in the rural East Coast and the second half in Auckland. I have spent the last seven years as the Relationship Manager for Te Runanga o Te Whanau a Apanui and during that time have been fortunate to make strong relationships with iwi, hapu, communities, providers and organisations right across the Waiariki Region. Raised by an English Grandmother and very Maori Grandparents, all extremely knowledgeable in their own worlds, I am able to comfortably walk in both Te Ao Maori and the Pakeha world with confidence and ease. Rawiri joins Debbie Ngarewa-Packer who is standing in the western Maori seat Te Tai Hauauru as the first two confirmed Maori Party candidates. Party President Che Wilson congratulated Rawiri for taking on this challenge. We are assembling a very strong team and will be working hard in each of the Maori electorates,says Che. Egypt has welcomed the announcement of the formation of a coalition government in South Sudan, the foreign ministry said on Sunday. Rival South Sudanese leaders formed a coalition government on Sunday, and South Sudanese rebel leader Riek Machar was sworn in as first vice president to his rival President Salva Kiir. In its statement, the foreign affairs ministry said that Egypt hopes this step will prompt more efforts towards fully implementing the countrys peace agreement, in order to achieve lasting and comprehensive peace. The statement emphasised Egypts keenness on achieving stability in South Sudan and stressed that Egypt will continue supporting all conflict resolution efforts, in coordination with its regional and international partners. Civil war broke out in South Sudan in December 2013 due to conflict between Kiir and Machar. By August 2018, a final cease-fire and power-sharing agreement, followed by a peace agreement to end the civil war called the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan, was signed by the government, the opposition party, and other rebel factions, following peace negotiations mediated by Uganda and Sudan. It is estimated that almost 400,000 people lost their lives during the war. GRAND RAPIDS, MI Officers were dispatched to St. Marys Hospital in the early hours of Sunday morning on the report of a shooting victim who had been dropped off by private transport. The victim, a 37-year-old man, told officers he had been walking home about 12:20 a.m. Feb. 23 when he heard gunshots. The man was struck by a single bullet in the 400 block of Storrs Street Southeast, according to an email sent by Grand Rapids Police Sgt. John Wittkowski. The victim, who was hit in the neck/shoulder area, experienced non-life-threatening injuries, Wittkowski said in the email. The man was unable to provide any suspect descriptions to police. After speaking with the victim at the hospital, crime scene technicians located the scene, near the victims address, Wittkowski said. The address is located near the intersection of Madison Avenue SE, about three blocks north of Garfield Park. Also on MLive: Small plane crashes at Branch County airport during training flight Owner of Zeeland sex shop plans to fight city hall Dog shot, killed at apartment complex prior to shootout When socialist candidate Bernie Sanders, a guy who wasnt a Democrat until recently and who attended his first Democratic National Convention just 3 years ago, won the popular vote in the first two Democrat contests of 2020, many in the Democrat Establishment began to seriously worry. As polls reflecting Sanders staying power in Nevada and South Carolina and strong showings in big Super Tuesday states, they shifted to panic mode. They realized that although Sanders has a passionate and energetic following, perhaps even large enough to propel him to the Democrat nomination, having him at the top of their ticket in 2020 would produce disastrous results. They correctly believe that although free everything has an appeal to some, that the vast majority of Americans know whos going to pay for all of those schemes. Telling millions of Americans that youre going to radically raise their tax burden is not a winning strategy. Most folks dont feel that Bern. Enter Mike Bloomberg, the flavor of the week for some earnestly looking for an alternative to Sanders socialism. After all, Bloomberg had actually run a major city and had hundreds of millions of dollars he was willing to invest in his presidential ambitions. That seemed pretty attractive to those searching for at least a port in the coming storm. Bloomberg devised a strategy of spurning the early caucus and primary states and training his full efforts on the big ticket states of Super Tuesday. He stayed out of the Democratic debates and did almost no on the ground campaigning. Instead Bloomberg relied on Madison Avenue advertising, putting together slick 30-second spots and buying up airtime for viewers to watch them in unprecedented magnitude. Bloomberg invested $400 million bucks. Thats astounding. Virtually all of it was his own money. He even ran ads in states like ours where the primary isnt until late April. He wanted to run up his national polling numbers and buying his way to that goal was the easiest and simplest path. Bloomberg jump started his late entry campaign with all those bucks. He managed to get polling numbers high enough to place him near the front of the pack. Unfortunately for Bloomberg, voters dont make their decisions based on slick 30-second commercials. They want more. They want to see the candidate speaking unscripted. They want to seem them unvarnished and out on the campaign trail pressing the flesh. They want a sense of what the candidate is really like, not what some advertising agency would like them to think theyre like. One of the best opportunities for them to get those things is on the debate stage. Mike Bloomberg hadnt qualified to appear on the debate stage with the other contenders for the Democrat nomination previously, so his debut this week was much anticipated. Of course it took a rules change by the national Democrats for Bloomberg to qualify, but they managed to do that for him and give him his moment in the limelight. It didnt take long for Mike Bloomberg to wish hed remained waiting in the wings, buoyed and boosted by his television commercials. Elizabeth Warren lit into him almost immediately. Bloomberg looked flat-footed and completely unprepared. Among the hundreds of high-plaid staffers Bloomberg has hired, apparently none of them knew how to prepare him for the onslaught. The rest of the evening was SNL parody stuff. The Democrat debate was more of a reality television show. Bloomberg characterized Sanders proposals as communism. A few years ago Bernie told us he didnt mind being referred to as a communist; hes now changed his mind. Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg let the world know that their differences are more than merely political. What was remarkable was the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, telling us that Denmark is the best place to live out The American Dream. Denmark? Thata country of less than six million people, not even half the population of our state. To the ex-mayor of a town of 100,000, 5.6 million proposals probably sounds like a lot, but with a GDP roughly the size of Wisconsins, its hardly the worlds only superpower. Oh, and the tax rate in Buttigiegs Utopia? Its higher than 60 percent. Tell the working American man or woman that theyll be shelling out more than half of their paycheck to the federal government and see how many flock to the polls to make that happen. Thats the biggest problem with the far left tilt of the 2020 Democrats. They simply cant-or wont-tell us how theyre going to pay for all of their give always. Many pundits, including several prominent Democrats, said the big winner of this weeks debate was Donald J. Trump. Thats certainly not what Mike Bloomberg invested $400 million to hear. Charlie Gerow is a Republican strategist and CEO of Quantum Communications. He and Democrat Mark Singel appear weekly on Face the State each Sunday morning at 8:30 on CBS-21. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-24 00:56:10|Editor: yan Video Player Close GAZA/JERUSALEM, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Militants in the Gaza Strip on Sunday fired a barrage of rockets into southern Israel, both Hamas and Israeli sources said. The rockets triggered sirens in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon and in several communities near Gaza, according to Israel's medical emergency service, adding no injuries were reported. In a statement, an Israeli military spokesman said at least 20 rockets were identified, with about 10 intercepted by the Iron Dome Aerial Defense System. Ismail Radwan, a senior Hamas leader in Gaza, said in a separate statement that the rocket attack came in response to the killing of an Islamic Jihad member by an Israeli army bulldozer earlier in the day. The Israeli army confirmed on Sunday that it had shot and killed a Palestinian suspected of attempting to plant explosive near the fence separating Israel and the besieged Palestinian enclave. Newsfrom Japan Riyadh, Feb. 22 (Jiji Press)--Group of 20 finance officials shared concerns over the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the global economy on Saturday, the first day of their two-day meeting in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. Finance ministers and central bank governors of the G-20 advanced and emerging economies agreed to cooperate in tackling the economic challenge posed by the spread of the new virus originating in China. After discussing measures aimed at avoiding a global economic slowdown, the G-20 officials plan to adopt a joint statement to wrap up their discussions on Sunday. From Japan, Finance Minister Taro Aso and Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda are taking part in the meeting. Speaking to reporters after the first-day session, Aso said he told his G-20 counterparts that the coronavirus outbreak suddenly emerged as a risk factor for the global economy and that it may have grave macroeconomic consequences. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Muse, in Colorado, is trying to piece together how she will pay for Lydias next three years at RISD and is considering selling her house to do so. But thats likely only to get her through two years with financial aid. Muse said her daughter considered less expensive in-state options, but a specialized art school is more congruent with her interests in animation and illustration. The crane was being assembled when the operator slipped and fell on a stationary ladder, Maggiolo said. Firefighters climbed to him, provided initial treatment and then used another crane to lower him in a rescue basket. Clashes broke out between two groups of people near Jaffrabad in northeast Delhi on Sunday evening where a large number of people had gathered to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act. Police fired tear gas shells as members of the two groups pelted stones at each other in Maujpur. There was tension in the area after hundreds of anti-CAA protesters, mostly women, blocked a road near the Jaffrabad metro station which connects Seelampur with Maujpur and Yamuna Vihar. The anti-CAA protest continued on Sunday, prompting the Delhi Metro authorities to close the entry and exit gates of the station. There was heavy security deployment in the area. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pep Guardiola is confident Aymeric Laporte is ready to play 90 minutes against Real Madrid on Wednesday even though the defender asked to be substituted during Saturday's 1-0 win at Leicester. Laporte was replaced by Nicolas Otamendi after 57 minutes of Saturday's match, his third appearance since his return from a long lay-off with a knee injury. Guardiola said there was no fresh injury problem for the Frenchman but the pace of Leicester's attack was a tough test for a player still rediscovering his rhythm. "He asked me to be subbed," Guardiola said. "He's not injured. We cannot forget he has been out for four or five months injured. They run a lot, (Jamie) Vardy, Kelechi (Iheanacho), (Harvey) Barnes, they are all so fast. "It was quite different against West Ham (on Wednesday), where there was only one striker so it was easier to control, but he's OK." Asked if Laporte was ready to play the full match in the Champions League last-16 first-leg clash at the Bernabeu, Guardiola said: "Yes". Laporte has made a gradual return to action from the knee injury suffered against Brighton on August 31. He played 78 minutes against Sheffield United on January 21 but then did not appear again until Wednesday's 2-0 victory over West Ham, completing 65 minutes at the Etihad. City have not conceded a goal while Laporte has been back in action and Guardiola will be keen to have his best defender on the pitch for as long as possible against Madrid. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A court temporarily blocked the U.S. government from transferring as many as 50 people infected with the coronavirus to Costa Mesa, located in Southern California, for quarantine after local officials pushed back. The officials argued that federal officials provided no details about how neighborhoods in the Orange County city would be protected from the virus, which causes the disease COVID-19 and has triggered lockdowns in dozens of Chinese cities since it emerged late last year. Costa Mesa filed a legal request on Friday afternoon to halt the plan to hold 30 to 50 patients who tested positive at the Fairview Developmental Center, which is located near several neighborhoods, unless the facility is deemed suitable for quarantine, according to the Los Angeles Times. It is certainly not an isolated location, Costa Mesa Mayor Katrina Foley told the LA Times. It would certainly be important for us as the lead city to know what the plan is. It prompted U.S. District Judge Josephine L. Staton to issue a temporary restraining order to halt the move before setting a hearing on Monday at 2 p.m. According to The Associated Press, California Governors Office of Emergency Services informed the city that federal officials were planning on transporting the infected patients as early as Sunday. City officials said they were not involved in the planning. The city has not been part of any of the process that led to the consideration of the site, and it would be unfair to not include us in this kind of significant decision that has great impact on our community, Foley told the Orange County Register. Its not clear where the coronavirus patients are currently being held. On Feb. 22, the Orange County Health Care Agency said that it was told Thursday about the state of Californias intent to transfer patients from Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield to Fairview. The transportation, monitoring, and care of these individuals would be entirely managed by state and federal representatives, the department said in a statement, reported the LA Times. But officials have not been given key details including the operational plans or the services involved, according to the local health agency. California Health and Human Services Agency said it is working with federal health officials to relocate people who were evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan to Travis Air Force Base. It noted that anyone who tested positive for COVID-19 cant stay at the base and must be sent to the hospital or quarantined elsewhere. If Fairview were chosen, the federal government would be responsible for providing health careeasing the burden on our hospitals during flu seasonand for providing robust security to ensure the public safety and public health of the surrounding community, the California Health and Human Services Agency said in a statement. During a Costa Mesa news conference about the proposal, protesters arrived with signs, including one that read, Dont turn our city into another Wuhan, referring to the name of hard-hit Chinese city where the virus is believed to have originated. Locals deserve to know who made the decision to put Fairview on the list of sites for quarantine, said Rep. Harley Rouda (D-Calif.). For something as serious as the coronavirus, this is not the time to have a breakdown in communication, he said, according to the OC Register. So far, in the United States, there have been at least 35 confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. From The Epoch Times A new to science species of land snail was discovered by a group of citizen scientists working together with scientists from Taxon Expeditions, a company that organises scientific field trips for teams consisting of both scientists and laypeople. Having conducted a vote on how to name the species, the expedition participants and the local staff of the National Park together decided to name the mollusc Craspedotropis gretathunbergae. The species name honours the young Swedish activist Greta Thunberg for her efforts to raise awareness about climate change. The study is published in the open access journal Biodiversity Data Journal. "The newly described snail belongs to the so-called caenogastropods, a group of land snails known to be sensitive to drought, temperature extremes and forest degradation," says snail expert and co-founder of Taxon Expeditions, Dr. Menno Schilthuizen. All individuals were found very close to the research field station (Kuala Belalong Field Studies Centre) at the foot of a steep hill-slope, next to a river bank, while foraging at night on the green leaves of understorey plants. Citizen scientist J.P. Lim, who found the first individual of Greta Thunberg's snail says: "Naming this snail after Greta Thunberg is our way of acknowledging that her generation will be responsible for fixing problems that they did not create. And it's a promise that people from all generations will join her to help." The expedition team approached Ms. Thunberg who said that she would be "delighted" to have this species named after her. However, this is not the first time that Taxon Expeditions team names a species in honour of an environmental advocate. In 2018, they named a new species of beetle after famous actor and climate activist Leonardo DiCaprio. Mr. DiCaprio temporarily changed his profile photo on Facebook to the photo of "his" beetle to acknowledge this honour. As John reported below, Bernie Sanders is the blowout winner of the Nevada caucuses. It looks like Joe Biden will finish a distant second, with Pete Buttigieg third. However, its possible that Buttigieg will finish ahead of Biden. Elizabeth Warren appears to be out of the money once again. In her speech, she congratulated Sanders and attacked Michael Bloomberg. She even ridiculed Bloombergs height. Does Warren not realize that its Sanders, the frontrunner, not Bloomberg, she needs to beat? I think she does. She probably understands she has no shot at the nomination and can only play the spoiler, as Chris Christie did for Donald Trump. Maybe Warren wants to be Bernies running mate. Tabulating and/or reporting the Nevada results seems to have proved challenging. In the words of the Washington Post, reports have only slowly trickle[d] in. The process isnt a fiasco like Iowa was, but neither is it an advertisement for the competence of Democrats. Indeed, Laura Bronner at FiveThirtyEight says it may be only Sanderss large margin of victory that saves the Dems from being as embarrassed as they were in Iowa, where the race was very close. It may be a while before we have an accurate final vote count, but at least we already have a winner. Sanderss victory appears to have built on the Latino vote. But reports suggest that Sanders also did well with black voters. Biden may have done somewhat better in this respect, but the Vermont socialist seems to have held his own. This bodes well for Sanders in the upcoming South Carolina primary. Buttigieg should be encouraged by his Nevada showing, whether he ends up in second place or third. Nevada never seemed particularly promising for him, yet he once again finished (we think) in the money. South Carolina may be an even bigger challenge for Buttigieg because he doesnt seem to have connected with black voters. But if the South Bend mayor manages another top three finish in South Carolina, and if Biden doesnt win there, he will likely emerge as the candidate with the best chance of stopping Sanders. (Bloomberg might still be that candidate, but after his debate performance its very questionable that he is.) Right now, though, Im doubting that any Democrat can stop Sanders. TORONTO - Automakers are rolling out some big additions to the electric vehicle landscape this year as the market evolves, but its still not clear how much Canadians will be convinced to buy them. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 23/2/2020 (688 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. The 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E electric SUV is shown at the AutoMobility LA auto show Thursday, Nov. 21, 2019, in Los Angeles. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Marcio Jose Sanchez TORONTO - Automakers are rolling out some big additions to the electric vehicle landscape this year as the market evolves, but its still not clear how much Canadians will be convinced to buy them. Selection is certainly increasing. At the Canadian International AutoShow in Toronto that wraps up this weekend, automakers were showing off more than 40 hybrid and fully-electric plug-in vehicles, while McKinsey & Co. figures around 400 fully electric models will hit the market globally by 2025, including 113 this year alone. But analysts say that government policies are crucial to actually push companies to sell those models, since automakers otherwise don't have enough incentive to move away from internal combustion engine vehicles. "I think the real, key problem for them," said James Carter, principal consultant at Toronto-based Vision Mobility, "is really because they make so much money off ICE trucks, pickups, SUVs right now, that basically, the question that they're having to ask themselves is 'how the hell do we get off this drug?'" He notes that some companies have been reluctant to move to electrification, while others such as Hyundai and Kia have rolled out popular models but are not producing enough to meet demand, because profitability is a challenge for electric vehicles. Companies risk losing ground on new technologies if they don't move fast enough, but also need to make enough profit to make billions of dollars of investment worthwhile, said Carter. Ford Motor Co. is one of several companies that have made big promises about moving to electric. At the Toronto show they were showing off their all-electric Mustang Mach-E with a towering display and stadium seating for visitors to watch the SUV roll silently on stage. Despite the marketing, it's still not clear how many will be available for Canadians when they roll out near the end of the year. The company is hoping the SUV, with upwards of 500 kilometres of range, can win over buyers looking for more space but not willing to giving up performance. "They dont want to lose anything in terms of fun to drive, thrilling performance, acceleration, so we do see there is a real appeal to that consumer," said Ford Canada president Dean Stoneley. General Motors Co., meanwhile, plans to revive its Hummer brand this year with an electric model, as part of its commitment to move heavily into the space with "no-compromise" vehicles that provide the range and space consumers want, while pushing hard on achieving cost parity between electric and gas vehicles. If companies can bring those costs down, and more charging infrastructure is built, Canadians seem to be interested in buying. Vision Mobility partnered on a poll of 1,200 Canadians that showed 56 per cent were either interested or very interested in full-electric vehicles, and 62 per cent on hybrids. But demand is heavily influenced by policy. A recent EY report estimated that if all the incentives such as rebates, charging network investments, and emission regulations were removed, then plug-ins might see little market growth from the current roughly three per cent of sales by 2030, while policies could boost it to 30 per cent of new sales. The International Energy Agency put out a similar estimate for Canadian plug-in sales by the end of the decade based on current policies, while noting that fewer initiatives in the U.S. means electric sales there will likely make up only eight per cent by 2030. "Policies play a crucial role," said the IEA in its global electric vehicle outlook last year. Policies in Canada include rebates from the federal, B.C. and Quebec governments, with the two provinces also mandating that portions of sales in their provinces be plug-in vehicles. The federal government has also set a goal of selling only electric cars by 2040 (though not mandated into law), and is also helping to fund charging infrastructure. But some automakers question the fixation on electrification, arguing that total emission reductions should be the goal and that the shift to electric should be gradual because the costs are so significant. "We're not rushing to fully electric," said Jean Marc Leclerc, senior vice-president of sales and marketing at Honda Canada. "The jump to full electric is going to put a tremendous amount of strain, it already is, on the industry." 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. Honda has one of the lowest fleet emission profiles among major automakers, which has made it easier for the company to support California's stricter emission standards. Ford has also indicated it will fall in line with the tighter standards while Toyota, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles have sided with U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to loosen emission regulations in the debate. Canadian emissions standards typically follow U.S. regulations. Rather than push headlong into electric, Honda is instead making smaller shifts in marketing, including more clear reporting of carbon emissions for all of its models, so consumers can better see the impact. The company might, however, change their marketing and sales strategy if they start to run up against emission standards that other automakers are already starting to hit. "Out of necessity to hit the policy quotas, youre going to see maybe a push from a marketing perspective to pump the sale of these vehicles," said Leclerc. "When we have to sell them to hit a GHG targetwe may be pushing harder to say, ok, you want that hybrid." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 23, 2020. After a summer of mega-fires, the dramatic shift in thinking about climate change has not come from the public, or from politicians. It has come from business. An IPOS poll this month showed 68 per cent of Australians are alarmed about climate change but there is no unified view about what must happen. Since the fires, the Coalition has shifted from pro-coal to pro-gas rhetoric. And Labor felt comfortable last Friday making its first new policy net zero emissions by 2050. The bushfires have made businesses realise they need to act. Credit:Kate Geraghty But the boardrooms are strikingly ahead of Canberra. Its inconceivable a big-listed company like a bank or resources giant would now ask shareholders to accept an open climate denier or sceptic on its board. One business leader told me last week this summer was their oh crap! moment. No business can now treat climate as a problem for the next generation of directors, decades off. The mega-fires confirm global warming is smack on the agenda, for currently serving directors and chief executives. A senior figure in Australian superannuation told me that since January, the first question investors ask about any company they are considering is how it is managing climate. Some are even talking divestment from any form of carbon-related business, which hints at a touch of panic. WASHINGTON Sen. Bernie Sanders cemented his frontrunner status in the Democratic primary Saturday with his huge victory in the Nevada caucuses. The Vermont senator, who has been leading in national polling and in several state polls, heads into South Carolina and Super Tuesday with a lead in pledged delegates to be the Democratic nominee. A candidate needs 1,991 pledged delegates to become the party's nominee. He won New Hampshire and was in the top two in Iowa. After news organizations projected a Nevada win for Sanders, he declared his movement "unstoppable." Sanders won despite concerns expressed about his Medicare for All plan by the Culinary Workers Union, the state's largest labor union. The union, which did not endorse a presidential candidate, heavily criticized Medicare for All, warning that a government-run health plan would be inferior to the hard-fought coverage the union negotiated. He went on to win Nevadas most valuable precinct, a special caucus site set up at the Bellagio for Las Vegas casino workers, by a large margin. The win showed that Sanders has a broad range of support not just among white voters, but also with Latino and black voters. According to entrance polls, 53% of Latinos said they supported Sanders. Although Biden held the lead with black voters at 36%, Sanders was in a close second at 27%, according to entrance polls. The widespread support will be an advantage going into South Carolina and Super Tuesday states, when 30 percent of the delegates are awarded. Many of the larger states on Super Tuesday, such as Texas and California, also have a larger Latino population, which likely will benefit Sanders. Here are other takeaways from Nevada's caucuses: Health care Health care was the top issue for Nevada voters, according to entrance polls. According to entrance polls, 43% of voters said health care was the most important issue to them. In addition, 62% of voters said they support replacing all private health insurance with a single government plan. Story continues Sanders has made Medicare for All one of his flagship issues. It would create a single-payer health care system that would also eliminate most private insurance. The policy became a point of contention between the Culinary Workers Union and Sanders. The union, which represents about 60,000 housekeepers, porters and bartenders working in Las Vegas casinos, posted a leaflet following Sanders' New Hampshire win saying that he will "end culinary healthcare" and "require Medicare for All." In the leaflet, the union noted that former Vice President Joe Biden, former mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Amy Klobuchar and billionaire activist Tom Steyer would Protect Culinary Healthcare. The union's stance did not appear to have deterred voters. Joe Biden Former Vice President Joe Biden needed a big win after two weak performances in Iowa and New Hampshire. He didn't get one. Biden over the past several weeks has said that he would do better in more diverse states. "The reason why we are here is because, you know, 99% of the African American vote hasn't spoken yet and 99% of Latino vote hasn't spoken yet," Biden said at an organizing event in Nevada last week. More: Sanders wins Nevada and also trounces competitors with Latino and Hispanic caucus-goers Among Latino voters, Biden was at 16%, according to entrance polls. Biden, however, still led among black voters in the state at 36%, according to exit polls. That could be a good sign for the former vice president going into South Carolina. Biden will need to have a strong finish in South Carolina to continue his argument that he is electable, in particular among black and Latino voters. Pete Buttigieg Former Mayor Pete Buttigieg trailed far behind Sanders after his surprisingly strong finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire. The former South Bend, Indiana, mayor failed to make substantial inroads with voters of color. Buttigieg has consistently polled in the single digits among black and Latino voters nationally. More: Pete Buttigieg left Nevada gunning for Bernie Sanders before it's too late According to entrance polls, Buttigieg was backed by 2% of black voters in Nevada. Among Latino voters, Buttigieg was at 9%. Over the past several weeks, Buttigieg's campaign has argued that he will gain traction with voters of color if they see that he could win. Nevada did not deliver a result that would reinforce that message. Buttigieg's finish could be cause for concern with how he will continue going forward in more diverse states after his strong finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire, which have a large white majority of voters. Latino voters According to early entrance polls, 19% of Latino voters turned out just for early voting, a showing that was on pace with Latino turnout in 2016. Latino voters make up nearly 30% of the Nevada's population. In 2016, 19% of Latinos caucused, with Sanders winning their vote at 53%, according to entrance polls from that year. Sanders' strength with Latino voters could bode well for him in Texas, California and Florida, which have large Latino populations. As results from the Nevada caucuses began trickling in, Sanders campaigned in El Paso, Texas. He noted the diversity and beauty in this audience" at the rally. Bernie Sanders celebrates Nevada win: Were going to win this election It's unclear whether turnout will also surge among other voters of color, such as the black community. However, Sanders' second place standing with black voters could be a good sign for Biden going into South Carolina, where black voters make up 60% of the Democratic electorate. Warren and Klobuchar Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar couldn't use their recent momentum to push them forward in the state. Warren saw a surge in fundraising following her debate performance Wednesday but that didn't appear to give her much of a boost in Nevada. Warren's debate performance was an effort to re-engergize her campaign following her third place win in Iowa and her fourth place finish in New Hampshire. She is continuing to campaign in South Carolina and Super Tuesday states. As results rolled in, Warren was going to hold a rally in Seattle, Washington. Klobuchar also fell short in Nevada. Following her third place finish in New Hampshire, the Minnesota Senator wantedto use her momentum to finish strong in the state. It was unclear how Klobuchar was going to do in the state due to her abysmal polling with black and Latino voters. Klobuchar is likely to struggle in South Carolina. Instead, she has also moved on to campaigning in Super Tuesday states, where she will campaign in Alabama and Oklahoma this week. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nevada caucus: Bernie Sanders scores huge victory and other takeaways Home Just In Oppositions shadow cabinet holds first meeting in nine months Kathmandu, February 23 The main opposition party, Nepali Congress, on Sunday held the first meeting of its shadow cabinet formed nine months ago. The meeting decided to investigate corruption cases that the current government is involved in.. After the meeting, Nepali Congress parliamentary party leader Surendra Raj Pandey spoke in the National Assembly. There are other cases of policy corruption, just like the case of former Minister for Communications and Information Technology Gokul Baskota, that are equally alarming. The shadow ministers will closely look into such cases and report on them, he said. Nepali Congress had formed the shadow cabinet on May 20 to closely look into the incumbent government and its activities. 3 places with unique museums to visit, right now Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A unique museum is a destination in its own right. The following three museums offer not just unique experiences, but world-class collections. Yale Head to the Yale Center for British Art on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The museum, which reopened in 2016 after an extension renovation, is as good as any of the famous museums in the big cities. In fact, it houses the largest collection of British art outside the British Isles. Honolulu Hawaii, one of the most popular U.S. destinations, has more than just beaches. The former monarchy-turned-50th state has a rich cultural heritage. To discover that heritage visit the Bishop Museum in Honolulu, the state capital. Toledo Ohios fourth-largest city punches well above its weight, partly thanks to the Toledo Museum of Art. The world-class museum includes a splendid collection of religious art, including medieval Gothic. Spires and Crosses is a weekly travel column. Follow @dennislennox on Twitter and Instagram. Weekend's photographer for today couldn't be happier when she hears where she's going to be taking pictures. "I love that place," she says. "The cinnamon buns are amazing. They're the reason I go running." We're at Izz Cafe on Cork's George's Quay to meet husband-and-wife team Izzeddeen and Eman Alkarajeh, whose restaurant this is. The cafe serves Middle Eastern food, and alongside its mezze - hummus, proper tabbouleh (in which parsley, rather than bulgar, is the main ingredient), vine leaves and babaganoush - the specialty of the house is manaeesh, traditional Palestinian flatbreads topped with ingredients such as labneh and za'atar, minced lamb, halloumi, and spinach. There's even a Nutella version for those with a sweet tooth. Manaeesh are eaten across the Middle East with different versions served in Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, but the musakhan, topped with slow-cooked chicken and sumac, is specific to Palestine and is the cafe's best-seller. It's past lunchtime, but there's still a steady stream of customers and the Deliveroo bikes are lined up outside. Customers are given complimentary Arabian coffee - green, unroasted, fragrant with ginger, cardamom and saffron - while they wait for their food. Expand Close Passion for food: Izz and Eman lkarajeh outside their cafe in Cork / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Passion for food: Izz and Eman lkarajeh outside their cafe in Cork These days it's tough for anyone without either a track record in the restaurant business or deep-pocketed backers to open a place of their own, so the couple's achievement is even more impressive when you know that the couple and their four children arrived in Ireland as asylum seekers less than four years ago. They did, however, have some help, in the form of Cork chef Darina Allen, who gave the couple some useful insights into how their Palestinian dishes might appeal to Irish diners. "I left Palestine in 1999 after I graduated from the university," explains Izz. "I had studied software development but in Palestine there are no IT companies, so there was no opportunity to work in that industry. He then moved to Saudi Arabia for a job, Izz explains, while his wife Eman, who comes from Jordan, works preparing the manaeesh in the kitchen. "I was introduced to Eman in Jordan - her grandparents came from Beit Jibrin, the same village in Palestine that my grandparents came from. "We decided to get married but we had a technical issue in that Jordan didn't offer me a status based on our marriage - nor did Palestine allow me to bring a spouse back to Palestine. So she came to live with me in Saudi Arabia, where she was not allowed to work, although she did have a small business making and decorating cakes." In 2005, the couple applied for a family reunification so that they could return to Palestine. "We waited for the Israelis to process our application for years." Expand Close Izzeddeen Alkarajeh and his wife Eman Abu Rabi of Izz Cafe, Cork City. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Izzeddeen Alkarajeh and his wife Eman Abu Rabi of Izz Cafe, Cork City. Fast-forward 11 years and, with Saudi Arabia facing into a reccession, Izz's employer told him that they would have to terminate his contract within five or six months. "At that time, I had been living in Saudi Arabia for 17 years - 15 of them with Eman - and we had had four children there. I panicked, because we had still found no solution to our status and my visa for Saudi Arabia depended on my being employed. "My priority was for us to stay unified as a family. I made an application for skilled immigration to Canada, but the application took longer to process than we could wait." Next, the family considered an asylum application and, with their children being educated through English at the time, it came down to the UK or Ireland. "I became convinced we were qualified for protection in Ireland so we applied for a tourist visa, which we were granted because we had enough funds to cover our stay." The family came to Ireland for a visit in September 2016. Initially, Izz, Eman and their four children - Jana (then 12, now 15), Lama (then 9, now 13), Jouri (then 6, now 10) and Omar (then 4, now 7) - stayed in an Airbnb in Dublin for a week while they decided whether Ireland was somewhere they felt that they could live. Then they applied for asylum. "The authorities explained that there was a system called Direct Provision that asylum seekers must join," Izz recalls. At first, the family was housed in the Balseskin temporary reception centre in North Dublin, where new asylum seekers are accommodated before being dispatched to Direct Provision centres around the country. "At first, the rooms we were given were very dirty," says Izz. "We were shocked. We considered returning to Saudi Arabia but when we thought of the options that we had there, with only a few months remaining on our visa and knowing that when that came to an end I would have had to take my kids with me to Palestine and Eman would have had to go to live in Jordan on her own, we decided to make the hard choice and stay in Ireland." As Balseskin is a temporary reception centre there was no schooling for the children, and at the time there were no cooking facilities there or in any Direct Provision centre. "That was really a big problem for us," says Izz. "My kids did not accept the food that they were being served there, although it was good quality. It was just not their food, the food that they were used to. We were afraid it would be the same situation in Cork but, fortunately, one week after our arrival at the Kinsale Road centre, they introduced the first kitchens for families." At the time, asylum seekers were not able to work while in Direct Provision, so Izz divided his time between minding the children with Eman and researching options for when their status was approved. "I was looking for jobs as a software developer but I also researched starting a food business. I knew it was a passion of Eman's and that she had good skills in that area and if we combined my skills and her skills, we would be able to do something good for the family." It was at this time same time that Izz and Eman started to make connections with people in the food world. "Our friend Sean O'Flynn [of the RTAI, the Retired Teachers Association of Ireland], who we met because he used to visit the centre, happened to be friends with Darina Allen and he arranged for us to meet her. She was so generous and helpful. "We decided to focus on manaeesh on the basis of the advice we got from Darina. Palestinian food has a lot of different dishes and we were considering most of them, but she thought that manaeesh would be very successful in Cork because it's so close to pizza and not so different to what people know already. In Palestine, manaeesh is a street food, and many restaurants would offer it as a second option to stews and barbecued meat." Darina then introduced Izz and Eman to Rupert Hugh-Jones, her son-in-law, who runs three farmers' markets in Cork City. "He gave us a free trial in the market in Douglas. We bought a small pizza oven that we could put in the car for about 600 and started selling manaeesh at the market. We were still in Direct Provision and prepared the food in the kitchen there. It turned out to be golden advice from Darina - that first day we sold out in a few hours. Soon we started doing the market in Douglas too." After a year in Direct Provision, Izz, Eman and their children were granted settled refugee status. They spent six months looking for a house and moved out of Kinsale Road in May 2018. With the farmers' markets going well, the search for premises for a cafe was the next challenge. "Every landlord would ask us for references or proof that we had previous businesses," says Izz. "It's like applying for a job, you can't get one without experience but how do you get experience if you can't get a job? They want proof that you will be a successful business before they give you the premises." Eventually, the space on George's Quay became available and Izz Cafe opened last May. "There's a lot of competition in Cork for the pizza market and there had been four different pizza businesses in the same premises. The fact that we were doing something different was good. We had gained in popularity in the farmers' markets, and we got a real boost when Darina cut the ribbon, and then again when Rachel Allen and her friends came in and posted about us on social media. Within a month we were really busy." Nine months on, and the novelty of running a restaurant that's open six days a week has yet to wear off. "We enjoy it so much, although it is much more frustrating than software development," says Izz, who's forgotten to pick up lemons for the kitchen. While Izz looks after the business side of things, Eman is in charge of the food, although she demurs when Izz calls her the head chef. The cafe has a staff of seven, but Eman is the only cook and baker; her kitchen assistants help with chopping and prep. "I love to cook and spent lots of time cooking with my mum growing up," says Eman. "We'd make traditional dishes such as masaf, lamb with dried yoghurt, rice and vine leaves, and maqlooba, an upside-down dish with chicken and vegetables. At first, I found the transition from home cook to chef hard work, but then people started eating my food and loving it, and it made me very happy. I spent a lot of time at home with my kids when they were small, and I am pleased to be working now, although I still love cooking at home when I have time." The dough for the manaeesh at Izz Cafe is much lighter than pizza dough, made with flour, water and olive oil that gives it a delicious crispness. "It's a secret recipe," says Eman. "She won't even tell me what's in it," says Izz. Most of the ingredients for the manaeesh are sourced locally, but one of the most important spices - tart, lemony sumac - is imported fresh each month directly from Izz's home town of Halhul, north of Hebron. Even though Izz Cafe doesn't have a wine licence or allow BYOB ("it keeps the insurance premiums down", says Izz), there are queues down the street at weekends, and the couple have recently started taking reservations. "The next thing is to find bigger premises with seating for more customers," says Izz. "We will focus on Cork for the time being, but we might expand to Dublin and elsewhere in the future." The couple are positive about their experience of Ireland and of Direct Provision and have recently applied for citizenship. "I believe there is potential in every person and that every asylum seeker can do what we have done," says Izz. "If you seek the help you need, you will find it, and there are a lot of people who are offering language courses, retraining and business support for asylum seekers who are willing to work and integrate in the community. "I feel that there is some exaggeration about how bad the Direct Provision system is, but perhaps we have been lucky in our experience and it is different in other centres. In Kinsale Road the management and staff are really great people. The difficulties that lie with the system itself are not their fault, they are just employees, doing the work they are asked to do. "I tell my Irish friends that the problem is not in the quality of the Direct Provision centres, but the system that is not working. If you make someone wait in Direct Provision for five years and then decide to deport them, that is really hard and unfair. "Why leave someone in the Direct Provision system for five years, when they could have established their life in that time? Even if you put them in a five-star hotel for five years it's still unfair. They are in limbo, and don't know what's going to happen." Photography by Clare Keogh Top spots to eat Middle Eastern cuisine AL MEZZA, 6 Bastion Street, Athlone, Co Westmeath Facebook: almezza.athlone Milad Serhan's Lebanese restaurant in Athlone's Left Bank serves a Middle Eastern menu with grilled meats, salads and dips all featuring. Service is friendly and there are well-priced set menus. Also in Athlone, Bacchus (bacchusrestaurant.ie) serves a good mezze platter alongside dishes from the Eastern Mediterranean, this time with a Turkish influence. MEZZE, Main Street, Tramore, Co Waterford mideastmezze.com You may already know the (delicious) lavosh crackers sold under the Mezze range developed by Nicola and Dvir, the couple behind this popular deli/cafe in Tramore. Stop in for breakfast or a lunch of falafel, dips and salads, or put together a picnic to take to the beach. ORSO, Pembroke St, Cork City orso.ie Part of the Market Lane Group, Orso serves a Middle-Eastern-ish menu with enough in the way of hummus, flatbreads, dukkah and pomegranate molasses to keep the most ardent of Ottolenghi fans happy. THE CHARCOAL GRILL, Prospect Hill, Galway charcoalgrilltakeaway.com The Charcoal Grill is not just any old kebab shop, it's the one that kebab aficionados think of with a faraway look in their eye. From shish to donner, kofta to sucuk, these guys are maestros of the real-deal Turkish kebab. MEJANA, Bridgewater Court, Harvey's Quay, Limerick mejana.ie Locals love the Lebanese food at Mejana, where customers are encouraged to order lots of small plates to share. Amongst the favourites are kebbeh krass - parcels of deep-fried lamb and pine nuts served with a yoghurt dip - and, in summer, the fattoush salad made with ripe tomatoes. THE CEDAR TREE, St Andrew's St, Dublin 2 facebook.com/cedartreedublin/ Delicious food, a great selection of Lebanese wines - if you haven't ever tried the famous Chateau Musar from the Bekaa Valley, this is the place to do so. The Cedar Tree is the longest-established of all the Middle Eastern restaurants in Dublin and has a coterie of loyal clients. SHOUK, Drumcondra, Dublin facebook.com/shoukdublin/ Is there a person in Dublin who doesn't love Shouk? The menu has evolved from the simple Israeli offering that was in place when it first opened to a more sophisticated menu that takes in a wider geographical area, but it's still firmly rooted in the Middle East. FAYROUZ, Cork Street, Dublin facebook.com/FayrouzRestaurantDublin/ All the usual dishes - baba ganoush, tabbouleh, lamb shawarma and koftas - are on the menu at Fayrouz, a new-ish opening on Cork Street, but the quality of the food and the friendly service sets this place a cut above. Two young Polish climbers fell to their deaths in Slovakia's High Tatra Mountains on Friday amid high winds and heavy snow, local rescuers said Saturday evening. Slovakia's Mountain Rescue Service (HZS) said its rescuers "found two bodies of Polish climbers (aged 27 and 25 years)", on Saturday afternoon near the 2,558 metre-high Kezmarsky Peak, according to a statement. Strong winds and very low visibility due to falling snow had initially hampered rescue helicopters from approaching the area. "After multiple flight attempts, rescuers returned to their base in Stary Smokovec, where they collected several groups of rescue brigades and deployed them by helicopters to all sides of the Kezmarsky Peak," the HZS said in a statement on Saturday evening. Kezmarsky Peak is one of the most popular and demanding climbing destinations in the High Tatras. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The company building the $80 billion future submarine project is counting hotels in the Barossa Valley and Canberra as part of their local subcontractors. The inclusion of at least four hotels on the list comes as a parliamentary inquiry will on Monday night probe Defence officials and French company Naval Group over concerns about the biggest military project in Australias history not meeting its local content commitments. The future submarine project is the most-expensive military spend in Australia's history. Defence and Naval Group last week moved to quell concerns about the company not meeting the local content requirements by publishing a list of Australian companies and organisations they had subcontracted on the the future submarine works program. The list of 137 companies includes the Novotel Barossa Valley Resort, located in the heart of the famous wine region but more than 80 kilometres from where the 12 new submarines will be constructed in Adelaide. Washington: US President Donald Trump on Sunday retweeted a meme showing him as the lead character from the 2015 blockbuster Bahubali slaying enemies and romancing the leading lady ahead of his departure for India via Germany. Look so forward to being with my great friends in INDIA! he wrote as he retweeted the meme made by a Twitter user. The minute-long meme titled USA and India United! has Trumps face superimposed on the leading character, who is fighting enemies, riding a horse, and a chariot with a character with first lady Melania Trumps face superimposed on it. Prime Minister Narendra Modi or his face makes a guest appearance as well. The character with Trumps mask has also Donald Trump Jr and Ivanka Trump on its shoulder in the meme with a song from Bahubali playing in the background in Hindi. Several other memes featuring Trumps face have been going around on the internet, but none of them had the presidents endorsement, as the Bahubali meme. Trump, who is accompanied by Melania Trump, daughter and son-in-law, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, as well as several top officials will stop for a short break at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany and then take off for Ahmedabad. They will be in New Delhi later in the day via Agra. This is Trumps first visit to India as president. He was in Mumbai in 2014 for the launch of Trump Tower with a local partner. Even then, with the presidency nowhere in sight, he had spoken effusively of India and Prime Minister Modi, calling them both amazing in an interview with NDTV. One was a notorious paedophile group that wanted to legalise sex with children as young as four; the other a big-hearted scheme to ensure Britain's wartime farm workers were well-fed. Now the Home Office has made the 'preposterous' claim that a whistleblower got the two confused when he alleged the Government was secretly bankrolling the child sex campaigners. Officials say that former employee Tim Hulbert mixed up the Paedophile Information Exchange, known as PIE, with the Rural Pie Scheme. Government lawyers say a document that he believed showed 30,000 was being funnelled to PIE actually showed a contribution towards providing meat pies to rural workers during rationing. Tom O'Carroll (pictured), another former PIE chairman, was sentenced to two years in prison in 1981 for 'conspiracy to corrupt public morals' and jailed again in 2006 for distributing child pornography Mr Hulbert's lawyers last night blasted that suggestion as 'outlandish and preposterous'. The whistleblower worked in the Home Office Voluntary Services Unit (VSU), which distributed money to good causes, in the 1970s and 1980s. He had previously told the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse that he had spotted the payment on a spreadsheet in 1979, concealed as a grant to the Women's Royal Voluntary Services. He said the money had been marked: 'WRVS (P.I.E)' in a list of grant renewals. Government lawyers say documents now submitted to the inquiry show the WRVS ran a pie fund to help feed farm workers during and after the war. They say that the papers 'make frequent reference to the Pie Scheme and, indeed, to the figure of 30,000, which Mr Hulbert has referred to as the likely sum of funding going to the Paedophile Information Exchange. The Home Office has made the 'preposterous' claim that a whistleblower got the two confused when he alleged the Government was secretly bankrolling the child sex campaigners (file image) 'It is accordingly possible that some discussion within the VSU during Mr Hulbert's time there... may actually have been about WRVS pies and not PIE.' Last night, Mr Hulbert's lawyers said: 'Obviously we ask the inquiry to reject this risible submission.' They added there is 'not a scrap of evidence' to support the idea that Mr Hulbert saw material about the WRVS, pointing out that the wartime pie scheme ended more than 30 years before Mr Hulbert worked at the Home Office. PIE or pies? Spot the difference... PIE, the Paedophile Information Exchange, was a reviled group set up in 1974 to campaign for the legalisation of child sex and to promote child pornography unlike the Rural Pie Scheme, which was launched by well-meaning women to ensure agricultural workers got a hearty midday meal while wartime rationing was in place. First introduced in Cambridge in 1941, millions of meat pies were distributed in around 2,750 villages from 1941 to 1945, and the scheme soon got the backing of the Ministry of Food. PIE, on the other hand, became affiliated with Left-wing campaign groups such as the National Council of Civil Liberties, now Liberty, for which Harriet Harman was legal officer. The politician, who went on to be deputy Labour leader, has found it hard to apologise for the links, expressing only grudging 'regret'. Thankfully, PIE disbanded in 1984. Steak and kidney pies are still going strong. Advertisement They also say that their client had raised concerns at the time with his boss, Clifford Hindley, but was warned to 'back off' because PIE was being secretly bankrolled to allow Special Branch or the security services to identify paedophiles. The lawyers, David Enright and Sam Stein QC, said Mr Hulbert's 'unchallenged' account of that meeting confirmed conclusively that the money 'was intended for the Paedophile Information Exchange, not Cornish pasties'. The official inquiry is looking into allegations that a historic VIP paedophile ring operated in Westminster in the 1970s and 1980s. It will deliver its report this week. PIE was formed in 1974, but despite its sickening aims, the Home Office ignored pleas to ban it. The group disbanded in 1984. One chairman of the PIE, Steven Adrian Smith, was an electrical contractor at the Home Office's Central London HQ and claimed he kept PIE's files in a cabinet there and used one of its phone numbers as a contact point. He was given an indeterminate jail sentence in 2011 for possessing indecent images of children. Several of PIE's other members have been convicted of child sex offences, including Charles Napier, who was jailed for 13 years in 2014 after admitting sexually abusing 23 boys between 1967 and 1983. And Tom O'Carroll, another former PIE chairman, was sentenced to two years in prison in 1981 for 'conspiracy to corrupt public morals' and jailed again in 2006 for distributing child pornography. Saima Afreen By Express News Service HYDERABAD: February 21, celebrated as International Mother Language Day, has a painful history associated with it. Way back in 1952, it was in Bangladesh that the native Bengalis refused to accept Urdu as the national language after the rulers in Pakistan declared so. The speakers of Bangla made for 55 per cent of the population and stood up against the decision. On February 21, 1952 the people gathered for a peaceful protest march on which police opened fire killing several. Years later, in 1999 Bangladeshis residing in Canada proposed to UNESCO that the date be commemorated across the world as International Mother Language Day. Since then even in India this day is celebrated. In the country, there are 22 officially recognised languages and 720 dialects. With multiple languages, there are multiple identities, and of course, multiple mother tongues. On taking a microcosmic look with the city having a cosmopolitan flavour, people associated with the craftsmanship of language are divided in their opinion of mother tongue. It doesnt come as a surprise when the purists trolled Dr KV Ramanachary, advisor to Telangana Government for printing the invite to Mother Language Day celebration in English and not in Telugu. Talking about the language one grows up with Syed Tamjeed Hyder, poet and public relation officer, Consulate General of Republic of Iran switches easily from Persian to Urdu and then English saying, When humans learn to speak its through their mother tongue. To learn new languages one needs the base which is none other than the mother tongue. It cant be divorced from learning. I consider it the first door to enter and experience the world. At the same time official languages cant be ignored. For several people, language is the prime identity and they take pride in being associated with their mother tongue. Sabah Qamri who is pursuing linguistics and is completing her doctorate from the English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU) in Assamese dialect says, I take pride in calling myself an Assamese and I hold on to that identity through language. But its unfortunate thats its not just in my state, in several other states people dont read and write in their mother tongue anymore. She suggests that there should be a language planning commission in the country and in each state to regulate the linguistic changes. On the other hand firebrand Telugu author Volga says, Mother tongue is important because we think in it. Our songs and our thoughts are documented in it. But we have multiple identities that we carry and we shouldnt become linguistic chauvinists. At the same time noted author-poet Stephanos Stephanides, who visited Hyderabad for a guest lecture said, I was born in Cyprus, but went to the UK as a child. I have travelled widely and speak multiple languages. For a traveller its difficult to determine which is his/her mother tongue. You think and observe in several languages at a time then. In a small, unassuming white building on Hollow Road in Skillman, stands the 120-year-old one-room Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. The historic house of worship, which welcomed African American parishioners from 1899 to 2005, is now a museum that tells the often-overlooked stories of the people who have lived in the Sourland Mountains for hundreds of years. The Stoutsburg Sourland African-American Museum was founded by Beverly Mills and Elaine Buck in 2015 after the two spent years conducting research on the lives of African Americans in the Sourlands, a mountainous region in Somerset County, to write their book If These Stones Could Talk. When we were finishing our research and writing our book we started to talk about what we could do to leave a bigger legacy, Mills said. Mills and Buck said the old AME Church building was the perfect location to house the stories of their ancestors. We want to tell the stories of the unique culture, experiences, and contributions of African Americans in the Sourland Region, Mills said. In addition to the museum, the pair often visits local schools to give lectures on the history of African Americans living in the region. They feel that their work with the museum is trying to fill a gap in the education system when it comes to understanding that African American history is not its own segment of history but has been a strong thread that runs throughout the history of the United States. The one-room African Methodist Episcopal Church also known as the Mount Zion AME Church,is now a museum focused on the life of African Americans in New Jersey. It is is one of the most historic buildings in the Sourlands. Thursday, Feb. 20, 2020. Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media African American history is American history, not just during Black History Month, Mills said. And there is much, much more to our story than Harriet Tubman and Fredrick Douglas and Booker T. Washington. There are scores and scores of stories that have never been told. The museum tries to emphasize the untold stories of the everyday people that lived in and developed the area. The pair often tells visitors the story of Richard Allen, who was able to buy his way out of slavery and became a minister. He briefly lived in Pennington with a white family, working to spread his message of the need for abolition and education, before going on to found the AME Church. And the story of Silvia Dubois, a woman who was born into slavery in the Sourland Mountains. During childhood she was moved to Pennsylvania where she forced to work for the Dubois family. As an adult, after being punished by the mistress of the house for not cleaning the floor properly, Dubois beat the mistress and ran away. She was able to gain her freedom and eventually resettled back in the Sourland Mountains. She became known for often taking long walks through the mountain until she died. Her funeral was held at the AME church. The one room Mount Zion AME Church, is now a museum focused on the life of African Americans in New Jersey. It is is one of the most historic buildings in the Sourlands. Thursday, Feb. 20, 2020. Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media When we started talking about the African American community in our region, we found that a lot of people had no idea there was slavery in New Jersey, Buck said. And people will ask are you sure? And not only are we sure, we know we are descendants of enslaved Africans. And that is what makes our situation so unique. We are telling our own history. Through the use of public records, Buck has been able to track her family roots back five generations of living in Hopewell Valley. It is typically difficult for African Americans to trace back more than three generations because of inconsistent, nonexistent or censured record keeping. We try to use pictures as much as possible when telling peoples story because it makes it more compelling to see the people who have actually lived here, Mills said. Being able to see the people who lived in the area does often give people a greater appreciation for the history here, Buck said. Although the museum has been open for a few years, it is still a work in progress. It is currently only open by appointment, but is working toward installing heating and air conditioning in the 120-year-old building so the museum can have regular operating hours. With the assistance of the D&R Greenway Land Trust and the Sourland Conservancy, the museum was able to buy 1.2 acres of land next door where the duo plans to build an education and cultural center. The one room Mount Zion AME Church, is now a museum focused on the life of African Americans in New Jersey. It is is one of the most historic buildings in the Sourlands. Thursday, Feb. 20, 2020. Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media Because of the small size of the current museum, they are not able to display many of the artifacts that they have collected or have been donated. We have people who had the story in them and as Beverly and I reached out we were able to bring it out of them, Buck said. A lot of the time we would ask and they would start with, I dont have anything to say. And then wed go through our list of questions and boy were they filled with history. Were rich in history that you dont know because for a long time they didnt want you to know, Mills said. And not because they didnt have it, because it was seen as unimportant. This article is part of Unknown New Jersey, an ongoing series that highlights interesting and little-known stories about our past, present, and future -- all the unusual things that make our great state what it is. Got a story to pitch? Email it to local@njadvancemedia.com. Read More Unknown New Jersey stories like this: Olivia Rizzo may be reached at orizzo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @LivRizz. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Latest News Sydney property prices might not drop yet, as planning problems persist NSW planning approvals have fallen off a cliff since October, showing that the supply crisis might yet continue The key trends for property investment in 2022 analysed The key trends for property investment in 2022 analysed, with rentvesting and borderless investing likely to surge Australias largest non-bank lender has launched a multimillion-dollar national campaign to bolster its brand, built around "supporting and celebrating the lives of everyday Australians". Pepper Money's 'Real Life' campaign was inspired by the group's own customer data and insights, stemming from the understanding of how real life events impact Australians lives and how individually-tailored financial solutions can help them secure a positive outcome. According to Mario Rehayem, Pepper Money CEO for Australia and New Zealand, the non-banks brand has always focused on "being a real and fresh alternative" to the banks; now, the group wants to draw more attention to its message of taking a personalised approach to borrowers individual situations. Pepper Moneys brand has evolved and, after two decades, it is time to showcase the people we represent real-life Australians. Were proud to be launching tomorrow across a wide range of media our anthemic celebration to Australians facing the highs and lows of real life," he said. A warning though: the catchy title tune, sung by Lloyd Allison-Young is a real earworm. My kids cant stop humming it, and I find myself singing it in the shower," he added. The campaign centres on a music video described as "a tongue-in cheek Aussie parody of American Jake Owens song of the same name, Real Life". It was directed by Australian Stuart Bowen and features local actors Lloyd Allison-Young and Margarita Gershkovich in the lead roles with cameo appearances from 20 Pepper employees, including GM of mortgages and commercial lending, Aaron Milburn. The campaign is comprehensive, kicking off tomorrow with a takeover of YouTube and Nine Publishings digital mastheads, but continuing with a national TV and major metro radio campaign over the next three months, in addition to outdoor and social media advertising. The world keeps changing and Pepper Money is keeping pace with the breadth of customers we now support. Indeed, for many of them, the nine-to-five job is a thing of the past. Increasingly, theyre having to adapt to new ways of working, being self-employed, working later in life, and working multiple jobs," said Pepper Money chief customer experience officer, Joanne Thrift. The campaign is intended to celebrate the group's customers "in all their wonderful diversity", and to position the brand as the solution to the "rapidly-evolving needs of Aussie mortgage borrowers". A brand campaign of this type is a first for Pepper Money, and the close relationship we have with our longstanding creative and media partners has allowed us to create such a standout campaign," Thrift added. "I believe this will set Pepper Money apart from Australian banks and the other non-bank lenders in the market and clearly demonstrates that Pepper Money gets that real life happens." The emergency measures follow two deaths and nearly 100 infections in northern Italy. Nearly 50,000 people in northern Italy have been asked to stay at home as the government tries to contain the coronavirus. The emergency measures follow two deaths and about 100 infections in northern Italy. Al Jazeeras Victoria Gatenby reports. Former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis today visited Julian Assange at Belmarsh prison ahead of the WIkileaks founder's US extradition hearing. Assange, 48, will tomorrow face off with the US government at Woolwich Crown Court, just a stone's throw from the notorious southeast London jail dubbed 'the British Guantanamo Bay.' American officials want Assange hauled across the Atlantic to be tried on espionage charges, which carry a maximum of 175 years in prison, for publishing classified military intelligence. Varoufakis said outside Belmarsh: 'What we have is an assault on journalism ... The only charge against Julian, hiding behind the nonsense of espionage, is a charge of journalism.' The Greek economist joined Assange's father John Shipton at a support rally for the prisoner on Sunday afternoon. Shipton has been vociferous in condemnation of his son's treatment, claiming sending him to the US would be a 'death sentence.' Julian Assange's father John Shipton and former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis leave Belmarsh Prison after visiting Julian Assange, in London today Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange, 48, in a prison van, as he leaves Southwark Crown Court in London in May last year Assange has been indicted in the US on 18 charges over the publication of classified documents. Prosecutors say he conspired with army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to hack into a Pentagon computer and release hundreds of thousands of secret diplomatic cables and military files on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Shipton has been vociferous in condemnation of his son's treatment, claiming sending him to the US would be a 'death sentence' US authorities say WikiLeaks' activities put American lives in danger. Assange argues he was acting as a journalist entitled to First Amendment protection, and says the leaked documents exposed U.S. military wrongdoing Among the files published by WikiLeaks was video of a 2007 Apache helicopter attack by American forces in Baghdad that killed 11 people, including two Reuters journalists. Journalism organisations and civil liberties groups including Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders say the charges against Assange set a chilling precedent for freedom of the press. Assange's legal saga began in 2010, when he was arrested in London at the request of Sweden, which wanted to question him about allegations of rape and sexual assault made by two women. He refused to go to Stockholm, saying he feared extradition or illegal rendition to the United States or the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Assange's father John Shipton and former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis arrive at Belmarsh Prison Varoufakis speaks outside Belmarsh today surrounded by activists fighting against Assange's extradition In 2012, Assange sought refuge inside the Ecuadorian Embassy, where he was beyond the reach of U.K. and Swedish authorities. For seven years Assange led an isolated and increasingly surreal existence in the tiny embassy, which occupies an apartment in an upscale block near the ritzy Harrod's department store. Confined to the building, he occasionally emerged onto a small balcony to address supporters, and received visits from celebrity allies including Lady Gaga and 'Baywatch' actress Pamela Anderson. Assange speaks on the balcony of the Embassy of Ecuador in London in May 2017 The relationship between Assange and his hosts eventually soured, and he was evicted in April 2019. British police immediately arrested him for jumping bail in 2012. Sweden dropped the sex crimes investigations in November because so much time had elapsed, but Assange remains in London's Belmarsh Prison as he awaits a decision on the U.S. extradition request. Supporters say the ordeal has harmed Assange's physical and mental health, leaving him with depression, dental problems and a serious shoulder ailment. For his supporters around the world, Assange remains a hero. But many others are critical of the way WikiLeaks has published classified documents without redacting details that could endanger individuals. WikiLeaks has also been accused of serving as a conduit for Russian misinformation, and Assange has alienated some supporters by dallying with populist politicians including Brexit-promoter Nigel Farage. Assange's legal team insists the American case against him is politically motivated. His lawyers say they will present evidence that the Australian was offered a pardon by the Trump administration if he agreed to say Russia wasn't involved in leaking Democratic National Committee emails that were published by WikiLeaks during the 2016 U.S. election campaign. ssange speaks on the balcony of the Embassy of Ecuador in London in May 2017 Supporters of Julian Assange stages a demonstration on February 22, 2020 in London Assange's lawyers say the offer was made in August 2017 by then-Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, who claimed to be acting on behalf of President Donald Trump. The White House has called the claim 'a complete fabrication and a total lie.' Rohrabacher acknowledges discussing the Democrat leak with Assange, but denies offering a pardon from the president. An end to the saga could still be years away. After a week of opening arguments, the extradition case is due to break until May, when the two sides will lay out their evidence. The judge is not expected to rule until several months after that, with the losing side likely to appeal. If the courts approve extradition, the British government will have the final say. The case comes at delicate time for trans-Atlantic relations. The U.K. has left the European Union and is keen to strike a trade deal with the U.S. Fashion designer Vivienne Westwood joins protesters to take part in a 'Don't Extradite Julian Assange' protest rally marching from Australia House to Parliament Square in London, Britain, 22 February 2020 Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange arrives at Westminster Magistrates Court in London in April last year But relations between Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative government and the Trump administration have been strained by Britain's decision to defy Washington and grant Chinese firm Huawei a role in building the U.K.'s telecoms infrastructure. Anand Doobay, an extradition lawyer at the firm Boutique Law, said the Assange saga was an unusual, hard-to-predict case. 'Very few cases raise this range of issues, where there are likely to be arguments about the actual offenses he's accused of committing and whether they amount to a crime in both countries,' he said. 'There are arguments about his treatment in terms of the fairness of his trial, the conditions he's going to be detained in, the reasons why he is being prosecuted, his activities as a journalist.' LONDON The U.S. government and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will contest Washingtons bid to extradite him Monday in a high-security London courthouse, a decade after WikiLeaks published a trove of classified military documents. A judge will begin hearing arguments from lawyers for U.S. authorities, who want to try Assange on espionage charges that carry a maximum sentence of 175 years in prison. The extradition hearing follows years of subterfuge, diplomatic dispute and legal drama that have led the 48-year-old Australian from fame as an international secret-spiller through self-imposed exile inside the Ecuadorean Embassy in London to incarceration in a maximum-security British prison. Assange has been indicted in the U.S. on 18 charges over the publication of classified documents. Prosecutors say he conspired with U.S. army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to hack into a Pentagon computer and release hundreds of thousands of secret diplomatic cables and military files on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. U.S. authorities say WikiLeaks activities put American lives in danger. Assange argues he was acting as a journalist entitled to First Amendment protection, and says the leaked documents exposed U.S. military wrongdoing. Among the files published by WikiLeaks was video of a 2007 Apache helicopter attack by American forces in Baghdad that killed 11 people, including two Reuters journalists. Journalism organizations and civil liberties groups including Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders say the charges against Assange set a chilling precedent for freedom of the press. But others are critical of the way WikiLeaks has published classified documents without redacting details that could endanger individuals. WikiLeaks has also been accused of serving as a conduit for Russian misinformation. Assanges legal saga began in 2010, when he was arrested in London at the request of Sweden, which wanted to question him about allegations of rape and sexual assault made by two women. He refused to go to Stockholm, saying he feared extradition or illegal rendition to the United States. In 2012, Assange sought refuge inside the Ecuadorean Embassy, where he was beyond the reach of U.K. and Swedish authorities. The relationship between Assange and his hosts eventually soured, and he was evicted in April 2019. British police immediately arrested him for jumping bail in 2012. Sweden dropped the sex crimes investigations in November because so much time had elapsed, but Assange remains in Londons Belmarsh Prison as he awaits a decision on the U.S. extradition request. Jill Lawless is an Associated Press writer. SEOUL, South Korea (AP) South Koreas president said Sunday that he was putting his country on its highest alert for infectious diseases, ordering officials to take unprecedented, powerful steps to fight a soaring viral outbreak, while a continent away in Italy, authorities battled to contain Europe's first major outbreak of the virus. China also reported hundreds more infections for a total of about 77,000, and Iran raised its death toll from the virus to eight the highest toll outside of China. While the number of patients worldwide is increasing, some virus clusters have shown no link to China and experts are struggling to trace where those clusters started. The Iranian health ministry said there were now 43 confirmed cases in Iran, which did not report its first case of the virus until Wednesday. In Italys northern Lombardy region, which includes the nations financial capital, Milan, the governor announced Sunday that the number of confirmed cases stood at 110. Italy now has 152 cases, the largest number outside of Asia, including three deaths, the most recent on Sunday. Venice, which is full of tourists for Carnival events, reported its first two cases, said Veneto Gov. Luca Zaia, whose region includes the lagoon city. It wasn't immediately known if the two infected had participated in Carnival festivities. As Italy scrambled to check the spread of the virus, authorities announced that all Carnival events had been called off as well as major league soccer matches in the stricken region. Cinemas and theaters were also ordered shuttered, including Milan's legendary La Scala. Warning that Chinas virus epidemic is still grim and complex, President Xi Jinping called for more efforts to stop the outbreak, revive industry and prevent the disease from disrupting spring planting of crops. Xi defended the ruling Communist Partys response as timely and effective in a video conference with officials in charge of anti-disease work, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. Story continues The current epidemic situation is still grim and complex, Xinhua cited Xi as saying. Prevention and control are at the most critical stage. South Korean President Moon Jae-in said his government had increased its anti-virus alert level by one notch to Red, the highest level, in response to the spread of the disease that has infected more than 600 people in the country, mostly in the last few days. The step was last taken in 2009 to guard against a novel influenza outbreak that killed more than 260 people in South Korea. Under the highest alert level, authorities can order the temporary closure of schools and reduce the operation of public transportation and flights to and from South Korea. Moons education minister, Yoo Eun-hae, said later Sunday that the new school year for kindergartens, elementary, middle and high schools in South Korea has been put off by one week and will start on March 9. Moon said the outbreak has reached a crucial watershed, and that the next few days will be critical. We shouldnt be bound by regulations and hesitate to take unprecedented, powerful measures, he said. South Korea announced 169 more cases of the new virus, bringing the countrys total to 602. It also reported three more fatalities, raising its death toll to six. Mainland China reported 648 new infections for a total of 76,936. The daily death toll fell slightly to 97. In all, 2,442 people have died in the country from COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. The number of new Chinese cases has seesawed daily but has remained under 1,000 for the past four days. Several changes to how infections are counted, however, have made it difficult to draw conclusions from the figures. The central Chinese city of Wuhan and other parts of Hubei province, where the outbreak first emerged in December, remain under lockdown. More than 80% of the country's cases are in Hubei, where the death toll has also been higher than the rest of the nation. Most of the South Korean cases have been reported in the country's fourth-largest city, Daegu, and the surrounding area. According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, some 320 cases have also been confirmed to have links to a branch of the local Shincheonji church in Daegu, which has become the biggest cluster of viral infections in South Korea. Shincheonji, which has been viewed as a cult movement by mainstream Christian organizations, tried to defend itself from growing public anger directed at the church. In a video statement posted on its website, church spokesman Simon Kim said Shincheonji has shut down all its 1,100 local churches and other facilities since one of its church members tested positive for the virus on Feb. 18, the first patient in Daegu. Earlier Sunday, Daegu Mayor Kwon Yong-jin said there were concerns that the number of those infected in the city could see yet another massive increase because authorities were launching intensive examinations of church members with virus-related symptoms. Meanwhile. a cruise ship passenger who had been hospitalized after testing positive for the new virus died on Sunday, the third fatality from the Diamond Princess, Japan's health ministry said. The ministry also announced 57 more cases of infections from the ship, including 55 crew members still on board and two passengers who had infected roommates and are in a prolonged quarantine at a government facility. With the new cases, 691 people have been infected on the ship, or nearly one-fifth of its 3,711 passengers and crew. Japan has confirmed a total of 838 cases and four deaths from the virus, including those on the ship. Meanwhile, a diplomatic row erupted after Israel turned back a South Korean airliner, underscoring fear and tensions over the fast-spreading outbreak. A Korean Air flight with 188 passengers that landed at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport Saturday evening was taxied away from the terminal while authorities allowed only 11 Israelis to enter the country. The plane returned to South Korea with the rest of the passengers on Sunday, according to airline officials. Seouls Foreign Ministry said Sunday that it was closely monitoring the incident and providing active consular assistance to South Koreans staying in Israel. It said it will evacuate South Korean tourists from Israel if necessary. Yonhap news agency cited South Korea's Foreign Ministry as registering a strong protest with the Israeli government. South Korea earlier informed Israel that a group of tourists who traveled to Israel and the West Bank for a week this month tested positive for the virus upon returning home. Israeli and Palestinian health authorities asked people who were in close contact with the tourists to quarantine themselves. South Korean health authorities said Sunday that 18 of the 39 South Koreans who had made the group pilgrimage later tested positive for the virus. She said the 21 others were being tested. Forty-one Catholic churches in their neighborhoods halted Sunday Masses and other gatherings. Israel's Foreign Ministry issued travel warnings to South Korea and Japan due to the coronavirus, and the Health Ministry ordered Israelis returning from those countries to remain in home quarantine, as previously ordered for those returning from Hong Kong, China, Macau, Thailand and Singapore. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be adding more restrictions on entry to Israel from additional countries, including Australia and Italy. Jordan said it was denying entry of non-Jordanians coming from Iran and South Korea, on top of a previous ban on those coming from China. Nationals arriving from those countries will be quarantined. Downtown Daegu was mostly deserted Sunday, with shelves at some supermarkets and stores empty. Many restaurants, bars, real-estate offices and tour agencies shut down as traffic nosedived and people stayed home, ordering food and supplies online. Kim Mi-yeon, who opened her cake shop in Daegu on Sunday despite worries about infection, said she received only one group of customers. Im also worried about being infected, but I still opened my shop today to make a living, she said by phone. On weekends, I used to hire five part-time employees, but I've recently told all of them not to come. How can I hire them at a time when I have fewer then 10 customers a day? ___ Associated Press journalists Yanan Wang and Henry Hou in Beijing, Frances D'Emilio in Rome, Ilan Ben Zion in Jerusalem, Fares Akram in Amman, Jordan, and Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Sausan Atika (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sun, February 23, 2020 20:14 688 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad20661ea90 1 City hospital,flood,inundation,Jakarta-flood,Rain-in-Jakarta,rain,rainy-season Free The heavy downpour that hit the capital on Sunday resulted in the flooding of state-run Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital (RSCM), possibly damaging several pieces of valuable medical equipment. Heavy rain, beginning in the early hours of Sunday, inundated the hallway of RSCM's GH building, with the water reaching ankle-height. The water also entered the radiology and radiotherapy rooms by the hallway at around 5 a.m. The water receded at around 8 a.m. and the affected rooms have been cleaned up, RSCM spokesperson Ananto told The Jakarta Post on Sunday. Videos and pictures of the flooding posted by National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesperson Agus Wibowo showed that a number of medical devices had been submerged in the flood waters. Equipment [affected by the] flood includes a stationary ceiling x-ray machine, a mobile x-ray machine, two CT scan machines, one ultrasound unit [] and one Siemens MRI machine, Agus tweeted. RSCM president director Lies Dina Liastuti said the hospital's medical facility team, the Jakarta health facility security center (BPFK) and vendors of the medical equipment were inspecting the condition of the affected machines. She said all of the equipment had been turned off when the heavy rain began. We are not yet able to say whether the equipment experienced any damage because we are currently checking them all, she told the Post, adding that the equipment would be cleaned and dried extensively before being turned on to evaluate the damage. "Insyaallah [God willing], starting tomorrow we will turn on the machines [to check the damage]," she said, noting that an affected tomotherapy machine would need to be left to dry for about a week. Despite the flooding, Lies guaranteed that the hospitals health services had not been disrupted. RSCM remains in operation, no health services were disrupted, including in the intensive care unit and the inpatient ward, she said. She added that her team had been communicating with other hospitals to make arrangements for RSCM patients who needed to use the affected equipment. "If patients need to undergo x-rays or radiation, they can use equipment at RSCM Kencana in Senen [Central Jakarta] or transfer to other hospitals. Dharmais Hospital and several others have expressed their willingness to accept [transferred patients]. We are arranging this," she said. Lies said she suspected the flooding was caused by an overflow from the nearby Salemba area. She added that she had communicated with Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan to ask the city administration to construct a water channel system to direct water into the Ciliwung River behind the RSCM complex to prevent similar occurrences in the future. Health Minister Terawan and a number of ministry officials visited RSCM on Sunday afternoon. The minister urged relevant stakeholders, including the hospital team and vendors of the affected medical equipment, to quickly ensure the facilities returned to full function. A total of 108 community units from 55 subdistricts throughout the capital were hit by floods over the weekend, with the water reaching up to 2.2 meters in Rawa Terate subdistrict in Cakung, East Jakarta. The flood had forced 846 people from 235 families to flee their houses as of 11 a.m., Sunday, according to the Jakarta Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) spokesperson Mohammad Insyaf. The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has warned of heavy rains, issuing an 'alert' status from 7 a.m., Feb. 23, until 7 a.m., Feb. 24, for Banten, Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, Yogyakarta, East Java, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, South Sulawesi, and East Nusa Tenggara. American High, the Liverpool-based film production company, is getting ready to roll cameras on its eighth movie in the Syracuse area. According to a press release, the upcoming feature film needs a large, seedy, maybe not-so-kept up party house location to be the star of the film. Think any place you may have partied during your time in a biker gang or frat that maybe didnt clean so much. Anything from neglected mansions, industrial factories, rural barns, or run-down homes will be considered." If you own what you believe is the perfect location to have a raging party, contact American Highs locations department at soontobefamouslocations@americanhigh.com. Producers say that if your location is chosen, then pricing, marketing beyond the film, and promotional materials are all on the table to make it worth your while. The movie is set to begin filming in March 2020 with a summer 2021 theatrical release date. Additional details, including the films title, director and cast, have not been released. American High has filmed seven other movies in Central New York over the past two and a half years, including The Ultimate Playlist of Noise"; The Binge starring Vince Vaughn; Holly Slept Over; Banana Split; Looks That Kill' Sid is Dead"; and Big Time Adolescence" starring Pete Davidson. Holly Slept Over, Banana Split and Big Time Adolescence are all set to be released next month; The Binge and The Ultimate Playlist of Noise will be released on Hulu at a later date. American High founder Jeremy Garelick, whose credits include The Wedding Ringer, The Break-Up and The Hangover, bought the former A.V. Zogg Middle School in Liverpool in 2017 to create a film school and shoot high school-type scenes. The building, now known as Syracuse Studios, also serves other film productions in the Syracuse area. 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. Its also equipped with new engines that deliver better performance. Aimed initially at the BMW X6, the 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe also competes against recently introduced nameplates like the Audi Q8 and the Porsche Cayenne Coupe. Lets find out more about it and see how it compares to its rivals in the review below. The 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe is a version of the fourth-generation GLE, introduced in 2019. The second generation of the coupe-style SUV, the 2020 GLE Coupe boasts a brand-new design, rides on a new platform, and features improved and new technology. Exterior Based on regular GLE New front fascia design Sportier bumpers Sleeker roofline No longer features a hunchback rear end LED lights standard A big bigger than the old model Longer wheelbase The front fascia boasts a diamond grille borrowed from coupe versions of the E-Class and S-Class. The new GLE Coupe is obviously based on the regular GLE, so it borrows almost every single feature from the boxier SUV. Up front, we can see larger headlamps that are almost rectangular and a grille thats wider at the center. The grille is a notable change from the regular GLE, as the standard mesh was replaced with a diamond unit. This dotted grille is usually featured on coupe models and Mercedes is using it here to emphasize on the coupe styling of this SUV. Down below we can see the already traditional A-shaped bumper with big vents on the sides and a thin opening just above the splitter. Sadly, most of the grille panels are closed off and the plastic looks a bit cheap. The headlamps are fitted with LED technology as standard on all trims. The windshield also has a steeper angle toward the back compared to the regular GLE. The profile of the GLE Coupe remains familiar with only a handful of changes made compared to the old model. The main upgrade is the new beltline. Moved higher, just below the windows, its also more prominent. Its now on the same level with the line of the engine hood and runs higher toward the back, making contact with the upper edge of the taillights. The character line on the doors seems similar to the old model, but the side skirts are new and can be fitted with optional running boards. The fender wheel arches feature thicker cladding thats black as standard and body-colored with the optional AMG Line package. As before, you can choose from a wide variety of wheel designs measuring from 19 to 22 inches. The roof also looks a bit different than before, with a more noticeable slope toward the rear. But the big change is that the tailgate extends to the tip of the decklid, where it forms an integrated spoiler. This element adds sportiness but also eliminates the flat decklid of the previous model, which gave the GLE Coupe its hunchback stance. I dont know about you, but I hate the profile of the old SUV. The new GLE Coupe, on the other hand, looks much better. The windshield also has a steeper angle toward the back compared to the regular GLE. This detail provides a more dynamic look and its a better match to the sloping roofline. The rear end of the GLE Coupe is way sexier than before thanks to the new design features borrowed from the regular GLE. The slim, elongated taillights are wider toward the fenders and thinner inside the tailgate, a design that works great with the arched spoiler design. The center fascia is almost clean, but the lower section is shaped around the black bumper that mimics the shape of a larger diffuser. Down below, an aluminum-look element incorporates small vertical blades and trapezoidal exhaust pipes at the corner. At 194.4 inches long, the new GLE Coupe is 1.5 inches longer than its predecessor. The SUV is 79.1 inches wide, only 0.3 inches wider than the old model. The wheelbase is also 0.8 inches longer than before, which translates into a bit of extra room inside the cabin. But despite being longer than its forerunner, the GLE Coupe remains shorter than the standard GLE. Specifically, its wheelbase is 2.4 inches shorter. Mercedes claims that the more compact size enables sportier handling compared to the regular GLE. 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe vs 2019 Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe exterior dimensions 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe 2019 Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe Wheelbase 117.9 117.1 Length 194.4 192.9 Width 79.1 78.9 Height 70.7 68.1 Track (front / rear) 66.10 / 66.77 65.3 / 67.9 Interior Borrowed from standard GLE Big infotainment display Digital instrument cluster Sporty seats standard Premium upholstery MBUX infotainment system Better legroom Decent trunk vs the competition The upper dash is wrapped in Artico leather as standard, so you get a luxurious interior no matter the trim. Just like the exterior, the interior of the GLE Coupe is an almost exact copy of the regular GLE SUV, which in turns borrows some cues from the E-Class sedan. As seen on recently introduced Mercs, the digital instrument cluster and the infotainment display are set next to each other and form a massive display that runs over half the length of the dashboard. In reality, there are two separate 12.3-inch screens. The rest of the dashboard looks clean overall, with a smooth passenger side and a glossy center stripe that houses four rectangular A/C vents. Just below the vents theres a thin console with controls for the air conditioning system. The upper dash in wrapped in Artico leather as standard, so you get a luxurious interior no matter the trim. Also, every model comes with sporty seats as standard, so youll enjoy good lateral support. The seats are also wrapped in Artico leather, while the steering wheel features Nappa leather. The center console is very SUV specific. Not only tall and wide, it also includes grab handles. The design is identical to the GLE, as are the door panels. But unlike the regular GLE, you can order the GLE Coupe with an exclusive upholstery that combines Nappa leather seat covers and door panels in Classic Red and black. MBUX features voice control that recognizes and understands all commands related to infotainment and vehicle control. As far as tech goes, the package comes from the regular GLE, so the GLE Coupe includes the MBUX infotainment system too. Now offered in all Mercs, MBUX is smarter than ever and includes more features than any infotainment system from the past. It features voice control that recognizes and understands all commands related to infotainment and vehicle control, as well as gesture control, so you can now access various features without having to press on the screen. Moving over to passenger room, the slightly longer wheelbase creates more legroom for rear-seat passengers. Mercedes-Benz doesnt say how much more legroom there is compared to the old model, but its safe to assume that the difference is minor, probably around an inch or so. But the Germans did say that entering the SUV is now easier thanks to an extra 1.4 inches of room. The new GLE Coupe also offers a total of 1.4 cubic feet of stowage space in the cabin. The trunk has enough space for 23.1 cubic feet of luggage, which is similar to the outgoing model. As you might have already guessed, the coupe layout makes the trunk smaller than the regular GLE, which offers 29.1 cubic feet. With the rear seats folded flat, trunk capacity increases to 63.2 cubic feet. Thats 2.5 cubic feet more than the old model, but a 9.4-cubic-foot decrease compared to the regular GLE. Mercedes-Benz claims that the GLE Coupe offers best-in-segment trunk space behind the first-row seats. But is this true? Looking at the competition, we can see that Mercedes isnt lying. The BMW X6 offers 59.6 cubic feet, the Audi Q8 comes with 62 cubic feet, while the Porsche Cayenne Coupe boasts 54.4 cubic feet. So the GLE Coupe wins by 3.6, 1.2, and 8.8 cubic feet, respectively. But when it comes to space behind the second row, the GLE Coupe offers less room than the BMW X6. Specifically, the X6 offers 27.4 cubic feet, 4.3 more than the GLE Coupe. On the other hand, the GLE Coupe is a bit more spacious than the Audi Q8 and Porsche Cayenne Coupe, rated at 21.4 and 21.2 cubic feet respectively. Thats an extra 1.7 and 1.9 cubic feet for the GLE Coupe. Drivetrain New gas engines Diesel options in Europe Nine-speed automatic 4Matic all-wheel drive Up to 483 horsepower Up to 516 pound-feet of torque On par with the competition AMG versions to follow The GLE Coupe was launched with a couple of diesel choices. Thats because it debuted in Europe. First up is the GLE Coupe 350 d, powered by a 3.0-liter inline-six oil burner that cranks out 268 horsepower and 443 pound-feet of torque. A more powerful version called the GLE 400 d features the same engine, but rated at 326 horses and 516 pound-feet of twist . Both these engines comply with the Euro 6 standard for diesels thanks to an additional selective catalytic reduction converter with an ammonia slip catalyst in the exhaust tract. Merecedes-Benz GLE Coupe - diesel lineup GLE 350 d 4MATIC Coupe GLE 400 d 4MATIC Coupe Number of cylinders/arrangement 6/in-line 6/in-line Displacement 2925 2925 Rated output 268 HP 326 HP at engine speed 3200-4600 3600-4200 Rated torque 443 LB-FT 516 LB-FT at engine speed 1200-3000 1200-3200 Compression ratio 15.5: 1 15.5: 1 Acceleration 0-100 km/h (seconds) 6.6 5.7 Top speed (km/h) 226 240 These oil burners enable the GLE Coupe to compete with similar offerings from BMW. The X6 is available in xDrive30d trim with 261 horses and 457 pound-feet and in M50d trim with 394 horsepower and 561 pound-feet of twist. Audi also offers a couple of diesels with the Q8. Theres the 45 TDI with 228 horsepower and 369 pound-feet and the 50 TDI with 282 horsepower and 443 pound-feet. In the U.S., the GLE Coupe could arrive with three gasoline engines, not including the AMG models. The base model will be called the GLE 350 and feature a turbocharged, 2.0-liter four-cylinder that generates 255 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque. Next up, the GLE 450 will deliver 362 horses and 369 pound-feet from a 3.0-liter inline six engine and an EQ Boost system. The GLE 580 will generate even more oomph thanks to a 4.0-liter V-8 engine that cranks out 483 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque. 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe gasoline lineup 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLE 350 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLE 450 Engine Type 2.0L Inline-4 3.0L Inline-6 with EQ Boost Engine Material Aluminum-Alloy Aluminum-Alloy Valvetrain / Arrangement DOHC, 4-valves per cylinder DOHC, 4-valves per cylinder Displacement (cc) 1,991 2,999 Bore (in / mm) 3.27 / 83.0 3.27 / 83.0 Stroke (in / mm) 3.62 / 92.0 3.64 / 92.4 Compression Ratio 10.5 : 1 10.5 : 1 Horsepower @ rpm 255 @ 5,800 6,100 362 @ 5,500 6,100 Torque @ rpm 273 @ 1,800 4,000 369 @ 1,600 4,000 Redline (rpm) 6,500 6,800 0-60 mph (seconds) 7.0 est. (4MATIC: 7.1 est.) 5.5 est. Top Speed (mph) 130 (electronically limited) 130 (electronically limited) Mercedes-Benz GLE 580 specifications Engine 4.0L V8 biturbo engine with EQ Boost Horsepower 483 hp @ 5,500 rpm Torque 516 lb-ft @ 2,000-4,000 rpm EQ Boost HP 21 HP EQ Boost Torque 184 LB-FT 0 to 60 mph 4.9 seconds All these powertrains provide good alternatives to the competition. The BMW X6, for instance, features a 3.0-liter rated at 335 horsepower and 332 pound-feet in the xDrive40i, while the Audi Q8 comes with a 3.0-liter V-6 rated at 335 horsepower and 369 pound-feet in the 55 TFSI model. All engines mate to the already familiar 9G-Tronic, nine-speed automatic transmission, which features a transfer case with an electronically controlled multi-plate clutch . When paired with 4Matic all-wheel drive, it allows a variable transfer of drive torque from zero to 100 percent between the front and rear axles. Chassis and suspension The suspension is obviously taken from the regular GLE. The coupe-style SUV comes with the same steel suspension chassis as standard. Its stiffer than the old model, it features improved geometry, and provides better shielding from vibrations coming from the road surface. Optionally, you can go for the AirMatic suspension with adaptive adjustable damping, a sportier setup, and the self-leveling feature. Mercedes-Benz also offers an E-Active Body Control option, which can individually control spring and damping rated at each wheel to reduce body roll, pitching, and squat. Combined with Road Surface Scan and the curve inclination function, E-Active Body Control improves ride comfort on just about any surface as well as dynamics at high speeds in highway driving conditions. Prices Pricing for the new-generation GLE Coupe is not yet available, because Mercedes-Benz is still selling the old model in the United States. The outgoing coupe starts from $71,350, but thats because the range starts with the AMG GLE 43 model. The new-gen GLE Coupe should arrive with a non-AMG version in base trim that should be a bit more affordable. The entry-level SUV should start from around $65,000. Competition The vehicle that established this niche back in 2007, the X6 is now in its third generation, fresh for the 2020 model year. Sportier than before on the outside, the X6 is packed with state-of-the-art technology. Like before, it borrows most of its interior, features, and technology from the BMW X5. The X6 is available with a variety of engines globally. On the gasoline front, the xDrive40i comes with a 3.0-liter inline-six engine rated at 335 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque. Move higher on the trim ladder and youll find the M50i, powered by a 4.4-liter V-8 good for 523 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of twist. BMW also offers two diesel mills: heres the xDrive30d with a 3.0-liter inline-six rated at 261 horses and 457 pound-feet and the M50d with a quad-turbo inline-six that cranks out 394 horsepower and 561 pound-feet of twist. The X6 is available with gasoline engines only in the United States and retails from $64,300. Read our full review of the 2020 BMW X6 Unlike the GLE Coupe and the X6, the Q8 is a new nameplate. Audi joined the coupe SUV market a few years later, as the Q8 went in production only a couple of years ago, in 2018. Although its based on the Q7, it looks notably different thanks to a much more aggressive front fascia, a sleek rear end, and a profile that pays tribute to the iconic Audi Quattro of the 1980s. The engine lineup is obviously borrowed from the Q7, starting with the 3.0-liter V-6 in the 55 TFSI model. This engine cranks out 335 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque. On the diesel front, you can pick between the 45 TDI, powered by a 3.0-liter V-6 with 228 horses and 369 pound-feet, and the 50 TDI, powered by the same engine but rated at 282 horsepower and 443 pound-feet of twist. Just like the BMW X6, the Audi Q8 is only available with gasoline engines in the United States. Pricing starts from $68,200. Read our full story on the 2020 Audi Q8 Porsche launched the first coupe version of the Cayenne during the third generation. Its essentially identical to the standard Cayenne, but with a sleeker rear section and overall it looks a bit better than the competition thanks to its 911-inspired elements. Drivetrains are obviously shared with the standard Cayenne, so the base model comes with a 3.0-liter V-6 rated at 335 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque. Porsche also offers an S version with a twin-turbo, 2.9-liter V-6 that delivers 434 horsepower and 406 pound-feet of twist. Theres also a Turbo and a Turbo S E-Hybrid, but these variants are more suited to compete against Mercedes-AMG, BMW M, and Audi RS competitors. The Cayenne Coupe retails from $75,300 in the United States. Read our full review of the 2020 Porsche Cayenne Coupe Conclusion The GLE Coupe came to be in 2015 as the first true competitor for the BMW X6. But the Merc wasnt as popular as the Bimmer, which had far more years on the market and looked a bit better. The new-generation GLE Coupe fixes many of the old models design issues and adds enough technology to put the SUV on par with the competition. While it might not look as good as the Audi Q8 yes, Im being subjective here its a cool option to the BMW X6 now that the hunchback rear end was replaced with a more organic and sporty design. The GLE Coupe is equally solid in the drivetrain compartment and will be followed by AMG versions, so BMW has plenty of things to worry about. Gangster Ravi Pujari arrested in South Africa, extradited India pti-PTI Bengaluru, Feb 23: Fugitive gangster Ravi Pujari has been arrested in South Africa and being brought to India by a team of officials, including senior IPS officers from Karnataka, a top police official said on Sunday. Pujari, wanted in many cases including extortion and murder in different parts of the country, including Karnataka, and been on the run for over 15 years, was deported to Senegal in West Africa following his arrest and later extradited. He had jumped bail in Senegal last year after being arrested there. (We are) coming with him from Senegal. Now in Paris. (We are) coming by Air France and (would be) there (in India) by midnight, the police official, part of the team, told PTI. Pujari, who hails from Karnataka, was likely to be brought here by Monday morning, police sources said. The National Investigation Agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Research and Analysis Wing would join the investigation, the sources said. According to police, the gangster, facing over 200 cases including murder and extortion, was arrested in January last year by the Senegal authorities after remaining elusive. Despite efforts of Indian officials to get him extradited then, a local court had granted him bail and Pujari later fled to South Africa. Police sources on Sunday said the gangster was nabbed from a village in a joint operation by the South African and Senegal police. After he was brought to Senegal, the Indian team completed extradition formalities, they added. Pujari was initially associated with gangster Chhota Rajan, but he had also worked for fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. By Associated Press LONDON: The US government and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will face off Monday in a high-security London courthouse, a decade after WikiLeaks infuriated American officials by publishing a trove of classified military documents. A judge at Woolwich Crown Court will begin hearing arguments from lawyers for US authorities, who want to try Assange on espionage charges that carry a maximum sentence of 175 years in prison. The extradition hearing follows years of subterfuge, diplomatic dispute and legal drama that have led the 48-year-old Australian from fame as an international secret-spiller through self-imposed exile inside the Ecuadorean'Embassy in s Londsy to incarceration in a maximum-security British prison. Assange has been indicted in the US on 18 charges over the publication of classified documents. Prosecutors say he conspired with US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to hack into a Pentagon computer and release hundreds of thousands of secret diplomatic cables and military files on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. US authorities say WikiLeaks' activities put American lives in danger. Assange argues he was acting as a journalist entitled to First Amendment protection, and says the leaked documents exposed US military wrongdoing. Among the files published by WikiLeaks was video of a 2007 Apache helicopter attack by American forces in Baghdad that killed 11 people, including two Reuters journalists. Journalism organisations and civil liberties groups including Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders say the charges against Assange set a chilling precedent for freedom of the press. What we have is an assault on journalism, left-wing Greek lawmaker Yanis Varoufakis said at an Assange support march in London on Saturday. The only charge against Julian, hiding behind the nonsense of espionage, is a charge of journalism. Assange's legal saga began in 2010, when he was arrested in London at the request of Sweden, which wanted to question him about allegations of rape and sexual assault made by two women. He refused to go to Stockholm, saying he feared extradition or illegal rendition to the United States or the US prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In 2012, Assange sought refuge inside the Ecuadorean Embassy, where he was beyond the reach of US and Swedish authorities. For seven years Assange led an isolated and increasingly surreal existence in the tiny embassy, which occupies an apartment in an upscale block near the ritzy Harrod's department store. Confined to the building, he occasionally emerged onto a small balcony to address supporters, and received visits from celebrity allies including Lady Gaga and Baywatch actress Pamela Anderson. The relationship between Assange and his hosts eventually soured, and he was evicted in April 2019. British police immediately arrested him for jumping bail in 2012. Sweden dropped the sex crimes investigations in November because so much time had elapsed, but Assange remains in London's Belmarsh Prison as he awaits a decision on the US extradition request. Supporters say the ordeal has harmed Assange's physical and mental health, leaving him with depression, dental problems and a serious shoulder ailment. For his supporters around the world, Assange remains a hero. But many others are critical of the way WikiLeaks has published classified documents without redacting details that could endanger individuals. WikiLeaks has also been accused of serving as a conduit for Russian misinformation, and Assange has alienated some supporters by dallying with populist politicians including Brexit-promoter Nigel Farage. Assange's legal team insists the American case against him is politically motivated. His lawyers say they will present evidence that the Australian was offered a pardon by the Trump administration if he agreed to say Russia wasn't involved in leaking Democratic National Committee emails that were published by WikiLeaks during the 2016 US election campaign. Try fixing your kitchen faucet yourself, until you realize youve spent hours and it still leaks. Or finishing your basement, and then realizing you forgot to leave space for a door. There are some things best left to professionals. While you certainly can do your taxes yourself or through do-it-yourself tax software, there are times when thats not smart. More and more people with complicated situations and businesses are using do-it-yourself tax software to prepare their taxes, and many are having disastrous results. Every year, professional tax preparers see the downside of doing-it-yourself. Often, taxpayers miss out on saving thousands of dollars. Other times, theyll owe penalties. Or, theyll face an IRS audit. One common mistake people make is duplicating deductions, because a question was asked by software multiple times. This may have saved you money upon filing, but when the IRS catches up with the mistake, youll owe money, including penalties. Another mistake that often occurs is that tax filers will omit income because questions werent clear. They also fail to compare multi-year tax returns, which could have uncovered errors and omissions. People forget to enter investment gains and losses, but they end up being audited by the IRS after federal document matching identifies errors. The IRS document matching program is designed to detect people who under-report or dont report income. Erroneously reporting realized gains/losses within self-managed retirement investment accounts is another error that causes problems for taxpayers, and consequences with the IRS. Sometimes taxpayers are utterly shocked when the tax software company will not stand by its products. Theyre also surprised the software company will limit reimbursements to only the cost of the software. If youve downloaded the software, and are having trouble even understanding the questions the system is asking as you begin to file, its a good idea to idea to seek help. Realize that tax software will not highlight potential errors in year-end W-2s, 1099s and investment statements. The software will not help determine whether multiple states will seek to tax the reported income. It also will not discuss how to find reasonable cause penalty waivers that frequently are provided by government agencies. Sometimes, do-it-yourself tax filers lose out because they dont weigh alternatives, and they miss the opportunity to use IRAs, SEPs, HSAs and other options to reduce tax liability. People also commonly lose out when they inaccurately calculate deductions and credits. Deductions, like charitable donations, can reduce your taxable income, and tax credits directly lower the amount of taxes owed. Realize, too, that the tax code changes every year. In 2017, Congress made the largest overall changes in 30 years creating countless opportunities for errors. The list of mistakes that can occur is endless. Consider carefully whether you want to risk it. Just like botching your home renovations will cost you more in the long run, the same goes for filing your taxes only you dont want the tax man after you. Russell Abrahms, CPA, has been providing tax, accounting and advisory services for more than 25 years. He is based in Fairfield and can be reached at 203-368-4850 or by email at Russ@RLAbrahmsCPA.com. Thai security forces trek through the Tawe mountain range in southern Narathiwat province during pursuit operations against suspected insurgents, Feb. 23, 2020. Thai security forces killed five suspected insurgents Sunday during a clash with gunmen believed behind an attack on a security outpost last month in the countrys insurgency-hit Deep South region, officials said. The clash took place while troops were pursuing separatist rebels who killed a defense volunteer and injured seven others on Jan. 12 in Sukhirin district of Narathiwat province, 1,193 km (745 miles) south of Bangkok, the military said. Security forces operated according to plan and killed five suspects, Col. Pramote Prom-in, spokesman of the armys southern command, told BenarNews. We believe there were seven to eight in the group, but the rest managed to escape. The firefight was the biggest clash in the border region since secessionist insurgents killed 15 people in twin attacks in nearby Yala province on Nov. 5 last year. Authorities said they were investigating whether the five men slain on Sunday were also involved in those attacks. Government forces did not suffer any casualties, according to a police investigator. Pramote said the bodies of the gunmen had been taken to a security facility for identification, autopsy and forensic tests. Capt. Kobkiat Manichote, an investigator at Cho-I-rong police station in Narathiwat, said security forces recovered six rifles after the clash that took place at I-steer village in the Tawe mountain range. Our combined forces were stalking the hideouts of the insurgents based on intelligence tip-off, but they saw [the officers] and opened fire and both sides clashed, Kobkiat told BenarNews. The Nov. 5 ambushes that killed 15 a mix of police officers, village defense volunteers and civilians were the deadliest since 2004 in the Deep South, an area that borders Malaysia and encompasses Pattani, Narathiwat and Yala provinces as well as four districts in Songkhla. Nearly 7,000 people have died in violence in the mainly Muslim and Malay-speaking region since the separatist insurgency reignited 15 years ago. Ladbroke Ireland, the Irish subsidiary of the betting brand owned by GVC Holdings, has reported profit before tax of 5.6m for 2018, up from a 580,000 loss the previous year. According to the accounts for 2018, which cover 139 Irish Ladbrokes branches and its commercial off-track betting, an impairment charge of 3.5m in 2017 did not repeat in 2018, boosting its profit. The profit was also helped by improved average betting slip take, which increased to nearly 13, up from just over 10. Some 4.5m was transferred to the company's reserves, which stood at 31.6m. Ladbroke also reported that revenue, after payouts, had grown across its branches and off-field betting outlets to 45.5m, up from 43.6m. The accounts show that Ladbroke employed 643 people in 2018, down 30 on the previous year. Total wages paid to employees came to nearly 13.4m for 2018, up marginally on the previous year. Ladbroke Ireland also listed two directors, who received total pay of nearly 447,000, an increase of 117,000. The company reduced the carrying value of its licences by more than 1m, valuing them at 10.1m by the end of 2018. A spokesman for GVC said 2018 had been a positive year for the Irish subsidiary: "Ladbrokes is a major player in the [Irish retail] market and we expect it to continue to be so going forward." In GVC's interim results for the six months ended June 2019, the group reported net gaming revenue had hit 1.8bn (2.1bn). It reported that net gaming revenue had grown by 1pc over the six months in Ireland, compared with the previous year. In a trading update delivered last month, GVC said earnings before tax and interest for 2019 were at the top end of its expectations of between 670m and 680m. At least nine people were killed and 50 others injured after a 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck the Turkey-Iran border region, authorities said Sunday, Trend reports citing Daily Sabah. According to Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), the quake struck the Iranian city of Khoy in the country's West Azerbaijan province at 8:53 a.m. local time reaching a depth of 5.2 kilometers. The authorities reported several further quakes measuring up to a magnitude of 3.9. The province borders both Turkey and Iraq. Later on Sunday second 5.9 magnitude earthquake shook Iran's Khoy near the Turkish border. Speaking to reporters, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said three children and four adults were killed in eastern Van province's Baskule district. He later said two additional people has died. Soylu said AFAD teams were quickly dispatched to the earthquake-hit villages near Van to rescue people stuck under rubble. Shortly after Soylu's statement, Van Governorate confirmed all survivors under the debris were rescued by first responders. The minister said experts at the scene were still assessing damage to the buildings and urged citizens to avoid entering damaged buildings. Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said at least 50 people had been injured, including nine who are in a critical condition. Koca said 25 ambulances, a medical helicopter and 13 emergency teams had been sent to the region. AFAD said 144 tents for families had been dispatched. TV channels showed footage of locals and soldiers digging through the rubble of collapsed buildings as families fearing further tremors sat in snowy streets. Foreign diplomatic missions in Ankara conveyed their condolences over the deadly earthquake. The Delegation of the European Union said in a tweet "it stands in solidarity with the people and authorities of Turkey in their hour of need." The U.S. and British embassies in Ankara extended condolences to the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery to the wounded. Irans official IRNA news agency said the earthquake affected 43 villages in the mountainous Qotour region. It reported 75 residents were injured but didnt say if any were in critical condition. Hours after the quake in Iran, Turkey was shaken again by another, smaller earthquake. A magnitude 4.5 earthquake hit the western province of Akhisar at 3:40 p.m. local time, according to AFAD. No damage or casualties have been reported in Manisa or in the neighboring provinces. 15:34 (GMT+4) Seven people were killed on Sunday in eastern Turkey's Van province after an earthquake hit neighboring Iran, Trend reports citing Xinhua. Four adults and three children died in the earthquake, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said. Five Turkish citizens were taken to hospitals with injuries, he said noting that the search and rescue efforts continue. There are buildings destroyed in the area, Ozcan Isik, local mukhtar of Baskale district told semi-official Anadolu Agency. An earthquake of magnitude 5.7 struck West Azerbaijan Province in northwestern Iran on Sunday, hitting Turkish-Iranian border as well. A powerful earthquake hit eastern Turkey in January causing the deaths of 41 people and injuring 1,600 others. New Delhi, Feb 23 : Even as the world community is racing against time to find an effective solution to contain the novel coronavirus, several political leaders and even others including doctors and researchers have pinned hope that the virus would not be this deadly with the arrival of summer. US President Donald Trump earlier this month said that the coronavirus will "go away" in April. The logic he cited was that the heat generally kills this kind of virus. Trump is not only only politician to express hope that things will improve in the summers. Britain's Health Secretary Matt Hancock had also reportedly said that the virus could be less transmissible during summer. And it is not just a handful of politicians who think summer will bring some good news. "Novel coronavirus came from a wild animal. Infections which happen in winters are respiratory in nature. We get a viral infection at least twice in a year. The difference was that this strain of coronavirus was a resistant strain. However the infection rate is going down. By summer, it is expected that the strain will come down," Vikas Maurya, Director and Head of Department of Pulmonology and Sleep Disorders at Fortis Hospital, Shalimar Bagh, New Delhi, told IANS. The novel coronavirus which has so far killed over 2,400 people in China has already spread to over two dozen countries, leading to cancellations of of number of high-profile international business events, badly hurting travel and tourism, while adversely impacting several other sectors of the economy due to restrictions in China. According to Neha Gupta, Consultant, Infectious Diseases, at Medanta hospital in Gurugram, the types of infections that coronavirus has caused generally occur "during winter or early spring". "Looking at the outbreak of the coronavirus, we expect summers should curtail it as hot temperatures usually kill viruses," she said. But even if the infection rate come down during the summer, is there a chance that the scare could return in the next winter? Some believe that this could happen, but they hope that by that time the world should be better equipped to deal with the virus. "It will become a known strain and a registered strain which can be dealt with effectively. At the moment there is no vaccine or treatment for the virus, but research is ongoing and maybe in a year there will be a vaccine or drug," Maurya said. It should here be noted that these are only expectations and no one is actually sure that the virus will certainly die out during summer. So the international medical community is not letting complacency set in in their efforts to find effective solutions to deal with the virus. According to Gupta, the symptoms of coronavirus infections are cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties, pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome and kidney failure. "What we suggest is that since this is a respiratory virus we should know cough etiquette and ensure hand hygiene. When we cough droplets fall and then if we touch surfaces which are infected cause the virus to enter our body. Having disposable tissues and washing your hands is of immense importance," said Maurya. Gupta also stressed on the importance of wearing masks, cough etiquette and hand hygiene to stay safe, while asking people to avoid close contact with anyone suffering from acute respiratory infections and avoiding visits to live animal markets. Actor and director Clint Eastwood, a longtime supporter of Republican candidates, appeared to back Democratic candidate Michael Bloomberg for president and criticized President Donald Trump's behavior in office in an interview published in The Wall Street Journal on Friday. "The best thing we could do is just get Mike Bloomberg in there," the Hollywood conservative said of the former New York mayor, according to the Journal. Eastwood told the newspaper that he approves of "certain things" that Trump has done as president, without going into further detail. He said, however, that he wishes Trump would behave "in a more genteel way, without tweeting and calling people names," the Journal reported. "I would personally like for him to not bring himself to that level," he told the paper. According to the Journal, Eastwood, who described himself as a libertarian, lamented that domestic politics has become "ornery." In an interview with Esquire during the 2016 campaign, Eastwood was asked how he'd vote between Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. "That's a tough one, isn't it? I'd have to go for Trump ... you know, 'cause she's declared that she's gonna follow in Obama's footsteps. There's been just too much funny business on both sides of the aisle. She's made a lot of dough out of being a politician," he said. Eastwood also famously spoke at the 2012 Republican National Convention, in which he addressed an "invisible" President Barack Obama sitting in an empty chair. The Academy Award-winning director has held political office himself. He was elected mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, in 1986 and served a two-year term. Bloomberg made a late entry into the 2020 race and has injected millions of dollars of his own money into his campaign. The former mayor has pitched himself as a moderate alternative to the more progressive candidates in the race. Because of his late entry, Bloomberg has chosen to skip the early nominating contests and will first appear on the ballot in the Super Tuesday contests March 3. The jury is still out on whether French billionaire Xavier Niel got a bargain or not when he bought a controlling stake in Eir. As the telco announced half-year results during the week, on the surface everything looked good. But below the water line, there is a lot more work going on to maintain earnings growth at the former State monopoly. First, here is the good stuff from the surface. Eir reported a 3pc increase in earnings (ebitda) to 287m in the six months to December 2019. Bear in mind this is nearly 50m more in ebitda than the company reported for the same period in 2017, before Niel took control. Eir's big capital expenditure on fibre-to-the-home continues, with 455,000 homes passed, and an increased take-up rate of 38pc. Mobile earnings grew. In Niel's time, the firm has exited the bogged-down National Broadband Plan, has settled a long-running dispute with ComReg, cut costs, and continues to invest. This is all good stuff, under the stewardship of chief executive Carolan Lennon. But below the surface, none of these things have come easily. Revenues in the first half of the year fell 17m to 617m. In revenue terms, Eir remains a shrinking business, with revenues having fallen from 638m for the same period two years earlier. Earnings growth is being hammered out largely through cutting costs. If you make a bigger profit by taking in less money, you have to be smashing costs. But this cannot continue into the long term. Non-pay costs were cut by a sizeable 23pc to 108m in the six months to last December. Eir is achieving lower levels of customer churn in its mobile business, which is good, but its average revenue per user fell. It seems that competitive pricing is paying off. However, ebitda at its fixed-line business, which generated 241m of its total 287m in earnings, fell. If you look below the earnings level, you have a business generating around 617m of revenues in six months, but turning out a pre-tax profit of 44m on it. Current management have been adept at squeezing costs out, while shareholders are happy to invest through capital expenditure for the future, as Niel has done with Iliad, his listed French telco. But over at Iliad, investors have not been impressed and Niel increased his holding through a 1.3bn share placing and buyback, following a poor share price performance. Minority shareholders at Eir were beneficiaries of a 400m dividend early last year, funded largely through debt refinancing. None of this went to Niel. However, Eir's accounts show that in the three months to December 2019, a further dividend of 80m was paid to "equity shareholders". This payout, together with the repayment of a credit facility of 100m, contributed to a 157m reduction in net cash in the company's coffers. When Niel and Iliad took a controlling stake in the business, it valued Eir at 3.5bn, including debt. Net debt at the end of December was still around 2.5bn, following decent growth in earnings, but 480m paid out in dividends after debt refinancing. Niel may well have laid down the foundations for a decent long-term return at Eir, but he might have to wait a while before availing of it. Housing challenge for new govt cannot be underestimated It can be very difficult to get a handle on what is really going on in the housing market. It clearly remains dysfunctional, but is it getting better or worse? There can be too much confusing data about rents, sale prices, new-builds, cuckoo funds, planning permissions and everything else. The Construction Industry Federation (CIF) produced one of the most interesting pieces of research in the week. It said that of the 21,000 new homes built in Ireland last year, only about 8,000 were offered for sale. It said the State acquired at least 4,400 for social housing and investment. This was made up of local authorities receiving 2,229 homes through Part V planning requirements, and the State bought or leased a further 2,163 new dwellings for social housing. The CIF says investment funds bought 95pc of the 3,644 apartments completed last year. The remaining 5,000 or so homes were one-off houses, built by the owners and never offered for sale. Put together, it paints a picture of slow progress on social houses, and very little progress for those interested in buying a new home or apartment. If you cannot land a mortgage and buy a house at current prices, and you do not qualify for social housing, you really are banjaxed. Government initiatives are either too late when it comes to rent controls, or too little when it comes to affordable housing. The Land Development Agency (LDA), set up a year and a half ago, still lacks underpinning legislation to allow it to go about its remit. The LDA is attaching itself to a large number of social and affordable housing schemes but they remain at very early stages. Only one of the projects listed on its website has even had a planning application submitted. Hundreds of potential homes are being shot down at the planning stage, at times with the support of local politicians. Yet developers like Cairn Homes, with good sites, a good track record and plenty of finance, are doing share buybacks for investors rather than ploughing ahead full-steam. This may reflect a lack of capacity to build any more projects at once, or simply a plan to alleviate concerns about a housing market that is in need of a correction. There are signs of a big softening of property prices at the top end of the market, especially in Dublin. However, if someone came along and built a large number of affordable houses, they would be snapped up by eager punters. Whoever forms the new government will have to throw a lot of money at housing. But there are real question marks about whether lack of money is the problem. Capacity constraints, developers sitting on sites, not enough skilled workers at realistic cost, and a reluctance by local authorities to get involved in building social housing are all contributing factors. The sector will remain dysfunctional for some time. UK's immigration policy is ripe for a low-key row-back So Boris has pulled up the drawbridge on cheap immigrant labour after Brexit. Businesses are worried that they won't be able to access low-price, low-skilled labour in a few years. This is a real problem in particular sectors, from health and hospitality, to food and agriculture. However, perhaps Johnson is preparing to quietly row back after making the big announcement. He has left the door open to exceptions where there are real issues in certain sectors. That list of sectors could quietly grow in the years ahead, and many might not notice the steady row-back. Investors weren't that worried. Dalata, which has several hotels in the UK and is building more, didn't see any share price dip. Neither did sandwich maker Greencore. British home secretary Priti Patel said businesses should respond by investing in automation. Of course, automation is coming anyway to many of these industries, but accelerating it would just mean fewer people working at all - whether they are British or from anywhere else. Good luck with that, Priti. Turkey on Sunday announced it would temporarily close its border with neighboring Iran as alarm grows over a spike in new coronavirus infections there. We have decided to shut the land border temporarily after an increase in the number of cases in our neighbor Iran, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca told reporters. The land and railway borders will be closed from 1700 (1400 GMT) on Sunday, the minister said. He said air traffic from Iran into Turkey would also be halted from 2000 (1700 GMT) on Sunday but departures to Iran could continue. Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan said exports from Turkey to Iran and transactions continued in a controlled way, in comments published by the official Anadolu news agency. Iran confirmed eight deaths from the novel coronavirus on Sunday, the highest toll of any country outside China. Koca said Turkey was alarmed by the growing number of cases and forced to take the measures after speaking with the Iranian authorities. There is not yet any confirmed incident in Turkey, with Koca saying that five suspicious cases treated in the Van province on the Iran border were negative. SPRINGFIELD Newly released statistics show that, despite being among the busiest courthouses in the state, the Roderick L. Ireland Courthouse on State Street has been financially neglected in comparison with its sleepier counterparts. In fact, since 1999, Hampden County ranks near the bottom of $1.4 billion in expenditures on maintenance, repairs and new construction for courthouses across 13 of the states 14 counties. Data was not available for Nantucket County. While the numbers are not broken down by courthouse, Hampden Countys 20-year total was $23 million dwarfed by most other counties and less than 2% of total spending. State Sen. James Welch, D-West Springfield, who pushed the Massachusetts Trial Court to release the figures amid publicity around Ireland Courthouse employees health problems, is not pleased. When I first read the report I was angry, Welch said of the figures the state released. One of the factors they say they consider is regional equity. So I said, OK, lets see if thats really true. Thats one of the reasons we asked for the numbers. But it looks to me that regional equity is not really a consideration at all. Topping the list in terms of total courthouse spending since 1999 are Suffolk, Middlesex and Worcester counties, at $305 million, $296 million and $194 million, respectively. Four counties received less money than Hampden County: Berkshire ($12 million), Hampshire ($7 million), Barnstable ($3 million) and Dukes ($60,000). Franklin County, at $77 million, was tops in terms of per-capita spending. The $66 million Franklin County Justice Center in Greenfield opened in 2017 after major renovation and expansion of a 1931 courthouse. Chart by Greg Saulmon / The Republican Source: Massachusetts Trial Court and U.S. Census Bureau The Ireland Courthouse is the second busiest in the state, according to Trial Court statistics. It was built in the 1970s. Many of the newer courthouses across the state replaced turn-of-the-century buildings. According to the Trial Courts Capital Master Plan, neither the Ireland Courthouse nor any other courthouse in Hampden County is on the list for Phase 1A, which calls for feasibility studies and new construction elsewhere in the state out to at least 2024. The only place Springfields bustling courthouse appears in the 161-page report is in a photo illustrating the executive summary. Local lawmakers and Ireland Courthouse employees appeared hopeful that a report released in January detailing indoor environmental conditions might nudge the building toward the top of the list for consideration of new construction. The report said that the courthouse is long in the tooth, with pockets of mold everywhere and bad ventilation. But the building isnt making its employees sick, the report concluded. The sick courthouse theory garnered attention when Judge William Boyle in 2018 publicly announced he had been diagnosed with Lou Gehrigs disease, or ALS. Boyle died the next year. His predecessor, Judge Robert Kumor, died of the same disease in 2013. A third judge, Alphonse Turcotte, died of ALS in 2003. All three used the same office, according to Boyles wife, Rose Boyle. I cant believe theyve just done ... nothing at all, Rose Boyle said during a recent interview, referring to state officials. Welch said former state Sen. Gale Candaras years ago secured funding for a feasibility study to examine the cost, necessity and wisdom of building a new courthouse. But, after relinquishing her seat amid an unsuccessful run for Hampden County Register of Probate, Candaras left the Statehouse, and the money got swept back into the general fund, according to Welch. This week, Welch filed a proposal for a new bill titled An Act to protect the health and livelihood of current and future employees of the Roderick L. Ireland Courthouse and Hampden Juvenile Court. The Ireland Courthouse contains Springfield District Court, Hampden Superior Court, Hampden Probate Court and the Hampden County Registry of Deeds. The juvenile court is next door. If passed, Welchs bill would bar the state from further spending on courthouses in any county without first financing a study to explore new construction in Springfield. Theres been serious neglect in Hampden County, Welch said. The building is in deplorable shape, and anything short of a new courthouse as a resolution at this point would be not only disrespectful to the employees at the courthouse but disrespectful to the taxpayers. Welchs proposal also would bar the state from requiring that employees of those courthouses take accrued sick time for diagnosed respiratory illnesses, including but not limited to chronic sinusitis and respiratory infections. Thirdly, the bill would bar employees from being disciplined, suspended, terminated, retaliated against or otherwise affected because of the employees participation in reimbursement for any sick time earned as a result of a diagnosed respiratory illness." Flash A Canadian who returned to Canada Friday after being aboard a coronavirus-stricken cruise ship in Japan has tested negative for the illness while under quarantine, local media reported Saturday. The person was feeling unwell after arriving in Canada and was tested for the virus but the results came back negative. No other details were provided. A plane chartered by the Canadian government brought 129 Canadians and their families to Canadian Forces Base Trenton in Ontario on Friday morning for a 14-day quarantine. They had been confined to cabins aboard the Diamond Princess Ship for weeks. They were all tested for the virus by the Japanese side before they left the ship, which has been docked in Yokohama, Japan since early February. None of them showed symptoms of the novel coronavirus upon arrival in Canada. White House advisor Ivanka Trump, who is part of a delegation accompanying her father and US President Donald Trump to a visit to India, said on Sunday that she is honoured to return to the country to celebrate the grand friendship between the world's two largest democracies. "Two years after joining @narendramodi at the Global Entrepreneurial Summit in Hyderabad, I am honored to return to India with @POTUS and @FLOTUS to celebrate that the grand friendship between the world's two largest democracies has never been stronger!" Ivanka tweeted. Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner are part of a 12-member delegation accompanying the US President to his maiden two-day visit to India beginning on Monday. Ivanka had last visited India for the Global Entrepreneurship Summit held at Hyderabad in 2017. The remaining 10 members of the delegation accompanying Trump are -- US National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross US Ambassador to India Kenneth Juster, Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette, acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, White House Senior Advisor Stephen Miller, White House Social Media Director Dan Scavino, First Lady Melania Trump's chief of staff Lindsay Reynolds, White House advisor Robert Blair, and White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham. Trump is scheduled to hold delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the national capital on Tuesday evening. The visiting dignitary will also participate in the 'Namaste Trump' event in Ahmedabad and visit Taj Mahal in Agra. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) 'The fines are there to be punitive and give rise to deterrence." This was the first time I had heard this from Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner, Helen Dixon. I've interviewed Dixon many times. One question I always put is: 'Are you going to impose a large fine on a big tech firm?' Usually, she demurs, emphasising corrective measures instead or the exhaustive process that must be undergone. Last week, there was a change of tone. Corrective measures and correct procedure are still crucial, she said. But fines are "inevitable" too. "Under the GDPR, deterrence is a particularly important reason why the fines are included," she told me. "They could have stopped at the corrective measures. But the fines are there to be punitive and give rise to deterrence." How punitive? Like the $5bn (4.6bn) that the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) slapped Facebook with last year? "If you ask whether the FTC fine is relevant [in calculating a fine], it is," she said. "A very relevant factor in terms of what quantum will create deterrence is the level of fines already existing globally in the area." It may be time for Facebook to fasten its seatbelts. To be clear, Dixon is not saying which company a fine might apply to. Nor that it is imminent (except to say that major decisions will land this year). But of the 21 major GDPR investigations her office is conducting into big tech firms, more than half involve Facebook. And the DPC is currently arming itself specifically for the mechanism of fines. It has been procuring 'legal external advice' on how much its fines should be by reference to other jurisdictional fines (like Facebook's $5bn US penalty). It all looks like it adds up to one conclusion. To many, it may seem a long time coming. European privacy regulators and pundits have been sniping at the Irish DPC for a while, wondering why it's taking so long for Dixon to come to a resolution in the big tech investigations. The insinuation is frequently made that Ireland is slow in its process because of its economic dependence on big tech companies. Germany's federal data protection commissioner, Ulrich Kelber, has been explicit in this regard, even suggesting that Ireland's regulatory approach was similar to the 'go-slow' manner adopted by his own country's car regulator in relation to the Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal. Dixon categorically denies this. In our interview, she challenged critics to scrutinise the number of other European GDPR investigations and results to date, specifically cross-border investigations. There are very few. Fines have been "minor", she added. Dixon's analysis isn't an isolated one. Several tech, legal and privacy advocates I've spoken to about this in recent months are wary of fast fines. Without every 't' crossed and 'i' dotted, without every email query adequately answered, without every market analysis survey returned, fines are destined to be appealed. And once that happens, lawyers take over. What do lawyers do? Drag things on for years. What happens as those things are being dragged out? Precedents are delayed; the regulator's authority looks more watery. That is not to say that Facebook, or whatever company is "inevitably" fined here, won't appeal. But it might mean that the appeal will be shorter and less likely to succeed. The privacy boss of one of the world's biggest tech companies recently talked me through how the biggest businesses approach this. "The more thorough their [regulators'] engagement with us is on it, the less room we have to challenge the decision," he said. "And the less we'll want to." My understanding is that some of the big firms are now privately expecting fines. One executive even told me that they'd be welcome in clarifying market rules. Aside from the satisfaction some might take from seeing big tech firms get clobbered for hundreds of millions (or billions), will fines actually work? When the FTC announced its $5bn fine on Facebook last year, most of the reaction focused on its relatively modest impact on the tech giant, a company that makes $5bn in profit every couple of months. This side of the Atlantic, there were also questions about the effectiveness of the FTC sanction. What good is a fine if the company isn't forced to change its own rules as part of the settlement? This is a question the Irish DPC has tried to focus minds on before. GDPR seeks to bring companies into compliance to protect people's privacy as a first core aim. Financial punishment may be necessary as a deterrent, but has always been considered a secondary function, or corollary, of rights enforcement - not the main aim. The problem is that fines focus attention in a way that little else does. A big fine, or even the threat of one, gets worldwide notice. Rightly or wrongly, it is justice 'seen to be done'. (It's also not strictly correct to say that a sanction of billions doesn't rankle with the biggest tech firms. Just ask Apple, a firm three times the size of Facebook and way more profitable, about its 13bn EU back-tax ruling.) So Helen Dixon's office will now be more closely watched than ever. She says that decisions are definitely coming in 2020. It looks increasingly likely there will be big money involved. New Delhi: An Indian Navy MiG aircraft crashed while conducting a routine sortie in Goa on Sunday (February 23). According to officials, no casualties have been reported in the crash. The MiG 29k aircraft was conducting a routine training sortie off the coast of Goa when it crashed at around 10.30 am today. The pilot of the aircraft ejected safely and was rescued. Releasing a statement on the incident, the India Navy said, "An enquiry to investigate the incident has been ordered." FLASH. Today morning at around 1030h a Mig 29k aircraft on a routine training sortie crashed off Goa. The pilot of the aircraft ejected safely and has been recovered. An enquiry to investigate the incident has been ordered.@DefenceMinIndia @SpokespersonMoD SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) February 23, 2020 In November 2019, a MiG-29K fighter jet had crashed soon after take-off from the Goa airport following a bird-hit. On November 16, an Indian Navy MIG trainer aircraft crashed outside a village in Goa. The aircraft crashed on a rocky plateau on the outskirts of Verna, 15 km from the state capital Panaji and a major tragedy was averted as the pilot pointed the aircraft away from populated areas. Even then, both the pilots had ejected safely. The November 2019 crash occurred when the left engine flamed out while the right engine of the aircraft caught fire due to bird hit. US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin attends a session at the Congres center during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, on January 21, 2020. Bernie Sanders' "very, very different" economic plan is unlikely to triumph over President Donald Trump's if he wins the Democratic Party presidential nomination, according to U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Sanders emerged victorious in the "first in the west" Democratic caucus in Nevada on Saturday, cementing his position as the front-runner to take on Trump in November. Based on the most recent polling, Nevada Democrats appear to have given Sanders a resounding victory in the third primary nominating state, with former Vice President Joe Biden and former South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg jostling for second place. "I think the president is in pretty good shape no matter who he runs against," Mnuchin told CNBC's Hadley Gamble at a G-20 summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Sunday. "I would say in the case of Bernie, there are two very, very different economic plans, and I think there is no question the American public like the Trump economic plan and they're seeing that every day." During his decade in the public eye, Julian Assange has shown himself to be an appalling egotist with an ugly sense of entitlement who falls out with almost everyone he meets. At times he has reportedly displayed borderline sociopathic behaviour, made allegedly anti-Semitic statements and, it is claimed, has questionable personal habits. But is the WikiLeaks founder also a dangerous criminal who deserves to be banged up in an American prison for the rest of his natural life? Well, the answer to that is rather more complex. Assange, a 48-year-old Australian national, is wanted by the US Department of Justice on 18 criminal charges: 17 counts of espionage and one of computer hacking. If found guilty of them all, he could be jailed for 175 years. Assange (pictured), a 48-year-old Australian national, is wanted by the US Department of Justice on 18 criminal charges. He is pictured arriving at Westminster Magistrates Court last April In London at the weekend, in advance of Assange's extradition hearing, around 500 of his supporters gathered to protest. Others have argued he should be used as a 'pawn' in the diplomatic row over the death of teenager Harry Dunn in a road accident. The US last month refused a UK extradition request for Anne Sacoolas, the CIA agent who accepted responsibility for the teenager's death but who then fled the country. That is an unlikely development, but the Assange extradition hearing, which begins today at Woolwich Crown Court is a serious undertaking which raises important questions about free speech and human rights. Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, who visited Assange at HMP Belmarsh last weekend and thinks he's a heroic whistleblower, has declared it 'one of the most important and significant political trials of this generation, if not longer'. And there are many British pundits and free speech campaigners who, largely for solid reasons, believe his extradition could have a chilling effect on democracy, possibly leading to the criminalisation of newspapers that publish leaked government documents. So what is the truth? To explore it, first a brief history of this high-profile case. It dates back to 2010, when Assange became an overnight celebrity after his obscure website WikiLeaks released a video titled 'Collateral Murder'. It showed a US Apache helicopter in Baghdad repeatedly firing on a group of men, including a Reuters photographer and his driver, killing 12. Shortly afterwards, a US intelligence analyst called Chelsea Manning (then known as Bradley) with access to classified government databases contacted him. Assange then published almost 490,000 US intelligence files Manning had passed to him related to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and information on Guantanamo Bay detainees. He also made public a tranche of 250,000 US Department of State cables. Julian Assange's father John Shipton and former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis visit the Wikileaks founder at HMP Belmarsh in London today Many helped expose illegal or questionable behaviour by the US, including its role in kidnapping, torture and illegal spying. Assange's supporters, many virulently opposed to the War on Terror, argue that disseminating the information was an act of public service, allowing citizens of the US and its allies to see what governments were doing in their name. In Left-wing circles, he duly became an instant hero. Riding a wave of publicity, Assange who is believed to have four children by various women embarked on an international speaking tour. Then, following a visit to Stockholm in August 2010, local police were contacted by two women who claimed Assange had recently slept with them. Both said their encounters had started on a consensual basis but later turned darker. One claimed he'd intentionally 'damaged' a condom before pinning her down during sex. The other accused him of having unprotected sex with her while she was asleep. With Assange out of the country, Sweden obtained an international arrest warrant. Assange claimed his accusers were part of an international conspiracy to silence him. With the help of wealthy benefactors including Jemima Goldsmith and filmmaker Ken Loach, he was bailed and instructed lawyers to fight the charge. It would prove a losing battle. So on the night of June 19, 2012, he claimed asylum at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London's Knightsbridge. He was in residence until last April when he was booted out and jailed for jumping bail. Fast forward to today: Swedish prosecutors no longer wish to pursue rape charges, but their US counterparts want Assange extradited for his role in leaking and publishing the classified material. Assange is, of course, horrified at the prospect. His legal team, headed by famous human rights lawyer Gareth Peirce, who represented the Guildford Four, will argue the move would, for one, be unlawful under the terms of Britain's 2007 extradition treaty with the US, which contains an exemption for 'political offences'. Julian Assange's father John Shipton gives thumbs up after visiting Julian Assange at HMP Belmarsh in London today They also plan to use 'public denunciations' by senior members of the Trump administration to argue it's impossible for Assange to receive a fair trial. Perhaps awkwardly, on this front, the US is very pointedly choosing not to prosecute Assange for a second leak of hacked documents: a tranche of emails stolen (almost certainly by Russian agents) from Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign and put on WikiLeaks. Donald Trump found this aspect of Assange's work very useful indeed, declaring 'I love WikiLeaks' at rallies. Some have seen this as evidence of Trump colluding with Moscow. Last week, Assange's lawyers even claimed former Republican congressman Dana Rohrabacher offered him clemency in return for publicly denying Russia was involved in the leak (though Mr Rohrabacher and Washington dispute this). Elsewhere in the extradition case is an intriguing sub-plot involving allegations a private security firm, Undercover Global SL, installed secret recording devices at the Ecuadorean Embassy and passed footage on to the CIA. Assange claims this not only breached his human rights, but means the US authorities possess recordings of conversations he had with his lawyers, again making it impossible for him to receive a fair trial. The central thrust of his lawyers' extradition challenge, however, revolves around the argument that to criminalise Assange would make it unlawful for news outlets to publish stories based on leaked government documents. As The New York Times puts it: 'Though he is not a conventional journalist, much of what Mr Assange does at WikiLeaks is difficult to distinguish in a legally meaningful way from what traditional news organisations do...' Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange, in a prison van, as he leaves Southwark Crown Court in London in May last year This argument holds some water. But it is at odds with an important fact: Assange has also been charged with helping carry out the hacking that obtained the leaked material in the first place. The US government claims that in March 2010 he helped Chelsea Manning crack a password stored on its computers. As recent history has shown, journalists who carry out hacking tend to be vigorously pursued by the law. Then there's the issue of how Assange handled material passed to him. Unlike a responsible journalist, he did nothing to check, analyse, or redact the information he obtained before publication. The upshot? The US criminal indictment describes how Assange's un-redacted documents identified and endangered the lives of US intelligence sources in Afghanistan, China, Iraq, Iran, Syria and several other countries. Supporters of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange hold placards outside Westminster Magistrates Court in London If Assange seeks to liken himself to a journalist, he will doubtless be asked to justify this conduct. The other hole in his defence is the apparent conviction he will not receive a fair trial in the US. America has some of the strongest free speech laws in the world thanks to the First Amendment. This explains why Barack Obama decided against seeking Assange's extradition, fearing any defence based on the First Amendment would vastly complicate efforts to convict him. There is a high-profile precedent: in 1971, the Washington Post newspaper published articles based on the leak of the so-called Pentagon Papers. Though much of the material in the Papers was classified and had been stolen, the Supreme Court ruled they were entitled to print it. Should the US extradition request be successful, no doubt after endless appeals, many observers think it highly likely Assange will end up being acquitted on 17 of the 18 charges he faces. That is an outcome that would strengthen rather than weaken Western democracy and empower journalists and others who seek to hold our ruling class to account. The computer hacking charge is, of course, another matter. (Newser) Who's the biggest threat in New Jersey? Not al-Qaeda or ISIS. Not anarchists or black separatists. It's white supremacists, according to a terrorist-threat report released Friday by New Jersey Homeland Security officials. "The threat from white supremacist extremists increased from moderate to high in 2020 due to the number of threats, plots, and attacks conducted in 2019, including the El Paso attack where Patrick Crusius killed 22 people and injured 24," the report reads, per NBC New York. It also points to a New Jersey man who allegedly conspired with neo-Nazis to deface synagogues in the Midwest, and increasing recruitment efforts by white supremacists. Reported efforts to distribute such propaganda went up from 46 in 2018 to 168 in 2019. story continues below "Some white supremacist extremists argue that participating in mass attacks or creating other forms of chaos will accelerate the imminent and necessary collapse of society in order to build a racially pure nation," says the report, per the New York Daily News. The only other group ranked as highly was homegrown violent extremists. Among those cited in the report are Basking Ridge resident Jonathan Xie, who was collared in 2019 for allegedly funding Hamas militants, and attacks like the one that killed three sailors at a Florida naval air station. Groups at the moderate threat level include anarchists, anti-government groups, and black separatists. Infamous terror groups like ISIS, Boko Haram, and al-Qaeda were ranked at low level. (Read more white supremacists stories.) February 24 marks the second death anniversary of screen icon Sridevi, who died in 2018 while attending a family wedding in Dubai. The actors death sent the film industry into shock and left her husband, Boney Kapoor, and two daughters, Janhvi and Khushi, in mourning. On her first death anniversary, the Kapoor family remembered her with fond memories. Janhvi wrote an emotional message on Instagram and the industry paid tributes. Boney Kapoors eldest son, Arjun Kapoor, stepped up as a pillar of support for the family. Speaking to HT in October, 2018, Arjun had said, Its my job to be a good son to my father and the by-product of that is Ive managed to find two more sisters; they allow me to call them my sisters and thats very large-hearted on their part. Asked about how the tragedy brought the family together, Janhvi said in a press interaction, The only reason we can stand strong after whatever happened is because of the kind of love and support Arjun bhaiyya and Anshula didi [half-siblings] have been giving us [she and her younger sister, Khushi]. Its a family dynamic that I relish.. I couldnt have asked for a better brother and a better sister. They have given us a lot of strength. He is a very wise man and has given tips like, just be honest, be yourself and be respectful towards people. Somehow, when he says it, I take it like the gospel truth. Here are some family pictures of Sridevi: Follow @htshowbiz for more Nnamdi Eze According to Punch Metro, Nnamdi Eze, a trader in the Iyana Ishashi area of Lagos, allegedly into adulterated oil, has run out of luck following his arrest by the police. Eze, 32, reportedly siphoned adulterated oil into empty Total Oil Company jerry cans and branded them with the companys label Total Quartz. Sunday PUNCH learnt that Eze sold the fake product wholesale to his accomplice customers in Oyo and Anambra states at prices below the market rate. It was gathered that his illegal business reached a dead head when a police team from Area D, Command, Mushin, intercepted a printer with about 700 empty jerry cans bearing the Total labels. The printer, one Joshua, reportedly told the operatives that Eze engaged him to print the labels. A police source told our correspondent that another 110 jerry cans of different litre sizes were recovered from Ezes shop in Iyana Ishashi. The printer was intercepted on a motorcycle during a routine patrol and he led the police to Ezes shop where he was arrested. He said Eze owed him N50, 000 balance for the printing of the Total labels, the source said. Eze told the police that he learnt how to produce engine oil sometime in 2017 from one Stephen at Marine Beach, Apapa, and started his own production after four months of apprenticeship. He said, I came to Lagos in 2016 and secured employment at a company on Victoria Island. At the time, I used to buy engine oil from street traders and sold it in Apapa. In 2017, I learnt how to produce adulterated Total Quarts oil for four months and early 2018, I started my own business. On February 5, 2019, I saw the printer with some policemen. He was my customer who helped me print Total Quartz labels. I asked him to produce 2,000 pieces and paid him N50, 000. I kept all the materials I used in my shop. I bought the Total jerry cans I used from a truck driver. I would put the oil I produced inside them and seal. I sold one litre engine oil for N450 and the big one (five litres) N1, 600. On many occasions, I sold at wholesale at Ibadan (Oyo State) and Nnewi (Anambra State). Eze was arraigned on Wednesday at an Ikeja magistrates court on four counts bordering on forgery and adulteration. A police officer, privy to the details of the case, stated that the printer would be used as the prosecution witness in the case based on the advice of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions. The charges read in part, That you, Nnamdi Eze of Badagry Expressway, Ilaje bus stop, Lagos, and others now at large, in February 2019, at 6.40pm, in the Lagos Magisterial District, did conspire among yourselves to commit felony to with forgery and adulteration of petroleum products, thereby committing an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015. That you, Nnamdi Eze and others now at large, on the same date, time and place in the aforementioned magisterial district, did forge Total Quartz labels without lawful authority, thereby committing an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 363 (2) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015. Eze, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges and elected summary trial. The presiding Chief Magistrate, Aje Afunwa, granted him bail in the sum of N200, 000 with two sureties in like sum. The case was adjourned till April 16, 2020 for mention. The United Arab Emirates said yesterday it has issued a licence for a reactor at its Barakah nuclear power plant, the first in the Arab world, hailing it as a historic moment. The UAE has substantial energy reserves, but with a power-hungry population of 10 million it has made huge investments in developing alternative power sources including solar. The Barakah plant, located on the Gulf coast west of Abu Dhabi, had been due to come online in late 2017 but faced a number of delays that officials attributed to safety and regulatory requirements. But the national nuclear regulator has now approved the operating licence for the first of four reactors at the plant, said Hamad al-Kaabi, the UAE representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). This is a historic moment for the UAE, making it the first Arab country in the region to operate a nuclear power plant, Kaabi told a press conference. This milestone was achieved due to the UAEs vision and its leadership to build a peaceful nuclear energy programme to cater for the future needs of energy in the country. The plant is a regional first -- Saudi Arabia, the worlds top oil exporter, has said it plans to build up to 16 nuclear reactors, but the project has yet to materialise. Abu Dhabi authorities said in January that the plant would start operating within a few months. No new date was given on Monday but Kaabi indicated it would happen soon. The full operation of Barakah plant in the near future will contribute to the UAEs efforts for development and sustainability, he said, adding that the operator would undertake a period of commissioning to prepare for commercial operation. The plant is being built by a consortium led by the Korea Electric Power Corporation at a cost of some $24.4 billion. When fully operational, the four reactors have the capacity to generate 5,600 megawatts of electricity, around 25 percent of the nations needs. The remaining three reactors are almost ready for operation. No enrichment programme The Barakah plant is situated on the Emirates coast, separated from Iran by the troubled Gulf waters. It is just 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the border of Saudi Arabia, and is closer to the Qatari capital Doha than it is to Abu Dhabi. The UAE has repeatedly said its nuclear ambitions were for peaceful purposes and moved to dispel any concerns over safety. It says it has welcomed more than 40 international missions and reviews from the IAEA and World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) since 2010, as proof of its commitment to transparency. Residents living within a 50-kilometre (30-mile) radius of the Barakah plant have been instructed on emergency procedures in case of an accident. A day after a six-year-old boy died after being critically injured in a pool car accident, the ABVP on Sunday alleged "syndicate and cut money culture" have resulted in a pool car menace in West Bengal, endangering the lives of children. The TMCP, students' wing of the ruling Trinamool Congress, said there should not be any politics over the death of a child. The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) south Bengal unit secretary Suranjan Sarkar said in a statement that a sizeable number of school pool cars do not conform to safety standards and the organisation is planning to launch a movement if the administration did not address issues involving pool cars. "They are emboldened by the syndicate and cut money culture practised by some people against whom the ruling establishment is taking no action," the statement said. Syndicate' refers to a group of businessmen operating mainly in those areas of the state that are witnessing a realty boom. These businessmen allegedly force promoters and contractors to buy construction materials, often of inferior quality, at high prices. Cut money is the cash political agents at the grassroot level allegedly take from beneficiaries of government schemes. "We would like to know why the state transport department is not stopping ill-maintained, run-down vehicles which are plying as pool cars? Is this due to any nexus between the ruling party and those who are plying such ramshackle vehicles, having no fitness papers?" the ABVP statement said. The AVBP, the students' wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), also said the accident in Polba in which a student was killed and another critically injured, was an indicator about the "alarming traffic situation endangering safety of people." The right wing students' unit threatened to launch a movement if issues like overloading in school pool cars, running poorly-maintained vehicles, flouting traffic regulations were not addressed by the administration at the earliest. "It is not fair on the part of an organisation, that claims to represent the cause of students, to start blame game over the death of a six-year old which has caused immense grief among all sections of people. The ABVP may be doing this to be in the news," TMCP president Trinankur Bhattacharya said. He told PTI that the TMCP demanded punishment of those responsible for such accidents as per law. Rishabh Singh, a class 2 student who was severely injured after his pool car fell into a water-filled ditch in West Bengal's Hooghly district on Februrary 14 died in Kolkata on Saturday following an eight-day-long battle for life. Rishabh Singh's friend Dibanshu Bhagat is under treatment at SSKM Hospital here and his condition is stated to be stable. The pool car, carrying 14 students, fell into a water-filled ditch in Polba while rushing to a school in Chinsura. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) New Delhi: Security personnel deployed near Jaffrabad metro station where anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) protesters have gathered, blocking road no. 66 which connects Seelampur to Maujpur and Yamuna Vihar, on Feb 23, 2020. (Photo: IANS) Image Source: IANS News New Delhi: Anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) protesters gather outside Jaffrabad metro station in northeast Delhi, blocking road no. 66 which connects Seelampur to Maujpur and Yamuna Vihar, on Feb 23, 2020. (Photo: IANS) Image Source: IANS News New Delhi, Feb 23 : Sporadic incidents of stone pelting on Sunday between anti and pro-CAA groups at Maujpur in east Delhi broke a relative lull in tension over the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act. The police fired teargas shells amid reports of two people being injured. The tension erupted after a pro-CAA rally in the area was stoned by a group of anti-CAA protesters. Following stone pelting by both groups, the police stepped in to disperse the two groups. Teargas shells were fired and two people have been reported injured following the outbreak of violence. Maujpur is near Jaffrabad, where anti-CAA protesters had barricaded the road since Saturday night in support of the bandh call given by Chandrasekhar Azad of Bhim Army against the CAA. Metro stations have been shut down in the area as a precautionary measure. Metro rail stations that have been shut down include the Maujpur-Babarpur and the Seelampur metro station, adding to the overall congestion and chaos prevailing in the area. More security forces are being directed to the spot from other areas including nearby Jaffrabad. Seasonal & Current Events By Brooke Hein Published: February 23 2020 March is the month of marching in or viewing St. Patrick's Day Parades! March is the month of marching in St. Patrick's Day Parades! Towns across our Island are getting festive and going green. People are proudly putting their love of all things Irish on display. Spectators will line the streets to enjoy bagpipe players in kilts, pipers, marching bands, floats, fire trucks, souvenirs and candy. Each parade carefully selects it's own Grand Marshal, parade king and queen. There are lots of green beads being thrown off of the floats to parade watchers. It is almost a Mardi Gras like atmosphere. Saint Patrick, who was born in the late 4th century and was one of the most successful Christian missionaries in history. Early Irish settlers to the American colonies, many of whom were indentured servants, brought the Irish tradition of celebrating St. Patrick's feast day to America. The first recorded St. Patrick's Day parade was held not in Ireland but in New York City in 1762, and with the dramatic increase of Irish immigrants to the United States in the mid-19th century, the March 17th celebration became widespread. Today millions of Americans of Irish ancestry celebrate their cultural identity and history by enjoying St. Patrick's Day parades and engaging in the revelry. Here is the 2020 St. Patrick's Day Parade guide: March 1st East Islip Mineola March 7th Kings Park Westhampton Beach March 8th Huntington Hempstead (Hofstra) March 14th Bay Shore St James March 15th F armingdale Center Moriches Rocky Point/ Miller Place Bayport/Blue Point Ocean Beach March 17th NYC March 21st Brentwood March 22nd India has deeply appreciated the Senegal government's decision to extradite fugitive gangster Ravi Pujari to India, official sources said on Sunday. Facilitation of transit provided by the Government of France has also been acknowledged, they said. Ravi Prakash Pujari, accused of committing a number of serious offences including murder and extortion in multiple jurisdictions, was extradited from Senegal on Saturday. The probe agencies have persistently pursued the case for his extradition with the authorities in Senegal. India had made a request with Senegal for his extradition in early 2019, sources said. Pujari was associated with gangster Chhota Rajan, but he also worked for fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb.23 By Leman Zeynalova - Trend: Azerbaijani gas is important for Italy in terms of energy security, Francis Perrin, Senior Fellow at the Policy Center for the New South (PCNS, Rabat) and at the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs (IRIS, Paris) told Trend. He pointed out that the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), part of the Southern Gas Corridor, will allow Europe and Italy to import gas from the Caspian Sea region for the first time thanks to the Shah Deniz 2 gasfield development offshore Azerbaijan. Italy will have access to a new source of gas, which is important in terms of energy security and useful in its negotiations with other gas suppliers. An importing country can get better terms when it is able to show that there is more competition among several gas exporters for its national gas market, said Perren. He pointed out that Italy is a gas producer but its production is small and is on a decreasing trend. This country imports a lot of gas and, as for every large energy importer, it is very important to find new sources of gas supplies in order to diversify its imports. During the first 11 months of 2019 Italy's natural gas producton amounted to 4,478 million cubic meters, according to the IEA, and its gas imports reached 65,549 million cubic meters. Over this period gas production fell by 10 percent and gas imports rose by almost 6 percent on the same period of 2018, the expert explained. Perren said Italy is the third-largest economy in the European Union (EU) since the Brexit behind Germany and France. It needs energy including natural gas. Gas is especially important to produce power. Italy is the EU's second-largest gas consumer behind Germany. Its gas consumption was 66,272 million cubic meters over the first 11 months of 2019 (January to November), a rise of 4% over the same period of 2018, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), he added. Perren noted that the main gas suppliers of Italy are Russia, Algeria, Qatar and Libya in this order and Azerbaijan will soon join the list of Italy's suppliers with gas transported by pipeline. Italy will receive 8.8 billion cubic meters of gas via TAP, with supplies expected by late 2020. TAP project is 92 percent complete as of late January. Following a nationwide furore over his "communal hate-speech", All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) ex-legislator of Maharashtra Waris Pathan withdrew his controversial remarks here on Saturday. "I had no intentions to hurt the sentiments of any community...My remarks were not 'anti-Hindu', I hereby withdraw my statement," Pathan told mediapersons here this evening. He added that attempts were being made to portray him as "anti-national" , but he clarified that his remarks were not intended to create any kind of discord among people or communities. A huge political storm erupted after Pathan addressed an anti-CAA protest in Kalburgi (Gulbarga) in Karnataka on February 15 and said that "15-crore (Muslims) will prove stronger than the 100-crore majority (Hindus)." The Bharatiya Janata Party and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena have demanded stringent action against the AIMIM ex-MLA, while activist lawyer Syed Ejaz Abbas 'Naqvi' wrote to Mumbai Police urging them to lodge an FIR against Pathan. "They say we have kept our women in the forefront. I want to tell these people -- only the lionesses have come out and you are in a cold sweat. You can understand what would happen if all of us come together. "We are just 15 crore but can be a bigger force than the 100-crore majority population," Pathan said. He added that the minority community could well snatch "your azaadi". As the issue snowballed, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Friday "gagged" Pathan and has told him not to speak with the media and reportedly sought an explanation from him. On Friday, Pathan issued a statement contending he was "totally quoted out of context" by the media on his Kalburgi meeting, where even Owaisi and other senior leaders were present. "I hereby wish to reiterate that I can never say anything intentionally or unintentionally that hurts the sentiments of any caste, community or gender. I am a proud Indian and respect the plurality of this country," said Pathan. He added that like many other Indians who have faith in the Constitution, he was angry by the sheer neglect of the government in addressing the issues concerning the CAA-NRC-NPR against which people have been protesting all over the country in a democratic manner. "Neither me nor my party supports anything that creates a divide between people on the basis of caste, creed and religion. Jai Hind," said Pathan. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-23 00:50:26|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Workers are seen in the special department for isolating Coronavirus cases at Rafic Hariri University Hospital in Beirut, Lebanon, on Feb. 22, 2020. Lebanese Health Minister Hamad Hassan announced on Saturday that the ministry is equipping public hospitals across the country with materials needed to deal with COVID-19, MTV local TV channel reported. Hassan made the announcement during a press conference held at Rafic Hariri University Hospital which hosts the country's recently confirmed COVID-19 case. (Photo by Bilal Jawich/Xinhua) BEIRUT, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese Health Minister Hamad Hassan announced on Saturday that the ministry is equipping public hospitals across the country with materials needed to deal with COVID-19, MTV local TV channel reported. Hassan made the announcement during a press conference held at Rafic Hariri Hospital which hosts the country's recently confirmed COVID-19 case. The minister announced on Friday the detection of the first case. The 45 year old infected woman arrived at Lebanon from Iran on Thursday. Hassan said the ministry is isolating those arriving from infected areas if they show symptoms, and those who do not show symptoms are either isolated at hospital or at home. Hassan also explained that Rafic Hariri Hospital now has a special department for isolating Coronavirus cases. The minister also added that he contacted Iranian authorities asking them to take proper measures before the arrival of another plane from Iran to Lebanon on Monday. The ministerial committee for the fight against COVID-19 also announced a set of measures, including monitoring health conditions of Lebanese in infected areas and urging public places for frequent sterilization. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-23 19:35:25|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close BEIJING, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Can a tofu factory produce masks? Even the owner of the factory would never have imagined such a thing before the novel coronavirus swept China. "When our factory resumed operation after the Spring Festival holiday, to address the shortage of masks for our employees, we decided to produce them ourselves," said Shen Jianhua, chairman of the Shanghai Tramy Green Food Co., Ltd., a leading soybean food producer in Shanghai. The food company, with a total of more than 7,000 employees, including production line workers, delivery drivers and marketing staff, would consume at least 10,000 disposable masks per day amid the virus outbreak. Despite the difficulties, Tramy went all out to speed up its production of masks, not only for its employees but also for meeting the surging demands from across China. As the mask production project was launched on Feb. 1, the company rented a plant and production facilities from a bankrupt medical equipment company. Thanks to the local government's support, they completed the registration and obtained the license in just three days. Less than 10 days later, two production lines for masks went into production, with all the workers, equipment and materials in place. The first batch of masks rolled off the production line on Valentine's Day. Now, the two production lines are operating around the clock, with an initial capacity of 100,000 masks per day. "We aim to expand the daily capacity to 200,000 by the end of this month and 800,000 by the middle of March," Shen said. Besides the disposable masks, the company is planning to produce other medical supplies, including disinfection products such as medical alcohol. Tramy is not alone. More and more enterprises have turned to produce medical supplies in shortage at "China speed" with the aid of governments at all levels across the nation. It took only one day for the Dishang Group, a manufacturer of apparel and textiles headquartered in Weihai, east China's Shandong Province, to set up a new company to make protective suits. The group made the decision on Feb. 9 and did not expect that local authorities gave them a vacant 1,500-square-meter plant, which had been carefully selected and cleaned up that afternoon. Moreover, the local administrative department handed over the new company's business license to them within half an hour and the market regulator also opened up a green channel for the company's registration for medical equipment. Tang Hongjie, a worker with over 10 years of experience in sewing, came to the workshop immediately after receiving an urgent notice from the company on the morning of Feb. 10, when the construction of the factory was basically completed. "I'm very proud of my contribution to the prevention and control of the epidemic," she said. In the following hours, Tang practiced the operation of the hot air seam sealing machine, an important equipment for protective clothing production, together with her colleagues who returned to work as soon as possible. In the afternoon, they finished the first samples of protective suits. Meanwhile, more machines were urgently brought in from factories all over the country, and the company also recruited some 400 skilled sewing workers, said Zhang Chengyu, deputy general manager of the Dishang Group. The Weihai municipal bureau of industry and information technology coordinated with the local authorities to provide 15,000 masks and one ton of disinfectant for the company and help the employees return to work amid widespread traffic controls. "We will produce protective clothing in full gear, regardless of cost," Zhang said. At present, Dishang produces 10,000 productive suites per day, with eight production lines operating and about 1,000 employees working round the clock. A total of 4,000 protective suits had been sent to the virus-hit Hubei Province. In a guideline jointly issued by several ministries early this month, Chinese authorities told producers of key medical supplies not to worry about the sale of their products, as any surplus at the end of the epidemic would be purchased by the government as reserves. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Friday urged related departments to offer coordinated services to encourage further expansion of production capacity of key epidemic-control materials and ensure the orderly resumption of production. The daily production capacity of masks nationwide may exceed 100 million as additional production lines will become operational soon, according to authorities. As of Wednesday, over 60 percent of 3,081 industrial enterprises above designated size in Beijing, as well as all the companies producing epidemic-control materials, had resumed operation. Shanghai rolled out 28 measures on Feb. 7 to cushion companies against the impact of the epidemic. The operation resumption rate of industrial and commercial companies above designated size in Shanghai has exceeded 70 percent. New Delhi, Feb 23 : A video showing "Baahubali" Trump fighting enemies on battlefield, riding a chariot with Melania along with his children Trump Jr and Ivanka on his shoulders, has netizens in splits. It all started after a meme page on Twitter shared the morphed video on the song 'Jiyo re Baahubali' with President Donald Trump's face superimposed on the actor Prabhas' face, who played the lead character in the blockbuster that did business of about Rs 2,800 crore. Melania (face swapped with Sivagami) and the video also features Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a character. The one minute 21 second long clip was put out by an unverified Twitter account identified as 'Sol', with a message, "To celebrate Trump's visit to India, I wanted to make a video to show how in my warped mind it will go... USA and India united!" Re-tweeting the video, US President Donald Trump wrote: "Look so forward to being with my great friends in INDIA!" So obviously the post went viral, and Twitterati flooded the social media with their reactions. A user wrote, "I would love to see you ride a horse!" Another wrote, "Welcome to India sir. We all are waiting for you." A post read, "I can't stop laughing...India prepares to receive...The best President ever our POTUS." "Love from 1.4 billion Indians...From the world's largest democracy" a user remarked. On Friday, Trump lauded the Bollywood gay rom-com "Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan". "A new #Bollywood rom-com featuring a gay romance is hoping to win over older people, following the decriminalization of homosexuality. Hurrah!" tweeted @PeterTatchell. To this, @realDonaldTrump tweeted: "Great!" More than 13 lakh people watched the video which was liked by more than 60,000 people. Around 16,000 people retweeted this tweet. Trump will be on a two-day visit to India on February 24 and 25. Upon his arrival in Ahmedabad, he will be welcomeed at the Motera Stadium. The President and First Lady Melania will spend the first day of the trip in Ahmedabad and Agra before moving to Delhi for the official reception and bilateral talks. Alexandra Shulman, who edited Vogue from 1992 to 2017, on the style-setter with whom she found much in common When Audrey Withers became editor of British Vogue at the age of 35, there was widespread rationing and the American owner Conde Nast demanded staff cuts. Those left on the magazine often worked out of the office cellar, with the art director cutting and pasting pages surrounded by the teams gas masks. Audrey Withers in 1948 and, left, Alexandra Shulman today I became editor of the same magazine in 1992 at 34, having worked for Conde Nast, though not Vogue, for close on ten years. There was a recession and I, too, was asked to cut staff numbers. Thankfully our offices remained high above the ground in the centre of London with the only threat an occasional anti-fur demo outside. Fifty years may have passed but a surprising amount remained the same. We were both regarded as faintly curious choices for the job. Audrey because she was thought of as being a behind-the-scenes magazine technician who didnt move in smart enough social circles, me because I had no track record among the fashion community. When Conde Nast overruled objections to give Audrey the job he said, I would rather have an editor who can edit than an editor who can mix with society. My boss Nicholas Coleridge made a slightly similar calculation when he made me editor, a person whose fashion contacts were so slim that in the early days she mistook the maitre d at the Ritz for the designer Valentinos partner Giancarlo Giammetti. In 1940 British Vogue was run as a younger sister of the all-powerful American edition. There was a continual memo discussion between Audrey and Edna Woolman Chase. Edna, as editor-in-chief, oversaw not only US Vogue but the newer British and French editions and her views and those of Audrey did not always coincide. Even before she was editor, Audrey locked horns with Edna over the question of featuring the marriage of the Duke of Windsor and Wallis Simpson. Edna was enthralled by anything to do with our royal family and wished to celebrate the event by both Vogues running a huge display of pictures by Cecil Beaton of the couple at their French chateau and a gushing piece. Audrey knew that this would be completely wrong for the mood of the British people who were, in the main, unhappy at the abdication and the relationship with Mrs Simpson. In the event she ran the smallest story possible. At the end of the war Lee Miller produced a harrowing set of images taken at the Nazi concentration camps of Buchenwald and Dachau. Audrey had been Lees great supporter from the start, when Edna was less keen on her work. However, at that point she considered the mood in Britain was one that craved celebration rather than further evidence of the horrors, so ran only one of the pictures, very small a decision she later regretted. Edna, uncharacteristically, ran a large series of these pictures thereby scooping the higher moral and journalistic ground. Although it cannot be compared in either gravity or scoop value, I experienced similar feelings when then prime minister Theresa May appeared in the American edition and not ours. I, unlike Anna Wintour, had never asked her if she would feature as I assumed she wouldnt. So it was extremely galling when I saw her resplendent in her leather trousers shot by Annie Leibovitz in the pages of American Vogue. Foolish me. By the 1950s, the magazine had become the monthly chronicle of luxury that I inherited, along with what has remained a long-running debate about the body size of fashion models. I was fascinated to learn of a letter Audrey wrote to the fashion team and photographers urging them to get into our pages models of a more approachable, normal kind, instead of the haughty, mannequins associated with so many images of that period. Sixty years later, I was still asking fashion editors and photographers to produce images where the models looked more cheerful and less malnourished. There were other parallels. As an editor, Audrey was keen that her magazine be informative as well as featuring glamorous fashion. She introduced a feature for larger women called Above Average. And she created Mrs Exeter, a fictional style role model for women in their 50s and older with the words Approaching 60, Mrs Exeter does not look a day younger, a fact she accepts with perfect good humour. When I came to Vogue I began to broaden the remit to include coverage of how real women dressed and felt about clothes and appearance, launched Ageless Style editions and made it a policy to include regular high street products. In 1957 Audrey hired Elizabeth David as cookery writer, to inspire a generation of women who were just escaping from the dreariness of food rationing. In 1995 I took on Nigella Lawson (who had never written a cookery column before) to address the subject from the viewpoint of convenience for women who had to whip up something quickly when they got home from work. And so was born Nigella, the Domestic Goddess. Audrey Withers was the perfect Vogue editor for her time. She was intelligent and brave, questioning and committed. She oversaw the magazine from the hardship of the war through to the social revolution of the 60s. In her autobiography Lifespan, she writes, I am very well aware I would not have been an appropriate editor of Vogue at any other period of its history. I suspect the same would be said about me. Alexandras new book Clothes and Other Things That Matter will be published by Octopus on 23 April, price 16.99 Gujjars from Jammu are genetically linked to Pashtuns from Afghanistan and Pakistan, Indian researchers have reported, adding more scientific evidence in favour of the complex migration pattern that the Indian subcontinent witnessed for centuries. While there are historical and cultural evidence connecting Gujjars in India with the nomadic tribes of India's north-western neighbours, this is probably the strongest genetic evidence to back such a link. Broadly Gujjars showed closer affinity to nomadic populations of Pashtuns from Baghlans and Kunduz provinces of Afghanistan, and Pashtuns and Sindhis of Pakistan, geneticists at the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics, Hyderabad reported earlier this month. This is scientific evidence of what is known historically, team leader Madhusudan R Nandineni told DH. The Indian subcontinent, which represents about one-sixth of the world population, is a unique conglomerate of multiple cultures, languages and genetic diversity. Together with sub-Himalayan countries and the modern-day Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, it is one of the world's oldest geographical regions inhabited by modern humans and witness to ancient human migratory histories. Since the two northern most Union Territories Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh sit in the middle of the ancient corridor of human travel, they preserve unique signatures of such cross cultural movement in their heritage and as the CDFD study now shows in their genes. The CDFD team set out to explore the genetic ancestry of Gujjars from Jammu regions as well as people from Ladakh that was open to the world through the historic Silk Route. The markers on the Y-chromosome establish the Gujjar's links to the nomadic tribes in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Ladakhis on the other hand are linked to Uighyurs and Han Chinese as well the Magar community of Nepal, said Mugdha Singh, first author of the study. The scientists found three broad genetic groups among the Ladakhis, which settled in India between 18,000 and 10,000 years ago. The team, however, could not establish such a cut of date for the Gujjars, which constitute the third largest population group in J&K. Though Gujjars also reside in Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, the CDFD study only deals with tribe living in Jammu. The Gujjar community is primarily nomadic and is believed to practice a highly endogamous culture, conservative lifestyle, religious practices and traditional occupation as compared to other populations in the vicinity. In contrast, the enormous diversity in terms of cultural, religious and food practices of Ladakhis is believed to be the result of congruence of different ancestral groups, said the study, published in the journal Scientific Reports. Hollywood legend Clint Eastwood has thrown his support behind Mike Bloomberg in the race for the White House, The Independent reported. He also thinks that US President Donald Trump should act in a more genteel way, without tweeting and calling people names, although he does admit that he supports certain things that Trump has done. Eastwood made the comments in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, in which he was blunt about his personal preference in the 2020 presidential election: The best thing we could do is just get Mike Bloomberg in there. Spains airport operator AENA has suspended all flights in and out of Gran Canaria and all flights leaving Tenerife, according to Reuters news agency, after clouds of red sand from the Sahara overwhelmed the northern Canary Islands, severely reducing visibility. Spains national weather service warned on Saturday evening that winds of up to 120km/h (75 mph) are likely to buffet the Canaries until Monday. Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote are likely to be the hardest hit. The government of the Canary Islands has recommended that people who suffer from chronic respiratory diseases not go out without medication and advised people to keep their doors and windows closed across the archipelago. Authorities in Lanzarotes capital, Arrecife, cancelled all outdoor activities, including some carnival celebrations. This weather event is known as the Calima and is a burst of dust-filled wind originating over the Sahara. When strong enough, it blows out of Morocco or Western Sahara to cover some or all of the Canary Islands. It can also be a warm wind and this event has already lifted the temperature on Gran Canaria. In the southwest of the island, in Puerto De Mogan, the temperature hit 30.5C (87F) on Saturday and stayed above 27C (81F) all night. The average is about 24C (75F) by day and 16C (61F) by night. This Calima event will likely die down on Monday. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Rome, Italy Sun, February 23, 2020 15:01 689 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad206618fcd 2 Art & Culture Vienna,ballet,Milan,La-Scala,Austria,Italy,France,Manuel-Legris Free The director of the Vienna Ballet, Manuel Legris, is to be appointed to the world-famous La Scala in Milan "in the coming months", a source close to the Italian opera house told AFP on Friday. Frenchman Legris, a former "etoile" dancer in Paris, has been credited with putting ballet back on the map in the Austrian capital since taking over there in 2010. But the head of the prestigious Vienna State Opera, compatriot Dominique Meyer who is moving to La Scala next month, has decided to take Legris with him, the source said. While La Scala officially denied that any formal decision had been taken, the source said that "there are no particular obstacles and it is likely that the appointment will be announced in the coming months". Meyer will formally take up the reins at La Scala on March 1, "and after that there is an administrative procedure that must be followed". Read also: 'Tosca' with a touch of cinema enthrals Milan's La Scala at opening night Nevertheless, specialist media suggest Legris will officially take over as the house's ballet director in December. Legris, 55, retired as a dancer in 2009 following a 29-year career at the Paris Opera Ballet. He arrived in Vienna a year later, where he is credited with raising the profile of the ballet, which had long played second fiddle to the opera, and turning it into one of the top companies in the world. The current ballet chief in Milan is another Frenchman, Frederic Olivieri. NORTH RIDGEVILLE, Ohio -- North Ridgevilles new mayor, Kevin Corcoran, is wasting no time in letting everyone know he wants to make good on his campaign promise to bring more business into the city. Resident responses during the campaign to questions about what the citys priority should be reflected a view that bringing in new businesses should be the main goal. The mayors pitch revolves around the citys willingness to work with businesses interested in the city, as well as touting North Ridgevilles selling points. These include that the city is the fastest-growing in Northern Ohio and sixth in the state, he said. He also mentions the consistent rating of the city as one of the safest cities in Ohio. Noting that the growth in new homes is approximately 200 per year, he also recognizes tremendous transformation as major road improvements, as well as new business construction, is under way. The road improvements -- especially the Center Ridge Road project that is so late in being completed -- comprise the heart of the opinion of residents that new business needs to rise to the top of the citys list. Regarding incentives for businesses to begin or relocate to North Ridgeville, Corcoran outlined some of the advantages available, subject to program eligibility, availability and approval by required parties: Tax Abatement: Up to 100 percent of the increase in real property value resulting from the project could be exempted from real property taxes. Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Districts: Several TIF districts have been created as economic development tools that allow the city to repay the debt for infrastructure improvements. Job creation tax credits and low-interest loans for equipment. Corcoran said anyone interested in starting a new business or relocating to North Ridgeville should call 440-353-0811 to arrange a meeting. Read more from the Sun Sentinel. Bangladesh's leading cellphone operator paid USD 117 million to the country's telecommunication regulator on Sunday amid a protracted legal tussle with the government that could result in the loss of its license to operate in one of the world's fastest-growing mobile markets, officials said. Zakir Hossain Khan, a spokesman for the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission, or BTRC, said by phone that Grameenphone, a subsidiary of the Norwegian telecommunication giant Telenor, handed over the documents for clearing the payment of USD 117 million as per the directive of the country's Supreme Court. The commission accused Grameenphone of evading spectrum fees and value-added taxes, but the operator has insisted that the government's audit is flawed. The first payment Sunday was against the regulatory commission's audit claim of about USD 1.48 billion in unpaid taxes. But it was not immediately clear how the amount would be adjusted with the total amount stemming from the audit claims. Sunday's action by the operator came after the Supreme Court recently asked Grameenphone to pay at least USD 237 million by Feb 23 amid obstacles put by the commission that were hampering the operator's operations and expansion. The commission had imposed restrictions on the operator, declining no-objection certificates for imports of network equipment since July, while it also issued show-cause notice for license cancellation and threatened to appoint an administrator. Md Hasan, a spokesman for Grameenphone, said after Sunday's move that the next proceedings in the case would be Monday in the Supreme Court. We have paid USD 117 million, he said. Separately, Grameenphone said in a statement Sunday that the operator respects the legal system of Bangladesh and the company has without prejudice made an adjustable deposit. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) For the past six months, it has been a privilege to travel District 11 and meet so many tremendous people in all 29 counties. As early voting began last week and the March 3 election approaches, I want the voters to know there are major differences between myself and the other candidates. I am a conservative Republican who has considered voting as not only my right, but my duty and the honor of living in a free republic. I proudly voted for President Trump in 2016; unfortunately, two candidates in this race cannot say that. In fact, these same two candidates cannot even say they have ever voted in a Republican primary their entire lives. I am not an opportunist who moved back to West Texas for political gain; I have a long track record of being here and making a difference. When I got elected to Midlands city council in 2013, we faced a dramatic realization that our infrastructure was in a state of disrepair. As a leader that finds solutions and not excuses, I began to tackle the issue and educate the voters. The voters understood the need and overwhelmingly voted for the first infrastructure bond in the history of Midland. When I left the City Council the city had invested over $120 million in infrastructure repairs and replacement with continued measures put in place to guarantee we see an appropriate level of funds invested yearly moving forward. As we look at how important the oil and gas industry is for not only Midland, but also the Permian Basin and the entire nation as a whole, it is critical that we have an oil and gas professional represent our home in Washington. Right now, out of the 435 members in the US House of Representatives, not one can claim to be an oil and gas operator. As an operator and a fourth-generation oilman, I know the challenges facing our industry. We must have someone in Congress that can represent the industry with integrity and fight back against the liberal left that desperately pushes a progressive agenda to stop hydraulic fracturing and ultimately shut down the industry like when the Obama administration weaponized the Endangered Species Act of 1973 using unsound science regarding the dunes sagebrush lizard and lesser prairie chicken. The Permian Basin has increased production to historic levels and made the United States energy independent, which allows us to take the fight to ISIS without having to rely on oil from the Middle East. Our industry, which has done so much for our country, deserves a true conservative fighting as their voice in Congress. As the only candidate in the race that has true oil and gas experience, I want to be the person to defend our industry an industry that provides more than 9 million jobs and affects the daily lives of every American. With 10 candidates vying for the Republican nomination, it is inevitable that this race is going to a May 26 run-off. In this run-off, we have the opportunity to send a message to Washington D.C. The people of District 11 are tired of the status quo and are ready to be represented by a true conservative fighter. I have the tools and resources to lead the fight for freedom and liberty. If you want a yes man from the Washington establishment, I am not your candidate, but there are a few in the race that would be able to check that box. I understand the issues our community is dealing with because I have been right here working to make Midland a better place. As we continue to see explosive growth in the Permian Basin, it is apparent that local and state governments cannot completely tackle the burden for the costs of our infrastructure. With the increase in oil production projected to hit 6 million barrels per day within five years, the federal government needs to appropriate their fair share of the costs to repair our deteriorating infrastructure because the Permian Basin is fueling this country. As your congressman, I will fight to preserve the conservative values we hold dearly in our community. I will stand with President Trump to continue to drain the swamp, build the wall, secure our border, and fight back against the liberal lefts socialist agenda. I am a businessman that has created jobs, given back to my community, and been an active member of the Republican Party my entire life. When you go to the polls make sure you have all the information about who you are voting for. In this election, there are wolves in sheeps clothing trying to deceive you about who they really are. I am J.Ross Lacy. I was born at Midland Memorial Hospital, I graduated from Midland schools, Ive lived in West Texas for more than 30 years, and I want to continue giving back to the community that has given me so much. I would be honored to have your vote in this important election. Send me to Washington D.C. to go stand shoulder to shoulder with President Trump and take our country back! Be concerned, but dont be alarmed. Its a call for calm and perspective from a Canterbury academic after Tauranga was rocked by a double-fatal shooting, a running gun battle ending in a fatal police shooting and another death believed to be a domestic incident being investigated as a homicide. Sociologist, Dr Jarrod Gilbert isnt even sure if the violence is part of battles between the one percenters bikers who are outlaws. But he says it certainly adds to the mix and the public perception. Its always serious and unnerving when bullets are flying, says Dr Gilbert. He immersed himself in gang culture for his PhD thesis and authored the authoritative Patched: The History of gangs In New Zealand. Then he likened gangs going into battle to a rugby match. The people on the field will get injured, but it's pretty rare the ball flies into the grandstand and hurts an innocent bystander. Thats not to say there aren't things that need to be done, strong action taken. But we make our best decisions when we're calm. Thats a bit easy to say, because the community will feel how it feels, but we need to keep it in perspective. For example, he points to a four-year-old boy who he says was beaten half to death, and is in Starship hospital with serious brain injuries. So, says Dr Gilbert, the problems gangs create are not even a small percentage of the much bigger issues facing New Zealand in the criminal justice realm. They make great copy and great headlines and are a problem, but there is a perspective that is required. That might sound rich coming from academic, says Dr Gilbert, because there are people who have concerns and he doesnt want to diminish those concerns. Dr Gilbert says New Zealand has had gangs firing guns around the place as long as gangs have existed. Its a return to violence that was once far more common. We have been through a period of relative calm, in relative terms, probably through the first decade of the millennium. But were now seeing a reaction to the growth in gangs. When new gangs emerge, or existing gangs expand into other gang territory, then violence is inevitable. That's a reality of gang dynamics. Dr Gilbert says the response to gangs often comes only after incidents like the Tauranga experience. And we get sensational speeches from the hustings. In fact, gang laws and political gang interventions have traditionally been very poor and demonstrably fail because we don't do it with sober minds. We tend to talk when we're het up, and leave it to rhetorical flourishes rather than an evidence lead approach. He says you'd think gang activity spiked every three years with the elections, when politicians turn their attention toward it. National is speaking of crushing the gangs well you don't have to go back too far when Labour was saying exactly the same thing. It doesn't tend to be a left and right issue. It tends to be a government and opposition issue. We tend to get the rhetoric from opposition benches, and of course the government is forced to respond. The trend can be traced back to 1972 when the oppositions Norman Kirk promised to take bikes off the bikies, and so politicised the gangs. Its been like that ever since. While we need strong action against the gangs, we can't just see it as a law and order issue. It is social and economic as well. Because if we rely solely on the police to solve these problems, we will be having this conversation again. We will miss a trick by having one eye closed. And he says we need to start to look over the medium and longer terms at the chronic issue, not the acute issue. And to do that, we need to find answers to why people are joining gangs, because unless we find alternatives for them, gangs will endure. While its Taurangas issue today, it wont be like that forever. The gang issues are in fact, being faced around the country. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-23 17:42:08|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- A drone-based multi-functional monitoring system has been used to help control the novel coronavirus and offer early warnings, according to its developer. Developed by a team from the Beijing Institute of Technology and a drone company in Tianjin, the system is mainly composed of drones, broadcasting tools, ground control and an image processing platform. It has been used in the city of Fuxin, northeast China's Liaoning Province to find potentially infected persons. With infrared thermal imaging technology, the drone can automatically monitor the flow of people and spot those with fever without direct contact. The broadcasting tools also help inform people of preventive measures and urge people to stop inappropriate behaviors. Once the system detects a suspected person, it will record the information in its big data system. It can also be used in those companies which resume operation to prevent and contain the novel coronavirus, according to its developer. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Tim Reid and Simon Lewis (Agence France-Presse) Las Vegas, United States Sun, February 23, 2020 07:35 689 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad20660a03d 2 World #USA,#Elections,Democratic-party,Bernie-Sanders,Joe-Biden Free Bernie Sanders took an early lead in results from the Democratic presidential caucuses in Nevada on Saturday, buoyed by what entrance polls showed was strong support for a government-run Medicare for All healthcare plan like the one he has proposed. Sanders, a US senator from Vermont who has made the healthcare issue a centerpiece of his campaign, faces a test of his front-runner status in the Democratic White House race in Nevada, where balloting was underway at caucus sites. Former Vice President Joe Biden was a distant second to Sanders with 4% of precincts reporting in Nevada, where voters poured into more than 250 sites around the state to make their pick for a Democratic challenger to President Donald Trump in the Nov. 3 election. Former Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, was third and Senator Elizabeth Warren was fourth in scattered results in Nevada, where most of the votes were expected to take at least several hours to roll in. In the final result of a caucus at the Bellagio hotel on the Las Vegas strip, Sanders finished with 76 votes, Biden had 45, and no other candidate ended with a vote. Workers at the hotel who are members of the Culinary Workers Union streamed out of the caucus after backing Sanders despite their leadership expressing reservations about his healthcare plan. "I went for Bernie, I'm not big into politics, but I like the things he's going for: student loan debt, schools, free healthcare," said Aleiza Smith, 22, a housekeeper at the Bellagio. The entrance poll showed six in 10 Nevada voters at the caucuses backed the Medicare for All proposal, a version of which is also supported by Warren. Six out of 10 caucus-goers want someone who can beat Trump more than someone who agrees with them on major issues, according to the poll by Edison Research. Sanders, a self-identified democratic socialist, has surged to the top of opinion polls nationally and in Nevada after strong performances in the first two nominating contests in Iowa and New Hampshire earlier this month. The Nevada caucuses came a day after news broke that Sanders had been briefed by U.S. officials that Russia was trying to help his campaign as part of an effort to interfere with the 2020 presidential election. The poll showed Sanders leading in Nevada with Hispanics, union families, and white college-educated women. Around 54% of Latino voters said they backed him, while 24% of college-educated white women and 34% of those who have a union member in their families supported him. While Sanders' rivals will try to blunt his momentum in the caucuses, they each face significant challenges of their own. Biden and Warren are looking to jump-start struggling campaigns after poor finishes in the first two states, while former South Bend, Indiana, mayor Buttigieg and Senator Amy Klobuchar are hoping to prove they can appeal to Nevada's more diverse electorate. On Friday evening, Sanders spoke to about 2,000 people in Las Vegas, revving up the crowd with vows to take on "the corporate elite" and the "whole damn 1%". Trump, who lost Nevada to Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016, tweeted on Saturday that he expected to win in Nevada in the general election in November and alluded to the reports that a Russian disinformation effort was supporting Sanders. RECORD TURNOUT? Four days of early voting in Nevada this week drew more than 75,000 Democrats, more than half first-time voters, putting the party in position to surpass the turnout record of 118,000 in 2008, when Barack Obama's candidacy electrified the party. After days of delay and mistrust caused by a technical meltdown during the Iowa caucuses, Nevada Democratic Party officials said in a memo to campaigns on Friday that a telephone hotline many volunteers "were already familiar with" would be the main method of reporting precinct caucus results, not digital tools. Precinct chairs will also text a photo of their caucus reporting sheet as part of efforts to strengthen the processes. At a Democratic debate in Nevada on Wednesday, candidates launched scathing attacks on Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire former mayor of New York City, who has been rising in the polls on the back of a self-funded advertising blitz but is not competing in Nevada. Warren's campaign said on Saturday it had raised $14 million ahead of the caucuses, double a target it had set after a lackluster performance in New Hampshire, and fueled by donations following her fiery debate barrage aimed at Bloomberg. The next primary will be on Feb. 29 in South Carolina, followed by the Super Tuesday contests in 14 states on March 3 that pick more than one-third of the pledged delegates who will help select a Democratic nominee. Nevada is the first nominating state with a diverse population after contests in predominantly white Iowa and New Hampshire. Your browser does not support the audio element. Despite having no money, a Vietnamese woman in her 60s cares for three orphaned children as if they were her own, showing the 'grandchildren' the love that trumps the troubles of an impoverished life in south-central Vietnam. Nguyen Thi Dung, 65, has spent the last 15 years scraping together a meager living through scrap collecting and janitorial work in Nha Trang, a popular touristy city in the south-central part of Vietnam. The little money she does earn from her work goes directly to supporting her grandchildren three orphaned kids she cares for as if they were her own flesh and blood. Grandmas home! As Dung pushes open the door to her shabby rented room, the drab studio is immediately brightened up by the sound of her three grandchildren rushing to hug her, exclaiming "grandmas home!" Su, seven, and his twin sister, Na, along with Vit, five, have been staying with Dung since before they could toddle. I just couldnt make ends meet in my rural hometown neighborhood, so I moved here after my husbands death, Dung shared. That was in 2004. Since then, she has been living in the same run-down studio flat eking out a modest living through odd jobs around town. One of those odd jobs began seven years ago when a young woman gave birth to twins and asked Dung to babysit them. When they were just five months old, the single mother left her babies with Dung and never returned. With their mother gone, the infants wouldnt stop crying. I was worried sick because I could hardly feed myself. I thought of taking them back to my hometown, but I had way to make a living there, Dung recalled. Fortunately, Dungs youngest son, Duong, who also does odd jobs in Nha Trang, did his best to chip in and raise the three children. There were times when we were plunged into sheer poverty and despair. Duong always said we should try our best to bring up the babies. He spent all the money he earned buying milk for them, Dung said. Hard-pressed, Dung even resorted to asking her neighbors for food, milk, and clothes. Fortunately the twins were happy to eat almost any kind of food we gave them and rarely got sick, the grandmother said proudly. Dung did not begin caring for the third child, Vit, until 2015 when Vits mother began asking her to babysit. After a year, the mother never came to pick up her child and Dung found herself caring for the girl full-time. Eventually, she learned that the woman had been sentenced to seven years in prison for drug trafficking. She has so far served four. When Dung brought the baby to her biological relatives in Nha Trang, they refused to care for her and Dung found herself taking care of a third child. I cant be away from home for more than one hour and usually dont lock the door. The kids fear they will be marooned once again or be taken to an orphanage, Dung said. Nguyen Thi Dung, 65, scavenges for scrap every night to feed her three adoptive grandchildren in Nha Trang City, Khanh Hoa Province, Vietnam. Photo: My Lang / Tuoi Tre Dung plans to have Na and Su registered for permanent residency and birth certificates with her younger brothers family in her hometown and send them to school. Su has finished the grade-one curriculum after attending free home tutoring sessions held by a group of students last year. I love the kids even more dearly than my own grandchildren and have rejected several adoption offers. Ive stayed put here for years in the hope that their mothers may return one day to take them home, Dung shared. Exhausted from daytime jobs, including cleaning for a hairdressing salon which earns her VDN300,000-400,000 (US$13-17) each month, peeling scallion heads for pickles, and doing laundry, she summons up what is left of her strength to scavenge for scrap at night to feed the three children. I always try to smile in the face of adversity. I dont care about myself, but I cant stand the idea of parting with the kids, the senior woman said, adding that she is thankful for the help she has received from her long-time landlord, neighbors, and the local government. Its brave of Dung to fend for those three small children despite her old age and lack of stable incomes or family support. She gives them all that she can get her hands on, Vo Van Dang, a 70-year-old security guard at a motorbike store nearby, said. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! She has channelled her love of swimwear into designing her own luxury pieces. And Elizabeth Hurley, 54, looked sensational in a skimpy purple bikini in a photo shared to her swimwear page on Sunday. The model stood in front of crystal blue waters in the sizzling snap wearing one of her own designer items that draws attention to her washboard abs. Gorgeous: Elizabeth Hurely, 54, looked sensational in a skimpy purple bikini in a photo shared to social media on Sunday She wore her chestnut hued tresses loose and looked glowing with a natural tan. The designer shared details of where to shop the eye-caching two-piece in the caption. She recently rubbished the idea of her 'parading around' in a bikini in public and revealed that she much prefers to 'cover up' instead. But that didn't stop her from stripping down to her swimwear on her arrival to the Maldives earlier this week. The actress looked sensational as she posed under a tree in a strapless white two-piece that made sure to show off her age-defying physique. Wow factor: Elizabeth stripped down to her swimwear on her arrival to the Maldives and shared a sizzling snap of herself in her barely-there bikini with fans on Instagram Elizabeth looked incredible as she modelled one of her own designs that paired together a plunging bandeau bikini top, that struggled to contain her assets, and matching bikini briefs that tied together at the hips. She wore a glam make-up look for her beach-inspired photoshoot and left her caramel locks down in tousled waves. Tagging her swimwear brand, Elizabeth Hurley Beach, the model teased: 'Hello from the glorious Maldives.' 'I like to cover up!' It comes after Elizabeth insisted she is 'much too old' to be parading around in her swimwear in public at the beach Her stunning post comes after Elizabeth insisted she doesn't like to parade around publicly in her bikini, despite littering her Instagram page with revealing snaps and modelling her own collection on the website for her swim brand. Speaking on Susannah Constantine's podcast, My Wardrobe Malfunction, she said: 'Most people are fine lying down, but when they stand up they want to cover up, including me. 'I like to cover up a lot. I certainly wouldn't walk round a public beach parading in a bikini anymore. I'm much too old. But, privately, of course.' Elizabeth is mum to son Damian, 17, and the pair are often shocking fans with just how similar they look. Spitting image: She is mum to 17-year-old son Damian, who looks strikingly similar to his famous mum and is now following her footsteps into modelling Damian, who counts Hugh Grant and Elton John as his godfathers, is the spitting image of his famous mum and is now following in her footsteps and making a name of himself in the fashion world. He signed with agency Tess Management in September 2018. Speaking previously about the close bond she and Damian share, Elizabeth told You magazine: 'I rather think I've simply been blessed with a child whose personality gels with mine. 'Friends who have several children always admit, although they love them all equally, inevitably there's one whose personality mirrors their own and they "get" each other better. It's definitely nature not nurture.' TORRINGTON Eastern Wyoming College will once again host a Job Expo on Tuesday, Feb. 25 in Torrington, Wyoming. The Job Expo will begin at 12 p.m. in the Verl Petsch Jr Activities Center Gymnasium at the College, and will conclude at 4 p.m. Attendees should come prepared with a resume and be prepared for an interview. Job seekers can preview Job Expo Employers at https://www.collegecentral.com/ewc.wy/. Create an alumni account and sign in. Click on the link at the top of the page to see whos coming and available jobs. This list is continually updated as employees register, keep checking back. There is still an opportunity to register your business or company to participate. Please contact Jo Ellen Keigley at 307-532-8288 to register or for more information. Submit Your News We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Editors note: Each Monday, the Kenosha News takes a look at the life of a Kenosha County resident who has recently died. We share with you, through the memories of family and friends, a life remembered. Bob Enstad was the consummate newsman; a man who sought out quality, professionally and personally. He had a mind for detail, the gift of gab and a way with words. He was a fast writer and accurate, said former Chicago Tribune editor John Gorman. Robert Enstad, 81, died of complications from Parkinsons disease Jan. 29 at Aurora Medical Center. He is survived by his brother, Richard (Marilyn) Enstad; his sister, Karyl (Roman) Rommelfanger of Manitowoc, WI; nieces; nephews; and cousins. Star of the city desk Plying his trade as a reporter for the Chicago Tribune for 36 years, Bob worked cops stories, federal court trials and investigative pieces. Some of his biggest bylines were on stories of the Chicago Seven trials following riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Bob was one of the stars of Tribunes city desk, but he didnt act like a big shot, John said. He was always very approachable. He was also a very likable guy, soft-spoken with a subtle sense of humor good traits for helping cultivate news sources, John said. Bob was a Pulitzer Prize nominee and co-winner of a Peter Lisagor Award from the Chicago Headline Club. Bob parlayed his press prowess when serving with the Illinois National Guard in the 1960s. In a letter of commendation, General Francis Kane wrote: I feel that Robert Enstad, with his newspaper experience, made a major contribution to the excellent reputation which has accrued to the Illinois National Guard. During...crises, particularly in 1965 and 1966, he met the working press from all over the world as they came to the Armory looking for stories. He understood their problems and consequently he was able to assist them greatly. Penchant for quality purchasesAnother facet to Bob was his penchant for quality purchases, from luxury cars and 40-foot sailboats to humble items like vacuum cleaners, lawn mowers, televisions and sound systems. The common denominator was quality, said longtime friend Fil Gonzales. He wanted the latest and greatest. In 1978, while still living in Chicago, Bob purchased a Frank Lloyd Wright-style home near Kenoshas downtown. This, too, was done on the grand scale, noted his sister, Karyl Rommelfanger. He was not one to buy any old house; it had to be something unique, she said. Despite his love of impressive purchases, Bob was not pretentious. Hed load up his luxury vehicles with yard waste. He loved pulling up to the dump in his Rolls Royce while wearing a flannel shirt and jeans, Fil said. Earl y life Bob was born Sept. 11, 1938, in Pine City, Minn., to Carl and Austred Enstad. He seemed destined for the role of roving reporter early on, said family. He was very gregarious, even as a young kid, Karyl said. Our folks had a business in town, and Mom said Bob would walk up and down the street and just talk to people. He knew lots of people; he was a talker. In high school, Bob wrote a political column for the River Falls Journal. Connections there yielded press credentials to attend the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in 1956. He watched the reporters interviewing people and decided right then and there he wanted to be a reporter, Karyl said. Bob attended the University of Wisconsin-River Falls and attained his journalism degree from Indiana University. After graduation 1961, Bob received his draft notice and signed on with the Illinois National Guard. He was assigned as General Francis Kanes personal attache and was on the front lines when the guard was called in to manage civil disturbances and the 1967 Chicago blizzard. In 1961, Bob also began his career at the Chicago Tribune. He started off as a neighborhood news reporter, covering McHenry County, soon moving onto the city desk in Chicago. In 1970, Bob covered the Chicago Seven trial and, in 1973, covered contempt of court charges against the defendants. He knew the law and knew how to talk to lawyers, John Gorman said. Bob was wired in he knew everybody the states attorney and county board members. Bobs coverage of the Chicago Seven trial was fair, factual and, when it needed to be, colorful, noted retired Tribune reporter William Mullen in a Chicago Tribune tribute to Bob. Bob also worked as a rewrite man and briefly reported from the Tribunes Washington, D.C., bureau in 1971. In 1991, Bob went to work at the Tribunes new Lake County Bureau in Vernon Hills, Ill., under John, who was appointed bureau editor. He was a mentor to me when we started the bureau, John said. He was well-respected and a key guy when we needed information in a hurry. Move to Kenosha, retirement Retiring from the Tribune in 1998, Bob moved to Kenosha permanently. Here he indulged his love of sailing and classy cars. Fil met Bob while driving by Bobs house in his Porsche 912. Bob had a Porsche 911 and invited Fil to stop to chat. Bobs Porsche had a clutch, and he didnt drive clutch so he let me try it out, Fil said. Bobs fleet of luxury vehicles included two Porsches, a Maserati, a Jaguar and two Rolls Royces, one of which was gold colored. In the 14 years that Fil knew Bob, Fil says Bob owned at least four very large boats. They were usually named for his cats, sporting monikers like Tiger and Cheetah. He was a bachelor and had the funds to enjoy those things, Karyl said. Bob also gave of his time and his possessions donating to charity, taking friends on sailboat outings and opening his home for parties. When a friends son graduated from high school, Bob arranged for him to ride to the ceremony in his gold Rolls Royce. Bob was super-generous whether helping young reporters learn the ropes or taking friends out for a sail on Lake Michigan, said Ross Werland, longtime friend and former Chicago Tribune reporter. Ross and Fil both recall Bobs legendary Fourth of July parties on his boat in the harbor. It seemed like everybody who had a boat at the harbor knew Bob like he was an unofficial mayor, Ross said. He had great parties at his house, especially for former Chicago Tribune colleagues, Ross said. I dont know anybody who could inspire that many people to drive up from Chicago, but hed get a huge crowd in his amazing back yard. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. M ore flooding misery is expected in parts of the UK after a third consecutive weekend of stormy weather - and forecasters have warned of more downpours to come. While the weather over the weekend was not bad enough to be a named storm, there was still enough for it to continue to test the UK's flood defences. A band of bad weather is moving across the south west of England and Wales on Sunday and more than 80 flood warnings are in place across England. Three weather warnings are then in place on Monday, one for snow in Scotland and two for rain and snow in Ireland and the north of England. There has been flooding across the country following Storms Ciara and Dennis / Getty Images Communities in Wales, Herefordshire, Shropshire and Yorkshire have braced for more rain after experiencing flooding this week. For London and the south east, a mild weekend is set to be followed by a colder start to the week. Marco Petagna, a forecaster at the Met Office, told the Standard: On Monday it will be wet and windy, with snow in parts of Scotland. By Tuesday it will have gotten colder in the south, down to around eight degrees, and will be around six degrees in the north. Storm Dennis: UK Flooding aftermath - In pictures 1 /33 Storm Dennis: UK Flooding aftermath - In pictures PA A rainbow appears over flooded fields in the Wye Valley Getty Images A Land Rover wades through flooded roads in the Wye Valley Getty Images A dog takes a drink from flood water as water levels in the River Ouse in York Getty Images South Wales Fire and Rescue personnel fit an outboard motor to a Rigid Inflatable Boat AFP via Getty Images A man cycles through floodwater after the River Ouse burst its banks in York AFP via Getty Images PA PA Getty Images Getty Images AFP via Getty Images A taxing time: Firefighters rescue people from a care home in Whitchurch on the banks of the River Wye after flooding from Storm Dennis. A proposal has been put forward to increase council tax and use the proceeds for a ring-fenced climate fund Getty Images A man walks through flood water, as pumps and flood barriers help to keep the water from flooding homes in Gloucester Road in Tewkesbury PA A section of road that has been closed off due to flooding in Monmouth PA Flooding in Ironbridge PA Residents picking up sandbags in Gloucester Road in Tewkesbury PA Authorities have warned that the current levels of flooding are unprecedented PA Temporary flood barriers hold back the river Severn in Ironbridge PA Residents bail out their homes in Ross-on-Wye AFP via Getty Images Swamped: rescuers help two women after the River Wye burst its banks in flood-hit Hereford Getty Images A man uses a plank of wood to paddle a kayak on flood water after the River Wye AFP via Getty Images A resident is rescued from a home in a boat by the emergency services amid flooding in Hereford on Monday AFP via Getty Images An aerial view showing flooding from the River Wye on Monday following Storm Dennis Getty Images A bin floats in flood water in a street in Tenbury AFP via Getty Images A man wades through flood water towards an ambulance in a flooded street in Tenbury Wells AFP via Getty Images As the band of bad weather pushes past the British Isles, the sky will start to dry up in the afternoon. Mr Petagna said: Monday looks unsettled across all areas. Well see wet and windy weather sweeping from the south-west gales or severe gale-force winds in place, and some snow towards the north of the UK. With rain and cold combining as the week moves forward, the Met Office has forecasted that things could icy on Thursday and Friday. The gloomy forecast came as Environment Secretary George Eustice defended Prime Minister Boris Johnson for defying calls to visit flood-stricken areas. Boris Johnson has been criticised for not visiting the flooded parts of the country he runs / Aaron Chown/PA He told Skys Sophy Ridge on Sunday: Its not true that the Prime Ministers not been engaged in this. Mr Eustice said: In a cabinet Government its not a one-man show, its right that on certain operational things such as this that the Prime Minister will ask one of his Cabinet members to lead, I cant see anything wrong with that. An Environment Agency spokesman said the further expected heavy rain meant that flood risk continues with the impacts of stormy weather continuing to be felt across England. He said: Further rain is expected over the weekend and during Monday, this heavy and persistent across parts of the north of England. This could lead to further flooding, particularly for rivers draining the Pennines, and for parts of the Midlands and the City of York where this rain will fall on saturated catchments where river levels are already high. River levels remain high and ongoing river flooding is probable for the River Severn this weekend and into next week. President Donald Trump said Sunday that he has never been briefed about Russian efforts to help Bernie Sanders win the Democratic presidential nomination and he accused the Democratic chairman of the House Intelligence Committee of leaking election security information from a classified briefing. Sanders acknowledged on Friday that he was briefed last month by U.S. officials about Russian efforts to boost his chances to be the nominee against Trump in November. "I read where Russia is helping Bernie Sanders," Trump told reporters before leaving on a trip to India. Nobody said it to me. Nobody said it to me at all. Nobody briefed me about that at all. ... They leaked it. He accused Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the committee chairman who played a lead role in Trump's impeachment, of leaking information from a classified briefing. Schiff and his group, they leaked it to the papers and as usual, Trump said. They ought to investigate Adam Schiff for leaking that information. He should not be leaking information out of intelligence. They ought to investigate Adam Schiff. Schiff said Trump's accusation was false. Nice deflection, Mr. President. But your false claims fool no one, Schiff tweeted. You welcomed Russian help in 2016, tried to coerce Ukraine's help in 2019, and won't protect our elections in 2020. Schiff also claimed that Trump fired Joseph Maguire this past week as acting national intelligence directo for briefing Congress about election interference from Russia. You've betrayed America. Again, Schiff tweeted. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In South Korea, Singapore and Iran, clusters of infections are leading to a jump in cases of the new viral illness outside China. But its not the numbers that are worrying experts: It's that increasingly they can't trace where the clusters started. World Health Organization officials said China's crackdown on parts of the country bought time for the rest of the world to prepare for the new virus. But as hot spots emerge around the globe, trouble finding each source the first patient who sparks every new cluster might signal the disease has begun spreading too widely for tried-and-true public health steps to stamp it out. A number of spot fires, occurring around the world is a sign that things are ticking along, and what we are going to have here is probably a pandemic, said Ian Mackay, who studies viruses at Australia's University of Queensland. The outbreak will also rock the Chinese economy and send shockwaves to the U.S. and the rest of the world, an economist nicknamed Dr. Doom for his dire, but accurate, predictions said. The virus has already led to the lockdown of more than 60 million people and caused scores of companies to temporarily shutter or reduce operations in the country, bringing the worlds second-largest economy to a grinding halt. The economic damage done to China implies that China cannot grow more than 4 percent this year," Nouriel Roubini, CEO at Roubini Macro Associates, said on WSJ at Large with Gerry Baker. "The transmission through trade and other channels is going to be seen across the world. That worst-case isn't here yet, the WHO insists. It isn't convinced that countries outside China need more draconian measures, but it pointed to spikes in cases in Iran and South Korea to warn that time may be running out to contain the virus. What we see is a very different phase of this outbreak depending where you look, said WHO's Dr. Sylvie Briand. We see different patterns of transmission in different places. Story continues CHINAS CORONAVIRUS PICKS UP GLOBALLY, CLAIMING LIVES IN 7 COUNTRIES The World Health Organization defines a global pandemic as a disease spreading on two continents, though some public health experts would call an outbreak a pandemic if the spread is over a wide area or across many international borders. The newest red flag: Iran has reported 28 cases, including five deaths, in just days. The cluster began in the city of Qom, a popular religious destination, but it's not clear how. Worse, infected travelers from Iran already have been discovered in Lebanon and Canada. In South Korea, most of the hundreds of new cases detected since Wednesday are linked to a church in the city of Daegu and a nearby hospital. But health authorities have not yet found the index case, the person among the churchs 9,000 followers who set off the chain of infections. GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE DR. DOOM WARNS CORONAVIRUS WILL SHOCK CHINESE ECONOMY There also have been several cases in the capital, Seoul, where the infection routes have not yet been traced. In Europe, Italy saw cases of the new virus more than quadruple in a day as it grapples with infections in a northern region that apparently have spread through a hospital and a cafe. A dozen towns in northern Italy effectively went into lockdown Saturday after the deaths of two people infected with the new virus and a growing cluster of cases with no direct links to the origin of the outbreak abroad. The secondary contagions prompted local authorities in the Lombardy and Veneto regions to close schools, businesses and restaurants and to cancel sporting events and Masses. The mayor of Milan, the business capital of Italy, shuttered public offices. Hundreds of residents and workers who came into contact with an estimated 54 people confirmed infected in Italy were in isolation pending test results. Civil protection crews set up a tent camp outside a closed hospital in Veneto to screen medical staff for the virus. A cluster of cases isn't inherently worrying in fact, it's expected as an infection that's easy to spread is carried around the world by travelers. The first line of defense: Isolate the sick to treat them and prevent further spread, and quarantine people who came in contact with them until the incubation period is over. But as the virus becomes more widespread, trying to trace every contact would be futile, Singapores Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong acknowledged earlier this month. If we still hospitalize and isolate every suspect case, our hospitals will be overwhelmed, he said. So far, the city-state has identified five clusters of transmission, including two churches. But there remain eight locally transmitted cases with no links to earlier cases, or to China. Viruses vary in how they infect. The new coronavirus unlike its cousins SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, and MERS, or Middle East respiratory syndrome spreads as easily as a common cold. And it's almost certainly being spread by people who show such mild symptoms that no one can tell, said Dr. Amesh Adalja of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. If that's the case, all of these containment methods are not going to work, Adalja said. It's likely mixed in the cold and flu season all over the place, in multiple countries and gone unnoticed until someone gets severely ill. These milder symptoms are good news in terms of not as many people dying, said Mackay, of Australia. But its really bad news if you are trying to stop a pandemic, he added. CORONAVIRUS MAY SLASH $29 BILLION FROM AIRLINES' REVENUE When Hong Kong reported it first death from the virus earlier this month, it also confirmed three locally transmitted cases with no known link to any previous cases or any travel history to China. Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Center for Health Protection warned then that "there could be invisible chains of infection happening within communities." Officials in both South Korea and Japan have signaled in the past week that the spread is entering a new phase in their countries. On Friday, South Korean Prime Minister Chung Se-kyun said the government would have to shift its focus from quarantine and border control to slowing the spread of the virus. Schools and churches were closed and some mass gatherings banned. Takaji Wakita, head of Japan's National Institute of Infectious Diseases, earlier urged people to work at home or in shifts to avoid being in a crowd, and refrain from holding non-essential and non-urgent meetings. But Adalja cautioned that far-reaching measures like China instituted in the outbreak's epicenter of Wuhan where citizens have been ordered to stay in their homes for weeks can backfire. While it remains to be seen if the new virus is waning, that kind of lockdown makes it hard for people to get other critically important care, like fast treatment for a heart attack. There's no way to predict if the recent clusters will burn out or trigger widespread transmission. For now, health officials should try and contain the infection for as long as possible while preparing for a change in strategy by preparing hospitals, readying protective equipment and bolstering laboratory capacity, said Gagandeep Kang, a microbiologist who leads Indias Translational Health Science and Technology Institute. Although the window of opportunity is narrowing to contain the outbreak, we still have a chance to contain it," said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. But while doing that, we have to prepare at the same time for any eventualities, because this outbreak could go any direction it could even be messy. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS The Associated Press contributed to this report. Related Articles UBLY Farmers know best homegrown food surpasses store-bought without question and siblings Jesse Walsh and Marlena Phillips of Ubly understand this firsthand. Together, they are sharing their love of cattle and confections across the country through their business Steaks and Cupcakes. Our grandpa bought the family farm back in World War II and he ran it until the 1980s, Jesse explained. Then our parents took it over. We grew up here, its what weve always done and love to do. Their Ubly farm is home to around three hundred steers and is also the hub for Marlenas independent confections business, MJs Kupcakery LLC. I started baking cupcakes through MJs right out of high school," Marlena said. "We have a licensed kitchen here at the farm. Then we teamed up together to create Steaks and Cupcakes. While MJs Kupcakery LLC is a community sensation for their gourmet filled cupcakes and the family farm has its fair share of local consumers, Steaks and Cupcakes gives them the opportunity to expand their client base to areas they wouldnt be able to reach otherwise. We wanted it to focus more on the online market for this business, Jesse said. While the service is still available locally, we wanted to offer food from our farm to people who might not have easy access to fresh beef or gourmet cupcakes. The pair explained that while Steaks and Cupcakes has been up and running for around a year and a half, the idea has been over three years in the making. In order to be one of the few Michigan farmers to ship their beef, it has to go through a vigorous USDA inspection process. Figuring out how to ship the cupcakes was no easy task either. The ball really got rolling once we worked our how to ship the cupcakes, Jesse said. Everything ships frozen, and cupcakes thaw quickly, so we wanted to make sure the quality stayed intact through the whole process. Both Jesse and Marlena expressed their gratitude for their family members living in other states, who were more than happy to help test their shipping methods to ensure their products stay looking and tasting good throughout transit. As for a physical location, Steaks and Cupcakes is regularly set up at the Oakland County Farmers Market. A lot of people in our community are lucky enough to have neighbors or know someone who raise beef, where at the market it isnt so common, Jesse said. Locally, people buy whole sides of beef and keep it in their freezer," Marlena added. "People in the city are more likely to go to the market and buy what they need for that week." Currently, Steaks and Cupcakes has the ability to ship its products to six states, including Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky, with plans to expand shipping to accommodate most of the continental United States. The main goal of Steaks and Cupcakes is to reach as many people as possible with their home-grown goodness, the pair said. Locally, Steaks and Cupcakes has donated beef to organizations such as Fiddlers Green, Safe Place, and Sanilac Rescue Mission. Its popular snack sticks are also available at various convenient stores around the thumb, including East Side Party Store in Bad Axe and Fast Freddies in Ubly. You can find more information about Steaks and Cupcakes on its Facebook page or online at www.steaksandcupcakes.com. For people in the thumb looking to order online and pick up locally, customers are encouraged to use the coupon codes Beef or Cupcakes in reference to which is being ordered, and select the appropriate shipping option for pick-up orders. A mother who was severely burnt when she was set alight in a Brisbane car fire which claimed the lives of her three young children and her husband has died in hospital. Queensland Police confirmed Hannah Baxter, 31, died from her injuries at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital early on Wednesday evening. Her children six-year-old Aaliyah, four-year-old Laianah and three-year-old Trey were killed in the incident on a quiet suburban street in Camp Hill in the citys east about 8.20am on Wednesday. Her husband Rowan Baxter, a former New Zealand Warriors rugby league player, also died in the blaze. Police are investigating the incident as a potential murder suicide, but have not ruled out the possibility that it was an accident. Hannah Baxter with her husband, Rowan, and their three young children. Source: Facebook But one witness told News Corp Ms Baxter had run from the car screaming: "He's poured petrol on me." Neighbours reported hearing multiple explosions before seeing the car engulfed in flames in Raven Street. Another man who tried to help at the scene was also taken to hospital with facial burns. Neighbour Andrew Sinclair described seeing Ms Baxter alight as she screamed for help. The pain she would have been suffering mentally and physically she was conscious during this time would have been horrific, he told the Today show on Thursday morning. Dozens of emergency services personnel attended the scene. Source: AAP He said the flames were so intense and felt like near a camp fire even from 20 metres away. Mr Sinclair also said another woman came out of her home with a hose in a desperate bid to put out the flames that had enwrapped Ms Baxter. One witness told The Australian the mother was rolling on the footpath in flames. A second person said Ms Baxters skin was peeling off her (with)... bits hanging off, The Courier Mail reported. The Baxters were owners of a fitness centre, but had reportedly separated late last year. The family was not involved in any Family Court or Federal Court proceedings. Detectives are still trying to establish how the fire started. Father active on Facebook prior to deaths Story continues Mr Baxter's Facebook profile is littered with pictures and videos of the three children, along with comments saying he "loves them to the moon and back" and "daddy misses you all". Six days ago his friend, Joey Abraham, wrote under a photo of little Trey: "Chin up brother everything will work out just hang in there my bro alot of people care about you and the situation your facing (sic)." Mr Baxter had previously posted on Facebook about how much he loved his kids. Source: Facebook Detective Inspector Mark Thompson said on Wednesday it was too early to draw any conclusions over the incident. "How the fire actually occurred has not been ascertained at the moment, so for us to call it a murder-suicide or a tragic accident, it's inappropriate at this stage," he said. "I've seen some horrific scenes - this is up there with some of the best of them. "It's a terrible thing to be presented with." Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467. If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, domestic or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au. 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. After spending two of three days in the previous week to mourn their late colleagues, the Senate resumed last week. Besides discussing security, which is a recurring debate in the upper chamber, lawmakers discussed other issues in the economy, the education sector and fraudulent activities in agencies. Below are some major highlights from the Senate last week: Monday The Senate Committee on Judiciary and Human Rights Matters held a public hearing on the anti-sexual harassment bill for higher institutions . Academic experts, students and civic groups were invited to give their opinion on the bill as well as suggest other amendments to be made to the bill. It was at this hearing that the chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Biodun Ogunyemi, described as biased, the proposed bill. He said the bill will stigmatise lecturers in universities. Tuesday Inscriptions like Free Zakzaky were seen on the door and wall of a female toilet on the New Wing of the legislative complex. The caption is believed to be have been written by suspected members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) in a bid to take their protests against the Nigerian government into the National Assembly. The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, tasked top security officials to beef up security measures at the legislative complex amidst reports that the National Assembly was under potential security threat. The directive, he said, follows an intel he got about security breach in the country. The leadership of the parliament will devise temporary solutions pending when the existing security structure is remodelled, he said. Mr Lawan disclosed that the Senate will fast-track the passage of bills passed in the eight Senate but not signed by President Muhammadu Buhari. Many of these bills have been reintroduced in the ninth Senate. Mr Lawan directed the majority and minority leaders to make a list of such bills. Wednesday The bill for the establishment of the national commission against the proliferation of small arms and light weapons passed second reading. The bill seeks to empower the commission to coordinate and implement activities to combat the problems of small arms and light weapons in Nigeria. Thursday A senator, Ibrahim Gaidam of Yobe East, introduced a bill to create an agency for repentant Boko Haram members. The bill which seeks to establish an agency that would see to the rehabilitation, deradicalisation and integration of repentant insurgents in the country, was read for the first time. The senators complained of poor national planning in Nigeria. They also complained of wastage in Nigerias annual budget. This was sequel to a motion on the need to establish a visionary budget-driven national planning framework for Nigeria. After several summons and several snubs, the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Hameed Ali, appeared before the Senate Committee on Public Accounts. Advertisements Mr Ali appeared before the committee to respond to queries in an auditor-generals report, including an indictment of the Customs on the non-remmittance of five per cent contributory pension to the Pension Commission. Union minority affairs minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi termed the Shaheen Bagh protest against CAA as an example of the dilemma between rights and duties of the people New Delhi: Union minority affairs minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Saturday termed the Shaheen Bagh protest against CAA as an example of the "dilemma" between rights and duties of the people. "They (protesters) understand their rights but not their duties. I do not think one can achieve their rights by hijacking (blocking) a road," Naqvi said at Indian Student Parliament event held at Vigyan Bhawan. "We will always be caught up in confusion if we do not understand our rights and duties," he said. The protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), primarily led by local women, started in Shaheen Bagh in mid-December and has led to blocking of a road connecting southeast Delhi areas to Noida causing daily hardships to commuters. Naqvi said fundamental rights and duties of citizens are equally important. "Rights and responsibilities are two sides of the same coin and both go together. If we have rights, we also have some responsibilities attached to those rights," he said. "Our sisters are sitting in Shaheen Bagh for many days. This is dilemma (kashmkash) between rights and duties," he said, adding unless rights and duties are seen together, such "confusion" will prevail. He asserted that the culture, commitment and tolerance of the majority community in India has strengthened the fabric of harmony and unity in diversity in the country. Some people are involved in conspiracy to create "fake fear" through "lyrics of lies" and "jingles of jugglery". "These people are trying to hijack communal harmony, secularism and constitutional framework of the country to fulfil their narrow-minded political self-interests," he claimed. The federal system of governance in the country is guarantee of communal harmony, he said. Naqvi said that a proper environment for enjoying rights will be created if every citizen performs his or her duties and added people's representatives should set an example for the common masses. "Our country has emerged not only as the largest democracy but also as a glowing symbol of a vibrant, inclusive culture with the flourishing parliamentary system, with the Constitution acting as the guarantee for protecting the rights of every section of the society," he said. The four-day Indian Student Parliament conclave is being participated by nearly 10,000 students from 450 universities across the country. By Robin Emmott and John Irish MUNICH (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo defended on Saturday his nation's global role despite misgivings in Europe, vowing that Western values would prevail over Russian and Chinese desires for "empire". Seeking to reassure Europeans troubled by U.S. President Donald Trump's "America first" rhetoric, his ambivalence over the NATO military alliance and tariffs on European goods, Pompeo said there was no crisis in Western leadership. "I'm happy to report that the death of the transatlantic alliance is grossly exaggerated. The West is winning, and we're winning together," he said in a speech at the Munich Security Conference, listing U.S. steps to protect liberal democracies. Pompeo's Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, accused him of telling "lies, not based on facts" about Beijing's intentions. Pompeo had been, in part, responding to German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who on Friday accused the United States, Russia and China of making the world more dangerous. French President Emmanuel Macron told the conference of international leaders, lawmakers and diplomats he was not surprised by Steinmeier's speech and had liked it. "We cannot be the United States' junior partner," Macron said, adding that while he supported NATO, Europe needed to be able to tackle threats in its neighborhood and at times act independently of Washington. "I'm impatient for European solutions," Macron said. Trump's decision to pull out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, as well as the Paris climate accord, have undermined European priorities, while moves such as recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital have weakened European diplomacy, envoys say. Pompeo defended the U.S. strategy, saying Europe, Japan and other American allies were united on China, Iran and Russia, despite "tactical differences." Pompeo, however, reiterated Washington's opposition to the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline under construction between Russia and Germany under the Baltic Sea, a project backed by the government of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Story continues Citing Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea, cyber threats in Iran and economic coercion by China, Pompeo said those countries were still "desiring empires" and destabilizing the rules-based international system. Wang responded to Pompeo by saying: "All these accusations against China are lies, not based on facts." But he added that Beijing was willing to sit down with Washington for "serious dialogue" and seek a less confrontational relationship. POLICY OF DEFIANCE Macron said the West's policy of defiance toward Russia in recent years had failed and, as nobody wanted to confront Moscow directly, the only option was to have a closer dialogue to resolve differences. "I hear the defiance of all our partners, I'm not mad, but I know that being defiant and weak ... is not a policy, it's a completely inefficient system," Macron told the conference. "There is a second choice, which is to be demanding and restart a strategic dialogue because today we talk less and less, conflicts multiply and we aren't able to resolve them, he added. U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, who spoke immediately after Pompeo, focused his remarks solely on China, accusing Beijing of a "nefarious strategy" through telecommunications firm Huawei. "It is essential that we as an international community wake up to the challenges presented by Chinese manipulation of the long-standing international rules-based order," Esper said. He said Washington is working with technology companies in the United States and allied nations to develop alternatives to Chinese 5G vendors and is testing them at U.S. military bases. He added that it was not too late for Britain, which last month said it would allow Huawei a limited role in building its 5G networks, to take "two steps back," but said he still needed to assess London's decision. (Additional reporting by Paul Carrel; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Helen Popper) New Delhi: Commonly known as 'kadi Patta' in India, the local Indian curry leaves which are easily found in every household serve not just as an ingredient for cooking but also benefit our health. According to a report published in the Krishi Jagran, curry leaves are effective in controlling blood sugar levels, diabetes management, maintenance of gastrointestinal health and many more. According to a health expert`s report in Krishi Jagran, regular consumption of curry leaves is known to lower the blood sugar levels as they come fully packed with antioxidants that help in the prevention of conversion of starch to glucose thus controlling the diabetes levels. Curry leaves are also beneficial in pregnancy. It eases nausea and uneasiness that pregnant women often go through. According to Krish Jagran, it stimulates the secretion of digestive enzymes that are known to ease the symptoms of vomiting and nausea. It also maintains gastrointestinal health. Digestive issues like indigestion, diarrhoea, and constipation can be healed through the consumption of curry leaves. Leaves come packed with digestive enzymes that further come with laxative properties and help in the regulation of laxative properties.Curry leaves are one of the many magic herbs that are found and grown on the Indian soil. Herbs are used in several Indian delicacies. India's only gold mining company, the Hutti Gold Mines produces just 2.3 gm of gold per tonne of ore. Kolkata/Sonbhadra (UP): The Geological Survey of India (GSI) has dismissed as fanciful claims by local officials that there are 3000 tonnes of gold deposits in Sonbhadra district in Uttar Pradesh. It said the estimated reserve would be no more than 160 kg. The claim of huge deposits of gold was made two days ago by the district mining officer of Sonbhadra, K K Rai. He said the gold seam runs through Son Pahadi and Hardi areas of the district. He estimated the deposits in Son Pahadi at around 2,943.26 tonnes, while the estimate for Hardi block was more modest, 646.16 kg. However, GSI director-general M Sridhar told PTI in Kolkata last night that "The mineralised zone having an average grade of 3.03 gm of gold per tonne of ore is tentative in nature. The total gold that can be extracted from a total of 52,806.25 tonnes of ore is approximately 160 kg, not 3,350 tonnes as mentioned in the media." The northern region division of GSI carried out a survey of the Sonbhadra area back in 1998-99 and 1999-2000. The report was shared with the UP director-general of mining. There was no indication from that survey that huge deposits of gold are available in the region. That survey estimated about 52,806.25 tonnes of ore in that area. A mere 3.03 gm of actual gold would be extractable per tonne of ore. Gold usually occurs in native form alloyed with other metals like silver or mercury in alluvial soils such as riverbeds and floodplains. It also exists in oxidized form in ores such as quartzite, calaverite and sylvanite. Of the worlds known mineral reserves of gold ore, 50 percent are found in South Africa, and most of the rest is divided among Russia, Canada, Australia, Brazil, and the US. India has only three producing gold mines at Hutti, Uti and Hirabuddini. The famous Kolar gold fields were mined since the Indus Valley civilization and sporadicaly right until their closure due to nonviability in 2001. The Hutti gold mines too are in Karnataka and are owned by the state government. The Hutti Gold Mines are the only company in India that mines and processes gold ore. Hutti barely produces 2.65 gm of gold per metric ton of ore. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Fulya Ozerkan and Ahmad Parhizi (Agence France-Presse) Istanbul, Turkey/ Tehran, Iran Sun, February 23, 2020 23:11 688 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad206620ed3 2 World #Iran,#earthquake,death-toll,injury,Turkey Free A magnitude 5.7 earthquake in northwestern Iran on Sunday killed at least nine people in neighbouring Turkey and injured dozens more on both sides of the border, authorities said. The epicentre of the quake, which struck at 9:23 am (0553 GMT), was near the Iranian village of Habash-e Olya, less than 10 kilometres (six miles) from the border, according to the US Geological Survey. The earthquake had a depth of six kilometres, said Tehran University's Seismological Centre. In Turkey, it was felt mostly in the eastern district of Baskale in Van province on the Iran border. Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said nine people were killed, speaking to reporters from the quake scene in Van. Four of the dead were children. "We have right now no citizens trapped under the rubble," he said. Images showed collapsed adobe houses in several snow-covered villages in Van province. In Gurpinar village, search and rescue teams were seen on top of the rubble pile, watched by anxious locals. Van, which was hit by a 7.1 magnitude quake in 2011 killing more than 500 people, was struck by tragedy again this month when two avalanches left 41 people dead. Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said 37 people were injured and nine of them were in critical condition. He said that 25 ambulances, one rescue helicopter and teams of medics were rushed to the quake region. Turkish officials said some schools were also damaged in several villages. Dozens injured in Iran The impact of the quake in Iran was less severe, according to latest reports. It injured at least 51 people in Iran's West Azerbaijan province, 17 of whom had been hospitalised, the country's emergency services said. The same source also said there was damage to buildings in 43 villages. Sunday's earthquake was felt in several Iranian cities, including Khoy, Urmia, Salmas and Osku, state media reported, citing West Azerbaijan's crisis management centre. Both Iran and Turkey sit on top of major tectonic plates and see frequent seismic activity. In November 2017, a 7.3-magnitude quake in Iran's western province of Kermanshah killed 620 people. In 2003, a 6.6-magnitude quake in southeastern Iran decimated the ancient mud-brick city of Bam and killed at least 31,000 people. Iran's deadliest quake was a 7.4-magnitude tremor in 1990 that killed 40,000 people in northern Iran, injured 300,000 and left half a million homeless. In December and January, two earthquakes struck near Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant. Iran's Gulf Arab neighbours have often raised concerns about the reliability of the country's sole nuclear power facility, which produces 1,000 megawatts of power, and the risk of radioactive leaks in case of a major earthquake. Turkey is also prone to earthquakes and over 40 people died in January after a 6.8-magnitude quake struck Elazig in eastern Turkey. In 1999, a devastating 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit Izmit in western Turkey, killing more than 17,000 people including about 1,000 in the country's most populous city, Istanbul. South Korea has witnessed a rapid spike in Coronavirus or COVID-19 cases. Reportedly, almost half of the 433 confirmed cases have been linked by authorities to a branch of a controversial religious group in the southern city of Daegu. According to reports, this religious group is often viewed with suspicion by traditional religious organisations. 9,300 Shincheonji members in self-isolation Reports claim that around 9,300 Shincheonji members have been put into self-isolation and will be tested. At a press briefing on Friday, South Korea's Centers for Disease Control & Prevention Director Jung Eun-Kyeong has reportedly said that the authorities are seeing a possibility "that the characteristics of many people sitting close together in a very confined space and holding service for more than an hour ... (could have led to) a few who were exposed infecting many (other) infectees". According to reports, members of the group congregate in a way that puts them in close contact with one another for long. Secret religious organisation considered a cult Reports indicate that around 231 of the confirmed COVID-19 cases can be traced to the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in the city of Daegu. Daegu is the fourth-largest city in South Korea. While the group reportedly said it "deeply regrets" the outbreak which occurred in their Daegu branch, it also expressed concern over "false information" that has been circulating about it. Reports claim that the group is quite often considered to be a cult by mainstream churches. Shincheonji Church of Jesus was founded back in 1984 by Lee Man-hee, who, the followers believe is the second coming of Jesus. While the church may be considered unorthodox by mainstream churches, it boasts a membership exceeding 150,000 members. Read: Coronavirus: Mumbai Airport Starts Screening Passengers Arriving From Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam And Nepal Read: India's Robust Health Surveillance Stalled Coronavirus Entry The number of confirmed cases in South Korea has increased nearly eightfold since last week, the South Korean authorities are concerned that the number of infected will only rise. 6,037 people are being tested and 1,250 members have been reported to have exhibited Coronavirus like symptoms. The Church has come under severe scrutiny recently because several of the confirmed cases within the church can be traced back to patient number 31 who is a 61-year-old woman and a follower of Shincheonji. According to reports, patient 31 was first admitted to the hospital following a small car accident, On the fourth day of her stay at the hosp[ital she developed symptoms of the virus but refused to get checked. After eventually getting checked she was confirmed to be infected with the virus. it has been reported that before receiving the positive results, patient 31 left the hospital 4 times to attend church services which were attended by almost 1,000 other church members. (Image Credit: PTI) Read: Iranian State TV Reports District Mayor Infected With Coronavirus, Official Denies Read: US Says Russia Behind Huge Coronavirus Disinformation Campaign Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said India looks forward to welcoming United States President Donald Trump, who will arrive on his maiden visit to the country beginning February 24. IMAGE: Workers install a hoarding with images of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump, ahead of Trump's maiden India visit, in Ahmedabad, on Saturday . Photograph: Kunal Patil/PTI Photo The US president will be on a two-day visit to India. 'India looks forward to welcoming @POTUS @realDonaldTrump. It is an honour that he will be with us tomorrow, starting with the historic programme in Ahmedabad,' Modi wrote on Twitter. He was responding to a tweet by Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani that said 'entire Gujarat speaks in one voice- #NamasteTrump'. On Monday, President Trump and Prime Minister Modi will take part in a 22-km roadshow from the Ahmedabad international airport. Then they will proceed for the 'Namaste Trump' event at the newly built Sardar Patel Stadium in the city's Motera area, where over one lakh people are expected to be present. The US president will later fly down to Agra. He would then depart for Delhi. On the morning of February 25, the US president and First Lady Melania Trump will be accorded a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan. From there, they will go to Raj Ghat to pay homage at the 'samadhi' of Mahatma Gandhi. It will be followed by restricted and delegation-level talks between Trump and Modi at Hyderabad House. Open source On February 22, citizens, who were on the Diamond Princess cruise ship, where a large outbreak of COVID-19 was registered, were evacuated from Japan to Russia. Three evacuated were provided with coronavirus diagnosis. Interfax reported this with reference to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova. "On February 22, 2020, in accordance with the decision of the operational headquarters to prevent the import and spread of new coronavirus infection into the Russian Federation, Russian citizens were evacuated from Japan, from Daimond Princess cruise ship, where a large outbreak of COVID-19 was registered. Eight were returned to the Russian Federation Russians, of whom three had a new coronavirus detected while on the liner, the remaining Russian citizens refused to fly on a special comfortable board of the Ministry of Emergency Situations," Golikova stated. She emphasized that "the evacuation was carried out by the Ministry of Emergencies with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, the Russian Embassy in Japan and with the participation of specialists from Rospotrebnadzor, Russian doctors who ensured compliance with the anti-epidemic regime and monitoring the health of Russian citizens." "Compatriots, who returned to Russia, feel good. New coronavirus infection, identified by laboratory tests, proceeds in a mild form without pronounced symptoms and complications. Nothing threatens people's health and health of their families," Golikova emphasized. All evacuated people would be quarantined under medical supervision in the city of Kazan for 14 days As we reported before, two Ukrainians from Diamond Princess cruise ship, diagnosed with a new Covid-19 coronavirus, have not yet been tested for recovery. This was reported by the Director of the Consular Service Department of Ukraines Ministry of Foreign Affairs Serhii Pohoreltsev. TurboTax maker Intuit Inc. is close to an agreement to buy personal-finance technology portal Credit Karma Inc. for roughly $7 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing anonymous sources. The deal, which will be in cash and stock, would push Intuit further into the growing online consumer finance sector. The company is expected to announce the agreement on Monday, people familiar with the matter told the newspaper. The acquisition would be Intuit's largest in its 37-year history. Intuit shares have risen nearly 14% since the beginning of the year, and the company is expected to report second-quarter earnings on Monday. Credit Karma, a startup headquartered in San Francisco, was valued at about $4 billion in a private share sale roughly two years ago. The platform offers users free access to credit scores and reports, and gives personalized loan and credit card recommendations based on the users' credit history. Under the agreement, Credit Karma would function as a stand-alone business with its chief executive, Kenneth Lin, staying in charge, one person told The Journal. Read the full report here CARSON CITY, Nev. Democracy was on full display in Nevada's state capital Saturday. Despite fears of an Iowa-style meltdown, caucusgoers here enjoyed a caucus experience that largely was low on technological glitches and high on spirited discussions. Hanging out here this morning, we have had some wonderful debates with Bernie (Sanders) supporters and we all agreed that the number one goal is to beat Donald Trump in November, said Jamie Hutchinson, a precinct captain who supported former mayor Pete Buttigieg. Hutchinson spent her day at Eagle Valley Middle School, one of three caucus locations in this town of 55,000 that is just south of Reno and east of Lake Tahoe. As with Eagle Valley, Carson Middle School and Pioneer High School had no lines as doors opened to caucus voters around 10 a.m. PT. That stands in stark contrast with reports from caucus veterans here who say lines in 2016 wrapped around the block and lasted hours, causing some people to give up. This year, Nevada allowed early voting, which wound up accounting for some 75,000 votes, in contrast to the 84,000 who caucused in total four years ago. Supporters of a range of Democratic candidates set up shop in the early chill, some offering coffee and donuts along with T-shirts and signs. Unlike a simple private primary vote, caucusing amounts to a gathering of neighbors aligned by precincts. During the actual caucus which as anticipated lasted from noon to 2 p.m. PT caucusgoers have the opportunity to try to convince supporters of less viable candidates to align with theirs. But passions ran hot among those hoping to capture any last minute hearts and minds. Nevada Democratic Caucus Results: Follow live updates from the Nevada Democratic caucuses Ivet Contreras, right, sets up a table outside Eagle Valley Middle School's caucus site. Contreras is the Nevada press secretary for the campaign of Tom Steyer. "We are talking to people who maybe aren't sure who to vote for yet, giving them the message that with his entrepreneurial background, Tom is the best person to take on Trump and the economy," said Ivet Contreras, Nevada press secretary for billionaire businessman Tom Steyer. Story continues Brandishing cookies and buttons outside Eagle Valley Middle School, Contreras and her team had just finished giving a hug to 92-year-old Hal Sayler. I like that Steyer supports term limits, said Sayler, sporting a Navy veteran hat. All those guys in Washington worry about is getting reelected, while theyre there spending our money. Sayler, who served in the military everywhere from Hawaii to Alaska before turning to a career in education, added that he was tired of corporations running the show and making politicians millionaires. Asked why Steyer and not some of the other Democrats who have found more success with voters so far, such as Sanders, Sayler said someone like the Vermont senator was a bit too far to the left. Live blog: Sen. Bernie Sanders holds double-digit lead in early Nevada caucus results As Sayler walked inside the school caucus site, Justin Vest, a precinct captain for Sanders, dismissed the concern that if Sanders wins the Democratic nomination Republicans would derail his bid by seizing on the senators most liberal views. I think if you look at younger voters theyre going to look at his positions on climate change and the economy and the whole socialist label will fall flat, Sayler said. Alyssa Jesnick, a precinct lead for Pete Buttigeig's campaign, gets ready to enter Pioneer High School, one of three caucus locations in the northern Nevada capital of Carson City. Bundled up against the cold as she waited for the caucus site doors to open at Pioneer High was Alyssa Jensick, 45, a middle school teacher who was acting Saturday as precinct lead for the campaign of Pete Buttigieg. Jensick had already made her caucus preference days before but agreed to help when the campaign said it needed her. On election night in 2016, I cried when President Donald Trump was elected, Jensick said. I was raised believing that we are all in this together, on a community level, state level, national level and world level," she said. "But I dont feel that many in Washington today understand what it means to truly be a citizen. It seems to just be all about, what can you do for me? Although she is a lifelong Democrat, she admits that she has not yet put a bumper sticker on her car that still sits in her kitchen reading, Proud Democrat. She says that's because of the party allowing former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg to jump into the race late on the back of millions of dollars of campaign advertising. I dont want the White House to be bought, she said as the doors opened to let caucusgoers inside. "Is there going to be heat in there?" she asked as others cheered. At Carson Middle School, a woman who previously had been sitting with caucusing Nevadans, stood in silence in the makeshift Observers section of the gym. Asked why shed left the group, Erin Epperson smiled and whispered, Shhh, Im a Republican." A caucus varies greatly from a simple primary; in Carson City, Nevada, Saturday, Democrats came out not just to vote but also voice their support for specific presidential candidates and try to convince anyone undecided or who had supported a losing candidate to come on board with their politician. The process can be cumbersome and difficult to explain, and in Iowa resulted in numerous tech glitches. Epperson, 39, had come to the school with her Democrat boyfriend the two work at the same small manufacturing company in Carson City and have been dating since before Trump took office. She says she and her boyfriend differ in many ways hes an atheist and shes a practicing Christian but have learned to manage the vast political gap between them. He likes Bernie Sanders, because the idealistic side of him that I love wants fairness for all people, says Epperson. Im glad hes participating in this process. As for us, we have learned to manage, otherwise we would be fighting all the time and who wants to do that. Not sure if youre registered to vote?: Check here so you can Caucus. She says shes not a fan on Sanders' more socialist policies as that approach doesnt let people stand up for themselves. For Epperson, her support of Trump boils down to one word: economics. She calls herself a capitalist, I have stocks, and says she appreciates how things have been going financially. And I like his brashness, Ill admit it. But he can also seem like a blustering idiot. As the actual caucus got underway, a far more grassroots version of the electoral process took shape. After an initial grouping that saw people select their first choice, volunteers carefully explained that those candidates who received too few votes were deemed not viable. Those caucusgoers then had a chance to switch groups, selecting a candidate that had hit the viability threshold. There were the inevitable delays, as precinct captains reiterated how the rules worked and some caucusgoers grumbled about the process. When it came to tabulating results, some captains found there were issues with the iPads issued by the state's Democratic party: They were having a tough time getting reception inside the schools. But there was hand-tabulating going on as well, and eventually votes were tallied as a picture began to take shape of who Democrats in this state would like in the White House next year. This caucus was the first-ever for 23-year-old Sydney Fillippini, who was practically skipping out of Carson Middle School as the proceedings came to a close. "This was just amazing, it was a place your opinion mattered compared to the voting booths where you hide your face," she said. "This is all about being loud and proud, and that's what Nevada is, loud and proud." Fillippini says she supports Sanders, for whom she canvassed last summer, even getting a milkshake thrown at her by a Trump supporter. She plans to keep volunteering, and would love to be a delegate from the state at the national convention. Fillippini says she's a cancer survivor, and is particularly moved by Sanders' MediCare for All plan. "I'm tired of having a panic attack every month, worried that I won't have the medications that I need," she says. "This election is about the young in particular. Because it's our future on the line, so why not get involved and take control." Follow USA TODAY national correspondent Marco della Cava: @marcodellacava This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nevada caucuses largely avoid tech issues, as early voting brings calm A group of martial arts students perform during "The Legend of Shaolin 2018" show in Houston, Texas, the United States, on November 11, 2018. Hundreds of Chinese and American audience marveled at the performance of Chinese Shaolin Kung Fu on Sunday in Houston, the fourth largest city in the United States. [Xinhua] Xi said he is pleased to see those students write and learn Chinese so well, and hopes that they will continue to work hard, make greater progress and become young ambassadors for the friendship between the two peoples. BEIJING, February 22 (Xinhua) Chinese President Xi Jinping has written back to a group of U.S. elementary school students, encouraging them to continue their efforts to learn Chinese language and culture and contribute to promoting friendship between the two peoples. On the eve of the Spring Festival, 50 fourth-grade students from Cascade Elementary School in the U.S. state of Utah wrote New Year cards to Xi in Chinese, telling him about their Chinese language learning and personal hobbies, expressing their love for China and Chinese culture as well as their hope for a chance to visit China, and wishing "Grandpa Xi" a happy New Year. In his reply letter dated February 15, Xi told the children that like the United States, China is a big country, that the Chinese civilization has a history of more than 5,000 years, and that the Chinese people are as hospitable as the American people. Children in Chinese traditional costumes prepare for the Chinese recital competition in Dallas, the United States, on December 14, 2019. [Xinhua] He added that they can learn more about Chinese history and culture by learning the Chinese language, which is used by more than 1 billion people around the world. Xi said he is pleased to see those students write and learn Chinese so well, and hopes that they will continue to work hard, make greater progress and become young ambassadors for the friendship between the two peoples. Established in 1967, the public school is one of the first schools in Utah to offer a Chinese immersion program, which involves more than half of its students. Utah has one-fifth of all Chinese language learners in the United States. The state's Chinese immersion program began in 2009 and is now available in 76 elementary and secondary schools. (Source: Xinhua) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Bambang Muryanto and Sri Wahyuni (The Jakarta Post) Yogyakarta Sun, February 23, 2020 16:39 689 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad20661b281 1 National sleman,turi,flash-flood,sembor-river,Yogyakarta,student,students,scouts,trekking Free A scoutmaster in Yogyakarta has been charged with negligence resulting in death after 10 junior high school students were killed in a flash flood that struck during a riverbank trek. Investigators named a scoutmaster, IYA, a suspect in the case, Yogyakarta police spokesman Sr. Comr. Yulianto told reporters on Saturday, adding that the suspect was a physical education teacher at Turi 1 junior high school in Sleman. The suspect was charged under Article 359 of the Criminal Code, which pertains to negligence leading to death, as well as Article 360 on negligence resulting in injuries. The charges carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison. The incident occurred on Friday when 249 seventh and eighth graders from Turi 1 junior high school went trekking along the banks of the Sembor River as part of a girl and boy scout activity. The students started trekking from Dukuh hamlet in Donokerto village, Turi district, Sleman, and walked upstream for about 1 kilometer. During the trek, the river suddenly flooded and strong currents swept away many of the students. Ten female students were killed, with the joint search and rescue (SAR) team recovering the last two bodies in the early hours of Sunday. Read also: Final death toll in Yogyakarta flash flood stands at 10 Yulianto said the scouts had been supervised by seven scoutmasters, one of whom remained at the school while the other six accompanied the students during their trek. One of the scoutmasters left the trek midway because of personal reasons and one more was waiting at the finish point. So, four scoutmasters were with the students that day, Yulianto added. The Yogyakarta Police have questioned the other three scoutmasters about the Sleman scout chapter's standard operating procedure for such high-risk scout activities. Several residents of Dukuh hamlet have also been questioned. Yulianto said more suspects could be named in the case once investigators finished questioning the participating scouts. They are still in shock, so we havent questioned them. The police previously said that inadequate safety equipment and lack of planning were among the reasons the trek had ended in disaster. From the information we got, [the scouts] only had sticks with them; they didnt bring any rope and went on the trip with only six scoutmasters, Yogyakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Asep Suhendar told reporters on Saturday. Turi 1 junior high school principal Tutik Nurdiana said she had not been aware of a trekking activity on Friday afternoon. Honestly, I didnt know that [the students] would go on a river trek. The [scoutmasters] didn't tell me, Tutik said, adding, however, that the school did hold scout activities every Friday from 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Esti Wijayanti, a member of the House of Representatives Commission X overseeing education and youth affairs who visited the site of the incident, said she would evaluate the schools scout curriculum, particularly its safety procedures. The participants were not even asked whether they could swim, she said. Read also: Reckless: Parents criticize school for allowing river trek before Yogyakarta flash flood According to Tita Vhasya Pradita, a 13-year-old girl scout who survived the flash flood, as the students were making their way toward the river, they were urged by several hamlet residents to stop their trek because of flooding in the north. "I heard the scoutmaster say that it was OK because our lives were in Gods hands, Tita said. The Social Affairs Ministrys director for natural disaster protection, Rachmat Koesnadi, visited Tita at the community health center (Puskesmas) where she was being treated. After meeting her, he told reporters that the ministry would provide Rp 15 million (US$1,088) in compensation for the family of the students who had died in the incident. (aql/hol) Allison Jane Ambrosio and Bryant Mitchell Conkling were married Feb. 22 at District Winery, a restaurant and events space in Washington. The Rev. Anne Flynn, an Episcopal deacon and friend of the brides family, officiated. Ms. Ambrosio, 31, is a senior program manager at the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, a health care research funding organization in Washington. She graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., and received a master of public health degree from Boston University. She is the daughter of Geraldine A. Ambrosio and Ralph V. Ambrosio of Pelham Manor, N.Y. The brides father, who is retired, was a sergeant in the New York Police Departments Housing Bureau in the Bronx. Her mother, who is also retired, was a principal at the DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx. Mr. Conkling, 30, is an associate specializing in strategic and operational support for federal health care agencies at Booz Allen Hamilton, a management consulting firm in McLean, Va. He graduated from Beloit College in Beloit, Wis., and received a masters degree in public policy and management from Johns Hopkins University. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy shown here during a press conference at Maple Shade High School, in Maple Shade, on Feb. 11. Read more New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced on Saturday that he will undergo surgery in early March to remove a tumor likely cancerous on his left kidney. The prognosis is very good and Im profoundly grateful to my doctors for detecting the tumor early, Murphy, 62, wrote in a tweet to his nearly 65,000 followers. The news comes just days before Murphy, a Democrat who is expected to run for reelection next year, is set to propose his third state budget. Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver will serve as acting governor while Murphy is briefly hospitalized and during his recovery, according to NJ Advance Media. The recovery is expected to last a few weeks. During a recent checkup, Governor Murphys doctor discovered a three-centimeter-wide tumor on his left kidney," Murphy communications director Mahen Gunaratna said in an email Saturday night. In early March, the Governor will undergo a partial nephrectomy to remove the tumor. His doctors prognosis is that this is fully treatable since the tumor was discovered early. In announcing his surgery on Twitter, Murphy said: Over 50,000 New Jerseyans will hear the words 'you have cancer this year, so Im far from alone here. Its a situation that far too many families find themselves in. Thats why were fighting for them each and every day. Gunaratna said news of his tumor has made Murphy "more committed than ever to fighting for these families by standing up for the Affordable Care Act, reducing the cost of health care, and making high-quality health care affordable and accessible to all. First lady Tammy Murphy also tweeted a message of support for her husband and health-care access. I know Phil and hes a fighter," she wrote. "Were grateful to his amazing team of doctors who detected this tumor early. Lets keep fighting to make high-quality health care accessible and affordable for all! Murphy, who also serves as chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, is expected to be hospitalized in New York City for two or three days, then recover at home for a few weeks, he told NJ Advance Media. Ive got a 5K knock on wood scheduled for April that I fully expect to be running in," he told the news organization, noting that he has experienced no symptoms and also ran a 5K last Sunday. He said his family has no known history of cancer. The tumor was found during a recent intestinal test. Staff writer William Bender contributed to this report. In a fiery CNN segment, host Anderson Cooper called out an unrepentant Rod Blagojevich, on his third day out of prison following the commutation of his sentence by Donald Trump. Mr Blagojevich, the former Democratic governor of Illinois, imprisoned in late 2011 following convictions in 17 out of 20 corruption charges, claimed that he was a political prisoner not dissimilar to Nelson Mandela and made excuses as to why he should not have been in prison. Responding to his protestations and refusal to acknowledge established facts, Mr Cooper said: "You got out. You do have an obligation to at least admit what you did wrong. CNN anchor Anderson Cooper confronted an unrepentant Rod Blagojevich on the 21 February, 2020, edition of his show AC360 in a heated exchange described by viewers as 'masterful': CNN And you refused to do that, and youre creating a whole new alternate universe of facts. He added: And that may be big in politics today, but its still, frankly, just bulls***. Its not bulls***, I lived it myself, Mr Blagojevic protested. Its not bulls*** at all. As governor, Mr Blagojevich was charged with corruption and impeached by the state legislature. He was accused of wire fraud, attempted extortion, and conspiracy to solicit bribes. Most famously his charges included trying to solicit money for an appointment to former President Barack Obama's US Senate seat after he won the presidency. After his first trial ended in a hung jury, a retrial was ordered and he was found guilty and sentenced to 14 years in prison. He claimed his conviction was the result of lies the prosecutors told to the jury in the trial. Said Cooper: The very argument you are making right now ... it was heard in the courtroom and no one bought it. The anchor was unamused by the lack of remorse from Mr Blagojevich for the crimes for which he was convicted, and his portrayal of himself as a victim or persecution by prosecutors. Cooper was especially taken aback by the claim that the former governor was a political prisoner comparable to Mandela, which he described as offensive and just nuts. Now out of prison, Mr Blagojevich has said he will advocate for criminal justice reform. As governor he took little action on clemency petitions, acting on only a quarter of them. Cooper said his new found interest in criminal justice is therefore ironic, and, frankly, a little sad and pathetic and hypocritical. Story continues Thats among my biggest regrets, said Mr Blagojevich before claiming he didnt know how corrupt the criminal justice system was until he experienced it himself. Coopers refusal to let Mr Blagojevich's claims go unchallenged has drawn praise across social media, being called masterful and cited as an example of real journalism. Anderson Cooper is a legend. pic.twitter.com/4YYwmJVF2a Ian Sams (@IanSams) February 22, 2020 Blagojevich (verb) 1. To completely lack empathy for disenfranchised people to the point of malice until you, yourself, are forcibly placed in the exact same position as the people in question 2. To get your ass handed to you on live TV by Anderson Cooper Padma Lakshmi (@PadmaLakshmi) February 22, 2020 Mr Blagojevich now describes himself as a Trumpocrat. He has known the president for some years, having appeared on Celebrity Apprentice in 2010. Read more Rod Blagojevich leaves jail after wife's campaign of Trump flattery Trump commutes sentence of disgraced governor Blagojevich Anderson Cooper calls out Sarah Huckabee Sanders for lying in press co Anderson Cooper says his tweets calling Trump a 'pathetic loser' were Police across China have launched investigations into illegal business operations such as hoarding and price gouging as China continues its crackdown on crimes related to the novel coronavirus epidemic. The Ministry of Public Security, together with the State Administration for Market Regulation, has required local authorities to strengthen the coordination of law enforcement and justice departments to strictly and promptly punish hiking up prices of protective equipment and daily commodities. Police in Guangdong, Liaoning, Shandong and Hubei provinces have been investigating in cases where the suspects had been profiteering through selling masks at exorbitant prices. According to the Ministry of Public Security, anyone involved in illegal activities such as hoarding, hiking up prices of epidemic prevention products, medicines or daily commodities and profiteering that seriously disrupt the market shall be held accountable for the crime of illegal business operations. Watch: Girls trip and fall during massive Congress sponsored marathon in UP BJP needs to change its mindset about women': Congress Cong accuses BJP of using Tek Fog app to propagate agenda on SM, seeks intervention by SC Why is Congress unhappy when Trumps visit will raise countrys stature globally India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Feb 23: Hitting out at the Congress over its scepticism about US President Donald Trump's visit to India, the BJP on Saturday asked the opposition party why it is unhappy when the country's stature is being raised globally. Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters here, party spokesperson Sambit Patra said Trump's visit will be a landmark moment in the Indo-US relationship and advised the Congress to "start taking pride in the nation's achievements". Trump visit wont benefit India says Swamy "This is a meeting of the world's largest and oldest democracies and it should be celebrated," he said. NEWS AT NOON FEB 23rd, 2020 Underlining that Trump himself has said multiple times that India is a hard bargainer, Patra said the Congress should not be worried about India's interests. With Prime Minister Narendra Modi's hardwork, India's relations with other countries have further strengthened from Sochi to Mallapuram, he said. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, February 23, 2020, 9:18 [IST] Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday alleged that the BJP-led government waived loans, amounting to about Rs eight lakh crore, of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "capitalist friends" and asked why the dispensation was not making the names of the beneficiaries public Her attack on the government came a day after the Congress demanded that a high-level panel be set up to examine the process of loan waiver. "The BJP government has waived loans worth Rs 8 lakh crore of capitalist friends of Modi ji. Why is the government which claims of making the names of the people having black money public is not making the names of these people public? By what process were their debts waived?" Priyanka Gandhi said in a tweet. No immediate reaction was available from either the government or the BJP. "When the farmers of our country are burdened with debt, then under which policy did the BJP forgive the debts of its rich friends?" the Congress general secretary asked. The government cannot avoid these questions, Priyanka Gandhi said. On Saturday, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala had cited a report by global financial services company Credit Suisse to level the allegations against the government. The total impaired assets of the banking sector have remained at Rs 16,88,600 crore or 15.7 per cent of the total advances of banks as of December 2019, despite a decline in gross non-performing assets (NPAs) to Rs 9,10,800 crore or 9.2 per cent of the advances, media reports had said citing the Credit Suisse report. Impaired assets of banks include both gross NPAs - loans that are due for repayment after 90 days - and NPAs written off by lenders. Total write-offs since FY 2014 have amounted to Rs 7,77,800 crore or 7.3 per cent of the total bank advances, the media report said citing data. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) SAN SABA A man fatally stabbed three people, including a 13-year-old girl, in a small central Texas city early Friday before leading officers on a car chase and eventually being arrested, police said. Sheriffs deputies in San Saba, a community of about 3,000 people 100 miles west of Waco, received a call around 4:30 a.m. from a 18-year-old woman who said she was one of four people stabbed inside a home, said Sgt. Bryan Washko of the Texas Department of Public Safety. Officers arrived to find a 62-year-old man, a 44-year-old woman and the girl dead, Washko said. He could not provide the names of the victims or the 22-year-old suspect. He also said its unclear how they are connected and that no motive is known at this point. The Texas Rangers were investigating. The girl was a seventh-grade student at a local school, which was open and offering counseling, said San Saba Independent School District Superintendent Wayne Kelly. Its hit us pretty hard, Kelly said. When there are only 200 kids in the junior high they tend to know each other. Kelly described the stabbings as a domestic situation but said he could not elaborate. He declined to name the student. Take pre-emptive steps to avoid catastrophe It is getting harder and harder to contain the spread of the new coronavirus here. The quarantine network has already become porous since last week when South Korea began to report the largest number of infections outside China. Now, the first thing the government should do is reinforce the network to fight the highly contagious COVID-19 effectively. The government is facing criticism for failing to take bolder measures against the global public health emergency. However, it is fortunate that the Moon Jae-in administration has raised the country's virus alert to the highest level of "red." This adjustment is the first of its kind since a highly contagious influenza known as H1N1 hit the country in 2009. The move, although somewhat belated, reflects how serious the situation has become since the country reported its first case of the coronavirus Jan. 20. In fact, the number of confirmed cases has soared at a stunningly alarming rate over the past several days. Under the top alert level, the authorities can take emergency measures such as banning public activities and closing schools temporarily. It will also become easier to mobilize medical resources, personnel and equipment to control the virus. It is important to take timely and pre-emptive steps to properly respond to the worsening emergency. Timing is crucial in the fight against an epidemic. The coronavirus appears to be smarter than humans, overwhelming our quarantine and health care system. Pessimism is growing that we may be fighting a losing battle with the virus. But we should not and cannot yield to the disease. Also at issue is the government's temporary entry ban on travelers from China's Hubei Province, whose capital of Wuhan is the epicenter of the novel coronavirus. There are growing calls for the expansion of the ban to cover all of China. Regrettably, the Moon Jae-in administration has turned a deaf ear to such calls apparently in order not to anger Beijing. Of course, Seoul needs to be cautious to avoid any unnecessary diplomatic row with the world's second-largest economy and Korea's largest trading partner. However, further delaying the adoption of a total ban could put Koreans at a greater health risk as the situation is getting worse. On Sunday, the country reported its sixth death from the virus; and 169 new infections were confirmed, increasing the total number of patients to 602. Three of the dead had been hospitalized in Daenam Hospital in the southeastern city of Cheongdo, where over 110 people, including nine medical staff, tested positive for the virus. More than half of all the cases were related to prayer services of the Shincheonji Church in the nation's fourth-largest city of Daegu, and neighboring Cheongdo. The church must follow a government ban on religious gatherings faithfully and cooperate in tracing those who have come into contact with confirmed patients. It should not sabotage quarantine measures on its believers. No religious organization should be exempt from the emergency steps. Now the authorities should mobilize all possible means to check the spread of the virus. It is also imperative to tighten the quarantine network and consolidate the health care system to treat the exploding number of patients. Leave no stone unturned to avoid the worst-case scenario. Authorities scrambled to address the sudden increase in risk. A Health Ministry official released the itinerary of the South Korean group at a hastily called news conference Saturday night and beseeched anyone who might have been within six feet of the group for at least 15 minutes to isolate themselves for two weeks. As many as 200 people reportedly entered quarantine based on that criteria. In the Kitchen with Video Series Join Darina Allen in her home kitchen as she shows us how to make her famous Ballymaloe mince pies. You'll have enough mincemeat left over to gift to friends and family over the Christmas season, and mince pies that can be frozen and reheated for guests over the festive period. Join Darina Allen in her home kitchen as she shows us how to make her famous Ballymaloe mince pies. Contributed Photo / Ansonia Fire Department / Contributed Photo ANSONIA The American Red Cross is proividing assistance to an Ansonia family after a fire damaged their home Sunday afternoon. According to a release from Jonathan Sandstrom of the Red Cross, the fire happened on Fairview Street at the home of a family consisting of two adults. The Left parties will organise nationwide protests against the visit of United States President Donald Trump on Monday and Tuesday, accusing the government of succumbing to the American pressure. Both CPI(M) and CPI has asked its cadres to hold protest against the visit beginning Monday in Ahmedabad. Trump will be in the national capital in the evening after a visit to Taj Mahal in Agra. A protest against the visit is organised by All India Peace and Solidarity Organisation (AIPSO) in Delhi on Monday in which Left parties and secular parties have been invited to join. CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury said that the US is putting pressure and the Modi government was "succumbing to completely open up" the economy which is the gain they want to achieve in order to give support to Modi on issues like CAA, Article 370 and others. "That is a quid pro quo going on, which is not in India's interest. Besides we will be spending billions of dollars for buying US military equipment, to bail out US economy while destroying our own," he said. Trump tells that he is going to India to get a big deal. What is he wanting? Access for US agri-businesses to Indian markets by removing tariffs. US gives a huge subsidy for agriculture (USD 867 billion in 2019) which distorts prices out-competing domestic costs, Yechury tweeted. He warned that this will destroy domestic production particularly when agrarian distress is deepening. "Our farmers will be ruined. To force Modi to not succumb, protests against Trumps visit must be held across India, he said. CPI General Secretary D Raja said: "It is a matter of serious concern that the government instead of pursuing an independent foreign policy is succumbing to the pressures of US imperialist power, while America continues to impose its hegemonic policies on the world along with its brazen hostilities towards Cuba, Palestine, Iran and others". Two men flew from Minsk to Boryspil. Another citizen of the Russian Federation landed at Zhulyany airport State Border Service officials did not let three Russian propagandists into Ukraine. Some of them went to give lectures and trainings. The press service of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine reported this information. "State Border Guard officers yesterday discovered a Russian citizen born in 1985. During border control, border guards found that the arriving lecturer was working with the political forces of the Russian Federation and ran for Zhirinovskys party in the Moscow Duma, as well as being an expert in information and cyber warfare," the State Customs Service stated. It is noted that the man flew in from Minsk and stated intentions to carry out trainings and classes with students for a business purpose at the invitation of one organization. The State Border Service reported that a Russian citizen gave lectures in the occupied Crimea in the so-called youth patriotic camp Donuzlav-2015. "The Ukrainian border guards also appreciated the" merits "of the Russian. He returned on the return flight with a stamp in his passport Ban on entry for three years," the report said. In addition, a Russian born in 1986 flew in from Minsk; he also was going to give lectures on promoting the content on social networks. At the Zhulyany airport, they detained a Russian citizen, born in 1980; he occupies a position in the specific Internet resource that is banned in Ukraine. As we reported before, a citizen of China, who was removed from Kyiv-Moscow train on February 21, did not complain about health conditions to Ukrainian border guards. A woman looked healthy, indeed. ALBANY, N.Y. A series of anonymous bomb threats was made against more than a dozen Jewish community centers across New York on Sunday, according to state law enforcement officials. The threats, first reported at 11 a.m. local time Sunday morning, were emailed to members belonging to 18 JCC's across the state. A spokesman for Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Sunday afternoon said the threats are believed to be part of a wider series made against JCC's nationally. February 23, 2020 - Albany, NY - Governor Andrew M. Cuomo speaks during a press conference at the Sidney Albert Albany Jewish Community Center in Albany. (Mike Groll/Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo) Each of the threats was emailed to individuals separately, said Michael Kopy, the state's director of emergency management. It's unclear if certain individuals were being targeted. "It's probably best not to discuss why these people were selected and let the investigators work on that right now," Kopy said. More than 100 people were evacuated from the JCC in Albany as a precaution Sunday morning. State and Albany City Police swept the building. No bomb was found but the facility remained closed. Cuomo arrived on scene about an hour after the threat was first reported. "These types of situations are so ugly and so unfortunate. What's worse is we're seeing more and more of them," he said. At least 42 antisemitic incidents have been reported across New York in recent months, Cuomo said. February 23, 2020 - Albany, NY - Governor Andrew M. Cuomo speaks during a press conference at the Sidney Albert Albany Jewish Community Center in Albany. (Mike Groll/Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo) Antisemitism across the country, Cuomo said, is "only getting worse." "There is a contagion of hate all across this country," he said. An investigation into Sunday's threats is ongoing. Follow reporter Chad Arnold on Twitter: @ChadGArnold Not in my backyard: Alabama balks at plan to house coronavirus patients B. Smith: Model-turned-TV host and lifestyle guru dies at 70 after Alzheimer's battle This article originally appeared on New York State Team: JCC bomb threats in New York: 18 Jewish community centers threatened The Herald reports: New Zealand First leader Winston Peters is emphatically denying he or any of his MPs sent covert photos of reporters investigating the NZ First Foundation to a Whale Oil-linked blog. The photos, which emerged on BFD blog last week, showed Stuff and RNZ reporters who have been looking into the mysterious NZ First Foundation meeting with former NZ First President Lester Gray. Peters denial today comes after Peters and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern have come under considerable pressure over the photos, which were leaked to the BFD blog last week. Although Peters told media today he does not know who took the photos and who sent them to the blog, he confirmed this afternoon it was not any of his MPs. Let there be no doubt that after caucus today I can confirm no NZ First Minister or MP sent any photos to any website, he tweeted before Question Time this afternoon. The BFD will be pleased with all the publicity no doubt resulting in increased traffic to the blog. As for Winstons denial, it is ridiculously thin. All he has ruled out is that an MP personally e-mailed the photos. He has not ruled out that it was a ministerial staffer, a parliamentary staffer, a party staffer, a NZ First Board member etc etc. Also knowing how Winston plays semantic games he might be arguing that no MP sent photos to a website, but they did send photos to a person. Speaking to Magic Talk again today, Peters said he had no idea how the photos and the videos ended up on the blog. Im a busy man, Im flat out Im not wasting my time with this. I have no idea who did what or when. But senior NZ First MP and Minister Tracey Martin told media this morning she did know who took the photos but wouldnt say who. I find it hard to believe that Tracey Martin could know who took the photos, and Winston doesnt. Share this: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Reddit WhatsApp More Pinterest Print Tumblr 23.02.2020 LISTEN Introduction On Thursday, 20th February 2020, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo was in Parliament to give his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) to the House in keeping with Article 67 of Ghanas Supreme Law- The 1992 Constitution. Article 67 states, The President shall, at the beginning of each session of Parliament and before a dissolution of Parliament, deliver to Parliament a message on the state of the nation. As part of Order of Business for each sitting in the House, Order 53 (1c) and 53 (1d) of the Standing Orders of Parliament also make provisions for presidential addresses and presidential messages respectively. Per constitutional demands within a four-year term in office, SONA is an assignment for the President of Ghana to perform twice before Parliament, which is the body that represents the people in our democratic dispensation. Parliament of Ghana is a two-sided body comprising the members from the political party in power or political parties in power (in case of a coalition) and the members in the Minority. By electoral convention, it has been the case since 1992 that the party in power is always in the Majority. In view of boycotts and walkouts, some Former Presidents delivered the SONA to a one-sided Parliament as we witnessed last Thursday when MPs in the Minority or National Democratic Congress (NDC) MPs boycotted the SONA through a walkout. President Akuffo Addo went ahead and gave the SONA to only the Majority NPP MPs. It would be recalled that President Mahama also delivered a SONA to a one-side Parliament in the past where only NDC MPs were seated. Upon the strength of article 2 (1) of the Constitution, perhaps we need to alert the Supreme Court to interpret article 67 as stipulated above. Does a true and proper interpretation of article 67 of the Constitution mean that the President should give the SONA to only side of the House or the two sides must be present? In boycotting the last Thursdays SONA, the Minority NDC MPs walked out in one file, singing the last stanza of the Ghana National Anthem. They sang repeatedly, And Help Us To Resist Oppressors Rule. With All Our Will, And Might Forevermore At the same time, the Majority MPs of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) were heard hooting at the Minority members saying away, away, away while clapping. Under the circumstance, the well-composed President was seen smiling. The media reported that after the Minority MPs walked out, some of the Majority MPs occupied the Minority seats with Hon. Kennedy Agyepong occupying that of the Minority Leader, Hon. Haruna Iddrisu. One wonders if this act is truly legal. This is because each of the parliamentary seats is owned by a constituency and the constituents had elected only a particular person to occupy that seat for them. For example, Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwas seat in Parliament is for the people of North Tongu and he is the only person mandated by the people to seat there. Methinks that any other person who occupies that seat without the prior consent of the people of North Tongu seeks to impose himself as the peoples representative in Parliament and to my mind that should be an illegality. I have heard for example that only the President of Ghana can be driven under the Independence Arch hence any other person who does so declares himself the President of Ghana, which is treasonable. At the other side of the coin, the Minority MPs were sent to Parliament as representatives of their constituents and not all constituents may belong to the party on whose ticket the MPs were elected. Was the last Thursdays boycott authorized by the constituents of the NDC MPs or only by their political party? If it was sanctioned by their political party, then were they fair to their constituents by not listening to the President on their behalf? The laughable aspect of last Thursdays NDC boycott of the SONA was that the Majority Leader Hon. Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu alleged that the NDC MPs resurfaced after the walkout for refreshments in the House. A Boycott And A Walkout Dichotomized Boycott of parliamentary proceedings and walkouts during such proceedings have become one of the tools used by MPs to protest against national issues or conducts that they disagree with. Whereas such boycotts are deemed democratic and not illegal, most people have questioned its moral and logical foundations and whether or not the constituents the MPs represent in Parliament really have any benefits inuring to them through those boycotts and walkouts. A boycott is a punitive ban on relations with other bodies, proceedings, cooperation with a policy etc. while a walkout is a sudden angry departure from a gathering, especially as a protest or strike. It is therefore obvious that there may be a boycott of parliamentary proceedings without a walkout. In this case, the MPs who boycott the proceedings may occupy their seats but choose not to participate in proceedings; they will keep mute or they will not show up for proceedings at all. Secondly, the MPs may choose to abandon the proceedings by walking out. In this case, it means boycott and walkout are executed jointly. It is worth reiterating that boycotts of parliamentary proceedings are not occurrences in Ghana alone. They happen in other jurisdictions as well hence they are a global phenomenon in politics. A Retrospective Analysis of Boycotts And Walkouts In Ghana Since 1992 It is a fact that since the start of the Fourth Republic, only the NPP and the NDC are the political parties that have won the general elections and formed governments. It appears that this trend will continue for a long time to come. Since the first Parliament started siting on 6th January 1993, there have been various walkouts from parliamentary proceedings and boycotts of other national activities as a form of legitimate protestations. I use the table below to go into memory lane to see the various walkouts and boycotts by the two parties aforementioned. Date /Period Party Staging Boycott or Walkout Action & Reason 1992 NPP The NPP boycotted parliamentary elections, refused to recognize Rawlings presidency and compelled the Interim Electoral Commissioner, Justice Ofori Boateng to resign. The reason was that the NPP claimed the 1992 election was not free and fair. August 2003 NDC The NDC boycotted parliamentary proceedings relating to the passage of the National Health Insurance Bill. NDC accused the NPP of dancing to the whims and caprices of the IMF by seeking to increase VAT by 5% to cater for the National Health Insurance Fund. It should be noted that the same VAT was opposed by the NPP and that was the reason for the Nana Addo led Kumi Preko demonstration in 1995. That demonstration led to some deaths. February 2005 NDC The NDC MPs walked out of Parliament to file their displeasure for a bill that sought to impose petroleum taxes and levies on the people. They claimed that the introduction of the petroleum tax was an illegality because it was meant to have a retroactive effect. 18th February, 2006 NDC The NDC MPs who were in the Minority boycotted parliamentary proceedings because of Representation of People Amendment Bill (ROPAB) after it went through 2nd reading on the floor. Their foreboding was that the NPP Government would use ROPAB to manipulate the 2008 elections to the detriment of the NDC. NDC then staged various demonstrations until a cross section of its members who wanted to present a petition to President Kufuoor at Osu Castle were beaten and some were rushed to Ridge Hospital for medical attention. If the fear of not winning an election could compel the Minority in Parliament to boycott proceedings, then is the party concerned about national assignments? 2007 NDC The Minority NDC alleged that the NPP manipulated the Judiciary in the Dan Abudakpi case. Dan Abudakpi who was a member of the NDC and a former Minister of Trade and Industry was jailed for 10 years for causing financial loss to the state. The NDC therefore boycotted President Kufuors SONA in 2007. 19th February, 2010 NPP Led by its leader, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the NPP Minority of the House boycotted proceedings indefinitely due to the arrest of Nana Darkwa who was a communication personality for the NPP. If a mere arrest of a party communication officer could lead to the boycott of parliamentary proceedings, then is such a party thinking about national interest? August 2010 NPP The NPP MPs were in the Minority in Parliament. They walkout as a way of disagreeing with the STX Korean housing compact that the Atta Mills led NDC Government wanted to contract. The NPP claimed that the NDC had breached the trust the NPP reposed in the former in caucus over the STX deal. 7th January, 2013 NPP The NPP Minority in Parliament boycotted the swearing in of President Mahama. However, President Kufuor of the NPP was at the ceremony in his capacity as a Former President. The NPPs reason for the boycott was that they were contesting the 2012 presidential elections in at the Supreme Court. As such, they did not yet recognize John Mahama as President. It was argued that this boycott was contrary to article 64 (2) of the 1992 Constitution. It states, A declaration by the Supreme Court that the election of the President is not valid shall be without prejudice to anything done by the President before the declaration. 21st February, 2013 NPP The NPP MPs walked out of the House when President Mahama was being ushered in to give his 1st SONA. Their reason was not different from the 7th January 2013 one. November 2013 NPP The walkout was in disagreement with the NDCs intention to increase VAT by 2.5%. This same reason was what the NDC also gave for its walkout in August 2003. Apparent Operating Concept: Yesterday, it was bad because my opponent initiated it but today, it is good because the initiative is mine. 12th May, 2014 NPP The NPP boycotted a National Economic Forum held at Senchi. However, a known NPP stalwart and an Economist, Kojo Mpianim was at the Senchi Forum, which was meant to transform Ghana from lower middle income to upper-middle income country. The NPP said the Forum was a PR gimmick and the NDC acted in bad faith in planning the Forum. November 2014 NPP The NPP Minority MPs walked out from parliamentary proceedings over the 17.5% Special Petroleum Tax bill introduced in the House by Seth Terkper, the NDC Finance Minister. The NPP claimed that the tax would bring hardship on the people. 18th February, 2015 NPP A significant number of the NPP Minority MPs boycotted parliamentary proceedings to join what was called wn gbo demonstration, which was led by party bigwigs such as Nana Akuffo Addo, Dr. Bawumia etc. 18th October, 2017 NDC In order to protest against the controversial 510 million dollar AMERI power agreement, the Minority NDC MPs walked out of the Mines and Energy Committee meeting. The NDC claimed that both the Speaker and the NPP Majority were stifling their submissions on the deal on the floor and at Committee level. As the NDC MPs walked out , the NPP Majority hooted at them saying away, away, away!!! 24th March , 2018 NDC In disagreements over the Ghana-US Defence Cooperation Accord, the NDC Minority walked out of the House during proceedings. 10th June, 2018 NDC Citing legal, procurement and cost concerns over the Ghana Card registration exercise, the NDC Minority in Parliament boycotted proceedings. They indicated that the National Identification Authority (NIA) was not being honest over the true cost of the project. 22nd August, 2018 NDC The opposition NDC stayed away from Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting that the Electoral Commission (EC) had convened. They were embittered about the ECs late invitation to them for the meeting. 16th November, 2018 NDC Having accused the Speaker, Prof. Ocquaye as being biased and disrespectful towards them, the NDC Minority walked out during a debate over the creation of the 6 new regions. 31st January, 2019 NDC Citing security reasons, the NDC was compelled to pull out of the violent Ayawaso by-elections 6th February, 2019 NDC Led by its Chief Whip, the NDC Minority walked out of the Parliamentary Chamber so as not to witness the swearing into office, of Hon. Lydia Alhassan, MP- elect of Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency. Using placard inscriptions, they described Hon. Alhassan as a Bloody Widow. This was because Hon. Lydia Alhassan was elected in a violent election on the NPP ticket in place of her husband, the late Emmanuel Kwabena Kyeremanteng Agyarko. 19th February, 2019 NDC The NDC initially boycotted the sittings of the Emile Shorts Commission of Inquiry that investigated the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election violence. However, they later called off the boycott. 28th February, 2019 NDC On this date, the NDC Minority again boycotted the parliamentary proceedings touching on the Public Holiday (Amendment) Bill. The NDC felt that the Bill was meant to distort the political history of Ghana to show that Dr. Kwame Nkrumah is not the founder of Ghana. Whereas the NDC sought for Founders Day, the NPP debated for Founders Day. The NDC said there is only one founder of Ghana but the NPP maintained that the Founders of Ghana are more than one. 9th April, 2019 NDC At parliamentary sitting on this date, the NDC Minority boycotted proceedings when Hon. Lydia Alhassan, the NPP MP for Ayawaso West Wuogon stood up to make a commemorative statement on World Health Day. It was this same MP the NDC referred to as a Bloody Widow in February 2019. 20th February, 2020 NDC The Minority NDC MPs boycotted proceedings when President Akuffo Addo arrived to give his second State of the Nation Address after coming into office on 7th January, 2017. The NDC MPs were fully cladded in black attires. Their reason was the NPP Governments failure to release some 5% MPs component of the District Assemblies Common Fund. Another reason was the NPPs support of the ECs decision to compile a new voters register. Conclusion In the next episode (Episode 2), we will do a numerical or statistical analysis of the boycotts to see which of the two political parties (NPP or NDC) boycotted parliamentary proceedings and other state functions more than the other. We will equally discuss whether or not the boycotts and walkouts are in national interest or they are done for partisan purposes. As to whether or not the NDC should participate in debating the last Thursdays SONA that they did not listen to will also be discussed. We will then make some composite conclusions on the two episodes. Stay tuned. ~Asante Sana ~ Author: Philip Afeti Korto Email: [email protected] The Cowlitz PUD and PacifiCorp want to scrap mandates to build more salmon passage facilities on the Lewis River hydroelectric dams, a move that would save them millions of dollars but which is sparking strong opposition from local Indian tribes and fish conservation groups. The debate revolves around the question of how best to restore salmon runs in a basin that has been largely without them for most of the last century and how much it should cost electric ratepayers. At the heart of the matter are two competing fish recovery strategies: One, build fish collection facilities at each dam to enable salmon to migrate upstream and downstream through all three dams: Merwin, Yale and Swift. This would allow fish to spawn in any tributary creeks along the way, and it requires construction of four more fish collection facilities estimated to collectively cost about $200 million. Two, intercept salmon as returning adults at Merwin Dam, truck them around Yale and Swift dams and release them to the upper watershed, improve stream habitat there, then intercept young salmon and truck them downstream around all three dams again so they can migrate to the ocean. Its a kind of bookend strategy, using collection facilities already built at the downstream and upstream ends of the hydro system. The proposed habitat improvements are estimated to cost $40 million. The utilities want to switch from strategy one, which is currently required, to strategy two, to save about $160 million. Although some fish advocates disagree, the utilities say switching strategies will produce more fish at a fraction of the cost. National Marine Fisheries Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service support the utilities request to drop two of the additional fish passage facilities for now, saving the utilities about $85 million. And on Feb. 5, the PUD and PacifiCorp released a draft request they will later use to seek approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which makes the final decision for the change. Six organizations involved in a 2004 settlement agreement that led to 2008 relicensing of the dams are formally challenging the efforts to change the fish recovery plan. They criticize NMFS, UFSWS and the utilities for violating the settlement agreement, ignoring best available science and valuing cost savings over fish conservation. We will continue to fight for full fish passage past all dams within our homelands. We have been and will continue to restore an important cultural icon to our people and to the larger community of Southwest Washington, Cowlitz Indian Tribe Chairman William Iyall said last week in a prepared statement. PacifiCorp and Cowlitz PUD started pushing for the change almost a decade ago, saying it can achieve the same ends at a much-reduced cost and that its commitment to salmon restoration is unwavering. We are proud of the recognition we have received for the Lewis River fish passage, and we want to bring that same level of scientific rigor and professional dedication to these next steps of fishery restoration on the Lewis River, PacifiCorp spokesman Tom Gauntt said Friday in a prepared statement. Fish passage required, unless deemed inappropriate PacifiCorp owns and operates Merwin dam, built in the 1930s, and Yale and Swift dams, built in the 1950s. Under PacifCorps federal license for the dams, the company is responsible for the lions share of fish recovery-related improvements. Cowlitz PUD owns just a smaller portion of the Swift project. Already PacifiCorp has installed a $110 million fish passage system that collects returning adult salmon below Merwin Dam so they can be trucked around the three dams and dropped back in the river above Swift Dam. It includes a floating fish collector in Swift Reservoir that catches juvenile salmon on their way downstream so they can be trucked safely back around the dams on their way to the ocean. Construction on the system started in 2011 and finished in 2013. The 2008 dam operating licenses also require downstream fish passage facilities, such as fish collectors, at Yale and Merwin dams, as well as upstream fish passage, such as trap and transport facilities, at Yale and Swift dams. The utilities in 2011 started gathering information to submit to NMFS and USFWS to determine whether those projects are still appropriate, under terms of the 2004 settlement agreement. The document does not directly define appropriate. The utilities want to alternatively fund habitat restoration projects such as floodplain restoration, riparian restoration and large woody debris placement. Conflicting viewpoints on new studies In 2016 PacifiCorp and Cowlitz PUD submitted nine reports to the federal fish management agencies, including six by the U.S. Geological Survey and three by consultants. The USGS reports suggest that theres suitable spawning and rearing habitat between Merwin and Swift dams, if salmon can access it. But the studies noted that theres very limited habitat available adjoining Lake Merwin, so that area is unlikely to support a thriving population. The studies also address other potential limitations for fish. The consultant reports found that fish passage at all dams would increase salmon populations, but restoring habitat above Swift Dam would produce more for fish. Based on the reports, PacifiCorp said its restoration strategy would result in average annual returns of about 700 adult coho at 20% of the cost of the fish passage strategy, which would return about 600 adult coho annually. Last April 11, NMFS publicly issued a preliminary determination supporting about 14 miles of habitat restoration projects above Swift Dam and abandoning plans for two fish collection projects in Lake Merwin. The agency has delayed a decision on two collection facilities in Yale Reservoir while it assesses the success of future habitat projects and fish passage facilities already in place. The next day, USFWS released a letter agreeing with NMFSs determination. NMFS spokesman Michael Milstein said the agency decided that habitat restoration was the prudent choice over building more fish passage facilities given the comparable benefits (to fish recovery) at significantly less cost. The Cowlitz Tribe argues that the method PacifiCorp used to estimate and compare fish returns is scientifically unsupported. Even NMFS acknowledges that the method is cautioned against by other scientists. Since 2016, PacifiCorp has pushed to abandon full fish passage with biased, flawed science and political influence to convince federal agencies to abandon fish passage facilities within the Lewis River Basin that are vital to recovery of native salmon and steelhead populations, the tribe wrote last week in a news release to TDN. The group added that PacifiCorp only received federal support for its plan because it lobbied the agencies. PacifiCorp says it was just trying to protect its customers. These types of decisions have significant potential impacts on both natural resources and costs for electricity customers, Gauntt said. PacifiCorp worked to ensure the best available science and relevant information was available to federal and state decision makers so they could make informed decisions. Public records show that NMFS and USFWS waffled on this debate before siding with PacifiCorp. Internal memos indicate that top administrators planned to conclude that the fish passage strategy was still appropriate but acknowledged that they would face substantial opposition by PacifiCorp and substantial support from the Cowlitz and Yakama Tribes, according to one of the memos. Milstein, the NMFS spokesman, said any memos written before the agencys decision were part of the agencys deliberative process, and they could reflect a range of directions or considerations that ultimately informed the preliminary determination. USFWS representatives were not available for comment last week, according to a spokeswoman. Draft amendment application, dispute resolution The Cowlitz Tribe in June joined The Native Fish Society, Trout Unlimited, American Rivers, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Lower Columbia Fish Recovery Board to dispute the PacifiCorp analysis and oppose changing the dam licenses. We would have never signed a settlement agreement with the utilities without strong provisions for fish passage through all the dams, allowing access for salmon to their historic habitat throughout the Lewis River Basin, said Cowlitz Tribe Chairman Iyall. Our homes, lifeways, and culture were severely diminished or destroyed when dams were built within our homelands. We believe that in 2004 when we signed the settlement agreement, PacifiCorp and Cowlitz PUD would honor their word to provide full fish passage throughout the Basin. The utilities request to change the salmon recovery plan will undergo a 90-day review by the 2004 settlement agreement parties, USFWS and NMFS. The utilities then plan to submit a formal application to FERC in late June, said PUD spokeswoman Alice Dietz. The FERC approved license amendment is necessary to enable construction of habitat mitigation projects, Dietz said. In the meantime the groups will continue to follow their settlement agreement and dam license requirements, including ongoing fish passage projects, flow releases for fish and aquatic habitat enhancements, among other actions. Love 0 Funny 2 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 6 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Chandigarh police on Sunday arrested the man who runs the paying guest accommodation in Sector 32 here, a day after a fire at the premises claimed the lives of three young women, who were all students. A senior police official said the owner of the house where the fire broke had sub-let it to Nitish Bansal and another person, who were running the PG facility, which was allegedly violating fire safety norms and other rules. "Nitish Bansal has been arrested in the case," Inspector Baldev Kumar, Station House Officer of Sector 34 police station, said. Bansal, his partner and the house owner have been booked by police under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, including those relating to culpable homicide not amounting to murder, act endangering life of others and disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant. "Further investigations are on and we will arrest other accused too," the SHO added. Deputy Commissioner Mandeep Singh Brar ordered an inquiry into the fire incident and the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (South) has been directed to conduct a thorough probe and submit a report at the earliest. Official sources said authorities were planning to launch a big drive to check such PGs violating rules and those who were functioning without registering themselves with the concerned authorities. The fire claimed the lives of Pakshi (from Kotkapura, Punjab), Riya (Kapurthala, Punjab) and Muskan (Hisar, Haryana), all aged between 19-22, police had earlier said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Brand new series Rich Holiday, Poor Holiday arrives on Channel 5 tonight (Sunday, February 23). Following the success of Rich House, Poor House, the new show follows two families with vastly different incomes as they swap holidays for a week. Advertisements Channel 5 tease: "How we holiday highlights the wealth divide like nothing else, and this entertaining and funny new series reveals the home truths about our class system as two families exchange holidays, activities and budgets, to find out if money really does buy happiness on holiday. "From windy campsites and the basic bedrooms of Benidorm to luxury foreign villas and private yachts on tropical islands, who will have the time of their lives? "Do the top 10% ever want to share their loungers with the bottom 10%, and when we pack our bags and head for the sun, do we just want to stick to our side of the wealth divide?" In the opening episode, the Peters family from Scunthorpe jet off on a luxury safari in Zambia. Theyve never been abroad and the eye-watering 27k cost of the holiday is more than they earn in a year. Will the eye-opening experience be worth it? Meanwhile, the Walther family from Bristol earn enough in a year to put them in the wealthiest 1% in Britain. They head to a cheap B&B on the Isle of Wight where parents Axel and Nicola learn that inexpensive holidays have a lot more to offer than they thought, as they enjoy time together as a family. Rich Holiday, Poor Holiday airs weekly for four episodes on Sunday nights at 9PM on Channel 5. Other holidays featured in the series include a caravan break in Devon, a private, staffed villa in Morocco, a budget Benidorm break, and a 5-star Caribbean hotel on the island of St Lucia. Advertisements Plus, one family takes a trip to a magnificent chateau near Calais in France, complete with chef, swimming pool, beauty salon and luxury yacht. You'll be able to catch up and watch episodes online via Channel 5's My5 player. WASHINGTON President Donald Trump was infuriated that 14 U.S. citizens who had tested positive for coronavirus were permitted to return this week to the United States, said two senior administration officials. The decision took the president, a self-declared germophobe, by surprise. Officials at the State Department decided to bring back the citizens, who had been quarantined on the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan, after consulting with a senior official at the Department of Health and Human Services. But officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention objected, concerned that the passengers, among hundreds of Americans being evacuated from the ship, could spread the virus. News organizations reported on the decision on Monday, and the passengers arrived in the United States that day. Trump, furious at not having been briefed on the Americans who had tested positive, relayed his anger to Alex Azar, the health and human services secretary, and other top officials. They then alerted the White House interagency task force on the coronavirus, which Azar oversees. One official said Trump views shutting the borders to infected people as critical to keeping the country safe and wants to be seen as managing a proper response. The top State Department official on the task force is Stephen Biegun, the deputy secretary of state. During the early legs of a four-day trip to the West Coast meant to bolster his reelection effort, Trump paid close attention to Fox News coverage of the Diamond Princess that played aboard Air Force One. Word of Trumps anger had already begun circulating among officials on Tuesday morning. The Washington Post first reported on it on Friday. In 2014, during an Ebola crisis in Africa, Trump, who was then a private citizen, angrily demanded that the Obama administration cancel flights and bar anyone infected with the virus from entering the country including American medical workers who had gone to Africa to help. KEEP THEM OUT OF HERE! he wrote in a July 31 tweet after learning that one American medical worker would be evacuated to Atlanta from Liberia. The U.S. cannot allow EBOLA infected people back, Trump wrote on Twitter the next day, adding: People that go to far away places to help out are great but must suffer the consequences! There have been at least 634 infections and two deaths from the Diamond Princess, which Japanese officials kept in isolation for two weeks at a port in Yokohama. That effort at a quarantine contributed to the virus rapid spread among passengers. The cluster from the ship is the largest concentration of coronavirus cases outside China, warranting its own category in data compiled by the World Health Organization. U.S. officials began a complex evacuation procedure for 328 passengers aboard the Diamond Princess on Sunday night. All had been examined by American medical experts and showed no symptoms of the coronavirus, Dr. William Walters, managing director of operational medicine at the State Department, and Dr. Robert Kadlec, assistant secretary for preparedness and response at the Department of Health and Human Services, said on Monday during a conference call with reporters. But as those passengers were bused to Haneda Airport in Tokyo early Monday morning, Japanese officials told American counterparts that laboratory tests for 14 passengers had come back positive, Walters said. The tests had been conducted two to three days earlier, but U.S. officials, believing the timing of the results would be unpredictable because of the volume of testing being done in Japan, began the evacuation without having all results in hand. American passengers who had already tested positive or who had displayed symptoms had been sent to hospitals in Japan, Walters said. After they learned that 14 passengers had tested positive, U.S. officials decided that the entire group set to leave Japan should be treated according to protocols the officials had developed for evacuees, Walters said. That meant continuing to transport those who had tested positive but putting them in isolation behind sheets of plastic about 10-feet tall at the rear of the two planes flying them back to the United States. Walters said on Monday that he and Kadlec reviewed the possible options after learning of the test results. Then the question was simply this: Are these evacuees? Walters said. And do we follow our protocol? And the answer to that was yes on both accounts. Kadlec added, We had additional expertise and experienced eyes on these people and monitoring through the flight. The planes landed at Travis Air Force Base in California and Lackland Air Force Base in Texas. Most of the 14 passengers who had tested positive were then flown to Omaha, Nebraska for treatment and monitoring by experts at the University of Nebraska. Since then, Japanese officials have informed U.S. officials that several other passengers among the 328 brought back had also tested positive for coronavirus. On Friday, U.S. officials said at least 34 people inside the United States have the virus 18 of them from the Diamond Princess. All of the 34 cases have been linked to overseas travel. There has been no sign yet of the virus spreading among communities in the United States. The State Department is closely monitoring U.S. citizens on board another cruise ship in Cambodia, the Westerdam, as well as Americans who have disembarked and are in hotels in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. Those Americans are expected to travel onward at some point. One 83-year-old American woman from the ship traveled to Malaysia and tested positive for coronavirus. Walters said Monday that 92 U.S. citizens were still on board the Westerdam, while another 260 were in hotels in the Cambodian capital. About 300 U.S. citizens had left the country, but only after testing by the government of Cambodias Ministry of Health, he said. When asked whether the United States was thinking about arranging evacuation flights for the hundreds of Americans in Cambodia or elsewhere, Walters did not offer a direct answer. He said the State Department was following very closely the situation of U.S. citizens in places where coronavirus is prevalent and of citizens who are having difficulty in returning to the United States because of the disruptions in the international airline industry, and flights, and so forth. Separately, State Department officials say that thousands of Russia-linked social media accounts are spreading disinformation about the coronavirus, including a conspiracy theory that the United States is behind the outbreak. American monitors first identified the campaign in mid-January. Agence France-Presse reported the assessment on Saturday. Russias intent is to sow discord and undermine U.S. institutions and alliances from within, including through covert and coercive malign influence campaigns, said Philip T. Reeker, the acting assistant secretary of state for Europe and Eurasia. By spreading disinformation about coronavirus, Russian malign actors are once again choosing to threaten public safety by distracting from the global health response. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Rob Foy and Courtney Foy at the Merriam Theater in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Feb. 22, 2020. (NTD Television) PHILADELPHIAWith contemporary art forms having more prominence in the present day and society drifting further away from traditional culture, one classical company is taking audiencesand the many artists among themby pleasant surprise. In Philadelphia, professional artist Rob Foy said Shen Yun Performing Arts was more than he expected it to be. It was a wonderful performance. So impressive. With all the choreographed dance and the message, and the unity, and all the talent on that stage was just really, really incredible, he said at the Merriam Theater on Feb. 22, 2020. Courtney, Robs wife, said, I just felt alive. It was a lot of color, a lot of great music. Choreography was just phenomenal. So its veryI had to be on the edge of my seat the whole time. Based in New York, Shen Yun is a performing arts company that presents classical Chinese dance and music all around the world. Its mission is to revive Chinas 5,000 years of traditional culture. Rob, who specializes in oil painting, was amazed by the performances color display. Oh, the colors were magnificent. Really just, the stage was booming with light and color, and it makes you feel good inside. Very harmonious, the artist said. The artistic pieces and choice of colors in the performance are all based on traditional Chinese culture. Shen Yun favors hues that are vibrant and exquisite, which proves effective in bringing life and energy into each dance. As an artist, the performance has inspired Rob to embrace the colors seen in the performance. He also took more than visual inspiration from the experience. You know, the message of the whole thing was such an inspirationI think so important, he said. I thought the spiritual undertone was so important and lost in todays world. And I think that coupled with whats really going on in Communist China, and to bring that message to the United States and to the world stage, I think is very important. As well as the divinity within is such a beautiful message. Especially how it was expressed in the songs was really moving. Courtney added, It was very refreshing. We dont see that a lot. A lot of people keep the spirituality within. We dont see that every day. So to kind of see it displayed in music and dance was just beautiful. Rob said that he will continue to spread good reviews about Shen Yun. It was an incredible, incredible performance, he said. Impressive Music Ensemble James Groome at the Merriam Theater in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Feb. 22, 2020. (Lily Sun/The Epoch Times) James Groome, a drum player, was impressed by Shen Yuns percussionists. Two young ladies on percussion down there in the pit, theyre awesome. Incredible. The show is really incredible. Its very touching, he said. Groome said he was sitting in the perfect spot to be well acquainted and familiarized with Shen Yuns orchestra. Shen Yuns orchestra is made up of ancient Chinese as well as classical Western instruments. Seeing Shen Yun for the first time, Groome thought the music was great and found the Chinese instruments, like the two-stringed erhu and Chinese lute pipa, to be interesting. Its very impressive. Im glad I made it out for this, he said. Groome also enjoyed the spirituality of the performance. Shen Yuns performance depicts a story about the practitioners of Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that teaches truth, compassion, and tolerance. In the dance Abetting the Wicked, these people are put through a very difficult test of faith. Groome was very moved. Im about to cry. I felt as though, the one about the communist China, really was very touching. I wanted to cry. It was touching, he said. Ever since the Chinese Communist Party came to power in the mid-20th century, Chinas traditional culture and spiritual heritage have been attacked incessantly, which is why Shen Yun cannot be seen in China. However, Groome was able to see hope in Shen Yuns performance. And faith in what they believe in. Got to keep the faith, the musician said. With reporting by Lily Sun, NTD Television, Don Tran. 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. Police search the scene of a shooting Friday night in the 800 block of West Dauphin Street in North Philadelphia, where a pregnant woman was killed and a man with her was critically injured in a double shooting. Her baby died despite an emergency C-section. Read more Terrez McCleary saw the news of one of the latest shooting victims in Philadelphia and started to cry. She didnt know the woman or her family, but McClearys 21-year-old daughter was murdered and every time she sees another homicide, she thinks of the pain. When its a woman who is killed, it hurts her even more. At one time women and children were considered safe. We were off-limits, said McCleary, 52, and cofounder of the group Moms Bonded by Grief. It isnt like that anymore. On Friday, a pregnant woman was fatally shot while in a vehicle on Ninth Street between Dauphin and York Streets and, after doctors performed an emergency C-section, her baby died, too. Her identity has not been revealed by police, who have described the woman as being in her 30s. Relatives of shooting victims and advocates said Saturday that if a pregnant woman can become a casualty of the citys soaring gun violence, then no one is safe. More than 500 children have been shot in Philadelphia since the beginning of 2015. While most of these children are between the ages of 13 and 17, Fridays shooting reminded residents of the recent young victims like 10-year-old Sameje OBranty, who was shot walking home from school; 11-month-old Yazeem Jenkins, who was shot while sitting in a car; and 2-year-old Nikolette Rivera, shot at home while in her mothers arms. Last year, 138 women were wounded or slain in gun violence in Philadelphia. In 2017, that number was 90. I think the code of the street has changed, said Melany Nelson, the executive director of Northwest Victim Services. Each time a shooting happens, especially ones that involve children, politicians, activists, relatives of victims, and city residents cry out for the violence to end. Then theres news of another homicide. In a statement on Friday nights shooting, Mayor Jim Kenney said he was also grieving this tragic loss. I want Philadelphians to know there is no more pressing issue for our administration than addressing the scourge of gun violence impacting our communities, and we are doing everything we can to address it, Kenney said. Amelia Pagan, an aunt of Nikolette Rivera, said its hard to have a sense of safety when hearing about bullets that seem to be indiscriminately hitting women and children. When her 16-year-old son and 17-year-old daughter leave their home near the Nicetown neighborhood of North Philadelphia every day, she worries. She tells them to be vigilant. Still, shes always scared. What happened with my niece, it happened in her home. Inside her home, Pagan said. Its not even in a selected area of the city now. Its just everywhere." Through Friday, 180 people had been shot in Philadelphia, a 15% increase from the same period last year. Hearing about the shooting of the pregnant woman, Yullio Robbins thought: Oh God, not again. Please, please, help us, help us, help our families. We need help in Philadelphia. Robbins, 60, of West Philadelphia, had been trying to mentally prepare herself for Sunday, the fourth anniversary of her son James murder. It is still unsolved. When she sees news like that of the pregnant womans shooting death, it puts her back to that dark place. Philadelphias new police commissioner, Danielle Outlaw, an Oakland native and the former chief in Portland, Ore., stepped into her new role Feb. 10 leading the 6,500-member department in a city battling record levels of gun violence that it hasnt seen since 2010. Though Outlaw could not be immediately reached Saturday, she previously told The Inquirer she wanted to bring a level of urgency to combating gun violence. She mentioned the citys plans to implement a new strategy this spring called group violence intervention, which refers to focusing law enforcement resources on a small population of potential offenders. When asked about specifics, she said: Its Day Three." I am very confident that in some period of time, in a very short period of time, I will have conducted an assessment of some kind, so we can roll something out, she told The Inquirer. READ MORE: Paralyzed gunshot survivors bring their stories and struggles to City Hall | Helen Ubinas Families of gun-violence victims had pleaded Thursday at a special committee hearing for City Council members and Outlaw to help them. They held signs with pictures of their children who were killed and appealed for the Police Department to solve murders that have remained unsolved for years. Crime is our No. 1 issue by far, Councilman Allan Domb said Saturday, repeating what he said two days earlier at the gun-violence hearing in City Hall. This is not an area we should cut back expenses on. We need to go forward and make sure we have the best of everything. The most important thing in anyones life is their safety. Every time a shooting happens, Aleida Garcia, 61, of South Philadelphia thinks about what the next 48 hours will be like for the affected family. She thinks of how relatives will be notified that their loved one is dead. (Garcia was at work when she heard about her son.) Then, a parent, partner, child, or another relative will go to the coroners office to identify the body. Then comes the funeral. You crumble and the world just falls down around, Garcia said. Her son Alejandro Rojas-Garcia was murdered in 2015. On Saturday, she was thinking of Friday nights shooting and how horrible it would be to see the mother and baby in a coffin. Garcia had been in the front row at Thursdays gun-violence hearing. She feels a responsibility to bring attention to the issue. That has included founding the National Homicide Justice Alliance. Theres a sense or urgency amongst survivors that this is a crisis, Garcia said. This retraumatizes us, but it also makes us want to continue to fight." A 26-year-old woman software engineer from Nagpur in Maharashtra was allegedly cheated of Rs 8.23 lakh by a man claiming to be an US government official, police said on Sunday. The victim, who was aspiring to work in the US, was in the need of International English Language Testing System Certificate (IELTS) and had posted a message for the same on her Facebook account, a police official said. The woman, who belongs to Nagpur, is currently working with a multinational software company in Hyderabad. "She was contacted by a man claiming to be a top-ranking official with the US government who promised her help in getting the IELTS certificate," he said. The woman sent her picture and passport details to the accused on the Whatsapp number shared by him. "As instructed by the man, the victim initially transferred Rs 26,000 to his bank account as the fee for the certificate. However, the accused kept on demanding more money under one pretext or the other like payment of government fees to extract money from the victim, who ended up transferring Rs 8.23 lakh to the fraudster in three months," the official said. Police have identified the bank accounts of the man, who is an Indian. No arrest is made so far. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A UVF social media troll account has made veiled threats against six witnesses in the Ian Ogle murder case. Cops have confirmed they are investigating the content of a sinister post and have contacted Facebook to have it removed. Multiple witnesses to the brutal Ogle killing are named and verbally abused including the slain loyalist's campaigning daughter Toni Johnston. She reported the account to police at Strandtown in east Belfast on Tuesday, later telling Sunday Life that this is the latest act of intimidation the family has been forced to endure. "It's non-stop," said Toni, who last month organised a successful community meeting at which calls were made for an end to gangsterism and drug dealing in east Belfast. "It's bad enough that my daddy was murdered, now a bunch of bullies are trying to frighten witnesses to the killing into not giving evidence. This is just the latest in a long line of acts of intimidation that we have had to suffer. Luckily my family is strong and we have huge support from within the community, so we will be going nowhere." Loyalist sources told Sunday Life that the sinister social media account is being run, in part, by one of the five-man UVF gang who butchered Ian Ogle to death outside his Cluan Place home. Although questioned about the killing he has not been charged. Believed to be helping him is a disgraced ex-soldier who is suspected of assisting with the clean-up operation. A PSNI spokeswoman said: "Police have received a report of comments made on a social media platform. Inquiries are ongoing." Last month, ahead of the first anniversary of her dad's murder, Toni and her family were targeted in a graffiti campaign with menacing and untrue slogans about them written on walls around east Belfast. Detectives suspect the same sick individuals are behind the latest sinister social media account spewing lies about her and witnesses to the killing. The dad-of-two was stabbed to death by a drunken and drugged-up gang following an 18-month intimidation campaign by the East Belfast UVF. Prominent loyalists Jonny Brown (33), Glenn Rainey (33), and Mark Sewell (40) are charged with his murder - a claim they strongly deny. The East Belfast UVF has admitted its members were involved, but insisted the killing was not sanctioned at a leadership level. Ian was praying with local pastor Kevin Sambrook when he was mercilessly attacked. The 45-year-old was beaten with bats and stabbed 11 times in his back. Pilgrimage to Geneva View(s): The recent US decision to slap a travel ban on Sri Lankas Army chief and his family is either a warning salvo across the bow for the Government to fall in line, or an utterly ill-conceived move that pits ordinary Sri Lankans against the US. In announcing its decision, Washington said it had credible information of war crimes committed by the Army commander. It also famously said it had credible information that Saddam Hussein had Weapons of Mass Destruction. Former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez once described an Obama1 and an Obama2 running US policy. One danced to the dictates of the Defence Department knocking the daylights out of people around the world in various wars, while Two preached human rights to the world through the State Department. When the US is seeking to find entree here through proposed military and economic pacts like SOFA and the MCC which remain on the table, how blacklisting the Army commander helps Washington is difficult to fathom. This is probably why the Sri Lankan Foreign Relations Minister told the US ambassador last Sunday that already icy and dicey US-SL relations have now got complicated. Then we have Resolution 30/1 and 40/1 at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) against Sri Lanka. The Cabinet decision this week has been more moderate than the hype leading to it that Sri Lanka will be pulling out of these Resolutions. The official account states that Sri Lanka will announce its decision to withdraw from the co-sponsorship, and work towards the closure of the resolution in cooperation with the members of the UN. How ready the Government is to adopt a confrontational course on the world stage is questionable. While Sri Lanka co-sponsoring the Resolutions against itself sounded absurd ex-facie, and an affront to national pride, it nevertheless acted as a buffer against any immediate sanctions on Sri Lankan political and military leaders and the country. The former Government was able to buy time through a moratorium until it got its act together and warded off any international scrutiny and intrusion of an adverse nature. It is noteworthy, that despite a fifth column like the Tamil National Alliance dancing to the drum of the Diaspora by calling for an international war crimes tribunal to investigate and adjudicate on the conduct of the countrys Armed Forces for defeating the LTTE, the latest UNHRC Country Report on Sri Lanka has only a veiled mention on the subject. It merely refers to the need for an even more independent judiciary and more robust action on missing persons etc. For the Resolutions to be thrown away requires 27 votes in the UNHRC an uphill task. The UK and puppet states like Macedonia stepped in to support the Resolutions when the US pulled out of the UNHRC they are, therefore, not going to stand by and eat humble pie. This is too big an UNHRC test model for them to let small countries get off so easily. The Government has, fortunately, acted soberly. It has offered to explore a way-out for both sides by suggesting only a symbolic co-sponsorship withdrawal. They will have to get undeliverables like foreign judges discarded, but agree to implement what is doable such as following the recommendations of the LLRC (Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission) and implementing the OMP (Office of Missing Persons), taking credit for both, and pay compensation etc. One foreign policy expert described it best; The Yahapalana Government blundered by signing on to a Western wish list without negotiating a deliverable outcome. This Government should not blunder as well by signing off unilaterally without negotiating. Neither the West, nor Sri Lanka can afford to rub their mutual noses. Do big powers have immunity from war crimes? Next weeks UNHRC sessions will debate war crimes in the backdrop of the 75th anniversary of the carpet bombing of the German city of Dresden during World War II. At the tail-end of that war, US and British planes decimated a defenceless city, which had no military significance. More than 25,000 civilians, mainly women and children fleeing from the advancing Red Army of the Soviet Union, were killed and thousands wounded in firestorms resulting from the bombings. The 75th anniversary raised long suppressed issues on what constitutes war crimes. It is the victors in war who write history. But Britains wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchills six volume tome on the Second World War has no mention of Dresden, and for obvious reason. Labelled the man of the century for winning the war, Churchill was an accomplice to the premeditated murder of those civilians. His aim to demoralise the German population, and get them to rise up against the Nazi Party making it easier for the Allied troops and the Red Army to enter Berlin. US President Harry Truman did much the same thing and in greater magnitude to Japan with the atom bombs. Neither Churchill nor Truman was accused of war crimes. They were considered war heroes who defeated a tyrannical fascist enemy. Few record what happened in Dresden. Even German researchers have only now come out of the woodwork to write on the subject. Unlike the triumphalism shown over Dunkirk, Normandy and elsewhere, even modern day Germany is reluctant to make a fuss over the 75th anniversary of the Dresden bombings. Let bygones be bygones seems to be their thinking. A more recent publication, Dresden; The Fire and the Darkness by Sinclair McKay succinctly portrays the misery German civilians faced at the hands of the Axis Powers. The moot point of war crimes is brought out in the book. However painful the details of the book are, and even though Churchill wanted to pay back in kind for the German bombing of Coventry, Birmingham, Belfast and London, the author still doesnt consider Dresden a war crime. He argues that; War crime above all implies intentionality and rational decision making Just as it cannot be assumed that individuals always act with perfect rationality, so the same must be said for entire organizations acting with one will Any conflict of such duration and scale will create repercussions that start to chip away at the foundations of sanity itself, and in so doing reveal the inherent delicacy of civilization. And so, he absolves Churchill and the US/UK Forces from war crimes. Probably only those who have to fight a war and win it, will understand that realistic logic. A review of the book in the British magazine The Spectator, however says that given the dreadful facts recounted by McKay, it is impossible to put aside the question of criminality something Churchill escaped. Other German cities were bombed by air in purposeful cruelty Essen, Pforzheim, Leipzig, Dessau, Wuppertal as the Allies closed in on Berlin 75 years ago. Today, US drones in the air take out Iranian Generals and its Stealth bombers slam projectiles into civilian targets in West Asia. War is ugly. Just this week, the UN deputy special envoy for Libya, said the UN-backed arms embargo in Libya had become a joke and called for accountability on the part of the many countries involved in the conflict, which include the US and UK. So too is the war in Yemen. The irony of Western powers pontificating on war crimes nowadays cannot be missed. News and commentary on organized crime, street crime, white collar crime, cyber crime, sex crime, crime fiction, crime prevention, espionage and terrorism. EDMONTON - The Alberta government has struck deals with two northern Alberta First Nations over a proposed open-pit oilsands mine that's awaiting Ottawa's approval. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 23/2/2020 (688 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. The corporate logo of Teck Resources Limited is shown. The Alberta government has struck deals with two northern Alberta First Nations over a proposed open-pit oilsands mine that's awaiting Ottawa's approval. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO EDMONTON - The Alberta government has struck deals with two northern Alberta First Nations over a proposed open-pit oilsands mine that's awaiting Ottawa's approval. The Mikisew Cree and Athabasca Chipewyan First Nations had previously reached deals with Teck Resources Ltd. for the Frontier mine, but were still negotiating with the province over environmental and cultural concerns. Earlier this month, Alberta's Indigenous relations minister expressed concern that a public spat over the negotiations with Athabasca Chipewyan Chief Allan Adam, who also called for a share of tax revenue from resource projects, could give the federal government a reason to reject the project. But on Sunday, the province announced agreements have been reached with both First Nations that address bison and caribou habitats and protect Wood Buffalo National Park. Adam says in a news release he's now confident the project is a net benefit to his community, while Mikisew Cree Chief Archie Waquan called work by Teck and Alberta to resolve their concerns "groundbreaking." Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government has until the end of the month to make its decision on whether to approve the project. "Given the recent discussions with the government of Alberta and their fresh and positive approach, we reconfirm our support of the project and encourage the Canadian government to approve the project without further delay," Adam said in the release. Alberta Environment Minister Jason Nixon thanked Adam and Waquan, who he said worked hard to balance differing interests. "Their vision of how resource development can happen alongside Indigenous culture is of great value," Nixon said in a news release, where he also reiterated a call for the federal government to green-light the mine. "This project has played by the rules. It has followed the process. It's time to get it done." Fourteen First Nations and Metis communities have signed participation agreements on the Teck mine. Ready, Pet, Go! Leesa Dahl looks at everything to do with our furry, fuzzy, feathered, fishy (and more!) pet friends. Arrives in your inbox each Monday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. The $20.6-billion project would create an estimated 7,000 construction jobs, 2,500 operating jobs and about $12 billion in federal income and capital taxes. But it's also expected to produce about four million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year over 40 years. Waquan, in a statement, said his people share Canadians' concerns about climate change. He said Canada needs to do more, but noted his First Nation's involvement in Canada's largest off-grid solar project. A federal-provincial review last summer determined that the mine would be in the public interest, even though it would be likely to harm the environment and the land, resources and culture of Indigenous people. Last week, author Alice Munro and dozens of other Nobel Prize winners urged Trudeau to reject the project, calling fossil-fuel expansion an affront to the climate emergency and incompatible with Canada's pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The company responded by saying it was committed to fostering a low-carbon economy, adding lower carbon oil from Frontier would replace higher carbon sources and contribute to reducing global emissions. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 23, 2020. 2.6k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Trump demanded an investigation of Rep. Adam Schiff for the leak of the intel that Russia is helping Sanders, which suggests that Trump is the leaker. Trump told reporters while leaving the White House for India: I have not been briefed on that at all. Nobody told me about it. They leaked it Adam Schiff and his group, they leaked it to the papers as usual. They ought to investigate Adam Schiff for leaking that information. He should not be leaking information out of intelligence. They ought to investigate Adam Schiff. What it could be is you know the Democrats are treating Bernie Sanders very unfairly and it sounds to me like a leak from Adam Schiff because they dont want Bernie Sanders to represent them. It sounds like its 16 all over again for Bernie Sanders. He had a great victory yesterday, but you know what happening, you can see the handwriting on the wall. Video: WATCH: After press reports that Russia is interfering in the 2020 election, Trump blames House Intel Chairman Adam Schiff and calls for an investigation into the leak. #MTP Pres. Trump: "Nobody said it to me at all. Nobody briefed me about that all." pic.twitter.com/LYeemOptQh Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) February 23, 2020 Contrary to Trumps fantasies, Adam Schiff is not a leaker, and he would have nothing to gain from harming a Democratic presidential campaign. There is one known leaker in the Gang of Eight who get these briefing, and that is Rep. Devin Nunes. Trump is denying a media report that he was briefed on Russia helping Sanders, but even if he werent directly briefed, he would have been told by Nunes, and the White House could leak it to the media. The President is trying to turn Democrats against each other, and Bernie Sanders is his weapon of choice for this mission. Trump wants Sanders to be the nominee so that he can blame him for Russian election interference, and run a campaign that will be all about Bernie Sanders, not Donald Trump. Trump trying to get Schiff investigated for the Sanders/Russia story is confirmation that the real leaker is Donald Trump. For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group. Follow Jason Easley on Facebook A special issue of Animal Health Research Reviews turns the spotlight on the science underlying this growing crisis - looking at the evidence base for using antibiotics to prevent illness in beef and dairy cattle, swine, and broiler poultry. The scientists who introduce the collection - from the University of Guelph in Canada and the Iowa State University - conclude that veterinarians and food-animal producers know far too little about prevention or control measures, including antibiotic efficacy and antibiotic alternatives that could help to support antibiotic stewardship among animals. The collection of 14 articles in the special issue - written by experts in the field from the US, Canada and beyond - examine publicly available evidence related to control of diseases in livestock and poultry. The articles, which are available via open source, focus on management practices that are designed to keep animals healthy and therefore reduce the need to use antibiotics - as well as looking at the administration of antimicrobials to prevent or control disease. Despite finding evidence that some of the interventions were effective, across the body of research scientists found inconsistency in outcomes among trials, and highlighted serious concerns related to the completeness of reporting and trial design and execution that have been hidden in veterinary medicine for years. For some interventions, scientists found that the body of evidence of efficacy was compelling. For example, a study of existing clinical trials on the efficacy of teat sealants for dairy cows found that the products studied were likely to be effective for reducing mastitis. Similarly, several antibiotics were shown to be effective at controlling respiratory diseases among cattle. However, other evidence was less compelling. For bovine respiratory disease in beef cattle, for example, scientists found no evidence that the current use of vaccines was effective. Similarly, for antibiotics and vaccines used to prevent bacterial respiratory disease in swine, the body of evidence was insufficient to determine whether or not these interventions were effective. For litter management in poultry and preventive antibiotics for the treatment of E coli, the body of evidence was also lacking. The reviews conducted as part of the special issue of Animal Health Research Reviews highlighted that more and better research on these issues is urgently needed to help guide decision-making on the best use of antibiotics in future. "As the threat of antimicrobial resistance grows, stewardship of these vital drugs is increasingly important in both human and animal health," the editors conclude. "Important facets of antimicrobial stewardship include using antibiotics judiciously as well as taking measures to minimize the need to use antimicrobials at all." The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, on Saturday called on people who beg for alms or other forms of assistance from individuals and relatives to instead direct their begging to the government. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr Sanusi made the call at the National Conference on Alarammomi (Quranic Teachers) organised by Centre for Quranic Reciters in Nigeria with the theme: Sanitising Almajirchi In Tune With Todays Realities. He urged parents to stop sending their children to Almajiri schools, stressing that children could study the Quran, at their schools and with the teachers in their respective communities. The emir said that if sending children to such schools became necessary, then parents must send them with all the necessary provisions to ensure their wellbeing and welfare. According to him, it is wrong for parents to send their children away without proper arrangements and necessary provision, as the children will end up begging for food and alms. Mr Sanusi, who quoted verses from the Holy Quran and Hadith, said whoever begs, would resurrect on the day of judgement without flesh on his face. He, therefore, urged husbands to see it as God-given duty to feed their wives and children adequately in order for them not to resort to begging for alms and assistance from individuals or relatives. Begging is disallowed in Islam and if you must beg for alms beg the government, not individuals or relatives. It is better for you to cut firewood and sell to earn a living than to beg. Those who beg or seek assistance from individuals will be resurrected on the day of judgement without meat/flesh on their faces. And if you must beg, then beg the government not individuals or relatives. This is because they should be responsible for the welfare and wellbeing of citizens. Individuals, relatives or neighbours can assist you as gestures of kindness and generosity, but thats not necessary. So, those who are saying that begging is not prohibited in Islam are just misleading you, Mr Sanusi said. The emir, therefore, urged government at all levels on social protection programmes in order to check such menaces in society. Programmes like cash transfer and many more can assist in tackling these problem. So, we urge the government to sustain the cash transfer programme and come up with many more, the emir said. Also speaking, the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Abubakar, corroborated the emir, while noting that no father should send children to Almajiri school without proper and adequate provision for their wellbeing. For instance, in Sokoto we built over 100 schools close to Almajiri schools for such to learn at least ABCD and 1234. So, we must change the system in order to ensure brighter future for our children, he said. Mr Abubakar also urged the participants to take what was said with all seriousness. He also urged them to digest the issues discussed in order to come up with ways to sensitising the Almajiri system. The sultan said that he would join Mr Sanusi and others in a collaboration with the centre in finding lasting solutions to the problem. As leaders, I urge you to critically look into whats been discussed and later come up with a lasting solution. However, your solutions should be channelled to us through your leadership because the number is large, and for that it will not be possible for each and every one of you to speak, he said. Advertisements In his remarks, a former governor of Zamfara State, Sani Yerima, pointed out that during his eight years as governor in the state, begging by such children was stopped. As governments have systems to assist farmers and traders, so we did in area of Almajiri schools. Nobody begged during our eight years in office in Zamfara. This is because we ensured that these children were fed adequately and thats what stopped them begging. READ ALSO: In fact, at the end of my tenure, we left 150 tonnes of food for such programmes, he said. Mr Yerima pointed out that if authorities would take their responsibilities seriously, no parent would be willing to send their children to other places. On his part, the Jigawa Deputy Governor, Umar Namadi, said the government was doing its best to enrol all out of school children. Mr Namadi said the governments decision to feed pupils from primary four to six under the federal governments school feeding programme was yielding positive result. Jigawa government is doing its best to ensure that all out of school children in the state are enrolled. Were doing this through the school feeding programme, as we feed pupils from primary four to six, while the federal government feeds pupils from primary one to three. So, this gesture is seriously taking out such out of school children as it immensely increases enrollment in our schools. Also through SUBEB, the government is doing its best to ensure the wellbeing of students of Tsangaya schools in the state. He added that the state government had built 400 Islamiyya schools across the state. According to him, the government will collaborate with relevant stakeholders to sensitise them on proper Almajiri system. NAN also reports over 1,000 Quranic teachers attended the conference held in Manpower Development Institute (MDI), in Dutse, the state capital. (NAN) Kilkenny City Vocational Schools fifth year Politics and Society class once again showed their civic awareness this week. On this occasion, it was a topic close to many of students hearts, and coincidentally, a highly topical one namely, climate change. The object was to canvass the people of Kilkenny and suggest to them what to ask the canvassers calling to their doors ahead of the general election. In this self-directed enterprise, the students were on the streets of Kilkenny educating the locals and also visiting a plethora of local businesses spreading the word. They did this by handing out flyers and car stickers in an effort to raise awareness of some highly contentious issues. Some of the talking points students were eager to cover were the need for the next government to address the following: Community-owned renewable energy programmes Restoring and protecting nature and wildlife Supporting the rural economy as farms become more sustainable Delivery of an ambitious state backed home insulation policy Advocate internationally for a faster fairer climate a room and justice Ensure affordable and accessible public transport for all The Pol/Soc group were delighted with the response from the Noreside public and were genuinely stimulated into looking into further activism of this nature. Watch this space! Roger Stone arrives for his sentencing at a federal courthouse in Washington on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2020. President Donald Trump's longtime friend and political confidant was sentenced to three years and four months in prison for witness tampering and lying to Congress. Read more I am a Pennsylvania lawyer, and was a federal prosecutor in Alaska and then in Los Angeles from 1986 through 2015. I served the Justice Department in Los Angeles as both the deputy chief of the DOJs Organized Crime Strike Force and as senior litigation counsel in white-collar crimes. I have held security clearances and worked for presidents from Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama. I have never seen anything like what has happened these last two weeks. Department of Justice higher-ups, at the direction of Attorney General William Barr, withdrew an appropriately computed sentencing recommendation from federal prosecutors to the federal judge and replaced it, within hours, with a reduced jail time recommendation for a criminal defendant. The reason? The defendant, Roger Stone, is a close friend of the president. After the president tweet-ranted about the horrible and very unfair sentencing recommendation made by the Justice Department prosecutors, the department blinked and immediately changed its recommendation. The four prosecutors who tried the Stone case to the D.C. jury, and who made the original sentencing recommendation, would not abide such presidential co-opting. All withdrew from the case, with one of the prosecutors resigning immediately from the Department of Justice. With new prosecutors sitting at the government counsels table, Judge Amy Berman Jackson on Thursday sentenced Stone to 40 months in prison. I am privileged to have joined 2,500-plus of my fellow DOJ alumni, who this past week signed a letter in support of the four federal prosecutors. These career prosecutors, who took an oath of office to support and defend the Constitution, have stood up for the independence of the Justice Department. I was too young, just a high schooler in Abington, to comprehend when something similar happened in the Nixon administration. The president had ordered the firing of Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox. Rather than let the president weaponize the Justice Department to serve his personal interests, those federal prosecutors resigned from the department. I am stunned to see this happening anew. Stone was convicted by a federal jury in November 2019 of witness tampering, obstruction of justice, and lying multiple times to congressional Intelligence Committees investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election. Since federal prosecutors are required to submit to the court after a defendants guilty plea or guilt established by jury verdicts a written sentencing recommendation, the prosecutors followed suit. They demonstrated in their filing how Stones crimes of governmental corruption and obstruction justified their recommendation for a seven-to-nine-year term of imprisonment. When recommending a sentence for a defendant, prosecutors must demonstrate that their recommendation comports with the United States sentencing guidelines. The guidelines were instituted as part of the U.S. Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 because there was too much disparity in sentencing across the nation, according to the findings of congressional investigations. There were regional differences in sentencing with Southern federal districts treating some crimes, and some offenders, more harshly than did courts in the North and West. Minority offenders would typically get longer sentences for convictions than nonminority defendants, and white-collar defendants and defendants involved in political corruption would get no time at all. The guidelines were implemented to impose uniformity and accountability. The defendants lawyer is provided with the governments memorandum and responds to it with the defendants sentencing memorandum, all for the judge to consider in fashioning a defendants sentence. The defense and the public ensure that the governments guideline analysis is done correctly and transparently. READ MORE: Trump interference in Roger Stone case: A pattern of undermining the rule of law | Trudy Rubin In the Stone case, the initial prosecutors sentencing recommendation scrupulously followed the guidelines. The revised, more lenient recommendation of the replacement prosecutors did not. In fact, theirs reads like a sentencing memorandum prepared by the defense counsel. I am heartbroken that the department to which I devoted the bulk of my career has bent not to the arc of justice, but to the whims of a president acting in his own self-interest. It is not enough for the nations leader to denigrate judges, jury forepersons, and prosecutors. The president now has induced the Justice Department to retract its sentencing recommendation for one more palatable to him, in an election year where an immediate pardon of such a close presidential friend could cause some degree of backlash. I worked under Attorney General Barr during the first Bush administration. I do not recognize the man in this, his second incarnation, as attorney general. He is the nations top lawyer, not the personal lawyer of the president. The president has now claimed the right to intervene in Justice Department cases. There is no such authorization in the Constitution or in federal case law. Instead, it has been the policy of the Justice Department and the White House, both part of the executive branch, to not interfere in the administration of justice as conducted by the Justice Department so that the public has faith that the laws will be applied uniformly. I personally condemn the president and the attorney generals interference in the fair administration of justice. America, we are better than this. Julie Werner-Simon is a former federal prosecutor and a fellow in constitutional studies at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles. Delhi to ease restrictions, if Covid cases come down in next 2-3 days: Health Minister Lata Mangeshkar health update: Doctor says,'She in ICU with Covid-19 and pneumonia, will be under observation' Some restrictions imposed on export of medical equipment to China: MEA India pti-PTI New Delhi, Feb 23: India on Sunday said some restrictions were imposed on export of certain medical equipment to China in view of their short supply within the country and asserted that precautions taken by authorities were in accordance with the WHO's advisory on coronavirus. The comments by the Spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs came after China raised the issue of India restricting export of certain medical supplies to it following the coronavirus epidemic in that country. "It is hoped that the Indian side could review the epidemic situation in an objective, rational and calm manner, handle with Chinas much-needed items in a cooperative and constructive way, and resume normal personnel exchanges and trade between our two countries as soon as possible," Chinese Embassy Spokesperson Ji Rong said earlier. She said the World Health Organisation has repeatedly opposed any travel and trade restrictions on China following the coronavirus outbreak and that all parties should follow the recommendations by the global body. Replying to a query on the issue, MEA Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the precautions taken by India are in accordance with the WHO's advisory about the outbreak of coronavirus infection. He said some restrictions have been imposed on the export of certain medical equipment to China in view of shortage of their supply in India too. "Just like any other country, India with a billion plus population has the responsibility to take the necessary measures to combat the spread of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak which, if not properly managed, can become a global risk," he said. He said that responding to the needs of China, India had allowed a one time exemption for the export of some items which had been restricted. The MEA spokesperson also mentioned about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier this month, offering India's assistance to China in the "hour of need". Kumar also referred to India's decision to send medical relief on board a special flight to China and hoped that the Chinese authorities will give permission for the aircraft to go to the country. "In a humanitarian gesture of medical relief, a gift reflecting the solidarity of the people of India with the people of China, is expected to be delivered to Wuhan by a special flight," he said. "We have also called upon the Chinese authorities to allow Indian citizens and those of our neighbouring countries to return by the same flight. We hope that they will give it positive consideration," Kumar said. On Saturday, government sources said that China was "deliberately delaying" permission for the Indian Air Force plane to coronavirus-hit Wuhan to supply relief materials and bring back more Indians from the city. They said though flights from Japan, Ukraine and France were allowed to operate from Wuhan, Indian request was not heeded to so far. Last week, Chinese Ambassador Sun Weidong urged India to review restrictions on trade and movement of people. Almost all Indian airlines have stopped flights to China while the government has cancelled all e-visas as well as normal visas issued to Chinese citizens. India has already evacuated around 640 Indians from Wuhan, the epicentre of coronavirus outbreak, in two separate flights. According to estimates, over 100 Indians are still stuck in Wuhan. ERLC says scrutiny by SBC Executive Committee is 'disrespectful,' sows division Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment The Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention has set in motion to study its policy arm, the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, a move the ERLC says creates division and is disrespectful. Some within the nation's largest Protestant denomination have "ongoing concerns" that the ERLC is "not adequately fulfilling its Convention-approved ministry assignments," Baptist Press reported Tuesday. "We are looking for the facts," said SBC Executive Committee Chairman Mike Stone, who is chairing the study. "We are hearing from state leadership and other pastors across the country. We are making a statement about effectiveness." But such action is outside of the purview of the denomination's Executive Committee and it solely belongs to the ERLC Trustees, the ERLC Executive Committee said in a Thursday letter in response to the SBC Executive Committee's announcement. The President of the ERLC is Russell Moore, who has been in office since 2013. "[T]his task force seizes the work and responsibility of the trustees of the ERLC. Evaluating the effectiveness of Dr. Moore and the ERLC team is uniquely the work of the trustees of the ERLC. The appointment of this task force can be taken in no other sense than a vote of no confidence in the ERLC Board of Trustees, which is both insulting and, in our view, inappropriate and out of step with Southern Baptist cooperation," the ERLC Executive Committee said. The ERLC Executive Committee also stressed that the SBC Executive Committee did not handle established communication procedures properly, failing to consult the ERLC's trustees, which is forbidden by the organization's bylaws. Additionally, the ERLC Executive Committee's letter argued that the task force was formed during a session that was not public and that it overruled the expressed wishes of the messengers of the SBC during the Annual Meeting in Dallas, Texas, in 2018, where a motion to defund the ERLC was nearly unanimously rejected. "All told, we find the action of the Executive Committee in appointing this ERLC study task force disappointing, unnecessary, and harmful to our cooperative work in the SBC. The Executive Committee, of course, has a financial stewardship, particularly in terms of allocating the resources of the Cooperative Program," the letter continued. "But that should not result in a disregard of the clearly-expressed will of the denomination it purports to serve. It should not include a disregard of the very bylaws the Executive Committee is claiming as justification for its action. It should not include a culture of secrecy leading to a committee that unmistakably creates suspicion regarding one of our own entities. It should not include ignoring the directive to 'maintain open channels and instead create hostile channels with what should clearly be first a matter for the ERLC Board of Trustees to consider." In 2017, the ERLC was scrutinized by the Executive Committee following a tumultuous 2016 political season and as some Southern Baptists expressed displeasure related to Moore's pointed criticisms of then-candidate Donald Trump in the lead-up to the presidential election, arguing that his statements were not broadly representative of the SBC's views as it pertains to cultural engagement and politics. A number of influential churches at the time put contributions in an escrow account, withholding them from the denomination's Cooperative Program, in order to steer resources away from the ERLC. Yet Stone maintains this new task force is not an attempt to oust Moore, and neither was the 2017 review. "The ERLC is governed by their board of trustees," Stone said. "This is not a governance issue. This is a budget issue related to their fulfillment of their mission and ministry assignment. We continue to hear reports that are largely anecdotal but increasing in number where churches are either decreasing or withholding Cooperative Program funds related to concerns with the ERLC. We have a responsibility that we are granted under the bylaws of the SBC to look at this." In a statement to Baptist Press, Elizabeth Bristow, press secretary for the ERLC, said the agency "could not do what it does without the sacrificial giving of churches. We hear from our churches every single day with questions about some of the most complicated issues imaginable. In every case, we work to serve our churches with gospel-focused answers." "Occasionally, we receive questions from Southern Baptists about the work we do. Thankfully those questions are easier to answer. That's because, every day the men and women serving at the ERLC stand for the unborn, advocate for religious liberty, work to address the crisis of sexual abuse, and labor to equip men and women to answer ever-changing questions in light of the everlasting promises of our Lord. Writing in SBC Voices Thursday, Mercer University professor Susan Codone called the SBC Executive Committee's move "abhorrent" and noted the antics of other Southern Baptists on social media as she dared to speak out about sexual abuse and other topics. "I hope this new taskforce studying the ERLC asks for my opinion. I will tell them that Dr. Moore brought a wandering, deeply hurt Christian back to God and empowered me to serve Him publicly. I will tell them that the ERLC is imperative to the Southern Baptist Convention. I will tell them that the staff of the ERLC showed me how to be Christlike in the midst of hate and attacks," she said. The SBC Executive Committee's study comes on the heels of the launch of the Conservative Baptist Network, a new grassroots effort comprised of Southern Baptists who are concerned about certain theological trends within the SBC and desire to reinvigorate the denomination's historic emphasis on evangelism and the sufficiency of Scripture. The Annual Meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention will occur in Orlando, Florida, in June. Once again, my country, Denmark, has come to play a role in an American presidential race. We Danes always feel very proud about that, yet at the same time we feel the urge to kindly put a few things straight. It all started in 2015, when Bernie Sanders, in a Democratic primary debate with Hillary Clinton, responded to a question by Anderson Cooper about whether Americans would support a socialist for president. "I think we should look to countries like Denmark, like Sweden and Norway, and learn from what they have accomplished for their working people," Sanders said. This led to our prime minister at the time asserting in a speech at Harvard University that Denmark, far from being a socialist economy, was in fact a market economy. But Sanders has kept at it. "I think that countries like Denmark and Sweden do very well," he said at an event in Iowa last summer. "I think it depends on what we mean by socialism. If we mean socialism is what the old Soviet Union was, that's not my thing." And now Pete Buttigieg has joined the conversation about what Denmark is or isn't. On Wednesday night, at a Democratic debate in the midst of the current race for the White House, Buttigieg brought up the perennial top-countries-to-live-in competition. "Last time I checked," he said, "the list of countries to live out the American Dream - in other words, to be born at the bottom and come out at the top - we're not even in the top 10. The number one place to live out the American Dream right now is Denmark." It is true that Denmark is a country with low inequality, mostly due to a tax-based redistribution of wealth and a welfare state that delivers free health care and education for all. However, Denmark is not living out the American Dream the way Buttigieg describes it. James J. Heckman, a Nobel Prize-winning economist at the University of Chicago, has shown how Denmark scores low when it comes to creating social mobility that may elevate people from the bottom to the top of society. If your parents have no or little education, chances are high that you will end up at the same level yourself, even in Denmark. Our country could do a much better job when it comes to social mobility. This is a challenge we happen to share with the United States, but it is also something that the new Danish social democratic government is addressing, together with the Social Liberal Party that I belong to. We have agreed to invest in early childhood development in our child-care institutions, especially from ages zero to 6, to try to improve social mobility. For a Dane like me, the American Dream often looks like a merciless race to the top, in which everyone has to be the architect of their own fortune. This means that one climbs the societal ladder alone and often at the expense of others and of the community. The Danish Dream is for people to climb the ladder together. It's a slower process but considerably more robust and constructive. It is in this particular sense that I am happy we do not live out the American Dream in Denmark. But back to Denmark being described as a socialist state - and even sometimes compared to countries such as Venezuela. In Wednesday's debate, after fellow candidate Mike Bloomberg suggested that Sanders was advocating communism, Sanders said: "Let's talk about democratic socialism. Not communism ... let's talk about what goes on in countries like Denmark, where Pete correctly pointed out they have a much higher quality of life in many respects than we do." This description, again, is not entirely on the mark, since we don't consider our country to be socialist. We are social democrats with a touch of liberalism. Danes in general see nothing wrong with being successful and earning a lot of money. A little more than 5 percent of the country's population is made up of millionaires, slightly less than the millionaire population in the United States, which is just under 8 percent. However, we insist that this cannot be at the expense of others, and the highest incomes and fortunes are relatively taxed the most: The richest 10 percent pay almost a third of the total tax. We have minimized poverty and reduced huge inequalities. Yet our focus is not to burden or constrain the strongest. Rather, it is to empower everyone in our society. This way, we try to help those at the bottom reach the ladder, too, and get a grip on it. The key to our success lies in our free school system and, more broadly, in our educational philosophy. Here, children are encouraged to ask questions, think for themselves and speak their own minds. Social cohesion is another factor: We still strive to meet each other and create a sense of community across economic and geographical divides. Denmark does have problems with the integration of minorities, particularly from some Muslim countries, and therefore we struggle with various ethnic and religious divides that can't be reduced to economic issues. Here we, too, must learn to address these matters realistically and pragmatically. If Americans want to learn a thing or two from Denmark, it would be to avoid deep social and economic divisions and strive for a society where everyone has a chance for a good and meaningful life - even if they do not reach the top of society. The top, as we all know, can be a rather lonely spot. I would modestly suggest that you begin talking to one another other across political, economic and geographical differences. Give everybody a real chance, and teach all children that they are worth something. I would also suggest a more collective sharing of expenses. It is often the less expensive solution. In Denmark, where health care is free for all, we spend 7 percent of GDP on it - the United States spends 16.9 percent, according to data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Even if we are not real socialists, on this point, Bernie Sanders is right. - - - Auken is a member of the Danish parliament and author of "Dansk," a book about Danish identity and values. THE Cebu Technological University (CTU) hosted the academic panel discussion on the role of research and publication in the higher education institutions on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020, at its main campus in Cebu City. This event started the three-day National Conference for the Arts, Sciences and Education (N-Case). The first ever N-Case carried the theme Accelerating Human Sciences through Research. It continued at the Waterfront Hotel and Casino in Barangay Lahug on Feb. 20-21. CTU vice president for research and development Adrian Ybanez emphasized the efforts of the conference to serve as a platform to encourage research dissemination and to foster collaboration among faculty engaged in the arts, sciences and education. CTU vice president for academic affairs Edwin Pilapil shared the colloquiums aim for multidisciplinary research dialogue in the exchanges between researchers and lecturers through plenary and parallel session presentations. Invited speakers who shared their insights during the panel discussion were scholar Hope Sabanpan-Yu, chairperson of the Division of the Humanities of the National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP) and director of the Universtiy of San Carlos-Cebuano Studies Center; Josefino Ronquillo, education supervisor of the Commission on Higher Education (Ched) 7; and Jonathan Etcuban, research chairman of the CTU-College of Education. Yu highlighted the interdisciplinary trend of research today as intersections between the humanities and the sciences. She said it is breaking out of the silo mentality to become more relevant not only to the academe but more so to the community where they can be generated and applied for sustainable development. She cited the different funding agencies available for research and encouraged professional membership in organizations like the NRCP, which is the think tank of the National Government. Ronquillo stressed the role of the Ched in assisting universities and their faculty researches by suggesting a support system of established researchers cradling young researchers until they become independent. The Ched has several programs to assist universities which Ronquillo outlined in his talk together with a discussion of the Cheds circular memorandum order 152019s new challenge for existing graduate programs to comply with the requirements. Etcuban mentioned the challenges of training, adding that teachers should be trained to commit to quality research. CTU has two achievement awardees in the NRCPs 87th General Membership Assembly. They will be honored at the Philippine International Convention Center on March 9, 2020. They are Ybanez from the College of Veterinary Medicine (Barili Campus) and engineer Landon Ocampo from the College of Engineering. (S) Advertisement Communities brought to their knees by flooding face further misery as Britain heads for its wettest February in 30 years, with more rain, wind and snow set to hit nationwide. The Met Office has warned a month's worth of rain (2.4in) could fall across an already soaked South Wales today as yet another wave of torrential rain moves over the country from the south west. Forecasters say storms will sweep in again on Sunday night, bringing rain and winds of up to 70mph to many areas and snow to parts of Scotland and northern England on Monday. There are also severe yellow weather warnings for snow, with more than three inches due to fall over northern parts of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland at the start of the week. Heavy rain will turn to sleet as Monday continues with sludge set to cause havoc on the roads. Already an average 5.5in of rain has fallen across the UK so far this month but experts fear the figure could surpass the second highest record of 6.6in, which was set in 2014. According to Met Office records, the wettest ever February was in 1990 with an average rainfall of 7.6in. Members of Worcester Canoe Club are seen kayaking on a flooded Worcester Racecourse, as a third consecutive weekend of stormy weather brings flooding misery to already sodden communities York city centre is pictured on Sunday still underwater after the River Ouse bursts its banks in the aftermath of Storm Dennis The River Severn is seen overflowing in Worcester on Sunday after bursting its banks following Storm Dennis and Ciara A three-day weather forecast shows some sunny spells on Sunday, but mainly rain, cloud, wind and snow nationwide While the extreme weather should settle down over Tuesday and Wednesday, the Met Office said further heavy rain is expected later in the week. The number of flood warnings in force in England dropped slightly on Saturday afternoon as the rain relented in many areas - albeit with gale-force winds continuing in the north. On Saturday night, five flood warnings remained in force across Wales - mainly on the River Severn and River Dee - with 23 flood alerts. In England, the two severe flood warnings on the River Lugg, in Herefordshire, were downgraded but 74 flood warnings and 170 flood alerts remained in place. The Met Office said the overnight band of rain would give way to more showery weather during Sunday. But it warned the weather system was due to pivot back on Sunday night, bringing widespread rain and wind for many parts, with snow over central and southern Scotland and the hills of the north Pennines bringing a grim start to Monday. A yellow weather warning for heavy rain has been issued for 3am to 3pm on Monday for the north of England. There is also a yellow warning for snow covering much of central and southern Scotland on Monday. Forecasters said snow could also fall on higher ground in northernmost areas of England. New Road cricket ground in Worcester is seen completely underwater with most of the stands submerged on Sunday after the River Severn burst its banks Kayakers are seen paddling around Worcester racecourse after it was inundated with floodwater after Storm Dennis The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for heavy rain across already flood-hit South Wales from 10pm on Saturday night to 11am on Sunday morning. There is also a warning in place for the Scottish Highlands for snow and ice until 10am on Sunday (right). It has issued a rain yellow weather warning for the North West of England from 3am on Monday to 3pm. There is also a wind warning in place for Northern Ireland and the north of Scotland from 9am on Monday to 11.59pm. Snow warnings are in place for Scotland from 6am on Monday to 9pm (left) Three boys rescued from dinghy amid storms in Dorset Three boys had to be rescued after their inflatable boat began to sink in storms on Saturday. The boys, two aged 13 and one 14, were paddling around Lyme Regis Harbour in Dorset when their boat started deflating around 4.55pm. Three boys are pictured being rescued off the Dorset coast A lifeboat crew rode out to meet two of the boys, while the other had swam to a pontoon. They were brought back to land were they were described as 'wet but unhurt'. Advertisement Dan Suri, chief forecaster at the Met Office, said: 'A relatively deep area of low-pressure system on Monday provides a continuation of the extremely unsettled period the UK has endured. 'Despite reports to the contrary, this system hasn't been named, and there is no plan to do so currently, despite some speculation on social media. 'With further rain in the forecast over the coming days, additional rainfall could create further challenges as river catchments are more likely to respond to extra rainfall more quickly. 'Flooding, especially in areas already heavily affected, remains a possibility.' Scott Squires, duty tactical manager for Natural Resources Wales, added: 'As the floodwaters recede and communities start to get back on their feet, we'll continue to support local authorities and emergency service in these affected areas. 'Over the coming days our teams will be checking for any signs of damage to our flood defences, and removing blockages and debris which has built up in culverts and drainage grids etc.' There was further flooding on Friday night and Saturday morning on the southern edge of the Yorkshire Dales. The village of Horton-in-Ribblesdale was cut off by rising water for six hours and there were road closures and further flooding along the Otley-Ilkley-Skipton corridor, north of Bradford. Thomas Millman, 57, landlord of the Crown pub in Horton-in-Ribblesdale, said it was the worst flooding he had seen in 40 years in the village. 'It swept in very, very quickly and I was forced to shut the pub at 9pm on Friday. We put sandbags outside, which has fortunately stopped it flooding. 'But some people haven't been so lucky. The water was waist high on the main road and I know lots of people had to leave their homes. This is the third weekend on the trot it's been this bad. I don't remember weather like this.' Every cloud: Members of Worcester Canoe Club are seen making the most of the weather by using the city's flooded racecourse as a training ground More kayakers are pictured on the River Ouse in York, which burst its banks causing chaos for the city and surrounding area North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said they had to rescue four people from a stranded car in Skipton and two horses stuck in floodwater nearby. Meanwhile there has been widespread criticism of Boris Johnson for not visiting flood-hit areas during this month's Parliamentary recess. He is believed to be spending the break with his partner Carrie Symonds at the Chevening Estate in Sevenoaks, Kent, with 'no plans' of a personal visit. On Sky News's Sophy Ridge on Sunday, Environment Secretary George Eustice was pressed on why the PM has not been seen in public in nine days in stark contrast to during flooding in the the election period when he made visits and called an emergency Cobra meeting. Revellers in Leeds are seen trying to enjoy a night out on Saturday night despite rain and gusty winds in the city A female student is pictured clinging onto her umbrella amid gale-force winds in Worcester on Sunday with more set to come He said that was because election campaigning rules meant there was 'less ministerial involvement', so 'there was seen to be something of a slow start'. 'That's why, because of the criticism, the Prime Minister in that instance did stand up Cobra,' he said, adding that it has not been 'necessary this time' because of the existing national flood response centre. 'We didn't need to stand up a separate Cabinet Office infrastructure in the form of Cobra because you already had one dedicated to floods that was operating.' He added that the 'first thing' the Prime Minister told him last week when he was appointed to the role was that there were storms incoming. 'It was agreed that I would make a visit to look at our preparedness over that weekend,' Mr Eustice said. 'It's not true that the Prime Minister's not been engaged in this. From the very moment he appointed me he's been engaged. We stood up a national flood response centre and there have been daily conference calls that I've led. 'And in a cabinet Government it's not a one-man show, it's right that on certain operational things such as this that the Prime Minister will ask one of his Cabinet members to lead, I can't see anything wrong with that.' By Express News Service Surendran took over as the youngest state president of the BJP on Saturday. In a chat with Express Chief Reporter Sovi Vidyadharan on the day of taking charge as BJP state chief, Surendran rubbished reports of factionalism and said the reverse consolidation of the majority community due to anti-CAA agitations will help the party. Holding on tight to the Sabarimala cause, Surendran said the party will go to any extent to protect the hill shrines traditional beliefs and customs. Excerpts: Q: BJP Kerala unit has got a president after nearly four months. What are your immediate priorities as state party chief? A: My immediate priority is to revitalise the party for the upcoming panchayat election. Strengthening the party organisationally, chalking out programmes to reach a wider section of people, deciding candidates early, highlighting our achievements in local bodies under our control and exposing the lack of development in the wards ruled by rival parties are some of my immediate tasks. Q. The enactment of CAA saw polarisation like never before in Kerala. Both the LDF and the UDF are cashing in on the anti-CAA wave. What are BJPs prospects in such a scenario? A: The anti-CAA protests carried out by Muslim organisations have created a strong reverse polarisation of the majority community that will prove advantageous to the BJP. The majority community may not be out on the streets, but their resentment is strong. We will launch a forceful counter-campaign to expose the real agenda behind the anti-CAA protests. Q. By appointing you as state chief, is the BJP trying to convey that it is a hardcore Hindutva agenda that it wants to adopt in Kerala? Will this hardline approach help the party? A: A Hindu can never adopt a hardline stance as he always stands for peace and amity. BJP will continue the policies it had pursued earlier in the state. We will only convey those policies more forcefully. Q. How successful can Surendran be as a leader who is appealing to all sections of society as winning elections is all about taking various groups together? A: Whether I am able to take all sections together should be assessed based on my functioning in the coming months. I am not concerned about it and I am very confident of taking everyone together. Q Factionalism is the biggest bane of the BJP in the state. Even when you assumed charge today, a former president did not turn up and a general secretary gave the programme a miss. Is this a sign of a fissure in the party? A: Kummanam Rajasekharan had prior commitments. He landed in Kochi from Delhi only this morning. The general secretary (Sobha Surendran) has clarified that she could not attend due to health issues. Talk of factionalism is just false propaganda and there is no basis for such interpretations. Q. P K Krishnadas presence today when you assumed charge was widely noticed. Have the Krishnadas and Muraleedharan factions closed ranks finally? A: Krishnadasji and Muraleedharanji are leading the party together. We have all witnessed it today. So, all these reports of factionalism are baseless. The party will move ahead as a single unit. Q: Sabarimala issue is once again before the Supreme Court. In case of a verdict favouring the entry of women of all ages into the shrine, will the party press for a legislation by Parliament to protect the temples beliefs and customs? A: BJP in Kerala will go to any extent to protect the beliefs and customs of Sabarimala. When the situation warrants (enactment of legislation), we will exert pressure for it too. Q: The UDF alleges there is a tacit understanding between Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the BJP. The lackadaisical attitude of the Centre in the SNC Lavalin case is cited by critics to prove this point? A: The BJP could have adopted political vendetta by using the SNC Lavalin case. But the party never views criminal cases as tools to settle political scores. So, allegations of such an understanding are baseless. Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-23 16:32:57|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close TOKYO, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- China is ready to strengthen cooperation with Japan on the containment of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), jointly safeguard the health and safety of the two peoples and uphold public health security in the region and the world, Chinese Ambassador to Japan Kong Xuanyou said. In a joint written interview with the Chinese media in Japan on Saturday, Kong called on the two sides to tap respective advantages to contain and mitigate the COVID-19 outbreak, adding that China has the confidence, capacity and certainty to score an outright victory over the epidemic. After the outbreak of COVID-19, the Chinese embassy in Japan immediately activated the emergency mechanism and issued the first consular notice concerning the epidemic on Jan. 23, reminding Chinese nationals and tourists in the country to pay close attention to the development of the epidemic and take protective measures. Meanwhile, the embassy found out the exact number of tourists from Hubei province stranded in Japan in a short period of time, and coordinated three chartered flights to bring the 541 Hubei tourists back to China safely. Under the overall coordination of the central government, the embassy worked closely with the Commissioner's Office of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) as well as the HKSAR government to arrange chartered flights to bring Chinese compatriots stranded on the Diamond Princess cruise ship back from Japan. According to Kong, since the outbreak of the epidemic, diplomats at all levels of the embassy have kept intensive contact with the Japanese government, the ruling parties and relevant authorities. The Japanese government has fully understood and offered sincere support and assistance to China's anti-epidemic measures. The central government, the Tokyo metropolitan government and other local governments, as well as Japanese enterprises, friendly groups and individuals, have provided assistance to China at the critical juncture in the prevention and control of the epidemic. Their actions have received positive responses and gratitude from the Chinese people. At present, Japan has the highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases outside China. Noting the development in the spread of the epidemic in Japan, the Chinese embassy contacted relevant domestic manufacturers and charitable organizations to donate a batch of novel coronavirus test kits to Japan. After the news was posted on the Chinese embassy's social media, it received more than 600,000 views and nearly 10,000 likes in a short period of time. Some Japanese netizens wrote, "Thanks for China's selfless help at the moment. As close neighbors, Japan and China should work together to tide over difficulties." The positive interaction between the two peoples' public opinions reflects the long-standing neighborly relationship between the two countries, said Kong, adding that it gives the Chinese people strong confidence and motivation to fight the epidemic, and becomes a new bond of friendship between the two peoples and a powerful force for further improvement and development of bilateral relations. The ambassador urged the two sides to continue to strengthen exchanges and cooperation in virus detection, share experience and practices in epidemic prevention and control, work together to overcome the difficulties and carry out mutual learning and mutually beneficial cooperation in infectious disease prevention and control and public health system. "To jointly address this public health security challenge with Japan is not only an important part of our country's role as a responsible country to maintain public health security in the region and the world, but also a part of our agenda to build a community with a shared future," he said. Murshidabad: Hitting out at the central government for spending crores of rupees to welcome Donald Trump, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Saturday called the US President "Mogambo", the villain essayed by late actor Amrish Puri in the Bollywood film 'Mr India'. He claimed that the government is doing everything to make 'Mogambo' happy. "What is the need to spend crore of rupees from the government's treasury? People living in slums are being forced to hide or move to make Trump happy. Is this the right behaviour? Gujarat was developed by Modi as a model for others but the poor are being exploited there. It is like we will do everything to make Mogambo happy. We will protest against the Modi government," he told ANI. Chowdhury, who is Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha, has also declined the invitation by Rashtrapati Bhavan for the banquet being organised in honour of Trump on February 25, citing that the similar invitation was not extended to party's interim president Sonia Gandhi. "Trump is coming here. India to host a grand dinner for him but the Opposition is not invited. Why Sonia Gandhi ji is not invited for dinner with Trump. In 'Howdy Modi' event, both Republican and Democrats shared the stage. But here, only Modi will be with Trump. What kind of democracy is this?" Chowdhury said, adding that the Centre should respect democracy. "Trump is coming to India is a very big thing. The US is a powerful nation and we welcome their president in our country. The country which he represents is considered as the oldest democracy and India as the biggest democracy. Democracy has some features which everyone shall respect," he said. The US President and First Lady Melania Trump will be visiting India on February 24 and 25. Trump will first visit Prime Minister Narendra Modi`s home state Gujarat and take part in a roadshow with the Prime Minister in Ahmedabad. He will also address at the "Namaste Trump" event at Motera Stadium in the city. Later, he will visit the Taj Mahal in Agra and attend a cultural programme in the city. Trump will then travel to Delhi where he will hold delegation-level talks with the Prime Minister and meet other leaders. A aircraft of the crashed in the Arabian Sea off Goa coast on Sunday morning, the Navy said. The pilot ejected safely, a Navy spokesman said, adding that an inquiry has been ordered into the incident. The aircraft was on a routine training sortie when it crashed off the Goa coast around 10.30 am, he said. "The pilot of the aircraft ejected safely and has been recovered. An enquiry to investigate the incident has been ordered," the spokesman said in a tweet. The aircraft had flown from the INS Hansa base at Vasco in Goa. Barbara Elaine Smith known as B. Smith died peacefully in her Long Island, New York home on Feb 22 after enduring early-onset Alzheimers disease. The celebrated restauranteur, model, and lifestyle guru was just 70 years old. Her husband, Dan Gasby, shared the news, which triggered a slew of fan reactions. Who is B. Smith and what is she known for? B. Smith naps on her daughter, Dana Gasbys, shoulder as they sit together on a couch in their East Hampton home | Karsten Moran for The Washington Post via Getty Images Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania native, B. Smith, was a former model and entrepreneur who became a restauranteur with a chain of restaurants in New York and Washington, D.C. Smith, who appeared in numerous magazine covers, was lauded as one of the first prominent black models. The three-time cookbook author documented her Alzheimers journey upon diagnosis along with her husband, Dan Gasby, in the 2016 memoir, Before I Forget: Love, Hope, Help, and Acceptance in Our Fight Against Alzheimers. As a nationally syndicated talk show host of B. Smith With Style in the 90s, Smith then ventured into the world of home goods with the first line by an African-American woman sold in Bed Bath & Beyond nationwide. In 2014, Smith revealed her early-onset Alzheimers disease diagnosis at the age of 64. Im going to do my best to make it work out for me, and for as many people that I can possibly help, too, she said at the time. Smith later revealed she first realized something wasnt quite right after she forgot the name of an ingredient during a cooking segment on Today. I felt like this was something very different that had never happened to me, Smith said at the time. And so while I was thinking, OK, what am I going to do about this? I kept trying to figure out what to do. The early warning sign prompted Smith to seek medical advice, in which the diagnosis was eventually made. Dan Gasby posted the news on his Instagram account and fans have mixed feelings Smiths husband of over 20 years, Dan Gasby, posted the news on his Instagram account early on Feb. 23. It is with great sadness that my daughter Dana and I announce the passing of my wife, Barbara Elaine Smith. B. died peacefully Saturday, February 22, 2020, at 10:50 pm, of Early-Onset Alzheimers Disease in our home in Long Island, New York. She was 70, he said. He continued: Thank you to Dr. Sam Gandy, East End Hospice and additional caregivers who helped us make B. comfortable in her final days. Thank you to all the friends and fans who supported B. and our family during her journey. Thank you to everyone for respecting our privacy during this agonizing time. Heaven is shining even brighter now that it is graced with B.s dazzling and unforgettable smile. I guess you and your mistress can finally celebrate while splitting her fortune. She deserved better, one fan commented on Gasbys post. Others followed suit. On Twitter, many more poured out their sympathy and condolences. This is so sad I had the pleasure of meeting her & her husband when we had them on our show years ago. What a beautiful, kind & gentle spirit. She will be missed but Im happy shes no longer in pain here on earth, this fan tweeted. Oh my gosh. I loved her and her work. My family had a home in Sag Harbor and I saw the evidence of the grace she gave to the world. May she know only love on her journey Home. Peace to all who love her, another said. Met her at her restaurant a few times, and she was so gracious. She was a welcome sight in Manhattans restaurant scene. Thank you, B. Smith, for all you did, this fan added. Clearly Smith will be missed by many, but it didnt stop some from commenting further on the controversy between Smith, Gasby, and his girlfriend, Alex Lerner. B. Smith and Dan Gasby had a controversial marriage over recent years Sometime after Smiths Alzheimers diagnosis, Gasby sparked national outrage by acknowledging a relationship with another woman, Alex Lerner, who moved into the home he shared with Smith. Lerner, a divorced mom of three, met Gasby while co-hosting a radio show together. She moved in with Gasby as he remained caregiver to Smith through her final days. So damn disrespectful. I pray she rest in heaven. I also pray her will was so iron-clad you leave with what you came with, one person commented on a July 2019 photo of Lerner and Smith together. Prior to that, Gasby posted a photo of the three of them in which he captioned, Welcoming in 2019 with B Alex & Me! So kind of people who understand till death do you part! Doesnt mean cloistering yourself like a monk or living as a casualty of #alzheimers. He turned comments off. During a 2019 appearance on The View, Gasby claimed it was Smith who encouraged him to move on, despite criticism. When we got the diagnosis at Mount Sinai she stopped me, put her hand on my arm and she said to me, I want you to go on, Gasby said at the time. Im not doing anything we didnt discuss. I could have easily placed her into a facility and I would not do that. This notion of vows, Im keeping my vowsVows are to protect, to care for. Whatever your views on Gasby and Lerner, may the one and only B. Smith be remembered for the incredible gifts she offered everyone who knew and loved her. HALIFAX - Two federal research scientists are working with varieties of wild hops found in the Maritimes to see if some of their unique aromas can eventually be incorporated in craft beers. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 23/2/2020 (688 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Federal research scientists Jason McCallum (left) and Aaron Mills (right), hold some of their harvested Maritimes wild hops varieties in a handout photo.THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada MANDATORY CREDIT HALIFAX - Two federal research scientists are working with varieties of wild hops found in the Maritimes to see if some of their unique aromas can eventually be incorporated in craft beers. Jason McCallum and Aaron Mills have spent the last two years searching out wild hops that grow mainly along creek beds and heavily forested areas in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. McCallum said in addition to the native wild hops, there are also hops varieties from Europe that have flourished since their introduction by settlers during the early colonization of North America. As a result, the plants grow relatively abundantly and are easily recognizable to someone who knows what they are looking for. "Just driving around you can spot it in your car at 80 kilometres an hour .... Some of the sites we found were just through random road scouting like that," McCallum said. The plants can be quite tall growing as high as 10 metres and they can be found climbing up dead trees, utility pole guide wires and bridge embankments. Their leaves look similar to grape leaves. "We often found the hops growing up apple trees on old farmsteads," Mills said. The pair found more than 60 different wild-growing hop populations and subsequently planted samples at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's Harrington Research Farm near Charlottetown. They've since been researching the chemical composition of the varieties to determine their origin and to see which hold promise for the brewing industry. McCallum said a particular attraction for brewers are bitter chemical compounds found in the plants known as alpha acids. The native variety that has evolved solely in the Maritimes has shown the most unique potential he said. "All of the Maritime (native) stuff has adequate alpha acids for brewing purposes. But one thing that really stands out about them is that they have very unusual smells and flavour characteristics." McCallum said that once dried and rubbed together, the plant's flowers produce such smells as melon, cucumber and even bubble gum. Mills said the research is now moving into a second phase that will eventually see the hops move from the federal farm to commercial breeders. But first the researchers have to figure out such things as the plants' yield potential and resistance to disease. "The craft brewers will take anything and brew with it if there is a story attached to it," Mills said. "But we want to make sure that the quantity is consistent and we have a handle on the flavours." Data will be submitted over the next two years to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's Plant Breeders Rights Office, which provides legal protection for new plant varieties. McCallum and Mills also plan to work with producers across P.E.I, Quebec and British Columbia to see if the Maritimes' wild hops varieties can be grown in other parts of Canada. Mills said if everything goes as planned, the first plant material could go to commercial partners for planting in another two years. After that, it could take a few more years before beer incorporating the hops appears on local shelves. McCallum said they believe they have found something that could potentially provide brewers in the Maritimes with some intriguing new products in an industry that embraces novelty. "With the craft brewing revolution in North America, it's kind of the wild west in what's the craziest thing you can come up with that's new, and people kind of chase that," he said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 23, 2020. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Gemma Holliani Cahya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sun, February 23, 2020 11:33 689 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad206611e58 1 City LBH-Apik,police,domestic-violence,Propam,human-rights Free The Legal Aid Foundation of the Indonesian Womens Association for Justice (LBH APIK) has received a number of unannounced visits from police officers throughout the month as the organization is currently handling a case of alleged domestic violence. The latest occurred on Friday, as a group of police officers from Matraman Police went without prior notice to LBH APIKs office at Kramat Jati, East Jakarta. Officers from the East Jakarta Police were also with them at the time. Matraman Police head Comr. Tedjo Asmoro told LBH APIK staff that Fridays visit was just a silahturahmi (friendly meeting). He was accompanied by a police officer identified as TR, who allegedly previously carried out a search of the offices without showing any warrants during two visits on Feb. 3 and 12. LBH APIK had reported TR to East Jakarta Polices internal affairs division (Propam) for alleged misadministration and abuse of power for those two searches. The police officers also let thugs enter the offices front yard. They indeed caused psychological impacts for all staff, LBH APIK legal team member Sri Agustini said. Read also: Asian forum on human rights conveys disappointment toward Jokowi During a visit on Feb. 3, dozens of people forcefully entered the LBH APIK offices in East Jakarta and threatened to damage it. Four of them claimed to be members of the Matraman Police, although neither of them wore uniforms nor brought a warrant. LBH APIK sources said they believed the unannounced visits were related to a case being handled by the organization involving a 21-year-old woman identified only as DW. During one of the visits, the man leading the mob, identified only by the initials AA, accused LBH APIK of abducting and hiding his daughter, DW The sources said DW went to the LBH APIKs offices on Jan. 30 to ask for legal assistance. She reportedly told LBH APIK counselors that she had left her parents home for a week, accusing her parents of committing violence against her because of their disapproval of her boyfriend. DW reportedly told the LBH APIK that several days after leaving home a police officer, TR, looked for her at her boyfriends house in Matraman, East Jakarta. TR later called DW and asked for a meeting. She agreed to meet at the LBH APIK office on Feb. 3. During the meeting, DW explained the reason she ran away from home and gave a letter for her parents to TR. After the meeting, TR left and LBH APIK staff asked DW to leave. Shortly after that, according to the LBH APIK, TR returned to the offices with another police officer identified as PR, accusing staff members of hiding DW and demanding to be allowed to search for her in the building. The staff members refused, forcing the two police officers to leave. Sri said the organization urged the East Jakarta Police to continue the legal process involving DW professionally and independently. LBH APIK also requested the Jakarta Police to supervise the whole process. [TR] has apologized to us, but the legal process should continue, Sri said. We ask the National Human Rights Commission [Komnas HAM] to provide legal protection to human rights defenders, especially members of LBH APIK. Read also: Public lack faith in Jokowi's ability to solve past human rights abuses: Survey East Jakarta Polices criminal investigation department head, Adj. Sr. Comr. Hery Purnomo, said on Thursday that his team was still collecting statements from witnesses. We will notify [LBH APIK] on the progress soon, he said. LBH APIK is one of a few leading organizations in Indonesia that focus on women's rights, campaigning for the elimination of violence against women and children, and accompanying the victims of sexual violence across the nation. Activists said human rights defenders, especially those who are women, had received too many threats, intimidation and attacks far too often so they could no longer be seen as ordinary obstacles. (aly) As an immigrant from Greece, Dimitri "Jimmy" Psomas arrived in Rochester in 1966 with $52, a wife and two children. He started washing dishes in his brother's restaurant that first day as his family unpacked. The former sea captain launched what would be a long and successful culinary career, owning and operating seven restaurants. He became best known for the iconic Mac's Cafe on Rochester's Peace Plaza, where he met and became friends with Mayo Clinic visitors from around the world. "When he left Eretria, he was told that it wasn't true that money grew on trees in America," said Tasos Psomas. "He was told you have to work hard, really hard, to make it there. He took that to heart." Jimmy Psomas died Friday in Rochester. He was 88. ADVERTISEMENT While Jimmy Psomas owned other popular Med City restaurants, such as Richard's Roost and Pannekoeken, he became the heart and soul of Mac's. People from all over would tell visitors going to Rochester to stop and say "hi" to Jimmy at Mac's, Tasos Psomas said. Mac's, which opened in 1949, was purchased by Jimmy's brother Stan Kapenis in 1952. In 1969, it moved to the heart of downtown. Jimmy Psomas took it over when Kapenis retired. He was a familiar sight at the cafe, even after he retired in the mid-70s and turned it over to his son, George Psomas. Mac's closed in 2017. For locals, Mac's became a popular spot for "power" business lunches. It became such a hot spot that some young men with business aspirations would bring blank papers and pretend to have a meeting, just to be part of the action. The inexpensive breakfasts and lunches meant those bankers and power brokers were eating hand-cut steaks, gyros and spanakopita next to hotel housekeepers and construction workers. During his tenure, Rochester Mayor Chuck Hazama had a table set aside for gatherings once a week, where many city issues were reportedly hashed out over the years. Jimmy also kept alive another tradition among the Rochester's movers and shakers that was started by his brother. Late in the day, he would pull down the window shades and close the front door. Soon, prominent community leaders would show up, the cards would be dealt and thousands of hands of after-hours poker would be played. He introduced Greek food into the Olmsted County Fair offerings and later at Rochesterfest. ADVERTISEMENT One year while cooking and selling souvlaki by himself at the Olmsted County Fair, he told his family that an unknown man stepped up and started working beside him to help handle the demand. The stranger left without Psomas ever getting his name. He later pointed to TV news and said, "There's the man who helped me." Jimmy had pointed to then-Vice President Walter Mondale. While Mondale was still in the White House, Jimmy called him to help with a relative's immigration issue. Tasos Psomas remembers that Mondale called back and helped Jimmy out once again. Jimmy was always immensely proud of his Greek heritage, though he was also an enthusiastic advocate for Rochester and the U.S., Tasos said. "He was proof that the American Dream is possible," Tasos said with tears in eyes, sitting at the counter of his own Rochester restaurant. ADVERTISEMENT Hitting out at the Congress, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma on Sunday alleged that the opposition party does not want a strong India and termed the questions raised by it in connection with US President Donald Trump's visit "non-essential". The Congress has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi whether he would raise with Trump the easing of H-1B visas, restoration of GSP status and security concerns over the Taliban. It asked whether Modi would ensure cheaper oil for India after it stopped buying oil from Iran in view of US sanctions and if Indian steel exports would get a boost when New Delhi commits USD 3 billion in defence purchases. "The questions raised by Congress ahead of President Trump's visit are non-essential. Congress does not want that India should become strong and hence it is raising questions over India's armed forces and diplomacy," Sharma told reporters in Firozabad. READ | 'Namaste, Trump': Here Are US President Donald Trump's Engagements In India "Congress should keep in mind that good ties with the US are in India's interest," he said. Earlier Sunday, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala asked why Prime Minister Modi is "silent" about his government's "India First" police as President Trump talked of "America First". "Post 'Howdy Modi' and 'Namaste Trump' gala events, Will PM ensure restoration of GSP status," he said about the US ending preferential tariffs for India under Generalised System of Preferences in June last year. Surjewala said up till 2018, India imported 250 crore ton crude oil/month from Iran on Rupee payment, 90 days credit and doorstep delivery. The Modi government stopped buying cheaper Iran oil as per US sanctions that raised oil prices in India, he alleged. "As fest continues in Ahmedabad, Will Modiji secure cheaper oil for India," he asked. Trump is on a two-day visit to India from February 24. READ | Congress Asks PM Modi If He Will Raise H-1B Visa, Restoration Of GSP With Trump READ | UP: Deputy CM Dinesh Sharma Talks About Ganga Yatra Program Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that "history was made" when an IAF AN-32 aircraft took off from Leh's Kushok Bakula Rimpoche airport using a mixture of 10 per cent Indian bio-jet fuel. Hailing the use of a mixture of 10 per cent indigenously produced bio-jet fuel to fly an Indian Air Force transport aircraft, Prime Minister said, "such efforts will not only help bring down carbon emissions but also reduce the country's dependence on imported crude oil. While addressing the listeners on his 62nd edition of his monthly radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat', the Prime Minister said, "My dear countrymen, the beautiful Valleys of Ladakh witnessed a momentous event on January 31, 2020, for history, was made when an Indian Air Force AN32 aircraft took off from Leh's Kushok Bakula Rimpoche Airport." IAF on February 1 achieved another milestone when an AN-32 aircraft powered with a 10 per cent blend of Indian bio-jet fuel took-off from Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport in Leh. "This is the first time that both engines of the aircraft were powered by the bio-jet indigenous fuel. The aircraft was flight tested and its performance was validated at Chandigarh Air Base prior to undertaking the operational flight to Leh," a defense ministry release had said. Leh, at an altitude of 10,682 ft above mean sea level, is amongst one of the world's highest and most difficult operational airfields and is prone to extreme weather conditions. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) (Newser) Eight days after they vanished while hiking in northern Californiaand two days after searchers essentially gave up hope that they were still alivea couple has been found safe. Carol Kiparsky, 77, and Ian Irwin, 72, of Palo Alto were rescued by helicopter Saturday and are recovering in a hospital from minor hypothermia, KRSN reports. They had set out on a hike Feb. 14. Soon lost in a dense forest, they had nothing to eat and survived by drinking water from a puddle. Kiparsky lost her shoes, per CNN. Their clothes were light, and temperatures fell into the 30s while they were lost. On Thursday, presuming the couple could not have survived that long, rescue officials changed the mission from search and rescue to search and recovery. story continues below But two volunteer searchers heard voices while looking through a dense, overgrown drainage area on Saturday morning. They thought they were hearing other searchers, until they heard "Help!" One of the searchers said, "They were like, 'Thank God you found us.'" Irwin began singing as they neared. The couple's family, a sheriff's official said, is "ecstatic to say the least." Kiparsky and Irwin were found about 50 miles north of San Francisco, near Shell Beach in Tomales Bay State Park. The Marin County Sheriff's Department, which posted video of the rescue, said nearly 450 people were looking for the couple. They used K9s, drones, the Mounted Posse, boats and airplanes. (Read more hikers stories.) A mother and stepfather of an eight-year-old boy who had to have buckwheat surgically removed from his knees after they forced him to kneel on a pile of grain seeds have been jailed. Sergey Kazakov, 35, punished the boy for 'running away from home and stealing money' by making him kneel - sometimes naked - for up to nine hours at a time on the grain, causing seeds to take root in his bloodied knees. The crop had to be surgically removed under general anaesthetic at a hospital in Omsk, Russia. Injuries: Buckwheat took root in an eight-year-old boy's knees (pictured) after he was forced to kneel on grain seeds for nine hours at a time by his stepfather The boy's mother Alina Yumasheva, 27, admitted she had approved the punishment which was inflicted on ten consecutive days in May 2019 and other times. Kazakov also kicked the boy and pulled his hair while he was kneeling. Yumasheva was sentenced to one-and-a-half years in prison while mastermind Kazakov was jailed for four-and-a-half-years. The pair were fined a total of 4,825 which must be paid to the boy. The boy's mother Alina Yumasheva (pictured left with her son) said she had approved the punishment delivered by her partner Sergey Kazakov (right) The eight-year-old had been living with his mother until her trial and now has been sent to an orphanage. Nurse Lyudmila Sharapova told the court: 'It is the first time in my 43 years work that I have seen such injuries. 'The wounds were infected, the buckwheat had been embedded into his skin for several days. 'It was horrific. The mother should beg her son to forgive her until the end of her life. 'When I was cleaning up his wounds, he asked me: "Auntie, will you put me into a normal family now?"' A neighbour who saw the wounds said: 'There was no skin on his knees, just raw meat.' 'Punishment': The boy's stepfather punished him by making him kneel for nine hours at a time, leading grain seeds to take root in his bloodied knees Yumasheva claimed that she and Kazakov discovered the form of punishment on the internet. The mother told the newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda: 'I checked on it myself and set up an experiment. 'I knelt on it. It didn't hurt me. So he (Kazakov) was allowed to apply this punishment.' The couple also starved the boy for up to four days at a time, claim state investigators. Yumasheva (pictured in court) was sentenced to one-and-a-half years in prison while mastermind Kazakov was jailed for four-and-a-half-years Victim: The boy (pictured) had to have the buckwheat surgically removed from his knees under general anaesthetic at a hospital in Omsk, Russia Computer programming entrepreneur Kazakov told police he had inflicted the punishment once but several more deleted videos were traced on his phone, say investigators. The boy's ordeal came to light when he fled the family home and pleaded with a female neighbour to get him 'a normal family'. The neighbour called in doctors because of the horrific wounds on the child's bleeding knees. Kazakov (pictured) told police he had inflicted the punishment once but several more deleted videos were traced on his phone, say investigators However, after one month in hospital, the boy has been returned into her care, say Russian reports. This was despite the boy pleading with his nurse in hospital: 'Will you send me to live in a good family now?' The child's class teacher Olga Pidzhakova said the boy was academically bright but she believed he had been scared to complain. 'He is a good, positive child,' she said. 'His mother constantly attends parental meetings, comes if I call. 'He is always clean, and neatly dressed. 'Neither I, nor other teachers or children were even aware that he was being bullied at home. It is only now that I find out he was simply afraid to complain to us.' PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Senior officials from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies concluded the First Senior Officials Meeting (SOM1) here on Saturday, after deliberating on several key topics for the agenda this year. Hairil Yahri Yaacob, an official from Malaysia's International Trade and Industry Ministry who chaired the meeting, said delegates held robust discussions in the key areas of trade, economic inclusivity and sustainability. He added that detailed discussions on the development of the APEC Post-2020 Vision in preparation for the maturity of Bogor Goals at the end of this year, laying the foundation for the grouping's future direction. "The importance of these SOM1 and related meetings is for us to ensure that all the working groups, all the working committees, all the forums and sub-forums completely, totally understand what are the themes, what are the priority areas, what are the deliverables that we want to achieve throughout 2020. "All the senior officials are happy with the progress, with the work plan and they believe that all this work plan will be achieved throughout this year," he told a press conference after the meeting concluded. Executive director of the APEC Secretariat Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria said meetings were successful, with participating officials having achieved consensus on the present discussions, with valuable feedback being gathered. As the first cluster of APEC 2020 meetings, the First Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM1) and Related Meetings included a total of 102 meetings, workshops, field trips and various related activities held this month, Malaysia's International Trade and Industry Ministry said in a statement. One of APEC's flagship initiatives, the Bogor Goals were announced in 1994 for members to move towards the long-term goal of free and open trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific no later than the year 2020. Punjab DGP Dinkar Gupta, who has been slammed by SAD and AAP for his purported statement on Kartarpur Corridor, on Sunday said he expresses his "sincere regret" if any remark made by him inadvertently caused any hurt to the people of the state. He also said he has worked tirelessly for the well-being of the people of "my home state Punjab during my 32 years of service". "In case any remark made by me has inadvertently caused any hurt to the people of my state, I express my sincere regret as it was never my intention at all. I only want to ensure a safe & peaceful environment in Punjab necessary for every citizen to flourish and prosper," he tweeted Sunday evening. He also said, "I started my term as DGP in February 2019 with 'Ardas' (prayers) at Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) to seek His blessings & support for keeping every citizen of the state safe and secure. In another tweet earlier, he said it was unfortunate that his remarks on Kartarpur Corridor had been "misconstrued and deliberately misinterpreted. What I said was in response to a question on Punjab's security perspective and the remarks had no religious connotation whatsoever". On Saturday, SAD and AAP slammed Gupta for his purported statement on the corridor and sought clarification from Chief Minister Amarinder Singh within 24 hours. Senior SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia warned, "If a clarification is not issued, the party will stall proceedings of the budget session of Vidhan Sabha on February 24." Majithia said Gupta had told a national daily that "Kartarpur offers a potential that you send somebody in the morning as an ordinary chap and by evening he comes back as trained terrorist actually. You are there for six hours, you can be taken to a firing range, you can be taught to make an IED". The DGP also reportedly said some elements based in the neighbouring country were "trying to woo the pilgrims and making overtures to them". The Aam Aadmi Party too lashed out at the DGP, terming the statement condemnable and seeking the removal of the top cop. On Sunday, the Youth Akali Dal staged protest at different places in Punjab against the remark. At one such protest in Ludhiana, it burnt the DGP's effigy and demanded his dismissal. Ludhiana district President of the SAD youth wing Gurdeep Singh Gosha also asked the Congress party to clear its stand on the DGP's statement. The Kartarpur corridor, which opened on November 9 last year, links the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan the final resting place of Guru Nanak Dev with Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur of Indian Punjab. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Apart from being used for religious purposes, cow dung and urine, have been claimed to cure the deadliest of diseases, from cancer to the now-spreading Coronavirus. But many scientists don't see the logic behind it and have slammed it by calling the cures to 'blind-faith' and misplaced belief. Reuters That's one of the reasons why the government of India's recent proposal for research to determine the benefits of cow dung and urine has not impressed the scientific community. According to reports, the government's project is to assess how cows can contribute to the manufacture of toothpaste, shampoo and mosquito repellent, and how their products can help fight diabetes and cancer. But the scientific community does not see the logic behind it all. If this is an open-ended research programme, why is the focus only on cows? Ayan Banerjee, a faculty member at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research in Kolkata told The Telegraph. Why not other herbivores such as camels or goats traditional medicine systems also mention products from other herbivores? The scientists went on to say that the present 'call for proposals' (CFP) is drafted unscientifically from start to finish. The appeal suggests that the 'document is full of statements prefaced by 'it is believed, and science cannot presume the validity of beliefs, however, commonly held. Validity has to be put to test, which is absent in the CFP'. Twitter 'Scientific research on cow products cannot presume the efficacies presumed in the CFP. To begin a project with such presumptions is prima facie unscientific. We regret to note that such a flawed document issued by the DST along with several other bodies of the Government of India will severely undermine the credibility of the Indian scientific establishment', read the online appeal. The scientific community has slammed the initiative and is seriously concerned that this will simply be a way for quacks to get away with baseless cures and medical procedures. According to reports, nearly 110 scientists have signed an appeal to the government asking officials to stop fishing for research proposals, imploring them not to waste money investigating imaginary qualities derived from religious scriptures. Jammu, Feb 23 : Members of Women Empowerment Centre, Doda -- Umera and Sania -- inaugurated the Women Police Station here on Sunday in the presence of Director General of Police Dilbag Singh. Speaking on the occasion the DGP said the well designed police station will help in protecting the rights of the women in the district. The DGP stressed for effective measures for justice of the women and children who have suffered violence. "We have to go all out to end these horrible abuses and the impunity that allows these human rights violations to continue," DGP said. The DGP directed officers that ending violence against women and girls has to be the top priority. The DGP further said, "Crime against women shall be taken seriously and for this SHO Women Police Station has been directed to train lady investigation officers to deal and investigate the complaints of women victim." While addressing the prominent citizens, members of political parties, civil society members of Doda, the DGP appreciated the role of people of Doda for wiping out terrorism in the District. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Leila Macor (Agence France-Presse) Miami, United States Sun, February 23, 2020 20:06 688 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad20661def1 2 Art & Culture Zaha-Hadid,Miami,united-states,architecture,luxury Free In the heart of Miami, among the towering skyscrapers that rise above Biscayne Bay, the eye-catching new luxury condo building by late star architect Zaha Hadid dominates the skyline. The unique curved "exoskeleton" design of the One Thousand Museum building has created buzz. The futuristic structure is the only residential space in downtown Miami with a helipad. The high-rise also honors the legacy of the Iraqi-British architect, who died in Miami in 2016 at age 65, when the 62-story tower was built up to about the eighth floor. "We felt a big obligation to make sure we got this particular project right because Miami was her second home," said Chris Lepine, who took over as director of the $300 million project after her death. "She spent a lot of time here, had a lot of friends." Hadid -- sometimes dubbed "Queen of the Curve" for her love of the form -- was the first woman to win the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize, and also won two Stirling Prizes, Britain's highest honor for architecture. Forbes once named her one of the most influential women in the world. Among her acclaimed projects are Beijing Daxing International Airport and the London Aquatic Centre for the 2012 Olympics. About six months ago residents began moving into the Miami building -- which has been in the works since 2012. "We wanted to make sure that we left this landmark of her achievements," Lepine said. One Thousand Museum -- Hadid's first tower in the Western Hemisphere -- is now the crown jewel of her design firm, which is based in London. It has 84 units, two pools, a juice bar and the helipad, among other high-end amenities. It is 709 feet (216 meters) tall. In the gym, a swirling tornado spiral staircase snakes up to the spa. The penthouses offer stunning views of the park surrounding the Perez Art Museum Miami, the bay and then out to the Miami Beach and the Atlantic Ocean. The structure's signature curves stand out among the traditional linear buildings near One Thousand Museum. "There are 360 angles. Why only use one of them? Why only use 90 degrees?" said Lepine, paraphrasing his late boss. Read also: Beijing opens glitzy airport ahead of China's 70th anniversary Form and function The building's "exoskeleton", as architects call it, flows from the base to the top of its exterior, and sinks at times between the tower's windows. That structure is not just for aesthetics -- it is functional. It is made of white fiberglass-reinforced concrete, and allowed the design team to play with open spaces inside, without the need for columns. "The exoskeleton for us was a real look at how architecture could be synthesized with structure into an overall very elegant expression," Lepine said. The flexibility and finishing of the novel material used in this "permanent formwork" technique allowed for a fluid look. One Thousand Museum was developed by Louis Birdman, Gilberto Bomeny, Gregg Covin and Kevin Venger. Prices start in the $5 million range, and shoot up to $24 million for units that take up an entire higher floor. Residents hail from about 20 different countries. A handful of apartments are still on the market. "It has all the basic elements of a residential tower, but I think configured in a way that's very, very clever, very creative and in a way that sort of stands out," Lepine said. Four of the 32 cruise ship passengers taken to Arrowe Park, Merseyside, on Saturday have tested positive for coronavirus strain COVID-19, the Chief Medical Officer for England has said. The passengers spent two weeks quarantined on board the Diamond Princess liner before being flown into the UK last night. The evacuation flight landed at Boscombe Down airbase in Wiltshire yesterday, after leaving Tokyo on Friday night. A bus arrives near the cruise ship Diamond Princess, where dozens of passengers were tested positive for coronavirus, at Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama The people, which include 30 Brits and two Irish nationals, now face a further two weeks in quarantine on Merseyside. A statement on the Department of Health website said: 'Four further patients in England have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of cases in the UK to thirteen. 'The virus was passed on in the Diamond Princess cruise ship and the patients are being transferred from Arrowe Park to specialist NHS infection centres.' Those centres are believed to be either the Royal Liverpool Hospital, or a hospital in Sheffield. An ambulance, believed to be carrying a coronavirus patient, leaves the cruise ship Diamond Princess at Daikoku Pier on February 18 The news comes just days after 83 British evacuees were released from the unit on the Wirral after spending two weeks in quarantine there following a flight out of the epicentre of the disease in Wuhan. A total of 78 Brits were on board the Diamond Princess, which has been docked in Yokohama for two weeks, but officials said some refused to board the evacuation flight. Many of them were flown home on Saturday but some remain in Asia, including couple David and Sally Abel, from Northamptonshire, who have pneumonia and are being treated in Japan. The 32 British and European passengers who were on the coronavirus-riddled Diamond Princess arrived at Arrowe Park Hospital in Merseyside (pictured is a woman doing a love heart shape with her hands and a man making an OK symbol) Those who returned at around 6pm on Saturday were split between three coaches along with medical professionals wearing white hazmat suits. Two police cars, two ambulances, several police motorbikes and a fourth coach with no passengers were also in the convoy. An accommodation block, separate to the main hospital building, will be home to the evacuees while they undergo health checks in quarantine. There have been 634 infections on the ship, according to national broadcaster NHK. Those cases represent the largest concentration of the illness outside China. The ship is owned by Carnival Corp and was originally carrying some 3,700 passengers and crew representing more than a dozen nationalities. In a statement earlier today, the Japanese health ministry identified another victim as a Japanese man in his 80s who was removed from the Diamond Princess and taken to a local hospital after suffering 'symptoms.' On the way to Arrowe Park, the group were split between three coaches along with medical professionals wearing white hazmat suits as they arrived The ministry did not confirm whether the man had tested positive for COVID-19. The death comes after two other elderly passengers, also both Japanese and in their 80s, died on Thursday after contracting the virus. Following news that a passenger who tested negative later developed the virus, Japanese health minister Katsunobu Kato has said that the government will have to keep close tabs on those who were allowed to leave the ship. The country's health authorities will make daily phone calls to hundreds of people who have disembarked from the Diamond Princess, Kyodo News in Japan reports. Wirral Teaching Hospital NHS Trust chief executive Janelle Holmes said the quarantined group will be 'safe, well-managed and comfortable' during their fortnight stay at an on-site accommodation block - while the staff previously living there remain in nearby hotels. According to Worldometer, there are 78,973 cases of the virus worldwide, 2,470 deaths and 23,418 who have recovered. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said his government was maintaining 'an extremely high level of precaution' after 45 people were diagnosed with the virus. The Italian authorities placed 50,000 people in lockdown in ten towns in Lombardy and Veneto, telling them to remain indoors. Turkey, Pakistan and Armenia have closed their borders with Iran as it reported 43 infections and eight deaths this weekend. Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan are returning to the Marvel universe for the upcoming Disney+ series The Falcon And The Winter Soldier. And the actors, who have been hard at work on set, were spotted in their characters' civilian forms on Friday while filming an exterior scene for the show in Auburn, Georgia. Mackie donned a color-blocked bomber jacket paired with dark wash denim jeans for his character's civilian identity, while Stan stepped out in an ensemble featuring a black leather jacket with matching gloves. Working hard: Anthony Mackie (left) and Sebastian Stan (right) were spotted getting into character, while on the set of their highly anticipated Marvel series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier in Auburn, Georgia One image captured the pair engaging in a particularly intense scene, requiring Mackie to send an enraged look in Stan's direction. When the cameras cut, the 41-year-old actor dropped his act and engaged in some smiley banter with his Marvel co-star. The pair have been working on the series for months, but very few details about the show - including the names of the rest of the cast members - have been made public knowledge. Though Disney has not confirmed when the highly anticipated superhero series will hit the streaming platform, an article published by Deadline last month stated a potential August 2020 premiere. Intense: One scene in particular showcased some tension brewing between the show's title characters Coming soon: The series, which is expected to hit Disney+ in August, has Mackie and Stan reprising their beloved Marvel Universe roles; the pair took to Instagram on Valentine's Day to tease fans The last time the duo were spotted filming was back in December, which put the pair in their character's iconic battle gear. During the December shoot, it was revealed that actor Daniel Bruh would return as supervillain Zemo for the series, as well as Emily VanCamp's Agent Carter. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier are just two of the super human forces that stem from the extensive Marvel universe. Mackie premiered his The Falcon portrayal in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which hit theaters in the Summer of 2014. The Falcon: Anthony Mackie as The Falcon in Marvels' 2014 film Captain America: The Winter Soldier Winter Soldier: Sebastian Stan as the Winter Soldier in Captain America: The Winter Soldier in 2014 He would reemerge as his aeronautic armor in Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Avengers: Infinity War, and the franchise's most explosive chapter Avengers: End Game in 2019. Stan made his Winter Soldier debut in Marvel's 2011 film Captain America: The First Avenger, which starred actor Chris Evans as the title character. Stan would also appear as the serum-injected fighting machine in 2014's Captain America: The Winter Soldier and 2016's Captain America: Civil War. On Valentine's Day, the playful pair took to Stan's Instagram page to poke at the annual holiday of love, as well as tease fans as they suited up for a day on set. Algerian riot police used water cannons to disperse demonstrators who on Saturday marked the first anniversary of a protest movement that seeks an overhaul of the political system. Several thousand people gathered in the capital Algiers shouting "the people want the fall of the regime" and "we have come to get rid of you", referring to the country's rulers, AFP reporters said. "No to military power, civil not military state" was written on one banner, referring to the authority exercised by the army's high command since independence from France in 1962. But when demonstrators tried to march towards the presidential palace, anti-riot police used water cannons to push them back towards the main post office -- the starting point for the rally -- reporters said. The protest was dispersed by police in the late afternoon and a few people were briefly detained before being released, the reporters added. Mass protests first erupted on February 22 last year, in response to president Abdelaziz Bouteflika announcing he intended a run for a fifth term -- despite being debilitated by a 2013 stroke. Less than six weeks later, he stepped down after losing the support of the then-army chief in the face of enormous weekly demonstrations. Despite hordes -- diplomats said "millions" -- then turning out after Bouteflika's fall to demand an overhaul of the entire system, the military maintained a political stranglehold in the months that followed. Police had deployed heavily around the post office in central Algiers on Saturday, as people responded to calls on social media to celebrate the first anniversary of the "Hirak" protest movement. Friday had seen the 53rd straight weekly demonstration, with citizens flooding the streets of Algiers and numerous other cities across the country. Even as the unprecedented movement has thinned in numbers since December, protesters still turn out in droves on a weekly basis. President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, a former prime minister under Bouteflika who was elected in December, had recently claimed that "things are starting to calm" in the streets and that "the Hirak got almost everything it wanted". Karnataka Tourism Minister CT Ravi on Saturday said he has no intention of developing "casino tourism" in the state. "I only expressed my opinion on how other countries have promoted tourism, during a discussion. Casino tourism is one such thing, I have no intention of developing it here," Ravi told ANI when asked to comment on Karnataka government's proposal of casinos in Coastal Karnataka. "What I meant was many Indians go and spend there, our money should be spent here itself," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-24 06:36:51|Editor: yan Video Player Close DAMASCUS, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian air defenses intercepted a number of Israeli missiles over the capital Damascus on Sunday night, state TV reported. Several explosions were heard on Sunday night reverberating across the capital, in what appeared to be a fresh Israeli missile attack targeting military sites in Syria. Xinhua reporters in several districts of Damascus heard the explosions. Most of the missiles were intercepted before reaching their targets, said the official report. It added that the missiles were fired from above the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The state TV said none of the missiles have hit any airport in the country. Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights opposition monitor said the Israeli missile strike targeted positions of Iranian-backed militias in the vicinity of the international airport of Damascus. The Britain-based watchdog group also said that the air defenses managed to intercept several missiles. The attack is the latest in a string of missile strikes carried out by Israel. Throughout the Syrian crisis, Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes against Iranian targets in Syria, as well as convoys transporting weapons to the Shiite Lebanese Hezbollah group. On Feb. 13, the Syrian air defenses intercepted a number of missiles from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights that targeted areas around Damascus. On Feb. 6, Israel carried out a similar attack around the capital Damascus, killing a number of pro-government fighters, according to the observatory. In January, Damascus accused the Israeli air force of carrying out an attack on the T4 military airport in central Syria. Last November, the Israeli army carried out a series of airstrikes against Syrian military sites and Iranian forces that killed 23 people including 16 foreigners, said the observatory. In 2019 alone, more than 17 Israeli attacks took place against targets in Syria. (Newser) There's no indication that Russia has its fingers in the 2020 election or is working to get the president re-elected, says a top Trump official. The national security adviser gets pretty good access to our intelligence," National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien told ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos on Sunday. I haven't seen any intelligence that Russia is doing anything to attempt to get President Trump re-elected. O'Brien's comment came after he was asked about reports that an intelligence professional told members of the House intelligence committee that it was Russia's aim to favor Trump in the election. Some officials familiar with the classified briefing said lawmakers were told that Russia was taking steps that would help Trump. And Democratic frontrunner Bernie Sanders said Friday that he was briefed last month by officials about Russian efforts to boost his candidacy. story continues below A senior intelligence official with knowledge about the briefing, however, told the AP on Friday that the handful of US election security briefers did not tell House intelligence committee members that Russia was "aiding the re-election of President Trump." The official said some lawmakers reached conclusions that had not been made by the briefers. All I know is that the Republicans ... were unhappy with the hearing and said that there was no intelligence to back up what was being said, O'Brien said. "I don't even know if what's been reported as being said (by the briefers) is true. O'Brien also denied reports that Trump became angry about the briefing and replaced former acting national intelligence director Joseph Maguire with current US ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell. O'Brien said Trump was not angry with Maguire and would have liked Maguire to stay in a different role. (Read more Robert O'Brien stories.) By PTI NEW DELHI: A day ahead of US President Donald Trump's visit to India, the Congress on Sunday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi whether he would raise with him the issue of easing of the H-1B visas for Indians, the restoration of GSP status and the security concerns vis-a-vis the Taliban. Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala wondered why Prime Minister Modi was "silent" on his "India First" policy as President Trump talked of "America First". He asked whether Modi would ensure cheaper oil for India after it stopped buying oil from Iran in view of US-imposed sanctions and if Indian steel exports would get a boost when New Delhi commits to USD 3 billion in defence purchases. "As President Trump arrives tomorrow on February 24, relevant questions on national interest must be asked by every Indian and resolved amicably in India's interests," Surjewala said in a video. ALSO READ: Agra decked up to welcome US President Donald Trump; security forces fortify city, Taj Mahal He said the Trump government's restrictive immigration policies has clamped down on H-1B visas and one should not forget that 70 percent of all H-1B visas are given to Indian professionals IT and others. The number of Indians getting visas is 60,000, who go to the US to contribute to the American economy as also back home to India's economy, he said. "Trump government's restrictive immigration policies have hit H-1B visas. Indians get 70 pc of 85,000 H-1B visas. Now, Rejection Rate for India has increased from 6 pc in 2015 to 24 pc in 2019, especially for IT professionals. "Post the '10-million people' gala event, will Prime Minister Modi take care of national interest and tell President Trump to go easy and permit H-1B visas for Indians, so that our young Indians, our IT professional can contribute to America's growth as also to India's growth story," Surjewala asked. He said as the US prepares to sign a deal with the Taliban on February 29, what about India's red lines. ALSO READ: Delhi Police issues traffic advisory ahead of US President Donald Trump's visit "Have we forgotten IC-814 hijacking and release of terrorist Masood Azhar in Kandhar, who's JeM then attacked Parliament and Pulwama? As gala bash unfolds, Will Modiji raise our national security concerns," he said. "We sincerely hope India's interests will not be compromised on account of a deal in Afghanistan." Surjewala said India must also raise its concern about any such deal respecting and honouring the democratic and constitutional process including the just-elected Ashraf Ghani government in Afghanistan. "What about the new deal and the new Taliban respecting the democratic process as also the human rights and rights of women in Afghanistan? What about this new deal not creating a space for the terror network thriving in Afghanistan," he asked, citing the Islamic State, the 'Haqqani' network, the Al Qaeda and the Jaish-e-Mohammad. The Congress leader said the US removed India from the duty-free imports regime i.e GSP (generalised system of preferences) in June last year, hitting USD 5.6 billion Indian exports to the US. ALSO READ: 15-ft-long kite flown in Bengaluru to welcome Donald Trump "Post 'Howdy Modi' and 'Namaste Trump' gala events, Will PM ensure restoration of GSP status," he asked. "As fest continues in Ahmedabad, Will Modiji secure cheaper oil for India," he added. The Congress leader alleged that India's exports of USD 761 million of steel to the US fell by 50 pc to USD 372 million as the Trump government hiked tariffs on import by 25 pc. "As India commits to USD 3 billion defense purchases, why zero relief for India's export of steel," he asked. "I think it needs to be resolved in favour of India's steel industry, in favour of getting more revenue, in favour of creating more employment," Surjewala said. US President Trump is on a visit to India from February 24 and 25. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Amid February derivatives expiry this week and with most of the shorts already being covered, there seems to be too little fuel in the engine to drive past 12,300, a significant resistance for now, Anand James, Chief Market Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said in an interview with Moneycontrols Kshitij Anand. Q. The Nifty50 saw a smart rally in the week gone by, which pushed the index back above 12,100 levels in a single trading session. What is your outlook on markets for the coming week? A. Though China has seen a decline in new deaths, there has been a rise in cases reported from elsewhere, like Japan and South Korea. But, equity markets in the Asia Pacific apart from Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia have recovered very much from the early February lows, suggesting that the event pricing has already happened and that there needs to be a dramatic escalation for re-rating. In Indias case, with February derivatives expiry coming up, and with most of the shorts already being covered, there seems to be too little fuel in the engine to drive past 12300, a significant resistance for now. Traders may wait for the new series for the next leg of upsides aiming 12,850. Q. India Gold April futures hit a fresh record high in the week gone by. What are your targets for the yellow metal for 2020? And, what should new investors do now wait for a dip or can opt for buying at current levels? A. History tells us that geopolitical events have a brief, even if massive, impact on gold unless its influence on the US Dollar is strong. Dollar, worlds premier currency of exchange that gold is shadowing has been going from strength to strength and is now at the highest in almost three years against a basket of the worlds major currencies. This is likely to dim the appeal of gold as an alternative currency. Rupee meanwhile has weakened past a month-long consolidation band and should give gold some more traction in Indian prices, but it may have run up too far and too quickly to be attractive any longer for wedding buyers in India. To this end, we may be nearing an exhaustion point in Indian gold. Hence, from a portfolio perspective, it does not make sense to add gold at this moment. Q. Top 3-5 stocks which are good breakout buys at current levels and why A. Here is a list of top three stocks which are looking good breakout buys: The proximity of 2019s low has given the courage for bargain hunters to look for a bounce back from the 35 percent fall that had unfolded in just three months. This attempt has formed a hammer candlestick pattern in weekly charts as well, supporting the buy view for a ~10 percent up move. The present upswing follows a successful morning star pattern formation. A narrowing Bollinger band raises the potential for price expansion, and as the price has bounced off after penetration of lower Bollinger band, an up move aiming 87.4, the upper band of the weekly Bollinger band can be played. Century Plyboards: Buy | LTP: Rs 154.3 | Stop Loss: Rs 148 | Target: Rs 162 The last couple of days buying effort has brought a pause to the fortnight-long fall. With such pause having occurred at 38.2 retracement level, the ensuing bullish engulfing pattern suggests that the up move is worth playing. A larger breakout (@180) pattern may also be in the formation, but since this could first stymie the ongoing up move, only a modest target of 162 should be attempted initially. : 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. Completing a degree program at a college or university can be one of the best things you do to improve your chances of success in life. Higher education is a necessity for many of the best paying jobs in the United States and other countries. But earning a degree can also be in one of the most difficult things you will ever attempt. In 2019, a non-profit group noted that 36 million Americans had started on a path towards a degree, but stopped before completing their studies. That number came from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. In 2016, the European Union found that 3 million young people throughout its member nations had suspended their university education. In 2017, the World Bank reported that across South America, nearly half of all 25 to 29-year-olds had stopped attending higher education without earning a degree. And, South African officials have reported similar levels in their country. Nichole Torpey-Saboe says there are many reasons why people leave U.S. higher education without earning a degree. And the difficulty of college degree programs is not the top reason people give for leaving, she adds. Torpey-Saboe is director of research for the Strada Education Network. In December, her group, working with the research company Gallup, released a report on why over 42,000 Americans left school without a degree. Researchers found the most common reason people gave for leaving was the difficulty of balancing work with their college or university studies. Other reasons were the high cost of higher education and the fact that many students failed to see how their studies related to a career, Torpey-Saboe says. As for why so few consider returning to complete their education, she told VOA many Americans feel there is little chance of them succeeding if they do. They are afraid that theyve been away from the classroom too long or theyre just worried that the same situations that caused them to drop out before might still be there and make it difficult to be successful if they try again, she said. Torpey-Saboe suggests the problem in the United States is not just that these individuals have less of a chance of finding good-paying jobs. These men and women still have to repay loans they took out to pay for their education. And since they will likely have less access to better positions, they will struggle to repay that debt. This makes an already difficult situation for people who are poor or come from an underrepresented group in higher education that much harder, notes Justin Ortagus. Ortagus is an assistant professor of higher education policy at the University of Florida in Gainesville. He believes that students like these are often the most likely to drop out. If youre a low income, first generation student, you dont necessarily have a parent to say, This is what you need to do to enroll or These are the types of courses you need to take to ensure youre up to date in your individual major. You kind of have to learn on the fly and really rely on under-resourced institutions to provide the support and services that you need, he said. Yet Ortagus thinks there is hope. Last month he and two other University of Florida researchers released a study on efforts to re-admit students at two-year community colleges across the state. Community colleges largely serve poor and minority students, many who are working in full-time positions and supporting families. Federal studies show that only about 30 percent of individuals who start their education at such schools earn a degree. However, the study showed that community colleges were able to help students return in two ways. First, the schools started sending text messages to over 27,000 former students on their mobile phones. The messages provided links so they could immediately enroll in classes or get advice about the next best steps in their education. The community colleges also offered to pay students for their first class once they decided to return to school. The text messages alone had little effect. But the two efforts together made the individuals in the study 21 percent more likely to re-enroll. Ortagus argues that this demonstrates how a little financial aid, in this case about $300, can do a lot for those in need. And eventually the cost to the school is covered when the students are in a better position to pay for the rest of their education. Nichole Torpey-Saboe says these efforts are a good start. But she argues there are still greater changes that need to be made to the entire structure of U.S. higher education. Torpey-Saboe says one can see evidence of this in the growing popularity of internet-based degree programs. She thinks colleges and universities need to consider offering more classes outside of normal business hours. And, she says lawmakers need to consider giving more money to schools that serve needy students so they can improve their guidance services. Im Dorothy Gundy. And Im Pete Musto. Pete Musto reported this story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. Quiz - Educators Seek to Re-Admit Students Who Left College Without Degrees Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz __________________________________________________ Words in This Story degree n. an official document and title that is given to someone who has successfully completed a series of classes at a college or university drop out p.v. to stop attending a school or university before you have completed your studies access n. a way of being able to use or get something enroll v. to enter someone as a member of or participant in something course(s) n. a group of classes that lead to a degree major n. the main subject studied by a college or university student on the fly n. quickly and often without preparation rely on p.v. to need someone or something for support or help institution(s) n. an established organization mobile adj. able to move from one place to another Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 23) Authorities nabbed a Chinese national who was earlier caught in a video spitting on the floor of a fast-food chain in Tondo, Manila. City Mayor Francisco "Isko Moreno" Domagoso ordered the arrest of 35-year-old Jinxiong Cai. Moreno said on Sunday Jinxiong will face grave scandal, unjust vexation and malicious mischief charges. Police noted in a report that the Chinese man was also "uttering unsavory words" to a security guard who confronted him about his behavior as seen in the video. Authorities said security footage also revealed that Jinxiong "intentionally" pushed and damaged two motorcycles parked in front of a building along Masangkay Street, while on his way to the fast-food chain Saturday early morning. He was arrested in the evening on the same day. Last week, Immigration officials also nabbed another Chinese national who went viral for spitting on a Manila police officer who apprehended him for a traffic violation. 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. On the President, Judges and encounters of a curious kind View(s): When Sri Lankas President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa reportedly articulates that, unnecessary judicial interventions are harmful to democracy (The Island, February 21st, 2020), one is intrigued. A praxis of bizarre happenings Pray, what would a Presidential definition of unnecessary be, it might be necessary to ask? That question becomes pertinent in the context of strange developments in Sri Lanka during recent months impacting on the very function of judges, judiciary and the law, which have been the theme of this column for some weeks now. But, of course, the Presidents reported sentiments must be read in context. What was said at one of Colombos numerous law conferences recently is that, while the executive and the legislature must not interfere with the judiciary, the judiciary also must not interfere with other arms of the State. In theory, there is nothing very problematic about this reminder as it is the fundamental principle underlying the separation of powers after all. Equally, the Presidents injunction that, even if the independence of the judiciary is secured, it will not suffice to deliver justice if the judicial system is ineffective and sluggish, is only commonsensical. But these sentiments need to be read against the bizarre praxis of what is actually happening in the country. It seems that judges are also expressing their angst regarding the stranger-than-fiction dramas that are played out in their courts. This week, Colombo Fort Magistrate Ranga Dissanayake called the countrys premier criminal investigation agency, (the Criminal Investigation Department) sharply to order in regard to its pussyfooting around a suspect relative of the Rajapaksas who had been in hiding overseas in relation to a multi-million dollar aircraft deal gone sour, with all its predictable elements of alleged money laundering, political payoffs and other encounters of a hugely corrupt kind. Magisterial fortitude a lesson for others His questioning as to why needed documentation in relation to the law under which the suspect was produced (which would have had the effect of denying bail) had not been put forward by the CID is an exemplar of judicial fortitude in the face of clandestine machinations. In other words, it is a good lesson to judges who think that they must shiver and shake before politicians. In other strange happenings, a missing Admiral who absents himself from High Court hearings into the monstrous abduction of Tamil and Muslim children more than a decade ago, presented himself before a Commission of Inquiry probing political victimisation during the previous regime to belabour his grievance that he had suffered political persecution during that time. His somewhat incredible explanation advanced with commendable flair and aplomb was that action had been taken against him in court to please the US and its visiting (then)Ambassador to the United Nations. True, yahapalanaya flirting with significant and insignificant visiting personages of every shape and size in the wake of the 2015 election victory, had quite quickly become one of its more annoying manifestations. Indeed, this was to become a not inconsiderable factor for its downfall even as yahapalanaya grandees in their Colombo bubble traded perks of power rather than reaching out to rural constituencies which had propelled them to that amazing win. Attended by adoring cheerleaders, this circus of passing visitors on whistle-top tours was seen with a jaundiced eye by Sri Lankans of all persuasions and not only those linked to the Rajapaksa camp. This was a reality that many found hard to come to terms with. Even so and conceding such manifest idiocies often commented upon in these column spaces at the time, it is a fantastic notion to argue that an Admiral of the Fleet could be charge sheeted in court in connection with the abduction and disappearance of 11 children in 2008-2009 to please a US dignitary. It requires a little bit more than the usual slack-jawed cynicism to take this notion on board. Judicial functions and fact-finding Commissions of Inquiry But lets look at this argument at its very core. Even if this is to be taken seriously, is it not the duty of the court entrusted with the case to determine as to whether or not an accused is guilty of the crime for which he or she is charged? In this case, no less than a special High Court-at-Bar has been constituted to hear the matter. Consequently, in the name of all that is marvelous, how can a fact finding Commission of Inquiry be entrusted with that task, if indeed, the Commission on probing political victimisation has been warranted by the President to so engage? If so, then this surely amounts to a fundamental breaching of the Rule of Law and the separation of powers which President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa referred to. The fact that the Attorney General has been directed to place all documentation pertaining to this case before the Commission is not reassuring. If the yahapalanaya regime manipulated and twisted prosecutions to suit a political motive, engineered by a motley cabal of insiders and outsiders at Temple Trees, at the (uncertain) dictate of then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe which seems to be the clarion call of this Government, let the courts decide the fate of the cases that were lodged. Ironically if not funnily, most of these cases have been thrown out of court anyway for technical or substantial failures. Indeed, this only goes to prove that even if a selected few were handling prosecutions in devious strategies, they were notably so very inept that they did not know the basics of penal law and procedure. Yahapalanaya Ministers on the other hand, allege that the failure of the prosecutions was due to a fifth column, operating to the command of the Rajapaksas in the corridors of the Ministry of Justice and the Department of the Attorney General. Familiar tricks of the trade to Sri Lankans Wherever the murky truth lies, all these are long familiar tricks of the trade to Sri Lankans. We have undergone cycles of circumvention and mockery of the law again and again. We are, in truth, weary of these games. During the Rajapaksa (the First) Presidency, the Secretary of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) was assaulted and stabbed by unidentified persons on a busy road close to leading hotels in Mount Lavinia and had to be hospitalized. His crime was to issue a statement stating that the JSC, (which is responsible for the administration of Sri Lankas justice system, was being targeted for criticism by politicians in power. Other similar incidents are too numerous to list here. Yahapalanaya or the Rajapaksas regardless, the remnants of the Rule of Law in Sri Lanka can be saved only by individual citizens standing up to what is right and correct in their own way. Brave Magistrates and courageous public servants like a District Assistant Conservator of Forests who recently created a firestorm in the media by standing up to an asinine State Minister of Fisheries trying to build a playground on a protected mangrove site, fashion the Sri Lankan national character. It is on these examples of remarkable grit that the nation will stand or fall. A personal trainer who works closely with Kayla Itsines on her Sweat app has shared her daily meals - and the snacks that give her energy - to showcase how easy it is to be healthy. Kelsey Wells, 29, invented the 'PWR' weight lifting fitness guide to help time poor people get their best body with 45-minute training sessions a day, and it's now featured on Itsines' lucrative app. Based in Utah, Kelsey is an advocate for clean living but doesn't just nourish her body with superfood concoctions, instead choosing easily accessible produce her 2.7million fans could easily find around their own home. Scroll down for video Kelsey Wells invented the 'PWR' weight lifting fitness guide to help time poor people get their best body with 45-minute training sessions and it's now featured on Kayla Itsines' lucrative app For example, her morning routine includes a breakfast laced with fried egg whites and spinach or avocado. 'For breakfast, I always make sure I am fueling my body with wholesome, nutrient-rich foods to give me the energy to go about a busy day,' she told Sporteluxe Australia. A big bowl of Greek yoghurt with fresh berries or avocado toast with vegetarian sausage might also be an option if Kelsey is looking to mix things up in the kitchen. After sitting down to breakfast with her son Anderson and husband Ryan the svelte brunette will head to her local gym for a one hour weight lifting session, filming content for her social media platforms as she goes. 'For breakfast, I always make sure I am fueling my body with wholesome, nutrient-rich foods to give me the energy to go about a busy day,' she told Sporteluxe Australia After sitting down to breakfast with her son Anderson and husband Ryan the svelte brunette will head to her local gym for a one hour weight lifting session, filming content for her social media platforms as she goes Kelsey Wells' top HIIT moves to transform the body: Burpees High Knees The Sprawl Jump Squats Advertisement 'After my workout, it's time to rehydrate and refuel my body. Typically I will have a protein shake straight after my workout to help with muscle growth and recovery,' she said. Often lunch will include leftovers from the night before or some type of salad with added protein, whether that be chicken or fish. The afternoon will be spent working on the Sweat app, taking meetings, scheduling products launches and answering emails. Kelsey will eat every two to three hours to avoid feeling hungry, and unnecessarily snacking on chips, lollies and chocolate 'I have a few go-to snacks that I always keep handy such as; homemade protein balls, cheese sticks, raw cut-up veggies with hummus or cut-up fresh fruit with almond butter,' she said. Kelsey will eat every two to three hours to avoid feeling hungry, and unnecessarily snacking on chips, lollies and chocolate. For dinner she enjoys crock-pot meals; a chilli con carne in the winter or a shredded chicken with veggies when the weather is warmer. Kelsey doesn't cut out any food groups and enjoys a donut every Sunday with her son, reminding others that while food is fuel it can be fun too. International concern about the spread of coronavirus outside China grew on Sunday with sharp rises in infections in South Korea, Italy and Iran. The government in Seoul put the country on high alert after the number of infections surged over 600 with six deaths. A focal point was a church in the southeastern city of Daegu, where a 61-year-old member of the congregation with no recent record of overseas travel tested positive for the virus. In Italy, the number of cases jumped to above 130 from just three before Friday. Authorities sealed off the worst affected towns and banned public ... On Sunday, BJP's Gaurav Bhatia responded to the latest revelations about Shatrughan Sinha's visit to Pakistan calling it 'unpardonable' and 'unacceptable'. On Saturday, Pakistan President Arif Ali made an explosive claim that Shatrughan Sinha on his visit to Lahore had backed Pakistan President Alvis concern on the alleged lockdown in Jammu and Kashmir. Reacting to this Gaurav Bhatia said, "It is very sad that leaders from Congress go to Pakistan and then they side with Pakistan, trying to wake the interests of our country." Read: Shatrughan Sinha calls Babulal Marandi's 'ghar wapsi' a 'master stroke' by HM Amit Shah 'Pakistan National Congress' "No Indianness is left in the name of the Indian National Congress, the name should be changed to Pakistan National Congress. From Rahul Gandhi being liked by Hafiz Sayeed and others, Mani Shankar Aiyar asking Pakistan to remove Narendra Modi, now it's Shatrughan Sinha who shows his love and affection to Pakistan." Read: Shatrughan Sinha spotted in Pakistans Lahore; attends actor Reema Khans wedding 'This is purely a personal visit' In a series of tweets on Saturday, Sinha described his visit to Pakistan. He mentioned that it was a strictly personal trip to attend the marriage of Pakistani filmmaker Mian Ehsans grandson. The Congress leader stated that the guests including actress Reema Khan, former Lahore HC Chief Justice M Yawar Ali, former Chief Justice of Pakistan Asif Khosa and Telecom Chairman Brigadier Vaqar. Meanwhile, Sinha is yet to clarify his position on this statement issued by Pakistan. Read: Shatrughan Sinha calls Babulal Marandi's 'ghar wapsi' a 'master stroke' by HM Amit Shah Mian Ahmed is the worthy grandson of the most celebrated filmmaker & pioneers of Pakistan film industry #MianEhsan.This is purely a personal visit nothing official, nor political about it. The Eshan family have visited us several times in the past & the last time for my son pic.twitter.com/0XkiKoZkNa Shatrughan Sinha (@ShatruganSinha) February 22, 2020 where the Honorable President's wife also joined in. Great gesture indeed! Though the meeting lasted for quite some time, it was purely social, personal and purely a courtesy call to give profound regards. We discussed so many things on social and cultural issues but no politics Shatrughan Sinha (@ShatruganSinha) February 23, 2020 was discussed. Nothing political or official about it. My friends, well-wishers and supporters and of course the media should realize that one shouldn't discuss the politics or policies of countries on foreign soil when one isn't competent, qualified & authorized by the Govt. pic.twitter.com/F6toXLXUjx Shatrughan Sinha (@ShatruganSinha) February 23, 2020 Read: Victims' families 'shattered' as Ansal brothers avoid further jail time for Uphaar fire Punjab DGP Dinkar Gupta has given a new statement regarding the Kartarpur Corridor. After which big questions have arisen about the nefarious intentions of Pakistan. This has once again created a situation of discord about the Kartarpur corridor. The construction of the corridor built for Pakistan-based Gurudwara Sri Kartarpur Sahib has already been in dispute. Former cabinet minister Navjot Singh Sidhu was involved in controversies by making a pledge to Pakistan Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa at the time of its announcement. After this, due to construction, inauguration, different political forums and the participation of Khalistani leaders, it was also in controversies. The biggest controversy remained on the issue of intention of Pakistan. For your information, let us tell you that on December 14, 2019, the banned organization Sikh for Justice had described the Kartarpur Corridor as a bridge to build Khalistan. He said in a threatening tone that India should not become an obstacle in the Referendum -2020. India had informed this threat to Pakistan. Pakistan had assured that the corridor would not be allowed to be used for any other purpose. On the same place, on November 30, 2019, Railway Minister Sheikh Rashid of the Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan said that the Kartarpur corridor is the brainchild of General Bajwa and ISI. By opening the Kartarpur border, General Bajwa will remember the wounds he has given to India for a long time. General Bajwa has given a big push to India. Pakistan has created a new environment for peace and has won the trust of the Sikh community. Also Read: Amulya Leon was threatened, Ram Sena worker declares reward of 10 lakhs UP CM Yogi arrives Ayodhya, will soon meet Manhat Nritya Gopal Das US targets Russia, blames it for spreading confusion about coronavirus Domestic electricity rates may increase, distribution companies incurring continuous losses The murdered Assistant Director in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation at the State House, Laetitia Naankang Dagan, was courageous even to her last seconds on earth last Monday. Dagan, who was attacked soon after arriving home from work, summoned what was left of her energy to pick up her mobile phone. She dialled up neighbours to come to her rescue. They did respond to her distress call. And that turned out to be crucial. Although she failed to make it back to life, she was able to give out sufficient information about who her attackers were and why she became a target. She seemed to have had no premonition of death when she left her residence at No. 23 at B Close, Road 22 EFAB Estate in Lokogoma area of the Federal Capital Territory for work earlier in the day. Sharing the compound with her in a detached two-bedroom bungalow were some young men suspected to be into internet fraud, also known as yahoo yahoo. She occupied the boys quarters of the main building. Until her gruesome murder, the Quaanpan, Plateau State-born Dagan, had been locked in a cold war with the young men, The Nation gathered. The plot to kill her allegedly began after the gateman reported to the police that the boys were smoking Indian hemp. The police promptly arrested them, although they were later released. The boys suspected that she gave them away to the police. They sought to hit backThe battle line was soon drawn with her. From the boys alleged disposition towards her soon after the arrest, Dagan knew she had to move away from the boys. She told neighbours about the cold war. Besides, she began looking for an alternative accommodation. A source who does not want to be named said Dagan initially lived in the compound with a couple from Bauchi State before they moved into their own house last December. The main building was then rented by the boys who moved in only last month. Said the source: She travelled to Jos for a wedding on Friday, and was in Jos until Sunday when she returned to Abuja. But while she was away, the boys threatened to kill the security man and he went to the police and reported. He was asked not to return to the compound and because he has no phone, he could not inform her about what was happening. So she came back to Abuja Sunday night and went to work early Monday morning without any knowledge of what was going on between the gateman and the boys. When she returned from work in the evening, she went straight to her apartment until around 10 pm when the boys broke into the house and attacked her after molesting her. They left her, thinking she was dead but she managed to get her phone and called one of us to come to her aid; that she was dying; that those boys attacked her. But they heard her making the call and they returned to her room and killed her finally and tied her body on a chair and set the house on fire and ran away but the fire only burnt part of her face before it went off. At that point, one of us that got her distress call informed the DSS and they mobilised some policemen and went to her house and found her dead and partially burnt. One of her assailants, probably because they were in a hurry, dropped his phone at the scene of the crime after they had taken her own phone; that was how the police were able to track and arrest one of the boys. The source described the deceased as a quiet and peace loving lady who was not in the habit of keeping friends. It is unfortunate that she died the way she did. She was a down to earth person. Despite her status, she had no personal car and did not keep friends. She lived a kind of routine life that revolved around her office, home and church. She was not socialising. She was a nice woman and we are going to miss her. NCWS wants FG to bring her killers to book Meanwhile, The National Council of Womens Societies (NCWS), yesterday asked the federal government to ensure that killers of Ms. Laetitia Dagan were fished out and made to face the full wrath of the law. The National President of NCWS, Mrs Gloria Shoda, said in a statement in Abuja, that the murder of Dagan was one too many in recent times. The number of people killed every day is alarming; and nobody knows who will be next, she said. She added: The government owes it citizens the right to protection of lives and properties, so we expect that the government do more in this area. We cannot continue to fold our hands and watch fellow Nigerians murdered in cool blood daily. We want all Nigerians to join hands with us and call on the government to do all that is necessary to stop these senseless killings. She, however, commended the Nigeria Police for its quick response, and the arrest of one of the suspects, but urged them to do more. The 47-year-old Dagan was attacked and killed at about 11: 00 p.m. same day. (The Nation)